Emma Thompson scores a double bull's-eye with Sense and Sensibility, a marvellous adaptation of Jane Austen's novel. Not only does Thompson turn in a strong (and gently humorous) performance as Elinor Dashwood--the one with "sense"--she also wrote the witty, wise screenplay. Austen's tale of 19th-century manners and morals provides a large cast with a feast of possibilities, notably Kate Winslet, in her pre-Titanic flowering, as Thompson's deeply romantic sister, Marianne (the one with "sensibility"). Winslet attracts the wooing of shy Alan Rickman (a nice change of pace from his bad-guy roles) and dashing Greg Wise, while Thompson must endure an incredibly roundabout courtship with Hugh Grant, here in fine and funny form. All of this is doled out with the usual eye-filling English countryside and handsome costumes, yet the film always seems to be about the careful interior lives of its characters. The director, an inspired choice, is Taiwan-born Ang Lee, here making his first English-language film. He brings the same exquisite taste and discreet touch he displayed in his previous Asian films (such as Eat Drink Man Woman). Thompson's script won an Oscar. --Robert Horton
Charles (Grant) is witty and charming but at the age of 32 is looking like a serial monogamist. His life has been full of girlfriends but he just can't commit to any of them. The more weddings he and his close circle of friends attend the less they want to get married themselves. Until one particular Saturday at one particular wedding Charles meets Carrie (MacDowell)... Instantly smitten Charles begins to pursue her only to learn that she is ready to take the plunge with som
Emma Thompson scores a double bull's-eye with this marvellous adaptation of Jane Austen's novel . Not only does Thompson turn in a strong (and gently humorous) performance as Elinor Dashwood--the one with "sense"--she also wrote the witty, wise screenplay. Austen's tale of 19th-century manners and morals provides a large cast with a feast of possibilities, notably Kate Winslet, in her pre-Titanic flowering, as Thompson's deeply romantic sister, Marianne (the one with "sensibility"). Winslet attracts the wooing of shy Alan Rickman (a nice change of pace from his bad-guy roles) and dashing Greg Wise, while Thompson must endure an incredibly roundabout courtship with Hugh Grant, here in fine and funny form. All of this is doled out with the usual eye-filling English countryside and handsome costumes, yet the film always seems to be about the careful interior lives of its characters. The director, an inspired choice, is Taiwan-born Ang Lee, who brings the same exquisite taste and discreet touch he displayed in his previous Asian films (such as Eat Drink Man Woman). Thompson's script won an Oscar. --Robert Horton, Amazon.com
Kevin & Perry go Large follows our two hormonally challenged lads on their quest to lose their virginity and become the worlds top DJ mixmasters.
When it was released in 1994 Four Weddings and a Funeral quickly became a huge international success, pulling in the kind of audiences most British films only dream of. It's proof that sometimes the simplest ideas are the best. In terms of plot, the title pretty much says it all. Revolving around well, four weddings and a funeral (though not in that order), the film follows Hugh Grant's confirmed bachelor Charles as he falls for visiting American Carrie (Andy McDowell), whom he keeps bumping into at various functions. But with this most basic of premises, screenwriter Richard Curtis has crafted a moving and thoughtful comedy about the perils of singledom and that ever-elusive search for true love. In the wrong hands, it could have been a horribly schmaltzy affair, but Curtis' script--crammed with great one-liners and beautifully judged characterisations--keeps things sharp and snappy, harking back to the sparkling Hollywood romantic comedies of the 1930s and 1940s. The supporting cast, including Kristin Scott Thomas, Simon Callow and Rowan Atkinson (who starred in the Curtis-scripted television show Blackadder) is first rate, at times almost too good--John Hannah's rendition of WH Auden's poem "Funeral Blues" over the coffin of his lover is so moving you think the film will struggle to re-establish its ineffably buoyant mood. But it does, thanks in no small part to Hugh Grant as the bumbling Charles (whose star-making performance compensates for a less-than-dazzling Andie MacDowell). Though it's hardly the fault of Curtis and his team, the success of the Four Weddings did have its downside, triggering a rash of inferior British romantic comedies. In fact, we had to wait until 1999's Notting Hill for another UK film to match its winning charm (scripted, again, by Curtis and also starring Grant). --Edward Lawrenson
Best-selling crime novelist Charles (Dan Stevens) is struggling with catastrophic writer's block and a stressful deadline for his first screenplay. His picture perfect second wife Ruth (Isla Fisher) is doing her best to keep him focussed in the hope of fulfilling her dream of heading to Hollywood. Charles' desperate search for inspiration leads him to invite Madame Arcati (Judi Dench), a medium recently exposed as a fraud, to perform a séance in their home. They all get more than they bargained for when Arcati accidentally summons the spirit of his deceased first wife: the fiery and jealous Elvira (Leslie Mann) who embarks on a mission to kill Charles so she can spend eternity with him which leads to an increasingly comical and deadly love triangle. Special Features Bonus features include BTS interviews with Judi Dench, Dan Stevens, Isla Fisher, Leslie Mann, Emilia Fox & Julian Rhind-Tutt
The entire collection of the much-loved hit show Vicar of Dibley. From conception through to happy ending. Episodes Comprise: 1. Arrival 2. Songs of Praise 3. Community Spirit 4. The Window and the Weather 5. Election 6. Animals 7. The Christmas Lunch Incident 8. The Easter Bunny 9. Engagement 10. Dibley Live 11. Celebrity Vicar 12. Love and Marriage 13. Autumn 14. Winter 15. Spring 16. Summer 17. Merry Christmas 18. Happy New Year 19. The Handsome Stranger 20. The Vicar in White
The sleepy village of Dibley has a new vicar but it's not your standard order bloke with beard bible and bad breath - it's Dawn French of the hilarious comedy duo French and Saunders. Armed with a sharp wit a double dose of double entendre and healthy supply of chocolate she brings the town's lovable - through rather eccentric - inhabitants a hysterical new outlook on life love and the Church of England that will leave audiences in stitches! From the writer of Notting Hill and Four Weddings and a Funeral Richard Curtis comes the first two series of this BBC sit-com.
When it was released in 1994 Four Weddings and a Funeral quickly became a huge international success, pulling in the kind of audiences most British films only dream of. It's proof that sometimes the simplest ideas are the best: in terms of plot, the title pretty much says it all. Revolving around, well, four weddings and a funeral (though not in that order), the film follows Hugh Grant's confirmed bachelor Charles as he falls for visiting American Carrie (Andy McDowell), whom he keeps bumping into at the various functions. But with this most basic of premises, screenwriter Richard Curtis has crafted a moving and thoughtful comedy about the perils of singledom and that ever-elusive search for true love. In the wrong hands, it could have been a horribly schmaltzy affair, but Curtis' script--crammed with great one-liners and beautifully judged characterisations--keeps things sharp and snappy, harking back to the sparkling Hollywood romantic comedies of the 30s and 40s. The supporting cast, including Kristin Scott Thomas, Simon Callow and Rowan Atkinson (who starred in the Curtis-scripted television show Blackadder) is first rate, at times almost too good: John Hannah's rendition of WH Auden's poem "Funeral Blues" over the coffin of his lover is so moving you think the film will struggle to re-establish its ineffably buoyant mood. But it does, thanks in no small part to Hugh Grant as the bumbling Charles (whose star-making performance compensates for a less-than-dazzling Andie MacDowell). Though it's hardly the fault of Curtis and his team, the success of the Four Weddings did have its downside, triggering a rash of far inferior British romantic comedies. In fact, we had to wait until 1999's Notting Hill for another UK film to match its winning charm--scripted, yet again, by Curtis and starring Grant. --Edward Lawrenson
This release features both of the Christmas Specials. Merry Christmas: It has been 10 years since Geraldine became the vicar of Dibley and everyone is determined to celebrate her anniversary. But as usual nothing goes according to plan and she soon has to deal with a disastrous chocolate gift an unexpected visit from a supermodel and a depressed Frank. Happy New Year: It is Geraldine's 40th birthday and the parish council decide the best way to make it an occasion to
An adaptation of Jane Austen's first novella Lady Susan', Love & Friendship follows the beautiful Lady Susan as she attempts to find a husband for herself and her long-suffering daughter Frederica.
Classic BBC comedy starring Dawn French (French & Saunders) and written by Richard Curtis (Love Actually, Four Weddings and a Funeral). Geraldine Granger is not your run-of-the-mill village vicar. She is a bubbly, young reverend overseeing an eccentric congregation in a rural community. She and her off-the-wall parishioners bring us unconventional laughs in Richard Curtis' award-winning divine comedy. Includes Series 1-3, plus the Easter Special (1996) and Christmas Specials (1996 & 1997).
Set in Nazi-occupied France at the height of World War Two the story centres on a young Scottish woman (Cate Blanchett) working with the French Resistance in the hope of rescuing her lover, a missing RAF pilot shot down behind enemy lines.
Adrian (James Fleet) is an unmarried unworldly and somewhat unstable dairy farmer who has spent most of his adult life on a farm in Wiltshire looking after his elderly slightly quirky mother Lucy. Upon finding his mother dead Adrian then has to deal with the arrival of his two sisters Harriet (Francesca Annis) and Virginia (Dawn French) his uncle his mother's lover and her closest friend Veronica (Phyllida Law). They all want a piece of Lucy they all have conflicting plans for
Giant (1956): George Stevens' sweeping Oscar-winning epic about the cataclysmic effect the discovery of oil in Texas has on the lifestyle of the former cattle barons. Dean is Jett Rink a sullen-farm hand who becomes a millionaire overnight. Tough always angry restless bewildered and reckless Rink's animal charm and tycoon's magnetism means he always gets his way. But when he fails in love with Leslie he loses his way with an equal violence... East Of Eden (1955): J
Set in Nazi-occupied France at the height of World War Two the story centres on a young Scottish woman (Cate Blanchett) working with the French Resistance in the hope of rescuing her lover, a missing RAF pilot shot down behind enemy lines.
When the world's media descend on the remote Scottish island where a Hollywood actress is attempting to get married, a local girl is hired as a decoy bride to put the paparazzi off the scent.
Collection of three classic James Dean films. In 'East of Eden' (1955) two brothers compete for the love of their stern, overbearing, widowed father. However, when Cal (Dean), the rejected 'rebel' son, discovers that his mother is not dead but running a nearby brothel he tells his brother Aron (Richard Davalos). This leads to the destruction of not only his relationship with Aron but also his father. 'Giant' (1956) is an epic saga which begins when Texas cattle baron Bick Benedict (Rock Hudson) takes a non-Texan wife, Leslie (Elizabeth Taylor). The story then traces two generations of his family, alongside the life of disreputable ranch-hand Jett Rink (Dean), who strikes it rich on an oil well and falls in love with Leslie. Director George Stevens won an Oscar for his work and the film garnered nine more nominations, including one for Dean, who was killed soon after filming. Finally, 'Rebel Without a Cause' (1955) takes place over a 24-hour period and follows Jim Stark (Dean), a restless teenager who is always in trouble with the law. When Jim is picked up for being drunk and disorderly he notices Judy (Natalie Wood) at the police station and determines to ask her on a date at high school the next day, which leads him into conflict with her boyfriend Buzz (Corey Allen).
Dawn French dons her cassock and collar once more for two very special episodes of The Vicar of Dibley one of the BBC's most popular comedies. It boasts the brilliant comic writing of Richard Curtis (Love Actually Bridget Jones's Diary) and a gifted ensemble cast including Emma Chambers (Notting Hill) and Richard Armitage (BBC's Robin Hood). The Handsome Stranger - Gerry is fed up with all the townies buying weekend cottages in Dibley -- that is until she meets one particularly charming newcomer. Could he be the one? Or is it Gerry's destiny to end up heartbroken in another 6-foot deep puddle? The Vicar in White - After presiding over the marriages of hundreds of other people it appears Gerry's big day has finally arrived. Appearances can be deceptive however especially when the eccentric residents of Dibley are doing the planning!
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