Boasting a virtuoso comic performance from Leonard Rossiter The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin (1976-79) remains one of the greatest of all television sitcoms. Writer David Nobbs combined the surrealist absurdity of Monty Python with an on-going story line that unfolded through each of the three seasons with a clear beginning, middle and end; a ground-breaking development in 70s TV comedy. The first and best season charts middle-aged, middle-management executive Reginald Perrin as he breaks-down under the stress of middle-class life until he informs the world that half the parking meters in London have Dutch Parking Meter Disease. He fakes suicide and returns to court his wife Elizabeth (Pauline Yates) in disguise, a plot development that formed the entire basis of Mrs Doubtfire (1993). Series Two is broader, the rapid-fire dialogue still razor sharp and loaded with caustic wit and ingenious silliness, as a now sane Reggie takes on the madness of the business world by opening a chain of shops selling rubbish. The third season, set in a health farm, is routine, the edge blunted by routine sitcom conventions. At its best The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin is hilarious and moving, its depiction of English middle-class life spot on, its satire prophetic. Reggie's visual fantasies hark back to The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947) and Billy Liar (1963), and look forward to Ally McBeal (1997-2002) and are the icing on the cake of a fine, original and highly imaginative show. On the DVD: Reginald Perrin's discs contain one complete seven episode season. There are no extras. The sound is good mono and the 4:3 picture is generally fine, though some of the exterior shot-on-film scenes have deteriorated and there are occasional signs of minor damage to the original video masters. Even so, for a 1970s sitcom shot on video the picture is excellent and far superior to the original broadcasts. --Gary S Dalkin
Ben Elton's Shakepearean sitcom returns to see talented but low-born baldy-boots Will Shakespeare (David Mitchell) continue his quest to make his name as a playwright in Tudor London, a city where unfortunately being posh and well-connected turns out to be more important than being a genius. Meanwhile Will also has a bit of a problem with his work life balance and it's one hell of a commute back and forth to Stratford-upon-Avon to spend time with his loving but loud family. This series reveals some of the surprising stories behind Will's plays, including a brush with an African general with a bit of a jealous streak; a shrewish teenage daughter who may or may not need some tamingĀ; the early draft of Twelfth Night, working title Eighth Night; the little known story of how Shakespeare invented musical theatre with the help of a madrigal-writing rocker (Noel Fielding); the original inspiration for Falstaff; a very merry Shakespearean Christmas featuring Emma Thompson in a regal guest role; and of course a great deal of wit, ale, pies and women dressing as men
From the filmmakers behind Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc. and Cars comes Toy Story 2. Enter Disney/Pixar's incredible world with Woody, Buzz, Jessie and Bullseye in the movie that shows us what being a toy, and a friend is all about. Bonus: Toy Story 3 Trailer Buzz Lightyear Mission Logs: International SpaceStation 3 Animated Studio Stories Pixar's Zoetrope Making Toy Story 2 Toy Box: Outtakes & Alternate Scenes Deleted Scenes & Design Galleries And Over 60 Minutes More Bonus!
What made the original Toy Story so great, besides its significant achievement as the first-ever feature-length computer animated film, was its ability to instantly transport viewers into a magical world where it seemed completely plausible that toys were living, thinking beings who sprang to life the minute they were alone and wanted nothing more than to be loved and played with by their children. Toy Story 3 absolutely succeeds in the very same thing--adults and children alike, whether they've seen the original film or not, find themselves immediately immersed in a world in which Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), Jessie (Joan Cusack), Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head (Don Rickles and Estelle Harris), Ham (John Ratzenberger), Rex (Wallace Shawn), the aliens, and the rest of Andy's toys remain completely devoted to Andy (John Morris) even as he's getting ready to pack up and leave for college. Woody scoffs at the other toys' worries that they'll end up in the garbage, assuring them that they've earned a spot of honor in the attic, but when the toys are mistakenly donated to Sunnyside Daycare, Woody is the only toy whose devotion to Andy outweighs the promise of getting played with each and every day. Woody sets off toward home alone while the other toys settle in for some daycare fun, but things don't turn out quite as expected at the daycare thanks to the scheming, strawberry-scented old-timer bear Lots-o'-Huggin' (Ned Beatty). Eventually, Woody rejoins his friends and they all attempt a daring escape from the daycare, which could destroy them all. The pacing of the film is impeccable at this point, although the sense of peril may prove almost too intense for a few young viewers. Pixar's 3-D computer animation is top-notch as always and the voice talent in this film is tremendous, but in the end, it's Pixar's uncanny ability to combine drama, action, and humour in a way that irresistibly draws viewers into the world of the film that makes Toy Story 3 such great family entertainment. (Ages 7 and older) --Tami Horiuchi
The ultimate depiction of workplace perdition has to be Whitbury Leisure Centre in The Brittas Empire, despite the later claim of The Office to the title. And while David Brent seems all too uncomfortably real, Chris Barrie's Gordon Brittas carried the gung-ho officiousness of mediocre middle-management to its surreal conclusion. The Brittas Empire could never quite make up its mind if it was a quasi-realistic sitcom or a fantasy comedy, and it's this uneasy mixture that invites you to question whether there's anything terribly funny about unplanned single parenthood, childcare problems, assault in the workplace and women who are addicted to prescription drugs (see also Waiting for God) because of their partners' behaviour. Then, just as you're pondering all this, Brittas comes out with another mouthful of managerial psychobabble that makes you realise that only this kind of tragi-comic exaggeration is robust enough to stand up to Barrie's monstrous creation. This second series treads a fine line between the merely bleak and the really rather nasty with exquisite precision. It opens with the news that Brittas has been killed abroad in an industrial accident, prompting his tranquillizer-addled wife to mourn him for less time than it takes her to remarry--except, of course, that Brittas is alive and well. Along the way, receptionist Carole attempts to murder Brittas with a JCB when she mistakenly thinks he's assaulted her baby, which she keeps in a cupboard under her desk. On the DVD: The Brittas Empire, Series 2 carries all seven episodes on two discs, together with several extras including a gallery, a profile and a Brittas Management Quiz (don't ask!). --Roger Thomas
There are two sides to every lie... James Wayland (Roth) is not a typical murder suspect: he's fabulously wealthy a Princeton graduate and has the I.Q. level of a genius. But Detectives Braxton (Chris Penn) and Kennesaw (Michael Rooker) sense that there's more than meets the eye when they interrogate him for the brutal killing of a beautiful call girl (Zellweger). As their search for the truth takes a suddenly dangerous turn Braxton and Kennesaw realize that Wayland is a master m
The latest movie taken from TV's Saturday Night Live is about a politically incorrect TV show host desperately tracking down a wealthy lost love.
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
This is a terrible movie. Frank Marshall (Arachnophobia) demonstrates no control over story, actors, effects or general presentation in this adaptation of a Michael Crichton novel about an expedition into deep, dark Africa that runs into an unknown race of killer apes. The big monkeys attack and attack and attack and have to be fought off with machine guns and lasers--that's pretty much the story, except there's probably an even better one behind "fourth Ghostbuster" Ernie Hudson's bizarre decision to speak with a British accent. While Marshall wants us to root for the human characters, they're all so obnoxious and unbelievable you can't help but feel lousy for the poor apes when they get chopped to bits just for defending their homes against these twerps. If you're not feeling enough environmentalist ire these days, watch this and get angry. --Tom Keogh
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975): Relive Richard O'Brien's sinfully twisted salute to horror, sci-fi, B-movies and rock music - a 'sensual daydream to treasure forever' - starring Tim Curry (in his classic gender-bending performance), Barry Bostwick and Oscar winner Susan Sarandon. Do the 'Time Warp' and sing 'Hot Patootie' with Meatloaf again... and again... and again... at home, or in a movie theater, where it will probably be playing for another 25 years! Shoc...
Into each generation is born a creature of light and a creature of darkness. 1934. The Dustbowl. The last great age of magic. In a time of titanic sandstorms vile plagues drought and pestilence - signs of God's fury and harbingers of the Apocalypse - the final conflict between good and evil is about to begin. The battle will take place in the Heartland of an empire called America. And when it is over man will forever trade away wonder for reason. A sweeping epic that is both chal
Michael Faraday (Jeff Bridges) and his 10 year old son Grant (Spencer Treat Clark) are both trying to come to terms with the loss two years earlier of Michael's wife Grant's mother. When they befriend a family from across the road things seem to get a little better for them. However as the families become closer Michael starts having misgivings about Oliver and Cheryl Lang (Tim Robbins Joan Cusack) and begins investigating them. He soon realises that the Langs are definitely no
Another masked avenger is reincarnated as a big budget movie. Idle playboy Lamont Cranston (Alec Baldwin), schooled in Tibetan mysticism, fights crime in late '30s New York while wearing a natty hat and false beak. He finds time to romance telepathic sweetie Margo Lane (Penelope Miller), whose crusty old scientist Dad (Ian McKellen) has just invented an atom bomb which is in danger of falling into the hands of Shiwan Khan (John Lone), conquest-happy last descendent of Genghis Khan.Director Russell Mulcahy turns out the regulation death traps (a locked chamber filling with water, a bomb timer which ticks away during the climax) and the Shadow breezes through via nifty "invisible" effects. It evokes the conventions and charms of 1930s' pulp fiction in rather more nostalgic mode than Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, and adds little of its own attitude, although a sly camp sensibility (notably in the extremely chi-chi Tim Curry and John Lone as the villains) goes for snickering at the expense of tension. A pleasant, eye-pleasing movie but, after the super-heroic likes of Batman, The Crow and The Mask, the merely mysterious Shadow seems somewhat grandfatherly and remote. --Kim Newman
Meg Ryan stars in this fact-inspired drama as a woman who defied all the odds when she entered the male dominated world of boxing management and took it by storm.
A fourth series of leisure centre management mishaps with Gordon Brittas. Episodes comprise: 1. Not A Good Day... 2. The Christening 3. Biggles Tells A Lie 4. Mr Brittas Changes Trains 5. Playing With Fire 6. Shall We Dance? 7. The Chop 8. High Noon
Taken from a long-running DC Comics strip, Wonder Woman was made into a popular television series between 1978 and 1981, starring former Miss America, Lynda Carter. Capturing the hearts of TV audiences with her sexy outfit as much as her superheroine abilities, Wonder Woman quickly became a kitsch icon, battling the forces of evil with the unforgettably camp "garb of justice", including bullet-proof bangles, a golden lasso and the belt of strength built into her corset. She had an invisible plane, too. Originally Princess Diana of Paradise Island (an uncharted land of Amazon women in the Bermuda Triangle), Wonder Woman is sent as an emissary to the outside world to protect the human race from the forces of evil. And so she becomes Diana Prince, the geeky, bespectacled assistant to Steve Trevor of the Inter Agency Defence Command in Washington, whose father she assisted against the Nazis in the 1940s. --Laura Bushell
An Oscar winning biopic about Aileen Wuornos, a highway prostitute who was executed for killing seven men in the state of Florida during the 1980s.
John Badham's family-orientated adventure comedy Short Circuit, though obviously hatched in the wake of E.T. and Star Wars, manages to create its own identity through a sweet tone and an affectionate sense of fun. Military robot Number 5, a well-armed killing machine, is zapped by lightning during a test and emerges with a wacky sense of humour and a new peace-loving philosophy. Ally Sheedy (who debuted in Badham's hit WarGames) is the animal-lover whose home is sanctuary for a zoo-full of strays and who adopts the adolescent robot. Steve Guttenberg is the goofy but reclusive robotics designer who goes off in search of his creation to save him from the gun-happy army. The mix of gentle slapstick and innocent romance makes for a harmless family comedy. It veers toward the terminally cute, what with Number 5's hyperactive antics and E.T.-ish voice, and the mangled grammar of Guttenberg's East Indian sidekick (Fisher Stevens) threatens to become offensive, but Badham's breezy direction keeps the film on track. Sheedy and Guttenberg deliver spirited and engaging performances, but most importantly the robot emerges as a real person. Give credit to designer Syd Mead, an army of puppeteers and robotics operators, and the cartoony voice of Tim Blaney: Number 5 is alive. --Sean Axmaker
The toys celebrate their 10th birthday with this amazing double pack set.
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