Who needs Netflix and Prime? BBC iPlayer has a terrific collection of films to watch – here’s our updated list of what to watch right now (and when they’re leaving the service).
Whilst all eyes tend to be on streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime when it comes to movie updates, on the quiet the BBC iPlayer service continues to play host to a limited, diverse selection of films. What’s more, a good number of them you can download to your tablet to watch on the move.
So, without further ado, welcome to the weekly updated iPlayer film list. This list will be updated every week with the test available data from the BBC, in order of how long you have left to watch (so you can prioritise your viewing pleasure)
NEW! – denotes all new movies this week!
BRAND-NEW THIS WEEK: Divergent, Pan’s Labyrinth, Paddington, Rush, The Commitments
LEAVING THIS WEEK: The Duchess, Licorice Pizza, Fiddler on the Roof, Shrek the Third, The Graduate, Scent of a Woman
FILM STORIES & FILM JUNIOR MAGAZINES
Latest issues of our independent film magazines now available at store.filmstories.co.uk
Disappearing soon… catch them while you can! (Available until 7th May 2025…)
The Duchess (2008)
Period drama based on the tumultuous life of the 18th-century Duchess of Devonshire, a bright, popular aristocrat who is trapped in a failed marriage and has to face personal conflicts – including living with her husband’s mistress and falling passionately in love with a young politician.
Licorice Pizza (2021)
Suggested product
Film Stories issue 53 gift bundle: Magazine + Nic Cage scratch poster + Nic Cage coasters!
£30.00
LA, 1973. Aimless 20-something Alana is drawn into the quirky world of 15-year-old Gary, a child actor and would-be entrepreneur, though Hollywood glamour is in short supply.
Fiddler on the Roof (1971)
In pre-revolutionary Russia, a poor Jewish peasant must contend with marrying off his three daughters while anti-Semitic sentiment threatens his home.
Fiddler on the Roof – BBC iPlayer
Shrek the Third (2007)
Second sequel in the popular animated fantasy franchise. Newlyweds Shrek and Fiona face their first marital hurdle when the sudden death of King Harold means Shrek himself is next in line. However, with fatherhood looming, Shrek is reluctant. He decides to try and find the true heir – Fiona’s errant, rebellious cousin. But while Shrek and his faithful companions Donkey and Puss in Boots go off in search of the heir, handsome rogue Prince Charming stages a coup at the castle.
Available until 8th May 2025…
Black Box (2021)
Obsessive forensic analyst Mathieu Vasseur is disappointed to be sidelined in the examination of the black box of an Atrian 800 airliner which has mysteriously crashed in the Alps. When his boss goes missing, Mathieu is asked to step in, and he concludes that there was an unauthorised entry into the cockpit. A press conference is held to announce the findings, but Mathieu is subsequently presented with conflicting evidence.
The Graduate (1968)
Benjamin Braddock is a shy, aimless college graduate. His well-to-do parents and their friends welcome him home with great fanfare, but he feels listless, lacks ambition and can’t share their enthusiasm. When his parents’ friend Mrs Robinson takes an interest in him, it kick-starts an unusual summer.
Easter Parade (1948)
Star performer Don Hewes hires Hannah Brown as his new dance partner to prove to his former partner that he can make a star of anyone.
Available until 9th May 2025…
Scent of a Woman (1992)
Lt Col Frank Slad is a bombastic retired army officer who has lost his sight but has not lost his passion for living. Charlie Simms is a young college student who takes a job watching over the blind iconoclast. He learns rather quickly, however, how much he has yet to see and how much life he has yet to experience.
Scent of a Woman – BBC iPlayer
Greta (2019)
Frances, a young woman who has recently lost her mother, befriends a lonely widowed piano teacher, Greta, only for Greta’s behaviour to turn dark and deadly.
Perfect Sense (2009)
The world’s population loses its sense of smell, mystifying experts like Glasgow-based Susan. Then taste goes too, affecting the work of chef Michael, with whom Susan has struck up a tentative relationship. Society seeks to adapt to these changes, as the new couple do, making the most of things – but further challenges are to come.
Available until 11th May 2025…
The Australian Dream (2020)
The inspirational story of Indigenous Australian Football League (AFL) legend Adam Goodes, the film centres on an incident where a 13-year-old opposition supporter called Goodes an ape during a football match. Pointed out by Goodes, the girl was ejected from the stadium by officials. The event went on to divide a nation, with Goodes booed by opposition fans at subsequent matches. It generated enormous public debate and dominated media coverage, exposing an ugly seam of racism running through the nation. The film unpicks the unfolding events from 2013 to 2015, raising fundamental questions about the nature of racism and discrimination in society today. What happened resonates beyond Australia.
The Australian Dream – BBC iPlayer
Available until 13th May 2025…
King of Kings (1961)
This biblical epic concentrates on three main elements of the New Testament story – the life of Christ, the tensions between Herod’s court and the Roman administration culminating in the execution of John the Baptist and, finally, the story of Barabbas.
The Robe (1953)
A Roman centurion in charge of the crucifixion of Christ is profoundly affected by the experience and converts to Christianity.
Available until 14th May 2025…
The King’s Speech (2010)
Following the scandalous abdication of his brother King Edward VIII, Bertie, who has suffered from a debilitating speech impediment all his life, is suddenly crowned King George VI of the United Kingdom. With his country on the brink of war and in desperate need of a leader, his wife Elizabeth seeks out the help of eccentric speech therapist Lionel Logue.
The Kings Speech – BBC iPlayer
Glorious 39 (2009)
In the summer of 1939, with Britain on the brink of war, the idyllic life of young Anne Keyes is destabilised by her suspicion she has stumbled upon a sinister, high-level plot. Despite the reassurances of those closest to her, Anne persists, though the quest calls her sanity into question.
Lightyear (2022)
Stranded on a hostile alien planet, intense space ranger Buzz Lightyear becomes test pilot for his large crew’s escape plan. Then an even more serious threat appears from space.
Available until 15th May 2025…
Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway (2021)
Bea is delighted to be approached by ambitious publisher Nigel, but new husband Thomas is not so keen. Peter Rabbit, horrified to learn that he is being cast as a bad character, determinedly sets out on his own to the city. He is soon approached by Barnabas, who embroils Peter and his friends in some dastardly deeds.
Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway – BBC iPlayer
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)
Oscar-winning claymation about the chase for a giant rabbit terrorising a town’s allotments and vegetable patches days before the annual vegetable-growing competition. As Wallace and his trusty companion are called into action with their pest control business, a dastardly Lord Victor Quartermaine competes to capture the Were-Rabbit and win the heart of a beautiful lady.
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit – BBC iPlayer
Available until 17th May 2025…
Dumbo (2019)
War veteran Holt Farrier returns to the Medici Brothers Circus in 1919 to find them in hard times. His two children, still mourning their mother, help him in his new position as caretaker for a newly acquired pregnant elephant, who gives birth to a calf with unusually large ears.
Nine to Five (1980)
Three savvy office workers, Violet, Doralee and Judy, have one thing in common – they hate their boss, Hart Jnr. He’s a petty, tyrannical, womanising, idiot, and the girls have had enough. They inadvertently find a way to take revenge.
Available until 21st May 2025…
The Mule (2018)
A 90-year-old horticulturist and Korean War veteran turns drug mule for a Mexican cartel.
West Side Story (1961)
The tensions between rival gangs the Jets, whose members include ‘white’ Americans, and a Puerto Rican gang, the Sharks, reach boiling point in a hot New York summer. At a neighbourhood dance, Tony, the co-founder of the Jets, meets Maria, the sister of Bernardo, the leader of the Sharks. Their romance is thwarted by the gang rivalries.
Available until 22nd May 2025…
Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022)
In 1976, 11-year-old Gru dreams of becoming a supervillain. Ecstatic when he receives a message from the supervillain team the Vicious 6, Gru finds himself the object of their wrath and needs all his wits and help from his minions to escape their wicked clutches.
Minions: The Rise of Gru – BBC iPlayer
Available until 23rd May 2025…
The Beach (2000)
Restless in Thailand, tourist Richard learns of a legendary remote location. With a French couple, he embarks on the hazardous quest to find it. However, even a perfect place can be torn apart by lust, jealousy and rash acts.
The Last Right (2019)
While dealing with his mother’s death and his autistic brother’s needs, New York lawyer Daniel must return a corpse from County Cork to Northern Ireland’s furthest reaches – a good deed that rapidly goes wrong.
Available until 2nd June 2025…
Divergent (2014) NEW!
In a post-apocalyptic Chicago, one girl’s personality traits mark her out as dangerous. She joins forces with fellow outcasts to discover why they are feared.
Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) NEW!
Franco’s Spain, 1944. Bookish young Ofelia, stuck in her sadistic new stepfather’s army outpost, where her ailing mother is to give birth, gets drawn to a fantastical alternate world – one just as disturbing and violent as the reality around her.
Early Man (2018)
Young Dug’s sheltered life with his Stone Age tribe is shattered by bronze-mining invaders, led by greedy Lord Nooth. To win his home back, desperate Dug gambles on challenging these more sophisticated folk in a contest they love, but he only knows from rock paintings: football.
Shaun the Sheep: The Movie (2015)
When Shaun decides to take the day off and have some fun, he gets more fun than he bargained for. A mix-up with the Farmer, a caravan and a very steep hill lead Shaun and the flock to the big city, and it is up to Shaun to return everyone to the green green grass of home.
BBC iPlayer – Shaun the Sheep: The Movie
Shaun the Sheep: Farmageddon (2019)
When an alien crash-lands near the farm, Shaun has to help her return home before the Ministry of Alien Detection discovers her.
BBC iPlayer – Shaun the Sheep: Farmageddon
Move Over, Darling (1963) NEW!
Having gone missing in a plane crash five years ago and presumed long dead, a woman returns home to her husband and two children to find the husband has just remarried…
Move Over, Darling – BBC iPlayer
Paddington (2014) NEW!
Finding himself lost and alone at Paddington station, a young Peruvian bear is befriended by the Brown family. They offer him a temporary haven while he attempts to find the explorer whose visit to Peru many years previously has taught him all he knows about the English.
Available until 3rd June 2025…
Rush (2013) NEW!
The story of the rivalry between legendary F1 racing champions Niki Lauda and James Hunt, two charismatic drivers with entirely different approaches and personalities.
Herself (2020) NEW!
After escaping from her abusive husband, Sandra finds herself on a long waiting for housing. Whilst looking after her two young children, and working two part-time jobs, she spots a website which, with a little help from friends old and new, changes her life.
Available until 5th June 2025…
The Bridge at Remagen (1969) NEW!
February, 1945. The war in Europe enters its final stages as the Allies prepare to cross the Rhine. Hitler has ordered the destruction of all bridges across the river, but one small iron structure remains intact – the bridge at Remagen.
The Bridge at Remagen – BBC iPlayer
Buidheagain (2018) NEW!
Ten-year-old Marley and her mother are travellers, pitched up for the summer in their eccentric caravan. They scrape a living by selling eggs while Marley cares for their brood of hens, and her rather crazy pet cockerel Jimmy.
Available until 24th June 2025…
One Fine Morning (2022)
Working as a freelance interpreter, single mother Sandra lives with her eight-year-old daughter in Paris. As she comes to terms with the painful deterioration of her father, who is suffering from a rare form of dementia, she runs into Clement, an old friend, and they embark on an affair.
One Fine Morning – BBC iPlayer
Available until 5th July 2025…
The Commitments (1991) NEW!
Jimmy Rabbitte, an unemployed Dublin boy, decides to put together a soul band made up entirely of the Irish working class.
Available until 28th July 2025…
Priscilla (2023)
Fourteen-year-old schoolgirl Priscilla Beaulieu is accustomed to the unsettled life of an army family. Invited to a party at Elvis Presley’s house as he carries out his military service in Germany, the shy teenager catches his eye and is gradually drawn into a strange and unhealthy codependent life.
Available for some time…
An Ideal Husband (1999) (Available until April 2025)
Sir Robert Chiltern, a brilliant politician and a perfect gentleman, is the ideal husband for the morally upstanding Lady Chiltern. They have a widely envied marriage until charming Mrs Cheveley appears with the intention of revealing a dark secret from Chiltern’s past.
BBC iPlayer – An Ideal Husband
Macbeth (1948) (Available until February 2026)
Classic film version of Shakespeare’s play about a Scottish nobleman heavily influenced by his wife’s lust for power. Dominated by actor/director/producer Orson Welles, both in terms of his screen presence and his departures from the text, the film was shot in just 23 days in the summer of 1947.
Bulldozer (2022) (Available until November 2024)
Ray’s estate is being bulldozed. On the way to a fireworks night, Ray and her daughter take a detour through the new development that is being built in its place.
King Lear (2018) (Available until November 2024) The 80-year-old King Lear divides his kingdom among his daughters, Goneril, Regan and Cordelia, according to their affection for him. Cordelia refuses to flatter him, so he banishes her. Having acquired power, Goneril and Regan expel their father from their homes. At the same time, Lear’s prime minister, Gloucester, is betrayed by his son Edmund and his other son, Edgar, is forced to go into hiding. Lear becomes mad, Gloucester is blinded: both the kingdom and the family collapse into chaos and warfare. Lear and Cordelia are reunited; for a brief moment love reigns, then tragedy descends.
Let It Snow (2020) (Available until November 2024)
A thrill-seeking American couple are determined to experience snowboarding – but they must survive against not only nature but a malevolent snowmobile rider, seemingly out for their blood.
The Curse of the Cat People (1944) (Available until November 2024)
The follow-up to the seminal Cat People, this is the tale of a lonely young girl who conjures up the spirit of Irena – her father’s first wife – to provide herself with a companion. But Irena believed herself to be descended from a race of cat people, and before long the fiendish feline is on the prowl again.
BBC iPlayer – The Curse of the Cat People
Lizard (2021) (Available until November 2024)
After eight-year-old Juwon, who has the ability to sense danger, gets removed from Bible class by her Sunday school teacher, she follows an agama lizard into the bowels of the Heaven’s Gate mega church. Her journey into the labyrinth exposes the inner financial workings and hidden activities behind the scenes, plunging her deeper and deeper – until she is confronted by a spellbinding sermon and a congregation worshipping in a hypnotised frenzy.
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) (Available until November 2024)
Angelina Jolie is Lara Croft (until Alicia Vikander anyway), as the eponymous heroine of the classic video games races against time to find an ancient relic before the planets align for the first time in 5,000 years. Can she save the day? The sequel’s below so chances are, she might…
Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003) (Available until November 2024)
Angelina Jolie is Lara Croft, again. Lara discovers that the mythical Pandora’s Box is no myth, and must once again race against time to prevent an evil billionaire bio-weapons dealer from finding it and unleashing its plague onto the world. Can she save the day once more?
Equals (2015) (Available until November 2024)
In a future society which lives under the Collective, citizens are mentally stabilised, and all emotions and illnesses are eradicated. Alerted to an outbreak of switched-on syndrome, a disease which is gradually restoring emotions to the victims, Silas notices that his co-worker Nia is betraying feelings, and when he is diagnosed with the condition, the couple begin a dangerous affair.
Final Cut (2022) (Available until December 2024)
A small film crew shooting a low-budget zombie movie remake for a live broadcast find that anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. In French with English subtitles.
Three Faces (2018) (Available until December 2024)
Actress Behnaz Jafari is distraught when she comes across a young girl’s video plea for help after her family prevents her from taking up her studies at the Tehran drama conservatory. Behnaz abandons her shoot and turns to the film-maker Jafar Panahi to help her with the young girl’s troubles. They travel by car to the rural, Azeri-speaking north west of Iran, where they encounter the charming and generous folk of the girl’s mountain village. But Behnaz and Jafar also discover that old traditions die hard.
Kindling (2022) (Available until December 2024)
A group of young men return to their home town in order to turn their friend’s final days into a celebration of life and friendship.
The Last Bus (2021) (Available until December 2024)
Tom, an elderly widower, uses his trusty free bus pass to take a series of local buses on a deeply nostalgic trip across the length of the UK, from John o’Groats to Land’s End. His mission is to fulfil a promise he made to his late wife to take her back to the place where they first met and lived happily together.
Eat the Peach (1986) (Available until December 2024)
Inspired by the 1964 Elvis Presley film Roustabout, Vinnie (Stephen Brennan) and Arthur (Eamon Morrissey) decide to build their own ‘Wall of Death’, a high-walled, barrel-like tank where centrifugal force keeps the rider circling up in the air. Against his wife’s wishes, Vinnie clears a patch near his house and begins work, with the aim being that the wall will be a source of income as people buy tickets to watch his and Arthur’s daring performances.
Persian Lessons (2020) (Available until December 2024)
World War II. Gilles, a young Jewish man in a concentration camp, has his life saved when executioners realise he owns a Persian book. Brought before a camp officer who wants to learn Farsi, Gilles agrees to teach him despite not knowing a word of the language. Being a favourite of this officer may keep him alive, but that depends on how long GIlles can sustain the lie.
47 Metres Down: Uncaged (2019) (Available until January 2025)
Four teenage girls go on a diving adventure to explore a submerged Mayan city in Mexico. They soon face a battle for survival after discovering that the sunken ruins are home to a school of deadly great white sharks.
BBC iPlayer – 47 Meters Down: Uncaged
Any One of Us (2020) (Available until January 2025)
When professional mountain biker Paul Basagoitia experiences a devastating spinal cord injury (SCI), his life is changed in an instant. Discovering that he’s become paralysed, Paul begins an intense physical and emotional journey to recover and adapt, initially living in the hope of one day being able to walk again as he once did. His excruciating recovery unfolds in real time through raw, intimate footage- much of which was filmed by Paul himself- as we see him wrestle with the agonies of an unpredictable journey and uncertain future.
I Walked With a Zombie (1943) (Available until January 2025)
Young Canadian nurse Betsy comes to the West Indies to care for the wife of a plantation manager in an offbeat zombie horror movie. From the director of aforementioned Cat People.
A Woman’s Secret (1949) (Available until January 2025)
Drama directed by Nicholas Ray. A singer grooms a talented youngster for success, only to confess to the murder when her protege is found shot dead.
The Mother (2004) (Available until January 2025)
Drama about a widow who goes to stay with her grown up son and daughter. As she begins to come to terms with the past, she embarks on a startling new relationship with her daughter’s boyfriend, which causes havoc in the family.
The internet is full of dangers and protecting your privacy has never been as important as it is now. Film Stories readers can get extra 3 months for free when signing up for 12 months with ExpressVPN!
Bulldozer (2022) (Available until January 2025)
Ray’s estate is being bulldozed. On the way to a fireworks night, Ray and her daughter take a detour through the new development that is being built in its place.
Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel (2009) (Available until January 2025)
Comedy about three ordinary men who hold the fate of the world in their hands when they discover a rift in the space-time continuum in their local pub. Chris O’Dowd stars.
BBC iPlayer – Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel
Red Dust (2004) (Available until January 2025)
A woman leaves her law career in New York to return to South Africa to assist an old friend as prosecutor on a Truth Commission hearing. The man she is representing, a social activist, is shocked to discover that the former police deputy who once tortured him is now seeking amnesty for his actions.
Love + Hate (2008) (Available until January 2025)
A love story set across the racial frontline in a town in northern England. Adam has been brought up in a community that fosters racial hatred. Naseema is a second-generation Asian who abhors the way her peers have espoused violence as a way of reclaiming the lost pride of their fathers. But what they share is a privately held desire to break free from their small town, something they discover they have in common whilst working at the local DIY store.
Opal Dream (2006) (Available until January 2025)
Pobby and Dingan are invisible. They live in an opal town in Australia and are friends with Kellyanne, the nine-year-old daughter of an opal miner. The film tells the story of the bizarre and inexplicable disappearance of Pobby and Dingan, Kellyanne’s imaginary friends, and the impact this has on her family and the whole town. The story is told through the eyes of Kellyanne’s eleven-year-old brother Ashmol.
My Summer of Love (2004) (Available until January 2025)
In the Yorkshire countryside, working-class tomboy Mona meets the exotic, pampered Tamsin. Over the summer season, the two young women discover they have much to teach one another, and much to explore together. Mona, behind a spiky exterior, hides an untapped intelligence and a yearning for something beyond the emptiness of her daily life; Tamsin is well-educated, spoiled and cynical. Complete opposites, each is wary of the other’s differences when they first meet, but this coolness soon melts into mutual fascination, amusement and attraction.
BBC iPlayer – My Summer of Love
Expensive Sh*t (2022) (Available until January 2025)
In a Glasgow nightclub, Tolu, a Nigerian toilet attendant desperate for survival, manipulates the behaviour of unsuspecting women for the titillation of men watching behind the mirrors. But tonight, a line has been crossed, and as the night spins out of control, Tolu has to find the strength to change everything.
2003 (2021) (Available until January 2025)
Before embarking on his first tour of duty, a young soldier and his father must face up to the painful realities that have long gone unspoken between them.
Bill (2015) (Available until October 2024)
While King Philip of Spain plots to kill Queen Elizabeth of England, young Bill Shakespeare leaves Stratford to follow his latest dream, to be a playwright in London – despite the theatres being closed due to plague. Luckily the Queen desires a new play – unluckily she chooses creepy Lord Crawley to write it.
Man on the Moon (1999) (Available until January 2025)
Star of Taxi and Saturday Night Live, Andy Kaufman was a troubled individual for whom the boundaries of reality and stage performance were often blurred. Frequently misunderstood, even by those closest to him, he remained a strictly maverick entertainer until his untimely death from lung cancer in 1984.
Wonder Boys (2000) (Available until January 2025)
Pittsburgh English Professor Grady Tripp cannot finish his latest novel. Nor can he handle his wife leaving, his girlfriend’s pregnancy announcement, the arrival of his editor or a strange talented student seeking mentorship – all in the same week
Need a hand with streaming movies and TV shows without restrictions? ExpressVPN can open up the wonders of the internet for you!
A Simple Plan (1998) (Available until January 2025)
Minnesota. Winter. Hank and Jacob Mitchell and their pal Lou find a downed single-engine plane buried in the snowy woods. Inside it is a decaying pilot and a bag carrying $4 million. The men decide to hide the money until spring when the snow has melted and the plane is found. But nothing goes as planned…
Primary Colors (1998) (Available until January 2025)
No red, blue or yellow in sight, this is actually John Travolta at a career best as Jack Stanton, a governor running an election campaign for President. Based on an anonymous insider novel on the 1992 Clinton campaign.
The Relic (1997) (Available until January 2025)
A container of findings from a Natural History Museum expedition in South America is sent to Chicago, and coincidentally a series of violent murders occurs soon after. Turns out it’s a lizard-like monster who’s eating people.
Twelve Monkeys (1995) (Available until January 2025)
A deadly virus, believed to be released by a group known as the Army of the Twelve Monkeys, wipes out almost all of humanity in 1996. In 2035, James Cole is sent back in time to find the original virus to find a cure. Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe and Brad Pitt lead this neo-noir science fiction cult favourite.
HyperNormalisation (2016) (Available until January 2025)
This film is the epic story of how we got to this strange place. It explains not only why these chaotic events are happening – but also why we, and our politicians, cannot understand them.
BBC iPlayer – HyperNormalisation
The Jackal (1997) (Available until January 2025)
Fictitious story based upon Carlos the Jackal, Bruce Willis stars as The Jackal, a master of disguise assassin hired to carry out a hit on a high profile American government target as retaliation for the US meddling in Russian business.
Holiday Affair (1949) (Available until January 2025)
Connie is a war widow devoted to her small son, Timmy. Carl is the solid man she intends to marry in order to achieve security. But Steve, a drifter in Christmastime New York, comes into their lives and proceeds to woo Connie through her little boy’s desire for a train set.
The Gay Divorce (1934) (Available until January 2025)
Guy Holden comes to the rescue of a trapped damsel in distress in a crowded customs shed. More frustrating encounters follow until Mimi mistakes Guy for a professional correspondent in a Brighton hotel.
Bringing Up Baby (1938) (Available until January 2025)
Classic screwball comedy about a madcap heiress who makes a shambles of an absent-minded palaeontologist’s life when she arrives on the scene complete with her pet leopard. The film’s rollercoaster plot formed the basis for 1972’s What’s Up, Doc? and is notable for Katharine Hepburn’s foray into zany comedy.
BBC iPlayer – Bringing Up Baby
Suspicion (1941) (Available until January 2025)
Classic thriller in which a timid heiress becomes convinced that her husband is trying to kill her. After escaping from her oppressive parents, the woman meets and marries a fortune hunter. At first, her happiness prevents her from reflecting on his character, but when events take a sinister twist, she fears that his intentions are murderous.
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) (Available until January 2025)
In the second in John Ford’s cavalry trilogy, a US cavalry officer suffers a setback on his last mission and is ‘retired’ before he can take further action. To avert a full-scale war, he decides to act alone.
BBC iPlayer – She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
Yellow Canary (1943) (Available until January 2025)
Wartime thriller set aboard a ship bound for Canada from Britain, in which an undercover agent is approached by a Nazi spy with a scheme to sabotage a British convoy in Nova Scotia.
Sylvia Scarlett (1935) (Available until January 2025)
Comedy drama in which a widowed, ne’er-do-well father on the run disguises his daughter as a boy to escape the law. They travel from France to England in a bid to start afresh and, during the journey, the pair make the acquaintance of a jewel thief.
Second Chance (1953) (Available until January 2025)
A disillusioned boxer and a gangster’s fugitive girlfriend meet in Mexico where they are trying to rebuild their lives. However, their growing romance is shadowed by a killer.
Anne of Green Gables (1934) (Available until January 2025)
Adaptation of LM Montgomery’s Canadian classic following the adventures of determined, imaginative optimist Anne Shirley. Middle-aged brother and sister Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert want some help on the farm, so they decide to adopt a boy. However, the orphanage sends them a girl by mistake.
Anne of Windy Poplars (1940) (Available until January 2025)
Sentimental drama about an ambitious young teacher who arrives in a small town to take the job of vice-principal. Based on one of L M Montgomery’s ‘Anne of Green Gables’ sequels.
Primrose Path (1940) (Available until January 2025)
Teenager Ellie May lives on the wrong side of the tracks with her family, and when she meets handsome beach café owner Ed, they quickly fall in love and get married. Ellie May tries to keep Ed from learning of her background and when he finally meets her family it causes a major strain on the relationship.
Bachelor Knight (1947) (Available until January 2025)
Comedy about a teacher (Cary Grant) whose playboy antics are curbed by a judge who insists that he romance a girl (Shirley Temple), until her crush on him wears off.
I Remember Mama (1948) (Available until January 2025)
Saga about a family of Norwegian immigrants struggling to get by in San Francisco at the turn of the century. At the heart of the penniless family is the warm, caring figure of the mother, Mama Hanson, who is surrounded by a variety of engaging and loveable relatives and friends.
Hotel Reserve (1944) (Available until January 2025)
An atmospheric thriller based in the south of France prior to the outbreak of World War II. While on holiday at the Hotel Reserve, an Austrian medical student is wrongly charged with espionage by the French police. Threatened with deportation, he is forced to embark on a search for the real spy among the hotel guests.
The Thing from Another World (1951) (Available until January 2025)
Scientists at a lonely Arctic outpost dig up an alien from the permafrost and face a desperate fight for their lives when it is accidentally thawed. Famously re-made in 1982 by John Carpenter as ‘The Thing’.
A Damsel in Distress (1937) (Available until January 2025)
Sparkling Gershwin musical-comedy. A dance star pursues an aristocratic heiress. Songs include Foggy Day in London Town, Nice Work If You Can Get It.
Alice in Wonderland (1966) (Available until January 2025)
Adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s classic novel Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Starring Ann-Marie Mallik, Michael Redgrave and Peter Sellers. Directed by Jonathan Miller.
BBC iPlayer – Alice in Wonderland
Aftersun (2022) (Available until February 2025)
Sophie is beginning to remember a formative holiday her divorced dad Calum took her on as a child. What her 11-year-old self experienced is now conjuring up things that perhaps went unseen.
Full Time (2021) (Available until February 2025)
Single mother of two children Julie Roy is the head chambermaid at a five-star hotel in central Paris. Her commute from the suburbs is precision-timed, as she relies on a tolerant neighbour for childcare.
The Commitments (1991) (Available until February 2025)
Jimmy Rabbitte, an unemployed Dublin boy, decides to put together a soul band made up entirely of the Irish working class.
Anna Karenina (1961) (Available until February 2025)
Anna, the wife of government minister Alexis Karenin, visits Moscow to help straighten out a family quarrel. There, Count Alexis Vronsky falls in love with her. Television adaptation of a play based on Leo Tolstoy’s novel by Marcelle Maurette.
Sicario (2015) (Available until February 2025)
FBI special agents Kate Macer and Reggie Wayne lead a raid on a drug cartel safe house in Chandler, Arizona, where two police officers are killed. Subsequently recruited to a joint task force overseen by CIA officer Matt Graver and a secretive ex-prosecutor Alejandro Gillick to flush out and apprehend a cartel drug lord, Kate is soon out of her depth in the murky world of a lawless borderland.
The Railway Station Man (1993) (Available until February 2025)
Painter Helen Cuffe has fled to Donegal with her young son Jack after the killing of her husband in Northern Ireland. She lives in isolation until she meets a mysterious, disabled American, who is obsessed with restoring an abandoned railway station. Romance blossoms, but then a group of so-called freedom fighters decides to store arms in the railway station – and enlists the help of Helen’s son.
BBC iPlayer – The Railway Station Man
Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom (2019) (Available until February 2025)
Oscar-nominated Bhutanese drama. Disillusioned young teacher Ugyen dreams of moving to Australia to pursue a singing career but instead finds himself posted to the most remote school in the world – high in the Himalayan mountains.
BBC iPlayer – Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom
The Private Affairs of Bel Ami (1947) (Available until April 2025)
Drama set in 19th-century Paris. Adapted from the novel by Guy de Maupassant, the film tells the story of Georges Duroy, a womanising rogue whose ambitions to gain wealth and social status leave a string of broken hearts in his wake.
BBC iPlayer – The Private Affairs of Bel Ami
The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) (Available until April 2025)
Star-studded recreation of the death throes of the greatest empire in world history. After Marcus Aurelius is poisoned, the role of emperor goes not to his adopted son as he had wished, but to his cruel son Commodus – who soon displays a tyrannical streak.
BBC iPlayer – The Fall of the Roman Empire
Master Cheng (2019) (Available until April 2025)
Professional chef Cheng arrives in a remote Finnish village with his young son looking for ‘Fongtron’, but nobody can help him. Sarkki, owner of the local café, offers them a meal and a room. Cheng repays her hospitality by cooking his own food, which soon entrances the locals.
Dolly Parton – Here I Am (2019) (Available until April 2025)
A landmark documentary that explores the extraordinary life and music of Dolly Parton. From her humble beginnings to her global success, the film discovers how a young girl from the Smoky Mountains conquered Nashville to become the queen of country music.
BBC iPlayer – Dolly Parton – Here I Am
Mr Jones (2019) (Available until March 2025)
Drama based on a true story. In 1933, suspicious of Russia’s miraculous resurgence under Stalin, Gareth Jones escapes Moscow’s decadence and discovers Ukraine’s desperation. However, it is not just the Soviets who want word of the terrible reality suppressed.
Luzzu (2021) (Available until April 2025)
Jesmark, like his father before him, makes a precarious living from fishing on his 12-foot luzzu on the inshore waters of Malta. On learning that his infant son is not showing normal growth and needs specialist attention, his financial situation becomes critical, and he has to make a potentially life-changing decision.
Eternal Beauty (2019) (Available until April 2025)
Jilted at the altar as a young woman, Jane has been living with depression and paranoid schizophrenia for many years. But one day, while attending a mental health clinic, Jane runs into the flamboyant but equally troubled Mike, who opens a window of opportunity to experience life as never before.
El Cid (1961) (Available until April 2025)
The epic story of the 11th-century Spanish hero Rodrigo Diaz de Bivar, better known as El Cid. Involved in a tempestuous marriage to the beautiful Chimene, Rodrigo plots against various royal factions to gain power after the death of King Ferdinand, but his greatest campaign is to rid Spain of its Moorish invaders. He drives the Moors to their last outpost – Valencia – for a tumultuous and decisive battle.
Wagon Master (1950) (Available until April 2025)
Poetic story of a pioneering Mormon community. Forced out of Crystal City, a group of Mormons head westward in search of the promised land. The journey is treacherous, and two footloose horse traders are persuaded to ‘give the Lord a hand’ and guide them across the desert. On the trail, the wagon train encounters travelling entertainers, fugitive gunfighters and Native Americans.
Rancho Notorious (1952) (Available until April 2025)
Unusual western about a young man hunting for the brutal killers of his fiancee. The only clue he has is the mysterious word ‘Chuck-a-Luck’ whispered by a dying victim. A rare foray into the genre for director Fritz Lang.
BBC iPlayer – Rancho Notorious
Fort Apache (1948) (Available until April 2025)
The first of John Ford’s cavalry trilogy, in which a commanding officer, bitter at his demotion after the Civil War, takes his resentment out on the men of Fort Apache, a remote outpost in the Arizona desert. He is determined to tighten up discipline but eventually shows his ignorance of American Indian behaviour when he leads his troops into a deadly confrontation.
Blue Story (2018) (Available until April 2025)
A feature adaptation of Rapman’s YouTube series about two young south London friends from different boroughs and their deepening relationships with gangs and girls.
I Am Greta (2020) (Available until April 2025)
The story of teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg is told through compelling, never-before-seen footage in this intimate documentary about a young girl who has become the voice of a generation. Starting with her one-person school strike for climate justice outside the Swedish Parliament, the film follows Greta – a shy student with Asperger’s – as she rises to prominence, and her galvanising global impact as she sparks school strikes around the world.
Cat People (1942) (Available until April 2025)
Serbian Irena arrives in New York and meets Oliver. They soon fall in love and marry, but Irena fears she suffers from an ancient curse from her homeland that means they can never be intimate, or she might literally kill him.
The Blair Witch Project (1999) (Available until March 2025)
On the trail of a local legend about a witch, three student film-makers ignore warnings from locals and go into the Maryland woods for the weekend. Deep in the forest and miles from help, they learn the terrifying truth.
BBC iPlayer – The Blair Witch Project
Nowhere Special (2021) (Available until March 2025)
A terminally ill single father searches for a new family to take in his young son after his passing.
The History Boys (2006) (Available until April 2025)
A class of likely lads, caught in a clash of educational styles as they prepare to apply to Oxford or Cambridge, find their loyalties as well as their intellects tested.
BBC iPlayer – The History Boys
Love Affair (1939) (Available until April 2025)
A French playboy and an American former nightclub singer fall in love aboard a ship. They arrange to reunite six months later, after he has had a chance to earn a decent living.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00781h9/love-affair
Kitty Foyle (1940) (Available until April 2025)
A hard-working, white-collar girl from a middle-class family meets and falls in love with a young socialite, but she soon clashes with his family.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00779d3/kitty-foyle
Vivacious Lady (1938) (Available until April 2025)
A professor marries a nightclub singer, much to the consternation of his family and friends back home.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0077dzz/vivacious-lady
The Spanish Main (1945) (Available until April 2025)
After being wronged by the Caribbean authorities, a Dutch captain turns pirate to wage war.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00792m6/the-spanish-main
My Favourite Wife (1940) (Available until April 2025)
Missing for seven years and presumed dead, a woman returns home on the day of her husband’s second marriage.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00785v4/my-favourite-wife
Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948) (Available until April 2025)
A man and his wife decide they can afford to have a house in the country built to their specifications. It’s a lot more trouble than they think.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b007870c/mr-blandings-builds-his-dream-house
Beautiful but Dangerous (1954) (Available until April 2025)
Lina, a music hall singer, has fallen in love with Sergei, a Russian prince. Maestro Doria, who gives her voice lessons and who hopes to make her his mistress, takes her to Paris where she becomes the star of the “Folies-Plastiques”.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00780nq/beautiful-but-dangerous
Blackbeard the Pirate (1952) (Available until April 2025)
Honest Edward Maynard finds himself serving as ship’s surgeon under the infamous pirate Blackbeard.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00cw2fr/blackbeard-the-pirate
Carefree (1938) (Available until April 2025)
A psychiatrist agrees to hypnotize his friend’s girlfriend in order to convince her to accept his proposals of marriage, but she ends up falling for the psychiatrist instead.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0078lxg/carefree
Odd Squad: The Movie (2017) (Available until May 2025)
The Odd Squad investigate strange events. When a group of adults run Odd Squad out of business, the agents are forced to become regular kids again.
BBC iPlayer – Odd Squad: The Movie
Citizen Ashe (2022) (Available until May 2025)
Documentary that tells the little-known story of sports legend Arthur Ashe off the tennis court. Known to most on account of his stellar sports career – he became the first black man to win Wimbledon in 1975 – the film uncovers Ashe’s work as a social activist, a role that embraced the civil rights movement in the US, African Americans and oppressed people throughout the world.
Lie with Me (2022) (Available until May 2025)
Successful novelist Stéphane Belcourt returns to his provincial hometown at the invitation of the local cognac makers, who are celebrating their bicentennial. There, he meets Lucas, a young marketing executive for the company who turns out to be the son of his first love, Thomas.
The Phantom of the Open (2021) (Available until May 2025)
The heartwarming true story of shipyard crane operator Maurice Flitcroft, who, having never played a round of golf in his life, entered the 1976 British Open and subsequently shot the worst round of golf in Open history, drawing the ire of the golfing elite but becoming a folk hero in the process.
BBC iPlayer – The Phantom of the Open
Been thinking about getting a VPN but still not sure? You can try ExpressVPN for free for 30 days! No strings attached!
Mrs Dalloway (1997) (Available until May 2025)
An adaptation of the classic Virginia Woolf novel. As society hostess Clarissa Dalloway prepares for another of her legendary parties, she finds herself haunted by figures and scenes from her passionate youth.
Happy New Year, Colin Burstead (2018) (Available until July 2025)
A New Year’s Eve party is the setting for a fractious family comedy-drama, as Colin Burstead plans a lavish event for his extended family, which doesn’t exactly go to plan….
BBC iPlayer – Happy New Year, Colin Burstead
The Road Dance (2021) (Available until July 2025)
Kirsty MacLeod dreams of a better life away from the isolation of small village life on an island in the Outer Hebrides. Suppressing these aspirations, she sees her lover, Murdo, conscripted for service in the First World War, soon to set off and fight alongside the other young men from the village. A road dance is held in their honour the evening before they depart, and it’s on this fateful evening that Kirsty’s life takes a dramatic and tragic turn.
Homeward (2023) (Available until July 2025)
Mustafa, a Crimean Tatar, and his son Alim transport the body of Mustafa’s other son, a soldier killed in combat, from Kyiv to Crimea to give him a proper burial.
Whisky Galore! (2016) (Available until July 2025)
In 1943, disaster strikes on the remote Hebridean island of Todday when they run out of whisky. Salvation arrives when a ship carrying 50,000 cases of whisky founders on the island’s rocks. But the islanders clash with authority in the shape of Home Guard commander Captain Waggett.
Law of Tehran (2019) (Available until July 2025)
The police relentlessly pursue a drug lord named Nasser Khakzad, but when they finally manage to catch him, he tries whatever he can think of to escape and save his family. Iranian thriller.
Burton and Taylor (2013) (Available until July 2025)
Drama telling the story of Hollywood’s most glamorous couple, Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, who acted together for the last time in Noel Coward’s Private Lives in 1983.
BBC iPlayer – Burton and Taylor
Wildlife (2018) (Available until July 2025)
In the early 1950s, 14-year-old Joe Brinson has moved with his mother and father to a small town in Montana. When his father unjustly loses his job at the local golf course, he decides to take up firefighting in the hills. His mother Jeanette feels abandoned and increasingly treats Joe as an adult, who soon has to learn some powerful and indelible life lessons.
The Thing from Another World (1951) (Available until July 2025)
Scientists at a lonely Arctic outpost dig up an alien from the permafrost and face a desperate fight for their lives when it is accidentally thawed.
BBC iPlayer – The Thing from Another World
Shadow in the Cloud (2020) (Available until August 2025)
Pilot officer Maude Garrett is assigned to travel with a top secret package from Auckland at the height of the Pacific battles with the Japanese during World War II. The mixed-nationality Allied crew give her a derisive welcome, including assigning her quarters in the aircraft’s empty ball turret. Little do they know that they are about to experience the worst flight of their lives as an evil presence makes itself known.
Shadow in the Cloud – BBC iPlayer
Hounded (2022) (Available until August 2025)
From a London council estate to a remote country estate, brothers Chaz and Leon agree to one more targeted rural burglary, aided by their friends Vix and Tod. But is it a trick? The Redwick family are waiting for them to use as live prey in a cross-country hunt with hounds.
The Promised Land (2023) (Available until August 2025)
Denmark, 1755. Retired army captain Ludvig Kahlen battles the elements, the prejudice of naysayers and the hostility of the local nobility when he resolves to settle on the remote peninsula of Jutland and cultivate its uninhabitable heathland, from which many have failed to yield crops for centuries.
The Promised Land – BBC iPlayer
Shé (Snake) (2024) (Available until August 2025)
Fei, a 16-year-old British Chinese girl, is the top violinist in an elite London youth orchestra. When another Chinese violinist arrives to challenge her place in the orchestra, Fei’s anxieties and internalized racism grow to take monstrous physical form. They whisper to her, urging her to be the best, no matter the cost.
Precious Hair and Beauty (2022) (Available until August 2025)
An ode to the mundanity and madness of the high street, told through the window of an African hair salon.
Precious Hair and Beauty – BBC iPlayer
Festival of Slaps (2024) (Available until August 2025)
A Nigerian mother, who on one fateful night serves her son a set of slaps so powerful that his life flashes before his eyes. An emotional rollercoaster exploring the misconceptions of Pan African parenting and the clash of modern life.
Festival of Slaps – BBC iPlayer
Citizen Kane (1941) (Available until September 2025)
Frequently voted one of the best films ever made, Orson Welles’s masterpiece tells the story of newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane in a series of flashbacks. A reporter is intrigued by the dying Kane’s last word – rosebud – and sets out to find a new angle on the life of one of the most powerful men in America. Nine Oscar nominations resulted in only one award for the outspoken Welles – Best Screenplay.
Angel Face (1953) (Available until September 2025)
Chilling drama about a family chauffeur (Robert Mitchum) who gets embroiled in the murderous schemes of his employer, a beautiful female psychopath (Jean Simmons).
Horror Express (1972) (Available until September 2025)
An English palaeontologist working in Manchuria in 1907 discovers a frozen two-million-year-old anthropoid monster with mystical powers. On the train journey home, the beast thaws, comes back to life and wreaks havoc among the passengers of the train. Classic cult horror starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee.
A Farewell to Arms (1932) (Available until September 2025)
In World War I, an American serving as an ambulance driver in Italy falls in love with a nurse in this adaptation of Ernest Hemingway’s novel.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000w0pc/a-farewell-to-arms
Papadopoulos and Sons (2012) (Available until September 2025)
After a financial market collapse, self-made millionaire Harry loses everything he has apart from an abandoned fish and chip shop half-owned by his estranged brother. With no alternative, Harry and his family are forced to abandon their old lifestyle and try to bring the old family business back to life.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b04zlzfk/papadopoulos-and-sons
Masked and Anonymous (2004) (Available until September 2025)
Written by and starring Bob Dylan and set in the near-future in a fictional America. Against the backdrop of a nation on the brink of revolution, a singer, whose career has gone on a downward spiral, is forced to make a comeback to the performance stage for a benefit concert.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00dvqpy/masked-and-anonymous
Tycoon (1947) (Available until September 2025)
Romantic melodrama about an engineer battling to build a railroad in the Andes while trying to save his marriage to the boss’s daughter. After wedding his bride against her father’s wishes, he then jeopardises his marriage and the railroad enterprise by single-mindedly battling to get the extraordinary engineering project completed on time and within budget.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00780g1/tycoon
Area Boy (2024) (Available until August 2025)
An aimless teenager, Eli, has moved to the outer edges of a provincial town with his mother. As he settles in, he tries to escape the bleakness of life and navigating questions of self-identity, by balancing his time between his delinquent friends and the church community. Torn between two worlds, Eli must find himself and embrace who he truly is.
Blank (2022) (Available until August 2025)
A novelist struggling with writer’s block goes on a fully AI-operated writer’s retreat. But when she gets there, she soon realises the environment is less creatively nurturing than she had hoped: a technical glitch sees her trapped inside her lodgings with a malfunctioning android and no line of communication to the outside world.
Nostalgia (2022) (Available until September 2025)
A man returns to his hometown of Naples, 40 years after abruptly leaving as a teen, stirring up a past which he’s kept buried. He is determined to see his boyhood friend, now a leading Naples crime boss, with whom he shares a dark secret.
Margrete: Queen of the North (2021) (Available until October 2025)
The year is 1402. Margrete has achieved what no man has managed before: she has gathered Denmark, Norway and Sweden into a peace-oriented union that she rules through her adopted son, King Erik. But a conspiracy is in the making, and Margrete finds herself in an impossible dilemma that could shatter her life’s work.
Margrete: Queen of the North – BBC iPlayer
Threads (1984) (Available until October 2025)
Grim drama telling the story of a nuclear strike on Britain through the eyes of two families, tracing the events leading up to the war and the decade of devastation that follows.
The Beasts (2022) (Available until October 2025)
Middle-aged French couple Antoine and Olga have moved to an inland Galician hamlet, happy to live off the land and renovate some dilapidated properties and intending to settle down, but a conflict with their neighbours reaches the point of no return.
Housebound (2014) (Available until October 2025)
A young woman is placed under house arrest in her childhood home. A series of strange goings-on lead her to suspect that something evil may be lurking within its walls.
Malcolm X (1992) (Available until October 2025)
Biographical epic about the influential and controversial black nationalist leader, from his early life and career as a small-time gangster to his ministry as a member of the Nation of Islam and his eventual assassination.
Jude (1996) (Available until October 2025)
Stark adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s tragic novel about a 19th-century stonemason whose aspirations are thwarted by unyielding social convention. When his marriage ends, the craftsman finds his dreams of self-improvement rekindled when he settles in a university town. He falls in love with his independent-minded cousin, but, failing to gain a place at university, finds his options diminishing to a point of remorseless despair.
Ali & Ava (2021) (Available until October 2025)
Devoted mother and grandmother Ava, a teaching assistant with a love of country and folk music, is offered a lift home from school by the charismatic Ali, who is estranged from his wife but continuing with the charade of marital domesticity for the sake of their close-knit relatives in Bradford. On the journey, they find many things in common, including a love of music, and begin an unusual and secretive courtship.
No Bears (2022) (Available until October 2025)
A dissident film-maker who is trying to direct a movie in Turkey while being forced to remain in a nearby Iranian border town finds himself embroiled in a local scandal.
Nineteen Eighty-Four (1954) (Available until October 2025)
Rudolph Cartier’s 1954 BBC adaptation of George Orwell’s story about a man who tries to rebel against the totalitarian state in which he lives and works.
Nineteen Eighty-Four – BBC iPlayer
Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger (2024) (Available until October 2025)
Eminent American film-maker Martin Scorsese shares his lifelong love affair with the films of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. Drawing on a rich array of archive material, including their major works such as The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, Black Narcissus and The Red Shoes, Scorsese explores the collaboration between the quintessentially English Powell and the Hungarian Pressburger and how their partnership had a major influence on his own body of work, including such classics as Taxi Driver and Raging Bull.
Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger – BBC iPlayer
Bringing Up Baby (1938) (Available until November 2025)
While trying to secure a $1 million donation for his museum, a befuddled palaeontologist is pursued by a flighty and often irritating heiress and her pet leopard, Baby.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0078ddk/bringing-up-baby
The Velvet Touch (1948) (Available until November 2025)
A Broadway star unintentionally kills her impresario but keeps mum about it when the police investigator targets a rival actress.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03fgcqs/the-velvet-touch
The Sky’s the Limit (1943) (Available until November 2025)
Flying Tiger Fred Atwell sneaks away from his famous squadron’s personal appearance tour and goes incognito for several days of leave. He quickly falls for photographer Joan Manion, pursuing her in the guise of a carefree drifter.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0078nqj/the-skys-the-limit
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) (Available until November 2025)
Captain Nathan Brittles, on the eve of retirement, takes out a last patrol to stop an impending massive Indian attack. Encumbered by women who must be evacuated, Brittles finds his mission imperilled.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b007894r/she-wore-a-yellow-ribbon
King Kong (1933) (Available until November 2025)
A film crew goes to a tropical island for an exotic location shoot and discovers a colossal ape who takes a shine to their female blonde star. He is then captured and brought back to New York City for public exhibition.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0074mrz/king-kong
Angel Face (1952) (Available until November 2025)
Ambulance driver Frank Jessup is ensnared in the schemes of the sensuous but dangerous Diane Tremayne.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00785fw/angel-face
The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) (Available until November 2025)
The spoiled young heir to the decaying Amberson fortune comes between his widowed mother and the man she has always loved.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0078b9s/the-magnificent-ambersons
Wagon Master (1950) (Available until November 2025)
Two young drifters guide a Mormon wagon train to the San Juan Valley and encounter cut-throats, Indians, geography, and moral challenges on the journey.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00c6s7w/wagon-master
Top Hat (1935) (Available until November 2025)
An American dancer comes to Britain and falls for a model whom he initially annoyed, but she mistakes him for his goofy producer.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0074r4k/top-hat
The Gay Divorce (1934) (Available until November 2025)
An American woman travels to England to seek a divorce from her absentee husband, where she meets – and falls for – a dashing performer.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0074r43/the-gay-divorce
The Miracle of the Bells (1948) (Available until November 2025)
Granting her final request, a Hollywood press agent brings the dead body of an actress, who died after making her first and only film, back to her home town for burial. To arouse public interest, and to get the reluctant studio head to release the film, he asks all the local churches to ring their bells for three days.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0077nz2/miracle-of-the-bells
Suspicion (1941) (Available until November 2025)
A shy young heiress marries a charming gentleman, and soon begins to suspect he is planning to murder her.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00gmlrx/suspicion
Fort Apache (1948) (Available until November 2025)
At Fort Apache, an honourable and veteran war captain finds conflict when his regime is placed under the command of a young, glory hungry lieutenant colonel with no respect for the local Indian tribe.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0077zzm/fort-apache
Letter from an Unknown Woman (1947) (Available until November 2025)
Classic melodrama in which a young woman falls in love with a concert pianist, beginning a lifelong infatuation. The story of unrequited love is told through a series of flashbacks as the pianist finally comes to read a letter from the dying woman he never really knew.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0074swy/letter-from-an-unknown-woman
Double Dynamite (1951) (Available until November 2025)
Bank teller Johnny Dalton, too poor to marry his sweetheart, saves a big-time bookie from a beating and receives a munificent reward… which just happens to match a mysterious shortage at the bank.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00780f5/double-dynamite
The Outlaw (1943) (Available until November 2025)
Unconventional western about the life of outlaw Billy the Kid, including his partnership with Doc Holliday and clashes with lawman Pat Garrett. Stars Jane Russell and Jack Buetel.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00zp6cd/the-outlaw
Gold Run (2022) (Available until November 2025)
This is the incredible true story of how 55 tonnes of gold was transported through rough winter landscapes on trucks, trains and boats by a group of unlikely resistance fighters ahead of the invading Nazi forces.
Wallace and Gromit: A Close Shave (1995) (Available until November 2025)
Oscar-winning claymation comedy thriller from Nick Park, featuring the popular inventor and his dog. Wallace’s whirlwind romance with the proprietor of the local wool shop puts his head in a spin, and Gromit is framed for sheep rustling in a fiendish criminal plot, meeting a sheep named Shaun along the way. Will Wallace snap out of his daze in time to rescue his canine companion?
BBC iPlayer – Wallace and Gromit: A Close Shave
Wallace and Gromit: The Wrong Trousers (1993) (Available until November 2025)
Oscar-winning animated adventure featuring Wallace and Gromit. The duo are plunged into a hilarious tale of skulduggery involving an extraordinary pair of automated trousers and a villainous penguin. Featuring Peter Sallis as the voice of Wallace.
BBC iPlayer – Wallace and Gromit: The Wrong Trousers
Wallace and Gromit: A Grand Day Out (1992) (Available until November 2025)
Bafta-winning, Oscar-nominated claymation by Nick Park, which introduced the world to inventor Wallace and his canine companion Gromit. The pair blast off in a homemade rocket to go on a bank holiday outing to the moon and test the theory that it is made of cheese. What they find there surprises them.
BBC iPlayer – Wallace and Gromit: A Grand Day Out
Wallace and Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death (2008) (Available until November 2025)
Wallace and Gromit have opened a new bakery – Top Bun – and business is booming, not least because a deadly Cereal Killer has murdered all the other bakers in town. Gromit is worried that they may be the next victims, but Wallace does not care, as he has fallen head over heels in love with Piella Bakewell, former star of the Bake-O-Lite bread commercials. So Gromit is left to run things on his own, when he would much rather be getting better acquainted with Piella’s lovely pet poodle Fluffles.
BBC iPlayer – Wallace and Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death
The Edge of the World (1937) (Available until October 2025)
A chartered yacht lands on the remote and now abandoned island of Hirta, in the Outer Hebrides. Skipper Andrew, a former islander, tells of his life there and of the dramatic clash between two factions of the dwindling community over whether to leave or stay.
The Edge of the World – BBC iPlayer
Return to The Edge of the World (1979) (Available until October 2025)
In 1978, Michael Powell, accompanied by leading actors John Laurie and Grant Sutherland, revisited the island of Foula, 40 years after they filmed The Edge of the World, to find out what became of the islanders and the impact the film had on their lives.
Return to The Edge of the World – BBC iPlayer
Triangle of Sadness (2022) (Available until November 2025)
Models Carl and Yaya are navigating the world of fashion while exploring the boundaries of their relationship. The couple are invited for a luxury cruise with a rogues’ gallery of super-rich passengers, a Russian oligarch, British arms dealers and an idiosyncratic, alcoholic, Marx-quoting captain.
Triangle of Sadness – BBC iPlayer
Ballywalter (2023) (Available until November 2025)
Patrick Kielty and Seána Kerslake star in a bitter-sweet comedy drama set in Ballywalter, Northern Ireland about the unexpected connections that can change the course of our lives. Eileen is a caustic, unrepentant university drop-out whose dreams of a successful life in London have fallen by the wayside. Back at home with her mum, she makes ends meet by working as an unlicensed driver in her ex-boyfriend’s minicab. Shane has exiled himself in Ballywalter following the break-up of his marriage, but now he’s trying to get his life back on track by enrolling in a stand-up comedy course.
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (2024) (Available until November 2025)
Wallace invents a ‘smart gnome’ that has a mind of its own – or does it? It falls to Gromit to take on the dastardly Feathers McGraw once more… or Wallace may never invent again!
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl – BBC iPlayer
Gosford Park (2001) (Available until November 2025)
Period piece set in the early 1930s with an all-star cast. A weekend shooting party at a country mansion turns into a murder mystery when the host is found dead. It seems that everyone has a motive, from the guests upstairs to the staff downstairs. Among the gathering are cash-strapped relatives of the victim, a Hollywood movie mogul and songwriter Ivor Novello.
Hattie (2011) (Available until December 2025)
Ruth Jones takes on the role of the larger-than-life Carry On actress Hattie Jacques, revealing how her home life was blown apart by a secret sexual liaison with her handsome young driver while she was married to Dad’s Army star John Le Mesurier.
Starter for Ten (2006) (Available until January 2026)
Comedy about Brian, a 1980s working-class boy stumbling romantically and academically through his first year at Bristol University. He tries to achieve his lifelong ambition to appear on TV quiz show University Challenge and falls in love with his teammate.
Blue Jean (2022) (Available until January 2026)
Tyneside, 1988. Closeted PE teacher Jean Newman is happy in her relationship with her girlfriend Viv, but as the Conservative government tries to introduce Clause 28 into the Local Government Act, which will prohibit ‘the promotion of homosexuality’, her double life is increasingly under threat – particularly with the arrival of new girl Lois.
Surge (2020) (Available until January 2026)
Airport security worker Joseph lives a mundane existence with a daily commute and a repetitive job. After a frustrating reunion with his unresponsive parents, he cracks under the pressure and embarks on a frenzy of emotional release.
God’s Creatures (2022) (Available until January 2026)
Aileen’s willingness to help her recently returned son, Brian, has major repercussions in their struggling County Donegal fishing community.
Godland (2022) (Available until January 2026)
In the late 19th century, a young Danish priest is sent to Iceland with a mission to set up a parish in a remote part of the country. Faced with an ambivalent reception by less-than-welcoming locals, he finds that his zeal, faith and sense of reality start to drift as he ventures deeper into the Icelandic landscape.
Moon Under Water (2023) (Available until February 2026)
Burdened with looking after his Uncle who has severe dementia, Jack longs for a normal life, one where he can build relationships and express himself.
Moon Under Water – BBC iPlayer
Original Skin (2024) (Available until February 2026)
In an alternate world where having sex means swapping bodies with the other person, a young woman struggles to be herself, defying her conservative community where swapping is taboo.
My Eyes Are Up Here (2024) (Available until February 2026)
A disabled woman sets off on a mission to get the morning after pill. The only thing in her way is… everything.
My Eyes are Up Here – BBC iPlayer
A Very Short Film About Longing (2024) (Available until February 2026)
Paul’s world is turned upside down when his affair with Lena comes to an end after her husband returns home from Poland.
A Very Short Film about Longing – BBC iPlayer
Blood Rites (2024) (Available until February 2026)
Three teenage girls with a monstrous hunger begin to unravel in the English Fens.
Lumbu (2024) (Available until February 2026)
Lumbu, which means “tall one” in Punjabi, reckons with his father’s secret affair in a bid to save his family. Set in the Summer of 94, in Sandwell, West Midlands.
Muna (2024) (Available until February 2026)
A film about teenage dreams, dislocated grief and unexpected connection, following a British-Somali teen navigating a confusing mourning period for a family member she never met.
Such a Lovely Day (2024) (Available until February 2026)
Against the backdrop of a perfect summer’s day, twelve-year old Sam navigates the complex world of his parent’s marriage.
Such a Lovely Day – BBC iPlayer
Giraffe (2024) (Available until February 2026)
Before their 17th birthdays, two black boys attempt to bury contraband in order to save their cultural identity from being erased by the UK government, revealing new truths that test their friendship.
Weekend Dad (2024) (Available until February 2026)
A butcher spends a precious, fleeting afternoon with his favourite companion, his 9-year-old daughter. But the circumstances may place his future as a father in jeopardy.
Pray (2024) (Available until February 2026)
Traversing grief, hope, first love and home, Pray is a portrait of brotherhood that looks at what we will do for the people we love, how we find joy in the midst of overwhelming despair, and how the community can lift us up.
Honesty (2024) (Available until February 2026)
A young woman goes to the police to report her husband for domestic abuse, but rather than finding the relief she longs for, she faces a gruelling interrogation.
Pretty Red Dress (2024) (Available until February 2026)
Ex-con Travis, aspiring performer Candice and their 14-year-old daughter Kenisha all have relationships with the same red dress. For Candice, it’s her audition outfit for a Tina Turner musical and a ticket to a different life. For Kenisha, it’s symbolic of a kind of femininity she doesn’t get. And when Travis is discovered wearing the dress, it sends the family spinning.
Lynn + Lucy (2020) (Available until February 2026)
Harlow party girl Lucy has surprised everyone by becoming a mother for the first time with her younger boyfriend Clark. Lucy’s best friend Lynn has been married for ten years to Paul, the father of their daughter Lola, but the women’s close bond is strained to the utmost when domestic tragedy strikes.
Coriolanus (2011) (Available until February 2026)
Ralph Fiennes’s acclaimed directorial debut transposes Shakespeare’s Roman tragedy to a contemporary Balkan conflict. Proud Roman General Caius Martius refuses to court public opinion, laying bare his contempt for his fellow citizens even when his equally proud mother Volumnia encourages him to run for consul.
Aisha (2022) (Available until February 2026)
Caught in limbo for years in Ireland’s immigration system as she seeks international protection, Aisha Osagie, a young Nigerian woman, develops a friendship with former prisoner Conor Healy, who she meets at one of the accommodation centres. Aisha and Conor’s growing friendship soon looks to be short-lived, as Aisha’s future in Ireland comes under threat.
Medusa Deluxe (2025) (Available until February 2026)
A murder mystery set at a hairdressing competition. Extravagance and excess collide as the death of one of their own sows seeds of division in a community whose passion for hair verges on obsession.
As You Like It (2007) (Available until February 2026)
Adaptation of Shakespeare’s pastoral comedy set in 19th-century Japan, telling the story of Orlando and Rosalind’s expulsion from the court of Duke Frederick.
Aftersun (2022) (Available until February 2026)
Sophie is beginning to remember a formative holiday her divorced dad Calum took her on as a child. What her 11-year-old self experienced is now conjuring up things that perhaps went unseen.
Sweet Sue (2025) (Available until February 2026)
Party shop owner Sue is back on the dating scene and embarks on a relationship with Ron, a mysterious biker who has a flamboyant teenage son, social media influencer Anthony. Sue finds herself increasingly at odds with this ambitious teenager who is convinced that he is destined for stardom.
Farewell My Lovely (1944) (Available until April 2026)
Private eye Philip Marlowe is hired by ex-con Moose Malloy to find his girlfriend, embroiling the hard-boiled gumshoe in a plot which involves blackmail, murder, drugs and double cross.
Farewell My Lovely – BBC iPlayer
Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars (2019) (Available until March 2026)
Documentary charting the life of Eric Clapton, widely renowned as one of the greatest performers of all time. But behind the scenes lay restlessness and tragedy. The insatiable search to grow his artistic voice left fans surprised as he constantly quit successful bands, from the groundbreaking Yardbirds to 60s supergroup Cream. His isolated pursuit of his craft, and fear of selling out, served as a catalyst for his evolution as an artist.
Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars – BBC iPlayer
Allelujah (2025) (Available until March 2026)
The Beth, a small community NHS geriatric facility in Yorkshire, is facing closure because of Whitehall budget cuts. Colin, a management consultant for the health department, arrives to visit his ailing ex-miner father and to make an appraisal. Meanwhile, the staff and patients are preparing a presentation for the formidable Nurse Gilpin, who is to be presented with a long-service medal.
Letters to Brezhnev (1985) (Available until April 2026)
Two Liverpool lasses hook up with a pair of Soviet sailors, only for their night of fun to turn serious when love beckons for one of the girls. She begins to wonder if life might be better behind the Iron Curtain.
Letter to Brezhnev – BBC iPlayer
Hideous Kinky (1997) (Available until April 2026)
In the early 70s, a young English mother of two arrives in Morocco in search of meaning and adventure, accompanied by her two daughters aged six and eight. Seen through the girls’ eyes, the trip is full of glorious life and colour, but it is also beset by confusion, a worrying shortage of money and the group’s discovery that their new-found freedom comes at a price.
Denmark (2019) (Available until April 2026)
Divorced, demoralised and nearly destitute in Wales, Herb hits upon the dodgy idea of heading to Denmark, intent on being thrown in a Danish jail – which seems more comfy and safe than life at home.
Fall (2022) (Available until April 2026)
A fast drop and a sudden stop await Becky and Hunter as they find themselves trapped 2,000 feet up an abandoned radio tower in the desert.
Bullet Boy (2004) (Available until April 2026)
Uncompromising crime drama about gun culture in London’s East End, starring Ashley Walters. A minor street fracas leads to a downward spiral of tragedy courtesy of easy access to a handgun. Caught up in the ensuing tit-for-tat violence are a teenager fresh from youth custody and his 12-year-old brother.
The Heart of Me (2004) (Available until April 2026) NEW!
Drama set in 1930s London with two sisters, Madeleine married to Rickie, and Dinah, who falls in love with him. Rickie and Dinah begin an affair which is to have repercussions throughout all their lives.
Crimes of the Future (2022) (Available until April 2026) NEW!
A celebrity performance artist showcases the metamorphosis of his organs in a live show.
Crimes of the Future – BBC iPlayer
We’ve done our best to list all the available films on BBC iPlayer and the date they’re removed from the service as detailed by the BBC, but it goes without saying that the BBC probably reserve the right to add or remove films from their service at any time, for any reason. The BBC also list an expiration time for each film, which could be 6pm or 1am on the expiration date. We’re not including those for purely logistical reasons. We’ll try our best to keep this list as up to date as possible, though.
Thank you for visiting! If you’d like to support our attempts to make a non-clickbaity movie website:
Follow Film Stories on Twitter here, and on Facebook here.
Buy our Film Stories and Film Stories Junior print magazines here.
Become a Patron here.
See one of our live shows, details here.
