Films with: Callow, Simon

Christmas carol the movie /

Scrooge is a cynical old man whose greatest concern is money. On Christmas Eve, he is visited by the ghost of Jacob Marley, his former business partner, who arranges for Scrooge to be visited by three spirits. Begins with a sequence set in 1857, the site of a live reading by the renowned Dickens. As he begins his story a woman screams because she has seen a mouse and Dickens points out that his story begins with a mouse. Dickens explains that the mouse, named Gabriel, carries a glimmer of hope amidst the glaring co-existence of rich and poor in the streets of London.

DVD 6262

Dickens of London

While on tour in America, Charles Dickens recalls the moments that shaped his life. From his penniless childhood in Chatham and London during the 1820s to the unprecedented success he later enjoyed on both sides of the Atlantic, he traces his extraordinary experiences which influenced many of his greatest works.

DVD 5361

Galileo's battle for the heavens

Dramatization of Galileo Galilei's life, including his scientific achievements and his defense of his controversial theory that the earth revolves around the sun. Also includes how letters from his illegitimate daughter, Maria Celeste, a cloistered nun, have shed new light on Galileo's discoveries and his trial for heresy.

DVD 4093

Maurice

E.M. Forrester's story of two Edwardian-era Cambridge graduates that fall in love, but must abide by British society's strict norms regarding homosexuality.

DVD 3349

No man's land

Set during the height of the Bosnian War in 1993, a group of Bosnian soldiers are advancing on Serb territory under the cover of a foggy night. At daybreak, the fog lifts, and the Serbs open fire. Soon there is only one Bosnian survivor because he was able to dive into a trench in no man's land. He then watches as two Serbian soldiers use the body of a fallen Bosnian to bait a land mine. He fires on them, killing one, and taking the second hostage. Now both are alone and equally armed, so they are forced to share a wary trust as they try to attract help from either side.

DVD 1296

Peter Shaffer's Amadeus

Adapted from Shaffer's play, the film presents the life of Antonio Salieri, a mediocre 18th century Viennese composer obsessed with and jealous of the musical genius of the age, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

DVD 645

Victoria & Abdul

The extraordinary true story of an unexpected friendship in the later years of Queen Victoria's remarkable rule. When Abdul Karim, a young clerk, travels from India to participate in the Queen's Golden Jubilee, he is surprised to find favor with the Queen herself. As the Queen questions the constrictions of her long-held position, the two forge an unlikely and devoted alliance with a loyalty to one another that her household and inner circle all attempt to destroy. As the friendship deepens, the Queen begins to see a changing world through new eyes and joyfully reclaims her humanity.

DVD 12523