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 Wednesday with the latest 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: Pretty Woman, Song of the Sea, Legend (2015), Colette, Elizabeth: The Golden Age
LAST CHANCE TO WATCH: Apocalypse Now: Final Cut, Gravity, Shakespeare in Love
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Disappearing soon … catch them while you can! (Available until 25th November 2023…)
Monsters vs Aliens: Night of the Living Carrot (2011)
Animated Halloween Monsters v Aliens special. After a mutant alien pumpkin explodes on the Murphys’ carrot garden, zombie carrots start attacking the immediate area, and it’s up to the monsters to save the night again.
BBC iPlayer – Monsters v Aliens: Night of the Living Carrots
Available until 26th November 2023…
Apocalypse Now: Final Cut (1979)
In 1970, Captain Willard on R&R in Saigon is given a secret mission by the top brass to travel the perilous river route through war-torn South Vietnam into neighbouring Cambodia to ‘terminate’ a decorated American colonel who has gone rogue and is presumed insane.
BBC iPlayer – Apocalypse Now: Final Cut
Designing Women (1957)
After a whirlwind romance in Beverly Hills, sports writer Mike Hagen marries fashion designer Marilla, but soon their different lifestyles begin to cause problems.
Gravity (2013)
A US space mission is destroyed when it is hit by flying debris. Seasoned astronaut Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) and brilliant medical engineer Dr Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) end up alone and drifting in space, tethered to nothing but each other.
Available until 27th November 2023…
Riders of Berk: Book of Dragons (2015)
Animated spin-off from How to Train Your Dragon. Hiccup, Astrid, Fishlegs, Toothless and Gobber tell the legend behind the Book of Dragons and reveal insider training secrets about new, never-before-seen dragons.
BBC iPlayer – Riders of Berk: Book of Dragons
Escape Room (2019)
Six strangers find themselves in a maze of deadly mystery rooms and must use their wits to survive.
The Man Who Never Was (1956)
Espionage thriller in which a British intelligence officer plans an elaborate hoax in the spring of 1943 to fool the Germans into thinking the Allies are about to invade Greece, not Sicily. The plan calls for the navy to float a dead body carrying false identification and information so that the Germans will pick it up. The first part of the mission succeeds, but will the Nazis take the bait?
BBC iPlayer – The Man Who Never Was
The Train (1964)
In 1944, the French Resistance must stop a train without damaging its cargo of valuable modern master paintings, which an unusually art-loving Nazi official has appropriated.
Available until 29th November 2023…
Waves (2019)
Tensions beneath the surface cause Florida teen Tyler to sink self-destructively, devastating those closest to him, including his sister Emily.
All Is True (2018)
After London’s Globe Theatre burns to the ground in 1613, William Shakespeare stops writing and returns to his home town of Stratford-upon-Avon, much to the surprise of his family members, who he has neglected for two decades. Here, Shakespeare faces new challenges as he grapples with the story of his own life and sets out to resolve its final chapter.
Available until 30th November 2023…
Horrible Histories: The Movie (2019)
When Roman lad Atti offends edgy Emperor Nero, he is drafted to fight in far-flung Britain, where local Celt lass Orla itches to join Boudicca’s uprising against the occupying legions.
BBC iPlayer – Horrible Histories: The Movie
Shakespeare in Love (1998)
William Shakespeare hasn’t written a hit in years, and theatre owner Henslowe is counting on Shakespeare’s promised comedy, Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate’s Daughter, to keep his wolfish creditors from the door. At the casting session, Will hears his lines spoken with great feeling by an unknown young actor and his curiosity is fired. Soon he discovers the secret of the talented young actor and rediscovers his muse. As Shakespeare falls in love with an unattainable noblewoman, the farcical comedy transforms into the timeless tragedy that is Romeo and Juliet.
BBC iPlayer – Horrible Histories: The Movie
Available until 2nd December 2023…
Marram (2023)
A contemporary story following a family on a Hebridean island as they try to understand and revive a beloved son. Kevin has not spoken in months. His mother Maragaidh embarks on a journey to collect something which may help him. Somewhere along the way, she also retrieves something forgotten in herself. On her return, she must reconcile all this with the frustrations of her other son, Seamus. Meanwhile, the marram grass they need to thatch the roof over their heads recedes from a gradually eroding coastline.
Available until 3rd December 2023…
The Nest (2023)
In the late 1980s, Londoner Rory O’Hara, living with his American wife and his two children, decides that opportunities have dried up for him in the States and the family should relocate back to England, where he can utilise his skills in the burgeoning investment markets. Wife Allison reluctantly agrees, but the resettlement is far from easy.
A Lot Like Christmas (2021)
Roberts Tree Farm has been a Christmas fixture in Hudson Springs, New York state, selling cut-your-own trees for a generation, but this year, business is challenged by a newcomer, chain retailer Harvest Garden Supply. Jessica Roberts gets some unexpected advice from one of their customers, Clay Moore, a marketing expert who just happens to work for the new rival.
BBC iPlayer – A Lot Like Christmas
Lover Come Back (1962)
Jerry Webster is a Madison Avenue advertising executive who has achieved success not through hard work or intelligence but by wining and dining his big-shot clients. When ad executive Carol Templeton discovers that Jerry is after a lucrative new account, she tries everything to steal it away from him – not knowing that the product in question does not exist.
The BFG (1989)
The story of Sophie, an orphan who goes on a magical journey with a big friendly giant, creating wonderful dreams. However, there’s trouble ahead when they meet horrible giants who want to eat little children – will Sophie be able to stop them?
BBC iPlayer – Am B.F.G./The BFG
Available until 4th December 2023…
Mrs Brown (1998)
Dramatisation of one of history’s most unusual love stories. Queen Victoria is grieving over her husband’s death and finds herself unable to carry out public duties. John Brown is summoned from Balmoral to walk the Queen’s pony in the hope that she will start to become herself again. The confident Highlander displays a distinct lack of respect for court protocol and quickly becomes the Queen’s most trusted companion.
Escape Room: Tournament of Champions (2021)
Six people unwillingly find themselves locked in a series of escape rooms and must uncover what they have in common to survive. Joining forces with two of the survivors from the original game, they soon discover that they have all played it before.
BBC iPlayer – Escape Room: Tournament of Champions
Available until 6th December 2023…
99 Homes (2015)
Dennis Nash, a construction worker, struggles to keep the home he shares with his mother and son when he becomes unemployed. When his family is summarily evicted by the ruthless Rick Carver, his one offer of work comes from Carver himself, and despite his qualms, he starts learning the trade of home repossession.
Available until 7th December 2023…
The Big Sick (2017)
Struggling stand-up comic Kumail is a hit with heckler Emily, but their affair ends just before a mystery illness has her in a coma. Abruptly absorbed with her care and sparring parents, Kumail struggles with his own Muslim family and their expectations.
Romeo + Juliet (1996)
A pair of ‘star-crossed lovers’ from rival families in a violence-riven city must hide their blossoming romance. Baz Luhrmann’s explosive update of Shakespeare’s tragedy.
Body of Water (2020)
After finishing long-term treatment for anorexia and returning to life in the outside world, Stephanie needs to repair her relationship with her daughter and her own mother.
Available until 8th December 2023…
Baking All the Way (2022)
Accomplished restaurateur and cookery book author Julie Wilson, from Chicago, is about to publish her new Christmas-themed curated recipe book when she finds herself in Wisconsin, attempting to wrangle a gingerbread recipe from widower Kris Thompson, the owner of bakery store The Homestead.
BBC iPlayer – Baking All the Way
Christmas in Toyland (2022)
Data analyst Charlie is sent by her boss at the Big Teddy Toyland company to examine first-hand why one of their stores is kicking the downward sales trend. At store 24 in New Jersey, she meets manager Grant, who has a contempt for corporate life and tries to retain the spirit of his grandfather, who also ran a toy store.
BBC iPlayer – Christmas in Toyland
Lost at Christmas (2020)
Two strangers become stranded in the Scottish Highlands and decide to team up in order to get home for Christmas.
BBC iPlayer – Lost at Christmas
1917 (2019)
During the First World War, two soldiers are ordered across no-man’s-land and deep into enemy territory to deliver a message. If they fail, an entire battalion, under the mistaken belief the Germans are retreating, will be ordered over the top and into a deadly trap.
Available until 10th December 2023…
Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
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.
A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
Returning to England from a bombing run in May 1945, flyer Peter Carter’s plane is damaged and his parachute ripped to shreds. He has his crew bail out safely, but figures it is curtains for himself. He gets on the radio, and talks to June, a young American woman working for the USAAF, and they are quite moved by each other’s voices. Then he jumps, preferring this to burning up with his plane. He wakes up in the surf. It was his time to die, but there was a mixup in heaven. They couldn’t find him in all that fog. By the time his “Conductor” catches up with him 20 hours later, Peter and June have met and fallen in love. This changes everything, and since it happened through no fault of his own, Peter figures that heaven owes him a second chance. Heaven agrees to a trial to decide his fate.
BBC iPlayer – A Matter of Life and Death
Planet of the Apes (1968)
Astronauts stranded on a hostile world are shocked to find it is an ape civilisation, with humans merely mute beasts, and where being otherwise is deadly dangerous.
BBC iPlayer – Planet of the Apes
Available until 11th December 2023…
Host (2020)
A group of friends hire a medium to hold a séance via Zoom during lockdown, but they get far more than they bargained for as things quickly go wrong. When an evil spirit starts invading their homes, they begin to realise they might not survive the night. Someone new has joined the meeting.
Ophelia (2018)
The motherless Ophelia is picked out by Queen Gertrude and taken on as a lady- in-waiting. Never losing her independent spirit, she catches the eye of young prince Hamlet, but their love seems doomed as the king’s brother Claudius sets his eye on the throne of Denmark.
War Horse (2012)
It is 1914, and struggling Devon farmer Ted Narracott buys a remarkable but unsuitable horse at auction. His son Albert names him Joey and, under pressure from their unscrupulous landlord, somehow trains Joey to work the farm. But when war breaks out, Joey is requisitioned by the army to serve at the front and begins a remarkable adventure that takes him far from Albert and the fields of Devon
Available until 12th December 2023…
All the President’s Men (1976)
In the early 1970s, Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein uncover the Watergate scandal – a conspiracy to cover up abuses of power leading all the way to the Oval Office and eventually to the resignation of President Richard Nixon.
BBC iPlayer – All the Presidents Men
Available until 13th December 2023…
The Conversation (1974)
Acclaimed psychological thriller. Harry Caul is a surveillance expert – a wire tapper and industrial spy for hire. He is also a man who obsessively guards his own privacy, but when his latest job appears to involve a murder plot, his work and private life become terrifyingly entangled
BBC iPlayer – The Conversation
Available until 14th December 2023…
Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool (2020)
Story of the real-life romance between ageing Hollywood star Gloria Grahame and young Liverpudlian actor Peter Turner, whose family looked after Grahame when she became ill.
BBC iPlayer – Film Stars Dont Die in Liverpool
Available until 15th December 2023…
By the Grace of God (2018)
Three men who were abused by the same priest as boys begin a fight to expose him and the church administration that has been harbouring and protecting him.
BBC iPlayer – By the Grace of God
The Christmas Break (2023)
Married couple Jack and Caroline Bradford travel from their Chicago home to spend Christmas with Caroline’s extended family at her parents’ home in a small town in Ireland. Jack is happy interacting with various nephews and nieces, but Caroline is not so comfortable. Are they ready for a family of their own? This is a holiday which will test their patience and their marriage.
BBC iPlayer – The Christmas Break
My Old Lady (2014) NEW!
Inheriting a Paris apartment, broke Mathias ‘Jim’ Gold arrives from America to find the place comes with strings attached – tenant-for-life Mathilde Girard and her defensive daughter Chloe. Desperate to sell, his options limited, he is forced to get to know these women better – even if they drive this recovering alcoholic to drink.
Available until 17th December 2023…
Words on Bathroom Walls (2020) NEW!
Moved to a new school, Adam wants to keep his schizophrenia diagnosis secret, especially from attractive, outspoken Maya. A trial drug subdues the voices and hallucinations, but side effects take their toll.
BBC iPlayer – Words on Bathroom Walls
Pretty Woman (1990) NEW!
Multi-millionaire Edward Lewis gets lost in Los Angeles during a business trip. After he pays Hollywood Boulevard prostitute Vivian to direct him to his hotel, the pair form an unlikely partnership as he hires her to stay with him, but they discover there are significant hurdles to overcome as they try to bridge the gap between their two very different worlds.
Ice Station Zebra (1968) NEW!
When a secret film capsule from a Russian spacecraft lands near Station Zebra, the tiny weather base is plunged into the Cold War and a confrontation between two superpowers.
BBC iPlayer – Ice Station Zebra
Oran na Mara (Song of the Sea) (2017) NEW!
Ben and Saoirse undertake an epic adventure. Trying to return home, they encounter many challenges and surprises. Ben and Saoirse set out to return to the island where they grew up, a journey that will pit them against mythical creatures and see them confront the truth about who they really are.
BBC iPlayer – Oran na Mara (Song of the Sea)
Available until 18th December 2023…
X+Y (2014) NEW!
A socially awkward teenage maths prodigy finds new confidence and new friendships when he gains a place on the British squad at the International Mathematics Olympiad.
Lullaby (2019) NEW!
French film thriller. A nanny’s care for her charges develops into an obsession. In French with English subtitles.
Dark Victory (1939) NEW!
Judith Traherne is a free-spirited young socialite whose fortune suddenly changes when she is diagnosed with a brain tumour. Kindly Dr Fredrik Steele takes charge of her care and the two grow increasingly fond of each other. But Judith’s negative prognosis casts a shadow over their romance, as she must prepare to face the worst.
Now, Voyager (1942) NEW!
Heart-wrenching drama about a repressed woman’s struggles to break free from her overbearing mother and assert her independence. On the advice of a skilled psychiatrist, she embarks on a cruise, during which she finds love and self-esteem for the first time in her life. But her newfound confidence is shaken when it is revealed her beau is a married man.
Available until 19th December 2023…
The Sense of an Ending (2017) NEW!
Mystery drama. Tony Webster, semi-retired owner of a specialist photography shop, receives a mysterious legacy and finds himself contending with a past he had never thought that much about.
BBC iPlayer – The Sense of an Ending
Legend (2015) NEW!
The rise and decline of the Kray twins, London’s most legendary gangsters, set against the backdrop of the city in the Swinging Sixties.
Only You (2018) NEW!
A chance meeting on New Year’s Eve results in a passionate relationship between Spanish arts council worker Elena and PhD student Jake. The couple are seemingly made for each other and quickly move in together. But although they are soon ready to try for a family, Elena’s biological clock is ticking.
Available until 20th December 2023…
Colette (2019) NEW!
In late 1880s rural Burgundy, Sidonie-Gabrielle is courted by literary entrepreneur Henri Gauthier-Villars, who brings her back to Paris as his wife. Becoming painfully aware that the newlyweds’ expenditure exceeds their income, Colette is persuaded to write up her semi-autobiographical tales which, published under his name, become a sensation.
Available until 21st December 2023…
Love & Mercy (2014) NEW!
Biographical drama. At the height of success with his band The Beach Boys, musical genius Brian Wilson begins to suffer from mental illness, which is not helped by his experiments with LSD. A decade later, Wilson is in the grip of shady psychotherapist Eugene Landy, whose extreme treatment is causing further deterioration, until the day he decides he wants a new car.
Available until 22nd December 2023…
Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007) NEW!
A mature Queen Elizabeth endures multiple crises late in her reign, including court intrigues, an assassination plot, the Spanish Armada and romantic disappointments.
BBC iPlayer – Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Available til Autumn 2023…
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…
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0074fln/lara-croft-tomb-raider
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?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b007ck00/lara-croft-tomb-raider-the-cradle-of-life
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.
Eaten by Lions (2018) (Available until November 2023)
When half-brothers Omar and Pete lose the grandmother they grew up with, they are left with nothing to their name and no-one else to call family but each other. They decide to set off for Blackpool together, in search of Omar’s estranged father.
Any One of Us (2020) (Available until November 2023)
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 November 2023)
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.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0078t0v/i-walked-with-a-zombie
A Woman’s Secret (1949) (Available until November 2023)
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.
Effie Gray (2014) (Available until November 2023)
When young Effie Gray becomes the wife of John Ruskin, one of the most distinguished writers and critics of the day, who has known her since her childhood, it soon becomes apparent that Ruskin regards her as a muse rather than a wife, and the stifling atmosphere of their home and Ruskin’s overbearing wealthy parents soon take a toll on Effie’s health.
The Mother (2004) (Available until November 2023)
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.
Bulldozer (2022) (Available until November 2023)
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 November 2023)
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 November 2023)
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 November 2023)
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 November 2023)
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 November 2023)
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
Mogul Mowgli (2022) (Available until November 2023)
When his manager tells him that he has been booked to support a major tour, British-Pakistani rapper Zed believes it is going to be his break into the big time. Going home to Wembley to prepare and catch up with his family, he is suddenly struck by a debilitating illness that threatens to derail his lifetime ambition.
Expensive Sh*t (2022) (Available until December 2023)
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.
Cow (2021) (Available until December 2023)
Andrea Arnold’s film chronicles the daily life of a dairy cow in an attempt to help us develop a more empathetic relationship with farm animals.
2003 (2021) (Available until December 2023)
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.
A Bunch of Amateurs (2022) (Available until December 2023)
A Storyville documentary that recounts how a bunch of amateur film-makers, with nothing left to lose, tackled one of Hollywood’s greatest musicals in order to save their beloved Bradford Film Club.
BBC iPlayer – Storyville – A Bunch of Amateurs
Bill (2015) (Available until December 2023)
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 December 2023)
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 December 2023)
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
A Simple Plan (1998) (Available until December 2023)
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 December 2023)
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 December 2023)
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.
The Babadook (2014) (Available until December 2023)
Widow Amelia’s worries over her high-strung young son’s behaviour worsen when a mysterious pop-up book inspires fresh fears.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p08t685m/the-babadook
Twelve Monkeys (1995) (Available until December 2023)
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 December 2023)
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 December 2023)
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.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b007q86z/the-jackal
Holiday Affair (1949) (Available until December 2023)
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.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0078tph/holiday-affair
The Gay Divorce (1934) (Available until December 2023)
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 December 2023)
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 December 2023)
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 December 2023)
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 December 2023)
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.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0074sv6/yellow-canary
Sylvia Scarlett (1935) (Available until December 2023)
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.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b017k9v9/sylvia-scarlett
Second Chance (1953) (Available until December 2023)
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.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p08x87lb/second-chance
Anne of Green Gables (1934) (Available until December 2023)
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.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0078bpy/anne-of-green-gables
Anne of Windy Poplars (1940) (Available until December 2023)
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.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0078f49/anne-of-windy-poplars
Primrose Path (1940) (Available until December 2023)
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.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0078r6w/primrose-path
Bachelor Knight (1947) (Available until December 2023)
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.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00780qm/bachelor-knight
I Remember Mama (1948) (Available until December 2023)
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.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00786y6/i-remember-mama
Hotel Reserve (1944) (Available until December 2023)
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.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0078mdf/hotel-reserve
The Thing from Another World (1951) (Available until December 2023)
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’.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0078gj8/the-thing-from-another-world
A Damsel in Distress (1937) (Available until December 2023)
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.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0078tnk/a-damsel-in-distress
Sus (2010) (Available until December 2023)
It is election night, 1979. After his wife has been found dead, Delroy is brought in for what he believes will be casual police questioning. However, the racist DS Karn and his violent colleague DC Whilby carry out a rough and highly confrontational interrogation in which they try to force Delroy to confess to the crime.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01b1zrk/sus
Amundsen (2019) (Available until December 2023)
Inspired by a gift from his father when he was a child, Roald Amundsen became fascinated by the polar wildernesses. It was an obsession that drove to him explore both poles. He led the first expedition to the South Pole in 1911 as well as the first proven to have reached the North Pole, in a dirigible, in 1926. His achievements, however, came at a cost to both his family and his colleagues.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000pqsk/amundsen
The Private Affairs of Bel Ami (1947) (Available until January 2024)
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 January 2024)
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
Kursk: The Last Mission (2018) (Available until January 2024)
Captain-Lieutenant Mikhail Averin prepares for an exercise in the Barents Sea by the Russian Northern Fleet. Budget cuts have meant that he and his colleagues have not received their pay in months, but the submariners of the Oscar II-class submarine Kursk still head out into deep waters. However, the exercise does not go to plan.
BBC iPlayer – Kursk: The Last Mission
Master Cheng (2019) (Available until February 2024)
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 February 2024)
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
Inside Russia: Traitors and Heroes (2023) (Available until February 2024)
Despite the huge risks, two Russian film-makers have been filming the impact of the invasion of Ukraine in their country. Many thousands have fled. Those that have stayed have had to make a choice – oppose the war, support it, or stay silent.
BBC iPlayer – Storyville – Inside Russia: Traitors and Heroes
Clemency (2023) (Available until February 2024)
Two executions – one botched, one impending – haunt prison warden Bernadine’s life, while death row inmate Anthony and his lawyer Marty struggle for reprieve.
An Irish Goodbye (2022) (Available until February 2024)
Set against the backdrop of a working farm in rural Northern Ireland, this Bafta-winning and Oscar-nominated black comedy follows the reunion of estranged brothers Turlough and Lorcan following the untimely death of their mother. Under the watchful eye of oddball parish priest Father O’Shea, the brothers’ pained reunion is worsened by the fact Turlough must now make new care arrangements for Lorcan, who has Down Syndrome.
BBC iPlayer – An Irish Goodbye
Mr Jones (2019) (Available until March 2024)
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 March 2024)
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 2024)
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 2024)
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 2024)
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 2024)
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 2024)
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.
The Young Offenders (2021) (Available until April 2024)
Inspired by the true story of Ireland’s biggest cocaine seizure in 2007, this comedy road movie sees best friends Conor and Jock, two inner-city teenagers from Cork who dress the same, act the same and even have the same bum-fluff moustaches. Jock is a legendary bike thief who plays a daily game of cat-and-mouse with Garda sergeant Healy. When a boat capsizes off the west coast of Cork and 61 bales of cocaine, each worth 7 million euros, are seized, word gets out that there is a bale missing. The boys steal two bikes and go on a road trip, hoping to find the missing bale and sell it so as to escape their troubled home lives. But Sergeant Healy is in hot pursuit.
BBC iPlayer – The Young Offenders (film)
Persian Lessons (2020) (Available until April 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.
Blue Story (2018) (Available until April 2024)
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.
Doineann (2020) (Available until April 2024)
Tomás, a busy TV producer, is a private man who likes to keep things quiet and ordered. He takes his wife, Siobhán, and their beloved baby son, Oisín, to their secluded holiday home on a north coast island as frequently as he can. They don’t go out, they don’t interact with the locals – he just wants to enjoy the peace. And he does, until he receives an urgent call from work – he’s needed back on the mainland.
I Am Greta (2020) (Available until April 2024)
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.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p090xz9z/i-am-greta
Britt-Marie Was Here (2019) (Available until April 2024)
Discovering that her husband of 40 years has been cheating on her, Britt-Marie, at the age of 63, is faced with finding a new purpose in life. Accepting a supremely unglamorous job at a ramshackle youth centre in the backwater town of Borg, she reluctantly takes on the impossible task of coaching the children’s football team to victory.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000sc9q/brittmarie-was-here
Jellyfish (2018) (Available until April 2024)
Sarah Taylor’s hard life in Margate has turned her into a teenage terror. When her drama teacher helps her channel her ferocious wit into comedy, her life’s delicate balance is set on a collision course with her new passion. An unfiltered look at a young woman who, against all odds finds her voice in stand-up comedy.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p095qfqf/jellyfish
Night of the Living Dead (1968) (Available until April 2024)
The classic low budget horror masterpiece from George A Romero, which spawned numerous imitations and parodies. A group of young people barricade themselves in an old farmhouse as the dead rise as zombies, hungry for their flesh.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0078pw1/night-of-the-living-dead
Cat People (1942) (Available until April 2024)
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.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0078ns6/cat-people
Happy New Year, Colin Burstead (2018) (Available until April 2024)
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….
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0bwdss2/happy-new-year-colin-burstead
Amundsen (2019) (Available until April 2024)
Inspired by a gift from his father when he was a child, Roald Amundsen became fascinated by the polar wilderness. It was an obsession that drove him to explore both poles. He led the first expedition to the South Pole in 1911 as well as the first proven to have reached the North Pole, in a dirigible, in 1926. His achievements, however, came at a cost to both his family and his colleagues.
All Stars (2013) (Available until April 2024)
Shy kid Jaden teams up with loudmouth Ethan to raise money to save a youth club doomed by cutbacks. Their plan is to put on a super-ambitious dance show, and the result is a funny and spectacular rollercoaster ride through east London.
Wild Men (2021) (Available until April 2024)
Martin’s version of a midlife crisis looks a little different from most. Despite being hilariously ill-equipped to live off the land, he wanders the Norwegian forest in a misguided attempt to regain his independence. But when he crosses paths with an injured drug dealer, he finds an unlikely ally in his quest for ‘manhood’.
The Road Dance (2021) (Available until April 2024)
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 May 2024)
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.
Baby Done (2020) (Available until May 2024)
Auckland-based Zoe, a successful arborist working with her boyfriend Tim, has serious ambitions to win the world tree-climbing competition in Canada. On discovering she is pregnant, she is determined to fulfil her dreams and attempts to conceal the news and remain in a state of denial.
Denmark (2019) (Available until May 2024)
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.
What We Do in the Shadows (2014) (Available until May 2024)
Flatmates Viago, Deacon and Vladislav are three vampires who are just trying to get by in modern society. From paying rent and doing the housework to trying to get invited in to nightclubs, they are just like anyone else – except they are immortal and must feast on human blood.
BBC iPlayer – What We Do in the Shadows (Film)
Whisky Galore! (2016) (Available until June 2024)
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 June 2024)
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 June 2024)
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
Hero: The Extraordinary Life of Mr Ulric Cross (2013) (Available until June 2024)
The story of Ulric Cross, who left his small island home of Trinidad in 1941 to join the war effort and became the RAF’s most decorated West Indian airman of the Second World War.
BBC iPlayer – Hero: The Extraordinary Life of Mr Ulric Cross
Wildlife (2018) (Available until July 2024)
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 2024)
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
47 Metres Down: Uncaged (2019) (Available until July 2024)
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
Citizen Kane (1941) (Available until July 2024)
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 July 2024)
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 July 2024)
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 July 2024)
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 July 2024)
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
Mission: Joy – With Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama (2022) (Available until July 2024)
Deeply moving and laugh-out-loud funny, Mission: Joy gives unprecedented access to the friendship between His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the late Archbishop Tutu. The self-described ‘mischievous brothers’ were filmed over five days by an award-winning team who captured a relationship built on truth, honesty and, most importantly, joy.
BBC iPlayer – Mission: Joy – With Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama
Masked and Anonymous (2004) (Available until July 2024)
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 July 2024)
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
Don’t Take Me Home (2020) (Available until July 2024)
In 2015, Wales hadn’t qualified for a major football tournament since 1958. When the young national manager, Gary Speed, tragically took his own life in 2011, a youthful side and nation was left devastated. Qualification felt further away than ever and less important. However, spurred on by the enduring memory of the late manager, Wales qualified for Euro 2016. How would they fare?
BBC iPlayer – Dont Take Me Home
Food for Ravens (1997) (Available until July 2024)
Powerful drama on the life of Aneurin Bevan, founder of the National Health Service. Written by Trevor Griffiths, the play focuses on Bevan’s final days, showing him musing on his life and career from his sickbed in Buckinghamshire.
Love Affair (1939) (Available until September 2024)
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 September 2024)
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
Citizen Kane (1941) (Available until September 2024)
Following the death of publishing tycoon Charles Foster Kane, reporters scramble to uncover the meaning of his final utterance; ‘Rosebud’.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0074n82/citizen-kane
Bringing Up Baby (1938) (Available until September 2024)
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
Vivacious Lady (1938) (Available until September 2024)
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 Velvet Touch (1948) (Available until September 2024)
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 September 2024)
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 September 2024)
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 September 2024)
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
The Spanish Main (1945) (Available until September 2024)
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
Angel Face (1952) (Available until September 2024)
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
My Favourite Wife (1940) (Available until September 2024)
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 September 2024)
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
Blackbeard the Pirate (1952) (Available until September 2024)
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
The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) (Available until September 2024)
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 September 2024)
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
Beautiful but Dangerous (1954) (Available until September 2024)
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
Top Hat (1935) (Available until September 2024)
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
Carefree (1938) (Available until September 2024)
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
The Gay Divorce (1934) (Available until September 2024)
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
Suspicion (1941) (Available until September 2024)
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 September 2024)
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
The Miracle of the Bells (1948) (Available until September 2024)
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
Letter from an Unknown Woman (1947) (Available until September 2024)
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 September 2024)
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
Rosie (2018) (Available until September 2024)
Mother-of-four Rosie tries to keep her young family afloat as they become homeless when their rented house is put on the market for a price they can’t afford. The story unfolds over 36 hours, as Rosie’s partner John-Paul works long hours in a restaurant kitchen, while she spends the day driving around with the kids and making countless phone calls in the search for emergency accommodation.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p09lk76z/rosie
The Outlaw (1943) (Available until September 2024)
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 September 2024)
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.
Boiling Point (2019) (Available until October 2024)
During the busy run-up to Christmas, a single-take snapshot of the immense stress and skills of a talented head chef reveals that things are about to burst behind the restaurant’s flash façade.
BBC iPlayer – Boiling Point (2019 Short Film)
Wallace and Gromit: A Close Shave (1995) (Available until September 2023)
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 September 2023)
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 September 2023)
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 September 2023)
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
Ali & Ava (2021) (Available until October 2024)
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.
The Eichmann Show (2015) (Available until October 2024)
The behind-the-scenes true life story of 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. He is accused of executing the ‘final solution’ and organising the murder of six million Jews. This is the extraordinary story of how Eichmann’s trial came to be televised and the team that made it happen.
BBC iPlayer – The Eichmann Show
An Ideal Husband (1999) (Available until October 2024)
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
Moonlight (2016) (Available until October 2024)
A coming-of-age drama that presents the childhood, adolescence and early adult life of Chiron, born to a drug-addicted single mother in Miami and facing difficulties with his sexuality and identity. His first role model is the Afro-Cuban drug dealer Juan, who takes pity on the bullied youth.
Macbeth (1948) (Available until November 2024)
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.
Black Box (2021) (Available until November 2024)
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.
Schemers (2023) (Available until November 2024)
Davie is a dreamer from the council schemes, constantly hustling for his next buck then losing it on the horses. After a football injury, Davie falls for trainee nurse Shona and tries to impress her by running a disco. Along with friends John and Scot, Davie starts promoting bands, culminating in a hugely ambitious Iron Maiden gig at Caird Hall in Dundee.
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.
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.
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