Laurence Olivier directs and stars in this classic adaptation of Shakespeare's play about the king who led England to victory in the Battle of Agincourt. The film pays tribute to its origins by opening in a version of the Globe Theatre in 17th century London, where Henry (Olivier) takes to the stage along with a variety of nobles to discuss his plans to stake a claim to the French throne. As the range of Henry's ambitions make themselves known, the theatrical artifice gives way to a more naturalised style and follows Henry as he sets sail from Southampton with his army. Inspired by Henry, the invading English hand the French several defeats, culminating in a triumph against far superior numbers at Agincourt. Shot during WWII, the film was designed to raise morale in the ongoing battle against Nazi Germany and earned Olivier an Academy Award for his 'outstanding achievement' in bringing the film to screen.

"I recommend that you read and use the information in this book to provide your athletes with the best chances of performing at their best"
from the foreword by Sir Clive Woodward, Olympic Performance Director, British Olympic Association

This book provides the latest scientific and practical information in the field of strength and conditioning.

The text is presented in four sections, the first of which covers the biological aspects of the subject, laying the foundation for a better understanding of the second on the biological responses to strength and conditioning programs. Section three deals with the most effective monitoring strategies for evaluating a training program and establishing guidelines for writing a successful strength and conditioning program. The final section examines the role of strength and conditioning as a rehabilitation tool and as applied to those with disabilities.

This book is an invaluable textbook and reference both for academic programs and for the continuing education of sports professionals.Integrates the latest research on physiological, anatomical and biomechanical aspects of strength and conditioningOffers numerous practical examples of applicationsProvides guidelines for writing and monitoring effective strength training programs

Alfred Hitchcock directed this adaptation of the Daphne du Maurier novel - his last British film - before leaving for Hollywood and a contract with David O. Selznick. Young orphan Mary (Maureen O'Hara) arrives in 18th century Cornwall to live with her Uncle Joss (Leslie Banks), the landlord of Jamaica Inn. After finding work as a barmaid, Mary discovers that Joss commands a band of pirates who smuggle contraband from wrecked ships. Mary is further unnerved by the ever-present Justice of the Peace, Sir Humphrey Pengallan (Charles Laughton).

In the original version of the film (it was remade in 1944 with an all-star cast) Anton Walbrook stars as an obsessive murderer and thief who slowly drives his wife to the brink of insanity as he searches for a cache of priceless jewels. This original was thought to have been destroyed many years ago, but was discovered in the vaults at MGM.

Young Jim Hawkins (Bobby Driscoll) finds himself set for adventure on the high seas when he is entrusted with a treasure map by ailing pirate Billy Bones.The map shows the location of treasure buried by Bones' former captain, Flint. Other members of Flint's crew are also after the booty, so Jim is accompanied by Squire Trelawney and Doctor Livesy as they make their way by sea to the island where the treasure is hidden. However, some of Flint's crew, led by the one-legged John Silver (Robert Newton), have managed to inveigle their way aboard Jim's ship as crew members, and will stop at nothing to get their hands on the treasure.

Michael Anderson directs this classic British drama following Peter McCabe (Robert Newton), a sailor who leaves his wife and three children to fend for themselves in a Liverpool slum during the Great Depression. Then, after an absence of 14 years, Peter returns, but not to a warm welcome...

Robert Newton stars in this 1930s British crime thriller directed by Harold French. Aylmer Franklyn (Newton) is a struggling writer with debt collectors on his trail. When he discovers a dead man partially hidden beneath a tree, Aylmer hatches a plan he believes will help leave his problems behind - by exchanging his clothes with the dead man he will feign his own death and escape his financial obligations. Unfortunately, the dead man whose identity he assumes had some problems of his own and Aylmer quickly finds Scotland Yard on his trail. Can he disentangle himself from the mess before he ends up in even more trouble?

An episodic tale of an average working class family in the war years.

Directed by David Lean, the story traces the melodrama caused by illicit affairs, family bereavement, the first ripples of women's liberation and political instability in the country during the General Strike.

It highlights the fact that these internal wranglings are all happening in one house in an average street, and that each average house has its own dramatic stories to tell. Adapted from Noel Coward's stage play.

James Mason plays a hitman in this tense, atmospheric thriller from the director of 'The Third Man'. Johnny (James Mason) is the idealistic leader of an illegal organisation whi is on the run after escaping from prison. An attempt to hold up a linen mill goes wrong and Johnny is badly wounded. As the police hunt him down, Johnny searches for Kathleen, the woman who loves him.

Michael Anderson directs this classic British drama following Peter McCabe (Robert Newton), a sailor who leaves his wife and three children to fend for themselves in a Liverpool slum during the Great Depression. Then, after an absence of 14 years, Peter returns, but not to a warm welcome...

An episodic tale of an average working class family in the interwar years. Narrated by Laurence Olivier and directed by David Lean, the story traces the melodrama caused by illicit affairs, family bereavement, the first ripples of women's liberation and political instability in the country during the General Strike. It highlights the fact that these internal wranglings are all happening in one house in an average street, and that each average house has its own dramatic stories to tell. Adapted from Noel Coward's stage play.

Classic British crime drama starring Vivien Leigh, Leslie Banks and Laurence Olivier. Keith Durrant (Banks) is a brilliant young barrister on the verge of being promoted to the bench. His plans hit a snag when his younger brother, Larry (Olivier), accidentally kills the ex-husband of his girlfriend, Wanda (Leigh), and asks Durrant for help. Durrant realises that he cannot go to the police because he may run the risk of ruining his promotion, so he says nothing. When a tramp is arrested for the murder, Larry knows he must turn himself in before the man is sentenced for a crime he did not commit. Sentencing takes place in 21 days, so Larry and Wanda decide to enjoy those days in the best way they can. However, when the tramp dies in prison, Larry is torn between confessing or living with the guilty secret forever.

Three classic films adapted from novels by Charles Dickens. In 'A Tale of Two Cities' (1958), Sydney Carton (Dirk Bogarde) is a frivolous London barrister, hopelessly in love with Lucie (Dorothy Tutin), even after she marries Charles Darnay (Paul Guers), who is descended from an unpleasant French aristocrat. Darnay is lured back to France as the Revolution gets into swing where he is arrested and awaits execution. Sydney, seeing Lucie's despair, goes to France, frees Charles and takes his place in the queue for the guillotine. In 'Oliver Twist' (1948), Oliver (John Howard Davis) is a young orphan boy who is expelled from the workhouse run by Mr Bumble (Francis L. Sullivan). After becoming an apprentice to an undertaker Oliver decides to run away to London, only to meet the Artful Dodger (Anthony Newley) and fall amongst his gang of thieves, led by the scheming Fagin (Alec Guinness). Finally, in 'Great Expectations' (1946), orphan Pip (Anthony Wager) befriends an escaped convict before being elevated to higher circles as the companion of mad Miss Havisham (Martita Hunt) and her niece, Estella (Jean Simmons), with whom the boy quickly falls in love. When the adult Pip (John Mills) discovers a mysterious benefactor has paved the way for him to become a gentleman, he assumes Miss Havisham is responsible.

Laurence Olivier directs and stars in this classic adaptation of Shakespeare's play about the king who led England to victory in the Battle of Agincourt. The film pays tribute to its origins by opening in a version of the Globe Theatre in 17th century London, where Henry (Olivier) takes to the stage along with a variety of nobles to discuss his plans to stake a claim to the French throne. As the range of Henry's ambitions make themselves known, the theatrical artifice gives way to a more naturalised style and follows Henry as he sets sail from Southampton with his army. Inspired by Henry, the invading English hand the French several defeats, culminating in a triumph against far superior numbers at Agincourt. Shot during WWII, the film was designed to raise morale in the ongoing battle against Nazi Germany and earned Olivier an Academy Award for his 'outstanding achievement' in bringing the film to screen.

Box set featuring six Shakespeare adaptations starring legendary actor Laurence Olivier. In 'King Lear' (1983), the ageing King Lear (Olivier) decides to split his kingdom between three daughters - Regan, Cordelia and Goneril - with each receiving a share appropriate to the amount of love they feel for him. However, when the faithful Cordelia refuses to protest her devotion, an enraged Lear foolishly cedes complete control to the devious remaining siblings - with terrible results. In 'Henry V' (1944), the young king (Olivier) puts his rakish past behind him and rallies his men to invade France, winning against the enemy's superior numbers. The film was shot in Ireland to avoid the constant bombardment of the Blitz and Olivier was discharged from the Navy to make the film. In 'Hamlet' (1948), Hamlet (Olivier), Prince of Denmark, is still mourning over the death of his father and his mother Gertrude's (Eileen Herlie) subsequent remarriage to Hamlet's despised uncle, Claudius (Basil Sydney), who is now King. When his father's ghost appears to Hamlet and reveals that it was Claudius who murdered him, the young prince vows revenge. However, a fatal flaw in his character - hesitation - mars his efforts, resulting in murder, madness and treachery. In 'The Merchant of Venice' (1974), Jewish moneylender Shylock (Olivier) provides young Antonio (Anthony Nichols) with a loan, stating that if it is not repaid he will claim a pound of flesh. When Antonio's bond defaults, Shylock attempts to claim his grisly compensation in a court of law, but Portia (Joan Plowright) pleads Antonio's case. In 'Richard III' (1955), Olivier stars as the cold and calculating king, a treacherous and untrustworthy fellow who makes plans to kill anyone who threatens his position. Henry Stafford (Ralph Richardson), the Duke of Clarence (John Gielgud) and Lady Anne Neville (Claire Bloom) are just some of those moving in his orbit. 'As You Like It' (1936) was filmed in England in 1936 when Olivier was still considered a promising young actor rather than one of the finest thespians ever, as he would later become, this is his first filmed Shakespeare performance and thus a milestone in film history.

An obsessed doctor (Robert Newton) determines to kill his wife's younger lover, luring him into a cellar on a bomb site and then leaving him chained up until his meticulous preparations for the murder are complete.

Swashbuckling historical drama starring Flora Robson, Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh. In 1587, the court of Queen Elizabeth I (Robson) is a hotbed of intrigue, espionage and danger. Young naval officer Michael Ingolby (Olivier) is appointed by the Queen to go undercover and infiltrate the court of Philip of Spain to discover the names of the traitors who plot her death. His daring feats earn Ingolby the love of English courtesan Lady Cynthia (Leigh), Spanish noblewoman Elena (Tamara Desni) and Queen Elizabeth herself as he leads the British fleet into battle against the Spanish Armada.

World War Two espionage drama. Robert Newton stars as Captain David Grant, a British secret agent who leads a daring Allied attempt to rescue Swedish atomic scientist Professor Hansen (Martin Miller) from under the noses of Nazi officer Keitel (Herbert Lom) and his minions.

Collection of ten classic films from the award-winning British director. In 'The Sound Barrier' (1952), Ralph Richardson stars as an aircraft manufacturer whose all-consuming passion with making the ultimate supersonic jet kills both his son and son-in-law and almost destroys him and the rest of his family. In 'Hobson's Choice' (1953), Lancashire bootmaker Henry Horatio Hobson (Charles Laughton) keeps a tight rein on his three daughters until his eldest, Maggie (Brenda De Banzie), marries his assistant, Willie Mossop (John Mills), and sets him up in his own bootmaking firm. To Hobson's consternation, Willie has soon become his father-in-law's main business rival. In 'Blithe Spirit' (1945), cynical writer, Charles Condomine (Rex Harrison), asks a medium (Margaret Rutherford) to hold a seance in his house so he can collect material for his latest book. No one is more surprised than the medium when she inadvertently conjures up the ghost of Condomine's first wife (Kay Hammond). The ghost refuses to go away, preferring to taunt her less sophisticated replacement (Constance Cummings). In 'Brief Encounter' (1945), a respectable, happily married doctor (Trevor Howard) comes to the aid of an equally upstanding housewife (Celia Johnson) when a passing train blows cinder into her eye. Thus begins a tentative romance, conducted in the tearooms and railway cafe of a small English town. In 'Great Expectations' (1946), orphan, Pip (Anthony Wager), befriends an escaped convict before being elevated to higher circles as the companion of Miss Havisham and her niece, Estella (Jean Simmons), with whom the boy quickly falls in love. When the adult Pip (Mills) discovers a mysterious benefactor has paved the way for him to become a gentleman, he assumes Miss Havisham is responsible. In 'Oliver Twist' (1948), Oliver (John Howard Davis) is a young orphan boy who is expelled from the workhouse run by Mr Bumbel (Francis L. Sullivan). After becoming an apprentice to an undertaker, Oliver decides to run away to London, only to meet the Artful Dodger (Anthony Newley) and fall amongst his gang of thieves, led by the scheming Fagin (Alec Guinness). In 'Madeleine' (1949), Madeleine (Ann Todd) is the eldest daughter in a respectable Victorian Glasgow family. She begins an affair with Frenchman, Emile L'Anglier (Ivan Desny), without her father's knowledge. Meanwhile, Madeleine's father insists on her seeing various suitors. When Madeleine becomes engaged to William Minnoch (Norman Wooland), Emile threatens to reveal their relationship. 'The Passionate Friends' (1944) is an episodic tale of an average working class family in the interwar years. The story traces the melodrama caused by illicit affairs, family bereavement, the first ripples of women's liberation and political instability in the country during the General Strike. It highlights the fact that these internal wranglings are all happening in one house in an average street, and that each average house has its own dramatic stories to tell. Finally, 'In Which We Serve' (1942) is a World War II drama about a destroyer, told through flashbacks and the reminiscences of the surviving crew after their beloved ship is torpedoed.