A fresh, concise, but wide-ranging introduction and overview to British and Irish cinema, this volume contains 24 essays, each on a separate seminal film from the region. Films ranging from 1928 to 2002 are featured from directors such as John Boorman, Nicolas Roeg, Sally Potter and Jack Clayton. As well as discussions of genre and influences, "The Cinema of Britain and Ireland" includes in-depth studies of films such as "Room at the Top" (1958), "The Italian Job" (1969), "The Man Who Fell to Earth" (1976), "Distant Voices, Still Lives" (1988), "Orlando" (1992), and "Sweet Sixteen" (2002).

A fresh, concise, but wide-ranging introduction and overview to British and Irish cinema, this volume contains 24 essays, each on a separate seminal film from the region. Films ranging from 1928 to 2002 are featured from directors such as John Boorman, Nicolas Roeg, Sally Potter and Jack Clayton. As well as discussions of genre and influences, "The Cinema of Britain and Ireland" includes in-depth studies of films such as "Room at the Top" (1958), "The Italian Job" (1969), "The Man Who Fell to Earth" (1976), "Distant Voices, Still Lives" (1988), "Orlando" (1992), and "Sweet Sixteen" (2002).

Hard-hitting melodrama about racial tensions in early 1960s England, starring John Mills and Sylvia Sims. Jacko Palmer (John Mills) is a union man who has to confront the prejudices of his members when a black foreman (Earl Cameron) is appointed, and the members threaten to strike. When he discovers that his daughter (Sims) wants to marry Jamaican schoolteacher Peter Lincoln (Johnny Sekka), however, Jacko must confront his own prejudices.

Six classic movies starring Margaret Lockwood. 'The Wicked Lady' (1945) is set during the reign of King Charles II. Lockwood stars as Lady Skelton, an aristocrat who attempts to relieve the tedium of her day-to-day life by secretly acting as a highway robber. Lady Skelton soon finds herself caught up in a tangled web of romance, danger, and jealousy. In 'Love Story' (1944), Lissa (Lockwood) discovers she only has a short time to live, so travels to Cornwall for a final fling. While there, she falls in love with young mineral prospector, Kit (Stewart Granger). However, the course of true love does not run smoothly. In 'Bank Holiday' (1938), a group of people set off on an August bank holiday, including a raucous Cockney family, a would-be beauty queen, and two young lovers - whose relationship starts to come apart when one has to deal with a bereavement at the hospital where she works. In 'Give Us the Moon' (1944), a young man, Sascha (Vic Oliver), joins a group called 'The Elephants' whose principle is to abide by a complete disregard for work. However chaos ensues when the group decides to help run the hotel owned by Sascha's father. In 'Highly Dangerous' (1950), when British Intelligence discovers that an Iron Curtain country is developing insects as weapons, they dispatch entomologist Frances Gray (Lockwood) to get into the country and collect specimens. However her cover is almost immediately blown on her arrival and her contact is murdered. Finally, in 'The Lady Vanishes' (1938), when the elderly Miss Froy (Dame May Whitty) goes missing on a train bound for England, her friend Iris Henderson (Lockwood) sets out to find her. However, Iris' attempts are immediately frustrated by her fellow passengers, who question whether Miss Froy ever even existed. Only music scholar Gilbert Redman (Michael Redgrave) is prepared to believe Iris, and together they set about getting to the bottom of the mystery.

Classic documentary drama based on Walter Lord's book about the sinking of the Titanic in 1912. Told from the perspective of Second Officer Charles Lightoller (Kenneth More), the story follows the supposedly 'unsinkable' ship as she embarks on her maiden voyage and ultimately founders in the North Atlantic Ocean. The ship leaves port and soon Captain Smith (Laurence Naismith) is given several ice warnings but decides not to decrease the Titanic's speed. When the ship hits an iceberg late at night on April 14th the situation looks bleak, especially with the realisation that there are not enough lifeboats to carry all on board. The Titanic's distress call is received by the Carpathia but she is four hours away and unlikely to reach the ship before it sinks. Chaos breaks out both above and below deck as the passengers and crew race against time for their survival.