... but I like you! After cheating the Mafia out of a fortune comedy conman Dick Emery trusts his partner to stash the loot in a Swiss bank. As the number of the account is tattooed on the rear of one of his girlfriends a cheeky undercover operation begins. The bottom line is to photograph the evidence for posterity or he'll make a complete ass of himself. And Dick Emery butting in with all his other impersonations could mean another bum rap!
Derek Jarman's Jubilee combines a safety-pin and barbed-wire vision of 1977 London in ruins (all burning prams and castrated policemen), a meditation on English mysticism guided by a time-travelling Queen Elizabeth I (the immensely regal Jenny Runacre) and a wild 'n' crazy account of the rampages of a gang of personality punk psychos, to become the closest a British film could come to the John Waters of Pink Flamingos. But there are surprisingly lyrical stretches (the only songs sung all the way through are "Jerusalem" and "My Love is Like a Red Red Rose") and, though future pop stars Toyah Wilcox and Adam Ant are embarrassingly amateurish as rebel street angels, some of the one-note maniacal performances--especially Lex Luther look-alike Orlando as mad media tycoon Borgia Ginz--are relishable. Among the people you've forgotten are in it are Ian Charleson of Chariots of Fire, celebrity shop assistant Jordan (as narrator Amyl Nitrate), Richard O'Brien and Little Nell of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, the Lindsay Kemp Dance Troupe and Adolf Hitler of World War II. Arguably the only Derek Jarman movie you might consider watching for pleasure, this is still not exactly the 1970s nostalgia fodder you might expect: even as the haircuts and music have receded into cultural history, the movie's acid-look vision of the worst of England remains horribly sound. The soundtrack features Adam and the Ants ("Deutscher Girls"), Wayne County and the Electric Chairs ("Paranoia Paradise"), Chelsea ("Right to Work"), Suzi Pinns (a thrash punk "Rule Britannia" best appreciated by those with the aural range of a fox terrier), Siouxie and the Banshees ("Love in a Void"), Amilcar ("Wargasm in Pornotopia"), the Slits and Brian Eno ("Slow Water", "Dover Beach"). In the 21st Century, the creative team are either dead or doing pantomime--which is so appropriate that irony doesn't even come into it. --Kim Newman
The Naked Gun (Dir. David Zucker 1988): Those screw-loose Airplane! creators have done it again! Leslie Nielsen stars as Police Squad's own granite-jawed rock-brained cop Frank Drebin who bumbles across a mind-control scheme to assassinate Queen Elizabeth. Priscilla Presley O.J. Simpson a stuffed beaver two baseball teams and an odd assortment of others join the wacko goings-on and blow the laugh-o-meter to smithereens. The Naked Gun 2 1/2 - The Smell O
Rio Grande was the last and least memorable of John Ford's famous cavalry trilogy (following Fort Apache and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon), but it none the less maintains an interesting continuity about the gentlemanly rules of military conduct. Here the focus is on the family. While creating a heated controversy over his handling of the Apache war, John Wayne must also contend with disgruntled wife Maureen O'Hara and estranged son Claude Jarman Jr, a new recruit trying to earn his father's love and respect. Ford suggests that there are two conflicting codes of honour in every cavalry officer's life, the personal as well as the professional, and that it takes an act of heroism to maintain both. It's fascinating to observe Wayne's progression throughout the trilogy, as his personal stakes intensify. This is the first of five onscreen appearances between the Duke and O'Hara, each filled with a competitive spirit and stormy sexuality. --Bill Desowitz, Amazon.com
The Hanged Man: Infamous gunslinger James Devlin is hanged for murder but survives his own execution coming back to life on the undertaker's table. He believes he has been given a second life a chance to redeem himself and make amends for his earlier failings. Opportunity for redemption comes his way in the form of a widow and her young son who are victims of a local businessman Lew Halleck eager to own their mine by whatever means necessary. Halleck is about to learn that a professional gunslinger is an unenviable foe but a gunslinger that can't be killed is unstoppable. The Deadly Companions: Brian Keith stars as Yellowleg a scarred civil war veteran who with two companions the grizzled Turk and cocky gunslinger Billy Keplinger ride to Gila City with the intention of heisting a bank. Before they can execute their plan they are involved in a shoot-out and a stray bullet from Yellowleg's gun kills the son of cabaret dancer Kit Tilden (Maureen O'Hara). Already an outcast in the city Kit decides to leave and bury her son alongside his father in the town of Siringo a ghost town which can only be reached through Apache territory. The Gunfighters: Matt Cole and Dutch Everett are a hard working family struggling to make an honest living during tough times in the Old West. Deke Turner is the reason for the trouble a ruthless landowner determined to have the Everetts' ranch by whatever means necessary. When the youngest member of the family Matt kills one of Deke's men in self-defence Turner seizes the opportunity to frame him for murder. Dubbed the Kansas Kid Matt is rescued from custody by Cole and Dutch but now all three are wanted men each with a price on their head. The Proud And Damned: Will Hansen and his men are rowdy Confederate veterans who stumble into a local revolution in South America during 1870. General Martinez hires them to check out the defences in the rebellious town of San Carlo a small and peaceful community coveted by the General. Greeted warmly by the quiet town the men quickly discover they are working for the wrong side and decide to stand and fight in support of San Carlo in a bloody battle that they may not survive. Rage At Dawn: The Reno brothers are wanted men! After years of murder robbery and terrorising the inhabitants of a small western town the citizens have had enough and send for outside help. It arrives in the shape of James Barlow a law-enforcement officer sent to infiltrate the Reno gang and bring them to justice. Barlow poses as an outlaw to gain the confidence of the crooked town officials and the Reno gang. Events soon turn nasty when Barlow sets up the gang in a dawn train robbery but all doesn't go to plan. High Lonesome: The residents of an isolated cattle ranch have their quiet and peaceful lives turned upside down when a young drifter is found on their property in the dead of night. The boy claims a local merchant stolen money from him and so with the help of two strangers he killed the alleged thief. A mysterious and unsettling drama unfolds as upon describing his accomplices the locals realise he's talking about two men they know... but who died 15 years ago. Did the young man really carry out the crime or can the ghosts of two dead cowboys be guilty of murder?
After cheating the Mafia out of a fortune comedy conman Dick Emery trusts his partner to stash the loot in a Swiss bank. As the number of the account is tattooed on the rear of one of his girlfriends a cheeky undercover operation begins. The bottom line is to photograph the evidence for posterity or he'll make a complete ass of himself. And Dick Emery butting in with all his other impersonations could mean another bum rap!
The Naked Gun series must be the only successful big-screen franchise to have been a spin-off from a spectacularly unsuccessful TV series. Although Police Squad went on to become a cult favourite, at the time the American TV network was so unimpressed they only showed four of the six episodes before cancelling it. But Leslie Nielsen's bumbling Lt Frank Drebin just wouldn't go away. Supported in masterly deadpan style by George Kennedy and Priscilla Presley, Nielsen cemented his reputation as a gifted comic actor with The Naked Gun decades after he had first become known as a minor Hollywood leading man (in 1955's Forbidden Planet for example). The first movie appeared in 1988 and spawned two sequels that replayed exactly the same routines: in The Naked Gun series sight gags (some of which are worthy of the Marx Brothers, some not) combine with excruciating puns and lots of toilet humour to follow the same hit formula as the creators' earlier slapstick masterpiece, Airplane. By the third film the formula may have become more than a little overworked, and few including the filmmakers cared much about the increasingly creaky scenarios, but Nielsen's easygoing idiotic charm goes a long way towards saving the day. There are still a lot of laughs to be found in all three Naked Gun movies, even if some of them are the unintentional result of seeing OJ Simpson before notoriety overtook his budding film career. On the DVDs: All three features are anamorphically enhanced 1.78:1 widescreen ratios, with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. Each disc also has a jovial ensemble commentary featuring co-creator David Zucker with other producers and writers, which is only intermittently informative but is at least intermittently funny, too. --Mark Walker
In 1937's Good Morning Boys Will Hay plays the pompous but ill-qualified headmaster of St Michael's, Dr Benjamin Twist, who befuddles his class with meaningless mathematical equations while they set their wits to constructing booby traps for him. However, when his boys pass an inter-schools examination, having seen the French paper in advance, they're invited by the French educational authorities to Paris and become involved in a plot to steal the Mona Lisa. Although it is at times too silly plot-wise even for those with a high endurance for farce, Good Morning, Boys is another fine showcase for Hay to display his well-honed repertoire of tics, double-takes and blathering half-sense. In Hey! Hey! USA!, a 1938 comedy intended to boost Hay's stock in America, he again plays Dr Twist who becomes tutor to millionaire's son Bernie Schulz aboard an Atlantic liner. Predictably the boy knows more about all aspects of history than Hay, having to remind him that Britain lost in the War of Independence against America. "Yes, but we sent our second eleven," Hay reminds him, "And we were playing away." Further capers ensue when two rival gangs attempt to capture the precocious lad, with his parents dispatching Hay to pass on the ransom money. Hey! Hey! USA!has its moments, but despite the presence of old Laurel and Hardy sidekicks Edgar Kennedy (as a dim-witted gangster) and Charlie Hall, this was too leaky a comedic vessel to transport Hay's peculiarly British UK success across the Atlantic. On the DVD: Good Morning Boys and Hey! Hey! USA! are presented on disc well restored from their original 1930s film stock, give or take the odd crackle. There are no extras except scene index. --David Stubbs
A celebration of Britain's most famous and enduring television programme Coronation Street features 80 landmark episodes 8 from each year of the decade from the 1980s in a 10-disc box set. With 8 outstanding episodes from each year this box set represents the very best of Coronation Street in the decade where soap opera viewing figures went through the roof. With many episodes unseen since their original broadcast the release is an opportunity to re
A film starring Will Hay, Edgar Kennedy, Tommy Bupp, David Burns. Director Marcel Varnel. Writer Marriott Edgar, Val Guest. Year of production 1938. Rereleased by Granada Ventures Limited
A young man rejects his family's wealth and position of power to join the police force where he uncovers deep seeded corruption within the police threatening his reputation and placing his life on the line.
A triple bill of high-octane action adventures featuring S.W.A.T. Bad Boys and Striking Distance. S.W.A.T.: An imprisoned drug kingpin offers a huge cash reward to anyone that can break him out of police custody and only the LAPD's Special Weapons and Tactics team can prevent it. Bad Boys: When 0 million of seized heroin is stolen from the Miami Police lockup Detectives Lowrey (Will Smith) and Burnett (Martin Lawrence) Miami's most mismatched cops are called upon to solve the case before the FBI close their department. Julie (Tea Leoni) is their only lead to the case but will only speak to Lowrey. As he is not around when she calls Burnett impersonates his cool slick partner. A hilarious role reversal begins in order to retain her trust. From then on it's a race against time as the trio dodge the mob and retain their charade while putting pressure on every low-life in Miami's underworld to track down their man. Striking Distance: Tom Hardy (Bruce Willis) is a fifth generation Pittsburgh cop. Formerly a homicide detective he publicly challenged the police department including several of his family members about the identity of the serial killer who took his father's life. Convinced that a newly active serial killer is the same gunman who murdered his father - despite the fact that another man is already behind bars for that crime - Hardy is working out of his jurisdiction to catch the killer. The maverick cop finds himself at odds with his new partner (Sarah Jessica Parker) as he skirts around the system and defies his uncle (Dennis Farina) his father's successor as the Chief of Homicide.
Recorded in July 1994 pop fans will be just as impressed as jazz lovers after hearing these four virtuosos perform live. The Yellow Jackets' passion which flows through the amazing solos in the smooth jazz sounds is inspiring and brings subtle studio music to life on the stage.The Yellowjackets are probably one of the most creative regular groups in the ""rhythm and jazz"" genre. Founded in the early eighties the Californian band originally included legendary guitarist Robben Ford. By the mid 1980s they had released numerous well-received albums and their music also featured on the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack of Stark Trek IV: The Voyage Home.
Coronation Street 1980-1989 contains all the tragedy and comedy soap fans have come to associate with the nation's most popular programme. Join in with the love, laughter, tears and nail-biting drama featuring battleaxes, busty barmaids and people who wear their hearts on their sleeves in this highly addictive soap which has won an unprecedented amount of accolades. 1980: Elsie Tanner sets fire to her living room; Gail Tilsley has a baby. 1981: Arnold threatens Emily with murder; Ken and Deirdre get married 1982: Betty Turpin is mugged; Eddie Yeates and Marion get engaged 1983: Deirdre Barlow has an affair with Mike and Ken finds out; the Ogden's 40th wedding anniversary; Len Fairclough dies in a car accident 1984: Elsie Tanner leaves for the last time; Stan Ogden's funeral 1985: Tracy Barlow runs away; Alf and Audrey get married 1986: Ken has a punch-up with Mike; Kevin and Sally get married 1987: Gail gives birth; Bet Lynch marries Alec Gilroy; Hilda is beaten up by burglars; Christmas show - Hilda's last one 1988: Mavis and Derek get married; Don and Ivy get married 1989: Alan tries to murder Rita; Alan is killed by a Blackpool tram; Ken Barlow has an affair And much more.
The Agent
Dr. Benjamin Twist (Will Hay) is invited to act as tutor to the son of a millionaire in the United States of America after posing as a famous professor. Twist discovers that two gangs of villains are out to kidnap his precocious young pupil Bernie Schultz...
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