Two Raymond Briggs' animated classics, The Snowman and Father Christmas are here sensibly paired for maximum yuletide delight. Based on Briggs's classic children's book and crafted in a coloured-pencils-on-paper look, like fluffy, hand-drawn illustrations, The Snowman is a gentle fable of friendship and the power of imagination. It's the story of a small boy whose lovingly constructed snowman comes to life and takes him flying over the white-blanketed landscapes, in a beautiful rotoscoped (traced) sequence based on live-action flying footage. Part of the charm of the film is the gentle, everyday quality of its fantasy adventures: the snowman is invited in to try on clothes and play with the Christmas decorations, then plays host to the boy at a party in the woods, at which his snowy relatives do country dances. --David Chute In Father Christmas, an irreverent Santa breaks from tradition in many ways. He has no Mrs, owns only four reindeer and decides to convert his sleigh into an airborne motor home for a pre-Christmas holiday. He finds France too snooty, Scotland too cold and Las Vegas just right. Tanned and rested, he returns to the North Pole in time to sort through the mail, pack up the toys and hit the skies. He also narrates his own story (splendidly voiced by Los Angeles stage actor William Dennis Hunt), but fans of the 1973 book will find the animated version far less cranky than the original. Although the book was aimed at children between the ages of 4-8, this may have a wider appeal, depending on how you feel about the children seeing Santa gambling at the casino tables, dreaming of bikini-clad babes and suffering a bout of diarrhoea. --Kimberly Heinrichs
The extraordinary story tells of a quest that took as illiterate French peasant girl and transformed her into one of the most revered leaders of all time.
Relive the story of Spartacus, a genre-defining epic in 4K Ultra HD with HDR. Newly-remastered, this 60th Anniversary edition includes an extended version of the film and 4K Ultra HD bonus features. Spartacus from director Stanley Kubrick, is the legendary tale of a bold gladiator (Kirk Douglas) who led a triumphant Roman slave revolt. Restored from large format 35mm original film elements, this action-packed spectacle won four Academy Awards® including 'Best Cinematography' and 'Best Art Direction'. Featuring a cast of screen legends such as Laurence Olivier, Charles Laughton, Peter Ustinov, Jean Simmons, John Gavin and Tony Curtis, this uncut and fully restored masterpiece is an inspirational true account of man's eternal struggle for freedom. Bonus Features: Extended Version with 12 additional minutes I am Spartacus: A Conversation with Kirk Douglas Restoring Spartacus Deleted Scenes Archival Interviews Behind The Scenes Footage Vintage Newsreels And More! (4k Disc Includes All Bonus Features In 4k Resolution!)
Fin McBride (Dinklage) a loner with a passion for trains inherits an abandoned train station in the middle of nowhere - a place that suits him just fine because all he wants is to be alone. Soon after moving in he discovers his isolated depot is more like Grand Central Station! There's Olivia (Clarkson) a distracted and troubled artist and Joe (Cannavale) a friendly Cuban with an insatiable hunger for conversation. With absolutely nothing in common they find their isolated lives coming together in a friendship none of them could foresee... Winner of three awards at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival 'The Station Agent' also scooped a BAFTA for Best Original Screenplay.
Millennium marked the second major television series created by Chris Carter, who'd already made his name as the brains behind The X-Files. And, like its predecessor, it shares a lot of the same themes--it's a crime thriller that gradually unfolds into a grand conspiracy involving the government and the fate of the entire world. Agent Frank Black (Lance Henriksen) is a former FBI agent who has transplanted his family from Washington DC to Seattle, after suffering something of a breakdown. He's an expert criminal profiler--arguably the best, thanks to his ability to "see" into the minds of killers--and he fears for the safety of his wife and young daughter. In Seattle, he joins the mysterious Millennium Group, an agency of freelance crime-busters who investigate particularly brutal crimes. As a result, Millennium is downright bleak viewing, as Black jumps from horrific slaying to horrific slaying. Moreover, there's a growing sense of unease about the workings of the Millennium Group, so that in typical Chris Carter fashion, you don't know who to trust. With its pre-Y2K angst and overwhelming darkness, as well as its general humourlessness, Millennium hasn't dated as well as The X-Files. Still, thanks to Carter's vision and Henriksen's compelling take on the tortured Black, it's difficult not to get hooked. --Ted Kord
Featuring a collection of Peter Sellers' best films. Includes: 1. Heavens Above! (Dir. John Boulting & Roy Boulting 1963) 2. I'm Alright Jack (Dir. John Boulting 1959) 3. Only Two Can Play (Dir. Sidney Gilliat 1962) 4. Very Best Of Peter Sellers
Carry On Don't Lose Your Head parodies the adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel, with crinkly cackling Sid James as master of disguise the Black Fingernail and Jim Dale as his assistant Lord Darcy. He must rescue preposterously effete aristocrat Charles Hawtrey from the clutches of Kenneth Williams' fiendish Citizen Camembert and his sidekick Citizen Bidet (Peter Butterworth). The Black Fingernail is assisted in his efforts to thwart the birth of the burgeoning republic by the almost supernatural stupidity of his opponents, who fail to recognise the frankly undisguisable Sid James even when dressed as a flirty young woman. What with an executioner who is tricked into beheading himself in order to prove the efficacy of his own guillotine, it's all a little too easy. As usual, no groan-worthy pun is left unturned, or unheralded by the soundtrack strains of a long whistle or wah-wah trumpet. This is pretty silly stuff even by Carry On standards, with most of the cast barely required to come out of first gear and an overlong climactic swordfight sequence hardly raising the dramatic stakes. Most of the humour here resides neither in the script nor the characterisation but in the endlessly watchable Williams' whooping, nasal delivery (occasionally lapsing into broad Cockney) and the jowl movements of the always-underrated Butterworth. --David Stubbs
Daleks Invasion Earth 2150 directed by Gordon Flemyng now fully restored and starring Peter Cushing in his return to the big screen as British TV's most iconic sci-fi hero Doctor Who. The earth of 2150 AD is a desolate and hostile ruin of a planet crumbling at the edge of civilisation slowly disappearing into the darkness of space. For the future of planet earth now belongs The Daleks a destructive army of alien invaders who have turned the human race into cowering slaves. Meanwhile deep within the London Underground a group of resistance freedom fighters are planning an attack. But there's only one man who could possibly help them succeed in destroying their extra terrestrial enemies and take back control of planet earth. A man of mystery a man of time and space a man known only as... The Doctor. Special Features: Restoring Daleks Invasion Earth: 2150 AD Interview with Actor Bernard Cribbins Interview with Author Gareth Owen Stills Gallery Trailer
The Silkworm is the two-part drama adapted from the second novel in JK Rowling's critically acclaimed Cormoran Strike series, published under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. The story follows on from the events in the first drama of the series which received rave reviews, Strike: The Cuckoo's Calling. They successfully solved the murder of model Lula Landry now Cormoran Tom Burke) and his partner Robin Ellacott (Holliday Grainger) are hired to solve their next case.
This series of 4 made for TV feature length thrillers stars Dennis Waterman (The Sweeney, New Tricks) as John Neil, a Falklands War hero whose family were murdered in an IRA terrorist attack. Neil has withdrawn from society and lives an isolated existence, until MI5 come calling. Former special-forces operative John Neil is a lone agent for hire for Britain's security services. Whether taking on Irish terrorists, tracking down professional assassins, or pitting his wits against ruthless drug dealers, the ex-SAS man harbours no illusions about the work he's doing, or the people he serves. Knowing he is expendable to the security services Neil must face down deadly adversaries relying on his instincts and his SAS training in a world of betrayal, danger, and deceit. These 4 films were made for broadcast on Yorkshire TV between 1993 and 1996.
A star-studded cast heads this Agatha Christie story of one man's efforts to fathom the mysterious death at a resort hotel in the Mediterranean. Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot. Also stars Jane Birkin, Diana Rigg and Maggie Smith. EXTRAS: Making Of Interview with costume designer Anthony Powell Interview with writer Barry Sandler Interview with producer Richard Goodwin Behind the scenes stills gallery Costume designs stills gallery
Shocker allows Wes Craven to hang onto his title as the master of the horror genre--but only just. Centring once more on a charismatic lead character (Horace Pinker) Shocker continues Craven's penchant for combining fantasy and horror. Pinker (played with zeal by Mitch Pileggi of X-Files fame) is a serial killer--the "family slasher"--terrorising the inhabitants of the city of. Having murdered the foster family and girlfriend of all-American boy Jonathon Parker (Peter Berg), the latter finds he can foresee Pinker's actions in his dreams. The resulting supernatural developments (including ghosts, magic charms and possessed bodies) are more than a little muddled but underpinned by the continuous gruesome hack and slash action. A film with its brain most definitely disengaged, Shocker is still undemanding, wince-inducing fun. On the DVD: Not much to offer from this format. The splendidly dated 1980's American heavy metal soundtrack (including Kiss and Megadeth) comes through loud and clear and the sound effects are certainly horribly audible. Picture quality is fine but not spectacular. Extras are limited to scene selection, the trailer and a selection of storyboards and their cinematic equivalents. --Phil Udell
Comedy legend Will Hay stars as William Potts, a hapless, clumsy schoolteacher, who just happens to be an identical body double for a notorious German Nazi general. When the army is made aware of this uncanny resemblance to the German, who they are currently holding prisoner; they decide to drop the reluctant Mr Potts behind enemy lines. His deadly mission is to find and retrieve information on a secret weapon that the Germans are planning to use. But whilst impersonating the Nazi general, William Potts manages to infiltrate the college of Hitler Youth. He also manages to make a big impression on the students who are being trained as spies and are learning how to fit into British society. Luckily Mr Potts is at hand to give them lots of handy hints in honour of the war effort! Extras: Interview with Graham Rinaldi Go to Blazes Will Hay short BBC Radio 3 The Essay: British Film Comedians Will Hay Audio Featurette by Simon Heffer
Kevin Spacey is a mysterious patient at a mental hospital who claims to be from the planet K-pax. Jeff Bridges is the pyschiatrist who tries to help him, as this supposed alien has remarkable effect on his fellow patients.
Doctor Who: Earthshock finds Peter Davison's Fifth Doctor nicely settling into the role, initially displaying some crotchety short temper that harks back to William Hartnell's incarnation of the Doctor, effectively setting up the most emotionally powerful finale in the show's 26-year run. In this, the penultimate adventure of Doctor Who's 19th season, a scientific expedition in a cave system on 25th-century Earth is wiped out. An army rescue unit led by Lieutenant Scott (James Warwick) and including the one woman, Professor Kyle (Claire Clifford) who survived the original massacre, goes in to recover the bodies. The scenario deliberately evokes Ridley Scott's Alien (1979), and uncannily foreshadows James Cameron's Aliens (1986), developing into a tense actioner on a space freighter bound for Earth carrying a very deadly cargo of Cybermen. Tightly paced, refreshingly free of the camp humour that sometimes blighted the show in the 1980s, and with a notable guest turn from Beryl Reid as the ship's captain, Earthshock is one of the Doctor's finest adventures. Overlook a few gaping plot holes and by the end they simply won't matter; when the final credits roll in silence the effect is as powerful now as it was shocking to audiences back in 1981. If only Star Trek: The Next Generation had done the same to Wesley Crusher! On the DVD: Doctor Who: Earthshock is presented in the original broadcast 4:3 with a near flawless picture, though the source videotape does show just the occasional sign of damage. The mono sound is excellent. The extras begin with a strong 32-minute documentary, more retrospective than making-of. Then comes the commentary, with Peter Davison, Janet Fielding (Tegan), Sarah Sutton (Nyssa) and Matthew Waterhouse (Adric), which like so many Who commentaries is both informative and wonderful fun. Both commentary and the episodes have optional subtitles. Other options include detailed on-screen information titles, an isolated musical score, and the ability to watch with selected effects shots replaced with new computer graphics. There's a scored, five-minute photo gallery that even includes a shot from the recording of the commentary, a pointless assemblage of the seven minutes of footage shot on film, and a three-minute clip montage set to a dreadful techno reworking of the title theme to celebrate the show's 40th anniversary. Much more interesting is a 10-minute section from arts review Did You See? looking back on the show's aliens, and including clips from Earthshock, while the very brief Episode 5 is a hilarious new animation. --Gary S Dalkin
Own the best of Mr. Bean, 3 fantastic films in one box set, including Mr. Bean's Holiday, Bean - The Movie and Merry Christmas Mr. Bean.
A sweet-natured, small-town guy inherits a controlling stake in a media conglomerate and begins to do business his way.
The Innocents tells of an impressionable and repressed governess Miss Giddens (Deborah Kerr) who agrees to tutor two orphaned children Miles (Martin Stephens) and Flora (Pamela Franklin). On arrival at Bly House she becomes convinced that the children are possessed by the perverse spirits of former governess Miss Jessel (Clytie Jessop) and her Heathcliffe-like lover Quint (Peter Wyngarde) who both met with mysterious deaths.
Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom star in this jaw-dropping epic about the famous siege of the ancient city of Troy.
A blistering portrait of the great Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh Robert Altman's 'Vincent and Theo' focuses on the deeply neurotic relationship between the unstable impoverished Vincent (Tim Roth) and his art dealer brother Theo (Paul Rhys). Specifically it investigates the role Theo played in providing the normality and connection to the outer world that Vincent lacked while Vincent in turn acted as the living embodiment of Theo's unfulfilled artistic aspirations...
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