"Actor: Bill Hickman"

• Patton | DVD | (05/07/2004) from £5.79   |  Saving you £12.20 (210.71%)   |  RRP £17.99

  A critically acclaimed film that won a total of eight 1970 Academy Awards (including Best Picture) Patton is a riveting portrait of one of the 20th century's greatest military geniuses. One of its Oscars went to George C. Scott for this triumphant portrayal of George Patton the only Allied general truly feared by the Nazis. Charismatic and flamboyant Patton designed his own uniforms sported ivory-handled six-shooters and believed he was a warrior in past lives. He outmaneuv

• French Connection | DVD | (05/07/2004) from £7.93   |  Saving you £10.06 (126.86%)   |  RRP £17.99

  A milestone film from 1971 and winner of five Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor, The French Connection transformed the crime thriller with its gritty, authentic story about New York City police detectives on the trail of a large shipment of heroin. Based on an actual police case and the illustrious career of New York cop Eddie Egan, the film stars Gene Hackman as Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle, whose unorthodox methods of crime fighting are anything but diplomatic. With his partner (Roy Scheider), Popeye investigates the international shipment of heroin masterminded by the suave Frenchman (Fernando Rey) who eludes Popeye throughout an escalating series of pursuits. The obsessive tension of Doyle's investigation reaches peak intensity during the film's breathtaking car chase, in which Doyle races under New York's elevated train tracks in a borrowed sedan--a sequence that earned an Oscar for editing and was instantly hailed as one of the greatest chase scenes ever filmed. Produced on location, The French Connection had an immediate influence on dozens of movies and TV shows to follow, virtually redefining the crime thriller with its combination of brutal realism and high-octane craftsmanship. Boosted by the film's phenomenal success, director William Friedkin gained even more attention with his follow-up film, The Exorcist. --Jeff Shannon

• French Connection | DVD | (03/02/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £22.99

  A milestone film from 1971 and winner of five Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor, The French Connection transformed the crime thriller with its gritty, authentic story about New York City police detectives on the trail of a large shipment of heroin. Based on an actual police case and the illustrious career of New York cop Eddie Egan, the film stars Gene Hackman as Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle, whose unorthodox methods of crime fighting are anything but diplomatic. With his partner (Roy Scheider), Popeye investigates the international shipment of heroin masterminded by the suave Frenchman (Fernando Rey) who eludes Popeye throughout an escalating series of pursuits. The obsessive tension of Doyle's investigation reaches peak intensity during the film's breathtaking car chase, in which Doyle races under New York's elevated train tracks in a borrowed sedan--a sequence that earned an Oscar for editing and was instantly hailed as one of the greatest chase scenes ever filmed. Produced on location, The French Connection had an immediate influence on dozens of movies and TV shows to follow, virtually redefining the crime thriller with its combination of brutal realism and high-octane craftsmanship. Boosted by the film's phenomenal success, director William Friedkin gained even more attention with his follow-up film, The Exorcist. --Jeff Shannon

• One Hundred Men And A Girl | DVD | (07/03/2011) from £6.98   |  Saving you £6.01 (46.30%)   |  RRP £12.99

  The daughter of a struggling musician forms a symphony orchestra made up of his unemployed friends and leads them to a radio contract.

• Patton (two-disc set) | DVD | (04/06/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  One of the greatest screen biographies ever produced, Patton is a monumental film that won seven Academy Awards and gave George C Scott the greatest role of his career. It was released in 1970 when protest against the Vietnam War still raged in the States and abroad. Inevitably, many critics and filmgoers struggled to reconcile the events of the day with the film's glorification of US General George S Patton as a crazy-brave genius of World War II; how could a film so huge in scope and so fascinated by its subject be considered an anti-war film? The simple truth is that it's not--Patton is less about World War II than about the rise and fall of a man whose life was literally defined by war and who felt lost and lonely without the grand-scale pursuit of an enemy. George C Scott embodies his role so fully, so convincingly, that we can't help but be drawn to and fascinated by Patton as a man who is simultaneously bound for hell and glory. The film's opening monologue alone is a masterful display of acting and character analysis and everything that follows is sheer brilliance on the part of Scott and director Franklin J Schaffner, aided in no small part by composer Jerry Goldsmith's masterfully understated score. Filmed on an epic scale at literally dozens of European locations, Patton does not embrace war as a noble pursuit, nor does it deny the reality of war as a breeding ground for heroes. Through the awesome achievement of Scott's performance and the film's grand ambition, General Patton shows all the complexities of a man who accepted his role in life and (like Scott) played it to the hilt. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.comOn the DVD: The widescreen print of the movie (which was originally filmed using a super-wide 70mm process called "Dimension 150") is handsomely presented on the first disc, with a remastered Dolby 5.1 soundtrack. It is accompanied by a rather dry "Audio essay on the historical Patton" read by the president and founder of the General George S. Patton Jr. historical society. The second, supplementary disc carries a new and impressive 50-minute "making-of" documentary, with significant contributions from Fox president Richard Zanuck, as well as composer Jerry Goldsmith and Oliver Stone. Director Franklin J. Schaffner (who died in 1989) and star George C. Scott are heard in interviews from 1970. In the documentary, Stone provocatively complains that Patton glorified war and that President Nixon's enthusiasm for the movie was directly responsible for his decision to invade Cambodia. Also on this disc, in a separate audio-only track, is Jerry Goldsmith's magnificent music score--one of his greatest achievements--heard complete with studio session takes for the famous "Echoplex" trumpet figures. --Mark Walker

• The Seven-Ups | DVD | (09/08/2010) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  The Seven-Ups

• French Connection (Special Edition) | DVD | (08/02/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £22.99

  New York City detectives ""Popeye"" Doyle (Gene Hackman) and Buddy Russo (Roy Scheider) hope to break a narcotics smuggling ring and ultimately uncover The French Connection. But when one of the criminals tries to kill Doyle he begins a deadly pursuit that takes him far outside the city limits. Based on a true story this action-filled thriller with its renowned chase scene won five Academy Award in 1971 including Best Picture Best Director (William Friedkin) and Best Actor for

• French Connection - Book & DVD | DVD | (08/08/2005) from £14.71   |  Saving you £1.28 (8.70%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Narcotics cop Popeye Doyle pits his wits against an international drugs ring attempting to infiltrate New York despite official warnings to back off... All-time classic action thriller (with a remarkable car chase below the elevated railway!) which won five Oscars in 1971.