A Room With a View (1985 James Ivory)

We'd just watched an Arena about the four Dames of the British acting community and this was a good opportunity to see both Maggie Smith and Judi Dench in action (the other two were Joan Plowright and Eileen Atkins). Other great acting by Helena Bonham-Carter, Denholm Elliott, Simon Callow, Daniel Day-Lewis, Rosemary Leach, Patrick Godfrey (v. boring minister) and Rupert Graves. Sorry, still don't dig Julian Sands' performance much. Smith and Day-Lewis are almost as wound up as each other, but Maggie's character at least saves the day...

Bonham-Carter, by Pierce-Roberts

Puccini provides the two arias, sung by another Dame, Kiri Te Kanawa - 'O Mio Babbino Caro' from Gianni Scacchi, and 'Chi il bel sogno do Doretta' from La Rondine - with incidental music from Richard Robbins and handsome photography by Tony Pierce-Roberts.

Won Oscars for Ruth Prawer Jhabvala's adaptation of E.M. Forster's 1908 novel, costumes and art direction, and BAFTAs for film, Smith, Dench, production design and costumes. Filmed in Florence and Sevenoaks.

It's a bright, wry, witty and wonderfully observed film.