Later canonised (in 1988!), this tells the story of the renowned Russian iconographist and fresco painter. His actual life, as you might expect from the early 15th century, is not well documented so Andrei Tarkovsky has, forgive the pun, a pretty blank canvas on which to draw us a portrait of the trials and tribulations of this inspired, misunderstood, suspected and troubled soul. It has an octuple, episodic, narrative that marries his own development as a man and an artist with the quite literally revolutionary goings on as his country is, frequently quite brutally, coming into some some semblance of cohesive existence. It focuses on the role of the church in this most religious, and superstitious, of nations and offers us a much less aggressive correlation between the communist Soviet threads so often prevalent in sate backed movies made at the time and of those iconic figures so prominent in Russian history. The imagery is creatively bamboozling at times; the story doesn't follow any linear a-b-c narrative and we are presented with an oblique interpretation not just of his life, but of life in an embryonic nation that is emerging from an almost primitive existence - and that is fascinating (if not always easy to follow and/or comprehend). It is the vision of the man in the title, but also of the man behind the camera - a startlingly effective sequence of beautifully photographed concepts that offer layers of complexities depicting human nature in pretty much all of it's guises. Surprisingly, for a film in excess of three hours, it flows effortlessly with Anatoliy Solonitsyn conveying an overwhelming sense of humanity with his character. If you can ever see it on a cinema screen, then it is definite a must - especially the last ten minutes or so which demonstrate (in glorious colour) some of his magnificent artistry.
The tangled affairs of George, Prince of Wales, leading to his illegal marriage to commoner Mrs. Fitzherbert. Also portrayed is the conflict between the future George IV and his father George III.
A look at the life of French designer Yves Saint Laurent from the beginning of his career in 1958 when he met his lover and business partner, Pierre Berge.
In 1919, during the post-revolution Russian Civil War, a naval detachment (made up of communist Reds) defends the strategic city of Petrograd from the White Russian counterrevolutionary forces
A reporter becomes the target of a vicious smear campaign that drives him to the point of suicide after he exposes the CIA's role in arming Contra rebels in Nicaragua and importing cocaine into California. Based on the true story of journalist Gary Webb.
Teacher Suman is adamant in not allowing his daughter Kamariah to follow in his footsteps as the field did not bring him blessings.
A journey through several countries to find those who really know Kim Jong-un, North Korea's leader, in an attempt to profile a contradictory dictator who seems to rule his nation with both disturbing benevolence and cold cruelty while being worshipped as a living god by his subjects in exalted displays of ridiculous fanaticism.
American chess champion Bobby Fischer prepares for a legendary match-up against Russian Boris Spassky.
Eccentric British painter J.M.W. Turner lives his last 25 years with gusto and secretly becomes involved with a seaside landlady, while his faithful housekeeper bears an unrequited love for him.
This film is based on the life of Kawashima Yoshiko, originally Manchu princess who was the 14th daughter of Emperor Xu, later brought up as a Japanese and served as a spy in the service of the Japanese Kwantung Army and Manchukuo during the Second World War.
British stockbroker Nicholas Winton visits Czechoslovakia in the 1930s and forms plans to assist in the rescue of Jewish children before the onset of World War II, in an operation that came to be known as the Kindertransport.