Features and reviews

Discover the latest from the BFI, the UK’s lead organisation for film, television and the moving image.

From the Sight and Sound archive

George Orwell, film critic

In the 26 film reviews written by Orwell during World War II, the novelist’s analysis was more politically than cinematically minded. From our Autumn 1979 issue.

By Jeffrey Meyers

George Orwell, film critic

Object of the week

Object of the week: The Academy Cinema’s bespoke posters for Seven Samurai and other arthouse classics

By Melanie Williams

Object of the week: The Academy Cinema’s bespoke posters for Seven Samurai and other arthouse classics

Object of the week

Object of the week: Derek Jarman’s workbook for Blue

By Tabitha Austin

Object of the week: Derek Jarman’s workbook for Blue

From the Sight and Sound archive

Moulin Rouge: “the artiest film ever predicated as a summer blockbuster”

By Graham Fuller

Moulin Rouge: “the artiest film ever predicated as a summer blockbuster”

Features

9.5mm: the first popular format to bring watching films into the home

By Rosie Taylor

9.5mm: the first popular format to bring watching films into the home

From the Sight and Sound archive

The Man Who Fell to Earth: humanity, lost and found

By Tom Milne

The Man Who Fell to Earth: humanity, lost and found

Features

The art of acting: award season’s most astonishing screen turns

By Adam Nayman

The art of acting: award season’s most astonishing screen turns

All about...

All about… how we acquire films, TV and other moving images

By Dylan Cave, Sonia Genaitay and others

All about… how we acquire films, TV and other moving images

Object of the week

Object of the week: Signed cast and crew photo from 1940s hit melodrama The Seventh Veil

By Melanie Williams

Object of the week: Signed cast and crew photo from 1940s hit melodrama The Seventh Veil

Object of the week

Object of the week: An unscreened TV interview with 1960s women’s tennis champion Ann Jones

By Lisa Kerrigan

Object of the week: An unscreened TV interview with 1960s women’s tennis champion Ann Jones

Festivals

International cinema, local roots: what to watch at Borderlines Film Festival 2026

By Ali Lalfam

International cinema, local roots: what to watch at Borderlines Film Festival 2026

Rarities of British cinema

The British New Wave outlier that tested Laurence Olivier

By Josephine Botting

The British New Wave outlier that tested Laurence Olivier

Object of the week

Object of the week: The film that launched Benjamin Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra

By Steven Foxon

Object of the week: The film that launched Benjamin Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra

From the Sight and Sound archive

“Two virtuosos on a collision course”: Lars von Trier and Björk made art in his anti-musical, Dancer in the Dark (2000)

By José Arroyo

“Two virtuosos on a collision course”: Lars von Trier and Björk made art in his anti-musical, Dancer in the Dark (2000)

Features

“You have to always shoot from your heart”: an audience with history-making Sinners cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw

By Ivie Uzebu

“You have to always shoot from your heart”: an audience with history-making Sinners cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw

Obituaries

Frederick Wiseman obituary: towering figure of American documentary filmmaking

By Philip Concannon

Frederick Wiseman obituary: towering figure of American documentary filmmaking

From the Sight and Sound archive

Heights of fashion: Wuthering Heights on screen, from Wyler to MTV

By David Jenkins

Heights of fashion: Wuthering Heights on screen, from Wyler to MTV

From the Sight and Sound archive

Keeper of the Flame: an exploration of “German cinema’s greatest marginal figure”, Werner Schroeter

By Adrian Martin

Keeper of the Flame: an exploration of “German cinema’s greatest marginal figure”, Werner Schroeter

From the Sight and Sound archive

The greatest love stories ever re-told? The legacy of the Brontë sisters on screen

By Martin Spence

The greatest love stories ever re-told? The legacy of the Brontë sisters on screen

Object of the week

Object of the week: Douglas Slocombe’s home movie from the making of Ealing comedy The Titfield Thunderbolt

By Josephine Botting

Object of the week: Douglas Slocombe’s home movie from the making of Ealing comedy The Titfield Thunderbolt

Object of the week

The mystery 1967 ‘music video’ for The Beatles’ ‘Penny Lane’

By William Fowler

The mystery 1967 ‘music video’ for The Beatles’ ‘Penny Lane’

Where to begin

Where to begin with Kon Ichikawa

By Jasper Sharp

Where to begin with Kon Ichikawa

Features

“I have made so little”: what the archives of two women filmmakers tell us about the film industry

By Jessica Boyall

“I have made so little”: what the archives of two women filmmakers tell us about the film industry

From the Sight and Sound archive

Views of the New Wave: Godard and Rohmer’s first features

By Louis Marcorelles

Views of the New Wave: Godard and Rohmer’s first features

Rarities of British cinema

The saucy British comedy that sold out cinemas in post-war New York

By Josephine Botting

The saucy British comedy that sold out cinemas in post-war New York

Object of the week

Object of the week: Behind-the-scenes shots from the making of the first British Asian feature film

By Melanie Williams

Object of the week: Behind-the-scenes shots from the making of the first British Asian feature film

Features

David Lynch’s indie empire

By Phil Hoad

David Lynch’s indie empire

Object of the week

Object of the week: Ealing’s poster for the classic police drama The Blue Lamp

By Melanie Williams

Object of the week: Ealing’s poster for the classic police drama The Blue Lamp

Features

Television turns 100: the forgotten history of Britain’s earliest TV shows

By John Wyver

Television turns 100: the forgotten history of Britain’s earliest TV shows

Where to begin

Where to begin with Andrzej Wajda

By Ben Nicholson

Where to begin with Andrzej Wajda