Lloyd George: The People's Champion (2006)

UKTelevision DocumentaryDirector: Jeff MorganCinematographers: Mike Harrison, Colin SkinnerPresenter: Huw EdwardsHuw Edwards argues that history has done the eponymous politician no favours, positing the theory that he was in fact a great social reformer who just made a few mistakes along the way, in this well-made and interesting if slightly dry documentary. Iain.St...

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Gods of Brazil: Pelé & Garrincha (2002)

Best AvoidedFrance/Denmark/UKTelevision DocumentaryOriginal Title: Pelé, Garrincha, Dieux du BrésilWriter/Director: Jean-Christophe RoséNarrator: Garth CrooksAn uninspired and rather cheep feeling documentary, consisting entirely of archive footage (admittedly often excellent, but why no interviews?), with a rather poor and perfunctory voiceover that adds no real contextualisation or serious analysis - hugely disappointing. Iain.St...

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The Pianist (2002)

Cautiously RecommendedFrance/Germany/Poland/UKFeature FilmDirector: Roman PolanskiWriters: Ronald Harwood, Wladyslaw SzpilmanCinematographer: Pawel EdelmanComposer: Wojciech KilarCast: Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Frank Finlay, Maureen Lipman, Emilia Fox, Ed Stoppard, Ed Stoppard, Julia Rayner, Jessica Kate MeyerDespite some stunning scenes towards the end between Brody and Kretschmann, this incredible story of the eponymous musician Szpilman,...

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Pickup on South Street (1953)

Highly RecommendedUSAFeature FilmDirector: Samuel FullerWriters: Samuel Fuller, Dwight TaylorCinematographer: Joe MacDonaldComposer: Leigh HarlineCast: Richard Widmark, Jean Peters, Thelma Ritter, Murvyn Vye, Richard Kiley, Willis B. Bouchey, Milburn StoneThe fabulous Ritter’s is the pick of a number of excellent performances in Fuller’s muscular, grimy, and sweatily sexy film, following the often confounding actions of Widmark’s amoral pickpocket...

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Mole (2009)

UKRadio PlayWriter: Richard MonksDirector: Marc BeebyCast: Lesley Sharp, Neil Dudgeon, Robert Lonsdale, Paul Rider, Manjeet Mann, Gunnar CautheryA touchingly amusing tale of loss, grief, guilt, obsession, and mole hills, depicting the different ways that a husband and wife deal with a crushing family tragedy. Iain.St...

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FCB: The Inside Story (2004)

Cautiously RecommendedUK/Denmark/Germany/SpainTelevision DocumentaryPromotional Title: Barca - The Inside StoryDirectors: Daniel Hernandez, Justin WebsterCinematographer: Jorge MotaNarrator: Justin WebsterA fly-on-the-wall, warts 'n' all (minus the warts, and not a great deal of the all) documentary following, for a season, the newly elected board-of-directors at Barcelona Football Club, which, despite skirting around potentially difficult issues and only ever showing these slick young men as thoroughly nice guys, is often surprisingly (if perhaps...

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Communism and Football (2006)

Cautiously RecommendedUKShort Television DocumentaryDirector: Séan HughesCinematographers: Stephen Bye, Louis CaulfieldNarrator: Veronika HyksA rather one-sided but nevertheless entertainingly informative portrait of the oft exploitative and nefarious influence over football held by the various Communist regimes of the former Eastern Bloc. Iain.St...

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Solitary Endeavour on the Southern Ocean (2008)

RecommendedUK/Australia/USAShort Television DocumentaryDirectors: David Michôd, Jennifer PeedomComposer: Lisa GerrardA hard-to-watch account of adventurer/head-the-ball Andrew McAuley, who set out to become the first person to single-handedly kayak across the Tasman sea, tragically failing, leaving us to ask just why he attempted it in the first place? Iain.St...

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Pollock (2000)

RecommendedUSAFeature FilmDirector: Ed HarrisWriters: Susan J. Emshwiller, Barbara Turner, Steven Naifeh, Gregory White SmithCinematographer: Lisa RinzlerComposer: Jeff BealCast: Ed Harris, Marcia Gay Harden, Jennifer Connelly, Amy Madigan, Robert Knott, Jeffrey TamborHarris’s painfully stunning performance as the titular artist, Jackson Pollock, in this intelligent and nuanced portrait of said artist’s troubled relationship with his wife and fellow painter, Lee Krasner, beautifully adds a human face to the familiar paintings, and helps to create...

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Standing in the Shadows of Motown (2002)

RecommendedUSAFeature DocumentaryDirector: Paul JustmanWriters: Walter Dallas, Ntozake Shange, Alan SlutskyCinematographers: Douglas Milsome, Lon StrattonComposer: Alan SlutskyNarrator: Andre BraugherA gorgeous, delectable, and wondrous documentary, mixing delightful reunion/tribute concert footage with a wealth of touching, perceptive, and funny interview subjects, putting a human face on the history of Tamla Motown’s criminally underappreciated house band, The Funk Brothers. Iain.St...

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Hallam Foe (2007)

Not RecommendedUKFeature FilmDirector: David MackenzieWriters: David Mackenzie, Ed Whitmore, Peter JinksCinematographer: Giles NuttgensCast: Jamie Bell, Sophia Myles, Claire Forlani, Ciarán Hinds, Jamie Sives, Maurice Roëves, Ewen BremnerDespite some brave, spirited performances, Mackenzie’s fairly disappointing film never really convinces, mainly due to some rather implausible plotting and some strangely misplaced soundtrack choices; but it just about manages to hold the attention, never the less. Iain.St...

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Motor City’s Burning: Detroit from Motown to the Stooges (2008)

RecommendedUKShort Television DocumentaryDirector/Narrator: Ben WhalleyCinematographer: Tim SuttonAn entertaining look at the Detroit music scene, taking in such diverse acts as the Supremes, The Stooges, George Clinton, MC5, Alice Cooper, and Eminem, and exploring the socio-economic conditions that helped to mould them. Iain.St...

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The Lady in the Van (2009)

UKRadio PlaySeries Title: The Saturday PlayWriters: Gordon House, Alan BennettDirector: Gordon HouseComposer: Simon MorecroftCast: Maggie Smith, Adrian Scarborough, Alan Bennett, Marcia Warren, Matt Addis, Janice Acquah, Stephen Critchlow, Caroline Guthrie, Philip Fox, Jonathan Tafler, Malcolm TierneyA whimsically playful and very funny portrait of Bennett’s real-life relationship with an eccentric, homeless old woman who lived in a van in his front...

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The Motown Invasion (2009)

RecommendedUKShort Television DocumentaryDirector: James MaycockNarrator: Sean CarlsenA loving and reverent documentary, chronicling Tamla Motown’s mildly disappointing 1965 UK tour, with a cracking array of interview subjects and, of course, a wonderful soundtrack. Iain.St...

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The Last Smoker (2009)

UKRadio PlaySeries Title: The Afternnon PlayWriters: Julia Dover, Yasutaka TsutsuiDirector: Matt ThompsonTranslator: Andrew DriverCast: John Byrne, Eileen McCallum, Madeleine Worrall, Stewart Conn, Madeleine BrollyDover’s Scots adaptation of Tsutsui’s short story, an agreeably histrionic satire set in a Japan of the near future in which smokers are treated like pariahs, is a mordantly funny work that asks important questions about the relationship...

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Comrades (1986)

Essential ViewingUKFeature FilmWriter/Director: Bill DouglasCinematographer: Gale TattersallComposers: Hans Werner Henze, David GrahamCast: Robin Soans, William Gaminara, Jeremy Flynn, Keith Allen, Stephen Bateman, Philip Davis, James Fox, Michael Hordern, Freddie Jones, Alex Norton, Vanessa Redgrave, Imelda Staunton, Robert Stephens, Simon ParsonageDouglas’s remarkable film – a lovingly unhistrionic portrait of the Tolpuddle Martyrs (a group of...

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True North (2006)

Cautiously RecommendedUK/Ireland/GermanyFeature FilmWriter/Director: Steve HudsonCinematographer: Peter RobertsonComposer: Edmund ButtCast: Peter Mullan, Martin Compston, Gary Lewis, Steven Robertson, Angel LiHudson’s feature debut never really convinces in terms of realism - there is far too much that seems illogical, and the score, at times, is horribly intrusive - but as allegory, it is far more effective, painting a damning picture of the uncaring, exploitative, and all-consuming West. Iain.St...

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Brick Lane (2007)

RecommendedUKFeature FilmDirector: Sarah GavronWriters: Laura Jones, Abi Morgan, Monica AliCinematographer: Robbie RyanComposer: Jocelyn PookCast: Tannishtha Chatterjee, Satish Kaushik, Christopher Simpson, Naeema Begum, Lana Rahman, Lalita AhmedA tender adaptation of Ali’s popular novel, taking a look at the lives of a number of Bangladeshi immigrants in London at the time of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Gavron’s visually stunning and beautifully...

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Tsotsi (2005)

RecommendedSouth Africa/UKFeature FilmDirector: Gavin HoodWriters: Gavin Hood, Athol FugardCinematographer: Lance GewerComposers: Paul Hepker, Mark KilianCast: Presley Chweneyagae, Terry Pheto, Kenneth Nkosi, Mothusi Magano, Zenzo Ngqobe, Zola, Rapulana Seiphemo, Nambitha MpumlwanaAlthough the brilliant Chweneyagae’s street thug discovers his sentimental side after finding a baby in the back of a car that he has stolen, film-maker Hood never succumbs to his own schmaltzy side, and as a result this harrowingly authentic feeling film is never less...

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Trouble in Amish Paradise (2009)

RecommendedUKShort Television DocumentaryCinematographer/Director: Andrew TaitComposer: Adrian WilliamsNarrator: Ludo GrahamA rare look at Amish culture, albeit in the guise of two excommunicated families, but a fascinating and enlightening one never the less, and, in its depiction of basic human goodness in the face of overwhelming odds, is surprisingly heart-warming and ultimately even rather moving. Iain.St...

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......One of Our Aircraft Is Missing (1942)

RecommendedUKFeature FilmWriter/Directors: Michael Powell, Emeric PressburgerCinematographer: Ronald NeameCast: Godfrey Tearle, Eric Portman, Hugh Williams, Bernard Miles, Hugh Burden, Emrys Jones, Pamela Brown, Joyce Redman, Googie Withers, Hay Petrie, Peter Ustinov......One of Our Aircraft Is Missing provides a leisurely paced and unromantic depiction of an RAF bomber crew, shot down over Nazi-occupied Holland, as they make their way back towards...

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The History Man (1981)

Highly RecommendedUKTelevision Mini-SeriesDirector: Robert KnightsWriters: Christopher Hampton, Malcolm BradburyCinematographer: John KenwayComposer: George FentonCast: Antony Sher, Geraldine James, Isla Blair, Paul Brooke, Peter-Hugo Daly, Laura Davenport, Michael Hordern, Miriam Margolyes, Veronica QuilliganA continuously surprising and unpredictable journey through early ‘70s university campus politics, revolving around the fabulous Sher’s duplicitous, self-serving, perma-gum-chewing, moustachioed, womanising, Marxist sociology lecturer, Howard...

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Iran and the West (2009)

RecommendedUK/USA/France/Belgium/Japan/The Netherlands/Sweden/Norway/Canada/Australia/Finland/Poland/IranTelevision Documentary Mini-SeriesDirectors: Dai Richards, Delphine Jaudeau, Paul MitchellCinematographers: Emyr Jenkins, Farzin Khosroshahi, David Niblock, Richard Numeroff, Sheila Smith, Vladamir TrivicComposer: Samuel SimNarrator: Tony GardnerA fascinating, even-handed look at the continuously tortuous relationship between Iran and the West since the Islamic revolution of 1979, boasting a fabulous array of interview subjects from both sides...

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Venus (2006)

RecommendedUKFeature FilmDirector: Roger MichellWriter: Hanif KureishiCinematographer: Haris ZambarloukosCast: Peter O'Toole, Jodie Whittaker, Leslie Phillips, Vanessa Redgrave, Richard GriffithsDespite the odd trite moment towards the end, this stunningly well acted and beautifully photographed work, a tenderly written sort-of romance between the brilliant O'Toole’s on-his-last-legs actor and the eye-opening Whittaker’s alluring ingénue, is a foul-mouthedly funny and very moving film. Iain.St...

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Creep (2004)

Not RecommendedUK/GermanyFeature FilmWriter/Director: Christopher SmithCinematographers: Danny Cohen, Richard CraskeComposers: The InsectsCast: Franka Potente, Vas Blackwood, Ken Campbell, Jeremy Sheffield, Paul Rattray, Kelly Scott, Sean HarrisFor the most part, Smith’s (allegorical?) horror film is appropriately creepy and suspenseful, making the most of some spirited performances, but unfortunately some of it is merely unpleasant; a gynaecological torture scene, in particular, makes nauseous viewing. Iain.St...

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Ian Rankin's Edinburgh (2007)

UKShort Television DocumentaryPromotional Title: Ian Rankin's Hidden EdinburghDirector: Richard DownesCinematographer: Jerry KellyFeaturing: Ian RankinA brief and slight but nevertheless moderately entertaining and fairly interesting journey around some of Edinburgh’s more infamous locales in the company of Rebus author, Ian Rankin. Iain.St...

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New Town (2009)

UKShort Television FilmWriter/Director: Annie GriffinCinematographer: Tim PalmerComposer: Jim SutherlandCast: Rose Leslie, Mark Gatiss, Max Bremer, Daniela Nardini, Lucie Crystal, Cameron Bowie, Omid DjaliliThis disappointingly half-baked short film from Griffin, potentially the first part of a six-part series, doesn’t really work as a stand-alone episode, but there are enough good ideas and interesting characters in its misanthropic, satiric, and...

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Contraband (1940)

Cautiously RecommendedUKFeature FilmDirector: Michael PowellWriters: Emeric Pressburger, Michael Powell, Brock WilliamsCinematographer: F.A. YoungComposers: Richard Addinsell, John GreenwoodCast: Conrad Veidt, Valerie Hobson, Hay Petrie, Joss Ambler, Raymond Lovell, Esmond Knight, Charles Victor, Phoebe KershawContraband is an entertaining if rather light and forgettable first collaboration between Powell and Pressburger, which, in its first half,...

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How Vietnam Was Lost (2005)

RecommendedUK/USATelevision DocumentaryOriginal Title: Two Days in OctoberDirector: Robert KennerWriters: Allen Rucker, Paul Taylor, David MaranissCinematographer: Buddy SquiresComposer: Mark AdlerHow Vietnam Was Lost is a powerful and devastatingly moving account, by those involved (and from all sides), of two disparate events – a sit-in and a jungle battle – in October 1967, which would go on to have a great and lasting influence upon American...

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Ghosts of the 7th Cavalry (2009)

Highly RecommendedUK/Germany/Japan/USA/AustraliaTelevision DocumentaryWriter/Director: Tom RobertsCinematographers: Petra Graf, Tom Roberts, Jonathan PartridgeFeaturing: Major Robert 'Snuffy' GrayUsing the unique story of Major Robert 'Snuffy' Gray, a veteran of three wars and an adopted member of the Lakota Indian tribe, as its centre-point, this beautifully paced and often painfully moving depiction of the broken lives of a number of veterans,...

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And When Did You Last See Your Father (2007)

RecommendedUK/Ireland Feature FilmDirector: Anand TuckerWriters: David Nicholls, Blake MorrisonCinematographer: Howard Atherton Composer: Barrington PheloungCast: Jim Broadbent, Colin Firth, Juliet Stevenson, Gina McKee, Sarah Lancashire, Elaine Cassidy, Claire Skinner, Matthew Beard, Bradley JohnsonA well-acted, beautifully drawn, and humorously touching portrait of a world-weary son’s regret-tinged remembrance of the up-and-down relationship that he shared with his once gregarious father, as he helplessly watches his emaciating shell quietly...

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The Hide (2008)

RecommendedUK Feature FilmDirector: Marek LoseyWriter: Tim WhitnallCinematographer: George RichmondComposer: Debbie WisemanCast: Alex MacQueen, Phil CampbellMarek (grandson of Joseph) Losey’s debut - a predictably unpredictable and stunningly photographed film, set in a birdwatchers’ hide, with a cast of just two disparate and ill-matched characters - is a blackly funny, wickedly playful, and unsettlingly perceptive film that demands to be consumed rather than just passively watched. Iain.St...

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Home (2003)

Highly RecommendedUK Short Television FilmDirector: Richard Curson SmithWriters: Richard Curson Smith, J.G. BallardCinematographer: Jeff BaynesComposer: Andrew PhillipsCast: Antony Sher, Deborah Findlay, Matilda Ziegler, Keith Allen, Guy Henry, Simon NagraRichard Curson Smith's short film is a wickedly inventive and blackly humorous adaptation of Ballard’s short story, The Enormous Space, which sees the brilliant Sher’s jilted husband suffer the...

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The Beast Within (1890)

France NovelOriginal Title: La bête humaineAuthor: Émile ZolaTranslator: Roger Whitehouse (2007)Zola’s wonderfully insightful journey into the criminal mind - depicting a number of grisly murders and torrid affairs on the railways of northern France - is an unflinchingly violent look at the innate bestial side of man that is usually hidden by societal conformity. Iain.St...

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Turtles Can Fly (2004)

Highly RecommendedIraq/Iran/France Feature FilmOriginal Title: Lakposhtha parvaz mikonandWriter/Director: Bahman GhobadiCinematography: Shahriar AssadiComposer: Hossein AlizadehCast: Soran Ebrahim, Avaz Latif, Saddam Hossein Feysal, Hiresh Feysal Rahman, Abdol Rahman Karim, Ajil ZibariGhobadi’s beautiful and often funny film, taking a child’s-eye view of life in a Kurdish refugee camp on the Iraqi border with Turkey just before the American-lead invasion, is a heart-warming yet devastatingly sad tale of human resourcefulness, resilience, compassion,...

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Prostitution: Behind the Veil (2004)

RecommendedSweden, Denmark, Norway, UK Short Television DocumentaryOriginal Title: Prostitution bakom slöjanDirector/Cinematographer/Narrator: Nahid PerssonAn eye-opening look at the little seen world of Iranian prostitution and drug abuse, but one of questionable authenticity – everyone seems to be just a little too comfortable performing illegal acts in front of the camera – an affecting one none the less. Iain.St...

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Iran and Britain (2009)

RecommendedUK Short Television DocumentaryPresenter: Christopher de BellaigueAn informative and enlightening look at the history of the often tortuous relationship between Iran and Britain, highlighting colonial crimes, Persian paranoia, and the ever-present influence of oil and religion. Iain.St...

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Moses Jones (2009)

Cautiously RecommendedUK Television Mini-SeriesDirector: Michael OfferWriter: Joe PenhallCinematographer: Tim FlemingCast: Shaun Parkes, Matt Smith, Eamonn Walker, Jude Akuwidike, Wunmi Mosaku, Sonila Vjeshta, Obi Abili, Dennis Waterman, Femi Elufowojo, David FishleyThis grimly diverting BBC crime series, centring on murder and corruption within the Ugandan immigrant community in London, boasts some cracking performances, with Parkes and Akuwidike being particularly excellent, although soon-to-be-the-Doctor Matt Smith is really rather bland, and...

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To Be First (2007)

RecommendedUK Television FilmNew Title: The First New HeartWriter/Director: Patrick ReamsCinematographer: Giulio BiccariComposer: Ruth BarrettCast: Rupert Graves, Ben Miles, Darrell D’Silva, Claire Berlein, Warrick Grier, Nigel Sweet, Nola Collins, Adam Neill, Stephen JenningsReams’s compelling television film, depicting the race to perform the world’s first human heart transplant, is a naturalistically shot and acted work that not only captures the pertinent facts of the events, but also manages to paint a moving and insightful portrait of human...

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Joan of Arc, and How She Became a Saint (2009)

UK Radio PlaySeries: The Saturday PlayWriter/Director: Patrick BarlowCast: Dawn French, Anne Reid, Maggie Steed, Nell Barlow, John Ramm, Kevin Eldon, Cheryl Campbell, Marc Wootton, Patrick Barlow, Andrew Dunn, Samuel Barnett, Jim Broadbent, Beth Nestor, Carrie Quinlan, Humphrey Ker, David Reed, Thom TuckAn hilariously irreverent and wonderfully performed look at the life and times of Jeanne d’Arc, cowherd turned freedom-fighter, who, under heavenly...

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The Young Poisoner's Handbook (1995)

RecommendedUK /Germany/France/USA Feature FilmDirector: Benjamin Ross Writers: Jeff Rawle, Benjamin RossCinematographer: Hubert TaczanowskiComposers: Robert Lane, Frank StrobelCast: Hugh O'Conor, Tobias Arnold, Ruth Sheen, Roger Lloyd-Pack, Norman Caro, Charlotte Coleman, Antony SherThe irreverent, blackly comic tone - that may offend some people - of this entertainingly insightful film, perfectly captures the mindset of detached real life killer, Graham Young, in this slightly fictionalised and delightfully acted account of said poisoner’s nefarious...

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Samuel Johnson: The Dictionary Man (2006)

UK Short Television DocumentaryWriter/Director: Richard AlwynCinematographer: Richard RankinCast: Roger Ashton-GriffithsAn informative and pleasingly human portrait of perhaps the most famous of dictionary writers, Samuel Johnson, charting his journey from humble origins to literary stardom. Iain.St...

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