Southern Comfort is more than merely Deliverance in the Louisiana Bayou. Walter Hill's taut little tale of weekend warrior National Guardsman on swamp exercises reverberates with echoes of Vietnam. Powers Booth brings a hard pragmatism to the "new guy" in the unit, a Texas transplant less than thrilled with his new unit. "They're just Louisiana versions of the same rednecks I served with in El Paso", he tells level-headed Keith Carradine. The barely functional unit of city boys and macho rednecks invade the environs of the local Cajun trappers and poachers, "borrowing" the locals' boats and sending bursts of blank rounds over their heads in a show of contempt. Before they know it the dysfunctional strangers in a strange land are on the losing end of guerrilla war. The swamp rats kill their commanding officer (Peter Coyote) and terrorise the bickering bunch as they flee blindly through the jungle without a map, a compass, or a leader to speak of. Hill directs with a clean simplicity, creating tension as much from the primal landscape and the Cajuns' unsettling reign of terror as from the dynamics of a platoon of battle virgins tearing itself apart from rage and fear. Ry Cooder's eerie and haunting score and the primal, claustrophobic landscape only intensifies the paranoia as the city boys splinter with infighting (sparked by a bullying Fred Ward), blunder through booby traps and ambushes, and finally turn just as savage as their pursuers in their drive to survive. --Sean Axmaker, Amazon.com
Marge In Chains (Season 4): When Marge is charged with shoplifting from the Kwik-E-Mart she is also accused of everything from being a drunk to being involved in the Kennedy assassination. Homer The Vigilante (Season 5): Homer is elected leader of a vigilante group to catch the Springfield Cat Burglar. However with Homer at the helm the group wreaks more havoc than they fight crime. You Only Move Twice (Season 8): The Simpsons relocate to another community a
Based on Andy Nyman and Jeremy Dyson's original Olivier nominated stage production, the same team have co-written and directed this adaptation for the big screen. Starring Martin Freeman, Alex Lawther, Andy Nyman, Paul Whitehouse, and Kobna Holdbrook-Smith. Phillip Goodman (Andy Nyman), professor of psychology, arch-skeptic, the one-man belief buster' has his rationality tested to the hilt when he receives a letter apparently from beyond the grave. His mentor Charles Cameron, the original' TV parapsychologist went missing fifteen years before, presumed dead and yet now he writes to Goodman saying that the pair must meet. Cameron, it seems, is still very much alive. And he needs Goodman to find a rational explanation for three stories that have shaken Cameron to his core. As Goodman investigates, he meets three haunted people, each with a tale more frightening, uncanny and inexplicable than the last.
As noted critic Pauline Kael wrote, the 1987 box-office hit The Untouchables is "like an attempt to visualise the public's collective dream of Chicago gangsters". In other words, this lavish reworking of the vintage TV series is a rousing pot-boiler from a bygone era, so beautifully designed and photographed--and so craftily directed by Brian De Palma--that the historical reality of Prohibition-era Chicago could only pale in comparison. From a script by David Mamet, the film pits four underdog heroes (the maverick lawmen known as the Untouchables) against a singular villain in Al Capone, played by Robert De Niro as a dapper Caesar holding court (and a baseball bat) against any and all challengers. Kevin Costner is the naive federal agent Eliot Ness, whose lack of experience is tempered by the streetwise alliance of a seasoned Chicago cop (Sean Connery, in an Oscar-winning performance), a rookie marksman (Andy Garcia) and an accountant (Charles Martin Smith) who holds the key to Capone's potential downfall. The movie approaches greatness on the strength of its set pieces, such as the siege near the Canadian border, the venal ambush at Connery's apartment and the train-station shootout partially modelled after the "Odessa steps" sequences of the Russian classic Battleship Potemkin. It's thrilling stuff, fuelled by Ennio Morricone's dynamic score, but it's also manipulative and obvious. If you're inclined to be critical, the film gives you reason to complain. If you'd rather sit back and enjoy a first-rate production with an all-star cast, The Untouchables may very well strike you as a classic. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com
Martin Seymour-Smith and James Gibson present a profile on the writer Thomas Hardy includes locations featured in his novels and his family life.
Meet Ally McBeal she over-analyses her relationships (and sometimes lack of) to the point of becoming emotionally neurotic. Sounds annoying? It can be. Sounds so-American? It can be. Sounds addictive? It will be... They are young successful lawyers some of them could even be called beautiful a lot of them could be called eccentric and they all work and play together. In this first season we are introduced to the Unisex (the bathroom they all share). Ally is living with Renee st
Spanning the three series of this superb sitcom, The Very Best of The Royle Family is a prime taster for those not familiar with the series. Co-created by Caroline Aherne and Craig Cash, who star as Denise and Dave respectively, The Royle Family deserves its own comedic category. They had a hard fight persuading the BBC to leave a laughter track off the show, which would have disrupted its unique ambience and chemistry. Never departing from the house of lazy, good-for-nothing but defiantly sardonic Jim Royle (Ricky Tomlinson) and wife Barbara (Sue Johnston), The Royle Family chronicles the everyday chat and banal comings and goings of this Northern household, which barely qualifies as "working" class, since mostly they are slumped on the sofa in front of the telly in a cathode-induced stupor. Confused viewers waiting for something to "happen" in the conventional sitcom manner will be disappointed. What they'll get instead is an irresistible stream of dialogue that captures unerringly the humdrum cadences of "ordinary" people. These episodes capture the Royles in customary, festive mood--Denise's marriage, Christmas, baby David's birthday party and so forth--which is good, as we get to see more of Liz Smith's magnificent Nana. As each seemingly inconsequential scene vividly illustrates, this is hardly a romanticised family. Denise is an appallingly negligent mother, there's probably never been a green vegetable in the house, most of their friends, including Darren, are well dodgy, and mum Barbara is unfairly put-upon ("Eh, I've been so busy this morning I haven't had time to smoke", she laments at one point). Yet undoubtedly, unlike their regal counterparts, this Royle Family are close-knit, somehow getting by. The family that watches telly together stays together. On the DVD: The Very Best of the Royle Family, disappointingly, has no extra features. --David Stubbs
A Place Beyobd Your Dreams. A Movie Beyond Your Imagination. Following a notorious aborted attempt by Alejandro Jodorowsky in the 1970s, Frank Herbert's bestselling sci-fi epic Dune finally made it to the big screen as the third film by emerging surrealist wunderkind David Lynch, featuring an all-star cast that includes several of Lynch's regular collaborators. The year is 10,191, and four planets are embroiled in a secret plot to wrest control of the Spice Melange, the most precious substance in the universe and found only on the planet Arrakis. A feud between two powerful dynasties, House Atreides and House Harkonnen, is manipulated from afar by ruling powers that conspire to keep their grip on the spice. As the two families clash on Arrakis, Duke Atreides' son Paul (Kyle MacLachlan, in his screen debut) finds himself at the centre of an intergalactic war and an ancient prophecy that could change the galaxy forever. Though its initial reception ensured that Lynch largely eschewed mainstream filmmaking for the rest of his career, Dune has since been rightly re-evaluated as one of the most startlingly original and visionary science fiction films of the 1980s. Its astonishing production design and visual effects can now be appreciated anew in this spellbinding 4K restoration, accompanied by hours of comprehensive bonus features. Special Features: Brand new 4K restoration from the original camera negative 60-page perfect-bound book featuring new writing on the film by Andrew Nette, Christian McCrea and Charlie Brigden, an American Cinematographer interview with sound designer Alan Splet from 1984, excerpts from an interview with the director from Chris Rodley's book Lynch on Lynch and a Dune Terminology glossary from the original release Large fold-out double-sided poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Dániel Taylor Six double-sided, postcard-sized lobby card reproductions Limited edition packaging with reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Dániel Taylor Disc 1 High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray⢠presentation Original uncompressed stereo audio and DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing Brand new audio commentary by film historian Paul M. Sammon Brand new audio commentary by Mike White of The Projection Booth podcast Impressions of Dune, a 2003 documentary on the making of the film, featuring interviews with star Kyle MacLachlan, producer Raffaella de Laurentiis, cinematographer Freddie Francis, editor Antony Gibbs and many others Designing Dune, a 2005 featurette looking back at the work of production designer Anthony Masters Dune FX, a 2005 featurette exploring the special effects in the film Dune Models & Miniatures, a 2005 featurette focusing on the model effects in the film Dune Costumes, a 2005 featurette looking at the elaborate costume designs seen in the film Thirteen deleted scenes from the film, with a 2005 introduction by Raffaella de Laurentiis Destination Dune, a 1983 featurette originally produced to promote the film at conventions and publicity events Theatrical trailers and TV spots Extensive image galleries, including hundreds of still photos Disc 2 BONUS DISC The Sleeper Must Awaken: Making Dune, a brand new feature-length documentary by Ballyhoo Motion Pictures exploring the making of the film, featuring dozens of new and archive interviews with cast and crew Beyond Imagination: Merchandising Dune, a brand new featurette exploring the merchandise created to promote the film, featuring toy collector/producer Brian Sillman (The Toys That Made Us) Prophecy Fulfilled: Scoring Dune, a brand new featurette on the film's music score, featuring interviews with Toto guitarist Steve Lukather, Toto keyboardist Steve Porcaro, and film music historian Tim Greiving Brand new interview with make-up effects artist Giannetto de Rossi, filmed in 2020 Archive interview with production coordinator Golda Offenheim, filmed in 2003 Archive interview with star Paul Smith, filmed in 2008 Archive interview with make-up effects artist Christopher Tucker *** EXTRAS STILL IN PRODUCTION AND SUBJECT TO CHANGE ***
Final Destination: Death is coming and Alex Browning (Devon Sawa) is blessed with the curse of knowing when how and where the Grim Reaper will strike. Alex's bone-chilling gift reveals itself just as the teenager embarks on a trip to Paris with his high school French class. In the plane's cabin buckled-in and ready for take off Alex experiences a powerful premonition. He sees the plane explode in a fiery blaze moments after leaving the ground. Sensing imminent doom Alex panics and insists that everyone get off the plane. In the melee that ensues seven people including Alex are forced to disembark. As each fumes about their lost opportunity to visit Paris Alex's horrific premonition proves tragically accurate. The ill-fated plane explodes in midair. Shocked and confused the survivors struggle to understand how Alex was able to anticipate the catastrophe. Some are drawn to his eerie clairvoyance but most of the group is scared of his gift. As sceptical FBI Agents question his every word Alex tries to reconcile his tragedy and return to a normal life but portents of doom surround him. Final Destination 2: It's a matter of life and death when eight strangers narrowly escape a catastrophic freeway accident. But now that they have put a rift in death's design there is a price to pay - and it's going to be painful! Final Destination 3: Set six years after the original Final Destination film the latest installment in the series centers around a high school senior who has a premonition of a fatal roller coaster accident involving herself and all her friends. When the premonition proves true those who have cheated death and survived the accident are forced to deal with the repercussions of escaping their fate. Final Destination 4: On what should have been a fun-filled day at the races Nick O'Bannon has a horrific premonition in which a bizarre sequence of events causes multiple race cars to crash sending flaming debris into the stands brutally killing his friends and causing the upper deck of the stands to collapse on him. When he comes out of this grisly nightmare Nick panics persuading his girlfriend Lori and their friends Janet and Hunt to leave... escaping seconds before Nick's frightening vision becomes a terrible reality. Thinking they've cheated death the group has a new lease on life but unfortunately for Nick and Lori it is only the beginning. As his premonitions continue and the crash survivors begin to die one-by-one in increasingly gruesome ways - Nick must figure out how to cheat death once and for all before he too reaches his final destination.
Harry, a drifter (Don Johnson, Miami Vice) rolls into town and talks his way into a job at a car dealership where he becomes caught between two beautiful women, the boss's conniving wife Dolly (Virginia Madsen, Candyman) and Gloria (Jennifer Connelly, Requiem for a Dream) a naive young accountant whose life is complicated by blackmail. When Harry plans to rob the local bank, he becomes enmeshed in a lethal web of lust, greed and extortion, whose only escape is murder. Adapted from Hell Hath No Fury by Charles Williams, The Hot Spot is a dusty, sweaty modern noir that updates the pulp formula of twists and turns with an intensity to match director Dennis Hopper's earlier film roles. Directed by Hopper (Easy Rider, Out of the Blue) with verve, the stellar cast are supported by William Sadler (The Shawshank Redemption), Charles Martin Smith (The Untouchables) and Jack Nance (Eraserhead) accompanied by a brilliant soundtrack featuring Miles Davis, John Lee Hooker, Taj Mahal and original music by Jack Nitzsche. Limited Edition Features 2K restoration by Kino Lorber, overseen and approved by cinematographer Ueli Steiger Uncompressed mono PCM audio Archival interview with Dennis Hopper who discusses The Hot Spot and features footage of John Lee Hooker and images from the set (1991) Interviews with stars Virginia Madsen (2021, 7 mins) and William Sadler (2021, 7 mins) Nick Dawson on Dennis Hopper and The Hot Spot, an interview with the editor of Dennis Hopper: Interviews (2023) Duane Swierczynski on Charles Williams' source novel, the crime writer and expert looks at the adaptation and provides a background of the author (2023) Trailer English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing Reversible sleeve featuring original and new artwork by Time Tomorrow Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by critics Elena Lazic on the film; Leslie Byron Pitt on the erotic thriller genre and the film's place within it; and an archival piece on the film featuring an interview with Hopper by RJ Smith Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings
In the Bermuda Triangle nothing stays lost forever... From director Brian Singer (X-Men Usual Suspects) and producer Dean Devlin (Stargate Independence Day) comes a stunning new original mini-series courtesy of the Sci-fi Channel. Billionaire Eric Benireall (Sam Neill) is losing his cargo ships and their crews at a frightening pace - and he wants answers. His bemused hand-picked team of a subject-specific experts include: sceptical tabloid journalist Howard
Starring comedy legend John Belushi, National Lampoon's ® Animal House is the ultimate college movie filled with food fights, fraternities and toga parties! Follow the uproarious escapades of the Delta House fraternity as they take on Dean Wormer (John Vernon), the sanctimonious Omegas, and the entire female student body. Directed by John Landis (The Blues Brothers), the most popular college comedy of all-time also stars Tim Matheson, Donald Sutherland, Karen Allen, Kevin Bacon, Tom Hulce and Stephen Furst along with Otis Day and the Knights performing their show-stopping rendition of Shout.' Special Features THE YEARBOOK: AN ANIMAL HOUSE REUNION WHERE ARE THEY NOW? A DELTA ALUMNI UPDATE SCENE IT? ANIMAL HOUSE GAMES and more!
The Simpsons have never been as big on Christmas as they have on Halloween and while Christmas with The Simpsons contains five episodes, one of them, "Mr Plow", is only seasonal insofar as it contains snow. Fortunately, it's also a cracker, with Homer resorting to low-budget screen advertising to launch his snowploughing business ("It may be a lousy channel but the Simpsons are on TV!") before a pep-talk he gives to inebriate buddy Barney encourages the latter to set up as a rival. This compilation also contains "The Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire", the very first Simpsons episode broadcast, in which their dog Santa's Little Helper is introduced. Years on, this episode looks ancient and a little average by later, stratospheric standards. "Miracle on Evergreen Terrace" is a slightly downbeat parody of It's a Wonderful Life, in which the town turns on the Simpsons after helping them out when Bart lied about their presents being burgled. "Grift of the Magi" features luckless ex-sitcom star Gary Coleman reprising his real-life job as a security guard as an unscrupulous toy company aggressively merchandise a faddish new toy in time for Christmas ("If you don't have Funzo, you're nothing".) The plot is very similar to "She of Little Faith"--uncharacteristic repetition for this show--but that's forgiven as Lisa is forced to become a Buddhist following the commercialisation of the church in another episode that's as un-seasonally un-cosy as you'd expect from the greatest TV programme ever made. On the DVD: Christmas with The Simpsonscontains one extra feature: a short montage of evil power plant boss Mr Burns' finest comedic moments, including his tussle with baby Maggie over ownership of teddybear BoBo and a money fight with the servile Smithers. --David Stubbs
A groundbreaking screwball caper, 1978's National Lampoon's Animal House was in its own way a rite of passage for Hollywood. Set in 1962 at Faber College, it follows the riotous carryings-on of the Delta Fraternity, into which are initiated freshmen Tom Hulce and Stephen Furst. Among the established house members are Tim Matheson, Peter Riegert and the late John Belushi as Bluto, a belching, lecherous, Jack Daniels guzzling maniac. A debauched house of pranksters (culminating in the famous Deathmobile sequence), Delta stands as a fun alternative to the more strait-laced, crew-cut, unpleasantly repressive norm personified by Omega House. As cowriter the late Doug Kenney puts it, "better to be an animal than a vegetable". Animal House is deliberately set in the pre-JFK assassination, pre-Vietnam era, something not made much of here, but which would have been implicitly understood by its American audience. The film was an enormous success, a rude, liberating catharsis for the latter-day frathousers who watched it. However, decades on, a lot of the humour seems broad, predictable, boorish, oafishly sexist and less witty than Airplane!, made two years later in the same anarchic spirit. Indeed, although it launched the Hollywood careers of several of its players and makers, including Kevin Bacon, director John Landis, Harold Ramis and Tom Hulce, who went on to do fine things, it might well have been inadvertently responsible for the infantilisation of much subsequent Hollywood comedy. Still, there's an undeniable energy that gusts throughout the film and Belushi, whether eating garbage or trying to reinvoke the spirit of America "After the Germans bombed Pearl Harbour" is a joy. On the DVD: Animal House comes to disc in a good transfer, presented in 1.85:1. The main extra is a featurette in which director John Landis, writer Chris Miller and some of the actors talk about the making of the movie. Interestingly, 23 years on, most of those interviewed look better than they did back in 1978, especially Stephen "Flounder" Furst. --David Stubbs
Unedited for the very first time! Banned in 49 American states the Ultimate Fighting Championships bring you combat at its most brutal: courageous victory or crushing defeat.
In the 1980s Phil moved with his parents from an inner-city slum to start a new life in Stevenage. However on leaving school he finds himself in a world of violence unemployment alcoholism and drug abuse.
An enchanting adaptation of the classic children's book by Philippa Pearce about Tom Long who has to spend the summer at his aunt's house.
Season 6 of The Simpons arrives as they begin season 17 in the US !
On paper, The Royle Family doesn't sound that promising: a working-class family from Manchester sit in their cluttered living room, watch the telly and argue over domestic details (the arrival of a telephone bill, for instance, provides the big dramatic event of the first episode, which aired in September 1998). But from such small everyday incidents, Royle Family creators Caroline Aherne and Dave Best (who play young couple Denise and Dave) have crafted one of the most successful shows on British television--a comedy about the joys and frustrations of family life that's warm, honest and very, very funny. It's Britain's answer to The Simpsons, whose success the show rivalled when it started broadcasting on BBC2 (the programme jumped channels to BBC1 for its second series). Now in its third series, The Royle Family has seen its characters develop like real folk. Denise and Dave got married and now have a little sprog; Barbara starts menopause (how many sit-coms are brave enough to use that for laughs?) and Denise's kid brother Anthony shakes off his surly adolescence when he turned 18 in series two. Unlike Oasis--who provide the shows theme song "Halfway Round the World"--this programme just keeps getting better. But no soap--not even Brookside in its dafter moments--has one-liners as brilliantly crafted as The Royle Family's. Slouched in his armchair, Jim's dour running commentary on the TV shows that are on at the time are particularly priceless. Changing Rooms, for instance, boils down to "a cockney knocking nails into plywood... Is this what it's come to?" Not quite; as long as the Royle Family are around, there is something worthwhile to watch. --Edward Lawrenson
The complete third series of the bittersweet comedy drama first shown on the BBC. Abby's life now seems a million miles away from London but just as she is beginning to feel accepted as by the island community on Ronansay Robbie the children's father turns up. He was a lousy boyfriend and father and is not welcome. Kenny meanwhile has finally accepted that his feelings for Abby will remain unrequited and decides to move on emotionally. Another erring father is Alistair who i
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