The comic genius of Blake Edwards and Peter Sellers meet again in The Return of the Pink Panther. The Pink Panther Diamond is stolen with only one clue left behind - a white glove, the trademark of the world-renowned jewel thief The Phantom (Christopher Plummer). Believed to be retired, he immediately becomes the chief suspect on Inspector Clouseau's list. Wanting to clear his name, The Phantom sets out to find the real thief and sends Clouseau bumbling along on a false trail. Inspector Clouseau's antics finally push his boss, Chief Inspector Dreyfus, over the edge and he sets out to murder Clouseau to rid of him once and for all! It's non-stop laughs in this timeless comedy masterpiece, hailed as the funniest in the Pink Panther series.
Based on the true story of the building of a bridge on the Burma railway by British prisoners-of-war held under a savage Japanese regime in World War II, The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) is one of the greatest war films ever made. The film received seven Oscars, including Best Picture, Director, Performance (Alex Guinness), for Sir Malcolm Arnold's superb music, and for the screenplay from the novel by Pierre Boulle (who also wrote Monkey Planet, the inspiration for Planet of the Apes). The story does take considerable liberties with history, including the addition of an American saboteur played by William Holden, and an entirely fictitious but superbly constructed and thrilling finale. Made on a vast scale, the film reinvented the war movie as something truly epic, establishing the cinematic beachhead for The Longest Day (1962), Patton (1970) and A Bridge Too Far (1977). It also proved a turning-point in director David Lean's career. Before he made such classic but conventionally scaled films as In Which We Serve (1942) and Hobson's Choice (1953). Afterwards there would only be four more films, but their names are Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Dr Zhivago (1965), Ryan's Daughter (1970) and A Passage to India (1984). On the DVD: Too often the best extras come attached to films that don't really warrant them. Not so here, where a truly great film has been given the attention it deserves. The first disc presents the film in the original extra-wide CinemaScope ratio of 2.55:1, in an anamorphically enhanced transfer which does maximum justice to the film's superb cinematography. The sound has been transferred from the original six-track magnetic elements into 5.1 Dolby Digital and far surpasses what many would expect from a 1950s' feature. The main bonus on the first disc is an isolated presentation of Malcolm Arnold's great Oscar-winning music score, in addition to which there is a trivia game, and maps and historical information linked to appropriate clips. The second disc contains a new, specially produced 53-minute "making of" documentary featuring many of those involved in the production of the movie. This gives a rich insight into the physical problems of making such a complex epic on location in Ceylon. Also included are the original trailer and two short promotional films from the time of release, one of which is narrated by star William Holden. Finally there is an "appreciation" by director John Milius, an extensive archive of movie posters and artwork, and a booklet that reproduces the text of the film's original 1957 brochure. --Gary S Dalkin
WI T N E S S T H E B I R T H O F A C I N E M A T I C L E G E N D For the first time on Blu-ray, featuring new restorations and scores, experience 10 of Alfred Hitchcock's early works. From the silent film era to the first talkies, this 11-disc set also contains a newly commissioned, full-length documentary, Becoming Hitchcock, exploring the director's first sound picture, Blackmail. In 1929, Hitchcock directed Blackmail, the first British sound feature, hailed as a film which used sound and dialogue with more flair and imagination than any Hollywood or European film of the time. Hitchcock's inventive and expressionist use of sound demonstrated that the new technology opened a new realm of possibilities. The Ring (1927) The Farmer's Wife (1928)Champagne (1928) The Manxman (1929) (NEW SCORE) Blackmail (1929) - SILENT VERSION (new 4K restoration and NEW SCORE ) Blackmail (1929) - TALKIE VERSION (new 4K restoration) Juno and the Paycock (1930) Murder! (1930) The Skin Game 1931) - REMASTERED FOR 2024 Rich and Strange (1931) Number Seventeen (1932) (new 4K restoration) BRAND-NEW DOCUMENTARY - BECOMING HITCHCOCK THE LEGACY OF BLACKMAIL (2024) Directed by Laurent Bouzereau, Narrated by Elvis Mitchell, Produced by Studiocanal in association with Nedland Films, 72min.BECOMING HITCHCOCK THE LEGACY OF BLACKMAIL, a brand new 72-minute documentary from award-winning filmmaker Laurent Bouzereau (Faye, Music by John Williams, Five Came Back) and narrated by historian, critic and filmmaker Elvis Mitchell, reflects the development of Alfred Hitchcock's signature style, through the making of one of his benchmark films, Blackmail (1929). The documentary highlights the birth of the Hitchcock Touch at a period when talking pictures first emerged and explores his trademark themes, such as murder, suspense and cool blondes. While focusing on Blackmail, the documentary reveals how this film also foreshadows the director's later masterpieces, from Psycho to North by Northwest and from The Birds to Frenzy. / runtime: 70 mins
This stunning new 4K restoration of 1955 Ealing comedy THE LADYKILLERS and the first from the original 3 strip technicolour negative, showcases Alexander Mackendrick's vision is its full glory. Considered by many as the finest British comedy ever made, THE LADYKILLERS follows the hilarious capers of a group of small-time crooks, taking on more than they can handle in the form of their sweet elderly landlord, Mrs. Wilberforce (BAFTA Award winning actress Katie Johnson; How To Murder A Rich Uncle). The criminal gang, posing as a string quartet, are unprepared for their landlord's meddling when one of the musicians' cases gets caught in a door, revealing the group's true identity. Featuring an impressive all-star lineup, with the finest comedy actors of the day; Alec Guinness (Kind Hearts and Coronets, Lavender Hill Mob) plays the gang's mastermind Professor Marcus', Cecil Parker (A French Mistress) is Claude otherwise known as Major Courtney', Peter Sellers (I'm Alright Jack) is Harry aka Mr. Robinson', Herbert Lom (The Pink Panther) is Louis aka Mr. Harvey' and Danny Green (A Kid For Two Farthings) plays One Round also known as Mr. Lawson'. A stunning new 4K restoration of Ealing Studios finest comedy Special Features: Lobby cards Gallery Behind the Scenes Stills Gallery NEW Investigating the Ladykillers featurette NEW Colour in The Ladykillers: an interview with Professor Keith Johnston Lobby Cards gallery Behind the scenes stills gallery Peter Sellers spoof trailer from the set of The Ladykillers Audio commentary with author and film scholar Philip Kemp King's Cross Locations featurette with Alan Dein Audio Interview with Assistant Director Tom Pevsner Audio Interview with Unit Production Manager David Peers Trailer Includes the feature in both 1.37 and 1.66 aspect ratios - first time both have been available together Collector's includes - 5 disc (DVD, X2 BD, UHD, CD Glorious Ealing Films soundtrack disc) 6 Pop Art cards - by Art&Hue of the gang and Mrs Wilberforce, a 64 page booklet with new essays.
In an effort to teach Future Zeno about martial arts, Zeno calls for an exhibition match between the 7th and 9th Universes. Afterwards, Goku searches for the 7th Universe's ten best fighters. With only 48 hours until the Tournament of Power officially begins, will he put together a strong enough team in time, or will the Z Fighters be at a major disadvantage from the get-go?!
Wolfgang Petersen's harrowing and claustrophobic U-boat thriller Das Boot was released as both a theatrical film and a six-hour mini-series, and remains the most expensive production ever made by a German studio. The expanded "Director's Cut" of the movie was re-released 1997 and it is this version that is available for home viewing. This epic story became an instant classic on its first release, provoking critical and audience acclaim worldwide for its sympathetic and entirely truthful portrayal of a German U-boat crew. Faithfully adapted from the bestselling novel by Lothar-Günther Buchheim, Petersen and his committed cast (led by the amazing Jürgen Prochnow) were concerned to ensure that every detail was rendered with painstaking accuracy--both physical and psychological--and the result is not only the best submarine drama ever made but also arguably the finest cinematic portrait of men at war and the terrible madness they must endure. On the DVD: The 200-minute "Director's Cut" version of the movie not only has several major scenes restored that were not in the theatrical release but also has been digitally remastered with significantly improved sound (new sound effects have been added) and anamorphic picture. (The six-hour TV version has yet to be released.) Here, the viewer can watch the movie in the original German, with or without subtitles, or in an English dubbed version that uses the voices of many of the original cast. On the utterly engrossing commentary track, director Wolfgang Petersen and star Jürgen Prochnow talk animatedly and in great detail about every aspect of making this epic story--from model shots using Barbie dolls to meeting the Captain of the original U-boat. This is one of the most consistently rewarding commentaries on disc. Also included is a five-minute featurette that promotes this new version. --Mark Walker
This 282-minute version of Das Boot is the full-length TV series, originally shown in six parts but here edited into a seamless whole. Director Wolfgang Petersen has since graduated to mega-budget Hollywood productions (2004's Troy for example), but has never managed even to come close to this, his German-language masterpiece. Petersen and his sterling cast (including Jürgen Prochnow in his best role as the U-boat captain) went to great lengths to ensure that this claustrophobic depiction of life aboard the German sub U-97 while attacking British convoys in the Atlantic is thoroughly authentic and totally convincing. Even the set itself, which is a replica of a U-boat interior, had no false walls, so all camera angles are necessarily from within its horribly narrow, overcrowded and sweaty confines. The result is certainly the finest submarine drama ever made, and one of the most compelling depictions of the physical, psychological and emotional effects of warfare. This mini-series is rather longer than the movie version, which is also available on DVD in a Director's Cut version. The differences are not in matters of plot, but in the pacing: everything here takes longer to happen, while the crew must sit around, bicker, swear and sweat it out--the agonising searching for action, the tension of the attack, the terrible stress of hiding from enemy destroyers. Everything unfolds as if in real time, which is the great advantage a TV production has over a movie (contrast, for example, Band of Brothers with Saving Private Ryan). This, therefore, is the definitive presentation of a World War II classic. On the DVD: Das Boot is presented on two discs, with no breaks where the original TV episodes started and finished. The default language option is German with optional English subtitles. For those constitutionally allergic to subtitles there is also an alternative English-language dub, voiced by many of the original cast (including Prochnow). Sound is adequate stereo or Dolby 5.1, and the anamorphic widescreen is good for the murky green underwater shots. Unlike the theatrical version, though, there is no commentary. --Mark Walker
The Letter (Dir. William Wyler 1940): While her husband inspects his rubber planatation Leslie Crosbie murders Geoffrey Hammond. His widow has a letter written by Leslie asking him to meet her as her lover the night of the murder. Leslie can buy the letter but must come for it herself. Learning that he is broke from paying for the letter Leslie's husband next learns its contents. He forgives her. Leslie walks into the garden where the widow appears with a dagger. Now V
Acclaimed filmmaker Joachim Trier (Oslo, August 31st, Louder Than Bombs) returns with The Worst Person in the World, a wistful and subversive romantic drama about the quest for love and meaning. Set in contemporary Oslo, it features a star-making lead performance from Renate Reinsve as a young woman who, on the verge of turning thirty, navigates multiple love affairs, existential uncertainty and career dissatisfaction as she slowly starts deciding what she wants to do, who she wants to be, and ultimately who she wants to become. As much a formally playful character study as it is a poignant and perceptive observation of quarter-life angst, this life-affirming coming of age story deservedly won Reinsve the Best Actress award at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival.
A thrilling post-MTV roller-coaster ride, RUN LOLA RUN is the internationally acclaimed sensation about two star-crossed lovers who have only minutes to change the course of their lives. Time is running out for Lola (Franka Potente). She's just received a frantic phone call from her boyfriend Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu), who's lost a small fortune belonging to his mobster boss. If Lola doesn't replace the money in twenty minutes, Manni will surely suffer severe consequences. Set to a throbbing techno score, Lola's like a human stun gun (Peter Rainer, New York Magazine).
It's difficult to create a film that's fast paced, exciting and aesthetically appealing without diluting its dialogue. Run Lola Run, directed and written by Tom Tykwer, is an enchanting balance of pace and narrative, creating a universal parable that leaps over cultural barriers. This is the story of young Lola (Franka Potente) and her boyfriend Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu). In the space of 20 minutes, they must come up with 100,000 deutsche marks to pay back a seedy gangster, who will be less than forgiving when he finds out that Manni incompetently lost his cash to an opportunistic vagrant. Lola, confronted with one obstacle after another, rides an emotional roller coaster in her high-speed efforts to help the hapless Manni--attempting to extract the cash first from her double-dealing father (appropriately a bank manager), and then by any means necessary. From this point nothing goes right for either protagonist, but just when you think you've figured out the movie, the director introduces a series of brilliant existential twists that boggle the mind. Tykwer uses rapid camera movements and innovative pauses to explore the theme of cause and effect. Accompanied by a pulse-pounding soundtrack, we follow Lola through every turn and every heartbreak as she and Manni rush forward on a collision course with fate. There were a variety of original and intelligent films released in 1999, but perhaps none were as witty and clever as this little gem--one of the best foreign films of the year. --Jeremy Storey, Amazon.com
Captain Scott (More) is sent by the British Governor in India to rescue a five year old Hindu prince and his American governess (Bacall) when a rebellion breaks out among the tribesmen. Pursued by the abductors the trio commandeer a derelict steam train to take them 300 miles through the mountains to safety...
Although Stepmom was dismissed as a contender in the 1998 Oscar race, it's worth giving a second chance to this rather cogent, sharp-tongued look at second chances. Susan Sarandon's performance as a mum about to be replaced by her ex-husband's new girlfriend (played by Julia Roberts) has a lot of bite, and it's a shame the script opted to trivialise her plight in its final reel. Initially, the rancour that passes between divorced mum Jackie (Sarandon) and trendy fashion photographer Isabel (Roberts) rings true, aided by the sincerity of Jackie's ex-husband Luke (Ed Harris) and the emotional plight of their children, who have the most to lose in their parents' divorce. As the drama makes clear, the children are the real victims in the agony that ensues between old and new love. Director Chris Columbus, who is adept at showing familial chaos (he directed Mrs. Doubtfire and Home Alone) with a sanitised minimum of lingering emotional damage, actually manages to dig a trifle deeper than usual in exploring the jealousy and hurt that occur when the baton is passed between a birth mum and the younger wife who steps into her shoes. Stepmom fortunately manages to touch on that chord--showing how an ambitious woman might feel hampered by the responsibility of children just because she's fallen in love with their dad--as well as the haunting grief that it causes their birth mum. It's an issue that haunts millions of second wives everywhere, and while Roberts conveys the confusion of being taken for granted in the melee that follows, it's Sarandon who walks off with the film. She's relentless in her fury, and everyone else in the film--the generally excellent Harris included--is sideswiped. It's just a shame that Hollywood once again wimps out in the end, solving the problem by giving Sarandon a terminal illness. Instead of allowing Jackie and Isabel's relationship to unfold on something less than a high note, the movie has to quell its best thing with a false payoff because it doesn't know what to do with real life. --Paula Nechak, Amazon.com
Four previously married women live together in Miami, sharing their various experiences together and enjoying themselves despite hard times.
Though this film is a relatively minor one in the massive canon of Peter Sellers, it has moments of absolute hilarity. Written and directed by Blake Edwards, one of Sellers' most fertile collaborators, the film stars Sellers as a would-be actor from India (let them try to get away with that today) who is a walking disaster area. After ruining a day's shooting as an extra on a film, he finds himself unintentionally invited to a big Hollywood party. That's pretty much it as far as plot goes, but Edwards and Sellers know how to milk a simple idea for an unending string of slapstick gags. The result is a film that is episodic and sketchy but also frequently loony in an inspired way. --Marshall Fine
A traveller making a journey to the exotic Moroccan capital finds himself enmeshed in a web of suspicion and counter-espionage in this star-studded spy thriller with a difference!Odd Couple star Tony Randall is the American tourist whose eagerly awaited vacation turns into a potentially deadly adventure; Herbert Lom, Terry-Thomas and Austrian-born star Senta Berger are among the assorted spies and villains with whom he unwittingly tangles, with Klaus Kinski in suitably menacing form as the sinister stranger who tracks his every move.Directed by Hammer Films veteran Don Sharp and scripted from a story by British B-movie mogul Harry Alan Towers (under his regular pen-name 'Peter Welbeck'), Our Man in Marrakesh is a colourful blend of humour, glamour and intrigue, presented here in a brand-new transfer from the original film elements.SPECIAL FEATURES:Original Theatrical Trailer Image GalleryPromotional Material PDF>
The world's most hilariously disaster-prone detective is back on the case as Peter Sellers stars in this merry masterpiece of sheer slapstick sleuthing fun! When the priceless Pink Panther diamond is stolen yet again the inimitable Inspector Jacques Clouseau is saved from an unwilling early retirement and sent off to the country of Lugash to investigate. Certain that the heist is the work of a suave jewel thief known as The Phantom Clouseau unleashes his formidable array of outlan
There have been hundreds of movies about Dracula but none have ever honoured the original novel quite like this. Intended as the first faithful adaption of Bram Stoker's original novel, it features Christopher Lee as everyone's favourite bloodsucker, moving beyond his Hammer turns and finally playing the role as he felt it should be done.Unavailable in the UK for many years, 88 Films are proud to present director Jesus Franco's legendary film in a beautiful new 4K transfer: Dracula as you've never seen him before!Product FeaturesBrand new 4K Remaster from the Original NegativesHigh Definition (1080p) Blu-ray in 1.37:1 Aspect RatioLPCM 2.0 English MonoOptional English SubtitlesAudio Commentary with Film Critics Kim Newman and Sean HoganAudio Commentary with Film Experts Troy Howarth and Nathaniel ThomsonBloodsucker - David Pirie on Count DraculaDracula in the SouthAlternate German Opening Credits
Neil Simon's classic stage comedy made an effortless transition to the big screen in 1967, when The Odd Couple provided Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau with a tailor-made mid-career affirmation of their status as two of cinema's greatest funny men. Lemmon is Felix, manically obsessed with cleanliness and housekeeping, struggling to understand why his wife wants a divorce. Matthau is Oscar, his slovenly poker-playing buddy who invites him to take the spare room and lives to regret it as they rapidly and comically come to grief like an old, totally incompatible, married couple, revealing exactly why their respective wives have had enough. "I don't think two single men living alone in a big eight-room apartment should have a cleaner house than my mother", Matthau wails, trying to make sense of the disintegrating situation. The pair devour Simon's typically sharp and witty script in a frenzy of classic one-liners that allow Lemmon's trademark twitchy neurosis and Matthau's baleful cussedness to flourish. Great as they are, though, they are nearly eclipsed in the funniest scene of the film by Monica Evans and Carole Shelly as a couple of British expatriate sisters from the apartment upstairs. Carry On innuendo briefly meets Manhattan repartee and the screen crackles with brilliance. It's a comic masterclass. On the DVD: The Odd Couple on disc has no extras apart from the original cinema trailer, but the film, presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen, with Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, is pristine, Neal Hefti's score providing that instantly identifiable flavour of sophisticated 1960s American comedy. --Piers Ford
When the Battlestar Galactica finally arrives at the planet Earth they find they must subtly raise its tech level & protect it from the Cylons. Episodes Comprise: 1. Galactica Discovers Earth: Part 1 2. Galactica Discovers Earth: Part 2 3. Galactica Discovers Earth: Part 3 4. The Super Scouts: Part 1 5. The Super Scouts: Part 2 6. Spaceball 7. The Night the Cylons Landed: Part 1 8. The Night the Cylons Landed: Part 2 9. Space Croppers 10. The Return of Starbuck
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