Culture

In July 1987, 38 years ago this week, a Nazi war criminal, the "Butcher of Lyon", was sentenced to life in prison by a French court for crimes against humanity. Four years earlier, in 1983, the BBC reported on how...

AlamyOne of show business's most glamorous – and notorious – images, there's more to this 1957 snapshot of Sophia Loren and Jayne Mansfield than might first appear.On the night of Sophia Loren's "Welcome to Hollywood" dinner party in April 1957,...

Brook RushtonFrom Superman to I Know What You Did Last Summer – these are the films to watch at the cinema and stream at home this month.A24EddingtonBest known as the horror auteur who chilled audiences with Hereditary and Midsommar, Ari...

The National Gallery, London(Credit: The National Gallery, London)They helped to make Vincent van Gogh among the most famous and influential painters in the history of art. Why did sunflowers obsess him and so many other artists before and since?When we...

Getty ImagesCited as one of the first representations of black queer popular culture, Ma Rainey's sensational Prove It on Me Blues is a landmark song that had a profound and lasting effect.One night in 1925, a party in a Chicago...

Pixar(Credit: Pixar)Pixar's Elio has had the worst-ever box office opening for a film from the animation studio. It's part of a wave of original family cartoons failing at the box office.In big-time animation studio Pixar's new cartoon, Elio, a boy...

Ana Blumenkron/ Netflix(Credit: Ana Blumenkron/ Netflix)From Lena Dunham's new Netflix rom-com, set in London, to the return of Michael C Hall's murderous Dexter and a stunning new wildlife series.Greg Gayne/ Amazon Prime Video(Credit: Greg Gayne/ Amazon Prime Video)1. Ballard Long-running series...

AlamyAlmost 55 years ago, Michael Eavis hosted the first of his legendary music festivals. In 1970, the BBC visited his Somerset dairy farm to find out what made it so unique."I think this is the quickest way of clearing my...

Courtesy of Svenskt Tenn archiveScandinavian interior style is not all about pared-back, minimalist living and functional, identikit furniture. Here’s why the century-old Svenskt Tenn idea of abundance, exuberance and "luxe cosiness" is resonating now.The stereotypical image of Swedish design is...

AlamyTwenty years ago, Ang Lee's drama about the love between two male sheep herders was finally released after a long struggle to get it made. It was a watershed moment for gay representation that balanced playing by Hollywood's rules and...