None of Hitchcock's films has ever given a clearer view of his genius for suspense than Rear Window. When professional photographer J.B. ""Jeff"" Jeffries (James Stewart) is confined to a wheelchair with a broken leg he becomes obsessed with watching the private dramas of his neighbours play out across the courtyard. When he suspects a salesman may have murdered his nagging wife Jeffries enlists the help of his glamorous socialite girlfriend (Grace Kelly) to investigate the highly suspicious chain of events... Events that ultimately lead to one of the most memorable and gripping endings in all of film history.
Like the Greenwich Village courtyard view from its titular portal, Alfred Hitchcock's classic Rear Window is both confined and multileveled: its story and visual perspective are dictated by its protagonist's imprisonment in his apartment, convalescing in a wheelchair, from which both he and the audience observe the lives of his neighbours. Cheerful voyeurism, as well as the behaviour glimpsed among the various tenants, affords a droll comic atmosphere that gradually darkens when he sees clues to what may be a murder. Photographer LB "Jeff" Jeffries (James Stewart) is, in fact, a voyeur by trade, a professional photographer sidelined by an accident while on assignment. His immersion in the human drama (and comedy) visible from his window is a by-product of boredom, underlined by the disapproval of his girlfriend, Lisa (Grace Kelly), and a wisecracking visiting nurse (Thelma Ritter). Yet when the invalid wife of Lars Thorwald (Raymond Burr) disappears, Jeff enlists the two women to help him to determine whether she's really left town, as Thorwald insists, or been murdered. Hitchcock scholar Donald Spoto convincingly argues that the crime at the centre of this mystery is the MacGuffin--a mere pretext--in a film that's more interested in the implications of Jeff's sentinel perspective. We actually learn more about the lives of the other neighbours (given generic names by Jeff, even as he's drawn into their lives) he, and we, watch undetected than we do the putative murderer and his victim. Jeff's evident fear of intimacy and commitment with the elegant, adoring Lisa provides the other vital thread to the script, one woven not only into the couple's own relationship, but reflected and even commented upon through the various neighbours' lives. At a minimum, Hitchcock's skill at making us accomplices to Jeff's spying, coupled with an ingenious escalation of suspense as the teasingly vague evidence coalesces into ominous proof, deliver a superb thriller spiked with droll humour, right up to its nail-biting, nightmarish climax. At deeper levels, however, Rear Window plumbs issues of moral responsibility and emotional honesty, while offering further proof (were any needed) of the director's brilliance as a visual storyteller. -- Sam Sutherland, Amazon.com
A virtuoso JAMES STEWART (Vertigo) plays a small-town Michigan lawyer who takes on a difficult case: that of a young Army lieutenant (The Killing of a Chinese Bookie's BEN GAZZARA) accused of murdering the local tavern owner who he believes raped his wife (Days of Wine and Roses' LEE REMICK). This gripping, envelope-pushing courtroom potboiler, the most popular film from Hollywood provocateur OTTO PREMINGER (Laura), was groundbreaking for the frankness of its discussion of sexmore than anything else, it is a striking depiction of the power of words. With its outstanding supporting cast including a young GEORGE C. SCOTT (Patton) as a fiery prosecuting attorney and legendary real-life attorney JOSEPH N. WELCH as the judgeand influential jazz score by DUKE ELLINGTON, Anatomy of a Murder is a Hollywood landmark; it was nominated for seven Oscars, including best picture. Special Edition Features New high-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition New alternate 5.1 soundtrack, presented in DTS-HD Master Audio on the Blu-ray edition New interview with Otto Preminger biographer Foster Hirsch Critic Gary Giddins explores Duke Ellington's score in a new interview A look at the relationship between graphic designer Saul Bass and Preminger with Bass biographer Pat Kirkham Newsreel footage from the set Excerpts from a 1967 episode of Firing Line, featuring Preminger in discussion with William F. Buckley Jr. Excerpts from the work Anatomy of Anatomy: The Making of a Movie Behind-the-scenes photographs by Life magazine's Gjon Mili Trailer, featuring on-set footage PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by critic Nick Pinkerton and a 1959 Life magazine article on real-life lawyer Joseph N. Welch, who plays the judge in the film
A self-consciously epic sci-fi adventure of Cecil B DeMille-sized proportions, Stargate refreshes and combines several well-worn sci-fi and sword 'n' sandal genre conventions with some Erich von Daniken-style Biblical Egyptology. The directing-writing-producing team of Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin had previously collaborated on B-movies Moon 44 (1990) and Universal Soldier (1992), but handed a significantly bigger budget they were able to give their Steven Spielberg pretensions free reign here ("Indiana Jones and his Close Encounters with the Chariots of the Gods" might be a suitable subtitle). James Spader is endearingly dithery as the fish-out-of-water academic who finds himself teamed with taciturn tough guy Kurt Russell: the two excellent leads are largely responsible for imparting what depth there is to otherwise two-dimensional characters. British composer David Arnold makes his major studio debut in the grandest fashion with an outstanding score that pays suitable homage to epic film music (John Williams' CE3K and Maurice Jarre's Lawrence of Arabia in particular). It's all done with such unabashed enthusiasm that viewers will happily forgive the film's derivative elements and even overlook the high-camp theatricality of Jaye Davidson's bizarre bad guy. Despite subsequent huge box-office hits (Independence Day, Godzilla, The Patriot), Stargate remains Emmerich and Devlin's freshest, most satisfying film. On the DVD: This special edition version adds approximately seven minutes of additional footage, much of which is in the form of slightly extended scenes, but does also include an opening sequence in Ancient Egypt, a scene with Kurt Russell and the fossilised Horus guards, and Ra's bath scene. These are also collected in a bonus "Promo Reel". The anamorphic widescreen presentation of the 2.35:1 Panavision picture looks sharp and clear, although some of the additional footage is degraded; the sound is suitably spectacular 5.1 or DTS. Devlin and Emmerich provide a relaxed, chatty commentary ("We have nothing to do with the TV series"!), although you have to access this from the Set Up menu not the Special Features menu. There's a photo gallery and trailer, but sadly no "making-of" documentary. --Mark Walker
From the 'Master of Suspense' this box set features many of his very best films. Titles comprise: 1. Vertigo 2. The Birds 3. Rear Window 4. Marnie 5. Frenzy 6. Topaz 7. The Trouble With Harry 8. Torn Curtain 9. Psycho: Special Edition (includes the Bonus disc the Hitchcock legacy) 10. Family Plot 11. Saboteur 12. Shadow Of A Doubt 13. The Man Who Knew Too Much 14. Rope For individual synopses please refer to the individual products.
The Ultimate Collection of Alfred Hitchcock's greatest films, including Psycho, Vertigo, Frenzy, Rear Window and The Birds come together on Blu-ray in perfect High-Definition picture and sound. With hours of bonus features.Saboteur: Aircraft factory worker Barry Kane goes on the run across the United States when he is wrongly accused of a fire that killed his best friend.Shadow of a Doubt: A young woman discovers her visiting Uncle Charlie may not be the man he initially seemed to be.Rope: Two young men strangle their classmate, hide his body in their apartment and invite his closest friends and family to a dinner party as a means to challenge the perfection of their crime.Rear Window: A wheelchair bound photographer spies on his neighbours from his window and becomes convinced one of them has committed a serious murder.The Trouble with Harry: The trouble with Harry is that everyone seems to have a different idea of what needs to be done with his body.The Man Who Knew Too Much: A family holidaying in Morocco stumble on to an assassination plot and the conspirators are determined to prevent them from interfering.Vertigo: A San Francisco detective suffering from acrophobia investigates the activities of an old friend's wife, whilst becoming dangerously obsessed with her.Psycho: A young woman steals $40,000 from her client and subsequently encounters a young motel proprietor who has been too long under the presence and domination of his mother.The Birds: A wealthy San Francisco socialite pursues a potential boyfriend to a Northern California town that takes a bizarre turn when birds of all kinds begin to attack people in increasing numbers and with increasing viciousness.Marnie: Mark marries Marnie, although she is a thief and possesses serious psychological problems, Mark tries to help her confront and resolve the issues.Torn Curtain: An American scientist defects to East Germany as part of a cloak and dagger mission to find the solution for a formula resin and has to figure out a plan to escape back West.Topaz: A French intelligence agent becomes embroiled in Cold War politics first uncovering the events leading up to the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, and then back to France to break up a Russian spy ring.Frenzy: A serial killer is murdering women in London with a necktie, the police have a suspect but he isn't the correct man...Family Plot: Suspense film about a phony psychic/con artist and her taxi driver/private investigator boyfriend who encounter a pair of serial kidnappers while following a missing heir in California.
Ken Stott stars as the eponymous hero Detective Inspector John Rebus in ten classic adaptations of Ian Rankin's worldwide bestselling detective novels of the same name. Set in Edinburgh, the mercurial Rebus’s investigations lead him through the city's ancient beauty and into its more sinister quarters. Stott's portrayal of Rebus is recognisably Rankin's tough and street savvy character, but is softened by a sense of humour and a taste for romance. So sit back and enjoy more than 12 hours of John Rebus at his very best.
An archetypal example of its genre, The Far Country is one of five superb westerns the screen legend James Stewart (Vertigo, Bend of the River) made with acclaimed Hollywood auteur Anthony Mann (El Cid, The Man from Laramie). Mann s film tells of Jeff Webster (Stewart) and his sidekick Ben Tatum (Walter Brennan, My Darling Clementine), two stoic adventurers driving cattle to market from Wyoming to Canada who become at loggerheads with a corrupt judge (John McIntire, Psycho) and his henchmen. Ruth Roman (Strangers on a Train) plays a sultry saloon keeper who falls for Stewart, teaming up with him to take on the errant lawman. An epic saga set during the heady times of the Klondike Gold Rush, The Far Country captures the scenic grandeur of northern Canada s icy glaciers and snow-swept mountains in vivid Technicolor. Mann s direction expertly steers the film to an unorthodox, yet thrilling all guns-blazing finale, whilst the imposing landscape takes on a whole new splendour in High Definition. SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation Original 1.0 mono audio Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing Audio commentary by film scholar Adrian Martin American Frontiers: Anthony Mann at Universal, a documentary with film historian Alan K. Rode, western author C. Courtney Joyner, script supervisor Michael Preece, and critics Michael Schlesinger and Rob Word Mann of the West, an appraisal of The Far Country and the westerns of Anthony Mann by the critic Kim Newman Image gallery Original trailer Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys
You Can't Take It With You, Frank Capra's 1938 populist spin on the George S Kaufman and Moss Hart play about a family of happy eccentrics, is a great deal of fun, though it significantly rewrites the original work and doesn't represent Capra (Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington) at his best. Jean Arthur plays a member of the blissful Vanderhof househ old who falls in love with a rich man's son (James Stewart) and brings him into her nutty home. Lionel Barrymore, who played such a bad guy eight years later in Capra's It's a Wonderful Life, is the wonderful Grandpa Vanderhof, who addresses God during the dinner prayer as "sir" and speaks plainly and beautifully of why it's good to be alive. Capra took this opportunity to rail against big business and champion the common man, but the overall tone of the film--typical for the director's comedies--is buoyant and snappy. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com
"When the legend becomes fact, print the legend." That's more than the code of a newspaperman in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance; it's practically the operating credo of director John Ford, the most honoured of American filmmakers. In this late film from a long career, Ford looks at the civilising of an Old West town, Shinbone, through the sad memories of settlers looking back. In the town's wide-open youth, two-fisted Westerner John Wayne and tenderfoot newcomer James Stewart clash over a woman (Vera Miles) but ultimately unite against the notorious outlaw Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin). 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, Wayne and 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. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance 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
James Stewart gives one of his finest performances in this lighthearted film, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play. Stewart stars as the good-natured Elwood P. Dowd, whose constant companion is Harvey, a six-foot tall rabbit that only he can see.To his sister, Veta Louise, Elwood's obsession with harvey has been a thorn in the side of her plans to marry off her daughter. But when Veta Louise decides to put Elwood in a mental hospital, a hilarious mix-up occurs and she finds herself committed instead. It's up to Elwood to straighten out the mess with his kindly philosophy, and his imaginary friend, in this popular classic that features a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award winning performance by Joesphine Hull
Plain arithmetic. Money splits better two ways instead of three , smooth-talking outlaw Ben Vandergroat reason to his captors, three bounty hunters thrown together by chance. They're taking him to justice in Abilene, but Ben has other ideas. If he can set the men against each other - play on their greed, their fears, their vanities - he may be able to make his break for freedom. In the third of his five landmark Anthony Mann-directed Westerns, James Stewart stars as the relentless leader of bounty hunters caught in the snare of the hunted (Robert Ryan). Tough, sweating with tension and towering as tall as its breathtaking Colorado Rockies setting, The Naked Spur is simply one of the best Westerns ever made (Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide). Product Features Vintage Pete Smith Speciality Short Things We Can Do Without Classic Cartoon Little Johnny Jet Theatrical Trailer
By 1870 there has been ten years of a cruel war between settlers and Cochise's Apache Indians. Tom Jeffords an ex-soldier saves the life of a young Apache boy and starts to reassess his opinions of the Indians. As an ambassador of goodwill he enters Cochise's stronghold but is peace achievable?
Witty sparkling and bright adaptation of Philip Barry's hit Broadway play about the rich upper class becoming blinded to the simple joys of life. The story centers around socialite Tracy Lord (Hepburn) and husband C. K. Dexter Haven (Grant) whom she's thrown out of their Main Line mansion. Tracy is on the verge of marrying a wealthy stuffed shirt much safer than Dex whom starts trying to win Tracy's heart again. Meanwhile Mike Connor (Stewart) a tabloid reporter also falls for Tr
The last film of John Wayne, The Shootist, could not have been more fitting, full of details that can't help but make one reflect upon his legacy in the movies and his life as a star. Wayne plays a career gunfighter in the autumn of his life, trying to hang up his pistols after he discovers he's dying of cancer. Boarding in the house of an attractive widow (Lauren Bacall) and her son (Ron Howard), Wayne's character opts for peace in his final days but is dogged by his reputation when a handful of killers seeks him out for a final fight. Howard is fine as a fatherless boy who needs the strong mentor the hero represents, and James Stewart--who costarred with Wayne in the great Man Who Shot Liberty Valance--plays the doctor who gives the big man the bad news. Don Siegel (Invasion of the Body Snatchers) thoughtfully directs a very special and sensitive production. --Tom Keogh
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
Digitally restored and remastered Frank Capra's heart-warming masterpiece has been embraced as a cherished holiday tradition by families around the world! George Bailey (James Stewart) sets aside his dreams of world travel to run his father's small community bank, and protect the people of Bedford Falls from greedy businessman Mr. Potter (Lionel Barrymore). When a costly mistake pushes George to the brink of despair, a visit from a kindly angel (Henry Travers) will show George how the life of one good man can change the world forever. Now you can watch the holiday classic like never before, newly remastered from the original fi lm negatives and more vibrant than ever in High Dynamic Range! DISC 1: 4K UHD FEATURE FILM Remastered Black & White Version DISC 2: BLU-RAY FEATURE FILM Remastered Black & White Version Special Features: Restoring a Beloved Classic in 4K Original Cast Party Home Movies and More! 4X the Resolution of Full HD, HDR (HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE) for More Detail, Brightness and Greater Contrast
Digitally restored and remastered Frank Capra's heart-warming masterpiece has been embraced as a cherished holiday tradition by families around the world! George Bailey (James Stewart) sets aside his dreams of world travel to run his father's small community bank, and protect the people of Bedford Falls from greedy businessman Mr. Potter (Lionel Barrymore). When a costly mistake pushes George to the brink of despair, a visit from a kindly angel (Henry Travers) will show George how the life of one good man can change the world forever. Now you can watch the holiday classic like never before, newly remastered from the original fi lm negatives and more vibrant than ever with stunning clarity! Blu-Ray Feature Film: Remastered Black & White Version Special Features: Restoring a Beloved Classic Original Cast Party Home Movies and More!
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.
Mr Smith Goes To Washington (1939). Import from The Netherlands with English soundtrack and subtitles. Jean Arthur, James Stewart and Claude Rains star in Frank Capra's MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON, the award-winning 1939 classic about an idealistic, small town American senator who heads to Washington D.C. and suddenly finds himself single-handedly battling ruthless politicians out to destroy him. Receiving a total of eleven 1939 Oscar(r) nominations (including Best Picture and Best Director), and winning one (Best Writing, Original Story), MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON is considered one of Capra's, Stewart's and Columbia's finest films. In Frank Capra's bright, funny and beautifully paced satire Mr Smith Goes to Washington political heavyweights decide that Jefferson Smith (James Stewart), an obscure scoutmaster in a small town, would be the perfect dupe to fill a vacant US Senate chair. Surely this naïve bumpkin can be easily controlled by the senior senator (Claude Rains) from his state, a respectable yet corrupted career politician. Capra fills the film with Smith's wide-eyed wonder at the glories of Washington, all of which ring false for his cynical secretary (Jean Arthur) who doesn't believe for a minute this rube could be for real. But he is. Capra was repeating the formula of a previous film, Mr Deeds Goes to Town, but this one is even sharper. Stewart and Arthur are brilliant, and the former cowboy-star Harry Carey lends a warm presence to the role of the vice-president. Mr Smith Goes to Washington is Capra's ode to the power of innocence--an idea so potent that present-day audiences may find themselves wishing for a new Mr Smith in the halls of power. The 1939 US Congress was none too thrilled about the film's depiction of their august body, denouncing it as a caricature; but even today, Capra's jibes about vested interests and political machines look as accurate as ever.
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