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: Magic Mike, Superbad, Eddie the Eagle
LEAVING THIS WEEK: Ghostbusters II, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Ghostbusters (2016), Beauty and the Beast (1991), La La Land, Apocalypse Now: Final Cut, Easy A
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Disappearing soon … catch them while you can!
(Available until 26th April 2024…)
Ghostbusters II (1989)
When a river of ghost-making slime is discovered under New York City, the Ghostbusters must reunite to tangle with the malevolent spirit of a 16th-century tyrant who plans to use an infant as his conduit to the modern world.
Monsters vs Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space (2009)
Susan Murphy and the monsters are now working with the US government as special ops. So when an alien presence is detected in Susan’s hometown of Modesto, California, right before Halloween, the team is dispatched to investigate.
BBC iPlayer – Monsters vs Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space
Dragons: Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon (2011)
When Gobber’s house burns down, the old Viking is convinced that his nemesis, the legendary Boneknapper dragon, is responsible. Bent on revenge, Gobber resolves to hunt it down once and for all, despite the fact that no one believes the dragon exists. Regardless, Hiccup and the b gang decide to accompany him for his own good.
BBC iPlayer – Dragons: Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon
Available until 27th April 2024…
The Robe (1953)
A Roman centurion in charge of the crucifixion of Christ is profoundly affected by the experience and converts to Christianity.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021)
A single mother and her two children move to a new town and learn that they have a connection to the original Ghostbusters, and they soon discover the secret legacy their grandfather left behind.
BBC iPlayer – Ghostbusters: Afterlife
Available until 28th April 2024…
Pain and Glory (2019)
Salvador Mallo is a 60-something film director with a track record of successful cult titles behind him. As his health deteriorates, and amid recurring flashbacks from his childhood in rural Spain, Mallo takes stock of his life, forms a surprising new habit, and reconnects with former friends and lovers.
The Girl with a Bracelet (2019)
Teenaged Lise is put on trial for the murder of her best friend. Under house arrest and unable to see friends, Lise retreats into herself and even her parents have to cope with doubt and the stress of not knowing what happened. With little evidence to prove Lise’s involvement, the prosecution focuses instead on her character.
BBC iPlayer – The Girl with a Bracelet
Ghostbusters (2016)
Following a ghost invasion of Manhattan, paranormal enthusiasts Erin Gilbert and Abby Yates, nuclear engineer Jillian Holtzmann and subway worker Patty Tolan band together to stop the otherworldly threat
BBC iPlayer – Ghostbusters (2016)
On the Waterfront (1954)
Oscar-winning drama. A one-time boxing hopeful learns about responsibility through his love for the sister of a murdered docker. Music by Leonard Bernstein.
BBC iPlayer – On the Waterfront
Available until 29th April 2024…
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.
Beauty and the Beast (1991)
A spoilt prince is transformed into a beast by an enchantress and doomed to spend his days alone in his castle – unless he can learn to love and be loved. Classic animation from Walt Disney Studios.
BBC iPlayer – Beauty and the Beast
Available until 30th April 2024…
La La Land (2016)
Mia (Emma Stone), an aspiring actress, and Sebastian (Ryan Gosling), a dedicated jazz musician, fall in love while struggling to make ends meet in a city known for crushing hopes and breaking hearts. Set in modern-day Los Angeles, this award-winning musical about everyday life explores the joy and pain of pursuing your dreams.
Apocalypse Now: Final Cut (2016)
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
Available until 1st May 2024…
Easy A (2010)
An off-hand lie to avoid an unwanted camping weekend leads 17-year-old Olive into a spiral of unintended consequences. Quickly gaining a reputation for promiscuity, Olive is approached by Brandon, another social outcast, and together they hatch a ruse which leads to a web of dishonesty and some very awkward situations
Woman in Gold (2015)
Drama based on a true story. An Austrian-Jewish refugee living in Los Angeles launches a legal campaign to reclaim a Gustav Klimt painting stolen from her family by the Nazis.
The Mercy (2017)
Colin Firth and Rachel Weisz star in the story of British amateur sailor Donald Crowhurst, who attempted to circumnavigate the world solo in 1969 and whose controversial voyage ended in tragedy.
Kick-Ass 2 (2013)
When Hit Girl is forced to retire and return to the terrifying world of high-school mean girls, Kick-Ass joins superhero team Justice Forever.
Available until 2nd May 2024…
Mary Queen of Scots (2018)
Young Catholic widow Mary Stuart returns to Scotland from France in 1561, determined to rule. But intolerant nobles seek to control her, and her older cousin Queen Elizabeth’s sympathies are torn.
BBC iPlayer – Mary Queen of Scots
Available until 5th May 2024…
Blinded by the Light (2019)
Luton, 1987. Javed Khan is a British-Pakistani college student in a family with a domineering father. Facing parental pressure and everyday racism, Javed unexpectedly finds his frustrations and ambitions expressed in Bruce Springsteen songs.
BBC iPlayer – Blinded by the Light
I, Tonya (2017)
Seeking figure-skating success, Tonya Harding instead finds notoriety in this darkly comic recreation of a sporting scandal.
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 mix-up in heaven.
BBC iPlayer – A Matter of Life and Death
The Eagle Has Landed (1976)
All-action World War II adventure. On the morning of 6 November 1943, the military authorities in Berlin receive a simple message – ‘The Eagle Has Landed’. In a daring kidnap attempt, a small force of crack German paratroopers are poised to snatch Winston Churchill and return with him to Germany. If they succeed in their mission, it could alter the course of the war. Who can stop them?
BBC iPlayer – The Eagle Has Landed
Available until 6th May 2024…
Captain Phillips (2013)
The true story of the hijacking by pirates of the MV Maersk Alabama off the coast of Somalia and the bravery of her crew in a desperate situation.
BBC iPlayer – Captain Phillips
Julius Caesar (1953)
Rome, 44 BC. Caesar’s power has grown so great that even his allies in the senate plot his downfall. Classic Hollywood adaptation of William Shakespeare’s play.
Guys and Dolls (1955)
Lavish film version of the classic Broadway musical, based on Damon Runyon’s short stories. A gambler in need of cash bets he can make any girl go to Havana with him. But his pals pick a girl at the Save a Soul Mission in need of recruiting sinners to her cause. Includes songs such as Adelaide’s Lament and Sit Down, You’re Rocking the Boat.
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
Available until 7th May 2024…
On Chesil Beach (2017)
Young university graduates from different social classes get married after an intense but non-physical affair. She is a talented and ambitious classical violinist from a supercilious striving family, he is from humbler stock, but despite their intense love for each other, the honeymoon proves to be a huge challenge to their relationship.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
Film adaptation of John le Carré’s Cold War novel about a retired MI6 agent who must track down a Soviet mole within the British intelligence service’s ranks.
BBC iPlayer – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Available until 8th May 2024…
The Two Faces of January (2014)
Athens, 1962. Chester, an American con artist, and his wife need the help of a suspicious stranger to get them out of Greece after a murder is committed. Character thriller from a novel by Patricia Highsmith.
BBC iPlayer – The Two Faces of January
The Martian (2015)
From legendary director Ridley Scott comes a gripping tale of human endeavour and the will to survive. During a mission to Mars, American astronaut Mark Watney is presumed dead and left behind… but Watney is still alive. Against all odds, he must find a way to contact Earth in the hope that scientists can devise a plan to bring him home.
Available until 9th May 2024…
Molly’s Game (2017)
When aspiring Olympic skier Molly Bloom’s career is abruptly cut short, she accidentally becomes the assistant to a boorish Hollywood film producer who also happens to run the biggest poker game in town. Learning the ropes quickly, she soon becomes indispensable to the Tuesday night game, until she realises that her job security relies on running the game herself.
Available until 11th May 2024…
So Long My Son (2013)
Wang Xiaoshuai’s deeply moving and intimate drama traces the lives of two interconnected families over three decades of social and political upheaval in China from the 1980s to the present.
Available until 12th May 2024…
The Heat (2013)
FBI Special Agent Sarah Ashburn and Boston cop Shannon Mullins couldn’t be more incompatible. But when they join forces to bring down a ruthless drug lord, they become the last thing anyone expected… best buddies.
The Power of the Dog (2021)
Rancher Phil Burbank inspires fear and awe in those around him. When his brother brings home a new wife and her son, Phil torments them – until he finds himself exposed to the possibility of love.
BBC iPlayer – The Power of the Dog
Sweet Charity (1969)
Musical comedy about the romantic ups and downs of a dance partner-for-hire at a seedy New York dance hall, who longs for true love but has bad luck with men.
Available until 13th May 2024…
Ghost Stories (2017)
Professor Philip Goodman, famous for debunking hoaxes and ghost sightings, is given a dossier of three terrifying, unsolvable cases by his hero and role model Charles Cameron, who has been missing, presumed dead, for years. Can Goodman explain what even Cameron could not?
Available until 14th May 2024…
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.
Available until 15th May 2024…
Sorry To Bother You (2018)
Oakland, California: Cassius Green is young, black and broke. Living in his uncle’s garage without an income, he has accumulated debts. He finally lands a job at a local telemarketing company, where he is soon let into a peculiar secret to getting ahead. As he rises through the ranks, his telemarketing friends and colleagues, including his artist girlfriend, decide to stage a strike for better conditions. But this is precisely the moment that Cassius is offered a promotion. Which side should he choose? And how much does he know about what lies behind the alluring new career prospects?
BBC iPlayer – Sorry to Bother You
Available until 16th May 2024…
Dirty God (2020)
On leaving hospital after months of painful skin grafts, Jade returns to her mother’s home to take over her maternal duties. She faces a range of reactions to her facial disfigurement, caused during an acid attack by the father of her daughter. Best friend Shami helps with the reintegration into old surroundings, but Jade is determined to save enough money for further operations.
Available until 19th May 2024…
Dark Waters (2019) NEW!
Past ties drag corporate lawyer Rob into conflict with a company blamed for polluting a local creek. But as the case goes on, Rob discovers that the scope of the actual damage is staggeringly vast.
Magic Mike (2012) NEW!
A male stripper by night, Mike has more business-like ambitions, but over one summer in Tampa, Florida, an encounter with youngster Adam threatens to derail his plans.
Swallows and Amazons (2016) NEW!
Four children dream of escaping the tedium of a summer holiday with their mother. When finally given permission to camp on their own on an island in the middle of a vast lake in the Lake District, they are overjoyed. But when they get there, they discover they may not be alone. The battle for ownership of a lonely island teaches them the skills of survival, the value of friendship and the importance of holding your nerve.
BBC iPlayer – Swallows and Amazons
Available until 20th May 2024…
Superbad (2007) NEW!
High school seniors Seth and Evan hope to impress the girls they fancy by getting booze for a party, despite being under 21 – but classmate Fogell’s dubious fake ID, two immature cops and violence at another bash prove problematic.
Available until 21st May 2024…
Eddie the Eagle (2015) NEW!
A young Michael ‘Eddie the Eagle’ Edwards spots a sport that Team GB has ignored, and risks life, limb and dignity to fulfil his Olympic ambition. Defying all the obstacles, Eddie sets himself the challenge of qualifying for the ski-jumping competition at the 1988 Winter Games in Calgary.
Available until 28th May 2024…
Here We Are (2020)
Aharon has devoted his life to raising his son Uri, where they live together in a gentle routine away from the real world. But Uri is autistic and now as a young adult it might be time for him to live in a specialised home. But Aharon feels deep down that Uri is not ready for this separation, so on the way to the home, decides to run away with his son and they hit the road. A journey that has unexpected consequences for Aharon and Uri’s quiet life together.
Available until 11th June 2024…
Everything Went Fine (2021)
A daughter is forced to reconcile her past with her father when he contacts her with a devastating final wish, in François Ozon’s powerful family drama.
BBC iPlayer – Everything Went Fine
Available til Early 2024…
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….
BBC iPlayer – 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.
Tove (2020) (Available until April 2024)
Biopic of Tove Jansson, the renowned Finnish artist, author and creator of the Moomins. Born in the 1910s to an artist family, young Tove is always creative, but from early on she has to contend with the shadow of her father, established Finnish sculptor Viktor Jansson. The film charts Tove’s formative years – her love affairs with philosopher Atos Wirtanen and theatre director Vivica Bandler, her early career as a painter, and how she came up with the Moomin characters that eventually made her famous.
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
Wild Men (2021) (Available until June 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’.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Effie Gray (2014) (Available until July 2024)
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.
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.
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.
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’.
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.
Vivacious Lady (1938) (Available until September 2024)
A professor marries a nightclub singer, much to the consternation of his family and friends back home.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Spanish Main (1945) (Available until September 2024)
After being wronged by the Caribbean authorities, a Dutch captain turns pirate to wage war.
Angel Face (1952) (Available until September 2024)
Ambulance driver Frank Jessup is ensnared in the schemes of the sensuous but dangerous Diane Tremayne.
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.
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.
Blackbeard the Pirate (1952) (Available until September 2024)
Honest Edward Maynard finds himself serving as ship’s surgeon under the infamous pirate Blackbeard.
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.
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.
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”.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Babadook (2014) (Available until September 2024)
Widow Amelia’s worries over her high-strung young son’s behaviour worsen when a mysterious pop-up book inspires fresh fears.
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.
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.
BBC iPlayer – Equals 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.
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.
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
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.
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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