Laughing Matters

Strange Fish looks at our quest for someone to love and something, or someone, to believe in. The tyranny of couples and groups, the pain of not belonging and the fear of being alone are all laid bare in a series of powerful images. Strange Fish mixes humour, religious iconography and physicality, taking it beyond the boundaries of traditional dance.

The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and the Royal Swedish Ballet perform two works by choreographer Ulysses Dove, "Vespers" and "Dancing on the Front Porch of Heaven."

This documentary revisits the making of Gone with the Wind via archival footage, screen tests, insightful interviews and rare film footage.

This documentary series uses drama and commentary to shed light on the lives and works of Joseph Conrad, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, T. S. Eliot, Henrik Ibsen, James Joyce, Franz Kafka, Thomas Mann, Luigi Pirandello, Marcel Proust and Virginia Woolf.

Martin Scorsese presents this very personal and insightful new feature-length documentary about British filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.

Funny Business is a documentary style television series about the craft of comedy consisting of six 50-minute episodes. The first episode aired in the UK 22 November 1992. The show was also shown in Germany and released on video. It was directed by David Hinton. The writers were Rowan Atkinson, Robin Driscoll, and David Hinton. It was produced by Tiger Television Productions. The show featured appearances by many comedians, including Rowan Atkinson who made an appearance both as the presenter/narrator, and as an aspiring comedy actor named Kevin. Atkinson demonstrated many of the principles of comedy in a manner which was instantly identifiable to anyone familiar with his Mr. Bean character.

Francis Bacon revolutionised figurative painting in the 20th century. The English painter unmasked his subjects in a provocative and ruthless manner. Deformed bodies, grimacing faces and the materiality of colour make us aware of brutality and sexuality, existential abysses and the fears of existence. Author Melvyn Bragg accompanies the painter throughout his day. This begins in his London atelier, leads us on to his favourite pub and ends up in gambling club in Soho.

"Nora" is based on true stories of the dancer Nora Chipaumire, who was born in Zimbabwe in 1965. In the film, Nora returns to the landscape of her childhood and takes a journey through some vivid memories of her youth. Using performance and dance, she brings her history to life in a swiftly-moving poem of sound and image. A girl who is constantly embattled - struggling against all kinds of intimidation and violence - but who slowly gathers strength, pride and independence.

Documentary about the making of the film first presented on the British television series "The South Bank Show".

This movie is a combination of mime and dance that accompanies the "voiced-over" lyrics of a selection of poems by John Betjeman. Altogether, this movie portrays the events of a weekend party at an English country house.

Personal reflections on the best of 20th Century architecture.