Written and directed by Eric Sykes this is a classic silent comedy about two workmen and a plank of wood with chaos not far round the corner...
The world's most hilariously disaster-prone detective is back on the case as Peter Sellers stars in this merry masterpiece of sheer slapstick sleuthing fun! When the priceless Pink Panther diamond is stolen yet again the inimitable Inspector Jacques Clouseau is saved from an unwilling early retirement and sent off to the country of Lugash to investigate. Certain that the heist is the work of a suave jewel thief known as The Phantom Clouseau unleashes his formidable array of outlan
Bruce Willis first starring vehicle was 1987s Blind Date, a Blake Edwards comedy in which the actor plays a yuppie set up on a blind date with a beautiful blonde (Kim Basinger). Everything goes swimmingly until Willis does what he was warned not to do: give the lady alcohol, which causes her to get entirely out of control. The one-note joke basically turns the film into a succession of set pieces in which Willis has to keep up with Basinger, bail her out of trouble, or get out of the way of her hot-headed former boyfriend (John Larroquette). Willis is fine, Basinger is impressively unhinged, Larroquette is hilarious, and Phil Hartman has a nice role as the friend who set up Willis evening from hell. The slapstick shtick is classic Edwards, but the film is not Edwards at his most inspired. Consider Blind Date the work of a good filmmaker in a holding pattern.--Tom Keogh, Amazon.com
Cliff Richard and the Shadows turn up at a Spanish hotel where they are to play a gig but they find it completely deserted. The local population have fled in terror after news that the US Army have lost a powerful bomb. Cliff and the band join the US Government foreign spies unscrupulous crooks and a local woman in a madcap chase to locate the missing piece of weaponry.
What's it all about, Alfie?" asked the hit Burt Bacharach/Hal David title song, to which the less philosophical answer might be: an amoral young man comically seducing a succession of beautiful women in swinging-sixties London. Michael Caine was the titular anti-hero, here consolidating his new star status from Zulu (1964) and The Ipcress File (1965), his conquests including Shelley Winters, Jane Asher and Shirley Ann Field. Alfie was a huge success, bringing a new frankness about changing sexual attitudes to the screen, in which respect it was almost the male companion to Julie Christie's then shocking, Oscar-winning performance in Darling (1965). It was also a sort-of contemporary Tom Jones, which had swept the Oscars for 1963, however, Alfie was not only better made, but in Michael Caine's guilelessly amoral asides to camera, offered a groundbreaking illustration of a newly self-conscious cinema. It is a technique Caine would reprise as the middle-aged philanderer in Blame It On Rio (1983). With Blow Up also released in 1966, and Ken Russell's Women In Love following in 1969, British film-making was truly in the midst of a sexual revolution. Michael Caine would reunite with director Lewis Gilbert and meet his female match in Educating Rita (1983). --Gary S. Dalkin
Based on a play by George Bernard Shaw which studies an immensely wealthy woman who falls for the charms of a poor Indian doctor. Sophia Loren plays a spoilt heiress able to buy anything she wants. When she meets an Indian doctor (Peter Sellers) whose sole concern is to help the poor and needy she knows that this is the man for her. Although in love with her he is so terrified of being in her power that he foils all her attempts to 'buy' him. Only by setting an endurance test for each other are they able to be sure of their true feelings.
Peter Sellers stars as gang-leader Pearly Gates who has a double life as Monsieur Jules the manager of a fashion house. The criminal world of London is being reduced to chaos by an Australian 'IPO mob' who acting on information provided by Gates' girlfriend Valerie (Nanette Newman) impersonate police officers and take the spoils of the true criminals after the crime has been safely committed. The crimes are relatively victimless involving jewellery thefts from the rich or robbe
Although they made their name in the medium of radio, the legendary Goons also made brief forays into the world of television and, with Down Among the Z Men, film. It captures the team at a very early stage in their career, with Michael Bentine still in the fold, and with their unique, anarchic brand of humour still in its infancy. Sadly, the style and feel of the film does little to suit their comedy style. While radio offered an opportunity for their imaginations to run riot, here the four find themselves tied to a few stock characters, most of whom would make a more animated appearances later in their career. The plot--with its tale of eccentric professors and evil spies--sees a series of musical numbers and a variety performance crow barred into the proceedings. Those who wish to add to an already existing Goons collection may want to consider this, but anyone wondering what all the fuss is about should head straight for the many radio collections available and hear the sound of true genius at work. On The DVD: Down Among the Z Men offers little to recommend, with the DVD lacking in any extras whatsoever. Being taken from an original fifties print, the black and white picture is of reasonable quality yet cannot help but look extremely dated. At best it is the sort of curio that would pass time on a Sunday afternoon but it is hard to consider this a particularly essential DVD release. -Phil Udell
Like a good claret laid down for a couple of decades, Victor Victoria (1982) just improves with age. Based on a 1930s German screenplay, Blake Edwards' cross-dressing musical tackles sexuality and gender with a sweet generosity of spirit and endearing warmth. To Edwards' credit and that of his wife Julie Andrews in the title role it is far more than a star vehicle, with James Garner, Lesley Ann Warren and, particularly, Robert Preston (as worldly gay Toddy) contributing quick-fire performances that brim with brilliant timing. Andrews, too, is wonderful in a deceptively complex part. It shouldn't have worked at all. Victor Victoria was made at a time when the Hollywood musical's currency was at its lowest and Andrews might have been deemed a rather old-fashioned sort of star. But by keeping Henry Mancini's songs in context as stage numbers, the traditional values of the musical are subverted. And the whole thing is bathed in a soft, intimate light; this is a film of considerable artistry on every level. On the DVD: Victor Victoriais presented in widescreen with a sharp Dolby Digital soundtrack; the picture quality is splendid. Extras include lists of cast, crew and awards as well as the original theatrical trailer. Best of all is a touching--if occasionally repetitive--commentary from Blake Edwards and Julie Andrews, who clearly remember the project with great pride and affection. Somewhat belatedly they resurrected it as a Broadway show in the 1990s, in which Andrews again scored a considerable personal triumph. --Piers Ford
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.
An adaptation from maverick Alex Cox of Thomas Middleton's celebrated play from 1607 Revenger's Tragedy tells the story of a man whose wife is murdered on their wedding day and his desire to exact revenge on the murderer. In a post-apocalyptic Liverpool of the future Vindici (Christopher Eccleston) returns from a self-imposed exile to bring down those responsible for his wife's murder. While Vindici's family have fallen on hard times the murderer - known as the Duke (Derek Jaco
Following the disappearance of Inspector Clouseau Surete call on the world's second-best detective to bring him back. However Clouseau's nemesis the evil Chief Inspector Dreyfus interferes with the computer which assigns the world's worst detective to the case Detective-Sergeant Clifton Sleigh! Hilarity ensues as the bumbling Sleigh stumbles from disaster to disaster!
A British comedy with seven short stories based on the deadly sins... The seven sinful segments include Harry H. Corbett as a bachelor desperate to get a date chauffeur Bruce Forsyth searching through London's sewers for this boss' lost 50p and Spike Milligan in a wacky homage to silent film. (Pride) of place goes to Ian Carmichael and Alfie Bass in a Galton and Simpson penned episode illustrating class warfare when a Bentley and a clapped out Morris meet head on in a narrow lane and both drivers refuse to back down.
Featuring two programmes: 'The Very Best Of Benny Hill' and 'The Crazy World Of Benny Hill'.
Peter Sellers's third go-around as the prideful but bumbling Inspector Jacques Clouseau in The Return of the Pink Panther is funny enough, but this 1975 Blake Edwards revival of the Sellers-Clouseau connection is a little weak in comparison to predecessors The Pink Panther and A Shot in the Dark (both made in 1964). Co-star Christopher Plummer actually gets some of the most interesting screen time as a retired cat burglar whom Clouseau accuses of getting back into the business. (If it sounds like there might be a To Catch a Thief vibe mixed in here, you're right.) Herbert Lom is hilarious as Clouseau's psychologically eroding boss, and Clouseau's ritualistic collisions with valet Cato (Burt Kwouk) are great examples of Edwards' delicious comic timing. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com
Inspired by the writings of Jules Verne this hugely entertaining comedy boasts an all-star cast headed by Burl Ives Terry-Thomas Lionel Jeffries and Gert Frobe. In 1875 showman extraordinaire Phineas T Barnum (Ives) flees his native America ahead of a hoard of clamouring creditors to set up shop in unsuspecting England. He immediately decides to form a syndicate headed by the wealthy but somewhat stupid Lord Barset (Dennis Price) to finance the first flight to the moon. The
A Day at the Beach is one of Roman Polanski's forgotten gems which was previously thought lost. It received a low key theatrical push on its release due to the murder of Polanski's wife and the desire not to cash in on Polanski's name being involved with the lurid Manson murders. The story is a hauntingly accurate and bleak look at alcoholism in which Bernie (Mark Burns) takes his daughter Winnie (Beatie Edney) out for a day at the beach. Peter Sellers co-stars as a gay stall owner in one of his most inventive roles.
Runaway Railway Some young railway enthusiasts repair a derelict locomotive and find themselves inadvertently involved in a mail train robbery! Junket 89 Junket always seems to be in trouble at school but his troubles really begin when the absent minded science master allows him to borrow his experimental instant transportation machine to journey to faraway places...
Angela (Heather Graham) and Curtis (Jerry O'Connell) have it all - a loving relationship a beautiful house and successful careers - until an unexpected pregnancy sends them on a nine-month roller coaster ride. Now they must deal with jealousy and suspicion Angela's over-demanding boss (Lara Flynn Boyle) plus all the drama caused by their happily married friends Danny (John Corbett) and Sylvie (Katie Finneran). It all adds up to one uproarious battle of the sexes.
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