Otto (Emilio Estevez) a young L.A. punk becomes the protege of Bud (Harry Dean Stanton) a crusty car repossessor. Otto soon comes to challenge his mentor for a 20 000 repo prize - a '64 Chevy Malibu driven by J. Frank Parnell (Fox Harris) a lobotomized nuclear scientist. The Malibu is being madly pursued by ruthless government agents UFO cultists and the infamous Rodriguez Brothers. In the trunk is an unthinkable glowing object that could change the course of our civilisation -
The Alien Quadrilogy is a nine-disc box set devoted to the four Alien films. Although previously available on DVD as the Alien Legacy, here the films have been repackaged with vastly more extras and with upgraded sound and vision. For anyone who hasn't been in hypersleep for the last 25 years this series needs no introduction, though for the first time each film now comes in both original and "Special Edition" form. Alien (1979) was so perfect it didn't need fixing, and Ridley Scott's 2003 Director's Cut is fiddling for the sake of it. Watch once then return to the majestic, perfectly paced original. Conversely the Special Edition of James Cameron's Aliens (1986) is the definitive version, though it's nice finally to have the theatrical cut on DVD for comparison. Most interesting is the alternative Alien3 (1992). This isn't a "director's cut"--David Fincher refused to have any involvement with this release--but a 1991 work-print that runs 29 minutes longer than the theatrical version, and has now been restored, remastered and finished-off with (unfortunately) cheap new CGI. Still, it's truly fascinating, offering a different insight into a flawed masterpiece. The expanded opening is visually breathtaking, the central firestorm is much longer, and a subplot involving Paul McGann's character adds considerable depth to the story. The ending is also subtly but significantly different. Alien Resurrection (1997) was always a mess with a handful of brilliant scenes, and the Special Edition just makes it eight minutes longer. On the DVD: Alien Quadrilogy offers all films except Alien3 with DTS soundtracks, the latter having still fine Dolby Digital 5.1 presentation. All four films sound fantastic, with much low-level detail revealed for the first time. Each is anamorphically enhanced at the correct original aspect ratio, and the prints and transfers are superlative. Every film offers a commentary that lends insight into the creative process--though the Scott-only commentary and isolated music score from the first Alien DVD release are missing here--and there are subtitles for hard of hearing both for the films and the commentaries. Each movie is complemented by a separate disc packed with hours of seriously detailed documentaries (all presented at 4:3 with clips letterboxed), thousands of photos, production stills and storyboards, giving a level of inside information for the dedicated buff only surpassed by the Lord of the Rings extended DVD sets. A ninth DVD compiles miscellaneous material, including a Channel 4 hour-long documentary and even all the extras from the old Alien laserdisc. Exhaustive hardly beings to describe the Alien Quadrilogy, a set which establishes the new DVD benchmark for retrospective releases and which looks unlikely to be surpassed for some time. --Gary S Dalkin
Set on Death Row in a Southern prison in 1935, The Green Mile is the remarkable story of the cell block's head guard, who develops a poignant, unusual relationship with one inmate who possesses a magical gift that is both mysterious and miraculous.
Their world is a two-lane blacktop... no beginning... no end... no speed limit! In this controversial and acclaimed story of drag-racing drifters the drivers of a Pontiac GTO and a '55 Chevy battle across the back roads of America for possession of each others 'pinks' and the affections of a mysterious young hitchhiker. Featuring top hits by The Doors and Kris Kristofferson the film roars across a landscape of unexpected turns and startling twists. Two-Lane Blacktop is directed by cult legend Monte Hellman (director of The Shooting and Cockfighter and Executive Producer of Reservoir Dogs) from a screenplay by Rudolph Wurlitzer (Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid) and features unforgettable performances by Warren Oates (The Wild Bunch) as well as singer/songwriter James Taylor and the Beach Boys Dennis Wilson in their first - and only - acting roles.
By transplanting the classic haunted house scenario into space, Ridley Scott, together with screenwriters Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett, produced a work of genuinely original cinematic sci-fi with Alien that, despite the passage of years and countless inferior imitations, remains shockingly fresh even after repeated viewing. Scott's legendary obsession with detail ensures that the setting is thoroughly conceived, while the Gothic production design and Jerry Goldsmith's wonderfully unsettling score produce a sense of disquiet from the outset: everything about the spaceship Nostromo--from Tupperware to toolboxes-seems oddly familiar yet disconcertingly ... well, alien.Nothing much to speak of happens for at least the first 30 minutes, and that in a way is the secret of the film's success: the audience has been nervously peering round every corner for so long that by the time the eponymous beast claims its first victim, the release of pent-up anxiety is all the more effective. Although Sigourney Weaver ultimately takes centre-stage, the ensemble cast is uniformly excellent. The remarkably low-tech effects still look good (better in many places than the CGI of the sequels), while the nightmarish quality of H.R. Giger's bio-mechanical creature and set design is enhanced by camerawork that tantalises by what it doesn't reveal.On the DVD: The director, audibly pausing to puff on his cigar at regular intervals, provides an insightful commentary which, in tandem with superior sound and picture, sheds light into some previously unexplored dark recesses of this much-analysed, much-discussed movie (why the crew eat muesli, for example, or where the "rain" in the engine room is coming from). Deleted scenes include the famous "cocoon" sequence, the completion of the creature's insect-like life-cycle for which cinema audiences had to wait until 1986 and James Cameron's Aliens. Isolated audio tracks, a picture gallery of production artwork and a "making of" documentary complete a highly attractive DVD package. --Mark Walker
Miracles do happen! Christmas is a time of enchantment... when a wondrous feeling larger than life captures the soul...but not for everyone. Academy Award-Winner Mary Steenburgen stars as a young mother Ginny Grainger who is disillusioned with Christmas and finds its approach as adding only more pressures to an already stress-filled existence. Thanks to the unshakable faith of her young daughter Abbie and a guardian angel named Gideon (played by Harry Dean Stanton) G
Alien is the first movie of one of the most popular sagas in science fiction history, and introduces Sigourney Weaver as Ripley, the iron-willed woman destined to battle the galaxy's ultimate creature. The terror begin when the crew of the spaceship Nostromo investigates a transmission from a desolate planet and makes a horrifying discovery - a life form that breeds within a human host. Now the crew must fight now only for its survival, but for the survival of all mankind.
In a small US costal town a motorcycle gang arrives on holiday. Also in town trying to reconnect with his pregnant girlfriend Karen is businessman Paul Collier. Paul and the leader of the gang J.J. knew each other years before so when menacing Bunny beats up Paul and begins a sexual assault on Karen J.J. tries to intervene. He suggests they hold cycle-riding contests where the winner can claim Karen (he promises to set her free if he wins). After the contests commence Paul crawls away to look for help. He meets with a shrug from a cowardly sheriff's deputy; where can he turn?
From the director of The Pirates of the Caribbean comes this summer's hottest movie Rango, featuring Johnny Depp in an original animated comedy-adventure that takes moviegoers for a hilarious and heartfelt walk in the Wild West. The story follows the comical, transformative journey of Rango (Depp), a sheltered chameleon living as an ordinary family pet, while facing a major identity crisis. After all, how high can you aim when your whole purpose in life is to blend in?When Rango accidentally winds up in the gritty, gun-slinging town of Dirt-a lawless outpost populated by the desert's most wily and whimsical creatures-the less-than-courageous lizard suddenly finds he stands out. Welcomed as the last hope the town has been waiting for, new Sheriff Rango is forced to play his new role to the hilt...until, in a blaze of action-packed situations and encounters with outrageous characters, Rango starts to become the hero he once only pretended to be. With a cast that includes Depp, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Alfred Molina, Bill Nighy, Harry Dean Stanton, Ray Winstone and Timothy Olyphant as the Spirit of the West, Rango is an exciting new twist on the classic Western legend of the outsider who saves a town-and himself in the process.
Flashdance In Adrian Lyne's 'Flashdance' a young woman Alex (Jennifer Beals) strives to achieve success as a classical dancer but economic forces require her to work as a welder by day and an exotic dancer by night. Standing in her way is an abundance of profound social obstacles not the least of which is her boss at the welding factory Nick (Michael Nouri) who is also her boyfriend. Alex strives to be accepted into a prestigious ballet academy and she is furious when s
Before Big Brother there was Death Watch. Media mogul Vincent Ferriman (Harry Dean Stanton) wants to create the most popular reality television show ever. He cajoles journalist Roddy (Harvey Keitel) into having cameras implanted in his eyes and sets him on the trail of terminally ill Katherine Mortenhoe (Romy Schneider), but this unwitting celebrity has other ideas. Shot in Glasgow in 1979/80, Bertrand Tavernier's prescient cult sci-fi noir has been completely digitally restored and is ripe for rediscovery. Extras include extended interviews, rarely seen production still shots and much more.
With his loving and supportive mother 13-year-old Kevin moves in next door to another teen Max. Though both have problems that label them as outcasts Kevin and Max discover that by proudly combining their strengths and uniting as one they can overcome their individual limitations and triumph over any adversity! As the two set out on a series of courageous adventures they find the mightiest treasure of all: Friendship!
Contains the films: The Shooting Ride In The Whirlwind The Wild Ride Flight To Fury Studs Lonigan. The Shooting (Dir. Monte Hellman 1965): Monte Hellman reinvented the Western genre with 'The Shooting' a cryptic tale of revenge that has become an underground masterpiece of existentialism. The story follows Willett Gashade (Warren Oates) an ex-bounty hunter who returns home searching for his brother only to discover that he has disappeared. He is met by Coley (Will Hu
Ferris Bueller's Day Off: Ferris Bueller. Larger than life. Blessed with a magical sense of serendipity. He's a model for all those who take themselves too seriously. A guy who knows the value of a day off. Ferris Bueller's Day Off chronicles the events in the day of a rather magical young man Ferris (Matthew Broderick). One spring day toward the end of his senior year Ferris gives in to an overwhelming urge to cut school and head for downtown Chicago with his girl (Mia Sa
Director Ridley Scott's new cut of his 1979 sci-fi classic about a lifeform that is perfectly evolved to annihilate mankind. In space no-one can hear you scream.
Set Comprises: Alien (1979): Alien is the first movie of one of the most popular sagas in science fiction history and introduces Sigourney Weaver as Ripley the iron-willed woman destined to battle the galaxy's ultimate creature. The terror begins when the crew of the spaceship Nostromo investigates a transmission from a desolate planet and makes a horrifying discovery a life form that breeds within a human host. Now the crew must fight not only for its own survival but for the survival of all mankind. Aliens (1986): In this action-packed sequel to Alien Sigourney Weaver returns as Ripley the only survivor from mankind's first encounter with the monstrous Alien. Her account of the Alien and the fate of her crew are received with skepticism until the mysterious disappearance of colonists on LV-426 lead her to join a team of high-tech colonial marines sent in to investigate. Personally supervised by director James Cameron this special edition includes scenes eliminated prior to the film's 1986 release which broaden the narrative scope and enrich the emotional impact of the film.
Of all the Philip Marlowes, Robert Mitchum's in Farewell, My Lovely resonates most deeply. That's because this is Marlowe past his prime, and Mitchum imbues Raymond Chandler's legendary private detective with a sense of maturity as well as a melancholy spirit. And yet there is plenty of Mitchum's renowned self-deprecating humour and charismatic charm to remind us of his own iconic presence. As in the previous 1944 film version, Murder, My Sweet, Marlowe searches all over L.A. for the elusive girlfriend of ex-con Moose Malloy, a loveable giant who might as well be King Kong. In typical Chandler fashion, the weary Marlowe uncovers a hotbed of lust, corruption and betrayal. Like Malloy, he's disillusioned by it all, despite his tough exterior, and possesses a tinge of sentimentality for the good old days. About the only current dream he can hold onto is Joe DiMaggio and his fabulous hitting streak. Made in 1975, a year after Chinatown (shot by the same cinematographer, John Alonzo), Farewell, My Lovely is more straightforward and nostalgic, but still possesses a requisite hard-boiled edge, and the best kind of angst the 1970s had to offer. (By the way, you will notice Sylvester Stallone in a rather violent cameo, a year before his Rocky breakthrough.) --Bill Desowitz, Amazon.com
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