Mrs Palfrey At The Claremont is the story of an elderly lady (Joan Plowright) who is all but abandoned in a London retirement hotel by her family - so she strikes up a friendship with a young writer (Rupert Friend). Based on the best-selling book by Elizabeth Taylor.
Some top Hollywood (and British) talent are on hand for this lavish version of Shakespeare's play, set in 16th century Venice.
Directed by Laurence Olivier and featuring a specially commissioned score by composer William Walton this filmed production of Anton Chekhov's classic play by London's world-renowned National Theatre Company is featured here in a brand-new transfer from the original film elements in its as-exhibited theatrical aspect ratio. The action takes place in a Russian provincial town at the turn of the century. It tells the story of Olga Masha and Irina daughters of a dead general who with their brother Andrei live out their days bound together by feelings of melancholy endless yearning and disappointment. The themes of troubled unrequited love provincial boredom and the imagined glamour of the capital to which the sisters long to return are brilliantly conveyed in outstanding performances by some of the twentieth century's greatest theatrical players. SPECIAL FEATURES [] Original Theatrical Trailer [] Image Gallery [] Promotional Material PDF
Care Bears - The Movie: The Care Bears live in their sky dwelling of Care-A-Lot spreading joy and light throughout the world. And they give special attention to those who particularly need affection like orphans Kim and Jason. But Evil Spirit does not approve of all this sweetness and kindness so with the help of a lost lonely little boy named Nicholas he launches a nefarious plot to rob the world of love. Down go the numbers on the Care-o-meter. And down to the Forest of Feelings go the Bears ready to battle Evil Spirit and make the world safe for happiness and good feelings once again. All Dogs Go To Heaven 2: Get ready for plenty of thrills and excitement as everyone's favourite pups unleash their charm in this lively tale of courage love and friendship that is captivating entertainment and doggone good fun for all! All dogs do go to heaven...and some lucky few return to earth. That's what happens when mischievous mutt Charlie Barkin (Charlie Sheen) is asked to retrieve Gabriel's horn when it is stolen from heaven. Seeing his chance to have some fun Charlie recruits his sidekick Itchy (Dom DeLuise) and happily steps up to the challenge. Immediately the two get sidetracked into trouble...until a sweet young runaway boy and a beautiful Irish Setter (Sheena Easton) set them straight. But time is running out and if Charlie is going to secure the valuable horn he will have to prove himself worthy of his wings by taking on two incredible villains in a hair-raising breathtaking race to the finish! Tom's Midnight Garden: Fourteen-year-old Tom Long is reluctantly spending the summer in the country with his rather staid Aunt Gwen and Uncle Alan They live in a drab old place which decades ago was a grand manor house. But when the grandfather clock strikes midnight adventures begin for Tom. One night he makes his way downstairs but the clock reveals nothing expect the mysterious phrase inscribed on its pendelum: 'Time No Longer'. Tom then opens the backdoor and finds that a wonderful garden has appeared - a wondrous place which will become an enchanted playground for ghosts from the past and the future. Next day Tom meets other residents - Mrs Willows the crotchety complainer and Mr Ferguson the building's self-appointed handyman. The only resident Tom does not meet is the widowed landlady Mrs Bartholomew who is rarely ever seen. He also meets 12 year old Hatty her cousin James and friend Abel the gardner. Though the actual year is 1956 Tom seems unaware that the characters he encounters in the garden are dressed in Victorian clothes and seem to be growing older with each visit he makes...
A classic production of Chekhov's classic tale of boredom and frustration set on a Russian country estate in the late 19th century. Produced as part of the inaugural season at the new Chichester Festival Theatre Laurence Olivier directed the play and also performed the role of Dr Astrov.
One of Shakespeare's best-loved comedies Twelfth Night skillfully weaves a story of deception disguise and frustrated love amid the festivities of an ancient tradition: the Christmas holiday when for one night life is turned upside down and mischief reigns; men dress as women servants dress as their masters and authority is usurped. Heading an illustrious cast in this ITC production are two giants of the stage and screen: Alec Guinness is the pompous and puritanical steward Malvolio and Ralph Richardson plays Sir Toby Belch whose drunken prank deftly exposes Malvolio's vanity and hypocrisy and lies at the heart of the play's subplot. Tommy Steele is the wise fool Feste; renowned Shakespearean actress Joan Plowright plays Viola the shipwrecked young noblewoman posing as a page (Cesario) in the service of Duke Orsino. This acclaimed production is directed by the award-winning John Sichel who worked with some of the world's greatest actors and most prestigious theatre institutions and was originally screened in 1969 as part of the celebrated ITV Saturday Night Theatre series.
When intimacy is forbidden and passion is a sin love is the most defiant crime of all. Hester Pryanne is a beautiful sensual woman in the New World Of Americas. She is a free spirit trapped in a harsh and puritanical colony and dominated by a violent husband Roger Chillingworth. She falls in love with the reverend a passionate man of God who risks everything for their tempestuous affair. But the couple must face the settlers toughened by their harsh lives bent on purging sin
The Entertainer of the title is Archie Rice, a mediocre music hall artist upholding a dying tradition in an English seaside against a background of the 1956 Suez Crisis. Laurence Olivier stars and is supported by a superb cast including a young Alan Bates as his son, Roger Livesey as his kindly, now retired, always more talented and popular father, and Joan Plowright as his daughter (who, ironically given the story, married Olivier the following year). Albert Finney makes his screen debut in a tiny role and the remarkable cast also features Daniel Massey, Shirley Anne Field, Thora Hird and Charles Gray. Archie himself is a hollow man who brings pain to all around him, and while Olivier's brilliant performance reveals the layers of cynicism which disguise the emptiness inside, the emotional resonance lies with those forced to endure Rice's manipulations, adulteries and deceits. On stage John Osborne's play proved to be a signature part for Olivier, and director Tony Richardson--who filmed Osborne's equally sour Look Back In Anger (1958)--handles the material with unvarnished realism. Unfolding like a dark variation on Chaplin's Limelight (1952), the film equally casts a shadow over the less stellar Tony Hancock vehicle The Punch and Judy Man (1963), ultimately working as both family tragedy and allegory for a declining post-war England. Surprisingly an American 1976 TV movie remake starring Jack Lemmon held its own against this minor British classic. On the DVD: The Entertainer is presented letterboxed at 1.66:1, and sourced from an excellent print preserves the look of the original black and white cinematography very well. Even so a little material is clipped from either side of the image, though this is most notable on the left of the picture. The mono sound is very good. There are no features other than optional subtitles, including English for those hard of hearing. --Gary S Dalkin
Twelve-year-old Lizzie (Camilla Belle) has come to Misselthwait Manor now a home for young war orphans run by housekeeper Martha (Joan Plowright) and there she meets fellow orphans Robert (Aled Roberts). Stephen (Justin Girdler) and Geraldine (Florence Hoath). Endlessly curious full of spark and life Lizzie soon learns about the Secret Garden and wants to find out more. But Martha is fearful of its mysteries and has forbidden any of the children from venturing inside - a strictly observed rule that Lizzie is determined to break! With stolen key in hand she enters the garden and discovers that something once so beautiful has starved of love and is dying from neglect - but how to restore it to its former splendour?
Based on the internationally acclaimed young adult novel by Anne Holm I Am David celebrates the indomitable human spirit and captures the thrill of a child tasting the wonders and excitement of life for the first time. An extraordinary family adventure I Am David follows a twelve year-old boy as he boldly escapes from an East European prison camp and makes an incredible personal journey to freedom. Fleeing with only a compass half a loaf of bread and a sealed secret letter he must carry across the continent David cannot foresee the dramatic odyssey that awaits him. From stowing away on a ship bound for Italy to facing his fears of the dangerous outside world to the unexpected revelation of his true identity David discovers for the first time the real meaning of courage trust laughter and hope. The film is written and directed by Paul Feig (the Emmy-nominated creator of television's Freaks and Geeks). The cast includes Oscar nominee and two-time Golden Globe winner Joan Plowright (Enchanted April) acclaimed American actor Jim Caviezel (The Passion of the Christ) and newcomer Ben Tibber in the role of David.
Adapted by celebrated screenwriter Jack Rosenthal (Coronation Street) from C. F. Taylor's acclaimed play of the same name, And a Nightingale Sang struck a chord with audiences when it first aired for its bittersweet, sharply observant and humorous portrait of working-class family life on the British Home Front during World War Two. Despite air raid sirens, gas masks, ration books and whistling bombs punctuating their everyday lives, the Stott family remain stoic as they focus on keeping life as normal as possible. Helen Stott is the family's sensible 30-year-old daughter: a kindly yet self-deprecating girl who walks with a limp, whose life so far has not been very kind to her. Surprised to find love during the chaos of war, she falls for gentle soldier Norman. However, the course of true love runs less than smoothly Starring Phyllis Logan (Downton Abbey) as the pitiful Helen Stott, and Tom Watt (Eastenders) as the soldier who steals her heart. Helen's flirty younger sister Joyce is played by Pippa Hinchley (Coronation Street), who is attracted to every solider apart from her own husband (Stephen Tompkinson DCI Banks). John Woodvine (The Crown) also features as the Stott family's father, preferring to escape awkward family situations by banging out popular tunes on the piano than face conflict, and Oscar-nominee Joan Plowright (Enchanted April) as the devoutly Catholic family matriarch, who finds herself drawn to her priest. The DVD will also feature fascinating extras in the form of three real wartime public information films, giving insight into the unrivalled efforts on the British Home Front, from the Imperial War Museum: They Keep the Wheels Turning (1942), Britannia is a Woman (1940) and The New Britain (1940).
It's hard to know who thought it would be a good idea to make a live-action version of Disney's animated classic. The one bright notion anyone had was casting Glenn Close as Disney Übervillainess Cruella de Vil; her flashing eyes and angular features are a perfect match and do credit to what is one of the most indelible animated characters Disney has ever created. The story remains essentially the same, focusing on Cruella's plot to kidnap the puppies of a young married couple (Jeff Daniels and Jolie Richardson) and make them into a coat. But the dreaded John Hughes, who wrote this script, fills it with sadistic slapstick and far too few genuine laughs. The human actors work hard, but to little avail; thankfully, there's a posse of puppies to regularly steal scenes when the going gets dreary--although there are only so many laughs to be had from inappropriate dog puddles. --Marshall Fine, Amazon.com
This Grand Prize winner at the Montreal Film Festival tells the story of a strange young man who befriends a middle-aged couple and their crippled daughter. Based on the play by Denis Potter.
In Dennis Potter's Brimstone And Treacle Sting delivers one of his finest performances as Martin Taylor a mysterious stranger who arrives on the doorstep of the Bates household and soon worms his way into their lives. Mr and Mrs Bates (Denholm Elliott and Joan Plowright) soon grow to trust Martin but his intentions are less than honourable when it soon becomes clear that he is lusting after their comatose daughter...
A farce set in an old hospital that alarmingly resembles Britain at its most chaotic. Everything starts to go wrong when the medical administrators are faced with a threatened strike angry scenes and a Royal visit.
It's hard to know who thought it would be a good idea to make a live-action version of Disney's animated classic, 101 Dalmatians (and originally Dodie Smith's classic children's story). The one bright notion anyone had was casting Glenn Close as Disney Übervillainess Cruella de Vil; her flashing eyes and angular features are a perfect match and do credit to what is one of the most indelible animated characters Disney has ever created. The story remains essentially the same, focusing on Cruella's plot to kidnap the puppies of a young married couple (Jeff Daniels and Joely Richardson) and make them into a coat. But the dreaded John Hughes, who wrote this script, fills it with sadistic slapstick and far too few genuine laughs. The human actors work hard, but to little avail; thankfully, there's a posse of puppies to regularly steal scenes when the going gets dreary--although there are only so many laughs to be had from inappropriate dog puddles. --Marshall Fine, Amazon.com Don't be fooled by the title, there are four reasons to like 102 Dalmatians, the sequel to the successful live-action remake of Disney's 101 Dalmatians. There are the 101 spotted pooches, Glenn Close back in fine form as Cruella DeVil, Oddball--the spotless Dalmatian pup--and Waddlesworth, a parrot who thinks he's a rottweiler (and is voiced by Monty Python's Eric Idle). There are just as many reasons to be disappointed: like most sequels, the story line is virtually a rewrite of t he first; the secondary casting isn't as interesting; the dialogue merely serves to move the plot along; and the third act substitutes mean-spiritedness for comedy. After a period of rehabilitation, Cruella has returned to her old tricks. Once again, she simply must have a spotted coat and will go to any lengths to get hold of the 102 Dalmatians needed to make one with a hood. She sets her sights on the pups owned by her probation officer, Chloe (Alice Evans), and the owner of a local animal shelter, Kevin (Ioan Gruffudd). Her servant Alonso (Tim McInnerny) and flamboyant furrier Monsieur Le Pelt (Gerard Depardieu, in one ridiculous outfit after another) are drafted to aid in her quest. It should come as no surprise that Chloe and Kevin fall in love, Oddball helps to save the day and Cruella is defeated. Children should enjoy the animal high jinks, but adults are less likely to be enamoured by this perfectly competent, but relatively charmless affair. --Kathleen C Fennessy, Amazon.com.
Set in Newcastle towards the end of World War 2 this romantic drama chronicles the sacrifices made by a blue-collar woman and her family. This is the story of the Stotts an eccentric family waging their personal battles against the terrifying backdrop of Britain during WW2.
In a remote little town in turn of the century Russia three sisters - Olga (Jeanne Watts) Irina (Louise Purnell) and Masha (Joan Plowight) - and their brother Andrei (Derek Jacobi) fantasise about their return to their former home in Moscow. For them Moscow is a city of dreams magnetism and inspiration - a far cry from their current life - an oppressive and overbearing existence devoid of hope. As they muddle through life they hold on to the memory of a place they once knew and
Please wait. Loading...
This site uses cookies.
More details in our privacy policy