Black Narcissus Tensions grow when a group of nuns open a convent in the Himalayas in Powell and Pressburger’s remarkable melodrama, starring Deborah Kerr. Drama 1947 101 mins Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger Brief Encounter Noël Coward’s tale of a love affair, thrillingly played out with tight British reserve. Romance 1946 86 mins David Lean Burning an Illusion Menelik Shabazz’s pioneering first feature traces the emotional and political growth of a young black couple in Thatcher’s London. Drama 1982 102 mins Menelik Shabazz Blithe Spirit A séance results in a man’s first wife returning from the dead in Noël Coward’s wonderful comedy. Comedy Fantasy 1945 96 mins David Lean A Canterbury Tale Powell and Pressburger's most personal film combines a Chaucer-inspired pilgrimage with a war-time celebration of English landscape and values to create a gem of British cinema. War 1944 125 mins Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger Distant Voices, Still Lives Terence Davies' debut feature is a remarkable evocation of working-class family life in the 40s and 50s and a visionary exploration of memory. Biopic Historical drama 1988 84 mins Terence Davies The Draughtsman's Contract Peter Greenaway became a director of international status with this witty, stylised, erotic country house murder mystery. Period drama 1982 107 mins Peter Greenaway The Elephant Man David Lynch's moving true-life tale of the severely deformed Joseph Merrick and his rescue from the hell of a Victorian circus sideshow. Biopic Historical drama 1980 124 mins David Lynch The Four Feathers Ambitiously mounted and shot in Technicolor, this is by far the best screen adaptation of the popular adventure story set during the Anglo-Sudan War. Action and Adventure Period drama 1939 115 mins Zoltan Korda Genevieve Classic British comedy about two vintage automobile enthusiasts racing from Brighton to London. Comedy 1953 83 mins Henry Cornelius Great Expectations The first of David Lean’s two Dickens adaptations is one of the finest British literary interpretations and one of the most acclaimed of all British films. Drama Period drama 1947 118 mins David Lean Green for Danger A series of murders at a wartime hospital are probed by an eccentric policeman. Medical drama Police drama 1947 87 mins Sidney Gilliat Hell Is a City Punchy crime thriller with a realist streak as Stanley Baker pursues a fugitive through the streets of Manchester. Police drama 1960 96 mins Val Guest Henry V Laurence Olivier rouses an all-star cast and an imperiled nation with his magnificent adaptation of Shakespeare's warrior monarch. Biopic Historical drama 1944 131 mins Laurence Olivier Ill Met by Moonlight Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s film of the daring WII raid to capture a German commander, with Dirk Bogarde and Marius Goring. War 1957 100 mins Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger The Ipcress File The coolest spy of all – Michael Caine’s Harry Palmer – makes his brilliant big screen debut in this landmark British spy thriller. Crime Thriller 1965 108 mins Sidney J. Furie The Lady Vanishes An old woman disappears mysteriously on a busy train in Hitchcock’s delightful classic. Thriller 1938 96 mins Alfred Hitchcock The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp Powell and Pressburger’s masterpiece follows the rise and fall of a career soldier, from dashing and brave young officer in the Boer War to a pompous and old-fashioned Colonel by the time of World War Two. War 1943 164 mins Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger A Matter of Life and Death Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s timeless romantic fantasy, with David Niven as an airman trapped between life and death. Fantasy War 1946 104 mins Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger My Ain Folk The second part of the revered Bill Douglas Trilogy follows Jamie as he ends up in a children’s home. Drama 1974 55 mins Bill Douglas My Childhood The first part of Bill Douglas’ poetic and profoundly stirring autobiographical trilogy, about an eight-year-old boy growing up in a Scottish mining village in 1945. Drama 1973 46 mins Bill Douglas My Way Home Concluding his acclaimed Trilogy, Bill Douglas’ autobiographical film follows young Jamie as he’s conscripted in the RAF and finally feels at home. Drama 1979 72 mins Bill Douglas A Night to Remember Widely regarded as the finest film account of the sinking of the Titanic, this moving seafaring disaster tale will grip you from start to finish. Disaster Historical drama 1958 123 mins Roy Ward Baker Odd Man Out Wounded during a robbery, a gunman attempts to escape police in Carol Reed's moody Irish thriller, starring James Mason. Crime 1947 116 mins Carol Reed Oliver Twist Arguably the essential Dickens adaptation, David Lean’s evocative portrayal of Victorian London in sooty black and white features Alec Guinness as a memorably sinister Fagin. Period drama 1948 116 mins David Lean Peeping Tom Michael Powell’s dark, disturbing, once controversial tale of a shy camera technician who films women as he kills them is now rightly deemed a classic. Drama 1960 101 mins Michael Powell The Red Shoes Moira Shearer’s ballerina is torn between love and her career in Powell and Pressburger’s hugely influential melodrama. Drama Fantasy 1948 135 mins Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger Seance on a Wet Afternoon Bryan Forbes’ stylish psychological thriller about a medium who plans to kidnap a child and help the police solve the crime to bolster her reputation as a clairvoyant. Crime 1964 111 mins Bryan Forbes Things to Come H.G. Wells' chilling vision of the future, which imagines the 20th Century as a near-endless war and struggle against tyranny, remains a key milestone in British science fiction. Science Fiction 1936 97 mins William Cameron Menzies The 39 Steps Sublime and suspenseful version of the popular John Buchan spy thriller from the master of suspense himself, Alfred Hitchcock. Thriller 1935 83 mins Alfred Hitchcock This Sporting Life Lindsay Anderson’s fantastic first feature masterfully dissects the brutal life struggles of a rough-edged rugby footballer on and off the field. Sport 1963 129 mins Lindsay Anderson Tiger Bay A young girl witnesses a murder, befriending the killer and shielding him from the police. Police drama Thriller 1959 113 mins J. Lee Thompson Victim This thought-provoking classic stars Dirk Bogarde as a homosexual lawyer who risks his career to hunt down a blackmailer. Crime Drama 1961 100 mins Basil Dearden The Way Ahead A stirring wartime drama about seven ordinary men who become a formidable fighting force. War 1944 115 mins Carol Reed Whisky Galore! Ealing's thirstiest comedy: "the longest unsponsored advertisement ever to reach cinema screens"? Comedy 1949 83 mins Alexander Mackendrick Back to the Future Part II Marty McFly and Doc return for the fast-paced sequel that flits between 2015, 1955 and an alternate 1985 where the dastardly Biff has become rich and powerful. Comedy Science Fiction 1989 108 mins Robert Zemeckis Mogul Mowgli Bassam Tariq’s visceral directorial debut, co-written with Riz Ahmed, finds a British-Pakistani rapper’s life spiralling out of control when, on the cusp of success, he succumbs to a debilitating illness. Drama 2020 89 mins Bassam Tariq
