Discover Movies

In May 1940, the fate of World War II hangs on Winston Churchill, who must decide whether to negotiate with Adolf Hitler or fight on knowing that it could mean the end of the British Empire.

When dictator Joseph Stalin dies, his parasitic cronies square off in a frantic power struggle to become the next Soviet leader. As they bumble, brawl and back-stab their way to the top, the question remains — just who is running the government?

The story of the kidnapping of 16-year-old John Paul Getty III and the desperate attempt by his devoted mother to convince his billionaire grandfather Jean Paul Getty to pay the ransom.

The vivid and inspiring story of British film icon Michael Caine's personal journey through 1960s swinging London.

The true story of the 1973 tennis match between world number one Billie Jean King and ex-champ and serial hustler Bobby Riggs.

London, England, April 1980. Six terrorists assault the Embassy of Iran and take hostages. For six days, tense negotiations are held while the authorities decide whether a military squad should intervene.

Queen Victoria strikes up an unlikely friendship with a young Indian clerk named Abdul Karim.

The behind the scenes story of the life of A.A. Milne and the creation of the Winnie the Pooh stories inspired by his son Christopher Robin.

An animated documentary chronicling famed paranormal investigator Harry Price’s research at Borley Rectory, renowned as the ‘most haunted house in England’.

Paris, 1964. The Swiss sculptor and painter Alberto Giacometti, one of the most accomplished and respected artists of his generation, asks his friend, the American writer James Lord, to sit for a portrait, assuring him that it will take no longer than two or three hours, an afternoon at the most.

A ticking-clock thriller following Winston Churchill in the 24 hours before D-Day.

Set between the two World Wars and based on true historical events, Bitter Harvest conveys the untold story of the Holodomor, the genocidal famine engineered by the tyrant Joseph Stalin. The film displays a powerful tale of love, honour, rebellion and survival at a time when Ukraine was forced to adjust to the horrifying territorial ambitions of the burgeoning Soviet Union.

In 1947, Lord Mountbatten assumes the post of last Viceroy, charged with handing India back to its people, living upstairs at the house which was the home of British rulers, whilst 500 Hindu, Muslim and Sikh servants lived downstairs.

The story of Scottish psychiatrist RD Laing and his unique community at Kingsley Hall, East London in the 1960s.

Inspired by the true events of the infamous 1983 prison breakout of 38 IRA prisoners from HMP Maze, which was to become the biggest prison escape in Europe since World War II.

In 1866 St Andrews, Scotland, 15-year-old Tommy Morris is an avid golfer like his legendary and pioneering father, Tom Morris, now greenskeeper for The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, as well as the town's club- and ball-maker. The two-time winner of the first major golf tournament, The Open Championship, which he founded in 1860, Old Tom also established golf's standard of 18 holes per round. But young Tommy is beginning to chafe at his father's dictates, especially in the rapidly changing world they live in. Tommy soon outshines his father, winning The Open three consecutive times.

A woman moves to live with her new husband in 17th century Amsterdam, but soon discovers that not everything is what it seems.

In 1967 an expressive, colourful musical force painted a backdrop of social change, fashion, love, turmoil and war. The world remembers the Summer of Love in 1967 as one of those moments when a unique and creative explosion of music and popular culture arrived in the UK and USA.

Amongst the 2011 London riots, a former boxer needs must choose between his past or a new future.

The Black Prince follows the story of the last Sikh Maharaja — the son of the powerful ruler Ranjit Singh — who was placed on the throne at the age of five, after the death of his father. In 1849, the young prince was removed from the throne and eventually sent off to England. His attempts to return to India and reclaim his kingdom were subsequently thwarted by the British.

United Kingdom, March 24, 1954. Ten years before the decriminalization of homosexuality, journalist Peter Wildeblood and his friends Lord Montagu and Michael Pitt-Rivers are convicted and imprisoned for indecency and sodomy.

Leningrad, 1970. A group of young Jewish dissidents plot to hijack an empty plane and escape the USSR. Caught by the KGB a few steps from boarding, they were sentenced to years in the gulag and two were sentenced to death; they never got on a plane. 45 years later, filmmaker Anat Zalmanson-Kuznetsov reveals the compelling story of her parents, leaders of the group, "heroes" in the West but "terrorists" in Russia, even today.

Set in war-torn 800AD Scotland, The Gaelic King tells the story of warrior-king Alpin mac Eachdach. When his young brother is captured, Alpin must hunt the kidnappers though a dark forest that hides an ancient evil.

Elton John on his extraordinary career and his songwriting partnership with lyricist Bernie Taupin.

On the 29th September 1945, the incomplete rough cut of a brilliant documentary about concentration camps was viewed at the MOI in London. For five months, Sidney Bernstein had led a small team – which included Stewart McAllister, Richard Crossman and Alfred Hitchcock – to complete the film from hours of shocking footage. Unfortunately, this ambitious Allied project to create a feature-length visual report that would damn the Nazi regime and shame the German people into acceptance of Allied occupation had missed its moment. Even in its incomplete form (available since 1984) the film was immensely powerful, generating an awed hush among audiences. But now, complete to six reels, this faithfully restored and definitive version produced by IWM, is being compared with Alain Resnais’ Night and Fog (1955).

A look back at the long and brilliant career of legendary British singer and actor David Bowie (1947-2016) through his appearances on the BBC in interviews, talk shows, documentaries and performances in music programs.

The Special Air Service is the world's most famous combat unit, with the motto 'Who Dares Wins', but the story of how it came into existence has been, until now, a closely guarded secret. For the first time, the SAS has agreed to open up its archive and allow Ben Macintyre to reveal the true story of their formation during the darkest days of World War Two. With unprecedented access to the SAS secret files, unseen footage and exclusive interviews with its founder members, this series tells the remarkable story behind an extraordinary fighting force.

This film follows scientist Henry Bates as he explores the Amazon for proof of natural selection.

An account of the life and work of Irish writer James Joyce (1882-1941) narrated by US actress Anjelica Huston.

An immersive documentary reveals the story of a forgotten prince--Henry Frederick Stuart--who was a star of the first decade of the Stuart dynasty in the 1600s but never became king.

Starting in 1881 this film shows the personal battle between Lenin's Ulyanov family and the royal Romanovs that eventually led to the Russian revolution.

Inspired by Joan of Arc, Johanne follows a day in a life of the eponymous heroine. While set in medieval fantasy town, it explores the very current and urgent theme of preserving one’s humanity while struggling against inhumane environment, from modern feminist perspective.

Robert Burns was well aware of the revolution taking place across the Atlantic as he grew up. The poet was inspired. And America was to be inspired by him. From Abraham Lincoln to Frederick Douglass, and Walt Whitman to Bob Dylan, some of the most significant figures in American politics and culture have cited Burns as an influence.

Russia, 1917. After the abdication of Czar Nicholas II Romanov, the struggle for power confronts allies, enemies, factions and ideas; a ruthless battle between democracy and authoritarianism that will end with the takeover of the government by Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks.

Featuring footage spanning from 1901 to 1985, this little-seen footage has been found from all across the UK. This programme allows an exploration into stories of migration, community and also the struggle against inequality, while also providing the opportunity to celebrate black British culture and life on screen. Films in the programme include: Miners Leaving Pendlebury Colliery (1901), Hull Fair (1902), For the Wounded (1915), From Trinidad to Serve the Empire (1916), Hello! West Indies (1943), Mining Review 2nd Year No. 11 (1949), To the Four Corners (1957), Black Special Constable (1964), Black Police Officers (1966), Cold Railway Workers (1964), Nigerian Wedding in Cornwall (1964), Coloured School Leavers (1965), London Line No. 373 (1971), African Student Families (1975), Liverpool 8 (1972), Blood Ah Go Run (1982), The Jah People (1981) and Grove Carnival (1981)

Beneath the turquoise waves of the Bay of Naples lies an extraordinary underwater archeology site, the ancient Roman city of Baiae. From the first century to the third century AD, Baiae was the exclusive playground for the rich and powerful among Rome’s elite. What made Baiae such a special place? What really went on there? And why did it disappear?

To recover a silver lion ornament for singer Emma Bunton Tim travels back to the court of Henry Vlll where Anne Boleyn (Emma again) asks jester Tim to send invitations to the guests for her Christmas party. However Cardinal Wolsey aims to steal them so that they will come to his own party and Tim must thwart him.

Drama-Documentary in which historian Dan Snow explores the political intrigues and family betrayals between Vikings, Anglo-Saxons and Normans that led to the Battle of Hastings.

Explore the ruins of Port Royal, once a flourishing pirate city, known for extravagance, women and liquor. The city which went by the sobriquet "wickedest city on earth", lies in shambles deep below the waters of Jamaica's Kingston Harbor after a devastating tsunami struck it on June 7, 1692

In an age when disinformation muddles the truth, a newly discovered voice cuts through the historical haze. She is Rhea Clyman, a young Canadian reporter who traversed the starving Soviet heartland when Stalin’s man made famine was just beginning in Ukraine. Clyman’s newly discovered newspaper articles for Toronto and London newspapers in 1932 show her remarkable resourcefulness and courage. After she was banished from the USSR for writing about the Holodomor and the Gulag, this brave woman went on to cover Hitler’s early lethal years in power.

John Patrick Crichton Stuart, the 3rd Marquess of Bute, was one of the richest men in the British Empire in the late 19th century. With an annual income in excess of £150,000 - around £15 million in contemporary currency - he pursued his passion for architecture with a vengeance. The programme delves into the extraordinary world of Lord Bute and reveals what connects the small Scottish island of Bute to modern Cardiff, and the start of a lifetime's collaboration with artists and architects which would pour Bute's original mind into fabulous buildings in an astonishing variety of styles.

In 1914, the suffragette Mary Richardson attacked the Rokeby Venus at the National Gallery in London. But why did this painting fire such outrage? Professor Bettany Hughes embarks on a voyage of discovery to reveal the truth behind the Venus depicted in the painting, proving that this mythological figure is so much more than just an excuse for sensual nudity and chocolate-box romance. Because Venus Uncovered is the remarkable story of one of antiquity's most potent forces. And more than that - hers is the story of human desire, and how desire transforms who we are and how we behave.

Two young gay friends, Luke and Toby, go camping in local beauty spot Deiana Wood. As darkness falls, they share ghostly bedtime stories about Deiana Wood's blood-soaked history.

An investigation into the fascinating discovery of the first State Bed of Henry VII & Elizabeth of York. This fascinating bed is one of the most significant examples of Tudor furniture in existence today, and its iconography sheds new light on our understating of the Tudor Monarchy. The film represents the culmination of many years of in depth research. A team of experts, including the beds current owner, have decoded the bed’s story via its iconography and symbolism. These tell the story of the bed to academics, historians, and anyone with interest in the Tudor period.

Historian Lucy Worsley visits the places and houses in England where Jane Austen spent time and which served as inspiration for the settings of her novels.

As the BBC celebrates 90 years of covering Wimbledon, Sue Barker travels the globe to meet some of the legends who have graced the famous grass courts. Tennis royalty including Andy Murray, Roger Federer, Rod Laver, Chris Evert, Billie Jean King, Pete Sampras, Bjorn Borg, Virginia Wade, Martina Navratilova, Boris Becker and John McEnroe share memories and reflect on their own experiences at the iconic tennis tournament. These are their stories as never told before, emotional and self-deprecating, revealing how their lives and careers were changed by the Championships. For Sue herself, Wimbledon has been a big part of her life for nearly 50 years as a fan, player and broadcaster. She also meets the Duke of Kent, who is president of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, and the Duchess of Cambridge, who this year takes on a new role as patron.

Historian David Starkey tells the story of the Protestant Reformation and how it transformed the face of modern Europe, unleashing fundamentalism, terror and religious violence.

Egypt's Great Pyramid may be humanity's greatest achievement: a skyscraper of stone built without computers or complex machinery. This super-sized tomb has fascinated historians and archaeologists for centuries, but exactly how the ancient Egyptians finished the monument and fitted its two and a half million blocks in a quarter of a century has long remained an enigma. Today the secrets of the pyramid are finally being revealed thanks to a series of new findings. At the foot of the monument, archaeologists are uncovering the last surviving relic of the pharaoh Khufu, whose tomb it is: a huge ceremonial boat buried in flat-pack form for more than 4500 years. It's a clue that points to the important role that ships and water could have played in the pyramids' construction. This documentary follows investigations that reveal how strong the link between pyramids and boats is. It's a story of more than how Egypt built a pyramid: it's about how the pyramid helped build the modern world.

It is 1913. Women across the country, outraged by inequality and prejudice are beginning to rise up and demand change. In York, a revolution is about to take place as an ordinary Heworth housewife risks her life and her family to join the fight. And she's not alone. Across the city, women run safe-houses, organise meetings, smash windows and fire-bomb pillar boxes. It's dangerous, it's exhilarating, it's ground-breaking: and in 2017 the amazing story of York's suffragettes will be told for the first time. Everything is Possible is York Theatre Royal and Pilot Theatre's latest large-scale community production. The play was performed on a spectacular scale with a cast of around 150 and a choir of 80. The performance started outdoors before moving onto the stage at York Theatre Royal. We raised the purple, green and white flags and cried "Votes for Women!" to sold-out audiences.

A concise & informative biography that is an overview of Queen Victoria’s life from infancy to death.

Dr. Zhivago is one of the best-known love stories of the 20th century, but the setting of the book also made it famous. It is a tale of passion and fear, set against a backdrop of revolution and violence. The film is what most people remember, but the story of the writing of the book has more twists, intrigue and bravery than many a Hollywood blockbuster. In this documentary, Stephen Smith traces the revolutionary beginnings of this bestseller, to it becoming a pawn of the CIA at the height of the Cold War.

A sickly scrawny man in a striped uniform takes a shaving brush and foam, and with a sharp blade, he shaves the back of the head of Rudolf Höss, the commandant of the Auschwitz camp himself. They will never speak with one another, and Joseph (we only learn his name during the credits) will never harm Höss, will not stop the flood of horrible murders with yet another murder. This short sketch about life of a death camp makes us feel pain and grief of millions of people who had passed beyond the walls of the shaving room during the imprisonment of Joseph, the man who outlived his torturer.

As part of the 2017 UK-India Year of Culture, the British Council and British Film Institute share a unique collection of films documenting the sights and culture of a bygone India. Filmed between 1899-1947, and preserved in the BFI National Archive since then, these rare films capture many glimpses of life in India, from dances and markets, to hunts and pageantry.

Richard Harrington, star of Hinterland and Poldark, sets out to trace the journey of his grandfather, who went to Spain 80 years ago to fight fascism in the Spanish Civil War. In this journey of self-discovery Harrington travels from Wales, through Paris and across the Pyrenees into Spain, uncovering the reasons for his own lack of political motivation and discovering a story that kick-starts his own political awakening.

To mark the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, Janina Ramirez tells the story of three books that defined this radical religious revolution in England.

A happy family in the suburbs of London enjoy an afternoon around the kitchen table when a knock is heard at the front door. A government official wants the family's help to assist a homeless family - but are they after more? The film puts on view the tragic fallouts of the Balfour Declaration (1917), in which the British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour signalled the go-ahead for the establishment of a Jewish State in Palestine.

January 2011: a team from the University of Basel makes two spectacular discoveries. The first was a previously unknown tomb, which was given the number KV64 and contained two mummies. It had originally been created at the time of Amenhotep III for a princess of the 18th dynasty and was reused a few centuries later for the burial of a noblewoman of the 22nd dynasty. Right next to it is the already known burial site KV40, where the Basel researchers have now carried out excavations for the first time. They discovered dozens of mummies - an unusual find in the Valley of the Kings, where most tombs were built for just one pharaoh. Initially, the archaeologists estimated the number of dead at 30, but after months of collaboration with evolutionary scientist Frank Rühli from the University of Zurich, they came to the conclusion that there must actually be more than 90. Who were these women?