In this crowd-pleasing 1983 comedy of high finance about a homeless con artist who becomes a Wall Street robber baron, Eddie Murphy consolidated the success of his startling debut in the previous year's 48 Hours and polished his slick-winner persona. The turnabout begins with an argument between super-rich siblings, played by Ralph Bellamy and Don Ameche: are captains of industry, they wonder, born or made? To settle the issue, the meanies construct a cruel experiment in social Darwinism. Preppie commodities trader Dan Aykroyd (perfectly cast) is stripped of all his worldly goods and expelled from the firm, and Murphy's smelly derelict is appointed to take his place, graduating to tailored suits and a world-class harem in record time. Eventually the two men team up to teach the nasty old manipulators a lesson, cornering the market in frozen orange juice futures in the process. Director John Landis (The Blues Brothers) doesn't have the world's lightest touch, but he hits most of the jokes hard and quite a few of them pay off. Trading Places is also a landmark film for fans of Jamie Lee Curtis. --David Chute, Amazon.com
We're The Sweeney, son, and we haven't had any dinner! For season 2 of the police drama that threw out the TV rulebook fifty years ago, the stakes for Detective Inspector Jack Regan (John Thaw) and Detective Sergeant George Carter (Dennis Waterman) have never been higher! Whether they're dealing with the death of a loved one in a hit or run; rescuing hostages at a bank-heist-gone-wrong seige or tracking down a couple of ruthless Australian criminals, the Flying Squad are going to do whatever it takes to keep the streets of London clean - even if it means playing nice with dodgy informants or being stitched up for corruption and being targteted by the men on their own force. In the second season of The Sweeney, newly restored and remastered for the first time in the original TV aspect ratio on Blu-ray, everything is bigger, badder and more action packed. This definitive collector's boxset will take you right to the heart of it, with a snout's worth of special features and bonus materials thrown in. Watch it or we come in shooting!Option to view episodes in original Mono, 5.1 Surround sound, or isolated music only tracksWild Boys FeaturetteInterview with stunt arranger Peter BrayhamInterview with writer Roger MarshallSweeney! Film trailer with introduction by Lynda BellinghamIntroduction to Supersnout by Bill MaynardIntroduction to Big Brother by Gwen TaylorIntroduction to Poppy by James BoothIntroduction to Stay Lucky, Eh? by Ken HutchisonIntroduction to The Trojan Bus by Lynda BellinghamAudio Commentary on Chalk and Cheese with Robert Fairclough & Mike KenwoodAudio Commentary on Hit & Run with Dennis Waterman and Garfield MorganBooklet
Includes every episode from the TV series plus the movie! A genuine British comedy classic the popularity of Rising Damp remains unparalleled some 25 years after the first transmission. Detailing the day-to-day events at Rigsby's dingy boarding-house in which the landlord from hell Rupert Rigsby prowled around his dilapidated eyrie poking his nose into his lodgers' affairs. In the feature length movie Rigsby (Leonard Rossiter) is still intending to make Miss Jones (Frances De La Tour) his wife but she's far more interested in the intellectual and athletic Philip (Don Warrington)...
An apocalyptic vision pushes a group of rabbits to abandon their warren in search of a new home, in this landmark British animation. Richard Adams' timeless novel is brought brilliantly to life as Hazel, Fiver and Bigwig tackle the brutal realities of the rural world - and mankind's devastating impact on it - as they lead their colony to the utopian Watership Down. Featuring an acclaimed voice cast (including John Hurt and Denholm Elliott), a powerful score by composer Angela Morley and the hit single Bright Eyes' by Art Garfunkel, Watership Down is a thrilling tale of adventure, courage and resilience that continues to enthral new and old audiences alike. Newly restored in 4K by the BFI and Silver Salt Restoration, using the original 35mm negative and stereo audio tracks, this landmark animation is presented in Ultra High Definition for the very first time. Newly restored and presented in High Definition Newly recorded audio commentary by film and animation experts Catherine Lester and Sam Summers Defining a Style (2005): short featurette about the film's aesthetic A Conversation with the Filmmakers (2005, 17 mins): Archive featurette in which director Martin Rosen and editor Terry Rawlings discuss the production history of the film Storyboard comparison (2005, 15 mins): a look at four sequences from the film Super 8 version of the film (20 mins) Humberstone Super 8 footage (3 mins): Footage shot by Arthur Humberstone, one of the senior animators on Watership Down Designing Watership Down (2024, 5 mins): a gallery containing some of the materials related to Watership Down courtesy of The Arthur Humberstone Animation Archive Trailers, teasers & TV spots Once We Were Four (1942, 9 mins): a bunny quartet face an onslaught of badgers, bombs and birds of prey in this black comedy masquerading as a nature film, directed by Mary Field Rabbits or Profits? (1969, 15 mins): public information film providing a potted history of rabbits in the UK Bolly in A Space Adventure (1968, 5 mins): a short Halas & Batchelor animation about the adventures of Bolly and his friends on imaginary planets, featuring animation by Tony Guy, animation director on Watership Down Make Believe (1948, 17 mins): Anson Dyer tells 'The Tale of Ronnie Rabbit' in this documentary showing the various stages of making a cartoon bunny Newly created optional English descriptive subtitles Newly created audio description track for the blind and visually impaired Double-sided poster featuring the original UK quad and the 2024 rerelease artwork A set of four postcards featuring iconic scenes from the film Perfect-bound book featuring writing by Jez Stewart, Catherine Lester, Nigel and Clive Humberstone, Angela Morley, Charlie Brigden, Lillian Crawford, Vic Pratt, Tony Dykes and Michael Brooke
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark It's said that the original is the greatest, and there can be no more vivid proof than Raiders of the Lost Ark, the first and indisputably best of the initial three Indiana Jones adventures cooked up by the dream team of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. Expectations were high for this 1981 collaboration between the two men, who essentially invented the box office blockbuster with `70s efforts like Jaws and Star Wars, and Spielberg (who directed) and Lucas (who co-wrote the story and executive produced) didn't disappoint. This wildly entertaining film has it all: non-stop action, exotic locations, grand spectacle, a hero for the ages, despicable villains, a beautiful love interest, humour, horror not to mention lots of snakes. And along with all the bits that are so familiar by now--Indy (Harrison Ford) running from the giant boulder in a cave, using his pistol instead of his trusty whip to take out a scimitar-wielding bad guy, facing off with a hissing cobra, and on and on--there's real resonance in a potent storyline that brings together a profound religious-archaeological icon (the Ark of the Covenant, nothing less than "a radio for speaking to God") and the 20th century's most infamous criminals (the Nazis). Now that's entertainment. --Sam Graham Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom It's hard to imagine that a film with worldwide box office receipts topping US$300 million worldwide could be labeled a disappointment, but some moviegoers considered Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, the second installment in Steven Spielberg and George Lucas' 1980s adventure trilogy, to be just that. That doesn't mean it's a bad effort; any collaboration between these two cinema giants (Spielberg directed, while Lucas provided the story and was executive producer) is bound to have more than its share of terrific moments, and Temple of Doom is no exception. But in exchanging the very real threat of Nazi Germany for the cartoonish Thuggee cult, it loses some of the heft of its predecessor (Raiders of the Lost Ark); on the other hand, it's also the darkest and most disturbing of the three films, what with multiple scenes of children enslaved, a heart pulled out of a man's chest, and the immolation of a sacrificial victim, which makes it less fun than either Raiders or The Last Crusade, notwithstanding a couple of riotous chase scenes and impressively grand sets. Many fans were also less than thrilled with the new love interest, a spoiled, querulous nightclub singer portrayed by Kate Capshaw, but a cute kid sidekick ("Short Round," played by Ke Huy Quan) and, of course, the ever-reliable Harrison Ford as the cynical-but-swashbuckling hero more than make up for that character's shortcomings. --Sam Graham Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade The third episode in Steven Spielberg's rousing Indiana Jones saga, this film recaptures the best elements of Raiders of the Lost Ark while exploring new territory with wonderfully satisfying results. Indy is back battling the Nazis, who have launched an expedition to uncover the whereabouts of the Holy Grail. And it's not just Indy this time--his father (played with great acerbic wit by Sean Connery, the perfect choice) is also involved in the hunt. Spielberg excels at the kind of extended action sequences that top themselves with virtually every frame; the best one here involves Indy trying to stop a Nazi tank from the outside while his father is being held within. For good measure, Spielberg reveals (among other things) how Indy got his hat, the scar on his chin, and his nickname (in a prologue that features River Phoenix as the young Indiana). --Marshall Fine Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Nearly 20 years after riding his last Crusade, Harrison Ford makes a welcome return as archaeologist/relic hunter Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, an action-packed fourth installment that's, in a nutshell, less memorable than the first three but great nostalgia for fans of the series. Producer George Lucas and screenwriter David Koepp (War of the Worlds) set the film during the cold war, as the Soviets--replacing Nazis as Indy's villains of choice and led by a sword-wielding Cate Blanchett with black bob and sunglasses--are in pursuit of a crystal skull, which has mystical powers related to a city of gold. After escaping from them in a spectacular opening action sequence, Indy is coerced to head to Peru at the behest of a young greaser (Shia LaBeouf) whose friend--and Indy's colleague--Professor Oxley (John Hurt) has been captured for his knowledge of the skull's whereabouts. Whatever secrets the skull holds are tertiary; its reveal is the weakest part of the movie, as the CGI effects that inevitably accompany it feel jarring next to the boulder-rolling world of Indy audiences knew and loved. There's plenty of comedy, delightful stunts--ants play a deadly role here--and the return of Raiders love interest Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood, once shrill but now softened, giving her ex-love bemused glances and eye-rolls as he huffs his way to save the day. Which brings us to Ford: bullwhip still in hand, he's a little creakier, a lot grayer, but still twice the action hero of anyone in film today. With all the anticipation and hype leading up to the film's release, perhaps no reunion is sweeter than that of Ford with the role that fits him as snugly as that fedora hat. --Ellen A. Kim
The prestigious film-making trio of producer Ismail Merchant, director James Ivory and screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala had made other critically acclaimed films before A Room with a View was released in 1985, but it was this popular film that made them art-house superstars. Splendidly adapted from the novel by E.M. Forster, it's a comedy of the heart, a passionate romance and a study of repression within the class system of manners and mores. It's that system of rigid behaviour that prevents young Lucy Honeychurch (Helena Bonham Carter) from accepting the loving advances of a free-spirited suitor (Julian Sands), who fears that she will follow through with her engagement to a priggish intellectual (Daniel Day-Lewis) whose capacity for passion is virtually non-existent. During and after a trip to Italy with her protective companion (Maggie Smith), Lucy gradually gets in touch with her true emotions. The fun of watching A Room with a View comes from seeing how Lucy's thoughts and feelings finally arrive at the same romantic conclusion. Through an abundance of humour both subtle and overt, the film rose to an unexpected level of popular appeal. The Merchant-Ivory team received eight Academy Award nominations for their efforts, and won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, Art Direction and Costume Design. --Jeff Shannon
An apocalyptic vision prompts a group of rabbits to abandon their warren in search of a new home, in this landmark British animation. Richard Adams' timeless novel is brought brilliantly to life as Hazel, Fiver, and Bigwig tackle the brutal realities of the English countryside and mankind's devastating impact upon it as they lead their colony to the utopian Watership Down. Featuring an acclaimed voice cast (including John Hurt, Richard Briers and Denholm Elliott), a powerful score by composer Angela Morley and the hit single Bright Eyes sung by Art Garfunkel, Watership Down is a thrilling tale of adventure, courage and resilience that continues to enthral new and old audiences alike. Extras ¢ Restored 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) ¢ Audio commentary by film and animation scholars Catherine Lester and Sam Summers (2024) ¢ Audio commentary by director Martin Rosen and writer and filmmaker Chris Gore (2003) ¢ A Conversation With the Filmmakers (2005, 17 mins): director Martin Rosen and editor Terry Rawlings discuss the production history of the film ¢ Defining a Style (2005, 12 mins): key animators and background artists discuss their work ¢ Storyboard comparison (2024, 15 mins): four scenes with accompanying original storyboards ¢ Super 8 version (1978, 28 mins): original UK Super 8 digest release ¢ Nepenthe Super 8 footage (c1977, 3 mins) shot by Arthur Humberstone, a senior animator ¢ Designing Watership Down (2024, 4 mins): a film of materials related to Watership Down courtesy of The Arthur Humberstone Animation Archive ¢ Treasures from the BFI National Archive (1942-1969, 48 mins): a selection of archive gems, including films by Mary Field and Halas & Batchelor, related to the themes or personnel of Watership Down ¢ Trailers and TV spots
This classic mini-series in six episodes tells the story of Katrina a young woman whose life is threatened by the deception of the man she loves. This is also the story of her estranged father Hal Stanton - a drunk a fraud and a has-been lawyer hiding from a past which is to haunt him forever. When Katrina is falsely imprisoned for drug smuggling Hal becomes the only man who can save her. Katrina believed that her father was dead. Only after the death of her mother does she disco
There's nothing more exciting than trying to keep up with the Joneses in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Indy's Nazi enemies are back and have kidnapped his father, Professor Henry Jones Sr. (Sean Connery), to aid them in their search for the Holy Grail. Following a trail from America to Venice to the deserts of the Middle East, it's up to Indy (Harrison Ford) to save his father, save the Grail, and save the day in this non-stop, action-packed adventure the whole family will treasure.
The Man is Oldenshaw: an immodest, ex-Oxford type with a mind trained to devour information like a computer. He rose to prominence during the planning of D-Day. His partner is Defraits: Oldenshaw's red-brick equal. Room 17 is the secret centre of operations for the Department of Special Research, a unit set up to study the criminal mind and handle cases that have baffled the police and security services. Answerable only to the Prime Minister, the men in Room 17 pull the strings that make the...
!An apocalyptic vision pushes a group of rabbits to abandon their warren in search of a new home, in this landmark British animation.Richard Adams' timeless novel is brought brilliantly to life as Hazel, Fiver and Bigwig tackle the brutal realities of the rural world - and mankind's devastating impact on it - as they lead their colony to the utopian Watership Down.Newly restored in 4K by the BFI and Silver Salt Restoration, using the original 35mm negative and stereo audio tracks, this landmark animation is presented in Ultra High Definition for the very first time.Featuring an acclaimed voice cast (including John Hurt and Denholm Elliott), a powerful score by composer Angela Morley and the hit single 'Bright Eyes' by Art Garfunkel, Watership Down is a thrilling tale of adventure, courage and resilience that continues to enthral new and old audiences alike.ExtrasDefining a Style (2005): short featurette about the film's aestheticA Conversation with the filmmakers (2005)Storyboard comparisonSuper 8 version of the filmTrailerTV SpotsNewly created optional English subtitles for the Deaf and partial hearingNewly created audio description trackDouble-sided poster featuring the original UK quad and the 2022 re-release artworkA set of four postcards featuring iconic scenes from the filmPerfect-bound book featuring new writing on the film by Jez Stewart and Catherine LesterNewly commissioned sleeve art by Andrew Bannister**All extras are TBC and subject to change**
Adapted from Graham Greene's novel Trevor Howard stars as Harry Scobie an assistant police commisioner working in Sierra Leone during WWII. Harry finds himself drawn to Helen a survivor of a U-boat attack and whilst the cat is away he decides that he can no longer stay married. However as his Catholic union threatens the outcome of both relationships Harry soon convinces himself that desperate measures need to be taken....
Robustly entertaining and bracingly sinister, The Boys from Brazil stars Gregory Peck as the infamous Dr Josef Mengele, the former Nazi chief who intends to resurrect the Führer and create a Fourth Reich through genetic experiments that commence with the assassination of some 94 fathers. Elderly Nazi hunter Ezra Lieberman (Laurence Olivier, in an Oscar-nominated performance) is tipped to the plot, but his efforts to expose Peck (fiendishly cast against type) are thwarted by a set of menacing triplets played by Jeremy Black. Back in 1978, The Boys from Brazil (adapted from Ira Levin's novel) was an incalculably tense, straight-faced entertainment whose lack of irony allowed the viewer to indulge the film's outrageous premise without moral offence. But in view of the scientific advancements made since the release of the film, it's now a cautionary tale, and all the more compelling for being so. Jerry Goldsmith's richly conceived, Oscar-nominated score--replete with echoes of Mahler and Strauss--reinforces this impression.--Kevin Mulhall
Hammer's To the Devil a Daughter was the last film made by the once great studio. Clearly ailing, Hammer again adapted a novel by Dennis Wheatley, the author behind one of their greatest successes, The Devil Rides Out (1967). Unfortunately for the studio, films such as Rosemary's Baby (1968) and The Exorcist (1973) had, in the intervening decade, radically changed horror cinema. With American star Richard Widmark echoing Gregory Peck's role in the far more polished The Omen (1976), the film seemed, rather than setting the pace as Hammer once had, to be very much jumping on the 1970's occult band-wagon. Christopher Lee is the satanic ex-communicated priest whose coven plan to incarnate the ancient demon Ashteroth, while a supernaturally beautiful Nastassja Kinski demonstrates the same willingness to disrobe as in Cat People (1982). Even so, this lacklustre, misogynistic film couldn't compete with Carrie and Suspiria (both also 1976) and Hammer thereafter concentrated on TV productions. Surprisingly, director Peter Sykes' next film, Jesus (1979), as well as being the most seen and internationally distributed film ever (with an audience of over two billion by 2000), is also the most faithful portrayal of Christ yet committed to celluloid. --Gary S. Dalkin
Broadcast in the dying hours of Christmas Eve, the BBC's A Ghost Story for Christmas series was a fixture of the seasonal schedules throughout the 1970s and spawned a long tradition of chilling tales, which terrified yuletide viewers for decades to come. After the best-selling release of Volume One last year, this much-requested follow-up gives five more festive landmarks their Blu-ray debut, having been newly remastered by the BFI from original film materials. As well as two MR James adaptations, the series includes the celebrated version of Charles Dicken's The Signalman starring Denholm Elliot, as well as specially written stories set in the contemporary 1970s. These influential films, all but one directed by Lawrence Gordon Clark, were written by some of the best scriptwriters working in British TV in the 1970s: John Bowen, David Rudkin, Andrew Davies and Clive Exton. The Films: The Treasure of Abbot Thomas (1974, 37 min) The Ash Tree (1975, 32 min) The Signalman (1976, 39 min) Stigma (1977, 32 min) The Ice House (1978, 34 min) Product Features A View From a Hill (2005, 39 mins): a young museum curator, Fanshawe finds himself in possession of a pair of binoculars that grant him a strange new ability. Ignoring all warnings about their necromantic creator, Fanshawe carries out his research, but the bloody past of the area is best left undisturbed... Number 13 (2006, 40 mins): infuriated by the ghoulish noises made nightly by his neighbour, Professor Anderson is soon driven to investigate the diabolical secrets of the old hotel and its mysteriously vanishing room 13. Newly recorded audio commentary on The Treasure of Abbot Thomas by TV historian Simon Farquhar Newly recorded audio commentary on The Ash Tree by author Johnny Mains Newly recorded audio commentary on The Signalman by TV historian Jon Dear Newly recorded audio commentaries on Stigma and The Ice House by Kim Newman and Sean Hogan Ghost Stories for Christmas With Christopher Lee (2000, 30 mins): Ronald Frame's adaptation is brought to life by horror maestro Christopher Lee Introductions by Lawrence Gordon Clark (2012, 39 mins): the director introduces The Treasure of Abbot Thomas, The Ash Tree, The Signalman and Stigma Illustrated booklet with archival essays by Alex Davidson, Dick Fiddy, Matthew Sweet, and Helen Wheatley
Though Hammer Films ceased theatrical production in the mid-1970s, the TV series Hammer House of Horror afforded the studio a last hurrah in 1980. Though it uses original scripts rather than adaptations of published stories, the series feels like an update of Hammer's earlier Journey to the Unknown, with a mix of contemporary settings, predictable twist endings, mock-gruesome horror, mild sex, familiar TV faces and sly camp that puts it on the shelf somewhere between Nigel Kneale's Beasts and Roald Dahl's Tales of the Unexpected. The shows are variously directed by Hammer regulars Don Sharp (Kiss of the Vampire), Peter Sasdy (Countess Dracula), Robert Young (Vampire Circus) and Alan Gibson (Dracula AD 1972). --Kim Newman Volume One Episodes: "The House That Bled to Death; "The Silent Scream"; "Two Faces of Evil". A box set is also available.
A reporter Mullen (Gabriel Byrne) stumbles on a story linking a prominent Member of Parliament to a KGB agent. Has there been a Government cover-up? Mullen teams up with Vernon Bayliss (Denholm Elliott) an old hack and Nina Beckam (Greta Scacchi) the MP's assistant to find out the truth.
The novel The Cruel Sea by Nicholas Monsarrat was an unflinching portrayal of life at sea during WWII on a boat tasked with protecting convoys and seeking and destroying U-boats. Nominated for a BAFTA for Best British Film, The Cruel Sea stars Jack Hawkins, Sir Donald Sinden and Stanley Baker, and is a gripping insight into the lives of unsung heroes at sea during the war, and the agonizing decisions and incredible peril they faced on a daily basis.
Fallen women? Does it mean they've hurt their knees? After a decade of soul-saving in Africa Charles Fortescue is asked to minister to the ladies of the night in 1906 London. So Fortescue feeds them shelters them and not infrequently provides them a bed: his! A naive man of the cloth becomes a man of the sheets in this playfully naughty yet always tasteful comedy that stars Monty Python's Michael Palin (who also wrote the script) as Fortescue and features a colourful array of cockeyed characters: a blissful airhead (Phoebe Nicholls) a lusty mission sponsor (Maggie Smith) a bewildered butler (Michael Hordern) an earthy bishop (Denholm Elliott) a cantankerous John Bull (Trevor Howard) and more. Jolly good fun!
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