This 1984 version of the Dickens' classic `A Christmas Carol ' directed by Clive Donner stars George C. Scott as Ebenezer Scrooge. A miserable old man who hates the festive season is taught the true meaning of Christmas in this definitive version of Dickens' Yuletide tale.
In Cross of Iron Sam Peckinpah weighs in on World War II from the German point of view. The result is as bleak, if not quite as bloody, as one expects from the director of The Wild Bunch, in part because this 1977 film was cut to ribbons by nervous studio executives. The assorted excerpts that remain don't constitute an exhilarating or even an especially thrilling battle epic. The war is grinding to a close, and veterans like James Coburn's Steiner are grimly aware that it's a lost cause. The battlefield is a death trap of sucking mud and barbed wire, and the German generals (viz., the martinet played by James Mason) seem to pose a bigger threat to the life and limbs of Steiner's men than the inexorable enemy. Not even Peckinpah's famous sensuous exuberance when shooting violence is much in evidence; the picture is a depressive, claustrophobically overcast experience. The bloody high (or low) point isn't a shooting; it's a wince-inducing de-penis-tration during oral sex. For a fun time with the men in (Nazi) uniform, try Das Boot instead. --David Chute, Amazon.com
Roger Moore was introduced as James Bond in this 1973 action movie featuring secret agent 007. More self-consciously suave and formal than predecessor Sean Connery, he immediately re-established Bond as an uncomplicated and wooden fellow for the '70s. This film also marks a deviation from the more character-driven stories of the Connery years, a deliberate shift to plastic action (multiple chases, bravura stunts) that made the franchise more of a comic book or machine. If that's not depressing enough, there's even a good British director on board, Guy Hamilton (Force 10 from Navarone). The story finds Bond taking on an international drug dealer (Yaphet Kotto), and while that may be superficially relevant, it isn't exactly the same as fighting super-villains on the order of Goldfinger. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.comOn the DVD: Anyone old enough to remember the old milk marketing board commercials will relish the sight of James Bond exhorting everyone to "drink a pinta milka day" in one of the TV spots included here. Elsewhere in the special features, the characteristically in-depth "making of" featurette has a mixture of both contemporary and new interviews plus behind-the-scenes footage (the alligator-jumping sequence is positively hair-raising). The first of two audio commentaries is hosted by John Quark of the Ian Fleming Foundation and features a variety of cast and crew members, notably director Guy Hamilton; the second has writer Tom Mankiewicz on his own, who in between pauses has the occasional interesting thing to say. Overall another good package of features to accompany another excellent anamorphic print. --Mark Walker
From the celebrated team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger comes this artistic masterpiece. Roger Livesey brilliantly portrays a British officer, Clive Candy, through the trials and tribulations of three wars, three loves and a lifelong friendship across enemy lines. Starring Roger Livesey, Deborah Kerr and Anton Walbrook. Special Features: A Profile of the Life and Death of Colonel Blimp - This exclusive 25 minute documentary includes interviews with cinematographer Jack Cardiff, Powell and Pressburger biographer Ian Christie and fan of the film Stephen Fry Martin Scorsese Restoration Piece Stills Gallery Biographies
Written by Peter Morgan (The Other Boleyn Girl, The Queen), The Jury is a compelling, character based drama series which focuses on the everyday people who find themselves at the centre of one of the most controversial criminal re-trials of their time.Focussing on the retrial of a man sentenced for the murder of three women - all killed following internet dates. A key piece of evidence was deliberately ignored by the CPS, possibly because the police were under pressure for a quick conviction and blackmail was being used over a senior person involved with the investigation who was having an affair. Ultimately, we will see the man acquitted but it will be an imperfect, messy, human triumph for the jury by acquitting the man.Gripping, dark and emotionally charged as jurors are forced to face their prejudices as they come to grips with the complexities and unwanted attention of being a key player in such a high profile Old Bailey trial.
Although indisputably a film by Woody Allen, Interiors is about as far from "a Woody Allen film" as you can get--and maybe more people could have seen what a fine film it is if they hadn't been expecting what Allen himself called "one of his earlier, funnier movies." An entirely serious, rather too self-consciously Bergmanesque drama about a divorcing elderly couple and their grown daughters, it is slow, meditative and constructed with a brilliant, artistic eye. There is no music--a simple effect that Allen uses with extraordinary power. In fact, half the film is filled with silent faces staring out of windows, yet the mood is so engaging, hypnotic even, that you never feel the director is poking you in the ribs and saying, "sombre atmosphere". Diane Keaton, released for once from the ditzy stereotype, shines as the "successful" daughter. Some of the dialogue is stilted and it's hard to tell whether this is a deliberate effect or simply the way repressed upscale New Yorkers talk after too many years having their self-absorption sharpened on the therapist's couch. Fanatical, almost childish self-regard is the chief subject of Allen's comedy--it's remarkable that in this film he was able to remove the comedy but leave room for us to pity and care about these rather irritating people. --Richard Farr
As In the Flesh--Live confirms, Pink Floyd fans can still get to hear their favourite numbers sung by the man who originated much of the band's songbook. Roger Waters took his latest show around a number of American stadiums in the summer of 2000, including a generous helping of Floyd numbers from 1968 to 83, and a selection from his subsequent solo albums. Tracks from The Wall make up the largest proportion of the concert, its angst lessened when interspersed among the more prog-rock ethos of the earlier 70s. His bass playing secure, Waters' voice has survived the passing of time reasonably well. He has the benefit of an emotional call-and-response with Katie Kissoon in "Mother", and serviceable back-up from Doyle Bramhall II, who overdoes the histrionics in recreating Dave Gilmour's guitar parts. The backing band is a class act, with Snowy White and Andy Fairweather Low trusty and responsive guitarists, and a rhythm section underpinned by Graham Broad's solid drumming. One for long-time fans, but a classy presentation in the best Floyd traditions. On the DVD: the High Definition visuals reproduce with needle-sharp accuracy--and a choice between 5.1 Dolby Digital or Surround Encoded PCM Stereo enables you to savour the elaborate stage set-up to the full (a technical guide is included). There are detailed biographies of all 10 band members, two dozen diverse photographic stills and a 20-minute behind-the-scenes documentary, with Waters seen inventing new card games and lending out replacement socks! --Richard Whitehouse
In Roger Moore's first outing as 007 he investigates the murders of three fellow agents he soon finds himself a target evading vicious assassins as he closes in on the powerful Kananga (Yaphet Kotto). Known on the streets as Mr Big Kananga is co-ordinating a globally threatening scheme using tons of self-produced heroin. As Bond tries to unravel the mastermind's plan he meets Solitaire (Jane Seymour) the beautiful Tarot card reader whose magical gifts are crucial to the crime lord. Bond of course works his own magic on her and the stage is set for a series of pulse-pounding action sequences involving voodoo hungry crocodiles and turbo-charged speedboats.
Holland (Charles Bronson) a professional killer is persuaded to come out of retirement when his friend a Latin American journalist is tortured to death by his country's dictator - the sadistic Dr. Clement Moloch. The journalist's widow Rhiana (Theresa Saldana) and her daughter Sarah provide cover for Holland by posing as his family. As Holland gets closer to Moloch and his coterie he begins to fear more for 'his' family's safety and insists they leave so he can get on with his deadly mission but the idealistic Rhiana is determined to witness the death of her husband's killer.
Oxford's brilliant young detective opens the casebook on a brand new set of perilous murder mysteries as Endeavour returns. Barely a fortnight has passed since the dramatic finale of series three, and we find Oxford's finest picking up the pieces of their lives. Endeavour waits to hear the results of his Sergeant's exam, self-medicating to numb his heartache but whisky will only get a man so far. With the summer of 1967 fading into autumn, and the Cold War on the rise, Endeavour and senior officer DI Thursday soon find themselves plunged into their most baffling and darkly terrifying investigations to date.
Breezy (Kay Lenz), a young, footloose hitch-hiker escaping from a lecherous driver, takes refuge in the car of Frank Harman (William Holden). He's a divorced, middle-aged real estate agent and these two very different people don't see eye to eye when they come across an injured dog. But somehow he and Breezy come to forge an unusual relationship, against all conventional expectations.
Dawn French dons her cassock and collar once more for two very special episodes of The Vicar of Dibley one of the BBC's most popular comedies. It boasts the brilliant comic writing of Richard Curtis (Love Actually Bridget Jones's Diary) and a gifted ensemble cast including Emma Chambers (Notting Hill) and Richard Armitage (BBC's Robin Hood). The Handsome Stranger - Gerry is fed up with all the townies buying weekend cottages in Dibley -- that is until she meets one particularly charming newcomer. Could he be the one? Or is it Gerry's destiny to end up heartbroken in another 6-foot deep puddle? The Vicar in White - After presiding over the marriages of hundreds of other people it appears Gerry's big day has finally arrived. Appearances can be deceptive however especially when the eccentric residents of Dibley are doing the planning!
AFRICA UNITED tells the extraordinary story of three Rwandan children and their bid to achieve their ultimate dream - to take part in the opening ceremony of the 2010 Football World Cup in Johannesburg.
James Bond (Roger Moore) may have met his match in Octopussy (Maud Adams), an entrancing beauty involved in a devastating military plot to destroy detente. From the palaces of India to a speeding circus train in Germany and a mid-air battle on the wing of a high-flying jet, only Agent 007 can stop the nightmarish scheme!
What would have happened if Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson had met as schoolboys? Why the solution is elementary - nothing but adventure! And that's just what director Barry Levinson gives us in this special effects spectacular that sends the super-sleuth on his very first case! When a plague of bizarre puzzling murders grip London young Holmes and his new found friend Watson find themselves unwittingly entangled in the dark mystery. So 'the fame is afoot!' And the budding detect
James Bond (Roger Moore) may have met his match in Francisco Scaramanga (Christopher Lee) a world-renowned assassin whose weapon of choice is a distinctive gold pistol. When Scaramanga seizes the priceless Solex Agitator energy converter Agent 007 must recover the device and confront the trained killer in a heart-stopping duel to the death!
The most British of British sitcoms, The Vicar of Dibley's well-earned success has nothing to do with the whoops-mind-my-bosoms potential in casting Dawn French in the role of a female vicar foisted upon a sleepy and ultra-conservative English village. Rather this series, set in a rural, largely middle-class environment, is essentially the flip side of, say, Inspector Morse. It's resolutely un-dumbed down, with scalpel-sharp dialogue and a standard of humour that owes more to Tom Stoppard than to mainstream primetime comedy. This release includes the entire first series, in which the vicar has to deal with the inevitable bemusement caused by her arrival and her well-intentioned involvement in the affairs of the community, together with the superbly funny episode in which she realises she's accepted several invitations to Christmas lunch and can't bring herself to disappoint any of the hosts (never before has a sprout-eating contest provoked so much mirth). Above all, though, watch out for the episode which features Kylie Minogue giving the kind of hands-on performance usually associated with classic Morecambe and Wise or Ab Fab--when stars of this stature are happy to send themselves up in a television comedy, you know it's a good sign. On the DVD: The DVD features a slightly bogus "extra" that strings together French's legendary jokes, which, thankfully, also appear in their original locations at the end of each episode.--Roger Thomas
Caught midway between 1970s soft-porn clunker The Story of O and Bunuel's sado-masochistic fantasy Belle de Jour, the 1968 erotic curio Girl on a Motorcycle is one of Marianne Faithfull's chief claims to notoriety. She stars as Rebecca, a leather-clad, former bookstore clerk in search of sexual fulfilment who flees her dependable schoolteacher husband for a dangerous liaison with Daniel (Alain Delon), a dashing Professor addicted to speed. The story is told entirely in flashbacks as Rebecca rockets along the road, having donned her leathers and walked out on her sleeping husband at the crack of dawn. It all must have seemed fairly daring and provocative in 1968, providing viewers with ample opportunities to view a naked Faithfull at the height of her allure. But today the existential musings of the lead character seem achingly pretentious, the erotic symbolism merely gawky and unintentionally amusing: the sight of Alain Delon with a phallic pipe dangling from his mouth is like something out of a Rene Magritte painting. The sex scenes between Delon and Faithfull are all swamped in a polarised visual effect that, while garish and psychedelic, is dated and distinctly unerotic. Director Jack Cardiff is better known as a cinematographer on classics such as The African Queen and Black Narcissus. Among Cardiff's other directorial credits is a worthy adaptation of DH Lawrence's Sons & Lovers, but Girl on a Motorcycle is a saucy road movie with no final destination. On the DVD: This DVD version is misleadingly presented as being the fully restored and uncut version of the film. Yet it was the US version not the European one that was heavily cut (and titillatingly re-titled "Naked Under Leather"). The restoration certainly does not refer to the print quality: although the colours are vivid and bright, the print used to master the DVD (in 16:9 anamorphic format) is extremely grainy and, at times, speckled with dirt and scratches. Included as one of the special features, a theatrical trailer loaded with innuendo shows just how much the film was marketed to a prurient audience. Director Jack Cardiff provides an audio commentary but has few revelatory things to say about his film beyond technical considerations, and even makes several clunking errors (recalling his casting decisions concerning a scene that takes place in a provincial German café, he raves about how he strove to find authentic French locals!). He does reveal that the film's use of a voice-over was inspired by the internal monologue that forms the basis of James Joyce's Ulysses. Given Cardiff's age and experience one feels that he must have more interesting anecdotes and insights, making this commentary feel like a wasted opportunity. --Chris Campion
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