Based on William Wharton's transcendent novel of the same name, this film is about many things: friendship, war, and, of course, birds. The framing device is an effort by a horribly scarred combat soldier (Nicolas Cage) to break through to his best friend, Birdy (Matthew Modine), hospitalised after seemingly being driven mad by fighting in the Vietnam War. Cage then flashes back to their boyhood, where Birdy, a canary aficionado, was considered the school weirdo but managed to be a solid companion none the less. Directed by Alan Parker, it works best as a coming-of-age story, but misses the bizarre psychological transferences of the book, in which Birdy imagines himself within the world of canaries he creates in his bedroom at his parents' house. Modine is fine as an out-of-it misfit enraptured by his own little universe. --Marshall Fine
Joseph and Brenda have done what many only dream of and retired to the South of France to live out the rest of their days as if they were permanently on holiday. But retirement is not what Joseph imagined and when a young attractive couple Suzanne and Mark choose their favourite bistro for dinner everything Joseph thought he knew about himself and his world is turned upside down.
The Oscar winning screen icon, James Cagney, comes to life in this DVD collection The Bride Came C.O.D., The Fighting 69th, Torrid Zone and The West Point Story. Special features on each title in the Collection include the entertaining Warner Night at the Movies short subject galleries with vintage newsreels, vault treasures and classic cartoons. The Bride Came C.O.D. Comedy comes from numerous sources in this screwball farce headlined by the ebullient pairing of James Cagney and Bette Davis, scripted by Julius J. and Philip G. Epstein (Casablanca, Arsenic and Old Lace). Whether up in the clouds, or underground in a mine, the stars (in their second and final film together) spar with harebrained zest as a pilot hired to kidnap an about-to-elope heiress, and the happy result from start to end is C.O.D. Comedy on Demand. The Fighting 69th In the seventh of their nine movies together, off-screen pals James Cagney and Pat O'Brien play soldiers of the famed, largely Irish-American World War I regiment, the Fighting 69th. O'Brien is Father Duffy, the brave chaplain whose statue stands today in Manhattan's Times Square. Cagney is Jerry Plunkett, a street-tough braggart turned yellow by the horror of No Man's Land, but inspired to redemptive heroism by Duffy's courage under fire. The Torrid Zone Off-screen pals James Cagney and Pat O'Brien team for the eighth time in this snappy action comedy set in a Central American Banana Republic. In a role widely cited as putting her on the movie fan's map, Hollywood's Oomph Girl Ann Sheridan portrays wisecracking chanteuse Lee Donley who's the lure to keep the plantation's best man (Cagney) from leaving the company. With superb support, zippy repartee, plus 950 banana trees planted over 5 backlot acres, the heat is on. The West Point Story James Cagney puts on his dancing shoes again for this merry musical comedy packed with spirited starpower and lively tunes by Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn.
Police psychologist Karen Warren (Kylie Travis) is stranded on a Texas highway when she accepts a lift from Frank (James Belushi) and Rayanne Lloyd. Frank and his wife row violently, and Frank ends up pulling out a gun and shooting Rayanne. Karen makes a run for it, and finds refuge in a military bunker. There she encounters a scientist who has perfected a time travel machine. Karen finds herself catapulted back into Frank's car, 20 minutes earlier. Can she alter events so that Rayanne is not killed?
A member of the British government is sent to Brussels to become British Commissioner to the European Community where he uncovers political and industrial corruption...
Caine is a London gangster who backed up by an upper-class bad guy (Fox) plans to do a job on an armoured transport van filled with paper for the Royal Mint. This is the paper used to make twenty and fifty pound notes so a load of such paper would be worth as much as 110 million on the black market. The only problem is getting to the van...
Officer Vince Faraday (David Lyons) was a good cop trying to clean up a corrupt city. Framed for murder and left for dead, he suddenly found himself separated from his family and forced into hiding. Now, inspired by his son's favourite comic book hero, he's taking the law into his own hands, and playing a deadly game of chess with the powerful kingpin who framed him. With the hope of one day reuniting with his family, The Cape is sending a loud message to all criminals... run.
Escape To Witch Mountain (Dir. John Hough 1975): Two young orphans with supernatural powers are adopted by a ruthless millionaire who plans to harness use their abilities for his own selfish purposes... Return From Witch Mountain (Dir. John Hough 1978): An entire city teeters on the brink of nuclear disaster when greedy criminals manipulate a young boy's supernatural powers for their own devious gain.
When Inspector Morse first appeared on television in 1987, nobody could have predicted that it would run into the next century, maintaining throughout a quality of scripts and storylines that raised the genre of the detective series to a new level. Much of its success can be attributed to John Thaw's total immersion in the role. Morse is a prickly character and not obviously easy to like. As a detective in Oxford with unfulfilled academic propensities, he is permanently excluded from a world of which he would dearly love to be a part. He is at odds with that world--and with his colleagues in the police force--most of the time. Passionate about opera and "proper beer", he is a cultural snob for whom vulgarity causes almost physical pain. As a result, he lives from one disillusionment to another. And he is scarred--more deeply than he would ever admit--by past relationships. But he also has a naïve streak and, deep down, sensitivity, which makes him a fascinating challenge for women. At the heart of Morse's professional life is his awkward partnership with Detective Sergeant Lewis, the resolutely ordinary, worldly sidekick who manages to keep his boss in an almost permanent state of exasperation while retaining his grudging respect. It's a testament to Kevin Whately's consistently excellent performance that from such unpromising material, Lewis becomes as indispensable to the series as Barrington Pheloung's hypnotic, classic theme music. Morse's investigations do occasionally take him abroad to more exotic locations, but throughout 14 successful years of often gruesome murders, the city of Oxford itself became a central character in these brooding two-hour dramas: creator Colin Dexter said he finally had to kill Morse off because he was giving Oxford a bad reputation as a dangerous place! --Piers Ford
Hunt For Red October: Based on Tom Clancy's bestseller directed by John McTiernan (Die Hard ) and starring Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin The Hunt For Red October seethes with high-tech excitement and sweats with the tension of men who hold Doomsday in their hands. A new technologically-superior Soviet nuclear sub the Red October is heading for the U.S. coast under the command of Captain Marko Ramius (Connery). The American government thinks Ramius is planning to attack. A lone CIA analyst (Baldwin ) has a different idea: he thinks Ramius is planning to defect but he has only a few hours to find him and prove it-because the entire Russian naval and air commands are trying to find him too. The hunt is on! Patriot Games: Harrison Ford stars as Jack Ryan in this explosive thriller based on Tom Clancy's international best-seller. His days as an intelligence agent behind him former CIA analyst Jack Ryan has traveled to London to vacation with his wife (Anne Archer Fatal Attraction) and child (Thora Birch All I Want For Christmas). Meeting his family outside of Buckingham Palace Ryan is caught in the middle of a terrorist attack on Lord Holmes (James Fox The Russia House) a member of the Royal Family. Ryan helps to thwart Holmes' assailants and becomes a local hero. But Ryan's courageous act marks him as a target in the sights of the terrorist (Sean Bean Stormy Monday) whose brother he killed. Now Ryan must return to action for the most vital assignment of his life: to save his family. Costarring James Earl Jones (The Hunt For Red October). Clear and Present Danger: Harrison Ford returns as intrepid CIA agent Jack Ryan. When his mentor Admiral James Greer (James Earl Jones) becomes gravely ill Ryan is appointed acting CIA Deputy Director of Intelligence. His first assignment: investigate the murder of one of the President's friends a prominent U.S. businessman with secret ties to Colombian drug cartels. Unbeknownst to Ryan the CIA has already dispatched a deadly operative to lead a paramilitary force against the Colombian drug lords. Caught in the crossfire Ryan takes matters into his own hands risking his career and life for the only cause he still believes in - the truth.
The Doctor is based on Richard Gordon's best selling novels. This hilarious collection of seven classic British comedies stars a wealth of talent and screen legends. Set in St. Swithin's Hospital it follows the antics adventures and mishaps of a group of medical students and their quest to become doctors. Box Set Includes: Doctor in the House (1954) Simon Sparrow is a newly arrived medical student at St Swithin's hospital in London. Falling in with three longe
Vote first. Ask questions later. Tim Robbins stars in his directorial debut as right-wing folksinger Bob Roberts in this satirical mockumentary. Bob Roberts is joined on his Pennsylvania senatorial campaign trail by a British documentary filmmaker who offers insight into Roberts his staff and his supporters. Roberts is the anti-Bob Dylan wowing his supporters with tunes such as ""Times Are Changin' Back"" and ""Wall Street Rap."" With his clean-cut good looks and squeaky-clean
No-one will be neutral about Plunkett and Macleane. Either you go with its notion of cheeky, stylish fun or you want to grab first-time director Jake Scott by the ear and slap him silly. Your inclination may depend on whether you recall his dad Ridley's own directing debut, The Duellists (1977), and savour the correspondences. Dad took a Joseph Conrad tale of the Napoleonic Wars, cast it with the ultra-contemporary Keith Carradine and Harvey Keitel, and filmed it with a swooping, mobile camera. Son Jake has made a feisty period piece about a pair of thieves (Robert Carlyle, Jonny Lee Miller) in 1748 London and filled it with blatant anachronisms. A decadent aristo (Alan Cumming), asked whether he "still swings both ways," replies, "I swing every way!" A ballroom full of revellers dances the minuet (or is it the gavotte?) while our ears--if not theirs--are filled with a trance ballad. And so forth. Is this sophomoric? Maybe. But it's also often fresh and inventive. Why shouldn't a filmmaker be allowed to speak directly to a contemporary consciousness, even flaunt it, as long as he also delivers startling imagery and convincing period detail? The solid cast includes Michael Gambon as a corrupt magistrate, Ken Stott as a very nasty enforcer named Mr Chance (who favours a thumb through the eye socket and into the brain as a mode of execution) and Terence Rigby as a philosophical jailer. Even Liv Tyler looks more interesting than usual. In the end pretty frivolous, Plunkett and Macleane is nonetheless a lively debut. --Richard T Jameson, Amazon.com
Lives were upended--and some co-opted--in the fifth and final season of Angel, as the denizens of Angel Investigations found themselves taking on one of their scariest endeavors ever: corporate life. After making a literal deal with the devil (or something distinctly devil-like), Angel (David Boreanaz) moved his team from their crumbling hotel to the high-rise digs of law-firm-from-hell Wolfram & Hart, his reasoning being they could better fight the forces of evil from the inside, and with more resources to boot. Clever maneuvering or easy rationalization? A few members of Angel's team accused him of selling out (as did a number of viewers), but as with most of the show's previous four seasons, Angel somehow took a dubious premise and mined it for gold. And with one core cast member gone (Charisma Carpenter, whose Cordelia was immersed in a deep coma), it seemed as if the show, from within and without, would suddenly fall apart--that is, until Angel's longtime nemesis Spike (James Marsters) showed up, fresh from his sacrificial roasting at the series finale of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Let the vampire games begin! With Buffy off the air, fans flocked to Angel's last season to get their fix of Joss Whedon's "Buffyverse" in any form they could, and the addition of Spike was a shrewd one, albeit not enough to keep the show from getting canceled. And for the first half of the season, the creative forces behind the show seemed to be toying ruthlessly with the audience. Spike was around, but not entirely corporeal; Angel himself became sullen and withdrawn; and most horrifically, sweetheart scientist Fred (Amy Acker) and former watcher Wesley (Alexis Denisof) underwent traumas that would test even the most devoted viewer. However, just when you'd be about to throw in the towel, things started changing for the better--Spike became a permanent fixture (both in the flesh and on the show), Angel's secret motives were revealed, and the introduction of demon warrior Illyria, who proved to be the show's answer to Buffy's sardonic demon-made-human Anya, was a welcome breath of fresh air. Creatively, Angel also came up with some of its best episodes, including "Smile Time" (where Angel is turned into a puppet really!) and "You're Welcome" (the show's 100th episode, which marked the bittersweet return of Carpenter's Cordelia). The ending of the series was deliberately ambiguous, and not everyone made it through alive, but in going out kicking, it was a proper sendoff for a show that always fought the good fight. --Mark Englehart
The final series of the original show that helped to spark a new trend in reality programming! The boys from Miami's famous tattoo parlour are back for 13 brand new episodes in the fifth and final series. Amongst the beautifully tanned bodies and the perfectly toned biceps it's business as usual and this time there's a new addition finally... Welcome back to Miami Ink. These are their customers and these are their stories...
A superb box set featuring 4 golden Ealing classics. Includes: 1. The Lavender Hill Mob (Dir. Charles Crichton 1951) 2. Titfield Thunderbolt (Dir. Charles Crichton 1953) 3. Hue & Cry (Dir. Charles Crichton 1947) 4. Dead of Night (Dirs. Alberto Cavalcanti & Charles Crichton 1945)
The Red, Black, Blue, Green, and Pink Rangers must once again rely on each other and their new dino-charged powers as they battle to defend the Earth from the villainous Sledge. The Power Rangers will have to outsmart a puzzling villain, save a prince, and try to defeat Sledge's monsters. When the evil Fury unleashes the powerful Ptera Zord, only the Power Rangers can regain control with the help of their newest ally: the Gold Ranger!
A 2002 Mike Leigh drama, All or Nothing is at times almost unbearably bleak and poignant, yet funny, truthful and richly rewarding. The film's revolves around Timothy Spall's mini-cab driver, his family and the various characters and acquaintances on the South-east London estate where he lives. It's perhaps even better than Secrets and Lies, in which Spall also starred, which was marred a little by some of the tearful excesses of Brenda Blethyn's bravura performance. It's evidence that Leigh has matured and improved with age, rather than mellowed and softened. He's developed into a highly distinctive but rounded and humane filmmaker. Spall's cabbie is too gentle and thoughtful to be described as a slob, but his lack of even the most basic ambition and stoic non-resistance to life has created an unspoken rift between him and wife Penny (Lesley Manville). Working on a supermarket checkout, she must cook dinner and fend off insults from her fat, frustrated, obnoxious 18-year-old son Rory. She receives only passive sympathy from her older daughter Rachel. Only when Rory is taken ill is Phil snapped out of his torpor as the family pull together. A host of minor characters also feature; fatuous cabbie Ron (Paul Jesson) his alcoholic wife and sluttish daughter, as well as the wonderfully good-humoured and resilient Maureen, Penny's best friend, concerned at her daughter's relationship with a violent boyfriend. Once accused of caricaturing his "lower class" characters, here Leigh (with the collaborative assistance of his actors) exhibits them in all their authentic complexity, neither idealising nor sentimentalising them. On the DVD: All or Nothing's extras include the original trailer, as well as interviews with several members of the cast. Timothy Spall is interesting on the unnerving process of collaboration favoured by Leigh, whereby characters are "built from zero" by the actors. The smart and rather posh Lesley Manville strikes quite a contrast in real life with her mousey, put-upon character. There's also a meticulous and absorbing commentary from Mike Leigh, who talks about filming in Greenwich and how he has moved away from some of the more dogmatic ideas about filmmaking of his earlier, avant-garde days. --David Stubbs
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