A highly unusual war movie with as many detractors as fans, this English-language feature directed by Nagisa Oshima (In the Realm of the Senses) stars David Bowie as a silent, ethereal POW in a Japanese camp. Protesting--via his own enigmatic rebellion--the camp's brutal conditions and treatment of prisoners, Bowie's character earns the respect of the camp commandant (Ryuichi Sakamoto). While the two seem locked in an unspoken, spiritual understanding, another prisoner (Tom Conti) engages in a more conventional resistance against a monstrous sergeant (Takeshi). The film has a way of evoking as many questions as certainties and it is not always easy to understand the internal logic of the characters' actions. But that's generally true of Oshima's movies, in which the power of certain relationships is almost hallucinatory in self-referential intensity. The cast is outstanding, and Bowie is particularly fascinating in his alien way. --Tom Keogh
In 1976 The Omen was a hit among critics and audiences hungry for more after The Exorcist with its mixture of Gothic horror and mystery and its plot about a young boy suspected of being the personification of the Antichrist. Directed by Richard Donner (best known later for his Superman and Lethal Weapon films), The Omen gained a lot of credibility from the casting of Gregory Peck and Lee Remick as a distinguished American couple living in England, whose young son Damien bears "the mark of the beast". At a time when graphic gore had yet to dominate the horror genre, this film used its violence discreetly and to great effect, and the mood of dread and potential death is masterfully maintained. It's all a bit contrived, with a lot of biblical portent and sensational fury, but few would deny it's highly entertaining. Jerry Goldsmith's Oscar-winning score works wonders to enhance the movie's creepy atmosphere. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com On the DVD: The all-new 45-minute documentary, "666: The Omen Revealed", has contributions from all the major behind-the-scenes players, including director, editor, screenwriter (who confesses the movie was only set in England because he wanted a free trip to London), producer and composer. The latter, Jerry Goldsmith, has his Oscar-winning contribution to the movie recognised with a separate feature in which he talks through four key musical scenes in the score. There's also a thought-provoking short called "Curse or Coincidence?" in which the many bizarre accidents that happened during shooting are related, including the terrible story of what happened to the girlfriend of the man responsible for designing the decapitation scene--spooky. Director Richard Donner and editor Stuart Baird provide a chatty audio commentary to the film, and the DVD package is completed by the original theatrical trailer. --Mark Walker
Britain's favourite sitcom, Dad's Army ran for eighty episodes over nearly ten years and is rarely far from our screens - but three of those episodes were lost many years ago and haven't been seen since 1969. Now, using Jimmy Perry and David Croft's original scripts, those three episodes have been recreated as faithfully as possible to mark the 50th anniversary of their original broadcast. Featuring a brilliant new cast that includes Kevin McNally as Captain Mainwaring, Robert Bathurst as Sergeant Wilson, Kevin Eldon as Lance Corporal Jones, David Hayman as Private Frazer, Mathew Horne as Private Walker, Timothy West as Private Godfrey and Tom Rosenthal as Private Pike, these three lost episodes can now be enjoyed again in this critically-acclaimed comedy classic! Special Features Cast interviews Outtakes Behind the Scenes Gallery
BAFTA and Golden Globe-winning actress Brenda Blethyn stars as the unorthodox but brilliant DCI Vera Stanhope in this hit crime drama. Vera may be unconventional and unglamorous, but she faces the world with her caustic wit, guile and courage, and what she lacks in charm she more than makes up for in wisdom and insight. Follow all ten gripping seasons as the indomitable Vera and her trusted team investigate tragic and intriguing cases, chasing ruthless killers, unravelling complex mysteries and uncovering secrets that sometimes stray a little too close to home. Set against the atmospheric landscapes of the breathtaking Northumberland countryside, this top-rating drama is inspired by the bestselling novels and characters created by acclaimed author Ann Cleeves.
In this third instalment in the blockbusting series a notorious prisoner escapes from the prison for wizards, and young wizard Harry Potter is believed to be his target for death.
Live and Let Die - Roger Moore finds himself immersed in the world of heroin, voodoo and black magic in his debut as Bond. The Man with The Golden Gun - Bond is assigned to retrieve a top secret solar power converter, but finds himself the target of the world's greatest professional assassin. The Spy Who Loved Me - Britain and Russia both send their best agents to negotiate for a tracking system that has lost them each a nuclear submarine. Moonraker - When a Moonraker space shuttle disappears the chase leads Bond into outer space. For Your Eyes Only - In the race to beat the Russians to a missing communications device Bond finds himself involved with the Greek underworld. Octopussy - Stolen art treasures lead to a plan that will see Europe fall to a Russian invasion unless Bond can stop it in time A View To A Kill - In pursuit of new computer super chips, Bond uncovers a plan which could destroy Silicon Valley and the West's computer industries.
Harry must compete in the prestigious Triwizard Tournament in this fantasy smash.
This collection features three of Anthony Trollope's highly regarded works brilliantly adapted for the small screen. With over 15 hours of timeless film from one of the nineteenth-century's greatest writers visit the fascinating world of Victorian England as the prolific and respected novelist illustrates the penetrating conflicts of the day. He Knew He Was Right: Louis Trevelyan's refusal to believe in his wife Emily's fidelity destroys a perfect marriage and drives him literally insane. Suspicious beyond reason that she is having an affair with Colonel Osbourne a man of dubious reputation he forces his wife out of their house hires the seedy private detective Bozzle to spy on her and organises the kidnapping of their son with devastating consequences. Throughout Emily's protestation of her innocence and the couple's enduring love for each other despite their estrangement render the story moving and tragic. The Way We Live Now: Set in the railway boom of the 1870s Anthony Trollope's epic tale of Victorian power and corruption captures the turmoil as the old order is swept aside by the brash new forces of business and finance. It is packed with the trials and tribulations of young love the enduring values of honourable men the raw energy of one of the most powerful cities in the world and the greed and corruption that lay below its glittering surface. The Barchester Chronicles: The acclaimed 1982 BBC adaptation of Anthony Trollope's novels. The community of Barchester is shaken from its cosy complacency when a newspaper's crusade against the Church of England's practice of self-enrichment misfires. Overnight Rev. Harding (Donald Pleasence) becomes a pawn in a battle between his younger daughter's beau John Bold (David Gwillim) and his older daughter's husband. Little do they realise that the worst is yet to come until a regime change delivers Barchester into the hands of a most unholy trinity: the weak-willed Bishop Proudie (Clive Swift) the domineering Mrs. Proudie (Geraldine McEwan) and the insufferable Rev. Obadiah Slope (Alan Rickman).
Experience the extraordinary animation, dazzling special effects and award-winning music of Walt Disney's Mary Poppins in this restored and remastered 2-Disc 45th Anniversary Special Edition!
David Bowie stars in Nagisa Oshima's 1983 Palme d'Or-nominated portrait of resilience, pride, friendship and obsession among four very different men confined in the stifling jungle heat of a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp in Java during World War II. In 1942, British officer Major Jack Celliers (Bowie) is captured by Japanese soldiers, and after a brutal trial sent, physically debilitated but indomitable in mind, to a POW camp overseen by the zealous Captain Yonoi (Ryuichi Sakamoto). Celliers' stubbornness sees him locked in a battle of wills with the camp's new commandant, a man obsessed with discipline and the glory of Imperial Japan who becomes unnaturally preoccupied with the young Major, while Lieutenant Colonel Lawrence (Tom Conti), the only inmate with a degree of sympathy for Japanese culture and an understanding of the language, attempts to bridge the divide through his friendship with Yonoi's second-in-command, Sergeant Hara (Takeshi Kitano), a man possessing a surprising degree of compassion beneath his cruel façade. Produced by Jeremy Thomas (The Last Emperor, The Sheltering Sky), it was the first English-language film by Oshima (Death by Hanging, In the Realm of the Senses, Gohatto), a leading light of Japanese New Wave cinema, and provided breakthrough big-screen roles for comedian Takeshi Kitano and musician Ryuichi Sakamoto, who also composed the film's hauntingly memorable BAFTA-winning score. This powerful wartime drama was adapted from Laurens van der Post's autobiographical novel The Seed and the Sower' (1963) by screenwriter Paul Mayersberg (The Man Who Fell to Earth). SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS High Definition Blu-ray⢠(1080p) presentation Original uncompressed stereo audio The Man Who Left His Soul on Film (1983), Paul Joyce's 82-minute documentary profile of Nagisa Oshima The Oshima Gang (1983), a 30-minute documentary following the film's cast and makers at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival Video interviews with producer Jeremy Thomas and actor-composer Ryuichi Sakamoto Exclusive newly filmed interview with critic Tony Rayns Original theatrical trailer Image gallery Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Sam Hadley FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Jasper Sharp
Star wars and the lego group join forces for this all new animated adventure
Upon the sudden death of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, his trusted and successful general Narcissus Meridas is unlawfully imprisoned and condemned to the gladiator games by Marcus's twisted son Commodus.
U-571 is a white-knuckle World War II suspense drama about an American submarine crew's battle against time-and their own fears-while carrying out a daring mission to capture a top-secret encrypting device from a Nazi U-boat.
Films Comprise: Hunted Sapphire So Long at the Fair Turn the Key Softly 21 Days
Highschooler Donnie is plagued by visions of a giant evil rabbit who orders him to commit acts of violence and predicts the impending end of the world.
Don Henderson stars as the eccentric police Detective DCI George Bulman in this gritty and violent series from the 1970's.
Britain's favourite sitcom, Dad's Army ran for eighty episodes over nearly ten years and is rarely far from our screens - but three of those episodes were lost many years ago and haven't been seen since 1969. Now, using Jimmy Perry and David Croft's original scripts, those three episodes have been recreated as faithfully as possible to mark the 50th anniversary of their original broadcast. Featuring a brilliant new cast that includes Kevin McNally as Captain Mainwaring, Robert Bathurst as Sergeant Wilson, Kevin Eldon as Lance Corporal Jones, David Hayman as Private Frazer, Mathew Horne as Private Walker, Timothy West as Private Godfrey and Tom Rosenthal as Private Pike, these three lost episodes can now be enjoyed again in this critically-acclaimed comedy classic! Special Features: Cast interviews Outtakes Behind the Scenes Gallery
It's wartime Germany and a group of kids calling themselves the Swing Kids get together at their local dance and swing to the sounds of the American 30's...
Tom Hanks Geena Davis and Madonna star in this major-league comedy from the team that brought you Big. Hanks stars as Jimmy Dugan a washed-up ball player whose big league days are over. Hired to coach in the All-American Girls League of 1943 - while the male pros are at war - Dugan finds himself drawn back into the game by the heart and heroics of his ""all-girl"" team. Jon Lovitz adds a scene stealing cameo as the sarcastic scout who recruits Dottie Hanson (Davis) the ""baseball dolly"" with a Babe Ruth swing. Teammates Madonna Lori Petty and Rosie O'Donnell round out the roster taking the team to the World Series. Based on the true story of the pioneering women who blazed the trail for generations of athletes.
Based on the only surviving record of the infamous 1942 Wannsee Conference, the BBC/HBO produced Conspiracy reconstructs the two-hour meeting during which leading members of the SS and the Nazi government made definitive plans for the genocide of Europe's Jews. Sixteen men sit around a table and politely discuss the mechanics and ramifications of murdering millions. As SS General Reinhard Heydrich, overall architect of the Final Solution, Kenneth Branagh is brilliant, charming, manipulative and threatening, a cultured man seemingly without a soul. As his aid, SS Colonel Adolf Eichmann, Stanley Tucci is the incarnation of the banality of evil, an efficient and self-effacing bureaucrat in a fine performance marred only by a hint of the actor's American accent. Colin Firth is a powerful foil for Branagh as Dr Wilhelm Stuckart, author of Nazi Germany's race laws and a stickler for the rule of law, no matter how insane the law may have become; while David Threlfall makes a striking impression as the one man who comes closest to taking a moral stand, Dr Wilhelm Kritzinger. Directed in an elegantly controlled style by Frank Pierson, Conspiracy is the Janus face of the 1957 classic 12 Angry Men and a chilling companion to the BBC/HBO Churchill drama The Gathering Storm (2002). On the DVD: Conspiracy comes to DVD with text profiles of the four leading actors and the director and two featurettes, one running two minutes, the other four, neither of which is any more than an electronic press-kit. Sound is clear, perfectly good Dolby Surround, while the picture, though anamorphically enhanced at 16:9, is no more than adequate. --Gary S Dalkin
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