Culture

The Nazi high command was put on trial 80 years ago in 1945. The new film Nuremberg draws on a little-known detail of the tribunal to ask enduring questions about the nature of evil.

Artist Man Ray's 1924 picture Le Violon d'Ingres, of a woman's body transformed into a violin, has continued to fascinate, confuse and upset viewers more than 100 years on.

Forty years ago, the mad scientist comedy-horror was released to meagre box-office results. But its shock value and outrageous humour soon made it a cult favourite among horror fans.

Paul Thomas Anderson's political thriller, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, has been critically acclaimed and met with countless rave reviews, but despite that won't break even at the box office. Why?

When the single was released in 1955, it was a big hit – but only after the original lyrics were changed. In 1972, the singer told the BBC that "there's nothing bad" about his music.

Acclaimed new film The Mastermind, starring Josh O'Connor, tells the story of an art heist gone wrong. It's inspired by a wave of similar thefts at a time when society was in upheaval.

Albert Speer distanced himself from the Nazis' atrocities at the Nuremberg war crimes tribunal in October 1946. In History revisits a 1970 BBC interview with Hitler's former friend.

A hotel manager's glimpse of something strange in 1933 helped to create a modern monster myth. In 1987, the BBC reported on the scientists who used sonar to hunt for Nessie.

On 2 October 1925, John Logie Baird transmitted a moving image of a human face. Forty years later, the world's first television star told the BBC about that dramatic moment.

Hair was infamous for its nude scene, but other aspects were just as radical. In 1968, its director told the BBC how it would have fallen foul of an outdated censorship law.

In 1955, the British Empire planted the Union flag in its last piece of territory – a bleak, uninhabited rock. A Royal Navy commander told the BBC about securing Rockall.

Martin Scorsese's crime epic was released 35 years ago. In 1990, the director and his stars, Robert De Niro and Ray Liotta, revealed its secrets to the BBC.