An astonishingly good David Lean double-bill featuring his two Dickensian adaptations, Great Expectations (1946) and Oliver Twist (1948), this is a reminder that cinema does not necessarily have to debase its literary sources, sometimes it can enhance them. Lean's painterly eye for evocative locations--be they windswept marshes or bustling London streets--provides the backdrop, but his focus on smaller details--the ominous tree in the graveyard with its almost human face, the reaction of Bill Sikes' dog to Nancy's murder--adds the vital ingredient that brings both place and character to life. Starring a youthful John Mills as Pip, Lean's Great Expectations is an unadulterated delight, a serendipitous gelling of screenplay, direction, cinematography and acting that produces an almost perfect film. The cast is exemplary, with Alec Guinness in his first (official) role as Pip's loyal pal Herbert Pocket; Martita Hunt is a cadaverous Miss Havisham; Finlay Currie transforms himself from truly threatening to entirely sympathetic as Magwitch; while the young Jean Simmons makes more of an impact as the girl Estella than Valerie Hobson does as the older incarnation. Perhaps best of all, though, is Francis Sullivan as the pragmatic but kindly attorney Jaggers. The cinematography alone (courtesy of Guy Green) would qualify Oliver Twist as a classic: the opening sequence of a lone woman struggling through the storm is an indelible cinematic image. Fortunately, Lean's film has many more aces up its sleeve thereafter, notably Alec Guinness' grotesque Fagin--a caricature certainly, but a three-dimensional one--and Robert Newton's utterly pitiless Bill Sikes. The skewed angles and unsettling chiaroscuro lighting transform London itself into another threatening character. --Mark Walker
Anchor Bay presents seven films from Showtime's much-anticipated Masters Of Horror series! Cigarette Burns (Dir. John Carpenter): Kirby Sweetman knows how to find rare film prints. However nothing could prepare him for the daunting search for 'Le Fin Absolue du Monde' a film allegedly shown only once and rumoured to have driven its audience into a muderous frenzy before the cinema mysteriously erupted in flames. Working for a shadowy patron Jimmy's increasingly obsessive investigation becomes nightmarish and deadly... Dreams In The Witch House (Dir. Stuart Gordon): Walter Gilman a college student studying interdimensional string theory rents a garret in a run-down building in the old New England town of Arkham. He is haunted by terrifying nightmares in which he is visited by a 17th-century witch and her familiar a rat with a human face. He begins to realize that these are not dreams at all and that diabolical forces are gathering to sacrifice his neighbour's infant. As Walter struggles to prevent this it becomes less clear if he will save the child or become its unwitting murderer himself. Incident On And Off A Mountain Road (Dir. Don Coscarelli): Ellen a seemingly defenceless young woman is pitted against Moonface a deformed and demented serial killer. As the story cuts back and forth in time we slowly discover that our heroine is not as helpless nor as innocent as she initially seems. Trained by her abusive husband Bruce to be a survivalist she has been instructed to use any and every available object as a weapon in a time of need. Chained to the floor of Moonface's horrific cabin with his unsavoury roommate (Angus Scrimm) Ellen must marshal all her survival skills as she races against the clock to escape a grisly fate... Chocolate (Dir. Mick Garris): Jamie is a newly divorced young man who creates artificial flavours for the food industry. Suddenly he inexplicably starts to experience brief and random sensory flashes from someone - and somewhere - unknown: sights sounds smells and touch. Learning that he's experiencing life through the senses of a mysterious woman he begins to fall in love with her - without ever having met her. Eventually he discovers a horrifying secret that binds him inexorably with the perfect woman in an erotic horrifying dance of death... Sick Girl (Dir. Lucky McKee): Angela Bettis stars as a shy entomologist whose drab life is changed by the simultaneous arrival of a large mysterious bug and a torrid affair with a sexy young woman. But when the bizarre insect chooses a shocking place to secretly feed Sapphic ecstasy turns to infection mutation and murder. Will these lesbian lovers let a venomous threesome tear them apart or is the most horrific metamorphosis of all yet to come? Deer Woman (Dir. John Landis): Detective Dwight Faraday is a burnt-out cop demoted to the 'weird calls' desk until a series of bizarre murders suddenly grabs his attention: Several men killed by massive blunt force trauma while in a state of sexual arousal all last seen in the company of a sexy Native American woman. But when it's discovered that these corpses were trampled into hamburger by what appear to be hooves Faraday must hunt a killer who may not be totally human. Will one cynical cop be caught like a deer in the headlights or has a horrifying seductress risen from legend to slaughter the horny? Homecoming (Dir. Joe Dante): It's a few weeks before the Presidential election and an unpopular war still rages overseas. But when the Republican Commander-In-Chief wishes that our dead troops could return to tell America how proud they were to serve their country veterans begin to rise from their flag-draped coffins....
Boris Karloff's legendary performance has become a landmark in the annals of screen history. As The Mummy Im-Ho-Tep he is accidentally revived after 3 700 years by a team of British archaeologists. It is revealed in a flashback that he was a high priest embalmed alive for trying to revive the vestal virgin whom he loved after she had been sacrificed. Alive again he sets out to find his lost love. Today over 50 years after The Mummy was first released this brooding dream-like film remains a masterpiece not only of the genre but for all time.
The whimsical comedy-romance Heaven Can Wait is a delightful example of the small sub-genre of afterlife comedies. The film, which teams then lovers Warren Beatty and Julie Christie for a third time following McCabe and Mrs Miller (1971) and Shampoo (1975), is not a remake of the 1943 supernatural film of the same name, but of the Robert Montgomery classic Here Comes Mr Jordan (1941). Here Beatty is American football player Joe Pendleton, who accidentally dies, decades too early, and is incarnated in a new body which, until recently, was occupied by a ruthless multi-millionaire. James Mason is superb as a most authoritative angel (Mr Jordan), heading a fine cast including Charles Grodin, Buck Henry and Jack Warden. In a sub-plot paralleling The Shop Around the Corner (1940) and revisited in You've Got Mail (1998), Julie Christie plays an English woman outraged that one of the former millionaire's companies is destroying her village, while simultaneously falling in love with the man now occupying the hated millionaire's mortal coil. Much comic and romantic misunderstanding follows, as well as some appealing slapstick, courtesy of Dyan Cannon. Aided by a lovely musical score by Dave Grusin, this is a beautifully played and thoroughly charming bittersweet fantasy about the transcendent power of love. It is a joy for romantics everywhere. On the DVD: Heaven Can Wait comes to DVD in a good 1.77:1 ratio transfer which exhibits just a little grain in some darker scenes. The print shows some very minor, occasional damage, but nothing to complain about in a film of this vintage. The sound is the original mono mix, which is perfectly serviceable. The only extra is the theatrical trailer. --Gary S Dalkin
OUIJA - A group of friends must confront their most terrifying fears when they awaken the dark powers of an ancient spirit board. OUIJA: ORIGIN OF EVIL - In 1967 Los Angeles, a widowed mother and her two daughters add a new stunt to bolster their seance scam business and unwittingly invite authentic evil into their home. When the youngest daughter is overtaken by a merciless spirit, the family confronts unthinkable fears to save her and send her possessor back to the other side.
Directed by Hong Khaou (Lilting), MONSOON is a visual and emotional tour de force with a tender performance from Henry Golding (Crazy Rich Asians, The Gentlemen). The film is a rich and poignant exploration of the struggle for identity in a place where the past weighs heavily on the present. Kit (Henry Golding, Crazy Rich Asians, The Gentlemen) returns to Ho Chi Minh City for the first time since he was six years old when his family fled the country in the aftermath of the Vietnam-American war. Struggling to make sense of himself in a city he's no longer familiar with, he embarks on a personal journey across the country that opens up the possibility for friendship, love and happiness.
John Ford's memorable screen version of John Steinbeck's epic novel of the Great Depression--often regarded as the director's best film--stars Henry Fonda as Tom Joad. After having served a brief prison sentence for manslaughter Joad arrives at his family's Oklahoma farm only to find it abandoned. Muley (John Qualen) a neighbor now nearly mad with grief tells Tom of the drought that has transformed the farmland of Oklahoma into a desert and of the preying land agents who have plowe
With the etching onto glass of a single word - MABUSE - Berlin reawakens into a nightmare. Fritz Lang's electrifying Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse (The Testament of Dr. Mabuse) is the astonishing second instalment in the German master's legendary Mabuse series, a film that puts image and sound into an hypnotic arrangement unlike anything seen or heard in the cinema before - or since.It's been eleven years since the downfall of arch-criminal and master-of-disguise Dr. Mabuse (Rudolf Klein-Rogge), now sequestered in an asylum under the watchful eye of one Professor Baum (Oskar Beregi). Mabuse exists in a state of catatonic graphomania, his only action the irrepressible scribbling of blueprints that would realise a seemingly theoretical Empire of Crime. But when a series of violent events courses through the city, police and populace alike start asking themselves with increasing panic: Who is behind all this?! The answer borders on the realm of the impossible...
Lowlife cable TV operator Max Renn discovers a ""snuff TV"" broadcast called Videodrome which is much more than it seems. It's an experiment that causes brain damage. Max is caught in the middle of the forces that created and the forces that want to control Videodrome his body itself turning into the ultimate weapon to fight them. Directed by David Cronenberg.
An explosives manufacturer suspects a young man is out to kill him. He calls in Nick and Nora (with new baby) to sort things out.
Universally recognised as the Master of Suspense, the legendary Alfred Hitchcock directed some of cinema's most thrilling and unforgettable classics. The House of Hitchcock features 18 iconic films from the acclaimed director's illustrious career including Psycho, The Birds, Rear Window, Vertigo and North by Northwest, plus a range of limited edition extras including blueprints of the infamous Psycho House, original storyboards from some of his finest movies, movie poster artcards for all the films, and a booklet about the man himself. Includes: SABOTEUR SHADOW OF A DOUBT ROPE STRANGERS ON A TRAIN DIAL M FOR MURDER REAR WINDOW TO CATCH A THIEF THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH VERTIGO NORTH BY NORTHWEST PSYCHO (1960) THE BIRDS MARNIE TORN CURTAIN TOPAZ FRENZY FAMILY PLOT Bonus features: DOCUMENTARIES EXPERT COMMENTARIES INTERVIEWS SCREEN TESTS STORYBOARDS AND MUCH MORE! Plus: ORIGINAL LETTERS, STORYBOARDS, BLUEPRINTS AND MORE...
Written between the 1596 and 1598 'The Merchant of Venice' is both an early Shakespearean comedy and one of the Bard's problem plays; a work in which good triumphs over evil yet the dramatic tension often remains unresolved and the world is not as put to rights as its heroes would hope.And it is such a tension that surrounds the legendary villain of the Merchant of Venice the Jewish money-lender Shylock who seeks a literal pound of flesh from his Christian opposite the genero
First Down...And Ten Years To Go. In this rough-and-tumble yarn actually filmed on-location at the Georgia State Prison the cons are the heroes and the guards are the heavies. Eddie Albert is the sadistic warden who'll gladly make any sacrifice to push his guards' semi-pro football team to a national championship. Reynolds plays one time pro quarterback Paul Crewe now behind bars for leading State Police on a wild chase in a ""borrowed"" car. He agrees to organize a prisoners'
Winner of four Academy Awards'' including Best Visual Effects Best Sound Effects Best Music and Best Sound E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial is the heart-warming family classic from director Steven Spielberg. When an alien (E.T.) is inadvertently left behind on earth he finds refuge with youngster Elliot (Henry Thomas). As Elliot and E.T. bond as friends it soon becomes clear that E.T. must find his way home before government officials capture him for study. Together E.T. Elliot and Elliot's family and friends help reunite E.T. with his spaceship.
On June 6 1944 the Allied Invasion of France marked the beginning of the end of Nazi domination over Europe. The attack involved 3 000 000 men 11 000 planes and 4 000 ships comprising the largest armada the world has ever seen. Presented in the original black & white version The Longest Day is a vivid hour-by-hour re-creation of this historic event. Featuring a stellar international cast and told from the perspectives of both sides it is a fascinating look at the massive pre
Few television dramas of recent years have managed to combine quality and popularity as successfully as Bad Girls. Series two of the women's-prison drama offers essentially more of the same, but the formula is so well honed that it would be churlish to complain. The main characters and storylines are still there, with the relationship that began between Nikki and Helen (Mandana Jones and Simone Lahbib) at the end of the first series brought eloquently and stylishly to centre stage--a result of both superb writing and performance. The show is given fresh impetus by the constant introduction of new characters. The resulting plot lines see the growing influence of the superb Yyvonne, the unhinged prison officer Di and a new wing governor Karen Betts added to the equation, all with explosive results. The mixture of humour and drama is, as ever, played to perfection.On the DVD: Having set an impressive standard with the DVD release of series one, Bad Girls continues to lead the field for television drama releases. Again the packaging of the four-disc set is handy but extremely stylish and comes with a whole series of extras. The documentary this time follows the cast on a promotional trip to South Africa and there are two galleries of photographs, deleted scenes, production and cast notes and a mass of outtakes that beg the question how they ever actually managed to make one programme, let alone the 13 included here, without the whole cast convulsing with laughter. --Phil Udell
From playful romantic comedies to variety extravaganzas, the British musical films of the 1930s offered audiences a source of much-needed escapism throughout the decade haunted by the Great Depression and the growing menace of war. Often adapting much-loved hits of the music hall as well as serving as vehicles for the era's composers, performers and band leaders, they showcased home-grown talent alongside some of Hollywood's most bankable stars. This ongoing, multi-volume collection makes av...
Episodes Comprise: 1. Fonzie Moves In 2. Motorcycle 3. Fearless Fonzarelli: Part 1 4. Fearless Fonzarelli: Part 2 5. The Other Richie Cunningham 6. Richie Fights Back 7. Jailhouse Rock 8. Howard's 45th Fiasco 9. Fonzie the Flatfoot 10. A Date with Fonzie 11. Fonzie the Salesman 12. Three on a Porch 13. Fonzie's New Friend 14. They Call It Potsie Love 15. Tell It to the Marines 16. Dance Contest 17. The Second Anniversary Show 18. Football Frolics 19. Fonzie the Superstar 20. Two Angry Men 21. Beauty Contest 22. Bringing Up Spike 23. A Sight for Sore Eyes 24. Arnold's Wedding
Here in all it's glory is Crossroads on DVD for the very first time. Meg and Sandy Richardson Benny Hawkins Adam Chance Shughie McFee - the names still strike a chord in the memories of a generation of people who sat entranced watching the latest escapades of the staff and customers of Crossroads motel. Entranced but usually for the wrong reason! Would the walls wobble? Would the actors dry up or start laughing mid sentence? Anything could happen. Unrepeated for many years th
Psycho: The classic Hitchcock thriller involving a series of murders at a lonely motel where the deaths are attributed to the mother of the young owner. Psycho 2: Norman Bates is coming home after spending 22 years in a mental institution. He plans to renovate the old Bates Motel the place where his first murders occurred... Psycho 3: The Bates Motel is again the site of some nasty doings as the rehabilitated Norman who has installed a new ice machine att
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