The Doctor kicks off this new run of adventures by searching for his companion Clara - an Impossible Girl he's already lost twice. Together they find themselves battling monsters on distant alien planets trapped in a Russian submarine with a deadly passenger chasing terrifying ghosts delving into the heart of the Tardis facing the Crimson Horror in Victorian Yorkshire and coming face to face with an army of upgraded Cybermen. The action grows and the Doctor's oldest secret threatens to be revealed as the world's longest running science fiction series builds toward its explosive 50th anniversary in November 2013.
With 17 previous screen adaptations behind it, this 2002 BBC version of The Hound of the Baskervilles might have been inhibited by the sheer weight of expectation. But in this production--marking the centenary of Arthur Conan Doyle's novel--director David Attwood rings the changes subtly and strikingly, helped by Allan Cubitt's tautly argued script and Christopher Hall's vivid production: the viewer feels the "presence" of the moors as never before. Richard Roxburgh is a thoughtful, understated Sherlock Holmes--self-absorbed yet observant of life around him. There's nothing bumbling or ineffectual about Ian Hart's Dr Watson--a resourceful thinker who, often sceptical of Holmes, complements him in human awareness. Richard E Grant dons a plausibly sociopathic manner as Stapleton, and there's a touching portrayal of his put-upon sister from Neve McIntosh. John Nettles and Geraldine James contribute sterling character parts as Dr and Mrs Mortimer, and Matt Day is a suave, not too sophisticated Sir Henry Baskerville. It adds up to a convincing rethink of a hallowed tale. On the DVD: The Hound of the Baskervilles on disc comes with a 16:9 picture that reproduces the sombre atmosphere of Baskerville Hall--shot at a variety of English locations--with real immediacy, and the Dolby Digital sound has 5.1 surround enhancement. Subtitles are in 11 languages, with 10 scene selections--framed in a stylishly- presented main menu. Special Features include a 12-minute making of documentary and interviews with the cast members, as well as a running commentary from Attwood and Hall. --Richard Whitehouse
Following the nationalisation of transport in 1948 the British Transport Commission set up its own in-house film production and distribution unit headed by Egar Anstey OBE one of the pioneers of British documentary films. The unit produced hundreds of travelogues promoting travel on Britain's railways and other forms of transport. Consistently winning top awards at film festivals including an Oscar in 1966 the films provide a wonderfully crafted visual record of 20th century life
World War Two thriller starring John Mills. While out on routine patrol, the Royal Navy submarine Trojan accidentally strikes an electronically-operated drifting mine, and plunges immediately to the sea bed. As time - and air - start to run out, the Captain, Lt Cmdr Armstrong (Mills) gathers the handful of survivors together and tries to figure out the best means of escape. Richard Attenborough and Nigel Patrick co-star.
Stakeout (Dir. John Badham 1987): While on an FBI stakeout detective Chris Lecce (Richard Dreyfuss) falls hard for Maria (Madeleine Stowe) the woman he's supposed to be watching. Soon he's inside her home enjoying a torrid love affair while his young partner Bill Reimers (Emilio Estevez) waits across the street looking through his binoculars and fuming. But the woman's ex-boyfriend (Aidan Quinn) a crazed escaped convict who is the real object of the stakeout is on his
The emmy award winning IT Crowd is back for their 4th series!
The Forsyte Saga is often cited as the first television miniseries; it wasn't, but there's no question that it was a singular, powerful cultural phenomenon that deservedly got under the skin of European viewers in 1967. Today the 26-episode production, based on several novels and short stories by John Galsworthy, is a more timeless enterprise than many of the protracted British TV dramas that have followed. While it would be wrong to consider The Forsyte Saga high art, it's certainly a mesmerizing and inspired mix of theater, sprawling Victorian narrative, thinking man's soap opera, and some finely tuned, 1960s black-and-white production values that (especially when shot outdoors) are strikingly handsome. Above all, Forsyte is driven by its characters--perhaps to an extreme, though the two-generation storyline makes no apologies for creating compelling people whose capacity for short-sighted blundering, bursts of grace, and slow-brewing redemption make them recognizably human. Eric Porter towers over everything as Soames Forsyte, a humorless attorney whose guiding principles of measurable value cause great heartache but slowly evolve, leaving him a graying, good father, arts patron, and sympathetic repository of memory. From the cast of 150 or so, other standouts include Susan Hampshire as Soames's troubled daughter, Nyree Dawn Porter as the wife of two very different Forsyte men, and Kenneth More as the family's artistic black sheep. --Tom Keogh
The only piece of British soil to be occupied by the Germans during World War II the Channel Islands are the setting for Enemy at the Door - a gripping and sometimes harrowing account of the Islanders living under German rule.
You know the story: Cinderella rides in a magical pumpkin to the ball, enchants the prince and flees at midnight. He finds her slipper and tracks her down, and they live happily ever after. But wait! In The Slipper and the Rose, it turns out there's more to the life of a prince than being charming. The king prefers to choose the prince's wife, one of proper social station who would provide a strong political alliance to ward off the kingdom's enemies. That's one of the twists in this 1976 British take on the classic fairy tale, one of a long line of musical versions. The disgruntled prince, who's as much of a focal point here as the lady with the footwear, is played by Richard Chamberlain, during the years when he was taking on the classics and had not yet been crowned king of the TV mini-series. He displays a pleasant voice opposite Gemma Craven as Cinderella, and veteran character actor Michael Hordern as the king leads the supporting ensemble. Add lavish sets and lush scenery (partially filmed in Austria), humour, fun choreography, and an Oscar-nominated score full of charming songs by Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman (veterans of such Disney movies as Mary Poppins and The Jungle Book, and who also co-wrote the script with director Bryan Forbes), and you have a grand, engaging family musical. The 143-minute running time and dreamy, deliberate pace might test the patience of antsy viewers, but The Slipper and the Rose's legion of fans wouldn't have it any other way. --David Horiuchi, Amazon.com
From the producers of 'Robin Of Sherwood' and 'The Adventures Of Black Beauty' Richard O'Sullivan stars as the notorious highwayman in the complete second series of the 1978 London weekend television show. Episode titles: The Fox - Part One The Fox - Part Two Blood Money Deadlier Than the Male The Elixir of Life The Thief-Taker The Judge Sentence of Death - Part One Sentence of Death - Part Two The Godmother The Secret Folk The King's Shilling The Hanging.
Directed by Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger) and based the shocking true story of the Dyatlov Pass deaths, this horror will chill your bones. A group of American students set out to film a documentary following the fateful path of the nine skiers, whose bodies were found in 1959, deep in the Russian mountains. Trying to solve one the most bizarre mysteries of the 20th century, the group aren't prepared for what they find, or what finds them...A truly disturbing story with ...
Following the grisly 1997 Cube and its 2002 sequel, Cube 2: Hypercube, Cube Zero stretches the originals The Twilight Zone-like, strangers-in-a-box theme a little thin. Fortunately, there's a difference this time. The hero is not just another disoriented captive of the Cube's interconnected--often lethal--rooms, but rather a geek named Eric (Zachary Bennett) who sits in a control station wrestling with his conscience about inflicting misery on innocent people. Taking orders over the phone from some almighty, unknown power in a distant office, Eric reaches a breaking point and enters the maze himself, intent on helping a woman (Stephanie Moore) who doubts his motives. The existential bent of the prior films becomes even more Kafkaesque this time with the arrival of a white-collar team of tormentors, bureaucratic tyrants who can't or won't explain the point of the Cube. Imaginative writer-director Ernie Barbarash rescues what might have been a tedious formula flick. --Tom Keogh
With his uniquely chaotic blend of fluffed magic and lame jokes, Tommy Cooper was a constant and instantly recognisable presence on television for four decades. A firm favourite with the public, his variety shows were always eagerly awaited - Eric Sykes hailed Tommy Cooper as the funniest man in the world , so it's hardly surprising that it was noted he only had to walk on stage to cause hysterics ! Cooper appeared in many series and specials on television over four decades and this special set contains all the existing shows he made for the ITV regions. They feature a veritable galaxy of guest stars, including Richard Briers, Arthur Lowe, Warren Mitchell, June Whitfield, Patricia Hayes, Bernard Cribbins, Patrick Cargill, Michael Bentine, Thora Hird, Diana Dors, Eric Sykes, Liz Fraser and Ronnies Barker and Corbett!
Written by the successful team of John Esmonde and Bob Larbey 'Ever Decreasing Circles' was first broadcast by the BBC in February 1984. Richard Briers Penelope Wilton and Peter Egan star in this popular suburban-set comedy. Episode 1: Martin lives in a cul-de-sac and is a pillar of the community. He is chairman of just about every club committee. The equilibrium of the Close where he lives is disturbed when new neighbour Paul moves in next door... Episode 2: Paul masterminds a take-over at the general meeting of the Motor Club and Martin is relieved of his chairmanship. Ann is hopeful of a renewed social life but their new freedom is short lived... Episode 3: Martin is beginning to find his new neighbour's unconventional behaviour a potential danger to the harmony of the Close. 'Goings-on' of this kind have never happened before and something has to be done... Episode 4: Martin Ann Howard and Hilda spend their holidays together at the same resort at the same and even book it on the same day every year; a ritual that has remained for seven years but one that is unsettled when Paul offers them all the chance of a villa in Spain... Episode 5: In Martin's absence Paul is voted onto the committee to organise a Vicars and Tarts Dance for the RSPCA. When Martin's role is diminished he resorts to blackmail to take credit for the success of the event...
Armchair Theatre: Volume 1
Director Paul Greengrass recounts the final moments of the ill-fated flight in this 9/11 drama.
Director Jamie Babbit's assured first feature But I'm a Cheerleader is subversive, smart and extremely funny, but not entirely original. Megan Williams (Natasha Lyonne) is a good Christian cheerleading girl. She doesn't think it at all strange that she can't get the image of tumbling cheerleaders out of her mind while her football player boy friend is trying to French kiss her. But her parents, played respectively by Bud Cort (Brewster McCloud) and John Water' s regular Mink Stole, have noticed Megan's odd behaviour and arrange an intervention. They send her off to New Directions, a sexual rehabilitation camp run by a straight-laced school madam, Mary (Cathy Moriarty), where she is forced to come to terms with her lesbian tendencies. But while on a strict regime of corrective therapy, Megan falls head over heels f or surly dyke, Graham--played by Clea DuVall (The Astronaut's Wife)--and is forced to reassess whether straight really is great. The zany script and over-the-top characterisations have the feel of a John Waters comedy; The day-glo sets and costumes give the film a surreal Pee Wee's Playhouse feel and Lyonne is charmingly dizzy and bewildered throughout. RuPaul excels as Mike, a former gay exercise trainer, and Moriarty out-camps them all. On the DVD: The main feature is presented in letterboxed widescreen with Dolby Digital sound. Extra features are limited to a theatrical trailer and a 10-minute behind-the-scenes look at the film in which director Jamie Babbit explains the genesis of the film followed by hastily assembled footage of random scenes being shot. --Chris Campion
This gorgeous adaptation of Lucy Maud Montgomery's classic children's story is well worth watching with the whole family. Produced for Canadian television, it's one of those rare productions that actually sticks to the book and even enhances it through first-rate performances and an excellent script. Set on bucolic Prince Edward Island in the late 19th century, Anne of Green Gables is the story of Anne Shirley, an imaginative and headstrong orphan. When brother and sister Marilla and Mathew Cuthbert decide to adopt an orphan boy to help Matthew work the farm, they are astonished when Anne arrives at the train station by mistake. "What use is she to us?" grumbles the gruff Marilla. "We might be of some use to her", answers Matthew, who has taken an instant liking to the talkative Anne. As Anne grows up, her adventures are both hilarious and moving. It's a delight to watch as she forms a friendship with the beautiful Diana and her admirer--the dashing Gilbert Blythe--then dyes her hair green, cracks a slate over Gilbert's head when he calls her "Carrots", and finds a sympathetic teacher who encourages her to attend college. Richard Farnsworth is perfect as the shy and gentle bachelor Matthew, who confides to Anne that he never went courting because "I would have had to say something". Colleen Dewhurst delivers a nuanced and powerful performance as Marilla, a seemingly cold-hearted spinster whose no-nonsense exterior conceals a warm heart. And as Anne, Megan Follows strikes the perfect note, maturing from freckle-faced orphan to elegant and poised young woman. --Elisabeth Keating
After a personal tragedy the Reeds take in their ten year old nephew and re-awaken their marriage.... A heartwarming drama based on the French novel and film Le Grand Chemin.
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