Who Dares Wins starring Lewis Collins Edward Woodward and Richard Widmark is an uncompromising and exciting action thriller which dramatises the activities of the SAS. When a British government undercover agent is assassinated a radical anti-nuclear group is held responsible. SAS agent Skellen is called upon to infiltrate the group and put an end to their terrorist activities. However the group raids the American embassy and Skellen from within the residence must use his skill and courage to support and guide his SAS colleagues. It will require the full force of the world's most lethal fighting unit to save the lives of several high-ranking hostages...
The Lakes brought writer Jimmy McGovern and actor John Simm a great deal of critical praise in 1997. Following a particularly dry period for British TV drama, the show's realistic characterisations and their painfully honest decisions hit audiences hard. Simm is a twentysomething trapped in a life of compulsive gambling, theft and being on the dole in Liverpool. On a whim he heads north to the Lake District. He expects to find the countryside quietude where his hidden poetical leanings might find a home, but instead gets caught up in a community like any other. Lies, temptation and tragedy beset every household just as much as the big city. The focus of Series 1 is Danny's relationship with Emma (Emma Cunniffe) and the consequences of having a child. As time races by, his link to the Lakes becomes an exercise in torment when the eyes of blame fall easily upon him after the accidental deaths of four schoolgirls. Stoking the flames of a series of secondary explosions in waiting are a pair of affairs, one adulterous, the other complicated by religion. In the far longer sequel series that came two years later, these back-stories would come to the fore. Although exploring Danny's tortured soul might have been the obvious continuation, instead an almost Hitchcockian murder scenario occupies far more screen time. But by stretching things out, this second series does not have the same self-contained impact of the original. Additional writers only served to drag out Danny's boy-to-man journey. Ultimately, lessons are learned, including the realistic conclusion that life is without a poetical status quo. Despite the tail-off in overall quality, you'd be hard pressed to identify a better British drama in the years since. On the DVD: The Lakes complete series 1 and 2 box set comes with two separate commentary tracks for the very first episode. In interviews, John Simm fondly recalls how cold the lake water was and director David Blair recalls putting him in it. It's a shame the two weren't recorded together. It's also a shame that's all there is in this package. Even a few cast biographies would have been welcome. Picture is 4:3 and stereo sound is as you'd expect from 1990s UK TV. --Paul Tonks
This box set features the entire third series of the classic British Television drama Inspector Morse. Episodes comprise: 1. The Ghost In The Machine: Valuable erotic paintings are stolen from the stately home of Lord Hanbury and his disappearance is soon investigated by Morse... 2. The Last Enemy: A body is found in the canal and the only clue to its identity points to a connection with one of the Oxford colleges. When Morse discovers that intense riva
Chronicling the fortunes of four generations of a London theatrical family through the 1920s and '30s, The Bretts ran for two memorably successful series during the late 1980s. An Upstairs Downstairs of the theatrical set, it stars Norman Rodway as the effusive, charismatic Charles Brett and Barbara Murray as his strong-willed wife Lydia. With scripts from veteran screenwriters Rosemary Ann Sisson, Bill Craig, Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran, this set features both acclaimed series.It's 1927, and thespians Charles and Lydia Brett are at the peak of their careers. Intending to capitalise on their success by acquiring their own theatre, will this bid for creative freedom ensure their family's theatrical legacy?
First screened in 1982 this timeless story of an ageing king who decides to divide his kingdom between his three daughters stars Michael Hordern as Lear with Brenda Blethyn as Cordelia Giliam Barge as Goneril Penelope Wilton as Regan Michael Kitchen as Edmund and Anton Lesser as Edgar....
All six volumes of adventures starring Sam Neill as the British master spy.
For his part in a failed bank robbery Frank Ross has served years in prison. Now he's out and looking for the cuplrit responsible for his incarceration...
Mother Night is the third movie from director Keith Gordon (The Chocolate War, A Midnight Clear). The 35-year-old director who started as an actor (Christine) has turned into one of the more assured directors working today. His films are ambitious in plot and tone. With Mother Night he works with his first major star, Nick Nolte. In 1961, the fictitious Howard W Campbell Jr., an American by birth, shares the same deserted prison with Adolph Eichmann. As he prepares to stand trial for war crimes, the former playwright scribes his memoirs. Now this is the same Howard W. Campbell Jr. who was a notorious voice on German radio during the war, tearing into American policy and spreading Nazi propaganda. Was he a wilful participant or an American spy? Campbell, who romanticises at the drop of a hat, tells his story of indifference, morality, and love. His days of notoriety in Berlin give way to anonymity back in the States. He purrs about his true love (Sheryl Lee) and tells truths with his shrewd neighbour in New York (Alan Arkin). The movie is based on Kurt Vonnegut's 1961 novel of the same name. Gordon and screenwriter Robert E. Weide have an uncommon insight into Vonnegut's material: the mesh of fact and fiction, the sweeping themes, the tragic goofiness. The movie is perfectly suited to Nolte's gruff style with a husky voice that pierces the night. The film is a cherished companion piece to Slaughterhouse Five. --Doug Thomas
In an uncanny piece of art imitating life, Who Dares Wins came out in 1982 just after the infamous storming of the Iranian Embassy by the legendary British Special Air Services (SAS) unit. The plot builds up to that unshakeable image of black-clad troops abseiling the front of a stately home and smashing through the windows, and pays off expectations with a thrilling finale. Anyone expecting two hours of military instruction will be disappointed however. After the opening 10 minutes with the troops, the almost James-Bond-like story follows Lewis Collins (riding high in those days after TV's The Professionals) as he infiltrates a radical anti-Nuclear society. Operation: Destroy requires him to go undercover with their potentially insane leader Frankie (Judy Davis), ignoring his wife and child. The period detail is often the film's most entertaining feature as Collins tours across 1980s London constantly eluding spies on his tail. Apart from the endless permed hairdos and the fact that the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament hasn't got much to demonstrate about these days, there's the fashions and low-tech gadgetry to enjoy. In the US the film was called The Final Option. The DVD includes a photo gallery, and a history of the SAS. --Paul Tonks
Charles and Lydia Brett have been reigning stars of the London stage since the 1880s and by now -- the 1920s -- they are very nearly English royalty moving comfortably in the most rarified social circles. This miniseries created by playwright Rosemary Ann Sisson explores life in London and the theatre via the incandescence of the charismatic Brett family.
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