While Soylent Green may be one of the many dystopian visions of the future, the film stands out because it's one of the few titles that addresses current environmental issues head on. Adapted from Harry Harrison's novel Make Room, Make Room, it gives us a nightmarish vision of an over-populated, polluted future on the brink of collapse--a vision that gets uncomfortably closer every year. Charlton Heston as police officer Thorn investigates a murder in between suppressing food riots and uncovers the nightmarish truth about Soylent Green, the new foodstuff being sold to the poor. The film neatly combines police procedural with conspiracy thriller. Heston's scenes are counterpointed by more elegiac ones in which the centenarian Edward G Robinson as his friend Sol broods on the world he has outlived--his death in a euthanasia chamber is a gloriously lachrymose moment, which he plays to the hilt. Heston, too, is good as Thorn, a morally equivocal cop who loots the apartments of the victims whose deaths he investigates--he's a man just getting by in an impossible world. On the DVD: Soylent Green on disc comes with a commentary from director Richard Fleischer, the highpoint of which is a memorable description of what it was like to work with the brilliant ailing, entirely deaf Robinson. He is joined by Leigh Taylor-Young whose work on the film as heroine led to years of serious environmentalist commitment. It has a useful contemporary making-of documentary and touching shots of Robinson's 100th birthday party with telegrams from Sinatra and others. The feature itself is presented in anamorphic widescreen with its original mono sound. --Roz Kaveney
From the writer/director of Jerry Maguire Cameron Crowe brings us Almost Famous nominated for four Academy Awards and winner of Best Original Screenplay. Set in 1973 it chronicles the funny and often poignant coming-of-age of 15-year-old music fanatic William (Patrick Fugit). Having managed to land an assignment from Rolling Stone magazine to interview the up-and-coming band Stillwater fronted by lead guitarist Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup) and with
In 1976 The Omen scored a hit with critics and audiences hungry for more after The Exorcist with its mixture of Gothic horror and mystery and its plot about a young boy suspected of being the personification of the anti-Christ. Directed by Richard Donner (best known for his Superman and Lethal Weapon films), The Omen gained a lot of credibility from the casting of Gregory Peck and Lee Remick as a distinguished American couple living in England, whose young son Damien bears "the mark of the beast". At a time when graphic gore had yet to dominate the horror genre, this film used its violence discreetly and to great effect and the mood of dread and potential death is masterfully maintained. It's all a bit contrived, with a lot of biblical portent and sensational fury but few would deny it's highly entertaining. Jerry Goldsmith's Oscar-winning score works wonders to enhance the movie's creepy atmosphere. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com Damien: Omen II takes place several years after the mysterious events that claimed the life of the US Ambassador and his wife as the now teenaged and militarily enrolled Damien Thorne is slowly being made aware of his unholy heritage and horrific destiny. Woe is he (including anyone in Damien's adoptive family and his classmates) who suspects the truth or gets in his way. While not as unrelentingly frightening as its blockbuster predecessor, this more-than-competent sequel raises some interesting questions about the nature of free will (can the anti-Christ deny his birthright?) before falling into a gory series of increasingly outlandish deaths, the best of which is a terrifyingly protracted scene beneath the ice of a frozen lake. Jerry Goldsmith (who won an Oscar for his work on the first film in the series) contributes another marvellously foreboding score. --Andrew Wright, Amazon.com The series concludes with The Omen III: The Final Conflict, starring Sam Neill as the adult Damien--aka the son of Satan--in a battle with the heavens for control of mankind. The film ends up depending more heavily on effects and spectacle than on the kind of basic horrors that made the first movie in the series so unsettling but at least this one gives some closure to the seemingly endless saga. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com On the DVDs: On the original movie disc there is an all-new 45-minute documentary, "666: The Omen Revealed", with contributions from all the major behind-the-scenes players, including director, editor, screenwriter (who confesses the movie was only set in England because he wanted a free trip to London!), producer and composer. The latter, Jerry Goldsmith, has his Oscar-winning contribution to the movie recognised with a separate feature in which he talks through four key musical scenes in the score. There's also a thought-provoking short called "Curse or Coincidence?" in which the many bizarre accidents that happened during shooting are related, including the terrible story of what happened to the girlfriend of the man responsible for designing the decapitation scene. Director Richard Donner and editor Stuart Baird provide a chatty audio commentary to the movie. The second and third films lack as many extra features, being content with audio commentaries and theatrical trailers: the commentary for Omen II is by producer Harvey Bernhard, that for Omen III by director Graham Baker. --Mark Walker
Private inspector Frank Hathaway has always worked alone. Only Frank isn't doing so well. He might have a brilliant instinct when it comes to solving crime, but he's also out of shape and low on cash. Frank needs a partner. Frank needs ex-hairdresser and people-person Lu. He just doesn't know it yet. Frank and Lu eventually join forces and form a highly unlikely and hugely entertaining detecting duo. They quickly discover all is not as peaceful as it seems in this pretty theatre town. Vengeful lovers stalk the streets, the mayor is murdered and a magician's trick fatally misfires. Frank and Lu must learn to trust each other, especially since their actor-receptionist is far too busy learning his lines. Welcome to the birthplace of the Bard where fact is stranger than fiction and low life criminals get caught up in deliciously high drama. Includes subtitles for the Hard Of Hearing
Inspired by director Cameron Crowe's own experiences and set in the 1970s, the film follows a fifteen year old wannabe journalist who gets the opportunity to interview and go on the road with a hard living rock band.
The world's most renowned fictional lawyer is back on the case in this exciting HBO series that tells the origin story of master criminal defence attorney Perry Mason. Set in 1932 Los Angeles, this edgy, noirish update puts a new spin on the iconic character created by Erle Stanley Gardner and made famous by the classic TV show that ran from 1957 to 1966. The series begins with Mason (Matthew Rhys) living paycheck to paycheck as a low-rent private investigator who's haunted by his wartime experiences and managing the fallout of a broken marriage. During eight twisty, cliff-hanger episodes, Mason is determined to do what's righteven when it's not necessarily legalas he digs into a controversial and politically loaded case, exposing a fractured city and a possible police coverup. The stellar cast includes John Lithgow, Tatiana Maslany, Juliet Rylance, Chris Chalk and Shea Whigham.
The world's most renowned fictional lawyer is back on the case in this exciting HBO series that tells the origin story of master criminal defence attorney Perry Mason. Set in 1932 Los Angeles, this edgy, noirish update puts a new spin on the iconic character created by Erle Stanley Gardner and made famous by the classic TV show that ran from 1957 to 1966. The series begins with Mason (Matthew Rhys) living paycheck to paycheck as a low-rent private investigator who's haunted by his wartime experiences and managing the fallout of a broken marriage. During eight twisty, cliff-hanger episodes, Mason is determined to do what's righteven when it's not necessarily legalas he digs into a controversial and politically loaded case, exposing a fractured city and a possible police coverup. The stellar cast includes John Lithgow, Tatiana Maslany, Juliet Rylance, Chris Chalk and Shea Whigham.
The success ofUnder Siege made a sequel mandatory according to Hollywood's rules of maximum revenue, and as sequels go, this one's not half bad. Steven Seagal returns as former Navy SEAL and skilled chef Casey Ryback, who's trying to spend quality time with his niece on a cross-country train trip. But as luck and action-movie formulas would have it, the train has been hijacked by a demented genius (Eric Bogosian) who is using the train as a moving platform to seize computerised control of a top-secret U.S. satellite that is capable of causing earthquakes from space. Seagal has to stop the train or the villain (whichever comes first), and the action is fast and furious on its way to a high-speed climax. He's not as wacky as Tommy Lee Jones in the first Under Siege, but Bogosian has got a delirious quality that serves the comic-book plot, and action fans get more than their fill of dazzling stunts and special effects. --Jeff Shannon
Carol a young girl living in Sixties' London is repelled yet fascinated by men. Her radiant beauty attracts the opposite sex but she shrinks from their advances. Her days are spent in an intensely feminine atmosphere: working in a beauty salon and clinging to her sister Helen for love. But as she incarcerates herself in her sinister shadowy flat men begin to invade her dreams night and day mixing her terror with delight as bizarre hallucinations take hold of her mind. The
Inspired by director Cameron Crowe's own experiences and set in the 1970s, the film follows a fifteen year old wannabe journalist who gets the opportunity to interview and go on the road with a hard living rock band.
The complete third season of the quirky U.S. drama series created by 'American Beauty' writer Alan Ball. One of the most acclaimed shows on TV Six Feet Under takes a darkly comic look at a dysfunctional L.A. Family running an independent funeral home. This season thanks to the financial contributions of their mortician Frederico Fisher & Sons has become Fisher & Diaz and the Fisher family members face major adjustments as they open a new chapter in their professional and perso
Roman Polanski's psychological drama was his first English-language feature. A young Belgian woman (Catherine Deneuve) is left alone in a Kensington apartment when her sister goes away. She becomes increasingly unstable, experiencing hallucinations which have their roots in her fear of male sexuality. When two aggressive men turn up, her tortured nightmares spill into real life violence.
Titles Comprise:Mystic Pizza:Filled with heart and humour, Mystic Pizza charts the lives and loves of three unforgettable waitresses in a little town called Mystic. Starring Julia Roberts, Annabeth Gish and Lili Taylor, Mystic Pizza has all the right ingredients of a main course favourite. For sexy Daisy Araujo (Roberts), her sensible sister Kat (Gish) and their wisecracking friend Jojo (Taylor), the summer after high school is a summer they'll never forget. Slinging pizza at a local restaurant, the three girls share their plans for escaping their small town. And when a wealthy young man named Charles sweeps Daisy off her feet, they all think she's found her ticket out. But when the girls learn that Charles isn't the man they think he is, they discover that with friendship and self-respect, not only will they find real happiness (and a way out of Mystic)... they just might find themselves.Dying Young:She's giving him something nobody else could. A reason to live.With little money, a poor education and no luck when it comes to love, Hilary O'Neil (Roberts) answers a wanted ad and finds her whole world suddenly changed. Hired as the caretaker to a seriously ill young man (Scott), she unexpectedly discovers they have much in common, even though he is wealthy and intelligent. Their growing friendship quietly develops into a deep and powerful romance that ultimately tests the boundaries of true love...Sleeping With The Enemy:Laura's life with her handsome and successful husband seems perfect to those looking at it from the outside. But behind closed doors, Laura resides in a personal hell. Her husband is a psychotic, controlling perfectionist, and his escalating emotional and physical abuse eventually leads the desperate Laura to plot her escape. One stormy night she leaps from the bow of her husband's sailboat and swims for shore. Her husband initially believes that she drowned; meanwhile, Laura resurfaces in a college town in Iowa. Attempting to rebuild her shattered life, Laura changes her name, takes a new job in the campus library, and makes friends with a sensitive and sweet drama teacher. But this happiness proves to be ephemeral when her crazed husband gets wise to the deception and turns up in the Midwest determined to bring his wife back home -- whatever it takes.
All My Loving was created when John Lennon and Paul McCartney challenged Palmer then a classical music documentarian to make a film that encompassed the 1968 music world in one hour of screen time. The film includes clips and interviews with the likes of The Beatles Jimi Hendrix The Who Pink Floyd - who had just lost Syd Barrett - Cream Donavan Frank Zappa and Eric Burdon. The film explores music with the idea that everyone demands heroes and these heroes were going to change the world through the power of their music. This was the time of student demonstrations against the war in Viet Nam. The music describes this movement with a bitterness too deep for words alone. The music becomes an escape from the troubles of the day.
In a tale of myth, mythology, demons and duels spanning fifteen centuries, the forces of good and evil once more do battle.
Action-packed boxset including all of Bruce Willis' latest and best movies: The Assassination of a High School President, Precious Cargo, and First Kill.
Guided by their strict yet level headed father George (Bruce McGill) and supported by mother Olive (Veronia Cartwright) the Osmond Brothers Group consisting of Alan Wayne Merrill Jay and young Donny are looking to make it big on their own in the world of Rock and Roll. But due to their squeaky clean religious image the future looks dim. Enter Mike Curb a major record label owner who has faith in the Osmond Brothers. With your Marie and Jimmy destined to join them and a number one hit in the states this original boy band begins a meteoric rise to international stardom...
The secret agent kids are back in another adventure that finds Carmen caught in a virtual reality game designed by the Toymaker (Sly Stallone), so it's up to Juni to save his sister and ultimately the world.
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