Colin Nears

John Izzard meets with J. R. R. Tolkien at his home, walking with him through the Oxford locations that he loves while hearing the author's own views about his wildly successful fantasy novels.

"A Paris Opera Production filmed in studio with Sylvie Guillem, Charles Jude and Rudolf Nureyev as a movie producer. The ballet is set in Hollywood in the 30′s." - nureyev.org

The life of legendary opera composer Gioacchino Rossini is recounted in this documentary, which examines how the author of "The Barber of Seville" opted to give up composing for the life of a performer at the age of 37. Using historical context, the film follows Rossini's life from his early years up to the height of his career, and includes a variety of excerpts from both his popular and his lesser-known works.

From 1979, exploring the life of Henrik Ibsen, through his plays and the words of his critics and admirers. With excerpts from the Ibsen canon.

Live performance from Kirov, now known as Mariinsky. Recorded in April 1989.

The last days of famous Russian author Leo Tolstoy which are paralleled with one of his last stories - The Death of Ivan Ilyich - about a man who is happy with his life until he finds out he's sick and is about to die.