From Mike White (HBO's Enlightened), The White Lotus is a sharp social satire following the exploits of various employees and guests at an exclusive Hawaiian resort over the span of one highly transformative week. Checking into the luxurious White Lotus are a young couple fresh off their fairytale wedding, a woman mourning the death of her mother, and a high-powered executive, accompanied by her less successful husband, their teen son, and college-age daughter, who's brought along her best friend for the trip. Looking to relax and rejuvenate in paradise, the vacationers are greeted by the resort manager and head of spa services, who soon find themselves catering to their guests' every whim - no matter how unreasonable - while juggling stressors in their own lives. As darker dynamics emerge with each passing day, this biting six-episode limited series gradually reveals the complex truths of the seemingly picture-perfect travelers, cheerful hotel employees, and idyllic locale itself. Product Features Disc 1: Invitation to the Set - Show creator Mike White and the cast share some of the themes and characters to expect in The White Lotus. Disc 2: Cast Snap Judgements - Cast members share their first impressions of each other through a series of rapid-fire questions.
Some critics complained that City of Angels could never compare to Wim Wenders's exquisite German film Wings of Desire, which served as the later film's primary inspiration. The better argument to make is that any such comparisons are beside the point, because Wings of Desire was a much more deeply poetic, artfully contemplative film, whereas City of Angels is an enchanting product of mainstream Hollywood. Meg Ryan stars as Dr. Maggie Rice, a heart surgeon who is grieving over a lost patient when an angel named Seth (Nicolas Cage) appears to comfort her. She can see him despite the "rule" that angels are invisible, and Seth's love for Maggie forces him to choose between angelic immortality and a normal human existence on earth with her. Featuring heavenly roles for TV veterans Andre Braugher and Dennis Franz, the film liberally borrows imagery from Wings of Desire, but it also creates its own charming identity. Cage and Ryan give fine performances as lovers convinced they are soul mates, and although the plot relies on a last-minute twist that doesn't quite work, this earnest love story struck a chord with audiences and proved to be one of the surprise hits of 1998. --Jeff Shannon
The surprise hit of 1995, this splendidly entertaining family film was nominated for six Academy Awards, including best picture, director, and screenplay, and deservedly won the Oscar for its subtly ingenious visual effects. Babe is all about the title character, a heroic little pig who's been taken in by the friendly farmer Hoggett (Oscar nominee James Cromwell), who senses that he and the pig share "a common destiny." Babe, a popular mischief-maker the Australian farm, is adopted by the resident border collie and raised as a puppy, befriended by Ferdinand the duck (who thinks he's a cockerel), and saves the day as a champion "sheep-pig." Filled with a supporting cast of talking barnyard animals and a chorus of singing mice (courtesy of computer enhancements and clever animatronics), this frequently hilarious, visually imaginative movie has already taken its place as a family classic with timeless appeal. --Jeff Shannon
The Normans is a three-part series on BBC Two that will examine the extraordinary expansion and unchecked ambition of this warrior race between the 10th and 13th Centuries. Presented by Professor Robert Bartlett the series brings the history of the Normans to life by uncovering the personal stories of shadowy figures like Tancred of Hauteville best remembered as a poor 11th Century Norman lord who fathered no less than 12 sons two of whom left their homeland and risked their lives to become great rulers in the Mediterranean and Middle East. Sweeping across borders and centuries Bartlett journeys from the stormy shores of Great Britain via Jerusalem to the Kingdom of Sicily explaining how and why a dynasty of dukes and warriors became conquerors and kings. Bursting with colourful manuscripts documents and artefacts this series gives voice to an unfamiliar world of princess historians and mixed-race monks.
A logical conclusionThe final season of Elementary finds Holmes returning to the place where Sherlock's storiedlegend began - London. Having lied and confessed to a murder he did not commit - to protect Watson'sgood name - Sherlock moved back to England to avoid jail time. Loyal Dr. Joan Watson followed him across the pond, where the detective duo jump right into more intriguing cases and encounter a slate of clever criminals, relentless adversaries and at least one old nemesis. Back in New York, Captain Thomas Gregson (Aidan Quinn) and Detective Marcus Bell (Jon Michael Hill) feel the absence of their former consultants, but it may not be too long before unorthodox crimes and common enemies bring the foursome back together. Witness the unique evolution of this classic team and hit series in The Final Season on 3 discs.
The story of the SAS patrol; call sign Bravo Two Zero whose mission it was to take out the Scud missiles behind enemy lines during the Gulf War. With their position compromised they fight for survival.... Based on true events.
The satirical sensibilities of writer Peter Shaffer and director Milos Forman (One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest) were ideally matched in this Oscar-winning movie adaptation of Shaffer's hit play about the rivalry between two composers in the court of Austrian Emperor Joseph II--official royal composer Antonio Salieri (F. Murray Abraham), and the younger but superior prodigy Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Tom Hulce). The conceit is absolutely delicious: Salieri secretly loathes Mozart's crude and bratty personality but is astounded by the beauty of his music. That's the heart of Salieri's torment--although he's in a unique position to recognise and cultivate both Mozart's talent and career, he's also consumed with envy and insecurity in the face of such genius. That such magnificent music should come from such a vulgar little creature strikes Salieri as one of God's cruellest jokes, and it drives him insane. Amadeus creates peculiar and delightful contrasts between the impeccably re-created details of its lavish period setting and the jarring (but humorously refreshing and unstuffy) modern tone of its dialogue and performances--all of which serve to remind us that these were people before they became enshrined in historical and artistic legend. Jeffrey Jones, best-known as Ferris Bueller's principal, is particularly wonderful as the bumbling emperor (with the voice of a modern mid-level businessman). The film's eight Oscars include statuettes for Best Director Forman, Best Actor Abraham (Hulce was also nominated), Best Screenplay and Best Picture. --Jim Emerson Note: this region two DVD is a "flipper" with a break between sides A and B.
This "To Ma'am with Love" is much more an escapist popcorn movie than the inner-city document its marketing suggested. Michelle Pfeiffer plays real-life former Marine Louanne Johnson, a high school English teacher who meets resistance from kids and administration alike at a tough urban school in Northern California. Pfeiffer is good and her character's overall development even survives various post-production story cuts. (A romance with Andy Garcia's character was completely eliminated before release; Garcia is nowhere in sight.) The actors who play Johnson's students are also fine and the whole film becomes the latest in a long tradition of sentimental movies about teachers who change the lives of kids. --Tom Keogh
When a mistreated beagle pup follows 11-year-old Marty Preston (Blake Heron) home one day, it sparks a passion in the boy that leads him into a web of moral and emotional turmohil. Marty knows the dog belongs to his irascible neighbour, Judd Travers (a spittin' mean performance by Scott Wilson); he also knows Judd breaks local gaming laws and abuses his hounds. But Marty's father (Michael Moriarty) is a stickler for the first rule of pet ownership: he who owns the pet rules the pet. Marty seeks advice from the wise Doc Wallace (Rod Steiger), who tells the boy about his own struggle to claim legal guardianship over his granddaughter following her parents' death. The story inspires Marty to fight for the creature he has come to love. With a believable blend of nerve, conviction, and a hint of fear, Marty works every angle to beg, buy, or (finally) strike a trade with Travers to save Shiloh. While its pace runs a bit slow, the film provides a thoughtful lesson in weighing right and wrong and should appeal to families with children under 12. Based on the Newbery Award-winning book Shiloh, by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. --Liane Thomas
Truly Madly Deeply is an intelligent, moving, and deeply funny story about love and death. Nina (Juliet Stevenson), a scatterbrained professional translator, has lost the love of her life, Jamie (Alan Rickman). As her life (and her flat) slowly falls to pieces, she is inundated with an endless stream of repairmen and eligible suitors. But rather than go on with life, Nina dwells on her dead love, slumped at her piano, endlessly playing half of a Bach duet. Then, in a truly magical sequence, his cello suddenly joins her melody... and Jamie's back from the dead. At first it's bliss--think of the superficially similar blockbuster Ghost, only with real people instead of pretty faces Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze. But Nina gradually realises it's a thoroughly real Jamie who's back; complete with every annoying, argumentative fault she'd conveniently forgotten. (He might be dead, he explains, but he still attends political meetings.) Moreover, he has to hide whenever any of the living are around. And he's constantly ice-cold. And he invites his dead pals to her place at all hours. What's a living woman to do? Director Anthony Minghella went on to create the melodramatic period piece The English Patient--but in this film, he shows a far more sensitive, subtle touch. The photography is brilliant, capturing the simple beauties of suburban London. And the wonderfully acted characters, quirky and all too real, will keep you laughing--and always guessing what will happen next.--Grant Balfour, Amazon.com
Marisa Tomei and Christian Slater deliver brilliant performances in this touchingly honest and beautifully crafted modern-day romance. Co-starring Rosie Perez (White Men Can't Jump) who leads with her own unique brand of energy and talent. Tomei portrays Caroline a diner waitress who is consistently (and miserably) unlucky in love. Slater is Adam the diner's reclusive busboy who harbors a secret crush on Caroline yet is too shy to speak to her. But all that changes one cold night
'Looking' offers up the unfiltered experiences of three close friends living -- and loving -- in modern-day San Francisco. Friendship may bind them, but each is at a markedly different point in his journey: Patrick (Jonathan Groff) is the 29-year-old video game designer getting back into the dating world in the wake of his ex's engagement; aspiring artist AgustÃn (Frankie J. Alvarez), 31, is questioning the idea of monogamy amid a move to domesticate with his boyfriend; and the group's oldest member -- longtime waiter Dom (Murray Bartlett), 39 -- is facing middle age with romantic and professional dreams still unfulfilled. The trio's stories intertwine and unspool dramatically as they search for happiness and intimacy in an age of unparalleled choices -- and rights -- for gay men. Also important to the Looking' mix is the progressive, unpredictable, sexually open culture of the Bay Area, with real San Francisco locations serving as a backdrop for the group's lives. Rounding out the Looking' world are a bevy of dynamic gay men including Kevin (Russell Tovey), Lynn (Scott Bakula), and Richie (Raul Castillo), as well as a wide-range of supporting characters like Dom's roommate Doris (Lauren Weedman), AgustÃn's boyfriend Frank (O.T. Fagbenle), and Patrick's co-worker Owen (Andrew Law).
DeVito and Schwarzenegger as fraternal twin brothers? Hey, why not? This delightful 1988 comedy by Ivan Reitman--about genetically designed twin siblings who discover each other at the age of 35--works out just fine, thanks largely to great chemistry between the two stars. Despite a certain amount of rough action and tension, Twins really gets a lift from the palpable innocence Reitman develops, and the female costars (Chloe Webb and Kelly Preston) bring some interesting texture of their own. This is a film that walked the tightrope of a high concept and completely succeeded. To see how easy it is to stumble in a similar situation, check out DeVito and Schwarzenegger in Reitman's Junior. --Tom Keogh
Amongst overlooked filmmakers, British director Michael J Murphy ranks as one of the most sorely neglected. Having cut his teeth on a variety of homemade 8mm shorts, he had completed three feature-length productions by the age of eighteen. Over the next five decades, Murphy would go on to make many more films across a variety of genres, dividing his production time between Greece, Portugal, and the UK, with family, friends, and local stage performers becoming his regular cast and crew in exchange for holidays in the sun. Despite this prolific output a total of more than thirty completed films over a half-century, of which twenty-six survive Murphy's work remains rarely seen and little championed. Fitfully available on videotape, and barely represented on DVD, this comprehensive and long-gestating ten-disc Blu-ray collection seeks to rectify that situation once and for all. Boasting all-new 2K restorations from archival 16mm and 8mm elements, as well as a number of new digital captures from Murphy's personal tape masters, this extensive retrospective of the obsessive auteur's work is bolstered by a wealth of bonus features, including surviving fragments from lost works, and a 120-page book, all of which provides the definitive account of the weird and wonderful worlds of Britain's great unheralded DIY filmmaker. Product Features All-new 2K restorations by Powerhouse Films, using film elements from the Murphy archives, of Tristan and Iseult (1970), Happy Ever After (1974), Secrets (1977), Almost a Movie (1979), The Cell (1980), Stay (1980), Death in the Family (1981), Invitation to Hell (1983), The Last Night (1983), Bloodstream (1985), Moonchild (1989), Torment (1990), Atlantis (1991), Road to Nowhere (1993), Tristan (version one, 1999), ZK3 (2012), Nekros: Isle of the Dead (2014), and The Return of Alan Strange (2015) Standard Definition presentations, newly digitised from Murphy's tape masters, of Qualen (1983), Tristan aka Legend of the Hero (1986), Death Run (1987), Avalon (1988), Second Sight (1992), The Rite of Spring (version one, 1995), The Rite of Spring (version two, 1995), Tristan (version two, 1999), Roxi (2004), and Skare (2008) Original mono soundtracks Over 34 hours' worth of film content Audio commentary with Murphy, and actors Sally Duncan and Phil Lyndon on Invitation to Hell (2008) Audio commentary with author and arts professor Johnny Walker on Invitation to Hell (2022) Audio commentary with Murphy, Duncan and Lyndon on The Last Night (2008) Audio commentary with Murphy, actors June Bunday, Judith Holding and Lyndon on Atlantis (2010) Audio commentary with Murphy and Holding on Skare (2009) Murphy's Lore (2022): three-part documentary assessing Murphy's six-decade career, featuring interviews with Murphy, Bunday, Holding, Chris Jupp, Stephen Longhurst, Patrick Olliver, filmmakers Jackson Batchelor, Sam Mason Bell and Tom Lee Rutter, film historians Darrell Buxton and Walker, and film programmer Paul Cotgrove The Horror-on-Sea Interview with Michael J Murphy (2013): the prolific filmmaker in conversation with Bunday and Lyndon, recorded for the British horror festival The Making of Invitation to Hell' and The Last Night' (2008): retrospective documentary featuring interviews with Murphy, Lyndon and Duncan The Making of Atlantis' (2010): two-part retrospective documentary featuring interviews with Murphy, Lyndon, Bunday and Holding The Making of Skare' (2009): retrospective documentary featuring interviews with Murphy and Holding The Making of Roxi' (2004): documentary featuring interviews with actors Mary-Anne Barlow, Bruce Lawrence, Ross Maxwell and Valia Yanarou The Making of ZK3' (2012): retrospective documentary featuring interviews with Murphy, Holding and Lyndon The Rite of Spring': Behind the Scenes (1999) Nekros': Behind the Scenes (2012) Skare' Script Readthrough (2008) Surviving fragments from six lost Murphy films: Atlantis: City of Sin (1967), Boadicea (1968), Gods and Heroes (1971), two versions of Seventh Day (1976/77), and Insight (1978) Outtakes from Moonchild, Torment, Atlantis, Second Sight, and Skare Mute rushes from the lost 16mm version of Skare, with optional selected scene commentary with actor Oliver Price The Return of Alan Strange' Test Footage (2014) Michael J Murphy on Beast' (2010): interview with the filmmaker about Chris Jupp's remake of his lost version of Skare Video Tour of Michael J Murphy's Home (2014) Michael J Murphy Tribute Video (2015): documentary short made for the Murlyn Films International website Home video footage shot by Murphy Trailers for Invitation to Hell, The Last Night, Bloodstream, Legend of a Hero, Death Run, Avalon, Moonchild, Torment, Atlantis, Road to Nowhere, The Rite of Spring, Tristan, Roxi, Skare, ZK3, Nekros: Isle of Death, and The Return of Alan Strange Original Stay' 7 single needle-drop recording Image galleries Script galleries Limited edition exclusive 120-page book with new essays by Murphy experts Wayne Maginn, Paul Higson, Darrell Buxton and Johnny Walker, a comprehensive filmography, and film credits World premieres on Blu-ray Limited edition box set of 6,000 numbered units for the UK and US All extras subject to change
“Everything is more intense... Like your brain’s taking it all in knowing that it might be the last cloud or the last blade of grass you’ll ever see...” An epic historical drama spanning the five years of the First World War as seen through the eyes of two ordinary young soldiers: one British one German. Set against battles on the iconic Western front alongside the lesser explored but equally epic struggles in the East the story charts Tommy and Michael’s coming of age on opposite sides of Europe’s bloody battlefields. They each find love friendship and courage amidst the horror of ‘the war to end all wars.’ Scripted by award winning writer Tony Jordan (Life On Mars Hustle) The Passing Bells is part of the BBC’s commemorations on the centenary of WWI a conflict that cost millions of lives and re-shaped the map of the world.
A note-perfect cinematic event whose immortality was assured from its opening night, Amadeus is an unlikely candidate for the Director's Cut treatment. Like one of Mozart's operas, the multiple Oscar-winning theatrical version seemed perfectly formed from the outset--ideal casting, costumes, sets, cinematography, lighting, screenplay, music, music, music--so the reinstatement of an extra 20 minutes simply risks adding "too many notes". Yet though this extended cut can hardly be said to improve a picture that needed no improvement, it does at least flesh out a couple of small subplots and shed new light on certain key scenes. Here we learn why Constanze Mozart bears such ill-will towards Salieri when she discovers him at her husband's deathbed: he has insulted and degraded her after she came to him for help. We also see deeper into the reasons why Mozart has no pupils: not only has Salieri poisoned the Emperor's mind against him, but the only promisingly lucrative teaching job he can find ends disastrously when he realises that the master of the house just wants music to quiet his barking dogs. In a humiliating coda to that episode, a drunk and desperate Wolfgang returns later to beg for money only to be coldly rejected. The structure of the picture is otherwise unaltered. On the DVD: Amadeus--The Director's Cut finally accords this masterful work the DVD treatment it deserves. The handsome anamorphic widescreen picture is accompanied by a choice of Dolby 5.1 or Dolby stereo sound options, and it's all contained on one side of the disc (the original single-disc DVD release was that crime against the format, a "flipper"). Director Milos Forman and writer Peter Shaffer provide a chatty though sporadic commentary, but they're obviously still too mesmerised by the movie to do much more than offer the odd anecdote. Disc 2 contains an excellent new hour-long "making of" documentary, with contributions from Forman, Shaffer, Sir Neville Marriner and all the main actors, taking in the scriptwriting, choice of music, casting and problems involved in filming in Communist Czechoslovakia with half the crew and extras working for the Secret Police. --Mark Walker
If Interiors was Woody Allen's Bergman movie, and Stardust Memories was his Fellini movie, then you could say that Sleeper is his Buster Keaton movie. Relying more on visual/conceptual/slapstick gags than his trademark verbal wit, Sleeper is probably the funniest of what would become known as Allen's "early, funny films" and a milestone in his development as a director. Allen plays Miles Monroe, cryogenically frozen in 1973 (he went into the hospital for an ulcer operation) and thawed 200 years later. Society has become a sterile, Big Brother-controlled dystopia, and Miles joins the underground resistance--joined by a pampered rich woman (Diane Keaton at her bubbliest). Among the most famous gags are Miles' attempt to impersonate a domestic-servant robot; the Orgasmatron, a futuristic home appliance that provides instant pleasure; a McDonald's sign boasting how many trillions the chain has served; and an inflatable suit that provides the means for a quick getaway. The kooky thawing scenes were later blatantly (and admittedly) ripped off by Mike Myers in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. --Jim Emerson
A made-for-TV adaptation of Andy McNab's best-selling Bravo Two Zero--his account of a covert SAS mission in the Gulf War gone wrong. Sean Bean plays McNab, part of an eight-man team dropped behind enemy lines to sever communications lines. Things inevitably go wrong, however, and the team are captured and tortured, before making a variety of daring and amazing escapes. The story on which this film is based is certainly stirring, but it suffers from being generically at odds with the production values of a TV adaptation. The acting is wooden and the budget cannot provide the pyrotechnics or thrilling action sequences which action or war junkies may demand. At some points there are even unsuccessful attempts to blend parts of the staged drama with real documentary news footage. One might argue that the presentation of the SAS team as everyday, emotionally stunted lads, and their mission as gritty, downbeat and devoid of glamour is perhaps quite true to real-life events. It is also a huge novelty to see cinematic acknowledgement of British forces' participation in any conflict occurring in the last century. On the other hand, Bravo Two Zero undoubtedly appears quite dour when placed alongside a more flashy, Hollywood offering such as Three Kings. Nevertheless, SAS aficionados and fans of the novel will enjoy it immensely, if only to look at the way in which McNab's account presents Chris Ryan--author of a drastically different film and novel version of this incident, The One That Got Away--as a posturing, image-conscious coward. The video also includes an exclusive 22-minute interview with the author, Andy McNab. --Paul Philpott
The big-hearted little beagle and his resourceful master return in Shiloh 2: Shiloh Season the second movie in the trilogy based on Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's Newberry Award-winning novels. Zachary Browne plays seventh-grader Marty whose run-ins with a neighbor (Scott Wilson) who mistreats his dog put Marty on a problem-filled path called growing up. Marty's caring father (Michael Moriarty) and genial Doc Wallace (Rod Steiger) help him confront his troubles responsibly. But Shiloh te
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