Johnson High School will never forget the day when ex-student Jason Copeland (Rick Schroder) decided to inflict a devastating revenge on the system that had rejected him. Armed and dangerous he marched into the school and started to fire indiscriminately at both students and staff then took dozens of terrified students hostage barricaded himself into a classroom and began a bloody reign of terror. But from this murderous mayhem an unlikely hero emerged: Deputy Skip Fine (Henry Winkler). Ignoring the mockery of both his colleagues and the FBI Fine took on the role of go-between- knowing that only his courage and negotiating skills could prevent even more bloodshed.
The madcap doctor team are at it again! This time Dr. Burke stows away on a cruise ship when his girlfriend is assigned a modelling job aboard the vessel and ends up as a ship's doctor.
Behind the generic title of Boys and Girls lies a surprisingly enjoyable and nuanced romantic comedy. Teen heartthrob Freddie Prinze Jr plays Ryan, a dorky, emotionally sincere young guy who keeps crossing paths with Jennifer (Claire Forlani), an independent and wilfully unattached young woman. Their chance meetings coincide with relationship traumas and they start to confide in each other, which leads to a more genuine friendship and, in the midst of their college years, a romance. It's a bit of a stock plot line to have their friendship threatened by sexual attraction, but Boys and Girls has just enough genuine feeling to make it compelling. Meanwhile, Jason Biggs (from American Pie) plays Ryan's roommate, a compulsive liar and would-be scam artist, who carries off some pretty funny scenes. Forlani and Prinze work together quite well. Their performances hearken back to the classic screwball comedies of the 1930s, with the repressed male simultaneously attracted and horrified by a footloose dame. Some kooky moments are a little strained, but at other times the movie has a refreshing realism about human emotions. --Bret Fetzer, Amazon.com
Dune: Special TV Edition is an extended US network television version prepared in 1988 from David Lynch's 1984 film of Frank Herbert's classic science fiction novel, Dune. The original cinema release of this complex tale of interplanetary intrigue was heavily shortened and this 176-minute TV edition should not to be confused with Lynch's still unreleased three-hour-plus "Director's Cut". In fact Lynch disowned this TV version, replacing his director's credit with the infamous pseudonym Alan Smithee and his screenplay credit with the name Judas Booth (a combination of two notorious traitors). What the network did was add 35 minutes, about 15 minutes in the first two thirds, which in the cinema cut is in any case superbly paced, and around 20 into the final 40. This latter material does help balance the frenetic rush of the cinema cut, restoring important scenes such as Paul Atreides' fight with Jamis, a Fremen funeral and Jessica Atreides' taking the "Water of Life". What primarily alienated Lynch was the imposition of a folksy, sometimes laughable narration, as well as the replacement of the original prologue with a far longer sequence explaining the Dune universe via pre-production paintings. This TV edit is a travesty of what, in the "Director's Cut" at least, is probably a great film, and is really only worth seeing to get a glimpse of the material Lynch was forced to remove. The unconnected mini-series, Frank Herbert's Dune (2000) does a far better job of telling a more complete version of the story. On the DVD: There is a fold-out colour booklet which contains a wealth of stills, a reproduction of the original cinema poster and a worthwhile essay on the original film that avoids any discussion of the TV version it accompanies. On the disc there is only the original theatrical trailer. The superb cinematography is ruined by the panned and scanned 4:3 image, which is grainy and has poor colour fidelity. It is also soft, lacking detail and washed-out, probably a result of being converted from American NTSC TV format video rather than coming directly from an original film print. Certainly the DVD of the cinema version looks far better. The audio is thin mono, completely failing to do justice to how fantastic a post-Star Wars 40-million-dollar science fiction epic should sound. --Gary S Dalkin
A new comedy about narrowing it down to the one you love.
Classic World War II drama directed by William Wellman, based on the newspaper columns written by war correspondent Ernie Pyle. Burgess Meredith stars as Pyle, who joins an American army unit fighting its way across North Africa. Over time he gets to know the soldiers well, and finds much human interest material for his readers back in the USA. Later, he catches up with the unit in Italy and accompanies it through the battles of San Vittorio and Cassino. Robert Mitchum won an Oscar for his ro...
This two-disc special edition release of David Lynch's 1984 film Dune presents the same cut as originally shown theatrically, but with an improved transfer compared to the previous DVD edition and with the addition of new and archive documentary material. In case of confusion, it should be noted that this is not any of the following versions: the re-edited TV movie adaptation of Lynch's film, the long-sought-after extended version Lynch screened for cast and crew in January 1984, a new Director's Cut, or the Sci-Fi Channel mini series. The first disc contains a new anamorphically enhanced 2.35:1 transfer taken from a High Definition archive copy of the 1984 film, further restored to remove dirt and scratches, and a Dolby Digital 5.1 remix as well as the original stereo soundtrack. The film looks superb and sounds almost as good, though a DTS soundtrack would have been welcome. The main extras are a well illustrated 32-page booklet written by Paul Sammon, author of the excellent Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner and The Making of Starship Troopers and a new 38-minute anamorphic widescreen documentary, Impressions of Dune. This is much superior to the average making-of, featuring significant new contributions from Kyle MacLachlan, producer Raffaella De Laurentiis, cinematographer Freddie Francis and others--though David Lynch is conspicuous by his absence. Destination Dune is a six-minute promotional featurette made by Sammon at the time of the film's release and the 4:3 image is fairly poor quality. An 83-second BBC interview with Frank Herbert is too short to be of more than passing interest, though the original trailer is a fine example of the 1980's way of selling movies. The set is completed with routine cast and crew profiles. Even with no involvement from Lynch and no commentaries, this is still the best Dune on DVD. --Gary S. Dalkin
Now graduated from college and out in the real world where it takes more than a cappella to get by, the Bellas return in Pitch Perfect 3, the next chapter in the beloved series. After the highs of winning the World Championships, the Bellas find themselves split apart and discovering there aren't job prospects for making music with your mouth. But when they get the chance to reunite for an overseas USO tour, this group of awesome nerds will come together to make some music, and some questionable decisions, one last time. The boxset also includes a bonus disc packed with OVER 30 MINUTES of additional exclusive behind the scenes content, including: Bellas Through the Years The A Cappella Aquatica Aca-Boot Camp: Round 3 Bellas Find Love Bellas Through the Years The A Cappella Aquatica Aca-Boot Camp: Round 3 Bellas Find Love Also included with purchase: a download of this film to watch on your mobile devices. Watch on the go - instantly stream anytime, anywhere!
Brooklyn, 1985. With the mob world as a backdrop, three life-long friends struggle with questions of love, loss and loyalty.
There's something inescapably appealing about Krull, a camp Star Wars-meets-The Lord of the Rings knock-off, that encourages the viewer to overlook it's very many silly shortcomings and simply enjoy the fun. James Horner's rollicking music score--written soon after his similarly memorable contribution to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan--certainly helps, as does the epic-scale CinemaScope photography of the breathtaking Italian landscapes. The costumes and extravagant production design are also great to look at, and much of Derek Meddings' visual effects work still looks striking if not exactly state-of-the-art. Of the cast, Freddie Jones stands head and shoulders above all others as the Obi Wan Kenobi-meets-Gandalf character Ynyr: his trip to the centre of the spider's web is both genuinely scary and genuinely touching. The two romantic leads, Ken Marshall as the Luke Skywalker-meets-King Arthur clone Prince Colwyn and Lysette Anthony (with an overdubbed American voice) as his Leia-Guinevere Princess Lyssa, are mere formalities on which to hang the plot. Ironic fun can be had with the all-British supporting cast, which includes Todd Carty of Eastenders fame and Carry On's Bernard Bresslaw, as well as Robbie Coltrane, Liam Neeson and the gorgeous Francesca Annis. On the DVD: Krull comes to DVD in an anamorphic widescreen print, preserving the luscious CinemaScope look of the theatrical release. The Dolby 5.1 sound lives up to the picture. There are two commentary tracks: on the first, director Peter Yates talks through the movie, with contributions from other crew members and leads Ken Marshall and Lysette Anthony. Oddly, the second audio track is just a reading of an article that originally appeared in the November 1982 issue of Cinefantastique magazine. There's also a half-hour "making-of" featurette originally produced to promote the movie at the time, the usual trailer, stills gallery and three talent profiles. --Mark Walker
Take Hollywood romantic comedy at its fluffiest, stir in a few Farrelly Brothers-style bodily-function jokes, season with pratfalls, add a soupcon of Hitchcock and you've got Head Over Heels, the perfect way to while away 85 minutes without putting the least strain on your brain cells. Our heroine, Amanda, is a shy retiring young lady with a dusty museum job and a non-existent love-life. (She's played by the dishy blonde Monica Potter, which gives you a fair idea of this movie's grip on reality). Having moved into a palatial Manhattan apartment (yeah, right) shared with four wannabe supermodels she meets--via a randy Great Dane--the handsome guy from across the courtyard. But it seems he has a deep, dark secret in his life. Mark Waters' film gets a lot of mileage out of poking fun at the bubble-headed attitudes of the model girls, which might well provoke mutterings about pots and kettles in more censorious quarters. But the whole confection's so innocuous and eager to please that it's hard to stay as irritated with it as it deserves. Potter (or occasionally her body double) executes her pratfalls gamely, her flatmates pose elegantly, and Mr Maybe-Right Freddie Prinze Jr grins boyishly--even if his subsequent metamorphosis into an action hero takes a bit of swallowing. Waters' direction keeps things moving briskly enough to prevent us musing on the idiocy of the whole enterprise. The insert inside the box suggests that "if you enjoyed this title" you should try Taxi Driver or Being John Malkovich. Could someone at Columbia TriStar be having a little joke? On the DVD: not much to mention. There's a trailer, brief cast and director biogs, production notes and a 12-minute shooting-of featurette in which, as usual, everybody was just wonderful and they all adored each other from the get-go. Anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) and Dolby Digital 5.1 sound ensure a suitably glossy presentation. --Philip Kemp
5 Chidren And It: Written by E.Nesbit author of 'The Railway Children' this is the movie of five childrens' chance encounter with 'The Psammead' - an ancient extremely irritable sand fairy who has the ability to make wishes come. The only problem is that the wishes only last till sunset and the children also find it hard to think of sensible wishes! Two Brothers: Two tigers separated as cubs and taken into captivity are reunited years later as enemies by an explor
Prince Alexei heir to the last Tsar is a hemophiliac. The Tsarina is persuaded to allow a mysterious monk Rasputin to use his powers of healing on the Prince. Against the wishes of the Tsar Rasputin tends to the young Prince - with frighteningly successful results. So begins a relationship which ended in Rasputin's murder and the eventual downfall of Imperial Russia...
This box set features the entire fifth series of the classic British Television drama Inspector Morse. Episodes comprise: 1. Second Time Around: Morse becomes concerned when an ex-Deputy Police Commissioner is murdered. He also discovers that there exists a connection between a missing chapter from the murdered man's memoirs and himself... 2. Fat Chance: A woman deacon dies in suspicious circumstances and Morse is called in... 3. Who Killed Harry Field?:
Fairy tale endings aren't what they used to be... Tired of the status quo Frida Cinderella's evil stepmother leads a war pitting the bad against the good! Cinderella (aka Ella) starts out as a damsel in distress but when her own fairy tale takes a radical left turn she is forced to form and eventually lead a resistance group without her Prince Charming. Set against a backdrop of fractured fairy tales spinning wildly out of control Ella must choose her own destiny in a world of happy endings gone wrong. The race for control of the kingdom is on and the power mad Frieda fuelled by a total disdain for goodness is set to change the age-old storyline to Happily N'Ever After!
Comedy greats Jimmy Jewel and Hilda Baker star as Eli Pledge and his sister Nellie in the classic award-winning comedy Nearest and Dearest. Eli - an aging lothario - and Nellie - virtuous to the last but in possession of a wonderfully flexible grip on the English language - inherit clapped out condiment company Pledge's Purer Pickles from their father. Much hilarity ensues amongst the malaproprisms bolshie workforce and none-too-subtle double entendres as the siblin
Claude Whatham's 1974 film All Creatures Great and Small is a modest and charming cornucopia of nostalgia, cuddly calves, romance and acerbic-yet-warm-hearted Yorkshire folk. It's based of course on James Herriot's phenomenally popular tales of a vet's life in the Dales and spawned a long-running BBC series with a different cast. Here, we have a fresh-faced Simon Ward as James, joining Siegfried Farnon's small town practice. As the benignly despotic Farnon, a pre-Hannibal Lecter Anthony Hopkins already exudes plenty of brooding charisma. Lisa Harrow, fetching in 1930s slacks, is Helen, the farmer's daughter who catches James' eye. Their adventures with the local animal populace in the incredibly beautiful pre-Second World War Dales run the gamut, from arms up cows' bottoms to tender birthing scenes, over-indulged pooches, horses with torsions and one moment which will strike a poignant note with pet owners of all ages. It's taught and witty thanks to distinguished dramatist Hugh Whitemore's delightful script and as comforting as a warm blanket, a stodgy tea and a roaring fire on a winter's evening. On the DVD: with no extras apart from the chapter list, this is a basic package. Presented in 1.85:1 Anamorphic aspect ratio and a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack, it's easy viewing, offering more than adequate picture and sound quality. --Piers Ford
David Lynch creator of Twin Peaks and acclaimed director of 'Eraserhead' 'Blue Velvet' and 'Wild At Heart' directs this bizarre but true story of courage and human dignity. John Hurt gives the performance of a lifetime as John Merrick the worst freak known to Victorian medical science a man whose body is hideously distorted into a grotesque parody of an elephant. Rescued from a travelling freak show by Sir Frederick Treves Merrick gradually reveals himself to be a strangely sweet and gentle man remarkably unembittered by the degradation and torment he suffered at the circus. Beautifully shot by Freddie Francis and with an excellent supporting cast including Sir John Gielgud Anne Bancroft and Dame Wendy Hiller The Elephant Man is a compelling moving and enchanting story. The film was nominated for eight Oscars including Best Picture Best Director and Best Actor.
Born to a weak but loving mother soon after his father dies David Copperfield is nine years old when his mother Clara marries Mr Murdstone. A cruel man who believes in extreme discipline he has no hesitation in sending David away to school. Shortly after he is sent away Clara dies and Murdstone seizes the opportunity to send him away for good this time into menial labour at a London wine merchants. It is here that David meets the genial Micawber family and his aunt Betsey arrange
Jerry Maguire (Dir. Barry Levinson 1996): Jerry Maguire (Tom Cruise) is a man who knows the score. As a top agent at Sports Management International Jerry is unquestionably master of his universe - until that is he gets a sudden attack of morals and is unceremoniously fired! Hanging on by a thread Jerry is forced to start from scratch supported only be three very unlikely allies- single mother Dorothy Boyd (Renee Zellweger ) her cheeky young son Ray and Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.) a second rank player for the Arizona Cardinals - and Jerry's sole remaining client. Rain Man (Dir. Cameron Crowe 1988): Dustin Hoffman joins Tom Cruise to bring a funny and moving tale of brotherly love to the screen. Heartless Charlie Babbitt expects a vast inheritance after his estranged father dies. But Raymond his institutionalised older brother someone he's been totally unaware of is willed the entire fortune instead. Raymond is an 'autistic Savant' with severely limited mental abilities in some areas but with genius gifts in others. When Charlie kidnaps Raymond the crazy cross-country drive back to Los Angeles teaches them both a few lessons in life. For as they overcome their mutual distrust of each other a deep bond is forged as they painfully share past memories present problems and a possible shining future together. A Few Good Men (Dir. Rob Reiner 1992): One man is dead. Two men are accused of his murder. The entire Marines Corps is on trial. And 'A Few Good Men' are about to ignite the most explosive episode in US military history. Universally acclaimed A Few Good Men unites the big screen's biggest stars as Hollywood heavyweights Jack Nicholson Tom Cruise and Demi Moore lead an all star cast in director Rob Reiner's powerful account of corruption cover-up and a relentless quest for justice within the sacred corridors of the US Navy. With powerful performances from Kevin Bacon and Kiefer Sutherland A Few Good Men makes its mark as one of the best courtroom dramas of the '90s..
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