Pelle the Conqueror is a Scandinavian drama which won the 1988 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language film and a Best Actor nomination for Max (The Exorcist) Von Sydow. Set at the end of the 19th century, it tells of a widowed Swedish farmer who goes looking for a better life in Denmark with his young son, Pelle (a fine Pelle Hvenegaard). Much like Life is Beautiful (1998) the heart of the film is the bond between father and son and their dreams for a better world. Although the photography brings an austere beauty to the bleak coastlands of Denmark, the story, a 150-minute intimate epic, is intense and harrowing; the antithesis of the feel-good father-son relationship of a movie like Billy Elliot.On the DVD: Unfortunately, rather than the subtitles of the cinema release, this DVD is dubbed for the American market, which significantly diminishes the performances and undermines the emotional impact. This is particularly regrettable given that both subtitled and dubbed versions could exist on the same disc. The only feature is a Photo Library of full-frame screen-grabs. The stated ratio of 1:1.85 is incorrect, the film being cropped from the original cinema 1:1.66 to 4:3 TV ratio. The sound is unremarkable stereo. The picture, transferred from an already imperfect print, is crawling with grain and littered with compression artefacts, making it no better than many videos. Without even a booklet, this release does no justice to a landmark film. --Gary S. Dalkin
Made in 1970, just as he was reaching the end of a three-year exile from boxing, AKA Cassius Clay is a documentary about Muhammad Ali's life and career. Produced by Jim Jacobs and Bill Cayton--who would go on to manage Mike Tyson--it includes reams of Jacobs' vast collection of fight footage, some of it familiar, some quite rare, such as flickery images of his earliest bouts. The film intersperses an account of Ali's career with good natured, if combative, sections to camera featuring Ali and future Tyson trainer Cus D'Amato, who plays devil's advocate, arguing with the ex-champ that he would never have beaten Joe Louis in his heyday, or (more dubiously) his own protégé Floyd Patterson. Watching footage of his 1967 bout against Cleveland Williams here, it's hard to believe any champion before or since could have beaten Ali at his height. Ali's familiar story is competently related here (though narrator Richard Kiley has the mildly disconcerting air of a Bond villain): his 1960 Olympic triumph; his defeat of Sonny Liston who was expected to annihilate the young 22-year-old blowhard in 1964; his conversion to the Nation of Islam; and the plainly vindictive decision on the part of the authorities to revise his draft status and call him up for service in Vietnam. Ali refused and faced the possibility of a five-year jail sentence as well as being stripped of his title. The principle pleasure of AKA Cassius Clay is watching Ali in full verbal flow. His maniacal teasing of Liston was a psychological knockout blow. "The man's too ugly to be the world champ. The world champ should be pretty, like me!" On the DVD: extras comprise scene selections and the original trailer. The reproduction is visually adequate, with the sepia tones of the fight footage holding up well; but the dubbing in places is poor. --David Stubbs
All 12 episodes of the Flash Gordon series Flash Gordon Conquers The Universe are featured on this three DVD box set. Starring Buster Crabbe as Flash with Carol Hughes as Dale and Charles Middleton as the Evil Mind the Merciless.
Buster Keaton's career reached its creative apex with this rousing comic adventure. Not merely one of the finest silent films, this remains one of the great film comedies of all time. The Great Stone Face stars as Southern railroad engineer Johnny Gray, a man with only two loves: the sweet Annabelle Lee (Marion Mack) and his trustworthy engine, the eponymous General. When Fort Sumner is fired upon he is one of the first to enlist, but when the war office rejects him (he's too valuable as a trained engineer) his sweetie rejects him as a coward. Johnny has the opportunity to prove his bravery when Yankee spies steal his engine and inadvertently kidnap Annabelle, and Johnny pursues with all the resources at his disposal: handcar, bicycle and finally railroad engine. Keaton's love/hate relationship with technology and machinery shines as he becomes one with his beloved locomotive and wrestles with a finicky cannon that threatens to blow his engine off the tracks; with tremendous dexterity, he nails the humour with inimitably deadpan takes. Spunky Marion Mack makes a perfect partner for Keaton, not merely a foil but a gifted comedienne in her own right. Other Keaton films contain more laughs and inspired comic stunts, but none combines romance, adventure and comedy into a solid story as seamlessly as this silent masterpiece. --Sean Axmaker, Amazon.com
Love locomotives and laughs! On this special edition DVD the original film has been digitally restored frame by frame and is accompanied by a symphonic score written and recorded by Jo Hisaishi one of modern cinema's leading composers. Johnny Gray (Keaton) is a brave little Southern engineer on the Western and Atlantic Rail Road running through Georgia in 1861. The Civil War is declared and Johnny tries to enlist but is told that he is more valuable as an engineer. When his train
Yoga: Power Stretch And Tone
There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow between science and superstition and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area we call...The Twilight Zone! Episodes comprise: 1. Two 2. The Arrival 3. The Shelter 4. The Passerby 5. A Game of Pool 6.
The 20th century truly was the golden age of comedy with some of the greatest comedians the world has ever seen. From Charlie Chaplin and the Tramp in his incredible silent films to the slapstick comedy duo of Laurel & Hardy, their legacy is still ongoing today. In this limited edition 10 DVD box set we have some of the best from comedy s golden age. Charlie Chaplin: By The Sea, Work, A Woman, The Bank, Shanghaied, The Rink, Easy Street, The Cure, The Immigrant, Triple Trouble, Shoulder Arms, The Bond, A Burlesque, On Carmen, The Fireman, The Vagabond, One AM, The Count, The Pawnshop, Behind The Screen, Police, A Night In The Show, The Floorwalker, New Janitor, The Musical Tramp, His New Job, Night Out, The Champion. Laurel & Hardy: March of the Wooden Soldiers, Utopia, Flying Deuces. Buster Keaton: The General, Steamboat Bill JR, The Navigator
A must-have for Charlie Chaplin fans - this DVD Box Set contains a collection of much-loved classic films: The Chaplin Revue, The Circus, City Lights, The Gold Rush, The Great Dictator, The Kid, A King in New York, Limelight, Modern Times, Monsieur Verdoux and A Woman of Paris. Extras include: Behind-the-scenes footage Deleted scenes Documentaries Introductions Outtakes Photo galleries Trailer reels NB A King in New York, Monsieur Verdoux and A Woman of Paris have not previously been released in Park Circus’ Charlie Chaplin Collection
The Canfields and McKays are locked in a bitter feud which Willie McKay has avoided while living in the city. During a trip to his old family home he meets Virginia and falls in love. However after coming into her house he realizes she is a Canfield. Virginia's family wants to kill Willie but their rigid social code prevents them from doing it while he's a guest in their home. Once he steps outside however it's a different story!
Buster Keaton 'Our Hospitality' and 'Sherlock Jr' Abbott & Costello 'Jack And The Beanstalk'' Laurel & Hardy 'Uptopia' (Their last film together)
Titles Comprise: The Railrodder The Silent Partner Joseph Frank Buster Keaton (October 4 1895 - February 1 1966) was an Academy Award-winning American comic actor and filmmaker. Best known for his silent films his trademark was physical comedy with a stoic deadpan expression on his face earning him the nickname The Great Stone Face (referencing the Nathaniel Hawthorne story about the Old Man of the Mountain). He has also been called The Michelangelo of Silent Comedy. Keaton's career as a performer and director is widely considered to be among the most innovative and important work in the history of cinema. He was recognized as the seventh greatest director of all time by Entertainment Weekly. A 2002 world-wide poll by Sight and Sound ranked Keaton's The General as the 15th best film of all time. Three other Keaton films received votes in the survey: Our Hospitality Sherlock Jr. and The Navigator. We are pleased to present to you two of Buster Keaton's lesser seen works: The Railrodder A screen short starring Buster Keaton this is one of the last films of the comedian's long career. As the railrodder he crosses Canada from east to west on a railway track speeder. As might be expected the film is full of sight gags as Keaton putt-putts his way to British Columbia. Not a word is spoken throughout and Keaton is as spry and ingenious at fetching laughs as he was in the days of the silent slapsticks. The Silent Partner A seldom seen episode of the NBC anthology series Screen Directors Playhouse entitled The Silent Partner and originally broadcast on December 21 1955. Comedic genius Buster Keaton plays a former silent-film star named Kelsey Dutton. Dutton watches the Academy Awards on television in a bar; in flashbacks Keaton re-enacts Dutton's silent comedies. The silent-film parody is close enough to Keaton's old work to be poignant and funny yet different enough to be part of Dutton's character. This interesting and rare show features Zasu Pitts Joe E. Brown Jack Elam and Bob Hope.
Manic stunt work elaborate sight gags and mind-boggling mechanical comedy are just some of Keaton's work featured in these movies. Known the world round as the 'Stone' face comedy actor with charming moments of intimate humour flavoured with rich pathos uniquely graceful and characteristically hilarious. 'That's Buster Keaton'. This box set features:- Our Hospitality Sherlock Jnr. Steamboat Bill Jnr. Convict 13 Daydreams The Saphead The High Sign One Week Seven Chances The
Steamboat Bill Jnr. / 1928: A spoiled young man is forced by his father to learn the ropes of river-boating on the Mississippi. After a series of mishaps which land the captain in jail Buster tries unsuccessfully to spring him. The highlight comes in the shape of a hurricane which smashes and destroys buildings and the pier and allows Buster to prove his worth by saving the Captain who is up to his neck in water. Convict 13 / 1920: Golf is the game that brings out the best in
Smoking Guns: A murderous doctor and a crooked sheriff team up and prey on local ranchers. Billy the Kid (Crabbe) and his sidekicks help the townsfolk take a stand against the land grabbers. Trapped: Outlaw gang leader Stanton (Glen Strange) stages a jailbreak for Billy the Kid and his sidekicks Fuzzy and Jeff. But Stanton has a hidden agenda. He and his gang embark on a series of bank robberies and hold ups, impersonating the threesome.
Seven Chances / 1925: Jimmie Shannon is a romantically jinxed young man who in order to inherit 7 million dollars must marry by 7pm. A public announcement of his problem brings a string of women eager to make his acquaintance and money. Fleeing these would-be gold-diggers he finally makes a mad dash to the altar with the woman of his dreams. The Balloonatic / 1923: In an amusement park in the city Buster manages to get himself on top of a hot air balloon which then breaks free
Ming The Merciless Emperor of Mongo has unleashed his latest terrible weapon for the destruction of Earth a 'purple dust' that is killing the population. Flash Gordon Dale Arden and Dr Zarkov take off for the planet of Mongo to confront Ming and destroy his deadly factory. Before Flash Gordon can 'conquer the universe' he must confront Ming the Rock Men and Annihilations and protect the mining for Polarite the only known antidote to the purple dust.
This boxset includes the following episodes: The Purple Death! Freezing Torture! Walking Bombs! The Destroying Ray The Palace Of Terror! Flaming Death! The Land Of The Dead! The Fiery Abyss! The Pool Of Peril! The Death Mist! Stark Treachery! And Doom Of The Dictator!
Tyrant Ming the Merciless and his vast army of evil accomplices are working overtime to eliminate the human race. The Defenders of the Earth led by The Phantom Flash Gordon and Mandrake challenge Ming in a series of great adventures. Both sides use powerful computers and space technology. To defeat Ming they must learn to work together as a team. They are our last best hope. For a frightened but determined planet they are The Defenders of the Earth.
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