One of Hammer's most controversial features, Val Guest's The Camp on Blood Island was a huge box-office hit, despite drawing the wrath of critics who accused the film of sensationalising and exploiting the sufferings of soldiers and civilians imprisoned and abused by the Japanese during the Second World War. Certainly, the film's brutal representation of life for Allied captives in a Malayan prisoner-of-war camp is unusually grim and graphic for the time, but is buoyed by Guest's sharp and naturalistic direction, and a terrific cast is headed by André Morell (Cash on Demand, Ben-Hur), Carl Möhner (Rififi) and the late, great Hammer icon Barbara Shelley (The Gorgon, The Shadow of the Cat). Special Features High Definition remaster Original mono audio Audio commentary with Hammer icon Barbara Shelley and horror novelist Stephen Laws The Brutal Truth: Inside The Camp on Blood Island' (2018, 29 mins): documentary written and directed by Hammer expert Marcus Hearn, narrated by Claire Louise Amias, and featuring film historians Alan Barnes and Jonathan Rigby Hammer's Women: Mary Merrall (2018, 11 mins): Diabolique magazine's editor-in-chief Kat Ellinger explores the life and career of the prolific English film, stage and television actress From Light to Dark (2018, 18 mins): Steve Chibnall, author of British Horror Cinema, takes a look at Val Guest's career and the making of The Camp on Blood Island Return to Blood Island (2018, 4 mins): interview with the film's script supervisor Renée Glynne Original theatrical trailer Image gallery: promotional photography and publicity material New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
Fans of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. felt doubly blessed in 1965. Not only did its second series debut in colour, but there was also the first of several spin-off movies. The Spy with My Face thrilled audiences with "The August Affair", a plot to replace Napoleon Solo (Robert Vaughn) with a look-alike. The movie's only disappointment in this golden year for the show was the inexplicable absence of its catchy theme tune. By the third series the show had strayed too far into the campness of Batman, which also started in 1966. One Spy Too Many demonstrated the rush to cash-in on success before the bubble burst. This second theatrical release actually consists of two TV episodes, and played on US small screens first. This then became the pattern for the later movies, although what played where on international TV in episodic fashion becomes extremely complicated. The Karate Killers features Joan Crawford, Herbert Lom and Telly Savalas in a search for a secret formula (from Series 3). The Helicopter Spies pits Solo and Kuryakin (David McCallum) against two criminal masterminds (culled from Series 4). How to Steal the World is very much a finale, in that it comes from the very last episode. It rather shows, too, with only Leslie Nielsen looking serious about his art. It's no top secret that The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'s finest hours came early; the same certainly goes for these movies. Nevertheless, the gadgets are always great, the girls easy on the eye and the two leads superb in their chemistry together. On the DVD: The Man From U.N.C.L.E. has survived pretty well for its DVD incarnation. Although there's some grain and artefacts evident in the print, colours are bright and the image is generally sharp. Some work has gone into providing fun fan material, but unfortunately it's all via DVD-ROM and in PDF format. The eight text documents cover series origins, merchandise, the fans themselves and, of course, the movies featured in this box set. --Paul Tonks
A single mother and her young daughter struggling to make ends meet until they inherit a farmhouse from their grandfather. When a family business rival sends armed men to take the water rights to the farm's creek by force, the situation spirals out of control.
After a mysterious spaceship crashes into Earth, humanity realizes that they are not alone. Fearing a potential threat from space, the world pushes aside their nationalism, conflicting interests, and cultural differences, unifying under the banner of the United Nations. The newly formed UN forces decide to repurpose the alien spacecraft, naming it SDF-1 Macross. Unfortunately, on the day of its maiden voyage, a fleet of spaceships belonging to a race of aliens known as the Zentradi descend upon Earth, and the SDF-1 Macross, acting of its own accord, shoots down the incoming squadron, sparking an intergalactic war.
If this picture doesn't make you scream and squirm, you should see a psychiatrist--quick!" shouts the film's trailer. This time the hyperbole is right. Shivers, David Croneberg's debut feature and Canada's first domestic horror film, is an ingeniously engineered modern horror that, like George Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968), charts a social breakdown by tearing through our most intrinsic taboos. A genetically engineered designer parasite--part-aphrodisiac, part-venereal disease--created by a modern day mad scientist escapes into a colourless, self-contained apartment complex and goes searching for hosts. This monstrous parasite multiplies and invades the alienated occupants, turning them into a pack of Id-driven sex maniacs. Cronenberg's suffocating vision of modern life turns his budgetary limitations--dreary, bland sets, flat lighting and numb performances--into a severe portrait of society out of touch with its physical and emotional existence. Cronenberg pushed the boundaries of gore in 1974, but more insidious is the way he pushes the boundaries of behaviour: under the influence of this insidious, invasive disease families turn to incest and murder, strangers sexually assault the helpless and finally they band together as a pack of bloodthirsty, libido-driven animals. That taboo-breaking display still has the power to get under your skin. The film has also been released under the titles The Parasite Murders and They Came From Within. Cult horror icon Barbara Steele co-stars. --Sean Axmaker
Rainer Werner Fassbinder, the enfant terrible of the New German Cinema, wrote, directed, produced and starred in over 40 films in his short but prolific life, before passing away of a drugs overdose in 1982 aged just 37. Rainer Werner Fassbinder vol. 2 brings together a collection of his key works from the mid-section of his career in high definition digital restorations prepared by the Rainer Werner Fassbinder Foundation. Among Fassbinder's best-loved works, Fear Eats the Soul sees the director paying homage to the classic melodramas of Douglas Sirk in its poignant portrayal of a relationship between a widowed cleaning lady in her sixties and a Moroccan immigrant in his thirties that causes an outrage with her family, friends and neighbours. Fassbinder's long-gestating adaptation of Theodor Fontane's classic German novel Effi Briest, his most expensive production to date as well as one of his most ambitious, tells the tale of a seventeen-year-old girl who is married off by her parents to a wealthy Baron more than twice her age. Fassbinder himself plays the protagonist of Fox and His Friends, a sweet working class soul whose relationship with wealthy industrialist Eugen, he discovers, is based almost wholly on his unexpected lottery win. Chinese Roulette is a tense psychodrama set in an isolated house during a weekend break in which infidelities are revealed and families break down. Fassbinder's international breakthrough film, The Marriage of Maria Braun charts the rise to prosperity of its tenacious and pragmatic central character across the post-war years as she holds out hope for the return of the young soldier she was married to for less than 24-hours before he was dispatched to the Russian front and later reported dead. Limited Edition Contents High definition digital transfers of all films prepared by the Rainer Werner Fassbinder Foundation High Definition (1080p) Blu-rayTM presentations of all films Original uncompressed PCM mono 1.0 sound for all films Optional English subtitles for all films Exclusive 140-page collectors booklet containing archive articles and new writing by Deborah Allison, Geoff Andrew, Margaret Deriaz and Travis Miles. Disc One Fear Eats The Soul Audio commentary by critic and lecturer Mark Freeman My Name is Not Ali, Viola Shafik's 2011 feature-length documentary on the life and death of El Hedi ben Salem, star of Fear Eats the Soul Interview with director of photography Jürgen Jürges Theatrical trailer Disc Two Effi Briest Audio commentary by Ken Moulden Interview with actor Ulli Lommel Interview with director of photography Jürgen Jürges Theatrical trailer Disc Three Fox And His Friends & Chinese Roulette Audio commentary by Hamish Ford on Fox and His Friends Interview with actor Ulli Lommel on Chinese Roulette Original theatrical trailers for both films Disc Four The Marriage Of Maria Braun Life, Love & Celluloid, a 1998 feature-length documentary on Fassbinder, written and directed by his regular editor, Juliane Lorenz Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1977, a candid 30-minute interview with the director The Fassbinder Family, featurette detailing the actors who worked with Fassbinder time and again throughout his career
Jon Voight heads an all star cast as feared and revered ex-Ranger Captain Woodrow Call seizes his dream to drive a herd of mustang from texas to Montana. Barbara Hershey Rick Schroder Lois Gossett Jr. William Petersen and Oliver Reed hit the saddle as Captain Call's single vision unites them all in a powerful struggle against hustlers Indian warriors each other and the volatile wilds of the West itself in a fight that's far more than a dream; it's their destiny...
Glenn Ford, Edward G.Robinson and Barbra Stanwyck star in Rudolph Mate's tough and herd-hitting 1955 western. A range war is coming to the valley. Ambitious land baron Lew Wilkinson (Edward G.Robinson) and his hired guns from the Anchor Ranch have been driving other farmers off their land. Now they've gunned down the local sheriff and are loking to own the entire valley. Civil War veteran Captain John Parrish (Glenn Ford) doesn't want any trouble. He'd be happy to sell out to Wilinson and return back east. But when Wilkinson's men kill one of his ranch hands, Parrish realises he has to stand his ground - and look to his guns.
In the year 2018, violence and crime have been totally eliminated from society and given outlet in the brutal blood sport of rollerball, a high-velocity blend of football, hockey, and motor-cross racing sponsored by the multinational corporations that now control the world following the collapse of traditional politics. James Caan plays Jonathan ., the reigning superstar of rollerball, whose corporate controllers fear that Jonathan's popularity has endowed him with too much power. They begin to pressure him according to their own ruthless set of rules, but Jonathan has rules of his own--ones for a man determined to retain his soul in a world gone mad. As directed by Norman Jewison (who was enjoying a peak of success during the early and mid-1970s), Rollerball creates a believable society that's been rendered passive and compliant by the homogenisation of corporate dictatorships, where the control and flow of information is the only currency of any importance. It's a world in which natural human aggressions have been sublimated and vented through the religious fervour toward rollerball and its players. Rollerball now looks like one of those 1970s science fiction films (another example being Logan's Run) that seems a bit dated and quaint, but its ideas are still provocative and fascinating, and the production is visually impressive. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com
Many young girls have entered these gates – none have yet come out! British horror maestro Peter Walker (Frightmare) delivers the ultimate tale of terror and degradation as Page 3 beauty Penny Irving finds herself locked up in a secret women’s prison where girls are abused whipped and hung to cure them of their immoral ways! Ann Michelle co-stars.
At the height of World War II, Terry (John Mills) and his younger brother Matt (Dirk Bogarde) are undercover IRA foot-soldiers working in London. But While Matt is fully committed to the cause, Terry is now beginning to question their violent methods. When two fellow IRA members are arrested Terry and Matt are asked to break them out. Will Terry follow his orders or will his misgivings put the two in harm's way? Extras A closer look At The Gentle Gunman With Film Writers Matthew Sweet And Phuong Le Behind The Scenes Stills Gallery
Legendary actor Sir Donald Wolfit (Svengali, Room at the Top, Becket) joins British horror queen Barbara Shelley (Village of the Damned, Dracula Prince of Darkness, Quatermass and the Pit) in a lurid tale of ghastly experiments in a Transylvanian prison. Despite being staked as a vampire, the sadistic Dr Callistratus has become governor and is now using prisoners for the blood transfusions that keep him alive Produced by Robert S Baker & Monty Berman (Jack the Ripper, The Hellfire Club, The Saint), directed by Henry Cass (No Place for Jennifer, Castle in the Air, Happy Deathday) and written by notorious Hammer scribe Jimmy Sangster (The Curse of Frankenstein, Dracula, The Mummy), this long-awaited UK Blu-ray premiere has been remastered from original vault elements and is packed with bonus features. Also starring Vincent Ball (The Black Rider, A Town Like Alice, Summer of the Seventeenth Doll), Victor Maddern (I'm All Right Jack, Circus of Fear, The Lost Continent), John Le Mesurier (The Hound of the Baskervilles, Eye of the Devil, Dad's Army) and Bernard Bresslaw (The Ugly Duckling, Too Many Crooks, Carry On Screaming!) Dare you step inside the terrible place Callistratus calls my other laboratory? Newly Restored 1.66:1 Transfer of the Original Uncensored Version from Original Vault Materials Audio Commentary with English Gothic Author Jonathan Rigby Archival Audio Commentary with writer Jimmy Sangster, producer Robert S. Baker and Hammer Story Author Marcus Hearn He Begins Where Dracula Left Off New In-Depth Featurette with English Gothic Author Jonathan Rigby (45 mins) The BBFC and Blood for Dracula New Featurette examines original BBFC archive sensor notes Original Theatrical Trailer Barbara Shelley Trailer Reel (28 mins) French and Italian Credits Extensive Image Gallery 1964 Malia Italian Fotoromanzo Optional English and SDH Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Episodes Comprise: 1. Return to Camelot: Part 1 2. Return to Camelot: Part 2 3. Pari Per Sue 4. Once and Future King 5. Enigma 6. Trompe L'Oeil 7. Territorial Imperative 8. The Second Time Around 9. Bells Are Ringing 10. Who's Who at the Oil Baron's Ball? 11. Proof Positive 12. Something Old Something New 13. Bar-B-Cued 14. The Fire Next Time 15. So Shall Ye Reap 16. Tick Tock 17. Night Visitor 18. Cat and Mouse 19. High Noon for Calhoun 20. Olio 21. A Death in the Family 22. Revenge of the Nerds 23. The Ten Percent Solution 24. Some Good Some Bad 25. War and Peace 26. Ruthless People 27. The Dark at the End of the Tunnel 28. Two-Fifty 29. Fall of the House of Ewing
When it was released in 1977 The Exorcist II: The Heretic was virtually laughed off the screen. A much-anticipated sequel to the Oscar-winning original, it turned out to be an unintentionally hilarious mishmash and received such terrible reviews that director John Boorman yanked it out of cinemas. He reedited it, cutting eight minutes in hopes of getting the story (written by William Goodhart) to the point of coherency--but to no avail. The film remains a kind of reverse gold standard for sequels. It's still a ridiculously overacted, although at times visually haunting, movie. Richard Burton stars as a troubled priest (something of a speciality of his) who is brought in to follow up on the case of Linda Blair, who is institutionalised, still troubled by her encounter with the devil (who wouldn't be?). By the time they confront Satan's minion in the final struggle, you'll be rooting for evil to win. --Marshall Fine
A peaceful seaside village is shocked by a sudden and vicious double murder. The murdered men are a petty thief and a taxi driver. A beautiful young actress informs the police that she saw the dead man's taxi and the man who stood beside it. The newspaper reports that she is potentially able to identify the killer and although the police provide her with protection, the 'Dark Man' strikes and leaves her for dead. The police decide to transfer her to a secret location but is it secret enough to protect her from him?
One of director Sam Peckinpah's lesser-known and little-seen outings, Junior Bonner is actually one of his most interesting for being so relaxed. Yet it deals with the themes that always interested him: the man who has watched the world pass him by and realises that his time is gone. In this case, it's rodeo rider Junior Bonner (Steve McQueen), who returns home to try to win top prize in the bull-riding competition to raise money to stake his father (Robert Preston) to a future. As easy-going and good-natured as you'd like, with a delicious chemistry between Preston and a feisty Ida Lupino as Junior's estranged parents, who are still able to strike romantic sparks. Great rodeo footage captures both the violence and beauty of the sport. --Marshall Fine, Amazon.com
Space 1999 is a Gerry Anderson cult classic as unmissable today as it was when first conceived in 1973. Starring husband and wife team Martin Landau and Barbara Bain Space 1999 revolves around the crew of Moonbase Alpha where scientific experiments are conducted and space data gathered. Disaster strikes and the Moon is blown out of the Earth's orbit by a huge explosion emanating from man-made nuclear waste pits causing it to drift endlessly through the void of space where the real adventures begin. Episodes comprise: 1. Breakaway 2. Force Of Life 3. Collision Course 4. War Games 5. Death's Other Dominion 6. Voyager's Return 7. Alpha Child 8. Dragon's Domain 9. Mission Of The Darians 10. Black Sun 11. Guardian Of Piri 12. End Of Eternity 13. Matter Of Life And Death 14. Earthbound 15. The Full Circle 16. Another Time Another Place 17. The Infernal Machine 18. Ring Around The Moon 19. Missing Link 20. The Last Sunset 21. Space Brain 22. The Troubles Spirit 23. The Testament Of Arkadia 24. The Last Enemy
A satirical, surreal and acutely observed comedy-drama from the mid-1980s, A Very Peculiar Practice stars Peter Davison, who, following turns as a vet in All Creatures Great and Small and the Doctor in Doctor Who, here plays naïve Dr Stephen Daker, a profoundly nervous new addition to Lowlands University's medical practice. The distinctly eclectic team he meets is headed by the compassionate, incompetent, alcoholic and suicidal "Jock" McCannon (the gloriously theatrical Graham Crowden). Barbara Flynn is marvellous as the manipulative bisexual Dr Rose Marie, and David Troughton as Dr Bob Buzzard personifies the "greed-is-good" ethos of the era. The seven 50-minute episodes here form an overall arc following Daker from sheer terror through romance with behavioural psychologist Lyn Turtle (Amanda Hillwood), to ethical conflict with the sociopathic vice-chancellor (played with relish by John Bird). Increasingly surreal (from strange nuns to stranger dream sequences--the second, even better series was more bizarre still), the series launches an acidic assault on the Thatcherite asset-stripping mentality that was then laying waste not just British universities, but the entire nation. Written with an acute irony by Andrew Davies, whose move into more mainstream adaptations such as Pride and Prejudice (1995) was contemporary TV drama's greatest loss, A Very Peculiar Practice is a television landmark that, alongside The Singing Detective and Edge of Darkness, marks 1986 as one of the finest years in the history of the medium. --Gary S Dalkin
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