Glenn Savan's depressing and self-loathing novel about a 27-year-old upper-class Jewish widower mired in self-pity after his beloved wife dies, and who finds love and sexual rebirth with a trailer-trash older woman, was brought to the big screen by the competent director Luis Mandoki (When a Man Loves a Woman, Message in a Bottle). But the savage irony in Savan's book has been face-lifted by screenwriters Ted Tally (The Silence of the Lambs) and Alvin Sargent (Ordinary People) into something else entirely: what passes for low-rent "slumming" in Hollywood means hiring sexy Susan Sarandon to play Nora Baker, the poor, uneducated 43-year-old waitress in a White Palace burger joint who strikes up an unlikely relationship with sad Max Baron (James Spader). Widower Max attends a bachelor party for best pal Neil (Jason Alexander) and discovers that the local White Palace has stiffed the boys a whopping six burgers. Max barges into the joint, bent on getting his money back, and meets a testy Nora, who is bemused at the young man's insolence. While driving home, Max stops abruptly at a bar for a drink. Inside, Nora is nursing a vodka and takes a shine to the tuxedo-clad, handsome, and morose younger man. He gives her a lift, she seduces him, and the rest of the movie examines how two such opposites in manners and morals can find happiness. The only common bond they have is great sex and a private tragedy. White Palace nudges at the dark journey and the smashing of illusion that was at the heart of the novel, but there is still a fairy-tale element to the film that negates the earthy essence that distinguished the book. In Mandoki's vision, White Palace is about overcoming class, family, and outside opinion to find true love. In Savan's book, Max wastes into decline while Nora ultimately thrives in the quest for truth, redemption, and self-forgiveness. She becomes his salvation only after he stops hating himself. But mainstream Hollywood shuns making "protagonists" so mad, bad, or sad, and as such, too much glitter is tossed on Spader, while Sarandon, as usual, is the only one who seems to embody and understand her character's angst. She deserved her Oscar for Nora, not the nun in Dead Man Walking. --Paula Nechak
Sparrows Can't Sing, directed by Joan Littlewood and starring Barbara Windsor (Carry on Camping) in her BAFTA nominated role as Maggie, is a 1963 kitchen sink classic filmed in the East End of London. There's panic in Stepney; from the stalls in the street to the bar of the Red Lion the word goes out: tearaway Charlie Gooding (James Booth, Zulu) is back from two years at sea, and on the way home to his old stamping ground. The trouble is that Charlie isn't up to date with the news. Bonus Features: INTERVIEW WITH PETER RANKIN (JOAN LITTLEWOOD BIOGRAPHER) LOCATIONS FEATURETTE WITH RICHARD DACRE (FILM HISTORIAN) STILLS GALLERY INTERVIEW WITH MURRAY MELVIN BFI Q&A WITH BARBARA WINDSOR & MURRAY MELVIN TRAILER
Based on a true story, The Conspirator tells the powerful story of a woman who would do anything to protect her family, and the man who risked everything to save her.In the wake of Abraham Lincoln's assassination, seven men and one woman are arrested and charged with conspiring to kill the President, Vice President, and Secretary of State.The lone woman charged, Mary Surratt (Wright) owns a boarding house where John Wilkes Booth (Toby Kebbell) and others met and planned the simultaneous attacks. Against the ominous back-drop of post-Civil War Washington, newly-minted lawyer, Frederick Aiken (McAvoy), a 28-year-old Union war-hero, reluctantly agrees to defend Surratt before a military tribunal.Aiken realizes his client may be innocent and that she is being used as bait and hostage in order to capture the only conspirator to have escaped a massive manhunt, her own son, John (Johnny Simmons). As the nation turns against her, Surratt is forced to rely on Aiken to uncover the truth and save her life.
From producer Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy) and director Neill Blomkamp comes a startlingly original science-fiction thriller. With stunning special effects and gritty realism, the film plunges us into a world where the aliens have landed only to be exiled to a slum on the fringes of Johannesburg. Now, one lone human discovers the mysterious secret of the extra-terrestrial weapon technology. Hunted and hounded through the bizarre back alleys of an alien shantytown, he will discover what it means to be the ultimate outsider on your own planet.
From the macabre imagination of Stephen King (the best-selling author of 'Firestarter' 'The Shining' and 'Carrie') comes this trio of terrifying tales linked by a stray cat that roams from one story to the next. In the first episode a New York man (James Woods Vampires Nixon) has trouble giving up cigarettes. He turns to a shady self-help operation whose hot-headed owner outlines a litany of incrementally harsh penalties for those who cannot resist having another puff. The second story centers on Cressner (Kenneth McMillan) an Atlantic City mobster. His wife has been having an affair with a tennis pro (Robert Hays) so Cressner forces the athlete to walk the ledge around his high-rise apartment. If the athlete can complete one lap along the overhang he gets to be with Cressner's wife forever. In the closing narrative a young girl (Drew Barrymore Scream E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial) has difficulty sleeping. Though her parents suspect the family cat of wrongdoing the girl knows better especially after she spots a foot-high troll coming out of her bedroom wall...
In revealing the strength of the marriage which left Queen Victoria so devastated as a widow, the colourful costume drama Victoria and Albert could almost serve as a prequel to the film Mrs Brown. In common with that dramatisation, this TV drama features performances (and cameos) from some of Britain's finest actors, this time including Jonathan Pryce, David Suchet, Penelope Wilton, Peter Ustinov, Richard Briers and the wonderful Nigel Hawthorne as Lord Melbourne. Victoria Hamilton and Jonathan Firth are the impressive leads who command the viewer's attention through the lengthy process of turning Albert and Victoria's arranged marriage into a love story, from their first inauspicious meetings, to Albert's dissatisfaction over the impotence of his position. Concentrating as it does on Victoria's early reign means the drama does tend to skip over the couples' later years with their children and disappointments over their heir, Bertie, but overall this story has all the romance, settings, make-up and wigs of a fine costume drama. On the DVD: Victoria and Albert comes as a two-disc set that features an informative 25-minute "making of" documentary presented by the producer, that includes contributions from the Screenwriter, Director, stars Jonathan Firth and Penelope Wilton, and the Director of Photography. The filmographies are somewhat abridged but the Victoria Timeline is interesting for those wanting to learn more about the authentic history of events. --Rachel Ediss
James Stewart, Cary Grant, and the unstoppable Katharine Hepburn star in Hollywood's greatest romantic comedy With this furiously witty comedy of manners, KATHARINE HEPBURN (Woman of the Year) revitalized her career and cemented her status as the era's most iconic leading lady thanks in great part to her own shrewd orchestrations. While starring in the PHILIP BARRY stage play The Philadelphia Story, Hepburn snapped up the screen rights, handpicking her friend GEORGE CUKOR (Adam's Rib) to direct. The intoxicating screenplay by DONALD OGDEN STEWART (Holiday) pits the formidable Philadelphia socialite Tracy Lord (Hepburn, at her most luminous) against various romantic foils, chief among them her charismatic exhusband (His Girl Friday's CARY GRANT), who disrupts her imminent marriage by paying her family estate a visit, accompanied by a tabloid reporter on assignment to cover the wedding of the year (JAMES STEWART, in his only Academy Award®winning performance). A fast-talking screwball comedy as well as a tale of regrets and reconciliation, this convergence of golden-age talent is one of the greatest American films of all time. BONUS FEATURES SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack Audio commentary from 2005 featuring film scholar Jeanine Basinger New introduction to actor Katharine Hepburn's role in the development of the film by documentarians David Heeley and Joan Kramer In Search of Tracy Lord, a new documentary about the origin of the character and her social milieu Two full episodes of The Dick Cavett Show from 1973, featuring rare interviews with Hepburn, plus an excerpt of a 1978 interview from that show with director George Cukor Lux Radio Theatre adaptation of the film from 1943, featuring an introduction by filmmaker Cecil B. DeMille Restoration demonstration PLUS: An essay by critic Farran Smith Nehme
Inspired by the 1973 motion picture of the same name, Westworld is a one-hour drama series about a futuristic theme park populated by artificial beings. Written and directed by Michael Crichton this dark odyssey about the dawn of artificial consciousness and the evolution of sin is set at the intersection of the near future and the reimagined past. It explores a world in which every human appetite, no matter how noble or depraved, can be indulged. 1. Pilot 2. Chestnut 3. The Stray 4. Six Impossible Things 5. Contrapasso 6. Trace Decay 7. Trompe L'Oeil 8. The Adversary 9. Job's Root 10. The Bicameral Mind.
Broadway-bound the Muppets Take Manhattan by storm in this magical musical about breaking into show business! Fresh out drama school Kermit Fozzie Bear and the entire cast of Kermit's musical - Manhattan Melodies - head for the Big Apple with plans to turn their small play into a big hit! All they need now is someone to produce their show! But when no one in town will even meet with them it's up to Kermit to believe hard enough for all of his friends that the show WILL go on!
Based on James Herriot's autobiographical best sellers 'If Only They Could Talk' and 'It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet' the long running TV series All Creatures Great and Small continued to satisfy the Herriot hysteria of the British public.
Psych: Season 3 (4 Discs)
Sex, Chips and Rock 'n' Roll spins a complex web of secret loves and twisted ambitions against the backdrop of the early British music scene. It's a rock n' roll soap opera, but it's smartly written and engagingly acted, full of subtle commentary on the cultural changes cutting across British society. Manchester in 1965 seems like a dead end to two sisters, flirty Arden (Emma Cooke) and bookish Ellie Brookes (Gillian Kearney). They ache to get out from under the thumb of their domineering grandmother (Sue Johnston), and when their cousin Norman (David Threlfall) proposes to Ellie, she accepts. But just then the sisters meet a struggling band called the Ice Cubes, who grudgingly play back-up for a smarmy singer named Larry B Cool (Phil Daniels) while trying to land a record deal. Arden throws herself at the group's leader, Dallas (Joseph McFadden), but Dallas finds himself drawn more to Ellie, who's also an aspiring songwriter. From there the multi-dimensional characters take unexpected turns, and you'll quickly find yourself drawn into their lives. --Bret Fetzer, Amazon.com
The Public Enemy (Dir. William A. Wellman 1931): Tom's bad way of life is constantly set up against his brother Mike's who has a job during the day and goes to night school. Mike will enroll in the Marines to fight in WWI. He will come back and will constantly try to put Tom back on the right path. White Heat (Dir. Raoul Walsh 1950): Cody Jarrett is the sadistic leader of a ruthless gang of thieves. Afflicted by terrible headaches and fiercely devoted to his 'Ma ' Cody is a volatile violent and eccentric leader. Cody's top henchman wants to lead the gang and attempts to have an 'accident' happen to Cody while he is running the gang from in jail. But Cody is saved by an undercover cop who thereby befriends him and infiltrates the gang. Finally the stage is set for Cody's ultimate betrayal and downfall during a big heist at a chemical plant. Angels With Dirty Faces (Dir Michael Curtiz 1938): Rocky Sullivan and Jerry Connolly were tough kids who grew up together in the toughest part of New York - Hell's Kitchen. Early on Rocky gets sent to reform school where he learns how to be a first class criminal. Jerry who had escaped from the law goes straight and becomes a priest. As adults they reunite in the old neighborhood: Jerry works with the kids who like he and Rocky could end up on either side of the law. Rocky has returned looking for a safe place to stay till he can get back into his old racketeering organization -- something that his old partner isn't anxious to have happen. Lots of rapid fire wisecracks roughhousing and gunfire ensues. The Roaring Twenties (Dir. Raoul Walsh 1939): After the WWI Armistice Lloyd Hart goes back to practice law former saloon keeper George Hally turns to bootlegging and out-of-work Eddie Bartlett becomes a cab driver. Eddie builds a fleet of cabs through delivery of bootleg liquor and hires Lloyd as his lawyer. George becomes Eddie's partner and the rackets flourish until love and rivalry interfere.
From the creator and producers of Bodyguard. This thrilling British police drama has earned universal praise for its nail-biting action, complex characters, and intricate plotting (TV Guide). At anti-corruption unit AC-12, Superintendent Ted Hastings (Adrian Dunbar, Blood) leads his team of DS Steve Arnott (Martin Compston, The Nest) and DC Kate Fleming (Vicky McClure, This Is England) in investigating suspected cases of police corruptionand in the process, they begin to uncover a conspiracy that reaches to the heights of the force. Special Features: Five behind the scenes featurettes, Actor filmographies, picture galleries.
All the glamour and greatness of the world's most exciting drama of speed and spectacle! Nine races. One champion. James Garner Yves Montand Brian Bedford and Antonio Sabato portray Formula 1 drivers competing to be the best in this slam-you-into-the-driver's seat tale of speed spectacle and intertwined personal lives. Eva Marie Saint and Toshiro Mifune also star. John Frankenheimer (who 32 years later would again stomp the pedal to the metal for the car chases of Ronin) directs this winner of 3 Academy Awards crafting split-screen images to capture the overlapping drama and orchestrating you-are-there POV camerawork to intensify the hard-driving thrills. Nearly 30 top drivers take part in the excitement so buckle up movie fans. Race with the best to the head of the pack.
One man is dead. Two men are accused of his murder. The entire Marines Corps is on trial. And 'A Few Good Men' are about to ignite the most explosive episode in US military history. Universally acclaimed A Few Good Men unites the big screen's biggest stars as Hollywood heavyweights Jack Nicholson Tom Cruise and Demi Moore lead an all star cast in director Rob Reiner's powerful account of corruption cover-up and a relentless quest for justice within the sacred corridors of the US Navy. With powerful performances from Kevin Bacon and Kiefer Sutherland A Few Good Men makes its mark as the major movie triumph of the decade.
Falling from the Oscar-winning glory of Dances with Wolves to the opposite end of the critical and box-office scale, Kevin Costner must have been deeply humbled when this three-hour postapocalyptic tale--his sophomore effort as a director--was greeted with a critical thrashing and tepid audience response. One of the most conspicuous flops of its decade, the 1997 release must have seemed like a sure thing on paper: a kind of futurist Western starring Costner as a charismatic drifter-turned-hero who leads the resistance against a military tyrant (Will Patton) by reviving the long-dormant postal system to reunite isolated communities in their fight for freedom. The movie bombed, but, like many audacious failures, it's got qualities that make it at least partially endearing, and its earnestness (although bordering on corny) keeps it from being entirely silly. Faint praise, perhaps, but Costner's ode to patriotism is occasionally stirring and visually impressive. --Jeff Shannon
That'll Be The Day: Abandoned by his father at an early age Jim MacLaine seems to have inherited the old man's restlessness. Despite his apparent intelligence Jim decides not to take the exams that would pave his way to university; he begins to think that the life of a pop musician might be the thing for him... Stardust: Jim is now enjoying the nomadic gigs and groupies' life of The Stray Cats. When he achieves all his wildest dreams of international stardom the sweet taste of success begins to turn sour...
Following the huge success of Jimmy Carr Live the multi award-winning and critically acclaimed comedian Jimmy Carr returns with a brand new live stand-up DVD. As the face of Channel 4 Jimmy has risen to become one of the most original and distinctive stars of British Comedy developing the unique brand of perfectly timed one-liners and deadpan delivery for which he has become so well known. Recorded live at London's Bloomsbury theatre Jimmy unleashes brand new mate
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