Second world war
Rarely has the West End seen such a draining and nasty experience: The Exorcist reviewed
The Exorcist opened in 1973 accompanied by much hoo-ha in the press. Scenes of panic, nausea and fainting were recorded…
Don’t believe the sales figures – DVDs are thriving
According to the accountants’ ledgers, DVDs are dying. Sales of those shiny discs, along with their shinier sibling the Blu-ray,…
Snatching victory from the jaws of defeat
Lord Woolton put it best: ‘Few people have succeeded in obtaining such a public demand for their promotion as the…
Of his time
Great novelists come in all shapes and sizes, but one thing they all share is a status of half-belonging. If…
The evil that men do
The first thing to say about Claudio Magris’s new novel is that it is, in an important sense, unreadable. There…
Balkan brass
When brass instruments with button-operated valves were introduced in the second half of the 19th century, music-making changed. Once requiring…
Visual, visceral, confusing
Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk has already been described as ‘a masterpiece’ and ‘a glorious, breathtakingly vivid triumph’, but we need to…
Grain of truth
We routinely feel emotional about materials — often subliminally. Which is why new substances and techniques for manufacturing have provoked…
The kindest man in the Bordeaux wine business
There was a moment during the war when De Gaulle was being more than usually impossible. Roosevelt, furious, asked Churchill…
What is a serious film festival doing opening with Hail, Caesar!
What is a serious film festival doing opening with Ethan and Joel Coens’ turkey Hail, Caesar!? James Woodall reports from Berlin
Watch it backwards – and then don’t stay for long: Dad’s Army reviewed
The TV sitcom Dad’s Army ran on the BBC from 1968 to 1977 (nine series, 80 episodes) with repeats still…
Where’s all the joy gone?
Britain seems to be suffering from a dearth of lightheartedness
The Field Marshal, the restaurateur and the wine family
As the bottles flowed, the talk ranged, to a serious vineyard, an awesome Field Marshal and a delightful restauranteur. For…
Ian Rankin’s diary: Paris, ignoring Twitter and understanding evil
After ten days away, I spent last Friday at home alone, catching up on washing, shopping for cat food, answering…
The Church of England’s shameful betrayal of bishop George Bell
The Church of England has rushed to posthumously condemn one of the greatest men it has produced
German refugees transformed British cultural life - but at a price
German-speaking refugees dragged British culture into the 20th century. But that didn’t go down well in Stepney or Stevenage, says William Cook
How anarchy was responsible for Auschwitz
In September 1939 Britain went to war against Germany, ostensibly in defence of Poland. One big secret that the British…
Forget Chilcot. Here’s the inquiry we really need
What we really need is an inquiry into why so many of us are so eager to support ‘humanitarian’ wars
I lived next to St Paul’s Cathedral as a baby in 1940 – it’s a miracle I am alive
While the Germans were raining bombs on London during the second world war, the architects’ department of London County Council…
A.N. Wilson’s diary: VJ Day and the Virginia Woolf Burger Bar
Should we have celebrated VJ Day? Hearing the hieratic tones of the Emperor Hirohito on Radio 4 the other day,…
Wealthy, cosmopolitan – and sometimes rough: the secrets of Hamburg (and my grandmother)
‘What was it like growing up in Liverpool?’ a journalist asked John Lennon. ‘I didn’t grow up in Liverpool,’ he…
If the government have their way, will Radio 4’s dramas be broken up by ads for dentures?
‘Bait by Cartier,’ she growls as her priceless diamond bracelet is strapped to a piece of rope and dropped overboard…
I can understand those seduced by Isis; once, it could have been me
One of the great moments of my student life was opening the door and seeing visitors step back, shocked. I’d…
The new adventures of the adventure playground
Are adventure playgrounds set to make a comeback, asks Maisie Rowe
Who dares lies: why do so many men pretend to have been in the SAS?
Why do so many men (including Sir Christopher Lee) fib about serving with the SAS?
