| 1 |
Hamilton (2020) #1508
FILM
Disk
2h 40m The real life of one of America's foremost founding fathers and first Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton. Captured live on Broadway from the Richard Rodgers Theater with the original Broadway cast. |
| 2 |
Ian Hislop's Fake News: A True History (2019) #1218
DOCUMENTARY
Main
1 hour. BBC. Fake news is never out of today's headlines. But in his latest documentary taking the long view of a hot-button issue, Ian Hislop discovers fake news raking in cash or wreaking havoc long before our own confused, uncertain times. Ian mines history to identify what motivates fake news - from profit, power and politics to prejudice, paranoia and propaganda – as well as to try to figure out what to do about it. In America and back home, Ian meets, amongst others, someone whose fake news stories have reached millions and a victim of fakery alleged to be a mastermind of the spurious paedophile ring ‘Pizzagate’ conspiracy. Viewers also get to see Ian doing something that has never been captured on film before – as he gets a taste of what it is like to be 'deepfaked'. In 1835, New Yorkers were fooled by one of the most entertaining and successful fake news scoops of all time - a tale of flying man-bats spied on the moon through the world’s most powerful telescope. The moon hoax story ran in a cheap, new tabloid - The Sun. Within decades, a circulation war waged between two pioneering press barons - Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst - was seen by many as causing a real war, between America and Spain. Meanwhile, another American conflict, the Civil War of the 1860s, had proved that photography, which initially promised new standards of accuracy, also brought new ways of lying. Ian looks at the battlefield images of pioneering photojournalist Alexander Gardner, who achieved ends by means that would be judged unethical today. He also encounters the spooky 'spirit photography' of William Mumler. Ian digs into one of the most pernicious conspiracy theories of all time - the protocols of the Elders of Zion. He is disturbed to find this virulently anti-Semitic tract available with one click and rave reviews on Amazon, despite comprehensive factual debunking a century ago. Ian also ponders the consequences of official British fake news-mongering. During WWI, lurid stories were spread about German factories manufacturing soap from corpses. But a consequence of such black propaganda was to undermine the currency of trust in government - rather like, Ian notes, the absence of WMDs in Iraq has more recently. To understand more about the current crisis, Ian meets James Alefantis, owner of the Washington DC pizzeria who fell victim to the ‘Pizzagate’ conspiracy. He also quizzes ex-construction worker Christopher Blair, a controversial figure sometimes dubbed 'the godfather of fake news'. He discusses how frightened we should be about fake news, and what can be done about it, with Damian Collins MP who chaired the parliamentary inquiry into fake news. Collins argues that today's tech giants – Facebook in particular - should be taking even more active steps to take down disinformation. But that path also has its perils, as Ian finds out when he resurrects the extraordinary story of Victoria Woodhull, a woman who sued the British Museum for libel in the 1890s. This pioneering American feminist - the first woman who ran to be president - was an early victim of what today would be termed 'slut-shaming'. But does combatting lies give anyone the right to censor the historical record and limit free speech? |
| 3 |
Stop All the Clocks: WH Auden in an Age of Anxiety (2017) #1034
DOCUMENTARY
Main
1 hour. BBC. Why does the poet who began as the golden boy of the 1930s and ended up as the craggy-faced laureate-we-never-had have a greater hold on our imaginations than ever before? Thirty-five years after his BBC film The Auden Landscape, director Adam Low returns to the poet and his work. Following Auden's surges of popularity from featuring in Four Weddings and a Funeral to being the poet New Yorkers turned to after 9/11, Low reveals how Auden's poetry helps us to have a better understanding of the 21st century and the tumultuous political climate in which we now live. Writers Alan Bennett, Polly Clark, Alexander McCall Smith and Richard Curtis, and poets James Fenton and Paul Muldoon share their passion for Auden and celebrate the potent impact of his work. |
| 4 |
Downsizing (2017) #1138
FILM
Main
Directed by Alexander Payne. With Matt Damon, Christoph Waltz, Hong Chau, Kristen Wiig. A social satire in which a man realizes he would have a better life if he were to shrink himself to five inches tall, allowing him to live in wealth and splendor. |
| 5 |
Nebraska (2013) #256
FILM
Main
Directed by Alexander Payne. With Bruce Dern, Will Forte, June Squibb, Bob Odenkirk. An aging, booze-addled father makes the trip from Montana to Nebraska with his estranged son in order to claim a million-dollar Mega Sweepstakes Marketing prize. |
| 6 |
Inescapable (2012) #248
FILM
Main
Directed by Ruba Nadda. With Alexander Siddig, Joshua Jackson, Marisa Tomei, Oded Fehr. Years after he left Damascus under suspicious circumstances, Adib Abdel Kareem must confront what he left behind when his daughter goes missing. |
| 7 |
The Descendants (2011) #95
FILM
Main
Directed by Alexander Payne. With George Clooney, Shailene Woodley, Amara Miller, Nick Krause. A land baron tries to reconnect with his two daughters after his wife is seriously injured in a boating accident. |
| 8 |
Micro Men (2009) #667
FILM-TV DRAMA
Main
Directed by Saul Metzstein. With Alexander Armstrong, Martin Freeman, Edward Baker-Duly, Sam Phillips. In 1979 Clive Sinclair, British inventor of the pocket calculator, frustrated by the lack of home investment in his project,the electric car, also opposes former assistant Chris Curry's belief that he can successfully market a micro-chip for a home computer. A parting of the ways sees Curry, in partnership with the Austrian Hermann Hauser and using whizz kid Cambridge students, set up his own, rival firm to Sinclair Radionics, Acorn. Acorn beat Sinclair to a lucrative contract supplying the BBC with machines for a computer series. From here on it is a battle for supremacy to gain the upper hand in the domestic market. 1hour 24 mins. BBC. |
| 9 |
Choke (2008) #324
FILM
Main
Directed by Clark Gregg. With Sam Rockwell, Anjelica Huston, Kelly Macdonald, Kathryn Alexander. A sex-addicted con-man pays for his mother's hospital bills by playing on the sympathies of those who rescue him from choking to death. |
| 10 |
HMS Pinafore / Trail by Jury (2006) #613
MUSIC
Main
Opera Australia. Anthony Warlow, David Hobson, Colette Mann, John Bolton Wood, Tiffany Speight, Ali McGregor, Roxane Hislop, Richard Alexander, Andrew Jones Opera Australia Melbourne Chorus Orchestra Victoria / Andrew Greene. While HMS Pinafore was Gilbert and Sullivan’s first full-length satirical work and first major international success, Trial by Jury was their first collaboration - the show's outrageous antics made it the toast of London. In this filmed recording, Anthony Warlow, Australia’s musical theatre superstar, is at the helm as both the "right good captain" and the "good judge" too. He is joined by a stellar cast featuring David Hobson, John Bolton Wood and Colette Mann as "dear little Buttercup". |
| 11 |
Alexander (2004) #184
FILM
Main
Directed by Oliver Stone. With Colin Farrell, Anthony Hopkins, Rosario Dawson, Angelina Jolie Pitt. Alexander, the King of Macedonia and one of the greatest military leaders in the history of warfare, conquers much of the known world. |
| 12 |
Finding Nemo (2003) #441
FILM
Main
Directed by Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich. With Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres, Alexander Gould, Willem Dafoe. After his son is captured in the Great Barrier Reef and taken to Sydney, a timid clownfish sets out on a journey to bring him home. Disney |
| 13 |
Election (1999) #145
FILM
Main
Directed by Alexander Payne. With Matthew Broderick, Reese Witherspoon, Chris Klein, Jessica Campbell. A high school teacher's personal life becomes complicated as he works with students during the school elections, particularly with an obsessive overachiever determined to become student body president. 16:9 |
| 14 |
Election (1999) #684
FILM
Main
Directed by Alexander Payne. With Matthew Broderick, Reese Witherspoon, Chris Klein, Jessica Campbell. A high school teacher's personal life becomes complicated as he works with students during the school elections, particularly with an obsessive overachiever determined to become student body president. |
| 15 |
Night Crossing (1982) #443
FILM
Main
Directed by Delbert Mann. With John Hurt, Jane Alexander, Doug McKeon, Keith McKeon. Two men want to escape from East Germany (under Communist rule) but they will only go if they can take their families with them. Based on a true story. Disney |
| 16 |
The Day of the Jackal (1973) #517
FILM
Main
Directed by Fred Zinnemann. With Edward Fox, Terence Alexander, Michel Auclair, Alan Badel. A professional assassin codenamed "Jackal" plots to kill Charles de Gaulle, the President of France. |
| 17 |
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1955) #1461
TV DRAMA
Main
The Adventures of Robin Hood: With Richard Greene, Victor Woolf, Archie Duncan, Alexander Gauge. Robin of Loxley, otherwise known as Robin Hood, and his band of Merry Men protect England from the evil machinations of Prince John while King Richard the Lionheart is away fighting in the Crusades 8x30min episodes: 01 Secret Mission 30th April 1956 S1E32 Peregrinus meets Robin just as the Sheriff of Nottingham offers Robin a pardon if he swears to support King John. Peregrinus and Robin then become aware of a list of Lords loyal to King John and set to capture it. 02 The Inquisitor Friar Tuck is captured and taken to the local Abbey for questioning by the visiting arch bishop. Robin works with Little John to develop a rescue plan to save Friar Tuck. 03 Tables Turned When Derwent overhears some messengers talk about the "jewels" they're guarding, he devises a plan to steal the shipment, and successfully carries it out--only to discover that the "jewels" are two small children belonging to a noble family. 04 The Traitor King John is dragging his feet getting the ransom money for Richard's release. A number of Lords have gotten together to raise the money and have charge Robin with getting the money safely out of the country with out John's knowledge. 05 The Thorkil Ghost A young man, Harold finds Robin and explains to him that a treasure is hidden in his father's castle. To complicate matters Harold's father has recently died after an encounter with a Viking ghost. 06 The Knight Who Came to Dinner Little John and Friar Tuck capture a knight, but are concerned about his real value judging by his equipment and horse. To regain prestige John and the Friar borrow some equipment to make him more presentable. 07 The Wager Friar Tuck and Robin decide to have a wager to see who can raise more money. Robin will dress and act as a beggar. Tuck will appeal to religion and Christian charity. 08 The Prisoner A rumor spreads that Richard is dead and John acts quickly to claim the throne. Robin has doubts about Richard's fate, and decides to travel with Marion to find the truth. |
| 18 |
Whisky Galore (1949) #1131
FILM
Main
Directed by Alexander Mackendrick. With Basil Radford, Joan Greenwood, Catherine Lacey, Bruce Seton. Scottish islanders try to plunder 50,000 cases of whisky from a stranded ship. |
| 19 |
Bambi (1942) #446
FILM
Main
Directed by James Algar, Samuel Armstrong, David Hand. With Hardie Albright, Stan Alexander, Bobette Audrey, Peter Behn. The story of a young deer growing up in the forest. Disney |