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Maîtresse

(Barbet Schroeder / Fr / 1976 / 108 mins / col / French with English subtitles / cert 18)

Based on an encounter with a real life dominatrix, Schroeder's controversial story of a Paris prostitute specialising in bondage and Sado-masochism is presented here uncut for the first time in the UK. Featuring a youthful Gerard Depardieu as the young innocent who falls for the mysterious maîtresse, and Bulle Ogier as the leather clad dominatrix, the film is both a conventional love story and a dark study of fetishism. As the lover's relationship begins to mirror the power games of the bordello they become unable to separate their 'normal' relationship from the perversions and masochism of the chamber below.

 Still from 'Maitresse'.

Mala Noche

(Available from 28 April 2008) (Drama / Dir: Gus Van Sant / With Tim Streeter, Doug Cooeyate, Ray Monge / USA 1985 / 75 mins / Cert 15)

Based on a novella by Portland poet Walt Curtis, Gus Van Sant's debut feature is a gritty celebration of the outsider, a world of male hustlers and immigrant workers. Walt is working in a liqueur store when he encounters two handsome new Mexicans, Johnny and Pepper. Immediately, Walt develops an obsession with Johnny, who is an illegal immigrant with little knowledge of English. The desire may be one-sided but it becomes a friendship of mutual needs and desires.

Man Escaped, A (Un Condamné À Mort S'est Échappé Ou Le Vent Souffle Où Il Veut)

(Available from 28 April 2008) (Dir: Robert Bresson /With François Leterrier, Charles Le Clainche, Maurice Beerblock / France 1956 / 101 mins / Cert U)

They key film of Bresson's influential career, A Man Escaped has been acclaimed as one of the great works of cinema. Based on the true story of Resistance fighter André Devigny, who was imprisoned and sentenced to death by the Nazis during the Second World War, the film reconstructs his actual cell at the Lyons fortress of Montluc, and follows his meticulous plans for escape. This totally involving and thrilling tale of courage and faith is all the more authentic for its use of non-professional actors and Bresson's spare style. The film's stunning and spiritually moving denouement, to the accompaniment of Mozart's sublime Mass in C Minor, succeeds in moving the story to a different plane.

Man with a Movie Camera

(Dziga Vertov / USSR / 1929 / 138 mins / b&w / silent with music / Cert E)

This playful film is at once a documentary of a day in the life of the Soviet Union, a documentary of the filming of the documentary, and a depiction of an audience watching the film. See also: Michael Nyman's Man With A Movie Camera (below)

Margin For Error

(Dir: Otto Preminger / USA 1943 / 74 minutes / Cert PG)

Wisecrackin' Jewish cop Moe Finkelstein (Milton Berle) has just been put in charge of guarding the proto-Nazi German embassy in New York where he encounters the egoistical, villainous consul (a scene-stealing performance by Otto Preminger himself), his American wife Sophie (Joan Bennett) who is desperate for a divorce, and the Consul's secretary, the sheltered Baron Von Alvenstor whose blind allegiance to his motherland is being severely tested by both his boss's increasingly maddening power-hungry pursuits and his own growing affection for Sophie.

Merci pour le chocolat

Still from 'Merci Pour Le Chocolat'. (Claude Chabrol / Fr / 2000 / 97 mins / col / French with English subtitles / Cert 15)

Isabel Huppert is stunning as the duplicitous central character in this tense and intricate thriller from master French Filmmaker Claude Chabrol. "Intriguing, stylish, elegant" Peter Bradshaw, THE GUARDIAN

Michael Nyman's Man With A Movie Camera

(Available from 30 June 2008) (Dir: Dziga Vertov / Russia 1929 / Silent with specially commissioned score by Michael Nyman / 68 mins / Cert E)

Man With a Movie Camera is an extraordinary piece of film-making, a montage of urban Russian life showing the people of the city at work and at play, and the machines that keep the city going. It was Vertov's first full-length film, and he used all the cinematic techniques at his disposal - dissolves, split screen, slow motion and freeze-frames - to produce a work that is exhilarating and intellectually brilliant. It was Vertov's formal inventiveness and energetic lyricism which inspired Michael Nyman to create his new score for this radical experiment of the Soviet cinematic avant-garde.

Minor Mishaps

(Annette K Olesen / Dk / 2002 / 109 mins / col / Danish with English subtitles)

An enjoyable Danish film about a hospital porter close to retirement reacting, along with his workaholic son, two mixed-up daughters and his unhappily married brother, to the death of his wife of 46 years.

Mirror

(Andrei Tarkovsky / USSR / 1974 / 102 mins / col + b&w / Russian with English subtitles / Cert U)

Celebrated Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky's Mirror is his most autobiographical work in which he reflects upon his childhood and the destiny of the Russian people, and particularly their experiences during Stalin's reign. "A dazzlingly beautiful film, fascinating in its visual splendour… it is an experience which should not be missed" THE TIMES

Mitchell & Kenyon Edwardian Sports

(Documentary / Dir: Mithell & Kenyon / UK 1901-1907 / 108 mins / Cert E)

A remarkable selection of sporting highlights from the Mitchell and Kenyon collection. The new DVD brings together some of the earliest surviving films (1901-1907) featuring the titans of professional football, cricket and rugby whilst also rediscovering the corinthian spirit of amateur sport and leisure in Edwardian life. Liverpool, Hull, Kingston Rovers, Everton and Blackburn Rovers feature alongside a swimming gala in North Shields, the AAA championships of 1901 and the Mold Cricket controversy-as early 'chucking' storm with a Australian umpire at its centre. With newly commissioned music by Stephen Horne and Martin Pyne.

Mitchell & Kenyon In Ireland

(Documentary / Dir: Mitchell & Kenyon / Ireland 1901-1906 / 75 mins / Cert E)

The Mitchell and Kenyon collection contains some twenty six films made in Ireland between May 1901 and December 1902.

Presented as 'Local Films for Local People' the films include street scenes of Dublin, Wexford and Belfast, local dignitaries attending the Cork International Exhibition, scenic routes from Cork to Blarney Castle and much more. With music from Neil Brand and Gunter Buchwald, an essay by Dr Vanessa Toulmin and a commentary read by Fiona Shaw this new BFI DVD offers Mitchell and Kenyon's unique and vivid record of Ireland at the start of the twentieth century.

Moloch (Molokh)

(Drama / Dir: Aleksandr Sokurov / With Leonid Mozgovoy, Yelena Rufanova / Germany-Russia 1999 / 107 mins / Cert 12)

The first film in Sokurov's planned tetralogy on men of power in the twentieth century, Moloch's protagonist is Hitler, shown with Eva Braun, Joseph and Magda Goebbels in his inaccessible mountain hideaway. Hitler is presented here as a product of the decay of his epoch of culture and as a symbol of the absurdity of all the universal desires of man.

Mon Oncle

(Jacques Tati / Fr / 1958/ 116 mins / col / Cert U)

An undisputed comic tour de force in which the simple domestic regime of Mr Hulot is contrasted to the gadget-laden, fully automated household of his sister and brother-in-law. Mon Oncle was Hulot's first encounter with architectural futurism and literally countless gags vie for our attention. "Unforgettably funny, wonderfully observed and always technically brilliant" TIME OUT

Monday Morning

(Otar Iosseliani / Fr, It / 2002 / 122 minutes / col / French with English subtitles / Cert PG)

Desperate to escape his monotonous routine of insular village and family life, and an unrewarding factory job, Vincent decides to travel to Venice and see what's missing from his life… "Possibly the loveliest film of the year... a wry comic parable out of this extended look at solitude, solidarity, everyday rituals and dreams of freedom." David Cox, i-D

More

(Barbet Schroeder / Lux, Fr / 1969 / 111 mins / col / French with English subtitles / Cert 18)

This dark tale, based on a true story, follows the naïve Stefan (Klaus Grünberg) in his pursuit of off-beat American Estelle (Mimsy Farmer) to the island paradise of Ibiza. He leads a seemingly idyllic life with her by the sea - where the scenic beauties and delights of LSD and nude sunbathing are reflected by Nestor Almendros' stunning photography - before succumbing to the destructive trappings of heroin addiction. Famous for its subdued, moody Pink Floyd soundtrack, featuring some of the band's most spontaneous and eclectic work - including 'Green is the Colour', 'Cymbaline', and 'The Nile Song' - this is a must for hardcore Floyd fans.

Mother And Son (Mat I Syn)

(Drama / Dir: Andrei Sokurov / With Aleksei Ananishnov, Gudrun Geyer / Russia-Germany 1997 / 71 mins / Cert U)

Alexander Sokurov's emotional and poetic masterpiece is a tender exploration of the deep affection between an ailing mother and her devoted adult son. Set in a hauntingly beautiful landscape, which Sokurov's camera transforms into stunning cinematic canvases, the pair recall happier times as the dutiful son nurses his mother in her final hours.
Still from 'Mrs. Dalloway'.

Mrs Dalloway

(Marleen Gorris / GB / 1997 / 97 mins / col / Cert PG)

Vanessa Redgrave plays MP's wife Clarissa Dalloway, whose life is thrown into crisis when a lover she rejected 30 years ago makes an unexpected appearance at a party she is hosting at her elegant London home, prompting bittersweet memories of her youth. Beautifully filmed in period London and featuring an outstanding cast Oscar winner Marleen Gorris' film perfectly captures Virginia Woolf's concerns about choice, truth and destiny.

Mutual Films, The, Vol 1&2

(Comedy / Dir: Charlie Chaplin / USA 1916-1917)

The Mutual Film Corporation built Chaplin his very own studio and allowed him total freedom to make twelve two-reel films during this fruitful twelve-month period. Chaplin subsequently recognised this period of film-making as the most inventive and liberating of his career. This exclusive edition of the Mutual Films also features brand new scores, written and recorded by acclaimed silent film composer Carl Davis.

Mutual Films, The, Vol 1

(Comedy / Dir: Charlie Chaplin / USA 1916-1917 / 141 mins / Cert U)

The first volume of this compilation contains six of Chaplin's Mutual Films including the slapstick custard pie fights of Behind the Screen and his sensitive portrayal of a broke and hungry migrant arriving in New York in The Immigrant. In the acclaimed Easy Street, Charlie becomes a policeman in a tough neighbourhood, reminiscent of his own impoverished London upbringing. Plus The Rink, The Adventurer and The Cure.

Mutual Films, The, Vol 2

(Comedy / Dir: Charlie Chaplin / USA 1916 / 150 mins / Cert PG)

Volume 2 contains six of the Mutual Films, all made in 1916; In One A.M. Chaplin reprises his classic 'stage drunk' in a solo performance, and The Floorwalker shows his inventive and balletic use of mechanical props. In The Vagabond, his first minor masterpiece, he successfully combines pathos and comedy to create a lyrical love story. The Pawnshop is famous for the hilarious routine in which he dissects an alarm clock. Plus The Fireman and The Count.

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Name of the River, The

(Anup Singh / GB, In, Ba / 2003 / 90 mins / Bengali with subtitles / col)

The Name of a River is an ambitious, evocative epic/essay/biopic that explores the life and work of the great Indian filmmaker Ritwik Ghatak. The film covers an enormous wealth of visual, aural and intellectual ground within its 90 minutes, presenting its audience with a dreamlike odyssey through a history, a life and a work that we, the viewers, encounter in the shape of landscapes and music, lovers and gods, myths and memories, literature and cinema.

The Navigators

(Ken Loach / GB, Es, It, Fr / 2001 / 96 mins / col / Cert 15)

Ken Loach's film is the powerful story of a group of South Yorkshire railway track workers at the time of the privatisation of British Rail. As the profound effects of privatisation and the grave repercussions for the safety of the rail system become apparent, the solidarity of the men, previously unified by a sense of community and pride in a working tradition, begins to crumble.

No End

(Krzysztof Kieslowski / Po / 1984 / 108 mins / col / Polish with English subtitles / Cert 15)

The ghost of a young lawyer, Antek, observes the realm of the living in the Poland of 1982, during the country's period of martial law. Thanks to the help of his widow, Ulla, one of Antek's former clients - a worker accused of being an opposition activist - will be now defended by one of Antek's colleagues - an older, experienced lawyer. A highly original blend of ghost story, political drama and meditation on the nature of love.

Nostalgia

(Andrei Tarkovsky / It, USSR / 1983 / 120 mins / col & b&w / Italian with English subtitles / Cert 15)

Tarkovsky's unforgettably haunting film, his first to be made outside Russia, explores the melancholy of the expatriate through the film's protagonist, Gorchakov, a Russian poet researching in Italy. "Spectacular, astonishing... the nearest to poetry that cinema can ever aspire" Nigel Andrews, FINANCIAL TIMES

Not Here To Be Loved (Je Ne Suis Pas Là Pour Être Aimé)

(Drama / Dir: Stéphane Brizé / With Patrick Chesnais, Anne Consigny, Georges Wilson / France 2005 / 93 mins / Cert 15)

Jean-Claude is a world-weary man stuck in the thankless job of delivering paperwork to people facing eviction or seizure of their possessions and visiting his brusque fault-finding father in a care home. Unexpectedly he decides to shake himself out of his stultifying rut by enrolling for tango lessons in the dance studio across the street from his office. It is there that he forms a tentative bond with a bride-to-be who shares his longing for something more out of life.

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Old Joy

(Drama / Dir: Kelly Reichardt / With Will Oldham, Daniel London / USA 2006 / 76 mins / Cert 15)

Old Joy is the story of old friends, Kurt (Will Oldham) and Mark (Daniel London), who reunite for a weekend camping trip in the Cascade mountain range, Oregon and are forced to confront the divergent paths they have taken or transcend their growing tensions in an act of forgiveness and mourning. This is a minimalist story of friendship, loss and alienation in the Bush era.

One Last Dance

(Thriller / Dir: Max Makowski / With Francis (C) NG, Ti Lung, Vivien HSU, Harvey Keitel / Hong Kong 2006 / 103 mins / Cert 15)

Set in Singapore, T is a ruthless assassin with a formidable reputation who is hired to track down the kidnappers of a business man's son, an incident which involves his good friend, Ko. Yet his actions could be compromised by this long-term friendship with the captain of police, and his love for Ko's sister. He kills them one by one but with every death he gets closer to the shocking revelation of the final name.

Open Road, The

(Documentary / Dir: Claude Friese-Greene / UK 1924 / 64 mins / Cert U)

Friese-Greene was a pioneer of colour cinematography who, in the summer of 1924, set out from Cornwall with the aim of recording life on the road between Land's End and John O'Groats. The resulting ground-breaking travelogue provides a fascinating social record of inter-war Britain for today's audiences, who can revisit iconic landmarks and assess similarities and changes that have taken place.

Orphée

(Jean Cocteau / Fr / 1950 / 91 mins / b&w / French with English subtitles / Cert PG) (Available from 30 June 2008)

The magic of cinema is fully realised in Jean Cocteau's Orphée - one of the finest films from one of the most significant artists of the twentieth century. A contemporary account of the Greek myth, set in post-war Paris, Orphée is a work of haunting beauty that follows the poetic logic of a dream. It tells of a famous poet's love affair with Death, a mysterious princess, as he follows her through a mirror into the underworld in search of inspiration. Strikingly visual and darkly enigmatic, Orphée features memorable performances from Cocteau's companion Jean Marais and Maria Casarès.

Ossessione

(Luchino Visconti / It / 1942 / 140 mins / b&w / Italian with English subtitles / Cert PG)

The second unauthorised European version of The Postman Always Rings Twice, James M Cain's classic tale of love, murder and betrayal. Often cited as an the earliest example of neo-realism, Visconti's stunning debut nonetheless reveals his characteristic pictorial sense and considered use of music.

Ozon, François: Regarde La Mer And Other Short Films

(Dir: François Ozon / France 1994-2006 / 152 mins / Cert 15)

François Ozon is one of the most provocative and vibrant filmmakers to emerge during the 1990s. His dark, mordantly psychological films draw their impact from often disturbing explorations of transgression and sexuality and combine wry humour, sensitivity, and subversive insight with a talent for manipulation. This eclectic collection of seven shorts captures the talent Ozon would continue to display in his later feature films. Contains:

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Page Turner, The (La Tourneuse De Pages)

(Drama / Dir: Denis Dercourt / With Catherine Frot, Déborah François, Pascal Greggory / France 2006 / 82 mins / Cert 15)

A small-town butcher's daughter, Mélanie, aged about ten, has a special gift for the piano yet fails the Conservatory entrance exam after being distracted by the thoughtless behaviour of the chair-woman of the jury Ariane Fouchécourt, a well known concert pianist. Bitterly disappointed, Mélanie gives up the piano. Yet, some ten years later Madame Fouchécourt meets the girl again and warms to her when the young woman becomes her page turner...

Pandaemonium

(Julien Temple / GB, US / 2000 / 124 mins / col / Cert 12)

A powerful look at the lives of two of the English language's greatest poets, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth, Pandaemonium is one of those rare films that communicates the passions that drive great writers and intellects.

 Still from 'Pandaemonium'.

Paranoid Park

(Available from 28 April 2008) (Drama / Dir: Gus Van Sant / With Gabe Nevins, Taylor Momsen, Jake Miller / France-USA 2007 / 81 mins / Cert 15)

When a security guard is accidentally killed outside Portland's notorious skate park, it's clear that 16 year old skateboarder Alex knows more than he's letting on. Fearing the consequences, he increasingly retreats into his own world of silence and isolation. Shot by legendary cinematographer Chris Doyle (In The Mood For Love/ Invisible Waves) and Rain Kathy Li, Gus Van Sant's ultra-stylish film won the special 60th Anniversary Prize at this year's Cannes Film Festival.

Partie de campagne

(Jean Renoir / Fr / 1936 / b&w / 39 mins / cert PG)

Renoir's masterly adaptation of a short story by Guy de Maupassant is perhaps his best-loved film. On a country picnic a young girl leaves her family and fiancé for a while and succumbs to a brief romance. Renoir's sensuous tribute to the countryside - and to the river - has seldom been surpassed.

Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese through American Movies, A

(Martin Scorsese & Michael Wilson / GB, US / 1995 / 224 mins / col & b&w / Cert E)

A fascinating exploration of some of the landmarks of American cinema, as well as some of its lesser-known byways. Under chapter headings such as The Director's Dilemma or The Director as Iconoclast, Scorsese analyses the work of filmmakers as diverse as D W Griffith, F W Murnau, Sam Fuller and John Cassavetes. This is no academic history, but a declaration of passion for cinema from one of its most celebrated contemporary practitioners.

Peter Whitehead And The Sixties

(Documentary / Dir: Peter Whitehead / With Vanessa Redgrave, Peter Whitehead / UK 2007 / 98 mins / Cert 12)

Peter Whitehead was at the heart of Swinging London, chronicling the the burgeoning popular music scene and the counterculture of the 1960s. The first ever releases of Wholly Communion (1965) and Benefit of the Doubt (1967) are coupled with a new interview with Peter and additional rare footage, making it a fascinating document of the radical, experimental, literary and theatrical scenes of the time.

Petites Coupures

(Pascal Bonitzer / Fr / 2002 / 96 mins / col / French with English subtitles / Cert 15)

Bruno (Daniel Auteuil) is a communist newspaper journalist suffering a mid-life crisis. Torn between his wife Gaëlle (Emmanuel Devos) and his young girlfriend Nathalie (Ludivine Sagnier), his political beliefs battered by the wind of history, Bruno seems to have lost his bearings. After responding to a call for help from his uncle (Jean Yanne), who is fighting a losing battle for re-election as the communist mayor of a small town near Grenoble, Bruno gets lost in a dark forest. There he meets Béatrice (Kristin Scott Thomas), who does nothing to stop him getting even more lost...

The Piano Teacher

(Michael Haneke / Aus, Fr / 2001 / 129 mins / col / French with English subtitles/ Cert 18)

Isabelle Huppert gives a performance of astounding emotional intensity as a piano teacher at the Vienna Conservatory whose carefully constructed insular world is shattered by a passionate affair with a student. Winner of the Grand Prix, Best Actress and Best Actor awards at Cannes 2001.

Piccadilly

(E A Dupont / GB / 1929 / 108 mins / b&w / Silent / Cert PG)

Still from 'Picadilly'.One of the pinnacles of British silent cinema, Piccadilly is a sumptuous showbiz melodrama seething with sexual and racial tension. Chinese-American screen goddess Anna May Wong stars as Shosho, a scullery maid in a fashionable London nightclub whose exotic dance routines catch the eye of suave club owner Valentine Wilmot. She rises to become the toast of London and the object of his erotic obsession - to the bitter jealousy of Mabel, his former lover and star dancer (played by Ziegfeld Follies star Gilda Gray). "It's a bold, beautifully crafted, completely modern picture - one of the truly great films of the silent era" Martin Scorsese, 2004.

Place Vendôme

Still from 'Place Vendome'. (Nicole Garcia / Fr / 1998 / 113 mins / col / French with English subtitles / Cert 15)

Marianne (Catherine Deneuve) is at a terrible crossroads in her life, following her husband Vincent's apparent suicide and the revelation that his prestigious jewellery business is riddled with crippling debt. Resolving to put her alcoholism behind her and re-enter the jewellery business herself, Marianne unwittingly enters the shady underworld of the diamond trade, uncovering a sinister web of intrigue that will lead to a mysterious former lover and a dangerous struggle for her own survival.

Platform

(Jia Zhang Ke / Ch, Jp, Fr / 2000 / 150 mins / col / Mandarin with English subtitles / Cert 15)

Jia Zhang Ke's ambitious film follows the lives of four friends over a turbulent 10 year period of Chinese history, from 1979 to 1989. Named after a hit 80s Chinese pop song, 'Platform' gives a vivid insight into modern China and absorbingly documents the sweeping social changes experienced by its people. "Remarkable... the most impressive film to have come out of China in the past five years" THE TIMES

Playtime

(Jacques Tati / Fr / 1967 / 125 mins / col / French with some English subtitles / Cert U)

Jacques Tati's most ambitious film unfolds on a vast futuristic six-acre set where he pokes fun at contemporary architecture, package tourism and the overwhelming depersonalisation of modern life. Characters and inanimate objects move in an abstract ballet; dialogue as such hardly exists and is reduced to a multilingual chatter of noise. A financial disaster on its original release, Playtime can now be seen as the purest expression of Tati's comic vision.

Poison & Dottie Gets Spanked (Short)

(Available from 26 May 2008) (Dir: Todd Haynes / With Edith Meeks, Millie White, Buck Smith / USA 1991 / 85 mins / Cert 18)

Todd Haynes landmark movie Poison explores modern alienation and sexual identity in three different stories. One tells of the disappearance of a schoolboy after his father's murder; the second looks at a scientist's sex-drive experimentations; and the final story explores a prisoners' unrequited love for a fellow prisoner. The DVD also includes his short film Dottie Gets Spanked about a young boy's obsession with a TV character. One of the leading figures of the New Queer Cinema, Haynes has become a unique visionary with movies such as Safe, Velvet Goldmine, Far From Heaven and the recent I'm Not There.

Princess

(Animation / Dir: Anders Morgenthaler / With Thur Lindhardt, Liv Corfixen, Tommy Kentner / Denmark 2006 / 79 mins / Cert 18)

August, a clergyman, returns home from years of missionary work abroad because of the death of his sister Christina, who - after going from greatness to the gutter as the famous porno star "The Princess" - has finally died of drug abuse. She has left her five-year-old daughter Mia with Karen, a prostitute. August pays them a visit to bring Mia home with him and become her guardian. Burdened by sorrow and guilt, he decides to avenge Christina's death and brings Mia along on a crusade to clear his sister's name of pornographic connotations. The mission escalates into a brutal and violent rout as August attempts desperately to protect the only thing he holds dear - namely Mia - forcing him to make a fateful decision.

Private Fears In Public Places (Coeurs)

(Drama / Dir: Alain Resnais / With Laura Morante, Lambert Wilson, Pierre Arditi / France-Italy 2007 /120 mins / Cert 12A)

In the French film adaptation of the play by British playwright, Alan Ayckbourn, six people struggle to hold on to relationships they care about. Dan and Nicole are a couple but Nicole Dan is in denial, Lionel tends a bar, but is slowly losing all of his friends as he spends every spare moment caring for his ill father. Meanwhile Thierry tries to charm the saintly Charlotte. By the end of the film the relationships have all altered; some not for the better.

Private Property (Nue Propriété)

(Available from 28 July 2008) (Drama / Dir: Joachim Lafosse / With Isabelle Huppert, Jérémie Reniér, Yannick Reniér / Belgium-France 2006 / 90 mins / Cert tbc)

An old but beautiful farm in Belgium is home to Pascale (Isabelle Huppert) and her twin sons Thierry and Francois. Although loving and ostensibly supportive of one another, each is still reeling from the divorce that divided the family some years earlier. Helpless and in a bid for survival, Pascale leaves the house in the hands of Thierry and Francois, never suspecting that in her absence, a fratricidal war will change their family forever.

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Radio On

(Available from 26 May 2008) (Drama / Dir: Chris Petit / With David Beames, Lisa Kreuzer / UK-Germany 1979 / 104 mins / Cert 18)

One of the most striking feature debuts in British cinema, Chris Petit's (anti-) road movie is both a hymn and homage to the dreamed imperatives of the clear highway, while remaining ruefully aware that, in England at least, the road soon runs out and the journey must turn in other directions, not least inward. Following a young man (David Beames) as he travels to Bristol to investigate the mysterious death of his brother, Radio On offers a unique, compelling and even mythic vision of a late 1970s England, stalled between failed hopes of cultural and social change and the imminent upheavals of Thatcherism. Stunningly photographed in luminous monochrome by Martin Schaefer (the brilliant cinematographer of Wim Wenders), and driven by a startling new wave soundtrack (Bowie, Kraftwerk, Lene Lovich, Ian Dury, Wreckless Eric and more).

Still from 'Rashomon'.

Rashomon

(Akira Kurosawa / Jp / 1950 / 86 mins / b&w / Japanese with English subtitles / Cert 12)

A woodcutter witnesses a horrific series of events - an ambush, rape and murder. In the telling of the tale, however, each of the four participants gives a different view of what actually happened - is anyone telling the truth? Kurosawa's masterly and influential film plays on the subjective nature of truth while unfurling a riveting tale of violence and greed.

Red Beard

(Akira Kurosawa / Jp / 1965 / 172 mins / b&w / Japanese with English subtitles / Cert 15)

Toshiro Mifune stars in this 'intimate epic' as a doctor in a nineteenth century rural hospital that is desperate need of modernization. An ambitious young intern, to his horror, finds himself posted to this backwater and is tutored by Mifune to appreciate that care for the poor is more important than a society practice.

Red Shoes, The (Bunhong Shin)

(Horror / Dir: Yong-Gyun Kim / With Hye-Soo Kim, Seong-su Kim, Yeon-ah Park / Korea 2005 / 103 mins / Cert 15)

The young Sun Jae discovers a pair of red shoes mysteriously abandoned on a subway platform. She takes them home unaware of the curse that exerts its power over all those who are obsessed with the shoes, instantly killing anyone who wears them. Soon, Sun Jae and her young daughter become obsessive rivals for ownership of the cursed shoes. They fall foul to the desires of the malevolent spirit of their past owners, seeking revenge beyond the grave.

Regeneration

(Gilles Mackinnon / GB, Ca / 1997 / 109 mins / col / Cert 15)

A highly praised adaptation of Pat Barker's Booker Prize-winning novel, Regeneration is a moving and powerful story of war and its devastating effects. Set in a military psychiatric hospital during World War 1, the film tells of a real life encounter between army psychologist Dr William Rivers (Jonathan Pryce) and the poet Siegfried Sassoon (James Wilby), institutionalised in an attempt to undermine his public disapproval of the war. "Intelligent and very moving... Superb performances from a marvellous cast" TIME OUT

Regle du jeu, La

(Jean Renoir / Fr / 1939 / 110 mins / b&w / French with English subtitles)

Jean Renoir's tale of romantic intrigues at a weekend shooting party in a country chateau is now widely recognised as one of the greatest films ever made. In this study of the corruption and decay within French society as it teeters on the brink of war, Renoir nonetheless suspends his judgement, with one character observing that 'Everyone has their reasons'.

Requiem

(Drama / Dir: Hans-Christian Schmid / With Sandra Huller, Burghart Klassne, Imogen Kogge / Germany 2005 / 93 mins/ Cert 12A)

Director Hans-Christian Schmid once again turns a sharply observant yet understanding eye towards a fragile individual at sea in a world of moral ambiguity. Loosely based on true events, Requiem tells the story of a young woman torn between family, faith and freedom after a frightening psychological breakdown.

River Called Titas, A (Titas Ekti Nadir Naam)

(Ritwik Ghatak / In / 1973 / 159 mins / b&w / Bengali with English subtitles / Cert PG)

An epic depiction of the tragic lives of a small fishing community in Ritwik Ghatak's native Bengal, a raw and powerful tale of a drying river and with it a dying civilisation, a grim recognition of the inevitability of change and the terrible cyclical power of loss and resurrection.

Riviera Cocktail

(Documentary / Dir: Heinz Butler / Switzerland 2000 / 96 mins / Cert PG)

A delightful film about the Irish photographer Edward Quinn (1920-1997), who shot some of the most iconic photographs of the 20th Century's glitterati. Quinn was a fixture on the French Riviera during the so-called golden 1950s, when the area's great hotels and casinos returned to top form after the ravages of WWII. The film recounts a dazzling era of stars, starlets, film producers, playboys, princes and artists.

Roberto Succo

(Cédric Kahn / Fr / 2001 / 120 mins / col / French with English subtitles / Cert 18)

In 1986, Roberto Succo escaped from an Italian mental institution, where he had been incarcerated for the brutal murder of his parents, and fled to France where he left a trail of inexplicable murders, rapes and abductions. This gripping dramatisation of true events gives a terrifying insight into the disturbed mind of a serial killer and also follows the desperate attempts by the police to hunt down France's most wanted man.

Rosetta

(Luc & Jean-Pierre Dardenne / Be, Fr / 1999 / 90 mins / col / French with English subtitles / Cert 15)

Deserved winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 1999, Rosetta is an extraordinary, unforgettable but vividly realistic portrait of a resourceful teenage girl struggling to find her way in a tough world. Written and directed with great skill and searing intensity by writer/director brothers Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne, the film also stars first time actor Emilie Dequenne who won the Cannes Best Actress award for her outstanding realisation of the title role. "***** Luminous, compassionate... Nothing short of classic" THE GUARDIAN (NB: the DVD comes with the Dardenne brothers' earlier film La Promesse)

Royal Scandal, A

(Dir: Otto Preminger / USA 1945 / 94 minutes / Cert PG)

A risqué comedy set at the height of the Russian dynasty that features a rare appearance from the sumptuous Tallulah Bankhead in one of her finest roles as Empress Catherine the Great. There is also a hilarious cameo from Vincent Price, a sparkling Lubitsch-honed script and the stunning black and white cinematography that has come to mark Otto Preminger's work.

Russian Ark

Still from 'Russian Ark'. (Alexander Sokurov / Rus, Ge / 2002 / 96 mins / col / Russian with English subtitles / Cert U)

Alexander Sokurov's extraordinary masterpiece, Russian Ark is a unique

journey through time and Russian history. Filmed entirely in the State Hermitage Museum, in St. Petersburg, Sokurov's breathtaking film recreates 300 years of history and culture and is the first entirely unedited, single take, full-length feature film.

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Important guidelines for booking films

Please confirm all telephone bookings in writing, stating essential details such as correct despatch and invoice addresses, and the correct format of the film. If you do not receive a booking confirmation from us, the film may not have been booked; please check all your bookings carefully, well in advance of the playdate.

To hire any of these films or for further information, please contact Andrew Youdell in the Bookings department:

Telephone: 020 7957 8938

Email: bookings.films@bfi.org.uk