Spite Marriage (1929) restored silent era Buster Keaton comedy with synchronised soundtrack, 76 minutes. “Here Buster plays the poker-faced comic smitten by an egotistical stage actress- so much so that he joins the cast of her current production. The chaos begins when she asks Buster to marry her to get even with a former beau. A box office hit, it has a strange love story at its centre and Buster filled every nook and cranny of the movie with gags and ideas. Sub-plots of gangsters, a fire on a yacht, a chase of course, villains galore and memorable stunts abound. The most famous (and imitated) comic scene is his putting a very inebriated wife to bed. The genius of Buster is that he approaches the challenge as a geometric problem. This new 2k digital restoration, accompanied by its original synchronised Movietone optical soundtrack, in its 95th Anniversary Year, is fitting appreciation of Buster’s many gifts to audiences worldwide."

Foreign Correspondent (1940) restored drama with soundtrack, 120 minutes. In 1940, Alfred Hitchcock made his official transition from the British film industry to Hollywood. And it was quite a year: his first two American movies, Rebecca and Foreign Correspondent, were both nominated for the best picture Oscar. Though Rebecca prevailed, Foreign Correspondent is the more quintessential Hitch film. A full-throttle espionage thriller, starring Joel McCrea as a green Yank reporter sent to Europe to get the scoop on the imminent war, it’s wall-to-wall witty repartee, head-spinning plot twists, and brilliantly mounted suspense set pieces, including an ocean plane crash climax with astonishing special effects. Foreign Correspondent deserves to be mentioned alongside The 39 Steps and North by Northwest as one of the master’s greatest adventures. This classic has suspense, adventure, romance, humour, heroics, stunning set pieces and a superb cast.

Flesh and the Devil (1926) Greta Garbo silent romantic drama with soundtrack, 112 minutes. “The late 1920s boasted some of the silent era’s most beautiful and unforgettable films, and Flesh and the Devil is one of them. A powerful emotional drama with tension and suspense, it tells the story of two men in the Austrian army at the turn of last century who enjoy a close and loyal friendship since childhood. Along comes Garbo in her classic screen persona of the seductive woman who threatens to destroy the strong bond between the two friends. At a time when immorality was a gross sin to church-going citizens, and men of honour fought duels to the death, Garbo is thoroughly convincing as the temptress whom a Pastor described as the Devil in the guise of a beautiful woman who brings men to ruin."

The Ladykillers (1955) restored classic with soundtrack, 90 minutes. A superb Ealing comedy with everything: exquisite dark humour, outstanding actors led by Alec Guinness and excellent direction by Alexander Mackendrick. Five oddball criminals planning a bank robbery rent rooms from an octogenarian widow under the pretext that they are classical musicians. The hapless robbers never had a chance as the gran triumphs over Guinness and his gang, including the great Peter Sellers in an impressive early role. The film is an excellent example of the prestigious and beloved studio firing on all cylinders. Audiences and critics understood and acclaimed this masterpiece as they do today.