After the poor reception given to George Lazenby in Her Majesty's Secret Service, Sean Connery was no doubt lured back to the series with a gadget-stuffed briefcase full of cash (most of which he allegedly gave to charity) for this wry, snappily made seventh instalment in the series. Some of its secret weapons include a smart script, a Las Vegas setting providing plenty of neon reflections on windscreens for a memorable car chase through the Strip, and the comely Jill St. John as Tiffany Case, a diamond cut-above most of the preceding Bond girls. (Apart from Diana Rigg in Her Majesty's Secret Service, that is). Blofeld and his fluffy white cat are on hand to menace 007--it's the Nehru jackets and steely surface-look of this one in particular that the Austin Powers spoofs are sending up. Blofeld's initial cover as a reclusive Howard Hughes-like millionaire points to how the series was catching up with more contemporary figures and issues. Other highlights include two truly ferocious, karate-kicking female assassins and a sizzling moon-buggy chase across the dunes. --Leslie FelperinOn the DVD: The mind boggling possibility of casting Adam West (TV's Batman) as Bond was seriously mooted because the suits at United Artists wanted to Americanise the franchise, th e documentary reveals. Sean Connery was eventually persuaded to return but demanded a record fee to reprise his role, and then donated all the cash to his charitable foundation, the Scottish International Education Trust. The rags to riches story of larger-than-life producer Albert R Broccoli is told in the second documentary. The commentary is another in the series of edited selections from interviews with cast and crew, which are exhaustive in the wealth of detail offered but a little exhausting to sit through. Sundry trailers, radio and TV spots plus a few deleted scenes complete the comprehensive selection. --Mark Walker
SHE who must be obeyed! ...SHE who must be loved! ...SHE who must be possessed! A Cambridge professor and his friends hear tales whilst travelling in Palestine of a lost city in deepest Africa ruled by a beautiful woman seeking her one true love. Intrigued by the legends they set off across the desert in search of the strange land: however little do they know they are being led into a trap of the immortal She the cold blooded queen Ayesha who is pining for the return of the lover she murdered long ago.... A spectacular adaptation of H. Rider Haggard's classic fantasy novel.
The evil organization SPECTRE has hatched a plan to steal a decoder that will access Russian state secrets and irrevocably unbalance the world order. It is up to James Bond to seize the device first, but he must confront enemies that include Red Grant and the ruthless Rosa Klebb, a former KGB agent with poison-tipped shoes. Even as Bond romances a stunning Soviet defector, he realizes he is being lured into a deadly trap, and he will need all of his courage, abilities and cutting-edge technology to triumph over the forces that seek to destroy him.
James Bond's fourth adventure takes him to the Bahamas, where a NATO warplane with a nuclear payload has disappeared into the sea. Bond (Sean Connery) travels from a health spa (where he tangles with a mechanised masseuse run amuck) to the casinos of Nassau and soon picks up the trail of SPECTRE's number-two man, Emilio Largo (Adolfo Celi), and his beautiful mistress, Domino (Claudine Auger), whom Bond soon seduces to his side. Equipped with more gadgets than ever, courtesy of the resourceful Q (Desmond Llewellyn), agent 007 escapes an ambush with a personal-size jet pack and takes to the water as he searches for an underwater plane, battles Largo's pet sharks, and finally leads the battle against Largo's scuba-equipped henchmen in a spectacular underwater climax. This thrilling Bond entry became Connery's most successful outing in the series and was remade in 1983 as Never Say Never Again, with Connery returning to the role after a 12-year hiatus. Tom Jones belts out the bold theme song to another classic Maurice Binder title sequence. --Sean Axmaker, Amazon.com--On the DVD: The absence of any new contribution from Sean Connery leaves a hole in the behind-the-scenes selection, but the "making of" documentary still has plenty to talk about, including why Bond wore a crash helmet for the jet-pack flight, and what was for the time the utterly unique situation of having to stage an underwater battle (one of the Bond series' enduring legacies is its pioneering stunt work). A supplemental documentary describes the "Thunderball Phenomenon" that swept the world on the release of what was the most successful Bond movie to date (back in those innocent days when blanket retail saturation of movie merchandise was still a novelty). Two audio commentaries flesh out even more of the background: the first is another edited selection of various interviews, the second has editor Peter Hunt in conversation with the host John Quark of the Ian Fleming Foundation, as well as more sundry interview snippets, notably from screenwriter John Hopkins. Any contribution from series composer John Barry is also sadly absent. --Mark Walker
Fifty years on, it's hard to appreciate just how shocking one key scene in The Blue Lamp was considered by British audiences. Young delinquent Tom Riley (played with sensuous malevolence by Dirk Bogarde) guns down kindly, benevolent copper, PC Dixon (Jack Warner.) In early 1950s Britain, murdering a policeman was the ultimate taboo. Even the underworld's denizens help the police flush Riley out. Made by Ealing Studios, The Blue Lamp is not a comedy but shares many of the studio's characteristic comic hallmarks, as well as the same writer (TEB Clarke) for their classics Hue And Cry and The Lavender Hill Mob. Consensus and tolerance are the watchwords. Individualism is frowned upon. There are no extravagant displays of emotion, not even from Mrs Dixon (Gladys Henson) when she learns what happened to her husband. The understatement is very moving, although by today's standards the representation of the police seems absurdly idealised. Were they ever the doughty, patient sorts depicted here? It is no surprise to learn that Scotland Yard co-operated in the making of the film but this is much more than just police propaganda. Well-crafted, full of finely judged character performances, it ranks with Ealing's best work. It was made at an intriguing historical moment: before rock and roll and the era of teenage affluence, there was simply no place for young tearaways like Tom Riley. --Geoffrey Macnab
Fifty years on, it's hard to appreciate just how shocking one key scene in The Blue Lamp was considered by British audiences. Young delinquent Tom Riley (played with sensuous malevolence by Dirk Bogarde) guns down kindly, benevolent copper, PC Dixon (Jack Warner.) In early 1950s Britain, murdering a policeman was the ultimate taboo. Even the underworld's denizens help the police flush Riley out. Made by Ealing Studios, The Blue Lamp is not a comedy but shares many of the studio's characteristic comic hallmarks, as well as the same writer (TEB Clarke) for their classics Hue And Cry and The Lavender Hill Mob. Consensus and tolerance are the watchwords. Individualism is frowned upon. There are no extravagant displays of emotion, not even from Mrs Dixon (Gladys Henson) when she learns what happened to her husband. The understatement is very moving, although by today's standards the representation of the police seems absurdly idealised. Were they ever the doughty, patient sorts depicted here? It is no surprise to learn that Scotland Yard co-operated in the making of the film but this is much more than just police propaganda. Well-crafted, full of finely judged character performances, it ranks with Ealing's best work. It was made at an intriguing historical moment: before rock and roll and the era of teenage affluence, there was simply no place for young tearaways like Tom Riley. --Geoffrey Macnab
Heralded as the best Bond movie thus far Goldfinger features some of the most iconic moments in the series to-date. Who could forget Oddjob and his killer hat; Shirley Eaton doused in gold; Or one of the greatest comeback lines in history? James Bond: Do you expect me to talk?Auric Goldfinger: No Mr. Bond. I expect you to die! Special Agent 007 (Sean Connery) has just come face to face with one of the most notorious villains of all time. And now he'll have to outwit and outgun this powerful tycoon to prevent him form cashing in on a devious scheme to raid Fort Knox - and obliterate the world economy!
One of the twentieth century s most successful crime novelists, Edgar Wallace s thrillers have been widely adapted for film and television the most memorable of which are the Edgar Wallace Mysteries series, made at Merton Park Studios during the first half of the 1960s. A noir-esque series, it updates some of the author's stories to more contemporary settings, blending classic B-movie elements with a distinctly British feel. Long-awaited and much sought after, all 47 films will be released over seven volumes on DVD. As special features, they will also include the seven separate Edgar Wallace thrillers made by Independent Artists Ltd between 1959 and 1961. This series includes top-notch performances from Michael Caine, Alfred Burke, Barry Foster, Hazel Court, Patrick Magee, Bernard Archard, Michael Gough, Jack Watling, Harry H. Corbett and Bernard Lee, including scripts by Robert Banks Stewart (Callan), Man in a Suitcase co-creator Richard Harris, Philip Mackie (The Naked Civil Servant), Lukas Heller (The Dirty Dozen) and Roger Marshall (The Sweeney). Noted directors include Sidney Hayers (The Avengers), Robert Tronson (Armchair Thriller) and Quentin Lawrence (Catweazle). A recording of the series memorable theme music, Man of Mystery, also spawned a Top Five UK hit for The Shadows.
In Roger Moore's first outing as 007, he investigates the murders of three fellow agents, he soon finds himself a target, evading vicious assassins as he closes in on the powerful Kananga (Yaphet Kotto). Known on the streets as Mr Big, Kananga is co-ordinating a globally threatening scheme using tons of self-produced heroin. As Bond tries to unravel the mastermind's plan, he meets Solitaire (Jane Seymour), the beautiful Tarot card reader whose magical gifts are crucial to the crime lord. Bond, of course, works his own magic on her, and the stage is set for a series of pulse-pounding action sequences involving voodoo, hungry crocodiles and turbo-charged speedboats.
Anna Neagle, Michael Wilding, Thora Hird and Jack Watling star in Herbert Wilcox's masterly drama of love across the social divide. A phenomenal box-office success which resonated with cinema audiences struggling amidst the upheavals of post-war Britain, The Courtneys of Curzon Street chronicles the changing fortunes of three generations of the aristocratic Courtney family - from the close of the nineteenth century, when Edward Courtney's marriage to his mother's Irish maid scandalises Victor...
Agent 007 (Roger Moore) blasts into orbit in this action-packed adventure that takes him to Venice, Rio de Janeiro and outer space. When Bond investigates the hijacking of an American space shuttle, he and beautiful CIA agent Holly Goodhead (Lois Chiles) are soon locked in a life-or-death struggle against Hugo Drax (Michael Lonsdale), a power-mad industrialist whose horrific scheme may destroy all human life on earth!
Sean Connery made his final - officially-speaking - appearance as 007 in this riveting adventure which would lay the groundwork for Mr Moore's incarnation as the suave super-spy. While investigating mysterious activities in the world diamond market 007 (Sean Connery) discovers that his evil nemesis Blofeld (Charles Gray) is stock-piling the gems to use in his deadly laser satellite. With the help of beautiful smuggler Tiffany Case (Jill St. John) Bond sets out to stop the madman - as the fate of the world hangs in the balance!
One of the twentieth century's most successful crime novelists, Edgar Wallace's thrillers have been widely adapted for film and television - the most memorable of which are the Edgar Wallace Mysteries series, made at Merton Park Studios during the first half of the 1960s. A noir-esque series, it updates some of the author's stories to more contemporary settings, blending classic B-movie elements with a distinctly British feel. Unseen for decades and freshly transferred from the original film elements specifically for this release, all 47 films will be released over seven volumes on DVD. This third volume includes top-notch performances from Barry Foster, Michael Gough, Bernard Lee, Jack Watling and Michael Goodliffe, and features scripts by Philip Mackie (The Naked Civil Servant), Robert Banks Stewart (Undermind, The Human Jungle) and Lukas Heller (The Dirty Dozen). Special Features: Breakout - A thriller made by Independant Artists Ltd during the same period as the Merton Park films Exclusive booklet by author and critic Kim Newman Image Gallery PDF Material
The film boasts the best of the Bond title songs (this one sung on a dreamy track by Nancy Sinatra), but the movie itself is one of the weaker ones of the Sean Connery phase of the 007 franchise. The story concerns an effort by the evil organisation SPECTRE to start a world war, but the not-so-super villain behind the plot is the awfully civilised Donald Pleasence. The thin script is by Roald Dahl (shouldn't we have expected a better Bond nemesis from the creator of mad genius Willy Wonka?), and direction is by British veteran Lewis Gilbert (Alfie). But the movie can't hold a candle to Dr. No, From Russia with Love, or Goldfinger. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.comOn the DVD: This was another troubled production according to the insightful "making of" documentary: director and producers luckily avoided boarding a plane out of Tokyo that crashed and killed everyone on board; the Japanese actresses couldn't speak English and one threatened suicide if she was dropped from the part; and the aerial cameraman filming the helicopter fight had his leg sliced off by a rotor blade. Maurice Binder's evocative main title designs are the subject of the second documentary, "Silhouettes", in which his colleagues voiceboth their admiration of his art and frustration at his chaotic working practices. The commentary is another edited selection of interviews with principal cast and crew. An animated storyboard sequence, trailers, radio spots and a handsome booklet add up to another winning entry in this series. --Mark Walker
Carl Scaffner (Steiger) is on the run from Scotland Yard after stealing a massive fortune and fleeing to Mexico. However his fugitive lifestyle is under threat from his his love for a faithful dog... Based on a novel by Graham Greene.
Martin Chuzzlewit (Dir. Pedr James 1994): Martin Chuzzlewit is a wealthy old man. But who will inherit his riches? He has disinherited his grandson young Martin suspecting the motives of the young man's love for Mary Chuzzlewit's nurse and companion. With such a prize to play for the rest of his family - including the snivelling hypocrite Pecksniff and the fabulously evil Jonas - bring forth all of their cunning greed and selfishness. With his grandson floundering in Amer
Directed by renowned producer/director Herbert Wilcox at the height of his career, this British post-War film drama spans four generations to tell the never-changing story of the soldier husband who returns home expecting to find everything just as he left it. Starring screen icon Anna Neagle, Elizabeth of Ladymead is presented here in a brand-new transfer from the original film elements in its as-exhibited theatrical aspect ratio. Ladymead is the gracious Georgian mansion in which El...
Adapting a play by Edgar Wallace, one of the twentieth century's most successful and prolific crime/mystery writers, The Terror stars Wilfrid Lawson and Bernard Lee in a tale of underworld intrigue with a ghostly twist, with the superb casting and lively dialogue showcasing Wallace's trademark wry humour. Featured here in a brand-new transfer from original film elements The Terror is showcased in its as-exhibited theatrical aspect ratio. For ten years, The Terror has laughed at both police a...
This acclaimed drama feature casts Cathy Come Home star Carol White as a young woman whose determined efforts to escape a life of rural poverty lead to complications and worse; Oscar winner John Mills is the lonely ageing farmer with whom she finds work accommodation and the promise of easy money. An earthy sympathetic adaptation of H.E. Bates' novel Dulcima earned director Frank Nesbitt a Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 1971. This rare much sought-after film is now presented in a brand-new transfer from the original elements. Dulcima a pretty girl treated as a drudge by her family lifts herself from her environment by becoming housekeeper to Parker a curmudgeonly widower living in drunken disarray on a neighbouring farm. When she sees the amount of money he has stashed around the place Dulcima is happy enough to indulge his growing desire for her and a strange yet mutually beneficial relationship develops. But a handsome young gamekeeper newly arrived on a nearby estate also catches Dulcima's eye... SPECIAL FEATURES: [] Original Theatrical Trailers [] Image Gallery [] Original Pressbook PDF
Cheated out of his rightful inheritance after being kidnapped young David Balfour joins forces with daring adventurer Alan Breck Stewart and together they flee across the Highlands to evade the King's redcoat forces...
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