Overtaking Jurassic Park as the UK's biggest box office attraction of 1998, and winning one of its four Academy Award nominations, The Full Monty was the surprise world-wide smash of the year, it's unexpected success reflecting the underdog inspiring message of the film itself. Leading a strong cast, it was Robert Carlyle's appearance here which propelled him to sex-symbol superstardom and brought him high-profile Hollywood roles in Angela's Ashes, The World is Not Enough and The Beach among others. The story revolves around the attempts of five unemployed grafters from the recession-hit industrial North to reclaim some of their dignity, which they attempt to do by the unlikely expedient of becoming male strippers. The film follows their struggle to become The Chippendales for real women, from their shambolic beginnings to their euphoric debut appearance in front of 300 hungry lasses! Saucy and spicy with a rocking soundtrack, The Full Monty tells of the triumph of spirit over adversity, reminding us that everyone can be special, no matter what their shape ... or size. This is British independent film making at its very best, exhibiting the heart-warming truthfulness captured by many UK directors, yet eschewing their often gloomy negativity for an altogether more optimistic outlook: it's a modern fairy tale in which all five Cinderellas get to go to the ball. --Paul Eisinger
Aaron Sorkin's American political drama The West Wing is more than mere feel-good viewing for sentimental US patriots. It is among the best-written, sharpest, funniest and most moving American TV series of all time. In its first series, The West Wing established the cast of characters comprising the White House staff. There's Chief of Staff Leo McGarry (John Spencer), a recovering alcoholic whose efforts to be the cornerstone of the administration contribute to the break-up of his marriage. CJ (Alison Janney) is the formidable Press Spokeswoman embroiled in a tentative on-off relationship with Timothy (Thirtysomething) Busfield's reporter. Brilliant but grumpy communications deputy Toby Ziegler, Rob Lowe's brilliant but faintly nerdy Sam Seaborn and brilliant but smart-alecky Josh Lyman make up the rest of the inner circle. Initially, the series' creators had intended to keep the President off-screen. Wisely, however, they went with Martin Sheen's Jed Bartlet, whose eccentric volatility, caution, humour and strength in a crisis make for such an impressively plausible fictional President that polls once expressed a preference for Bartlet over the genuine incumbent. The issues broached in the first series have striking, often prescient contemporary relevance. We see the President having to be talked down from a "disproportionate response" when terrorists shoot down a plane carrying his personal doctor, or acting as broker in a dangerous stand-off between India and Pakistan. Gun control laws, gays in the military and fundamentalist pressure groups are all addressed--the latter in a most satisfying manner ("Get your fat asses out of the White House!")--while the episode "Take This Sabbath Day" is a superb dramatic meditation on capital punishment. Handled incorrectly, The West Wing could have been turgid, didactic propaganda for The American Way. However, the writers are careful to show that, decent as this administration is, its achievements, though hard-won, are minimal. Moreover, the brisk, staccato-like, almost musical exchanges of dialogue, between Josh and his PA Donna, for instance, as they pace purposefully up and down the corridors are the show's abiding joy. This is wonderful and addictive viewing. --David Stubbs
They're bigger than the Loch Ness monster! Ronnie and Will two lads from Edinburgh embark on a non-violent spree of robberies. Dressing up in bizarre costumes the duo act as modern highwaymen robbing coach loads of tourists in the Highlands; eventually earning them the tag the Clown and the Wolfman. In the process they become folk heroes to the locals. Their adventures make for a whimsical and gentle comedy in the Bill Forsyth vein.
A small team of Vatican investigators arrive at a remote church in hopes of demystifying the buildings unusual goings on, but what they discover is more disturbing than they could ever imagine. Special FeaturesNew audio commentary by Actors Robin Hill and Gordon Kennedy, Producer Jennifer Handorf and Special Effects Designer Dan MartinDressed the Part: a new interview with Robin Hill and Gordon KennedyLosing Faith: a new interview with Jennifer HandorfMonster Goo: a new interview with Dan MartinArchive featurette: Behind the Scenes
WE HAVE SUCH SIGHTS TO SHOW YOU! In 1987, master of horror Clive Barker unleashed Hellraiser upon unsuspecting audiences launching what has proven to be one of the genre s most enduring franchises and creating an instant horror icon in the figure of Pinhead in the process. In Barker s original Hellraiser, Kirsty Cotton (Ashley Laurence) comes head-to-head with the Cenobites demonic beings from another realm who are summoned by way of a mysterious puzzle box. Picking up immediately after the events of the original Hellraiser, Hellbound: Hellraiser II finds Kirsty detained at a psychiatric institute and under the care of Dr. Channard, a man with an unhealthy interest in the occult. Meanwhile, Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth sees Pinhead and his band of Cenobites let loose in our own world, with terrifying consequences.
How would the legendary Sherlock Holmes cope if he lost his one-of-a-kind deductive skills? In Elementary TM: The Sixth Season, the famed detective Sherlock (Jonny Lee Miller) faces this devastating possibility when he is diagnosed with Post-Concussion Syndrome, a disorder that causes physical and cognitive symptoms including memory loss. With his career, calling and sobriety all at stake, he must rely even more on his steadfast partner Dr. Joan Watson (Lucy Liu). Together, they continue in their mission to crack the NYPD's most baffl ing crimes and puzzling cases. Your mind will be blown by all 21 thrilling episodes in this 6-disc collection as Sherlock fi ghts to overcome a mystery even he may not be able to solve. Special Features: Six Of One, Half Dozen Of The Other Making Friends Can Be Murder Elementary: Case In Point Deleted Scenes
The fourth season of intrigue within the Bartlet administration. 1. 20 Hours In America: Part I 2. 20 Hours In America: Part II 3. College Kids 4. The Red Mass 5. Debate Camp 6. Game On 7. Election Night 8. Process Stories 9. Swiss Diplomacy 10. Arctic Radar 11. Holy Night 12. Guns Not Butter 13. The Long Goodbye 14. Inauguration: Part I 15. Inauguration: Over There 16. The California 47th 17. Red Haven's On Fire 18. Privateers 19. Angel Maintenance 20. Evidence Of
A carefully crafted open-to-everything mixture of live-wire reality and controlled narrative Medium Cool is the debut fiction feature of Haskell Wexler who had already established himself as one of Hollywood’s premiere cinematographers in the post-studio-system-era on such films as Elia Kazan’s America America and Mike Nichols’ Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. In 1968 he hurled himself into the tear-gas of the cultural-political moment. The result was alongside Bonnie and Clyde and Easy Rider a seminal early work of what came to be known as “the New Hollywood”. John (the prolific Robert Forster who would find latter-day fame in Jackie Brown Mulholland Drive and Breaking Bad) plays a television cameraman who has become disenchanted as a creative subservient to the mainstream. Eileen (Verna Bloom latterly of High Plains Drifter and After Hours) depicts a newly relocated war-widow swept up in the maelstrom of the conflicts of the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago — the actual events of which serve as the spontaneous backdrop for Wexler’s picture. Documentary and narrative blur in the upheaval and chaos and perhaps only Peter Watkins’ Punishment Park stands analogous as such a powerful statement on the politics media and cinema of the late-‘60s — and the present. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present Haskell Wexler’s Medium Cool for the first time in the UK on Blu-ray and DVD. Special Features Including: Gorgeous 1080p presentation of the film on Blu-ray from the 4K digital film transfer approved by director Haskell Wexler Original trailer Booklet featuring new and archival writings and imagery
50 years on from its first transmission, the BBC's Play for Today anthology series remains one of British television's most influential and celebrated achievements. Between 1970 and 1984, plays which combined some of the era's finest writing, acting and directing talents were broadcast direct to living rooms, regularly challenging viewers and pushing the boundaries of TV drama. Featuring plays by the likes of Ingmar Bergman, Julia Jones and Colin Welland and featuring a roster of eminent British actors, Play for Today: Volume One brings together seven iconic dramas on Bluray for the very first time, in a collection that exemplifies the breadth and brilliance of this groundbreaking series. The set includes five plays which have been restored from the original negatives held in the BBC archive. The Plays: The Lie (Written by Ingmar Bergman | Dir. Alan Bridges, 1970) Shakespeare or Bust (Written by Peter Terson | Dir. Brian Parker, 1973) Back of Beyond (Written by Julia Jones | Dir. Desmond Davis, 1974) Passage to England (Written by Leon Griffiths | Dir. John Mackenzie, 1975) Our Flesh and Blood (Written by Mike Stott | Dir. Pedr James, 1977) A Photograph (Written by John Bowen | Dir. John Glenister, 1977) Your Man from Six Counties (Written by Colin Welland | Dir. Barry Davis, 1976)
Classic version of Hugo's tragic tale of unrequited love. Quasimodo is the deformed bellringer of Notre Dame taunted and brutalised by the townspeople because of his repellent appearance. Despite his outward appearance however Quasimodo has a tender heart as he demonstrates when he falls in love with beautiful gypsy girl Esmerelda.
Robert Redford, usually a pretty good judge of material, got snookered badly in Legal Eagles, an Ivan Reitman comedy which also stars Debra Winger and Daryl Hannah. Redford is a rising assistant D.A. who is prosecuting a woman (Hannah) for theft of a painting by her father. Before he knows whats hit him, hes involved romantically both with the defendant and with her scattered lawyer (Winger). Redford is as good as he can be, given the circumstances but this is a film that doesnt know where its going. Originally intended as a serious film about the legal wrangling over the estate of the late Mark Rothko, this film quickly degenerated when the script was turned over to Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr, whose sparkling oeuvre includes Turner and Hooch. --Marshall Fine, Amazon.com
Set in Nazi-occupied France at the height of World War Two the story centres on a young Scottish woman (Cate Blanchett) working with the French Resistance in the hope of rescuing her lover, a missing RAF pilot shot down behind enemy lines.
Whoopi Goldberg returns in a gratuitous, poorly written sequel that contrives a reason to get her character back into Maggie Smith's convent. The "socially conscious" plot finds Goldberg being asked to relate to a bunch of street kids and pull them together into a choir. Since a bad guy is needed, the script grabs that old chestnut about a rich guy (James Coburn) preparing to close down the convent's school, and runs with it. The film is slow and unconvincing from start to finish, although co-stars Mary Wickes and Kathy Najimy get some good laughs, and the music is pretty spirited. --Tom Keogh
Six men. With nothing to lose. Who dare to go....the full monty! Dole queue Job Club domestic discord - the world is falling apart for six unemployed Sheffield steelworkers. But one of them has had enough. Determined to beat the system Gaz (Carlyle) hatches a plan that will make him and his friends serious rich - and quickly! He convinces them that a strip routine will bring in the punters especially when that act reveals the ultimate - the Full Monty! As our local heroes
Murdoch Troon (Baxter) attempts to woo the daughter (Christie) of wealthy businessman Charles Chingford by impressing her with a vintage Bentley known as 'The Fast Lady'...
A small team of Vatican investigators arrive at a remote church in hopes of demystifying the buildings unusual goings on, but what they discover is more disturbing than they could ever imagine. Special FeaturesNew audio commentary by Actors Robin Hill and Gordon Kennedy, Producer Jennifer Handorf and Special Effects Designer Dan MartinDressed the Part: a new interview with Robin Hill and Gordon KennedyLosing Faith: a new interview with Jennifer HandorfMonster Goo: a new interview with Dan MartinArchive featurette: Behind the ScenesLimited Edition ContentsRigid slipcase with new artwork by Christopher Shy70-page book with new essays by Tim Coleman, Martyn Conterio, Shellie McMurdo and Johnny Walker6 collectors' art cards
Halle Berry stars as a successful criminal psychologist who wakes up to find herself a patient in her own mental institution with no memory of the murder she's apparently committed.
In this explosive story of revenge and urban violence Charles Bronson plays Paul Kersey a bleeding-heart liberal who has a change of opinion after his wife and daughter are violently attacked by a gang of thugs in their apartment. His daughter is raped and his wife is raped and murdered. Bronson then turns vigilante as he stalks the mean streets of New York on the prowl for muggers hoodlums and the like. Death Wish is a violent controversial film that is frank and original in its treatment of urban crime and the average citizen's helplessness in dealing with it. Herbie Hancock wrote the musical score and Jeff Goldblum makes his big screen debut as one of the thugs.
Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore reunite for a romantic comedy about a vet who must seduce the love of his life every single day due to her short-term memory problem.
Sister Act: A Hilariously Divine Comedy!"" -ABC Radio Network. Relive all the fun laughter and irresistible music of Sister Act - the inspired comedy hit that packed pews everywhere! Whoopi Goldberg stars as a sassy low-rent lounge singer forced to hide out from the mob in the last place anyone would ever look for her - a convent. While she's there her irreverent behavior attracts a flock of faithful followers and turns the nuns' tone-deaf choir into a soulful chorus of swin
Please wait. Loading...
This site uses cookies.
More details in our privacy policy