Dockers is a landmark one-off drama suspended somewhere between Ken Loach and Alan Bleasdale's Boys from the Blackstuff. A striking Channel Four production Dockers dramatises the infamous struggle that developed when five Merseyside dockworkers were fired for refusing to work overtime with no pay, and gained the support of co-workers who wouldn't cross their picket line. As a result, those who stood in solidarity with the original five were sacked as well--500 in total--leading to a two-year stand-off. Co-written by award-winning screenwriters Jimmy McGovern (Cracker) and Irvine Welsh (Trainspotting), the two-year ordeal is brought home with startling reality, not least because of the contribution of the real-life Liverpool dockers who helped develop the script in extensive writing workshops, lending the film an authenticity it might have otherwise lacked. While the narrative hangs around the moving central story of one family in which both father and son are caught up in the strike, dramatic conflicts develop on multiple levels: between father and son; between the families of the sacked workers (this is particularly well realised as one long-time friend, played by The Royle Family's Ricky Tomlinson, turns scab); and between the workers and the union that betrays them. Ken Stott and Crissy Rock (Ladybird, Ladybird) are outstanding as the central working-class couple, old before their time at 47, and if nothing else, the film reveals one further reason why Liverpool loved Robbie Fowler quite so ferociously: during post-goal celebrations, Fowler lifts his jersey to reveal a T-shirt emblazoned with a message of support for the wronged dockers, ensuring national attention for the action at a time when all hope seemed lost. --Tricia Tuttle
Based on the novels by Bernard Cornwell, Sharpe (1993-7) ran to 14 full-length television films that follow the adventures of the titular soldier through the later years of the Napoleonic Wars. The programmes are an outstanding achievement for the small screen, dominated by Sean Bean's central performance as the heroic, troubled outsider who turns out to be a resourceful and loyal leader. Bolstered by a strong supporting cast, particularly Daragh O'Malley as Harper and (in later episodes) Abigail Cruttenden as Jane, Sharpe is often visually striking, the action tense and gripping. Consistency is maintained by all 14 episodes being directed by Tom Clegg. On the DVD: Sharpe on DVD contains a photo gallery and several screens of background text. The sound is full-bodied stereo while the very "sharp" picture has been transferred slightly letterboxed at 14:9. Though looking much better than the original TV transmissions the occasionally cropped framing makes it apparent the films were shot in 16:9 widescreen, so it is regrettable they have not been transferred to DVD in that format. Otherwise these are first-rate releases. --Gary S Dalkin
Following the success of Karel Reisz's 'Saturday Night and Sunday Morning' Alan Sillitoe adapted another of his works for the screen this time a short story of a disillusioned teenager rebelling against the system to make Tony Richardson's 'The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner' one of the great British films of the 1960s. Newcomer Tom Courtenay is compelling as the sullen defiant Colin refusing to follow his dying father into a factory job railing against the capitalist bosses and preferring to make a living from petty thieving. Arrested for burglary and sent to borstal Colin discovers a talent for cross-country running earning him special treatment from the governor (Michael Redgrave) and the chance to redeem himself from anti-social tearaway to sports day hero. With Colin a favourite to win against a local public school tensions build as the day approaches...
A family moves into a mansion to act as caretakers but when a malevolent force abducts their daughter they discover why the house deserves its reputation as one of the most haunted places in America.
NCIS: Season 1 - 6 Box Set (38 Discs)
Violent action and an even more bloody finale is the result of conflicts between rival gangs and mismatched cops. Winner of many awards including 'Best Film' 'Best Director' (Gordon Chan) 'Best Actor' (Anthony Wong) and 'Best Screenplay'.
Four convicts volunteer for a salvage space mission which turns into a nightmare when the crew begin disappearing.
The controversy that surrounded Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of Anthony Burgess's dystopian novel A Clockwork Orange while the film was out of circulation suggested that it was like Romper Stomper: a glamorisation of the violent, virile lifestyle of its teenage protagonist, with a hypocritical gloss of condemnation to mask delight in rape and ultra-violence. Actually, it is as fable-like and abstract as The Pilgrim's Progress, with characters deliberately played as goonish sitcom creations. The anarchic rampage of Alex (Malcolm McDowell), a bowler-hatted juvenile delinquent of the future, is all over at the end of the first act. Apprehended by equally brutal authorities, he changes from defiant thug to cringing bootlicker, volunteering for a behaviourist experiment that removes his capacity to do evil.It's all stylised: from Burgess' invented pidgin Russian (snarled unforgettably by McDowell) to 2001-style slow tracks through sculpturally perfect sets (as with many Kubrick movies, the story could be told through decor alone) and exaggerated, grotesque performances on a par with those of Dr Strangelove (especially from Patrick Magee and Aubrey Morris). Made in 1971, based on a novel from 1962, A Clockwork Orange resonates across the years. Its future is now quaint, with Magee pecking out "subversive literature" on a giant IBM typewriter and "lovely, lovely Ludwig Van" on mini-cassette tapes. However, the world of "Municipal Flat Block 18A, Linear North" is very much with us: a housing estate where classical murals are obscenely vandalised, passers-by are rare and yobs loll about with nothing better to do than hurt people. On the DVD: The extras are skimpy, with just an impressionist trailer in the style of the film used to brainwash Alex and a list of awards for which Clockwork Orange was nominated and awarded. The box promises soundtracks in English, French and Italian and subtitles in ten languages, but the disc just has two English soundtracks (mono and Dolby Surround 5.1) and two sets of English subtitles. The terrific-looking "digitally restored and remastered" print is letterboxed at 1.66:1 and on a widescreen TV plays best at 14:9. The film looks as good as it ever has, with rich stable colours (especially and appropriately the orangey-red of the credits and the blood) and a clarity that highlights previously unnoticed details such as Alex's gouged eyeball cufflinks and enables you to read the newspaper articles which flash by. The 5.1 soundtrack option is amazingly rich, benefiting the nuances of performance as much as the classical/electronic music score and the subtly unsettling sound effects. --Kim Newman
This lavish two-hour concert special, originally produced for HBO, offers ample proof of Janet Jackson's fierce ambitions. Whitney, Celine and Mariah can run circles around her small, sweet voice, but Janet brings a tough, muscular power to her live performances that none of those peers can approach, storming through myriad set and costume changes, and sustaining an aerobic pace through elaborate dance routines. As captured during this Madison Square Garden presentation of her Velvet Rope tour, Janet Jackson is, ahem, very buff indeed, not just in her well-toned physical health, but in her vocal attack.The Velvet Rope tosses up rappers, hard-rock heroism, melting romantic pop and Jackson's own brand of soft-core erotica, but the show transcends those components in its broad sense of spectacle. The star fronts a formidable battalion of dancers, singers and musicians to make her points, and while it's obvious that the musical performances have been nipped, tucked and polished to an acceptable sheen, Janet earns her props through sheer willpower.Ranging across Jackson's best-known songs from the last decade, the production is noteworthy for its intricate choreography and massive settings, in which the star seeks to match the big-budget sweep of her music videos. The live troupe is formidable, composed of a crack band and a large cast of nimble dancers, and Janet keeps pace with her aerobic presence. We'll leave it to social scientists to ponder the significance of the "Rope Burn" sequence, in which an ecstatic male fan is lashed to a chair and gets to watch his favourite sex object pole-dance. If this stalwart is any indication, Janet has already won the hearts (and more) of her faithful. --Sam Sutherland, Amazon.com
A story that follows a New York woman (who doesn't really have an apartment), apprentices for a dance company (though she's not really a dancer), and throws herself headlong into her dreams, even as their possible reality dwindles.
It's a day he'll never forget. Until tomorrow! A private detective discovers that his amnesia leaves him with no memory of the previous day. As a key prosecution witness in a trial this proves frustrating for the prosecuting attorney...
A young Fiona Fullerton heads an all-star British cast in this double BAFTA-winning musical comedy; widely regarded as the most lavish and faithful adaptations of Lewis Carroll's classic fantasy novel. Filmed to mark the centenary of the completion of the Alice novels this extravagant British spectacle which brings to life Sir Tenniel's famous illustrations with a bewitching score from James Bond composer John Barry and BAFTA-winning cinematography by Geoffrey unsworth (2001: A Sp
A 1950's gripping drama produced by the Rank Film Studios and starring Michael Craig, Betta St John, Patrick McGoohan and directed by Philip Leacock. Returning home to the rugged island off the coast of Nova Scotia, Joanne MacKenzie (Betta St John), is reunited with her family, the local landowners. Initially the lobster fishing industry which dominates the local economy is prosperous and Joanne spends her time looking for a suitable husband. There is no shortage of suitors and Joanna finally marries Alec Douglas (William Sylvester) but quickly discovers that he is a gambler who squanders their savings. Life gets hard for the remaining islanders when the fishing season fails and the island is left deserted but will Joanne eventually finally find happiness? Phillip Leacock was nominated for a Palme d'Or award at the Cannes film festival of 1957 for his work as Director of this film.
In his travels Caine (Carradine) meets an old man who has several surprises for him. The first being the destruction of the Shaolin order the second being that the man is the father of the Emperor's nephew whom he killed in China and the third is that he seeks his revenge using the son Caine never knew he had sired as the instrument of his death! It will take all of Caine's skill and wisdom to find a solution to this deadly predicament...
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 justice. Fe
As the successor to a martyred president Lyndon B. Johnson sought to transform America into a 'Great Society' of equal opportunity. Instead he became the symbol for the most unpopular war in U.S. history. Michael Gambon (as President Johnson) Donald Sutherland (as Clark Gifford) and Alec Baldwin (as Robert McNamara) star in a compelling drama of soaring ambition and shattered dreams set inside the LBJ White House in the volatile years leading up to and during Vietnam. This HBO production was decorated director John Frankenheimer's final film.
"The Damned United" centres around controversial football manager Brian Clough, set in 1974 but flashing back to the 1960s, about the famed manager's ill-fated 44-day reign as coach of Leeds United, then one of the country's most successful teams.
After a mysterious lost night on their honeymoon a newlywed couple finds themselves dealing with an earlier-than-planned pregnancy. While recording everything for posterity the husband begins to notice odd behaviour in his wife that they initially write off to nerves but as the months pass it becomes evident that the dark changes to her body and mind have a much more sinister origin.
Roseanne appears the perfect teenager; she dates the high-school heartthrob and lives in a beautiful home. But when her mother suddenly leaves her stepfather for a barman half her age her world turns upside down. Life is unbearable with her now alcoholic and abusive stepfather. Classmates begin to point and whisper while the only person who appears unchanged is Vincent a loner who has always been obsessed with her...
Victory in the Final Battle between the Gold Ninja and the Overlord has ushered in a new era of peace and begun a technological renaissance. Time has passed and the Ninja have become obsolete in this new hi-tech world. Just when they think all is safe in Ninjago, they're called back into action when the reclusive inventor Cyrus Borg warns them the Overlord has survived as a digital virus and is trapped within the Digiverse. The Ninja will learn the Overlord seeks to steal Lloyd's golden power to enable him to escape his digital prison and reign as the great prophesized destructor, The Golden MasterĀ. And to aid his villainous plot, he's created a new technological menace more powerful than any foe the Ninja have ever faced Nindroids.
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