Based on true events Pride tells the story of Jim Ellis a charismatic schoolteacher in the 1970s who changed lives forever by founding and coaching an African-American swim team in one of Philadelphia's roughest neighborhoods. The year is 1973 and Jim Ellis (Terrence Howard) a college-educated African-American can't find a job. Driven by his love of competitive swimming Jim refurbishes an abandoned recreational pool in a down-at-its-heels Philadelphia neighborhood with the help of its custodian Elston (Bernie Mac). But when the pool is marked for demolition Jim fights back - by starting the city's first African-American swim team. Recruiting teens from the streets Jim struggles to transform a motley team of novices into capable swimmers - all in time for the upcoming state championships. But as racism violence and an unsympathetic city official threaten to tear the team apart Jim must do everything he can to convince his swimmers that victory both in and out of the pool is within their reach.
The clash of cultures seen in Outcast of the Islands, is displaced between the Europeans (Trevor Howard plays a Dutchman), Wendy Hillier, Robert Morley and Ralph Richardson. The other, native is occupied by the partially blind Babalatchi (George Coulouris) and Aissa (Kerima) and a multitude of nameless indigenous characters. The opponents to the whites and, to a lesser extent, of the natives are the Arabs, led by Abdullah. The struggle by all three groups for mastery of the economic opportunities of these territories is crystallised in attempts by Willems, an involuntary exile to satisfy his own needs, who along the way compromises his livelihood.
The fractured Europe post-World War II is perfectly captured in Carol Reed's masterpiece thriller, set in a Vienna still shell-shocked from battle. Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten) is an alcoholic pulp writer come to visit his old friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles). But when Cotton first arrives in Vienna, Lime's funeral is under way. From Lime's girlfriend and an occupying British officer, Martins learns of allegations of Lime's involvement in racketeering, which Martins vows to clear from his friend's reputation. As he is drawn deeper into post-war intrigue, Martins finds layer upon layer of deception, which he desperately tries to sort out. Welles' long-delayed entrance in the film has become one of the hallmarks of modern cinematography and it is just one of dozens of cockeyed camera angles that seem to mirror the off-kilter post-war society. Cotten and Welles give career-making performances and the Anton Karas zither theme will haunt you. --Anne Hurley
Skaka Zulu is the powerful true story of tribal Africa during the turbulent 19th century. This critically acclaimed mini-series follows the life of Shaka a powerful and mighty Zulu leader as he grows up to fulfil an ancient tribal prophecy uniting his people into a bold new nation. Shaka is driven by extraordinary intelligence courage astounding physical ability and an immortal stance leading his proud warriors on their quest to be one people one power one empire! ""Shaka
Four classics from Hammer, each presented on Blu-ray for the very first time in the UK. Whether it's a mad man brandishing a welding torch, a mythical monster who's looks can kill, an ancient royal with diabolical powers, or a mad woman wielding a pair of scissors, this set has something to unease everybody. Containing a wealth of new and exclusive extra features including title-specific documentaries, cast and crew interviews, expert appreciations, introductions and more this stunning Blu-ray-only Limited Edition box set is published in a horribly limited, numbered edition of 4,000 units. The titles are: MANIAC (Michael Carreras, 1963) THE GORGON (Terence Fisher, 1964) THE CURSE OF THE MUMMY'S TOMB (Michael Carreras, 1964) FANATIC (Silvio Narizzano, 1965) INDICATOR LIMITED BLU-RAY EDITION SPECIAL FEATURES: HD restorations of all four films Original Mono audio All-new documentaries exploring aspects of each film The Gorgon audio commentary with Daughters of Darkness' Samm Deighan and Kat Ellinger The Gorgon introduction by actor and filmmaker Matthew Holness New interviews with actors Barbara Shelley and Mike McStay New interviews with cameramen Michael Reed and Douglas Milsome Playwright Matthew Lombardo on Tallulah Bankhead and Fanatic Hammer's Women an exclusive series of filmed appreciations of Nadia Gray, Barbara Shelley, Jeanne Roland and Tallulah Bankhead Original trailers and promotional films Promotional and on-set photography, poster art and archive materials Four box set exclusive booklets with new essays, contemporary reviews, historic articles, and full film credits New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing UK premieres on Blu-ray Limited edition box set of 4,000 copies
Darkness has settled over New York City as Shredder and his evil Foot Clan have an iron grip on everything from the police to the politicians. The future is grim until four unlikely outcast brothers rise from the sewers and discover their destiny as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The Turtles must work with fearless reporter April O'Neil and her cameraman Vern Fenwick to save the city and unravel Shredder's diabolical plan.
From its cleverly choreographed opening sequence to its heart-stopping climax on a rampant carousel, this 1951 Hitchcock classic readily earns its reputation as one of the director's finest examples of timeless cinematic suspense. It's not just a ripping-good thriller but a film student's delight and a perversely enjoyable battle of wits between tennis pro Guy (Farley Granger) and his mysterious, sycophantic admirer, Bruno (Robert Walker), who proposes a "criss-cross" scheme of traded murders. Bruno agrees to kill Guy's unfaithful wife, in return for which Guy will (or so it seems) kill Bruno's spiteful father. With an emphasis on narrative and visual strategy, Hitchcock controls the escalating tension with a master's flair for cinematic design, and the plot (coscripted by Raymond Chandler) is so tightly constructed that you'll be white-knuckled even after multiple viewings. Strangers on a Train remains one of Hitchcock's crowning achievements and a suspenseful classic that never loses its capacity to thrill and delight. --Jeff Shannon
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover is both adored and detested for its combination of sumptuous beauty and revolting decadence. Few directors polarise audiences in the same way as Peter Greenaway, a filmmaker as influenced by Jacobean revenge tragedy and 17th-century painting as by the French New Wave. A vile, gluttonous thief (Michael Gambon) spews hate and abuse at a restaurant run by a stoic French cook (Richard Bohringer), but under the thief's nose his wife (the ever-sensuous Helen Mirren) conducts an affair with a bookish lover (Alan Howard). Clothing (by avant-garde designer Jean-Paul Gaultier) changes colour as the characters move from room to room. Nudity, torture, rotting meat, and Tim Roth at his sleaziest all contribute the atmosphere of decay and excess. Not for everyone, but for some, essential. --Bret Fetzer
Shelagh Delaney's play 'A Taste of Honey' had already played in the West End and on Broadway when Tony Richardson made his film adaptation shot on location in Salford and Blackpool. Rita Tushingham made her indelible screen debut as Jo a young girl who falls pregnant after leaving home and her floozie of a mother - a revelatory performance by Dora Bryan. Jo befriends Geoff (Murray Melvin) a gentle kind-hearted gay man and they move in together like two children playing house for a while finding an innocent but fragile happiness. Richardson always skilled with actors draws fine performances from his entire cast and 'A Taste of Honey' remains an outstanding example of the British New Wave shot by its star cinematographer Walter Lassally.
Clint Eastwood is Detective Harry Callahan in SUDDEN IMPACT the third sequel to DIRTY HARRY. This is probably the most violent film of the series. Here the brutal but effective Callahan is looking for a killer who shoots her male victims in the genitals. Jennifer Spencer (Sondra Locke) is tracking down the people responsible for raping her and her sister 10 years earlier killing them one by one. Callahan is on the case but will he stop her from meting out her own brand of jus
Dramatic and extremely well made. Daily Mirror Don't miss the first ever DVD release of this crime film starring Trevor Howard and Sally Gray! A superb gritty film noir in which a bored and cynical ex-RAF flyer Clem Morgan (Trevor Howard) joins a criminal gang led by Narcy (Griffith Jones). On his first job the getaway car crashes after killing a policeman and Morgan is knocked unconscious and framed as the driver. He is sent to jail but escapes and heads to London seeking revenge on the gang. In the midst of a massive police hunt he is sheltered by Sally (Sally Gray) who is an associate of Narcy. As the police close in Morgan must prove his innocence as he confronts the gang in an abandoned warehouse.
One of David Cronenberg's most successful early films, Rabid features porn star Marilyn Chambers as a woman who becomes infected with a virus after an operation. As result she grows a kind of phallus with which she penetrates her victims as she sucks their blood and thus the disease spreads rapidly. The film displays all Cronenberg's usual horrified fascination with the human body and its sexual function. Looking back, it can be read as a kind of parable about AIDS, but it works perfectly well as an effective low-budget shocker. On the DVD: the widescreen image on the DVD is acceptable quality, as is the sound. The fairly routine extras consist of excerpts from a TV interview with Cronenberg, lasting about 10 minutes; a collection of stills from the film; some written notes by horror expert Kim Newman that give useful background, though in part reproduce what is said in the interview; full filmographies for Cronenberg and the three principal performers, including a long list of Chambers' porn credits. --Ed Buscombe
A portrait of America in the early part of the twentieth century based on a bestselling novel by E.L. Doctorow and directed by Oscar winning film maker Milos Forman.
Available for the first time on DVD! In World War II Royal Marine Major Stringer (Jose Ferrer) and Captain Thompson (Trevor Howard) chose volunteers for an unknown job. They trained the volunteers intensively in top secrecy for more than a year and then embarked with them on the most dangerous mission of the war - the canoe invasion of an enemy-held French port for the purpose of blowing up the giant battleships. The ten ""canoe commandoes"" were carried to their jump-off point by s
Private detective Adrian Monk has brains instincts a photographic memory and more than a few Obsessive Compulsive Disorders. These traits his-ever present handy wipes and his devoted assistant Natalie Teeger (Traylor Howard) help him as he solves cases involving amnesia betrayal first-loves true loves and of course murder.
In 1965, maverick British producer and writer Harry Alan Towers (The Bloody Judge) scored a hit with The Face of Fu Manchu, a thrilling revival of Sax Rohmer's super-villain imperiously portrayed by Christopher Lee (The Terror of the Tongs). Over the next four years, Lee and Towers would collaborate with directors Don Sharp (Psychomania), Jeremy Summers and Jesús Franco (Venus in Furs) on four ever more delirious tales of attempted world domination (The Brides of Fu Manchu, The Vengeance of Fu Manchu, The Blood of Fu Manchu, The Castle of Fu Manchu), each pitting the criminal mastermind against his arch-nemesis Nayland Smith, as played variously by Nigel Green (Play Dirty), Douglas Wilmer (Sherlock Holmes) and Richard Greene (The Adventures of Robin Hood). Now, all five classic Fu Manchu films are presented on Blu-ray for the first time, newly restored from original negatives and containing a wealth of new and archival extras, including critical appreciations, cast and crew interviews and audio commentaries. This stunning Limited Edition box set is strictly limited to 6,000 units, and is presented with an exclusive, fully illustrated 120-page book, featuring new writing by Tim Lucas. Special Features: THE FACE OF FU MANCHU New restoration from a 4K scan of the original negative Original mono audio Audio commentary with critics Kim Newman and Stephen Jones (2020) The BEHP Interview with Don Sharp Part One (1993): archival audio recording, made as part of the British Entertainment History Project, featuring Sharp in conversation with Teddy Darvas and Alan Lawson Super 8 version: cut-down home cinema presentation Original theatrical trailer Image gallery: promotional and publicity material New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing World premiere on Blu-ray More extras to be announced All extras subject to change THE BRIDES OF FU MANCHU New restoration from a 4K scan of the original negative Original mono audio Audio commentary with film historians Jonathan Rigby and Kevin Lyons (2020) Kim Newman on Sax Rohmer and the Fu Manchu novels The BEHP Interview with Don Sharp Part Two (1993): archival audio recording, made as part of the British Entertainment History Project, featuring Sharp in conversation with Teddy Darvas and Alan Lawson The BEHP Interview with Ernest Steward (1990): archival audio recording of an interview with the respected cinematographer, made as part of the British Entertainment History Project Original theatrical trailer Image gallery: promotional and publicity material New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing World premiere on Blu-ray More extras to be announced All extras subject to change THE VENGEANCE OF FU MANCHU New restoration from a 4K scan of the original negative Original mono audio The BEHP Interview with Jeremy Summers (2001): archival audio recording, made as part of the British Entertainment History Project, featuring Summers in conversation with Darrol Blake Archival interview with Harry Alan Towers New interview with first assistant director Anthony Waye (2020) The Ghost of Monk's Island (1966): Jeremy Summers directs this exciting mystery made for the Children's Film Foundation Original theatrical trailer Image gallery: promotional and publicity material New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing World premiere on Blu-ray More extras to be announced All extras subject to change THE BLOOD OF FU MANCHU New restoration from a 4K scan of the original negative Original mono audio Audio commentary with critics David Flint and Adrian Smith (2020) Visions of the Yellow Peril (2020): Christopher Frayling on ethnocentrism in the Fu Manchu cycle New interview with clapper loader Ray Andrew (2020) New interview with Stephen Thrower on Fu Manchu and Jesús Franco's collaborations with Harry Alan Towers (2020) The Mystery of Dr. Fu-Manchu: The Fiery Hand (1923): a chilling episode of the original silent serial, starring Harry Agar Lyons as the evil mastermind Original theatrical trailer Image gallery: promotional and publicity material New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing UK premiere on Blu-ray More extras to be announced All extras subject to change THE CASTLE OF FU MANCHU New restoration by Powerhouse Films from a 4K scan of the original negative Original mono audio New interview with star Rosalba Neri (2020) The Further Mysteries of Dr. Fu-Manchu: The Coughing Horror (1924): Fu Manchu torments Nayland Smith with a terrifying creature in this silent serial sequel Original theatrical trailer Image gallery: promotional and publicity material New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing UK premiere on Blu-ray More extras to be announced All extras subject to change Limited edition exclusive 120-page book with a new essay on the Fu Manchu cycle by Tim Lucas, a look at the career of producer/screenwriter Harry Alan Towers, an examination of the work of Fu Manchu creator Sax Rohmer, new writing on The Ghost of Monk's Island and the Stoll Pictures' Fu Manchu silent serials, archival newspaper articles on the films, extracts from the films' pressbooks, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and film credits Limited edition exclusive double-sided poster and five replica production stills UK and World premieres on Blu-ray Limited edition box set of 6,000 numbered units
The second in Hammer's lucrative Mummy franchise, Michael Carreras' The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb follows an ill-fated expedition to Egypt as archaeologists discover a cursed crypt, unleashing an unspeakable ancient evil upon themselves. Photographed by the great Otto Heller (The Ladykillers, Peeping Tom) and with an evocative score by Carlo Martelli, The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb was one of Hammer's most successful films of the sixties. Features: High Definition remaster Original mono audio Blood and Bandages: Inside The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb' (2017, 13 mins): an analysis of the film by Hammer expert Jonathan Rigby and cultural historian John J Johnston Hammer's Women: Jeanne Roland (2017, 11 mins): film expert Kat Ellinger offers an appreciation of the Burmese-born actor's short career Interview with Actor Michael McStay (2017, 6 mins): the British film and television star looks back at his time working for Hammer Interview with Composer Carlo Martelli (2017, 4 mins): the great horror-film composer on his work with Hammer Super 8 version: original cut-down home cinema presentation Original theatrical trailer Image gallery: on-set and promotional photography New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
Set in the near future the Catholic Church has joined with other great western religions in an ecumenical movement that has irradicated much of original religious doctrines. A group of Irish monks rebel and begin saying the mass in Latin again and are starting to receive an international following. Martin Sheen is sent from Rome to bring them to task and to make them conform but the monks struggle to decide what is truly essential to their worship and what is not.
Twin brother codirectors Albert and Alan Hughes planned their first film, the 1991 ghetto crime drama Menace II Society as a response to John Singleton's Boyz N the Hood, which they considered wimpy and moralistic. They set their sights on The Deer Hunter in this ambitious follow-up, and they just about pull it off. Larenz Tate (from Why Do Fools Fall in Love) plays Anthony Curtis, an open-hearted African American teenager who gets shipped out to Vietnam with several of his pals, witnesses unspeakable horrors and then struggles to readjust to civilian life. The evolving textures of life in a declining inner-city neighbourhood over a period of a decade are seamlessly evoked and there's enough nuanced character development and personal interaction for a seven-hour miniseries. Still in their early 20s, the Hughes brothers are already poised and masterful movie makers; they cover an enormous amount of historical and emotional ground and every twist and turn is crystal clear. They betray their inexperience only at the very end, in an elaborately staged heist sequence that, while stunningly executed, feels a bit desperate, as if they were reaching blindly for a big pay off. Chris Tucker (Rush Hour) has a startling supporting role as a kid who becomes a junkie during the war and never quite recovers. --David Chute
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