Annie Hall (1977): Starring Allen as New York comedian Alvy Singer and Diane Keaton (in a Best Actress Oscar-winning role) as Annie the film weaves flashbacks flash forwards monologues a parade of classic Allen one-liners and even animation into an alternately uproarious and wistful comedy about a witty and wacky on-again off-again romance. Manhattan (1979): 42-year-old Manhattan native Isaac Davis (Allen) has a job he hates a seventeen-year-old girlfriend (Mariel Hemingway) he doesn't love and a lesbian ex-wife Jill (Meryl Streep) who's writing a tell-all book about their marriage... and whom he'd like to strangle. But when he meets his best friend's sexy intellectual mistress Mary (Diane Keaton) Isaac falls head over heels in lust! Leaving Tracy bedding Mary and quitting his job are just the beginning of Isaac's quest for romance and fulfillment in a city where sex is as intimate as a handshake - and the gate to true love... is a revolving door. Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex (But Were Afraid To Ask) (1972): Woody Allen pushes the frontiers of comedy by consolidating his madcap sensibility and wickedly funny irreverence with his developing penchant for visually arresting humor. Giving complete indulgence to the zany eccentricity of his medium Allen revels himself as a filmmaker of wit sophistication and comic insight rising to the occasion with several hysterical vignettes that probe sexuality's stickiest issues! Aphrodisiacs prove effective for a court jester (Allen) who finds the key to the Queen's (Lynn Redgrave) heart but learns that the key to her chastity belt might be more useful... Sleeper (1973): When cryogenically preserved Miles Monroe (Allen) is awakened 200 years after a hospital mishap he discovers the future's not so bright: all women are frigid all men are impotent and the world is ruled by an evil dictator: a disembodied nose! Pursued by the secret police and recruited by anti-government rebels with a plan to kidnap the dictator's snout before it can be cloned Miles falls for the beautiful - but untalented - poet Luna (Diane Keaton). But when Miles is captured and reprogrammed by the government to believe he's Miss America it's up to Luna to save Miles lead the rebels and cut off the nose just to spite its face. Love And Death (1975): Woody Allen reinvents himself again with the epic historical satire Love and Death. A wonderfully funny and eclectic distillation of the Russian literary soul the film represents a bridge between Allen's early slapstick farces and his darker autobiographical comedies. One of his most visual philosophical and elaborately conceived films 'Love And Death' demonstrates again that Allen is an authentic comic genius. Bananas (1971): When bumbling product-tester Fielding Mellish (Allen) is jilted by his girlfriend Nancy (Louise Lasser) he heads to the tiny republic of San Marcos for a vacation only to become kidnapped by rebels!
Screenwriter William Goldman's novel The Princess Bride earned its own loyal audience on the strength of its narrative voice and its gently satirical, hyperbolic spin on swashbuckled adventure that seemed almost purely literary. For all its derring-do and vivid over-the-top characters, the book's joy was dictated as much by the deadpan tone of its narrator and a winking acknowledgement of the clichés being sent up. Miraculously, director Rob Reiner and Goldman himself managed to visualize this romantic fable while keeping that external voice largely intact: using a storytelling framework, avuncular Grandpa (Peter Falk) gradually seduces his sceptical grandson (Fred Savage) into the absurd, irresistible melodrama of the title story. And what a story: a lowly stable boy, Westley (Cary Elwes), pledges his love to the beautiful Buttercup (Robin Wright), only to be abducted and reportedly killed by pirates while Buttercup is betrothed to the evil Prince Humperdinck. Even as Buttercup herself is kidnapped by a giant, a scheming criminal mastermind, and a master Spanish swordsman, a mysterious masked pirate (could it be Westley?) follows in pursuit. As they sail toward the Cliffs of Insanity... The wild and woolly arcs of the story, the sudden twists of fate, and, above all, the cartoon-scaled characters all work because of Goldman's very funny script, Reiner's confident direction, and a terrific cast. Elwes and Wright, both sporting their best English accents, juggle romantic fervor and physical slapstick effortlessly, while supporting roles boast Mandy Patinkin (the swordsman Inigo Montoya), Wallace Shawn (the incredulous schemer Vizzini), and Christopher Guest (evil Count Rugen) with brief but funny cameos from Billy Crystal, Carol Kane, and Peter Cook. --Sam Sutherland
Annie Hall is one of the truest, most bittersweet romances on film. In it, Allen plays a thinly disguised version of himself: Alvy Singer, a successful--if neurotic--television comedian living in Manhattan. Annie (the wholesomely luminous Dianne Keaton) is a Midwestern transplant who dabbles in photography and sings in small clubs. When the two meet, the sparks are immediate--if repressed. Alone in her apartment for the first time, Alvy and Annie navigate a minefield of self-conscious "is-this-person-someone-I'd-want-to-get-involved-with?" conversation. As they speak, subtitles flash their unspoken thoughts: the likes of "I'm not smart enough for him" and "I sound like a jerk". Despite all their caution, they connect, and we're swept up in the flush of their new romance. Allen's antic sensibility shines here in a series of flashbacks to Alvy's childhood, growing up, quite literally, under a rumbling roller coaster. His boisterous Jewish family's dinner table shares a split screen with the WASP-y Hall's tight-lipped holiday table, one Alvy has joined for the first time. His position as outsider is incontestable when he looks down the table and sizes up Annie's "Grammy Hall" as "a classic Jew-hater".The relationship arcs, as does Annie's growing desire for independence. It quickly becomes clear that the two are on separate tracks, as what was once endearing becomes annoying. Annie Hall embraces Allen's central themes--his love affair with New York (and hatred of Los Angeles), how impossible relationships are, and his fear of death. But their balance is just right, the chemistry between Allen's worry-wart Alvy and Keaton's gangly, loopy Annie is one of the screen's best pairings. It couldn't be more engaging. --Susan Benson
Based on the infamous urban legend and featuring one of the most famous and gripping opening scenes in horror movie history (homaged by Wes Craven in the opening of Scream), Fred Walton s When a Stranger Calls is a masterclass in suspense that has rarely been equalled. A student babysitter has her evening disturbed when the phone rings. On the other end of the line an anonymous caller asks, have you checked the children lately ? So begins a series of increasingly terrifying and threatening calls that lead to a shocking revelation.
The Last Detail nearly didn't get a release. Columbia, for whom it was made, was alarmed by the movie's barrage of profanity and resented the unorthodox working style of its director, Hal Ashby, who loathed producers and made no secret of it. Only when the film picked up a Best Actor Award for Jack Nicholson at Cannes did the studio reluctantly grant it a release--with minimal promotion--to widespread critical acclaim. Nicholson, in one of his best roles, plays "Bad-ass" Buddusky, a naval petty officer detailed, along with his black colleague "Mule" Mulhall (Otis Young), to escort an offender from Virginia to the harsh naval prison at Portsmouth, NH. The miscreant is a naïve youngster, Meadows (Randy Quaid), who's been given eight years for stealing $40 from his CO's wife's favourite charity. The escorts, at first cynically detached, soon start feeling sorry for Meadows and decide to show him a good time in his last few days of freedom. Ashby, a true son of 60s counterculture, avidly abets the anti-authoritarian tone of Robert Towne's script. Meadows is a sad victim of the system--but so too are Buddusky and Mulhall, as they gradually come to realise. A lot of the film is very funny. Nicholson gets to do one of his classic psychotic outbursts--"I am the fucking shore patrol!"--and there are some pungent scenes of male bonding pushed to the verge of desperation. But the overall tone is melancholy, pointed up by the jaunty military marches on the soundtrack. Shot amid bleak, wintry landscapes, in buses and trains and grey urban streets, The Last Detail is a film of constant, compulsive movement going nowhere--a powerful, finely acted study of institutional claustrophobia. On the DVD: The Last Detail disc doesn't have much in the way of extras. There are abbreviated filmographies for Ashby, Nicholson and Quaid (though not for Young) and a trailer for A Few Good Men (1992). The mono sound comes up well in Dolby Digital, and the transfer preserves DoP Michael Chapman's subtle, subfusc palette and the 1.85:1 ratio of the original. --Philip Kemp
Curt Duncan a psychopathic murderer is apprehended by a detective John Clifford and sent to an asylum. Years later - he escapes to begin a new reign of terror. Once again the now aging detective sets out to track Duncan down. The climax provides twist after twist and one of the most terrifying cinematic endings ever.... The simple reality shows it could really happen... anywhere... at anytime... and to anyone... Additional
Annie Hall: Winner of four Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director ""Annie Hall"" is Woody Allen's supreme masterpiece. Coming between such early slapstick farces as ""Sleeper"" and ""Love and Death"" and darker more reflective comedies like ""Manhattan"" and ""Hannah and Her Sisters "" this endearing semi-autobiographical film put Woody in the league with the best directors we have. Starring Allen as New York comedian Alvy Singer and Diane Keaton (in a Best Actress Oscar-winning role) as Annie the film weaves flashbacks flash forwards monologues a parade of classic Allen one-liners and even animation into an alternately uproarious and wistful comedy about a witty and wacky on-again off-again romance. Manhattan: Nominated for two Academy Awards in 1979 and considered one of Allen's most enduring accomplishments Manhattan is a wry touching and finely-rendered portrait of modern relationships against the backdrop of urban alienation. Sumptuously photographed in black and white (Allen's first film in that format) and accompanied by a magnificent Gershwin score Woody Allen's aesthetic triumph is a ""prismatic portrait of a time and place that may be studied decades hence"" (Time Magazine). 42-year-old Manhattan native Isaac Davis (Allen) has a job he hates a seventeen-year-old girlfriend (Mariel Hemingway) he doesn't love and a lesbian ex-wife Jill (Meryl Streep) who's writing a tell-all book about their marriage... and whom he'd like to strangle. But when he meets his best friend's sexy intellectual mistress Mary (Diane Keaton) Isaac falls head over heels in lust! Leaving Tracy bedding Mary and quitting his job are just the beginning of Isaac's quest for romance and fulfillment in a city where sex is as intimate as a handshake - and the gate to true love... is a revolving door. Hannah And Her Sisters: Brimming with laughter tears and subtle beauty Hannah And Her Sisters is a magnificent ""summation of (Woody Allen's) career to date"" (The New York Times). Winner of three Oscars and featuring a brilliant all-star cast Hannah And Her Sisters spins a tale of three unforgettable women and showcases Allen ""at his most emotionally expansive working on his broadest canvas with masterly ease"" (Newsweek)! The eldest daughter of show-biz parents Hannah (Mia Farrow) is a devoted wife loving mother and successful actress. A loyal supporter of her two aimless sisters (Barbara Hershey) and Holly (Dianne Wiest) she's also the emotional backbone of a family that seems to resent her stability almost as much as they depend on it. But when Hannah's perfect world is quietly sabotaged by sibling rivalry she finally begins to see that she's as lost as everyone else and in order to find herself she'll have to choose - between the independence her family can't live with... and the family she can't live without.
When frustrated movie studio mogul Adolph Zitz (Dom DeLuise) announces a talent search for a romantic leading man to rival the great Rudolph Valentino thousands of hopefuls decend upon Hollywood - including Rudy Valentine (Wilder) a neurotic baker from Milwaukee who knows as little about romance as he does about acting. But when his wife Annie (Carol Kane) leaves him for the real Valentino Rudy goes to outrageous (and hilarious) lengths to win the role of a lifetime...and win back the love of his life.
Woody Allen directs, co-writes and stars in this Oscar-winning romantic comedy. Neurotic comedian Alvy Singer (Allen) falls for the titular heroine (Diane Keaton), a budding singer, and the two of them attempt to build a solid relationship. They face problems, however, which include their opposing feelings towards California and their own mutual paranoia. Realising their differences stand in the way of a lasting relationship, they split up. It is not long before Alvy wants Annie back but she ...
The FBI's Witness protection program is turned funny-side up when Steve Martin and Rick Moranis play mob informant Vinnie Antonelli and agent Barney Coopersmith in this criminally comic caper. Vinnie's got smooth moves a swank wardrobe and a mean dance step. His identity home and lawn mower are new but he's still the same: a guy with an eternal scam. That makes overseer Barney a guy with a huge headache...
It's been called "the Ishtar of the 90s", but that's giving this film too much credit. Danny Glover and Joe Pesci (who could have used their Lethal Weapon series buddy Mel Gibson in here) star as slow-witted friends who take their dream fishing vacation in the Florida Everglades and end up having a series of disasters. The trouble is, director Christopher Cain can't get a handle on any of the comedy essentials for a project such as this. The result is a badly timed, badly toned, unfunny movie wasting a lot of great talent across the board. --Tom Keogh
Inspired casting puts sparks into Flashback, a comedy of counterculture clash between an aging 1960s radical and a buttoned-down FBI agent. Dennis Hopper plays an Abbie Hoffman-esque 1960s activist and prankster who lands in the custody of a conservative young agent (a suitably uptight Kiefer Sutherland) and proceeds literally to unravel the agent's carefully constructed front through a series of slippery mind games. Hopper has a blast as the unreformed relic, and Carol Kane is delightful as a hippie holdout who puts both men back in touch with their identities. There are few surprises, plenty of heart, and even a little sentiment in this story of rebellion and the legacy of the counterculture. The soundtrack is gilded with well-chosen 1960s anthems. --Sean Axmaker
Most critics couldn't get behind Bill Murray's modern retelling of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, finding it too unfocused at times and not nearly wicked enough. Still, if you are a Murray fan, you have to enjoy his deliciously nasty portrayal of the world's meanest TV executive, who has his cathartic moment one cold Christmas night in New York City. The various ghosts lead him on a ghost-town tour of Manhattan, with stops at holidays past, present and future and a Kumbaya moment when Al Green and Annie Lennox sing "Put a Little Love in Your Heart". The effects are otherworldly, but one wishes the writing were as sharp as Murray's edgy portrayal. --Marshall Fine
Available for the first time on DVD! Two totally untalented song-writers are advised by their agent to get away....as far away....as possible. Upon their arrival in Morocco they are separately recruited as spies for opposing sides of a planned revolution while simultaneously vying for the attentions of an attractive left-wing revolutionary. Based on an idea by Elaine May.
Rudolf Nureyev plays the role of Rudolph Valentino - the much-loved silent screen actor who caused mass hysteria rioting in the streets and even suicides after his untimely death.
One of the most controversial movies of its time this ""thought-provoking"" (Leonard Maltin) comedy-drama from legendary director Mike Nichols is a funny yet poignant look at relationships as seen through the eyes of two friends over a 20-year period. Superbly crafted by playwright Jules Feiffer Carnal Knowledge is brimming with touching insights sexy banter and powerful performances by three-time Oscar winner Jack Nicholson Ann-Margaret Candice Bergen and pop music icon Arthur Gar
A father will do anything to protect his family's reputation when his unmarried teenage daughter becomes pregnant because she was raped by her brother's friend.
The ancient story of good surviving evil and in particular of one man's faith unshakeable in the face of ridicule scorn and danger. Oscar-winner Jon Voight Mary Steenburgen F. Murray Abraham and James Coburn star in this lavish and original interpretation of Noah's Ark with dazzling special effects computerised creatures depicting extinct species and a cast of thousands of animals all combining to tell the story of the epic Bible legend.
The Princess Bride (Dir. Rob Reiner 1987): A young boy confined to bed with the flu is less than thrilled when his grandfather (Peter Falk) arrives to read him the story of The Princess Bride. It tells the adventures of Buttercup the most beautiful woman in the world and Westley the man she loves in the fairy-tale kingdom of Florin. When Buttercup is kidnapped Westley has to overcome some pretty tough obstacles if he is to rescue her from the clutches of three kidnappers - scaling the cliffs of insanity battling rodents of unusual size facing tortue in the Pit of Despair... True love has never been a snap. Willow (Dir. Ron Howard 1988): Timid yet valiant dwarf and apprentice magician Willow Ufgood (Davis) is entrusted with delivering a tiny royal infant from evil queen Bavmorda to fulfil a prophecy that will restore peace and justice to the land... Legend (Dir. Ridley Scott 1985): In Ridley Scott's 'Legend' young Jack (Cruise) lives in a magic forest populated with friendly and exotic creatures. But the delicate balance between good and evil is upset when the Lord of Darkness seizes Jack's beloved Lili (Sara) and a horn from one of the last unicorns thereby gaining control of the universe.
Bedazzled (Dir. Harold Ramis 2000): Brendan Fraser is Elliot Richards a hapless love-starved computer technician who falls prey to sinfully sexy Elizabeth Hurley when he agrees to sell her his soul for seven ""fabulous"" wishes. But the sly Princess Of Darkness has more than a few tricks up her sleeve. And before you can say 666 Elliot's existence has become a living hell of outrageously comic proportions! Jumpin' Jack Flash (Dir. Penny Marshall 1986): Computer operator Terry Dolittle (Goldberg) becomes involved in international espionage when a desperate message from a British Intelligence officer appears on her computer terminal... Serving Sara (Dir. Reginald Hudlin 2002): Joe Tyler is a process server who will do anything it takes to deliver legal documents to unsuspecting victims. But nothing in Joe's bag of tricks prepares him for Sara the stunning soon-to-be ex-wife of a playboy cattle baron named Gordon Moore. When Joe serves Sara with Gordon's divorce papers Sara presents an offer Joe can't refuse: serve Gordon with Sara's papers first and earn a cool million dollars! Pursued by Joe's greedy boss and bumbling office rival Joe and Sara begin a wildly funny journey to find Gordon and discover that nothing heats up romance like riches and revenge...
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