The biggest hit of 1990, Ghost is part comedy, part romance, part supernatural thriller. Patrick Swayze, previously best known for Dirty Dancing, stars as Sam, the banker who is killed following a mugging. Caught in a limbo between here and the afterlife, he uses Whoopi Goldberg's fake psychic as an intermediary to warn wife Molly (Demi Moore) that his death was no accident but a murder and that she is in danger too. Ghost's original popularity and notoriety originally arose not from its dealings with the supernatural but the scene involving Moore fondly astride her potter's wheel fashioning a somewhat phallic-shaped vase, with Swayze fondly astride her. So infamous did this scene become that it's now more likely to raise a chuckle than a sultry sigh. As for the rest of the movie, it still somehow manages to engage despite the awkward juxtaposition of lachrymose melodrama and zaniness. Demi Moore, whose massive Hollywood success was always a mystery to some, is a little flat as the tomboy-coiffed Molly, her tears occasionally seeming onion-induced. Swayze, however, delivers as Sam while Whoopi Goldberg turns in the best performance of her career, delivering the requisite zip and sass to what otherwise might have been a morose movie. On the DVD: Though well restored, DVD enhancement has only served to emphasise the slightly quaint feel of the special effects here--Ghost was made just prior to the digital era. Otherwise, this is a good package and an essential purchase for fans. There's a 22-minute featurette, "Remembering the Magic", in which scriptwriter Bruce Joel Rubin explains that the film was inspired by the scene in Hamlet in which the Prince meets his Father, and how initially appalled he was that his masterpiece of the supernatural was to be directed by Jerry Zucker, previously responsible for Airplane!. They also reveal that Tina Turner was originally cast for the Goldberg role. Zucker and Rubin team up for a funny commentary track. --David Stubbs
Australian miniseries starring Romola Garai and Jack Davenport. The drama tells the epic story of 19-year-old Mary Bryant (Garai) who was transported on the First Fleet to the new penal colony at Botany Bay, Australia. She escaped with her husband, her two small children and a handful of other male convicts on a tiny boat to Timor some 3500 miles away, but was subsequently recaptured and returned to England as a prisoner. The cast also includes Alex O'Loughlin, Sam Neill and Tony Martin.
One of the most endearing and intelligent romantic comedies of the 1990s, the Oscar-winning Shakespeare in Love is filled with such good will, sunny romance, snappy one-liners and devilish cleverness that it's absolutely irresistible. With tongue placed firmly in cheek, at its outset the film tracks young Will Shakespeare's overwrought battle with writer's block and the efforts of theatre owner Philip Henslowe (Geoffrey Rush, in rare form) to stage Will's latest comedy, Romeo and Ethel, the Pirate's Daughter. Jokey comedy, though, soon takes a backseat to ravishing romance when the beautiful Viola De Lesseps (Gwyneth Paltrow) disguises herself as a young man to wangle herself an audition in the all-male cast and wins both the part of Romeo and, after much misunderstanding, the playwright's heart. Soon enough, Will's pirate comedy becomes the beautiful, tragic Romeo and Juliet, reflecting the agony and ecstasy of Will and Viola's romance--he's married and she's set to marry the slimy Lord Wessex (Colin Firth). The way that Oscar-winning screenwriters Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard enfold their story within the parameters of Romeo and Juliet (and even Twelfth Night) is nothing short of brilliant--it would take a Shakespearean scholar to dissect the innumerable parallels, oft-quoted lines, plot developments, and thematic borrowings. And most amazingly, Norman and Stoppard haven't forgotten to entertain their audience in addition to riding a Shakespearean roller coaster, with director John Madden (Mrs. Brown) reigning in his huge ensemble with rollicking energy. Along the way there are small gems to be found, including Judi Dench's eight-minute, Oscar-winning turn as a truly regal Queen Elizabeth, but the key element of Shakespeare in Love's success rests on the milky-white shoulders of its two stars. Fiennes, inexplicably overlooked at Oscar time, is a dashing, heartfelt Will and as for Best Actress winner Paltrow, well, nothing she'd done before could have prepared viewers for how amazing she is here. Breathtakingly beautiful, fiercely intelligent, strong-willed and lovestruck--it's a performance worthy of Shakespeare in more ways than one. By the film's end, you'll be thoroughly won over--and brushing up your Shakespeare with newfound ardour. --Mark Englehart
When 13-year-old Minty goes to stay with her Aunt Mary she discovers a magical secret within the grounds of the local old mansion. When night time comes and the light of the moon falls on a sundial Minty is transported back in time where she discovers two children at the mercy of evil forces in the BBC children's classic.
With the slash of a steel blade and the mark of a 'Z' he defends the weak and exploits and avenges the wrongs committed against them... It has been twenty years since Don Diego de la Vega (Anthony Hopkins) successfully fought Spanish oppression in Alta California as the legendary romantic hero Zorro. He transforms troubled bandit Alejandro (Antonio Banderas) into his successor in order to stop the tyrannical Don Rafael Montero (Stuart Wilson) who robbed him of his freedom his
Contains the film titles: Top Hat: A musical comedy full of high style romance mistaken identity... and Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing and singing 11 of Irving Berlin's best songs. When Jerry Travers meets lovely Dale Tremont it's love at first sight for him. Unfortunately Dale's affections chill when she mistakenly believes he's her best friend's new husband. Now she's engaged to someone else... Will she find out Jerry's real identity before she goes ahead and mak
'Yanks' is the moving story of American servicemen stationed in England during the Second World War and the impact that their presence had on the lives of people in a small Lancashire village. This beautifully filmed drama follows three American soldiers and the relationships that they form with three local women: Jean Helen and Mollie. The relationships that blossom would affect their lives forever. This romantic and memorable movie highlights the cultural differences that ex
Valley Of The Dolls: An adaptation of Jacqueline Susann's trashy novel telling the story of three remarkable women whose lives are affected by show-business celebrity. Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls: An uninhibited all-girl rock trio and their manager arrive in Hollywood to claim an inheritance due to one of the group. They meet Ronnie Barzell a strange personality but a gifted promoter who soon has the combo headed for the big time. During their ascent the girls beco
Inspector Gadget 2 sees the unlikely detective with higher-tech gadgets and more special effects. French Stewart (from TV's Third Rock from the Sun) replaces Matthew Broderick as the bumbling detective in a plot that revolves around the glitch-ridden Gadget being replaced by a completely robotised female. Parent Trap's Elaine Hendrix does what little she can with the one-dimensional role of "G2". Still, Gadget falls for his rival and the pair team up with his smart-as-a-whip niece Penny and her brainy beagle for a showdown with Claw. Where Broderick struggled to humanise the caricature of an inept detective in the 1999 original, Stewart doesn't even try. Instead he plays Gadget as a cartoon with endless over-the-top theatrics. The enhanced special effects may placate young viewers, but without the comedy of the original, that's small comfort. --Kimberly Heinrichs
A romantic thriller in which yuppie banker Sam Wheat (Patrick Swayze) is murdered but returns to Earth as a ghost to protect his grief-stricken young girlfriend Molly (Demi Moore) and solve his own murder. As he cannot communicate directly with his love he turns to fake medium Oda Mae Brown (Whoopi Goldberg) for help. Nobody is more shocked than Oda Mae to discover she has the genuine power to contact the dead. Goldberg won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance and Bruce Joel Rubin won the statuette for Best Original Screenplay.
Set against the backdrop of the 80's music scene, this documentary charts the meteoric rise, fall and ultimate reunion of pop sensation, Spandau Ballett told by the band members themselves with unseen archive footage that will thrill the many fans and beyond.
In the days of silent film serials one of the noblest trios to grace the screen and get the bad guys was the Three Amigos: Dusty Bottoms (Chevy Chase) Lucky Day (Steve Martin) and Ned Nederlander (Martin Short). But when their Hollywood glory days wane they receive a letter from a desperate community in Mexico that thinks their heroic characters are for real: they want the Three Amigos to come to their tiny Mexican village and defeat the notorious bandit El Guapo (Alfonso Arau).
A CCTV operator has to confront a man she thought she would never see again.
A CCTV operator has to confront a man she thought she would never see again.
Till the Clouds Roll By was the big MGM extravaganza of 1946, purporting to be a life of the first giant of the stage musical, Jerome Kern. Great chunks of Show Boat, Sweet Adeline and Sunny dominate while, in between excerpts, reliable Robert Walker does valiant work as Kern, lending a gentle credibility to even the most extravagant licenses taken by the writers. The liberties taken with Kern's story beggar belief, but what a fine excuse this is to sit back and enjoy a procession of gems from the great American songbook, performed by genuine legends. Judy Garland has two numbers as Marilyn Miller, both directed by husband Vincente Minnelli at the peak of their creative and personal relationships. Singing "Who?", she has to float down the proverbial staircase, obviously pregnant (Liza was born a short time later). Others to shine include Kathryn Grayson, June Allyson, Dinah Shore and, more bizarrely, a skinny young Sinatra drafted in at the last for a rousing "Old Man River". Most poignant of all is the presence of Lena Horne who, but for the racist values of Hollywood at the time, would have been a great film star. Ever confined to guest appearances, she here sings the songs of Show Boat's tragic half-caste Julie. When MGM filmed the musical in 1951, the same part went to Ava Gardner. On the DVD: Till the Clouds Roll By may boast digital remastering, but it could have done with a deal of restoration, too. Presented in 4:3 format, the picture quality is often pixellated and the soundtrack in "HiFi Stereo" is muffled and occasionally cracked. Considering its value as an archive of great performers, some rarely seen on film, this film deserves better DVD treatment. --Piers Ford
Roman Polanski adapted Thomas Hardy's novel Tess of the D'Urbervilles and came up with this moody, haunting film starring Nastassia Kinski as the farm girl who is misused by the aristocrat for whom she works and who is then caught in a marriage where her initial happiness soon turns to grief. Fans of the novel may feel unpersuaded by Polanski's effort to marry Hardy's Dorset vision with his own fascination with psychosexual impulses toward survival, but the film is an often stunning thing to see, and Kinski's sensitive, intelligent performance lingers in the memory. --Tom Keogh
Harking back to the wilderness days of British cinema, The Wedding Tackle is an unsophisticated comedy of manners and relationships. Dealing with the impending matrimony of Hal and Vinny, a union that neither are particularly keen to enter into, the story intertwines a number of characters during the events of Hal's stag night. As the title suggests, much of the humour is aimed below the waist, and although it does wend its way to some sort of romantic conclusion, subtlety is not the film's strong point. Victoria Smurfit's Clodegh is by far the best character, an urban Tank Girl whose morals are as erratic as her driving skills. Bold, brash and noisy, The Wedding Tackle isn't the worst film around, but we can do so much better. --Phil Udell
A lavish British musical from the 1950s, this glamorous romantic comedy stars actress and dancer Vera-Ellen, whose Hollywood pedigree included films with Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby. Co-starring singer and actor Tony Martin and then-rising British starlet Zena Marshall, Let's Be Happy is featured here in a brand-new transfer from the original film elements, in its as-exhibited theatrical aspect ratio. On receiving an inheritance from her grandfather, Canadian Jeannie MacLean decides to visit the family's Scottish roots. On the plane she meets businessman Stanley Smith, and romance blossoms in Edinburgh. The complications begin when Stanley breaks a date with Jeannie to woo voluptuous redhead Helene, and Jeannie is flattered by the attentions of the impoverished Lord McNairn; he's heard about her good fortune, and gallantly offers to show her the city... much to the annoyance of Stanley!
Classic comedy films from the Marx brothers including 'A Night At The Opera' 'A Day At The Races' 'A Night In Casablanca' 'The Big Store' 'At The Circus' and 'Go West'. A Night At The Opera (1935) The Marx Brothers turn Mrs. Claypool's opera into chaos in their efforts to help two young hopefuls get a break. It contains the famous scene where Groucho Chico and Harpo cram a ship's stateroom with wall-to-wall people gags one-liners musical riffs and two hard-boiled egg
In the 1940s America was just emerging from The Great Depression. War engulfed half the world and the future looked uncertain. The Hollywood musical had the recipe to make things better. With the Hollywood musical people still believed that dreams really do come true. Glamour spread across the screen. In glorious colour and even in black and white the screen glittered. Join the biggest stars as we celebrate the great musicals of the 1940s when Hollywood put its best feet forw
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