John Flynn has directed some good, tough, pacy thrillers and Best Seller, along with the 1973 The Outfit, can claim to be the best of them. It kicks off with not one but two slam-bang action sequences and then, having grabbed our attention, pitches us straight into its twisty plot premise. Brian Dennehy, reliably watchable as ever, plays an ageing cop-turned-novelist who has hit a writer's block since his wife died. James Woods at his most suavely sinister is a hitman with dirt to dish on the head of a big corporation. Woods proposes a Faustian pact. He provides Dennehy with the full crooked story on the mobster-turned-corporate boss and the cop writes it up. Dennehy gets a best seller; Woods gets his revenge and comes out looking like a hero. The dialogue, courtesy of screenwriter and horror-movie director Larry Cohen (It's Alive; Q--The Winged Serpent), is satisfyingly hard-boiled and slips in plenty of subversive sideswipes at rampant capitalism. ("It's the American Way, Dennis," says Woods, detailing how he helped his boss rise via robbery and murder. "I'm a businessman, an executive.") This certainly isn't the only movie to get mileage out of the symbiotic relationship between cop and crook (see Michael Mann's Heat), but it works several neat variations on the theme, with Dennehy and Woods both at the top of their respective forms. If the film never quite lives up to its potential--the required final confrontation between the two principals doesn't materialise and Victoria Tennant is thrown away as Dennehy's love-interest--it remains a way better than average thriller with its roots deep in the best B-movie traditions. On the DVD: Best Seller on disc has no extras apart from the theatrical trailer. The transfer is good and clean, and preserves the original's full-width framing. --Philip Kemp
This second volume of the classic Saturday morning serial featuring Buster Crabbe as the dashing Flash Gordon aided in his galactic struggle against Emperor Ming the Merciless by Dale Arden and Dr Hans Zarkov. Chapter Five: The Palace Of Terror. Chapter Six: Flaming Death. Chapter Seven: The Land Of The Death. Chapter Eight: The Fiery Abyss.
This enormously successful sequel to The Robe continues the story of Demetrius (Victor Mature) the Greek slave who after the death of his master is sentenced to train as a gladiator in the Roman arena. There his newfound Christian faith is put to the test when he has to contend not only with the swordsmen and wild beasts of the arena but also the evil and sensuous Messalina (Susan Hayward) and the mad emperor Caligula (Jay Robinson). Crammed with astonishing action and fight sequences this heroic epic is not to be missed!
A soldier is killed in Iraq and then finds himself resurrected as a revenant, or one who has returned from the dead. He turns to his slacker best friend to help him manage his newfound thirst for blood, and the duo quickly realize that this zombie-fied state is a perfect opportunity to become vigilante crime fighters. However, their adventure quickly becomes more complicated and bloody than they expected as the movie escalates into a series of unexpected and horrifying twists.
Outlaw chief James 'Stretch' Dawson (Gregory Peck) takes refuge in a frontier ghost town where the only inhabitants are the elderly 'Grandpa' (James Barton) and his pretty granddaughter Constance Mae (Anne Baxter). When it becomes apparent that Grandpa is sitting on a large amount of gold 'Stretch's' compadres led by 'Dude' (Richard Widmark) plot the old man's downfall and claim the booty for themselves. However Stretch falls for the granddaughter and cannot abide the intention
A mysterious bomber is planting explosive devices in Seattle. The former head of the Bomb Squad reluctantly faces his worst nightmare.
Rex Allerton is a top Hollywood star and an idol of the female population. To get away from the pressure of the fans who won't leave him alone he relocates to a remote Italian village where unanticipated trouble arises when unwittingly he becomes the prize for an international lottery.
Two giant asteroids are on a collision course with earth hurtling towards us at 34 000mph and each could hit with 10 000 megatons of explosive power creating shock waves and a fireball that would obliterate the human race. From the producers of Courage Under Fire and Predator and the special effects team behind Star Trek. This epic disaster movie is guaranteed to make a big big impact.
Planet Mongo breaks out of its orbit and is sent hurtling on a collision course with Earth. Renowned scientist Dr Zarkov builds a rocket in order to investigate the impending disaster at close quarters. He is joined on his mission by Flash Gordon and Dale Arden who have recently survived a plane crash and the three soon find there is more to planet Mongo than originally thought not least the evil ruler Emperor Ming. Based on the original Flash Gordon comic strip series Space sold
Returning from his stint in World War II tough Marine Rusty meets up with a famous writer.
A soldier is killed in Iraq and then finds himself resurrected as a revenant, or one who has returned from the dead. He turns to his slacker best friend to help him manage his newfound thirst for blood, and the duo quickly realize that this zombie-fied state is a perfect opportunity to become vigilante crime fighters. However, their adventure quickly becomes more complicated and bloody than they expected as the movie escalates into a series of unexpected and horrifying twists.
Raging Bull is arguably the finest work produced from the Scorsese and De Niro partnership. De Niro gives an amazing portrayal of real-life boxer Jake LaMotta whose animal side lurks just beneath the surface ever ready to erupt. Vivid and unremitting in its uncompromising brutality and honesty the fight sequences are famed for their realism. Jake LaMotta is a boxer whose psychological and sexual complexities erupt into violence both in and out of the ring. Joe Pesci and Cathy Moriarty are unforgettable as the brother who falls prey to Jake's mounting paranoia and the fifteen-year-old girl who becomes his most prized trophy. Violent throughout this film is a testament to Scorsese's and De Niro's skills creating a thoroughly absorbing film about such an unlikable character. Renowned for throwing himself into the roles of his character De Niro went on a diet to gain fifty pounds during production for the role of the faded star. Raging Bull garnered eight Oscar'' nominations and won two including Best Actor for De Niro - the second of two Golden statues for the Italian-American method actor.
'The King Of Marvin Gardens' is a dark drama about two brothers who team up for an odd real estate scheme involving a Hawaiian island. Jason (Bruce Dern) summons his younger sibling David (Jack Nicholson) a Philadelphia radio personality to join him in Atlantic City to get the deal going. But when David arrives he finds that a local crime boss has had Jason thrown in jail. David intervenes on his brother's behalf and succeeds in bailing Jason out. But the charges won't be dropped
Crammed with astonishing action and fight sequences this enormously successful sequel to The Robe continues the story of Demetrius (Victor Mature) the Greek slave who after the death of his master is sentenced to train as a gladiator in the Roman arena. There his newfound Christian faith is put to the test when he has to contend not only with the swordsmen and wild beasts of the arena but also the evil and sensuous Messalina (Susan Hayward) and the mad emperor Caligula (Ja
Flash Gordon Conquers The Universe Box Set (3 Discs)
John Ford's view of Americana with Will Rogers in his final screen performance. Fun and games on board as our hero's paddlewheeler is fed into it's own furnace in a steamboat race - until the fuel runs out....
Flash battles Ming the Merciless once more in this thrilling conclusion to the sci-fi serial. Episodes include: Fighting The Fire Dragon / The Unseen Peril / In The Claws Of Tigron / Trapped In The Turret / Rocketing To Earth
For many, Buster Keaton is the greatest comedian of the silent era rated even above Chaplin, and College (1927) is one of his finest films. A poor student who has to work his way through college, Buster is desperate to win the attention of a pretty girl and takes up sports. His attempt at the high jump is a classic piece of clowning, and as the cox in a boat race Buster displays his full genius for comic invention. Through every disaster, the great "stone face" as he was nicknamed betrays not a flicker of emotion, enduring all humiliations with aplomb. If not quite the equal of The Navigator (1924) or its immediate predecessor The General (1927), College shows Keaton at the top of his form. Tragically, the following year he lost his independence when he signed for MGM. His career collapsed, his marriage broke up and he became an alcoholic, never to regain former glories. On the DVD: The organ music accompanying this silent feature is pleasantly unobtrusive, and apart from a short section in the middle where it deteriorates, the print quality is reasonable. In addition there are two excellent Keaton shorts, One Week (1920) and The Blacksmith (1922).-- Ed Buscombe
Flash Gordon fights to save Earth from Ming the Merciless in four more episodes. Episodes include: The Destroying Ray / Flaming Torture / Shattering Doom / Tournament Of Death
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