Somerville Library's DVDs
by mtroper | created - 29 Jun 2011 | updated - 1 month ago | PublicHere is an up to date listing of all the titles Somerville College Library currently has available for loan to members
This list includes both the JCR DVD Library and DVDs already owned or bought by the Library
- Instant Watch Options
- Genres
- Movies or TV
- IMDb Rating
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1. All About My Mother (1999)
R | 101 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A comedy-drama about a bereaved mother, and overwrought actress, her jealous lover, and a pregnant nun.
Director: Pedro Almodóvar | Stars: Cecilia Roth, Marisa Paredes, Candela Peña, Antonia San Juan
Votes: 102,792 | Gross: $8.26M
2. Alphaville (1965)
Not Rated | 99 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A U.S. secret agent is sent to the distant space city of Alphaville where he must find a missing person and free the city from its tyrannical ruler.
Director: Jean-Luc Godard | Stars: Eddie Constantine, Anna Karina, Akim Tamiroff, Valérie Boisgel
Votes: 27,573 | Gross: $0.05M
Part of Godard boxset entitled 'Godard encore'
The fifth disc is titled 'Godard encore' and contains 'The dinosaur & the baby', 'Jean-Luc as seen by Luc' and 'Godard, love, poetry'
3. Amélie (2001)
R | 122 min | Comedy, Romance
Despite being caught in her imaginative world, Amelie, a young waitress, decides to help people find happiness. Her quest to spread joy leads her on a journey where she finds true love.
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet | Stars: Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, Rufus, Lorella Cravotta
Votes: 793,678 | Gross: $33.23M
4. À Propos de Nice (1930)
Not Rated | 24 min | Documentary, Short, Comedy
What starts off as a conventional travelogue turns into a satirical portrait of the town of Nice on the French Cote d'Azur, especially its wealthy inhabitants.
Directors: Boris Kaufman, Jean Vigo
Votes: 4,622
Part of 'The Complete Jean Vigo' 2-disc special collectors' edition
5. L'Atalante (1934)
Not Rated | 89 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Newly married couple Juliette and a ship captain Jean struggle through marriage as they travel on the L'atalante along with the captain's first mate Le père Jules and a cabin boy.
Director: Jean Vigo | Stars: Dita Parlo, Jean Dasté, Gilles Margaritis, Louis Lefebvre
Votes: 17,456
Part of 'The Complete Jean Vigo' 2-disc special collectors' edition
6. Bad Education (2004)
NC-17 | 106 min | Crime, Drama
An examination on the effect of Franco-era religious schooling and sexual abuse on the lives of two longtime friends.
Director: Pedro Almodóvar | Stars: Gael García Bernal, Fele Martínez, Javier Cámara, Daniel Giménez Cacho
Votes: 63,388 | Gross: $5.21M
7. Breathless (1960)
Not Rated | 90 min | Crime, Drama
A small-time crook, hunted by the authorities for a car theft and the murder a police officer, attempts to persuade a hip American journalism student to run away with him to Italy.
Director: Jean-Luc Godard | Stars: Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean Seberg, Van Doude, Jean-Luc Godard
Votes: 87,850 | Gross: $0.34M
Part of Godard boxset entitled 'Godard encore'
The fifth disc is titled 'Godard encore' and contains 'The dinosaur & the baby', 'Jean-Luc as seen by Luc' and 'Godard, love, poetry'
8. Casque d'Or (1952)
Not Rated | 94 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
Three gangsters and an ex-con carpenter all fall for the same beautiful golden-haired woman in Belle Époque France.
Director: Jacques Becker | Stars: Simone Signoret, Serge Reggiani, Claude Dauphin, Raymond Bussières
Votes: 6,208
9. One Hundred Steps (2000)
114 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
"I cento passi" (one hundred steps) was the distance between the Impastatos' house and the house of Tano Badalamenti, an important Mafia boss, in the small Sicilian town of Cinisi. The ... See full summary »
Director: Marco Tullio Giordana | Stars: Luigi Lo Cascio, Luigi Maria Burruano, Lucia Sardo, Paolo Briguglia
Votes: 6,393
Under Italian title "I Cento Passi"
10. Check the Gate: Putting Beckett on Film (2003 Video)
52 min | Documentary
Follows the "Beckett on Film" project, which produced film adaptations of Samuel Beckett's nineteen plays.
Director: Pearse Lehane | Stars: Stephen Brennan, Michael Colgan, John Crowley, Paola Dionisotti
Votes: 103
Part of 'Beckett on Film' boxset
11. Cyrano de Bergerac (1990)
PG | 137 min | Comedy, Drama, History
Famed swordsman and poet Cyrano de Bergerac is in love with his cousin Roxane. He has never expressed his love for her as he his large nose undermines his self-confidence. Then he finds a way to express his love to her, indirectly.
Director: Jean-Paul Rappeneau | Stars: Gérard Depardieu, Anne Brochet, Vincent Perez, Jacques Weber
Votes: 25,932 | Gross: $15.14M
12. La Dolce Vita (1960)
Not Rated | 174 min | Comedy, Drama
A series of stories following a week in the life of a philandering tabloid journalist living in Rome.
Director: Federico Fellini | Stars: Marcello Mastroianni, Anita Ekberg, Anouk Aimée, Yvonne Furneaux
Votes: 78,119 | Gross: $19.52M
13. Footfalls (2001)
27 min | Short
Director: Walter D. Asmus | Stars: Susan Fitzgerald, Joan O'Hara
Votes: 83
Part of 'Beckett on Film' boxset
14. The 400 Blows (1959)
Not Rated | 99 min | Crime, Drama
A young boy, left without attention, delves into a life of petty crime.
Director: François Truffaut | Stars: Jean-Pierre Léaud, Albert Rémy, Claire Maurier, Guy Decomble
Votes: 127,969
'Les 400 coups' [French title on case]
Part of a Truffaut boxset, also containing 'Stolen Kisses', 'Bed and Board' and 'L'amour en fuite' (which appear as separate entries on this list), and two film shorts: 'Les mistons' and 'Antoine et Colette'
15. Stolen Kisses (1968)
R | 91 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
After being discharged from the army, Antoine Doinel centers a screwball comedy where he applies for different jobs and tries to make sense of his relationships with women.
Director: François Truffaut | Stars: Jean-Pierre Léaud, Claude Jade, Delphine Seyrig, Michael Lonsdale
Votes: 15,083
'Baiser volés' [French title on case]
Part of Truffaut boxset listed under 'The 400 Blows' above
16. Bed & Board (1970)
GP | 97 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Antoine Doinel works dying flowers in the courtyard outside his apartment. He is married to Christine, who is pregnant. He has an affair with a Japanese woman, jeopardising his marriage.
Director: François Truffaut | Stars: Jean-Pierre Léaud, Claude Jade, Hiroko Berghauer, Barbara Laage
Votes: 10,590 | Gross: $0.10M
'Domicile conjugal'
Part of Truffaut boxset listed under 'The 400 Blows' above
17. Love on the Run (1979)
PG | 94 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Antoine Doinel is now more than thirty. He divorces from Christine. He is a proofreader, and is in love with Sabine, a record seller. Colette, his teenager love, is now a lawyer. She buys ... See full summary »
Director: François Truffaut | Stars: Jean-Pierre Léaud, Claude Jade, Marie-France Pisier, Dani
Votes: 7,512
Part of Truffaut boxset listed under 'The 400 Blows' above
18. La haine (1995)
Not Rated | 98 min | Crime, Drama
24 hours in the lives of three young men in the French suburbs the day after a violent riot.
Director: Mathieu Kassovitz | Stars: Vincent Cassel, Hubert Koundé, Saïd Taghmaoui, Abdel Ahmed Ghili
Votes: 196,084 | Gross: $0.31M
We have two copies of this, one of which is kept as a spare in the Library Office
19. Krapp's Last Tape (2000 TV Movie)
58 min | Drama
An old man listens to a tape of himself as a thirty-nine-year-old.
Director: Atom Egoyan | Star: John Hurt
Votes: 425
Part of 'Beckett on Film' boxset (pictured)
20. The Last Laugh (1924)
Not Rated | 90 min | Drama
An aging doorman is forced to face the scorn of his friends, neighbors and society after being fired from his prestigious job at a luxurious hotel.
Director: F.W. Murnau | Stars: Emil Jannings, Maly Delschaft, Max Hiller, Emilie Kurz
Votes: 15,192 | Gross: $0.09M
'Der letzte Mann'
'Masters of Cinema' version, including special features and 36-page booklet with writing by F.W. Murnau (director)
21. M (1931)
Passed | 99 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
When the police in a German city are unable to catch a child-murderer, other criminals join in the manhunt.
Director: Fritz Lang | Stars: Peter Lorre, Ellen Widmann, Inge Landgut, Otto Wernicke
Votes: 168,293 | Gross: $0.03M
22. Mad Men (2007–2015)
TV-MA | 45 min | Drama
A drama about one of New York's most prestigious ad agencies at the beginning of the 1960s, focusing on one of the firm's most mysterious but extremely talented ad executives, Donald Draper.
Stars: Jon Hamm, Elisabeth Moss, Vincent Kartheiser, January Jones
Votes: 260,192
Series One boxset (donated by Dani Rabinowitz)
23. Made in U.S.A (1966)
Not Rated | 90 min | Comedy, Crime, Mystery
In the near future, leftist writer Paula goes from Paris to the French town of Atlantic-Cité when she learns of the death of a former colleague and lover, Richard P. Is she there to ... See full summary »
Director: Jean-Luc Godard | Stars: Anna Karina, László Szabó, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Marianne Faithfull
Votes: 4,634 | Gross: $0.08M
Part of Godard boxset entitled 'Godard encore'
The fifth disc is titled 'Godard encore' and contains 'The dinosaur & the baby', 'Jean-Luc as seen by Luc' and 'Godard, love, poetry'
24. Metropolis (1927)
Not Rated | 153 min | Drama, Sci-Fi
In a futuristic city sharply divided between the working class and the city planners, the son of the city's mastermind falls in love with a working-class prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences.
Director: Fritz Lang | Stars: Brigitte Helm, Alfred Abel, Gustav Fröhlich, Rudolf Klein-Rogge
Votes: 185,320 | Gross: $1.24M
'Masters of Cinema' edition - 2-disc boxset including special features (original German intertitles; original 1927 orchestral score etc.) and 28-page booklet with extensive restoration notes and an essay by film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum
25. Nosferatu (1922)
Not Rated | 94 min | Fantasy, Horror
Vampire Count Orlok expresses interest in a new residence and real estate agent Hutter's wife.
Director: F.W. Murnau | Stars: Max Schreck, Alexander Granach, Gustav von Wangenheim, Greta Schröder
Votes: 105,309
'Masters of Cinema' edition - 2-discs + 80-page booklet containing articles on th film, a newly translated archival piece on vampires and more
26. Not I (2000)
14 min | Short
A young woman sits down in a chair. Only her mouth is visible as she begins to speak at a rapid clip, describing events that she insists did not really happen to her.
Director: Neil Jordan | Star: Julianne Moore
Votes: 338
Part of 'Beckett on Film' boxset (pictured)
27. Ohio Impromptu (2000 TV Short)
11 min | Short
A reader tells a sad story to a listener, who only knocks in response.
Director: Charles Sturridge | Star: Jeremy Irons
Votes: 189
Part of 'Beckett on Film' boxset (pictured)
28. Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
R | 118 min | Drama, Fantasy, War
In the Falangist Spain of 1944, the bookish young stepdaughter of a sadistic army officer escapes into an eerie but captivating fantasy world.
Director: Guillermo del Toro | Stars: Ivana Baquero, Ariadna Gil, Sergi López, Maribel Verdú
Votes: 702,460 | Gross: $37.63M
29. Passion (1982)
R | 88 min | Comedy, Drama
A film director has an inspirational crisis while working on the production, Passion, and struggles with the nature of work and art.
Director: Jean-Luc Godard | Stars: Isabelle Huppert, Hanna Schygulla, Michel Piccoli, Jerzy Radziwilowicz
Votes: 2,842
Part of Godard boxset entitled 'Godard encore'
The fifth disc is titled 'Godard encore' and contains 'The dinosaur & the baby', 'Jean-Luc as seen by Luc' and 'Godard, love, poetry'
30. Rough for Theatre I (2000)
17 min | Short
An old blind beggar and an old cripple in a wheelchair meet on a desolate street corner. The latter proposes that the two form an alliance, but the men are not destined to get along together.
Director: Kieron J. Walsh | Stars: Milo O'Shea, David Kelly
Votes: 106
Part of 'Beckett on Film' boxset (pictured)
31. Run Lola Run (1998)
R | 80 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
After a botched money delivery, Lola has 20 minutes to come up with 100,000 Deutschmarks.
Director: Tom Tykwer | Stars: Franka Potente, Moritz Bleibtreu, Herbert Knaup, Nina Petri
Votes: 206,830 | Gross: $7.27M
32. The Seventh Seal (1957)
Not Rated | 96 min | Drama, Fantasy
A knight returning to Sweden after the Crusades seeks answers about life, death, and the existence of God as he plays chess against the Grim Reaper during the Black Plague.
Director: Ingmar Bergman | Stars: Max von Sydow, Gunnar Björnstrand, Bengt Ekerot, Nils Poppe
Votes: 198,260
33. South Riding (1974)
50 min | Drama
Headmistress Sarah Burton, a left-wing feminist, is disgusted by the social injustices faced by her pupils. In spite of her beliefs, she reluctantly finds herself falling in love with a Tory landowner whose wife is suffering from insanity.
Stars: Dorothy Tutin, Hermione Baddeley, Nigel Davenport, Judi Bowker
Votes: 60
Based on the Winifred Holtby (Old Somervillian) novel
34. South Riding (2011)
Drama
In 1930s Yorkshire, a spirited new headmistress brings inspiration and modern ideas to an all girls' school and shakes up the more conservative-minded residents of South Riding.
Stars: Anna Maxwell Martin, David Morrissey, Penelope Wilton, Katherine McGolpin
Votes: 1,514
Based on the Winifred Holtby (Old Somervillian) novel
35. The Student of Prague (1913)
Approved | 85 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Balduin, a student of Prague, leaves his roystering companions in the beer garden, when he finds he has reached the end of his resources. He is scarcely seated in a quiet corner when a ... See full summary »
Directors: Hanns Heinz Ewers, Stellan Rye | Stars: Paul Wegener, Grete Berger, Lyda Salmonova, John Gottowt
Votes: 2,392
36. Taris (1931)
Not Rated | 10 min | Documentary, Short, Sport
Jean Vigo films the talents of great swimming champion Jean Taris performing different acts. Vigo film technique allied with Taris swimming style are intertwined with grace and effect.
Director: Jean Vigo | Star: Jean Taris
Votes: 2,507
Part of 'The Complete Jean Vigo' 2-disc special collectors' edition
37. Three Colors: Blue (1993)
R | 94 min | Drama, Music, Mystery
A woman struggles to find a way to live her life after the death of her husband and child.
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski | Stars: Juliette Binoche, Zbigniew Zamachowski, Julie Delpy, Benoît Régent
Votes: 110,401 | Gross: $1.32M
38. Three Colors: White (1994)
R | 92 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
After his wife divorces him, a Polish immigrant plots to get even with her.
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski | Stars: Zbigniew Zamachowski, Julie Delpy, Janusz Gajos, Jerzy Stuhr
Votes: 79,522 | Gross: $1.46M
39. Three Colors: Red (1994)
R | 99 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
A model discovers a retired judge is keen on invading people's privacy.
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski | Stars: Irène Jacob, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Frédérique Feder, Jean-Pierre Lorit
Votes: 109,923 | Gross: $4.04M
40. Going Places (1974)
R | 117 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Two thugs harass assault, steal, murder, Marie-Ange, a jaded, passive hairdresser, joins them as lover, cook, and mother confessor, on her own search for seemingly unattainable sexual pleasure.
Director: Bertrand Blier | Stars: Gérard Depardieu, Miou-Miou, Patrick Dewaere, Christian Alers
Votes: 9,937 | Gross: $0.77M
41. Volver (I) (2006)
R | 121 min | Comedy, Drama
After her death, a mother returns to her home town in order to fix the situations she couldn't resolve during her life.
Director: Pedro Almodóvar | Stars: Penélope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Lola Dueñas, Blanca Portillo
Votes: 107,412 | Gross: $12.90M
42. Waiting for Godot (2001 TV Movie)
120 min | Drama
Two tramps wait for a man named Godot, but instead meet a pompous man and his stooped-over slave.
Director: Michael Lindsay-Hogg | Stars: Barry McGovern, Johnny Murphy, Alan Stanford, Stephen Brennan
Votes: 1,619
Part of 'Beckett on Film' boxset (pictured)
Box also includes 'Beckett on film: souvenir book from the Beckett on film project'
43. War and Peace (1965)
GP | 393 min | Drama, Romance, War
The Russian aristocracy prepares for the French invasion on the eve of 1812.
Director: Sergey Bondarchuk | Stars: Lyudmila Saveleva, Vyacheslav Tikhonov, Sergey Bondarchuk, Boris Zakhava
Votes: 8,330 | Gross: $0.13M
Special 5-disc boxset
44. The West Wing (1999–2006)
TV-14 | 42 min | Drama
Inside the lives of staffers in the West Wing of the White House.
Stars: Martin Sheen, Rob Lowe, Allison Janney, John Spencer
Votes: 85,422
Seasons 1-7 stored in glass fronted cabinet (seasons 2-3 missing)
45. What Where (2000)
13 min | Short, Drama, Sci-Fi
There are five survivors in a futuristic library. Bam is their supreme dictator, and has the others interrogated and tortured, believing them to have said where. What Bam means is unclear, but he distrusts all.
Director: Damien O'Donnell | Stars: Sean McGinley, Gary Lewis
Votes: 153
Part of 'Beckett on Film' boxset (pictured)
46. And Your Mother Too (2001)
R | 106 min | Drama
In Mexico, two teenage boys and an older woman embark on a road trip and learn a thing or two about life and each other.
Director: Alfonso Cuarón | Stars: Maribel Verdú, Gael García Bernal, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Ana López Mercado
Votes: 128,811 | Gross: $13.62M
47. Zero for Conduct (1933)
Not Rated | 47 min | Drama
In a repressive boarding school with rigid rules of behavior, four boys decide to rebel against the direction on a celebration day.
Director: Jean Vigo | Stars: Jean Dasté, Robert le Flon, Louis Lefebvre, Du Verron
Votes: 9,351
Part of 'The Complete Jean Vigo' 2-disc special collectors' edition
48. Come and Go (2000 TV Short)
8 min | Short
Director: John Crowley | Stars: Paola Dionisotti, Anna Massey, Siân Phillips
Votes: 117
Part of 'Beckett on Film' boxset
49. Act Without Words I (2000 TV Short)
16 min | Short, Comedy
A hot, thirsty man in the desert is tormented when the things he needs drop from the sky only to disappear again or hover out of his reach.
Director: Karel Reisz | Star: Sean Foley
Votes: 143
Part of 'Beckett on Film' boxset (pictured)
50. Happy Days (2000 TV Movie)
78 min | Drama
A middle-aged woman, half-buried in the earth, chatters away to a taciturn man, who lives in a hole behind her. Later, she is buried up to her neck, and the man does not seem to be about.
Director: Patricia Rozema | Stars: Rosaleen Linehan, Richard Johnson
Votes: 136
Part of 'Beckett on Film' boxset (pictured)
51. Catastrophe (2004)
6 min | Short
A stage director and his female assistant find the blackest protagonist possible, then make him up as white as possible, to create the titular character.
Director: David Mamet | Stars: Harold Pinter, Rebecca Pidgeon, John Gielgud
Votes: 239
Part of 'Beckett on Film' boxset (pictured)
52. Rough for Theatre II (2000)
29 min | Short
Two bureaucrats discuss the potential suicide of a man standing perfectly still in front of a door that opens into the night sky and a fatal drop.
Director: Katie Mitchell | Stars: Timothy Spall, Jim Norton, Hugh B. O'Brien
Votes: 83
Part of 'Beckett on Film' boxset (pictured)
53. Breath (2001)
2 min | Short
The camera swoops down on a circular area, seemingly suspended in space. It is filled with medical waste and other trash. A labored exhalation is heard. Then it stops. Then it starts again, culminating in a windy, dying sigh.
Director: Damien Hirst | Star: Keith Allen
Votes: 144
Part of 'Beckett on Film' boxset
54. That Time (2000)
20 min | Drama, Short
The disembodied head of an old man with long white hair listens to three of his own voices: that of maturity, youth and old age.
Director: Charles Garrad | Star: Niall Buggy
Votes: 61
Part of 'Beckett on Film' boxset
55. Endgame (2000 TV Movie)
84 min | Comedy, Drama
Hamm is blind and unable to stand; Clov, his servant, is unable to sit; Nagg and Nell are his father and mother, who are legless and live in dustbins. Together they live in a room with two windows, but there may be nothing at all outside.
Director: Conor McPherson | Stars: Michael Gambon, David Thewlis, Jean Anderson, Charles Simon
Votes: 349
Part of 'Beckett on Film' boxset (pictured)
56. Act Without Words II (2001 TV Short)
11 min | Short
On a strip of film exist a pile of clothes and two men in bags. The two men conduct their lives in isolation of each other: when one is awake, the other is asleep in his bag.
Director: Enda Hughes | Stars: Pat Kinevane, Marcello Magni
Votes: 106
Part of 'Beckett on Film' boxset (pictured)
57. A Piece of Monologue (2001 TV Short)
20 min | Short
As the rain patters outside, an old man talks to himself about birth, death, funerals, lamps, missing pictures and "loved ones" - a term he perpetually avoids using.
Director: Robin Lefevre | Star: Stephen Brennan
Votes: 78
Part of 'Beckett on Film' boxset (pictured)
58. Play (2001)
16 min | Drama, Short, Fantasy
The land is filled with people in urns chattering at top speed, but only to themselves, not to one another. The focus goes to three people: a man, his mistress and his wife.
Director: Anthony Minghella | Stars: Alan Rickman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Juliet Stevenson, Ray Donn
Votes: 697
Part of 'Beckett on Film' boxset (pictured)
59. Rockaby (2000 TV Short)
14 min | Short
An old woman in a rocking chair listens to a disembodied voice (her own) that recounts her life and that of her mother's. When the voice stops, she calls for more.
Director: Richard Eyre | Star: Penelope Wilton
Votes: 88
Part of 'Beckett on Film' boxset (pictured)
60. Chuck (2007–2012)
TV-14 | 43 min | Action, Comedy, Drama
When a computer geek inadvertently downloads critical government secrets into his brain, both the CIA and the NSA assign an agent to protect him and exploit his newfound skills.
Stars: Zachary Levi, Yvonne Strahovski, Joshua Gomez, Vik Sahay
Votes: 146,709
Seasons 1 and 2 (donated by Dani Rabinowitz)
61. The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962)
Not Rated | 104 min | Drama, Sport
A young thief takes up long-distance running when he is sent to a borstal.
Director: Tony Richardson | Stars: Michael Redgrave, Tom Courtenay, Avis Bunnage, Alec McCowen
Votes: 9,369
From History Special Subject reading list
62. Alfie (1966)
Unrated | 114 min | Comedy, Drama
An unrepentant ladies' man gradually begins to understand the consequences of his lifestyle.
Director: Lewis Gilbert | Stars: Michael Caine, Shelley Winters, Millicent Martin, Julia Foster
Votes: 15,813 | Gross: $18.87M
From History Special Subject reading list
63. Zulu (1964)
Not Rated | 138 min | Drama, History, War
Outnumbered British soldiers do battle with Zulu warriors at Rorke's Drift.
Director: Cy Endfield | Stars: Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth
Votes: 42,708
From History Special Subject reading list
64. Carry on Camping (1969)
88 min | Comedy
Farcical misadventures by guests in an English holiday centre.
Director: Gerald Thomas | Stars: Sidney James, Kenneth Williams, Charles Hawtrey, Joan Sims
Votes: 5,833 | Gross: $0.22M
From History Special Subject reading list
65. Sapphire (1959)
Not Rated | 92 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The murder of a young woman in London exposes deep racial tensions and prejudices inherent in the area.
Director: Basil Dearden | Stars: Nigel Patrick, Yvonne Mitchell, Michael Craig, Paul Massie
Votes: 2,304
From History Special Subject reading list
66. The Edge of the World (1937)
Passed | 74 min | Drama, History, Romance
A way of life is dying on an Outer Hebridean island fishing port, but some of the inhabitants resist evacuating to the mainland.
Director: Michael Powell | Stars: Niall MacGinnis, Belle Chrystall, John Laurie, Eric Berry
Votes: 1,988
From History Special Subject reading list
67. Victim (1961)
Not Rated | 100 min | Drama
A closeted lawyer risks his career to bring a blackmailer to justice.
Director: Basil Dearden | Stars: Dirk Bogarde, Sylvia Syms, Dennis Price, Anthony Nicholls
Votes: 7,177
From History Special Subject reading list
68. Billy Elliot (2000)
R | 110 min | Drama, Music
A talented young boy becomes torn between his unexpected love of dance and the disintegration of his family.
Director: Stephen Daldry | Stars: Jamie Bell, Julie Walters, Jean Heywood, Jamie Draven
Votes: 142,509 | Gross: $22.00M
From History Special Subject reading list
69. A Canterbury Tale (1944)
Not Rated | 124 min | Comedy, Drama, Mystery
Three modern-day pilgrims investigate a bizarre crime in a small town while on their way to Canterbury.
Directors: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger | Stars: Eric Portman, Sheila Sim, Dennis Price, John Sweet
Votes: 6,477
From History Special Subject reading list
70. Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
Not Rated | 106 min | Comedy, Crime
A distant poor relative of the Duke D'Ascoyne plots to inherit the title by murdering the eight other heirs who stand ahead of him in the line of succession.
Director: Robert Hamer | Stars: Dennis Price, Alec Guinness, Valerie Hobson, Joan Greenwood
Votes: 39,684
Part of The Best of Ealing Studios Collection
71. Passport to Pimlico (1949)
Approved | 84 min | Comedy
Residents of a part of London declare independence after they discover an old treaty, which leads to the need for a "Passport to Pimlico".
Director: Henry Cornelius | Stars: Stanley Holloway, Betty Warren, Barbara Murray, Paul Dupuis
Votes: 5,283
Part of The Best of Ealing Studios Collection
From History Special Subject reading list
72. The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)
Approved | 78 min | Comedy, Crime
A meek bank clerk who oversees the shipment of bullion joins with an eccentric neighbor to steal gold bars and smuggle them out of the country as miniature Eiffel Towers.
Director: Charles Crichton | Stars: Alec Guinness, Stanley Holloway, Sidney James, Alfie Bass
Votes: 15,531
Part of The Best of Ealing Studios Collection
From History Special Subject reading list
73. The Man in the White Suit (1951)
Approved | 85 min | Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi
An altruistic chemist invents a fabric which resists wear and stain as a boon to humanity, but big business and labor realize it must be suppressed for economic reasons.
Director: Alexander Mackendrick | Stars: Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood, Cecil Parker, Michael Gough
Votes: 10,793 | Gross: $0.01M
Part of The Best of Ealing Studios Collection
74. The Ladykillers (1955)
Not Rated | 91 min | Comedy, Crime
Five oddball criminals planning a bank robbery rent rooms on a cul-de-sac from an octogenarian widow under the pretext that they are classical musicians.
Director: Alexander Mackendrick | Stars: Alec Guinness, Peter Sellers, Cecil Parker, Herbert Lom
Votes: 31,363
Part of The Best of Ealing Studios Collection
75. Industrial Britain (1931)
21 min | Documentary, Short
A quick look at the different industries of Britain circa 1931.
Director: Robert J. Flaherty | Star: Donald Calthrop
Votes: 168
On Disc One of 'Land of Promise: The British Documentary Movement 1930-1950' (From History Special Subject reading list)
76. Shipyard (1935)
24 min | Documentary, Short
The building and launch of an ocean liner.
Director: Paul Rotha
Votes: 95
On Disc One of 'Land of Promise: The British Documentary Movement 1930-1950' (From History Special Subject reading list)
77. Workers and Jobs (1935)
15 min | Documentary, Short
A short about the unemployed looking for work and what types of jobs are available in 1930's Britain.
Director: Arthur Elton
Votes: 18
On Disc One of 'Land of Promise: The British Documentary Movement 1930-1950' (From History Special Subject reading list)
78. Housing Problems (1935)
16 min | Short, Documentary
Slum conditions, slum clearance, bright new public housing.
Directors: Edgar Anstey, Arthur Elton | Stars: Mr. Norwood, Mrs. Hill, Mrs. Graves, Mr. Berner
Votes: 341
On Disc One of 'Land of Promise: The British Documentary Movement 1930-1950' (From History Special Subject reading list)
79. Children at School (1937)
23 min | Documentary, Short
A documentary looking at the education system in 1930's Britain.
Director: Basil Wright | Star: H. Wilson Harris
Votes: 15
On Disc One of 'Land of Promise: The British Documentary Movement 1930-1950' (From History Special Subject reading list)
80. Farewell Topsails (1937)
9 min | Documentary, Short
Nostalgic documentary short about the dying days of the age of sail as shown by the ships transporting china clay made notable for its director Humphrey Jennings and for being filmed in color.
Director: Humphrey Jennings
Votes: 85
On Disc One of 'Land of Promise: The British Documentary Movement 1930-1950' (From History Special Subject reading list)
81. To-Day We Live: A Film of Life in Britain (1937)
23 min | Documentary, Short
Taking a look at British rural working-class life in the 1930's.
Directors: Ralph Bond, Ruby Grierson | Star: Howard Marshall
Votes: 11
On Disc One of 'Land of Promise: The British Documentary Movement 1930-1950' (From History Special Subject reading list)
82. Eastern Valley (1937)
16 min | Short
The harsh conditions of unemployed miners are alleviated by a co-operative scheme in 1930's Wales.
Directors: Donald Alexander, Paul Rotha
Votes: 15
On Disc One of 'Land of Promise: The British Documentary Movement 1930-1950' (From History Special Subject reading list)
83. People of Britain (1936)
3 min | Short
Possibly the most controversial three-minute film in British cinema history, this political advert urged the people of Britain to lobby their MPs to prevent the coming war.
Director: Paul Rotha
Votes: 14
On Disc One of 'Land of Promise: The British Documentary Movement 1930-1950' (From History Special Subject reading list)
84. If War Should Come (1939)
10 min | Documentary, Short
A short British film advising people what they should do in case of war starting made just a few years before the start of WWII.
Star: Jack Livesey
Votes: 25
On Disc One of 'Land of Promise: The British Documentary Movement 1930-1950' (From History Special Subject reading list)
85. Britain at Bay (1940)
7 min | Documentary, Short
Britons rally together to defend the island against the Nazis who were occupying neighbouring countries.
Director: Harry Watt | Star: J.B. Priestley
Votes: 56
On Disc Two of 'Land of Promise: The British Documentary Movement 1930-1950' (From History Special Subject reading list)
86. Transfer of Skill (1940)
10 min | Short, Documentary
The application of peace-time skills to war production.
Director: Geoffrey Bell
Votes: 18
On Disc Two of 'Land of Promise: The British Documentary Movement 1930-1950' (From History Special Subject reading list)
87. They Also Serve (1940)
10 min | Documentary, Short
A drama/documentary in which a matronly housewife performs various low-key good deeds to help keep her family and neighbours (and hence by extension her country) running during the war.
Director: Ruby Grierson | Star: Hal Gordon
Votes: 49
On Disc Two of 'Land of Promise: The British Documentary Movement 1930-1950' (From History Special Subject reading list)
88. Tomorrow Is Theirs (1940)
10 min | Documentary, Short
A look at what life was like during WWII as a secondary school pupil in Britain.
Director: James Carr | Star: Joseph Macleod
Votes: 12
On Disc Two of 'Land of Promise: The British Documentary Movement 1930-1950' (From History Special Subject reading list)
89. Words for Battle (1941)
8 min | Documentary, Short, War
Poetry by Rudyard Kipling, John Milton, and William Blake, and excerpts from speeches by Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill, all read by Laurence Olivier, illuminate documentary footage ... See full summary »
Director: Humphrey Jennings | Stars: Laurence Olivier, Winston Churchill, Joseph Goebbels, Adolf Hitler
Votes: 265
On Disc Two of 'Land of Promise: The British Documentary Movement 1930-1950' (From History Special Subject reading list)
90. Ordinary People (1942)
28 min | Documentary, Short
Documentary about an average day during the Blitz.
Directors: J.B. Holmes, Jack Lee | Star: Robert Gordon Menzies
Votes: 53
On Disc Two of 'Land of Promise: The British Documentary Movement 1930-1950' (From History Special Subject reading list)
91. Five and Under (1941)
18 min | Documentary, Short
Childcare for working women during the Second World War.
Director: Donald Alexander | Star: Beatrix Lehmann
Votes: 22
On Disc Two of 'Land of Promise: The British Documentary Movement 1930-1950' (From History Special Subject reading list)
92. Night Shift (I) (1942)
14 min | Documentary, Short
Documentary short film depicting the work in a British armaments plant in which the night shift consists of women workers.
Director: Garson Kanin | Stars: Danny Kaye, Kate Smith
Votes: 46
On Disc Two of 'Land of Promise: The British Documentary Movement 1930-1950' (From History Special Subject reading list)
93. The Countrywomen (1941)
14 min | Short
World War II propaganda film that shows the war-time agricultural work of women from the Women's Institute.
Director: John Page
Votes: 15
On Disc Two of 'Land of Promise: The British Documentary Movement 1930-1950' (From History Special Subject reading list)
94. Summer on the Farm (1943)
12 min | Short
A look at the rural farming community during WWII and how farmers help stop food shortages during the war.
Director: Ralph Keene
Votes: 15
On Disc Two of 'Land of Promise: The British Documentary Movement 1930-1950' (From History Special Subject reading list)
95. Listen to Britain (1942)
Not Rated | 20 min | Documentary, Short
A depiction of life in wartime England during the Second World War. Director Humphrey Jennings visits many aspects of civilian life and of the turmoil and privation caused by the war, all without narration.
Directors: Humphrey Jennings, Stewart McAllister | Stars: Leonard Brockington, Joseph Macleod, Bud Flanagan, Chesney Allen
Votes: 1,852
On Disc Two of 'Land of Promise: The British Documentary Movement 1930-1950' (From History Special Subject reading list)
96. Builders (1942)
8 min | Documentary, Short
A short film about how builders help contribute to the war effort.
Director: Pat Jackson
Votes: 15
On Disc Two of 'Land of Promise: The British Documentary Movement 1930-1950' (From History Special Subject reading list)
97. Words and Actions (1943)
15 min | Short
Information on the different groups and organizations that are there to help the population during wartime.
Director: Max Anderson
Votes: 11
On Disc Two of 'Land of Promise: The British Documentary Movement 1930-1950' (From History Special Subject reading list)
98. A Diary for Timothy (1945)
40 min | Documentary, Short
This brief documentary-style film presents the status of Great Britain near the end of the Second World War by means of a visual diary for a baby boy born in September, 1944. Narration ... See full summary »
Director: Humphrey Jennings | Stars: Michael Redgrave, Myra Hess, John Gielgud, Frederick Allen
Votes: 751
On Disc Two of 'Land of Promise: The British Documentary Movement 1930-1950' (From History Special Subject reading list)
99. Land of Promise (1946)
67 min | Documentary
Described as a 'film argument' about homes and houses, this film is in three parts showing houses as they were, houses as they are and houses as they might be.
Director: Paul Rotha | Stars: Frederick Allen, Elizabeth Cowell, Henry Hallatt, Herbert Lomas
Votes: 20
On Disc Three of 'Land of Promise: The British Documentary Movement 1930-1950' (From History Special Subject reading list)
Plus 'The Balance', by the same director (Paul Rotha), from 1947, but which doesn't have a separate entry on IMDb
100. What a Life (1948)
12 min | Short, Comedy
Two businessmen make a pact to end it all. After several failed attempts, something happens which changes their mind.
Director: Michael Law | Stars: Richard Massingham, Russell Waters, Arthur Brander, Madge Brindley
Votes: 23
On Disc Three of 'Land of Promise: The British Documentary Movement 1930-1950' (From History Special Subject reading list)
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