70多岁的哈里·布朗(迈克尔·凯恩 Michael Caine 饰)是一名退役的皇家海军军官,妻子去世后,靠退休金生活的哈里独自住在贫民窟附近的小公寓。附近的人行隧道是小混混们街头斗殴、毒品交易和肉体买卖的场所,跟布朗下象棋的好朋友,老头子莱昂纳德(大卫·布莱德利 David Bradley 饰)就常被这帮混混骚扰,甚至终被残忍杀害。女警官弗兰普顿(艾米莉·莫迪默 Emily Mortimer 饰)与下属负责调查案件,却因证据不足而不得不释放杀害莱昂纳德的凶手。一把年纪的布朗忍无可忍,决定亲自上阵,铲除混混,为莱昂纳德报仇。
本片获2010年英国《帝国》电影杂志评选的最佳英国影片、最佳惊悚片及最佳男主角(迈克尔·凯恩)提名,并获伦敦影评人协会最具突破性的英国影人(丹尼尔·巴伯 Daniel Barber)提名。
A queen who lost three kingdoms. A wife who lost three husbands. A woman who lost her head.
Mary Queen of Scots spends her childhood in France and is meant to become also Queen of France. However, her ailing husband dies and the young widow returns alone to Scotland, a country devastated by war. Elizabeth has just become Queen of England, for Mary she is like a twin sister to whom she can open her heart. Mary weds again and gives birth to an heir to the thrown. Her second husband, Lord Darnley, proves to be a weakling. When Mary finds the love of her life, the Earl of Bothwell, she has Darnley murdered and marries Bothwell. Horrified by this deed and the blind passion that motivated it, both the nobles and the people of Scotland spurn her. To avert a bloody battle, Mary is compelled to give up her beloved Bothwell. In desperate straits, she turns to Elizabeth for help. In response, the Queen of England imprisons her. After 19 years spent in a golden cage, Mary finds release at last: Elizabeth sends her to the block.
把罗马焚城后,惨无人道的暴君尼禄(查尔斯·劳顿 Charles Laughton 饰)将矛头指向基督徒,开始大规模肆意捕杀基督徒。不仅如此,尼禄更颁布了法令把抓获的基督徒送往竞技场。罗马最高军事军官马库斯(弗雷德里克·马奇 Fredric March 饰)奉命残杀这些捕获的基督徒。被抓的基督徒中有两名老者准备逃跑,马库斯本欲逮捕他们,然而当马库斯看到他们的继女麦西卡(爱丽莎·兰迪 Elissa Landi 饰)时,情不自禁地一见倾心。楚楚动人的麦西卡,马库斯很快与她坠入爱河不能自拔,随之下令释放了所有基督徒。马库斯的这一举动,不仅激怒了暴君尼禄,更让一直暗恋他的皇后帕亚(克劳黛·考尔白 Claudette Colbert 饰)醋意大发,心生嫉妒。