Subscribe to watch - 14-day free trial, then £4.99 a month
The Scarlet Letter
Wim Wenders adapts the acclaimed novel in which a Puritan village chastises a young mother for giving birth out of wedlock.
Period drama 1972 90 mins
Director: Wim Wenders
Overview
From iconic director Wim Wenders, adapted from the best-selling novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The puritanical village of Salem, Massachusetts is shaken to its very core when a young woman by the name of Hester Prynne gives birth to a fatherless child. Chastised by the community, Hester is branded an Adulteress and forced to wear a scarlet letter “A” as an eternal reminder of her infidelity.
Enduring intense pressure, Hester refuses to reveal the identity of her secret lover. But when Hester’s estranged husband mysteriously returns, he begins to suspect that Hester has had relations with a young pastor named Dimmesdale. Struggling to restore happiness to her tainted existence, Hester soon hatches a plan to flee Salem and find sanctuary for her young daughter. But will Dimmesdale accompany her, or will Hester be forced into a lonely life of solitude?
moderate violence and sex referencesRelated
Period drama
L'innocente
Period drama 1976 130 mins Director: Luchino Visconti
Luchino Visconti's final film is a brilliant and disturbing drama set against the opulent backdrop of decadent, late 19th-century aristocracy.
The General
Comedy 1926 79 mins Silent Director: Buster Keaton
Buster Keaton's masterpiece is widely and rightly regarded as one of the greatest comedies ever made.
Onibaba
Period drama 1964 102 mins Director: Kaneto Shindo
Stylish, symbolic and erotically charged Japanese horror in which the fortunes of a murderous mother-and-daughter team are upended by a strangely masked samurai.
The Marquise of O...
Period drama 1976 103 mins Director: Eric Rohmer
Eric Rohmer's first feature-length film after a four-year break from filmmaking is a German-language adaptation of Henrich von Kleist's classic novel, following the titular Marquise as she deals with an unwanted pregnancy.
The Seventh Seal
Fantasy 1957 96 mins Director: Ingmar Bergman
Ingmar Bergman’s best-known film is a brilliant allegorical drama starring Max von Sydow as a knight trying to elude his own death.
Smiles of a Summer Night
Comedy 1955 109 mins Director: Ingmar Bergman
Ingmar Bergman’s Cannes prize-winning comedy assembles various couples in a country house in 1900.
Wim Wenders
Alice in the Cities
Road movie 1974 113 mins Director: Wim Wenders
A German writer leaving the USA finds himself unwittingly embarking on a road trip with an eight-year-old girl.
Paris, Texas
Drama 1984 145 mins Director: Wim Wenders
The late, great Harry Dean Stanton's finest role came as the near-mute Travis, on a journey across America to reunite his family, in Wim Wenders' moving tale of loss and redemption.
Buena Vista Social Club
Documentary 1999 101 mins Director: Wim Wenders
Cuba’s rich and colourful past comes vividly to life in this legendary, Oscar-nominated documentary from director Wim Wenders (Paris, Texas, Wings of Desire).
The American Friend
Film noir 1978 121 mins Director: Wim Wenders
Acclaimed director Wim Wenders, with the help of Dennis Hopper, transforms Patricia Highsmith's novel 'Ripley's Game' into a gripping European noir.
A Trick of the Light
Drama-documentary 1996 79 mins Director: Wim Wenders
The origins of German cinema are given life in one of Wim Wenders’ most charming and playful films, focusing on pioneering inventors, the Skladanowsky brothers.
Tokyo-Ga
Documentary 1985 92 mins Director: Wim Wenders
Profiling one of the great directors of World Cinema, Wim Wenders delivers this moving portrait of Japanese auteur Yasujiro Ozu.
Featuring Hans Christian Blech
Wrong Move
Road movie 1975 99 mins Director: Wim Wenders
A young man journeys across Germany to find his voice as a writer in Wim Wenders' celebrated road movie.
Directed by Wim Wenders
Wings of Desire
Fantasy 1987 128 mins Director: Wim Wenders
In director Wim Wenders' (Paris, Texas) most metaphysical work, a guardian angel desires nothing more than to be human. Presented in a stunning new restoration.
The Goalie's Anxiety At The Penalty Kick
Crime 1971 103 mins Director: Wim Wenders
Unavailable for three decades, Wim Wenders’ 1972 classic about an errant footballer who turns to crime; restored and remastered in stunning 4K.
A Trick of the Light
Drama-documentary 1996 79 mins Director: Wim Wenders
The origins of German cinema are given life in one of Wim Wenders’ most charming and playful films, focusing on pioneering inventors, the Skladanowsky brothers.
Tokyo-Ga
Documentary 1985 92 mins Director: Wim Wenders
Profiling one of the great directors of World Cinema, Wim Wenders delivers this moving portrait of Japanese auteur Yasujiro Ozu.
Notebook on Cities and Clothes
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1989 81 mins Director: Wim Wenders
Wim Wenders helms this unusual but intimate documentary following pioneering fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto as he prepares for a fashion show in Paris.
Land of Plenty
Drama 2004 124 mins Director: Wim Wenders
Michelle Williams teams up with Wim Wenders in this fascinating portrait of the contrasting worldviews between a dedicated missionary and a paranoid war veteran.
New
Obsession
Romance 1976 98 mins Director: Brian De Palma
High melodrama, creeping insanity and barely contained delirium abound in this dizzying tribute to the high tension thrillers of Alfred Hitchcock from director Brian De Palma.
The Olive Tree
Drama 2016 99 mins Director: Icíar Bollaín
A spirited young woman embarks on a journey from the East coast of Spain to Germany in order to retrieve an ancient olive tree precious to her ailing grandfather.
Kiss of the Damned
Horror 2012 95 mins Director: Xan Cassavetes
A cool and contemporary take on the vampire myth, steeped in atmosphere and brooding contemplation.
My 20th Century
Drama 1989 99 mins Director: Ildikó Enyedi
Ildikó Enyedi's magical tale of twin girls born in Budapest at the very moment that Edison’s wondrous electric light-bulb is unveiled to the world.
The Cave of the Yellow Dog
Drama 2005 89 mins Director: Byambasuren Davaa
A Mongolian nomad family find themselves in disagreement when the oldest daughter, Nansal, finds a small dog and brings it home, in Davaa Byambasuren's reflective, naturalistic fable.
Faithless
Drama 2000 154 mins Director: Liv Ullmann
Ingmar Bergman scripts this semi-autobiographical drama directed by his closest collaborator, Liv Ullmann, about a theatre director facing up to the pain he inflicted upon his muse.