Directed by Roberto Rossellini • 1971 • Italy

Roberto Rossellini may have made SOCRATES (1971) for television, but he didn't let the small screen's budget and production limitations -- drawing on the few presumed facts known about the philosopher, and with fine central performances by Jean Sylvere and Anne Caprile, he ended up with a charming, visually stylized and engaging account of his subject's last days.