It’s New Year’s Eve at The Charelston, a run-down club in Liverpool owned by the local gangland boss. The new manager has arrives and soon discovers his out of favour predecessor has booked a band that can’t play, a magician with a dead rabbit and two parties of rowdy OAPs. On one coach arrives a devout catholic social club in fancy dress for a non-existent prize, among them a drunker blind ex-boxer, on the other an equally boisterous protestant revellers. When they get together mayhem ensues.
Set around a London bus depot, On the Buses starred Reg Varney as Stan, an ageing bachelor and driver of the No.11 bus who still lives with his Mum (Cicely Courtneidge), his plain sister Olive (Anna Karen) and disgruntled brother-in-law Arthur (Michael Robbins). At work, he fraternises with the laddish and lecherous Jack (Bob Grant), with whom he pursues innumerable (and improbable) giggly, mini-skirted "clippies" (conductors) and cheeks the beady-eyed and punctilious bus inspector, Blakey (Steven Lewis) This first series was broadcast in black and white in 1969. Much of the comedy derives from gender role reversal--Stan and Arthur forced to do the household chores when Olive and Mum fall ill ("Family Flu"); "The Canteen", in which the busmen decide to run the canteen themselves; or "The Darts Match", in which Stan and Jack are bested at darts by--imagine--a pair of dollybird clippies. Despite its immense popularity, On the Buses hasn't dated well. Like the buses themselves, the jokes don't arrive very often and when they do, they're visible a long way off. The studio audience whoops cathartically at anything remotely alluding to sex, making you wonder at the repressed nature of British society in 1969. In later decades it would come to be treasured as somewhat creaky kitsch by audiences nostalgic for an age of politically incorrect innocence. On the DVD: On the Buses has no extra features here. The original black and white versions have scrubbed up reasonably well, although defects such as fading sound and poor dubbing have proven beyond amendment.--David Stubbs
Set around a London bus depot, On the Buses starred Reg Varney as Stan, an ageing bachelor and driver of the No.11 bus who still lives with his Mum (Doris Hare), his plain sister Olive (Anna Karen) and disgruntled brother-in-law Arthur (Michael Robbins). At work, he fraternises with the laddish and lecherous Jack (Bob Grant), with whom he pursues innumerable (and improbable) giggly, mini-skirted "clippies" (conductors) and cheeks the beady-eyed and punctilious bus inspector, Blakey (Steven Lewis) Despite its immense popularity, On the Buses hasn't dated well. Like the buses themselves, the jokes don't arrive very often and when they do, they're visible a long way off. The studio audience whoops cathartically at anything remotely alluding to sex--even a bared male nipple--making you wonder at the repressed nature of British society in 1969. In later decades it would come to be treasured as somewhat creaky kitsch by audiences nostalgic for an age of politically incorrect innocence. On the DVD: On the Buses has no extra features here. The original black and white versions have scrubbed up reasonably well, although defects such as fading sound and poor dubbing have proven beyond amendment. --David Stubbs
THE LUCKY ONES DIED FIRST... Horror master Wes Craven achieved critical and commercial success with the likes of Scream and A Nightmare on Elm Street but for many genre fans, the director s seminal 1977 effort The Hills Have Eyes remains his masterpiece. Taking a detour whilst on route to Los Angeles, the Carter family run into trouble when their campervan breaks down in the middle of the desert. Stranded, the family find themselves at the mercy of a group of monstrous cannibals lurking in the surrounding hills. With their lives under threat, the Carters are forced to fight back by any means necessary. As gruelling a viewing experience today as it was upon initial release, The Hills Have Eyes stands alongside the likes of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and Night of the Living Dead as one of the defining moments in American horror cinema.
Adapted from the critically acclaimed off-Broadway rock theatre hit, Hedwig and The Angry Inch tells the story of an "internationally ignored" rock singer, Hedwig, and her search for stardom and love.
Best known for its life-affirming lessons and heartwarming adventures. Little House On The Prairie made its TV debut in 1974 and significantly altered the landscape of television. Loyal fans will relive these exciting and touching adventures while new viewers will discover the Ingalls' unconquerable courage to build a new way of life. The series nominated for 17 Emmy Awards and 3 Golden Globes has become a TV milestone
A big Oscar winner in 1975, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest still holds up remarkably well. Ken Kesey's novel, an allegory of repression and rebellion set in a mental hospital in the early 1960s, is cannily adapted by Czech director Milos Forman into a comedy drama with a cool, unassuming, near-documentary look. Jack Nicholson has his most jacknicholsonian role as Randle P McMurphy, a livewire troublemaker who unwisely cons his way out of prison and into a mental institution without realising he has switched from serving a sentence with a release date to being committed until adjudged sane by the same people he is winding up on a daily basis. Louise Fletcher, in a career-defining turn, is Nurse Ratched, the soft-spoken sadist who represents the worst type of matronly authoritarianism and clashes with Randle all down the line. Taking another look at the picture after all these years, it's a surprise that all the unknown actors who seemed like real mental patients have graduated to becoming prolific character actor stars: Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd, Vincent Schiavelli, Brad Dourif, the late Will Sampson, Sidney Lassick, Michael Berryman. Unlike many Best Picture Oscar winners, this deals with profound subject matter without seeming self-important: Forman's approach and all-round great acting make it play as a small character story as well as a Big Statement about the human condition. Full marks also for Jack Nitzsche's musical saw-based score. On the DVD: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest comes to DVD in a two-disc special edition with a great-looking anamorphic 1.85:1 print and 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack, plus tracks in French and Italian and optional subtitles in half a dozen languages. Disc 2 has the trailer, about 13 minutes of deleted scenes (mostly from the first third of the film, and all pretty good) and a making-of retrospective documentary with interesting material from producers Michael Douglas (who inherited the rights from Kirk) and Saul Zaentz, Forman, screenwriter Bo Goldman and many cast-members (though not Nicholson). There's also a commentary track by Forman, Douglas and others which repeats a few things from the documentary but also goes into more scene-specific detail about the development and shooting. --Kim Newman
The TerminatorThe Terminator was the film that cemented Arnold Schwarzenegger's place in the action-brawn firmament, and both his and the movie's subsequent iconic status are well deserved. He's chilling as the futuristic cyborg that kills without fear, without love, without mercy. James Cameron's story and direction are pared to the bone and are all the more chillingly effective for it. But don't overlook the contribution of Linda Hamilton, who more than holds her own as the Terminator's would-be victim, Sarah Connor, thus creating--along with Sigourney Weaver in Alien--a new generation of rugged, clear-thinking female action stars. The film's minimalist, malevolent violence is actually scarier than that of its far more expensive, more effects-laden sequel. --Anne Hurley, Amazon.comTerminator 2: Judgment DayArguably the finest movie of its kind, Terminator 2: Judgment Day captured Arnold Schwarzenegger at the very apex of his Hollywood celebrity and James Cameron at the peak of his perfectionist directorial powers. Nothing the star did subsequently measured up to his iconic performance here, spouting legendary catchphrases and wielding weaponry with unparalleled cool; and while the director had an even bigger hit with the bloated and sentimental Titanic, few followers of his career would deny that Cameron's true forte has always been sci-fi action. With an incomparably bigger budget than its 1984 precursor, T2 essentially reworks the original scenario with envelope-stretching special effects and simply more, more, more of everything. Yet, for all its scale, T2 remains at heart a classic sci-fi tale: robots running amok, time travel paradoxes and dystopian future worlds are recurrent genre themes, which are here simply revitalised by Cameron's glorious celebration of the mechanistic. From the V-twin roar of a Harley Fat Boy to the metal-crunching Steel Mill finale, the director's fascination with machines is this movie's strongest motif: it's no coincidence that the character with whom the audience identifies most strongly is a robot. Now that impressive but unengaging CGI effects have come to over-dominate sci-fi movies (think of The Phantom Menace), T2's pivotal blending of extraordinary live-action stuntwork and FX looks more and more like it will never be equalled. --Mark WalkerTerminator 3: Rise of the MachinesTerminator 3: Rise of the Machines starts in high gear and never slows down. The apocalyptic "Judgment Day" of Terminator 2 was never prevented, only postponed: John Connor (Nick Stahl, replacing T2's Edward Furlong), now 22 and disconnected from society, is being pursued yet again, this time by the advanced T-X, a sleek "Terminatrix" (coldly expressionless Kristanna Loken) programmed to stop Connor from becoming the saviour of humankind. Originally programmed as an assassin, a disadvantaged T-101 cyborg (Arnold Schwarzenegger, bidding fond farewell to his signature role) arrives from the future to join Connor and future wife Kate (Claire Danes) in thwarting the T-X's relentless pursuit. The plot presents a logical fulfilment of T2's prophecy, disposing of Connor's mother (Linda Hamilton is sorely missed) while computer-driven machines assume control, launching a nuclear nightmare that Connor must survive. With Breakdown and U-571 serving as rehearsals for this cautionary epic of mass destruction, director Jonathan Mostow wisely avoids any stylistic connection to James Cameron's classics; instead he's crafted a fun, exciting popcorn thriller, humorous and yet still effectively nihilistic, and comparable to Jurassic Park III in returning the Terminator franchise to its potent B-movie roots. --Jeff Shannon Terminator Salvation SynopsisSet in the post-apocalyptic 2018, with Christian Bale starring as John Connor, the man fated to lead the human resistance against Skynet and its army of Terminators. But the future Connor was raised to believe in is altered in part by the appearance of Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), a stranger whose last memory is of being on death row. Connor must decide whether Marcus has been sent from the future, or rescued from the past. As Skynet prepares its final onslaught, Connor and Marcus both embark on an odyssey that takes them into the heart of Skynets operations, where they uncover the terrible secret behind the possible annihilation of mankind.
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24 hours in L.A.; it's raining cats and dogs. Two parallel and intercut stories dramatize a man about to die: both men are estranged from a grown child, both want to make contact, and neither child wants anything to do with dad.
Although the second season of Star Trek: The Next Generation (1988-9) was curtailed by a writers strike, its 22 episodes nevertheless saw some refreshing new developments. Tasha Yar was gone, giving Worf more room to flex his muscles as Chief Security Officer; Geordi was promoted to Head of Engineering; Whoopi Goldbergs mysterious Guinan presided benevolently over the crews rest area, Ten Forward; Dr. Crusher was replaced by the far more acerbic McCoy-like Dr. Pulaski; and mischievous super-entity Q returned to introduce Picard and the Enterprise crew to their greatest nemesis, The Borg. By the end of a transitional season the show had settled down enough to be acknowledged by all as a worthy successor to the 1960s original. On the DVD: Star Trek: The Next Generation, Season 2 comes packaged exactly like Season 1 in a solid metallic-style plastic outer case with a fold-out cardboard inner, although because of the fewer episodes this time there are only six discs not seven. Sound throughout is vivid Dolby Digital 5.1, with a full frame (1.33:1) picture that occasionally shows its age. Once again the menus neatly imitate the Enterprises own computer interfaces. Disc 6 contains the extra features: the "Mission Overview--Year 2" introduces the new characters and has producer Rick Berman revealing "We were all filled with piss and vinegar" at the success of the show; the "Selected Crew Analysis" continues the same thread interviewing Patrick Stewart, Levar Burton, Jonathan Frakes, Marina Sirtis and Diana Muldaur; the "Departmental Briefing" gives some background on special effects, writing, costumes, props and music; "Memorable Missions" highlights specific episodes and guest stars; finally, and best of all, is "Inside Starfleet Archives", a guided tour with Penny Juday around Paramounts warehouses stuffed full of Star Trek props and memorabilia.--Mark Walker
Every college in the country wants Johnny. 'Cause when he's good he's very very good. And when he's bad he's better. It's an avalanche of wine women and cash kickbacks when two of the biggest college football factories in the country scramble to get Johnny Walker on their rosters. They'd give anything for an arm like Johnny's. And they're willing to offer anybody to see that they get him. Moving from lusty limousine rides to all-night strip joints Johnny (Anthony Michael Hall The
Three blokes. Two minutes. One robbery. Included is the comic strip drama ""Two Minutes"" one of the first programs in which the comedian starred alongside Matthew Dunster and Pearce Quiggley. Their hilarious adventure starts when they attempt to rob the local pub for the evening's takings but with Peter Kay playing the getaway driver the usual comedy ensues. This footage has never been seen before. Also on the DVD are bonus features including footage of episodes of ""Corona
You want an alien world created anew, with wonders and horrors lurking in its furrows? You go to Ridley Scott, of course, spectacle maker and pictorialist par excellence. So Prometheus is bound to be eye filling, with fully wrought planetary vistas and occasionally jaw-dropping visual coups. And did we use the word alien back there? Yes, folks, Prometheus is a prequel, in a sideways sort of fashion, to Scott's 1979 Alien original--or at least it's a long-distant stage setter for that story. This one begins with a space mission that could reveal the extraterrestrial roots of Earth, although what's buried out on the planet turns out to be much more complicated than expected. In the midst of suspenseful episodes (and a few contrived plot turns), Prometheus reaches for Big Answers to Big Questions, in a grand old sci-fi tradition. This lends the movie a hint of metaphysical energy, even if Scott's reach extends well, well beyond his grasp. The hokier moments are carried off with brio by Michael Fassbender (the robot on board), Charlize Theron, and Idris Elba, and then you've got Noomi Rapace entering the badass hall of fame for a long, oh-no-they-didn't sequence involving radical surgery, which might just induce the vapours in a few viewers. Even if Prometheus has its holes, the sheer size of the thing is exciting to be around. Because this movie is gigantic. --Robert Horton.
Nowadays, the word "event" is thrown around all too often when describing television programmes, but back in 1983 the debut of V: The Mini Series was a television event in the truest sense. The appearance of gigantic flying saucers over the world's largest cities heralds the arrival of aliens from a distant galaxy who look human and act benevolently. Of course, things aren't exactly what they seem, and when some suspicious humans start to question the visitors' intentions they uncover a vast alien conspiracy, along with some unusual culinary habits. Soon, the visitors have enslaved the Earth under their fascist rule, and small groups of human rebels are forced underground to fight for the freedom of their entire species. But with the future of the planet still in question the epic story comes to an abrupt end, forcing the viewer to wait for the resolution in V: The Final Battle and the on-going series. That's not to say that the original V isn't worth the price of admission: in over three hours, it manages to capture the spirit of the great classic science fiction of the 1950s and 60s. The feeling of paranoia and insecurity that runs throughout the whole thing makes it feel, at times, like an expanded episode of The Twilight Zone, only shinier (hey, it was the 1980s). The special effects were impressive for their day, inspiring similarly themed films in the 90s (the gigantic flying saucers were seen again in Independence Day, and the storage area of the mothership turns up in The X Files Movie and The Matrix). What does irritate, however, is the utter lack of subtlety in the allegorical storyline. In fact, it could only have been made more obvious by demanding that the entire cast wear "This is how it was in 1930s' Germany" t-shirts. But if V occasionally doesn't live up to its own high standards, it's still a remarkably high-quality slice of epic television drama. On the DVD: The picture is an impressive widescreen 1.85:1 ratio and the soundtrack is adequate Dolby stereo. The DVD boasts a feature-length commentary by writer and director Kenneth Johnson, as well as a 25-minute "Behind the Scenes" documentary. --Robert Burrow
This highly regarded crime series stars John Woodvine as Detective Chief Superintendent Kingdom of the Central Office of the CID, and John Carlisle as his colleague DI Ward. An intelligent, authentic portrayal of the complexities of police work in the increasingly violent London of the 1970s, New Scotland Yard benefited from the involvement of ex-Chief Superintendent Frank Williams, former head of the Yard's Murder Squad, who acted as series adviser. This third series sees the workaholic King...
Oscar-winning director Ron Howard brings to the screen writer Peter Morgan's electrifying battle between Richard Nixon, the disgraced president with a legacy to save, and David Frost, a jet-setting television personality with a name to make.
PART HUMAN. PART ALIEN. PURE SUPERPOWER. Mark Hamill (Star Wars) and the team behind horror classic Re-animator join forces for this electrifying live-action adaptation of Yoshiki Takaya's celebrated manga series! Having been smuggled out of the mysterious Chronos Corporation by one of its researchers, a bio-weapon known as the Guyver unit which transforms its holder into a lethal super-being ends up in the hands of Sean, a young martial arts student. Sean soon finds himself in the sights of the Chronos Corporation and its mutant henchmen, who'll stop at nothing to retrieve the weapon. Produced by Brian Yuzna (Society, Bride of Re-animator) and co-directed by special-effects masters Screaming Mad George and Steve Wang, The Guyver is an FX-laden extravaganza featuring a plethora of familiar genre faces such as Michael Berryman (The Hills Have Eyes) and David Gale (Re-animator). SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS ¢ Brand new digital transfer of the Director's Cut ¢ High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD presentations ¢ Original uncompressed audio ¢ Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing ¢ Brand new interview with producer Brian Yuzna ¢ Trailer ¢ Image Gallery ¢ Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Nick Percival
Legendary filmmaker Ridley Scott and Pulitzer Prize winning author Cormac McCarthy (No Country for Old Men) have joined forces in The Counsellor starring Michael Fassbender Penélope Cruz Cameron Diaz Javier Bardem and Brad Pitt. McCarthy - making his screenwriting debut - and Scott interweave the author's characteristic wit and dark humour with a nightmarish scenario in which a respected lawyer's one-time dalliance with an illegal business deal spirals out of control.
""Space... The final frontier... These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. Its continuing mission: To explore strange new worlds... To seek out new life; new civilisations... To boldly go where no one has gone before!"" - Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) The complete third season of Star Trek: The Next Generation one of the finest sci-fi shows of all-time. Episodes Comprise: 1. Evolution 2. The Ensigns Of Command 3. The Survivors 4. Who Watches The
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