Secrets of China's Forbidden City

This documentary shines a light on the unsung life stories of restorers of cultural relics working inside the Forbidden City, together with the history of the antiques and the palace, the procedures of restoration and the development of cultural protection.

Amidst the grand walls of the Forbidden City, the film takes us on a deep journey through the ceremonial life of the Chinese emperor, unveiling the secrets and intrigues of concubines, eunuchs, and palace maids. As the West begins to influence China in the late 19th century, the dynamics within the city shift dramatically. The film highlights the preservation and restoration of invaluable treasures and paintings, culminating in the creation of the Palace Museum. With insights from renowned China scholar, Jonathan Spence, this is an intimate exploration of the rich cultural and historical tapestry that makes up the heart of ancient China.

A dramatic history of Pu Yi, the last of the Emperors of China, from his lofty birth and brief reign in the Forbidden City, the object of worship by half a billion people; through his abdication, his decline and dissolute lifestyle; his exploitation by the invading Japanese, and finally to his obscure existence as just another peasant worker in the People's Republic.

Panoramic view of the Forbidden City (Imperial Palace), Peking, China.

Hong Kong action star Max Mok stars in this period drama as Lau, a eunuch living at the end of the Ching Dynasty. Lau finds himself absorbed in the past along with another eunuch named Siu, and the two fall in love as they share their passion for Peking Opera. Unfortunately, they're unaware that their relationship serves as the catalyst for a series of events that end in disaster. Twilight indeed!

Secluded from view by nine-meter-high walls and composed of 980 buildings, the Forbidden City in Beijing is the largest imperial palace ever built in the world. Three majestic structures form its center and host the city's ceremonies, each of which is considered an architectural masterpiece. In 1406, construction of the Forbidden City was launched at the initiative of one of China's most powerful sovereigns and founder of the Ming dynasty: Yongle. Endowed with divine power, the construction has already resisted more than 200 earthquakes.

The Forbidden City is the world’s biggest and most extravagant palace complex ever built. For five centuries, it was the power center of imperial China and survived wars, revolution, fires, and earthquakes. How did the Ming Emperor’s workforce construct its sprawling array of nearly 1,000 buildings and dozens of temples in a little over a decade?

The film focused on a conflict between Empress Dowager Cixi, her son Guangxi (the nominal emperor) and his wife, Zhen Fei.

Inside the Forbidden City: 500 Years Of Marvel, History And Power

In 1997, Oscar-winning documentarian Allan Miller embarked on a film project with renowned conductor Zubin Mehta and celebrated Chinese film director Zhang Yimou as they joined forces in a production of Puccini's opera Turandot in Florence. Before the year was out, an extraordinary opportunity arose: to stage Turandot in its original setting in the Forbidden City of Beijing. The outdoor production was an undertaking on an epic scale. A fascinating chronicle of an unprecedented cross-cultural collaboration, THE TURANDOT PROJECT combines the pageantry of this opulent opera production with a spectacular cinematic portrait of the struggles and triumphs of Zubin Mehta and Zhang Yimou to mount their production in this most historic venue of China. (Source: Amazon.com)

A new film compiled from the BFI National Archive's unparalleled holdings of early films of China, features films from 1900-48 filmed across China. The cinematic journey of Around China with a Movie Camera contains many films which may never have been seen in China, or at the very least not for over 70 years. These travelogues, newsreels and home movies were made by a diverse group of British and French filmmakers, some professionals, but mainly enthusiastic amateurs, including intrepid tourists, colonial-era expatriates and Christian missionaries.

The movie "Blaues Licht" (Blue Light) is the most extensive of the street art collective "Rocco and his Brothers" work to date.

A profile of the Great Western ‘Castles’. A comprehensive and authoritative account of the ‘Castles’, from their development in the 1920s through to their last days on the Western Region of British Railways.

This programme was made in 1992, and provides a record of the much loved Class 50s on their final workings from Waterloo and Paddington. Produced on Broadcast equipment, it includes many of the well known locations on the Southern’s main line to the West Country – Honiton Bank, Exeter Central, Yeovil, Salisbury and Basingstoke. It also includes the last specials worked by the Class 50s in 1992, including specials to Wales plus the final trains on timetabled workings.

Joyful, humorous and slightly ironic look on the daily life in Soviet Latvia in 1987.

A sound system plays Commander Ernesto Guevara's speech, delivered on October 20, 1962, during the Second Anniversary of the Young Communist League, along with a series of archival images of the revolutionary leader visiting factories and meeting with workers.

Tame Impala stops by Cherry Lane Theatre for Sound Check.

Trollies, and people taking a stroll on a corner in Paris

An essay film based on the poem by Josh Humphrey.