The most widely seen movie produced by a Hollywood studio, The Sound of Music grows fresher with each viewing. Though it was planned meticulously in pre-production (save for the scene where Maria and the children take a dipping in an Austrian lake that nearly cost a life), on each viewing one is struck anew by the spontaneous almost improvisatory air of the acting, notably of Julie Andrews under Robert Wise's direction. There are also the little human touches he brings to, for instance, the scene where Maria leads the children to the hills, over bridges and along tow paths where the smallest boy trips up and momentarily gets left behind: it creates a feeling that most of us have encountered. From the opening pre-credit sequence of muted excitement as the camera roves over the Austrian Alps (photographed in magnificent colour), where little phrases from the wind instruments on the soundtrack are flung as if on the breeze, foreshadowing the title song to follow, the production never puts a foot wrong. On the DVD: On the first disc the film itself has never looked or sounded better since its original presentation in Todd AO (prints of which are said to have disappeared forever). The disc also contains a separate audio guide that takes the viewer through the film sequence by sequence, with director Robert Wise commenting on the weather, the production design by Boris Leven, the sequences filmed on location and in Hollywood (like the interiors of the Von Trapp villa), and the naming of other actors who were eager for the lead roles, notably Doris Day and Yul Brynner. On the second disc there are the documentaries. "Salzburg Sight and Sound" was Charmian Carr's own record of her time on location in the summer of 1964, playing Liesl, the eldest Von Trapp daughter. "From Fact to Fiction", running two hours, begins with the birth of Maria in 1905 who inspired the film, charts her subsequent marriage to Captain Von Trapp, their escape from Nazi Germany not across the Alps but via a train across the Italian boarder, their home in Vermont and thence to the German film of the family that was brought to the attention of Rodgers and Hammerstein as an ideal vehicle for a stage musical. A second group of documentaries covers previews, television and radio commercials and a 1973 interview with Wise and Andrews. Overall, this is a marathon package but in its way is as compelling as the film itself. --Adrian Edwards
Summers span decades and winters can last a lifetime. From the scheming South and the savage Eastern lands to the frozen North and ancient Wall that protects the realm from the mysterious darkness beyond, the powerful families of the Seven Kingdoms are locked in a battle for the Iron Throne. Based on the best-selling book series A ÂSong of Ice and Fire Âby George R.R. Martin, this is a story of duplicity and treachery, nobility and honour, conquest and triumph. In Game of Thrones, you either win or you die. Special Features Includes over 3 hours of bonus features
While working with the UN Forces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Marine Sgt. Brandon Beckett (Chad Michael Collins) son of renowned sniper Thomas Beckett receives orders to rescue a European farmer trapped in the middle of hostile rebel territory. When he and his men arrive at the farm a mysterious sniper ambushes them wounding Beckett and killing everyone else. With the help of his father's former protg sniper instructor Richard Miller (Billy Zane) Beckett must learn to think like a sniper to track down the assassin before the sniper returns to finish the job.
The most phenomenal recording in rock & roll history is thoroughly examined in Pink Floyd: The Dark Side of the Moon. The Floyd's 1973 masterpiece remained on bestseller charts for nearly 14 years, and its enduring importance is honoured here by all four members of Pink Floyd and key personnel (engineer Alan Parsons, mixing supervisor Chris Thomas, sleeve designer Storm Thorgerson and others) who played essential roles in the landmark album's creation.Produced for the Classic Albums series, this thorough and thought-provoking study highlights a track-by-track dissection of the LP's master tapes (including the spoken-word passages that bookend the album), superbly interlaced with archival footage, early demo tapes, concert animations and latter-day acoustic performances by David Gilmour, Roger Waters and Richard Wright to demonstrate each track's contribution to the final mix--a sonic exploration that extends to the illuminating bonus features. Informative interviews abound (including Rolling Stone senior editor David Fricke), and much-deserved credit is given to saxophonist Dick Parry, solo vocalist Clare Torry and former Columbia Records chairman Bhaskar Menon, who fostered the album's US commercial success. For Floyd fans, musicians and studio technicians alike, this is a must-have addition to any DVD library. --Jeff Shannon
Conceived by the French director Adrian Maben as "an anti-Woodstock film," Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii was shot in October 1971 in the ancient city's vacant, 2,000-year-old amphitheatre--a venue chosen to accentuate the grandeur and spaciousness of the band's Meddle-era music. This disc contains a new, 90-minute director's cut as well as the original 60-minute concert film, whose production and effects feel inescapably dated. Maben's cut goes to great lengths to lend the film a more contemporary feel, but it's the earlier version that makes this disc such a gem, being more focused on the music and more holistic in vision. The anamorphic, 16:9 director's cut interweaves the Pompeii performances with fascinating but distracting interviews and music snippets filmed later (mostly during the recording of Dark Side of the Moon). The movie was originally prepared in a 4:3 aspect ratio, however, and the widescreen version crops perfectly framed images like the nine-square mosaic of drummer Nick Mason in "One of These Days". The original offers plenty of close-ups of fingers on frets and keys, with shots that are often luxuriously long in duration. And the picture quality from Pompeii is revelatory: outstandingly sharp and clear, rich in subtle grades of light and colour. Generous extras include everything from original posters, reviews, bootleg album covers and song lyrics, to a 24-minute interview with Maben. But for all the director's talk of the glorious acoustics in Pompeii's amphitheatre, there's little natural ambience to be heard. The Dolby Digital 2.0 sound is clear, dry and two-dimensional, though notably better than any previous video release. --Michael Mikesell
British intelligence officer Richard Burton poses as a high-ranking Nazi who leads a ragtag group of POWs on an impossible mission in this exciting World War II desert adventure. Based on the real life battle of Tobruk this action-crammed drama has Burton and his 'army' battling Nazi Panzer Divisions destroying fuel dumps and making a suicidal assault on Rommel's infamous gun emplacement that has the potential to destroy the British fleet...
The most widely seen movie produced by a Hollywood studio, The Sound of Music grows fresher with each viewing. Though it was planned meticulously in pre-production (save for the scene where Maria and the children take a dipping in an Austrian lake that nearly cost a life), on each viewing one is struck anew by the spontaneous almost improvisatory air of the acting, notably of Julie Andrews under Robert Wise's direction. There are also the little human touches he brings to, for instance, the scene where Maria leads the children to the hills, over bridges and along tow paths where the smallest boy trips up and momentarily gets left behind: it creates a feeling that most of us have encountered. From the opening pre-credit sequence of muted excitement as the camera roves over the Austrian Alps (photographed in magnificent colour), where little phrases from the wind instruments on the soundtrack are flung as if on the breeze, foreshadowing the title song to follow, the production never puts a foot wrong. On the DVD: On the first disc the film itself has never looked or sounded better since its original presentation in Todd AO (prints of which are said to have disappeared forever). The disc also contains a separate audio guide that takes the viewer through the film sequence by sequence, with director Robert Wise commenting on the weather, the production design by Boris Leven, the sequences filmed on location and in Hollywood (like the interiors of the Von Trapp villa), and the naming of other actors who were eager for the lead roles, notably Doris Day and Yul Brynner. On the second disc there are the documentaries. "Salzburg Sight and Sound" was Charmian Carr's own record of her time on location in the summer of 1964, playing Liesl, the eldest Von Trapp daughter. "From Fact to Fiction", running two hours, begins with the birth of Maria in 1905 who inspired the film, charts her subsequent marriage to Captain Von Trapp, their escape from Nazi Germany not across the Alps but via a train across the Italian boarder, their home in Vermont and thence to the German film of the family that was brought to the attention of Rodgers and Hammerstein as an ideal vehicle for a stage musical. A second group of documentaries covers previews, television and radio commercials and a 1973 interview with Wise and Andrews. Overall, this is a marathon package but in its way is as compelling as the film itself. --Adrian Edwards
The team behind Dumb and Dumber and There's Something About Mary--two really stupid, gross-out films that worked and were quite funny--also made King Pin, a really stupid, gross-out comedy that doesn't work and isn't funny at all. Woody Harrelson stars as a former bowling phenomenon with a hook for a hand, and Randy Quaid is an Amish farmer with a hidden talent for pins. The two join forces and get a sexy business partner (Vanessa Angel), and the film starts looking more and more like a jokey variation of The Colour of Money. The Colour of Money, however, didn't feature jokes about having oral sex with a hideous landlady or defecating in a sink or dragging disgusting stuff out of one's teeth with a length of floss. Bill Murray provides some much-needed relief as Harrelson's ex-partner turned rival. How come this stuff is obnoxious while the equally perverse punch lines of There's Something About Mary are a riot? It's a great mystery, all right, but there it is. --Tom Keogh
Drawing from Andrei Tarkovsky's heady science fiction meditation Solaris by way of Alien and Hellraiser, this visually splendid but pulpy piece of science fiction schlock concerns a mission in the year 2047 to investigate the experimental American spaceship Event Horizon, which disappeared seven years previously and suddenly, out of nowhere, reappeared in the orbit of Neptune. Laurence Fishburne stars as mission commander Captain Miller and Sam Neill is Dr Weir, the scientist who designed the mystery ship. Miller's T-shirt-and army-green-clad crew of smart-talking pros finds a ship dead and deserted, but further investigations turn up blood, corpses, dismembered body parts, and a decidedly unearthly presence. It turns out that the ship is really a space-age haunted house where spooky (and obviously impossible) visions lure each of the crew members into situations they should know better than to enter. The ship is gorgeously designed, borrowing from the dark, organic look of Alien and adding the menacing touch of teeth sprouting from bulwark doors and clawlike spikes inexplicably shooting out of the engine room floor. Unfortunately the film is not nearly as inventive as the production design--it turns into a woefully inconsistent psychic monster movie that sacrifices mood for tepid shocks--but the special effects are topnotch, and ultimately the movie has a trashy B movie charm about it. --Sean Axmaker
Stripped to the bare essentials, and the antithesis of Pink Floyd's epic live performances, David Gilmour in Concert is a low-key, classy affair. Using footage from 2001's Meltdown Concert and his Royal Festival Hall show in 2002, Gilmour performs a mix of solo compositions and Floyd classics. Opening with a lengthy acoustic version of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond", the show gradually gathers momentum as "Fat Old Sun" and "High Hopes" are tackled. Other legends such as Richard Wright and Bob Geldof make guest appearances, with Geldof providing complementary vocals for the second live version of "Comfortably Numb" featured. "Shine On" is also reprised mid-way, this time with added backing band, choir and electric guitar. Resembling more a classical than a rock concert, the audience attentively soak up Gilmour's performance, politely clapping at the right moments and never doing anything as undignified as standing up (although there are the occasional cat-calls). It's an excellent live recording that should appeal to all Gilmour's fans. On the DVD: David Gilmour in Concert on disc enhances the exclusivity and quality of the performances with crisp 5.1 surround (an ordinary stereo soundtrack is also available) and an anamorphically enhanced picture. --John Galilee
This landmark release captures the last Pink Floyd Division Bell tour in 1994 and was filmed at London's Earls Court during their record breaking 14 night residency. The two disc release contains the full concert performance with rare backstage footage and previously unseen extras. Disc One: Concert Part 1: 1. Shine On You Crazy Diamond 2. Learning To Fly 3. High Hopes 4. Take It Back 5. Coming Back To Life 6. Sorrow 7. Keep Talking 8. Another Brick In The Wall (P
Alan Strang (Peter Firth) is a troubled teenager who suffers from an uncontrollable urge to blind horses. In court, facing prosecution for his actions, psychiatrist Dr Martin Dysart (Richard Burton) attempts to unravel the root causes of Alan's pathologic affliction. Adapted by Peter Shaffer from his own landmark, Tony-winning play, Equus is a gripping psychological thriller exploring how corrupted ideals can lead to grave consequences. Special Features: To Be Confirmed ***FIRST PRESSING ONLY*** Fully illustrated booklet with new essays
A film adaptation of the play by Peter Shaffer, Equus stars Richard Burton as Martin Dysart, a psychiatrist who takes on an unusual case: a young stable boy (Peter Firth) who, in frenzy, has blinded six horses. Their sessions reveal that the boy has a quasi-religious fetish for horses and he rides them in the dead of night, experiencing an ecstasy unlike anything Dysart has ever known. Dysart begins to question: Is the pursuit of normalcy worth the loss of individual passions? Equus features a lot of hokum--its therapy scenes are absurd crescendos of revelation and insights--but its central question has substance, the direction is energetic, and the performances are powerful; Burton, handsome and haggard, brings a complex self-loathing to his role. It also features Jenny Agutter and Joan Plowright. --Bret Fetzer
Share the magical heartwarming true-life story that has become the most popular family film of all time - Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound Of Music. Julie Andrews lights up the screen as Maria the spirited young woman who leaves the convent to become governess to the seven children of Captain von Trapp an autocratic widower whose strict household rules leave no room for music or merriment. Winner of five Academy Awards including Best Picture this timeless cla
Air Bud is the proud father of five adorable puppies B-Dawg RoseBud Bud-Dha MudBud and Budderball. But these puppies have a secret - they can talk! And the hilarious hair-raising exploits of these barking talking ball-playing pups will have you cheering as they run off on a daring rescue mission to save their parents!
Who will claim the V for victory? Is there life out there? Finally we know. Because they are here. Alien spacecraft with humanlike passengers have come to Earth. They say they come in peace for food and water. The water they find in our reservoirs. The food they find walking about everywhere on two legs. That saga that began with V now culminates in a struggle to save the world in V: The Final Battle. Sci-fi film stalwarts Marc Singer Robert Englund and Michael Ironside head a
Dawn French casts off her 'Vicar Of Dibley' dog collar for some lurid rain-wearas she takes on a much talked about role as a lesbian in a close-knit coastal community. A quirky comedy set in the small picturesque yet rather odd coastal village of St Gweep. Mary always says what she thinks and is not averse to stocking the shop she runs with stolen goods while Angela's prim exterior masks an unhealthy obsession with some frilly frocks and strange phobias. And the village locals are every bit eccentric as the distinctively 'odd couple' in this charming and original series.
Transferred from Southampton Row to the Soho Vice Squad D.C.I. Tennison's first priority in the new job is 'Operation Contract' - a large-scale clean-up of prostitutes in the area. However the charred body of 17 year old rent boy Colin Jenkins is discovered in the burnt-out flat of transexual cabaret artiste Vera (Peter Capaldi) and once again Tennison finds herself embroiled in the politics of the latest homicide case as she tackles homophobia and perceptions of gender and sex both within and outside the police force.
Richard Burton stars in this exciting film about the courageous men who held off notorious German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel despite being hopelessly outnumbered. The year is 1941 and all that stands between Rommel and the Suez Canal is the fortress of Tobruk which is manned only by a small Australian battalion whom Captain MacRoberts (Burton) must whip into shape - fast! James Mason co-stars in a stunning portrayal as Rommel in this stirring action-packed story of the World War
The Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett story reveals the true story behind the legend and musician icon Syd Barrett. One of the most famous creators of psychedelic era Syd Barrett left Pink Floyd 35 years ago this year. His uncompromising rule breaking musical writing style has been credited as a major influence by bands even today.
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