Betty Thomas directs and Eddie Murphy stars in Doctor Dolittle, the 1998 hit film which, while ostensibly aimed at children, has a high quotient of hip and even mildly gross humour. Murphy stars as John Dolittle, whom we see as a child talking to a neighbourhood dog who explains that the reason mutts sniff each others' butts is to assess their characters when first meeting them. Little John promptly tries this out on being introduced to his school principal. Warned off such social eccentricity, Dolittle stops talking to animals and as an adult becomes a respectable doctor running his own medical practice--until a bump on the head revives his capacity to understand animals, whereupon mayhem, mortification and a menagerie of needy and freeloading creatures are heaped upon his ordered existence. Murphy plays it relatively straight. It's the animals, some of them vividly enhanced by Jim Henson's animating team, who provide the real laughs here, and a thoroughly worldly, wisecracking bunch of characters they prove to be. There's a couple of hard-boiled, squabbling rats, a pigeon who complains of impotence, Rocky the guinea pig (voiced by Chris Rock) with a neat line in hip backchat, while Albert Brooks voices the gruff, melancholy tiger whose life Dolittle must try to save. A sweet but by no means saccharine comedy. On the DVD: The DVD edition features scene selection and a trailer. --David Stubbs
The brutality of modern society is fast encroaching on the picturesque seaside town of Weymouth. American tourist Simon Wells (Macdonald Carey) is looking for a relaxing holiday but he is mugged by the psychopathic King (Oliver Reed) and his gang of thugs. Wells escapes with Kings sister, Joanie (Shirley Anne Field), and they stumble upon a sinister establishment where nine ice-cold children are being subjected to a horrifying experiment. The shadowy authorities control of the base will stop at nothing to safeguard their secret, but it is the mysterious children who will doom them all... Special Features: Photo Gallery 24-page illustrated booklet This Official UK DVD is Region 2,4,5
If you've ever wanted to hear Jack Nicholson sing or marvel at the sight of Ann-Margret drunkenly cavorting in a cascade of baked beans, Tommy is the movie you've been waiting for. The Who's brilliant rock opera is sublimely matched by director Ken Russell's penchant for cinematic excess during the peak of his filmmaking audacity. Tommy revolves around the 'deaf, dumb, and blind kid' (Roger Daltrey) who survives the childhood trauma that stole his senses to become a Pinball Wizard in Pete Townshend's grandiose attack on the hypocrisy of organised religion. Tommy's odyssey is rendered through wall-to-wall music, from the bloodstream shock of Tina Turner to Elton John's towering rendition of 'Pinball Wizard' and Daltrey's epiphanous rendition of 'I'm Free'. Other star performers include Eric Clapton and the Who's drummer Keith Moon in this classic of creative rock cinema.
Three activists cobble together a kidnapping plot after they encounter a businessman in his home.
TBC
A St. Bernard puppy 'adopts' a new home after escaping from dog thieves. The Newton family just haven't realised the trouble that 185 pounds of dog can get into...
Having mistakenly been sent as an apprentice to pirates young Frederic is happy to leave his indentures on his 21st birthday. Falling in love with the beautiful Mabel one of the many daughters of Major-General Stanley he decides to marry. However the pirates are all to keen to marry the rest of Stanley's daughters! A spectacular interpretation of the Gilbert and Sullivan classic!
High flying, PR exec. Agatha Raisin has decided to leave the rat race and retire prematurely to the sleepy village of Carsely in the Cotswolds. Desperate to make friends and fit in Agatha enters the village's quiche-making competition and to be sure of a win sneaks a trip to buy her quiche from a London deli. When the judge is found dead after eating the offending quiche she is exposed as a cheat and the prime suspect in a murder investigation. In order to clear her name, Agatha turns amateur sleuth to find the real murderer and salvage the life she has dreamed of. Outspoken, opinionated and never afraid to speak her mind, she harnesses all the skills at her fingertips and, with the help of her cleaner Rosie and her best friend Roy, unearths a fair few secrets along the way.
PROBLEM CHILD- Ben Healy (John Ritter) and his social climbing wife Flo adopt Junior a fun-loving seven year old. But they soon discover he's a little monster as he turns a camping trip, a birthday party and even a baseball game into comic nightmares. PROBELM CHILD 2- Junior the monster is now back as him and Ben, his adoptive father, move to Mortville, 'the world's capital of divorce'. There, Ben falls in love with a beautiful but mean-minded rich woman, Lawanda Dumore, who wants to marry him and eliminate Junior. PROBLEM CHILD 3- That little devil Junior is back once more and he's just as naughty as ever! In this, the third edition in the hilarious Problem Child series, Junior is persuaded to join in with other children in various fun activities - including dancing.
Even by the standards of a genre not characterised by restraint, the 1974 rock opera Tommy is endearingly barmy, a bizarre combination of Pete Townshend's disturbed inspiration and director Ken Russell's wildly eccentric vision. Even if you gamely try and read allegorical meaning into it, the story is frankly odd: a child becomes psychosomatically deaf, dumb and blind after witnessing the murder of his father by his stepdad and goes on to become rich and famous as the world pinball champion (since when was pinball a world-class competitor sport?), before setting himself up as a latter-day messiah. It's about the travails of the post-war generation, the disaffection of youth, the trauma of childhood abuse, the sham nature of new-age cults, and many other things besides. At least, that's what Townshend and Russell would have you believe. But what's really important is the many wonderful, utterly bonkers set-pieces--effectively a string of pop videos--that occur along the way, performed by great guest stars: Tina Turner as the Acid Queen, Eric Clapton as the Preacher, Keith Moon as Uncle Ernie, Elton John's mighty rendition of "Pinball Wizard", even Jack Nicholson doing a turn as a suave specialist. Roger Daltrey is iconic in his signature role, and Oliver Reed makes up for a complete inability to sing with a bravura performance as his sleazy stepdad, but best of all is Ann-Margret as Tommy's mother Nora: her charismatic presence holds the loose narrative together and she richly deserved her Academy Award nomination; the sight of her in a nylon cat suit being drenched in baked beans and chocolate from an exploding TV set is worth the price of admission alone. On the DVD: Tommy comes to DVD in a two-disc set, with the feature on disc one accompanied by three audio tracks: Dolby Stereo or 5.1 surround, as well as the original "Quintaphonic" surround mix--a unique experience with effectively two pairs of stereo tracks plus a centre track for the vocals. The anamorphic picture adequately recreates the original theatrical ratio. The second disc has a series of lengthy and illuminating new interviews with the main (surviving) players: Townshend, Russell, Daltrey and Ann-Margret, in which we learn among other things, that Daltrey wasn't Townshend's first choice for the role, that Stevie Wonder was the original preference for the Pinball Wizard, and that Ken Russell had never heard of any of these rock stars before agreeing to helm the movie. There's also a feature on the original sound mix and its restoration for DVD. All in all, a satisfying package for fans of one of the daftest chapters in the annals of rock music. --Mark Walker
Born Yesterday was the box-office comedy hit of 1950 and won a Best Actress Oscar for the exceptional Judy Holliday, recreating her long-running Broadway triumph as Billie Dawn, the quintessential dumb blonde who finally gets herself some smarts. The film resonates with the sophisticated sparring in Garson Kanin's script and there are tightly controlled performances from William Holden as the cynical journalist hired to polish Billie up for Washington society and Broderick Crawford as Harry Brock, her rough, crooked and ambitious boyfriend. But Born Yesterday is Holliday's picture, as she runs the gamut from brassy insouciance to tentative, vulnerable enlightenment. She hasn't thought of her estranged father in five years: "It's nothing against him. I haven't thought of anything in five years." Her gradual awakening to the realisation that she is a stooge for Brock's corrupt business deals, and the way she sheds her chorus girl's intellect in the face of growing political awareness, are brilliantly traced. Holliday's dead-pan delivery makes the pathos of her self-discovery both hilarious and deeply touching; it's the hallmark of a comic genius, which makes the sparseness of her subsequent film appearances all the more regrettable. On the DVD: Born Yesterday is presented in full screen (1.33:1) ratio. Like the mono soundtrack, the black and white picture quality has triumphantly survived its more than half century. Extras include a gallery of vintage advertisements and an original theatrical trailer, plus filmographies and welcome, comprehensive booklet notes. --Piers Ford
The Adventurer is Gene Bradley a jet-setting multi-millionaire businessman who attracts trouble as well as the ladies. Features the complete series.
An offbeat comedy set in a hospital The Green Wing throws in a bit of soap opera and a dose of the sketch-show to create something unique and hilarious! Following the sordid revelations and cliffhanging drama of series 1 the staff of Green Wing Hospital have reached unfathomable levels of perversity! Caroline finds herself back to square one with Mac while Sue White prepares to dig her Scottish claws into his mane-like ginger 'do; Joanna Claw has to come to terms with the fact that she accidentally slept with her son; Martin tries his hand at pimping; and Dr Statham enters politics under the proviso that his manifesto will be grammatically correct! Created by the team behind Smack the Pony be prepared for one of the most surreal journeys you're ever likely to take as you dive into the anarchic world of Green Wing Hospital!
THERE IS A CLASSIFIED AMERICA WE WERE NEVER MEANT TO SEE From Academy Award® winning writer/director, Oliver Stone, and co-written by historian Prof. Peter Kuznick, this ten-part documentary series looks back at human events that at the time went under reported, but that crucially shaped America's unique and complex history over the 20th Century. From the atomic bombing of Japan to the Cold War and the fall of Communism, this in-depth, surprising and totally riveting series demands to be watched again and again.
This release features 15 of the most memorable Neighbours episodes including: Scott and Charlene's wedding Brad and Beth's wedding and the tragic demise of Helen Daniels. Witness early screen appearances by such future megastars as Kylie Minogue Jason Donovan Natalie Imbruglia and Craig McLachlan. Shed a tear at the raw emotional power of the song 'Suddenly' by Angry Anderson.
A History of Scotland
When young Bastian borrows a mysterious ornately-bound book he never dreamed turning a page would draw him into a shimmering fantasy world of racing snails hang-glider bats soaring luckdragons puckish elves a Childlike Empress the brave warrior Atreyu and a slab-faced walking quarry called a Rock Biter. Follow The NeverEnding Story to the limits of the imagination thanks to director/co-writer Wolfgang Petersen (The Perfect Storm) and a superstar team of technical tinkerers and magicians (with credits including 2001: A Space Odyssey Alien and The Empire Strikes Back) who bring to life the most delightful characters ever.
Titles Comprise: Annie (1982): Annie is the story of a plucky, red-haired girl who dreams of a life away outside her orphanage and its gin-soaked tyrant, Miss Hannigan (played to perfection by Carol Burnett). One day Annie meets the famous billionaire, Daddy Warbucks, and the pair share spectacular times in 1930's New York City. But Miss Hannigan and her zany, villainous colleagues are determined to spoil the fun for America's favourite orphan...Oliver! (1968): Experience the high-spirited adventures of Oliver Twist in this Oscar-winning musical adaptation of Charles Dickens classic tale!Young Oliver Twist (Mark Lester) is an orphan who escapes the cheerless life of the workhouse and takes to the streets of 19th-Century London. Hes immediately taken in by a band of street urchins, headed by the lovable villain Fagin (Ron Moody), his fiendish henchman Bill Sikes (Oliver Reed) and his loyal apprentice The Artful Dodger (Jack Wild). Through his education in the fine points of pick-pocketing, Oliver makes away with an unexpected treasure... a home and a family of his own.Set to a heartfelt score that includes such favorites as Consider Yourself, Where Is Love? and As Long As He Needs Me, Oliver! leads us on a journey in search of love, belonging and honour among thieves. Winner of six Academy Awards , including Best Picture and Best Score, Oliver! will steal your heart!
Before director Ken Russell's name became synonymous with cinematic extravagance and overkill, he actually directed what is one of the most passionate and involving adaptations of DH Lawrence in recent memory. Oliver Reed and Alan Bates star as friends who fall in love with a pair of sisters (Jennie Linden and Glenda Jackson, who won an Oscar for the role). But the relationships take markedly different directions, as Russell explores the nature of commitment and love. Bates and Linden learn to give themselves to each other; the more withdrawn Reed cannot, finally, connect with the demanding and challenging Jackson. Shot with great sensuality, Women in Love was surprisingly frank for its period (1970) and includes one of the most charged scenes in movie history: Bates and Reed as manly men, wrestling nude by firelight. --Marshall Fine
Hannibal Brooks (Oliver Reed) is a British prisoner of war assigned to care for an elephant in a zoo in Munich. When the zoo is bombed by the Americans, Brooks is ordered to transport the elephant to a safer zoo in Innsbruck. En route to Innsbruck, Brooks accidentally kills the Nazi member of the escort (Peter Carsten) and the sets off with an American (Michael J.Pollard) and an Austrian (Helmuth Lohner), the trio escapes with the elephant and head for the Swiss border and freedom. Directed by Michael Winner and released in 1968, this film has since become a cult classic.
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