All Mediatheque films
The following is a list of titles currently available to view in the Mediatheque. A number of additional titles are currently unavailable, and will be restored as soon as possible.
Please note that a very small number of titles, marked with an asterisk (*), are currently available to view only in our London Mediatheque due to rights issues. We hope to make these available in all BFI Mediatheques in the future.
1984
1955 | 89min
Rarely-seen 50s feature 'freely adapted' from George Orwell's classic novel.
Collection: The Book Group
1984: Designing a Nightmare
1984 | 25min
Join Christopher Frayling on the set of the 1984 film version of Orwell's classic novel.
Collection: The Book Group
28 Up
1984 | 160min
The children first interviewed when they were 7 in 1964 are revisited at the age of 28.
Collection: Essentially British
3 Non-Blondes
2003 | 30min
'Candid Camera' with attitude featuring the soon-to-be Little Miss Jocelyn.
Collection: Black Britain
The 39 Steps
1935 | 87min
A boy's own adventure from London to Scotland. Hitchcock's best British film?min
Collection: Essentially British
4D Special Agents
1981 | 60min
A group of East End kids track down a gang of jewel thieves. To the helicopter, everyone!min
Collection: Box of Delights
600-Year-Old Custom
1927 | 1min
An eccentric sport courtesy of East Midlands tradition.
Collection: Heartlands
617: The Last Days of a Vulcan Squadron
1982 | 40min
The final days of the 'Dam Busters' squadron.
Collection: Heartlands
64 Day Hero: A Boxer's Tale
1985 | 92min
The turbulent life and death of championship boxer Randolph Turpin.
Collection: Black Britain
84 Charing Cross Road
1975 | 75min
Love among the second hand books.
Collection: Play for Today
90 Degrees South
1933 | 73min
Re-edited sound version of 'The Great White Silence', with commentary from director Herbert Ponting.
Collection: Into the White
ABC Xmas and New Year Greetings
1946 | 3min
Santa doles out the pressies courtesy of Associated British Cinemas.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Abigail's Party
1977 | 100min
Beverly hands out the brickbats with the 'little cheesy pineapple ones'.
Collection: Play for Today
Above Us the Earth
1977 | 85min
The closure of Ogilvie Colliery by the National Coal Board, shown through a mixture of documentary footage and dramatisation.
Collection: Cinema of Tomorrow
Absolute Hell
1991 | 120min
Judi Dench and Bill Nighy escape post-war austerity in a crumbling Soho drinking den in this tragicomic TV treat.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Absolutely Fabulous
1992 | 30min
Sweetie darling! Edina's putting on a charity fashion show, and things aren't going to plan...
Collection: Brit Chic
The Acrobatic Fly
1910 | 3min
Roll up, roll up! The fly circus is in town!min
Collection: Pandora's Box
Yr Actor (Meredith Edwards)
1989 | 47min
The Ealing star chats about his life with Meredydd Evans.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Adeste Fideles
1941 | 13min
The spirit of Christmas is alive and well in wartime Britain.
Collection: Pandora's Box
The Adventures of Robin Hood
1958 | 30min
Richard Greene plays Nottingham's infamous outlaw in a mythical Sherwood Forest.
Collection: Heartlands
Ae Fond Kiss
2004 | 100min
A post 9/11 cross-cultural romance is the focus of Ken Loach’s award-winning feature, filmed in Glasgow.
Collection:Ken Loach: A Retrospective
Aerial Antarctic Discoveries
1930 | 2min
Australian explorer Hubert Wilkins films Antarctica from above - and discovers 5 new islands in the process.
Collection: Into the White
The African Conference in London 1948
1948 | 17min
African delegates visit some of Britain’s most famous sites.
Collection: Cape to Cairo
African Derby
1927 | 11min
A day at the races in Basutoland.
Collection: Cape to Cairo
African Nurse
1948 | 22min
A stoic African Nurse receives training in Eastern Nigeria.
Collection: Cape to Cairo
The African Trade
1997 | 50min
The story of the African man who was one of the true leaders of the abolitionist movement.
Collection: Exodus: Remembering Slavery
Africa's Fighting Men
1943 | 14min
The Colonial Film Unit's most popular film of the year - propaganda for the African war effort.
Collection: Cape to Cairo
After a Lifetime
1971 | 71min
The family of a militant trade unionist gather in Liverpool for his funeral and wake.
Collection:Ken Loach: A Retrospective
After the Attack
1914 | 2min
German film showing the effects of WWI bombardment on the East Coast.
Collection: North by North East
After the Blizzard
1926 | 3min
Beautiful scenes of a North Wales winter wonderland following a heavy snowfall.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Age of Dissent
1994 | 51min
Will Parry and Hugo Greenhalgh campaign to lower the age of consent for gay men from 21 to 16.
Collection: Beautiful Things
AIDS: Iceberg / Monolith
1985 | 2min
Don’t die of ignorance - the government's infamous AIDS awareness campaign.
Collection: The Joy of Sex Education
Akenfield
1974 | 98min
Peter Hall's innovative improvised drama following three generations of farmhands in a fictional Suffolk village.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Alan Bennett (South Bank Show)
1984 | 60min
Alan Bennett talks to Melvyn Bragg about his childhood in Leeds and his writing career.
Collection: Alan Bennett - An Englishman at Home
Alexandra Day in Peckham
1913 | 4min
Flower sellers raise money for charity in Peckham and Camberwell.
Collection: Beautiful South
Alfalfa
1987 | 9min
The queer alphabet - from AC/DC to Zipper.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Alice in Wonderland
1903 | 8min
New restoration of cinema's first trip down the rabbit hole.
Collection: March Hares & Easter Bunnies
The Alien Sky
1956 | 98min
Colonial chaos on the cusp of Indian Independence in this early TV drama from Paul Scott's novel.
Collection: Before Midnight
All Good Men
1974 | 63min
The relationship between a labour politician and his Marxist son falters when a television crew visits.
Collection: Play for Today
All in Good Time
1965 | 25min
Look out for a fresh-faced Richard Briers in Guinness' curious experiment in product placement.
Collection: Pandora's Box
All Kinds of Houses
1946 | 10min
Enid Blyton wrote the story for this wildlife film on the nesting habits of British birds, made for young children.
Collection: Toyland Tales and Happy Endings
All Star Record Breakers
1979 | 54min
Name a 70s children's presenter and they'll probably be in this all star extravaganza, complete with musical skeletons and high-kicking dance routines.
Collection: The Kids Are Alright
All Your Own
1958 | 35min
A teenage Jimmy Page makes an early appearance on Huw Wheldon’s talent show.
Collection: The Kids Are Alright
Amelia and the Angel
1958 | 30min
Ken Russell's magical fantasy about an angel who loses her wings.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Amy Johnson Family Films
1932 | 15min
Glimpse a different side to the pioneering aviator in this selection of home movie extracts.
Collection: Amy Johnson: Queen of the Skies
Amy!
1980 | 34min
Laura Mulvey and Peter Wollen's avant-garde portrait of a feminist icon.
Collection: Amy Johnson: Queen of the Skies
Amy, Wonderful Amy
1974 | 60min
A disturbed runaway who idolises aviator Amy Johnson finds her fantasies unravelling in this TV play with a twist.
Collection: Amy Johnson: Queen of the Skies
And Now They Rest
1939 | 18min
Documentary made to encourage the preservation of East Anglia's beautiful windmills.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Andy the Furniture Maker
1986 | 60min
An unlikely star of the 1980s art world is given a suitably unconventional profile.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Angel of the North
1998 | 40min
Angel or demon? Gateshead locals speak their mind on Antony Gormley's controversial sculpture.
Collection: North by North East
Angela Carter (Off the Page)
1987 | 23min
The Magic Toyshop author reads from her work and admits that writing 'chose' her - not the other way around.
Collection: The Book Group
Angela Carter's Curious Room
1992 | 50min
Omnibus profile, poignantly filmed shortly before the author's death.
Collection: The Book Group
The Angelic Conversation
1985 | 81min
Derek Jarman's queer reading of 14 Shakespeare sonnets addressed to a young man, narrated by Judi Dench.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Angels are so Few
1970 | 65min
A potentially malevolent angel visits suburbia in Dennis Potter's sinister drama.
Collection: Play for Today
Anglian Lives: Alan Partridge
2003 | 30min
A-ha! A look back at the life and career of Radio Norwich's most famous DJ.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
The Angry Silence
1960 | 95min
Melodrama about union intimidation, starring Richard Attenborough.
Collection: We Can Work It Out
The Anniversary
1967 | 95min
Bette Davis stars as a domineering mother who will stop at nothing to keep her family together.
Collection: The Gentle Sex
Annual Inspection of the Bodyguard by His Excellency the Lord Lytton
1925 | 5min
Lord Lytton and family - on and off duty.
Collection: Before Midnight
Another Case of Poisoning
1949 | 14min
Coughs and sneezes spread diseases - some sanitary warnings to the wise...
Collection: Pandora's Box
Another Country
1984 | 88min
The fictionalised schooldays of future Cambridge spy Guy Burgess.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Another Flip for Dominick
1982 | 85min
More time-travelling adventures in this sequel to the much-loved 'Flipside of Dominick Hide'.
Collection: Play for Today
Another Sky
1955 | 83min
A young Englishwoman travels to Morocco and falls in love with a street musician.
Collection: The Truth About Love
Another World by Sean Connery
1962 | 5min
A slightly awkward Sean Connery makes an appeal on behalf of the RNIB.
Collection: Pandora's Box
The Ant & Dec Show
1996 | 25min
Get ready to rhumble with the cheeky twosome's first foray into presenting, including the controversial 'Beat the Barber' segment.
Collection: The Kids Are Alright
Antarctic Crossing
1958 | 47min
Oscar-nominated follow up to 'Foothold on Antarctica', with commentary by Sir Edmund Hillary.
Collection: Into the White
Antigone
1959 | 75min
Jean Anouilh updates Sophocles’ tragedy to occupied France, using the Greek characters to represent the contemporary power struggle.
Collection: Missing Believed Wiped: The Library of Congress Discoveries
The Antique Vase
1913 | 9min
Racist comedy short in which the tables are turned on a greedy Jewish antique dealer.
Collection: Oy Britannia
Any Evening After Work
1930 | 22min
The British Social Hygiene Council comes to the rescue of a young man who catches something nasty.
Collection: The Joy of Sex Education
Any Man’s Kingdom
1956 | 22min
The lure of Northumberland as portrayed by British Transport Films.
Collection: Reality Bites
Any Man's Kingdom
1956 | 22min
The lure of Northumberland as portrayed by British Transport Films.
Collection: Reality Bites
The Apprentices
1988 | 25min
Two young apprentices based in Derby learn the basics of driving a train.
Collection: Heartlands
Aquatic Frolics
1926 | 1min
Bathing beauties in Blackpool.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Architecture or Revolution
1966 | 30min
Televised student debate on the future of architecture.
Collection: The Promised Land
Are You Being Served?
1973 | 30min
Mr Humphries: dreadful stereotype or national hero?min
Collection: Beautiful Things
Arise Ye Workers
1973 | 25min
Cinema Action's response to the 1972 Dockers' dispute.
Collection: Boom Britain: We Can Work It Out
Arrival of Mah H.R.H. Jind
1911 | 1min
Royalty arrives by train.
Collection: Before Midnight
Arrival of the Earl of Lytton at Calcutta
1922 | 7min
Lord Lytton comes to take up the post of Governor of Bengal.
Collection: Before Midnight
The Arsenal Stadium Mystery
1940 | 84min
When a death occurs during a charity football match, Scotland Yard are called in.
Collection: London Calling
The Arthur Legend
1991 | 35min
Investigative reporter Lorraine Heggessey and director Ken Loach team up to challenge the smear campaign against Arthur Scargill.
Collection: Ken Loach: A Retrospective
The Ash Tree
1975 | 32min
A nobleman is haunted by visions of his ancestor's role in a witchcraft trial.
Collection: A Ghost Story for Christmas
Aspects of Kirkwall: Some Changes
1981 | 20min
Margaret Tait's portrait of her hometown in the Orkneys.
Collection: British Islands
At Home With Larry Grayson
1983 | 25min
Janet Street-Porter presents a not-quite-intimate portrait of the entertainer as he celebrates his 60th birthday.
Collection: Beautiful Things
At the Fountainhead (of German Strength)
1980 | 96min
A German-Jewish musician seeks exile in Cold War London in this BFI-produced experimental work.
Collection: Oy Britannia
At the Villa Rose
1920 | 93min
Kidnap, murder and fake séances in the French Riviera in this Agatha Christie-esque detective thriller.
Collection: Silent Britain
The Attendant
1993 | 8min
A museum attandant indulges his sado-masochistic fantasies.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Attlee Talks to Percy Cudlipp
1955 | 15min
Clement and Violet Attlee attempt to regain power in the run-up to the 1955 election.
Collection: The Ballot Box
ATV Today: Brian Clough
1968 | 4min
A brief insight into the early management days of a football legend.
Collection: Heartlands
ATV Today: Derby Clocks
1968 | 8min
How do Smith of Derby keep their clocks ticking on time?min
Collection: Heartlands
ATV Today: The Lost Villages of Derwent and Ashopton
1966 | 10min
Gwyn Richards reports on the history of two Derbyshire villages flooded for the Ladybower Reservoir in the 1940s.
Collection: Heartlands
ATV Today: Women in Love
1968 | 11min
On location during the filming of Ken Russell's Women in Love.
Collection: Heartlands
Audrey Hepburn Test
1952 | 5min
Early silent colour footage of the future Holly Golightly.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Auf Wiedersehen Pet
1983 | 30min
Jimmy Nail's Oz gets stranded in Newcastle in this episode of the popular comedy-drama.
Collection: North by North East
Aunt Sally
1933 | 80min
Slapstick meets the Folies Bergère in this Cicely Courtneidge vehicle.
Collection: Funny Girls
Ave You Got a Male Assistant Please Miss?
1973 | 5min
Students have sex.
Collection: The Joy of Sex Education
B.D. Women
1994 | 20min
The hidden histories of black lesbians.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Babi ar ei Brifiant
1985 | 40min
The history of the BBC radio service from Bangor, under the leadership of the inimitable Sam Jones.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Baby
2001 | 12min
A teenager (Ben Whishaw) pays a sexually charged visit to a swimming pool.
Beautiful Things
Baby Blues
1973 | 75min
A mother's feelings towards her newborn baby begin to turn dangerous.
Collection: Play for Today
Babylon
1980 | 95min
Brinsley Forde stars as a young rapper in one of the first British features to explore black youth culture.
Collection: Black Britain
Baby's Toilet
1905 | 3min
Nothing to do with potties... Baby gets a good wash.
Collection: Reality Bites
Bachelor of Hearts
1958 | 94min
A German student gets a culture shock in 1950s Cambridge in this glorious romantic comedy.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
The Bad Day for Levinsky
1909 | 6min
Racist comedy short about an avaricious Jew.
Collection: Oy Britannia
Badger
1989 | 25min
The cruelty of badger-baiting threatens to ruin a girl's birthday.
Collection: Heartlands
The Ballad of Reading Gaol
1988 | 12min
Poetic reflection on Oscar Wilde's testimony at his 1895 trial.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Bamburgh Fete
1930 | 1min
Forty seconds of fun in the grounds of Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland.
Collection: North by North East
Bar Mitzvah Boy
1976 | 75min
Much-loved bittersweet Jewish family comedy from Jack Rosenthal.
Collection: Play for Today
The Barber of Stamford Hill
1962 | 64min
Big-screen version of Ronald Harwood's drama about a lonely North London barber.
Collection: Oy Britannia
Barnaby Rudge (Episode 1)
1960 | 30min
Dickens' historical novel has not been adapted for film or TV since this 1960 BBC serial.
Collection: Hard Times: Dickens on Screen
The Basil Brush Show
1976 | 30min
Boom boom! Basil Brush joins forces with Lulu to wreck Mr. Roy's romantic evening.
Collection: The Kids Are Alright
Basil Bunting - A World of My Own
1969 | 30min
A poet's vision of the history and landscape of Northumbria.
Collection: North by North East
The Battle
1934 | 85min
Charles Boyer and Merle Oberon star in this spy drama set during the Russo-Japanese War.
Collection: Welcome to the Dream Palace
The Battle of Kinder Scout
1970 | 20min
The history of the famous mass trespass in the Peak District.
Collection: Heartlands
The Battle of Orgreave
2002 | 60min
Mike Figgis films an artist's recreation of the violent clash between miners and the police during the 1984-5 strike.
Collection: King Coal
Battling Bruisers: Some Boxing Buffoonery
1925 | min
Effeminate fisticuffs from the French in this boxing-themed send-up of foreign stereotypes.
Collection: Beautiful Things
The Beacons and Beyond
1979 | 27min
British Transport Film promoting the pleasures of South Wales.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Beautiful Thing
1996 | 87min
Two teenage boys fall in love in South East London to the songs of the Mamas and the Papas.
Collection: Beautiful Things
The Bed
1963 | 28min
Thora Hird hones her battleaxe persona in the pilot for the long-running sitcom 'Meet the Wife'.
Collection: Funny Girls
Bed Among the Lentils, A (Talking Heads) (tx03/05/1988)
1988 | 30min
Can a fling with an Indian grocer rescue a vicar's wife from fetes and flower-arranging?min
Collection: Essentially British
Bedelia
1946 | 90min
Margaret Lockwood strikes again as a surprisingly sympathetic poisoner.
Collection: The Gentle Sex
Beer at its Best
1955 | 14min
Nigerian beer advert promoting the lack of human involvement in the manufacturing process.
Collection: Cape to Cairo
Before the Fringe
1967 | 7min
Dora Bryan plays an unlikely killer in this hilarious sketch.
Collection: Funny Girls
Being Happy Is What Matters Most
1987 | 26min
Life at Summerhill, the controversial school run as a democratic community where attendance at lessons is optional.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Bellamira
1975 | 54min
Helen Mirren dons her finest wig as Bellamira - Restoration mistress and occasional masked robber.
Collection: The Gentle Sex
The Belles of St. Trinians
1954 | 91min
Ronald Searle's devils-in-gymslips receive their first big screen outing.
Collection: Essentially British
Bermondsey
1972 | 35min
'Brokeback Mountain' in a pub in South East LondonÖmin
Collection: Beautiful Things
Bermondsey Boy
1991 | 40min
A South London wide boy awaits trial for GBH.
Collection: Beautiful South
Bernard Braden Collection: Quentin Crisp
1968 | 11min
Previously unseen footage of Quentin Crisp before he was famous.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Bernard Shaw's Village
1951 | 9min
Pay a visit to the celebrated playwright's home in Ayot St. Lawrence.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Beryl Reid Says...Good Evening
1968 | min
Rarely seen comedy sketch show starring the versatile Beryl Reid.
Collection: Funny Girls
The Bespoke Overcoat
1955 | 33min
Jack Clayton's Oscar-winning ghost story, based on a Gogol fable.
Collection: Oy Britannia
The Best of British Fashion
1978 | 52min
Highlights from the 1979 Spring collections, with leisurewear a-plenty.
Collection: Brit Chic
Betcher
1971 | 13min
A very young Keith Chegwin shows off his cycling prowess.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Beyond Image
1969 | 17min
Psychedelia without the illegal drugs.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Les Bicyclettes de Belsize
1968 | 29min
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Hampstead-style.
Collection: London Calling
Big Brother
2002 | 65min
Highlights show from series 3 of the omnipresent reality TV show, which made Jade Goody a household name.
Collection: The Book Group
The Big Flame
1969 | 85min
Ken Loach's incendiary drama about a dockers' strike turned workers' takeover.
Boom Britain: We Can Work It Out
A Bigger Splash
1974 | 105min
Jack Hazan documents the life of artist David Hockney, as he struggles to cope with the end of a relationship.
Collection: Beautiful Things
The Big Job
1965 | 2min
The National Coal Board wants you as a new recruit.
Collection: King Coal
The Big Meeting
1963 | 24min
The Durham Miners' Gala - one of the world’s largest annual gatherings of miners and their families.
Collection: Reality Bites
The Big 'Un
1969 | 25min
The construction and launch of a 250,000 ton tanker on the River Tyne.
Collection: North by North East
Bikaner - Secrets of India
1934 | 8min
A portrait of the city in Rajasthan.
Collection: Before Midnight
Billy Merson singing 'Desdemona'
1927 | 3min
The great music hall performer sings, dances and skips with a lyre.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Billy the Fish
1990 | 15min
Harry Enfield voices 'Viz' comic's half-man/half-fish goalkeeping star.
Collection: North by North East
Birds of a Feather
1992 | 30min
The most famous episode of the long-running sitcom - the one where Dorian sings "Like a Virgin".
Collection: Funny Girls
Birth of a Dress
1954 | 12min
Mass-production offers a taste of couture to the commoners.
Collection: Brit Chic
Birthday Procession of a Maharajah
1904 | 1min
Royalty on elephantback.
Collection: Before Midnight
The Bit of Scarlet
1996 | 75min
A history of British gay cinema, described as 'a kind of post-modern queer soap opera for Britain in the nineties'.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Black Christmas
1977 | 50min
As Christmas approaches, Gertrude gathers her family around her. But the perfect Christmas Day that she dreams of seems destined to turn to disaster.
Collection: Black Britain
Black Diamonds - The Collier's Daily Life
1904 | 1min
Mitchell and Kenyon take their camera to the coal mine.
Collection: King Coal
Black Jack
1979 | 98min
A young boy goes on the run with a notorious villain in Ken Loach's period children's feature.
Collection:Ken Loach: A Retrospective
Black Joy
1977 | 95min
A naïve Guyanan immigrant learns some tough lessons on the streets of Brixton.
Collection: Beautiful South
Black Narcissus
1947 | 100min
Tensions and repressed passions possess a group of nuns working in the Himalayas.
Collection: Before Midnight
Black on Black
1982 | 52min
Channel 4's pioneering magazine show made for Britain's black communities.
Collection: Black Britain
Black Peoples of the Americas
1997 | 20min
A young Briton explores the history of the British slave trade and its aftermath in his search for his roots.
Collection: Exodus: Remembering Slavery
Black Silk
1985 | 50min
Rudolph Walker stars as a barrister with political ambitions and strong links to his local community.
Collection: Black Britain
The Black Stuff
1980 | 110min
A first outing for Yosser Hughes and co in Alan Bleasdale's 'Boys From...' forerunner.
Collection: Play for Today
Blackadder's Christmas Carol
1988 | 45min
Classic festive special where Blackadder sees visions of Christmasses past and future.
Collection: The Book Group
Blackbird Singing in the Dead of Night
1988 | 25min
Excellent 'Dramarama' play which led to the highly successful 'Children's Ward'.
Collection: The Kids Are Alright
Blackfriars Bridge
1896 | 1min
Top-hatted Victorians and horse-drawn traffic cross Blackfriars Bridge.
Collection: London Calling
Blackhill Campaign
1963 | 48min
Villagers and miners fight against the closure of Blackhill Colliery, Northumberland.
Collection: North by North East
Blackmail
1929 | 82min
Manslaughter, blackmail and an epic chase through the British Museum. Sound and silent versions of the early Hitchcock classic.
Collection: London Calling
Blackmail Test Take
1929 | 1min
Hitchcock gets dirty with his leading lady.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Blasphemy at the Old Bailey
1977 | 75min
Gay News vs. Mary Whitehouse - one of the most controversial trials of modern times.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Bleak House
1920 | 81min
Lady Dedlock looms large in this beautifully designed silent feature adaptation of the Dickens masterpiece.
Collection: Hard Times: Dickens on Screen
Bleak House (Episode 1)
1985 | 52min
The BBC tackled one of Dickens' most complex narratives with this classy mini-series starring Diana Rigg and Denholm Elliott.
Collection: Hard Times: Dickens on Screen
Bleak House (Part 1)
2005 | 57min
The opening episode of the BBC's award-winning 15-part adaptation, with Gillian Anderson as Lady Dedlock.
Collection: Hard Times: Dickens on Screen
Blight
1997 | 30min
An East End community voices its anger as homes are demolished to make way for the M11 road link.
Collection: London Calling
Blighty
1927 | 106min
Melodrama about the impact of WWI on a wealthy English family.
Collection: Silent Britain
Blithe Spirit
1945 | 93min
A harmless séance summons up an unwanted ghost in this Noel Coward play, starring Margaret Rutherford as a gung-ho medium.
Collection: Funny Girls
The Block
1972 | 75min
Hard-hitting documentary from Paul Watson examining the plight of people living below the poverty line in Southwark.
Collection: Beautiful South
Blood Ah Goh Run
1982 | 20min
The demonstrations following 1981's infamous New Cross Fire in which 13 young black people died.
Collection: Black Britain
Bloody Sunday
2002 | 120min
Award-winning drama about the civil rights protest march that ended in massacre. From the director of 'United 93'.
Collection: Essentially British
Blooming Youth
1973 | 75min
Student love, life and squalor at a London 'poly'.
Collection: Play for Today
Blue Black Permanent
1992 | 84min
A woman (Celia Imrie) reflects on memories of her Orcadian poet mother.
Collection: Cinema of Tomorrow
The Blue Lamp
1949 | 84min
Police drama that spawned the hugely successful series Dixon of Dock Green.
Collection: London Calling
Blue Peter
1964 | 25min
Valerie Singleton and Christopher Trace present the iconic children's magazine show.
Collection: The Kids Are Alright
Blue Peter Countryside Special
1985 | 30min
'Blue Peter' takes to the countryside - a year on a farm in the Peak District of Derbyshire.
Collection: Heartlands
Blue Remembered Hills
1979 | 75min
Helen Mirren dons ankle socks in Dennis Potter's tragic evocation of childhood.
Collection: Play for Today
Blue Scar
1949 | 102min
Welsh coal mining drama dealing with ambition, class and gender.
Collection: King Coal
Blur: End of a Century
1999 | 51min
Damon Albarn and his bandmates revisit their Colchester roots.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
The Body Beautiful
1990 | 23min
Ngozi Onwurah's powerful and poetic portrait of her relationship with her mother.
Collection: Black Britain
The Body Show
1982 | 30min
Legwarmers at the ready for Yvonne Ocampo's exercise regime.
Collection: Channel 4 Anniversary
Bombardment of Hartlepool - 60th Anniversary
1974 | 6min
60 years after Germany's raid on Hartlepool during WWI, an eyewitness recalls the attack.
Collection: North by North East
The Bond
1965 | 75min
Hannah Gordon stars in Dawn Pavitt's play about the trials and tribulations of marriage for modern women.
Collection: Missing Believed Wiped: The Library of Congress Discoveries
Book Four
1982 | 30min
Fay Weldon and Len Deighton lock horns in Channel 4's first book programme.
Collection: Channel 4 Anniversary
Book Tower: The Secret Garden
1981 | 30min
In this episode of the series aimed at encouraging children to read, Tom Baker focuses on Frances Hodgson Burnett's 'A Secret Garden'.
Collection: The Kids Are Alright
Books of the Century
1996 | 5min
Queen of the saucy blockbuster Jackie Collins reveals her favourite book - Enid Blyton’s 'The Folk of the Faraway Tree'.
Collection: Toyland Tales and Happy Endings
Borderline
2005 | 4min
London as seen through the eyes of Escher.
Collection: London Calling
Bow Bells
1955 | 14min
A nostalgic traipse through the East End accompanied by music-hall numbers.
Collection: London Calling
Bowler and the Bunnet
1967 | 36min
Sean Connery's only film as director - a stylish and opinionated piece on the prospects for the Govan shipyards.
min
Tales From the Shipyard
Boy and Bicycle
1965 | 25min
Ridley Scott's directorial debut: a day in the life of a schoolboy truant.
Collection: Cinema of Tomorrow
Boy Kumasenu
1951 | 60min
A boy in the Gold Coast moves from a small fishing village to the modern city of Accra.
Collection: Cape to Cairo
Boy Who Turned Yellow, The
1972 | 55min
The London Underground turns yellow in Michael Powell's charming Children's Film Foundation entry.
Collection: London Calling
The Boy Whose Skin Fell Off
2004 | 60min
BAFTA-winning documentary following the last months of Jonny Kennedy, a Northumberland man born with a disabling skin condition.
Collection: North by North East
Boyfriends
1996 | 81min
Seven men spend a weekend in the country - gay sex, love and relationships in the 1990smin
Collection: Beautiful Things
Boys
2000 | 25min
Sex and 16 year old boys.
Collection: The Joy of Sex Education
Bradford Coronation Procession
1902 | 2min
A procession celebrating the coronation of King Edward VII.
Collection: Essentially British
The Brave Don't Cry
1952 | 90min
Drama-documentary about a Scottish mining rescue team, based on the Knockshinnoch disaster.
Collection: King Coal
Bread and Roses
2000 | 96min
Director's cut of Ken Loach's feature dramatising the plight of exploited Mexican and Salvadorean cleaners in Los Angeles.
Collection:Ken Loach: A Retrospective
Break in the Sun
1980 | 25min
The climax of a six-part serial adapted from Bernard Ashley's novel about a young girl who flees her abusive stepfather.
Collection: The Kids Are Alright
Break the News
1938 | 78min
Maurice Chevalier and Jack Buchanan star as chorus boys who fake a murder for some much-needed publicity.
Collection: Welcome to the Dream Palace
Breakfast with Frost
1998 | 64min
News, politics and historic interviews - all over breakfast.
Collection: Frost/Mediatheque
Breeze Anstey
1972 | 60min
A rural romance from H.E. Bates.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Brief City
1952 | 19min
How the Festival of Britain transformed the South Bank into a post-war wonderland.
Collection: London Calling
Brief Encounter
1945 | 86min
Repressed emotions, steam trains and a fateful bit of grit in the eye.
Collection: Essentially British
Brimstone and Treacle
1976 | 75min
Satan pays a visit in this long-banned Dennis Potter play.
Collection: Play for Today
Britain Belongs to You No.1
1959 | 20min
Tony Benn campaigns for Labour.
Collection: The Ballot Box
British Fashion Awards 1989
1989 | 52min
Princess Diana dishes out the first ever British Fashion Awards.
Collection: Brit Chic
The British in India
1998 | 47min
Precicely what was and is Britain's legacy in India?min
Collection: Before Midnight
British India - Voices from an Imperial Past
1981 | 90min
British accounts of life during the Raj.
Collection: Before Midnight
British Paramount News
1936 | 2min
Activists rally against the British Union of Fascists and the Metropolitan Police in these 1930s newsreel rushes.
Collection: Oy Britannia
The British Policeman
1959 | 17min
A day in the life of a British Bobby in Leicester.
Collection: Heartlands
Brixton Black
1984 | min
A former delinquent explains how he turned his life around.
Collection: Beautiful South
Broken Blossoms
1919 | 107min
London's Limehouse Chinatown recreated in Hollywood.
Collection: London Calling
Bronco Bullfrog
1969 | 86min
Youth culture in not-so-swinging Stratford.
Collection: London Calling
The Brontë Business
1977 | 30min
Joan Bakewell joins Brontë Country's lucrative tourist trail.
Collection: The Book Group
The Brontë Connection
1979 | 30min
Who were the real-life figures behind Heathcliff and Co?min
Collection: The Book Group
The Brontës Lived Here
1973 | 15min
Margaret Drabble examines the role of childhood games in the literary legacy of the Brontës.
Collection: The Book Group
Brookside
1982 | 30min
The first ever episode of Channel 4's long-running soap, starring The Royle Family's Ricky Tomlinson and Sue Johnston.
Collection: Channel 4 Anniversary
Brookside
1994 | 25min
Soap’s first lesbian kiss.
Collection: Soap Bubbles
The Browning Version
1985 | 75min
Ian Holm and Judi Dench give superb performances as the ageing classics teacher and his cold, unfaithful wife in one of Terence Rattigan's best known works.
Collection: In Praise of Rattigan
The Buddha of Suburbia
1993 | 60min
Gay sex, mysticism and family strife: revisit this four-part TV adaptation of Kureishi's debut novel.
Collection: The Book Group
The Building of the New Tyne Bridge
1928 | 40min
Extraordinary footage of the construction of Tyneside's iconic landmark.
Collection: North by North East
The Bull Ring Shopping Centre, Birmingham
1965 | 26min
The development of Britain's busiest shopping mall.
Collection: Shop 'til You Drop
Bullet Boy
2004 | 100min
A young black man struggles to avoid a life of crime after being released from jail.
Collection: London Calling
Bumps on the River Cam
1922 | 1min
Cambridge Lent racers row their boats ungently down the stream.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
The Burning
1967 | 30min
Early short film from Stephen Frears set in apartheid South Africa.
Collection: Cinema of Tomorrow
Burning an Illusion
1981 | 101min
Pioneering black British feature in which a woman begins to question her attitude to life, love and marriage.
Collection: Black Britain
Buxton Skyline
1901 | 2min
Mitchell & Kenyon's panorama of the Derbyshire town at the end of the Victorian era.
Collection: Heartlands
Buxton Well Dressing
1904 | 7min
Early film footage of the Derbyshire ceremonies giving thanks for fresh water.
Collection: Heartlands
By Leafy Ways - A Garden Memorabilia
1971 | 4min
Ivor Abraham's poignant portfolio of photographic stills and illustrations, taking the viewer into the world of suburban gardening.
Collection: British Islands
By the Fireside
1945 | 2min
An idyllic fireside scene slips seamlessly into an advert for Maypole Tea.
Collection: Housewives' Choice
Byker
1983 | 53min
The changing face of a close-knit working-class community in Newcastle from the late 1960s to the early 1980s.
Collection: North by North East
Byker Grove
1992 | 25min
The infamous 'paintball' episode of the long-running Geordie soap, which introduced the world to Ant and Dec.
Collection: The Kids Are Alright
Byker Grove
1994 | 24min
An awkward adolescent kiss between Noddy and Gary marks a landmark for British children's drama. min
Collection: Beautiful Things
Byker Wall
1988 | 10min
Beatrix Campbell explores a 20th century 'walled city'.
Collection: The Promised Land
C O D - A Mellow Drama
1929 | 10min
Mischievous experimental short made by moonlighting film studio technicians.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Calcutta School of Tropical Medicine
1927 | 5min
The conditions that provide a breeding ground for the parasitic disease, kala azar.
Collection: Before Midnight
Calcutta Topical No.1
1925 | 6min
Fashionably attired folk attend the races.
Collection: Before Midnight
Calling Blighty
1944 | 10min
Armed forces personnel from Leicestershire send messages home to their loved ones from India.
Collection: Heartlands
Camberwell - Dedication of the Borough Mace at the Licensed Victualers Asylum Chapel, Asylum Road, S.E.
1918 | 2min
Mayors, bishops and clergymen march through Camberwell to the asylum, better known today as Caroline Gardens.
Collection: Beautiful South
Cambridge
1931 | 12min
Inventive portrait of the city by documentary pioneer and Cambridge alumnus Stuart Legg.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Cambridge Folk Festival
1980 | 50min
Don McLean, Lonnie Donegan and other folk stars wow the crowds at the 1980 music festival.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Came Out, It Rained, Went Back in Again
1991 | 10min
A girl comes out and treks to London. But will the Big Smoke offer her the lesbian bliss she seeks?min
Collection: Beautiful Things
Camgymeriad Gwych (Beautiful Mistake)
2000 | 72min
John Cale teams up with the leading bands of ‘Cool Cymru’.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
The Canney View of Sunderland
1970 | 25min
Michael Canney discovers the joys of Sunderland, a city on the verge of change.
Collection: North by North East
The Canterbury Tale
1944 | 125min
Magical and unsetting evocation of rural Britain as seen through the eyes of WWII's modern pilgrims.
Collection: Essentially British
Captain Busby
1967 | 15min
Quentin Crisp's acting debut - in a bizarre film that includes some entertainingly surreal interplay with a carrot at a railway station.
Collection: Pandora's Box
The Captain Zip Video Trip
1978 | 74min
Amateur films of the punk scene in London, 1978-81.
Collection: Anarchy in the UK
The Caretaker
1963 | 105min
Donald Pleasence, Alan Bates and Robert Shaw star in Harold Pinter's masterpiece.
Collection: Essentially British
Car of Dreams
1935 | 69min
A young John Mills stars in this breezy musical comedy of errors.
Collection: Welcome to the Dream Palace
Caravaggio
1986 | 89min
Derek Jarman's portrait of the Renaissance painter.
Collection: Cinema of Tomorrow
Carla's Song
1996 | 106min
Director's cut of Ken Loach's cross-cultural love story, tracing the relationship between a Glaswegian bus driver and a Nicaraguan refugee.
Collection:Ken Loach: A Retrospective
Carnaby Street Fashions
1968 | 4min
Join the hipsters (and Sophia Loren) at the epicentre of Swinging London.
Collection: Brit Chic
Carrie's War
1974 | 30min
The original five-part adaptation of Nina Bawden’s haunting WWII-era children’s novel.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Carry on At Your Convenience
1971 | 90min
Comedy about union unrest at the WC Boggs toilet factory.
Collection: Boom Britain: We Can Work It Out
Carry On Camping
1969 | 88min
The Carry On team go camping - in all senses of the word.
Collection: Essentially British
Carry on Christmas
1969 | 51min
Festive frolics with the Carry On gang, with a guest appearance from Frankie Howerd.
Collection: Santa's Grotto
Carry On Constable
1960 | 86min
Williams, Hawtrey and co. dole out the Carry On treatment to Dixon of Dock Green.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Carry on Up the Jungle
1970 | 89min
The Carry On gang parody the Tarzan films.
Collection: Cape to Cairo
Carry on up the Khyber
1968 | 88min
The Burpas are revolting! The Carry On take on the Raj.
Collection: Before Midnight
Cast Us Not Out
1969 | 23min
A look at homes run by the Jewish Welfare Board.
Collection: Oy Britannia
The Castle of Adventure
1990 | 25min
Four children and Kiki the parrot investigate some dodgy goings-on in Enid Blyton's mystery tale.
Collection: Toyland Tales and Happy Endings
Castles and Fisherfolk
1933 | 12min
The lives of West Africans, against the backdrop of the castles of the Gold Coast.
Collection: Cape to Cairo
Catherine Comes Home
1978 | 25min
Bestselling author Catherine Cookson returns to her childhood home in the North East after an absence of 48 years.
Collection: North by North East
Cathy Come Home
1966 | 75min
Carol White stars in the groundbreaking TV play which fuelled the homelessness debate.
Collection:Ken Loach: A Retrospective
Cause Célèbre
1987 | 120min
Helen Mirren gives a tour-de-force performance as a woman accused of murder in Terence Rattigan's biting 30s-set play. min
Collection: In Praise of Rattigan
Cavalcade of Variety
1941 | 59min
Ventriloquism, tap dancing and drag acts a go-go. That's variety!min
Collection: Pandora's Box
Central Figure
1978 | 5min
Martin Hearne's camera explores the relationship between human movement and the environment.
Collection: British Islands
The Centre
1947 | 21min
Extraordinary docu-drama filmed at the Pioneer Health Centre, Peckham.
Collection: Beautiful South
The Century in Stone
2004 | 114min
The forgotten history of the ironstone miners of Eston, south of Middlesbrough.
Collection: North by North East
The Certain Day in April 1927
1927 | 1min
Cardiff beat Arsenal to take home the FA Cup.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
The Challenge
1938 | 73min
A British take on the German mountain film, recreating the 19th-century conquest of the Matterhorn.
Collection: Welcome to the Dream Palace
Chance Encounter
1978 | 17min
David Lean discusses his involvement with the Indian charity, Raphael.
Collection: Raphael
Chance of a Lifetime
1950 | 89min
Fascinating industrial relations drama in which workers take over a factory.
Collection: We Can Work It Out
The Changeling
1965 | 75min
Kika Markham portrays the bloodthirsty Beatrice-Joanna in Thomas Middleton and William Rowley’s Jacobean tragedy.
Collection: Missing Believed Wiped: The Library of Congress Discoveries
The Changing Face of Camberwell
1963 | 30min
The post-war architecture of the London Borough of Camberwell.
Collection: Beautiful South
Charades
1977 | 55min
The Lady of the Manor becomes increasingly intimidated by her maid in this female take on Harold Pinter's 'The Servant.'min
Collection: Play for Today
Charles Dickens' World of Christmas
1974 | 25min
An all-star cast embody Dickens' larger than life characters as they intermingle on a snowy set.
Collection: The Book Group
Charley in New Town
1948 | 8min
Suburban utopia explained in this animated guide for townies.
Collection: The Promised Land
Charlton's Champions: Middlesbrough FC
1974 | 25min
Behind the scenes of Middlesbrough Football Club.
Collection: North by North East
Charted Waters
1944 | 33min
Bad puns abound in Widgey Newman's lively jaunt through the Fens.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Cheer Boys Cheer
1939 | 84min
Prototype Ealing comedy about a conflict between rival breweries.
Collection: Roll Out the Barrel
The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil
1974 | 90min
A radical history of Scotland in 90 minutes.
Collection: Play for Today
Chief Guide at Hyderabad Rally
1937 | 3min
Girl guides on parade.
Collection: Before Midnight
Childhood Days
1929 | 1min
The 20s equivalent of Little Miss Congeniality is crowned in Walworth, Southwark.
Collection: Beautiful South
Children Learning by Experience
1947 | 32min
Margaret Thomson's observational study of Britain's post-war nippers.
Collection: Reality Bites
Children of Green Knowe, The
1986 | 100min
A boy visits his grandmother at the magical house of Green Knowe.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Children of the Jungle
1939 | 17min
Documentary about the Bhil tribal people of central India.
Collection: Before Midnight
The Children Who Cheated the Nazis
2000 | 55min
Documentary looking at the Kindertransport children - Jewish children who were sent away by their parents to escape Nazi persecution.
Collection: Oy Britannia
Christmas and New Years Announcements Compilation aka Merry Christmas 1949
1946 | 8min
Snowy idylls, animated toys and an exploding Father Time - a selection of trailers shown in cinemas from 1946-1950.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Christmas at Work in the Open
1920 | 1min
Children make their own Christmas decorations at the Great Northern Hospital.
Collection: Pandora's Box
The Christmas Carol
1977 | 60min
Bah, humbug! Michael Hordern stars as Scrooge in this BBC adaptation of Dickens' Christmas classic.
Collection: Pandora's Box
The Christmas Carol
1914 | 20min
Excellent 1914 silent adaptation starring Charles Rock.
Collection: The Book Group
Christmas Day in the Workhouse
1914 | 15min
Festive misery.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Christmas Greetings Trailers 1937 and 1938
1937 | 5min
Star-studded cinema trailers wish the audience a merry Christmas and a happy new year.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Christmas is Coming
1951 | 2min
Post early for Christmas! Santa threatens to strike in Lotte Reiniger's animation.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Christmas Merry
2005 | 3min
Julia and Jim are dreaming of a white Christmas.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Christmas Message From Mr Oscar Deutsch
1939 | 4min
The founder of Odeon cinemas makes an appeal for the War Comforts Fund.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Christmas Under Fire
1941 | 10min
This year Christmas trees are cut short to fit in the shelters. Propaganda of the most moving kind.
Collection: Essentially British
Y Chwarelwr (The Quarrymen)
1935 | 39min
The first ever Welsh-language ‘talkie’, showing a slate quarryman's life at Blaenau Ffestiniog.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Cilla
1974 | 44min
The Liverpudlian lovely is joined by David Essex and the Wombles for a special Boxing Day broadcast.
Collection: Santa's Grotto
Cinema Record, The - Newcastle
1928 | 8min
Amateur film of events around Newcastle, including the North East Coast Exhibition and a visit from George V.
Collection: North by North East
Cinghalese Dances
1910 | 3min
Snapshots of life in Ceylon.
Collection: Before Midnight
The Citadel
1992 | 14min
National and world events are imagined by a woman gazing across London.
Collection: London Calling
Citizen 63: Barry Langford
1963 | 30min
The life of a flamboyant Jewish entrepreneur with one foot in the music industry.
Collection: Oy Britannia
The Claims of Metaphysics
1976 | 47min
Tax those brain cells with this rarely-seen interview with influential British philosopher Sir Alfred Ayer.
Collection: Pandora's Box
The Clangers
1974 | 10min
A rarely seen election special of Oliver Postgate's beloved stop-motion animation.
Collection: The Kids Are Alright
Clapham Junction
2007 | 120min
The most controversial gay drama since 'Queer as Folk'.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Clarmont Skrine's Home Movies
1940 | 13min
Vivid colour home movies featuring the great Kathakali dancer Guru Gopinath and scenes in Bundi, Rajasthan.
Collection: Before Midnight
Clash at Forsyth's
1973 | 30min
Bill Treacher (‘Eastenders’’ Arthur Fowler) appears in this industrial film showing how poor management communication can damage productivity in the workplace.
Collection: Boom Britain: We Can Work It Out
Class by Class: The Miner's Tale
1991 | 30min
A former coal miner and his family discuss their feelings on class.
Collection: King Coal
Climbing Mount Everest
1933 | 32min
Hugh Ruttledge's attempt to conquer Everest via Tibet.
Collection: The Search for Shangri-La
Climbing Mt Everest
1922 | 73min
The second British Everest expedition, led by Brigadier General C.G. Bruce.
Collection: The Search for Shangri-La
Close Up: Ken Loach
1995 | 8min
The influential director selects his own favourite moment in cinema.
Collection:Ken Loach: A Retrospective
The Clothes Show
1986 | 30min
Shoulder pads at the ready: Selina Scott and Jeff Banks present the first episode of the long-running fashion show.
Collection: Brit Chic
Club for Fighting Men
1916 | 1min
The Lord Mayor distributes mugs of tea at the opening of the new Service Club in Waterloo.
Collection: Beautiful South
Coal Face
1935 | 12min
The work of the British miner and its significance to British industry.
Collection: King Coal
Colchester: 900 Years Old Ceremony
1920 | 1min
Forks at the ready - the mayor officially opens oyster season.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Collecting Postcards
1909 | 4min
Adulterers, take warning: never admit. Or go into postcard shops...
Collection: Pandora's Box
Collector's Lot
1997 | 25min
Enid Blyton's daughter presents the doll collection that inspired her mother's books.
Collection: Toyland Tales and Happy Endings
Colonial Cinemagazine No. 9
1947 | 7min
The Gold Coast Band visits the UK.
Collection: Cape to Cairo
The Colony
1964 | 60min
From the Caribbean to Birmingham - immigrants tell of their experiences.
Collection: Essentially British
Colour Capers
1957 | 3min
Colours dance and caper in these two shorts demonstrating the effects of painting directly on to film.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Colour on the Thames
1935 | 8min
A rare glimpse of 1930s London in colour. The Thames has never looked lovelier.
Collection: London Calling
Come Dancing
1969 | 15min
Two men meet on a Southend pier in this early short from Bill Douglas - but is it a gay pick-up, or something more sinister?min
Collection: Beautiful Things
Come to South West Durham
1965 | 18min
Promotional film advertising Durham's industries and leisure activities.
Collection: North by North East
Come With Me to Berwick-on-Tweed
1952 | 20min
Richard Dimbleby sings the praises of England's northernmost town.
Collection: North by North East
Come with Me to Cardiff
1954 | 18min
Richard Dimbleby tours Cardiff a year before it became Wales’ capital city.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Comedians
1979 | 95min
A young Jonathan Pryce stars in an angry attack on the popular comedy scene, as six budding comedians hope for their big break.
Collection: Play for Today
The Comic Strip Presents: The Strike
1987 | 65min
Hollywood version of the miner’s strike, featuring Arthur Scargill, as played by Al Pacino, as played by Peter Richardson.
Collection: King Coal
Comic Strip Presents…Five Go Mad in Dorset
1982 | 30min
The Famous Five receive the Comic Strip treatment.
Collection: Channel 4 Anniversary
The Comic Strip Presents…Five Go Mad on Mescalin
1983 | 30min
The Comic Strip mercilessly revisit Enid Blyton's crime-solving quintet in the follow-up to 'Five Go Mad in Dorset'.
Collection: Toyland Tales and Happy Endings
Comin' Thro' the Rye
1923 | 100min
Beautiful pastoral melodrama, considered by Cecil Hepworth to be his masterpiece.
Collection: Silent Britain
Coming Out
1979 | 75min
A closeted gay author causes a stir after writing an anonymous gay article - is it time to come out?min
Collection: Beautiful Things
The Coming Out Party
1965 | 70min
Ken Loach directs James O'Connor's play about a young boy struggling to escape the cycle of deprivation and crime.
Collection:Ken Loach: A Retrospective
Coming Through
1985 | 80min
Kenenth Branagh and Helen Mirren star in the romance between D.H. Lawrence and Frieda Weekly.
Collection: Heartlands
Commissioner Higgins Visits Ahmedabad Girls School
1904 | 2min
A visit from the Salvation Army.
Collection: Before Midnight
The Common Round
1935 | 42min
Racist and patronising drama showing colonial rule in Africa.
Collection: Cape to Cairo
Compact
1962 | 30min
The BBC's second soap opera, set in the world of magazine publishing.
Soap Bubbles
The Complainers
1997 | 50min
British consumers get their revenge in this 'docusoap' lesson in the art of moaning.
Collection: Reality Bites
Completing the Vision?
1989 | 38min
South Bank arts folk debate 1989's ill-fated plans for a major regeneration of the complex.
Collection: Building the South Bank
The Concrete Garden
1994 | 23min
11-year-old Marcia leaves Jamaica to join her parents in the bleak, racist London of the 1950s.
Collection: Black Britain
Condition of Illusion
1975 | 31min
Structuralist film examining illusions of continuity and senses of linear time.
Collection: Cinema of Tomorrow
Congregations Leaving St Hilda’s Church, Middlesbrough
1902 | 1min
Edwardians leave the morning service.
Collection: North by North East
Connie
1979 | 55min
Connie has an eye for the other women in the factory.
Collection: Beautiful Things
The Connoisseur
1966 | 75min
Clandestine gay relationships cause tension at a boys' public school.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Consenting Adults 1 - The Men
1967 | 30min
Gay men's lives on the eve of the Sexual Offences Act.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Consenting Adults 2: The Women
1967 | 30min
Lesbians talk about their feelings prior to the enactment of the 1967 Sexual Offences Bill.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Conservative Party Election Broadcast
1979 | 5min
Crisis - what crisis? The Conservative Party highlights the 1978-9 Winter of Discontent.
Collection: The Ballot Box
The Consoling Weed
1937 | 7min
Promotional film shot in Rhodesia extolling the virtues of smoking tobacco.
Collection: Cape to Cairo
Continental Drift
2005 | 16min
William Raban's film of Dover harbour shows how Britain is defined by its complex relationship with Europe.
Collection: British Islands
Contrasts: Joseph Wright of Derby - The Spectacle of Light
1990 | 25min
Profile of the Derby-born artist Joseph Wright (1734 - 1797).
Collection: Heartlands
Conway - River of a Thousand Moods
1921 | 10min
A scenic trip through North Wales to the sea.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Conwy Castle - Panoramic View of Conwy on the L. & N.W. Railway
1898 | 2min
A tinted 'phantom ride' around Conwy Castle.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Coping with Cupid
1991 | 18min
A trio of platinum blonde aliens lands in Soho to investigate our romantic foibles.
Collection: The Truth About Love
Coronation Durbar at Delhi
1903 | 2min
Pomp and circumstance marking the coronation of King Edward VII as Emperor of India.
Collection: Before Midnight
Coronation Street
1965 | 25min
Ena Sharples vs. Elsie Tanner in the great Mancunian soap.
Collection: Essentially British
Coronation Street
2003 | 25min
Weatherfield's first serial killer claims his third victim.
Collection: Soap Bubbles
Coronation Street
1981 | 25min
Ken and Deirdre tie the knot in a ratings-busting episode of ‘the Street’.
Collection: Soap Bubbles
Coronation Street
1992 | 25min
Will Bet Lynch leave the Rovers Return - and Weatherfield - for good?min
Collection: Soap Bubbles
Coronation Street
1960 | 25min
50 years ago, this is how it all began - Elsie Tanner, Ena Sharples, Ken Barlow et al make their debut.
Collection: Soap Bubbles
Corridor Third
1949 | 42min
Detailed account of the design and construction of a Derby railway carriage.
Collection: Heartlands
Cosmopolitan London (Wonderful London)
1924 | 13min
Discover a 'hidden' London of the 1920s.
Collection: London Calling
The Cottage on Dartmoor
1929 | 87min
A love triangle has terrifying consequences in Anthony Asquith's dark masterpiece.
Collection: The Truth About Love
Count Dracula
1977 | 150min
Be seduced by Louis Jourdan as Stoker's suave Count in the BBC's 1970s epic.
Collection: The Book Group
Countdown
1982 | 25min
The long-running gameshow cuts its teeth. Will this week's Countdown Conundrum be crucial?min
Collection: Channel 4 Anniversary
Country Town
1945 | 15min
Life and industry in a Lincolnshire town.
Collection: Heartlands
The Countrywomen
1941 | 14min
Jam and Jerusalem - the Women's Institute goes to war.
Collection: Essentially British
Coves and Caves
1920 | 12min
Magical travelogue of Cornwall from the director of The Open Road.
Collection: Essentially British
Crackerjack
1958 | 45min
This edition of the staple variety show features Ronnie Corbett, Pinky and Perky and Winifred Atwell introducing kids to rock 'n' roll.
Collection: The Kids Are Alright
The Crane
1992 | 15min
And introducing... Jude Law!min
Collection: Pandora's Box
Cranford
2007 | 300min
Dame Judi, Dame Eileen and the cream of British talent star in this superb five-part adaptation from 2007.
Collection: The Book Group
Cranford
1976 | 60min
A 1976 adaptation with a twist. Give those vocal chords a work out - it’s sing-along-a-Cranford time!min
Collection: The Book Group
Cranford
1972 | 180min
Gabrielle Hamilton and Pat Coombs star in this little-seen 1972 adaptation of Mrs. Gaskell's novel.
Collection: The Book Group
Crazy Gang's Party
1957 | 24min
The Gang's all here for festive frolics in the hugely popular show devised by Bud Flanagan.
Collection: Santa's Grotto
Crewe Hospital Procession
1900 | 11min
Blackface performers, cross-dressers and dancing bears in Crewe.
Collection: Out of the Archive
Cricket
1951 | 18min
The sweet sound of leather on willow.
Collection: Essentially British
Cries From the Watchtower
1979 | 75min
Can a Nottingham watchmaker survive the Silicon Revolution?min
Collection: Heartlands
Crime on the Hill
1933 | 58min
Slight but effective rural murder mystery from director Bernard Vorhaus and cinematographer Claude Friese-Greene.
Collection: Welcome to the Dream Palace
The Crippendales
2007 | 30min
A group of strippers make their Brighton debut.
Collection: Double the Trouble, Twice the Fun
Crossing the Great Sagrada
1924 | 15min
Three intrepid explorers embark on a journey to Sagrada in this humorous spoof travelogue.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Crossroads
1968 | 25min
The original ‘Acorn Antiques’.
Collection: Soap Bubbles
Crown Derby
1949 | 42min
Warm, genial, and thoroughly English - The story of Royal Crown Derby Bone China.
Collection: Heartlands
Crusade
1986 | 50min
March in the footsteps of the Jarrow Crusaders.
Collection: North by North East
Crystal Gazing
1982 | 86min
Experimental drama set in London during the Thatcher administration.
Collection: Cinema of Tomorrow
The Crystal Spirit: Orwell on Jura
1983 | 90min
Superb dramatised account of George Orwell's life on the remote Scottish island where he completed 'Nineteen Eighty-Four'.
Collection: The Book Group
Cubs
2006 | 10min
A very cunning twist on a very British sport.
Collection: Essentially British
Cul-de-sac
1966 | 113min
An eccentric couple are terrorised by gangsters in Roman Polanski's psychological thriller, shot on Holy Island.
Collection: North by North East
Culloden
1964 | 70min
Mock-documentary of the 1746 Battle of Culloden seen from the perspective of a TV crew.
Collection: Essentially British
Cumbernauld, Town for Tomorrow
1970 | 8min
Colourful 1970s promo for the postwar Scottish 'utopia' and its infamous town centre.
Collection: The Promised Land
Cut it Out: A Day in the Life of a Censor
1925 | 20min
A very annoying film censor attempts to disrupt a film shoot.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Cuttack Leper Asylum
1930 | 5min
Amateur film featuring scenes at the leper colony.
Collection: Before Midnight
Cutting Up Rough: Alexander McQueen
1997 | 30min
An unlikely new British fashion genius is born...
Collection: Brit Chic
Cycling the Channel
1929 | 1min
Dover to Calais by hydrocycle.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Dad's Army
1970 | 29min
Britain's 'last line of defence' at their best.
Collection: Essentially British
Dai Jones: A True Story
1941 | 7min
An unemployed Welsh miner saves the day in this stirring war propaganda film.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Daisy Doodad’s Dial
1914 | 6min
A face-pulling competition between husband and wife - can Daisy pull it off?min
Collection: Pandora's Box
Dal yma Nawr/ Still Here Now
2003 | 75min
Some of Wales' greatest performers take us on an odyssey through the nation's bardic tradition in Marc Evans' extraordinary documentary.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.
1966 | 84min
Exterminate! Can Dr. Who and Bernard Cribbins save the Earth?min
Collection: Box of Delights
Dam Busters, The
1955 | 124min
Classic yarn featuring stiff upper lips, an immortal score and the bouncing bomb.
Collection: Heartlands
Dame Judi Dench (South Bank Show)
1995 | 45min
The Oscar-winning actress discusses her acting career and her Quaker childhood.
Collection: Farewell South Bank Show
Dance Festival
1969 | 22min
What is a 20 foot inflatable phallus doing at the Roundhouse?min
Collection: Pandora's Box
Dance Lexie Dance
1996 | 15min
Billy Elliot meets Riverdance.
Collection: Essentially British
Dance of the Harvest
1935 | 8min
Life in rural Sri Lanka.
Collection: Before Midnight
Dandy Dick
1935 | 70min
Will Hay - as a country vicar no less - finds himself accused of doping racehorses.
Collection: Welcome to the Dream Palace
Daphne du Maurier - A Loving Spirit
1997 | 60min
Documentary marking the launch of the du Maurier Festival in Fowey, Cornwall.
Collection: The Book Group
Daphne du Maurier – The Loving Spirit
1993 | 52min
Documentary shedding light on the author's complex relationships with men and women.
Collection: The Book Group
The Dark Eyes of London
1939 | 73min
A landmark in British horror cinema: can shifty insurance broker Bela Lugosi shed any light on those bodies floating in the Thames?min
Collection: Welcome to the Dream Palace
Dark Season
1991 | 30min
The tense finale to Russell T. Davies' adventure series, starring Kate Winslet in her breakthrough role.
Collection: The Kids Are Alright
Darling, Do You Love Me?
1968 | 4min
Germaine Greer gets amorous.
Collection: Pandora's Box
A Dash to the North Pole
1909 | 5min
The SS America braves the pack ice during the Ziegler Polar Expedition of 1903-5.
Collection: Into the White
Date With A Dream
1948 | 53min
Hey, kids, let’s put on a show! Musical extravaganza featuring an array of pre-fame stars, including Terry-Thomas and Jeannie Carson.
Collection: Funny Girls
Date With Decimals, A
1970 | 15min
Discover how Tesco employees got to grips with new money on the eve of decimalisation.
Collection: Pandora's Box
The Dating Game
1994 | 15min
Three disabled women talk about the difficulties they have encountered when trying to form relationships.
Collection: Double the Trouble, Twice the Fun
Daughter of Darkness
1948 | 91min
An Irish maid (Siobhan McKenna) with an irresistible attraction to men descends into psychopathy.
Collection: The Gentle Sex
Daventry Calling
1925 | 2min
The 'world's greatest broadcasting station' makes its debut on the airwaves.
Collection: Heartlands
David
1951 | 36min
The life of a Welsh miner, from pits to poetry.
Collection: Essentially British
David Copperfield
1913 | 63min
Ambitious early attempt to translate Dickens's work to the screen in greater depth.
Collection: Hard Times: Dickens on Screen
David Copperfield (Part 3: A Long Journey)
1966 | 25min
Look out for future Doctor Who Patrick Troughton in this surviving episode from the BBC's 13-part adaptation.
Collection: Hard Times: Dickens on Screen
David Hockney (South Bank Show)
1988 | 45min
A private view of the painter's Tate Gallery retrospective.
Collection: Farewell South Bank Show
Daybreak in Udi
1949 | 40min
min
Villagers in Nigeria construct a hospital under the supercilious eye of a British district officer in this Oscar-winning documentary.
Collection: Cape to Cairo
The Day in the Hayfields
1904 | 3min
Extraordinary early portrait of people caught up in the remorseless round of industrial production.
Collection: Essentially British
The Day in the Life of a Coal Miner
1910 | 10min
Extraordinary early portrait of people caught up in the remorseless round of industrial production.
Collection: Essentially British
The Day of One's Own
1956 | 20min
At last, Mum gets a well-earned break from cooking, cleaning and kids.
Collection: Housewives' Choice
Day of One's Own, A
1956 | 20min
At last, Mum gets a well-earned break from cooking, cleaning and kids.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Days of Hope
1975 | 410min
Ken Loach's four-part drama following a working-class family from WWI to the 1926 General Strike.
Collection:Ken Loach: A Retrospective
The Day the Earth Caught Fire
1961 | 99min
The Thames has dried up. Climate change threatens the survival of the world in this smart, prophetic sci-fi thriller.
Collection: London Calling
Dead Man's Shoes
2004 | 90min
Rural Derbyshire has never seemed quite as unsettling as in Shane Meadows' masterly revenge thriller.
Collection: Heartlands
Dear Murderer
1947 | 94min
Eric Portman at his sinister best as a jealous husband in this pitch-black post-war thriller.
Collection: The Truth About Love
Dear Phone
1976 | 17min
Cast your minds back to the time before the mobile phone... Peter Greenaway on the bright red phone box.
Collection: Essentially British
Death at Broadcasting House
1934 | 74min
Murder most foul at the Beeb.
Collection: Welcome to the Dream Palace
Death in the Morning
1964 | 50min
Alan Whicker investigates the elite world of the Leicestershire Quorn Hunt.
Collection: Heartlands
Death May Be Your Santa Claus
1969 | 38min
Thought 'lost' for many years, 'Santa Claus' is an intriguing look at sex and politics from a black British perspective.
Collection: Black Britain
Dechrau Canu, Dechrau Canmol
2005 | 25min
The flagship S4C show, one of the longest running religious programmes in the world and the inspiration for ‘Songs of Praise’, comes to Rhos.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
The Deep Blue Sea
1994 | 100min
Penelope Wilton and Colin Firth star as lovers reaching the end of an affair.
Collection: In Praise of Rattigan
Delhi
1946 | 10min
Amateur 8mm film shot in the Indian capital.
Collection: Before Midnight
Delhi
1938 | 10min
Delhi as city of the future.
Collection: Before Midnight
Delius - Song of Summer (Omnibus)
1968 | 74min
Ken Russell's favourite of all his films, an immensely moving study of how the blind, paralysed Frederick Delius was still able to compose.
Collection: Ken Russell on TV
Delphinium: A Childhood Portrait of Derek Jarman
2010 | 12min
A lush and lyrical evocation of the artist as a schoolboy, depicting his early devotion to gardening and the male form.
Collection: Beautiful Things
To Demonstrate How Spiders Fly
1909 | 1min
A mechanical spider takes to the air.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Denys Lasdun
1971 | 26min
The pioneering architect discusses his vision for the new National Theatre.
Collection: Building the South Bank
Derby Charter Celebrations
1954 | 60min
Glorious colour footage of the 800th anniversary of the Derby charter.
Collection: Heartlands
Derby Youth
1947 | 28min
The activities of Derby youth clubs in the 40s.
Collection: Heartlands
Design for Fashion
1954 | 24min
The creation of a 50s couture dress in Giuseppe Mattli's London atelier.
Collection: Brit Chic
Desmond's
1989 | 24min
The lives of Peckham barber shop proprietor Desmond Ambrose, his wife Sheila, three children and assorted locals and regulars.
Collection: Black Britain
The Desperate Case
1958 | 10min
How not to pack your suitcase - a guide from British Transport Films.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Desperate Poaching Affray
1903 | 2min
Pioneering chase film through rural Pembrokeshire.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Destiny
1978 | 105min
A West Midlands by-election arouses strong feelings when an extreme right wing party begins to win support.
Collection: Play for Today
The Development of the English Town
1942 | 17min
Quirky educational film promoting the importance of intelligent town planning.
Collection: The Promised Land
Devonshire Hospital, Buxton
1916 | 2min
Returning WWI soldiers get more than they bargained for in Buxton's new-fangled thermal baths.
Collection: Heartlands
The Diaries of Ossie Clark
1998 | 52min
A tribute to the influential designer, filmed two years after his violent death.
Collection: Brit Chic
The Diary For Timothy
1946 | 38min
What does the future hold for Timothy, born on the fifth anniversary of the start of WWII?min
Collection: Essentially British
Diary of a Young Man
1964 | 45min
The adventures of two working-class northern lads during their first few months in London.
Collection:Ken Loach: A Retrospective
Dickens
2002 | 176min
Immerse yourself in Charles Dickens' Victorian milieu with Peter Ackroyd's three-part drama-documentary.
Collection: Hard Times: Dickens on Screen
Dickens' London (Wonderful London)
1924 | 12min
Join Fagin, Pickwick and Little Nell on a whirlwind tour of the sites that inspired Dickens' work.
Collection: Hard Times: Dickens on Screen
Dick Henderson Singing 'Love Her All the More'
1926 | 5min
Music hall star Dick Henderson trills out a resounding ode to his beloved.
Collection: The Truth About Love
Dilip
1972 | 25min
The story of Dilip Kumar, a young man with leprosy.
Collection: Raphael
Dirk Bogarde: A Guardian Lecture
1983 | 40min
BBC broadcast of the actor and writer in conversation at the National Film Theatre.
Collection: Bogarde on the Box
Dirk Bogarde: Above the Title
1986 | 53min
Russell Harty interviews the notoriously guarded star at his home in Provence.
Collection: Bogarde on the Box
Dirty Filthy Love
2004 | 120min
A man with OCD and Tourette's Syndrome strikes up a rapport with the head of his support group.
Collection: The Truth About Love
Disablement
1977 | 26min
A married couple discuss the challenges they face in achieving a healthy sex life after an accident leaves the man in a wheelchair.
Collection: Double the Trouble, Twice the Fun
Dispute
1960 | 36min
A workplace grievance is told from different viewpoints in this imaginative British Productivity Council film, influenced by Kurosawa’s ‘Rashomon’.
Collection: Boom Britain: We Can Work It Out
Distant Voices, Still Lives
1988 | 84min
A wedding and a christening evoke powerful memories for a working-class Liverpool family.
Collection: Essentially British
Do I Love You?
2002 | 72min
A London lesbian examines her life as her relationship crumbles - just why does she 'prefer taco to salami?'min
Collection: Beautiful Things
Doctor Syn
1937 | 81min
Ripping yarn starring George Arliss as Dr. Syn - vicar by day, adventurer by night.
Collection: Welcome to the Dream Palace
Doctor Who
2005 | 45min
A wicked alien is intent on blowing up Cardiff - can our Time Lord hero save the day?min
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Dog Years
2005 | 4min
Ben, 39, castrated mongrel, needs love. GSOH essential.
Collection: The Truth About Love
Dombey and Son (Episode 1)
1983 | 30min
Julian Glover takes the lead as the eponymous shipping company owner in the opening episode of this 1983 Dickens adaptation.
Collection: Hard Times: Dickens on Screen
Don't Be Like Brenda!
1973 | 10min
Brenda makes a mistake and it's clearly all her own fault...
Collection: The Joy of Sex Education
Don't Dilly Dally on the Way
1969 | 25min
Jimmy Edwards and Pat Coombs star in this classic Galton & Simpson farce.
Collection: Funny Girls
Don't Drop the Coffin
2003 | 30min
A glimpse into life and death in Bermondsey.
Collection: Beautiful South
Double Dare
1976 | 65min
Self-reflexive and surreal Dennis Potter play; the identities of a writer, an actress, a callgirl and her client overlap.
Collection: Play for Today
Double the Trouble, Twice the Fun
1992 | 24min
A mix of documentary and drama exploring the lives of lesbians and gay men with disabilities.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Down at the Local
1944 | 18min
Richard Massingham looks at pub culture across England.
Collection: Roll Out the Barrel
Down to the Sea In Trucks
1947 | 36min
The importance of rail transport in the shipbuilding industry.
min
Tales From the Shipyard
Down Town
1965 | 9min
Perfect precincts: Britain goes shopping centre crazy.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Dr Smith: Indian Films
1920 | 25min
Amateur silent footage from Peshawar and Kashmir.
Collection: Before Midnight
Dracula
1958 | 82min
Lee and Cushing battle it out in Hammer's landmark adaptation, newly restored by the BFI.
Collection: The Book Group
Dracula
2006 | 90min
A blood-curdling Christmas special and the most recent TV reworking of Stoker's novel.
Collection: The Book Group
Dracula (Mystery & Imagination)
1968 | 80min
Denholm Elliott stars in this effective small screen adaptation from 1968.
Collection: The Book Group
Dracula (Nightmare: The Birth of Horror)
1996 | 50min
Christopher Frayling examines the many sources that inspired Stoker to pen his immortal novel.
Collection: The Book Group
Dracula (South Bank Show)
1993 | 50min
Melvyn Bragg profiles Bram Stoker and explores the legacy of his most famous work.
Collection: The Book Group
The Dragon Has Two Tongues
1985 | 30min
Two leading historians debate the rise of Marxism in Wales during the years before WWI.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
The Draughtsman's Contract
1982 | 104min
Peter Greenaway's breakthrough film: a draughtsman enters into a dangerous game of wits.
Collection: Cinema of Tomorrow
Dream A40
1964 | 15min
A young gay couple's relationship is put to the test as a road trip takes a sinister turn in Lloyd Reckord's underground short.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Dream House
1953 | 3min
Meena Kumari and Ashok Kumar extol the virtues of Dunlopillo.
Collection: Pandora's Box
The Dream of Gerontius (Part II)
1979 | 60min
TV coverage of the performance of the second part of Elgar's choral work, by The Hallé Orchestra at Huddersfield Town Hall.
Collection: Hope and Glory
Dream of Home
1954 | 9min
Rupert Brooke (played by Oliver Cox) wanders through Cambridgeshire, with extracts from his poem 'The Old Vicarage, Grantchester' as commentary.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Dreams of Leaving
1980 | 60min
A young Bill Nighy stars as a disillusioned journalist in Swinging London.
Collection: Play for Today
Dreams of Toyland
1908 | 5min
A trip to a St. Albans toyshop leads to a violent nightmare as a toyland scene quickly dissolves into a violent melee.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Drifters
1929 | 60min
The story of the North Sea herring fisheries, filmed at Derwick, in the Shetlands, Lowestoft and Yarmouth.
Collection: Reality Bites
Drifters
1929 | 60min
The story of the North Sea herring fisheries, filmed at Derwick, in the Shetlands, Lowestoft and Yarmouth.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Drinking for England
1998 | 50min
A national pastime exposed - Britain's turbulent relationship with the bottle.
Collection: Reality Bites
Drum, The
1937 | 104min
Controversial flagwaver starring Sabu as a young prince loyal to the Raj.
Collection: Before Midnight
Dry Hands
1964 | 8min
The (lack of) thrills and spills in a self-service laundrette.
Collection: Cinema of Tomorrow
Dual Control
1932 | 18min
Amy Johnson and fellow aviator Jim Mollison appear in this eccentric early sound film.
Collection: Amy Johnson: Queen of the Skies
Duke of Connaught’s Indian Tour
1921 | 3min
The Duke goes hunting.
Collection: Before Midnight
Dulwich College and Village
1960 | 10min
Glorious colour footage of the famous Lambeth college, used as a location for the Harry Potter films.
Collection: Beautiful South
Durham Miners Answer Lord Kitchener's Call To Arms
1914 | 1min
Newsreel footage of Durham miners on their way to the recruiting station.
Collection: North by North East
Durham Miners' Gala
1930 | 1min
Marching bands and fancy dress parades - business as usual at the annual gala.
Collection: North by North East
Dusty Ermine
1936 | 85min
A reformed criminal tries to save his nephew from going down the same road.
Collection: Welcome to the Dream Palace
Dylan Thomas
1961 | 30min
Oscar-winning documentary on the great Welsh poet and writer, narrated by Richard Burton.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
E. H. Hunt's Amateur Films of the Rafai Fakirs
1929 | 8min
An amateur record of the self-mutilation of fakirs in Hyderabad.
Collection: Before Midnight
Early Struggles
1976 | 60min
A young, single father (Paul Nicholas) struggles to bring up his baby. Stephen Frears directs.
Collection: Play for Today
East African College
1950 | 16min
The activities of Makerere College, Uganda.
Collection: Cape to Cairo
East Anglian Holiday
1954 | 20min
Hop on a train to the East of England, where cathedrals, waterways and beaches await.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
East is East
1917 | 70min
A Cockney girl unexpectedly inherits a fortune, but will she forget about her old East End sweetheart?min
Collection: London Calling
East of Ipswich
1987 | 73min
Michael Palin-scripted comedy about a family trip to the Suffolk seaside.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
EastEnders
1987 | 30min
Dot and Ethel reminisce about good times and bad.
Collection: London Calling
Eastenders
1986 | 30min
Des has handed Angie divorce papers - and she’s not happy.
Collection: Soap Bubbles
EastEnders [Tavernier Family arrival]
1990 | 30min
The Tavernier family moves into Albert Square.
Collection: Black Britain
Eastenders
1994 | 30min
'Sharongate' reaches its climax.
Collection: Soap Bubbles
Eastern Valley
1937 | 15min
A co-operative experiment in a Monmouthshire mining valley.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye
Eating High
1966 | 10min
Cordon bleu at the top of the Post Office (BT) Tower.
Collection: London Calling
Echoes of the Raj
2000 | 50min
Personal testimonies and home movies tell the story of the last years of the Raj.
Collection: Before Midnight
Edna, The Inebriate Woman
1971 | 90min
A BAFTA-winning Patricia Hayes stars as a homeless drunk.
Collection: Play for Today
Educating Marmalade
1982 | 20min
The late Charlotte Coleman stars as the world's naughtiest schoolgirl in Andrew Davies' anarchic post-punk comedy.
Collection: The Kids Are Alright
Education Week
1925 | 30min
The work of Newcastle upon Tyne Education Services.
Collection: North by North East
The Educative Community
1974 | 23min
Residents of Peckham discuss social problems and their effects on the education system.
Collection: Beautiful South
Edward II
1971 | 125min
Ian McKellen stars in Marlowe's masterpiece.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Eldorado
1992 | 30min
The Costa del Sol beckons in the first episode of the BBC’s ill-fated Euro-soap.
Collection: Soap Bubbles
Eleanor
1974 | 65min
'Birds of a Feather'’s Pauline Quirke stars as a misfit at a girls' day school.
Collection: Play for Today
Elenya
1992 | 81min
During WWII a girl shelters a German soldier in the Black Mountains.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
The Elephant Boy
1937 | 84min
Sabu makes his debut in this adventure, based on a story by Rudyard Kipling.
Collection: Before Midnight
The Elephant Man
1980 | 124min
Poignant, humanist true-life tale of the man who was displayed as a freak in Victorian London.
Collection: London Calling
The Elephant Will Never Forget
1953 | 10min
A fond and tearful farewell to London's trams.
Collection: London Calling
Elgar
1962 | 55min
Ken Russell's rhapsodic docu-drama about the great British composer.
Collection: Essentially British
Elgar - Fantasy on a Composer on a Bicycle
2002 | 50min
Ken Russell revisits Elgar’s work forty years after his original film, this time for 'The South Bank Show'.
Collection: Hope and Glory
Elgar and Shaw - 1929-32
1932 | 12min
Home movie footage of Elgar, literary and musical friends and, of course, his dogs.
Collection: Hope and Glory
Elgar's Tenth Muse
1996 | 50min
Drama about the ageing Elgar's brief but intoxicating relationship with a young violinist.
Collection: Hope and Glory
Elmina's Kitchen
2004 | 90min
Kwame Kwei-Armah's Hackney-set story of gun crime, racism and a difficult father-son relationship.
Collection: Black Britain
Elphida
1987 | 60min
Angela Wynter stars as a young woman who needs to make major changes in her life.
Collection: Black Britain
Elsie and the Brown Bunny
1921 | 8min
Early Cadbury ad, playing like a surreal outtake from 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'.
Collection: March Hares & Easter Bunnies
Elstree Calling
1930 | 83min
Alfred Hitchcock directs segments of a lavish revue featuring stars of the early 30s.
Collection: Welcome to the Dream Palace
Emergency - Ward 10
1964 | 25min
The lives and loves of the staff of Oxbridge General Hospital.
Collection: Soap Bubbles
Emily Brontë at Howarth – A Personal Impression
1973 | 25min
Beryl Bainbridge reflects on the triumphs and tragedies which shaped the novelist's short life.
Collection: The Book Group
Emmerdale Farm
1973 | 50min
Murder for a lunchtime audience.
Collection: Soap Bubbles
The Empire Pays Back
2005 | 50min
A heated criticism of the British government's involvement in the slave trade, that argues that African and Afro-Caribbean communities should be compensated.
Collection: Exodus: Remembering Slavery
Empire Road
1978 | 28min
Day-to-day life among the West Indian community living in Birmingham's Empire Roadmin
Collection: Black Britain
The Encyclopaedist
1961 | 30min
A pushy encyclopaedia salesman attempts to flog his wares in this TV drama written by John Mortimer.
Collection: Black Britain
End of Arthur's Marriage
1965 | 70min
A real Ken Loach curio: the director's exuberant musical contribution to the 'Wednesday Play' strand.
Collection:Ken Loach: A Retrospective
The Ends
2005 | 9min
A shooting on an Elephant and Castle estate is not quite what it seems in this powerful short.
Collection: Beautiful South
Endurance: The Story of a Glorious Failure
1933 | 55min
Re-edited sound version of 'South', detailing Shackleton's Antarctic Expedition of 1914-16 with spoken commentary.
Collection: Into the White
Energy
1934 | 21min
Promotional film highlighting employee welfare in a Welsh energy company.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Enginemen
1959 | 21min
Manchester railway workers discuss the end of the steam age.
Collection: Cinema of Tomorrow
England Home and Beauty
1976 | 37min
Whimsical evocation of our 1930s design heyday.
Collection: The Promised Land
England May Be Home
1950 | 17min
Italian immigrant workers try to adapt to life in 1950s Bedfordshire.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
England Their England: Debauchery
1980 | 75min
Rock climbing at Matlock Bath in Derbyshire via the notoriously tricky Debauchery route.
Collection: Heartlands
England Their England: Ilkeston Advertiser
1980 | 25min
Extra! Extra! Read all about it! The daily grind in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, as seen through the local newspaper.
Collection: Heartlands
England Their England: Sky High
1983 | 25min
Hatton School in Derbyshire express their views about an imminent open cast mine - through the language of song!min
Collection: Heartlands
English Fen, An
1946 | 18min
A day in the life of a fenman.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
English Harvest
1938 | 9min
Humphrey Jennings shoots the grain fields of Sawston in glorious Dufaycolor.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
The Englishman's Home…
1946 | 2min
A salute to the calming influence of Horlicks.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Enid
2009 | 82min
A memorably icy performance from Helena Bonham Carter uncovers the public and private lives of prolific children’s author Enid Blyton.
Collection: Toyland Tales and Happy Endings
Entertaining Mr Sloane
1968 | 80min
A sexy young murderer joins the household of a spinster and her brother - but who is manipulating whom?min
Collection: Beautiful Things
The Enthronement of the First Archbishop of Wales
1920 | 7min
Alfred George Edwards becomes Wales' first Archbishop at a ceremony attended by Lloyd George.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Epic of Everest
1924 | 92min
Mallory and Irvine's ill-fated attempt to conquer Everest.
Collection: The Search for Shangri-La
Epic of Joey
1924 | 1min
Follow that monkey! A pet ape makes a break for freedom in Camberwell.
Collection: Beautiful South
The Epic That Never Was
1965 | 70min
Dirk Bogarde tells the fascinating story of unfinished 1930s epic 'I, Claudius'.
Collection: Bogarde on the Box
Erection of the Dome of Discovery, Festival of Britain, 1950/51
1951 | 48min
The Festival of Britain's radical centrepiece rises from the rubble of the South Bank.
Collection: Building the South Bank
Eskimo Day
1996 | 84min
Maureen Lipman stars in Jack Rosenthal's Cambridge-set comedy.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Yr Etifeddiaeth (The Heritage)
1949 | 48min
The rural way of life in Eifionydd, as seen through the eyes of a young black evacuee.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Eton Wall Game
1921 | 1min
A young George Orwell takes part in an Eton institution - the notoriously perplexing Wall Game.
Collection: Pandora's Box
The Evacuees
1975 | 75min
Jack Rosenthal's classic WWII drama about Jewish brothers evacuated from Manchester to Blackpool.
Collection: Oy Britannia
Everest
1933 | 16min
Wildlife is at the fore in this film of Hugh Ruttledge's Everest expedition.
Collection: The Search for Shangri-La
Everest Expedition 1938
1938 | 59min
Vivid 8mm home movie record of an (unsuccessful) attempt to tame the famous peak.
Collection: The Search for Shangri-La
Evergreen
1934 | 90min
Jessie Matthews is at her best in this musical proving that 30s glamour wasn't confined to Hollywood.
Collection: Welcome to the Dream Palace
Every Day
1929 | 17min
Experimental day in the life of London's office workers.
Collection: London Calling
Every Day Except Christmas
1957 | 40min
12 hours in the life of Covent Garden fruit and vegetable market.
Collection: London Calling
Every Valley
1957 | 20min
The effect of modern transport on the Welsh valleys and beyond.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Everyday Something
2001 | 14min
A Home Truths-style guide to British eccentricity narrated by John Peel.
Collection: Essentially British
Everything In the Garden's Lovely
1980 | 26min
Tom Baker narrates the story of the Garden City movement, founded at Letchworth in Hertfordshire.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Everything is Rhythm
1936 | 73min
Harry Roy stars as a band leader who falls in love with a European princess in this vibrant musical comedy.
Collection: Welcome to the Dream Palace
Experiment
1958 | 33min
How to defuse potential industrial relations problems, using an experiment at a Monmouthshire coal mine as an example.
Collection: Boom Britain: We Can Work It Out
Expresso Bongo
1960 | 111min
Cliff Richard gyrates his way through Soho's strip clubs and coffee bars.
Collection: London Calling
Extraordinary (Zandra Rhodes)
1980 | 30min
All aboard the Extraordinary Express! Meet Zandra "with a zed".
Collection: Brit Chic
The F***ing Fulfords
2004 | 60min
Political incorrectness gone mad in a dilapidated Devon mansion.
Collection: Essentially British
Fable
1965 | 75min
Controversial and provocative TV drama imagining Britain under black rule.
Collection: Black Britain
The Face of Britain
1935 | 18min
How industrialisation has shaped and changed our landscape.
Collection: Essentially British
Face to Face: Derek Jarman
1993 | 40min
Derek Jarman, the great queer artist, discusses his life and work.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Face to Face: Ken Loach
1994 | 40min
The acclaimed director submits to Jeremy Isaac's in-depth questioning.
Collection:Ken Loach: A Retrospective
Facing the Sun
1980 | 55min
Rare TV depiction of bisexuality, in a love triangle between an Englishman, his Brazilian lover and the latter's wife.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Factory (Schweppes Tonic Water ad with Benny Hill)
1959 | 1min
Benny Hill does his bit for the tonic water industry.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Facts and Fancies
1951 | 17min
Joan Collins gets to grips with the by-products of coal in her first screen appearance.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Facts and Figures - Or, Whatever Happened to Dick
1970 | 1min
Bleak animated safety campaign film by the National Coal Board.
Collection: King Coal
The Fair City of Udaipur - Secrets of India
1934 | 9min
A tourist's-eye view of 'the Venice of the East'.
Collection: Before Midnight
Fair Oriana
1961min
The building of the mighty 'Oriana', then the largest passenger ship ever built in England.
Collection: Tales From the Shipyard
Fairy of the Phone
1936 | 12min
A delirious ode to page 5 of the telephone directory, conducted by the fairy of the phone.
Collection: Pandora's Box
The Family
1974 | 30min
The birth of reality TV?min
Collection: Essentially British
Family Life
1971 | 103min
Ken Loach's feature film reworking of controversial mental illness drama 'In Two Minds'.
Collection:Ken Loach: A Retrospective
Family Pride
1991 | 25min
The first Asian soap to hit British television screens.
Collection: Soap Bubbles
Far and Near
2003 | 30min
Leaving her country for the first time, a young Chinese writer wanders on a wild mountain in West Wales.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
The Far Pavilions
1984 | 315min
'Gone With the Wind', India-style.
Collection: Before Midnight
Fashion Fantasy
1946 | 35min
A glamour-starved Wren dreams of modelling for Norman Hartnell.
Collection: Brit Chic
Fat Man on a Bicycle aka W-H-O-R-K a la Pimple
1914 | 3min
Pimple attempts to teach a large friend to ride a bicycle, with disastrous results.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Father and Son
1945 | 14min
Old ways and new ways clash as a son returns to his Kenyan village and contends with his father’s belief in magic and superstition.
Collection: Cape to Cairo
Father Christmas Union
1972 | 10min
The unions are revolting and Santa goes on strike.
Collection: Santa's Grotto
Fatty Issues
1990 | 5min
A wavering weight-watcher counts the calories.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Fawlty Towers
1975 | 30min
Basil! Hell hath no fury like Prunella Scales' Sybil Fawlty.
Collection: Funny Girls
Festival in London
1951 | 10min
Picture-postcard record of the Festival of Britain and its myriad attractions.
Collection: Building the South Bank
Festival of Britain London Exhibitions
1951 | 20min
Amateur colour footage of the Festival, shot along the South Bank.
Collection: Beautiful South
Fiddlers All: A Musical Test for Violin Lovers
1941 | 9min
Fiddle fans pay attention - can you name that tune?min
Collection: Pandora's Box
The Fight Against Slavery
1975 | 300min
Major BBC dramatised documentary series about Britain's role in the slave trade.
Collection: Exodus: Remembering Slavery
Fighting the Bill
1970 | 36min
Agit-prop film campaigning against the Industrial Relations Act.
Collection: Boom Britain: We Can Work It Out
Figures in a Landscape
1953 | 17min
The sculptures of Barbara Hepworth, and the Cornish landscapes that inspired them.
Collection: Cinema of Tomorrow
The Film That Never Was
1955 | 30min
The making of a movie about industrial relations is thwarted - by industrial relations - in Paul Dickson’s funny and eccentric film.
Collection: Boom Britain: We Can Work It Out
The Films of E.J. Montgomery
1928 | 26min
An often playful record of the lives and duties of Lord and Lady Stephenson.
Collection: Before Midnight
Fingersmith
2005 | 60min
In the 1860s, a female pickpocket and an heiress enter into a relationship - but is the whole thing a con?min
Collection: Beautiful Things
Finisterre
2003 | 57min
Snapshots of contemporary London form a vibrant backdrop to Saint Etienne's 2002 album.
Collection: London Calling
Finnegan's Chin
1981 | 82min
James Joyce-inspired exploration of order, logic, cause and effect.
Collection: Cinema of Tomorrow
The Fire Has Been Arranged
1935 | 70min
Flanagan and Allen play crooks coerced in to commiting arson in this wild farce, also starring Alastair Sim.
Collection: Welcome to the Dream Palace
Fires Were Started
1943 | 63min
Spend an eventful day and night with the National Fire Service during the Blitz of 1940-41.
Collection: London Calling
Fireworks Revisited
1994 | 9min
A sexy, girlie twist on Kenneth Anger's homoerotic classic, 'Fireworks'.
Collection: Beautiful Things
First a Girl
1935 | 93min
A hard-up girl pretends to be a female impersonator to make ends meet.
Collection: Beautiful Things
The First Born
1928 | 93min
Desire for a son and heir leads to marital strife between director/star Miles Mander and future 'Hitchcock blonde' Madeleine Carroll.
Collection: Silent Britain
First Reaction: Isabella Rusbridger
1992 | 3min
A schoolgirl gives her verdict on the rewritten Enid Blyton novels, which tone down the sexism of the originals.
Collection: Toyland Tales and Happy Endings
First Reaction: Ken Loach
1991 | 4min
The outspoken director attacks the way some filmmakers promote political parties.
Collection:Ken Loach: A Retrospective
First Reaction: Ken Loach
1993 | 4min
The filmmaker questions Channel 4's decision to withdraw transmission of two films set in Northern Ireland.
Collection:Ken Loach: A Retrospective
Fisherfolk of Northumbria
1942 | 20min
With the men at war, the laborious jobs in Newbiggin-by-the Sea fall to the village's women.
Collection: North by North East
Five Go to Demon's Rock
1996 | 25min
The Famous Five encounter buried treasure, a shipwreck and a mischievous monkey in this 1990s adaptation.
Collection: Toyland Tales and Happy Endings
Five Have a Mystery to Solve
1964 | 15min
A cliff passage on Whispering Island promises adventure for the young sleuths.
Collection: Toyland Tales and Happy Endings
Five on a Treasure Island
1957 | 15min
The first episode of the Children's Film Foundation adventure serial - Julian, Dick, Ann and Timmy the dog meet tomboy George, and the Famous Five are born.
Collection: Toyland Tales and Happy Endings
Five Towns
1947 | 26min
Life and work in the Staffordshire Potteries.
Collection: Essentially British
Flame in the Streets
1961 | 93min
Domestic difficulties develop in a working-class family when their daughter falls in love with a Jamaican man.
Collection: Black Britain
Flames of Passion
1922 | 120min
The consequences of lust: an illegitimate child threatens ruin in this lavish 1920s society drama.
Collection: The Truth About Love
Flames of Passion
1989 | 18min
Ingenious gay homage to Brief Encounter.
Collection: The Truth About Love
Flickering Flame, The
1996 | 50min
Ken Loach tells the story of the sacked dockers of Liverpool and the Women of the Waterfront campaign.
Collection:Ken Loach: A Retrospective
Flight of the Swan
1994 | 12min
Can a young black girl hope to become a classical ballerina?min
Collection: Black Britain
The Flipside of Dominick Hide
1980 | 95min
A time-traveller from 2130 attempts to track down his great-great-grandfather in 1980, but love complicates things…min
Collection: Play for Today
Floating
1991 | 39min
A man becomes convinced a great flood is coming and sets about building an ark.
Collection: Cinema of Tomorrow
Flying at Pwllheli
1911 | 1min
Intrepid aviator H.J.D. Astley laughs off another crash for the newsreel cameras.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Flying The Foam and Some Fancy Diving
1906 | 2min
'Professor' Reddish demonstrates how to dive from Brighton Pier whilst riding a bicycle.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Focus on Northampton
1965 | 25min
Brian Connell introduces the town of Northampton.
Collection: Heartlands
Foothill Town, A: Darjeeling
1937 | 9min
Darjeeling - a portrait of the Raj hill station made for schools.
Collection: Before Midnight
Foothold on Antarctica
1956 | 19min
The Trans-Antarctic Commonwealth Expedition sets up base camp in Derek Williams’ Oscar-nominated documentary.
Collection: Into the White
For the Love of Ada
1970 | 25min
Irene Handl stars as an elderly widow who begins a love affair with a gravedigger in this gentle 70s sitcom.
Collection: Funny Girls
Forbidden Love
1992 | 26min
The older generation of disabled people discuss how theories of eugenics were often used to deny disabled people the opportunity to explore their sexuality.
Collection: Double the Trouble, Twice the Fun
Forbidden Pleasures
2000 | 50min
Documentary about the use of prostitutes by disabled people.
Collection: Double the Trouble, Twice the Fun
Forty Years On
1978 | 20min
The changes in coal mining that have taken place during one man's working lifetime.
Collection: King Coal
Forward to Service
1947 | 38min
Didactic instructional film promoting company loyalty to employees of Smiths Dock Company, Teesside.
Collection: North by North East
The Four M's
1964 | 44min
The eccentric Lord Robens takes us through the 4 essential M’s of the coal industry.
Collection: Boom Britain: We Can Work It Out
The Fourth Everest Expedition
1933 | 49min
Hugh Ruttledge's failed attempt to conquer Everest - he got to a point just 1000 feet below the summit.
Collection: The Search for Shangri-La
Fox Farm
1922 | 95min
Passion blooms in the countryside when a girl falls in love with a blind farmer.
Collection: Silent Britain
Fragment of Memory, A
1984 | 53min
Cambridge students protest in the incendiary climate of 1930s Britain.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Framed Youth: Revenge of the Teenage Perverts
1983 | 50min
Queer teens discuss their experiences in Thatcher's Britain.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Freak Out
1999 | 25min
Welcome to Club Flesh, a disabled fetish club often frequented by able-bodied men and women.
Collection: Double the Trouble, Twice the Fun
Free Time
1972 | 9min
Lambeth at leisure.
Collection: Beautiful South
Freedom of the Hills
1930 | 1min
The hills are alive with the sound of protestors, fighting for the right to roam.
Collection: Heartlands
Friday the Thirteenth
1933 | 84min
A star-studded cast appears in this ensemble piece - a dozen characters are involved in a London bus crash, but who will survive?min
Collection: Welcome to the Dream Palace
The Frock and Roll Years
2002 | 23min
A beginner's guide to post-war British fashion.
Collection: Brit Chic
From High Heels to Sensible Shoes
1997 | 30min
Former TV presenter Jackie Forster discusses the day that changed her life - when she had her first lesbian affair.
Collection: Beautiful Things
From Raw Material to Finished Product
1932 | 26min
Descend into the Eston mines as coal and ore are gathered to make iron and steel products.
Collection: North by North East
From Spain to Streatham (Monitor)
1959 | 10min
Ken Russell's affectionate tribute to the guitar features performances by John Williams and the teenage Davey Graham.
Collection: Ken Russell on TV
From the Four Corners
1941 | 15min
Why would Australians, Canadians and New Zealanders risk their lives for Britain?min
Collection: Essentially British
The Frost Programme
1970 | 52min
Counterculture invades The Frost Programme as Jerry Rubin and the Yippies take over the stage.
Collection: Frost/Mediatheque
The Frost Report on Class
1966 | 25min
Classic sketches from Messrs Barker, Corbett, Cleese and Frost.
Collection: Frost/Mediatheque
The Frost Report on Elections
1966 | 25min
Satirical send ups of politicians – 'The Daily Show' circa 1966.
Collection: Frost/Mediatheque
The Fruit Machine
1988 | 108min
Fantastical gay buddy movie following two boys on the run from Liverpool to Brighton.
Collection: Beautiful Things
The Fugitive Futurist
1924 | 11min
An oddball inventor startles Londoners with images of the city's future.
Collection: London Calling
The Funeral of Queen Victoria (Funeral Procession at Cowes)
1901 | 3min
The funeral of Britain's longest-reigning monarch.
Collection: Essentially British
Gala Day
1963 | 26min
Controversial portrait of the 1962 Durham Miners' Gala.
Collection: North by North East
Gallivant
1996 | 100min
A tour of Britain's coastline, with the director's grandmother and daughter in tow.
Collection: Essentially British
Gamekeeper, The
1980 | 80min
An ex-steelworker seeks a gentler pace of life in rural Yorkshire but finds his allegiances tested in Ken Loach's TV drama.
Collection:Ken Loach: A Retrospective
The Games
2007 | 15min
A surreal take on East London's Olympian future.
Collection: London Calling
The Game of Haxey Hood
1929 | 1min
Welcome to a mad British tradition. Follow that hood!min
Collection: Heartlands
Gangsters
1975 | 110min
The French Connection comes to Birmingham.
Collection: Play for Today
Gardens of the Orient
1936 | 10min
The gardens here are tea gardens, and the 'Orient' is India and Sri Lanka.
Collection: Before Midnight
The Gaunt Stranger
1938 | 73min
A funeral wreath delivered to an unpopular businessman sparks off a police investigation.
Collection: Welcome to the Dream Palace
Gavin and Stacey
2008 | 30min
An Essex boy falls in love with a Barry girl in the popular BBC series, written by Ruth Jones and James Corden.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Gay Life
1981 | 30min
British gay men's lives from the '30s to the '50s.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Gay Rights Demonstration
1976 min
Gay students protest against the homophobic coverage of a Brighton newspaper.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Gaytime TV
1995 | 35min
The gay magazine show cuts its teeth, presented by Rhona Cameron and Bert Tyler-Moore.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Geh Kinde Geh
1991 | 15min
Maria Charles and Bernard Spear star as a mother and father hosting a Jewish funeral.
Collection: Oy Britannia
General Election
1946 | 19min
Can John Profumo hold onto his seat in Kettering?min
Collection: Heartlands
General Sahib
1976 | 50min
A portrait of Major General Bakhshi, former chairman of the charity Raphael.
Collection: Raphael
Genevieve
1953 | 86min
Cheerful, and very British comedy set against the London to Brighton car rally.
Collection: Funny Girls
Geordie Scene
1974 | 30min
Get ready to get down in this Tyne Tees-produced pop music programme showcasing the talents of Lindisfarne and Bullfrog.
Collection: North by North East
George Orwell - 1984 (Arena)
1984 | 50min
Fifth instalment in the major 'Arena' portrait of Orwell, focusing on his final work.
Collection: The Book Group
George Orwell: The Road to the Left
1973 | 60min
Documentary tracking Orwell's life in 1936, the year he married, set off for the Spanish Civil War and completed his first novel.
Collection: The Book Group
George Sherriff's Home Movies - Lhasa Films
1940 | 63min
These amateur films of Lhasa feature the current Dalai Lama and his family in the 1940s.
Collection: The Search for Shangri-La
George Sherriff's Home Movies - S.E. Tibet, Bhutan and Sikkim Films
1934 | 155min
The vivid colours of Tibet, Bhutan and Sikkim in the 1930s and 40s.
Collection: The Search for Shangri-La
George Sherriff's Home Movies - Tibetan Landscapes and Ceremonies
1938 | 51min
The Tibetan landscape, wildlife and religious ceremonies through the eyes of botanist George Sherriff.
Collection: The Search for Shangri-La
Gert and Daisy's Weekend
1941 | 79min
The irrespressible Cockney pensioners take on a boisterous group of evacuee kids in this wartime comedy.
Collection: Funny Girls
Giant in the Sun
1959 | 19min
Beautiful colour documentary showing Nigeria’s preparations for self-government.
Collection: Cape to Cairo
The Gift
1997 | 16min
A man gives his disabled wife a video camera, and she begins to film their deteriorating relationship.
Collection: Double the Trouble, Twice the Fun
Gilbert & George Go Day Tripping
1992 | 10min
The Turner prize-winning artists head to Southend, the popular Essex seaside resort.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Gilbert and George (The South Bank Show)
1997 | 75min
The flamboyant artists discuss their provocative work. min
Collection: Farewell South Bank Show
Ginger Nutt’s Christmas Circus
1949 | 7min
Disney-inspired animated mayhem at the circus.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Girl
1974 | 35min
Alison Steadman stars as a young army recruit.
Collection: Beautiful Things
The Girl Can't Always Have Everything (Tales of the Unexpected)
1980 | 25min
Two Collins' - Joan and Pauline - vie for the affections of a wealthy toy manufacturer.
Collection: The Gentle Sex
Girls' Night Out
1987 | 6min
Shy factory worker Beryl lets her hair down in Joanna Quinn’s uproarious animation.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Give Her a Ring
1934 | 79min
A switchboard operator unknowingly falls for her boss in 1930s Copenhagen.
Collection: Welcome to the Dream Palace
Glimpses of India
1929 | 15min
Indian travelogue featuring the famous sights and rural life.
Collection: Before Midnight
Glowyr - Mynd yn Grwt i’r Gwaith
1994 | 25min
Ex-miners recall their childhood days working in the Welsh coalmines.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Go Go Go Said the Bird
1966 | 55min
A trip through Swinging London with Marianne Faithfull, David Hockney, Twiggy and co.
Collection: London Calling
The Go-Between
1971 | 116min
Sex, class and cricket - the past as a not-so-foreign country.
Collection: Essentially British
Go-Between, The
1971 | 116min
Sex, class and cricket - the past as a not-so-foreign country.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
God's Chillun
1938 | 10min
The history of the West Indies' slave trade, and the islands' development since emancipation.
Collection: Exodus: Remembering Slavery
Going Places - The Story of Sunderland Transport
1955 | 27min
Hop on a routemaster for a tour of 1950s Sunderland.
Collection: North by North East
Going Shopping with Elizabeth Allan
1955 | 8min
Brandy, teabags and 'Tupperware' are all on offer in London's most famous store.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Going Shopping with Elizabeth Allan at Marshall and Snelgrove
1955 | 10min
The indomitable Ms. Allan gives another department store the once-over.
Collection: Shop 'til You Drop
The Gold Diggers
1983 | 89min
Sally Potter's debut feature, a feminist reinterpretation of cinema history.
Collection: Cinema of Tomorrow
Golden Vision, The
1968 | 75min
The football mania of Liverpool's menfolk is given an affectionate portrayal in Ken Loach's witty drama.
Collection:Ken Loach: A Retrospective
The Good Companions
1933 | 113min
Adaptation of J.B. Priestley's popular play about a performing troupe, starring Jessie Matthews.
Collection: Welcome to the Dream Palace
The Good Housewife ‘In Her Kitchen’
1949 | 9min
Make a refrigerator out of an old pot and a bit of cloth. Post-War survival for housewives.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Good Manners
1937 | 9min
Members of the Roston Youth Club debate the subject of good manners.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Goodbye
1975 | 80min
Scenes from a marriage on the rocks.
Collection: Play for Today
Good-Time Girl
1947 | 93min
A girl born on the wrong side of the tracks (Jean Kent) descends into ruin.
Collection: The Gentle Sex
Gordon Jacob (Monitor)
1959 | 10min
Much more sedate than what followed, this was Ken Russell's first-ever film about a composer.
Collection: Ken Russell on TV
Gorrie Family Personal Films
1932 | 80min
The Gorrie family at home in Dehra Dun and on expedition in the Himalaya.
Collection: Before Midnight
Gosforth Park Races
1912 | 6min
Join the Edwardian crowds and place a bet at Newcastle Racecourse.
Collection: North by North East
Graham's Gang
1979 | 30min
Uproarious kids' series in the 'Just William' vein.
Collection: The Kids Are Alright
Grand Hotel
1932 | 8min
Comedy stars Laurel and Hardy make an appearance at Tynemouth.
Collection: North by North East
Grange Hill
1981 | 24min
A Christmas special with the school soap's iconic rebel Tucker Jenkins up to his old tricks at the school disco.
Collection: The Kids Are Alright
Granny's Is
1989 | 48min
Avant-garde portrait of the director's grandmother.
Collection: Cinema of Tomorrow
The Grassy Shires
1944 | 15min
'Pattern of Britain' film exploring the farmlands of Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and beyond.
Collection: Heartlands
The Great Barrier
1937 | 84min
Western-style adventure on the Canadian Pacific Railway with a heroic Richard Arlen and luminous Lili Palmer.
Collection: Welcome to the Dream Palace
Great Crusade: The Story of a Million Homes
1936 | 17min
Patriotism and production lines: J.B. Priestley joins the 'crusade' for better housing.
Collection: The Promised Land
Great Crusade: The Story of a Million Homes
1936 | 17min
Patriotism and production lines: J.B. Priestley joins the crusade for better housing.
Collection: The Promised Land
Great Expectations
1946 | 116min
A fictional biography of Mr. Pickwick, from childhood to his adventures in Dickens' The Pickwick Papers.
Collection: Hard Times: Dickens on Screen
Great Expectations
1975 | 119min
Michael York stars as Pip in the first colour version of the Dickens classic.
Collection: Hard Times: Dickens on Screen
Great Expectations
1999 | 185min
Charlotte Rampling as Miss Havisham and Ioan Gruffudd as Pip lead an all-star cast in this sumptuous two-part adaptation.
Collection: Hard Times: Dickens on Screen
Great Expectations (Part 1)
1959| 30min
Part one of an early adaptation of the Dickens favourite directed by children’s TV pioneer Dorothea Brooking.
Collection: Hard Times: Dickens on Screen
Great Hucklow Jubilee Film May 5th 1935
1935 | 6min
Jubilee celebrations in a Derbyshire village.
Collection: Heartlands
The Greatest Menace We Have Ever Known
1921 | 1min
'Topical Budget' opposes the miners during the 1921 Coal War.
Collection: King Coal
Groove on a Stanley Knife
1997 | 41min
Two girls - a lesbian and a homophobe - go on the run from crack-dealers.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Grove Carnival
1981 | 19min
Kaleidoscopic celebration of the 1980 Notting Hill Carnival.
Collection: London Calling
The Grove Family
1956 | 20min
There's a thief about in an episode from Britain's first ever soap.
Collection: Soap Bubbles
Growing Girls
1951 | 12min
Mary discovers the minefield that it puberty.
Collection: The Joy of Sex Education
Gurkhas and Shillong Scenery
1930 | 13min
The festival of Dashian is celebrated - including scenes of animal sacrifice.
Collection: Before Midnight
G_yl Cerdd Dant - Rhosllannerchrugog a’r Cylch
2006 | 48min
The unique Welsh art of singing poetry to the accompaniment of harp music.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
H.R.H. Prince George
1930 | 1min
Prince George launches a lifeboat in Cromer.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
H.R.H. The Princess Royal Visit to Oswestry
1933 | 3min
Princess Mary visits Oswestry, near Wrexham, in 1933.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Hadrian's Wall
1953 | 24min
Haunting landscape poem dedicated to the Roman Wall - Northern England's most visited tourist attraction.
Collection: North by North East
Halcyon Days
1962 | 13min
Brushes at the ready - are you ready to paint the Halcyon way?min
Collection: Heartlands
The Half Monty
1999 | 24min
The Full Monty with a twist.
Collection: Double the Trouble, Twice the Fun
The Halfway House
1944 | 95min
Ealing ghost story set in a Welsh valleys hotel.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Hanif Kureishi - 'Black and White in Colour' Interviews
1991 | 30min
'The Buddha of Suburbia' author offers his opinions on race in British film and TV.
Collection: The Book Group
Hanif Kureishi (Guardian Interview) AUDIO ONLY
1999 | min
South Bank Show profile of the provocative writer.
Collection: The Book Group
Hanif Kureishi (South Bank Show)
2003 | 48min
Kureishi discusses his work at the NFT.
Collection: The Book Group
Ha'penny Breeze
1951 | 57min
A young man tries to rally a Suffolk village on the banks of the River Orwell to improve their post-war lot.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Happy Ever After
1974 | 30min
The popular sitcom that introduced the world to retired empty nesters Terry and June.
Collection: Funny Girls
Happy Families
1985 | 30min
Jennifer Saunders takes on five roles in this neglected Ben Elton sitcom, also starring Dawn French.
Collection: Funny Girls
Happy Family, The
1952 | 86min
A plucky South Bank family decide to fight back when building work for the Festival of Britain threatens their home.
Collection: Building the South Bank
Happy in the Morning: A Film Fantasy
1938 | 13min
A jolly showcase for Henry Hall's band, doubling up as a water heater commercial.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Happy Moorings
1964 | 52min
Comedy starring Millicent Martin as a prim lady apparently having an affair with her manservant. But is she?min
Collection: Funny Girls
Hard Feelings
1984 | 85min
A group of Oxford graduates live in Brixton in 1980, oblivious to the rioting on the streets.
Collection: Beautiful South
Hard Labour
1973 | 70min
Mike Leigh's first TV drama, starring Liz Smith and Alison Steadman in a Salford-set snapshot of domestic drudgery.
Collection: Play for Today
Hard Times (Episode 1)
1977 | 50min
The opening episode in Granada TV's impressive four-part version of the atypical Dickens tale set in a northern mill town.
Collection: Hard Times: Dickens on Screen
Harlequinade
1973 | 60min
Rare comedy from Terence Rattigan, starring Denholm Elliott and Edith Evans.
Collection: In Praise of Rattigan
Harrods (A Day in the Life…)
1993 | 30min
A 1990s peek behind the scenes of the Knightsbridge institution.
Collection: Shop 'til You Drop
Hartbeat
1984 | 20min
An early episode of the children's art show presented by the much-missed Tony Hart.
Collection: The Kids Are Alright
Hartlepool Charter
1951 | 23min
1950s Hartlepool - port town of industry and tourism.
Collection: North by North East
Harvest Shall Come, The
1942 | 38min
Dramatised account of the poor working and living conditions of the average farm worker, filmed in Needham Market, Suffolk.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Have We Missed the Boat? (Northern Scene)
1981 | 36min
The challenges facing shipbuilding in Tyneside.
min
Tales From the Shipyard
Hawking
2004 | 89min
Dramatised account of the early adult life of Stephen Hawking, including his radical work at Trinity College, Cambridge.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Health and Clothing
1928 | 15min
Clothing tips from Bermondsey Borough Council.
Collection: Reality Bites
Heart of the Angel
1989 | 40min
Molly Dineen follows two chaotic days and a long night behind the scenes at Angel tube station.
Collection: Reality Bites
The Heart Within
1957 | 59min
A West Indian dockworker is suspected of the murder of a compatriot.
Collection: Black Britain
The Heat of the Sun
1998 | 100min
A detective based in colonial Kenya solves crimes among the Happy Valley set.
Collection: Cape to Cairo
Hedd Wyn
1992 | 112min
Oscar-nominated biopic of the Welsh poet, tragically killed in WWI.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Hedging
1942 | 9min
How to cut back and lay a hedge with the aid of a trusty land girl.
Collection: Heartlands
Help for Russia
1941 | 9min
After the German invasion of Russia in 1941, Bermondsey locals do their bit to raise funds.
Collection: Beautiful South
Hen Elynion (Old Enemies)
1997 | 100min
The complex relationships of a Rhos-born Spanish Civil War veteran are explored in this absorbing S4C drama.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Henry V
1944 | 137min
Shakespeare as WWII propaganda.
Collection: Essentially British
Her Great Mistake
1925 | 14min
Retail therapy, 1920s-style: a housewife seeks solace in hats.
Collection: Shop 'til You Drop
Here is the Gold Coast
1947 | 35min
A Central Office of Information film outlining the planned development of the Gold Coast over the next ten years.
Collection: Cape to Cairo
Here's a Health to the Barley Mow
1955 | 17min
Traditional English folk songs and step dances in a Suffolk pub.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Hidden City
1987 | 108min
Stephen Poliakoff's unnerving thriller uncovers a dark, unseen side of the capital.
Collection: London Calling
Hi-De-Hi!: Peggy's Big Chance
1981 | 30min
Su Pollard made her mark as dizzy chalet maid Peggy in the long-running 50s holiday camp sitcom.
Collection: Funny Girls
The Higgler
1973 | 52min
Derbyshire-set adaptation of A.E. Coppard's story about a higgler town between two women.
Collection: Heartlands
The High Command
1937 | 88min
Blackmail and murder in the colonies.
Collection: Welcome to the Dream Palace
High Jinks at Durham Miners' Gala
1928 | 1min
In spite of an uncertain future, Durham miners party in the streets.
Collection: North by North East
High Living
1968 | 10min
The only way is up: the 1960s' answer to Britain's booming population.
Collection: The Promised Land
High Summer
1972 | 75min
A young man returns to the family manor to demand his inheritance in a rare written-for-television play by Terence Rattigan.
Collection: In Praise of Rattigan
High Treason
1928 | 75min
Britain's answer to 'Metropolis' - a sci-fi epic of conspiray and sabotage set in a futuristic London.
Collection: Silent Britain
Hillmen Go to War
1944 | 10min
The contribution of the people of the Kullu Valley to the war effort.
Collection: Before Midnight
Hindle Wakes
1927 | 116min
Lancashire's cotton workers decamp to Blackpool for their annual taste of freedom.
Collection: Essentially British
Hints and Hobbies No.1
1926 | 14min
Want to know more about Persian cats, cardboard vases and treating fractured limbs?min
Collection: Pandora's Box
Hints and Hobbies No.11
1926 | 14min
Jiu-jitsu for ladies, how to get ink off a white apron and other life essentials.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Hints and Hobbies No.12
1926 | 12min
Who needs an iron when you have a jam jar to hand?min
Collection: Pandora's Box
Hints and Hobbies No.3
1926 | 5min
How to construct an efficient wireless set for just 1/10d. Although Mensa membership may be a prerequisite...
Collection: Pandora's Box
Hints and Hobbies No.7
1926 | 14min
How to remove dirt from your finest stole and enthral your guests with a few sugarlumps.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Hints and Hobbies No.8
1926 | 12min
Turn your dog into a burglar alarm and clean out that murky decanter - the Hints and Hobbies team are back.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Historic Mutiny Sites
1914 | 5min
Sixty years after the event, this travelogue indicates the continued potency of the Indian Mutiny to the British in India.
Collection: Before Midnight
History of the English Language
1943 | 15min
How did the mother tongue of 400 million people come into existence?min
Collection: Pandora's Box
The Hole in Babylon
1979 | 70min
Dramatisation of the 1975 Spaghetti House Siege.
Collection: Play for Today
Holiday
1957 | 18min
The kiss-me-quick pleasures of saucy Blackpool.
Collection: Essentially British
Holidays at Home - Saltwell Park Gateshead
1944 | 11min
Gateshead residents enjoy a 'staycation' to cut down on travel during WWII.
Collection: North by North East
Hollow Drift Children's Procession, Durham
1902 | 3min
Thousands of Durham schoolchildren march through the streets to mark the coronation of Edward VII.
Collection: North by North East
The Holly and the Ivy
1952 | 83min
An unfairly neglected Christmas tale starring Ralph Richardson and Celia Johnson.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Holly and the Ivy, The
1952 | 83min
An unfairly neglected Christmas tale starring Ralph Richardson and Celia Johnson.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Hollyoaks
2000 | 25min
Three men go on trial for the rape of Luke Morgan (Gary Lucy) in a superior episode of the soap.
Collection: Soap Bubbles
Holyhead Mail Boat
1898 | 1min
The Royal Mail steamer Munster completes its journey from Dublin to the island of Anglesey.
Llong ager y Post Brenhinol, y Munster, yn cyrraedd pen ei thaith o Ddulyn i Ynys Môn.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
The Home Movies of H.A.N. Barlow
1945 | 20min
Gritty images of India's northerly frontiers contrast with vibrant colour scenes of Udaipur in these 8mm films.
Collection: Before Midnight
The Home Movies of Robert Wrench
1924 | 14min
Home movies showing Tyneside in the 1920s and 30s.
Collection: North by North East
Home Movies of T. Burtt
1933 | 20min
Lahore, Rajasthan and Simla feature in Burtt's home movies.
Collection: Before Midnight
Homes for All (This Modern Age No.1)
1946 | 20min
A plug for the post-war housing policy of a new Labour government.
Collection: The Promised Land
Homes for the People
1945 | 23min
Housewives of Britain offer a weary insight into the dire state of their homes.
Collection: The Promised Land
Hop Gardens of Kent
1933 | 5min
From hop to pint: the GPO Film Unit explains it all.
Collection: Roll Out the Barrel
Hop Picking In Kent
1929 | 2min
Londoners 'hop' to it in the Kentish fields.
Collection: Roll Out the Barrel
Hope and Glory
1984 | 79min
The life, times and music of Sir Edward Elgar.
Collection: Hope and Glory
Horror of Darkness
1965 | 62min
A couple's relationship is disturbed by the arrival of the man's old college friend.
Collection: Beautiful Things
The Horsey Mail
1938 | 10min
Will floods scupper the duties of two Norfolk postmen?min
Collection: Essentially British
Horsey Mail, The
1938 | 10min
Rising water levels threaten to scupper the duties of two Norfolk postmen.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Hot Summer Night
1959 | 90min
Racism in a white, working-class family - later re-made as 'Flame in the Streets'.
Collection: Black Britain
Hothouse, The
1978 | 50min
Six former Newnham students - "the pleasantest of the ladies' colleges" - discuss their lives since leaving Cambridge University.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
A House in Battersea (Monitor)
1961 | 17min
Ken Russell's portrait of an extraordinary collection of Pre-Raphaelite art and the 95-year-old woman who preserves it.
Collection: Ken Russell on TV
A House in Bayswater
1960 | 30min
A nostalgic look at a house in which Ken Russell himself once lived, still packed with artists on every floor.
Collection: Ken Russell on TV
House in Which You Live, The
1947 | 17min
Don't mention the War: a reassuring architectural tour of British homes past, present and future.
Collection: The Promised Land
How a Bicycle is Made
1945 | min
The recipe for the perfect bike.
Collection: Pandora's Box
How a British Bulldog Saved the Union Jack
1906 | 7min
A plucky hound rescues a British cavalryman from a treacherous Zulu in this Edwardian flagwaver.
Collection: Cape to Cairo
How Percy Won the Beauty Competition
1909 | 6min
Percy drags up to scoop the top prize in this silent short - but will he be found out?min
Collection: Beautiful Things
Hoxton…Saturday, July 3rd, Britannia Theatre
1920 | 6min
A very busy Saturday on Old Street.
Collection: London Calling
Hue and Cry
1946 | 82min
A group of schoolboys uncover a dastardly scam. When the police won't listen, it's time to take matters into their own hands.
Collection: Box of Delights
Hull Fair No.2
1902 | 2min
Two black boxers challenge fair-goers to a bout in the ring.
Collection: Black Britain
Hunter Family Films
1928 | 57min
India through the idiosyncratic eyes of the Hunter family.
Collection: Before Midnight
Hunts War Agricultural Committee
1940 | 24min
New machinery helps East Anglian agriculture during WWII.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
A Hymn from Jim
1977 | 30min
Trashy pulp comedy-thriller from the writer of 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show'.
Collection: Beautiful Things
I Am a Reporter
1961 | 13min
A journalist scours Hertford for material for the local newspaper.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
I Know Where I'm Going!
1945 | 92min
Metaphysical love story starring Wendy Hiller, beautifully filmed in the Scottish Hebrides.
Collection: The Truth About Love
I Will Speak English
1955 | 16min
An eccentric English lesson in the Gold Coast.
Collection: Cape to Cairo
Ice Cold in Alex
1958 | 132min
John Mills' perfect beer moment makes for a perfect movie moment.
Collection: Roll Out the Barrel
The Ice House
1978 | 35min
A mysterious outbuilding holds a chilling secret in the last of the 1970s Christmas ghost stories.
Collection: A Ghost Story for Christmas
ICI on Teesside
1950 | 6min
The influence of Imperial Chemical Industries on Billingham and Wilton.
Collection: North by North East
Ilford Everest
1933 | 32min
Members of Ruttledge's Everest expedition at play.
Collection: The Search for Shangri-La
I'm All Right Jack
1959 | 105min
Peter Sellers is a militant trade unionist in this peerless workplace satire.
Collection: Boom Britain: We Can Work It Out
I'm British But…
1989 | 30min
Britain beats to the sound of Bhangra and Bangla.
Collection: Essentially British
The Imitation Game
1980 | 95min
A young middle-class woman joins the Auxiliary Territorial Service during WWII.
Collection: Play for Today
The Important Thing is Love
1971 | 50min
The invisible history of British lesbians.
Collection: Beautiful Things
In Celebration
1974 | 125min
Three brothers return to Nottinghamshire to celebrate their parents' anniversary. Lindsay Anderson directs.
Collection: Heartlands
In Fading Light
1989 | 107min
A young woman's return after many years away causes upheavals in a small North Shields fishing community.
Collection: North by North East
In Gear
1967 | 9min
The Sixties swing into Carnaby Street and the King's Road.
Collection: London Calling
In Rural Maharashtra
1940 | 12min
Happy farmers, a wedding and some giant cauliflowers...
Collection: Before Midnight
In Search of Dracula with Jonathan Ross
1996 | 52min
Jonathan Ross celebrates 100 years of Bram Stoker's creation...and gets distracted by Hammer's heaving bosoms.
Collection: The Book Group
In Search of Geordie
1975 | 25min
What makes a Geordie?min
Collection: Essentially British
In the Limelight with Lesley
1980 | 25min
Margaret Thatcher fields questions from an audience of children. Hosted by Lesley Judd.
Collection: The Kids Are Alright
In the Pink
1982 | 30min
Feminist troupe The Raving Beauties take their comedy show from stage to television screen.
Collection: Channel 4 Anniversary
Inappropriate Behaviour
1987 | 78min
A female psychiatrist develops feelings towards a schoolgirl patient.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Incident
1971 | min
An anti-short short film? A 4 minute wonder starring Stephen Frears.
Collection: Cinema of Tomorrow
In Darkest Africa
1972 | 55min
The Victorian attitudes to colonial Africa and the war with the Zulus.
Collection: Cape to Cairo
India
1929 | 16min
Amateur film of the passage to India - complete with guest appearance by Gandhi.
Collection: Before Midnight
Indian Background
1946 | 9min
Progress vs. tradition in India.
Collection: Before Midnight
The Indian Summer
1992 | 30min
Sir Leonard Cheshire's final journey to India.
Collection: Raphael
The Indian Washing the Baby
1906 | 2min
India's cleanest child enjoys an enthusiastic wash and Ayurvedic massage.
Collection: Before Midnight
Insight - Zandra Rhodes
1981 | 14min
Peter Greenaway's innovative day-in-the-life portrait.
Collection: Brit Chic
Intensive Care
1982 | 80min
A teacher visits his dying father and strikes up a rapport with the night nurse in Alan Bennett's black comedy, starring Thora Hird and Julie Walters.
Collection: Play for Today
International Association Match, England v. Wales, Wrexham 1912
1912 | 3min
Billy Meredith, one of Wales' early football superstars, takes on the English team at the Racecourse, Wrexham.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Interview with Beatles
1963 | 10min
The Fab Four respond to searching questions from viewers of Tyne Tees Television - does Ringo like beards?min
Collection: North by North East
Introducing Anglia
1959 | 43min
Anglia Television makes its debut.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Introducing Work Study
1955 | 20min
Industrial film aimed at the many sceptics of the work study scheme, seen by thousands of workers across the country.
Collection: Boom Britain: We Can Work It Out
In Two Minds
1967 | 72min
Ken Loach directs David Mercer’s contentious play about a young woman diagnosed with schizophrenia.
Collection:Ken Loach: A Retrospective
Invisible City
1991 | 18min
The fate of a Nazi-era Jewish couple disrupts a futuristic dystopia where memory and history are outlawed.
Collection: Oy Britannia
The Iron Dale
1964 | 25min
Life at Stanton and Stavely Ltd. Ironworks.
Collection: Heartlands
The Irresponsibles
1929 | 40min
A no-nonsense warning of the perils of gonorrhoea and syphilis.
Collection: The Joy of Sex Education
Isadora
1966 | 65min
Ken Russell's dramatised documentary on the eccentric life of American dance pioneer Isadora Duncan.
Collection: Ken Russell on TV
Island People
1940 | 10min
The British way of life at the dawn of the 1940s.
Collection: Essentially British
It Ain't Half Racist, Mum
1979 | 30min
The pervasive racism of British TV in the '70s is exposed.
Collection: Black Britain
It Always Rains on Sunday
1947 | 92min
A housewife's life is complicated when her ex-lover, an escaped violent criminal, comes to her for shelter.
Collection: London Calling
It's a Free World
2007 | 92min
The dark side of the capitalist dream: Ken Loach's powerful feature tackles the exploitation of London's illegal workforce.
Collection:Ken Loach: A Retrospective
J L McAdam Ltd. Annual Staff Outing to Beadnell
1937 | 5min
Staff of the Newcastle tailor's head for the seaside at Beadnell Sands.
Collection: North by North East
Jack Hylton Presents: The Crazy Gang
1956 | 55min
The Crazy Gang at the Victoria Palace - British humour from another era.
Collection: Essentially British
Jack Petersen v. Hein Muller
1930 | 9min
The greatest moment in the history of Welsh boxing?min
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Jack the Ripper
1963 | 3min
Screaming Lord Sutch performs a song of alarmingly questionable taste.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Jackanory - George's Marvellous Medicine
1986 | 75min
Rik Mayall makes for a bravura storyteller with his reading of Roald Dahl's children's classic.
Collection: The Kids Are Alright
Jacqueline Du Pre and the Elgar Cello Concerto
1967 | 70min
Documentary about the legendary cellist, featuring a complete performance of her finest hour – the Elgar Cello Concerto.
Collection: Hope and Glory
Jacqueline Du Pre Masterclass
1979 | 35min
Cellist Jacqueline du Pré gives a masterclass on the Elgar Cello Concerto.
Collection: Hope and Glory
James Guthrie's Home Movies - Gyantse Trips
1935 | 50min
Amateur films shot in and around Gyantse, Tibet.
Collection: The Search for Shangri-La
James Guthrie's Home Movies - Lhasa Trips
1935 | 73min
Life in and around Lhasa.
Collection: The Search for Shangri-La
James Guthrie's Home Movies - Tibetan Ceremonies
1939 | 60min
Home movie footage including a potent scene featuring the young Dalai Lama in a golden palanquin.
Collection: The Search for Shangri-La
James Guthrie's Home Movies - Tibetan Valley Trips
1939 | 29min
Tibetan life and landscape by British Medical Officer/Civil Surgeon James Guthrie.
Collection: The Search for Shangri-La
James Guthrie's Home Movies: Miscellaneous Tibet Films
1935 | 39min
Ceremonies, people and landscapes - life in Tibet vividly captured by amateur filmmaker Guthrie.
Collection: The Search for Shangri-La
Jemima and Johnny
1966 | 30min
In a west London community divided by racism, a white boy befriends the daughter of a family recently arrived from the Caribbean.
Collection: Box of Delights
Jesmond Dene
1951 | 12min
Glorious colour record (saved from a skip!) of Newcastle's oasis of natural beauty.
Collection: North by North East
Jew Süss
1934 | 104min
British film adaptation of Lion Feuchtwanger's historical novel.
Collection: Oy Britannia
The Jewel in the Crown
1984 | 105min
Sex, class and scandal in the final days of the Raj.
Collection: Before Midnight
Jim Corbett Personal Films
1929 | 12min
Records of North India's wildlife - both living and dead - by the famous hunter and conservationist.
Collection: Before Midnight
Jim'll Fix It
1986 | 35min
Viewers dream come true with the help of Terry Wogan and Midge Ure, plus a touching fix-it for veteran actor Peter Cushing.
Collection: The Kids Are Alright
John Betjeman: A Poet in London
1959 | 12min
Betjeman voices his dismay at a vanishing London.
Collection: London Calling
John Craven's Newsround
1975 | 10min
A day's world news from October 1975.
Collection: The Kids Are Alright
John Galliano (South Bank Show)
1997 | 52min
Profile of the trailblazing British couturier during his time at Givenchy.
Collection: Brit Chic
John Peel’s Sounds of the Suburbs: South Wales
1999 | 35min
The legendary DJ turns his ear to the musical developments in South Wales.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Johnnie's Welcome Home
1930 | 3min
The 'Topical Budget' cameras capture Amy Johnson's triumphant return to Croydon Aerodrome after her solo flight to Australia.
Collection: Amy Johnson: Queen of the Skies
Johnny Cash in San Quentin
1969 | 60min
Haunting record of the singer's legendary concert in San Quentin.
Collection: Reality Bites
Journey into a Lost World (Monitor)
1960 | 21min
John Betjeman and Ken Russell evoke the spirit of London’s great exhibitions.
Collection: Ken Russell on TV
Joyce Grenfell
1964 | 50min
George, don't do that - Joyce Grenfell, the Queen of the comic monologue, stars in her one-woman show.
Collection: Funny Girls
Jubilee!
1983 | 30min
Floella Benjamin and friends look back on 60 years of BBC children's programmes.
Collection: The Kids Are Alright
Just A Boy's Game
1979 | 75min
The brutal life of Glasgow hard-man, Jake McQuillan - from the director of 'The Long Good Friday'.
Collection: Play for Today
Just Another Saturday
1975 | 75min
One young man's long day as participant and bystander in the Protestant Orange day parades of Glasgow 1975.
Collection: Play for Today
Juvenile Liaison
1975 | 97min
Banned documentary from Nick Broomfield exposing the bullying methods of a juvenile liaison unit in Blackburn.
Collection: Cinema of Tomorrow
Juvenile Scientist, A
1907 | 4min
Punished for mistreating the family pets, a young boy uses his chemistry set to wreak revenge on his parents.
Collection: Pandora's Box
The Kamikaze Ground Staff Reunion Dinner
1981 | 70min
Japanese servicemen - all played by white Englishmen - gather to commemorate their country's defeat 35 years previously.
Collection: Play for Today
Katie Boyle at Selfridges (Camay Commercial)
1967 | 1min
Camay hope the luxury store's glamour will rub off in this 60s soap commercial.
Collection: Shop 'til You Drop
Keep an Eye on Albert
1975 | 75min
The neglected wife of a pigeon fancier becomes attracted to his best mate.
Collection: Play for Today
Keep Things As They Are
1991 | 12min
Recreation of artist Ian Breakwell's residency at Cambridge.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Keep Your Seats Please
1936 | 81min
George Formby and his trusty ukulele go on the hunt for missing jewellery.
Collection: Welcome to the Dream Palace
Ken and Rosa: The Making of Bread and Roses
2001 | 49min
An entertaining behind-the-scenes insight into Ken Loach's LA-set feature and his process as a director.
Collection:Ken Loach: A Retrospective
Ken Loach (South Bank Show)
1993 | 60min
The veteran director reflects on the motivation behind his work in conversation with Melvyn Bragg.
Collection:Ken Loach: A Retrospective
Kenneth Williams (Comic Roots)
1983 | 30min
Kenneth Williams takes us on a very personal stroll around the city he called home.
Collection: London Calling
The Kenny Everett Television Show
1981 | 30min
The ethos of punk is alive and well in Kenny Everett's appropriately disrespectful hands.
Collection: Anarchy in the UK
Ken Russell's ABC of British Music (South Bank Show)
1988 | 77min
Ken Russell's wildly self-indulgent but irresistibly entertaining survey of one of his favourite subjects.
Collection: Ken Russell on TV
Kensal House
1937 | 11min
A visionary community powered by the miracle of gas.
Collection: The Promised Land
Kensington Calling!
1930 | 8min
Squalid conditions in Kensington - and a bid for a brighter future.
Collection: London Calling
Khush
1991 | 24min
Pratibha Parmar's celebration of South Asian lesbians and gay men living in Britain, North America and India. min
Collection: Beautiful Things
Kid for Two Farthings
1954 | 88min
On Petticoat Lane a young boy believes that his pet goat is a magical unicorn.
Collection: Oy Britannia
Kiddies and Rabbits
1901 | 2min
Victorian toddlers have fun with some bunnies.
Collection: March Hares & Easter Bunnies
Kill the Day
1997 | 18min
An ex-drug addict reflects on his life in and out of prison in Lynne Ramsay's sophomore effort.
Collection: Cinema of Tomorrow
Kind Hearts and Coronets
1949 | 102min
Joan Greenwood’s portrayal of delicious yet subtle malevolence is just one of the treats in this murderous take on social climbing.
Collection: Funny Girls
Kindly Leave the Raj
1969 | 56min
The Raj in the style of 'Oh What a Lovely War!'min
Collection: Before Midnight
King Coal
1948 | 3min
More coal! Colourful and inventive animation promoting the work of Britain's coal industry.
Collection: King Coal
King Edward Skating Club
1933 | 2min
Professional speed skating in the frozen Cambridgeshire Fenland.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Kingdom of My Own, A
1962 | 30min
The life of John Constable, featuring shots of the Suffolk countryside that inspired his paintings.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
King Solomon's Mines
1937 | 80min
Empire adventure starring Paul Robeson as enigmatic tribal king Umbopa. min
Collection: Cape to Cairo
King's Visit to Norwich, October 25th 1909
1909 | 14min
Century-old actuality footage of Edward VII visiting Norwich.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Kipps: The Story of a Simple Soul
1921 | 89min
Folkestone-set film based on H.G. Wells' novel about a draper who struggles when thrust into high society.
Collection: Silent Britain
The Kiss in the Tunnel
1899 | 1min
Amorous Victorians indulge in illicit smooching.
Collection: Essentially British
Kisses at Fifty
1973 | 70min
A middle-aged man’s fling with a barmaid threatens the stability of his family.
Collection: Play for Today
Kizzy
1976 | 45min
A young Romany girl deals with prejudice after moving to a small village in Rumer Godden's tale for children.
Collection: Box of Delights
Knightmare
1988 | 30min
Kids’ TV entered the era of computer gaming with this cutting-edge swords-and-sorcery game show.
Collection: The Kids Are Alright
The Knowledge
1979 | 89min
Learner taxi drivers attempt to master 'the knowledge' of London's streets.
Collection: London Calling
The Kumars at No. 42
2001 | 30min
Spoof chat-show featuring the Kumars, with this week's special guests Graham Norton and Davina McCall.
Collection: Funny Girls
Laburnum Grove
1936 | 73min
Hypocrisy and deceit bubble under the surface of suburbia in this brilliantly acted J.B. Priestley adaptation.
Collection: Welcome to the Dream Palace
Lace
1930 | 7min
The manufacture of Nottingham lace in the 1920s.
Collection: Heartlands
Ladies on Bicycles
1899 | 1min
Victorian ladies show off their slalom cycling skills.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Lady Audley's Secret
1920 | 76min
To what lengths will Lady Audley go to hide her past? Margaret Bannerman stars in this silent feature film adaptation from 1920.
Collection: The Gentle Sex
Lady Audley's Secret
2000 | 98min
Neve McIntosh stops at nothing to safeguard her future in this 2000 TV adaptation of Mary Elizabeth Braddon's novel.
Collection: The Gentle Sex
Ladybird Ladybird
1994 | 98min
Ken Loach returned to the themes of his classic 'Cathy Come Home' with this tough domestic drama.
Collection:Ken Loach: A Retrospective
Lady Windermere's Fan
1916 | 72min
Will the mysterious Mrs Erlynne redeem herself? Upper class intrigue abounds in the first screen adaptation of Oscar Wilde's play.
Collection: Silent Britain
The Ladykillers
1955 | 97min
Brilliant black comedy of armed robbers, murder and a Boccherini string quintet.
Collection: London Calling
Lambeth Boys
1985 | 120min
What happened to the lads from 1959's 'We Are the Lambeth Boys'? And do teenagers in the 80s share the same concerns?min
Collection: Beautiful South
Lambeth Festival Week 1951
1951 | 12min
The Official Film of the Lambeth Festival, packed with floats, dancing and frivolity.
Collection: Beautiful South
The Lambeth Housing Film
1932 | 11min
An appeal for funds to improve the lot of the Lambeth slums.
Collection: Beautiful South
Lambeth Links
1962 | 17min
Beauty Queens and racing waiters - it can only be Lambeth Festival week!min
Collection: Beautiful South
Lambeth Marsh
2001 | 12min
A study of the London Borough of Lambeth, inspired by a William Blake poem.
Collection: London Calling
Lambeth Rejoices
1953 | 10min
Lambeth kicks up its heels during Festival Week.
Collection: Beautiful South
Lambeth Through Our Eyes
2003 | 5min
The Borough of Lambeth, as told by five young locals.
Collection: Beautiful South
Lambeth: The Council that Cares
1981 | 15min
Lambeth Council rallies against Thatcherism.
Collection: Beautiful South
Lambethan Landmark
1969 | 12min
West Norwood library is opened by Princess Margaret.
Collection: Beautiful South
Land and Freedom
1995 | 105min
Ken Loach's passionate tale of British volunteers fighting the Spanish Civil War.
Collection:Ken Loach: A Retrospective
Land of Green Ginger
1973 | 50min
In Alan Plater's play a young woman returns to her hometown of Hull. But will she stay?min
Collection: Play for Today
Land of Promise
1946 | 65min
Film 'argument' on the past, present and future of British housing.
Collection: The Promised Land
The Landing of Savage South Africa at Southampton
1899 | 1min
One of the earliest British films depicting genuine Africans - a dramatic re-enactment of a battle from the Matabele wars.
Collection: Cape to Cairo
The Landlady (Tales of the Unexpected)
1979 | 30min
Abanbon all hope, all ye who enter Siobhan McKenna's B&B.
Collection: The Gentle Sex
The Lane
1990 | 45min
6-part series about the communities, characters and hidden corners of Brick Lane and Spitalfields.
Collection: London Calling
Lap
2004 | 15min
A lap dancer meets a man at a bus stop one rainy night.
Collection: Double the Trouble, Twice the Fun
The Larkins
1958 | 26min
Forty years before 'The Darling Buds of May', Peggy Mount and David Kossoff star in an early TV adaptation of H.E. Bates' popular novels.
Collection: Funny Girls
Last Days of Dolwyn, The
1949 | 95min
The shadow of murder haunts a doomed village in the Welsh valleys in Emlyn Williams’ period drama, with Richard Burton in his big screen debut.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
The Last of England*
1987 | 88min
Derek Jarman's dark, poetic vision of a city and a country brought to its knees.
Collection: London Calling
The Last Place on Earth
1985 | 52min
The final episode in a controversial TV dramatisation of Scott and Amundsen's race for the South Pole.
Collection: Into the White
The Last Rhino
1961 | 56min
Two children try and save a rhino from Safari hunters in Kenya.
Collection: Cape to Cairo
Last Romantics, The
1992 | 90min
Ian Holm stars as F.R. Leavis in a tale of love and betrayal at Cambridge University.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
The Last Train Through the Harecastle Tunnel
1969 | 78min
A trainspotter's day trip becomes a voyage of discovery.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Launch
1974 | 36min
The Amber collective captures a breathtaking launch at the Swan Hunter's Wallsend shipyard.
min
Tales From the Shipyard
Launch of the HMS Albion
1898 | 36min
RW Paul's controversial film of the launch of the mighty battleship, which ended in tragedy when many spectators drowned following the collapse of a gangway.
min
Tales From the Shipyard
Laurence Olivier - A Life (South Bank Show)
1982 | 95min
Emmy-award winning edition profiling one of Britain's greatest actors.
Collection: Farewell South Bank Show
The League of Gentlemen
1999 | 30min
Welcome to the weird world of Royston Vasey. You'll never leave!min
Collection: Heartlands
The League of Gentlemen Christmas Special
2000 | 60min
Festive tales of terror for local people.
Collection: A Ghost Story for Christmas
Learie Constantine
1946 | 10min
A day in the life of the Trinidadian-British cricketer.
Collection: Black Britain
Learning About Sex
1977 | 25min
Sex ed in the '70s.
Collection: The Joy of Sex Education
Leeds - United!
1974 | 117min
Play for Today at its angriest - exploited factory workers literally strike back.
Collection: Play for Today
Leicester Coffee Houses
1930 | 3min
Fondants, fancies and coffee house culture in Leicestershire.
Collection: Heartlands
Leicestershire: A Heritage at Risk
1970 | 25min
A sharp warning from Leicestershire council on the need for greater preservation of the countryside.
Collection: Heartlands
The Lenny Henry Show
1984 | 29min
A showcase for comedian Lenny Henry, featuring a mix of stand up monologues, sketches and spoof songs.
Collection: Black Britain
Leo the Last
1969 | 104min
John Boorman's surreal vision of culture clash in Notting Hill.
Collection: London Calling
Let’s Pretend: The Make Believe World of Daphne du Maurier
1977 | 38min
In conversation with Cliff Michelmore, Dame Daphne looks back over an astonishing life.
Collection: The Book Group
Let's Go Shopping
1961 | 6min
Haverhill Camera Club presents a silent snapshot of early 60s shopping in Suffolk.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
The Letter for Wales
1960 | 25min
British Transport Films’ love letter to Wales.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
The Letter From Wales
1953 | 14min
A farmer’s boy describes his life in the rural idyll of Llandwrog.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Licking Hitler
1978 | 65min
During WWII, a woman is sent deep into the countryside to work in secret with a Glaswegian journalist, where she finds herself in a brutal and sinister world.
Collection: Play for Today
Lido
1995 | 49min
A microcosm of London life from beautiful men to spirited single mums: meet the regulars at the Brockwell Park Lido.
Collection: Beautiful South
The Lie
1970 | 90min
Ingmar Bergman dissects a marriage breakdown.
Collection: Play for Today
Lieutenant Pimple's Dash to the Pole
1914 | 10min
Fred Evans' clownish boob heads for the Arctic in the earliest surviving film in the Pimple series.
Collection: Into the White
The Life Apart
1977 | 25min
An examination of the charity Raphael's work with people living with leprosy.
Collection: Raphael
Life in Hunza
1937 | 8min
Rural life in the mountainous valley near Gilgit - now in the Northern Areas of Pakistan.
Collection: Before Midnight
The Life of the Rabbit
1945 | 11min
The behaviour of the European rabbit.
Collection: March Hares & Easter Bunnies
Life Story
1987 | 107min
Jeff Goldblum stars as controversial scientist James D. Watson in the race to discover DNA in 1950s Cambridge.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
The Light Fantastic (Monitor)
1960 | 23min
Former dancer Ken Russell takes a look at the state of the art in early 1960s Britain.
Collection: Ken Russell on TV
Lights and Shades on the Bostock Circus Farm
1911 | 5min
A tumultuous and tragic day on the Bostock Circus Farm.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Like Father
2001 | 97min
A Durham ex-miner struggles to make a living while his relationships with his relatives falter.
Collection: North by North East
Like Other People
1972 | 50min
The emotional and physical needs of a couple with disabilities.
Collection: Double the Trouble, Twice the Fun
Lines of Defence
2007 | 6min
Erosion of the Suffolk coast, captured through time-lapse photography.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Linger
1995 | 15min
A postcard from an old friend reminds a woman of the night they drunkenly made love.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Listen to Britain
1942 | 10min
The sounds of the Home Front - with appearances from Dame Myra Hess, Flanagan and Allen and the Queen Mother.
Collection: Reality Bites
Little Britain
2004 | 30min
Are Vicky Pollard and Daffyd Thomas the voices of 21st century Britain?min
Collection: Essentially British
Little Dorrit (Part 1)
2008 | 60min
Another Dickens classic gets the Andrew Davies treatment.
Collection: Hard Times: Dickens on Screen
Living at Thamesmead
1974 | 27min
Fly-on-the-wall tour of the south-east London estate.
Collection: The Promised Land
Living Statistic
2005 | 11min
The bid by Weymouth residents to save the Kachepa family from deportation.
Collection: Essentially British
Lizzie Dripping
1973 | 20min
Lizzie Dripping's first encounters with the witch...
Collection: Box of Delights
Lizzie Dripping Again
1975 | 20min
The second series of Lizzie Dripping from 1975.
Collection: Box of Delights
Llangollen's Story
1996 | 30min
The eventful history of the International Eisteddfod, held annually in the Denbighshire town of Llangollen.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Lobsters
1936 | 16min
The king of crustaceans gets his own movie.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Local Hero
1983 | 111min
Residents of an idyllic Scottish coastal village see dollar signs when a US oil company tries to move in.
Collection: Essentially British
Lockerbie - A Night Remembered
1998 | 60min
The terrorist attack on Pan Am Flight 103 - killing 270 people and devastating a community.
Collection: Reality Bites
Lol - A Bona Queen of Fabularity
1981 | 40min
The life and times of a London drag queen.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Lola - Crown Court
1976 | 72min
A gay transvestite comes under fire in this 3-parter from 'Crown Court'.
Collection: Beautiful Things
London
1994 | 85min
Patrick Keiller's joyously idiosyncratic chronicle of a year in the life of the capital.
Collection: London Calling
London A Social Centre
1928 | 2min
The future King and Queen Mother visit the Browning Settlement, Walworth.
Collection: Beautiful South
London Adventure with the Wetton Family: Wetton Personal Film
1951 | 9min
One family's edited home movie recording the magic of the Festival of Britain.
Collection: Building the South Bank
London After Dark
1929 | 7min
Rare footage of the Elephant Theatre, featuring a stage performance from a young Tod Slaughter.
Collection: London Calling
London Borough
1953 | 30min
The evolution of local government, using Camberwell as an example.
Collection: Beautiful South
London Bridge
1996 | 25min
A corpse washes up on the Thames in the first episode of the ITV soap.
Collection: Soap Bubbles
London Can Take It!
1940 | 10min
A depiction of the stoicism of Londoners during the Blitz, crafted in the hope of America entering the War.
Collection: London Calling
London Moods (Monitor)
1961 | 8min
Decades before the pop promo, Ken Russell visualised three very different London-inspired pieces of music.
Collection: Ken Russell on TV
The London Nobody Knows
1967 | 48min
A stroll with James Mason around the more eccentric corners of the capital.
Collection: London Calling
London Orbital
2002 | 76min
Iain Sinclair and Chris Petit's visionary film about the world's largest by-pass - the M25.
Collection: London Calling
London Street Scenes
1920 | 4min
A busy, bustling celebration of the capital.
Collection: London Calling
London Street Scenes - Trafalgar Square
1910 | 1min
A 180 degree panorama of Trafalgar Square in 1910.
Collection: London Calling
London Town
1946 | 126min
Glorious, camp Technicolor treat or failed London musical?min
Collection: London Calling
London Town [93min version]
1946 | 93min
Glorious, camp Technicolor treat or failed London musical?min
Collection: London Calling
The Londoners
1939 | 37min
The London County Council sings its own praises.
Collection: London Calling
London's Lambeth
1971 | 25min
Lambeth buildings at their best - and worst.
Collection: Beautiful South
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
1962 | 99min
A borstal boy turns marathon runner in this adaptation of Alan Sillitoe's novel.
Collection: Heartlands
The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne
1987 | 116min
Maggie Smith on BAFTA-winning form as a lonely Irish spinster.
Collection: The Truth About Love
The Lonely Shore (Monitor)
1962 | 16min
A team of alien archaeologists sift through abandoned British objects in one of Ken Russell's most original early documentaries.
Collection: Ken Russell on TV
The Long Distance Piano Player
1970 | 80min
The Kinks' Ray Davies stars as a pianist who embarks on a 4-day musical marathon.
Collection: Play for Today
The Long Good Friday
1981 | 114min
Helen Mirren and Bob Hoskins call the shots in the great East End gangster epic.
Collection: London Calling
Long Live Rutland
1975 | 30min
Documentary about Rutland made shortly after it became part of Leicestershire.
Collection: Heartlands
Long Live the King & Queen: The Local Coronation Film Review
1937 | 8min
Ipswich braves the rain to celebrate the coronation of King George VI.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
The Longhirst Story
1967 | 27min
Employers and employees give wildly varying opinions on the high productivity at a Northumberland colliery.
Collection: Boom Britain: We Can Work It Out
Looks and Smiles
1981 | 99min
Among Ken Loach's least known works, this 1981 feature explores the romantic and economic travails of a pair of Sheffield school leavers.
Collection:Ken Loach: A Retrospective
Look Up and Laugh
1935 | 80min
Gracie Fields takes on some grasping businessmen in this superior star vehicle, also featuring Vivien Leigh.
Collection: Welcome to the Dream Palace
Lord Camber's Ladies
1933 | 75min
Getrude Lawrence makes a rare screen appearence in this Hitchock-produced tale of dastardly deeds.
Collection: Welcome to the Dream Palace
The Lord Mayor Recruiting
1916 | 1min
The Lord Mayor, having opened the Mansion House as a recruiting office, makes a special appeal to Jewish men to join the war effort.
Collection: Oy Britannia
Lord Willingdon in India
1930 | 12min
Home movie of the Viceroy of India.
Collection: Before Midnight
Lost Hearts
1973 | 35min
An orphan moves in with his sinister relative, and is disturbed by visions of ghostly children.
Collection: A Ghost Story for Christmas
The Lost Language of Cranes
1992 | 87min
Nature or nurture? A father and son discover that they have something in common.
Collection: Beautiful Things
The Lost World of Tibet [90min version]
2008 | 90min
The BBC/BFI documentary exploring life in pre-invasion Tibet features a potent interview with the Dalai Lama.
Collection: The Search for Shangri-La
Louise
1969 | 50min
A manipulative woman (Sarah Badel) uses her illness to live a life of luxury. Based on the story by W. Somerset Maugham.
Collection: The Gentle Sex
Love From A Stranger
1937 | 92min
A lottery winner meets the man of her dreams (Basil Rathbone) - but does he have sinister motives? Based on a short story by Agatha Christie.
Collection: Welcome to the Dream Palace
Love is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon
1998 | 87min
Derek Jacobi and Daniel Craig star as artist Francis Bacon and his muse, George Dyer.
Collection: Beautiful Things
The Love Less Ordinary
1999 | 51min
Let's talk about sex - three disabled women share their experiences.
Collection: Double the Trouble, Twice the Fun
Love on the Range
1939 | 6min
It's Horlicks to the rescue in this animated ad set in the Wild West.
Collection: The Truth About Love
Love on the Wing
1938 | 5min
Banned Norman McLaren animation following the journey of a letter between two lovers.
Collection: The Truth About Love
Love on Wheels
1932 | 86min
Wonderful toe-tapping musical comedy starring Jack Hulbert.
Collection: Welcome to the Dream Palace
Love Story
1944 | 113min
Love conquers all: Margaret Lockwood and Stewart Granger defy death on the Cornish coast.
Collection: The Truth About Love
Love Story
1944 | 113min
Love conquers all: Margaret Lockwood and Stewart Granger defy death on the Cornish coast.
Collection: The Truth About Love
Love Test
1935 | 60min
Scheming chemists in laboratory love triangle shock!min
Collection: The Truth About Love
Love Thy Neighbour
1971 | 26min
The hugely popular - but deeply racist - '70s sitcom starring Rudolph Walker and Nina Baden-Semper.
Collection: Black Britain
Love, Sex and Disability
1999 | 30min
Five disabled people discuss their sex lives.
Collection: Double the Trouble, Twice the Fun
Love's Presentation
1966 | 25min
A study of David Hockney's etchings inspired by the love poems of Cavafy.
Collection: The Truth About Love
Loving Memory
1970 | 57min
Tony Scott’s debut feature - a bizarre story of love and loss.
Collection: Cinema of Tomorrow
The Lowdown
1995 | 30min
Two children prepare for adolescence.
Collection: The Kids Are Alright
Lowland Village
1942 | 10min
A peaceful depiction of Lavenham, Suffolk, made during WWII.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Loyalties
1933 | 67min
Groundbreaking British feature facing up to anti-semitism in inter-war high society.
Collection: Oy Britannia
Luna
1983 | 25min
14-year-old Patsy Kensit stars in this wildly inventive futuristic kids' series.
Collection: The Kids Are Alright
Lunch-Hour
1933 | 8min
London at lunchtime.
Collection: London Calling
Lust for a Vampire
1970 | 95min
Hammer horror with a sapphic twist.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Machair
1993 | 25min
Gaelic-language soap set in the Outer Hebrides.
Collection: Soap Bubbles
Machynlleth (in the Heart of Cambria)
1929 | 2min
Gorgeous Pathécolor snapshot of the Powys market town.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Mackrell Personal Films
1934 | 36min
Hunting and fishing are the order of the day in the colourful home movies of this Assam-based tea planter.
Collection: Before Midnight
Made in Huddersfield
1985 | 90min
A look at the Second Wave of punk that hit the North of England in the 1980s.
Collection: Anarchy in the UK
Madeleine
1949 | 114min
New restoration of David Lean's true-crime drama set in Victorian Glasgow, with an intriguingly icy Ann Todd.
Collection: The Gentle Sex
Madonna of the Seven Moons
1944 | 110min
Phyllis Calvert's split personality transforms her from prim Florentine lady to jewel-thief's mistress.
Collection: The Gentle Sex
The Magic Toyshop
1987 | 107min
'80s TV adaptation of Angela Carter's 1967 magical-realist novel, rarely seen since its first broadcast.
Collection: The Book Group
Magnus Family in India
1927 | 13min
Home movie footage of the Magnus family.
Collection: Before Midnight
Maharajah of Jodhpur - Personal Films
1946 | 260min
See India from a royal perspective with these home movie records of princely power and sumptuous ceremony.
Collection: Before Midnight
Mahatma Gandhi (Noa Khali March)
1947 | 18min
Rarely seen footage of Gandhi filmed by his great nephew, Kanu.
Collection: Before Midnight
The Maid of Cefn Ydfa: The Love Story of Ann Thomas
1914 | 40min
Welsh romantic tragedy shot in and around Pontarddulais, made by William Haggar and Son.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Main Line Diesel
1946 | 14min
The Derby Works proudly present Britain's first diesel locomotive.
Collection: Heartlands
Maisie's Marriage aka Married Love
1923 | 95min
Based on Marie Stopes' 1918 bestseller about sex and sexuality, Maisie learns the advantages of having a small family.
Collection: The Joy of Sex Education
Make Me A Tory
2007 | 30min
Can a disillusioned Labour voter do the unthinkable and turn Tory?min
Collection: The Ballot Box
Make Way for Noddy
2003 | 15min
Two naughty goblins try and frame Noddy for smashing some plates.
Collection: Toyland Tales and Happy Endings
Making Christmas Crackers
1910 | 6min
Factory workers demonstrate the manufacture of crackers, and a family receives a Christmas surprise.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Making Fashion (aka Design for Spring)
1936 | 15min
'30s models strut their stuff on the Hartnell catwalk.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Mam
1988 | 60min
Documentary examining the archetype of the Welsh 'mam'.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
The Man and His Bottle
1908 | 6min
The demon drink has dreadful consequences in this trick film.
Collection: Roll Out the Barrel
The Man From the Sun
1956 | 58min
One of the earliest TV dramas to explore the lives of newly-arrived West Indians in Britain.
Collection: Black Britain
The Man in the White Suit
1951 | 85min
Ealing classic with naive inventor Alec Guinness up against British industry.
Collection: Boom Britain: We Can Work It Out
The Man Who Changed His Mind
1936 | 63min
Boris Karloff, in his first mad-scientist role, develops a machine that can exchange minds between bodies.
Collection: Welcome to the Dream Palace
The Man Without Desire
1923 | 95min
Ivor Novello stars in this extraordinary psychosexual time-travelling drama.
Collection: Silent Britain
Manfailure
1971 | 18min
Women are to blame for all mining accidents in this grisly - and raunchy - safety video.
Collection: King Coal
Manifesto for Love
2003 | 6min
An exploration of the meaning of love - accompanied by Dusty Springfield.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Marcel Marceau's A Christmas Carol
1973 | 40min
Our favourite Victorian miser is brought to life by the legendary French mine artist.
Collection: The Book Group
March to Aldermaston
1959 | 33min
A milestone in campaigning documentary and the history of the CND.
Collection: Reality Bites
Marjorie and Men
1985 | 30min
Forgotten 80s sitcom starring Patricia Routledge and Patricia Hayes.
Collection: Funny Girls
Market Town
1942 | 11min
It's market day in Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire. Let's meet the 'country folk'!min
Collection: Heartlands
Marriage of Miss Rose Carmel and Mr Solly Gerschcowit
1925 | 3min
One lucky couple's big day is captured on 35mm.
Collection: Oy Britannia
Mary Jane's Mishap
1903 | 3min
Laura Bayley learns not to play with paraffin - the hard way.
Collection: Funny Girls
The Mary Quant Show
1974 | 5min
Revisit the mistress of the mini-skirt.
Collection: Brit Chic
Mary's Birthday
1951 | 11min
Germ warfare threatens to ruin young Mary's birthday party.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Mary's Lucky Day
1952 | 19min
Extraordinary advert for Lux soap, showing how the lather makes a black Rhodesian woman’s skin look ‘whiter’.
Collection: Cape to Cairo
Master of the King's Musik
1931 | 3min
Elgar conducts Land of Hope and Glory.
Collection: Hope and Glory
Master Singers: Two Choirs and a Valley
1965 | 46min
Sensitive documentary about a Welsh mining community.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
The Matter of Life and Death
1946 | 104min
Heavenly love - the Powell and Pressburger must-see classic.
Collection: The Truth About Love
Mayfair Merry-Go-Round
1954 | 10min
Katie Boyle sells affordable fashion to 50s women in this early magazine show.
Collection: Brit Chic
Mayor Making
1946 | 5min
The election and installation of Derby's mayor in 1946.
Collection: Heartlands
The Mayor's Nest
1932 | 69min
Comedy with a conscience in which comedian Sydney Howard saves the slums.
Collection: Welcome to the Dream Palace
May We Borrow Your Husband?
1986 | 102min
Dirk Bogarde stars in his own adaptation of Graham Greene's short story, as a writer drawn into the romantic entanglements of two couples at an Antibes hotel.
Collection: Bogarde on the Box
McLibel
2005 | 84min
A David and Goliath tale of not-so-happy meals.
Collection: Reality Bites
Me! I’m Afraid of Virginia Woolf
1978 | 65min
A day in the life of schoolteacher, from an unrequited crush on a male student to discussing lesbianism with Thora Hird.
Collection: Alan Bennett - An Englishman at Home
Meantime
1983 | 110min
Tim Roth and Gary Oldman star as troubled Londoners in Mike Leigh's made-for-TV favourite.
Collection: London Calling
Meet of the Quorn Hounds at Kirby Gate
1912 | 3min
The hunting pack prepare for the chase.
Collection: Heartlands
Meet the People
1977 | 75min
Rarely-screened TV drama set in a Yorkshire pit village, directed by Ken Loach and written by Barry Hines.
Collection: King Coal
Meet the Pioneers
1948 | 33min
Lindsay Anderson's debut demonstrates new technology in coal mines across the nation.
Collection: King Coal
Memorial Service at St. Paul's Cathedral to the Antarctic Heroes
1913 | 3min
The nation says farewell to Captain Scott and his ill-fated companions.
Collection: Into the White
Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress
1944 | 40min
William Wyler's classic documentary following the 25th mission of the iconic aircraft, based at Bassingbourn, Cambridgeshire.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Men Cycling Up a Country Lane
1910 | 2min
Men on motorbikes.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Men of Corby
1961 | 30min
Rabbie Burns transplanted to the East Midlands.
Collection: Heartlands
Men of Steel
1932 | 71min
A young steelworker rises to the company board in this drama partly filmed at a Middlesbrough steelworks.
Collection: North by North East
Men of Two Worlds
1946 | 109min
An African music student returns home and has to defeat the witch doctor who dominates his tribe and take them to healthier land.
Collection: Cape to Cairo
Method Study in the Office
1958 | 23min
A comic tribute to improved paper filing, made by the British Productivity Council.
Collection: Boom Britain: We Can Work It Out
Metro-Land
1973 | 50min
John Betjeman examines the culture and spirit of Metro-Land - the outer reaches of the Metropolitan Railway.
Collection: London Calling
Metropolitan Fire Brigade Turn-Out
1899 | 1min
Fire engines leaving the station at Southwark Bridge Road.
Collection: Beautiful South
The Mighty Leek
1987 | 40min
Size most definitely matters at the World Open Leek Championship in Ashington, Northumberland.
Collection: North by North East
Mile End Purgatorio
1991 | 2min
All the signs point to the Mile End Road.
Collection: London Calling
Milk
1998 | 10min
Andrea Arnold's powerful Cambridge-set debut about a grieving mother's search for catharsis.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
The Millenium Wheel
2000 | 25min
Artistic take on the birth of the London Eye, from drawing board to completion.
Collection: Beautiful South
Million Pound Grave, The
1965 | 48min
The history of the excavation of the Anglo-Saxon graves found at Sutton Hoo, Suffolk.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Milton Road Infant School
1935 | 11min
Angelic children at work and play at the recently closed Cambridge school.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Minder
1984 | 50min
Arthur Daley has difficulty tracking down a debt in Brick Lane.
Collection: London Calling
The Miners' Film
1975 | 45min
Polemical study of the 1974 miners' strike.
Collection: King Coal
Miners Leaving Pendlebury Colliery
1901 | 1min
A young black miner is among the crowd leaving Pendlebury Colliery, Salford.
Collection: Black Britain
The Miners' Picnic
1960 | 16min
Ken Russell directs the annual colliery band contest at Bedlington.
Collection: King Coal
Mining Review 4th Year No. 11
1951 | 10min
The race to save lives from the underground fire at Easington colliery.
Collection: North by North East
Mining Review 12th Year No. 10
1959 | 9min
How coal contributes to the making of beer, and other tales from the pit.
Collection: Roll Out the Barrel
Mining Review 13th Year No. 4
1959 | 10min
The acclaimed painting miners of Ashington, Northumberland feature in this edition of the mining cinemagazine.
Collection: North by North East
Mining Review 16th Year No 5
1963 | 10min
County Durham is the focus for three of the four stories featured in this edition of the long-running cinemagazine.
Collection: North by North East
Mining Review 17th Year No 7
1964 | 11min
Horse-drawn coal carts, female trainee engineers and a trip to Prague feature in this edition.
Collection: King Coal
Mining Review 1st Year No.1
1947 | 10min
Mining songs, cutting edge machinery and heated debates. The world's longest-running cinemagazine starts here.
Collection: King Coal
Mining Review 22nd Year No.5
1969 | 10min
'Mining Review' turns its attention to the women who work in the coal industry.
Collection: King Coal
Mining Review 25th Year No 9
1972 | 10min
Tom McGuinness, the celebrated mining painter from Durham, and the dangers of working underground are the focal points of this review.
Collection: King Coal
Mining Review 7th Year No.12
1954 | 10min
Ballet dancing miners and the crowning of the 'Coal Queen'.
Collection: Essentially British
Misfortune
1973 | 35min
Ken Loach directs two short stories by Chekhov for the 'Full House' arts show.
Collection:Ken Loach: A Retrospective
Mixed Marriages
1958 | 15min
Racism and mixed-race relationships.
Collection: Black Britain
Modern Wales
1958 | 14min
Wales becomes an emblem for the success of British industry.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Momma Don't Allow
1956 | 21min
An evening at the Wood Green Jazz Club with Chris Barber's Jazz Band.
Collection: Cinema of Tomorrow
Monday Morning
1958 | 10min
Crouch End awakens.
Collection: London Calling
The Monster of Highgate Ponds
1960 | 59min
There's a monster on the loose in Highgate! 'Godzilla' for the under-9s.
Collection: Box of Delights
Monty Python's Flying Circus
1970 | 30min
Silly voices, comedy Nazis, upper class twits...
Collection: Essentially British
Moondial
1988 | 28min
The eerie finale of Helen Cresswell's memorable supernatural serial.
Collection: The Kids Are Alright
The Morecambe and Wise Christmas Show
1980 | 51min
Celebrate Christmas with Eric and Ernie. What do you think of it so far?min
Collection: Santa's Grotto
Morning in the Streets
1959 | 35min
A Northern English 'Everytown' comes to life in this impressionistic BBC classic.
Collection: Reality Bites
Morphine and Dolly Mixtures
1991 | 95min
A young girl struggles to cope with her brutal father after the death of her mother in Karl Francis' BAFTA-winning drama.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Morris Dancing at Berkhamsted
1950 | 2min
A noble English tradition is preserved in Hertfordshire.
Collection: Essentially British
Morris Dancing at Berkhamsted
1950 | 2min
A noble English tradition is preserved in Hertfordshire.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Moslems in Britain - Cardiff
1961 | 20min
Upbeat portrait of the experiences of Muslims living in Cardiff in the early 1960s.
Collection: Reality Bites
Motherlove
1975 | 50min
An aristocratic mother (Isabel Dean) battles to keep her son from finding love elsewhere.
Collection: The Gentle Sex
The Mountain Nurse
1977 | 26min
Treating tuberculosis in the Himalayan foothills.
Collection: Raphael
Mountaineer's Romance
1912 | 22min
Remarkable love-triangle drama shot in the Peak District.
Collection: Heartlands
Mr Chesher's Traction Engines (Monitor)
1962 | 15min
Ken Russell's affectionate look at the work of naïve painter and traction engine enthusiast A.W. Chesher.
Collection: Ken Russell on TV
Mr Ellis Versus the People
1974 | 60min
Ron Moody stars in Jack Rosenthal’s play set in a village hall on polling day.
Collection: The Ballot Box
Mr English At Home
1940 | 27min
A day in the life of the 'typical' English family.
Collection: Essentially British
Mr Lloyd George at the National Welsh Eisteddfod Ceremony at Caernarfon, 1921
1921 | 1min
The Prime Minister pays his annual visit to the Eisteddfod celebrations.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Mr. Mensah Builds a House
1955 | 36min
Breezy comedy set around a government housing scheme in the Gold Coast.
Collection: Cape to Cairo
The Mrs Merton Show
1995 | 30min
Spoof chatshow with Caroline Aherne: just what first attracted Debbie McGee to the millionaire Paul Daniels?min
Collection: Funny Girls
Mrs Williamson's Tibetan Films - Part 1
1930 | 90min
Vivid homes movies of life in Tibet made by the Political Officer.
Collection: The Search for Shangri-La
Mrs Williamson's Tibetan Films - Part 2
1930 | 83min
Life in Tibet - look out for the somewhat suprising egg-and-spoon race...
Collection: The Search for Shangri-La
Mrs Williamson's Tibetan Films - Part 3
1930 | 89min
Home movie scenes in Lhasa, Tibet - as well as further afield in India and Bhutan.
Collection: The Search for Shangri-La
Mrs Williamson's Tibetan Films - Part 4
1930 | 22min
Home movie footage of life in Tibetan monasteries.
Collection: The Search for Shangri-La
Mrs. Mopp Entertains
1943 | 2min
Wartime washing tips from Persil, starring popular radio character Mrs. Mopp.
Collection: Funny Girls
Muffin the Mule
1952 | 3min
The popular equine puppet presents songs and stories for very young children.
Collection: The Kids Are Alright
Multi-Coloured Swap Shop
1976 | 100min
Noel Edmonds presents the earliest surviving edition of the trailblazing live Saturday morning magazine show.
Collection: The Kids Are Alright
Murphy's Mob
1985 | 24min
Kids' series about the young supporters of Dunmore United Football Club.
Collection: Heartlands
Murrain
1975 | 55min
A young vet is forced to join a local witch hunt in Nigel Kneale's forerunner to 'Beasts'.
Collection: Heartlands
The Muscle Market
1981 | 80min
Pete Postlethwaite and Alison Steadman star in Alan Bleasdale's play.
Collection: Play for Today
My Beautiful Laundrette*
1985 | 97min
Inter-racial love on the tumble dryers.
Collection: London Calling
My Name Is Joe
1998 | 101min
Class and cultures collide in Ken Loach's Glasgow-set romantic drama, starring Peter Mullan.
Collection:Ken Loach: A Retrospective
My Night with Reg
1997 | 105min
Love in the time of AIDS - from the writer of 'Clapham Junction'.
Collection: Beautiful Things
My Song for You
1934 | 85min
30s romcom starring Polish tenor Jan Kiepura.
Collection: Welcome to the Dream Palace
Y Mynydd Grug (Heather Mountain)
1997 | 88min
A year in the life of an 8-year-old girl living in a close-knit community in Caernarfonshire. Based on the stories by Kate Roberts.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
The Mystery of Marriage
1932 | 32min
A comparison of the mating rituals of humans, animals and plants unlocks the secrets of marriage.
Collection: The Joy of Sex Education
N or NW
1938 | 8min
Letter-writing lovers in North London postcode palaver.
Collection: The Truth About Love
Naked - As Nature Intended*
1961 | 60min
Gratuitous nudity masquerading as a South West travelogue.
Collection: Essentially British
The Naked Civil Servant
1975 | 78min
A BAFTA-winning John Hurt portrays the great, empowering Quentin Crisp.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Nation’s Tribute To Captain Scott
1925 | 1min
Memorial service held in Plymouth for explorer Captain Robert Falcon Scott, attended by his widow and son.
Collection: Into the white
Navigators, The
2001 | 92min
British Rail privatisation wreaks havoc for a group of Yorkshire track workers in Ken Loach’s blackly comic feature.
Collection:Ken Loach: A Retrospective
Neal's Yard Dairy
2010 | 14min
A lyrical portrait of the cheesemaking artisans who supply London's famous emporium.
Collection: Into the White
Near Home
1947 | 24min
Durham schoolchildren explore their county.
Collection: North by North East
Nearest and Dearest
1968 | 25min
Queen of the malapropism Hylda Baker stars in the popular sitcom, opposite Jimmy Jewel as her sparring sibling.
Collection: Funny Girls
The Negro Next Door
1965 | 30min
The white residents of a Leeds suburb express their thoughts on their new black neighbours.
Collection: Reality Bites
Neil Kinnock (Labour Party Election Broadcast)
1987 | 10min
The Labour leader's (in)famous campaigning film, dubbed 'Kinnock: The Movie'.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Nervous Energy
1995 | 105min
A young Glaswegian man with AIDS returns to visit his family and friends, but when things do not go as planned his lover comes to patch things up.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Never Mind the Quality, Feel the Width
1968 | 30min
Can an East End Jew and an Irish Catholic run a business together? Festive edition of the popular culture clash comedy.
Collection: Oy Britannia
Never on a Sunday
1996 | 60min
Will the ban on alcohol in Dwyfor - the last place in Britain where you can’t legally get a drink on a Sunday - be overturned?min
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
New Architecture at the London Zoo
1937 | 15min
Penguins get the VIP treatment in this artistic look at the Zoo's visionary '30s revamp.
Collection: London Calling
A New Era
1973 | 27min
A lesson in ‘how not to do it': the run-up to a strike in a fictitious and fractious company. min
Collection: We Can Work It Out
New London County Hall
1922 | 2min
Icon or eyesore? George V opens the still controversial landmark.
Collection: Beautiful South
New Orleans Jazz Club in Newcastle
1970 | 8min
Hang with the cool cats in Tyneside's legendary jazz club.
Collection: North by North East
New Styles of Architecture
1993 | 26min
Alan Bennett surveys the architectural landscape of post-WWI Britain.
Collection: The Promised Land
New Towns for Old
1942 | 7min
Bulldozers compete with bombers to clear the slums in Sheffield.
Collection: The Promised Land
Newcastle United v Liverpool
1901 | 1min
An Edwardian football match at Newcastle's St. James' Park Ground.
Collection: North by North East
Newcastle v Sunderland
1913 | 5min
Who will triumph in a match between two of football's fiercest rivals?min
Collection: North by North East
The Newcomers
1967 | 25min
Soap opera following a London family attempting to adapt to country life.
Collection: Soap Bubbles
Newid Gêr (Changing Gear)
1980 | 40min
A car crash leads to an unexpected relationship in this Ceredigion-set short from the Welsh Film Board.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Newmarket Turf Celebrities
1957 | 17min
A day at the races in Newmarket, Suffolk.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
NFT @ 50 Fifty Years of the National Film Theatre
2002 | 29min
BFI Southbank's famous cinemas get their own tribute.
Collection: Beautiful South
Nice One Sunderland
1974 | 18min
Groovy Sunderland is revealed in this 70s curio.
Collection: North by North East
Nice Time
1957 | 17min
Has Piccadilly Circus ever looked so bleak?min
Collection: London Calling
Nick Park and Aardman Animation (South Bank Show)
2006 | 45min
A career overview of the creator of Wallace and Gromit.
Collection: Farewell South Bank Show
Nigerian Footballers in England
1947 | 10min
A Nigerian football team tours England.
Collection: Cape to Cairo
Nigeria's First Women Police
1956 | 5min
Nigeria's female police force in action.
Collection: Cape to Cairo
Night and Day
2001 | 25min
The Greenwich ‘Twin Peaks’?min
Collection: Soap Bubbles
The Night Like This
1932 | 73min
Aldwych farce with extravagant musical numbers.
Collection: Welcome to the Dream Palace
Night Mail
1936 | 23min
London to Scotland by train in the company of Benjamin Britten and W. H. Auden.
Collection: Reality Bites
Nighty Night
2004 | 30min
Cringe-making comedy at its best: Julia Davis unleashes sociopathic hairdresser Jill on the British viewing public.
Collection: Funny Girls
Nine Centuries of Coal
1958 | 34min
A history of coal mining from the 11th century to the 20th.
Collection: King Coal
Nineteen Eighty-Four
1984 | 110min
Major feature film adaptation starring John Hurt and Richard Burton, filmed in 1984.
Collection: The Book Group
Nineteen Eighty-Four
1954 | 120min
Technically groundbreaking and hugely controversial live TV adaptation of Orwell's novel.
Collection: The Book Group
Nionga
1925 | 69min
Early drama of tribal life in Central Africa. min
Collection: Cape to Cairo
Nixon's Version of Watergate (The Nixon Interviews)
1977 | 85min
The real 'Frost/Nixon'.
Collection: Frost/Mediatheque
No Parlour Pastime!
1927 | 1min
It's Upstreeters v. Downstreeters in a messy - and very wet - game in Chester-le-Street, shot five years before it was banned.
Collection: North by North East
No Problem!
1983 | 30min
An introduction to the comic world of Willesden's Powell family.
Collection: Black Britain
No Room at the Inn
1948 | 83min
Freda Jackson terrorises young evacuees in this 1940s forerunner to 'Mommie Dearest'.
Collection: The Gentle Sex
Nobody's Face
1966 | 21min
There’s trouble at the coalface in Peter Pickering’s satirical, semi-improvised farce.
Collection: Boom Britain: We Can Work It Out
Noddy Goes to School
1975 | 15min
Richard Briers narrates a softened version of Enid Blyton's toyland tale.
Collection: Toyland Tales and Happy Endings
Noddy in Toyland
2009 | 15min
Computer animation brings Blyton's most popular creation up to date.
Collection: Toyland Tales and Happy Endings
North London Liberal Jewish Group
1956 | 16min
Fabulous home movie footage of the annual competition between the Finchley and Ealing teams of the North London Liberal Jewish Group.
Collection: Oy Britannia
North Sea Fisheries, North Shields
1901 | 1min
Fish-gutting and staged fights on the North East coast.
Collection: North by North East
The North West Frontier
1959 | 129min
Adventure yarn starring Kenneth More as a plucky Brit sent to rescue a Hindu Prince from certain death in British India.
Collection: Before Midnight
Northampton
1932 | 50min
A survey of Northampton from the 1930s.
Collection: Heartlands
Northern Scene - Scarlet O Hara
1983 | 25min
Profile of Tyneside comedian Pauline Petty, better known as Scarlet O'Hara.
Collection: North by North East
Northumberland Image
1962 | 27min
Whistle-stop tour of the county, from the Tweed to the coastline, via the Cheviots and Hadrian's Wall.
Collection: North by North East
Nosferatu: Eine Symphonie des Grauens
1922 | 63min
Have your spine tingled by F.W. Murnau's silent classic - the first screen adaptation of Dracula.
Collection: The Book Group
Noson i Ryan
1997 | 45min
A tribute to Ryan Davies, one of Wales’ most popular entertainers.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Noson Lawen
1950 | 27min
Homepsun evening of entertainment to celebrate the harvest, with singing, dancing and a timely lesson in thrift from National Savings, the film's sponsor.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Not Just Tea and Sandwiches
1984 | 12min
Miners' wives speak out in one of the campaigning videotapes made in support of their striking husbands.
Collection: King Coal
Noted Eel and Pie Houses
1975 | 45min
Fascinating social history of that great London delicacy - the jellied eel.
Collection: London Calling
Now That It's Morning
1992 | 11min
Neil Bartlett's provocatively romantic tale of the love between a 45-year-old man and a 15-year-old schoolboy.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Nude Woman By Waterfall
1920 | 12min
A woman poses - in and out of her diaphanous shift.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Number 13
2006 | 40min
Greg Wise wishes there had been no room at the inn as things go bump in the night...
Collection: A Ghost Story for Christmas
Nursery Island
1936 | 18min
The birdlife of the Farne Islands takes centre stage in Mary Field's delightful documentary.
Collection: North by North East
Nuts in May
1976 | 85min
A new age couple try to get back to nature - but does nature want them back?min
Collection: Essentially British
O Dreamland
1953 | 11min
The dubious delights of a Margate funfair.
Collection: Essentially British
O Fat White Woman
1971 | 70min
The wife of a sadistic headmaster is forced to face the truth about her marriage.
Collection: Play for Today
The Obelisk
1977 | 30min
A married couple have their horizons broadened during a trip to the seaside in this adaptation of E.M. Forster's short story.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Odeon Cinema Club
1943 | 1min
Early karaoke from the Odeon National Cinema Club. Singalong with the bouncing ball...
Collection: Pandora's Box
The Office
2001 | 30min
David Brent, Slough's favourite son, entertains the nation.
Collection: Essentially British
The Official Film of the Railway Centenary
1925 | 17min
The future George VI and Queen Elizabeth celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Line.
Collection: North by North East
Often During the Day
1978 | 16min
The notion that 'the woman belongs in the kitchen' gets a grilling in Jo Davis' film.
Collection: British Islands
Oh Rosalinda! [aka Die Fledermaus]
1955 | 101min
Love, lust and infidelity in this Technicolor updating of Johann Strauss' operetta, Die Fledermaus.
Collection: The Truth About Love
O-Kay for Sound
1937 | 86min
The Crazy Gang's all here in this boisterous celebration of music hall.
Collection: Welcome to the Dream Palace
Old Age Pensioners' Seaside Outing to Southend
1938 | 4min
A raucous group of senior citizens swap London for the Essex coast.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
The Old Crowd
1979 | 70min
Lindsay Anderson and Alan Bennett's portrait of a decadent, decaying world.
Collection: Alan Bennett - An Englishman at Home
The Old Curiosity Shop
1934 | 92min
The first sound version of the Dickens tale, with Elaine Benson as Little Nell.
Collection: Hard Times: Dickens on Screen
Old London Street Scenes
1903 | 3min
Traffic congestion in Edwardian London.
Collection: London Calling
The Old Maid’s Valentine
1900 | 1min
February 14th brings sorrow for one spinster.
Collection: The Truth About Love
Old Man Drinking a Glass of Beer
1898 | 1min
A drunkard has one over the eight in this early comic short.
Collection: Roll Out the Barrel
Old Rhyl Films
1898 | 8min
A selection of films from Arthur Cheetham, Wales’ first filmmaker.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Old Ways, New Ways
1989 | 30min
Former employees reminisce as the legendary Bermondsey-based Peek Frean biscuit factory closes.
Collection: Beautiful South
Oliver Strachey in Drag
1930 | 1min
The Bloomsbury set are at it again...
Collection: Pandora's Box
Oliver Twist
1948 | 116min
Masterful adaptation of Dickens' classic set on the sordid streets of 1830s London.
Collection: London Calling
Oliver Twist Casting Appeal
1946 | 1min
Young Pip from 'Great Expectations' helps David Lean find an Oliver.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Omnibus
1982 | 50min
Bob Hoskins offers his unvarnished opinion on the architectural dilemmas facing the South Bank.
Collection: Building the South Bank
Omri's Burning
1969 | 42min
The first play broadcast by HTV - a shocking drama starring Ian Holm as an alcoholic.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
On a Cold and Frosty Morning
1969 | 17min
The activities of the Indian charity, Raphael.
Collection: Raphael
On Giant's Shoulders
1979 | 91min
Judi Dench stars in this Cambridgeshire-based dramatisation of the life of Terry Wiles, one of the babies affected by the thalidomide drug.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
On Ilkla' Moor Baht At
1921 | 14min
The Yorkshire Dales - from Ilkley to Hubberholme.
Collection: Essentially British
On Show: Strictly Male Voice
2006 | 30min
The story of the record-breaking Fron Male Voice Choir.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
On the Black Hill
1987 | 117min
Adaptation of Bruce Chatwin's tale of twin brothers battling the elements - and each other.
Collection: Essentially British
On the Night of the Fire
1939 | 93min
Gritty Newcastle noir starring Ralph Richardson.
Collection: North by North East
On the Tracks of the Wild Otter
1982 | 50min
The lives of otters: surveillance in the Shetland Isles.
Collection: Otterly Marvellous
Once We Were Four
1942 | 9min
Innocent bunnies face an onslaught of badgers, bombs and birds of prey in this black comedy masquerading as a nature film.
Collection: Pandora's Box
One Family
1930 | 49min
A schoolboy, a Christmas pudding and a bizarre portrait of the British Empire.
Collection: Essentially British
One Fine Day
1979 | 95min
Comedian Dave Allen plays a troubled estate agent in this Alan Bennett play.
Collection: Alan Bennett - An Englishman at Home
One in Five
1983 | 53min
Endearingly right-on concoction bringing together lesbians and gay men for dancing and debate.
Collection: Beautiful Things
One Man's Story
1947 | 26min
Part-dramatised tribute to Dr George M'Gonigle - one of Stockton-on-Tees' great local heroes.
Collection: North by North East
One of Our Airfields - Duxford
1976 | 30min
The history of Cambridgeshire's famous aerodrome.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
One on One: David Frost
2002 | 38min
A guided tour through the highlights of Sir David Frost’s career in television.
Collection: Frost/Mediatheque
One Potato, Two Potato
1957 | 23min
Children's games played out on the streets of London.
Collection: Box of Delights
Only Connect
1979 | 49min
Gay lives connect across a century in Noel Greig and Drew Griffiths' moving drama.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Only Fools and Horses
1982 | 30min
Join the hapless Trotters of Nelson Mandela House, Peckham, for an impromptu tour of London.
Collection: London Calling
Only Two Can Play
1961 | 106min
Peter Sellers contemplates infidelity in the Welsh valleys.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Ooh Aah Delia
2001 | 37min
Let's be having you! Can Delia Smith come to the rescue of Norwich City football club?
Collection: Eastward Ho!
The Open Road
1927 | 60min
An epic trip across Britain filmed in remarkable early colour.
Collection: Essentially British
Opening of British Instructional Film Studio
1928 | 4min
VIPs brave the mud to attend the opening ceremony of a new film studio at Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
The Opening of the New Benton Bank Tram Route
1913 | 5min
Local film of the launch of a brand new tram route in Benton, Newcastle upon Tyne.
Collection: North by North East
Opening of the New Lambeth Bridge
1932 | 3min
The opening of Lambeth Bridge by George V in July 1932.
Collection: Beautiful South
Oppin
1930 | 17min
Londoners flee the Bermondsey slums to go 'oppin (hop-picking) in Kent.
Collection: Beautiful South
Opportunity to Grow
1970 | 11min
Promotional film presenting the new industries being embraced in the North of England.
Collection: North by North East
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit
1990 | 55min
When her relationship with a female friend turns into something more serious, a girl's ultra-religious family try to brainwash her to renounce her 'satanic' ways.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Order of the Bath
1926 | 4min
Surreal and slightly unhinged ad for Norwich's famous export - Colman's Mustard.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Orkney
1971 | 90min
Three beautiful, bleak tales from the Scottish Isle of Orkney.
Collection: Play for Today
Orwell: A Personal View
1984 | 30min
Author Anthony Burgess talks about the significance of Orwell's 'Nineteen Eighty-Four'.
Collection: The Book Group
Othello
1956 | 120min
The first televised production of Shakespeare's play to feature a black actor in the lead role.
Collection: Black Britain
The Otter aka An Otter Study
1912 | 8min
Marvel at an otter from before WWI in this early nature film.
Collection: Otterly Marvellous
Our Friends in the North
1996 | 75min
The first episode of Peter Flannery's epic portrait of four Newcastle friends, spanning the 1960s to the 1990s.
Collection: North by North East
Our Mutual Friend (Part 1)
1976 | 50min
One-time 'Artful Dodger' Jack Wild stars in the first of a 13-part version of Dickens' last completed novel.
Collection: Hard Times: Dickens on Screen
Our Street
1960 | 23min
The children of a Camberwell community play on their soon-to-be-destroyed street.
Collection: Beautiful South
Out of the Darkness
1985 | 68min
Three children in the Derbyshire village of Eyam are haunted by the ghosts of the 1665 plague.
Collection: Heartlands
Out of the Rock
1976 | 45min
Wynford Vaughan-Thomas looks at Wales' rich architectural legacy, with an introduction from Prince Charles.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Out on Tuesday
1989 | 53min
Can homosexuality be 'promoted', and will playing gay ruin your career?
Collection: Beautiful Things
Out Shopping
1965 | 18min
The inexperienced Mrs. A and the seasoned Mrs. B join forces and hit the high street.
Collection: Shop 'til You Drop
Out to Play
1936 | 10min
Playtime in the streets and parks of London.
Collection: Reality Bites
Outlook: the Book that Changed the World
1988 | 16min
Dramatisation of the life of Bishop William Morgan, who undertook the translation of the Bible into Welsh.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Outside In aka Das Innere Bloss
1981 | 100min
A combination of memories from the visual diary of disabled artist Steve Dwoskin.
Collection: Double the Trouble, Twice the Fun
Over Our Dead Bodies
1991 | 60min
Documentary examining the origins and development of AIDS activist movements in the USA and the UK.
Collection: Beautiful Things
The Over-Incubated Baby
1901 | 1min
A growth experiment goes horribly wrong in this macabre minute of black comedy.
Collection: Pandora's Box
The Owl Service
1969 | 25min
A Welsh myth threatens to possess three teenagers holidaying in a rural North Wales valley in this controversial adaptation of Alan Garner’s novel.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Oyster Fishing at Whitstable, England
1920 | 6min
The harvest and consumption of everyone's favourite bivalve.
Collection: Pandora's Box
P.D. James (South Bank Show)
2006 | 45min
Murder she wrote - the crime writer in conversation.
Collection: Farewell South Bank Show
Pacemakers: Biba
1970 | 14min
Drop in on a photoshoot at the iconic Kensington fashion emporium.
Collection: Brit Chic
Pacemakers: Ross Belch
1970 | 36min
Portrait of a shipbuilding maverick.
min
Tales From the Shipyard
Pacemakers: T. Dan Smith
1969 | 14min
Tribute to the courage and determination of the Newcastle councillor - made five years before his conviction for fraud.
Collection: North by North East
Palaver
1926 | 108min
A district officer falls in love with a nurse among the north Nigerian hill tribes.
Collection: Cape to Cairo
Panorama of Calcutta
1899 | 1min
The Calcutta ghats - or are they?
Collection: Before Midnight
Panorama of Ealing from a Moving Tram
1901 | 1min
A tram ride through Ealing at its most appealing.
Collection: London Calling
Papworth Hall, Cambridge
1924 | 51min
Royalty visits the Cambridgeshire settlement in this silent film compilation.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Partners in Crime
1942 | 9min
A stern reprimand to housewives meddling in the black market.
Collection: Housewives' Choice
The Passage to India
1965 | 110min
E. M. Forster's masterful tale of racism in colonial India is brought to the small screen in Waris Hussein's rarely-seen production.
Collection: Before Midnight
Passion for Churches, A
1974 | 50min
John Betjeman tours the churches of Norwich.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Passport to Pimlico
1949 | 84min
Pimlico fights for independence from Britain after the discovery of an ancient treaty.
Collection: London Calling
Passport to Shame
1958 | 95min
Diana Dors stars in this stern exposé of the white slave trade.
Collection: The Truth About Love
Pattern for Progress
1948 | 47min
Early documentary from John Krish touring an Ebbw Vale steelworks, with animation from Halas and Batchelor.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Pauline's Quirkes
1976 | 25min
Controversial - and banned - sketch show for kids featuring the future star of 'Birds of a Feather'.
Collection: The Kids Are Alright
Payroll
1961 | 105min
The best laid plans of a gang of crooks go horribly wrong in this Tyneside-set thriller.
Collection: North by North East
Peace and Plenty
1939 | 29min
Savage polemic against the National government in Britain.
Collection: The Ballot Box
The Peaches
1964 | 15min
A very beautiful, very clever girl adores peaches, but when she falls in love the world's peaches start to wither...
Collection: Pandora's Box
Peak County
1964 | 20min
Derbyshire travelogue covering the heritage, scenery and industry of the county.
Collection: Heartlands
Peak District
1954 | 20min
A tour around the Peak District with Robert Shaw as your guide.
Collection: Heartlands
Peak Practice
1993 | 75min
Amanda Burton stars in first episode of the long-running Derbyshire-set series.
Collection: Heartlands
Peaks and Dales
1952 | 15min
A Visit to Derbyshire Peak District by way of Matlock and Bakewell.
Collection: Heartlands
Peckham Rap
1993 | 30min
Three young rappers from Peckham get the chance to meet their hero - LL Cool J.
Collection: Beautiful South
Peeping Tom
1960 | 101min
Voyeurism, serial murder and child abuse... Powell's psychological thriller has lost none of its power to shock.
Collection: London Calling
Penda's Fen
1974 | 90min
English pagan myths and burgeoning sexuality in the Malverns.
Collection: Play for Today
The People at No.19
1949 | 18min
Ministry of Health film highlighting the menace of venereal disease and its impact on the health of the nation.
Collection: The Joy of Sex Education
People, Productivity and Change
1963 | 44min
Workers and trade union officials voice their concerns about changes designed to increase productivity in the workplace.
Collection: Boom Britain: We Can Work It Out
The Perfect Home
2006 | 120min
A frustrated Alain de Botton leaves Britain in search of architectural inspiration.
Collection: The Promised Land
Permission to Love
1999 | 30min
Two couples with learning disabilities feel they are ready for a sexual relationship, but their parents have other ideas.
Collection: Double the Trouble, Twice the Fun
Peter Ackroyd’s London
2004 | 48min
How has London survived over the centuries? 3-part series from the great chronicler of the capital.
Collection: London Calling
Peter and Ben
2007 | 10min
Two 'black sheep' form an unusual and enduring bond in the Black Mountains.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Petticoat Lane
1903 | 2min
Sunday morning in the East End market.
Collection: London Calling
Phantom Light, The
1935 | 75min
A series of mysterious deaths in a Welsh lighthouse lead locals to believe it is haunted in this early work from Michael Powell.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Philip and His Seven Wives
2005 | 75min
Marc Isaacs' portrait of an unconventional family - lead by a former messianic rabbi who believes he is a Hebrew king.
Collection: Oy Britannia
Philip Treacy: A collaboration with Alexander McQueen for Givenchy
1997 | 30min
The master milliner teams up with the provocative young maverick of British fashion.
Collection: Brit Chic
Y Pianydd (Ll_r Williams)
2007 | 50min
Profile of the world-renowned pianist from the Wrexham area.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Piccadilly
1929 | 111min
The glitter of Jazz Age clubland meets the Far East (of London).
Collection: London Calling
The Pickwick Papers
1913 | 15min
American comedian John Bunny stars in the surviving parts of this 1913 Dickens adaptation filmed in Kent.
Collection: Hard Times: Dickens on Screen
Pickwick Papers
1952 | 115min
Spirited 1950s feature adaptation of Dickens' first novel.
Collection: Hard Times: Dickens on Screen
Picturesque North Wales
1910 | 5min
A series of views of the castles, landscapes and people of North Wales.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
The Piece of Cake
1948 | 44min
Husband and wife duo Cyril Fletcher and Betty Astell write and star in a madcap tale of magic and mayhem.
Collection: Funny Girls
The Piece of Plastic
1966 | 7min
What is a credit card? Let Barclaycard explain.
Collection: Shop 'til You Drop
Pig Heart Boy
1999 | 25min
A boy with months to live decides to have a life-saving operation: a transplant with the heart of a pig.
Collection: Black Britain
Pilgrimage to Holy Island
1928 | 1min
Congregations brave the boggy beaches to hear Mass.
Collection: North by North East
Pimple’s Battle of Waterloo
1913 | 8min
Pythonesque parody of Waterloo, Napoleon and the French...
Collection: Essentially British
Pink with a Red Shadow
1954 | 15min
Dramatised attack on the Labour Party's policy document "Challenge to Britain".
Collection: The Ballot Box
Pipeline Through the Fens
1968 | 26min
Gas council film showing the difficulties in constructing a major gas conduit through Norfolk fenland.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
The Pit
1962 | 25min
Edgar Alan Poe's "The Pit and the Pendulum", condensed into 25 wordless minutes.
Collection: Cinema of Tomorrow
Plaid Cymru Election Broadcast
1974 | 10min
The Party of Wales pleads the case for an independent Welsh state.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Plainsmen of Barotseland
1943 | 15min
The Barotse tribe's life on the banks of the Zambezi, Zambia.
Collection: Cape to Cairo
The Planned Home
1937 | 27min
Blocks of flats offer a new future for 1930s working class families.
Collection: The Promised Land
Play School
1968 | 20min
Innovative 'education through play' in a programme which also helped BBC2 trial early colour broadcasts.
Collection: The Kids Are Alright
Pleasure Garden, The
1952 | 38min
There's magic in the ruins of Crystal Palace - and Hattie Jacques is the fairy queen!min
Collection: London Calling
The Pleasure Girls
1965 | 88min
Three beautiful girls enjoy the pleasures of London in the Swinging 60s and befriend their gay lodger.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Pobol y Chyff
1990 | 25min
Rhys Ifans and Meirion Davies star as hapless Welsh learners in this hugely popular comedy series. Chuffin' great!min
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Pobol y Cwm
1974 | 20min
Christmas edition of the Welsh-language soap from its first year of broadcast.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Pobol y Cwm
1994 | 20min
A particularly eventful day for the residents of Cwmderi, the fictional village in the BBC's longest running soap.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Polish Your Shoes
2003 | 11min
The life of a Cockney patriarch is remembered by his children.
Collection: London Calling
Polo Match
1930 | 3min
Crime drama set in London's Docklands.
Collection: Before Midnight
Pool of London
1950 | 85min
Crime drama set in London's Docklands.
Collection: London Calling
Poor Cow
1967 | 98min
Terence Stamp and Carol White star in Ken Loach's cinematic debut, about a young woman involved with two criminals.
Collection:Ken Loach: A Retrospective
Port of London's Aquatic Sports
1925 | 1min
The intrepid Topical Budget newsreel scales the diving board to capture a Port of London Authority sports day at Rotherhithe.
Collection: Beautiful South
Portrait of a Miner
1966 | 29min
The working day, ambitions and hopes of a Nottinghamshire coalminer.
Collection: King Coal
Portrait of a School
1957 | 30min
Life in a London secondary modern school.
Collection: Reality Bites
Portrait of Ely Cathedral
1992 | 30min
The history of East Anglia's most famous cathedral.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Portrait of a Goon (Monitor)
1959 | 14min
A day in the life of Spike Milligan, as imagined by Ken Russell.
Collection: Ken Russell on TV
Portrait of Ga
1952 | 4min
My mother lives in the windy Orkney Islands... An early film but the artist Margaret Tait.
Collection: Reality Bites
Postal Delivery
1971 | 10min
Posting a letter can be a dangerous game.
Collection: Pandora's Box
The Power Game
1965 | 55min
Compelling boardroom intrigue, starring Patrick Wymark.
Collection: Boom Britain: We Can Work It Out
Presentation and Launch of the Whitley Lifeboat
1912 | 5min
Down to the sea with the rowboat rescue service.
Collection: North by North East
Preservation Man (Monitor)
1962 | 16min
Professional eccentric Bruce Lacey opens his remarkable home to Ken Russell's camera.
Collection: Ken Russell on TV
Pressure
1976 | 110min
Britain's first black feature presents a Notting Hill that's a far cry from the world of Hugh Grant.
Collection: London Calling
Preview 4
1982 | 10min
An introduction to the highlights of Channel 4's opening week.
Collection: Channel 4 Anniversary
Prick Up Your Ears
1987 | 110min
The turbulent final days of Joe Orton and his lover, penned by Alan Bennett.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Priest (Screen Two)
1994 | 105min
A catholic priest is forced out of the closet, to the shock of his congregation.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Priestley and Friends at Home
1932 | 8min
J.B. Priestley, Elgar and famous friends.
Collection: Hope and Glory
Primitive London*
1965 | 84min
Sleazy sexploitation - from Soho strippers to Jack the Ripper.
Collection: London Calling
Prince of Wales as Miner
1918 | 1min
Prince Edward, later Edward VIII, visits a Rhondda coal mine and the Cardiff Docks.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
The Princess and the Pendant
2007 | 9min
Charming animation in the style of Lotte Reiniger, made by the pupils of Hartside Primary School, Durham.
Collection: North by North East
Private Dirk Bogarde
2001 | 135min
Interviews with family, friends and collaborators and previously unseen archive footage illuminate this groundbreaking two-part profile.
Collection: Bogarde on the Box
The Private Enterprise
1974 | 78min
The first British Asian feature, about a would-be entrepreneur in Birmingham.
Collection: Cinema of Tomorrow
The Private Function
1984 | 94min
Alan Bennett's Yorkshire-based comedy set in times of rationing, starring Michael Palin and Maggie Smith.
Collection: Funny Girls
The Private Life of Henry VIII
1933 | 96min
Charles Laughton on Oscar-winning form as the much-married monarch.
Collection: Welcome to the Dream Palace
The Private Life of the Gannets
1934 | 14min
Oscar-winning portrait of the seabirds of the Pembrokeshire coast.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Private Lives
1976 | 95min
Penelope Keith stars in Noël Coward's comedy of marital errors.
Collection: Funny Girls
Productivity Primer
1964 | 18min
Vibrant animation made by Bob Godfrey for the British Productivity Council.
Collection: Boom Britain: We Can Work It Out
Project One
2009 | 5min
A skaterboarder reclaims London, from the Thames Barrier to the South Bank.
Collection: Beautiful South
Proud City: A Plan for London
1946 | 24min
A fresh start for the greatest city in the world.
Collection: The Promised Land
The Proud Valley
1940 | 77min
Paul Robeson stars as an African-American coal miner 'adopted' by a Welsh mining community.
Collection: Black Britain
The Public Health Service
1931 | 12min
Bermondsey Borough Council sets up a local forerunner to the NHS.
Collection: Beautiful South
The Pulling Game
1985 | 25min
The Lincoln tug-of-war team train for glory.
Collection: Heartlands
The Punjab Village
1925 | 13min
Agriculture, irrigation, washing, weaving, grinding... Everyday village life.
Collection: Before Midnight
Punk and the Pistols
1995 | 95min
Never mind the bollocks, here's the story of the Sex Pistols.
Collection: Anarchy in the UK
Punk Can Take It
1979 | 19min
A punk parody of wartime propaganda featuring the UK Subs.
Collection: Anarchy in the UK
Punk Rock (London Weekend Show)
1976 | 30min
Janet Street-Porter meets The Sex Pistols.
Collection: Anarchy in the UK
Punky Business (The Goodies)
1977 | 30min
The Goodies do punk.
Collection: Anarchy in the UK
Purely Belter
2000 | 99min
Alan Shearer features in a cameo in this winning film about two lads scraping money together for Newcastle season tickets.
Collection: North by North East
Pwllheli Carnival
1925 | 4min
Join the floats, brass bands and marching leeks in the Pwllheli carnival parade.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Q Planes
1939 | 83min
Rip-roaring flagwaver starring Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier.
Collection: Welcome to the Dream Palace
The Queen and the Welshman
1966 | 90min
The illicit 15th century love affair between Catherine of Valois and Sir Owen Tudor is brought to life in this rediscovered TV play.
Collection: Missing Believed Wiped: The Library of Congress Discoveries
The Queen is Crowned
1953 | 44min
Elizabeth II's big day - this time in Technicolor.
Collection: Essentially British
Queen of He(a)rts
1945 | 34min
Droll travelogue through Hertfordshire from the inimitable Widgey Newman. Watch out for zippy broom!min
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee
1897 | 14min
Celebrations of Queen Victoria's sixtieth year on the throne.
Collection: London Calling
Queen’s Christmas Day Broadcast 1957, The
1957 | 14min
50 years of change and continuity reflected in the very first televised Queen's Speech.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Queer As Folk
1999 | 50min
The opening episode of the trailblazing drama that follows the lives of three gay men in Manchester.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Questioning City, The
1959 | 20min
Beautiful Technicolor film promoting Cambridge as a centre of academic excellence.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Question of Leadership, A
1980 | 52min
Ken Loach interviews those involved in the 1980 steelworkers' strike.
Collection: Ken Loach: A Retrospective
Quetta Earthquake, 21st May 1935
1935 | 7min
The devastation wrought by one of South Asia's worst earthquakes.
Collection: Before Midnight
Quite Unfit for Females
1921 | 1min
The Football Association proposes a ban on women players.
Collection: Pandora's Box
R101 Story, The
1930 | 26min
Compiled footage of the ill-fated R101 airship based at Cardington, Bedfordshire, filmed before and after the crash.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Rabbit
2005 | 8min
Run Wrake's inspired and gloriously twisted animation.
Collection: March Hares & Easter Bunnies
Rabbit Pies
1934 | 8min
A no-nonsense 'countrywoman' demonstrates the finer points of rabbit pie-making.
Collection: Housewives' Choice
Rachel and the Roarettes
1985 | 42min
The world's first - and last - lesbian highway(wo)man musical.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Radio On
1979 | 102min
Chris Petit’s cult favourite - a haunting blend of edgy mystery story and existential road movie.
Collection: Cinema of Tomorrow
The Rag Trade
1962 | 28min
Everybody out! Miriam Karlin schmoozes June Whitfield in this rare episode.
Collection: Funny Girls
Rag, Tag and Bobtail
1953 | 9min
Bobtail's burrowing escapades surprise his woodland friends in this 'Watch With Mother' Favourite.
Collection: March Hares & Easter Bunnies
Railway Children, The
1970 | 108min
E. Nesbit's very British classic is brought to the big screen.
Collection: Essentially British
Raining Stones
1993 | 83min
An unemployed man tries desperately to raise funds for his daughter's communion dress in Ken Loach's moving Manchester-set drama.
Collection:Ken Loach: A Retrospective
Rainy Day Women
1984 | 84min
Wartime tensions in a remote English village.
Collection: Play for Today
Rali Senedd I gymru, Machynlleth 1949
1949 | 7min
Plaid Cymru rally from 1949.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Rank and File, The
1971 | 78min
The effect of a glass factory strike on the local community is explored in Ken Loach’s drama-documentary, filmed in Stoke-on-Trent.
Collection:Ken Loach: A Retrospective
Raphael
1987 | 21min
This film about the Indian charity features a focus on Ava Vihar, the residential centre for people with learning disabilities.
Collection: Raphael
The Real Amy Johnson
2003 | 45min
TV documentary re-examining Johnson's life and the legends inspired by her untimely death.
Collection: Amy Johnson: Queen of the Skies
The Real Day Out aka Bakewell Show
1929 | 2min
Prize bulls and horsemanship at the agricultural and military show in Bakewell.
Collection: Heartlands
The Real George Orwell (South Bank Show)
2003 | 52min
D.J. Taylor traces the early years of George Orwell, their influence on his later outlook and the writing of his final novel: 'Nineteen Eighty-Four'.
Collection: The Book Group
The Real McCoy
1991 | 29min
Comedy sketch show showcasing the talents of young black comedians.
Collection: Black Britain
The Real McCoy
1991 | 29min
Comedy sketch show showcasing the talents of young black comedians.
Collection: Black Britain
The Real Room 101
2003 | 30min
What inspired George Orwell's most terrifying creation?
Collection: The Book Group
The Really Wild Show
1990 | 20min
A tapir, a giant beetle and a cuddly lemur threaten to upstage Terry Nutkins.
Collection: The Kids Are Alright
Rebecca
1997 | 96min
Charles Dance and Emilia Fox star as the de Winters in this sumptuous 1997 adaptation in two parts.
Collection: The Book Group
Rebecca
1979 | 215min
Memorable four-part Du Maurier adaptation - a classic of late-'70s British TV.
Collection: The Book Group
Red and the Blue, The
1983 | 88min
Ken Loach contrasts the 1982 Labour and Conservative party conferences, seen through the eyes of six delegates.
Collection:Ken Loach: A Retrospective
Red Ensign
1934 | 36min
A visionary shipbuilder strives to rescue the British shipping industry in Michael Powell's film.
min
Tales From the Shipyard
Red Shift
1978 | 85min
A fantasy tale for adults from the author of 'The Owl Service'.
Collection: Play for Today
Refuge England
1959 | 27min
A Hungarian man's first day in London.
Collection: Cinema of Tomorrow
Relax
1991 | 25min
A man waits for the results of an HIV test, and retreats into fantasy.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Religion and the People
1940 | 15min
The social work carried out by churches of all faiths in Britain, including a section on East End Jewish life.
Collection: Oy Britannia
Rembrandt
1936 | 85min
Charles Laughton stars in Alexander Korda's biopic of the great Dutch painter.
Collection: Welcome to the Dream Palace
Report: St. Ann's
1969 | 60min
Stephen Frears acclaimed documentary, depicting the 'real' 'Saturday Night and Sunday Morning'.
Collection: Heartlands
Repulsion
1965 | 101min
Catherine Deneuve succumbs to madness in a Kensington flat in Roman Polanski's psycho-sexual thriller.
Collection: London Calling
Resistance
1976 | 90min
The sociological and psychological roots of resistance to military occupation.
Collection: Cinema of Tomorrow
Return to Brixton
1991 | 90min
Ten years after the riots, Lord Scarman returns to Brixton to see whether anything has changed.
Collection: Beautiful South
Return to Life
1960 | 29min
A family of refugees attempts to integrate into British life.
Collection: Essentially British
Review 36th Year No 5
1982 | 9min
'Mining Review' bows out in style.
Collection: King Coal
Rhodes of Africa
1936 | 91min
The rise of Cecil Rhodes (Walter Huston) from diamond miner to Prime Minister of the Cape Colony.
Collection: Cape to Cairo
Rhondda
1935 | 6min
Nye Bevan appears in this sincere protest against the Depression's effects in the Rhondda.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Rhyl
1902 | 3min
The Prince and Princess of Wales open Rhyl's Royal Alexandra Hospital in 1903.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Rich and Strange
1932 | 92min
A marriage hits the rocks during a world cruise in this Hitchcock curio.
Collection: The Truth About Love
Richard is My Boyfriend
2007 | 62min
A young woman with learning difficulties has a sexual relationship with her boyfriend, who has Downs Syndrome. What will the neighbours say?
Collection: Double the Trouble, Twice the Fun
Riff-Raff
1991 | 96min
Robert Carlyle stars in Ken Loach's raucous tale of camaraderie on a London building site.
Collection:Ken Loach: A Retrospective
The Right Spirit
1931 | 9min
Propaganda cartoon promoting the Conservative Party.
Collection: The Ballot Box
The Rise and Fall of Nellie Brown
1964 | 80min
Elisabeth Welch and Jamaican teen-singer Millie star in this festive twist on 'The Wizard of Oz'.
Collection: Black Britain
River Folk (Songs of the Organ)
1944 | 10min
Let the organist at Hounslow's Ambassador Cinema take you on a musical journey down the river.
Collection: Pandora's Box
The River Speaks
1956 | 19min
Flora Robson traces the history of the River Tyne.
Collection: North by North East
River Tyne
1965 | 16min
From Newcastle Quay to the lower reaches of the Tyne, the working river is revealed.
Collection: North by North East
The Road in India
1938 | 10min
Headily romantic Technicolor portrait of India, photographed by Jack Cardiff.
Collection: Before Midnight
The Road of Health
1938 | 12min
Animated moral fable designed to keep the British public on the ‘straight and narrow’.
Collection: The Joy of Sex Education
The Robbers and the Jew
1908 | 5min
Cruel, anti-semitic comedy - one of the earliest representations of a Jew on film.
Collection: Oy Britannia
Robin Redbreast
1970 | 75min
A woman visits her holiday home in the country, but begins to suspect the villagers may be planning a human sacrifice.
Collection: Play for Today
Robinson in Space
1997 | 82min
Seven trips across industrial England in search of Utopia... Patrick Keiller's sequel to his hugely successful London.
Collection: Essentially British
Rock Goes to College (The Stranglers)
1978 | 30min
Well, what a bummer - The Stranglers are unimpressed by their student-heavy audience.
Collection: Anarchy in the UK
Rocket Site Story
1958 | 20min
Residents of Norfolk descend upon North Pickenham near Swaffham to protest the construction of a missile base.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
The Rocking Horse
1962 | 24min
The unlikely romance between a teddy boy and a painter.
Collection: Cinema of Tomorrow
Rod Hull and Emu Sing a Christmas Song
1976 | 30min
Rolf Harris joins Rod and Emu for a seasonal singalong.
Collection: Santa's Grotto
A Rod of Iron
1980 | 54min
Nigel Hawthorne and Edward Woodward star in David Mercer's moving play about confronting the ghosts of one's past.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Rogues of London
1915 | 57min
Two young people become mixed up in murder, suicide and blackmail in the treacherous Capital.
Collection: London Calling
Roll on Four O'Clock
1970 | 60min
Compelling play by the writer of 'Chariots of Fire', exposing homophobic bullying in a northern secondary modern school.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Roll Out the Barrel
1986 | 5min
Have a barrel of fun with Andy Walker's twisted animation.
Collection: Roll Out the Barrel
The Rollicking Rajah
1914 | 3min
Politically incorrect comedy.
Collection: Before Midnight
Rome Express
1932 | 87min
Delightful comedy-thriller set on a VIP-packed express train.
Collection: Welcome to the Dream Palace
Room - Double Take
1967 | 10min
A man gets high from a bong while Peter Gidal's camera seeks out the counter-cultural paraphernalia scattered around his room.
Collection: British Islands
Room 101
1994 | 30min
Peter Cook discusses his bêtes noires.
Collection: The Book Group
Room of One's Own, A
1990 | 52min
Eileen Atkins plays Virginia Woolf in this adaptation of the latter's essay on her lectures on "Women and Fiction" at Girton College, Cambridge.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
The Room With a View
1985 | 110min
From Florence to Surrey - middle class repression is liberated on a Tuscan hillside.
Collection: Essentially British
Roots
1992 | 105min
Jane Horrocks stars in this BBC adaptation of Arnold Wesker's play about a girl returning to her family home in Norfolk.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Rosebud
1991 | 14min
An erotic lesbian tale of voyeurism, power dressing and fantasy.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Rothbury Carnival
1931 | 1min
Eccentric costumes abound in this march through the streets of Coquetdale, Northumberland.
Collection: North by North East
The Rotters Club
2005 | 60min
Punk comes to the West Midlands in this episode from the acclaimed adaptation of Jonathan Coe's novel.
Collection: Anarchy in the UK
The Rough and the Smooth
1959 | 99min
Tony Britten risks losing his girlfriend when he's lead astray by a wiley foreign femme (Nadja Tiller).
Collection: The Gentle Sex
Rough Sea at Dover
1895 | 1min
Early film footage of Admiralty Pier, Dover.
Collection: British Islands
Rough Trade (South Bank Show)
1979 | 60min
The story of Rough Trade, the iconic punk music store at 130 Talbot Road.
Collection: Anarchy in the UK
The Royal Family
1969 | 110min
A year in the life of the royal family.
Collection: Reality Bites
The Royal Festival Hall, 1951
1966 | 25min
The design and construction of the arresting London landmark.
Collection: Beautiful South
Royal School for the Deaf
1934 | 15min
Pupils and staff enjoy sports day and a trip to Skegness.
Collection: Heartlands
Royal Visit to Bangor
1902 | 3min
The Prince and Princess of Wales go on a day trip to Bangor. / Tywysog a Thywysoges Cymru'n mynd ar daith undydd i Fangor.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Royal Visit to Barrow and Launch of HMS Dominion
1903 | 36min
An Edwardian battleship takes its first plunge.
min
Tales From the Shipyard
Rumpole of the Bailey
1975 | 65min
John Mortimer's Old Bailey barrister makes his debut.
Collection: Play for Today
The Running, Jumping and Standing Still Film
1960 | 11min
Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan star in this merry blast of nonsense.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Rush Hour
1970 | 3min
The morning stampede at Waterloo Station, packed into three frenzied minutes.
Collection: Beautiful South
Rutland the Brave
1968 | 26min
What is the future for a county that only has one set of traffic lights?
Collection: Heartlands
S.W.A.L.K. aka Melody
1970 | 107min
Mark Lester and Jack Wild star in a tale of young love at a Lambeth comprehensive.
Collection: Box of Delights
Salaam Butetown
1992 | 30min
Profile of the Somali community in Cardiff.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Saloon Bar
1940 | 79min
Gordon Harker plays an amateur sleuth from his base in a London pub.
Collection: Roll Out the Barrel
Saltburn-by-the-Sea Centenary 1861 – 1961
1961 | 40min
Seaside views on the town’s 100th Anniversary.
Collection: North by North East
Sam Goes Shopping
1939 | 6min
There's a fleeting appearance from a very young Terry-Thomas in this advert for the Co-op's wares.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Sambo and Two Girls
1911 | 2min
A young black man appears in what may be a dental health film.
Collection: Black Britain
Samphire Picking
1962 | 4min
Dreadful trade! A samphire picker explains his vocation in the marshes of Blakeney, Norfolk.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Sanders of the River
1935 | 98min
Zoltan Korda’s controversial colonial epic starring Paul Robeson, later rejected by its star for its patronising attitude to West Africans.
Collection: Cape to Cairo
Sandringham - The Country Seat of Our King
1920 | 5min
Privileged access to royalty's Norfolk retreat.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Santa Claus
1898 | 1min
The man in the white beard brings magic to Victorian Britain.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Sapphire
1959 | 92min
Investigations into the mysterious murder of a young student reveal a world of racism and bigotry.
Collection: Black Britain
Sat'day
1999 | 10min
A South Asian teenager seeks to break free from family traditions and constraints.
Collection: Heartlands
Saturday Shopping
1903 | 6min
A brow-beaten husband causes havoc on a trip into town.
Collection: Shop 'til You Drop
Say It With Flowers
1934 | 71min
Cockney musical featuring a a flower seller and Old Kent Road music hall.
Collection: London Calling
The Scar
1997 | 94min
Proposed pit closures provoke different responses among the inhabitants of a Durham town.
Collection: North by North East
Scarlet Woman
1924 | 45min
Catholic fantasy starring Evelyn Waugh in an Andy Warhol fright wig.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Scenes at Piccadilly Circus and Hyde Park Corner Underground Stations
1931 | 7min
Magical, slightly surreal record of the London Underground.
Collection: London Calling
Scenes from a Suffragette Demonstration at Newcastle
1909 | 1min
Supporters of the Women's Social and Political Union campaign in the North East.
Collection: North by North East
Scenes in Ceylon aka Native Life in Ceylon
1909 | 8min
Street scenes, elephants and 'native magic'.
Collection: Before Midnight
Scenes in Glossop
1912 | 3min
A tram ride through the small Derbyshire market town.
Collection: Heartlands
School and Community
1977 | 25min
The conception and creation of the Cambridgeshire Village Colleges.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Scotland for Fitness
1938 | 12min
Scots burn the calories.
Collection: Essentially British
Scott of the Antarctic
1948 |111 min
Lavish recreation of Captain Scott's doomed expedition to the South Pole, starring John Mills.
Collection: Into the White
Scottish Painters (Monitor)
1959 | 11min
Ken Russell documentary about the painters known as 'the two Roberts', MacBryde and Colquhoun.
Collection: Ken Russell on TV
Scrooge
1951 | 86min
The definitive Scrooge? See Alastair Sim's bravura performance and judge for yourself.
Collection: The Book Group
Scrooge
1913 | 30min
Seymour Hicks recreates a role he played thousands of times on stage for this 1913 screen version.
Collection: The Book Group
Scrooge; or, Marley's Ghost
1901 | 4min
The earliest surviving Dickens adaptation: A Christmas Carol, condensed into 4 minutes.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Scrubbers
1982 | 89min
A young lesbian engineers her arrest to be nearer her borstal inmate lover. From the writer of 'Scum'.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Scum
1977 | 95min
Ray Winstone and David Threlfall star in banned Borstal drama.
Collection: Play for Today
Seacoal
1985 | 82min
The men and women who eke a living from collecting 'seacoal' on the Northumberland coast find their way of life under threat.
Collection: Essentially British
Seafood
2004 | 10min
Colin wants romance. Naveen wants sex. A tale of love, lust and unbearable frustration.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Seaham Harbour
1899 | 1min
A view of Victorian County Durham at the construction of Seaham Pier.
Collection: North by North East
Seamus Heaney (South Bank Show)
1991 | 45min
The future Nobel laureate recorded at a point of artistic transition.
Collection: Farewell South Bank Show
Seance on a Wet Afternoon
1964 | 116min
Plans go awry when a fake spirit medium (Kim Stanley) kidnaps a young child as a publicity stunt.
Collection: The Gentle Sex
Season's Greetings
1986 | 110min
Biting Alan Ayckbourn drama about a disastrous family Christmas.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Seawards the Great Ships
1960 | 36min
Stunning, Oscar-winning doc celebrating Scotland's shipping industry.
min
Tales From the Shipyard
Secret Lives: Enid Blyton
1996 | 60min
The darker side of the bestselling children's author.
Collection: Toyland Tales and Happy Endings
The Secret of Stamboul
1936 | 87min
A young James Mason uncovers a sinister plot in Turkey.
Collection: Welcome to the Dream Palace
The Secret of the Loch
1934 | 73min
'Jurassic Park', 1930s-style.
Collection: Welcome to the Dream Palace
The Selling of Noddy
1988 min
Can Noddy break America
Collection: Toyland Tales and Happy Endings
The Servant
1963 | 115min
The homoerotic power games between master and servant take centre stage in this Pinter adaptation.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Seven Days to Noon
1950 | 94min
London is at the mercy of a scientist threatening to detonate an atomic device...
Collection: London Calling
Sex and the Disabled
1978 | 25min
The physical and mental barriers that face disabled people who are ready to form loving relationships.
Collection: Double the Trouble, Twice the Fun
Shackleton
2002 | 220min
Kenneth Branagh stars in the BAFTA and Emmy-award-winning drama depicting Ernest Shackleton’s incredible Antarctic adventures.
Collection: Into the White
Shadow in the Stream
1939 | 17min
Follow the adventures of Ottoline and her newborn cub Otto.
Collection: Otterly Marvellous
Shadow in the Stream
1939 | 17min
Follow the adventures of Ottoline and her newborn cub Otto in the Norfolk Broads.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Shadows
1975 | 25min
A haunted railway station scares Jenny Agutter in this spooky tale for kids.
Collection: The Kids Are Alright
Shadowscan
2000 | 12min
A doctor and a drug addict nurse skive off work for a while in Tinge Krishnan's BAFTA-winner.
Collection: Cinema of Tomorrow
Shaft Survey
1957 | 36min
The National Coal Board gives a rigorous run-down on the joys of work study.
Collection: Boom Britain: We Can Work It Out
Shalom Joan Collins
1989 | 70min
A feuding Jewish mother and daughter prepare for an unlikely visit from a screen legend in Peter Morgan's rarely seen TV play.
Collection: Oy Britannia
Share Thy Bread
1963 | 18min
The early years of the charity Raphael as described by founder Leonard Cheshire.
Collection: Raphael
Shelagh Delaney's Salford (Monitor)
1960 | 15min
Ken Russell travels to Salford to interview one of its most celebrated residents, not yet 21 but with two plays already produced.
Collection: Ken Russell on TV
Shellshock Rock
1979 | 47min
Punk goes to Northern Ireland.
Collection: Anarchy in the UK
The Shield of David
1928 | 1min
Jewish ex-servicemen lay a Star of David-shaped wreath at the Cenotaph.
Collection: Oy Britannia
Shillong Scenes
1932 | 19min
Golf (among other things) in the Himalaya.
Collection: Before Midnight
The Ship
1998 | 25min
Dispute at the Swan Hunter shipyard, Tyneside.
Collection: Tales From the Shipyard
Ship
1990 | 36min
Powerful production of Bill Bryden's spectacular shipbuilding drama, filmed in Harland & Wolff's Shed in Govan, Glasgow.
min
Tales From the Shipyard
Ship "Terra Nova" Leaving Harbour Towards the South Pole
1910 | 1min
Captain Scott's ship departs Cardiff Docks on the ill-fated British Antarctic Expedition of 1910-13.
Collection: Into the White
Shipyard (Faces of Britain)
1935 | 36min
Paul Rotha films the building of the SS Orion at Barrow-in-Furness.
Tales From the Shipyard
Shipyard Sally
1939 | 36min
Up the Workers! Gracie Fields comes to the rescue of unemployed shipbuilders.
min
Tales From the Shipyard
Shipyard Tapes
1984 | 36min
Impassioned films made for the Tyne and Wear 'Save Our Shipyards' campaign.
min
Tales From the Shipyard
Shirley Schools, The
1929 | 23min
The care and education of Bermondsey's orphans and abandoned children.
Collection: Beautiful South
Shoot the Messenger
2006 | 90min
Blatantly racist or essential, provocative drama? Few recent TV films have created so much debate.
Collection: Black Britain
Shooting Stars
1928 | 80min
The British film industry turns the camera on itself in Anthony Asquith's virtuoso satire.
Collection: Silent Britain
The Shop
1998 | 30min
Selfridges' 1990s renaissance gets off to a slightly shaky start in this docu-soap.
Collection: Shop 'til You Drop
The Short Vision
1956 | 8min
Adult animation imagining the apocalypse.
Collection: Cinema of Tomorrow
The Shovel
1959 | 16min
Everything you ever wanted to know about shovels but were afraid to ask.
Collection: Pandora's Box
The Sick Kitten
1903 | 1min
Two children nurse a feline patient.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Sidney Street Siege, the aka The Great East End Anarchist Battle
1911 | 4min
Documentary footage of the 1911 Siege of Sidney Street.
Collection: London Calling
Sidney Turtlebaum
2008 | 19min
Sir Derek Jacobi plays an eccentric gay Jewish man with an unsavory interest in funerals in this award-winning short.
Collection: Oy Britannia
Sidney’s Chair
1995 | 21min
The arrival of film star Sidney Poitier in East London is a momentous event for a young boy and his friends.
Collection: Black Britain
The Signalman
1976 | 40min
Denholm Elliot struggles with a chilling premonition on an isolated railway line in Andrew Davies’ adaptation of a short story by Dickens.
Collection: A Ghost Story for Christmas
Silent Britain
2006 | 90min
Start reclaiming your silent film heritage with a look at Matthew Sweet's ground-breaking documentary.
Collection: Silent Britain
Silent Scream
1990 | 85min
The true story of Larry Winters, prisoner and poet - a convicted murderer with an IQ of 165.
Collection: Cinema of Tomorrow
The Silent Village
1943 | 36min
A Welsh mining community is used to dramatise the lives of a Czech village under Nazi occupation. Directed by Humphrey Jennings.
Collection: King Coal
Silver Blades Ice Skating
1960 | 7min
Vibrant colour footage of Silver Blades, Streatham - ‘the most luxurious ice rink in the world’.
Collection: Beautiful South
The Silver Sword
1958 | 30min
Superb adaptation of Ian Serraillier's wartime adventure story, starring a young Frazer Hines and Melvyn Hayes.
Collection: The Kids Are Alright
Simba
1955 | 99min
Love story set amidst the Mau Mau's uprisings in Kenya, starring Dirk Bogarde.
Collection: Cape to Cairo
Simla - Maharajah Kumar
1928 | 16min
Street life in Simla and Lahore.
Collection: Before Midnight
Sing As We Go!
1934 | 80min
Gracie Fields - the 1930s British icon - goes to Blackpool.
Collection: Essentially British
Sir Basil Gould's Films of Tibet
1936 | 81min
Remarkable colour footage of Tibet - including shots of the current Dalai Lama as a young boy.
Collection: The Search for Shangri-La
Sir Conrad Corfield's Personal Films
1928 | 32min
Corfield's home movies - from Simla to big game hunts.
Collection: Before Midnight
Six Little Jungle Boys
1945 | 9min
Vibrant animated vehicle for a rather unsavoury message from the War Office.
Collection: The Joy of Sex Education
Sixth Happiness
1997 | 98min
The sexual awakening of a young Indian man born with brittle bones.
Collection: Double the Trouble, Twice the Fun
Size M
1970 | 12min
'Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe' goes underground.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Slavery Business: Breaking the Chains
2005 | 60min
William Wilberforce and the rise of the abolition movement.
Collection: Exodus: Remembering Slavery
sleep furiously
2009 | 94min
Gideon Koppel’s bittersweet ode to the farming community of Trefeurig, with music by Aphex Twin.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Sling Your Hook
1969 | 79min
A rowdy troupe of Nottingham miners spend a life-changing weekend in Blackpool.
Collection: Heartlands
The Small World of Sammy Lee
1962 | 107min
Taut, under-seen crime drama set in the seedy Soho underworld.
Collection: London Calling
The Smallest Car in the Largest City in the World
1913 | 6min
A cute baby Cadillac completes a victory lap of Trafalgar Square and dodges the city's omnibuses.
Collection: London Calling
Smalltime
1996 | 61min
Shane Meadows' feature debut, a petty crime comedy set in Nottinghamshire.
Collection: Cinema of Tomorrow
The Smiths (South Bank Show)
1987 | 52min
One of Britain's most idiosyncratic bands under the South Bank Show's microscope.
Collection: Essentially British
Snapshots of Berwick
1928 | 5min
Residents of Berwick compete with local dignitaries for the attention of the filmmaker.
Collection: North by North East
Snow
1963 | 8min
Poetic portrait of running the railways through a perilous British winter.
Collection: Reality Bites
Socialist Labour Party Election Broadcast
1997 | 5min
Ken Loach directs the first broadcast by the newly formed SLP.
Collection:Ken Loach: A Retrospective
So Clever are the German Spies in their Disguises that Even Nuns Have to Have Their Passports Examined
1915 | 1min
Nuns at bayonet point... almost.
Collection: Pandora's Box
So Haunt Me
1992 | 30min
Miriam Karlin stars as ghostly grandmother Yetta Feldman in the first episode of this BBC sitcom.
Collection: Oy Britannia
So it Goes (Clips)
1977 | 30min
Tony Wilson presents live performances from The Stranglers, The Sex Pistols and The Clash.
Collection: Anarchy in the UK
So that You Can Live
1982 | 83min
Reflective film following a union activist and her family in Treforest, South Wales.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Soho Square
1992 | 11min
Painterly portrait of the sights and sounds of the crowded London square.
Collection: London Calling
Solarflares Burn for You
1973 | 9min
Road movie or acid trip?
Collection: Pandora's Box
Some Activities of the Bermondsey Borough Council
1931 | 25min
A forward-thinking London borough council records its good deeds for posterity.
Collection: London Calling
Some of My Friends Are… Jewish
2003 | 30min
Anita Land investigates what it means to be Jewish, interviewing a rabbi and an edgy stand-up comedian.
Collection: Oy Britannia
Something About Diss
1964 | 22min
John Betjeman visits the Norfolk town of Diss.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
The Son of Africa
1996 | 30min
The story of the African man who was one of the true leaders of the abolitionist movement.
Collection: Exodus: Remembering Slavery
Song of Freedom
1936 | 80min
Paul Robeson stars as a London docker who becomes a world-famous opera singer.
Collection: Black Britain
Songs of the Coalfields
1964 | 15min
Traditional mining songs, accompanied by contemporary imagery from the collieries.
Collection: King Coal
Sooty
1963 | 10min
Sooty and Sweep run riot at the pharmacy.
Collection: The Kids Are Alright
Soul Nation
2003 | 150min
The story of how British youth fell in love with R&B.
Collection: Black Britain
Sounds of Britain: Coal
1979 | 30min
Traditional songs and sketches from the North East coalfields.
Collection: King Coal
Sounds of Britain: Coal
1979 | 30min
Traditional songs and sketches from the North East coalfields.
Collection: North by North East
South - Sir Ernest Shackleton's Glorious Epic of the Antarctic
1919 | 80min
Stunning record of Shackleton's ill-fated but heroic expedition.
Collection: Reality Bites
South Bank
1964 | 12min
Look out for the National Film Theatre in this mid-60s tour of the South Bank's ever-changing architectural landscape.
Collection: Building the South Bank
Southern India – Tobacco Area
1937 | 7min
The tobacco industry in Andhra Pradesh.
Collection: Before Midnight
Spare Time
1939 | 15min
'Rule Britannia' played on kazoos... Has having good time ever looked quite so miserable?min
Collection: Essentially British
Sparrows Can't Sing
1962 | 94min
Cockney comedy starring a BAFTA-nominated Barbara Windsor.
Collection: London Calling
Speak for Yourself: Homosexual Equality
1974 | 50min
Members of the Campaign for Homosexual Equality are given a voice by London Weekend Television.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Speak Like a Child
1998 | 77min
The psychological journey of three friends from a children's home.
Collection: Cinema of Tomorrow
Spend Spend Spend
1977 | 90min
The rags to riches to rags story of Britain's most famous pools winner.
Collection: Play for Today
Spender
1991 | 55min
It's Jimmy Nail vs the criminal underworld, as a jaded detective returns to his native Newcastle.
Collection: North by North East
The Spirit of Lambeth
1962 | 29min
Enjoyably quirky colour record of the 1961 Lambeth Festival.
Collection: Beautiful South
The Spongers
1978 | 105min
The Silver Jubilee celebrations offer an ironic counterpoint to a family struggling on State Aid.
Collection: Play for Today
Sports Time
1973 | 10min
The North East's football managers make their predictions for the 1973/4 season.
Collection: North by North East
Spotlight on the Colonies
1950 | 11min
Three years after India achieved independence, the Crown Film Unit continues to promote colonial rule across the globe.
Collection: Cape to Cairo
Springtime in an English Village
1948 | 7min
A young black girl is crowned Queen of the May.
Collection: Essentially British
S.S. Olympic
1910 | 36min
The building and launch of the Titanic's sister ship in Belfast.
min
Tales From the Shipyard
St. Kilda – Britain's Loneliest Isle
1928 | 17min
A voyage from Glasgow to St Kilda, containing scenes of the Western Isles and island life of the crofters on St Kilda.
Collection: Essentially British
Stalk
2005 | 8min
A rabbit is stalked by a myserious admirer in Leigh Hodgkinson's dark animation.
Collection: March Hares & Easter Bunnies
The Stalls of Barchester
1971 | 45min
The curious fate of an unscrupulous Victorian cleric is revealed in the BBC's first 'Ghost Story for Christmas'.
Collection: A Ghost Story for Christmas
Stand on Your Man
1992 | 25min
What is the attraction of country music to so many lesbians
Collection: Beautiful Things
Stan's Last Game
1983 | 63min
Black comedy in which the rivalry between two football club chairmen is exacerbated following the death of a long-time fan.
Collection: Play for Today
The Star of Bethlehem
1956 | 18min
Lotte Reiniger's distinctive silhouette animation of the Nativity.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Staying On
1980 | 87min
An elderly British couple stay on in India long after the Raj.
Collection: Essentially British
Steelchest, Nail in the Boot and the Barking Dog
1987 | 36min
Award-winning documentary showing the lives of shipyard workers through story and song.
Tales From the Shipyard
Steel Goes to Sea
1941 | 36min
"Hitler is a B******" - Shipbuilding at the height of WWII.
min
Tales From the Shipyard
Steptoe and Son
1970 | 30min
Harold is led astray by a 'cultured' antiques dealer.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Steve of the River
1937 | 10min
Parody of ‘Sanders of the River’, starring Steve, the cartoon horse.
Collection: Cape to Cairo
Stewart Family Films
1934 | 11min
Home movies shot in Manipur.
Collection: Before Midnight
Stigma
1977 | 32min
A mother and daughter move into a remote house in the middle of a stone circle - with predictably disastrous consequences.
Collection: A Ghost Story for Christmas
Still Waters
1948 | 17min
Tropical disease prevention in Southern Rhodesia.
Collection: Cape to Cairo
Stille Nacht II: Are We Still Married?
1992 | 3min
Echoes of 'Alice' in the Quay Brothers' eerie stop-motion music video for US group His Name Is Alive.
Collection: March Hares & Easter Bunnies
Stocker's Copper
1972 | 85min
Drama set around the strike of Cornish clay miners in 1913.
Collection: Play for Today
Stockton-on-Tees
1910 | 3min
The Cleveland market town-dwellers smile for the camera in a film commissioned by the local cinema.
Collection: North by North East
Stonehenge - Panorama of the Ancient Druidical Remains
1900 | 1min
The ancient British icon in the days before coach parties invaded.
Collection: Essentially British
The Stone Tape
1972 | 90min
Sci-fi maestro Nigel Kneale reimagines the period ghost story for the video age.
Collection: A Ghost Story for Christmas
Storm Damage
2000 | 95min
Ashley Walters and Adrian Lester star in this tough drama about troubled teenagers in care.
Collection: Black Britain
Stormy Monday
1988 | 93min
Melanie Griffith and Tommy Lee Jones come to Newcastle in Mike Figgis' debut, inspired by the T. Dan Smith scandal.
Collection: North by North East
Story of Papworth: The Village of Hope, The
1935 | 18min
Anthony Asquith directs an appeal for funds for the Cambridgeshire medical settlement, starring Madeleine Carroll and Gordon Harker.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
The Street
2007 | 60min
Coming to terms with your sexuality can be hard, especially if you’re a married demolition worker from a tough northern town.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Street Betting [c1935]
1935 | 5min
Illicit goings-on upon the streets of Chesterfield.
Collection: Heartlands
Street of Crocodiles
1986 | 20min
A nightmarish netherworld populated by strange and sinister puppets.
Collection: Cinema of Tomorrow
Streets and Lion Yard
1977 | 12min
The construction and completion of the Cambridge Lion Yard shopping centre, including a visit from Princess Anne.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Strip! Strip! Hooray!!!
1932 | 36min
A tale of loose morals in a private club for scantily-clad sunbathers.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Struggles for Black Community - Leicester: A Common History
1984 | 45min
The oral histories and testimonies of the people who helped make a multi-cultural Leicester.
Collection: Heartlands
Stuart: A Life Backwards
2007 | 90min
A writer tells the story, from finish to start, of a homeless man living on the streets of Cambridge.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Student Power
1968 | 21min
The spirit of May 68 comes to the Capital, as students and staff lock horns at the London School of Economics.
Collection: Cinema of Tomorrow
The Study in Change
1970 | 34min
Should workers embrace automation or rage against the machine?
Collection: Boom Britain: We Can Work It Out
Suburban Week-End
1949 | 8min
A day in bustling West Norwood, from dawn to dusk.
Collection: Beautiful South
Success Story: Enid Blyton
1974 | 30min
Critics and librarians argue for and against the works of Enid Blyton.
Collection: Toyland Tales and Happy Endings
The Sugar Slaves
1972 | 55min
BBC documentary examining the importance of slavery to the maintenance of the British Empire.
Collection: Exodus: Remembering Slavery
Sunday Bloody Sunday
1971 | 110min
Daniel loves Bob and so does Alex...
Collection: Beautiful Things
Sunday in the Park
1956 | 15min
A lazy summer's day in Hyde Park.
Collection: London Calling
Sunderland Oak
1961 | 30min
Philip Donnellan's evocative documentary, set on a Sunderland shipyard under threat of closure.
Collection: Tales From the Shipyard
Sunderland - Setting for Industry
1966 | 22min
Poignant film promoting industries in Sunderland that have long since ceased to exist.
Collection: North by North East
Sunderland v Middlesbrough
1904 | 1min
Edwardian football match filmed at Roker Park - can Middlesbrough beat the home team?
Collection: North by North East
Sundial
1991 | 1min
Canary Wharf as icon.
Collection: London Calling
Sunflowers
1968 | 5min
Impressionistic short showing the humble sunflower as a symbol of life.
Collection: Cinema of Tomorrow
Sunley's Daughter
1974 | 50min
Love among the haystacks in the Yorkshire Dales.
Collection: The Truth About Love
Sunny Clacton
1939 | 10min
Redcoats, sandcastles and knobbly knees are all part of the fun and frolics of 30s Clacton.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Sunny Stories
1992 | 70min
Maureen Lipman portrays Enid Blyton in an imaginative mix of drama, documentary and animation.
Collection: Toyland Tales and Happy Endings
Sunset Across the Bay
1975 | 70min
Mam and Dad retire to Morecambe in Alan Bennett's poignant tale.
Collection: Play for Today
Sunshine in Soho
1956 | 33min
This 1950s Soho beats with far more energy than its pallid 21st century counterpart.
Collection: London Calling
Supergran
1986 | 25min
The super-powered pensioner battles the baddies in Tyneside in this Christmas special.
Collection: North by North East
Supernumaries
2003 | 21min
Who is accountable for the stowaway held on a merchant ship and what should the captain do? By Anja Kirschner.
Collection: British Islands
A Superstition
1977 | 75min
A pre-'Brideshead' Anthony Andrews stars in David Mercer's provocative queer love triangle drama set on the Cote d'Azur.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Superted
1983 | 10min
Original Welsh-language episode of the popular children’s series about a teddy with super powers.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Supervisor's Progress
1973 | 27min
The devil may find work for an idle supervisor, but not in this colourful instructional film starring Windsor Davies. min
Collection: We Can Work It Out
Suzie Gold
2003 | 90min
Girl meets goy: a Jewish princess must decide between a Jew and a gentile in this light-hearted romantic comedy.
Collection: Oy Britannia
Sweeney Todd
1928 | 91min
Early British horror about the legendary barber-cum-killer, made over 80 years before Tim Burton's vision.
Collection: Silent Britain
Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street*
1936 | 68min
The City's menfolk risk a dangerously close shave in Mr Todd's barbershop.
Collection: London Calling
Sweet Sixteen
2002 | 106min
Ken Loach's hard-hitting portrait of a Scottish teenager coping with drugs and poverty.
Collection:Ken Loach: A Retrospective
The Swish of the Curtain
1980 | 120min
30 years before 'Glee', a group of kids decide to put on a show.
Collection: Box of Delights
Sword Dance Performed Before the King and Queen in India
1912 | 1min
Swords, but no dances.
Collection: Before Midnight
Sword of Honour
2001 | 193min
Channel 4's two-part Waugh adaptation starring Daniel Craig, first broadcast in 2001.
Collection: The Book Group
Sword of Honour
1967 | 270min
The BBC's faithful 1967 Waugh adaptation in three parts, starring Edward Woodward as Guy Crouchback.
Collection: The Book Group
Sykes and a Haunting
1962 | 25min
Hattie Jacques finds herself handcuffed to Eric Sykes.
Collection: Funny Girls
T. Dan Smith
1987 | 86min
Innovative semi-documentary about the notorious ex-Newcastle councillor.
Collection: North by North East
T.H. Brown Amateur Films
1930 | 54min
Wonderful, unique home movies made by a Middlesbrough dentist.
Collection: North by North East
Take the High Road
1980 | 20min
A business executive threatens the peace in the community of Glendarroch.
Collection: Soap Bubbles
Take Two
1988 | 25min
Philip Schofield presents a behind-the-scenes look at his own Saturday morning show 'Going Live!'min
Collection: The Kids Are Alright
A Tale of Two Cities
1958 | 117min
A wayward barrister (Dirk Bogarde) redeems himself with a heroic act of self-sacrifice during the French Revolutionary Terror.
Collection: Hard Times: Dickens on Screen
Talk About Work
1971 | 16min
Candid views on the world of work from three North West youngsters in Ken Loach’s rarely seen short.
Collection:Ken Loach: A Retrospective
Tansy
1921 | 63min
A shepherd girl gets caught up in a love triangle between two brothers.
Collection: Silent Britain
Tap on the Shoulder, A
1965 | 70min
Ken Loach directs his first 'Wednesday Play', a crime drama by James O'Connor attacking Establishment corruption.
Collection:Ken Loach: A Retrospective
Tarka the Otter
1978 | 91min
Britain's most famous otter stars in this much-loved family favourite.
Collection: Otterly Marvellous
Tartans of the Scottish Clans
1906 | 2min
Kilts but no Celts in this early film about the great Scottish icon.
Collection: Essentially British
The Taste of Honey
1961 | 100min
A single pregnant woman befriends a gay man in the prejudiced world of '60s Britain.
Collection: Beautiful Things
T-Bag's Christmas Carol
1989 | 25min
Wicked witch T-Bag attempts to spoil poor Sally Simpkins' Christmas.
Collection: The Book Group
Tea Making Tips
1941 | 10min
What's the recipe for the perfect cup of char?
Collection: Essentially British
The Team on 204's
1964 | 16min
How does Lea Hall Colliery manage to achieve its output of treble the national average?
Collection: Boom Britain: We Can Work It Out
Television Adverts by Joseph Losey
1960 | 5min
The versatile director turns his attention to Horlicks and Fray Bentos.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Television Comes to London
1936 | 18min
The first ever TV documentary explores the year running up to the launch of the BBC Television Service.
Collection: Reality Bites
Tell England
1931 | 82min
Two boyhood friends are sent to fight at Gallipoli.
Collection: Welcome to the Dream Palace
Tell Them in Gdansk
1989 | 36min
Angry response to end of shipbuilding on the River Wear, featuring music from The Flying Pickets and comedy from Mike Elliott.
min
Tales From the Shipyard
Temples of India
1938 | 10min
Hinduism for beginners.
Collection: Before Midnight
Ten Bob in Winter
1963 | 12min
Pioneering black British film following the travails of a jobless student on an icy London day.
Collection: London Calling
The Ten Year Plan
1945 | 17min
Charles Hawtrey on the utilitarian wonder of the 'prefab'.
Collection: The Promised Land
Terence Davies Trilogy
1976 | 92min
Repressed homosexuality and Catholic guilt in Davies' landmark Liverpool-set saga.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Terminus
1961 | 30min
The ebb and flow of human life wryly observed during a day at Waterloo Station.
Collection: London Calling
The Terra Nova Returns Home
1913 | 1min
Large crowds welcome Scott's ship back to Cardiff Docks - without its Captain.
Collection: Into the White
The Terrible Price: Gresford 1934
2004 | 30min
Documentary looking at the mining disaster at Gresford colliery near Wrexham, in which 266 miners were killedmin
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Territories
1984 | 26min
Isaac Julien's political experimental documentary about the Notting Hill Carnival.
Collection: Black Britain
Terry on the Fence
1985 | 70min
A South London schoolboy runs away and becomes involved with a gang of tearaways.
Collection: Box of Delights
That Was the Week That Was - Tribute to President Kennedy
1963 | 20min
Poetic tribute to John F. Kennedy on the day following his death.
Collection: Frost/Mediatheque
Their Majesties Lambeth Way
1940 | 3min
The King and Queen boost morale in a heavily bombed Lambeth.
Collection: Beautiful South
They Also Serve
1940 | 10min
Touching morale-booster celebrating the stalwarts of the Home Front.
Collection: Housewives' Choice
They Flew Alone
1942 | 104min
Anna Neagle stars as Amy Johnson in Herbert Wilcox's biopic.
Collection: Amy Johnson: Queen of the Skies
They Had an Idea
1953 | 14min
John Krish's British Transport Film showcasing employee suggestions in the workplace.
Collection: Boom Britain: We Can Work It Out
They Planted a Stone
1953 | 26min
Oscar-nominated documentary showing co-operation between Sudan and the UK, made at the height of the Suez Crisis.
Collection: Cape to Cairo
They Travel By Air
1947 | 19min
How to deal with airline passengers, however tiresome.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Things to Come
1936 | 97min
The city of the future rises from the rubble of world war in H.G. Wells' prescient sci-fi fable.
Collection: The Promised Land
Think of a Number
1978 | 24min
Johnny Ball does the impossible and makes maths and science interesting for kids.
Collection: The Kids Are Alright
Think of England
1999 | 50min
Photographer Martin Parr seeks out the English icons.
Collection: Essentially British
Thirteen Cantos of Hell
1955 | 20min
Silhouette film illustrating aspects of Dante's Inferno.
Collection: Cinema of Tomorrow
This Automation Age
1963 | 33min
The introduction of computers in the workplace heralds a new industrial revolution.
Collection: Boom Britain: We Can Work It Out
This Charming Man
1994 | 26min
Meloni Poole's moving portrait of her father - the inventor of the horse jacuzzi.
Collection: Essentially British
This Happy Breed
1944 | 106min
Noël Coward's saga of a Clapham family between the two World Wars.
Collection: London Calling
This Is Tomorrow
2007 | 54min
The Royal Festival Hall is reborn for a new generation, to the sounds of Saint Etienne.
Collection: Of Dreams and Cities
This Was a Woman
1948 | 104min
Mothers don't come much deadlier than Sonia Dresdel's murderous matriarch...
Collection: The Gentle Sex
This Was England
1935 | 21min
The agricultural development of Suffolk - from the Neolithic to the 1930s.
Collection: Essentially British
This Was England
1935 | 21min
The agricultural development of Suffolk - from the Neolithic to the 1930s.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
This Was Forever
2007 | 10min
An snapshot of life on Manor Garden allotments in East London.
Collection: London Calling
This Week Special: We Wish You a Merry Christmas
1966 | 20min
Celebrate Christmas with media mogul Robert Maxwell and family.
Collection: Pandora's Box
This Week: Britain's Jews
1965 | 25min
The problems facing Jews in Britain.
Collection: Oy Britannia
This Week: Homosexuals
1964 | 25min
TV documentary from a time before sex between men was legal.
Collection: Beautiful Things
This Week: Lesbians
1965 | 25min
1960s lesbians in the spotlight.
Collection: Beautiful Things
This Year – London
1951 | 25min
A pleasure trip to the sights (and bomb sites) of post-War London.
Collection: London Calling
Three Bears, The
1999 | 14min
Soviet submariners get more than they bargained for when they surface in the Fens.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Three Clear Sundays
1987 | 65min
A naïve barrow boy lets his temper get the better of him with tragic consequences in James O'Connor's play, directed by Ken Loach.
Collection:Ken Loach: A Retrospective
Three Fat Women of Antibes
1969 | 50min
Call me Frank! Three women enjoy the spa treatment.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Three Girls in a Boat
1933 | 2min
Three beauties take to the Norfolk Broads to show off their loveliness.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Three Minute Heroes
1982 | 60min
Cult '80s drama following the lives of inner city teens.
Collection: Play for Today
Three Weird Sisters
1948 | 82min
Three spinsters - one deaf, one blind, one with arthritis - battle their younger brother in a gothic tale from Dylan Thomas.
Collection: The Gentle Sex
The Threepenny Opera
1931 | 105min
19th century London is recreated in a Berlin film studio for this adaptation of Brecht and Weill's revolutionary musical.
Collection: London Calling
Thud and Blunder in Knock-Off Time
1964 | 2min
A cautionary cartoon about what happens when you disobey safety rules underground.
Collection: King Coal
Tibet
1928 | 6min
Tibet through the eyes of Frederick Bailey - Political Agent, butterfly collector and spy.
Collection: The Search for Shangri-La
Tibetan Scenes
1945 | 125min
Extraordinary portrait of life in Tibet in the 1940s by Tsien-Lien Shen, resident Chinese Commissioner in Lhasa.
Collection: The Search for Shangri-La
Tick Tock Lullaby
2007 | 73min
A north London cartoonist and her girlfriend negotiate the pitfalls and practicalities of parenthood in Lisa Gornick's second feature.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Tiger Bay
1959 | 105min
A young girl befriends a murderer in Cardiff's Tiger Bay.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Til Death Us Do Part
1972 | 30min
Bigoted East Ender Alf Garnett rails against the world.
Collection: London Calling
Tilly, The Tomboy, Visits the Poor
1910 | 7min
Anarchic fun with Alma Taylor and Chrissie White wreaking havoc as naughty schoolgirls.
Collection: Funny Girls
Timbuctoo
1933 | 71min
West Africa-set comedy adventure, plus a fascinating documentary detailing the film's production.
Collection: Welcome to the Dream Palace
Time for Dancing (This England)
1979 | 26min
Strictly come social tea dancing in Buxton.
Collection: Heartlands
The Time of Our Lives
1994 | 81min
The life and times of an East End Irish family.
Collection: London Calling
The Time There Was…A Profile of Benjamin Britten (South Bank Show)
1980 | 90min
The life of Suffolk's greatest musical son.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Time-Lapse Study of Nail Growth
1960 | 2min
Serious scientific study or long-lost avant-garde body horror? You decide.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Tins for India
1941 | 8min
Unseen for over 50 years, Bimal Roy's documentary finds poetry in the kerosene can.
Collection: Before Midnight
Time to Go
1989 | 30min
A characteristically polemical documentary by Ken Loach, arguing for the withdrawal of British troops from Northern Ireland.
Collection: Ken Loach: A Retrospective
TISWAS
1978 | 32min
Compilation of the madcap children's Saturday morning show presented by Chris Tarrant.
Collection: The Kids Are Alright
To Have and to Hold
2000 | 13min
A woman finds herself in a gruesome predicament after a car crash in the deep, dark woods...
Collection: Pandora's Box
To Keep Our Way of Life
1959 | 54min
A West Indian man working in Britain faces prejudice, suspicion and jelousy.
Collection: Black Britain
The Tocher; A Film Ballet by Lotte Reiniger
1938 | 5min
The 'wee folk' help a man woo his true love in Lotte Reiniger's 'film ballet'.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Today We Live; a Film of Life in Britain
1937 | 23min
Impassioned socialist view of Depression-era Britain.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
To-day We Live; a Film of Life in Britain
1937 | 23min
Impassioned socialist view of Depression-era Britain.
Collection: Reality Bites
Together
1956 | 52min
East End and Butlers Wharf locations feature in this under-seen drama about two deaf men.
Collection: London Calling
Together Alone
2009 | 30min
The last of a generation of East London Jews tell their story with humour and optimism.
Collection: Oy Britannia
Tommy Cooper's Christmas
1973 | 51min
Magic, music and sketches with the kooky comedian, with appearances by Sacha Distel and Clodagh Rogers.
Collection: Santa's Grotto
Tommy Steele My Life, My Song
1974 | 60min
An evening of music and anecdotes from Bermondsey boy Tommy Steele.
Collection: Beautiful South
Tom's Ride
1944 | 11min
Tom wants a bike and finds a wallet - will he do the honorable thing
Collection: Pandora's Box
Tonite, Let’s All Make Love in London
1967 | 72min
Vivid, memorable doc examining the 'swinging' London phenomenon.
Collection: London Calling
Too Late to Talk to Billy
1982 | 85min
Blistering, Belfast-set drama of a family at loggerheads, starring Kenneth Branagh.
Collection: Play for Today
Toot-an-kum-in Daily Sketch
1923 | 1min
Cambridge students re-enact the opening of Tutankhamun's tomb in a rag week stunt.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Top of the Pops 78 (Inc. Kate Bush 'Wuthering Heights' promo video)
1978 | 59min
Kate Bush throws some ethereal shapes in the iconic music video for 'Wuthering Heights'.
Collection: The Book Group
Top Ten - Punk
2000 | 60min
A beginner's guide to punk.
Collection: Anarchy in the UK
Torchwood
2007 | 50min
Captain Jack goes back to the 1940s and falls in love.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Tottenham Still Going Strong in Tea Fights August 30 1919
1919 | 8min
Street parties abound as the people of Tottenham celebrate the end of World War I.
Collection: London Calling
Tower Bridge Boats on Thames
1905 | 2min
Rare early footage of the Thames at its busiest.
Collection: Beautiful South
Tower Bridge Road Market
1931 | 3min
Street scenes around the bustling market at Tower Bridge Road.
Collection: Beautiful South
Town Moor Fair Scenes
1898 | 1min
All the fun of the Newcastle Town Moor Fair from over 100 years ago.
Collection: North by North East
The Trade Winds Blow
1963 | 9min
Glossy cinemagazine following the decline (and possible renaissance) of industry in the North East.
Collection: North by North East
Trafalgar Square Riot
1913 | 1min
A suffragette procession in Trafalgar Square causes a riot.
Collection: London Calling
Traffic Island
1994 | 27min
Five people and a dog cope with harsh conditions when they become marooned - on a traffic island just off Hemel Hempstead.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Traitor
1971 | 60min
John Le Mesurier stars as a disgraced spy in Dennis Potter's play.
Collection: Play for Today
Tram Rides Through Nottingham
1902 | 7min
Hop on a tram and visit Nottingham with Mitchell and Kenyon.
Collection: Heartlands
Traveller
1981 | 78min
Two young travellers take an uneasy journey through 80s Ireland.
Collection: Cinema of Tomorrow
Traveller in Time, A
1978 | 150min
Penelope finds herself able to travel back in time to the reign of Elizabeth I, where she becomes involved in the plot to save Mary, Queen of Scots.
Collection: Box of Delights
Treasure Hunt: County Durham
1988 | 60min
Follow Anneka Rice around County Durham in this popular helicopter-assisted game show.
Collection: North by North East
The Treasure of Abbot Thomas
1974 | 35min
A theologian and his protégé unearth clues to find the hidden treasure of a corrupt monk.
Collection: A Ghost Story for Christmas
Trellick Tower
1991 | 10min
Who says architecture should be easy? The controversial legacy of Modernism.
Collection: The Promised Land
Trial for Marriage
1936 | 28min
A sizzling insight into student life in the '30s.
Collection: The Joy of Sex Education
The Trials of Oscar Wilde
1960 | 123min
Wilde brings about his own downfall when he decides to sue the father of his lover for slander.
Collection: Beautiful Things
A Trip Down the Clyde
1921 | 2min
A visit to the Dumbarton Rock and Rothesay shipyards.
Collection: Tales From the Shipyard
The Trip to North Wales on the St. Elvies
1902 | 2min
All aboard the St. Elvies paddle steamer to Llandudno with Mitchell and Kenyon.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Tropical Hookworm
1936 | 9min
Instructional film for African audiences on the causes and prevention of disease.
Collection: Cape to Cairo
The Trouble With Black Men
2004 | 53min
David Matthews' polemic unpicking the preconceptions that surround African-Caribbean men in Britain today.
Collection: Black Britain
The Trouble With…Gay Men
2006 | 56min
After years of political and cultural progress, why do so many of today's gay men seem content to conform to stereotypes?
Collection: Beautiful Things
True Romance Etc.
1982 | 34min
A refreshing take on sex education using a wild teenage party as a springboard for discussion.
Collection: The Joy of Sex Education
The Truth About Gay Sex
2002 | 49min
Ever wondered what gay men get up to in bed? Virgins, notepads at the ready...
Collection: Beautiful Things
The Truth Will Out
1930 | 3min
Anti-Congress propaganda made by a District Officer.
Collection: Before Midnight
Tryweryn
1965 | 37min
Amateur film by Bangor schoolchildren, about the hugely controversial flooding of a valley to create the Llyn Celyn reservoir.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Tulip Town
1961 | 9min
Tiptoe through the tulip parade at the vibrant Spalding festival.
Collection: Heartlands
The Tunnel
1935 | 94min
Spectacular sci-fi tale about the troubled construction of a transatlantic tunnel.
Collection: Welcome to the Dream Palace
Turkey Time
1933 | 72min
Festive frolics in a seaside town. Politically correct viewers, look away now. It's Turkey Time!min
Collection: Funny Girls
The Turn Up For Tony
1968 | 30min
Tati-esque comedy - Tony Tanner seeks a job and a girlfriend in Newcastle.
Collection: North by North East
The Turning Point (Horlicks Ad)
1951 | 3min
Who needs a marriage councillor when a mug of Horlicks is at hand?min
Collection: Pandora's Box
Twelve Views of Kensal House
1984 | 55min
Can the social housing ideals of the '30s survive in a very different era?min
Collection: The Promised Land
Twilight City
1989 | 52min
Black Audio Film Collective's portrait of Thatcher's London.
Collection: Black Britain
Two Cooks and a Cabbage
1941 | 6min
How not to boil a cabbage.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Two Farmers
1948 | 18min
Popular Rhodesian film showing the best - and worst - ways to grow crops.
Collection: Cape to Cairo
The Two Marys
1994 | 30min
Slavery through the eyes of two very different women.
Collection: Exodus: Remembering Slavery
The Two of Us
1988 | 60min
Controversial BBC drama in which two gay boys must decide whether to leave their homophobic home town or stay and resort to conformity.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Two Town Mad
1964 | 37min
Torn between two towns - will Ray Gosling opt for Leicester or Nottingham?min
Collection: Heartlands
Two Victorian Girls
1970 | 30min
Two members of pioneering female typing pools recall life in the 1890s.
Collection: Reality Bites
Two Worlds
1965 | 21min
The ancient and the modern worlds come together in the North East coal industry.
Collection: North by North East
Tynemouth Swimming Gala in the Haven, North Shields
1901 | 1min
Racing swimmers take the plunge - wearing top hats and tails.
Collection: North by North East
Tyneside
1941 | 17min
The building of the 'Dominion Monarch' on the River Tyne - the most powerful motor liner in the world.
Collection: North by North East
UCS 1
1971 | 20min
Campaign film used by the Clydeside shipyard workers.
Collection: Boom Britain: We Can Work It Out
The Ultra Modern House
1931 | 3min
The ultimate in streamlined chic - on a hillside above Amersham.
Collection: The Promised Land
Un Nos Ola Leuad (One Full Moon)
1991 | 98min
Haunting adaptation of Caradog Prichard's classic novel, set in Snowdonia.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
The Uncharted Sea
1928 | 39min
A young man discovers the perils - and sensual pleasures - of city life.
Collection: The Joy of Sex Education
Uncle Denis?
2009 | 18min
US-born filmmaker Adrian Goycoolea recalls his Great Uncle Denis - aka Quentin Crisp.
Collection: Beautiful Things
The Unclean World
1903 | 1min
What's that crawling around in the cheese?
Collection: Pandora's Box
Under the Skin
1997 | 80min
Intense psychological drama about two bereaved sisters.
Collection: Cinema of Tomorrow
Underground
1928 | 80min
Passions run deep on the London Underground.
Collection: London Calling
Undressing Extraordinary
1901 | 2min
Classic comedy or early horror? A man finds taking his clothes off more difficult than usual.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Uneasy Dreams: the Life of Mr Pickwick
1970 | 26min
A fictional biography of Mr. Pickwick, from childhood to his adventures in Dickens' The Pickwick Papers.
Collection: Hard Times: Dickens on Screen
The Union Jack: A Banner for Britain
2006 | 60min
Biography of the flag - from a symbol of national pride to its adoption by the BNP.
Collection: Essentially British
United Kingdom
1981 | 75min
Play for Today at its most political - Tyneside communities take on the police and the state.
Collection: Play for Today
The Universe of Dermot Finn
1988 | 15min
Guess who's coming to dinner? A brilliant, touching short reminiscent of Tim Burton.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Untold: An Indian Affair
2001 | 49min
Four-part documentary series exploring the connections between the slave trade and contemporary Britain.
Collection: Before Midnight
Untold: Britain's Slave Trade
1999 | 52min
Four-part documentary series exploring the connections between the slave trade and contemporary Britain.
Collection: Exodus: Remembering Slavery
Unveiling of the War Memorial to the Men of Alfreton
1927 | 7min
A monument to fallen soldiers is revealed to the public.
Collection: Heartlands
Unwanted Guests
1943 | 8min
Pay a visit to the nit nurse.
Collection: Pandora's Box
"Uppies and Downies"
1926 | 1min
Thrilling sport or hideous brawl? Medieval football, the Ashbourne way.
Collection: Heartlands
Upside Down or The Human Flies
1899 | 1min
A mischievous magic trick that would inspire the special effects in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Up the Junction
1965 | 70min
Abortion and pre-marital sex are no longer off-limits in Ken Loach's vibrant and controversial TV play, based on the book by Nell Dunn.
Collection:Ken Loach: A Retrospective
Urdd Gobaith Cymru - Anenwadol ac Amhleidiol
1930 | 8min
The activities of the The Welsh League of Youth.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
V E Day
1945 | 8min
War is over, and Gateshead celebrates in style.
Collection: North by North East
The Val Doonican Show
1976 | 47min
Snuggle up with the Irish crooner for an evening of comedy, warmth and Nana Mouskouri.
Collection: Santa's Grotto
Valley of Song
1953 | 74min
Rivalry in a Welsh village choir, featuring the debut of Rachel Roberts.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
The Vanishing Street
1962 | 20min
Record of the once-thriving East End Jewish community.
Collection: London Calling
Vaughan Williams: A Symphonic Portrait (South Bank Show)
1984 | 52min
Ken Russell's nine-part survey of the symphonies of one of the greatest of all English composers.
Collection: Ken Russell on TV
Very Jean Muir
1993 | 30min
Three-part profile of the dressmaker renowned for her austere but beautifully-crafted style.
Collection: Brit Chic
Victim
1961 | 100min
Groundbreaking drama that dared to portray homosexuals sympathetically in a dark tale of blackmail and prejudice.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Victoria the Great
1937 | 112min
Huge box office success detailing the life and loves of Queen Victoria (Anna Neagle).
Collection: Welcome to the Dream Palace
Victoria Wood - As Seen on TV
1986 | 30min
The joy of Victoria Wood: from Acorn Antiques to the erotic potential of bicycle clips.
Collection: Essentially British
A View from a Hill
2005 | 40min
BBC Four revived the creepy Christmas tradition with M.R. James’ tale of a mysterious pair of binoculars.
Collection: A Ghost Story for Christmas
View From An Engine Front - Ilfracombe
1898 | 4min
A bendy train trip through Devon - full steam ahead!min
Collection: Reality Bites
View from the Woodpile, The
1989 | 50min
Ken Loach's prescient documentary exposes the plight of the West Midlands' disenfranchised youth.
Collection:Ken Loach: A Retrospective
Views on Trial
1954 | 26min
Amusing, yet heavily biased, industrial film - a disgruntled worker is put on trial for rallying against the introduction of machinery in the workplace.
Collection: Boom Britain: We Can Work It Out
The Village Affair
1995 | 120min
A married mother's life is turned upside down in the much-loved lesbian Aga saga from Joanna Trollope.
Collection: Beautiful Things
The Village in India
1940 | 10min
Technicolor scenes in rual Rajasthan.
Collection: Before Midnight
Villain
1971 | 98min
Richard Burton stars as a psychotic homosexual gangster based on Ronnie Kray.
Collection: Beautiful Things
The Vision
1988 | 105min
Rarely seen sci-fi drama starring Dirk Bogarde as an unwitting TV presenter recruited by a sinister organisation to front their satellite channel.
Collection: Bogarde on the Box
Visit of Their Majesties The King And Queen To The North-East Coast Ship-Building and Engineering On The Wear
1917 | 8min
George V and Queen Mary visit the Sunderland shipyards.
Collection: North by North East
The Visit to Peek Frean and Company's Biscuit Works
1906 | 36min
Meet the workers at one of Bermondsey's thriving family businesses.
Collection: Beautiful South
Vivienne Westwood (South Bank Show)
1990 | 52min
Take a revealing peek into the working life of British fashion's grande dame.
Collection: Brit Chic
Vivienne Westwood Showreel
1989 | 58min
An intriguing archive discovery: Sara Stockbridge models Westwood in rushes for an avant-garde fashion showcase.
Collection: Brit Chic
Voices in the Garden
1993 | 86min
Feature-length TV adaptation of Dirk Bogarde’s 1981 novel set in the South of France, starring Anouk Aimée and Joss Ackland.
Collection: Bogarde on the Box
Volvo City
1991 | 60min
A portrait of the Hasidic Jewish community of Stamford Hill.
Collection: Oy Britannia
Vymura Advert - Noddy and Big Ears
1982 | 2min
Noddy's interior decorating tips lead to a violent altercation with Big Ears.
Collection: Toyland Tales and Happy Endings
The W Plan
1930 | 104min
Brian Aherne is dropped behind enemy lines in this inventive espionage thriller.
Collection: Welcome to the Dream Palace
Wales v. Ireland at Wrexham
1906 | 2min
An Edwardian treat for footie fans courtesy of Mitchell & Kenyon.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Wales' Wonderful Rugby Win
1922 | 1min
Wales thrash England with a landslide win.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Walter
1982 | 75min
Ian McKellen stars as a man with learning difficulties in the first ever Film on Four broadcast, directed by Stephen Frears.
Collection: Channel 4 Anniversary
Waltzes From Vienna
1934 | 77min
A real Hitchcock rarity, and a Hitchcock musical, to boot.
Collection: Welcome to the Dream Palace
The Wandering Jew
1923 | 108min
The legend of the Wandering Jew, condemned to walk the earth until the Second Coming, is brought to the big screen.
Collection: Oy Britannia
Warning to the Curious
1972 | 50min
An amateur archaeologist visits the remote Norfolk coast to search for a buried Saxon crown, angering the violent forces which guard it.
Collection: A Ghost Story for Christmas
War of the Worlds
1952 | 25min
Years before Hollywood adaptations and Jeff Wayne, Clacton County Youth Centre takes on H.G. Wells' sci-fi classic.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
The Warning
1939 | 35min
Words of warning on the eve of the war from Sir John Anderson.
Collection: Heartlands
Wasp
2003 | 24min
An Oscar-winning short, with a pivotal role for nobody's favourite insect.
Collection: Essentially British
Waterloo Road*
1944 | 76min
Soldier John Mills goes AWOL in Lambeth to investigate rumours about his wife.
Collection: Beautiful South
Watership Down*
1978 | 92min
“Bright eyes, burning like fire...” Memorably dark animated classic, based on Richard Adams’ bestselling children’s novel.
Collection: March Hares & Easter Bunnies
Watton Christmas Party
1944 | 12min
American airmen entertain war orphans at Watton airfield, Norfolk.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
The Waugh Trilogy
1987 | 180min
Impressively thorough three-part profile of Evelyn Waugh's life and work.
Collection: The Book Group
The Way of Life
2004 | 91min
Bleak portrait of a teenage single mother in South Wales.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
The Way We Live
1946 | 62min
Docu-drama heralding the visionary transformation of Plymouth after its near-obliteration in WWII.
Collection: The Promised Land
We Are the Lambeth Boys
1959 | 52min
South London youth - members of Alford House Youth Club in Kennington at work and play.
Collection: London Calling
We Chose Skegness
1961 | 26min
Not even a pools win can tempt a family away from the joys of Skeggy.
Collection: Heartlands
We Should Have Won
1985 | 27min
Miners voice their frustration in Ken Loach's attack on Labour party and union handling of the 1984-85 strike.
Collection:Ken Loach: A Retrospective
We Think the World of You
1980 | 55min
The life and loves of author J.R. Ackerley.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Weavers Green
1966 | 25min
Episode one of the rural East Anglian serial set around a vet.
Collection: Soap Bubbles
Wedding of the Maharaj Kumar Shri Meghraji Saheb of Kutch and Maharaj Shri of Kishangarh
1933 | 13min
Indian princes arrive by yacht for a lavish wedding.
Collection: Before Midnight
The Wedding on Saturday
1964 | 45min
A bustling Yorkshire mining village prepares to celebrate in this early experiment in shooting on videotape.
Collection: Reality Bites
The Welcome to Britain
1943 | 60min
Britain for beginners... or Americans, at least.
Collection: Essentially British
Welcome to the Queen
1956 | 32min
The young Queen visits Teesside to a rapturous reception.
Collection: North by North East
Welsh Army (The Frost Programme)
1967 | 12min
David Frost interviews members of the much-mocked Welsh nationalist organisation.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Welsh Coal Strike Scenes at Aberaman
1910 | 4min
Shots of the ill-fated strike action in the Rhondda Cynon Taf mining village.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Welsh National Eisteddfod
1916 | 1min
Newsreel coverage of the 1916 Welsh National Eisteddfod in Aberystwyth.
Collection: Essentially British
Went the Day Well?
1942 | 92min
What if German paratroopers had invaded Britain?
Collection: Essentially British
West End Aged Poor's Outing to Benton August 15th 1923
1923 | 5min
Senior citizens on a day trip from Newcastle take to the dancefloor.
Collection: North by North East
West Indies Calling
1944 | 14min
Learie Constantine and Una Marson introduce the war effort in the West Indies.
Collection: Black Britain
We've Come a Long Way
1951 | 36min
The history of the oil tanker, as told through Halas & Bachelor's vivid animation.
Tales From the Shipyard
What a Life!
1948 | 12min
Rationing, moaning and burnt toast. A film for pessimists.
Collection: Essentially British
What Can I Do With a Male Nude?
1985 | 24min
Ron Peck’s amusing rumination on the difficulties of showing the naked masculine body.
Collection: Beautiful Things
What Do You Do On Friday Night?
1926 | 2min
Dance the night away at the Cambridge Varsity Dance Club.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
What Have You Done Today, Mervyn Day?
2006 | 45min
Saint Etienne’s hymn to a vanishing east London - before the Olympic bulldozers moved in.
Collection: London Calling
What We Want is Watney's: Michael Caine
1959 | 1min
A pre-fame Michael Caine stars in this advert for Watney's ale.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?
1973 | 30min
The Likely Lads' finest (half) hour - can they avoid hearing the football results?min
Collection: Essentially British
Whatsoever a Man Soweth
1917 | 37min
A remarkably explicit warning to WWI soldiers about the perils of fraternizing with loose women.
Collection: The Joy of Sex Education
When Coal Was King with Ricky Tomlinson
2006 | 60min
Ricky Tomlinson's personal history of British coal mining, lavishly illustrated with footage from the BFI National Archive.
Collection: King Coal
When I Came to Britain
2004 | 12min
Caribbean settlers in the UK recall their first impressions of Britain.
Collection: Black Britain
When I'm Sixty-Four
2004 | 90min
It's never too late to come out...
Collection: Beautiful Things
When The Boat Comes In
1976 | 50min
Dance ti' thy daddy, sing ti' thy mammy - Bill Seaton digs under the floorboards for precious coal in an episode from the much-loved series.
Collection: King Coal
When the Boat Comes In
1976 | 50min
The first episode of the much-loved BBC series set in the fictional town of Gallowshield - loosely based on South Shields.
Collection: North by North East
Which Side Are You On?
1984 | 50min
Ken Loach's anthology of songs and poems inspired by the Miners' Strike, controversially refused a broadcast by the South Bank Show.
Collection: Ken Loach: A Retrospective
Whistle and I'll Come to You
1968 | 42min
Classic ghost story in which Michael Hordern summons a phantom apparition while holidaying in Norfolk.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Whistle and I'll Come to You
2010 | 55min
John Hurt stars in 'Spooks' writer Neil Cross' modern take on Jonathan Miller's classic 1968 chiller.
Collection: A Ghost Story for Christmas
White Tribe
2000 | 60min
Darcus Howe goes in search of white England.
Collection: Essentially British
Who is Poly Styrene?
1979 | 40min
Guide to the pint-sized teenage singer of X-Ray Spex.
Collection: Anarchy in the UK
Who the Dickens is Mrs Gaskell? (Omnibus)
1999 | 55min
Was Elizabeth Gaskell Britain's most passionate Victorian novelist?min
Collection: The Book Group
Who Voted For This? The Nationalisation of Coal
1948 | 2min
Tory-sponsored film decrying the recent public ownership of mining.
Collection: King Coal
Who Would Not Welcome One?
1922 | 1min
The Valentine's card, 1920s-style.
Collection: The Truth About Love
The Wicked Lady
1945 | 104min
A bored Margaret Lockwood finds fulfilment through highway robbery.
Collection: The Gentle Sex
The Wicked Lady
1983 | 99min
Guilty pleasure alert: Faye Dunaway stars alongside Britain’s finest in Michael Winner’s notorious 1983 remake.
Collection: The Gentle Sex
Wicked Women: Christiana Edmunds
1970 | 54min
Anna Massey stars as the Chocolate Cream Poisoner in this Victorian true-crime drama.
Collection: The Gentle Sex
The Wicker Man
1973 | 86min
Pagan rites on a Scottish isle in the original cult favourite.
Collection: Essentially British
Wil Cwac Cwac
1985 | 5min
Children’s animation based on the Welsh-language stories by Jennie Thomas and J.O. Williams about a mischievous duckling.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
The Wild and the Willing
1962 | 115min
A young cast of future stars features in this X-rated university-set drama.
Collection: Heartlands
The Wild Duck
1957 | 90min
The idealistic son of a corrupt businessmen exposes a lifetime of lies in Ibsen’s masterpiece, directed for TV by Ealing regular Charles Crichton.
Collection: Missing Believed Wiped: The Library of Congress Discoveries
William Meiklejohn's Family Films
1935 | 17min
These home movies include footage of Darjeeling, West Bengal and Bangladesh.
Collection: Before Midnight
Windrush
1998 | 236min
Major four-part documentary series, marking the 50th anniversary of the start of mass post-war immigration to Britain from the Caribbean.
Collection: Black Britain
Wind That Shakes the Barley, The
2006 | 122min
Ken Loach takes us back to the 1920s and the fight for Irish independence in his controversial Palme d’Or winner.
Collection:Ken Loach: A Retrospective
Winter
1923 | 13min
Wildlife in winter.
Collection: Reality Bites
A Winter's Tale
1962 | 120min
Rediscovered adaptation of Shakespeare’s ‘problem play’, starring Robert Shaw as Leontes and Rosalie Crutchley as Hermione.
Collection: Missing Believed Wiped: The Library of Congress Discoveries
Wisbech Mart
1926 | 8min
Wisbech locals strike a pose for the camera before heading to the Mart funfair.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Wise and Otherwise
1947 | 34min
A careless family fall prey to Cambridge's hazardous roads.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Witchfinder General*
1968 | 87min
A menacing Vincent Price wreaks havoc across 17th Century Suffolk.
Collection: Essentially British
Within These Walls
1975 | 60min
Women in prison - from a time before 'Bad Girls' and 'Prisoner - Cell Block H'.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Withnail & I
1986 | 107min
I demand to have some booze! - two out-of-work actors take to the countryside in this comedy classic.
Collection: Essentially British
Wittgenstein
1993 | 71min
A playful portrait of the Cambridge-educated philosopher by Derek Jarman.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Wives of Nendi
1949 | 20min
Women’s clubs in rural Rhodesia.
Collection: Cape to Cairo
The Woman for Joe
1955 | 94min
A hawker at Nottingham's Goose Fair attempts to find a woman for his latest attraction - 'The World's Smallest Man".
Collection: Heartlands
Women in Love
1969 | 130min
Ken Russell does 'Son of Nottingham' D.H. Lawrence proud: an exquisite Midlands-set study of class and sexuality in the 1910s.
Collection: Heartlands
Women in Tropical Places
1989 | 87min
Women on the verge of a Newcastle breakdown.
Collection: North by North East
Women of the Rhondda
1973 | 70min
Four women living in a South Wales mining village describe their experiences.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Women's Rights aka Ladies Skirts Nailed to a Fence
1899 | 1min
Rubbish Victorian cross-dressers.
Collection: Essentially British
The Wonderful Fruit of the Tropics
1914 | 5min
Collecting and eating the fruit of India.
Collection: Before Midnight
Wood and Walters
1982 | 30min
Victoria Wood's first TV sketch show, co-starring Julie Walters.
Collection: Funny Girls
Woodbine Place
1989 | 105min
A gentle observation of the private world of children living on a Gateshead street, and a follow-up documentary shot 4 years later.
Collection: North by North East
Work Study and Tom Howard
1958 | 20min
British Rail wants to follow the work study model - but Tom Howard is not a fan.
Collection: Boom Britain: We Can Work It Out
Workers at Jesse Crossley and Sons Ironworks, Ripley
1900 | 2min
Victorians take a break from work.
Collection: Heartlands
Workers Leaving Butterley Ironworks, Ripley
1900 | 3min
The end of a hard day's work in Derbyshire, over 100 years ago.
Collection: Heartlands
Workforce of Scott and Co Shipyard Greenock
1901 | 36min
Workers leaving the Greenock-based shipbuilding firm.
min
Tales From the Shipyard
Working Class Dykes From Hell
1992 | 60min
Lesbians talk about being out, proud and working class.
Collection: Beautiful Things
The World is Turning (Rushes)
1948 | 40min
Six reels of rushes are all that remain of this unfinished film showcasing talented members of Britain's black and Asian communities.
Collection: Black Britain
The World Ten Times Over
1963 | 93min
British cinema's earliest lesbian relationship.
Collection: Beautiful Things
World's First Caterpillar Track
1908 | 6min
It's tractor vs. tractor in this gruelling test to see who will triumph - will it be steam or petrol? Gentlemen, start your engines.
Collection: Pandora's Box
World's Greatest Station
1922 | 1min
A re-vamped Waterloo Station is opened by Queen Mary.
Collection: Beautiful South
Wrexham Co-operative Society's Procession, Wednesday, July 31st, 1912
1912 | 3min
Wrexham casts aside its umbrella and smiles for the camera on a rainy summer’s day.
Collection: Through the Dragon's Eye: Wales on Screen
Wuthering Heights
1962 | 95min
A big budget isn't everything, as this innovative 1962 one-off TV adaptation - shot entirely in a studio - demonstrates.
Collection: The Book Group
Wuthering Heights
1970 | 104min
A young Timothy Dalton broods in breeches as Heathcliff in this rarely-seen feature film version from 1970.
Collection: The Book Group
The X-Rays
1897 | 1min
The 1890s' latest scientific discovery is used to mischievous effect on a courting couple.
Collection: The Truth About Love
Yarmouth
1902 | 1min
Edwardians frantically process the day's catch at Yarmouth Quay.
Collection: Eastward Ho!
Yarmouth Fishing Boats Leaving Harbour
1896 | 1min
Very early film footage that boasted the Royal Family for an audience.
Collection: Reality Bites
Yasmin
2005 | 100min
9/11 and its after-effects on a young Muslim woman.
Collection: Essentially British
Yellow
1996 | 12min
A young girl pits her wits against her mother's lover in this provocative short starring Ray Winstone.
Collection: Cinema of Tomorrow
Yellow Week at Stanway
1923 | 42min
J.M. Barrie's whimsical home-movie record of a summer house party in the Cotswolds.
Collection: Pandora's Box
Yield to the Night
1956 | 99min
A death-row dame (Diana Dors) awaits execution for murder.
Collection: The Gentle Sex
You in Your Small Corner
1962 | 82min
Lloyd Reckord stars as a gifted student confronting the race and class divide in 1960s Brixton.
Collection: Beautiful South
You Made Me Love You: Nathan Evans Films David Hoyle
2008 | 79min
Avant-garde performance artist David Hoyle muses on capitalism, gay rights and mental health in a series of six short films: Dave's Drop-in Centre, A Village Stroll with David Hoyle, Natural Human, Manchester (So Much to Answer For), At Home with David Hoyle and On the Couch with David Hoyle.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Young Lesbians
1977 | 30min
The problems facing young lesbians at the end of the 1970s.
Collection: Beautiful Things
The Young Lovers
1954 | 95min
Romeo and Juliet, updated to Cold War-era London.
Collection: The Truth About Love
The Young Man's Fancy
1939 | 77min
A lord, destined for a loveless marriage, falls in love with a human canonball.
Collection: Welcome to the Dream Palace
Young Soul Rebels
1991 | 105min
The Queen's Silver Jubilee beats to the sounds of Funkadelic, Sylvester and the O'Jays.
Collection: London Calling
Youngers Shoppers Gazette
1942 | 5min
Cinema advertising before the days of Pearl & Dean.
Collection: Heartlands
You're Not Watching Me, Mummy
1979 | 35min
Anna Massey plays an ageing bisexual actress hosting an eclectic mix of uninvited guests in her West End dressing room.
Collection: Beautiful Things
Your Money's Worth
1955 | 15min
Harold Wilson fights (unsuccessfully) for government.
Collection: The Ballot Box
You're Human Like the Rest of Them
1967 | 17min
A teacher struggles to come to terms with his own mortality.
Collection: Cinema of Tomorrow
Z Cars: A Place of Safety
1964 | 50min
When a young African man attacks a bailiff, his wife does not believe he will get unprejudiced treatment from the Newtown police.
Collection: Black Britain
Z Cars: A Straight Deal
1964 | 50min
PC Lynch makes an unexpected discovery in this episode of the police drama series, directed by Ken Loach.
Collection:Ken Loach: A Retrospective
Z Cars: Profit by Their Example
1964 | 44min
A businessman takes on local hooligans in the first of three episodes of Z Cars directed by Ken Loach.
Collection:Ken Loach: A Retrospective
Z Cars: The Whole Truth
1964 | 50min
A slow-witted former boxer becomes embroiled in a police investigation in this episode of Z Cars directed by Ken Loach.
Collection:Ken Loach: A Retrospective
