Few directors polarize audiences like Peter Greenaway, a filmmaker as influenced by Jacobean revenge tragedy and 17th century painting as by the French New Wave. The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover is both adored and detested for its combination of sumptuous beauty and revolting decadence. A vile, gluttonous thief (Michael Gambon, The Singing Detective) spews hate and abuse at a restaurant run by a stoic French cook (Richard Bohringer, Diva), but under the thief's nose his wife (the ever-sensuous Helen Mirren, Prime Suspect) conducts an affair with a bookish lover (Alan Howard, Strapless). Clothing (by avant-garde designer Jean-Paul Gaultier) changes color as the characters move from room to room. Nudity, torture, rotting meat, and Tim Roth (Reservoir Dogs) at his sleaziest all contribute the atmosphere of decay and excess. Not for everyone, but for some, essential. -Bret Fetzer.

John Schlesinger's solid adaptation of Thomas Hardy's novel sees three rival suitors vying for the affections of the beautiful Bathsheba Everdene (Julie Christie decked out in a variety of bonnets and frilly dresses), who has just inherited a farm. The men in her life are stout, whiskered yeoman Gabriel Oak (Alan Bates), an impoverished local farmer; neurotic, repressed squire William Boldwood (Peter Finch); and handsome rascal Sgt. Troy (Terrence Stamp), who breaks women's hearts for a hobby. Thanks to cameraman Nicolas Roeg and production designer Richard MacDonald (who also worked for Joseph Losey), 19th-century Dorset looks as pretty and as picturesque as a John Constable reproduction on top of a cookie tin. Not that Schlesinger or screenwriter Frederic Raphael underplays the duress of rural life. We see the hardship of the farm workers' lives as the seasons turn. The film opens with a spectacular sequence in which Gabriel Oak's dog drives his flock of sheep over a cliff, thereby forcing him into penury. Whether hunger or heartbreak, every character here suffers. Bathsheba (like the model Christie plays in Darling) is a free spirit in a society in which women's rights are severely restricted. -Geoffrey Macnab.

Kevin Whately (Inspector Morse, Peak Practice) stars as David Bruce, a newly prosperous gas Inspector who moves to London with his new wife and their infant daughter. Their new station in life affords them the luxury of a live-in maid named Jane.

Not Only. But Also. was the career-launching comedy showcase for two of the funniest men ever put in front of a camera, Dudley Moore and Peter Cook. This 20th-anniversary collection functions as a time capsule of classic, '60s-era British humor. Better-known shows such as Monty Python's Flying Circus, Mr. Bean, Saturday Night Live, and even Benny Hill certainly owe something to Pete and Dud's off-the-cuff loopiness. [+]

Filmed on location in Russia and England, this informative and entertaining full-length feature film presents the fascinating life of the great ballerina, Anna Pavlova. This film presents her early years at the Imperial Ballet School, her work with dance world legends Diaghilev and Fokine, and highlights her triumphant world tour with her own ballet troupe. This is a lavish re-creation of the incredible life of the world's greatest ballerina. Starring Galina Beliaeva as Anna, with James Fox, Martin Scorsese, Roy Kinnear, and Bruce Forsyth.

A brash young American comes to London to star in a major new production-and becomes the central character in a mystery fueled by intrigue and passion.

The life of an English schoolmaster may sound like dry stuff, but To Serve Them All My Days finds engrossing drama and dry wit in the most ordinary of circumstances. David Powlett-Jones (John Duttine), a young Welshman, returns from the trenches of World War I disillusioned and suffering from shellshock. Accepted as a teacher at an elite boy's boarding school called Bamfylde, Powlett-Jones fears he won't last-but the faith of the headmaster who hired him (Frank Middlemass) proves well-founded. Powlett-Jones immediately flies in the face of convention, fighting with a pompous science teacher (Neil Stacy), speaking out in favor of socialist reforms, and finding a mixture of discipline and empathy with the boys he teaches. Over the course of his 20-year rise through the ranks of Bamfylde, he finds and loses love with several women (Belinda Lang, Kim Braden, and Susan Jameson); one of the greatest strengths of To Serve Them All My Days is how fully realized these women are, each strikingly individual and self-directed. The writing and acting are impeccable, always cutting to the most engaging aspect of every scene, yet grounding every conflict in a rich understanding of character and circumstance. Even the minor characters are made vivid and distinct, and the realities of life-politics, sex, mortality-are handled frankly and honestly. In fact, To Serve Them All My Days demonstrates the best aspects of a miniseries, taking the scope of 13 episodes to map in detail a human life, with all its victories and disasters. Truly a pleasure to watch; of particular note is Alan MacNaughtan as a sardonic fellow teacher, whose ironic observations and close friendship with Powlett-Jones give the series a good dose of both humor and compassion. Based on the classic novel by R. [+]

Robert Donat won an Oscar for his portrayal of the humble British don in the 1939 film Goodbye, Mr. Chips-and Peter O'Toole was nominated for his version of the role in this lackluster musical (he, along with Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight of Midnight Cowboy, lost to John Wayne in True Grit). O'Toole is affecting as the shy English schoolteacher at a private boys' school who is brought out of his shell by the love of a good woman, then goes on to become a teaching legend after her tragic death. But the idea of turning this touching tale into a musical (with totally forgettable songs by John Williams and Leslie Bricusse) was almost as wrong-headed as having O'Toole do his own singing-or as casting singer Petula Clark as his wife. -Marshall Fine.

The latter half of the 26-episode Forsyte Saga, a sensational 1967 British television series that drew a faithful international audience, contains most of the sprawling drama's poignancy and resonance. As the Victorian-era characters from Forsyte's earlier hours grow grayer, more mellow, and certainly regretful, their children take wing-finding their own way, and making their own mistakes under the rubric of an old family's myths and legacies. The outstanding cast of younger Forsytes includes Susan Hampshire as Fleur, daughter of series patriarch Soames (Eric Porter) and possessed of a wayward but kind heart often at odds with her upper-class birthright. There's also Jonathan Burn as Fleur's understanding husband, Val, and Martin Jarvis as the tormented Jon, eager to make his bones but torn by conflicting passions. Part thinking-man's soap opera, part serious literature, and a very handsome black-and-white production, this Second Generation is thoroughly engaging. -Tom Keogh The miniseries that started in all! In 1969, an internationally acclaimed BBC show began airing on the fledgling public broadcasting network. The Forsyte Saga, in telling the remarkable story of a nouveau riche English family, introduced America to a new kind of TV. Millions of Americans devoted the next half-year of their lives to following the frank treatment of all sins, foibles and peccadilloes of the Forsytes and their circle. The series was so popular that Masterpiece Theatre was created to meet the new demand for great literary adaptations. With a cast of 150, 2000 separate costumes and over 100 sets, this sprawling yet intimate saga continues to move, provoke and enchant viewers today. [+]