This film is part of Rentals
Hero
In a medieval Scotland where sorcery still reigns, a young knight joins a band of warriors but becomes enmeshed in a power struggle with their leader.
Fantasy 1982 91 mins
Director: Barney Platts-Mills
Overview
In a medieval Scotland where witchcraft and sorcery remain the currencies of power, a young knight joins a band of warriors but becomes enmeshed in a struggle with their leader when a young princess falls under his spell.
This once-lost British film was the third film by Barney Platts-Mills, the award-winning director Bronco Bullfrog and Private Road. Two years in gestation, the ambitious production was filmed entirely in the ancient language of Scottish Gaelic and enacted by young non-professionals from Glasgow. Based on J.F. Campbell’s four-volume anthology of Scottish mythology, Popular Tales of the West Highlands, Hero is a fascinating reconstruction of a lost world of strange spells and mysterious rituals. Having disappeared from view almost immediately after its release in 1982, the film is now waiting to be discovered afresh by a new generation of Game of Thrones enthusiasts.
Related
Fantasy
Pinocchio Pinocchio
Fantasy 2019 125 mins Director: Matteo Garrone
In this unnerving live action adaptation of the classic tale, wood carver Gepetto (Roberto Benigni) crafts a wooden boy named Pinocchio who magically comes to life.
Jabberwocky Jabberwocky
Comedy 1977 106 mins Director: Terry Gilliam
Terry Gilliam's first feature as a solo director, here gloriously restored, is a riotous tale of monsters, true love and medieval manners.
Diamantino Diamantino
Comedy 2018 97 mins Director: Gabriel Abrantes
Diamantino, Portugal’s (the world’s!) top football player, becomes embroiled in a genetic experiment and a conspiracy to leave the EU, in this joyful, postmodern political fantasy.
The Wandering Jew The Wandering Jew
Fantasy 1934 102 mins Director: Maurice Elvey
After spitting on Christ on the way to crucifixion, a Jewish man is cursed with immortality
The Bespoke Overcoat The Bespoke Overcoat
Fantasy 1955 38 mins Director: Jack Clayton
A clerk in a cold warehouse wants one of the warm sheepskin coats stacked around him.
The Untamed The Untamed
Horror 2016 98 mins Director: Amat Escalante
Amat Escalante follows Heli with a boundary-pushing, mind-blowing mix of sex, sci-fi and social drama.
Unavailable on DVD
Mr. Topaze Mr. Topaze
Comedy 1961 97 mins Director: Peter Sellers
Charming character comedy, unseen for decades, starring Peter Sellers as a school teacher corrupted by big business.
Lamb Lamb
Drama 1985 110 mins Director: Colin Gregg
In one of Liam Neeson’s earliest starring roles, he plays an errant priest who kidnaps a vulnerable boy from an abusive Catholic school
Extremes Extremes
Documentary 1971 81 mins Director: Anthony Klinger
In-your-face 70s documentary exploring the lives of Hell's Angels, hippies, skinheads, rudeboys, mods and drug addicts.
Remembrance of Things Fast Remembrance of Things Fast
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1993 62 mins Director: John Maybury
John Maybury’s dark, queer state of the nation film starring Tilda Swinton and Rupert Everett
The Golden Madonna The Golden Madonna
Drama 1949 88 mins Director: Ladislao Vajda
When she inherits an Italian palazzo, a young woman takes on more than she bargained for
Diary of a Mad Housewife Diary of a Mad Housewife
Drama 1970 95 mins Director: Frank Perry
Frank Perry's biting '70s satire about a smart, affluent homemaker hideously mistreated by chauvinists, stars a Golden Globe-winning Carrie Snodgress and Frank Langella in his film debut.
Directed by Barney Platts-Mills
Private Road Private Road
Drama 1971 89 mins Director: Barney Platts-Mills
A compelling tale about the struggle for personal freedom, starring Bruce Robinson (Withnail and I).
Bronco Bullfrog Bronco Bullfrog
Drama 1969 87 mins Director: Barney Platts-Mills
A fascinating record of 1960s suedehead youth culture which is largely improvised by a non-professional cast of teenagers from east London
New
Charlatan Charlatan
Drama 2020 118 mins Director: Agnieszka Holland
Agnieszka Holland’s fascinating biopic of Jan Mikolášek, a 20th century Czech herbalist whose great success masked the grimmest of secrets.
Truman and Tennessee: An Intimate Conversation Truman and Tennessee: An Intimate Conversation
Documentary 2021 86 mins Director: Lisa Immordino Vreeland
Creative dual-portrait documentary of Truman Capote and Tennessee Williams, two of the greatest figures in 20th Century American Literature.
Aviva Aviva
Romance 2020 116 mins Director: Boaz Yakin
Incorporating expressive and exultant dance sequences, Aviva is a restless modern love story that explores the complexities of gender dynamics.
Black Bear Black Bear
Comedy 2020 106 mins Director: Lawrence Michael Levine
At a remote lake house, a filmmaker plays a calculated game of desire and jealousy in the pursuit of a work of art that blurs the boundaries between autobiography and invention.
Sisters with Transistors Sisters with Transistors
Documentary 2020 86 mins Director: Lisa Rovner
The remarkable untold story of electronic music’s female pioneers, who embraced machines and their liberating technologies to transform how we produce and listen to music today.
Henry Glassie: Field Work Henry Glassie: Field Work
Documentary 2019 105 mins Director: Pat Collins
Director Pat Collins’ sublime portrait of the renowned American folklorist and ethnologist, Henry Glassie, who has spent a half century documenting the artistic processes of traditional craftspeople.