Jack Rosenthal's prime-time firefighting drama series returns to DVD.
The premise of Love Potion No. 9--that a magic potion makes the user irresistible to the opposite sex--could be the setup for the crassest sex farce imaginable. Instead, this film is a surprisingly subtle romantic comedy. Nebbishy scientist Paul (Tate Donovan) goes to a Gypsy fortune teller (Anne Bancroft), who tells him she sees no women in his entire life. To make up for this depressing news, she gives him a few drops of a love potion--number 8. Paul, a biochemist, scoffs; but when his pet cat accidentally gets a taste and attracts every female cat in the neighborhood, he enlists fellow dweeby scientist Diane (Sandra Bullock) to analyse it. After experimenting on monkeys, they decide to test it on themselves; soon Diane is being pursued by handsome Italians in the street and comes close to marrying the Prince of England (sic), while Paul gets a little revenge on a woman who previously rejected him, then embarks on his own love spree. Shortly they discover that they really want each other; but before they can get married, an old boyfriend of Diane returns with his own dose of love potion number 8. Paul's only hope is to get something even more powerful. Love Potion No. 9 is genuinely clever and sweet, and both Donovan and Bullock work well with the low-key but effective humour of the movie's well-written script. It's a tribute to her talent and her girl-next-door looks that Bullock, unlike most pretty stars dressing down, is effective as both a lovelorn loser and the confident glamour-girl she becomes. Altogether, a charming and enjoyable film.--Bret Fetzer, Amazon.com
The 3D action-thriller Sanctum, from executive producer James Cameron, follows a team of underwater cave divers on a treacherous expedition to the largest, most beautiful and least accessible cave system on Earth.
Way Out West, Laurel and Hardy's sole foray into cowboy country, benefits from their rousing rendition of "The Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia" (a song which made it into the British charts a few years ago) and some inspired villainy from James Finlayson, the Scottish actor who was frequently cast as Stan and Ollie's nemesis (here, he plays villainous bartender Mickey Finn). The plot is some hokum about Stan and Ollie's attempts to deliver deeds to a gold mine to the daughter of an old pal. What matters is the clowning--most of which is inspired. --Geoffrey Macnab
A man searches for the truth about his son's death in Northern Ireland.
The year: 1879. The place: Natal Africa. One British garrison has already fallen to a huge army of Zulu tribesmen. The fearless native warriors are now heading for the isolated colonial outpost of Rorke's Drift which is manned by no more than a hundred South Wales Borderers. A stirring tale of courage under fire Zulu boasts fine performances from Michael Caine and Stanley Baker as conflicting British officers and an unforgettable rendition of ""Men of Harlech"".
Limited to just 5000 this deluxe box set celebrates one of the most loved Doctors Tom Baker: featuring Exclusive content and memorabilia beautifully packaged in an individually numbered bespoke Time Capsule. Special Features: Exclusive Interview with Tom Baker Letter from Tom Baker introducing the set Exclusive Tom Baker action figure Adavnce DVD release of restored story 'Terror of the Zygons' with exclusive artwork Audiobook and Novel with exclusive artwork Memorabilia art cards and photographic print
Having made his reputation as one of the most prolific and gifted horror writers of his generation (prompting Stephen King to call him "the future of horror"), Clive Barker made a natural transition to movies with this audacious directorial debut from 1987. Not only did Barker serve up a chilling tale of devilish originality, he also introduced new icons of horror that since have become as popular among genre connoisseurs as Frankenstein's monster and the Wolfman. Foremost among these frightful, Hellraiser visions is the sadomasochistic demon affectionately named Pinhead (so named because his pale, bald head is a geometric pincushion and a symbol of eternal pain). Pinhead is the leader of the Cenobites, agents of evil who appear only when someone successfully "solves" the exotic puzzle box called the Lamont Configuration--a mysterious device that opens the door to Hell. The puzzle's latest victim is Frank (Sean Chapman), who now lives in a gelatinous skeletal state in an upstairs room of the British home just purchased by his newlywed half-brother (Andrew Robinson, best known as the villain from Dirty Harry), who has married one of Frank's former lovers (Claire Higgins). The latter is recruited to supply the cannibalistic Frank with fresh victims, enabling him to reconstitute his own flesh--but will Frank succeed in restoring himself completely? Will Pinhead continue to demonstrate the flesh-ripping pleasures of absolute agony? Your reaction to this description should tell you if you've got the stomach for Barker's film, which has since spawned a number of interesting but inferior sequels. It's definitely not for everyone, but there's no denying that it's become a semiclassic of modern horror. --Jeff Shannon
This spectacular two hour documentary tells the amazing true story of the 300 Spartan warriors who so selflessly defended their country against the mighty Persian army estimated at being a million strong for almost 7 days. This is the real story of the most famous last stand in history. At the height of the Persian-Greek war Xerxes King of Persia intent on conquering all of Greece led his mighty army into battle. But what awaited them was not to be anticipated . For seven days the King of Sparta Leonidas accompanied by just 300 Spartan warriors and a number of Greek regulars held off the Persian army at the pass of Thermopylae so that the Greek army would have time to mobilise. Against impossible odds the Spartans held the narrow pass inflicting shocking casualty numbers on the Persians untill every last Spartan was slain. This program is visually stunning with breathtaking dramatisations and graphics helping to bring the true story of the Spartans last stand to life and tell the real story behind what happened at the pass at Thermopylae which is still used in military academies and by tactitians around the world today.
Injected with an experimental drug the research chemist Ryan leaves a mysterious rural health farm and drives to the outer city suburb of Homesville. As Ryan's body starts to deteriorate and his driving becomes more erratic a cruising police car starts to chase him. Charging towards a group of houses in Pebble Court Ryan leaves a cryptic message on his dicataphone: 'The first phase is hallucination. The second phase is glandular. The third phase is...' Before he can finish the sent
Based on the acclaimed book by neurologist Oliver Sacks, director Penny Marshall's hit 1990 drama Awakenings stars Robin Williams as Dr. Malcolm Sayer. Sayer is a neurologist who discovers that the drug L-Dopa can be used to "unlock" patients in a mental hospital from the mysterious sleeping sickness that has left them utterly immobilized. Leonard (Robert De Niro) is one such patient who awakens after being in a comatose state for 30 years, leaving Sayer to guide Leonard in adjusting to the world around him. Penelope Ann Miller costars as the daughter of another patient, with whom Leonard falls tenuously in love. Earning Oscar nominations for best picture, actor and screenplay, this moving fact-based drama was a hit with critics and audiences alike. --Jeff Shannon
Lilli, (Lisa Daniely) the french girl whose song Lilli Marlene is loved by the Germans and allies, is captured by the Nazis and rescued by the British after being forced to broadcast the song for the Germans. Lilli, (Lisa Daniely) the french girl whose song Lilli Marlene is loved by the Germans and allies, is captured by the Nazis and rescued by the British after being forced to broadcast the song for the Germans.
Constantine (Dir. Francis Lawrence 2005): Hell wants him. Heaven won't take him. Earth needs him! Supernatural detective John Constantine (Reeves) has literally been to Hell and back. When he teams up with skeptical policewoman Angela Dodson (Weisz) to solve the mysterious suicide of her twin sister their investigation takes them through the world of demons and angels that exists just beneath the landscape of contemporary Los Angeles... V For Vendetta (Dir. James McTeigue 2005): Set against the futuristic landscape of totalitarian Britain V For Vendetta tells the story of a young working-class woman named Evey who is rescued from a life-and-death situation by a masked man known only as 'V'. Profoundly complex V is at once literary flamboyant tender and intellectual a man dedicated to freeing his fellow citizens from those who have terrorized them into compliance... The Matrix Trilogy writing/directing team of Larry & And Wachowski adapt Alan Moore's seminal graphic novel into a thought-provoking blockbuster.
Gia is a made-for-TV HBO film that stars Angelina Jolie as supermodel model Gia Carangi, who went from high school to the cover of British Vogue in less than two years. Carangi appeared on many more covers of Vogue (French, British, Italian, and American) and Cosmopolitan before dying of complications from AIDs (she was an IV heroin user) in 1986. Jolie comes by her talent honestly: she's the daughter of veteran actor Jon Voight, and her own training as a model serves her well here--she has the moves. Throughout, she's heartbreaking--as no doubt the real Carangi was--effective, and stunning. With good source material (Stephen Fried's A Thing of Beauty: The Tragedy of Supermodel Gia), Jolie's stunning performance, and strong directing by Michael Cristofer, the movie goes beyond the merely sensational. The script was co-written by Cristofer and novelist Jay McInerney, whose Bright Lights, Big City covers similar territory. As a cautionary tale, Gia works. But to watch Jolie in her character's tragic self-destruction is utterly compelling. --NF Mendoza, Amazon.com
Exciting war film based on a novel by Alistair Maclean which tells of the attempts of a British raiding team to sabotage two giant German guns on a Greek island in the Aegean Sea. Carl Foreman brought Allistar MacLean's best-selling novel to the screen winning nominations for seven Academy Awards in 1961.
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From Roy Ward Baker - 'the Grand Old Man' of British horror comes a collection of stories that will reach out and grip you in a vice of fear. Based on the spine-chilling comic-books ""Vault of Horror"" & ""Tales from the Crypt"" and featuring a sensationally star-studded cast these are the tales of five hapless men huddled together in a vault beneath the Thames each awaiting the fulfilment of their own prophetic nightmares. See Curt Jurgens as a murderous magician with a few rope
Winona Ryder and Ben Chaplin star in this supernatural thriller about Satanic plans to bring the devil to earth.
The Ring (Dir. Gore Verbinski 2002):It begins as just another urban legend - the whispered tale of nightmarish videotape that causes anyone who watches it to die seven days later. But when four teenagers all meet with mysterious deaths exactly one week after watching just such a tape investigative reporter Rachel Keller tracks down the video...and watches it. Now the legend is coming true the clock is ticking and Rachel has just seven days to unravel the mystery of The Ring
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