Since its release in 1998, Steven Spielberg's D-Day drama Saving Private Ryan has become hugely influential: everything, from the opening sequence of Gladiator ("Saving Marcus Aurelius") to the marvellous 10-hour TV series Band of Brothers, has been made in its shadow. There have been many previous attempts to recreate the D-Day landings on screen (notably, the epic The Longest Day), but thanks to Spielberg's freewheeling hand-held camerawork, Ryan was the first time an audience really felt like they were there, storming up Omaha Beach in the face of withering enemy fire. After the indelible opening sequence, however, the film is not without problems. The story, though based on an American Civil War incident, feels like it was concocted simply to fuel Spielberg's sentimental streak. In standard Hollywood fashion the Germans remain a faceless foe (with the exception of one charmless character who turns out to be both a coward and a turncoat); and the Tom Hanks-led platoon consists of far too many stereotypes: the doughty Sergeant; the thick-necked Private; the Southern man religious sniper; the cowardly Corporal. Matt Damon seems improbably clean-cut as the titular Private in need of rescue (though that may well be the point); and why do they all run straight up that hill towards an enemy machine gun post anyway? Some non-US critics have complained that Ryan portrays only the American D-Day experience, but it is an American film made and financed by Americans after all. Accepting both its relatively narrow remit and its lachrymose inclinations, Saving Private Ryan deserves its place in the pantheon of great war pictures. On the DVD: Saving Private Ryan on disc comes in a good-quality anamorphic 1.85:1 transfer with a suitably dynamic Dolby Digital 5.1 sound mix in which bullets fly all around your living room. Extra features are pretty minimal, with a standard 30-minute "making of" piece called "Into the Breach" and two trailers. There are text notes on the cast and crew as well as the production, and a brief message from Mr Spielberg himself about why he decided to make the movie. --Mark Walker
Princess Diaries (Dir. Garry Marshall 2001): Academy Award'' Winner Julie Andrews enchanting newcomer Anne Hathaway and Hector Elizondo (Pretty Woman) lead a charmed cast in Disney's The Princess Diaries a hilarious hip and heartwarming modern day Cinderella story. Mia Thermopolis (Hathaway) is a bright but terribly shy and gawky teenager whose goal in life is to survive each school day with a minimum of attention and embarrassment. Unfortunately her wish to be invisible is thwarted when her estranged grandmother arrives and delivers the shocking news that she's a real-life princess - heir to the throne of Genovia! Furious and incredulous the reluctant royal agrees to take princess lessons and make the biggest decision of her life - in three weeks. And so begins a comical transformation towards poise and princess-ness when she finds herself in the middle of a media storm jealous schoolmates and a plot to take over her country. Funny uplifting and affirming - your entire family will thoroughly enjoy this crown jewel. The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (Dir. Garry Marshall 2004): As a teenager ugly duckling Mia (Anne Hathaway) learned that she was actually a princess. Now that the Princess has completed college in America she is returning to her country Genovia. Since Mia is turning 21 Queen Clarisse (Julie Andrews) plans to step down and give her granddaughter the throne. But evil Viscount Mabrey (Jonathan Rhys-Davies) believes his nephew is the rightful heir and Parliament decides that Mia will have to abide by an age-old Genovian law: no Queen shall rule without a husband. Mia has just thirty days to marry if she is to retain the throne that her family has held for over 500 years. The kindhearted but clumsy princess also has to win over the Genovian people and survive the constant paparazzi. Although a charming Englishman (Callum Blue) seems to fit the arranged marriage bill Mia also finds herself drawn to the very man that is vying for the throne the dashing Nicholas (Chris Pine). But can she trust her foe's intentions? Will Mia follow her heart or sacrifice love for her country?
Five friends spend one lost weekend in a mix of music, love and club culture.
Enjoy four volumes of your favourite magical episodes!
The daddy of all private investigators. Featuring all the episodes from series 1 & 2 Vincent stars Ray Winstone as the eponymous private investigator; a headstrong passionate man whose methods often bring him into conflict with the authorities.
IN THE LAST GREAT INVASION, OF THE LAST GREAT WAR, THE GREATEST DANGER FOR EIGHT MEN WAS SAVING ONE. Internationally acclaimed by critics and audiences alike, Saving Private Ryan, directed by Steven Spielberg, is an unforgettable film achievement that has had a profound and lasting impact throughout the world. Winner of five Academy Awards including Best Director (Spielberg) Saving Private Ryan also garnered two Golden Globe⢠Awards for Best Motion Picture (Drama) and Best Director. Seen through the eyes of a squad of American soldiers, the story begins with World War II's historic D-Day invasion, then moves beyond the beach as the men embark on a dangerous special mission. Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) must take his men behind enemy lines to find Private James Ryan (Matt Damon), whose three brothers have been killed in combat. Faced with impossible odds, the men question their orders. Why are eight men risking their lives to save just one? Surrounded by the brutal realities of war, each man searches for his own answer and the strength to triumph over an uncertain future with honour, decency, and respect. SPECIAL FEATURES: An Introduction Looking into the Past Miller and his Platoon Boot Camp Making Saving Private Ryan Re-Creating Omaha Beach Music and Sound Parting Thoughts Into the Breach: Saving Private Ryan Theatrical Trailer Re-Release Trailer Shooting War
Please note this is a region 2 DVD and will require a region 2 or region free DVD player in order to play. After the death of her bullying husband, the not-so-aged and downtrodden housewife Thelma Caldicot (Pauline Collins) is shipped off to the Twilight Years Rest Home by her money grabbing son and manipulative daughter in law. Appalled by the conditions, Mrs Caldicot decides to take matters into her own hands Review One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest for OAP's --hotdog Magazine A showcase performance by Pauline Collins --Empire
Ben & Holly Volume 6 DVD featuring 10 episodes from the hit series. Includes: Nanny's Magic Test Giants in the Meadow Daisy and Poppy's Playgroup Spies Lucy's School Elf Rescue Gaston Goes to School The Shooting Star Baby Dragon Dolly Plum
Okay, sure, if you're a ten-year-old girl, this sequel to Disney's 2001 hit will completely transfix you. How could it not? Bubbly Mia (Anne Hathaway), the American teenager who in the first film learned she was actually European royalty, finishes college and--whoosh!--heads off to Genovia, where shes given a closet full of fabulous clothes and jewelry in preparation to rule the kingdom under the tutelage of grandmother Julie Andrews. Throw in a horse and a volatile but innocent romantic attraction to the dreamy young stud (Chris Pine) who's also vying for the throne, and you have the kind of stuff that prepubescent girls rhapsodize about at slumber parties. Oh--and there's a slumber party here, too, featuring a bevy of cute, international young princesses mattress-surfing down a giant slide. Resistance is futile. For the rest of us, though, director Garry Marshall has managed to make his Laverne & Shirley days seem positively Shakespearean in comparison. The movie is precious, padded (two hours!), and pandering twaddle; Andrews, in her role as Queen Mother, is even shoehorned into a faux-hip-hop duet with Disney Channel favorite Raven (one of many, many grueling moments intended to sell the soundtrack). Then the film takes a maddening left turn three-quarters of the way into the plot and decides that, despite all the preceding consumption and connubial fantasies to the contrary, it's really about feminine emancipation. But dont worry--what causes you to smack your forehead in frustration will go right over the heads of its hypnotized target market. --Steve Wiecking
The late Dennis Potter was a master at mining the popular songs of the 1930s and '40s for dramatic effect, but he never did it better than in The Singing Detective. The inestimable Michael Gambon plays a mystery writer named Philip E Marlow, who is suffering a torturous bout of psoriatic arthritis in hospital, where he is a victim of both his disease and the National Health Service. Unable to move without pain, he escapes into his imagination, plotting out a murder tale in which he is both a big-band singer and a private eye. But Potter and director Jon Amiel also mix in flashbacks of Marlow's youth and his unhappy marriage to explain how the real Marlow reached this sorry pass. Flawlessly, intricately, kaleidoscopically assembled, the six one-hour episodes fly by like some fantastic fever dream. Marshall Fine
Holding Synopsis:Marcella is a crime-noir detective series starring Anna Friel. Marcella in her 30s reboots her career in the Murder Squad of the Metropolitan Police after a 12 year maternity break.
From the creator of Thunderbirds Captain Scarlet and The Mysterons comes Terrahawks the puppet science fiction series first broadcast in 1983 which re-launched Gerry Anderson's career for a new decade and a new legion of fans! This DVD box set includes 9 discs packed with all 39 episodes plus an extra disc chocked with exclusive bonus features unavailable anywhere else! 1. Expect The Unexpected (Part 1) 2. Expect The Unexpected (Part 2) 3. Thunder Roar 4. Close Call
Marian cannot believe her eyes. Is that her husband in heels lipstick black gloves and a rubber swimming costume? A cheeky psychedelic comedy from the director of Letter To Brezhnev. A Liverpudlian couple's relationship has renewed life breathed into it by the husband Rick's new found penchant for cross dressing! However when their conservative parents find out their disapproval threatens their very relationship... A Little Bit Of Lippy received the Special
A year after the explosive events of last season, England finds itself embroiled in a devastating civil war, with the powerful, neo-fascist Raven Union, led by Lord Harwood (Jason Flemyng) threatening to control the entire country. North London remains one of the few resistance holdouts remaining. It's here in the West End Neutral Zone, that we find Alfred Pennyworth (Jack Bannon). After years in the British Army, his training with the SAS has taught him to be a cynical optimist - expecting the worst, but knowing that he can handle it. Now running The Delaney, a black-market Soho club that welcomes everyone, regardless of their politics, Alfred, with his SAS mates, Bazza (Hainsley Lloyd Bennett) and Daveboy (Ryan Fletcher), is now in search of a way out... before London, and his country, burns itself to the ground. And he's got his eye on America.
A huge success for Thames Television, Van der Valk stars Barry Foster as the no-nonsense Dutch detective whose exploits enthralled ITV audiences over three decades. As head of Amsterdam CID he has to contend with murder, blackmail, missing persons and the more tricky cases that come the way of the Dutch police! Created by Nicolas Freeling, this ratings-topping series co-stars Michael Latimer, Nigel Stock and Ronald Hines, and guest stars include Clifford Rose, Geoffrey Bayldon, Michael Sheard, Paul Eddington, Sydney Tafler, Lisa Daniely, Jane Lapotaire, Freddie Jones, Hildegard Neil, Patrick Troughton, Suzy Kendall, Bob Hoskins, Pamela Salem, Ian Hendry, Jane Merrow, Tom Bell, Amanda Burton, Kenneth Cranham, Brian Cox and Anthony Valentine. This set contains all five series, including the feature-length specials that were made in the early 1990s.
Through her marriage to a wealthy financier Mary Justin has the freedom and comfort she has always yearned for but her life is one that lacks emotional fulfilment. On a visit to Switzerland she runs into an old friend Steven Stratton with whom she once had a passionate love affair many years before her marriage. Her meeting with Steven rekindles old memories of a friendship of the most beautiful kind. If only they could begin again...
Based on Andrew Morton's bestselling book the film traces Diana's transformation from shy young girl to public icon and sophisticated princess whose fairy tale marriage to Prince Charles soon turned into a nightmare well hidden outside the walls of Buckingham Palace. Until the book and this film revealed Diana's side of the story: her marital troubles her loneliness inside the royal family her suicide attempts and her struggles with bulimia. With this critically acclaimed film the world reached a new understanding of this complex fascinating woman.
Joanna Lumley stars as a brittle scheming soap diva in this hilarious sitcom following the lives of the cast of a daytime medical drama and the production team battling to make the show on a shoestring. Jealousy insecurity egotism and mental instability: the off-screen melodrama of Dr Willoughby is revealed in all its ugliness in this complete series now available for the first time in home-video format! After five successful years the Dr Willoughby actors are wont to confuse reality and fiction. Can Donna Sinclair star of the show really heal the sick and perform open-heart surgery? Some of the viewers think she can. Is she really as saintly and composed as her character? Not quite. To put it mildly she's a highly strung prima donna an implacable control freak and a monstrous megalomaniac. Which cast members will be axed by the producers - or by Donna? Who do the studio execs want to bring in - and why? And will producer Emma ever get off the show?
Princess Diaries (Dir. Garry Marshall 2001): Academy Award Winner Julie Andrews enchanting newcomer Anne Hathaway and Hector Elizondo (Pretty Woman) lead a charmed cast in Disney's The Princess Diaries a hilarious hip and heartwarming modern day Cinderella story. Mia Thermopolis (Hathaway) is a bright but terribly shy and gawky teenager whose goal in life is to survive each school day with a minimum of attention and embarrassment. Unfortunately her wish to be invisible is
Written by the successful team of John Esmonde and Bob Larbey 'Ever Decreasing Circles' was first broadcast by the BBC in February 1984. Richard Briers Penelope Wilton and Peter Egan star in this popular suburban-set comedy. Episode 1: Martin lives in a cul-de-sac and is a pillar of the community. He is chairman of just about every club committee. The equilibrium of the Close where he lives is disturbed when new neighbour Paul moves in next door... Episode 2: Paul masterminds a take-over at the general meeting of the Motor Club and Martin is relieved of his chairmanship. Ann is hopeful of a renewed social life but their new freedom is short lived... Episode 3: Martin is beginning to find his new neighbour's unconventional behaviour a potential danger to the harmony of the Close. 'Goings-on' of this kind have never happened before and something has to be done... Episode 4: Martin Ann Howard and Hilda spend their holidays together at the same resort at the same and even book it on the same day every year; a ritual that has remained for seven years but one that is unsettled when Paul offers them all the chance of a villa in Spain... Episode 5: In Martin's absence Paul is voted onto the committee to organise a Vicars and Tarts Dance for the RSPCA. When Martin's role is diminished he resorts to blackmail to take credit for the success of the event...
Please wait. Loading...
This site uses cookies.
More details in our privacy policy