How does bitter convict Robert Stroud cope with a lifetime of solitary confinement? The answer in a sense comes from above in the form of a feeble sparrow he finds in the isolation yard. Stroud brings this newfound companion to his cell nurses it to health and from that point on there's no turning back. Despite having only a third grade education and no hope of parole Stroud becomes a renowned ornithologist and achieves a greater sense of freedom and purpose behind prison walls
Alfred Hitchcock's 1956 remake of his own 1934 spy thriller is an exciting event in its own right, with several justifiably famous sequences. James Stewart and Doris Day play American tourists who discover more than they wanted to know about an assassination plot. When their son is kidnapped to keep them quiet, they are caught between concern for him and the terrible secret they hold. When asked about the difference between this version of the story and the one he made 22 years earlier, Hitchcock always said the first was the work of a talented amateur while the second was the act of a seasoned professional. Indeed, several extraordinary moments in this update represent consummate film-making, particularly a relentlessly exciting Albert Hall scene, with a blaring symphony, an assassin's gun, and Doris Day's scream. Along with Hitchcock's other films from the mid-1950s to 1960 (including Vertigo, Rear Window, and Psycho), The Man Who Knew Too Much is the work of a master in his prime. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com
It's a Wild West clash of personalities in Val Verde Texas for the warring Bishop brothers (Dean Martin and James Stewart) who must now join forces to escape a death sentence. Featuring an all-star cast including Raquel Welch and George Kennedy and exploding with action Bandolero! packs a smoking six-gun wallop from its first tense show-down to its last exciting shootout.
The Long Island colonial house on the rivers edge seemed perfect. Quaint spacious and affordable it was just what George and Kathy Lutz had been looking for. But looks can be deceiving...and their new dream home soon becomes a hellish nightmare as the walls begin to drip blood and satanic forces haunt them with sheer unbridled evil. Now with their lives - and their souls - in danger the Lutz's must run as fast as they can from the home they once lived...or fall prey to its terri
There's really been only one rival to James Bond: Derek Flint in the swinging-60s action-comedies Our Man Flint (1966) and In Like Flint (1967). That's because of James Coburn's special brand of American cool. He's so cool, in fact, that he doesn't care to save the world. That is, until he's personally threatened. He's a true libertarian, with more gadgets and girls than Bond, but with none of his stress or responsibility. Our Man Flint finds our unflappable hero thwarting mad scientists who control the weather--and an island of pleasure drones. Lee J Cobb costars as Flint's flustered superior, and Edward Mulhare plays a British nemesis with snob appeal. For fans of Austin Powers, incidentally, the funny-sounding phone comes from the Flint films. However, Our Man Flint's best gadget remains the watch that enables Flint to feign death. There's a great Jerry Goldsmith score, too. There was bound to be a sequel, and In Like Flint delivers the same kind of zany fun as its predecessor. Flint is recruited once again by Lee J Cobb to be the government's top secret agent, this time to solve a mishap involving the President. It turns out, the Chief Executive has been replaced by an evil duplicate. The new plan for world domination involves feminine aggression, and Flint, with his overpowering charisma, is just the man to turn the hostile forces around. In Like Flint is still over the top, but some of the novelty has worn off, and it doesn't have quite the same edge as the original. Even Jerry Goldsmith's score is a bit more subdued. But the film still has James Coburn and that funny phone. --Bill Desowitz
Series 3 of Cutting It. Mother and daughter Allie and Ruby (Sarah Parish and Lucy Gaskell) are both heavily pregnant to the same man - but how long will the secret remain under wraps? Allie and Finn return from a weekend away in Naples with a shock announcement - they are now married! With Gavin (Jason Merrells) still in love with Allie Ruby set on winning him for herself and Finn desperate to get Gavin out of the way the Henshall's future is anything but cut and dried. Add to that
Alfred Hitchcock playfully explores the role of the voyeur in one of his best-loved suspense thrillers. After breaking his leg during a shoot, photo-journalist L.B. 'Jeff' Jeffries (James Stewart) is forced to spend a humid summer recuperating in his Greenwich Village apartment. The wheelchair-bound Jeff whiles away his time observing his neighbours through a telephoto lens, bestowing them with nicknames and growing familiar with their daily routines. However, his society girlfriend Lisa (Grace Kelly) is exasperated and then alarmed when Jeff becomes obsessed with the notion that Lars Thorwald (Raymond Burr), who lives in the apartment opposite, has murdered his wife. A 53-minute making of feature, 'Rear Window Ethics', is also included. Special Features: Rear Window Ethics: An Original Documentary A Conversation with Screenwriter John Michael Hayes Pure Cinema: Through the Eyes of The Master Breaking Barriers: The Sound of Hitchcock Rear Window Re-Release Trailer Narrated by James Stewart Feature Commentary with John Fawell Author of Hitchcock's Rear Window
The Maltese Falcon is still the tightest, sharpest, and most cynical of Hollywood's official deathless classics, bracingly tough even by post-Tarantino standards. Humphrey Bogart is Dashiell Hammett's definitive private eye, Sam Spade, struggling to keep his hard-boiled cool as the double-crosses pile up around his ankles. The plot, which dances all around the stolen Middle Eastern statuette of the title, is too baroque to try to follow, and it doesn't make a bit of difference. The dialogue, much of it lifted straight from Hammett, is delivered with whip-crack speed and sneering ferocity, as Bogie faces off against Peter Lorre and Sidney Greenstreet, fends off the duplicitous advances of Mary Astor, and roughs up a cringing "gunsel" played by Elisha Cook Jr. It's an action movie of sorts, at least by implication: the characters always seem keyed up, right on the verge of erupting into violence. This is a turning-point picture in several respects: John Huston (The African Queen) made his directorial debut here in 1941, and Bogart, who had mostly played bad guys, was a last-minute substitution for George Raft, who must have been kicking himself for years afterward. This is the role that made Bogart a star and established his trend-setting (and still influential) antihero persona. --David Chute END
Murdoch Troon (Baxter) attempts to woo the daughter (Christie) of wealthy businessman Charles Chingford by impressing her with a vintage Bentley known as 'The Fast Lady'...
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
Joan Collins, James Booth and Sinéad Cusack star in this sensational, X-rated thriller in which an ordinary family turn to vigilante justice in the wake of their daughter's murder. With taut direction from Sidney Hayers and a tense script from The Saint screenwriter John Kruse, Revenge was a notable success in both Britain and the USA; it is featured here in a brand-new High Definition transfer from the original film elements in its original theatrical aspect ratio. Publicans Carol and Jim Radford learn that a reclusive local man suspected of raping and murdering their ten-year-old daughter has been released due to insufficient evidence. Heartbroken and hungry for vengeance, Jim hatches a chilling plan to force a confession from the suspect: abducting and imprisoning him in the pub's cellar, he will become judge, jury and if necessary executioner! Special Features: Original theatrical trailer Image Gallery Promotional Material PDF
In this searing police thriller, Jonathan (Channing Tatum - G.I. Joe: Retaliation, 21 Jump Street) is a cop who gets in over his head when he is assigned to re-open a double homicide case in his Queens neighbourhood. An anonymous source feeds new information on the long-unsolved murders to a local reporter (Juliette Binoche). This leads to evidence suggesting a possible cover-up by the former lead detective (Al Pacino). As Jonathan digs deeper into the assignment, a dark secret about the case emerges, which threatens his life and his family. Also stars Tracy Morgan (30 Rock), Katie Holmes (Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, Batman Begins) and Ray Liotta.
Richard Vernon and Michael Aldridge star as Home Office-appointed criminologists in this clever, humorous and highly original Granada series. Devised and co-written by the award-winning Robin Chapman - the creator of the series' famous prequel The Man in Room 17 and a veteran screenwriter and novelist whose credits also include the highly controversial Big Breadwinner Hog - The Fellows charts the continuing work and often strained relationship of Room 17's former occupants Oldenshaw and Dimmock. Now appointed to the Peel Research Fellowship at All Saints' College, Cambridge, they no longer simply solve crimes, trap spies and hunt traitors; their new brief is to investigate the changing nature of crime, ultimately advising the police, legislature and government. But the familiar cat-and-mouse game with the criminal fraternity isn't over yet, and and their ingeniously unorthodox tactics help to ensnare several lynchpins of organised crime - including infamous gangland boss Spindoe, who would take centre-stage in the eponymous cult spin-off series of 1968.
Inspired by the insider interviews in Misha Glenny's bestselling book and featuring a star-studded international cast, this fast-paced thriller exposes the connections behind a global network of organised crime. McMafia unravels a complex web of connections that joins up money launderers in Dubai, cyber criminals in India, Russian oligarchs in London and Bedouin smugglers in the Negev desert. What starts out as a story of survival and revenge becomes a tale of one man's struggle against the lures of corruption.
They are mutants, genetically gifted human beings - the worlds newest and most persecuted minority group.
The Salon's thriving and Allie wants to expand and open her own hairdressing academy bringing on a new generation of hairdressers. The venture has financial backing from Liam Carney (James Murray) an ex-boy-band member who's trying to shake off the trappings of his past life with mixed success. Allie's dreams are the least of her concern when she finds out that she has Ovarian cancer but how will Gavin react? Featuring all the episodes of series 4.
A highly innovative crime drama, Suspects features Cold Feet star Fay Ripley as CID team leader Martha Bellamy and James Murray as DCI Daniel Drummond. This fresh, innovative police procedural tackles difficult subjects in a powerfully authentic way: shot like a fly-on-the-wall documentary, the drama is unscripted, with the cast improvising their dialogue lending the series a unique feel, as though the crew has been granted the privilege of following a real police investigation. Immersive and absorbing, this set contains the complete third, fourth and fifth series all fourteen complex and high-tension episodes. With storylines covering assault, murder, abduction, paedophilia and rape, Suspects' bold and stylish approach creates a new high watermark for television drama.
Tally Atwater (Michelle Pfeiffer) has a dream: to be a prime-time network newscaster. She pursues this dream with nothing but ambition raw talent and a homemade demo tape. Warren Justice (Robert Redford) is a brilliant hard edged veteran newsman. He sees Tally has talent and becomes her mentor. Tally’s career takes a meteoric rise and she and Warren fall in love. The romance that results is as intense and revealing as television news itself. Yet each breaking story ev
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is a late film from the long career of director John Ford that tells of the civilising of an Old West town, Shinbone, through the sad memories of settlers looking back. Ford's nostalgia for the past is tempered by his stark approach, unusual for the visual poet of Stagecoach and The Searchers. The two heavyweights, John Wayne and James Stewart, are good together, with Wayne the embodiment of rugged individualism and Stewart the idealistic prophet of the civilisation that will eventually tame the Wild West. This may be the saddest Western ever made, closer to an elegy than an action movie, and as cleanly beautiful as its central symbol, the cactus rose. --Robert Horton
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