Anatomy of a Murder, Otto Preminger's 1959 film of the novel by Robert Traver (a pen name for a Michigan Supreme Court Justice), was controversial in its day for making frank on-screen use of then-unheard words such as "panties", "rape" and "spermatogenesis"--and it remains a trenchant, bitter, tough, witty dissection of the American legal system. With its striking Saul Bass title design and jazzy Duke Ellington score, Anatomy of a Murder takes a sophisticated approach unusual for a Hollywood film of its vintage. Most radically, it refuses to show the murder or any of the private scenes recounted in court, leaving it up to us to decide along with the jury whether the grumpy and unconcerned Lieutenant Frederick Manion (Ben Gazzara) was or was not subject to an "irresistible impulse" tantamount to insanity when he shot dead Barney Quill, the bear-like bar owner alleged to have raped Manion's teasing trailer-trash wife Laura (Lee Remick in unfeasibly tight trousers). James Stewart plays Paul "Polly" Biegler a former District Attorney keen to get back into court to clash with the political dullard who replaced him in office. Biegler is supported by the skills of his snide secretary (Eve Arden) and boozy-but-brilliant research partner (Arthur O'Connell). For the prosecution, the befuddled local DA hauls in Dancer (George C Scott), a prissy legal eagle from the local big city whose sharp-suited, sly elegance makes an interesting clash with Biegler's "aw-shucks" jimmy-stewartian conniving. This is simply the best trial movie ever made, with a real understanding of the way lawyers have to be not only great actors but stars, assuming personalities that exaggerate their inner selves and weighing every outburst and objection for the effect it has on the poor saps in the jury box. On the DVD: The print is letterboxed to 1.85:1, but it's a bit of a cheat since that seems to involve trimming the top and bottom of the image (losing the steps under and the clouds above the Columbia lady in the opening titles), though the film isn't seriously hurt by a tighter look at the action. Also included are: an Ellington-scored photo montage, soundtracks in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish with subtitles in ten languages, filmographies for director and principal cast, original advertising (highlighting Saul Bass' poster designs, a trailer and more trailers for more Columbia Jimmy Stewart or courtroom films. --Kim Newman
During the early days of World War II, with the fall of France imminent, Britain faces its darkest hour as the threat of invasion looms. As the seemingly unstoppable Nazi forces advance, and with the Allied army cornered on the beaches of Dunkirk, the fate of Western Europe hangs on the leadership of the newly-appointed British Prime Minister Winston Churchill (Academy Award nominee Gary Oldman). While maneuvering his political rivals, he must confront the ultimate choice: negotiate with Hitler and save the British people at a terrible cost or rally the nation and fight on against incredible odds. Directed by Joe Wright, DARKEST HOUR is the dramatic and inspiring story of four weeks in 1940 during which Churchill's courage to lead changed the course of world history.
During the early days of World War II, with the fall of France imminent, Britain faces its darkest hour as the threat of invasion looms. As the seemingly unstoppable Nazi forces advance, and with the Allied army cornered on the beaches of Dunkirk, the fate of Western Europe hangs on the leadership of the newly-appointed British Prime Minister Winston Churchill (Academy Award nominee Gary Oldman). While maneuvering his political rivals, he must confront the ultimate choice: negotiate with Hitler and save the British people at a terrible cost or rally the nation and fight on against incredible odds. Directed by Joe Wright, DARKEST HOUR is the dramatic and inspiring story of four weeks in 1940 during which Churchill's courage to lead changed the course of world history.
Ben Affleck teams up with John Woo for this explosive thriller about a top-notch engineer who wakes up from his latest top-secret job with no memory and the FBI on his tail.
A virtuoso JAMES STEWART (Vertigo) plays a small-town Michigan lawyer who takes on a difficult case: that of a young Army lieutenant (The Killing of a Chinese Bookie's BEN GAZZARA) accused of murdering the local tavern owner who he believes raped his wife (Days of Wine and Roses' LEE REMICK). This gripping, envelope-pushing courtroom potboiler, the most popular film from Hollywood provocateur OTTO PREMINGER (Laura), was groundbreaking for the frankness of its discussion of sexmore than anything else, it is a striking depiction of the power of words. With its outstanding supporting cast including a young GEORGE C. SCOTT (Patton) as a fiery prosecuting attorney and legendary real-life attorney JOSEPH N. WELCH as the judgeand influential jazz score by DUKE ELLINGTON, Anatomy of a Murder is a Hollywood landmark; it was nominated for seven Oscars, including best picture. Special Edition Features New high-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition New alternate 5.1 soundtrack, presented in DTS-HD Master Audio on the Blu-ray edition New interview with Otto Preminger biographer Foster Hirsch Critic Gary Giddins explores Duke Ellington's score in a new interview A look at the relationship between graphic designer Saul Bass and Preminger with Bass biographer Pat Kirkham Newsreel footage from the set Excerpts from a 1967 episode of Firing Line, featuring Preminger in discussion with William F. Buckley Jr. Excerpts from the work Anatomy of Anatomy: The Making of a Movie Behind-the-scenes photographs by Life magazine's Gjon Mili Trailer, featuring on-set footage PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Nick Pinkerton and a 1959 Life magazine article on real-life lawyer Joseph N. Welch, who plays the judge in the film
Dutiful cavalry officer Nathan Brittles (John Wayne) is reluctant to retire in the face of an imminent Native American uprising. His last official task is to escort the commander's wife and her niece to the Sudrow's Wells stagecoach stop but it proves to be a journey fraught with danger. This film the second in John Ford's cavalry trilogy is a masterpiece of the cinema and is acclaimed as one of the greatest Westerns ever made.
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Based on the classic novel by Oscar Wilde, "Dorian Gray" tells the story of a strikingly beautiful young man named Dorian (Ben Barnes - "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian") and his terrifying secret.
Wendy is a fiery Manhattan author whose husband has just left her for a younger woman; Darwan is a soft-spoken taxi driver from India on the verge of an arranged marriage.
The adventures of a trio of crimefighting sumo wrestlers! The Super Duper Sumos: three half-ton sumo wrestlers always ready to fight evil protect the mystical P.H.A.T. (Peace Honour And Truth) and eat everything in sight. Mamoo Kimo and Booma were trained from childhood by the great master Wisdom San to be strong and Get P.H.A.T.. Now they battle the evil forces of Bad Inc. whose only goal is to take over the world. Luckily the Super Duper Sumo's stand tall proud and are always ready to rumble! They've got guts...and really big butts.
Jean-Claude Van Damme may never have risen to the top ranks of action stars, but his movies have been consistently enjoyable--partly because they don't take themselves too seriously. In The Order, Van Damme plays a thief of religious artefacts whose archaeologist father has found the lost scripture of a mysterious religious order. When the old man is kidnapped, Van Damme soon finds himself cruising around the twisty streets of Jerusalem, getting into dynamic kickboxing battles while disguised as a Hasidic Jew. With the help of a beautiful Israeli cop (Sofia Milos), Van Damme uncovers a plot within the religious order that leads to secret catacombs beneath the holy city. Silly? Perhaps, but directed with vitality and surprising wit. Van Damme is trim and energetic, Milos is engaging, and a cameo by Charlton Heston (!) only adds to the general atmosphere of spunky fun.--Bret Fetzer
Charming and bittersweet this modern-day romantic comedy starring Uma Thurman Janeane Garofalo and Ben Chaplin explores the beguiling perils of mistaken identity. Abby a gutsy and witty veterinarian who hosts her own radio talk show is anything but confident when it comes to love. A petite brunette she describes herself as tall and blonde when Brian a caller who is smitten with her radio persona asks her on a date. She talks her tall blonde neighbour Noelle into assuming
The Firm Cruise plays Mitch McDeere a brilliant and ambitious Harvard Law grad. Driven by a fierce desire to bury his working class past Mitch joins a small prosperous Memphis firm that affords Mitch and his wife (Jeanne Tripplehorn) an affluent lifestyle beyond their wildest dreams. But when FBI agents confront him with evidence of corruption and murder within the firm Mitch sets out to find the truth in a deadly crossfire between the FBI the Mob and a force that will st
Based around a battle between good old-fashioned family values and comically corrupt authority, and always finding time for an action-packed car chase or two, the Dukes of Hazzard was perfect fun-filled family entertainment for its teatime viewing audience. Light on plotting, each episode featured the ongoing feud between the Duke family--loveable rogues Bo and Luke, their sexy cousin Daisy and Uncle Jesse--and the weasly duo of Boss Hogg and Sheriff Rosco P Coltrane. But the plot was arbitrary really; what audiences really waited for were the scenes involving General Lee--a souped-up Dodge Charger--racing, jumping, skidding and even flying around in hot pursuit of the baddies. That and Daisy Duke's fetching collection of hot pants. The Duke's theme tune became another series hallmark, performed by country music star Waylon Jennings, who also provided the cheesy voice-over narration. The original series ran from 1979-1985 and the three episodes featured here are taken from the second series: "Treasure of Hazzard", "Officer Daisy Duke" and "Mason Dixon's Girls". Taking the same premise for most episodes, this wasn't groundbreaking television but comfortable viewing that gratified its viewers with harmless action, humour and an idyllic view of life in the southern US of A. On the DVD: The Dukes of Hazzard's DVD special features are all text and photo-based, with "The General Lee: Star Car" offering a breakdown of the car's exact specifications. "Moonshine Merchandise" shows an array of tie-in products. Naturally enough there's a Daisy Duke photo gallery. --Laura Bushell
Based around a battle between good old-fashioned family values and comically corrupt authority and always finding time for an action-packed car chase or two, The Dukes of Hazzard was perfect fun-filled family entertainment for its teatime viewing audience. Light on plotting, each episode featured the ongoing feud between the Duke family--lovable rogues Bo and Luke, their sexy cousin Daisy and Uncle Jesse--and the weasly duo of Boss Hogg and Sheriff Rosco P Coltrane. But the plot was arbitrary really; what audiences really waited for were the scenes involving General Lee--a souped-up Dodge Charger--racing, jumping, skidding and even flying around in hot pursuit of the baddies. That and Daisy Duke's fetching collection of hot pants. The Dukes' theme tune, performed by country music star Waylon Jennings, became another series hallmark. Jennings also provided the cheesy voice-over narration. Taking the same premise for most episodes, this wasn't groundbreaking television but comfortable viewing that gratified its viewers with harmless action, humour and an idyllic view of life in the southern US of A. --Laura Bushell
During the early days of World War II, with the fall of France imminent, Britain faces its darkest hour as the threat of invasion looms. As the seemingly unstoppable Nazi forces advance, and with the Allied army cornered on the beaches of Dunkirk, the fate of Western Europe hangs on the leadership of the newly-appointed British Prime Minister Winston Churchill (Academy Award nominee Gary Oldman). While maneuvering his political rivals, he must confront the ultimate choice: negotiate with Hitler and save the British people at a terrible cost or rally the nation and fight on against incredible odds. Directed by Joe Wright, DARKEST HOUR is the dramatic and inspiring story of four weeks in 1940 during which Churchill's courage to lead changed the course of world history.
Collection of four BBC adaptations of Shakespeare's history plays comprising 'Richard II', 'Henry IV: Part One', 'Henry IV: Part Two' and 'Henry V'. Beginning in the year 1399, the plays deal with events affecting the monarchy during a 16-year period, where the ruling orders of Richard II (Ben Whishaw), Henry IV (Jeremy Irons) and Henry V (Tom Hiddleston) find themselves beset by rebellion, greed and war. The cast also includes Rory Kinnear, Simon Russell Beale, Julie Walters and Lindsay Duncan.
Light-hearted comedy drama starring Tom Hanks as struggling American businessman Alan Clay. Desperate to recoup lost earnings and pay for his daughter's tuition fees, Clay travels to Saudi Arabia in an attempt to secure a lucrative IT contract with a wealthy Saudi king. After discovering on arrival that the king hasn't visited the development in 18 months and, facing the sack, Clay must find the money and willpower to make his project a success and turn his fortunes around. The cast also includes Ben Whishaw, Sarita Choudhury, Tom Skerritt and Sidse Babett Knudsen.
Dual Format Edition containing the DVD and world premiere Blu-ray release of John Cassavetes’ groundbreaking debut feature, Shadows (1959), a film which gave birth to a radical new film language that has influenced the work of filmmakers for decades since its release. Shadows revolves around the inter-racial romance between a black woman and white man, and their relationship with her jazz singer brother. Its depiction of themes of inter-racial relationships and non-conformist lifestyles were way ahead of its time.Shot on location in 1950s New York, with a cast and crew made up primarily of amateurs, this radical, ground-breaking film is as devastatingly powerful now as ever. The film’s score features jazz legend Charlie Mingus. Extra features: Presented in both High Definition and Standard Definition Audio commentary Seymour Cassell and Tom Charity Silent rehearsal footage (DVD only) Peter Falk on Cassavetes (Paul Joyce, DVD only) Original trailer
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