The crime of the century! Was he really guilty? Donald Pleasence stars as Doctor Hawley Harvey Crippen in this tale based on a true story. Was he really guilty of poisoning his wife?
In 1962 Lawrence of Arabia scooped another seven Oscars for David Lean and crew after his previous epic, The Bridge on the River Kwai, had performed exactly the same feat a few years earlier. Supported in this Great War desert adventure by a superb cast including Alex Guinness, Jack Hawkins and Omar Sharif, Peter O'Toole gives a complex, star-making performance as the enigmatic TE Lawrence. The magnificent action and vast desert panoramas were captured in luminous 70mm by Cinematographer Freddie Young, here beginning a partnership with Lean that continued through Dr Zhivago (1965) and Ryan's Daughter (1970). Yet what made the film truly outstanding was Robert (A Man For All Seasons) Bolt's literate screenplay, marking the beginning of yet another ongoing collaboration with Lean. The final partnership established was between director and French composer Maurice Jarre, who won one of the Oscars and scored all Lean's remaining films, up to and including A Passage to India in 1984. Fully restored in 1989, this complete version of Lean's masterpiece remains one of cinema's all-time classic visions. --Gary S Dalkin On the DVD: This vast movie is spread leisurely across two discs, with Maurice Jarre's overture standing in as intermission music for the first track of disc two. But the clarity of the anamorphic widescreen picture and Dolby 5.1 soundtrack justify the decision not to cram the whole thing onto one side of a disc. The movie has never looked nor sounded better than here: the desert landscapes are incredibly detailed, with the tiny nomadic figures in the far distance clearly visible on the small screen; the remastered soundtrack, too, is a joy. Thanks are due to Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg who supervised (and financed) the restoration of the picture in 1989; on disc two Spielberg chats about why David Lean is his favourite director, and why Lawrence had such a profound influence on him both as a child and as a filmmaker (he regularly re-watches the movie before starting any new project). Other features include an excellent and exhaustive "making-of" documentary with contributions from surviving cast and crew (an avuncular Omar Sharif is particularly entertaining as he reminisces about meeting the hawk-like Lean for the first time), some contemporary featurettes designed to promote the movie and a DVD-ROM facility. The extra features are good--especially the documentary--but the breathtaking quality of both anamorphic picture and digital sound are what make this DVD package a triumph. --Mark Walker
Jack Clayton's 1959 feature length debut ROOM AT THE TOP paved the way for the British New Wave, considered one of the first Kitchen Sink Dramas. Starring Laurence Harvey and Simone Signoret, ROOM AT THE TOP was nominated for six Academy Awards, winning two: Best Actress (Signoret) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Paterson). In post-war industrial Yorkshire, Joe Lampton (Lawrence Harvey) aims to seduce the boss's daughter as he attempts to climb the corporate ladder at work. But when his background holds him back, Joe seeks comfort with the unhappily married Alice (Simone Signoret) beginning an affair that will have unspeakable consequences.Product FeaturesNEW Delena Kidd on Room at the Top ¢ Extract from BEHP Audio interview with Sir John Woolf ¢ Audio Commentary with Jo Botting ¢ Audio Commentary with Neil Sinyard ¢ Behind the Scenes ¢ Stills Gallery ¢ Trailer
""A Miracle of a Film"" - Steven Spielberg This remarkable film follows the struggles of T.E. Lawrence (played by Peter O'Toole - My Favourite Year The Last Emperor) in uniting the hostile Arab factions during the First World War and leading them to victory over the ruling Turkish Empire. The film was released originally in 1962 to huge critical acclaim winning 7 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director for David Lean.
Legendary actor Sir Donald Wolfit (Svengali, Room at the Top, Becket) joins British horror queen Barbara Shelley (Village of the Damned, Dracula Prince of Darkness, Quatermass and the Pit) in a lurid tale of ghastly experiments in a Transylvanian prison. Despite being staked as a vampire, the sadistic Dr Callistratus has become governor and is now using prisoners for the blood transfusions that keep him alive Produced by Robert S Baker & Monty Berman (Jack the Ripper, The Hellfire Club, The Saint), directed by Henry Cass (No Place for Jennifer, Castle in the Air, Happy Deathday) and written by notorious Hammer scribe Jimmy Sangster (The Curse of Frankenstein, Dracula, The Mummy), this long-awaited UK Blu-ray premiere has been remastered from original vault elements and is packed with bonus features. Also starring Vincent Ball (The Black Rider, A Town Like Alice, Summer of the Seventeenth Doll), Victor Maddern (I'm All Right Jack, Circus of Fear, The Lost Continent), John Le Mesurier (The Hound of the Baskervilles, Eye of the Devil, Dad's Army) and Bernard Bresslaw (The Ugly Duckling, Too Many Crooks, Carry On Screaming!) Dare you step inside the terrible place Callistratus calls my other laboratory? Newly Restored 1.66:1 Transfer of the Original Uncensored Version from Original Vault Materials Audio Commentary with English Gothic Author Jonathan Rigby Archival Audio Commentary with writer Jimmy Sangster, producer Robert S. Baker and Hammer Story Author Marcus Hearn He Begins Where Dracula Left Off New In-Depth Featurette with English Gothic Author Jonathan Rigby (45 mins) The BBFC and Blood for Dracula New Featurette examines original BBFC archive sensor notes Original Theatrical Trailer Barbara Shelley Trailer Reel (28 mins) French and Italian Credits Extensive Image Gallery 1964 Malia Italian Fotoromanzo Optional English and SDH Subtitles for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
A luminary cast features in this classy adaptation of Edgar Wallace's thriller - the best-known and most widely adapted play by the celebrated British crime/suspense writer. Marking the directorial debut of Guy Hamilton, later to direct a string of iconic James Bond films, The Ringer is presented here in a brand-new transfer from original film elements in its as-exhibited theatrical aspect ratio. The Ringer is an elusive criminal, reported dead in Australia but now thought to be aliv...
Donald Wolfit heads a strong cast as an endearing Edwardian idler whose family's attempt to keep him respectably occupied unwittingly sets loose a passion for pedal power! Based on Brock Williams' novel Uncle Willie's Bicycle Shop, Isn't Life Wonderful is featured here in a brand-new transfer from original film elements, in its as-exhibited theatrical aspect ratio. Uncle Willie, who is on more than nodding terms with the Demon Drink, has for years been the black sheep of his wife Kate's stuffy family. So when his brother-in-law becomes engaged to the daughter of a rich American banker, it is decided that Something Must Be Done about Uncle Willie. The family reluctantly agrees to buy him a bicycle shop in the hope that it may exert a steadying influence; in fact, it simply leads to more trouble... SPECIAL FEATURES: Original theatrical trailer Image gallery Promotional material PDF
An exceedingly lively adaptation of this Dickins' Classic. With a stellar cast of British actors playing some of Dickens' most colourful characters. The Pickwick Club sends Mr. Pickwick and a group of friends to travel across England and to report back on the interesting things they find. In the course of their travels, they repeatedly encounter the friendly but disreputable Mr. Jingle, who becomes a continual source of trouble for all who know him. Pickwick himself is the victim of a number...
In the late nineteenth century the anaemic Dr Callistratus (Donald Wolfit) is the governor of a brutal penal institution in a remote castle. Dr John Pierre (Vincent Ball) is wrongly convicted of malpractice and given a life sentence but is soon employed by Callistratus to help him with his research. In a laboratory beneath the castle Callistratus and his hunchbacked assistant Carl (Victor Maddern) submit inmates and young women to cruel experiments in blood transfusion. Outside the castle Pierre's fiance Madeleine (Barbara Shelley) determines to rescue him but they both end up at Callistratus' mercy. The bloodthirsty doctor will stop at nothing to cure his debilitating condition even if it means others must die so that he may live...
This brilliant British drama with potent social commentary and a superb cast portrays the story of a young man from a small mill town who claws his way to the top - any way he can! Laurence Harvey is the 'angry young man' who sacrifices his true love for the steamy Simone Signoret and marries the daughter of the factory boss just so he can get ahead. Signoret was imported from France to add the sex appeal and won herself an Academy Award for Best Actress for her efforts. Harvey was also nominated for his performance as the ruthlessly ambitious Joe Lampton his most famous role but lost out to Charlton Heston's Ben Hur. Neil Paterson also received an Oscar for Best Screenplay. A powerful adaption of the novel by John Braine with skillful direction from newcomer Jack Clayton.
gnoring the adoration of Billy, a shy sensetive young man, Trilby O'Ferral falls under the spell of Svengali. Together they develop a concert act and tour successfully, forsaking Trilby's former friends. But Billy's love in unawavering and wins out at last over the dark power of Svengali.
Imposing Canadian-born stage actor and playwright Matheson Lang was one of the twentieth century's greatest Shakespearean players and became Britain's foremost screen actor during the 1920s; in Drake of England one of his final films he takes the title role in Arthur Woods' portrayal of the life and times of the flamboyant piratical adventurer who founded Britain's sea fortunes. From clandestine romance at the court of Elizabeth I (played by Athene Seyler) to conquests in the newly discovered lands of South America and spectacular victory over the Armada Drake of England (aka Drake the Pirate) offers a panoramic overview of Drake's life. One of very few surviving films directed in the 1930s by the prodigiously talented Woods it is presented here in a brand-new transfer from the original elements in its as-exhibited theatrical aspect ratio. Special Features: Image Gallery
This 1957 E.J. Fancey production is quite remarkable. Firstly it is the not a film typical of E.J. Fancey's output and in many people's opinion it is by far their best production. Although there aren't many location shots with a good script and a very fine cast the film works. Its a post wartime story of French resistance and a traitor; Anton Diffring is excellent as a concert pianist rather than his usual nasty Nazi and Chistopher Lee is very good without his cape and fangs! Mr Wolfit gives a typical Wolfit turn but most interesting is perhaps the director Michael McCarthy who also wrote the screenplay and passed away in 1959 at the tender age of 42 and seemed well set to go on to bigger and better things. Picture and sound are excellent following restoration.
The complete adventures of the agents of Scotland Yard's secret undercover crime unit dubbed The Ghost Squad. Season 1 Episodes: 1. Ticket For Blackmail 2. Bullet With My Name On It 3. Hong Hong Story 4. High Wire 5. The Broken Doll 6. The Eyes Of The Bat 7. Still Waters 8. Assassin 9. Death From A Distance 10. Million Dollar Ransom Season 2 Episodes: 1. The Green Shoes 2. Catspaw 3. The Princess 4. The Big Time 5. Death Of A Sportman 6. Interrupted Requiem 7. East Of Mandalay 8. Escape Route 9. The Last Jump 10. Polsky 11. The Heir Apparent 12. The Magic Bullet 13. The Menacing Mazurka 14. The Retirement Of The Gentle Dove 15. Mr. Five Percent 16. Gertrude 17. Sabotage 18. The 13th Girl 19. Sentences Of Death 20. The Grand Duchess 21. The Desperate Diplomat 22. Hot Money 23. Quarantine At Kavar 24. The Golden Silence 25. Lost In Transit 26. The Man With The Delicate Hands 27. The Missing People 28. PG7 29. A First Class Way To Die
""A Miracle of a Film"" - Steven Spielberg This remarkable film follows the struggles of T.E. Lawrence (played by Peter O'Toole - My Favourite Year The Last Emperor) in uniting the hostile Arab factions during the First World War and leading them to victory over the ruling Turkish Empire. The film was released originally in 1962 to huge critical acclaim winning 7 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director for David Lean.
Director David Lean follows the heroic true-life odyssey of T.E. Lawrence (Peter O'Toole) in this magnificent portrait of the famed British officer's journey to the Middle East. Assigned to Arabia during World War I Lawrence courageously unites the warring Arab factions into a strong guerrilla front. He leads them into brilliant victories in treacherous desert battlefields where they eventually defeat the ruling Turkish Empire. Restored to its full glory in 1989.
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