Love good films?

A group of very different passengers boards a stagecoach travelling through dangerous Apache territory from Tonto to Lordsburg. Among them are a prostitute, a drunken doctor, a gentleman gambler, a pregnant woman, a whisky salesman and an escaped outlaw. As the journey progresses, the travellers are forced into close proximity, revealing unexpected tensions, prejudices and acts of courage. Stagecoach is one of the great American westerns and the film that made John Wayne a major star. John Ford combines breathtaking Monument Valley landscapes with superb characterisation, suspense and action. More than 85 years later, its storytelling remains remarkably direct and entertaining. It is an essential film for anyone interested in the western, Hollywood cinema or the development of the modern movie hero.

Father Urbain Grandier (Reed) champions the rights of the people of Loudun against Cardinal Richelieu who wants to tear down the town’s defences. Local nuns, led by Sister Jeanne (Redgrave), accuse Grandier of witchcraft. The trial and the exorcisms of the nuns involved were sensational. Based on a true story written up as a novel by Aldous Huxley. Sets by Derek Jarman. The Devils was banned in several countries, but it remains a visually striking, distinctive milestone of British historical drama, with traces of black humour. Not as shocking today as it was on release, it remains unforgettable.

Two Orthodox Jews arrive in a small remote rural Hungarian village which is getting ready for the wedding of the magistrate’s son. They’re accompanied by two coffin-like wooden crates supposedly filled with perfumes and soaps. Is this the start of a Jewish influx, reclaiming properties? Histories resurface, rumours spread wildly, paranoia reigns, and the villagers behave accordingly. This subtle and nuanced film is atmospherically shot in black and white with the mood of the film ably enhanced by Tibor Szemzö’s soundtrack. The filmmaker has sensitively examined the European war’s postscript, a period of history that everyone quickly wanted to forget.