Before, Now & Then

In 26 AD, Judah Ben-Hur, a Jew in ancient Judea, opposes the occupying Roman empire. Falsely accused by a Roman childhood friend-turned-overlord of trying to kill the Roman governor, he is put into slavery and his mother and sister are taken away as prisoners.

Working men and women leave through the main gate of the Lumière factory in Lyon, France. Filmed on 22 March 1895, it is often referred to as the first real motion picture ever made, although Louis Le Prince's 1888 Roundhay Garden Scene pre-dated it by seven years. Three separate versions of this film exist, which differ from one another in numerous ways. The first version features a carriage drawn by one horse, while in the second version the carriage is drawn by two horses, and there is no carriage at all in the third version. The clothing style is also different between the three versions, demonstrating the different seasons in which each was filmed. This film was made in the 35 mm format with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, and at a speed of 16 frames per second. At that rate, the 17 meters of film length provided a duration of 46 seconds, holding a total of 800 frames.

Two warriors in pursuit of a stolen sword and a notorious fugitive are led to an impetuous, physically-skilled, teenage nobleman's daughter, who is at a crossroads in her life.

The incredible, untold true story of how a group of prisoners attempt a seemingly impossible escape from the first Nazi death camp in order to provide the first eyewitness account of the Holocaust.

Explore the life of Flannery O’Connor whose provocative fiction was unlike anything published before. Featuring never-before-seen archival footage, newly discovered journals, and interviews with Mary Karr, Tommy Lee Jones, Hilton Als, and more.

The retelling of France’s iconic but ill-fated queen, Marie Antoinette - from her betrothal and marriage to Louis XVI at fifteen to her reign as queen at nineteen and ultimately the fall of Versailles.

In the years before World War II, a penniless Japanese child is torn from her family to work as a maid in a geisha house.

Looking for Angelina is based on one of the most important murder trials in Canada. Angelina Napolitano murdered her husband with an axe and was sentenced to be executed...

Forced into exile by the English after being crowned King of Scotland, legendary warrior Robert the Bruce fights to reclaim the throne.

Young Olga Ahrendt almost succeeded in attempting suicide. She had thrown herself in front of a tram out of desperation about her miserable life, a desperation she shared with many in the post-war period. Fortunately, Privy Councillor Sauerbruch is at the scene of the incident, ordering her to be admitted to his clinic after a brief examination. Sauerbruch works both as a university lecturer and as a surgeon, a famous doctor who not only helps his patients physically but also gives them spiritual comfort. After he has taken Olga Ahrendt to his hospital, he discovers during an examination that her suicide attempt is due to a serious physical illness. He intensively takes care of her without forgetting about his other patients, to whom he can give a new will to live, even if only through a small story. And he will also treat Olga Ahrendt successfully...

The young Bavarian princess Elisabeth, who all call Sissi, goes with her mother and older sister Néné to Austria where Néné will be wed to an emperor named Franz Joseph, Yet unexpectedly Franz runs into Sissi while out fishing and they fall in love.

Sissi is now the empress of Austria and attempts to learn etiquette. While she is busy being empress she also has to deal with her difficult new mother-in-law, while the arch-duchess Sophie is trying to tell the emperor how to rule and also Sissi how to be a mother.

After a wonderful time in Hungary Sissi falls extremely ill and must retreat to a Mediterranean climate to rest. The young empress’ mother takes her from Austria to recover in Madeira.

Nathan Algren is an American hired to instruct the Japanese army in the ways of modern warfare, which finds him learning to respect the samurai and the honorable principles that rule them. Pressed to destroy the samurai's way of life in the name of modernization and open trade, Algren decides to become an ultimate warrior himself and to fight for their right to exist.

During China's Tang dynasty the emperor has taken the princess of a neighboring province as his wife. She has borne him two sons and raised his eldest. Now his control over his dominion is complete, including the royal family itself.

An elderly bell maker reminisces about his life filled with tragedy.

The film takes place in the Swedish capitol Stockholm during the year 1809. War has ravaged Europe continuously for the last seventeen years. The common citizens of Stockholm live in misery as poverty, violence and death dominate the shadowy alleys. A coup feels inevitable and the coming dissolvement of the nation is what's on everyone's lips. In a beautiful salon six nobles are hiding away from it all by partying and socializing. One night the hostess Charlotte reveals to her five guests that she will be forced to sign over her property to one of them, for fear of otherwise losing it to the rebelling antigustavians. A game begins in the candlelit salon. A game of covert intentions, manipulation and mind games as five nobles attempt to find out who of them is best suited to take over the beautfiul estate. Time passes as they're all constantly driven towards their own personal abysses. All meanwhile the sounds of gunshots and yelling echo from beyond the gilded window sills.

In 1336, Pedro, heir to the Portuguese crown, marries Constanza Manuel de Villena, a Castilian noblewoman, for political reasons; but the impulsive prince ends up giving in to his love for Inés de Castro, his wife's lady-in-waiting.

A cursed dancer and a blind musician — both ostracized by society — become business partners and inseparable friends as their larger-than-life concerts propel them to stardom in 14th century Japan.

Set in the 1960s, junior high schooler Dean strikes up a friendship with the vibrant yet reckless Roy, in an effort to escape his mother’s controlling grasp. But when the boys’ friendship threatens Dean’s budding romance with Beth and his own well-being, Dean must find his own voice, or risk following Roy down an increasingly dangerous path.