Sergei Bondarchuk directs this 1970s drama starring Rod Steiger and Christopher Plummer. After his abdication Napoleon Bonaparte (Steiger) is exiled to the island of Elba. However, he escapes to be reunited with his generals and troops and mounts a last desperate bid for power at the Battle of Waterloo. He has, however, reckoned without the British forces led by Arthur Welsley the Duke of Wellington (Plummer), who has just returned from a successful campaign in Spain.
A film that will never be equalled for its spectacle and dramatic power" says the stirring trailer on this otherwise sparsely featured DVD. Taking the story of the Napoleonic Wars to Bonapartes final defeat, Waterloo is an unofficial continuation to director Sergei Bondarchuks own 70mm super-epic War and Peace (1968). The climactic battle of Waterloo is shown in the second half of the film and re-enacted with such stunning realism by a cast of around 20,000 extras that it looks like documentary footage from history itself (some 20 years later, Gettysburg, 1993, did the same for the American Civil War). Those who hailed the groundbreaking impact of Saving Private Ryan should see Bondarchuks films, as for sheer scale and intensity--if not bloodiness--they make Spielbergs hit look like an amateur video. Without ever attempting a French accent, Rod Steiger makes a commanding Napoleon, Christopher Plummer a worthy adversary as Wellington, while the supporting cast led by Orson Welles, Jack Hawkins and Virginia McKenna is excellent. The DVD transfer is richly detailed and clear, though the print itself could have done with just a little restoration. Though dated, Abel Glances Napoleon (1928) remains definitive for many, perhaps explaining why Stanley Kubrick eventually abandoned his planned Napoleon film, instead making the 18th Century period epic Barry Lyndon (1974). --Gary S.Dalkin
Waterloo is the 1970 epic period war film directed by Sergei Bondarchuk and produced by legendary producer Dino De Laurentis. It depicts the story of the preliminary events and the Battle of Waterloo and is famous for its lavish battle scenes. Starring Rod Steiger as Napoleon Bonaparte and Christopher Plummer as the Duke of Wellington with a cameo by Orson Welles as Louis XVIII of France, and Jack Hawkins all contribute fine portraits of great men against a magnificent backdrop of battle and bloodshed.
First time on Blu-Ray in the UK. Waterloo is the 1970 epic period war film directed by Sergei Bondarchuk and produced by legendary producer Dino De Laurentis. It depicts the story of the preliminary events and the Battle of Waterloo and is famous for its lavish battle scenes. Starring Rod Steiger as Napoleon Bonaparte and Christopher Plummer as the Duke of Wellington with a cameo by Orson Welles as Louis XVIII of France, and Jack Hawkins all contribute fine portraits of great men against a magnificent backdrop of battle and bloodshed.
If the idea of an Oprah Winfrey-produced film detailing the last days of a dying man and his inspirational effect on those left behind sounds a little cloying, Tuesdays with Morrie will be a rather pleasant surprise. While the presentation of this true story is certainly very American in tone, and it was obviously made for television (the points where it faded to commercial breaks are clear), it's still a surprisingly satisfying piece of work. The credit for that can firmly be laid at the door of Jack Lemmon, appearing in what was to be his last film. He excels as the terminally ill college professor Morrie Schwartz, determined to use his passing as a medium for teaching others about life. Still showing signs of the spark that made the movies of his heyday so memorable, Lemmon is also capable of bringing a magnificent pathos to the role. Co-star Hank Azaria is a more-than-equal foil, instilling his character with a growing awareness of self that blossoms before the viewer. Yes, at times it is a little too schmaltzy for its own good, but Tuesdays with Morrie is a film capable of visiting emotional extremes with ease. On the DVD: A very scanty package, with the usual scene access and Dolby Digital stereo accompanied by a text-only resume of the movie and the briefest of biographies of its cast--in Lemmon's case a massively ineffectual effort.--Phil Udell
Nazi Germany, 1942. Ernst, 13, is committed to a mental ward but he soon discovers the hospital's façade. With a plan to sabotage the euthanasia program to help his new found friends, his actions may get him into trouble
Kyle Lord (Van Damme) is arrested and convicted for the vigilante killing of his wife's murderer. Kyle must survive life in a maximum-security prison where inmates are made to battle to their death in a brutal no holds barred fight called ""The Shu"" for the warden's entertainment and profit. Kyle fights his oppressors and is quickly sent to ""The Shu"" where his unbridled rage catapults him to the victor's circle. Kyle has become one of the monsters he despises and must now battle within
Zeffirelli's 1963 Milan production of La Boheme, preserved in this 1965 film, provides a richly satisfying take on Puccini's much-loved romantic tragedy. The staging is opulent, not least in the way Zeffirelli opens up the Cafe Momus and turns it into a warm, vibrant haven for the bohemians and their followers. But it's the relationships which really matter here. Puccini's score--conducted with restrained passion by Herbert von Karajan--develops in a wonderfully linear way, with some of his most intensely moving arias and duets underpinning the evolution of the bohemian artists, particularly Rodolfo and Marcello, from immature egotists to rounded human beings, touched by tragedy. The film does look dated now--Mirella Freni's Mimi, sung with moving clarity, has the doe-eyed look of a 1960s pop star and the camera work is a tad unsophisticated--but the singing still puts the listener through the wringer. Gianni Raimondi's Rodolfo ("Che gelida manina") struggles manfully to come to terms with his emotional shortcomings and Adriana Martino (Musetta) has some fine comic moments before playing her vital part in the overwhelming sadness of the final scenes. Soul food for the tragically inclined. On the DVD: La Boheme has no extras here, but excellent booklet notes accompany the disc. The PCM Stereo soundtrack has been digitally remastered to decent effect. The 4:3 picture format inevitably imposes some limitations and the 1960s video quality is a little dull, but after all, this is a product of its time and a vital record of one of Zeffirelli's most successful productions.--Piers Ford
STARE INTO THESE EYES... Discover deep within them the unspeakable terrifying secret of BLACK SUNDAY... it will paralyze you with fright! Legendary Scream Queen Barbara Steele (Shivers, Caged Heat) stars in this classic slice of gothic terro from the father of fantastic Italian cinema Mario Bava (Lisa and the Devil). A beautiful witch is sentenced to death for her evil deeds by her own brother, condemned to die by having a metal mask hammered onto her face before being burnt at the stake. As she passes, she puts a terrible curse on all her future descendants as the spikes of thedeath mask pierce her flesh... But when two unwitting travellers discover her final resting place and worse, drip blood on her resting corpse, they unleash her once again in all her stunningly beautiful, terrifying glory... Baned in the UK on its release, Black Sunday is a groundbreaking film that opened the door for Spaghetti horror in all its gory glory.
Robin Williams is in his fuzzy, sensitive-with-bittersweet-touches mode in Moscow on the Hudson. Playing a musician in a Russian circus who gets talked into defecting by a pal and does so in the middle of Bloomingdale's. A great concept, to be sure, but writer-director Paul Mazursky doesn't seem to know where to go from there. Williams winds up living in the same kind of poverty that he did in Russia, casting about for a way to make a living while both wallowing and drowning in the sudden tidal wave of freedom. Mazursky wants to make a point about how little we appreciate what we have, but he fails to entertain in the process--or at least to engage in a consistent way. --Marshall Fine, Amazon.com
Turandot: Puccini - Arena di Verona
Carlos Alvarez takes the title role in the first of Verdi's Shakespearean operas with Maria Guleghina as the manipulative wife whose desire to gain the Scottish throne drives her husband to murder and leaves both with blood on their hands. Bruno Campanella conducts the Symphony Orchestra and Chorus of the Gran Teatre del Liceu in the 2004 recording of Phyllida Lloyd's powerful production first staged at London's Royal Opera House.
During World War II, Brazil was an ally of the United States, England and France. At the time there were directed over 25 thousand soldiers from the BEF (Brazilian Expeditionary Force) to fight the enemies, represented by the Axis: Germany, Italy and Japan. Almost all soldiers came from poor backgrounds, and were mostly unprepared for combat, they had to learn in practice to fight for survival. After suffering a collective panic attack at the foot of Castle Hill, the soldiers Guimar es (Danie.
Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino are ''excellent cadavers'' - a Sicilian term to distinguish the assassination of important political figures from the hundreds of ordinary people killed by the Mafia. These two courageous prosecutors risked their careers and lives to bring the Cosa Nostra to justice and their deaths galvanised the Sicilian government into destroying the Mob once and for all. Aided by mafioso turned informant Tommasso Buscetta the legendary ''Godfather of Two Worlds'' extradited from Brazil their crusade culminated in the greatest Mafia trial in history at which 475 men were indicted. Starring award winning actors Chazz Palminteri and F. Murray Abraham this is a portrait of two tragic heroes who in life combated a violent subculture rampant with corruption and in death exerted their greatest influence.
Adriana LecouvreurFrancesco Cilea (1866-1950)Cilea's four-act opera of jealousy and tangled love first performed in Milan in 1902 is based on the true story of Adriana Lecouvreur an 18th-Century actress at the Comedie Francaise whose rival for the love of Maurizio count of Saxony is the married Principessa di Bouillon. Unlocked from the archives of RAI television this 1989 classic recording comes from one of the world's great opera houses.
Winner of the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival in 1961 and the Best Italian Film of the Year this a true classic of Italian cinema. A morality tale. Can people shake off their past? Will others alllow them to? Four prostitutes abandon their 'working girl' lifestyle after a change in the law closes their bordello. They open a restaraunt. Flourishing successful and happy they find that their past comes back to haunt them as they are reported to the police and forced to co
For ten days enter the mind of a psychopath... feel his pain... follow him on his daily routine... watch the blood flow like wine. Nutbag is a claustrophobic ghastly thrill-ride that pulls no punches in its depiction of violence. Set to a haunting music score director Nick Palumbo spins a frightening contemporary story of a modern day Jack the Ripper. Nutbag is an instant cult classic!
Ivo Pogorelich one of the world's most exciting pianists and an exclusive Deutsche Grammophon artist since 1981 was thrust into worldwide fame when Martha Argerich resigned from the jury of the 1980 Warsaw International Chopin Competition in protest of his elimination. This production by Humphrey Burton features him in the elegant Veneto Villa Caldogno and the splendid Eckartsau Castle in Lower Austria.
Ivo Pogorelich: In Castello Reale Di Racconigi
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