Culture

Alamy(Credit: Alamy)On 24 March 1944, 76 allied officers broke out of a German prisoner-of-war camp, Stalag Luft III – a mission that was memorialised in a classic film, The Great Escape. In 1977, a key member of the escape team,...

Natassja Ebert(Credit: Natassja Ebert)In the latest episode of Influential, US writer Ann Patchett shares how seeing kindness around her influences the way she approaches her characters.The world needs "life-changing books", Ann Patchett once wrote in an essay in The New...

National Portrait GalleryWith her award-winning Wolf Hall series of books, novelist Hilary Mantel made sympathetic a figure long considered a historical bad guy. But did she also 'sidestep crucial matters'?Nearly 500 years after his death, Thomas Cromwell lives again, reborn...

Warner Bros Discovery(Credit: Warner Bros Discovery)Full-frontal male nudity in all three series of The White Lotus has provoked waves of reaction and comment. Why does showing a penis on screen still have the ability to shock?Episode four of The White...

DisneyWith its creepy CGI dwarfs and muddled tone, Disney's latest live-action remake is "not calamitous" but is a "a mind-boggling mash-up".Live-action remakes of Disney cartoons aren't usually given a warm welcome by critics and commentators, but none of them has...

; Yun Sun Park/ BBC/ Getty ImagesThe iconic 90s hip-hop artist was known for his pained intensity. But this deeply personal tribute to his mother Afeni showed off his softer side – and still brings listeners to tears."Not everyone is...

Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, Boston(Credit: Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)At the toughest, most turbulent time of his life, the Impressionist painter was supported by an unlikely soulmate, Joseph Roulin, a postman in Arles. A new exhibition explores this...

Getty ImagesStylish and experimental, Breathless heralded a new era of film-making when it was released 75 years ago. In 1964, its director told the BBC why he broke every rule he could.Jean-Luc Godard was crystal clear about what he planned...

DisneyThe live-action version of the classic fairy-tale animation sounded like a surefire hit. But even before it's reached cinemas, the response to it has been loud and often hostile.You wouldn't think that the war in Gaza would have much impact...

Natassja EbertWynton Marsalis says his approach to performing was influenced by his father (Credit: Natassja Ebert)Wynton Marsalis made history when he became the first musician to win classical and jazz Grammy Awards in the same year. He tells the BBC's...