At the age of only 36 Sir Mark Sykes was signatory to the Sykes-Picot agreement one of the most reviled treaties of modern times A century later Christopher Sykes' lively biography of his grandfather reassesses his life & work & the political instability & violence in the Middle East attributed to it The Sykes-Picot agreement was drawn by the eponymous British & French diplomats in 1916 to determine the divideof the collapsing empire in the event of an allied victory in World War I Excluding Arab involvement it negated theirearlier guarantee of independence made by the British -and controversy has raged around it ever since But who was Mark Sykes? A century on Christopher Simon Sykes reveals new facetsof a misremembered diplomatic giant Using previouslyundisclosed family letters & cartoons by his grandfatherhe delivers a comprehensive & humbling account of the man behind one of the most impactful policies in the Middle East ...

Please note this is a region 2 DVD & will require a region 2 (Europe) or region Free DVD Player in order to play Noirish drama revealing the true story of a Jewish lawyer who challenged Hitler & paid with his life Starring Ian Hart as Adolf Hitler & Ed Stoppard as the audacious lawyer Hans Litten This feature length drama also stars Bill Paterson Sarah Smart Anton Lesser Ronan Vibert & Ruth Mc Cabe In the spring of 1931 with Germany on the brink of economic collapse the audacious Hans Litten put Adolf Hitler on the witness stand of a Berlin court At great personal risk the young lawyer aimed to expose the true character of Hitler to the German public & thereby halt the phenomenal rise of the Nazi Party In a humiliating & hostile cross-examination Hitler was forced to account for his violent methods his apparent contempt for the law & his stated desire to destroy German democracy Hitler survived the ordeal but it was a close encounter which he never forgot ...

The inspiring story of one young man's record-breaking solo cycle journey around the world On 15 February 2008 Mark Beaumont pedalled through the Arc de Triomphe in Paris 194 days & 17 hours previously he had begun his attempt to circumnavigate the world in record time Mark smashed the Guinness World Record by an astonishing 81 days He had travelled more than 18000 miles on his own through some of the harshest conditions one man & his bicycle can endure camping wild at night & suffering from constant ailments The Man Who Cycled the World is the story not just of that amazing achievement but of the events that turned Mark Beaumont into the man he is today From the early years of his free-spirited childhood in the Scottish countryside to present day he has been equally determined not to settle for an average existence but to break free & follow his dreams Mark Beaumont grew up in the foothills of the Scottish Highlands When he was twelve he cycled across Scotland then a few years later completed the 1000 mile solo ride across Britain from John O' Groats to Land's End His next long-distance ride took him the length of Italy a journey of 1336 miles helping to raise GBP50000 for charity After graduating from Glasgow University & having also qualified as a professional ski instructor he decided against a conventional career & devoted himself full-time to raising money for his endurance adventures Visit his website at wwwmarkbeaumontonlinecom ...

Please note this is a region 2 DVD & will require a region 2 (Europe) or region Free DVD Player in order to play Nicolas Roeg’s iconic science fiction odyssey The Man Who Fell to Earth has been stunningly restored in 4k to mark the 40th anniversary of this cult classic Featuring a startling & era defining lead performance from David Bowie in his debut feature role & based on the cult novel by Walter Tevis The Man Who Fell to Earth endures as not only a bitingly caustic indictment of the modern world but also a poignant commentary on the loneliness of the outsider Thomas Jerome Newton (David Bowie) is a humanoid alien who comes to Earth from a distant planet on a mission to take water back to his home planet in the midst of a catastrophic drought Using the advanced technology of his home planet to patent many inventions on Earth Newton acquires incredible wealth as the head of a technology-based conglomerate (aided by leading patent attorney Oliver Farnsworth Buck Henry The Graduate) that he intends to use to finance the construction of a space vehicle to ship water back to his planet Newton embarks on a relationship with hotel maid Mary-Lou (Candy Clark American Graffiti) & makes progress with the construction of his vehicle but soon finds his true identify at risk via his roguish colleague & confident Dr Nathan Bryce (Rip Torn Men in Black) who threatens not only his relationship with Mary-Lou but his freedom & chances of ever returning home Extras New interview with costume designer May Routh featuring original costume sketches New interview with stills photographer David James featuring behind the scenes stills New interview with fan Sam Taylor-Johnson New interview with producer Michael Deeley New The Lost Soundtracks featurette featuring interviews with Paul Buckmaster & author Chris Campion Interview with Candy Clark Interview with writer Paul Mayersberg Interview with cinematographer Tony Richmond Interview with Nic Roeg Trailers TV spots Watching the Alien featurette ...

Please note this is a region 2 DVD & will require a region 2 (Europe) or region Free DVD Player in order to play British cinema icon Stanley Baker cult favourite actor Peter Cushing & controversial actordirector Mai Zetterling feature among an impressive line-up for this British espionage thriller set in post-War Europe The Man Who Finally Died is presented here in a br&-new transfer from the original film elements In London jazz musician Joe Newman receives a startling telephone call the caller is his German father believed to have been killed in action twenty years ago! At the same time a funeral is taking place in a quiet Bavarian town; the coffin bears the name of Kurt Deutsch Joe&s father When he goes to Bavaria to investigate Joe is sure that certain facts are being withheld But his search for the truth proves more disturbing than he could have imagined Actors Stanley Baker Peter Cushing Mai Zetterling Eric Portman & Nigel Green Director Quentin Lawrence Certificate PGYear 1962 Languages English Duration 1 hour & 36 minutes (approx) ...

note this is a region 2 DVD & region B Blu-ray It will require a region B Blu-ray player to play the Blu-ray & DVD or a Region 2 DVD player for the DVD While driving one evening Harold Pelham appears possessed & has a car accident While on the operating table there even appears to be two heartbeats on the monitor When he awakes Pelham finds his life has been turned upside-down he learns that he now supports a merger that he once opposed & that he apparently is having an affair People claim they have seen him in places that he has never been Does Pelham have a doppelganger
- or is he going insane? Actors Roger Moore Hildegard Neil Alastair Mackenzie Hugh Mackenzie Kevork Malikyan Thorley Walters & Anton Rodgers Director Basil Dearden Certificate PGYear 1970 Languages English Duration 1 hour & 34 minutes (approx)
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WINNER OF THE 2016 FT & Mc KINSEY BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD this is the biography of one of the titans of financial history over the last fifty years Born in 1926 Alan Greenspan was raised in Manhattan by a single mother & immigrant grandparents during the Great Depression but by quiet force of intellect rose to become a global financial maestro' Appointed by Ronald Reagan to Chairman of the Federal Reserve a post he held for eighteen years he presided over an unprecedented period of stability & low inflation was revered by economists adored by investors & consulted by leaders from Beijing to Frankfurt Both data-hound & eligible society bachelor Greenspan was a man of contradictions His great success was to prove the very idea he an advocate of the Gold standard doubted that the discretionary judgements of a money-printing central bank could stabilise an economy He resigned in 2006 having overseen tumultuous changes in the world's most powerful economy Yet when the great crash happened only two years later many blamed him even though he had warned early on of irrational exuberance in the market place Sebastian Mallaby brilliantly shows the subtlety & complexity of Alan Greenspan's legacy Full of beautifully rendered high-octane political infighting hard hitting dialogue & stories The Man Who Knew is superbly researched enormously gripping & the story of the making of modern finance ...

In 1913 a young unschooled Indian clerk wrote a letter to G H Hardy begging the pre-eminent English mathematician's opinion on several ideas he had about numbers Realising the letter was the work of a genius Hardy arranged for Srinivasa Ramanujan to come to England Thus began one of the most improbable & productive collaborations ever chronicled With a passion for rich & evocative detail Robert Kanigel takes us from the temples & slums of Madras to the courts & chapels of Cambridge University where the devout Hindu Ramanujan 'the Prince of Intuition' tested his brilliant theories alongside the sophisticated & eccentric Hardy 'the Apostle of Proof' In time Ramanujan's creative intensity took its toll he died at the age of thirty-two & left behind a magical & inspired legacy that is still being plumbed for its secrets today ...

While holidaying in Switzerland a family befriend a Frenchman It is not long before the man is fatally wounded but before he dies he whispers a terrible secret into his new friend&s ear which just happens to be witnessed by a group of foreign agents ...

Please note this is a region B Blu-ray & will require a region B or region free Blu-ray player in order to play One of cinema&s greatest auteurs Alfred Hitchcock&s six-decade career generated an unmissable run of suspense-packed thrillers strongly characterised by macabre plots & twist endings Starring British screen icon Leslie Banks & featuring the English-speaking debut of Peter Lorre The Man Who Knew Too Much is one of Hitchcock&s most thrilling pre-war British films & one which he would remake twenty years later in Hollywood This peerless suspense classic is presented here in a High Definition transfer from the original film elements in its as-exhibited theatrical aspect ratio While holidaying in Switzerland the Lawrences are accidentally caught up in murder & intrigue when their friend Louis is fatally wounded by a gunshot As he lays dying Louis confesses that he is a secret agent for the British government & passes on vital information which may prevent another world war ...