Devotion

Thirty years ago, Sir John Betjeman died and was buried at St Enodoc Church, close to the village of Tribetherick in north Cornwall. To commemorate Betjeman's death the writer, critic and biographer of Betjeman, AN Wilson, visits the real and imagined places that shaped his life to reveal the life and work of the poet and broadcaster.

Simon of the Desert (1965) [The Criterion Collection #460] (Repost)
Simón Del Desierto - A film by Luis Buñuel
DVD9 | ISO+MDS | NTSC 1.33:1 (4:3) 720x540 VBR | 45 mn | 6.67 GB
Audio: Spanish AC-3 Dolby Digital MONO @ 192 kbps 48.0 kHz | Subtitles: English
Extras: Menu, Chapter Selection, Special Features | Genre: Classics, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy | Country: Mexico

Simon of the Desert is Luis Buñuel’s wicked and wild take on the life of devoted ascetic Saint Simeon Stylites, who waited atop a pillar surrounded by a barren landscape for six years, six months, and six days, in order to prove his devotion to God. Yet the devil, in the figure of the beautiful Silvia Pinal, huddles below, trying to tempt him down. A skeptic’s vision of human conviction, Buñuel’s short and sweet satire is one of the master filmmaker’s most renowned works of surrealism.

Directed by Nick Hurran, Little Black Book follows Stacy (Brittany Murphy), an associate producer of a popular daytime talk show starring Kippie Kann (Kathy Bates), as she tries to figure out the root of her boyfriend's (Ron Livingston) commitment-phobic nature. Rather than continue to fruitlessly question Derek (Livingston) regarding his slew of failed relationships, Stacy sneaks into his Palm Pilot and begins interviewing his ex-girlfriends under the pretense of gathering information for a future show. Though she justifies the deception with her need to find out whether or not Derek can be trusted for a long-term relationship, complications arise when Stacy becomes good friends with one of Derek's former flames. Holly Hunter makes an appearance as Stacy's boss (the show's senior associate producer), while Josie Maran, Julianne Nicholson, Rashida Jones, Sharon Lawrence, and Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale are featured in supporting roles.

BBC - The Beauty of Books (2011)
HDTV | 1280x720 | .MKV/AVC @ 3186 Kbps | 4x~28min | Audio: English AC3 192 kbps, 2 channels | Subs: None | 2.57 GiB
Genre: Documentary

The British Library in London is home to 14 million books, on shelves that stretch over 600km. Extraordinary vessels of ideas and knowledge, they testify to the love affair we have with books. This series explores the enduring appeal and importance of books from a 4th-century bible to present-day paperbacks.

1801, in Vienna, two young women, his pupils, are in love with him. Thérèse de Brunswick's love remains unrequited even though she and Beethoven are engaged for years; Juliette Guicciardi, whom Beethoven loves but who marries a count, regrets that decision, but by then he and Thérèse are engaged. When Beethoven loses Juliette, he moves to the mill at Heiligenstadt; realizing he's becoming deaf, profound depression sets in. He rejects suicide, holding on to remembered sound and to his work, a dedication assisted by Thérèse and others. In later years, we see his devotion to an ungrateful and thieving nephew, his poverty, the isolation of deafness, and the love of friends.

BBC - Hermitage Revealed (2015)
HDTV | 1280x720 | .MKV/AVC @ 2517 Kbps | 58mn 59s | Audio: English AAC 137 kbps, 2 channels | Subs: English | 1.11 GiB
Genre: Documentary

The State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg is one of the largest and most visited museums in the world. Margy Kinmonth's film tells the story of its journey from imperial palace to state museum, investigating remarkable tales of dedication, devotion, ownership and ultimate sacrifice, showing how the collection came about, how it survived tumultuous revolutionary times and what makes the Hermitage unique today. Holding over three million objects and boasting more curators than any other museum, the Hermitage's story is Russia's history in microcosm and its art has lived to tell the tale. The film brings together the oldest, the rarest, the most precious and the most closely guarded of Russia's greatest treasures, including priceless works by Rembrandt, Rubens, Titian, Da Vinci, Michelangelo and modern masterpieces by Matisse, Gauguin, Van Gogh and Picasso, some of which never leave Russia.