The London 2012 Olympic Cauldron

Thomas Heatherwick won worldwide acclaim when it was unveiled last year

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Film: Scandinavia's answer to `Trainspotting'

Nicolas Winding Refn has long been at odds with society. For his debut film, `Pusher', he moved into the dark world of the drugs dealers. Nick Hasted meets the clear-eyed `infiltrator'

Not half bad at English, considering ...

In the summer months Britain becomes home for crowds of foreigners seeking a cool and damp change from the blazing sunshine at home. When they arrive here, they discover an unsuspected hazard: the English language. The trouble with the English language, many of them complain to me, is that it is not spoken the same way that it is taught at home, and is full of phrases like "Don't mind if I do" and "Brass monkey weather", which are quite inexplicable.

Interview: Amy Jenkins: Once in a lifetime

The creator of cult TV show 'This Life' never planned to be a writer. Now she's a hot new property, working with the best in British film

Made in Wales

But 'Twin Town' isn't a film about male voice choirs or the death of the mining industry. And it's not a Welsh 'Trainspotting' either. Even if Danny Boyle was executive producer

Millions more flock to flicks

A sharp 35-per-cent rise in film audiences in just the first three months of this year shows that British cinema is continuing to revive.

'Trainspotting' made easy - for Americans

"Aw ... ah wanted the radge tae gist f--- off ootae ma visage, tae go oan his ain, n gist leave us wi Jean Claude. Oan the other hand, ah'd be getting sick tae before long, and if that c--- went n scored, he'd haud oot oan us."

TELEVISION : Talent spotting

From 'Cracker' to 'Trainspotting', Robert Carlyle is rarely off our screens. Nicholas Barber met him

George Burns, world's oldest comedian, is dead

SHOWBUSINESS lost one of its most enduring stars yesterday with the death of comedian George Burns, just a few weeks after his 100th birthday.

The dynamic trio take film honours to Scotland

Movie culture is thriving north of the border, writes John Arlidge

Postcards from the edge

First it was a best-selling novel, then a West End play. Now it's an acclaimed film. In a rare interview, Irvine Welsh, author of the phenomenal 'Trainspotting', talked to Kevin Macdonald about the journey from page to stage to screen

CINEMA : British noir, American-style

EVER since Erich Von Stroheim, cinema has grossed out on greed. Greed fed a whole avaricious genre: film noir, with its lust for money, lust for power and just plain lust. Von Stroheim's 1924 Greed is more topical than ever: it told of a friendshi p blown apart by the windfall of a lottery win. Many will read the new Brit- ish thriller Shallow Grave (18)

Never rob your own grave

Newcomers steal from their elders, a veteran cannibalises himself. Adam Mars-Jones knows where the bodies are buried. Plus round-up

Character of many parts

`I have this absolute belief bred into me that I can do anything, including act'

Edinburgh Festival 1994: Cinema

To Live (Filmhouse 1, 031-229 2550, 14 Aug). Zhang Yimou's latest is about stoicism and revolution, one man's resilience in the turmoil of China between the 1940s and the present day. With another luminous performance from Gong Li, Zhang's leading lady from Ju Dou onwards.
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Babies behind bars: A Palestinian fertility doctor has become an unlikely hero by helping women conceive – even though their husbands are in jail

Babies behind bars

A Palestinian fertility doctor has become an unlikely hero by helping women conceive – even though their husbands are in jail
Sonic youth: The high-pitched sound alarm for under 25s

Sonic youth: The high-pitched sound alarm

Is Mosquito, the alarm only under-25s can hear, a blessing or a bane?
The art of living in small spaces: Architects are learning how to make less, more

The art of living in small spaces

Space in cities at a premium so architects are learning how to make less, more...
Special report: The story of Sir Mervyn King's reign at the Bank

The story of Sir Mervyn King's reign at the Bank

After four 'nice' years as Governor of Bank of England, things turned decisively nasty
Zombie nation: Our enduring fascination with a world full of death and destruction

Zombie nation: Our fascination with death and destruction

A new season of shows on Radio 4 is inspired by dark tales of future dystopias. Meanwhile, zombies are marauding in the multiplexes...
Martin Stephen: 'Ofsted says comprehensives are failing the most able but teaching bright children isn't rocket science'

'Teaching bright children isn't rocket science'

It doesn't take a selective system to nurture the best minds, says a former head of St Paul's boys' school.
The retail empires strike back: Can new technology lure us back to the high street?

Can technology lure us back to the high street?

The high street has been bruised and battered by online firms but in-store technology is helping to enliven the retail experience...
The 10 Best new smartphones

The 10 Best new smartphones

Photos, films, music, apps and browsing - the latest mobiles can do it all
Jenson Button: Downbeat driver cannot wait to put season behind him

Jenson Button: Downbeat driver cannot wait to put season behind him

McLaren man admits 'failed gamble' with car has left him pinning hopes on 2014 campaign
James Lawton: Firmer fist will be required to win Champions Trophy final battle with stouter foe

James Lawton

Firmer fist will be required to win Champions Trophy final battle with stouter foe
'To farm I have to rape the countryside. It’s got to be wrong': The true effect of the badger cull

The true effect of the badger cull

'To farm I have to rape the countryside. It’s got to be wrong'
Theatre review: Daniel Radcliffe gives an admirably honest performance in Michael Grandage's The Cripple of Inishmaan

First night: The Cripple of Inishmaan

Daniel Radcliffe gives an admirably honest performance in Michael Grandage's comedy
Girls Guides drop religious reference but pledge to self and the Queen

Guides drop religious reference but pledge to self and the Queen

After 103 years, organisation changes oath to welcome 'all girls, of all faiths, and none'
Steve Tongue: Joe Kinnear was one of the boys and a breath of fresh air... 21 years ago

Steve Tongue

Joe Kinnear was one of the boys and a breath of fresh air... 21 years ago
Chris Froome: Free from 'pain in neck' after Bradley Wiggins' exit

Chris Froome: Free from 'pain in neck' after Wiggins' exit

Sky's lead rider says he is in fantastic form for the Tour and happy pecking order debate is over