Under ROMAN POLANSKI's chilling direction, a classic thriller is born. Rosemary (MIA FARROW) and Guy Woodhouse (JOHN CASSAVETES) are newlyweds, but Rosemary has no idea that her wedded bliss is about to come to a horrific end. Her husband's ambition as a struggling actor is about to plunge her into an abyss of terror like she has never known. In exchange for a taste of fame, Guy makes a deal with the devil that puts his wife and soul in jeopardy. When Rosemary becomes pregnant, her husband becomes odd, her neighbors (SIDNEY BLACKMER and Oscar® winner* RUTH GORDON) border on obsessive and her normal life turns into a surreal nightmare. Slowly, she begins to realize that a seed of evil has been planted and she is its host.
Critics greeted Woody Allen's 1990 opus Alice with sighs of resignation. Here was yet another of Allen's bemused heroines-at-a-crossroads/crisis, falling prey to all kinds of temptation and fantasy and emerging at the other end a more complete, fulfilled or at least self-aware human being. But, though it's a minor work by his highest standards, it has weathered rather well. This is a softer exploration of territory Allen had previously covered rather more intensely and seriously in Another Woman (1988). It's often very funny and ultimately affirms one of Allen's most persistent themes: however confused you think you are, the answer probably lies somewhere inside you rather than in anybody else. As Alice, Mia Farrow gives one of her most versatile and unmannered performances, revealing a real gift for comedy. However bitter the breakdown of her long personal relationship with Allen, there is no doubt that he took her to new professional heights in their cinematic collaborations. At the start, Alice is little more than a well-heeled housewife and mother, a lady who lunches with bitchy friends. Her dissatisfaction with her marriage (to patronising rich guy William Hurt) leads her into the path of Chinese herbalist Dr Yang, whose potions set her off on a series of experiences which include the affair she has been considering, becoming invisible (cue some great gags, especially one involving a New York cab) and a brief flirtation with opium (here Allen's trademark soundtrack of old standards includes the evocative "Limehouse Blues"). There's also some great dialogue. "He's very deep," says Farrow of her putative lover (Joe Mantegna). "Yeah, and very deep is where he wants to put it", cracks back her visiting muse (a glittering cameo from Bernadette Peters). On the DVD: Presented in widescreen (1.85:1) format with a Dolby Digital stereo soundtrack, Alice on DVD replicates the hallmark intimacy of Allen's films in the cinema with good picture and lush sound quality (the importance of his romantic, referential musical choices should never be underestimated). There are no extras, apart from the original theatrical trailer. --Piers Ford
""Fine and brave! Allen's touch for drama has gotten warmer and surer."" -Los Angeles Times. Woody Allen delivers a haunting ""superbly constructed"" (The Hollywood Reporter) film that examines the intricate world of human emotions and the delicate threads that hold them together. Beautifully acted by an all-star cast including Mia Farrow Sam Waterson Dianne West Denholm Elliott Elaine Stritch and Jack Warden September illustrates ""some of Allen's most powerfully ironic dialogue
A delightful return to the romantic-comedy territory that Woody Allen last explored in such classics as Annie Hall and Manhattan, Alice was also Oscar-nominated for Best Original Screenplay, but departs from the earlier films in its embrace of out-and-out fantasy to the point where it becomes a contemporary fairytale. Alice Tate (Mia Farrow) is trapped in a loveless marriage to Doug (William Hurt), to the point where a chance encounter with handsome jazz musician Joe (Joe Mantegna) leaves her hopelessly conflicted. Seeking treatment for backache from a Chinese acupuncturist (Keye Luke), she confesses her feelings under hypnosis and comes away with some ancient herbs that possess mysterious and even supernatural powers. But will they solve Alice's dilemmas, or merely make them even more complicated? And can she really throw away all Doug's material wealth purely for love? Gliding effortlessly from reality to daydream and from memory to magic, while exploring the intricate and unfathomable unity of human bonds, Alice was described by the New York Times as hilarious and romantic, serious and exuberantly satiric.
Based on the novel Julia by Peter Straub, Full Circle is a highly regarded, long-vanished, evocatively eerie cult chiller, newly restored in 4K resolution. Bereaved mother Julia (Mia Farrow, Rosemary's Baby) flees controlling husband Magnus (Keir Dullea, Black Christmas), re-establishing herself in an old house in leafy West London. Yet she finds herself haunted by apparitions of a ghostly blonde-haired child, sending her on a strange journey of self-discovery - with dreadful consequences. Long requested by fans, the BFI is delighted to bring Full Circle to UK audiences as a limited edition 4K UHD and Blu-ray dual format release. Product Features Limited edition (includes booklet and slipcase) 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation Newly recorded introduction by director Richard Loncraine (2023) Newly recorded audio commentary with director Richard Loncraine and film historian Simon Fitzjohn Newly recorded interview with Richard Loncraine (2023) Newly recorded Interview with composer Colin Towns (2023) Interview with Tom Conti (2023) Interview with Samantha Gates (2023) Video essay by author and critic Kim Newman Location Tour with Simon Fitzjohn (2023) Galleries Newly created English subtitles for the Deaf and partial hearing Reversible sleeve featuring alternative design Illustrated booklet with new writing on the film by Simon Fitzjohn and on Richard Loncraine by the BFI's Dr Josephine Botting All extras are TBC and subject to change *Please note that the UHD disc included is region ABC, the Blu-ray disc is region B
I've just met a wonderful new man. He's fictional but you can't have everything." So says Cecilia (Mia Farrow), the central figure in Woody Allen's lyrically humorous Purple Rose of Cairo. The era is the Great Depression, and she is the bullied wife who finds escape in romantic movies, falling in love with the explorer hero, Tom Baxter (Jeff Daniels), of the eponymous film. So far, nothing remarkable. But Allen has Baxter spot her in the audience, fall in love with her, and desert the picture, much to the irritation of the other characters. The surreal quality of the situation develops further when Gil Shepherd--the actor who played Baxter (Daniels again)--seeks out his fictional alter ego to persuade him back into the film and thus save both their reputations. Naturally Shepherd, too, falls in love with Cecilia, and she's left to choose between fiction and reality, chooses the latter and is then cruelly jilted. The message seems clear: fairytales are just that, make-believe. There's no such thing as a happy ending. Dating from 1985 (after Broadway Danny Rose and immediately before Hannah and her Sisters), this is one of the few movies in which Allen doesn't actually appear, though he's recognisable in every line of Farrow's character. It's also a nostalgic tribute to the era that defined movie glamour, the close-up of Cecilia's face at the end a moment of pure Hollywood. At 81 minutes, this is a small but brilliant gem. On the DVD: Aside from the technological improvement of DVD over video, the new format adds little by way of features: you can view the original trailer, scan the film scene by scene, and there's a choice of subtitles in eight languages.--Harriet Smith
In Husbands and Wives, another typical Woody Allen exploration of relationships between screwed-up New Yorkers, the drama centres on two married couples who have been close friends for years. When Jack and Sally (Sydney Pollack and Judy Davis) announce they're breaking up, it exposes the cracks in the relationship between Gabe and Judy (Allen and Mia Farrow). The shenanigans that result are touching, funny and horribly true to life. Jack finds himself a cliché trophy blonde, Sam--an aerobics instructor--and thinks he's got it made until she expounds the eternal truths of astrology to his friends, humiliating him in the process; Gabe, meanwhile, finds himself increasingly drawn to his precocious student, Rain--beautifully portrayed by Juliette Lewis--while Judy and Sally get involved with the same guy (though not simultaneously), the shy but alluring Michael (Liam Neeson). The touch of genius is to have an off-screen narrator, with whom the main characters share their innermost thoughts, thus drawing the viewer right into the emotional heart of the movie. This is vintage Woody, with gentle but witty observations of human failings. On the DVD: Husbands and Wives is delivered in widescreen with a Dolby Digital soundtrack. The only extra features are trailers for both this and Allen's previous movie, Manhattan Murder Mystery. In addition the audio set-up option is in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish and subtitles in English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch and Finnish. --Harriet Smith
Joseph Losey's lurid and often misunderstood drama stars the great Elizabeth Taylor (Suddenly, Last Summer) as an ageing London prostitute who befriends a young woman (Mia Farrow, See No Evil) that reminds her of her long-dead daughter. As the bizarre relationship between the two evolves, the appearance of Robert Mitchum (Cape Fear), as Farrow's abusive stepfather, ignites deep emotions and dark passions. With its exquisite production design, stylish cinematography and elegant score, Joseph Losey's lost masterpiece finally makes its long-overdue premiere on Blu-ray. Product Features High Definition remaster Original mono audio Audio commentary with authors and critics Dean Brandum and Alexandra Heller-Nicholas (2019) Archival Interview with Joseph Losey (1969, 15 mins): extract from the French television programme Cinéma critique, featuring the celebrated director promoting the release of Secret Ceremony and an appreciation by critic Michel Mourlet The Beholder's Share (2019, 25 mins): interview with Gavrik Losey, son of Joseph Losey TV version: additional scenes (1971, 18 mins): unique epilogue and prologue produced for US television screenings, with Robert Douglas and Michael Strong Original theatrical trailer Larry Karaszewski trailer commentary (2015, 3 mins): short critical appreciation Image gallery: promotional and publicity material New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Woody Allen's gentlest and most unassuming movie, Radio Days isn't so much a story as a series of anecdotes loosely linked together by a voice-over spoken by the director. The film is strongly autobiographical in tone, presenting the memories of a young lad Joe (clearly a stand-in for Allen himself) growing up in a working-class Jewish family in the seafront Brooklyn suburb of Rockaway during the late 1930s and early 40s. In this pre-TV era the radio is ubiquitous, a constant accompaniment churning out quiz shows, soap operas, dance music, news flashes and Joe's favourite, the exploits of the Masked Avenger. Given Allen's well-publicised gallery of neuroses, you might expect childhood traumas. But no, everything here is rose-tinted and even the outbreak of war makes little impact on the easygoing, protective tenor of family life. Now and then Allen counterpoints his family album with the doings of the radio folk themselves (blink, and you'll miss a young William H Macy in the studio scene when the news of Pearl Harbour comes through). The rise to fame of Sally (Mia Farrow), a former night-club cigarette girl turned crooner, is the nearest the film comes to a coherent storyline. But most of the time Allen is content to coast on a flow of easy nostalgia, poking affectionate fun at the broadcasting conventions of the period and basking in the mildly rueful Jewish humour and small domestic crises of Joe's extended family. There aren't even any of his snappy one-liners, and the humour is kept low-key, raising at most an indulgent smile. A touch of Allen's usual acerbity wouldn't have come amiss. But for anyone who shares these memories, Radio Days will surely be a delight. On the DVD: Not much besides the theatrical trailer, scene menu and a choice of languages. The screen's the full original ratio, but nothing seems to have been done to enhance the soundtrack, and the dialogue's not always clear. A boost in volume may help.--Philip Kemp
A talented musician struggles to survive the destruction of the Warsaw ghetto and the concentration camps of World War II.
The final film by the great Anthony Mann (Winchester '73, El Cid) A Dandy in Aspic is a stylish and complex cold-war thriller starring Laurence Harvey (Room at the Top, The Manchurian Candidate) as a Russian double-agent working for British Intelligence who is assigned to track down and kill an unusual target. Falling between the outlandish exploits of James Bond and the dour realism of John le Carré's circus of spies', this paranoid thriller is a dark and refined affair, with a superb supporting cast headed by Mia Farrow (Rosemary's Baby, See No Evil) and Tom Courtenay (The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, Otley), wonderful cinematography by regular Powell and Pressburger cameraman Christopher Challis, and with a terrific score by Quincy Jones. Extras High Definition remaster Original mono audio Audio commentary with author and critic Samm Deighan The BEHP Interview with Christopher Challis (1988, 107 mins): archival audio recording, made as part of the British Entertainment History Project, featuring the cinematographer in conversation with Kevin Gough-Yates A Time to Die (2019, 10 mins): members of the crew recall aspects of the film's production Pulling Strings (2019, 22 mins): titles designer Michael Graham Smith and puppeteer Ronnie Le Drew discuss the distinctive opening credit sequence Inside Mann (2019, 12 mins): appreciation by critic and broadcaster Richard Combs London to Berlin (2019, 6 mins): exploration of A Dandy in Aspic's British and German locations Berlin: The Swinging City (1968, 5 mins): original promotional film produced by Columbia Pictures Isolated music & effects track Original theatrical trailer Image gallery: on-set and promotional photography New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Recently blinded in a horse riding accident, young Sarah (Mia Farrow) returns to her uncle's English country home, unaware that a psychopathic killer is stalking the family. This wonderfully creepy suspense-thriller from director Richard Fleischer (10 Rillington Place), from a script by British writer Brian Clemens (The Avengers, The Golden Voyage of Sinbad), features a note-perfect performance by Mia Farrow, and sterling support from a cast of formidable British character actors. Released in America as See No Evil and in the UK and Europe as Blind Terror (with subtle differences between the cuts), Indicator is delighted to present both versions of the film for the first time ever. Extras High Definition remaster Original mono audio Two presentations of the film: See No Evil, the US theatrical cut (89 mins); and Blind Terror, the alternative UK theatrical cut (88 mins) Norman Eshley on 'See No Evil' (2017, 11 mins): a new interview with the British actor The Two Versions: a detailed comparison of the differences between the US and UK cuts Alternative Italian title sequence Original theatrical trailer Image galleries: extensive on-set and promotional photography New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
From the sleazy video nasty vaults comes a movie so stained with controversy and moral indignation that the very mention of its name sends shudders down the spines of the weak stomached and censorious – Zombie Flesh Eaters. A gut-munching, shark wrestling, eye-gouging orgy of topless skin divers, mud-caked undead terror and Italian splatter from the dark imagination of horror genius Lucio Fulci (The Beyond, City of the Living Dead). An abandoned boat in New York Harbour unleashes a deadly flesh crazed Zombie cargo... A Young American woman and a journalist investigate a tropical island where a deadly disease is making the dead walk... Soon, thoughts of getting to the bottom of the murderous curse will be forgotten, as Fulci's walking corpses overwhelm the living and reports come in that the Big Apple is swarming with the living dead... After over thirty years, Zombie Flesh Eaters still has the power to shock and offend the unwilling... Check out this classic 'sadist video' and revel in a wonderfully tasteless movie that once helped usher in a moral panic!
Writer/director Todd Solondz ('Welcome to the Dollhouse', 'Happiness') examines the irretrievability of youth in the hilariously dark and idiosyncratic comedy Dark Horse, featuring an all-star cast led by Jordan Gelber ('Boardwalk Empire'), Selma Blair ('Cruel Intentions'), Academy Award winner Christopher Walken, Mia Farrow ('Rosemary's Baby') and Justin Bartha ('The Hangover').Tempering his trademark lacerating humour with unexpected tenderness, Solondz creates a poignant and provocative portrait of two dysfunctional thirty-somethings, their plans to marry and a besieged man-child and his fractured family.
The four films in this Agatha Christie Murder Mystery Collection demonstrate exactly why Christie's reassuringly formulaic whodunits have been extraordinarily resilient source material. In each we find a corpse (or several), an assorted group of suspects gathered in a self-contained location, all with a motive to commit murder, and the coincidental presence of the totem detective (Poirot or Miss Marple). Between 1974 and 1981, producers John Brabourne and Richard Goodwin mined the Christie seam for some of its ripest riches. Murder on the Orient Express (1974), directed by Sidney Lumet, features a cavalcade of stars including Ingrid Bergman, Lauren Bacall, John Gielgud and Sean Connery; while Christie herself gave Albert Finney's Poirot her blessing. The Art Deco setting exudes glamour; the plot is preposterously diverting; the lighting, silvery and washed-out, giving the suspects an appropriately grim and ghoulish air. With a superior Anthony Shaffer screenplay Death on the Nile (1978) saw Peter Ustinov taking over as Poirot. The backdrop of ancient Egyptian monuments helps bring this adaptation a touch of class, complemented by composer Nino Rota's epic theme tune. The Mirror Crack'd (1980) features Elizabeth Taylor and Kim Novak as rival Hollywood legends descending on a quaint English village to make a film, with Rock Hudson as Taylor's husband and Angela Lansbury as a rather unconvincingly robust Miss Marple. Shaffer returned to the fray, adapting Evil Under the Sun (1981) and moving Poirot from the Cornish Riviera to an island off the coast of Albania. Ustinov reprises his role and Maggie Smith returns, camper than ever, as the hotel owner inconvenienced by murder. On the DVD: It's a pity that the sound quality hasn't been sharpened up, though: Murder on the Orient Express sometimes evokes memories of the muffled incoherence of an old fleapit. Apart from trailers, extras are few and far between. There are no cast lists or filmographies. But Death on the Nile and Evil Under the Sun both feature interesting short promotional "'making of"' documentaries in 4:3 format. --Piers Ford
""Rich! Deliciously eccentric! [A] brazen irrepressible original!"" -The New York Times. ""Lovely! Poignant!"" (The Wall Street Journal) and laugh-out-loud funny Shadows and Fog confirms Woody Allen's ""genius"" with its brilliant portrait of the hopeless - but hilarious - tragicomedy of human existence. Boasting a dazzling ""galaxy of stars"" (Leonard Maltin) including Woody Allen Mia Farrow John Malkovich Madonna Donald Pleasence Lily Tomlin Jodie Foster Kathy Bates John Cusack
Annie Hall Considered to be the movie that kick-started Woody Allen's long and inspiring career, Annie Hall won four Oscars including Best Picture and established Allen as the premier auteur filmmaker. Alvy Singer (Allen) is one of Manhattan's most brilliant comedians, but when it comes to romance, his delivery needs a little work. When he falls in love with the ditzy but delightful nightclub singer Annie Hall (Diane Keaton), his own insecurities sabotage the affair, and Annie is forced to leave Alvy for a new life - and lover (Paul Simon) - in Los Angeles. Knowing he may have lost Annie forever, Alvy's willing to go to any lengths to recapture the only thing that ever mattered... true love. Manhattan Nominated for two Academy Awards, and widely considered as one of the greatest movies ever made, Manhattan is a wry, touching and finely rendered portrait of modern relationships set against the backdrop of urban alienation. Forty-two-year-old Manhattan native Isaac Davis (Allen) has a job he hates, a seventeen-year-old girlfriend, Tracy (Mariel Hemingway), he doesn't love, and a lesbian ex-wife, Jill (Meryl Streep), 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 is just the beginning of Isaac's quest for romance in a city where sex is as intimate as a handshake - and the gateway to true love... is a revolving door. Hannah And Her Sisters Hannah and Her Sisters spins a tale of three unforgettable women and showcases Woody Allen with his most emotionally charged film to date. 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 Lee (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 world is 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. Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex* But Were Afraid To Ask Woody Allen pushes the frontiers of comedy by consolidating his madcap sensibility and wickedly funny irreverence with his developing penchant for visually arresting humour. Giving complete indulgence to the zany eccentricity of his medium, Allen reveals himself as a filmmaker of true wit and sophistication. Allen rises to the occasion with aphrodisiacs that prove effective for a court jester (Allen) who finds the key to the Queen's (Lynn Redgrave) heart. Unnatural acts get wild and woolly when a good doctor (Gene Wilder) falls for a fickle sheep. Jack Barry gives fetishism 20 questions on a wacky TV show called What's My Perversion? Sex research goes under the microscope when a mad scientist (John Carradine) unleashes a marauding breast. And the absurdity comes to a frenzied climax with Tony Randall, Burt Reynolds and Allen as sperm... having second thoughts about ejaculation!
Adapted from his own tell-all autobiography, this acclaimed documentary traces the meteoric rise, fall, and rise again of legendary Hollywood producer Robert Evans, and takes the audience on an intimate journey into the mind of this Hollywood legend.
Sarah is a blind girl who has returned to her home, a country manor in which all of the occupants are dead. She unknowingly sleeps overnight, among a houseful of corpses, arising the next morning to quietly creep out of bed, in order not to awaken the other members of the household.
One of Woody Allen's best-loved films, this won three richly deserved Oscars* (for Michael Caine, Dianne Wiest and the screenplay), and is a joy from start to perfectly judged finish. Hannah (Mia Farrow) is a devoted wife, loving mother and successful actress. She's also the emotional backbone of the family, and her sisters Lee (Barbara Hershey) and Holly (Dianne Wiest) depend on this stability while also resenting it because they can't help but compare Hannah's seemingly perfect life with theirs. But with her husband Elliot (Michael Caine) becoming increasingly interested in Lee, it's clear that Hannah might have problems of her own. An unusually strong supporting cast includes Allen himself as Hannah's existentially conflicted ex-husband and Max von Sydow as a perfectionist artist, but it's Caine who practically steals the film as a middle-aged man behaving like a lovesick teenager. It also has some of Allen's greatest one-liners, with a philosophical discussion about the nature of good and evil getting shot down with How should I know why there were Nazis? I don't even know how the can opener works.
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