Even in the tiny genre of films based on songs, Convoy is a strange effort--CW McCall's 1977 CB radio-themed novelty hit was just a collection of trucker slang, but here it is gussied up by Sam Peckinpah (no less) as a big rig reprise of The Wild Bunch with Kris Kristofferson as trucker outlaw hero Rubber Duck and a wonderfully oversized Ernest Borgnine as "Dirty Lyle", the "bear" who hates "breakers" and finally decides to call in the National Guard to help him enforce traffic laws with machine guns. The plot is almost invisible, as Rubber Duck and his breaker buddies just up and decide to trundle their lorries across the Western States in a dash for Mexico (no one ever mentions delivering their loads to intended destinations) and becoming such a folk hero that the creepy governor (Seymour Cassell) tries to cash in. Kristofferson and Borgnine were old Peckinpah hands, as is heroine Ali MacGraw (a characterless photographer) and sidekick Burt Young ("Love Machine" aka "Pigpen"), and there's a lot of business about cops and outlaws who mirror each other, but the main attraction is the visuals--huge trucks rolling across desert roads in clouds of dust, police cars crashing through billboards, trucks demolishing a corrupt small town. There are traces of road-movie melancholia in the depressed cafes, jails and laybys where free spirits are broken, but it's still mostly a cash-in on Smokey and the Bandit with a few rags of poetry tossed into the mix. On the DVD: A letterboxed print, enhanced for 16x9, looks pretty good, with enough widescreen to get all the trucks into the image. But otherwise this is the sort of release that passes off "chapter search" and "multilingual menus" as extras, although there are basic filmographies for the principal and a poster/photo album. The mono soundtrack comes in English, French, Spanish and Italian. --Kim Newman
Mindhorn is a must-see British comedy from co-writers and stars Julian Barratt (The Mighty Boosh) and Simon Farnaby (Star Wars: Rogue One), with a supporting cast that includes Andrea Riseborough, Essie Davis and Steve Coogan. Washed-up actor Richard Thorncroft (Julian Barratt, The Mighty Boosh) is given the chance to revive his flagging career by returning to the role which made him famous: Mindhorn, a genetically modified detective whose eye was replaced by a super-advanced optical lie detector, allowing him to literally see the truth. Decades later, when a deranged Manx criminal demands only to speak to Detective Mindhorn, Thorncroft returns to the scene of his greatest triumph for one last chance to reignite his glory days and professional credibility.
I Spit on Your Grave, writer-director Meir Zarchi's controversial story of rape and revenge, has lost none of its ability to shock viewers since it first gained notoriety in 1978. Camille Keaton (grand-niece of Buster Keaton and, later, Zarchi's wife) stars as a young woman who is terrorised and then brutally assaulted by four men while on vacation. After slowly pulling herself together, she methodically tracks down and butchers each of the perpetrators. Zarchi's film has been consistently accused of celebrating violence against women, and while the rape scenes are graphic, they also lack the voyeuristic qualities that earmark other similarly plotted exploitation films. If anything, Zarchi is guilty of awkward scripting; the dialogue is leaden, and Keaton's transformation from victim to avenger is too swift. But to label him a pornographer is wrong, and while the film is challenging--perhaps more than most audiences can bear--its depiction of the psychology of violence is undeniably powerful. --Paul Gaita
It's all for one and one for all in this heartwarming comedy about the childhood mischief of four best friends who reunite after twenty years. Roberta Teeny Samantha and Chrissy have been busy growing up but they always remembered the promise they made to be there for each other. Now they're together again to relive the greatest summer of their lives.
Inspired by the "Space Seed" episode of the original series, the classic swashbuckling scenario of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan was much more of a success with fans than the somewhat turgid drama of Star Trek: The Motion Picture. The film reunites newly promoted Admiral Kirk with his nemesis from the earlier episode--the genetically superior Khan (Ricardo Montalban)--who is now seeking revenge upon Kirk for having been imprisoned on a desolated planet. Their battle ensues over control of the Genesis device, a top-secret Starfleet project enabling entire planets to be transformed into life-supporting worlds, pioneered by the mother (Bibi Besch) of Kirk's estranged and now-adult son. While Mr. Spock mentors the young Vulcan Lt. Saavik (then-newcomer Kirstie Alley), Kirk must battle Khan to the bitter end, through a climactic starship chase and an unexpected crisis that will cost the life of Kirk's closest friend. This was the kind of character-based Trek that fans were waiting for, boosted by spectacular special effects, a great villain (thanks to Montalban's splendidly melodramatic performance), and a deft combination of humour, excitement, and wondrous imagination. Director Nicholas Meyer (who would play a substantial role in the success of future Trek features) treats the film as "Horatio Hornblower in space", and then adds lots of spicy seafaring Moby Dick references, plus a sprinkle of Shakespearean tragedy and World War II submarine thriller, all driven along by one of composer James Horner's finest scores. Wrath of Khan set the successful tone for the films that followed. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com
James Bond (Roger Moore) and the beautiful Soviet Agent Anya Amasova codenamed Triple X (Barbara Bach) team up to investigate missing Allied and Russian atomic submarines following a deadly trail that leads to billionaire shipping magnate Karl Stromberg (Curt Jurgens). Soon Bond and Anya are the world's only hope as they discover a nightmarish scheme of global nuclear Armageddon!
Enjoying the dubious billing of being the Third Reich's "finest fictional moment", Münchhausen lives up to the hype. Commissioned by propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels to mark the 25th anniversary of the UFA film studio in 1943, director Josef von Baky was given every incentive artistic, technical and financial to create a state-of-the-art film outflanking Hollywood--and, in most respects, he succeeded. Hans Albers is understatedly right as the buccaneer aristocrat, his adventures over the centuries made possible by preternatural longevity. Hermann Speelmans gives sterling support as loyal manservant Kuchenreutter, while Brigitte Horney has appealing decadence as Catherine the Great. The spectacular Venice canal sequence and whimsical moon episode are balanced by strong scriptwriting from "Berthold Bürger" (Erich Kästner of Emil and the Detectives fame), with Georg Haentzschel's lushly eclectic score scarcely inferior to those by his more famous Hollywood counterparts. A tendency to send-up non-German nationalities hints at Nazi ideology, but otherwise this is pure--though never soulless--escapism, produced to the highest artistic standards. On the DVD: Münchhausen on disc is presented in a restored print which recaptures the original's breathtaking interplay of colour, and the soundtrack has been very adequately cleaned up. Just eight access points and subtitles in English only, but a photo gallery of over 100 stills and memorabilia to chart the course of the film in detail. R Dixon Smith's insightful documentary feature gives the lowdown on why the film was made. All the more remarkable, then, that it's survived the vicissitudes of its era so handsomely. --Richard Whitehouse
James Stewart and Walter Brennan area loner and his sidekick who gure to get rich quick by selling a herd of cattle at a fancy price in this tale set in the wild gold rush days of Dawson, Yukon Territory. They are soon caught up in a conflict with the local, self-appointed lawman, John McIntire, and his claim-jumping henchmen. When Brennan is killed, Stewart is forced to put an end to rampant lawlessness in a guns-blazing climax. Ruth Roman plays a saloonkeeper who falls for Stewart. Also stars Steve Brodie, Jack Elam, Jay C. Flippen, Kathleen Freeman, Chubby Johnson, Henry Morgan and Robert Wilke. Anthony Mann directed the film, which was shot on location in Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada.
This box set features a quartet of 'Der Bingle's' best-loved movies! A Road To Zanzibar (Dir. Victor Schertzinger 1941): Chuck and his pal Fearless flee a South African carnival when their sideshow causes a fire. After several similar escapades they've finally saved enough to return to the USA when Chuck spends it all on a ""lost"" diamond mine. But that's only the beginning; before long a pair of attractive con-women have tricked our heroes into financing a comic safari featur
Elvis Presley brings a new beat to Bourbon Street in KING CREOLE; presented here newly remastered from a 4K film transfer. Directed by Michael Curtiz (Casablanca, White Christmas), Elvis plays a troubled youth whose singing sets the French Quarter rockin'. With a sweet girl to love him and nightclubbers cheering, it looks like he'll shake off his past and head for the top. But a mobster (Walter Matthau) and his man-trap moll (Carolyn Jones) could snare him into a life of crime. Product FeaturesFilmmaker focus: Leonard Maltin discusses King Creole Play the Songs directly by selecting the scenes
The African Queen, John Huston's 1951 classic set in Africa during World War I, garnered Humphrey Bogart an Oscar for his role as a hard-drinking riverboat captain who provides passage for a Christian missionary spinster (Katharine Hepburn). Taking an instant, mutual dislike to one another, the two endure rough waters, the presence of German soldiers, and their own bickering to fall finally into one another's arms. Based on CS Forester's novel, this is classic Huston material--part adventure, part quest--but this time with a pair of characters who'd all but given up on happiness. Bogart (a long-time collaborator with Huston on such classics as The Maltese Falcon and Key Largo) and Hepburn have never been better, and support from frequent Huston crony Robert Morley adds some extra dimension and colour. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com On the DVD: A trailer, a gallery of contemporary posters and stills, plus some text biographies of the principals, simply whet the appetite for the main extra feature here: an audio commentary by veteran cinematographer Jack Cardiff. The man responsible for the lush, albeit studio-bound jungle textures of Black Narcissus faced innumerable challenges lighting real Borneo jungle in the heart of the Congo for Huston's ambitious project, and here he relates all the behind-the-scenes anecdotes of disease, infestation and disaster that plagued the production. It's a real treat to hear one of the last survivors of the Golden Age filmmaking happily reminiscing about one of cinema's classic pictures, talking companionably of Huston, Bogie and Katie Hepburn and what everyone--cast and crew alike--endured to finish the picture, from lepers carrying their gear to the location, Huston fishing while directing, hornets stinging the crew, to terrible sickness brought on by drinking unfiltered lake water (except Bogie and Huston, who stuck religiously to the whisky!). The movie itself, in its original 1.33:1 ratio, looks just fine, and the sound is an unfussy digitally remastered mono. --Mark Walker
Otto (Emilio Estevez) a young L.A. punk becomes the protege of Bud (Harry Dean Stanton) a crusty car repossessor. Otto soon comes to challenge his mentor for a 20 000 repo prize - a '64 Chevy Malibu driven by J. Frank Parnell (Fox Harris) a lobotomized nuclear scientist. The Malibu is being madly pursued by ruthless government agents UFO cultists and the infamous Rodriguez Brothers. In the trunk is an unthinkable glowing object that could change the course of our civilisation -
Charley Varrick and his friends rob a small town bank. Expecting a small sum to divide amongst themselves they are surprised to discover a very large amount of money. Quickly figuring out that the money belongs to the MOB they must now come up with a plan to throw the MOB off their trail.
Beat The Devil (Dir. John Huston 1953): Beat the Devil is a wacky comedy that's played as straight as any film noir and is even funnier as a result. Five men (Bogart Lorre Morley Barnard and Tulli) are out to garner control over East African land which they believe contains a rich uranium ore lode. Billy Dannreuther (Bogart) is married to Maria (Gina Lollobrigida) the other four are their ""business associates"" and Jones and Underdown are added to the mix for some interes
Miles Kendig is a veteran CIA agent who finds himself reduced to a desk job after the arrival of new boss Myerson. Refusing to take it lying down he disappears and begins to write his memoirs threatening to lift the lid on the world's top intelligence agencies. He soon has both the CIA and the KGB in hot pursuit but Kendig is a hard man to keep up with. Walter Matthau and Glenda Jackson are the perfect comic partnership in this classic spy caper from celebrated director Ronald Neame.
On one side is an army of gunmen dead-set on springing a murderous sidekick from jail. On the other is Sheriff John T. Chance and his two deputies: one a drunk the other a cripple. Place your bets! John Wayne is Chance in Rio Bravo a lean Western classic packing solid heroics around a strong emotional core. He's joined by Dean Martin as the deputy coming off a two-year drunk Walter Brennan as the old coot whose fiery spirit outmatches his hobbled stride Ricky Nelson as a youngster out to prove himself by joining the lawmen and Angie Dickinson as a woman with a past who hopes to rope Chance. Director Howard Hawks already lifted the Western to new heights with Red River. With Rio Bravo Hawkes does it again capturing the straight-from-the-barrel Old West many grew up with - a legendary West that fits all the tall talents of Wayne and Hawkes like a Colt 44 fits a weathered holster.
RESTORED! REJUVENATED! REBORN! By the end of the 1960s the boom in Old World gothic horror had begun to wane in the face of present day terrors like the Vietnam war. In response, American filmmakers brought horror out of the past and into the present, and the classic movie monsters packed their bags and headed for the New World. Count Yorga, Vampire was among the first to successfully transpose the classic vampire, cloak and all, to a modern day setting as the Count played unforgettably by Robert Quarry arrives in the United States and settles in a Southern California mansion with his mysterious brides. A drive-in favourite from the moment it was released, a sequel soon followed. The Return of Count Yorga ups the ante and sees the sardonic Count on the streets of San Francisco, his sights set on an orphanage as a potential source of sustenance. Director Bob Kelljan (Scream Blacula Scream) delivers a one-two punch of classic cult cinema mixing chills, thrills, style, and suspense with a knowing wit that revels in the genre trappings. Presented in all new restorations by Arrow Films from new scans of the original camera negative, The Count Yorga Collection is a full blooded feast to die for! Product Features Brand new 2K restorations by Arrow Films of Count Yorga, Vampire and The Return of Count Yorga from new 4K scans of the original 35mm camera negatives High Definition Blu-Ray (1080p) presentations of both films Original lossless mono audio Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing Illustrated perfect bound collector's book featuring new writing by film critic Kat Ellinger and horror author Stephen Laws, plus archive contributions by critic Frank Collins and filmmaker Tim Sullivan Limited edition packaging with reversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Heather Vaughan Fold-out double-sided posters for both films featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Heather Vaughan Twelve double-sided, postcard-sized lobby card reproduction artcards Reproduction pressbook for Count Yorga, Vampire DISC ONE COUNT YORGA, VAMPIRE Brand new audio commentary by film critic Tim Lucas Archival audio commentary by film critics David Del Valle & C. Courtney Joyner The Count in California, a brand new appreciation by Heather Drain and Chris O'Neill I Remember Yorga, a brand new interview with Frank Darabont in which the award-winning filmmaker talks about his love for Count Yorga, Vampire A Vampire in L.A., a brand new interview with actor Michael Murphy Fangirl Radio Tribute to Robert Quarry, an archival episode featuring host Jessica Dwyer in conversation with Tim Sullivan filmmaker, Yorga fan and friend of Robert Quarry Theatrical trailer Radio spots Image galleries DISC TWO THE RETURN OF COUNT YORGA Brand new audio commentary by film critic Stephen R. Bissette Archival audio commentary by David Del Valle & C. Courtney Joyner The Count and the Counterculture, a brand new interview with film critic Maitland McDonagh Chamber-music of Horrors, a brand new interview with David Huckvale about the scores for both films Archival interview with film critic Kim Newman Theatrical trailer Radio spots Image gallery
Bring home this essential collection of 8 Paramount Pictures classics starring the one and only King Of Rock & Roll, Elvis Presley. Including Blue Hawaii; King Creole; Roustabout; G.i. Blues; Girls! Girls! Girls!; Paradise, Hawaiian Style; Fun In Acapulco; Easy Come, Easy Go. Blue Hawaii The year was 1961. Fallout shelters dot suburban backyards. Ken joins Barbie. Roger Maris slugs 61 home runs. And Elvis Presley is in paradise, playing an ex-G.I. who comes home to Blue Hawaii. His mother (Angela Lansbury) expects him to climb the corporate ladder. But Elvis would rather wear an aloha shirt than a white collar, so he goes to work as a tour guide. Lucky Elvis: his first customers are a careful of cuties. Elvis, lovely scenery, lovelier girls and rock-a-hula songs - now that's paradise! Fun in Acapulco The year was 1963. The hot line links the White House and the Kremlin. The first major pop art exhibition stirs up a major buzz. The Whisky-A-Go-Go opens. And in Fun In Acapulco, Elvis heads south of the border, where he's fired as a boat hand, hired as a lifeguard and singer, admired by local beauties (including Ursula Andress) and inspired to jump off a 136-foot cliff. Put another way: he overcomes a fear of heights in spectacular fashion. Spectacular, too, are the scenic vistas and Latin-beat tunes. Dive in! King Creole The year was 1958. Everybody's datin' at the drive-in. America launches its first satellite. The novel Lolita stirs up controversy. And Elvis Presley gives Bourbon Street a new beat in King Creole. He plays a troubled youth whose singing sets the French Quarter rockin'. With a sweet girl to love him and nightclubbers cheering, it looks like Elvis will shake off his past and head for the top. But will a mobster (Walter Matthau) and his man-trap moll (Carolyn Jones) snare him in a life of crime? Roustabout The year was 1964. The miniskirt is in. If you can't Watusi, you can't dance. Cassius Clay (soon to be Muhammad Ali) claims the heavyweight crown. And Elvis is a karatechopping biker who's hired as a carnival Roustabout. At first he just provides muscle and a diversion for the beautiful carny girls. Then he picks up a guitar and gets the midway rockin'. Looks like this talented tough guy may be what the good-hearted owner (Barbara Stanwyck) needs to save her travelling show from bankruptcy. Easy Come, Easy Go The year was 1967. It's Packers vs. Chiefs in the first Super Bowl. Twiggy is a supermodel sensation. America's 100,000,000th telephone is installed. And Elvis dives for dollars in Easy Come, Easy Go. On his last day in the Navy, frogman Elvis discovers a sunken treasure ship. On his first day as a civilian, Elvis starts his new job-self-employed treasure hunter! Fans will dig these treasures, too: Rockin' tunes, romance with a go-go dancer, underwater action, and The King twisted like a human pretzel at a groovy 60's yogafest Costarring Elsa Lanchester (Bride of Frankenstein). GI Blues The year was 1960. A payola scandal shocks the music world. Movie fans are introduced to glorious Smell-O-Vision. The 50-star flag is adopted. And in G.I. Blues, Elvis adopts an on-screen persona he knows well in real life-a singin' G.I. in West Germany. Eager to open a stateside nightclub after his hitch in khakis, he takes part in a wager to raise the dough he needs. The bet: he can melt the iceberg heart of a willowy dancer (Juliet Prowse). But all bets may be off when real love intervenes Girls! Girls! Girls! The year was 1962. Teens twist at the Peppermint Lounge. John Glenn orbits Earth. Wilt Chamberlain scores 100 points in a single game. And Elvis digs the possibilities of Girls! Girls! Girls! This time he's a charter-boat skipper who helps tourists land the big ones. Of course, plenty of beautiful girls (including Stella Stevens) want to land Elvis. But there's something Elvis likes almost as much as romance-a boat! He yearns for a sleek sailboat with a $10,000 price tag. Let's see, that makes him about $9,999 short. Paradise, Hawaiian Style The year was 1966. A little-known series called Star Trek⢠beams up. Valley of the Dolls is the hot book. Half of all TVs sold are color sets. And in Paradise, Hawaiian Style, Elvis takes to the skies over the island paradise of Kauai. He's a partner in a helicopter charter service. Romance, naturally, is in the air for the King but his business may be grounded. A threatened suspension of his pilot's license means he may have to kiss his assets goodbye.
A trio of sisters bond over their ambivalence toward the approaching death of their curmudgeonly father, to whom none of them was particularly close.
With the return of director Nicholas Meyer, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country restored the movie series to its classic blend of space opera, intelligent plotting and engaging interaction of stalwart heroes and menacing villains. Borrowing its subtitle (and several lines of dialogue) from Shakespeare, the movie finds Admiral Kirk (William Shatner) and his fellow Enterprise crew members on a diplomatic mission to negotiate peace with the revered Klingon Chancellor Gorkon (David Warner). When the high-ranking Klingon and several officers are ruthlessly murdered, blame is placed on Kirk and crew. The subsequent investigation, which sees Spock taking on the mantle of Sherlock Holmes (and even quoting some of the great detective's lines), uncovers an assassination plot masterminded by the nefarious Klingon General Chang (Christopher Plummer) in an effort to disrupt a historic peace summit. As this political plot unfolds Star Trek VI takes on a sharp-edged tone with Kirk and Spock confronting their opposing views of diplomacy and testing their bonds of loyalty when a Vulcan officer (Kim Cattrall) is revealed to be a traitor. With a dramatic depth befitting what was to be the final movie mission of the original Enterprise crew, this film took the veteran cast out in respectably high style, with the torch being passed to the crew of Star Trek: The Next Generation in the following movie, Star Trek: Generations. --Jeff Shannon On the DVD: Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country is a two-disc set with the main feature presented in anamorphic widescreen at the fascinating (as Mr Spock would say) ratio of 2.00:1. Sound is strong Dolby Digital 5.1. Director Nicholas Meyer and screenwriter Denny Martin Flinn provide an audio commentary and Trek-trivia gurus Michael and Denise Okuda give another of their fact-packed text commentaries. The second disc has several lengthy and interesting documentaries: The Perils of Peacemaking delves into the many deliberate parallels with the Cold War; Stories from Star Trek VI consists of eight separate chapters about the making of the film (where it's revealed that "Gene Roddenberry hated the script", and that "The studio was not ready to relinquish the original actors possibly because they were still ambulatory"!); The Star Trek Universe has various nuggets of information, including the creation and evolution of the Klingons. Finally, in Farewell there are interviews with the principal cast from the set, plus a tribute to DeForest Kelley. Nicholas Meyer, Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner all provide up-to-date contributions throughout. --Mark Walker
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