A look back at the first 21 years of Britain's most successful film series.

A retrospective of the films of Britain's Hammer Studios, renowned for making stylish horror films in the 1950s, '60s and '70s. Included are clips from Hammer productions and interviews with actors, actresses, directors and producers who worked on these films.

The biography of former Beatle, John Lennon—narrated by Lennon himself—with extensive material from Yoko Ono's personal collection, previously unseen footage from Lennon's private archives, and interviews with David Bowie, his first wife Cynthia, second wife Yoko Ono and sons Julian and Sean.

After starting his career producing religious film shorts, J. Arthur Rank went on to become Britain's first and only movie mogul with his establishment of the legendary Pinewood Studios. Narrated by Michael Caine, THE GOLDEN GONG chronicles Pinewood's rise to success.

Steve Martin's fourth NBC special was in the spirit of his previous association with Saturday Night Live. It was broadcast live from Studio 8H, produced by Lorne Michaels and featured some original cast members of the show.

A behind-the-scenes documentary of the making of 1983's Yellowbeard

To commemorate the fifth anniversary of John Lennon's murder. Journey in the Life chronicles the life of the musician, making use of dramatizations, fantasy-like images, and commentary. The material for the special is drawn from Lennon's writings and songs, along with stills, interviews, and documentary footage of the famous Beatle and dramatic recreations of his life.

1986 FIFA World Cup Official Film. Mexico had just recovered from a devastating earthquake, but the nation put on a great tournament and Argentina, inspired by Maradona, justified "favourite" status. Eighty-six minutes of football magic from numerous world stars, including Diego Maradona, Gary Lineker, Michel Platini, Socrates, Rummenigge, Sanchez, Laudrup and many others. Michael Caine narrates this, the official FIFA coverage.

Hosted by Mark Hamill, this revealing documentary offers behind-the-scenes glimpses into the amazing special effects that transformed George Lucas’ vision for Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back into reality!

Retrospective of the life and movie work of British actor James Mason. The documentary presents interview footage interspersed with some movie excerpts, mainly from his pre-hollywood period.

Documentary examination of the role of Hamlet, in which ten prominent actors who have played the part discuss Hamlet's personality, Shakespeare's play, and the enduring popular fascination it has inspired. The actors interviewed are Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud, Richard Burton, Nicol Williamson, Ben Kingsley, Jean Louis Barrault, Vittorio Gassman, Maximilian Schell, Innocenti Smoktunovsky, and Mandy Patinkin. Includes excerpts from various film and television versions of Hamlet, featuring these actors and others.

Director Guy Hamilton and several of the stars of Agatha Christie's "Evil Under The Sun" walk you through the making of the film.

BBC documentary. Witness John Williams composing the legendary score for The Empire Strikes Back and conducting the London Symphony Orchestra.

Mel Brooks delivers an enjoyable hour of comic diversion with his lovely actress-wife Anne Bancroft, writer comedian Ronny Graham and British Shakespearean actor Jonathan Pryce. Brooks Spontaneous humor, social commentaries and zany sketches leave the audience rolling in the aisles and will leave you wanting more of Mel!

Hollywood is still the home of the American Dream - the place where fame and fortune can be achieved overnight. Or so the story goes. For some it does come true. In this status conscious town Barry Norman looks at the attitudes towards success and failure among the famous and not quite so famous.

Julie is an English student assigned to write a paper about "nudity in the 80s". A bit overwhelmed at first she takes on the project by visiting a nudist camping with her boyfriend. But while she learns about nudity and nudism, her boyfriend struggles to keep up.

Michael Caine teaches the art of movie acting to five young actors, who perform scenes from Alfie (1966), Deathtrap (1982) and Educating Rita (1983)

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.

A humorous documentary on the making of Alex Cox's punk biopic SID AND NANCY. Features exclusive behind the scenes production and commentaries from Alex Cox, Gary Oldman, Chloe Webb, David Hayman, Eric Fellner and more...

Documentary about the work of puppeteer Jim Henson and his team in creating The Muppet Show.

Trace the life and career of visionary puppeteer Jim Henson through this fascinating documentary, which profiles the creative genius's early endeavors in college, his incredible contributions to "Sesame Street" and the creation of "The Muppet Show." In addition to interviews with Henson, his wife, Jane, and close collaborator Frank Oz, this in-depth special also offers viewers a peek inside the magical Henson Workshop.

A documentary video that profiles the life of David Lean, the director of Doctor Zhivago and Lawrence of Arabia.

The very first full-length documentary on Scorsese offers an invaluable look at how he was perceived by his colleagues, and himself, in 1977. Catching Scorsese while he was in post-production on New York, New York and editing The Last Waltz, British filmmaker Peter Hayden gets the manically hyper Scorsese to comment on his youth, his relation to his lead characters, the making of Mean Streets and most importantly, his approach to direction. The doc doesn’t quite move at the pace of Scorsese’s revved-up speed-talking, but it does offer some real insight into his productivity in the 1970s, thanks to an impressive array of talking heads. Included are Scorsese’s collaborators Jay Cocks, Mardik Martin, Brian De Palma, Steven Prince (who co-produced this doc), and his mentor John Cassavetes. Also the performers, who discuss his working methods in detail — Jodie Foster, Liza Minnelli, and, of course, Robert De Niro.

This 1986 documentary features interviews with director Alexander Mackendrick, actor Burt Lancaster, producer James Hill, and others.

The true story of German-Czech businessman Oskar Schindler (1908-74) as told by some of the Jews — more than a thousand people — whose lives he saved from extermination during World War II.

Writer and Director Mike Leigh discusses the techniques used to create his plays.

First broadcast in 1987 on the UK's Channel 4, Bombin' is a documentary about Afrika Bambaataa's Zulu nation bringing American hip-hop culture to the UK for first time. The main focus is the graffiti art of Brim and the variety of reactions he is faced with from the British public and press.

Promotional special for the band's albums "The Game" and "Flash Gordon," featuring concert sequences, music videos, and celebrity cameos.

The National Youth Theatre of Great Britain present an abridged version of Shakespeare's play, with explanatory links and introductions by Martin Jarvis. Following the presentation of the play, members of the company are shown in a workshop with actor-director Ron Daniels.

Route One is the first major U.S. highway. 5000 km along the Atlantic coast, from the Canadian border to the tip of Florida. Doc, a physician who spent many years in Africa, returns to the U.S. and decides to reconnect with his home country by walking the legendary Route One.

Drama documentary which takes the form of an up-dated version of Pygmalion. With a special music score by jazz group Working Week, with real "society" characters and locations from 1984.

In Torre del Lago, by Lake Massaciuccoli, Puccini is writing "The Girl of the Golden West" when his wife Elvira accuses him of a dalliance with their maid, Doria Manfredi, a young women from town. Although the maestro is frequently unfaithful, he denies the affair; Elvira insists she's right and publicly hounds Doria. Between scenes in this domestic drama that turns tragic, we watch a Scottish company rehearse and stage "Turandot," Puccini's last opera. The film finds parallels between the two stories and suggests that in the opera, Puccini expresses love for his wife and guilt in Doria's fate. Three local gentlemen provide a spoken chorus as Puccini's score plays throughout.

A BBC television documentary on the life of Yukio Mishima that highlights the many known major aspects of his life and personality.

Just two years away from turning 30, participants in Michael Apted's documentary series are facing serious questions of identity and purpose, wondering whether they've found their place in the world.

Tony Rayns presents the work of the 'Fifth Generation' and other innovative filmmakers who emerged during the 1980s in China.

The impact of Marx on the 20th century has been all-pervasive and world-wide. This program looks at the man, at the roots of his philosophy, at the causes and explanations of his philosophical development, and at its most direct outcome: the failed Soviet Union.

A panel of experts examines the five main suspects in the Jack the Ripper murders and determines which of them is the most likely to have committed the crimes.

Urgh! A Music War is a British film released in 1982 featuring performances by punk rock, new wave, and post-punk acts, filmed in 1980. Among the artists featured in the movie are Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD), Magazine, The Go-Go's, Toyah Willcox, The Fleshtones, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, X, XTC, Devo, The Cramps, Oingo Boingo, Dead Kennedys, Gary Numan, Klaus Nomi, Wall of Voodoo, Pere Ubu, Steel Pulse, Surf Punks, 999, UB40, Echo & the Bunnymen and The Police. These were many of the most popular groups on the New Wave scene; in keeping with the spirit of the scene, the film also features several less famous acts, and one completely obscure group, Invisible Sex, in what appears to be their only public performance.

Made a year after Luis Buñuel's death in 1983 this is an illuminating portrait of the surreal and visionary director, featuring clips, archival interviews, and commentary from scholars and contemporaries including Catherine Deneuve, Fernando Rey, and Jeanne Moreau. Directed by Anthony Wall with readings from Buñuel's autobiography by Paul Scofield. Six trims to meet copyright restrictions.

An event organised by CND pits the bomb against poetry. Hear artists who hoped that words and rhymes could put an end to destructive times.

Ex-colleagues reflect on the comic genius and sometimes difficult character of Tony Hancock.

Documentary about the making of Nagisa Oshima's 1983 film MERRY CHRISTMAS MR. LAWRENCE.

The first of two documentaries about Ingmar Bergman produced to mark his 70th birthday. Includes behind the scenes "home movies" from Bergman's personal archive, interviews with Bergman recorded over his 40 years in the film industry and passages from his autobiography read by Max von Sydow and Bergman himself.

With film clips and photos, Eric Sykes gives a tongue-in-cheek account of his follies and fortunes as an actor, gag writer, and comedian in a long and successful career in the theatre, on radio and television. He pays tribute to his friends in showbusiness and in particular to Hattie Jacques, Richard Wattis and the team of his long-running Sykes series.

A short film to warn children of sexual predators.

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.

Rude Boy is a semi-documentary, part character study, part 'rockumentary', featuring a British punk band, The Clash. The script includes the story of a fictional fan juxtposed with actual public events of the day, including political demonstrations and Clash concerts.

A behind-the-scenes look at the putting on of the successful West End stage musical, including footage of the cast rehearsing and the triumphant first night.

A rather incoherent post-breakup Sex Pistols "documentary", told from the point of view of Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren, whose (arguable) position is that the Sex Pistols in particular and punk rock in general were an elaborate scam perpetrated by him in order to make "a million pounds."

Documentary about Merchant Ivory Productions, including interviews with the principals of the film production company and actors which have appeared in their films.

Documentary about the British film studio. First appeared on the BBC television programme Omnibus.

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

Friends, contemporaries and even enemies of Alexander the Great gather in a tent to tell his tale through their eyes.

A look at the career of Oscar-winning cameraman Chris Menges. Filmed on location of 'Comfort and Joy'. Chris Menges discusses his early career in television and film. Featuring interviews with Bill Forsyth, Bill Paterson, Ken Loach, Neil Jordan, and Jeremy Isaacs.

Arena celebrates Roy Plomley's Desert Island Discs with the help of many celebrity castaways, including Frankie Howerd, Russell Harty, Trevor Brooking, the Lord Mayor of London, Professor JK Galbraith and Arthur Askey. The special guest for the 40th anniversary programme was Paul McCartney who was also a fan of the show: 'I love its homeliness. It conjures up the best in traditional British pleasure, like the great British breakfast. It's an honour to be asked'.

Peter Watkins' global look at the impact of military use of nuclear technology and people's perception of it, as well as a meditation on the inherent bias of the media, and documentaries themselves.

Israeli Go-Go Boys Golan and Globus at the height of their careers - everybody is working for Cannon!

An interview with Legendary Actor Peter Cushing and clips from some of his best films.

In this BBC documentary directed by Andrew Neal and narrated by David Attenborough, modern medical imaging allows scientists and doctors to observe human development in the womb as never before. Following the stages of pregnancy from conception to birth, the film reveals the complex biological processes that shape the earliest months of human life. (Note: Standalone BBC2 documentary (1981) broadcast within the "General Studies" strand but produced and credited as an independent titled program.)

A promotional piece for the Disney film "Return to Oz", that also traces the history of the Oz books and films.