The More We Are Together

Ruddigore

The Baronet of Ruddigore, Sir Despard Murgatroyd, has inherited a family curse which forces him to commit a crime every day — or die in agony. He hates the curse, doing his heinous misdeeds as early as possible and good works for the rest of the day to compensate!

The Fire and the Rose

A documentary on the life and work of the composer Sofia Gubaidulina.

Peter Grimes

Benjamin Britten's opera as performed by the English National Opera, with Philip Langridge in the title role.

Carmen by Georges Bizet

Bizet's masterwork, Carmen, directed for stage by the Spanish actress Núria Espert. Royal Opera House in Covent Garden in 1989.

One Pair of Eyes

A monthly series of highly personal documentary films in which individuals are given a platform to discuss issues close to their heart.

The Miraculous Circumstance: Bartok, Folklorist

In 1906 the young Bela Bartok set out to discover the forgotten music of his people. He found a vast treasure of folk music all over Eastern Europe, and he called his discovery 'a miraculous circumstance'. In this film the late A. L. Lloyd retraces Bartok's journeys through Hungary and Romania to rediscover that treasure of native music.

The Movies: 'Action Speaks Louder Than Words'

An interview with American director, Anthony Mann. This documentary was first seen as episode 8 of the BBC TV series "The Movies." (A 17-minute excerpt from this show appears on the Criterion Collection's release of "The Furies.")

My Homeland

Perhaps this is Robert Vas' most personal film; a portrait of his country - Hungary - as seen through the eyes of an exile. Robert Vas escaped from his homeland after the brutal crushing of the 1956 Hungarian Uprising by the Russians and he was never able to return. He portrays his country through the writings of Hungary's national poets and illustrates the film with images of the Revolution and of the society it would become in the years immediately following 1956. The film was transmitted on the 20th anniversary of the crushing of the uprising.

Beethoven: Triple Concerto And Choral Fantasy

Daniel Barenboim conducts the Berliner Philharmoniker in performances of Beethoven's 'Triple Concerto' and 'Choral Fantasy'. Itzhak Perlman and Yo-Yo Ma are joined by Carola Höhn, Katherina Kammerloher, Andrea Bönig and Endrick Wottrich, amongst others.

Signs of Vigorous Life: The New German Cinema

BBC documentary about the rise of the New German Cinema and several of its most important figures.

Costakis: The Collector

One public housing flat in Moscow stood out above all others: the home of George Costakis, the foremost collector of early 20th century Russian avant-garde art. Its walls were crowded with banned and forgotten works by artists such as Malevich, Tatlin, Kandinsky, Chagall, Lissitzky, Rodchenko, and Kliun; public figures such as Edward Kennedy, Stravinsky, and Alfred Barr visited. Barrie Gavin met the collector in 1982 at his home in Athens. Costakis, a Greek born in Russia, passionately shares his story and those of the great Russian avant-garde artists. Their works are his legacy – without him, they would not have survived the political upheavals in Russia.

For Memory

Charts a journey through various `memory' productions such as murals, monuments, TV histories, commemorations etc, and in so doing questions the role that historical memory plays in our society.

Neither

Film of Morton Feldman's short opera (libretto by Samuel Beckett).

The Nomad

An interview with film director Roman Polanski, recorded for BBC TV in 1967.

Monsieur Hulot's Work

Interview with French director Jacques Tati, focusing on his on-screen persona, Monsieur Hulot. Produced for the British television series "Omnibus".

Beyond a Boundary

A film based on Beyond a Boundary, the classic book by C. L. R. James,

Helvetica

Helvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. It looks at the proliferation of one typeface (which will celebrate its 50th birthday in 2007) as part of a larger conversation about the way type affects our lives. The film is an exploration of urban spaces in major cities and the type that inhabits them, and a fluid discussion with renowned designers about their work, the creative process, and the choices and aesthetics behind their use of type.