When attorney Frank Calvin (Newman) is given an open-and-shut medical malpractice case that no one thinks he can win he courageously decides to refuse a settlement from the hospital. Instead he takes the case and the entire legal system to court... Sidney Lumet's riveting courtroom drama earned five Oscar nominations including Best Picture and Best Actor for Paul Newman's towering performance as a down-and-out alcoholic who stumbles onto one last chance to redeem himself.
Michael Caine stars in this 60s classic as the leader of a team of thieves who plan to use minis to help them perform the heist of the century.
The Last of the Mohicans is a large-scale adventure set during the colonial conflicts between Britain and France 20 years before the American War of Independence. Based loosely on the novel by James Fenimore Cooper, but actually inspired by director Michael (Manhunter, Heat) Mann's boyhood love of the 1936 film of the same name, this is rousing, romantic stuff. As "Hawkeye", a white raised by the last of the Mohican tribe, Daniel Day-Lewis delivers a performance which, had he followed it up, could have established him as an action hero for the 1990s and beyond. Despite an under-written role Madeline Stowe convinces as the heroine. The remaining cast are uniformly excellent. Filmed amid the spectacular mountains, rivers and forests of North Carolina by Mann's regular cinematographer, Dante Spinotti, the film is a visual joy, while Trevor Jones' majestic, spine-tingling score (with additional music by Randy Edleman) is one of the finest of the decade. Taking time to establish the motives of British and French colonists and the various native tribes, as well as the varying opinions and characters within these groupings, Mann offers much greater balance and complexity than The Patriot (2000), yet never looses sight of the object here: telling a stirring yarn laced with bold action set pieces and passionate romance. On the DVD: The anamorphically enhanced 2.35:1 image is a massive improvement over VHS, but still shows considerable grain in many scenes, possibly a result of the film being shot in low, natural light and containing many very dark sequences. The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is very powerful, though little use is made of the rear channels, and in some scenes the sound effects all but drown out the dialogue. Isolated scores are usually only found on feature-packed special editions, so the inclusion here is a welcome surprise--and testament its popularity. The only other extra is an anamorphic 2.35:1 presentation of the immensely stirring theatrical trailer. --Gary S Dalkin
For those who never thought Disney would release a film in which Santa Claus is kidnapped and tortured, well, here it is. The full title is Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas, which should give you an idea of the tone of this stop-action animated musical/fantasy/horror/comedy. It is based on characters created by Burton, the former Disney animator best known as the director of Pee-wee's Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands and the first two Batman movies. His benignly scary-funny sensibility dominates the story of Halloweentown resident Jack Skellington (voice by Danny Elfman, who also wrote the songs), who stumbles on a bizarre and fascinating alternative universe called ... Christmastown! Directed by Henry Selick (who later made the delightful James and the Giant Peach), this PG-rated picture has a reassuringly light touch. As Roger Ebert noted in his review, "some of the Halloween creatures might be a tad scary for smaller children, but this is the kind of movie older kids will eat up; it has the kind of offbeat, subversive energy that tells them wonderful things are likely to happen." --Jim EmersonOn the DVD:This Special edition is a must for all Burton fans with the biggest gem to be found on a DVD release--"Tim Burtons Early Films" which holds his first two works. Vincent is clear predecessor of Nightmare before Christmas using the same stop-animation style and voiced superbly by Vincent Price himself; and Frankenweenie--a B&W live-action flick--takes you back to early B-movie territory seen through the eyes of a boy. Added to these films is a great special-features menu including a short documentary offering an interview with Burton, which exposes the inspiration for this magical animation and presents the three-year task of making the "Nightmare". On top of this is an in-depth commentary by director Henry Selick and Art director Pete Kozachik and layer upon layer of "character development" offering an insight into the intensity of thought that went into making these animated figures real. You also get a great selection of storyboards along with the sequences they manifest into, deleted storyboards and an animated sequence with a surprise alternative ending. The menu is beautifully animated in keeping with the style of artwork in the film. With a 1.66:1 widescreen format and Dolby digital transfer this charming DVD is perfect for Halloween, Christmas and beyond! --Nikki Disney
Callan: The Colour Years (7 Discs)
It's 'vege-mania' in Wallace and Gromit's first feature adventure.
Sidney Lumet's directorial debut Twelve Angry Men remains a tense, atmospheric (though slightly manipulative and stagey) courtroom thriller, in which the viewer never sees a trial and the only action is verbal. As he does in his later corruption commentaries such as Serpico or Q & A, Lumet focuses on the lonely one-man battles of a protagonist whose ethics alienate him from the rest of jaded society. As the film opens, the seemingly open-and-shut trial of a young Puerto Rican accused of murdering his father with a knife has just concluded and the 12-man jury retires to their microscopic, sweltering quarters to decide the verdict. When the votes are counted, 11 men rule guilty, while one--played by Henry Fonda, again typecast as another liberal, truth-seeking hero--doubts the obvious. Stressing the idea of "reasonable doubt", Fonda slowly chips away at the jury, who represent a microcosm of white, male society--exposing the prejudices and preconceptions that directly influence the other jurors' snap judgments. The tight script by Reginald Rose (based on his own teleplay) presents each juror vividly using detailed soliloquies, all which are expertly performed by the film's flawless cast. Still, it's Lumet's claustrophobic direction--all sweaty close-ups and cramped compositions within a one-room setting--that really transforms this contrived story into an explosive and compelling nail-biter. --Dave McCoy, Amazon.com
Christmas family comedy directed by independent filmmaker Jon Favreau. Will Ferrell stars as Buddy, a human being who has spent his whole life believing himself to be an elf. Brought up by Santa (Edward Asner) and his elves at the North Pole, Buddy has spent the last 30 years happily working in Santa's toy workshop. But when his ungainly size starts to become a liability in the elf-sized working environment, Santa suggests that Buddy head to New York City to find his biological father (James Caan). Needless to say, the unlikely spectacle of a 6'5' man dressed from head to foot in bright green stands out a mile on the streets of the Big Apple, and the good-natured Buddy finds himself in all sorts of scrapes as he gets used to his new family and surroundings - and they get used to him.
SIDNEY LUMET'S UNPARALLELED TRIAL DRAMA STARRING HENRY FONDA ONE OF THE TEN MOST POPULAR FILMS OF ALL TIME, ACCORDING TO IMDB.COM! 12 Angry Men, by SIDNEY LUMET (Network), may be the most radical big-screen courtroom drama in cinema history. A behind-closed-doors look at the American legal system as riveting as it is spare, the iconic adaptation of Reginald Rose's teleplay stars HENRY FONDA (Young Mr. Lincoln) as the initially dissenting foreman on a jury of white men ready to pass judgment on a Puerto Rican teenager charged with murdering his father. What results is a saga of epic proportions that plays out in real time over ninety minutes in one sweltering room. Lumet's electrifying snapshot of 1950s America on the verge of change is one of the great feature-film debuts. SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES: New high-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack Frank Schaffner's 1955 television version, with an introduction by Ron Simon, director of the Paley Centre for Media Studies 12 Angry Men: From Television to the Big Screen, a video essay by film scholar Vance Kapley comparing the Sidney Lumet and Schaffner versions Archival interviews with Lumet New interview about the director with writer Walter Bernstein New interview with Simon about television writer Reginald Rose New interview with cinematographer John Bailey in which he discusses cinematographer Boris Kaufman Tragedy in a Temporary Town (1956), a teleplay directed by Lumet and written by Rose Original theatrical trailer PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by writer and law professor Thane Rosenbaum Click Images to Enlarge
Edward Woodward gives an electrifying performance as a reluctant professional killer working for British Intelligence. Callan became a national phenomenon in the late 1960s making Woodward one of the highest profile actors on television and paving the way to his eventual career in America on shows like The Equalizer. Created by James Mitchell (When the Boat Comes In) and exploring the dingy twilight world of the professional spy Callan was the antithesis of James Bond (back in the days of Connery and Moore) and presented until that point television's most realistic portrayal of government espionage. This set contains the original Armchair Theatre pilot play A Magnum for Schneider along with all the remaining black and white episodes from series one and two - unseen in nearly forty years and available on any format for the first time.
""I never knew that love could hurt so much yet I love you and all I want is to love you."" This cry from the heart comes from bachelor Oxford don C.S.Lewis (Hopkins) who discovers exquisite happiness in later life through his marriage to American Joy Davidman (Winger). His beliefs and new found fulfillment are shattered by Joy's struggle against an unexpected and devastating illness. Based on the true-life love story of C.S.Lewis the author of 'The Lion The Witch and the W
Sherlock Holmes, the creation of novelist Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is one of the world's greatest and most popular fictional detectives, as famous for his deerstalker and pipe as his legendary powers of observation and deduction. He is an aloof and private man driven by a fierce intellect that gives him astounding brilliance and unfathomable eccentricity in equal measure. The late Jeremy Brett, the definitive Holmes, stars in these beautiful adaptations taken from the classic ITV1 series and as ever Dr Watson is on hand as his indispensable assistant. Featuring guests appearances from stars such as John Thaw (Inspector Morse), Robert Hardy (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets), Natasha Richardson (Maid in Manhattan), Joss Ackland (Lethal Weapon 2), Peter Vaughan (Remains of the Day) and many more.
THE WICKER MAN has had an enduring fascination for audiences since its release in 1973. A unique and bone-fide horror masterpiece, brilliantly scripted by Anthony Schaffer (Sleuth, Frenzy) and featuring an astounding performance by the legendary Christopher Lee. Director Robin Hardy's atmospheric use of location, unsettling imagery and haunting soundtrack gradually builds to one of the most terrifying and iconic climaxes in modern cinema.When a young girl mysteriously disappears, Police Sergeant Howie (Edward Woodward) travels to a remote Scottish island to inverstiage. But this pastoral community , led by the strange Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee) is not what it seems as the devoutley religious detective soon uncovers a secret society of wanton lust and pagan blasphemy. Can Howie now stop the cults ultimate sacrifice before he himself comes face to face with the horror of THE WICKER MAN?includes all 3 cuts of the film restored in 4K.DISC BREAKDOWNUHD 1FEATURE - THE FINAL CUTRevisiting the locations of The Wicker ManThe Wicker Man at 50Robin Hardy's Script - The Lost EndingInterview with Britt EklandWorshipping The Wicker ManThe Music of The Wicker ManInterview with Robin Hardy (2013)Interview with Robin Hardy & Christopher Lee (1979)New TrailerBehind the Scenes Stills GalleryBurnt Offering: The Cult of the Wicker ManWicker Man EnigmaUHD 2FEATURE - THE DIRECTOR'S CUTFEATURE - THE THEATRICAL CUTAudio Commentary with Robin Hardy, Christopher Lee and Edward WoodwardMaking of The CommentaryBD 1FEATURE - THE FINAL CUTRevisiting the locations of The Wicker ManThe Wicker Man at 50Robin Hardy's Script - The Lost EndingInterview with Britt EklandWorshipping The Wicker ManThe Music of The Wicker ManInterview with Robin Hardy (2013)Interview with Robin Hardy & Christopher Lee (1979)New TrailerBehind the Scenes Stills GalleryBurnt Offering: The Cult of the Wicker ManWicker Man EnigmaBD 2FEATURE - THE DIRECTOR'S CUTFEATURE - THE THEATRICAL CUTAudio Commentary with Robin Hardy, Christopher Lee and Edward WoodwardMaking of The Commentary
A father returns from Chinatown with an unusual pet, a Mogwai--a gift for his son. The rules are simple: Keep your Mogwai away from water, bright lights and, most importantly, never--never--feed him after midnight. But the rules are inadvertently broken, and the consequences multiply at an alarming rate.
A BRAND NEW RESTORATION James Cameron's epic action, sci-fi masterpiece starring Schwarzenegger in his most iconic role, has been stunningly restored by Cameron himself. First hitting our screens in 1991 with ground-breaking special effects, this version will take the seminal blockbuster to the next level of effects and into the 21st century for a new generation of fans. It has been 10 years since the events of Terminator. Sarah Connor's ordeal is only just beginning as she struggles to protect her son John, the future leader of the human resistance against the machines, from a new Terminator, sent back in time to eliminate John Connor while he's still a child. Sarah and John don't have to face this terrifying threat alone however. The human resistance have managed to send them an ally, a warrior from the future ordered to protect John Connor at any cost. The battle for tomorrow has begun Extras: NEW - T2: Reprogramming The Terminator documentary (including exclusive interviews with Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Cameron, Edward Furlong and many more) 2 feature Commentaries; 23 members of Cast & Crew (1993)/ director James Cameron & co-author William Wisher The making of T2 1993 Seamless Branching of the Theatrical cut, Director's Cut and Special extended edition 2 Deleted Scenes with audio commentary Trailers NEW T2:3D trailer (2017) T2 theatrical trailer This time there are two'/ Same make new mission'/ Building the perfect Arnold
""47 875 survivors in search of a home called Earth."" ""The cylons were created by man. They evolved. They rebelled. There are many copies. And they have a plan."" The Sci-fi Channel's hottest TV series returns as Battlestar Galactica 2.0 blasts onto DVD. As the epic second season begins the fight to save humanity rages on - even as civil war looms within the fleet between the followers of President Roslin and Commander Adama. Relive all the intensity and exciteme
! When a single mother and her two sons move to the sleepy seaside California town of Santa Clara, they discover much more than they anticipated in this visually stunning blend of hip humor, horror and rock 'n' roll about the most compelling group of contemporary vampires ever to put fang to vein. Features Commentary by Director Joel Schumacher THE LOST BOYS: A Retrospective-A 24-minute look back on the production Inside the Vampire's Cave documentary Vamping Out: - Makeup effect Haimster & Feldog: The Story of the 2 Coreys A World of Vampires Documentary Lost Scenes Lost in the Shadows Music Video Theatrical Trailer
When British jocky Bob Champion is struck down with cancer in the prime of his career his desire to live is determined by a single promise; on successful recovery he will ride jump prospect Aldaniti in the 1981 Grand National... John Hurt gives a truly stunning performance as Bob Champion in this true story of courage dedication and the strength of the human spirit.
With its high-intensity plot about an attempt to assassinate French President Charles de Gaulle, the bestselling novel by Frederick Forsyth was a prime candidate for screen adaptation. Director Fred Zinnemann brought his veteran skills to bear on what has become a timeless classic of screen suspense. Not to be confused with the later remake The Jackal starring Bruce Willis (which shamelessly embraced all the bombast that Zinnemann so wisely avoided), this 1973 thriller opts for lethal elegance and low-key tenacity in the form of the Jackal, the suave assassin played with consummate British coolness by Edward Fox. He's a killer of the highest order, a master of disguise and international elusiveness, and this riveting film follows his path to de Gaulle with an intense, straightforward documentary style. Perhaps one of the last great films from a bygone age of pure, down-to-basics suspense (and a kind of debonair European alternative to the American grittiness of The French Connection), The Day of the Jackal is a cat-and-mouse thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat until its brilliantly executed final scene (pardon the pun), by which time Fox has achieved cinematic immortality as one of the screen's most memorable killers. --Jeff Shannon
While Soylent Green may be one of the many dystopian visions of the future, the film stands out because it's one of the few titles that addresses current environmental issues head on. Adapted from Harry Harrison's novel Make Room, Make Room, it gives us a nightmarish vision of an over-populated, polluted future on the brink of collapse--a vision that gets uncomfortably closer every year. Charlton Heston as police officer Thorn investigates a murder in between suppressing food riots and uncovers the nightmarish truth about Soylent Green, the new foodstuff being sold to the poor. The film neatly combines police procedural with conspiracy thriller. Heston's scenes are counterpointed by more elegiac ones in which the centenarian Edward G Robinson as his friend Sol broods on the world he has outlived--his death in a euthanasia chamber is a gloriously lachrymose moment, which he plays to the hilt. Heston, too, is good as Thorn, a morally equivocal cop who loots the apartments of the victims whose deaths he investigates--he's a man just getting by in an impossible world. On the DVD: Soylent Green on disc comes with a commentary from director Richard Fleischer, the highpoint of which is a memorable description of what it was like to work with the brilliant ailing, entirely deaf Robinson. He is joined by Leigh Taylor-Young whose work on the film as heroine led to years of serious environmentalist commitment. It has a useful contemporary making-of documentary and touching shots of Robinson's 100th birthday party with telegrams from Sinatra and others. The feature itself is presented in anamorphic widescreen with its original mono sound. --Roz Kaveney
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