Kaneto Shindo, one of Japan's most prolific directors, received his biggest international success with the release of Onibaba (The Demoness) in 1964. Its depiction of violence and graphic sexuality was unprecedented at the time of release. Shindo managed - through his own production company Kindai Eiga Kyokai - to bypass the strict, self-regulated Japanese film industry and pave the way for such films as Yasuzo Masumura's Mojuu (1969) and Nagisa Oshima's In the Realm of the Senses (1976). Onibaba (or Onibabaa, in its alternate spelling) is set during a brutal period in history, a Japan ravaged by civil war between rivaling shogunates. Weary from combat, samurai are drawn towards the seven-foot high susuki grass fields to hide and rest themselves, whereupon they are ambushed and murdered by a ruthless mother (Nobuko Otowa) and daughter-in-law (Jitsuko Yoshimura) team. The women throw the samurai bodies into a pit, and barter their armour and weapons for food. When Hachi (Kei Sato), a neighbour returning from the wars, brings bad news, he threatens the women's partnership. Erotically charged and steeped in the symbolism and superstition of its Buddhist and Shinto roots, Kaneto Shindo's Onibaba is in part a modern parable on consumerism, a study of the destructiveness of sexual desire and - filmed within a claustrophobic sea of grass - one of the most striking and unique films of Japan's last half-century, winning Kiyomi Kuroda the Blue Ribbon Award for Cinematography in 1965. The memorably frenetic drumming soundtrack was scored by long-time Shindo collaborator Hikaru Hayashi. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present Onibaba for the first time on Blu-ray in the UK. Special Features: Gorgeous New 1080p HD Transfer Full-length Director's Audio Commentary by Director Kaneto Shindo and the Stars of the Film, Kei Sato, and Jitsuko Yoshimura Video Introduction by Alex Cox 8mm Footage (40-minutes) Shot on Location by Lead Actor Kei Sato Optional English Subtitles Original Theatrical Trailer Production Stills and Promotional Art Gallery 36-Page Booklet with a New Essay by Doug Cummings - An English translation of the original short Buddhist fable that inspired the film and a statement from Writer/Director Kaneto Shindo about why he made Onibaba
A romantic comedy where a bored, overworked lawyer, upon first sight of a beautiful instructor, signs up for ballroom dancing lessons.
Contains Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000), Memories of Murder (2003), The Host (2006), Mother (2009), Snowpiercer (2013), Parasite (2020) and Parasite B&W (2020). Special Features: PARASITE - Extra 1 Making of - Extra 2 Deleted Scenes - Extra 3 Director Q&A - Extra 4 HOH & Audio description
Young Guns Emilio Estevez, Kiefer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips, Charlie Sheen, Dermot Mulronery and Casey Siemaszko take on the Wild West in this heart-stopping, gunslinging action adventure. The year is 1878, Lincoln County. John Tunstall, A British ranchowner, hires six rebellious boys as regulators to protect his ranch against the ruthless Santa Fe Ring. When Tunstall is killed in an ambush, the Regulators, led by the wild-tempered Billy the Kid (Estevez), declare war on the Ring. As their vendetta turns into a bloody rampage, they are branded outlaws, becoming the objects of the largest manhunt in Western history. Young Guns II: Blaze Of Glory Good weather for hanging. Billy the Kid's outlaw ingrates are penned like sows in a Lincoln County pit and the Kid is strapped in a nearby hotel. But the hangman will go home disappointed tonight. Billy cleverly breaks himself - then his gang - free. One of the West's greatest legends lives on to ride another day. Emilio Estevez, Keifer Sutherland, Lou Diamond Phillips and Christian Slater saddle up for Young Guns II, featuring Jon Bon Jovi's 1990 Oscar® - nominated* and Golden Globe® Award-winning Best Original Song ʻBlaze of Glory'. By 1879, the Lincoln County Wars have ended but bad blood endures. Billy and his men look to Mexico for haven - if they can elude Billy's one-time friend, pursuing sheriff Pat Garrett (William Petersen). The real Billy the kid documentary Advanced trivia pack
Fenn the Troll hates the Troll pastime of pranking, and is teased so much for it that he runs away. But when a long-suffering park ranger starts capturing the other Trolls, It's up to Fenn to rescue his family and friends - without pranking.
Following Jay-Z's 1999 ""Hard Knock Life"" tour which was the highest-grossing hip-hop tour to date at that time. The movie includes plenty of live footage of performances by Jay-Z DMX Method Man and Redman as well as other rappers on Jay-Z's Roc-A-Fella music label along wtih a behind-the-scenes look at what went into organizing the tour.
Inspector Gadget 2 sees the unlikely detective with higher-tech gadgets and more special effects. French Stewart (from TV's Third Rock from the Sun) replaces Matthew Broderick as the bumbling detective in a plot that revolves around the glitch-ridden Gadget being replaced by a completely robotised female. Parent Trap's Elaine Hendrix does what little she can with the one-dimensional role of "G2". Still, Gadget falls for his rival and the pair team up with his smart-as-a-whip niece Penny and her brainy beagle for a showdown with Claw. Where Broderick struggled to humanise the caricature of an inept detective in the 1999 original, Stewart doesn't even try. Instead he plays Gadget as a cartoon with endless over-the-top theatrics. The enhanced special effects may placate young viewers, but without the comedy of the original, that's small comfort. --Kimberly Heinrichs
Missing
A classic head-to-head showdown ignites in Assault On Precinct 13, an all-new update of the 1976 action thriller of the same name.
The brief but prodigious career of Japanese director Sadao Yamanaka resulted in a catalogue of work characterised by an elegant and unforced visual style, fluid editing, and a beautiful attention to naturalistic performances. Although he made 22 films over a six-year period (before dying of dysentery in a Japanese Imperial Army outpost in Manchuria at the age of 28), only three of them survive, collected here for the first time in the West. Tange Sazen: The Million Ry Pot is a gloriously comic adventure yarn as the titular one-eyed, one-armed swordsman becomes embroiled in the hunt for a missing pot that points the way to hidden treasure. In Kchiyama Sshun, a subversively humanistic adaptation of a classic kabuki play, a small but invaluable knife stolen from a samurai leads to a chain of an increasingly complex and troublesome set of circumstances. His last film, Humanity and Paper Balloons, is an unsparing ensemble drama set among the lowest rungs of Japanese society in the 18th century. The Masters of Cinema Series is delighted to present these treasures of world cinema in a long-awaited two-disc DVD set, including rarely-seen fragments of two other lost Yamanaka films. Special Features: New digital transfer of all three films New English subtitle translations Rare fragments of other lost Yamanaka films A lengthy booklet, including Yamanaka's will, excerpts from his diaries, essays by Tony Rayns, Shinji Aoyama, Kimitoshi Sat, and more.
The Abominable Dr Phibes is an unusually beautiful horror classic in which Vincent Price stars as the titular genius who specialises in organ music, theology and concocting bizarre deaths for anyone who wrongs him. Discovering why is half the fun, so for now let's just say that Phibes is a little mad and very, very angry. Aided by his assistant, the lovely, silent Vulnavia, Phibes begins cutting a gory swathe through London's medical community, with the dogged Inspector Trout hot on his tail. The film contains many pleasures--exquisite art direction and a dark sense of humour among them--but the real treat is in watching an old pro such as Price at work. Whether he's playing his organ, staring down a victim or drinking through his neck, Price is at the top of his game. He mixes dark menace with wry comic touches, revealing both Phibes' maniacal obsession and offhanded confidence in his own genius. Settle in for an evening of elegant gore--and if an attractive, mute deliverywoman comes to the door, whatever you do, don't answer! --Ali Davis
I'm Gonna Git You Sucka comes from Keenan Ivory Wayans--the man who brought us Jim Carrey (initially just one of the bunch on Wayans' US television comedy-sketch show, In Living Color)-- and is a comedy spoof on the blaxploitation films of the 1970s. Wayans plays Jack Spade, an army private just returning from the service. He comes home to find his younger brother June Bug dead of an overdose of gold chains (an "OG") He vows revenge, and with the help of some of the neighbourhood's old-skool heroes including Flyguy (Antonio Fargas), Kung Fu Joe (Steve James), Hammer (Isaac Hayes), Slammer (football star Jim Brown) and John Slade (Bernie Casey), Spade wages a war against Mr Big, the neighbourhood crime lord. In the tradition of Airplane! and Naked Gun, I'm Gonna Git You Sucka pokes fun through satire and offensive comedy. The film also features appearances from such varied actors as Clarence Williams III, Eve Plumb (better known to most as Jan Brady), and Chris Rock as a rib-joint customer. --Shannon Gee, Amazon.com
A man infiltrates a hi-tech prison to find out where a death-row inmate hid his $200 million stash of gold. It's up to an undercover FBI agent to stop him before it's too late.
Cream's short original existence from 1966 to 1968 belies their status as one of the most influential rock bands of all time. They released four studio albums that were hugely successful around the world and had a number of hit singles on both sides of the Atlantic. In May 2005 Cream reunited for a sequence of concerts over four nights at London's Royal Albert Hall. Filmed in high definition this Blu-ray features tracks filmed across the four shows including many of their best loved songs. Despite a gap of nearly 40 years the band quickly reignited the chemistry that had contributed so much to their legendary status and delivered four magnificent concerts that delighted the fans who had snapped up the tickets. Tracklist: 1. I'm So Glad 2. Spoonful 3. Outside Woman Blues 4. Pressed Rat And Warthog 5. Sleepy Time Time 6. N.S.U. 7. Badge 8. Politician 9. Sweet Wine 10. Rollin' And Tumblin' 11. Stormy Monday 12. Deserted Cities Of The Heart 13. Born Under A Bad Sign 14. We're Going Wrong 15. Crossroads 16. Sitting On Top Of The World 17. White Room 18. Toad 19. Sunshine Of Your Love
A sequel to the highly successful anime film Resident Evil: Degeneration.
Alfano's opera in 5 acts starring Roberto Alagna.
William Christie and Les Arts Florissants propel this exuberant production of Jean-Phillipe Rameau's second opera to great heights. Andrei Serban's extravagant highly baroque staging presents the four exotic love stories vibrantly. In Le Turc Genereux Osman sets free his captive Emilie whom he loves so that she may be reunited with her former lover Valere; Les Incas De Perou is all about the rivalry of the Inca Huascar and the Spaniard Don Carlos both in pursuit of Princess Phani; Les Fleurs offers a Persian love intrigue as the Sultana Fatime tries to detect whether her husband Tacmas has his eye on the lovely Atalide; and Les Sauvages takes us to North America where a Spaniard and a Frenchman compete for the love of Zima daughter of a native chief who prefers one of her own people.
Investigating a series of truck hijackings, a rookie undercover cop infiltrates a Los Angeles street racing gang.
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