Not to be confused with the 2002 Matt Damon big-screen version, this adaptation of The Bourne Identity is a 1988 two-part TV miniseries based on the Robert Ludlum paperback bestseller. "How can I find out who I am if I've been turned into another person?", cries amnesiac Richard Chamberlain, fished out of the sea by drunken doc Denholm Elliott, who patches him up and discovers a Swiss bank account number sewn into his thigh. Coming to believe that he is Jason Bourne, international assassin, our hero is sought after by the CIA, several European police forces and the gang of an evil terrorist. He hooks up with unlikely economist Jaclyn Smith to get to the bottom of the mystery, stay alive and face the big baddie. Stretched over three hours, this has room for a lot of the complex plot dropped from the big-screen movie, but it also means that the thrills are often interrupted by soap opera scenes. Chamberlain is perhaps too aptly cast as a man without an identity, but Smith matches him for lack of expression without any excuse given in the script. Aside from Donald Moffatt and Shane Rimmer in the CIA, the supporting cast mostly consists of distinguished Brits delivering value-for-money ham, mostly with cod-French accents, especially Anthony Quayle as a DeGaulle-style General, Jacqueline Pearce as a dress-designing spy and Peter Vaughan as a heavy Swiss banker. On the DVD: The Bourne Identity, though made for TV, is presented in widescreen, which sometimes chops off the tops of actors' heads like breakfast eggs but mostly looks fine. There are optional English subtitles. --Kim Newman
Strange things are being seen and heard by a signalman (Denholm Elliott) based on a lonely stretch of country rail track. The traveller who befriends him is positive there must be a rational explanation but the increasingly terrified signalman cannot be convinced...
It could have been a stroke of genius reuniting Peter Cooke and Dudley Moore in a send-up of The Hound of the Baskervilles. In the event, director Paul Morrissey goes for Carry On-style humour: plenty of coarse word-play and camp innuendo, but little wit or subtlety. Cooke is a rather androgynous Sherlock Holmes, while Moore inexplicably attempts a Welsh accent to portray Dr Watson (his cameo as Holmes' mother is far less contrived). The support cast is a compendium of British comedy acting of the period--all now departed, and clearly relishing the one-liners and musical-hall farce. There are excellent contributions from Max Wall, Joan Greenwood (priceless in the seduction scene), and--in one of his last major screen appearances--Terry Thomas, as well as a winning "madame" from Penelope Keith. Don't expect even a free adaptation of Conan Doyle's novel, just let the humour take its enjoyably silly course. On the DVD: The Hound of the Baskervilles film reproduces very decently in the 4:3 aspect ratio, with stereo sound that's not too artificial in effect. Special features consist of nine biographical overviews, the re-release trailer, and a six-minute interview with director Morrissey. Die-hard fans of "Pete and Dud" will most welcome the inclusion of the original theatrical feature, playing for almost 80 minutes and featuring extra footage of Moore's wonderfully inept piano playing. --Richard Whitehouse
Indiana Jones And The Raiders Of The Lost Ark: Indiana Jones confronts snakes Nazis and one astonishing cliffhanger after another - all topped off by awesome sequences involving the discovery and the opening of the mystical Ark of the Covenant in one of the great adventures of all time! Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom: The daring archaelogist ventures deep into India in search of the legendary Sankara Stone and in the process has to rescue hundreds of children who have been enslaved by a mysterious cult... Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade: Harrison Ford dons his rumpled fedora for the third time as Indiana Jones and Sean Connery joins the thrill-a-minute fun as Indy's feisty dad as the Joneses set out to find the mythical Holy Grail before the Nazis get their hands on it...
Titian-haired screen icon Moira Shearer takes centre-stage to play multiple roles in this ravishing romantic comedy adapted by Terence Rattigan from his stage play Who Is Sylvia? and co-starring Roland Culver Denholm Elliott and Harry Andrews. Featuring exquisitely choreographed dance sequences and stunning cinematography by Oscar winner Georges Périnal The Man Who Loved Redheads looks more radiant than ever in a brand-new transfer from the original film elements. Mark St. Neots a young peer and a junior member of the Foreign Office is a man destined for a long and distinguished career in the Diplomatic Corps. Mark however is obsessed by a face: that of Sylvia a 16-year-old redheaded girl whom in his boyhood he vowed he would love to eternity. Although many years have passed since he made the promise and he is now a respectably married man Mark has never forgotten the face that symbolises his ideal woman… SPECIAL FEATURES: [] Original Theatrical Trailer [] Image Gallery [] Promotional Material PDFs
Bridget Mordaunt a young woman in 1880s Britain inherits a factory from her father and wins respect from the workforce as she turns it into a solid business yet all the while a dark cloud looms on the horizon...
When George Smiley receives a mysterious letter from Stella Rode a teacher's wife at Carne School intimating that her husband is out to murder her he decides to phone the school only to find that Stella was killed the previous evening... Based on a novel by John Le Carre.
A pilot recounts a dream in which a plane carrying eight passengers crashes in the mountains of Japan. An Air Marshal due to fly to Tokyo the next day overhears the dream but thinks nothing of it until a series of events manages to convince him that the premonition might actually become a reality.
This mammoth box set features eight works of Dennis Potter spread over eleven discs. The Singing Detective:Slowly recovering from a terrible skin disease in a busy National Health hospital cynical thriller writer Phillip Marlow continues to unravel the traumas of his wartime boyhood while working through the plot of his greatest detective story - with himself as a crooning '40s detective on the trail of murderous Nazi plotters. But what is real and what is imagined? As childh
Cy Endfield cowrote the epic prequel Zulu Dawn 15 years after his enormously popular Zulu. Set in 1879, this film depicts the catastrophic Battle of Isandhlwana, which remains the worst defeat of the British army by natives--the British contingent was outnumbered 16-to-1 by the Zulu tribesmen. The film's opinion of events is made immediately clear in its title sequence: ebullient African village life presided over by King Cetshwayo is contrasted with aristocratic artifice under the arrogant eye of General Lord Chelmsford (Peter O'Toole). Chelmsford is at the heart of all that goes wrong, initiating the catastrophic battle with an ultimatum made seemingly for the sake of giving his troops something to do. His detached manner leads to one mistake after another and this is wryly illustrated in a moment when neither he nor his officers can be bothered to pronounce the name of the land they're in. That it's a beautiful land none the less is made clear by the superb cinematography, which drinks in the massive open spaces that shrink the British army to a line of red ants. Splendidly stiff-upper-lipped support comes from a heroic Burt Lancaster and a fluffy, yet gruff, Bob Hoskins. Although the story is less focused and inevitably more diffuse than the concentrated events of Rorke's Drift that followed soon after, Zulu Dawn is an unflinchingly honest depiction of British Imperial diplomacy. --Paul Tonks
A rumbustious sex comedy boasting a truly stellar international cast Percy's Progress charts the ongoing misadventures of Percy Edward Anthony – recipient of the world's first penis transplant. This cult sequel to the box-office hit Percy features Leigh Lawson Elke Sommer Judy Geeson Denholm Elliott and Harry H. Corbett and is featured here in a brand-new High Definition transfer from the original film elements in its original aspect ratio. Determined to conquer his addiction to the opposite sex Percy takes to the high seas in search of a life of celibacy. Meanwhile a major catastrophe takes place which has rendered the entire male population impotent... But all is not lost: Percy's self-imposed exile has ensured his bits are still in working order and on his return he discovers he's now the only male capable of saving the human race! Special Features: Original theatrical trailers Image Gallery Promotional material PDF
Set against the stifling conformity of pre-World War I English society E.M. Forster's Maurice is a story of coming to terms with one's sexuality and identity in the face of disapproval and misunderstanding. Maurice Hall and Clive Durham find themselves falling in love at Cambridge. In a time when homosexuality was punishable by imprisonment the two must keep their feelings for one another a complete secret. After a friend is arrested and disgraced for 'the unspeakable vice of the Greeks' Clive abandons his forbidden love and marries a young woman. Maurice however struggles with questions of his identity and self-confidence seeking the help of a hypnotist to rid himself of his undeniable urges. But while staying with Clive and his shallow wife Anne Maurice is seduced by the affectionate and yearning servant Alec Scudder an event that brings about profound changes in Maurice's life and outlook. Sparkling direction by James Ivory distinguished performances from the ensemble cast and a charged score by Richard Robbins all combine to create a film of immense power one that is romantic moving and a story of love and self-discovery for all audiences.
During World War II a British Commando raiding party are despatched to Rhodes to destroy German airfields in a mission fraught with danger...
True story of British and Australian POW's held by the Japanese in Thailand. Near the end of the war the fittest of the POW's were moved by rail and ship to Japan and during the sea journey the convoy comes under attack from an American submarine at the same time as the Allied POW's were making a daring attempt to take over the ship.
Of all the Sherlock Holmes tales written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles (one of the four novels) remains the best-known. Adding a dash of the supernatural to the Great Detective's adventures, it is certainly one of the most dramatic and an obvious target for screen interpretation. Prior to Jeremy Brett indelibly making the role his own to modern TV audiences, Ian Richardson made for a suitably incisive and enthusiastic Holmes in this enjoyable 1983 adaptation. The much-filmed tale finds Holmes and Watson drawn in to the mysterious curse afflicting the well-heeled Baskerville dynasty. Is a monster stalking the heir to the Baskerville fortune, or is the culprit a far from demonic force? As Holmes, Ian Richardson is blessed with the avian features that, like Basil Rathbone or Peter Cushing, effectively capture Sidney Paget's original likeness. Though Holmes' more anti-social facets are dispensed with, Richardson is engaging in such a well-explored role, recalling the razor-sharp wit and intelligence of Rathbone. Attracting a distinguished British cast (Brian Blessed, Denholm Elliot, Martin Shaw) and decent production values (though with a few Hammer Horror moments), this will not disappoint fans of Victorian literature's finest detective, nor those in search of a classic, chilling thriller. --Danny Graydon
This fast-paced '60s crime caper features a star-studded line-up that includes Gene Barry, Elsa Martinelli, Cyd Charisse, Leslie Phillips and Denholm Elliott. Stylishly directed by Gerry O'Hara, Maroc 7 is presented here as a High Definition restoration from original film elements in its original Panavision aspect ratio. Simon Grant blackmails glamorous fashion editor Louise Henderson into including him with her entourage to Morocco when he discovers she is searching for a priceless ancient artefact. But when an eccentric archaeologist contact is found dead, Louise attempts to implicate Grant in his murder! SPECIAL FEATURES: Theatrical trailer Music Promo Image galleries
Oscar-nominated Carroll Baker gives a memorable performance as a manipulative vamp in this erotically-charged, X-rated thriller written by Bryan Forbes and Brian Clemens and stylishly directed by Seth Holt. Co-starring Ian Bannen, Denholm Elliott and German character actor Peter van Eyck, Station Six Sahara is presented here as a brand-new High Definition transfer from original film element in its original theatrical aspect ratio. Five dysfunctional individuals man an isolated oil pipeline station in the Sahara, their mutual contempt only overshadowed by their desire for female company. Without warning, a car drives out of the desert night and crashes in front of the station - the driver is badly injured but the passenger, a gorgeous blonde, stirs up the tension amongst the men to unbearable levels.
The courageous story of the Battle of the Atlantic: a story of an ocean a ship and a handful of men. The brave crew are the heroes. The heroine is the ship. The only villain is the sea that man and war have made even more brutal...
A Private Function is a hysterically funny tale of social climbing and a stolen pig starring Monty Python legend and famous world traveller Michael Palin (A Fish Called Wanda; Brazil; Time Bandits; The Missionary).
Three years after he made 'The Dirty Dozen', Robert Aldrich returned to the theme of war and not only produced and directed but wrote the story and screenplay for this action-packed adventure epic, featuring reluctant heros and a stunning climax!It is WWII, November 1942 and the U.S launches a major naval offensive in the South Pacific. To ensure battle plans remain secret, a Japanese radio installation must be destroyed and so American naval officer (Cliff Robertson) is ordered by his commander (Henry Fonda) to join a squad of British misfits on a suicide mission to take out the facility. Michael Caine is one of the misfits - a cynical soldier who'd just as likely shoot his commanding officer as obey him. However, when the ragtag band learn of secret Japanese plans, what began as a simple suicide mission becomes a war.
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