We are sorry to announce that due to measures in place in the UK in response to COVID-19, Illuminations cannot currently dispatch DVD and Blu-ray products ordered through our own Film Shop. However, many films can be downloaded or streamed via our Film Shop, Vimeo, Amazon Prime Video and Digital Theatre.
Please note that DVD and Blu-ray products can still be ordered via Amazon, who presently hold good stocks.
Do contact us at [email protected] if you require any further information and we will try to help where we can.
Download The Art of Faith I
21st February 2020
We’re pleased to announce a new addition to our films available to download from our website, Art of Faith I. Each film from Art of Faith I, Judaism, Christianity, andIslamare now available to download individually and are newly subtitled.
Art of Faith I was originally broadcast on Sky Arts and sees John McCarthy travel to Singapore, New York, Tunisia, and, er, Woking amongst other destinations to explore the wonders of religious architecture and meet the people who worship in them.
Art of Faith I asks: how have the passions and complexities of religious belief been expressed in architecture? How have the most abstract mysteries been given the most concrete shapes? And how, over the past two thousand years, have we celebrated the art of faith?
The second Art of Faith series, Art of Faith II that features films on Buddhism, Hinduism, and The Religions of Tao previously unavailable will be released soon.
New year, new download
8th January 2020
We hope that you’ve enjoyed Christmas. To brighten your January we’re offering our fabulous how-best-to-get-to-know Shakespeare film, Muse of Fire, as a new download. Made by filmmakers Dan Poole and Giles Terera, it attempts to demystify the work of the Bard with a little help from luminaries like Ian McKellen, Dame Judi Dench and Jude Law. Perfect for children, students, or just the Shakespeare-curious.
The Wars of the Roses was a landmark production of Shakespeare’s Henry VI trilogy and Richard III premiered in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1963, adapted and directed for the stage by Peter Hall and John Barton.
Shakespeare’s Sonnets are among the most beautiful and fascinating poems ever written and here, all 154 Sonnets are performed by a stellar cast of actors including, Sir Patrick Stewart, David Tennant, Stephen Fry, and Fiona Shaw.
We will be closed between 20th December and 6th January. Wishing you a very merry Christmas from all of us at Illuminations.
Here are our last-minute gift ideas which we hope will inspire you:
Matthew Bourne’s Cinderella (DVD or Blu-ray): A heart-stopping reinterpretation of the classic fairytale set against the backdrop of a war-torn London, Cinderella is a thrilling and evocative love story told in dance.
Art of Faith (DVD): A visually sumptuous set of three films exploring the art and architecture of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Presented by John McCarthy, who shows us some of the great and beautiful religious buildings of the world.
An Age of Kings (5-DVD box set): The BBC’s compelling 15-episode production of Shakespeare’s exquisite History plays filmed in 1960. Spot the very young Sean Connery and Judi Dench!
Muse of Fire (DVD): Dan and Giles ask, why are we afraid of Shakespeare? How do we conquer the fear and dispel the myth? They take us on an around the world road trip to find out. Think Shakespeare is boring? Think again!
Macbeth (DVD/Blu-ray/download): Winning Best Actor for his lead role, Patrick Stewart is simply magnificent in this haunting and visceral film set in an undefined and threatening central European world.
State of the Art (DVD): An exciting and controversial series of documentaries about visual art in the 1980s. Features Jean Michel Basquiat, Cindy Sherman and Antony Gormley amongst other pioneering artists.
Architectures (11-DVD box set): It’s big, it’s bold and it’s sumptuous! An unprecedented look at the work of superstar architects from all over the world through 60 + films. Detailed and analytical, their buildings are documented in minute detail from genesis through to completion. A gift to treasure.
Digitising our films cont.
12th November 2019
We are pleased to announce that ten films from theEYE series are now available to purchase from our Film Shop for digital download and streaming via Vimeo.
theEYE is a series of best-selling documentaries about contemporary British artists. Each film offers a rare and personal insight into their influences and creative processes, providing a thought-provoking survey of an artist’s words and ideas and an accessible means of engaging with the pleasures and puzzles of art in the twenty-first century.
We will be adding more digital versions of theEYE in the coming months.
In addition, Shakespeare’s Sonnets and The Wars of the Roses are now available for download and streaming with Art of Faith I and Art of Faith II soon to be released, with both series available for the first time since the original broadcast transmission.
The ten films in theEYE series can be found below. Simply click to add the download to your basket or click on the Vimeo link to access streaming.
Matthew Bourne’s Romeo and Juliet is a passionate and contemporary re-imagining of Shakespeare’s classic love story. Confined against their will by a society that seeks to divide, our two young lovers must follow their hearts as they risk everything to be together.
Bursting with youth, vitality and Matthew Bourne’s trademark storytelling, the UK’s brightest young dance talent join the New Adventures company, with direction and choreography by Matthew Bourne, design by Lez Brotherston, lighting by Paule Constable, sound by Paul Groothuis and new orchestrations of the Prokofiev score by Terry Davies, played live by the New Adventures Orchestra conducted by Brett Morris.
We are delighted to be continuing our relationship with Matthew Bourne and his company New Adventures. We have released The Car Man and Cinderella on DVD and Blu-ray – and these can be purchased here and here – and earlier this year More2Screen brought to cinemas our co-production with New Adventures, Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake. Showings of this continue in Britain and around the world.
We’ve moved from the Mews
14th May 2019
After almost 30 glorious and fruitful years, Illuminations left Rheidol Mews in Islington in mid-May. Our building was sold to a private developer and so we had to seek pastures new. (For more on the Mews and our memories of being there, go here.) You can now find us at ScreenWorks, which is just down the road in Highbury Grove. This is on the site of an old television factory – and we quite like that.
Phone and e-mail details are as before, but our postal address now is:
Studio 309, ScreenWorks 22 Highbury Grove London N5 2ER
Illuminations goes digital!
11th December 2018
We’re very excited to announce brand new digital downloads and streaming for some of our bestselling titles, just in time for viewing over the festive period.
Macbeth (Patrick Stewart), Julius Caesar, Richard II and Macbeth (Antony Sher) will be available to purchase from our Film Shop for streaming or download from 12th December. These are the first batch of digital products and we plan to add all 45 films from our prestigious visual arts series, theEYE, early next year. And more planned for release in 2019. All films and extras are fully subtitled for the first time ever.
We are pleased to share our latest specially-produced trailer for Macbeth (Patrick Stewart), which is a true Shakespearean horror movie to behold.
Subtitles for Patrick Stewart’s Macbeth
23rd August 2018
We’re thrilled to announce a new version of our best-selling film, Macbeth, now with subtitles across the main film, extras and director’s commentary. We are committed to ensuring that our films are accessible to all and every new Illuminations product (DVD, Blu-ray or download) we publish features subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing as standard.
Releasing this new DVD and (very soon!) download edition of one of our most popular titles ensures that Shakespeare’s most brilliant of plays can be enjoyed by a far wider audience. If anyone has an original DVD with no subtitles that you wish to replace with our new version, please do contact us and we’ll be happy to help.
Your Privacy Matters
24th May 2018
In light of a new regulation coming into effect across the EU, Illuminations has updated its Privacy Policy in line with the new GDPR rules. Your trust is important to us, so keeping your personal information safe and secure remains our priority. To find out more, please take a look at our updated Privacy Policy, which will apply from Friday 25th May 2018.
