Samuel West

Merchant Ivory is the longest running partnership in the history of cinema. As a film production entity, Merchant Ivory was founded in 1961 by producer Ismail Merchant (1936–2005) and director James Ivory (b. 1928). Merchant and Ivory were life and business partners from 1961 until Merchant's death in 2005. During their time together they made 43 films.

Tubular Bells, one of the iconic musical works of the 20th century, and the highest selling instrumental album of all time, is approaching its 50th anniversary. To mark this, an epic new stage production has been commissioned that re-invents the album with an incredible cinematic score, live musicians and performers.

A dark psychological thriller which follows a couple who find themselves in a hit and run situation, with the evidence suggesting there was no accident.

In 1962 England, a young couple finds their idyllic romance colliding with issues of sexual freedom and societal pressure, leading to an awkward and fateful wedding night.

A thrilling and inspiring true story begins on the eve of World War II as, within days of becoming Prime Minister of Great Britain, Winston Churchill must face one of his most turbulent and defining trials: exploring a negotiated peace treaty with Nazi Germany, or standing firm to fight for the ideals, liberty and freedom of a nation. As the unstoppable Nazi forces roll across Western Europe and the threat of invasion is imminent, and with an unprepared public, a skeptical King, and his own party plotting against him, Churchill must withstand his darkest hour, rally a nation, and attempt to change the course of world history.

An animated adaptation of the famous Shakespeare poem 'All The World's a Stage' narrated by the renowned Shakespeare actor and director Samuel West.

Based on true events about the foot soldiers of the early feminist movement who were forced underground to evade the State.

Henry VIII is the most iconic king of English history. Part medieval tyrant, part renaissance prince, he ruled over his people as no king of England had ever done before. He took a country salvaged by his father from the wreck of civil war and set over it a single, sovereign ruler. By the end of his reign the power of the Tudor.

The behind-the-scenes true life story of a groundbreaking producer, Milton Fruchtman, and blacklisted TV director Leo Hurwitz who, overcoming enormous obstacles, set out to capture the testimony of one of the war's most notorious Nazis, Adolf Eichmann, who is accused of executing the 'final solution' and organising the murder of 6 million Jews. This is the extraordinary story of how the trial came to be televised and the team that made it happen.

Two first-year students at Oxford University join a secret society and learn that their reputations can be made or destroyed over the course of one evening.

A partly dramatised account of the lives of four Allied servicemen ahead of D-Day, the programme told their story through their final letters home before the assault.

Experts examine the ruins and relics hidden under London. Among them, a Roman amphitheater, ditches for victims of the black plague, bomb shelters and more.

This feature-doc tells the epic story of the Faberge name, from Imperial Russia until the present-day, spanning one hundred and fifty years of turbulent history, romance, artistic development and commercial exploitation. From the bejewel led Easter eggs of the Romanov Tsarinas to the 1970s allure of 'Brut by Faberge' aftershave, and from the Russian revolution to today's high-fashion glitz in New York and London, the film explores a multi-faceted world that began with one man: the prodigiously talented Peter Carl Faberge, Court Jeweler of St Petersburg. Shot at locations across Russia, Europe and USA (including the collection of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II), the film features interview contributions from the world's foremost Faberge authorities, as well as personal reminiscences from Faberge family members.

Stonehenge is an icon of prehistoric British culture, an enigma that has seduced archaeologists and tourists for centuries. Why is it here? What is its significance? And which forces inspired its creators? Now a group of international archaeologists led by the University of Birmingham and the Ludwig Boltzman Institute in Vienna believe that a new state-of-the-art approach is the key to unlocking Stonehenge's secrets. For four years the team have surveyed and mapped every monument, both visible and invisible, across ten square kilometres of the sacred landscape to create the most complete digital picture of Stonehenge and the surrounding area over millennia. Operation Stonehenge takes the viewer on a prehistoric journey from 8000BC to 2500BC as the scientists uncover the very origins of Stonehenge, learning why this landscape is sacred, preserved and has been revered by following generations.

A tour of the Tower of London, which has served as a royal castle, prison, place of execution and torture, armory and mint during its almost 1000 years of existence.

The history of this grand 500-year-old palace is inextricably tied to the lavish lifestyle of King Henry VIII and the doomed fates of his six wives.

The life and work of Tove Jansson, mainly known for creating the Moomins but also a writer and painter.

Produced by Oxford Film and Television, Wikileaks: Secrets and Lies is Bafta winner Patrick Forbes' seventy-six-minute documentary of the Wikileaks affair as told by the people involved: personal, moving and frequently hot tempered, it documents history in the making and establishes a new frontier for technology and journalism. A definitive factual account of the Wikileaks affair, the film features the first major television interview with Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.

The story of the love affair between FDR and his distant cousin Margaret Stuckley, centered around the weekend in 1939 when the King and Queen of the United Kingdom visited upstate New York.

Find out what went on behind the stately walls of the British manor house a century ago.

Neil Armstrong's family and friends, many of whom have never spoken publicly before, tell the story of the first man to set foot on the moon. Drawing heavily on unbroadcast archive footage and the unique perspectives of the contributors, this is an exclusive account of Neil Armstrong's extraordinary life story. From his childhood during America's Great Depression to the heady days of the space programme, his historic first step on the Moon and his famously private later life. Seen through the eyes of those who were with him, the film explores the man behind the myth, a man who was very much a product of his time. The film goes beyond his days as an astronaut and shows that his life after the flight of Apollo 11 was, in many ways equally challenging, as Armstrong came to terms with life outside NASA and the relentless demands of fame until his death in August 2012.

This film examines recently discovered letters written by socialite Wallis Simpson that reveal her secret love, and chart her fear as she found herself becoming trapped into marrying King Edward VIII.

A novelist's life ricochets from 1920s Paris to '50s New York and '80s London. Along the way he meets Ernest Hemingway, Ian Fleming and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor - the exiled British king and his mistress Wallis Simpson.

1099 A.D.: A battle-weary knight leads his men home from the Holy Land after years of fighting. But the supposedly holy relic he’s carrying bears a terrible curse…

There’s something very odd going on in space – something that shouldn’t be possible. It is as though vast swathes of the universe are being hoovered up by a vast and unseen celestial vacuum cleaner. Sasha Kaslinsky, the scientist who discovered the phenomenon, is understandably nervous: ‘It left us quite unsettled and jittery’ he says, ‘because this is not something we planned to find’. The accidental discovery of what is ominously being called ‘dark flow’ not only has implications for the destinies of large numbers of galaxies – it also means that large numbers of scientists might have to find a new way of understanding the universe. Dark flow is the latest in a long line of phenomena that have threatened to re-write the textbooks. Does it herald a new era of understanding, or does it simply mean that everything we know about the universe is wrong? .

In June 2009, a group Britain's leading actors gathered for one night only to perform a celebration of the work of Harold Pinter at the National Theatre, directed by Ian Rickson. The team who made the acclaimed Harold Pinter documentaries for BBC's Arena was there to record this unique performance.

1949 the early years of the Cold War. Albert Schweitzer has become one of the most admired men in the world. The "jungle doctor" Albert Schweitzer tells the story of a philosopher and physician who promoted peace during the Cold War, built a hospital in what is now Gabon and proved stronger than the CIA.

A light hearted look at future Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's rise from research chemist in 1949 to becoming MP for Finchley in 1959, encompassing her early relationship and marriage to oil millionaire Denis Thatcher.

Following a scientific experiment, a man wakes up in a parallel universe and begins living a life similar to, but different from, his own.

Docu-drama profiling Ying Sheng, the first Emperor of China. Charting the life of the man who unified China, this documentary begins with the future Emperor's rise to power after the death of his father, becoming King of Qin at the age of thirteen. Mostly told through the use of re-enactments, the story continues to the present day and the discovery of the Emperor's tomb and terracotta army in 1974.

Over 100 years ago, Albert Einstein grappled with the implications of his revolutionary special theory of relativity and came to a startling conclusion: mass and energy are one, related by the formula E = mc2. In "Einstein's Big Idea," NOVA dramatizes the remarkable story behind this equation. E = mc2 was just one of several extraordinary breakthroughs that Einstein made in 1905, including the completion of his special theory of relativity, his identification of proof that atoms exist, and his explanation of the nature of light, which would win him the Nobel Prize in Physics. Among Einstein's ideas, E = mc2 is by far the most famous. Yet how many people know what it really means? In a thought-provoking and engrossing docudrama, NOVA illuminates this deceptively simple formula by unraveling the story of how it came to be.

Documentary on the Herero and Namaqua genocide of 1904–1908.

In this swords-and-sorcery tale, good-hearted blacksmith Eyvind hides away infant Prince Siegfried after two malevolent kings murder his father. But a fiery meteor sent by the gods reveals Siegfried's destiny, sending him on the quest of a lifetime. To save a crumbling kingdom claim the heart of his true love, he'll have to slay the nefarious dragon, Fafnir.

Famed monster slayer Gabriel Van Helsing is dispatched to Transylvania to assist the last of the Valerious bloodline in defeating Count Dracula. Anna Valerious reveals that Dracula has formed an unholy alliance with Dr. Frankenstein's monster and is hell-bent on exacting a centuries-old curse on her family.

Being one of 101 takes its toll on Patch, who doesn't feel unique. When he's accidentally left behind on moving day, he meets his idol, Thunderbolt, who enlists him on a publicity campaign.

True story of the lifelong romance between novelist Iris Murdoch and her husband John Bayley, from their student days through her battle with Alzheimer's disease.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge, an unstable but brilliant poet, becomes friends with the unknown William Wordsworth, and together they set out to recreate English poetry in the spirt of liberty and democracy. As time goes by, cracks begin to appear in the relationship. Sam becomes addicted to opium, while William's ego and ambition distance him further from his friend.

Maya is a quick-witted young woman who comes over the Mexican border without papers and makes her way to the LA home of her older sister Rosa. Rosa gets Maya a job as a janitor: a non-union janitorial service has the contract, the foul-mouthed supervisor can fire workers on a whim, and the service-workers' union has assigned organizer Sam Shapiro to bring its "justice for janitors" campaign to the building. Sam finds Maya a willing listener, she's also attracted to him. Rosa resists, she has an ailing husband to consider. The workers try for public support; management intimidates workers to divide and conquer. Rosa and Maya as well as workers and management may be set to collide.

Local journalist, Cameron Colley writes articles that are idealistic, from the viewpoint of the underdog. A twisted serial killer seems to have some motives. His brutal murders are also committed on behalf of the underdog. The stories begin to merge and Cameron find himself inextricably and inextricably implicated by the brutal killer. The arms dealer that Cameron plans to expose is found literally 'disarmed' before he can put pen to paper. The brewery chief, loathed by Cameron, who sold up at the expense of his workers, finds himself permanently unemployable. The police are convened of Cameron's guilt and so are half his friends and colleagues. Cameron is forced to employ all his investigative skills to find the real killer and his motive.

Parallel stories: 18th century Harrison builds the marine chronometer for safe navigation at sea; 20th century Gould is obsessed with restoring it.

Shane and his mates want revenge on a local hermit who frightens them one night. Shane distracts the man while the gang carries out its plan. But who is this man ? And why does he live in the middle of nowhere ? Shane is about to learn something he won't forget.

William Thacker is a London bookstore owner whose humdrum existence is thrown into romantic turmoil when famous American actress Anna Scott appears in his shop. A chance encounter over spilled orange juice leads to a kiss that blossoms into a full-blown affair. As the average bloke and glamorous movie star draw closer and closer together, they struggle to reconcile their radically different lifestyles in the name of love.

Lieutenant Hornblower and his shipmates are sent to accompany a doomed royalist invasion of revolutionary France.

In June 1941, Hitler broke the golden rule of warfare never to fight on opposite fronts and marched into the Soviet Union. What would drive him to make the most catastrophic mistake of World War II? This acclaimed four-part series investigates what led to the largest military operation in history - and the bloodiest. Assisted by leading historians and granted unique access to Eastern film archives and to both Soviet and German participants, War of the Century is the definitive series on a war that shaped the borders and attitudes of Europe for the second half of the 20th Century.

In the trenches of the Western Front in 1915, a British army chaplain is forced to question his faith as he witnesses hundreds of Hindu soldiers risking their lives daily for the Empire.

In this Canadian road movie, two brothers who haven't seen each other in years are uncomfortably reunited when they have to travel together from Vancouver to remote Prince Rupert for their father's funeral. Rupert is a stuffy lawyer who has emigrated to Canada, while Dale ekes out a living dealing drugs. Along the way, they find themselves stranded in a commune where their father once lived, populated by a pack of half hippie/half redneck dropouts who like to get high on mushrooms and drive trucks. George Wendt appears in a supporting role.

Stiff Upper Lips is a broad parody of British period films, especially the lavish Merchant-Ivory productions of the 'eighties and early 'nineties. Although it specifically targets A Room with a View, Chariots of Fire, Maurice, A Passage to India, and many other films, in a more general way Stiff Upper Lips satirises popular perceptions of certain Edwardian traits: propriety, sexual repression, xenophobia, and class snobbery.

An unhappy man has an encounter with the ghost of a World War I soldier, who tells him about the 1914 Christmas truce and gives him a new perspective on the season.

It is 1888, and London is in the grip of one of the most gruesome and mysterious crime sprees in history. Under extreme pressure from the Royal family, the head of Scotland Yard assigns its top man to the grisly case.

At Blandings Castle, the Earl of Emsworth only cares about his prize pig 'The Empress' and is wilfully ignorant of the fact that his brother is planning to publish a book which might ruin the family name forever. Moreover, the Earl's nephew might cause the family some major damage by getting married to a terribly unsuitable chorus girl. An adaptation of P.G. Wodehouse's novel of the same name.

A young Russian countess escapes the 1917 revolution and, despite hardship, makes a new life for herself in America.

Painter Dora Carrington develops an intimate but extremely complex bond with writer Lytton Strachey. Though Lytton is a homosexual, he is enchanted by the mysterious Dora and they begin a lifelong friendship that has strangely romantic undertones. Eventually, Lytton and Dora decide to live together, despite the fact that the latter has fallen in love with military man Ralph Partridge, whom she plans to marry.

Anne Elliot, the daughter of a financially troubled aristocratic family, is persuaded to break her engagement to Frederick Wentworth, a young sea captain of meager means. Years later, money troubles force Anne's father to rent out the family estate to Admiral Croft, and Anne is again thrown into company with Frederick -- who is now rich, successful, and perhaps still in love with Anne.

Adaptation of the novel by Mary Wesley.

Based on real events from 1983; DC Peter Finch is awarded a medal for the courage he showed in arresting a dangerous criminal. Meanwhile transvestite David Martin is released once again from prison - he's provocative and aggressive and, when he's caught again during a burglary, he shoots one of the police officers, leading to a nation wide manhunt. Innocent filmmaker Steven Waldorf is subsequently shot as a suspect by Finch provoking a national scandal that rocks the police force.

A new student at a British public school forms a secret society centered around cooking and midnight feasting with other school misfits and outcasts.

In 1971, fresh-faced, eager for heroics, the young officers arrive in Belfast. Pelted with rocks by kids, sniped at by the IRA, they take refuge in sex, black humour and the weird rituals of the officers' mess.

All of the Doctor's incarnations are in crisis when The Rani creates a time-loop in the East-end of London in this 30th Anniversary Special.

There is a strained atmosphere in the Maitland household which has fallen on hard times.

A teenager at a predominantly male boarding school learns lessons in love when he is invited to stay at a remote estate for the holiday season.

Sir Archie and Cuckoo Peveril have lived in elegant splendour on Cap Ferrat since the end of the war. But the heady days of extravagant socialising have gradually dwindled, and for Cuckoo the villa has become a prison. Then an attractive young couple arrive, resurrecting the tensions and sexual rivalry between Archie and Cuckoo, and forcing all four to learn about themselves.

A saga of class relations and changing times in an Edwardian England on the brink of modernity, the film centers on liberal Margaret Schlegel, who, along with her sister Helen, becomes involved with two couples: wealthy, conservative industrialist Henry Wilcox and his wife Ruth, and the downwardly mobile working-class Leonard Bast and his mistress Jackie.

Young Prince Caspian of Narnia wonders and dreams about the old days of Narnia when animals talked, and there were mythical creatures and four rulers in Cair Paravel. But his uncle and aunt don’t like to hear him thinking of such things, and plan to murder him and take his throne. Caspian’s tutor, Dr. Cornelius manages to save him, and not only teach him about the old ways, but bring him into the real Narnia and introduce him to the real Narnia. But Caspian’s plight is desperate, and he must use the legendary horn to call help from another world: Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. Then, Lucy and Edmund are sent back to Narnia, along with their cousin Eustace, to assist Caspian on a voyage. Along their journey the children battle dragons and sea serpents, and sail across a golden lake to reach the edge of the world.

Attorney Henry Strauss grew up in Germany, but left the country with his Jewish family during the rise of the Third Reich. Still wondering about what happened to his boyhood friend Konradin Von Lohenburg, Strauss travels back to Germany for the first time since he was a young man, bringing up some painful memories.

When two teenagers commit suicide the police and the press assume the motive to be some kind of love pact. But Allan Blakeston, a local reporter, has too many unanswered questions. As he digs deeper into the case, he learns why the kids really died and his knowledge puts his own life at risk.

Across the years, a mother watches her gladiator son fight, while she remembers his childhood: the last lighthouse keeper prepares for his final trip ashore: and an actor returns to the stage to play his part in a Greek myth.