Antony Sher
Documentary celebrating the LGBTQ contribution to the arts in Britain in the 50 years since decriminalisation. It features interviews with leading figures from right across the arts in Britain, including Stephen Fry, David Hockney, Sir Antony Sher, Alan Cumming, Sandi Toksvig, Jeanette Winterson, Will Young and Alan Hollinghurst, and it explores the distinctive perspectives and voices that LGBT artists have brought to British cultural life.
From the stage of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, David Tennant, Catherine Tate and guests mark the life of William Shakespeare on the 400th anniversary of the playwright's death.
King Henry's health is failing as a second rebellion against his reign threatens to surface. Intent on securing his legacy, he is uncertain that his son Hal is a worthy heir, believing him more concerned with earthly pleasures than the responsibility of rule. Sir John Falstaff is sent to the country side to recruit fresh troops. Amongst the unwitting locals opportunities for embezzlement and profiteering prove impossible to resist - as the king's health continues to worsen, Hal must choose between duty, and loyalty to an old friend.
With his crown under threat from enemies both foreign and domestic, Henry IV prepares for war. Having deposed the previous king, he is only too aware how tenuous his position is, and the price to be paid if he falters.
As Man Booker Prize-winning writer Howard Jacobson retells The Merchant of Venice, 400 years after Shakespeare’s death, he travels with Alan Yentob to the ghetto in Venice to explore Shakespeare's most performed play - and in particular the character of the most divisive fictional Jew in history, Shylock. On their journey, Howard and Alan examine the evidence behind the charge of antisemitism against Shakespeare. How did his old Jew from Venice become such a useful propaganda tool during the Third Reich, and what was behind the absurd and infamous proposal to cut off a 'pound of flesh'?
Director Tony Palmer tells the incredible life story of Athol Fugard, the prolific playwright, novelist, and director who exposed the horrors of South Africa's apartheid system for the entire world to see. Interviews with Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela, Yvonne Bryceland and others help to illuminate Fugard's remarkable legacy.
A murder is investigated by both sides of the line, cops and criminals, using opposing methods. But the real line is the morality within each person and how far they will go before they cross it.
Lawrence Talbot, an American man on a visit to Victorian London to make amends with his estranged father, gets bitten by a werewolf and, after a moonlight transformation, leaves him with a savage hunger for flesh.
A London tube driver considers pursuing a third fatal accident to collect a huge payout.
In the Jewish tradition of arguing with God, Jewish prisoners in Auschwitz decide to put God on Trial.
The Company tells the thrilling story of Cold War CIA agents imprisoned in double lives, fighting an amoral, elusive, formidable enemy – and each other – in an internecine battle within the Company itself.
PRIMO was adapted by Antony Sher from Primo Levi's monumental account of his year spent in Auschwitz, IF THIS IS A MAN. When it opened in September 2004 at the National Theatre PRIMO was instantly recognised as a major theatrical event. A work of astounding dramatic power it sheds a light on one of the darkest episodes in human history. Antony Sher's towering performance is as controlled as Primo Levi s own lucid prose. Beautifully directed by Richard Wilson and presented in Hildegard Bechtler's magnificent, symbolist set.
A group of American executives making a film about World War II decide that since their lead is rather unglamorous, they will draft in an American G.I. to play the part of Winston Churchill. Their take on the war depicts a handsome Churchill falling in love with Princess Elizabeth, who is herself involved in the war as an undercover agent.
The ostensibly calm and courteous Gerald Ballantyne lives in and embodies modern suburbia. But he is haunted by the memory of a recent car crash and hounded by his estranged wife and her demands for divorce. Slowly, a festering insanity takes over and unwilling to face the outside world he embarks on a lunatic experiment. Confining himself to his middle-class home, he eschews contact with others and survives entirely off 'food' which he can find in his house. Based on JG Ballard's The Enormous Space. (from: http://www.jgballard.ca/deep_ends/jgb_home_on_bbc.html)
Anthony Sher and Harriet Walter star in a highly-acclaimed screen version of William Shakespeare's classic story of tyranny and ambition. On the stage this Royal Shakespeare Company presentation was universally lauded. Following sell-out seasons at Statford's Swan Theatre and in London, the production played Japan and in the United States, where The New York Times praised director Gregory Doran's interpretation as a "harrowing and disturbingly funny parable for the dawn of the 21st century". To make this compelling screen version, Gregory Doran worked with all of the original cast and filmed at London's Roundhouse. Brilliantly shot by director of photography Ernie Vincze, the production uses the edgy techniques of fly-on-the-wall documentaries. The effect is raw, intimate and strikingly dynamic.
A mother and father in search of help for their sick daughter cross paths with an extraordinary carpenter named Jesus, who has devoted his life to spreading God's word. An amazing miracle brings to light the true meaning of Christ, and the sacrifices he endured for the deliverance of mankind. A compelling story of faith, trust, and devotion.
William Shakespeare's play as performed by the Barbican Theater in 1999.
The Hornblower series is based on C.S. Forester's classic maritime adventures - the story of one young man's struggle to become a leader of men. Set against the back drop of the 18th century Anglo-French wars, the bloodiest time in British naval history.Lt. Hornblower and his mates are sent to accompany a doomed royalist invasion of revolutionary France.
Young Shakespeare is forced to stage his latest comedy, "Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate's Daughter," before it's even written. When a lovely noblewoman auditions for a role, they fall into forbidden love -- and his play finds a new life (and title). As their relationship progresses, Shakespeare's comedy soon transforms into tragedy.
A passionately committed young dancer is forced to re-examine his career and life when faced with death, finding hope through an older man who becomes his lover, mentor and companion.
Jailed for his reckless driving, rambunctious Mr. Toad has to escape from prison when his beloved Toad Hall comes under threat from the wily weasels, who plan to build a dog food factory on the very meadow sold to them by Toad himself. This fantastic roller-coaster ride of hilarious adventures was both written and directed by Terry Jones, who also plays the central role of Mr. Toad. Alongside three former Pythons are a gallery of well-known faces all bringing wit and wonder to a feast of colourful characters. An absolutely charming film to delight children and adults alike, The Wind in the Willows is a perfect updating of Kenneth Grahame’s well-loved children’s classic.
Greg Wise (Sense and Sensibility) and Keeley Hawes (Karaoke) star in this sumptuous adaptation of Wilkie Collins' classic mystery, the first detective novel ever written. The Moonstone, a sacred Hindu diamond was stolen from the head of the Moon God, in its shrine by John Herncastle in 1799. The stone is said to be cursed if it is removed from the shrine. In 1848, a man named Franklin Blake announces to Rachel that the Moonstone has been bequeathed to her by Herncastle. Blake gives her the jewel on her birthday and offers to mount the jewel for her, in order that she might wear it. Inevitably, the jewel is found missing the next morning and Rachel believes Blake stole it. Determined to prove his innocence, Blake leaves in order to pursue the real truth behind the theft.
A sinister tale of genius gone wrong, The Young Poisoner's Handbook chronicles a young man's descent into madness against the absurd backdrop of suburban English life. Hugh O'Conor plays Graham Young, a schoolboy from the London suburbs whose deadly obsession with toxic substances causes him to dabble in experimental murder.
In the midst of World War II, Nazi officer Otto Schatz declares the execution of Jewish music-hall comedian Genghis Cohn. Many years later, Otto is comfortably retired into the life of a highly respected police commissioner, and is investigating a series of murders when he encounters the ghost of Genghis Cohn. The haunting turns into a taunting, and before he knows it, Schatz is slowly driven mad as he is lured into a trap.
Spring 1917: the privileged world of Sorn Castle is upside down, its stately rooms full of amputees from the Western Front. While the local aristocracy makes a first attempt at nursing, a romance blossoms.
Erik the Viking gathers warriors from his village and sets out on a dangerous journey to Valhalla, to ask the gods to end the Age of Ragnorok and allow his people to see sunlight again. A Pythonesque satire of Viking life.
Royal Shakespeare Company's televised adaptation of Moliere's play with Antony Sher in the title role of Tartuffe.
Writer and Director Mike Leigh discusses the techniques used to create his plays.
Adaptation of Malcolm Bradbury's satirical novel about 1970s greybrick campus life.
Three escaped criminals from the planet Krypton test the Man of Steel's mettle. Led by General Zod, the Kryptonians take control of the White House and partner with Lex Luthor to destroy Superman and rule the world. But Superman, who attempts to make himself human in order to get closer to Lois, realizes he has a responsibility to save the planet.
"This could be a bit special, Maggie. This could be the first case of an office block falling down during the topping-out party." A self-made man finds his building firm in trouble as a new office block nears completion.
During WWII, the United States set up army bases in Great Britain as part of the war effort. Against their proper sensibilities, many of the Brits don't much like the brash Yanks, especially when it comes to the G.I.s making advances on the lonely British girls. One relationship that develops is between married John, an Army Captain, and the aristocratic Helen, whose naval husband is away at war. Helen loves her husband, but Helen and John are looking for some comfort during the difficult times.
