Simon Callow

Amadeus (1984) is a fictionalized account of the rivalry between Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri, a court composer in Vienna. Salieri is deeply jealous of Mozart's genius and begins to plot his downfall. He commissions Mozart to write a Requiem, believing it will be his last work. As Mozart's health declines, Salieri becomes increasingly consumed by guilt and despair.

Begins when an opera ghost terrorizes the cast and crew of the French Opera House while tutoring a chorus girl. He finally drives the lead soprano crazy so she and her friend leave. The girl is able to sing lead one night but the soprano doesn't want her show stolen so she comes back. The ghost demands they keep giving his protégé lead roles. Meanwhile, His pupil falls in love with the Vicomte de Chagny, but the Phantom is in love with Christine, his student... (imdb)

The film follows the fortunes of Charles and his friends as they wonder if they will every find true love and marry. Charles thinks he's found "Miss Right" in Carrie, an American. This British subtle comedy revolves around Charlie, his friends and the four weddings and one funeral which they attend. (imdb)

Encounter of three social classes of the England at the beginning of the century : the victorian capitalists (the Wilcoxes) considering themselves as aristocrats, whose only god is money ; the enlightened bourgeois (the Schlegels), humanistic and philanthropist ; and the workers (the Basts), fighting to survive. The Schlegel sisters' humanism will be torn apart as they try both to softly knock down the Wilcox's prejudices and to help the Basts. (imdb)

With Paris as the backdrop and a plot reminiscent of Agatha Christie at her best, this is a whimsical homage to film and celebrity. (Regent Releasing)

Ciki and Nino, a Bosnian and a Serb, are soldiers stranded in No Man's Land -- a trench between enemy lines during the Bosnian war. They have no one to trust, no way to escape without getting shot, and a fellow soldier is lying on the trench floor with a spring-loaded bomb set to explode beneath him if he moves. The absurdity of their situation would be comical if it didn't have such dire consequences. (United Artists / MGM)

When Lucy Honeychurch and chaperone Charlotte Bartlett find themselves in Florence with rooms without views, fellow guests Mr Emerson and son George step in to remedy the situation. Meeting the Emersons could change Lucy's life forever but, once back in England, how will her experiences in Tuscany affect her marriage plans? (imdb)

Shakespeare in Love is a romantic comedy for the 1990s set in the 1590s. It imaginatively unfolds the witty, sexy and timeless tale behind the creation of the greatest love story ever told. (Miramax Films)

Pet detective Ace Ventura comes out of retirement to investigate the disappearance of a rare white bat, the symbol of an African tribe (imdb)

Substance-addicted Hollywood actress Suzanne Vale is on the skids. After a spell at a detox centre her film company insists as a condition of continuing to employ her that she live with her mother Doris Mann, herself once a star and now a champion drinker. (imdb)

Col. Guile and various other martial arts heroes fight against the tyranny of Dictator M. Bison and his cohorts. (imdb)

An orphan with terrible aunts for guardians, befriends human like bugs who live inside a giant peach, who take the boy on a journey to New York City. (imdb)

At the suggestion of a straight friend, gay man Leo joins a men's group, where he causes some upsets by declaring his attraction to one of its members. (imdb)

An 11-year-old boy's amazing ability to break wind leads him first to fame and then to death row, before it helps him to fulfill his ambition of becoming an astronaut. (imdb)

Two male English school chums find themselves falling in love at Cambridge. To regain his place in society, Clive gives up his forbidden love, Maurice (pronounced "Morris") and marries. While staying with Clive and his shallow wife, Anne, Maurice finally discovers romance in the arms of Alec, the gamekeeper. (imdb)

Playwright Tony Kushner adapts his political epic about the AIDS crisis during the mid-eighties, around a group of separate but connected individuals. (imdb)

Arn, the son of a high-ranking Swedish nobleman is educated in a monastery and sent to the Holy Land as a knight templar to do penance for a forbidden love. (imdb)

It's about a five member family. The father is a conservative and traditional person who directs the family. The mother is at home, she tries to hold together the family, while Mr. Bridge works as a lawyer. The children have just grown up, and the complications are derived from that they have a more modern view of life. (imdb)

A shy, stuttering professor brings Aleister Crowley back to life. (imdb)

The life of a misogynist changes drastically after he buys an Asian bride.

Tom Green stars as a bumbling buffoon, who lands at Butling after working his way through all other 'A' and 'B' jobs. (imdb)

"Jefferson in Paris" follows Jefferson to France (as the U.S. ambassador to the court of Louis XVI), following the death of his wife his friendships and flirtations with the French, his relationship with his daughters and slaves from home (especially Sally), against the backdrop of the beginning of the French Revolution. (imdb)

Free-spirited darelic archaeologist Danny Fremont is certain that if found, King Tut's Emerald Tablet would hold the ultimate power to control the world. But unfortunately, the only person who believes Fremont is his ruthless archaeologist nemesis Morgan Sinclair, a member of a secret society who wants the tablet to harness unspeakable evil on the world and will stop at nothing to get it and then extend their world domination. (imdb)

Dramatization of the famous 1971 trial in which the editors of the British underground magazine "Oz" were charged with obscenity.

Documentary giving input on Robert Stevenson and the creation of the production with a bit of a battle between the director and Orson Welles who attempted to unsuccessfully usurp control from him.

Another Version of the Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.

Adam and Mary have been married for over thirty years; they have spent more than half their lives together. Their children left home long ago; it seems as though Adam and Mary have enjoyed and endured all of life's ups and downs together and are now looking forward to what should be a quieter phase in their lives. But then, gradually, certain irritations begin to creep into their lives and both are obliged to acknowledge that the years are now taking their toll. (berlinale.de)

A beautiful young woman asks Holmes to help her father, a former army captain and hopeless opium addict break free of the curse surrounding a stolen treasure. (imdb)

In a small European country, the king is scheduled to visit a small, quiet and "safe" village. It turns out that while the village may indeed be small, it's neither as quiet nor as safe as it's expected to be. (imdb)

This is not, by any means, the story of Henry Purcell but rather an elaborate and not-altogether-successful attempt to confront the absences and the gaping holes that rend any biographical account of Purcell. (PopMatters)

Bill is a man who's very bitter about his divorce and losing custody of his son. So, when one of his friends is being sued for divorce by hiw wife so that she can enter a lesbian relationship, Bill decides to help his friend gain custody of his son...in any way that they can devise, including using a sleazeball lawyer. But while Bill feels that Feminism has robbed him of his family, he begins to be appalled at what he and Roger have done. (imdb)

Documentary which takes an eclectic group, including artists, critics and academics, into the countryside to look at how we have depicted our landscape in art, discovering how the genre carried British painting to its highest eminence and won a place in the nations heart. From Flemish beginnings in the court of Charles I to the digital thumbstrokes of David Hockneys iPad, the paintings reveal as much about the nations past as they do the patrons and artists who created them. (imdb)

A truly original new British film from writer/director Johnny Daukes which began as a poem, progressed into a story and then a full-length screenplay, making it the first feature film written entirely in verse. Described as a modern twist on Shakespeare, Acts Of Godfrey mixes humour with revenge, betrayal, love and magic. The result is a sharp and witty black comedy full of clever word play.

Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles looks at the remarkable genius of Orson Welles on the eve of his centenary - the enigma of his career as a Hollywood star, a Hollywood director (for some a Hollywood failure), and a crucially important independent filmmaker...

The gothic tale tells of a pair of half sisters whose lives end up caught in a grand conspiracy revolving around a mentally ill woman dressed in white. (imdb)

Queen Victoria strikes up an unlikely friendship with a young Indian clerk named Abdul Karim. (imdb)

Jamie Oliver enrols a group of teenagers with fewer than five GCSEs into his "Dream School" - a school in which lessons are taught by celebrities who are specialists in particular subjects.

The journey that led to Charles Dickens' creation of "A Christmas Carol," a timeless tale that would redefine the holiday.

After 200 years under lock and key, all the personal papers of one of our most important monarchs are seeing the light of day for the first time. In the first documentary to gain extensive access to the Royal Archives, Robert Hardman sheds fascinating new light on George III, Britain's longest-reigning king.

Ex-jailbirds Eddie and Paul are on parole and working in a New York diner. Their lives are a dead end. That is, until English lawyer Katherine Rookwood walks into the diner with an offer they can't refuse. (imdb)

A documentary tribute to comedian Rik Mayall, and his four-decade body of work. (imdb)

A young man who has turned his back on his family and their dynasty is informed that the family business has been sold, and that he must make the trek from London to Glasgow to get his share of the profits. Along the way he picks up a hitchhiker with a secret. (imdb)

The final Viceroy of India, Lord Mountbatten, is tasked with overseeing the transition of British India to independence, but meets with conflict as different sides clash in the face of monumental change. (imdb)

Volunteers choose between 2 cards: "Trick" or "Treat". Depending on which card is picked, Derren Brown provides the volunteer with either a good experience or a bad experience. (imdb)

An American widow finds unexpected love with a man living wild on Hampstead Heath when they take on the developers who want to destroy his home. (imdb)

In the early 1930s, Orson Welles ascends to unprecedented stardom while President Franklin Delano Roosevelt navigates a nation in crisis. As WWII begins, an American boy visits abroad, and an American soldier enlists in the army. [IMDB]