50 years on from its first transmission, the BBC's Play for Today anthology series remains one of British television's most influential and celebrated achievements. Between 1970 and 1984, plays which combined some of the era's finest writing, acting and directing talents were broadcast direct to living rooms, regularly challenging viewers and pushing the boundaries of TV drama. Featuring plays by the likes of Ingmar Bergman, Julia Jones and Colin Welland and featuring a roster of eminent British actors, Play for Today: Volume One brings together seven iconic dramas on Bluray for the very first time, in a collection that exemplifies the breadth and brilliance of this groundbreaking series. The set includes five plays which have been restored from the original negatives held in the BBC archive. The Plays: The Lie (Written by Ingmar Bergman | Dir. Alan Bridges, 1970) Shakespeare or Bust (Written by Peter Terson | Dir. Brian Parker, 1973) Back of Beyond (Written by Julia Jones | Dir. Desmond Davis, 1974) Passage to England (Written by Leon Griffiths | Dir. John Mackenzie, 1975) Our Flesh and Blood (Written by Mike Stott | Dir. Pedr James, 1977) A Photograph (Written by John Bowen | Dir. John Glenister, 1977) Your Man from Six Counties (Written by Colin Welland | Dir. Barry Davis, 1976)
The latest instalment in the Harry Potter series finds young wizard Harry and his friends Ron and Hermoine facing new challenges during their second year at Hogwarts as they try to uncover a dark force that is terrorising the school.
Capital is a witty, colourful and sharply observed drama about the interconnected lives of a diverse group of characters linked to a fictional street. Adapted by Bafta-winner Peter Bowker from the bestselling novel by John Lanchester,the series cleverly interweaves a vivid and unforgettable ensemble cast of urban characters in a story bursting with unfailingly piercing and funny observations on modern life and existence. One day, the street's residents all receive an anonymous postcard through their front doors bearing a simple message: We want what you have. Who is behind the anonymous hate campaign? And what do they want? As the mystery of the postcards deepens, interweaving stories reveal lives filled with love and loss, fear and greed,fortune and envy, and at its heart, family and home.
Rocketman is an epic musical story about Elton John's breakthrough years. The film follows the fantastical journey of transformation from shy piano prodigy Reginald Dwight into international superstar Elton John. This inspirational story set to Elton John's most beloved songs and performed by star Taron Egerton tells the universally relatable story of how a small-town boy became one of the most iconic figures in pop culture.
Critically acclaimed ITV drama series Unforgotten starring Nicola Walker and Sanjeev Bhaskar returns for a second series. The story begins with the discovery of a body; this time the perfectly preserved remains of a middle aged man found in a sealed suitcase in the silt of the River Lea in northeast London. As Cassie and Sunny begin the complicated task of trying to identify the victim, we will meet four unconnected people who we suspect are linked in some way to the victim...
Wilde could easily have been nothing more than another well-dressed literary film from the British costume drama stable, but thanks to a richly textured performance from Stephen Fry in the title role, it becomes something deeper--a moving study of how the conflict between individual desires and social expectations can ruin lives. Oscar Wilde's writing may be justifiably legendary for its sly, barbed wit, but Wilde the film is far from a comedy, even though Fry relishes delivering the great man's famous quips. It takes on tragic dimensions as soon as Wilde meets Lord Alfred Douglas, known as Bosie, the strikingly beautiful but viciously selfish young aristocrat who wins Oscar's heart but loses him his reputation, marriage and freedom. Fry is brilliant at capturing how the intensity of Wilde's love for Bosie threw him off balance, becoming an all-consuming force he was unable to resist. Jude Law expertly depicts both Bosie's allure and his spitefully destructive side, there are subtle supporting performances from Vanessa Redgrave, Jennifer Ehle and Zoe Wanamaker, and the period trappings are lavishly trowelled on. But this is Fry's show all the way: from Oscar the darling of theatrical London to Wilde the prisoner broken on the wheel of Victorian moralism, he doesn't put a foot wrong. It feels like the role he was born to play. --Andy Medhurst
1840s England. Acclaimed but overlooked fossil hunter Mary Anning and a young woman sent to convalesce by the sea develop an intense relationship, altering both of their lives forever. Extras: The Costumes of Ammonite The Making of Ammonite
A coming-of-age story about an Irish couple and their two kids trying to find their way "In America."
Ben Elton's Shakepearean sitcom returns to see talented but low-born baldy-boots Will Shakespeare (David Mitchell) continue his quest to make his name as a playwright in Tudor London, a city where unfortunately being posh and well-connected turns out to be more important than being a genius. Meanwhile Will also has a bit of a problem with his work life balance and it's one hell of a commute back and forth to Stratford-upon-Avon to spend time with his loving but loud family. This series reveals some of the surprising stories behind Will's plays, including a brush with an African general with a bit of a jealous streak; a shrewish teenage daughter who may or may not need some taming; the early draft of Twelfth Night, working title Eighth Night; the little known story of how Shakespeare invented musical theatre with the help of a madrigal-writing rocker (Noel Fielding); the original inspiration for Falstaff; a very merry Shakespearean Christmas featuring Emma Thompson in a regal guest role; and of course a great deal of wit, ale, pies and women dressing as men
KEN LOACH COLLECTION (3-disc Blu-ray Set) This new collection brings together three of Ken Loach's finest films from the 1990s, titles linked by the director's career long drive to tackle social injustice and contemporary political issues. In Riff Raff Glaswegian jailbird Stevie (Robert Carlyle) heads to London to find work but discovers a world of corruption and degradation. Inner-city poverty is brought to the fore in Raining Stones, as unemployed Bob's (Bruce Jones) desperate attempts to afford a communion dress for his daughter results in a succession of disasters. Inspired by real events, Ladybird Ladybird is an emotional and harrowing story of a woman's fight to keep her children and relationship intact in the face of bureaucratic interference. Special Features: Fully illustrated booklet with new writing on the film and full credits Other extras TBC UK | 1991 - 1994 | colour | 90 + 90 + 102 mins | English language, with optional hard-of-hearing subtitles | cert 18
Bridget Jones's Diary Featuring a blowzy, winningly inept size-12 heroine, Bridget Jones's Diary is a fetching adaptation of Helen Fielding's runaway bestseller, grittier than Ally McBeal but sweeter than Sex and the City. The normally sylphlike Renée Zellweger (Nurse Betty, Me, Myself and Irene) wolfed pasta to gain poundage to play "singleton" Bridget, a London-based publicist who divides her free time between binge eating in front of the TV, downing Chardonnay with her friends, and updating the diary in which she records her negligible weight fluctuations and romantic misadventures of the year. Things start off badly at Christmas when her mother tries to set her up with seemingly standoffish lawyer Mark Darcy (Colin Firth), whom Bridget accidentally overhears dissing her. Instead she embarks on a disastrous liaison with her raffish boss, Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant, infinitely more likeable when he's playing a baddie instead of his patented tongue-tied fops). Eventually, Bridget comes to wonder if she's let her pride prejudice her against the surprisingly attractive Mr. Darcy. If the plot sounds familiar, that's because Fielding's novel was itself a retelling of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, whose romantic male lead is also named Mr. Darcy. An extra ironic poke in the ribs is added by the casting of Firth, who played Austen's haughty hero in the acclaimed BBC adaptation of Austen's novel. First-time director Sharon Maguire directs with confident comic zest, while Zellweger twinkles charmingly, fearlessly baring her cellulite and pulling off a spot-on English accent. Like Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill (both of which were written by this film's coscreenwriter, Richard Curtis), Bridget Jones's stock-in-trade is a very English self-deprecating sense of humour, a mild suspicion of Americans (especially if they're thin and successful), and a subtly expressed analysis of thirtysomething fears about growing up and becoming a "smug married." The whole is, as Bridget would say, v. good. --Leslie Felperin Bridget Jones 2: The Edge Of Reason Although it's been three years since we last saw Bridget (Renée Zellweger), only a few weeks have passed in her world. She is, as you'll remember, no longer a "singleton," having snagged stuffy but gallant Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) at the end of the 2001 film. Now she's fallen deeply in love and out of her neurotic mind with paranoia: Is Mark cheating on her with that slim, bright young thing from the law office? Will the reappearance of dashing cad Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) further spell the end of her self-confidence when they're shoved off to Thailand together for a TV travel story? If such questions also seem pressing to you, this sequel will be fairly painless, but you shouldn't expect anything fresh. Director Beeban Kidron and her screenwriters--all four of them!--are content to sink matters into slapstick, with chunky Zellweger (who's unflatteringly photographed) the literal butt of all jokes. Though the star still has her charms, and some of Bridget's social gaffes are amusing, the film is mired in low comedy--a sequence in a Thai women's prison is more offensive than outrageous--with only Grant's rakish mischief to pull it out of the swamp. --Steve Wiecking
Dennis Potter's astonishing six-part miniseries Pennies from Heaven remains one of the edgiest, most audacious things ever conceived for television. The story tells of one Arthur Parker (Bob Hoskins), a sheet-music salesman in 1930s England. Beaten down by economic hard times and the sexual indifference of his proper wife (Gemma Craven), Arthur cannot understand why his life can't be like the beautiful songs he loves. On a sales trip through the Forest of Dean, he meets a virginal rural woman (Cheryl Campbell) he suspects may be his ideal. Ruination follows. Punctuating virtually every scene is a vintage pop song--lip-synched and sometimes danced out by the characters. This startling innovation makes the contrast between Arthur's brutish life and his bourgeois dreams even more dramatic. Potter's dark vision digs into British stoicism, sexual repression, the class system and even the coming of fascism in Europe. But it is especially poignant on the subject of the divide between art and reality. Piers Haggard directs the long piece with deft transitions between songs and story. (It was shot partly on multi-camera video, partly on film.) The cast is fine, especially the extraordinary Cheryl Campbell, who imbues her character with keen intelligence and no small measure of perversity. Bob Hoskins triumphs in his star-making part, bringing a demonic energy to his small-time Cockney, nearly bursting his button-down vests with frustration and appetite. Pennies from Heaven was remade in 1981 for the big screen (with Steve Martin), in an interesting, Potter-scripted adaptation; it's one of the reasons the original has been unavailable on home video for so long. --Robert Horton
Compilation of the complete second series of The Duchess of Duke Street
In Men in Black 3, Agents J [Will Smith] and K [Tommy Lee Jones] are back... in time. J has seen some inexplicable things in his 15 years with the Men in Black, but nothing, not even aliens, perplexes him as much as his wry, reticent partner. But when K's life and the fate of the planet are put at stake, Agent J will have to travel back in time to put things right. J discovers that there are secrets to the universe that K never told him secrets that will reveal themselves as he teams up with the young Agent K [Josh Brolin] to save his partner, the agency and the future of humankind.
Gemma Jones stars as Louisa Trotter a cook for the upperclass at a fancy hotel. Very similar in style to 'Upstairs Downstairs' this classic British TV series first aired in 1976.
In 1883, Irish-born Oscar Wilde (Stephen Fry) returned to London from America, full of talent, passion and most of all, full of himself.A few years later Wilde's wit, flamboyance and creative genius were widely renowned and he and his wife Constance had two sons whom they both loved and adored.However, as Wilde finally confronted the homosexual feelings that had gripped him since his school days, his private life flew increasingly in the face of the decidedly rigid social conventions of late Victorian society. This was to lead him into a passionate and stormy relationship which would consume and ultimately destroy both him and his family.
A stunning new adaptation of the classic 1930s thriller that sees a beautiful, spoilt young woman risking her life to solve the mysterious disappearance of her travelling companion. Iris Carr is travelling across Europe by train when she unwittingly becomes embroiled in a sinister Balkan plot. Feeling disorientated after a fall, Iris is befriended by Miss Froy, an elderly English woman sharing her carriage. But when she wakes up from a few hours' sleep, Miss Froy has vanished without trace. As fellow passengers claim the lady never existed, Iris faces danger and intrigue as she fights to discover the fate of Miss Froy and prove that she's not going mad. Starring: Tuppence Middleton (The Imitation Game, War & Peace, Sense8), Tom Hughes (Silk, The Hollow Crown, Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll), Selina Cadell (Upstairs Downstairs, Doc Martin), Keeley Hawes (Upstairs Downstairs, Ashes to Ashes), Julian Rhind Tutt (The Hour, Notting Hill, Green Wing) , Gemma Jones (Spooks, Harry Potter, Bridget Jones's Diary), Stephanie Cole (Doc Martin, Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day), Jesper Christensen (Casino Royale, Melancholia), Benedikte Hansen (Borgen, The Killing), Alex Jennings (Silk, Whitechapel, The Queen), Pip Torrens (Pride, Prejudice, My Week With Marilyn, The Promise), Sandy McDade (Lark Rise to Candleford, Jane Eyre) Director: Diarmuid Lawrence (The Mystery of Edwin Drood, The Body Farm, South Riding) Writer: Fiona Seres (Tangle, The Silence, Satisfaction) Executive Producer: Anne Pivcevic (The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Great Expectations, South Riding) Producer: Annie Tricklebank (Upstairs Downstairs, Lark Rise to Candleford, The Night Watch)
A drawing that became a dream. A dream that became reality. A highly imaginative 11-year-old girl who misses her constantly absent father discovers that somehow the images she draws on paper can become frighteningly real. At first she finds them comforting but gradually the pictures become more and more threatening until they capture her in a nightmarish world from which she doesn't know how to escape.
Compilation of the complete first series of The Duchess of Duke Street
Bridget Jones's Diary Featuring a blowzy, winningly inept size-12 heroine, Bridget Jones's Diary is a fetching adaptation of Helen Fielding's runaway bestseller, grittier than Ally McBeal but sweeter than Sex and the City. The normally sylphlike Renée Zellweger (Nurse Betty, Me, Myself and Irene) wolfed pasta to gain poundage to play "singleton" Bridget, a London-based publicist who divides her free time between binge eating in front of the TV, downing Chardonnay with her friends, and updating the diary in which she records her negligible weight fluctuations and romantic misadventures of the year. Things start off badly at Christmas when her mother tries to set her up with seemingly standoffish lawyer Mark Darcy (Colin Firth), whom Bridget accidentally overhears dissing her. Instead she embarks on a disastrous liaison with her raffish boss, Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant, infinitely more likeable when he's playing a baddie instead of his patented tongue-tied fops). Eventually, Bridget comes to wonder if she's let her pride prejudice her against the surprisingly attractive Mr. Darcy. If the plot sounds familiar, that's because Fielding's novel was itself a retelling of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, whose romantic male lead is also named Mr. Darcy. An extra ironic poke in the ribs is added by the casting of Firth, who played Austen's haughty hero in the acclaimed BBC adaptation of Austen's novel. First-time director Sharon Maguire directs with confident comic zest, while Zellweger twinkles charmingly, fearlessly baring her cellulite and pulling off a spot-on English accent. Like Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill (both of which were written by this film's coscreenwriter, Richard Curtis), Bridget Jones's stock-in-trade is a very English self-deprecating sense of humour, a mild suspicion of Americans (especially if they're thin and successful), and a subtly expressed analysis of thirtysomething fears about growing up and becoming a "smug married." The whole is, as Bridget would say, v. good. --Leslie Felperin Bridget Jones 2: The Edge Of Reason Although it's been three years since we last saw Bridget (Renée Zellweger), only a few weeks have passed in her world. She is, as you'll remember, no longer a "singleton," having snagged stuffy but gallant Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) at the end of the 2001 film. Now she's fallen deeply in love and out of her neurotic mind with paranoia: Is Mark cheating on her with that slim, bright young thing from the law office? Will the reappearance of dashing cad Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) further spell the end of her self-confidence when they're shoved off to Thailand together for a TV travel story? If such questions also seem pressing to you, this sequel will be fairly painless, but you shouldn't expect anything fresh. Director Beeban Kidron and her screenwriters--all four of them!--are content to sink matters into slapstick, with chunky Zellweger (who's unflatteringly photographed) the literal butt of all jokes. Though the star still has her charms, and some of Bridget's social gaffes are amusing, the film is mired in low comedy--a sequence in a Thai women's prison is more offensive than outrageous--with only Grant's rakish mischief to pull it out of the swamp. --Steve Wiecking
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