Philip Bonham-Carter

A woman who has been institutionalized for 60 years for the "crime" of not conforming to the 1920s image of what a proper young woman should be (in other words, she did what she wanted and didn't care what anyone else thought about it) is finally released to the custody of her family, consisting of her grand-nephew and his family. At first she keeps a self-imposed distance from the relatives, but she soon finds herself coming around to her nephew's wife, a free spirit who is under the thumb of her cold and controlling husband.

This is the definitive video biography of rock 'n roll legend Buddy Holly. Produced and hosted by former Beatle, Paul McCartney, includes interviews with Keith Richards, Phil and Don Everly, Sonny Curtis, Jerry Allison, Holly's family, and McCartney himself, among others.

Fear and Loathing on the Road to Hollywood, also known as Fear and Loathing in Gonzovision, is a documentary film produced by BBC in 1978 on the subject of Hunter S. Thompson, directed by Nigel Finch. The road trip/film pairs Thompson with Finch's fellow Briton the illustrator Ralph Steadman. The party travel to Hollywood via Death Valley and Barstow from Las Vegas, scene of the pair's 1971 collaboration. It contains interviews with Thompson and Steadman, as well as some short excerpts from some of his work.

Francis Ashby, a senior Oxford don on holiday alone in the Alps, meets holidaying American Caroline and her companion Elinor, the blossoming Irish-American girl she adopted many years before. Ashby finds he enjoys their company, particularly that of Elinor, and both the women are drawn to him. Back at Oxford he is nevertheless taken aback when they arrive unannounced. Women are not allowed in the College grounds, let alone the rooms. Indeed any liaison, however innocent, is frowned on by the upstanding Fellows.

Miss Barwick is 90 years old. She has lived peacefully in the same house all her life - until a young property developer arrives at her front door to make her an offer ...

A largely dialogue-free drama set around a platoon of British soldiers from the Parachute regiment patrolling the bandit country of South Armagh, off the rural border between Northern Ireland and the Republic.

It's a new start for teenager Rita Patel and her family - new home, new school, new diary, new life. But their happiness is short-lived when racist skinheads attack the family and their home.

In a small (fictional) emirate of the Persian Gulf a world-weary journalist is caught up in a coup where the Emir's son, under the influence of a political renegade, attempts to depose his father - the ruling monarch. Flashbacks of the journalist's life show us how his relationships with the Emir and a beautiful young woman develop and flourish.

A documentary about and an interview with Hollywood actress Bette Davis about her life and career from the late 1920s to the 1980s on stage and mostly before the camera.

A film portrait of the New Wave singer-songwriter Poly Styrene, which originally aired as part of the Arena series on BBC.

In this landmark 1977 documentary, narrator Ronald Eyre journeys to Taiwan to explore the vibrant and complex world of Chinese folk religion. Facilitated by the pioneering team behind ECHO Magazine—Linda Wu (吳美雲), Huang Yong-song (黃永松), and Yao Meng-chia (姚孟嘉) —the film captures a rare and precious glimpse of 1970s Taiwan, a time when ancient spiritual traditions remained deeply woven into the fabric of daily life. From the thunderous temple festivals and the mystical trances of spirit mediums to the quiet ancestral rites in family halls, "A Question of Balance" examines how the pursuit of the "Way" (the Tao) provides a sense of cosmic harmony amidst a modernizing society. It stands as a definitive visual record of a vanishing era, showcasing the enduring power of Taoist belief and its diverse pantheon of deities.

Melvyn Bragg presents this 1977 documentary about Doctor Who from BBC2's 'The Lively Arts' strand, featuring extensive behind-the-scenes coverage of the making of The Talons of Weng-Chiang and looking back at the history of the programme and its psychological impact on the viewers, particularly children.

Humphrey Burton introduces two Omnibus USA reports on the arts in New York... that is the arts in the streets, away from the museums and the concert halls. One film is 'Saturday in Soho', an impression of artists, dancers and musicians' work and of the Soho area in general. The second is 'Watching My Name Go By', a showcase a kind of graffiti cult game played by 11 to 17-year-olds. It's illegal and dangerous - and while some New Yorkers think it's a kind of art, others think it's kind of disgusting.

Join the BBC cameras as they go behind the glitter of Buckingham Palace and the pomp of Windsor Castle for a close-up look at the minutia of the monarchy. Culled from a year of unprecedented access to Queen Elizabeth II, the documentary trails the queen as she interacts one-on-one with her family, her staff, her public, and international heads of state. Go behind closed doors for Christmas with the royal family, eavesdrop on cocktail chatter with Ron and Nancy Reagan, and catch unguarded moments when the queen pilots her own jeep or romps with her dogs. Elizabeth R. is a once-in-a-lifetime glimpse into the everyday life of a queen.

Businessman Jack Humpage and his secretary Janice try to make an unconventional deal with a merchant bank before Humpage's son finds out.

In a small town in occupied France in 1941, the German officer, Werner Von Ebrennac is billeted in the house of the uncle and his niece. The uncle and niece refuse to speak to him, but each evening the officer warms himself by the fire and talks of his country, his music, and his idealistic views of the relationship between France and Germany.

The controversial English artist Stanley Spencer scandalised the art world when he painted the Resurrection taking place in the churchyard of Cookham, his home village by the River Thames; and further scandalised the village when he decided that to nourish his imagination he needed two wives.

Ten pupils from an independent public school (Rugby) and a state comprehensive school (Ruffwood) exchange places and lives.

Intimate portrait of the daily life of the British Royal Family drawn from 18 months of filming within Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and Balmoral.

Reader's Digest Invites you to journey back through 6,000 years and revisit some of the greatest cultures the world has ever known. Journey back to Athens, the world's first democracy, as Pericles helps usher it into a Golden Age of unparalleled achievement in philospohy, science and art. And, discover the very essence of what it meant to live as an ancient Roman, part of a military colossus that, even to the present day, is regarded as "The Ultimate Empire." Celebrate the gods at the Colosseum... spy on a Roman emperor's wife... dance with the cult of Dionysus... mingle with gladiators preparing for battle... join Socrates at the Symposium... see why Caesar was assassinated... and much more!

Back in London from abroad, Bill English has it all - smart flat with a river view, flash car and, of course, the beautiful Anna. But he was born and brought up in these parts and everything's changed. Anna asks: 'Where are the ghosts Bill?'

Devon 1940. The boys of the local public school are alerted after a German parachute drop and as members of the Local Defence Volunteers they prepare to put their youthful enthusiasm for war into practice.

A hot day by the Thames - very hot for some Deptford children. When they and some dockers spot a 'prize' in the river, the race is on between the rival factions to win it.

Tony Robinson takes a look at the facts behind the myth of Shakespeare's Macbeth, and finds a quite different character and story to that created by the 'Bard of Avon'.

Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted. The individual episodes were between fifty and a hundred minutes in duration.

Omnibus was an arts-based BBC television documentary series, broadcast mainly on BBC1 in the United Kingdom. The programme was the successor to the long-running arts-based series 'Monitor'. It ran from 1967 until 2003, usually being transmitted on Sunday evenings. During its 35-year history, the programme won 12 Bafta awards. Among the series' best remembered documentaries are Cracked Actor, a profile of David Bowie, and Rene Magritte, a graduate film by David Wheatley, 'Madonna: Behind the American dream', a film produced by Nadia Hagger, and a profile of the British film director Ridley Scott. For a season in 1982, the series was in a magazine format presented by Barry Norman. The series was replaced by 'Imagine' hosted by Alan Yentob.

The Family was a 1974 BBC television series made by producer Paul Watson, and directed by Franc Roddam. It was a fly-on-the-wall documentary series, seen by many as the precursor to reality television. It was similar to an American documentary which had aired the previous year in 1973, called An American Family. It followed the working-class Wilkins family of six of Reading, through their daily lives, warts and all, and culminated in the marriage of one of the daughters, which was plagued by fans and paparazzi alike.