Siân Phillips
A Year in the Beacons follows the course of a year in the national park for the staff of the Glanusk Estate, the Brecon Mountain Rescue Team, and a family of farmers in the foothills of Pen y Fan.
Documentary exploring the nature and wildlife of the Welsh coast.
A community is sleeping. If you listen closely, you can hear their dreams. The retired sea captain yearning for his lost love. The landlady living in terror of her guests. A father who can no longer access his memories. A son in search of redemption. As they awake to boiled eggs and the postman, the residents of a small Welsh village juggle old secrets and new realities.
A barmaid recruits her husband and a group of others to assist her in training a racehorse in the Welsh countryside.
A woman during the Second World War opens her heart to an evacuee after initially resolving to be rid of him.
An African country teeters on the edge of civil war. A society prepares to drive out its colonial present and claim an independent future. Racial tensions boil over. Tshembe, returned home from England for his father’s funeral, finds himself in the eye of the storm.
Eleanor and Isabelle meet again, sixty years after their relationship break up...
To mark the 70th anniversary of the birth of the NHS, acclaimed poet Owen Sheers takes us on a journey that weaves the extraordinary story of the birthing of Nye Bevan's vision of free healthcare for all people with personal stories of the NHS in British society today.
Mohawk archaeologist Baptiste Asigny engages in a search for his ancestors following a tragic terrain slump in the Percival Molson Stadium.
A film poem to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Aberfan disaster, written by Owen Sheers and performed by a stellar cast of Wales's best-known acting talent, including Michael Sheen, Jonathan Pryce, Sian Phillips, Eve Myles and Iwan Rheon, with some contributions from the local community.
An all star cast unite to perform a distinctive BBC Wales Television adaptation of Dylan Thomas's radio play, presented in collaboration with National Theatre Wales, to mark the centenary of Dylan Thomas' birth. The plot reveals the innermost thoughts of the residents of the small, Welsh fishing village Llareggub as it delves into the dreams of various townspeople including blind sailor Captain Cat, who is haunted by visions of drowned shipmates, Mog Edwards and Myfanwy Price, who dream of each other, and Mrs. Ogmore Pritchard, who dreams of her former husbands.
London's Dupayne Museum is in danger of closing since one of the trustees feels that the money expended on preserving the past could be better spent addressing the problems of living people. One of the museum's collections concerns murders committed between the world wars. When a killing that reflects one of the cases on display occurs, history seems to be repeating itself.
This program is an overview of the life and career of Joseph Stalin. It concentrates on describing and attempting to explain the origins of the policy of “terror” instigated by Stalin as leader of the USSR. There are interviews with surviving family members and experts all of whom attempt some sort of personality “analysis” of the dictator to explain his behaviour and policies. Another question that is examined is, given his record of “terror”, why was he so popular? Why did so many Russians mourn his death in 1953? This could be an overview and introduction to a study of both Stalin and USSR in the post revolution period.
The cast and crew of I, Claudius (1976) discuss the making of the series.
A televised pantomime of Cinderella featuring various celebrities.
Written in English in 1965, this piece has only 121 words in all. Beckett's note to the text is almost twice as long. Three women meet in a softly lit place. Seated on a bench facing the audience, they reminisce about old school days. Each woman leaves the stage briefly, and during each absence an appalling secret is whispered about the third – which the audience doesn't hear. At the end the three hold hands with the cryptic comment 'I can feel the rings', though Beckett specifies that none are apparent.
18th-century England and Ireland viewed through the eyes of four beautiful high-born sisters - Caroline, Emily, Louisa, and Sarah Lennox, great-granddaughters of a king, daughters of a cabinet minister, and wives of politicians and peers.
The Magician's House is a quartet of children's fantasy books by William Corlett. Two mini-series were produced in 1999 for British television, which were directed by Paul Lynch. The series featured Jennifer Saunders and Stephen Fry voicing some of the animal characters. The books were published in the early 1990s, and named as follows: ⁕The Steps up the Chimney ⁕The Door in the Tree ⁕The Tunnel behind the Waterfall ⁕The Bridge in the Clouds Although in a rural setting, this series' focus on subjects such as industrial development and the combining of present-day and past settings in the plotline gives it a feeling tending more towards urban fantasy than simply contemporary fantasy. In addition, though there is no specific mention of Welsh myths and legends, the strong part nature plays in the stories and the settings bring to mind other British children's authors. Authors like Alan Garner, who is perhaps best known for The Owl Service and Elidor, and Susan Cooper, famous for The Dark Is Rising sequence of books, who allude more specifically to British myth and legend in their writings.
A modern adaptation of the classic children's story 'Alice through the Looking Glass', which continued on from the popular 'Alice in Wonderland' story. This time Alice is played by the mother, who falls asleep while reading the the bedtime story to her daughter. Walking through the Looking Glass, Alice finds herself in Chessland, a magical and fun world. There she meets the Red and White Queens, as well as many other amusing friends on her journey across the chessboard countryside onto become a crowned queen.
Detective Cooper investigates the bizarre circumstances surrounding the murder of Matilda who was found dead in her bath wearing the Scold's Bridle.
The epic tale of the idealistic young knight Ivanhoe and his battle against the evil Templar Bois-Guilbert. Caught between the rivalries and religious struggles are Ivanhoe's betrothed Rowena and the brave, beautiful Jewess healer Rebecca, who wins Ivanhoe's heart with her courage. This grand six-part adaptation of Sir Walter Scott's rousing adventure of the Middle Ages is set against the historical backdrop of a Britain straining under the corrupt rule of Prince John while Richard the Lionhearted fights in the Crusades.
"House of America" is a 1997 film directed by Marc Evans. The film, set in a depressed Welsh mining town, centres on a dysfunctional family unit of brothers Boyo and Sid, their sister Gwenny and their controlling mother. The film tackles issues such as Welsh identity, its need for indigenous heroes and the nation's perceived inferiority complex.
The Borrowers are small, fifteen-centimeter-high humans, who live in the English hinterland. They live out their lives in mouse-hole sized nooks in human houses, and survive by "borrowing" all they need from the house and its inhabitants. This series follows young girl Arriety (Rebecca Callard), and her parents Pod (Sir Ian Holm) and Homily (Dame Penelope Wilton), as they are displaced from their house, and try to find a new one, with the help of a human boy, George (Paul Cross).
Tale of 19th century New York high society in which a young lawyer falls in love with a woman separated from her husband, while he is engaged to the woman's cousin.
At the turn of the century, a widow decides to set her dead husbands business back in the black column. Her efforts to get the mill going again, however, are somewhat submarined by problems with an employee who is accused of murder and her sister who has married a spoiled rich boy
Gwyn can feel danger coming in the wind. Somehow he knows the warnings have to do with the broken toy horse that holds the evil spirit of a prince who lived long ago. When Gwyn discovers that the prince's dark soul has escaped from the horse and is seeking revenge Gwyn, Emlyn, and Nia have to figure out how to save the mysterious soldier who claims to be Nia's distant cousin. With the help of the Snow Spider, can they recapture the prince's soul without hurting the Chestnut soldier?
A thorough and intelligently summarized history of the Soviet Union, from the socio-political origins for the Bolshevik Revolution of October 1917 to the near end of Mikhail Gorbachev's government, immediately prior to the downfall of "real communism" and the splitting of the USSR. Conducted by British historian Robert Conquest, narrative benefits from a careful research of archive footage and from recent interviews with mostly common who participated in the events.
An angry father sets out to get revenge for the death of his daughter in a toxic waste accident.
Set in Baroque France, a scheming widow and her lover make a bet regarding the corruption of a recently married woman. The lover, Valmont, bets that he can seduce her, even though she is an honorable woman. If he wins, he can have his lover to do as he will. However, in the process of seducing the married woman, Valmont falls in love. Based on the same novel as "Dangerous Liaisons."
How did ancient Egyptians build the Great Pyramid at Giza, joining two million blocks of heavy stone with amazing precision? Who were the leaders who built these enormous structures, and what did these tombs signify? Host David Macaulay explores the history, mythology, and religions of Egypt's people, combining live footage and animation. Take a rare look at the mummy of Ramses II and buried treasure in the sacred Valley of the Kings.
Extended Edition of the film. In the distant future, the known universe is ruled by Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV. The most important substance in the empire is the drug known as melange or "the spice". It has many special properties, such as extending life and expanding consciousness. The most profitable and important of its properties is its ability to assist the Spacing Guild with Fold space, which allows safe, instantaneous interstellar travel.
The army of the Marauders, led by by King Terak and the witch Charal attack the Ewoks village. The parents and the brother of Cindel all die in this attack. Cindel and the Ewok Wicket escape and in a forrest they meet Teek a naughty and very fast animal. Teek takes them to a house in which a old man, Noa, lives. Like Cindel he also crashed with his Starcruiser on Endor. Together they fight Terak and Charal.
Wealthy Alexander Moore and working-class Jerry Crowe are childhood friends and in 1914 find themselves in the same Army unit - Alex as an officer and Jerry as a private. They still remain close, however, until Jerry is court-martialed for desertion, and Alex is put in charge of the firing squad.
To win the right to marry his love, the beautiful princess Andromeda, and fulfil his destiny, Perseus must complete various tasks including taming Pegasus, capturing Medusa's head, and battling the Kraken monster.
The film suggests Nijinsky was driven into madness by both his consuming ambition and self-enforced heterosexuality, the latter prompted by his romantic involvement with Romola de Pulszky, a society girl who joins impresario Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes specifically to seduce Nijinsky. After a series of misunderstandings with Diaghilev, who is both his domineering mentor and possessive lover, Nijinsky succumbs to Romola's charms and marries her, after which his gradual decline from artistic moodiness to complete lunacy begins.
Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor, rich man, poor man, beggar-man, thief. George Smiley, the aging master spy of the Cold War and once heir apparent to Control, is brought back out of retirement to flush out a top level mole within the Circus. Smiley must travel back through his life and murky workings of the Circus to unravel the net spun by his nemesis Karla 'The Sandman' of the KGB and reveal the identity of the mole before he disappears.
Warrior Queen is a British television series made by Thames Television for ITV from 20 February to 27 March 1978. Set in Britain under Roman rule, this historical drama starred Siân Phillips in the title role as Boudica, queen of the Iceni and chronicled her efforts to maintain the peace for her people and fight the Romans. Nigel Hawthorne played the Roman tax collector Catus Decianus.
Hiding behind a comedy of manners is Shaw's state of the nation play - a declining country house as the microcosm for the country (or even the pre-war continent). Retired seafarer, Captain Shotover, is reluctantly hosting a weekend house party for his two daughters and their bohemian friends. As they indulge in dangerous flirtations, will anyone notice their drift to destruction?
Acclaimed blackly comic historical drama series. Set amidst a web of power, corruption and lies, it chronicles the reigns of the Roman emperors - Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula and finally Claudius.
Life is harsh but uncomplicated and happy for the Morgan family in their coal mining village in the Rhondda Valleys. But as the 20th century approaches, the younger generation is restless.
The lives of the Pankhurst women and their role in the Suffragette Movement.
The delightful if peculiar story of a day in the life of a small, Welsh fishing village called "Llareggub" in which we meet a host of curious characters (and ghosts) through the 'eyes' of Blind Captain Cat.
Murphy is the sole survivor of his crew, that has been massacred by a German U-Boat in the closing days of World War II. He is rescued, and ends up at a forgotten mission station near the mouth of the Orinoco, and begins to plot his vengeance. He wishes to sink the U-Boat by means of any method imaginable to him, and sets about to make the courageous attempt, assisted by Louis, the local oil company Administrator.
Academy Award-honoree Peter O'Toole stars in this musical classic about a prim English schoolmaster who learns to show his compassion through the help of an outgoing showgirl. O'Toole, who received his fourth Oscar-nomination for this performance, is joined by '60s pop star Petula Clark and fellow Oscar-nominee Michael Redgrave.
Swinging London in the 1960's. Deals with the affection of a middle-aged man for a very young woman, resulting in a mutually parasitic relationship.
Dublin playwright Sean O'Casey (Rod Taylor) loves a librarian (Maggie Smith), sleeps with a chorus girl (Julie Christie) and meets Yeats.
King Henry II of England has trouble with the Church. When the Archbishop of Canterbury dies, he has a brilliant idea. Rather than appoint another pious cleric loyal to Rome and the Church, he will appoint his old drinking and wenching buddy, Thomas Becket, technically a deacon of the church, to the post. Unfortunately, Becket takes the job seriously and provides abler opposition to Henry.
The retelling of June 6, 1944, from the perspectives of the Germans, US, British, Canadians, and the Free French. Marshall Erwin Rommel, touring the defenses being established as part of the Reich's Atlantic Wall, notes to his officers that when the Allied invasion comes they must be stopped on the beach. "For the Allies as well as the Germans, it will be the longest day"
A search for the poetic soul of Wales - a feature documentary which explores poetic responses, historical & contemporary, to the issues of social & cultural survival; and celebrates this enduring 2500 year poetic experience.
Young magician Gywn and his friend Nia have been warned to stay away from Emlyn Llewelyn, the strange boy who claims his mother lives on the moon. And yet, a mysterious magic continues to draw them to him. But why? It's up to Gwyn and Nia to solve the mystery, with the help of Arianwen, the Snow Spider.
The radical new take on Dickens’ classic seeks both to exhume the original story’s gritty commentary on social inequality and the corrupting influence of greed, and to breathe new life into the lyricism of the original text by setting its scenes to extraordinary tableaux of modern dance.
Told through the eyes of Mowzer, a cat, this tale -- based on a Cornish legend -- follows brave Tom Bawcock as he makes his way towards the treacherous sea conditions to bring food back to the village. Luckily, his faithful cat sings a lullaby to the Great Storm-Cat of the sea, who was responsible for unleashing the terrible weather. Soothed by Mowzer, the Great Storm-Cat allows Tom to catch enough fish to feed every mouth in the village.
