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Fans of this show know it as the It's a Wonderful Life of war movies, an intensely moving tale that restores feeling and tenderness to people crippled by loss and despair. The stellar pairing of top star Gregory Peck and Burmese unknown Win Min Than is unique in movies and not to be missed. The Purple Plain Blu-ray Kl Studio Classics 1955 / Color /1:66 widescreen / 100 min. / Street Date April 5, 2016 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95 Starring Gregory Peck, Win Min Than, Brenda De Banzie, Bernard Lee, Maurice Denham, Lyndon Brook, Anthony Bushell, Josephine Griffin Cinematography Geoffrey Unsworth Art Direction Donald M. Ashton, Jack Maxsted Film Editor Clive Donner Original Music John Veale Written by Eric Ambler from a novel by H.E. Bates Produced by John Bryan, Earl St. John Directed by Robert Parrish

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

How can one convey the way a picture grows on one? I liked The Purple Plain...

Production designer behind the deadly gadgets used by James Bond – and his foes

The production designer Syd Cain, who has died aged 93, was one of many behind-the-scenes professionals elevated to something like prominence by the worldwide interest in the James Bond films. An industry veteran who began work in British cinema as a draughtsman in 1947, contributing to the look of the gothic melodrama Uncle Silas, Cain is credited on a range of film and television projects, but remains best known for his work in various design capacities on the 007 series, from Dr No in 1962 to GoldenEye in 1995.

Born in Grantham, Lincolnshire, Cain served in the armed forces in the second world war, surviving a plane crash and recovering from a broken back. Working at Denham Studios in Buckinghamshire in the 1940s and 50s, he moved up from uncredited draughtsman (on Adam and Evelyne, The Interrupted Journey, You Know What Sailors Are...

The British Film Institute's SouthbankTheatre in London will honor the 100th birthday of legendary film producer Albert R. Broccoli by presenting screenings of his films throughout the month of April. The festival kicks off on April 8 with The Cockleshell Heroes directed by and starring Jose Ferrer. There will be screenings of other early Broccoli films that are rarely seen on the big screen including The Trials of Oscar Wilde Fire Down Below, Hell Below Zero and The Red Beret (U.S. title: Paratrooper). There will also be screenings of the James Bond classics Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice and On Her Majesty's Secret Service. The festival is being staged in cooperation with the Broccoli family and Eon Productions. (To read The Times of London's tribute to Broccoli, including comments from Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, click here)  For the film schedule click...