• To the is-land
• An angel at my table
• The envoy from mirror city.

The true-life story of Janet Frame, New Zealand's most distinguished author. The film follows Frame along her inspiring journey, from a poverty-stricken childhood to a misdiagnosis of schizophrenia and electroshock therapy to, finally, literary fame.

• [disc 1] Othello : 1952 version (93 min.)
• [disc 2] Othello : 1955 version (91 min.)
• [disc 3.] Filming "Othello" / by Orson Welles (1979) (83 min.).

Dramatization of William Shakespeare's play in which the evil Iago plants the seeds of doubt in Othello's mind about Desdemona's fidelity.

Hamlet has the world at his feet; young, wealthy and living a hedonistic life studying abroad. Then word reaches him that his father is dead. Returning home, he finds his world is utterly changed, his certainities smashed and his home a foreign land. Struggling to understand his place in a new world order, he faces a stark choice. Submit, or rage against the inustice of his new reality.

"Shakespeare's classic tragedy is re-imagined by mixing and repurposing Richard Burton's 1964 Broadway production, directed by John Gielgud. The Burton production was recorded in live performance from 17 camera angles and edited into a film ... The Wooster Group attempts to reverse the process, reconstructing a hypothetical theater piece from the fragmentary evidence of the edited film"--Container.

"Written by Amanda Coe, the three-part serial drama follows the Bloomsbury group, dramatising the exceptionally close, often fraught relationship of sisters Vanessa Bell and Virginia Woolf, and Vanessa's enduring, sexually complicated alliance with gay artist Duncan Grant."--Ecosse Films website.

The imagined dialogue between Léopold Sédar Senghor, one fo the founding fathers of Negritude, and Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka was reconstructed almost entirely from archival materials. It probes the relevance of the concept of Negritude against the views of its many critics, not only to the decolonization and independence movements of the 1950s and 1960s but also to an understanding of the contemporary artistic and political scenes of nationalism, religious intolerance, multiculturalism, the exodus of Africans and other populations from the South, and xenophobic immigration policies in the West.

A live performance of the tragedy "Titus Andronicus" by William Shakespeare. Set in Roman times, the play deals with the bloody revenge of Roman general Titus Andronicus for the atrocities committed against his family by Tamora, the captive queen of the Goths, and her faction.

Roman Polanski imbues his unflinchingly violent adaptation of William Shakespeare's tragedy of ruthless ambition and murder in medieval Scotland with grit and dramatic intensity. Jon Finch and Francesca Annis star as a decorated warrior rising in the ranks and his driven wife, scheming together to take the throne by any means.

• Richard II / by William Shakespeare ; adapted by Rupert Goold & Ben Power ; director, Rupert Goold (2 hr., 28 min.)
• Henry IV / by William Shakespeare ; adapter and director, Richard Eyre (4 hrs., 1 min., on 2 discs)
• Henry V / by William Shakespeare ; directed by Thea Sharrock ; adapted by Ben Power (2 hr., 19 min.).

The Hollow crown: "New adaptations of Shakespeare's tetralogy of history plays comprising the 'Henriad' for the BBC's 2012 Cultural Olympiad: King Richard II; King Henry IV, Part 1; King Henry IV, Part 2; King Henry V. The plays chronicle a continuous period in British history from the end of the 14th century to the aftermath of the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. Together, the plays comprise a story with recurring themes of power struggles, redemption, family conflict and betrayal."--IMDb.
Richard II. After halting a duel between warring nobles Bolingbroke and Mowbray, Richard II banishes both men from his kingdom. Following the death of Bolingbroke's father, John of Gaunt, Richard seizes his money and land to pay for wars against rebels in Ireland. Bolingbroke returns to claim his birthright and more.
Henry IV, Pt 1. Prince Hal (Tom Hiddleston) defies his father, King Henry IV (Jeremy Irons) by spending his time at Mistress Quickly's (Julie Walters) tavern in the company of the dissolute Falstaff (Simon Russell Beale) and his companions. The King is threatened by a rebellion led by Hal's rival, Hotspur (Joe Armstrong), his father Northumberland (Alun Armstrong), and his uncle Worcester (David Hayman). During the Battle of Shrewsbury Hal faces Hotspur in mortal combat.
Henry IV, Pt 2. Northumberland (Alun Armstrong) is told of the death of his son Hotspur in service of the King (Jeremy Irons). The Lord Chief Justice (Geoffrey Palmer) attempts to separate Falstaff (Simon Russell Beale) from the Prince Hal (Tom Hiddleston). The rebels continue to plot against the crown but their forces are outwitted. This brings comfort to the dying King, who is finally reconciled with his son. Falstaff rushes to Hal's coronation with the expectation of high office.
Henry IV. The newly crowned King of England, Henry V, (Tom Hiddleston) is persuaded by his courtiers including Exeter (Anton Lesser) and York (Paterson Joseph), that he also has a rightful claim to lands in France. The chorus (John Hurt) tells of England's preparations for war and Henry's army sails for France. After Exeter's diplomacy is rebuffed by the French King (Lambert Wilson) Henry lays siege to and captures the town of Harfleur. The French now take Henry's claims seriously and challenge the English army to battle at Agincourt.

An exploration of seminal writer James Joyce's native city, discovering the influences and settings for his life and work. It presents an interweaving picture, focusing on Joyce's family and their situation and his social and religious environment. It contrasts the physical city that he knew with the city of his writings, through the eyes of Ulysses characters Leopold Bloom and his women, from Molly Bloom to Anna Livia Plurabella.

Richard, Duke of Gloucester through a set of murderous machinations, steals the crown from his brother Edward.

Richard, Duke of Gloucester through a set of murderous machinations, steals the crown from his brother Edward.

"One of Shakespeare's best-loved comedies, Twelfth Night was 'blissfully reborn' (The Daily Telegraph) for the 2012/13 season at London's Globe Theatre, under the direction of Tim Carroll. The hilarious tale of misdirection and deception is performed here by an all-male cast, as it would have been in Shakespeare's day, with Mark Rylance playing Olivia and Roger Lloyd Pack as the hapless Sir Andrew Aguecheek. The production also marks Stephen Fry's triumphant return to the stage as the pompous Malvolio, ridiculous in his yellow stockings."--Container.

In the village of Monte Athena in Italy at the turn of the 19th century, necklines are high, parents are rigid, and marriage is seldom a matter of love. Thus, Demetrius and Lysander both want Hermia but she only has eyes for Lysander, while her father wants only Demetrius for his son-in-law. Poor Helena burns hot for Demetrius, who avoids her like the plague. Meanwhile, fairy king Oberon is engaged in a battle of wits with his queen, Titania, and has commanded a trick of Puck, which naturally goes horribly wrong. They are all in the enchanted wood on a midsummer's eve, coming out in the end charged with a gift from the fairies--an enchanted eroticism--that sweeps them away to bed chambers and weddings. The film celebrates love's ability to alter reality while quietly acknowledging that any attempt to portray the feeling of love ultimately falls short.

The acclaimed masterpiece based on Emily Brontë's novel. Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon star as Heathcliff and Cathy whose tortured love affair is doomed to a tragic end.

Andrea Dunbar was an unflinchingly honest playwright who wrote about her distressing upbringing on the Arbor, the notorious Buttershaw Estate in Bradford, U.K. She died tragically in 1990 at the age of 29. This documentary follows her children as they begin to understand the struggles their mother faced. This film comprises personal letters, interviews with Andrea's family and friends, and a reading of her most celebrated play.

As the turban-wearing son of Sikh immigrants in Canada, Dr. Amrit Singh is of two worlds, but belongs to neither. When he is offered a prestigious position at a Detroit hospital the young surgeon sees an opportunity to start fresh, only to discover that his appearance may threaten his success.