Gemma Jones stars as Louisa Trotter a cook for the upperclass at a fancy hotel. Very similar in style to 'Upstairs Downstairs' this classic British TV series first aired in 1976.
Based on Alex Haley's bestseller, the 1977 TV mini-series Roots told the harrowing story of one man's ancestors, commencing with African warrior Kunta Kinte, captured, transported to America, stripped of his dignity, his rights, and even his name. He tries but fails to escape before accepting he can never return to Africa. He marries and bears a daughter, Kizzy, who is callously sold, then raped by her new "master". However, her son, Chicken George, a resourceful dab hand with gamecocks, lives long enough to see his own children attain a liberty of sorts following the Civil War. Roots is told in the same, accessible televisual language as The Waltons or Bonanza, yet it is never bland or evasive. It leaves no doubt as to the torment and abuse suffered by blacks, and although the series' conclusion is fictionally satisfying, for many of the black characters their only hope lies in generations yet unborn. It is sturdy enough drama but its greatest, most revolutionary effects were social. It persuaded American audiences to regard their history from a black perspective, and to see how--against odds far more desperate than those the pilgrims faced--Africans laid claim to their status as free African-Americans. Roots was massively popular, triggering a craze for genealogy and paving the way for series like 1979's Holocaust, which similarly raised the public's awareness of the slaughter of the Jews under Hitler. Most importantly, Roots changed forever the way black people were depicted on American TV. On the DVD: Roots is presented in 1:33:1 format and is visually extremely well-preserved. Extra features include a "Roots Family Tree", a copious, informative audio commentary featuring members of cast and crew, and a documentary, "Remembering Roots". Although this consists only of interviews, these convey the extraordinary emotional grip this project had on those who took part in it.--David Stubbs
An uplifting family drama based on the real life experiences of Robin Lee Graham who, at the age of sixteen, began a solo circumnavigation of the world in his small boat the youngest person ever to do so. Featuring stunning cinematography from frequent Ingmar Berman collaborator Sven Nykvist and a hauntingly beautiful score by John Barry, The Dove was the recipient of a prestigious Royal World Charity Premiere in the UK. It is presented here as a brand-new High Definition remaster from original film elements in its original Panavision aspect ratio. A high school dropout sets off from California to circumnavigate the globe in his 23 foot sloop, The Dove. It's a journey that took five years to complete five years of battling the elements, loneliness, hazardous seas and terrible hardships, but it was a journey that turned a boy into a man. A man that found adventure, freedom and love. Special Features Theatrical trailer Dove Tales: a short reminiscence by director's assistant Rosemary Marks Image gallery
Johnny Smith's life is interrupted by a near fatal car crash that leaves him in a deep coma for six years. When he regains consciousness he discovers that he now possesses amazing psychic powers; powers that allow him to see into the life of anyone he touches... Based on the characters and story from the best-selling book by Stephen King 'The Dead Zone' is a unique psychological thriller that combines a rich mix of action the paranormal and a continuing quest for peace. Episodes
Aaron Sorkin's American political drama The West Wing, set in the White House, has won innumerable awards--and rightly so. Its depiction of a well-meaning Democrat administration has warmed the hearts of countless Americans. However, The West Wing is more than mere feel-good viewing for sentimental patriots. It is among the best-written, sharpest, funny and moving American TV series of all time. In its first series, The West Wing established the cast of characters who comprise the White House staff. There's Chief of Staff Leo McGarry (John Spencer), a recovering alcoholic whose efforts to be the cornerstone of the administration contribute to the break-up of his marriage. CJ (Alison Janney) is the formidable Press Spokeswoman embroiled in a tentative on-off relationship with Timothy (Thirtysomething) Busfield's reporter. Brilliant but grumpy communications deputy Toby Ziegler, Rob Lowe's brilliant but faintly nerdy Sam Seaborn and brilliant but smart-alecky Josh Lyman make up the rest of the inner circle. Initially, the series' creators had intended to keep the President off-screen. Wisely, however, they went with Martin Sheen's Jed Bartlet, whose eccentric volatility, caution, humour and strength in a crisis make for such an impressively plausible fictional President that polls once expressed a preference for Bartlet over the genuine incumbent. The issues broached in the first series have striking, often prescient contemporary relevance. We see the President having to be talked down from a "disproportionate response" when terrorists shoot down a plane carrying his personal doctor, or acting as broker in a dangerous stand-off between India and Pakistan. Gun control laws, gays in the military, Fundamentalist pressure groups are all addressed--the latter in a most satisfying manner ("Get your fat asses out of the White House!")--while the episode "Take This Sabbath Day" is a superb dramatic meditation on Capital punishment. Handled incorrectly, The West Wing could have been turgid, didactic propaganda for The American Way. However, the writers are careful to show that, decent as this administration is, its achievements, though hard-won, are minimal. Moreover, the brisk, staccato-like, almost musical exchanges of dialogue, between Josh and his PA Donna, for instance, as they pace purposefully up and down the corridors are the show's abiding joy. This is wonderful and addictive viewing.--David Stubbs
All reports confirm that the world is witnessing an unprecedented shower of meteorites - a once in a lifetime spectacle that must be seen. And seen it is by most of the world's population. Bill Masen lies in his hospital bed in frustration with his eyes bandaged. When he finally gets to remove them the following morning he discovers the previous nights' light show has blinded all those who saw it. He is one of the few people to still have their sight. But worse is to come. With the meteorite shower has come the spores of a man-eating alien plant form Triffidus Celestus. The fate of mankind is in the hands of a few in this classic 1962 adaptation of the John Wyndham novel.
In 1908 Arizona a newspaper organises an endurance horse race. The course is 700 miles long and there are few days to complete it. Nine different adventurous entrants have their own reasons for winning but some could be destined never to see the finish line...
Aaron Sorkin's American political drama The West Wing is more than mere feel-good viewing for sentimental US patriots. It is among the best-written, sharpest, funny and moving American TV series of all time. In its first series, The West Wing established the cast of characters who comprise the White House staff. There's Chief of Staff Leo McGarry (John Spencer), a recovering alcoholic whose efforts to be the cornerstone of the administration contribute to the break-up of his marriage. CJ (Alison Janney) is the formidable Press Spokeswoman embroiled in a tentative on-off relationship with Timothy (Thirtysomething) Busfield's reporter. Brilliant but grumpy communications deputy Toby Ziegler, Rob Lowe's brilliant but faintly nerdy Sam Seaborn and brilliant but smart-alecky Josh Lyman makes up the rest of the inner circle. Initially, the series' creators had intended to keep the President off-screen. Wisely, however, they went with Martin Sheen's Jed Bartlet, whose eccentric volatility, caution, humour and strength in a crisis make for such an impressively plausible fictional President that polls once expressed a preference for Bartlet over the genuine incumbent. The second series of The West Wing takes up where the first one left off and, a few moments of slightly toe-curling patriotic sentimentalism apart, maintains the series' astonishingly high standards in depicting the everyday life of the White House staff of a Democratic administration. With Aaron Sorkin's dialogue ranging as ever from dry, staccato mirth to almost biblical gravitas, an ensemble of overworked (and curiously undersexed) characters and an overall depiction of the workings of government that's both gratifyingly idealised yet chasteningly realistic, The West Wing is one of the all-time great American TV dramas. --David Stubbs
It is Christmas in Midsomer. A shot rings out from Draycott House. Nine years later the whole Villiers family come together again. At the police station DCI Barnaby heads home and asks Sgt Scott to contact him if anything happens warning him that: 'Things have a habit of happening around Christmas time.'
Jim Jarmusch's Down by Law is in the same minimalist, oddball, black-and-white groove as his classic of American independent cinema, Stranger than Paradise (1984). The setting is Louisiana, where two losers (musicians Tom Waits and John Lurie) find themselves stuck in a jail cell together. One day they are joined by a boisterous Italian (Roberto Benigni), and the chemistry changes--suddenly an escape attempt is on the horizon. Conventional drama is not Jarmusch's intention; one of the emotional high points of this film is the three guys marching around their prison cell shouting, "I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!" Yet the deadpan style creates its own humorous mood, underscored by melancholy (also underscored by the music of Lurie and the gravel-voiced songs of Waits). This was the first American film for Italian comedian Benigni, (Life is Beautiful), and he lights it up with his effervescent clowning. Jarmusch has said that Down by Law forms a loose trilogy with Stranger than Paradise and the subsequent Mystery Train (1989)--a triptych of disaffected, drifting life in the United States. Few filmmakers have ever surveyed ennui so entertainingly. --Robert Horton, Amazon.com
Jim Jarmusch's Down by Law is in the same minimalist, oddball, black-and-white groove as his classic of American independent cinema, Stranger than Paradise (1984). The setting is Louisiana, where two losers (musicians Tom Waits and John Lurie) find themselves stuck in a jail cell together. One day they are joined by a boisterous Italian (Roberto Benigni), and the chemistry changes--suddenly an escape attempt is on the horizon. Conventional drama is not Jarmusch's intention; one of the emotional high points of this film is the three guys marching around their prison cell shouting, "I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!" Yet the deadpan style creates its own humorous mood, underscored by melancholy (also underscored by the music of Lurie and the gravel-voiced songs of Waits). This was the first American film for Italian comedian Benigni, (Life is Beautiful), and he lights it up with his effervescent clowning. Jarmusch has said that Down by Law forms a loose trilogy with Stranger than Paradise and the subsequent Mystery Train (1989)--a triptych of disaffected, drifting life in the United States. Few filmmakers have ever surveyed ennui so entertainingly. --Robert Horton, Amazon.com
Jim Jarmusch's Down by Law is in the same minimalist, oddball, black-and-white groove as his classic of American independent cinema, Stranger than Paradise (1984). The setting is Louisiana, where two losers (musicians Tom Waits and John Lurie) find themselves stuck in a jail cell together. One day they are joined by a boisterous Italian (Roberto Benigni), and the chemistry changes--suddenly an escape attempt is on the horizon. Conventional drama is not Jarmusch's intention; one of the emotional high points of this film is the three guys marching around their prison cell shouting, "I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!" Yet the deadpan style creates its own humorous mood, underscored by melancholy (also underscored by the music of Lurie and the gravel-voiced songs of Waits). This was the first American film for Italian comedian Benigni, (Life is Beautiful), and he lights it up with his effervescent clowning. Jarmusch has said that Down by Law forms a loose trilogy with Stranger than Paradise and the subsequent Mystery Train (1989)--a triptych of disaffected, drifting life in the United States. Few filmmakers have ever surveyed ennui so entertainingly. --Robert Horton, Amazon.com
Vin Diesel creates a cult icon as Riddick in this epic sci-fi adventure. The new Special Edition DVD comes complete with a range of exclusive extra features.
Sweeney! Hard-bitten Flying Squad officer Jack Regan (Thaw) gets embroiled in a deadly political plot when an old friend asks him to investigate the death of his girlfriend. Framed on a drink-driving charge and suspended from the force with his partner and best mate George Carter (Waterman) unable to help Jack must rely on his wits to evade deadly government hitmen and expose the real villain... Sweeney 2 Regan and Carter head a n investigation into a series of British bank raids by a team of well-armed villains who are flying in from the continent.
First broadcast in 1976 this release features the second half of series 2. It's 1918 the guns are finally silent and the Great War in Europe is over. But at the Bentinck Hotel in London's St James the devastating effects of four years conflict are still plain to see. Home from the front at last Charlie Haslemere is on his last legs and when the inevitable happens Louisa decides on drastic action much to the displeasure of the hotel's staff. Louisa's life must go on and there a
The second series of The West Wing takes up literally where the first series left off and, after a few moments of slightly toe-curling patriotic sentimentalism, maintains the series' astonishingly high standards in depicting the everyday life of the White House staff of a Democratic administration. The two-part opener covers the immediate aftermath of the assassination attempt on President Bartlet (Martin Sheen), switching between the anxious wait on the injured and flashbacks to Bartlet's campaign for the Presidency. Other peaks in a series exceedingly short on troughs include "Noel", the episode in which Alan Arkin's psychiatrist forces Josh Lynam to confront his post-traumatic stress disorder and the concluding episodes in which President Bartlet, having lost his secretary Mrs Landingham in a tragic car accident, rails angrily against God in Latin. Other new features of this series include the introduction of Ainsley Hayes, a young Republican counsel hired after she beats communications deputy Sam Seaborn (Rob Lowe) in a TV debate ("Sam's getting his ass kicked by a girl!" crow his colleagues), as well as the revelation (to us first, then later his staff) that the President has been suffering from multiple sclerosis. Meanwhile, the White House must move heaven and earth to make incremental political gains as well as deal with a host difficulties abroad, demonstrating, some might argue, more compassion, skill and restraint than that exercised by the real-life US administration. With Aaron Sorkin's dialogue ranging as ever from dry, staccato mirth to almost biblical gravitas, an ensemble of overworked (and curiously undersexed) characters and an overall depiction of the workings of government that's both gratifyingly idealised yet chasteningly realistic, The West Wing is one of the all-time great American TV dramas. --David Stubbs
This box set features the entire sixth series of the classic British Television drama Inspector Morse. Episodes comprise: 1. Dead On Time: Morse becomes deeply involved when a Don apparently commits suicide. The man's wife Susan was once engaged to Morse who makes no secret of the fact that he is still in love with her... 2. Happy Families: A wealthy industrialist is murdered yet his family seem uninterested until a second murder occurs... 3. The Death
Johnny English (Dir. Peter Howitt 2003): Bumbling British intelligence officer Johnny English has to step into the breach when all his fellow agents are suddenly bumped off. With the machinations of mysterious millionaire Pascal Sauvage becoming increasingly threatening it's up to Johnny to save the crown jewels and the very fate of the Royal family I-Spy (Dir. Betty Thomas 2002): When the 'Switchblade' the most sophisticated stealth fighter plane ever created is stolen the US government brings in their top spy Alex Scott (Owen Wilson) to track it down. What he doesn't expect is to be teamed up with Kelly Robinson (Eddie Murphy) a cocky boxing champion. The duo's mission is to retrieve the plane from the hands of one of the world's most notorious illegal arms dealers Arnold Gundars (Malcolm McDowell) without getting themselves killed! Tuxedo (Dir. Kevin Donovan 2002): Cabbie-turned-chauffeur Jimmy Tong (Jackie Chan) learns there is really only one rule when you work for playboy millionaire Clark Devlin (Jason Isaacs): never touch Devlin's prized tuxedo. But when Devlin is temporarily put out of commission in an explosive accident Jimmy can't resist trying on the tux and soon discovers that this extraordinary suit may be more black belt than black tie! Suddenly thrust into a dangerous world of espionage paired with a rookie partner (Jennifer Love Hewitt) even less experienced than he is Jimmy becomes an unwitting if impeccably dressed secret agent.
When Danny Fisher (John Cena) stops a thief during a heist, the thief's girlfriend is accidentally killed. But the criminal wants revenge, taunting the cop with 12 rounds of near-impossible tasks that he must complete to save his fiancee's life.
Please wait. Loading...
This site uses cookies.
More details in our privacy policy