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
Screenwriter Andrew Davies describes Tipping the Velvet, his adaptation of Sarah Waters's acclaimed novel of lesbian love, betrayal and redemption in Victorian England, as "Pride and Prejudice with dirty bits". This three-part BBC production chronicles with relish the story of Nan Astley (Rachael Stirling, the ravishing image of her mother, Diana Rigg), barely 18, and certain that life holds more for her than her oyster girl's existence. "You'll meet someone who'll have your head spinning and your legs turning to jelly", her sister promises. That someone surprisingly turns out to be "gay and bold" Kitty Butler (Keeley Hawes), a music-hall entertainer with whom Nan falls instantly, and swooningly, in love. Nan follows her to London, where, as a double act, they become the toast of London, until Kitty's "marriage of convenience" breaks up the act and Nan's heart. The outcast Nan, decked out in Victor/Victoria duds, becomes a streetwalker, and then "tart" to the aptly named Diana Leatherby (Anna Chancellor). This affair, too, comes to "a bad end" as a destitute Nan is deposited back on the streets, where she insinuates herself into the lives of Florence (Jodhi May), a social worker, and her socialist brother. Is Nan "too spoiled and stained for love"? Will she risk her blossoming relationship with Florence when Kitty inevitably returns to rekindle their affair? Nan's couplings, while tastefully done, do carry what Waters calls "a queer erotic charge". They are graphic by BBC standards. But the sterling writing and performances will captivate even the most sensitive viewers, making this groundbreaking mini-series, to quote one character, "a delightful evening... a rare treat". --Donald Liebenson
Based on the novels by Winston Graham, Poldark follows the highly acclaimed 1970s TV series telling the story of Cornish mine owner, Captain Ross Poldark (John Bowe). Ten years have passed from the ending of the original series and, in this feature length edition, Poldark is now a Westminster MP. While Poldark is based in London, his wife Demelza (Mel Martin) and their son Jeremy (Ioan Gruffud) battle to keep the family's mining interests alive. When the Tory government decide to continue the War with France, it spells disaster for his arch rival George Warleggan. Will Poldark be able to take advantage of Warleggan's misfortune and protect the livelihood of the Cornish communities? Meanwhile romance and intrigue are in the air, as Poldark's daughter Clowance is torn between the love of an aristocratic young man and a mysterious stranger, Stephen Cravenson.
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
Originally broadcast in 1989, Capital City was a huge success on its original release, giving a realistic insight into the fast-paced life of working at an international bank. Set in the offices of London-based Shane Longman, the charismatic team of bankers are hired for their blend of style, intelligence and verve. They take risks, and thrive on the pressure of closing the deal. Experience for yourself the highs and lows of being at the top (and sometimes the bottom), working in one o...
To commemorate the 50th anniversary of BBC News on television this is a fascinating series of programmes that look back on the past five decades. Each programme is a 30-minute segment covering a decade beginning with the 1950s. Providing insight into how BBC News is reported each segment is narrated by one of the following key news figures: Charles Wheeler Michael Buerk Kate Adie John Simpson and Jeremy Bowen. Also includes three extra programmes from 1953 1963 and 2004 about h
Directed by Brian De Palm Raising Cain is about Carter Nix a man who obsesses over the upbringing of his daughter. But is this all his wife needs to worry about? A spate of local kidnappings forces her to accept the possibility that he may be trying to recreate the twisted mind-control experiments of his discredited psychologist father.
This splendid BBC dramatization brings to life all the glorious wit and sharp humour of Jane Austen's - arguably her finest - novel Emma recreating her most irritatingly endearing female character of whom she wrote ""no one but myself could like."" Emma presides over the small provincial world of Highbury with enthusiasm but she will find that it is all too easy to confuse good intensions with self-gratification. the often insensitive ever well-meaning incorrigible Emma Woo
When a former member of the U.S. Army Special Forces (The Rock) returns to his small hometown and finds it besieged by drugs and violence, he becomes the sheriff to put things right.
Director Renny Harlin (Cutthroat Island) took the reins of this 1990 sequel, which places Bruce Willis's New York City cop character in harm's way again with a gaggle of terrorists. This time, Willis awaits his wife's arrival at Dulles Airport in Washington, DC, when he gets wind of a plot to blow up the facility. Noisy, overbearing and forgettable, the film has none of the purity of its predecessor's simple story; and it makes a huge miscalculation in allowing a terrible tragedy to occur rather than stretch out the tension. Where Die Hard set new precedents in action movies, Die Hard 2 is just an anything-goes spectacle. -- Tom Keogh, Amazon.com
The complete fourth series of the hugely popular army drama starring Robson Green Jerome Flynn Holly Aird and Gary Love. Follow the trails and tribulations of the King's Own Fusilliers as the army undergoes a period of dramatic change and amalgimation. Episodes Comprise: 1.Stormy Weather 2.Away Games 3.Damage 4.Second Sight 5.Over The Top 6.Proud Man 7.Further Education 8.Baby Love 9.Band Of Gold 10.Going Back 11.Poles Apart 12.Bombshell 13.Changing The Ground
On the strength of his Hitchcockian-thriller debut, Mute Witness, writer-director Anthony Waller was hired to direct this belated sequel to the 1981 horror comedyAn American Werewolf in London but lycanthropy in the City of Light just ain't what it used to be. The movie offers plenty of gruesome make-up and special wolf-transformation effects and there are some effectively spooky moments in the plot involving an underground population of hungry Parisian werewolves. One of them is seductively played by Julie Delpy, who is rescued from attempted suicide by an American tourist (Tom Everett Scott, from That Thing You Do!) but ultimately can't hide her dual identity when darkness falls and the full moon shines. The movie begins well but gradually succumbs to nonsense and mayhem, prompting critic Roger Ebert to observe that "here are people we don't care about,doing things they don't understand, in a movie without anyrules". In other words, you'd have to be a die-hard horror buff to give this one the benefit of the doubt.--Jeff Shannon
Holland (Charles Bronson) a professional killer is persuaded to come out of retirement when his friend a Latin American journalist is tortured to death by his country's dictator - the sadistic Dr. Clement Moloch. The journalist's widow Rhiana (Theresa Saldana) and her daughter Sarah provide cover for Holland by posing as his family. As Holland gets closer to Moloch and his coterie he begins to fear more for 'his' family's safety and insists they leave so he can get on with his deadly mission but the idealistic Rhiana is determined to witness the death of her husband's killer.
The complete three-part BBC drama set amidst the lesbian subculture of 1890s England. The series follows heroine Nan Astley (Rachael Stirling), who meets and falls for male impersonator Kitty Butler (Keeley Hawes). Nan moves to London and begins an affair with Kitty while also joining her music hall act. When she discovers an unwelcome truth Nan begins a voyage into the capital's sexual underworld which eventually sees her become destitute and forced to make some important decisions about the future of her relationships.
When DCI Jane Tennison (Mirren) takes over the running of what appears to be an open and shut murder case her investigations lead her into a male dominated world and the hunt for a serial killer. Winner of BAFTA's Best Drama Serial in 1991 written by Lynda La Plante.
The 'Fighting McGuinns' are a real tough boxing family suffering the pain of family conflict. It is only when the eldest son is murdered for refusing to fix a fight that the family comes together for their salvation lies not in the fate of a boxing match but in the future of their family.
24 hours in L.A.; it's raining cats and dogs. Two parallel and intercut stories dramatize a man about to die: both men are estranged from a grown child, both want to make contact, and neither child wants anything to do with dad.
The New Statesman' is a multi-award winning masterpiece of political satire. Rik Mayall stars as the ruthless Alan B'Stard the egocentric MP who will stop at nothing to further his political career. With no morals no depth to which he wouldn't sink and no plot too cunning following the antics of such an immoral MP makes for unbelievable nonstop comedy. This DVD box set features all four series of 'The New Statesman' culminating with the feature length special 'Who Shot Alan B'Stard'.
Joanna Lumley stars in this pacy racy comedy drama penned by BAFTA winner Michael Aitkins and produced by Verity Lambert; Ian McNeice Dennis Waterman Elizabeth Spriggs Keith Allen and Celia Imrie are among a host of guest stars. Attracting over ten million viewers Class Act ran for two hit seasons in 1994 and 1995 and the complete series is available here for the very first time on DVD. The aristocratic Kate Swift has been left in trouble and in debt by her wide-boy husband Duncan; having vanished while under investigation for fraud he has also left Kate to carry the can. When journalist and key witness Jack Booker implicates her in the crime Kate is imprisoned for six months. On her release she is broke angry and determined to find her husband. Ready for anything she forms an unlikely alliance with Booker an alcoholic card-carrying coward and former inmate Gloria O'Grady a young Australian woman with a special talent for burglary. Wit instinct theft and sex become the dubious tools of their trade as they try to stay out of the red... and out of jail.
A special one-off comedy from Charlie Brooker, which spoofs the very best and worst of British crime dramas. An all-encompassing parody of every police procedural ever written. John Hannah plays DCI Jack Cloth - a maverick, heavy drinking loner who has thrown himself into his work following the mysterious death of his wife. The damaged, haunted Cloth is teamed with plucky no-nonsense sidekick DC Anne Oldman, played by Suranne Jones. Together the pair investigate a series of increasingly grisly murders and find themselves on the trail of a devious killer. As you do. If you're a detective. The case leads Cloth and Oldman from leafy forests to sinister lock-ups, from the luxury home of an arrogant TV chef to the cold dissection rooms of vampish forensic pathologist, packing in as many jokes as humanly possible along the way. Their boss repeatedly demands results, fast. No, faster than that. Faster! Slow down. Not that much. Hold it there. Yeah, precisely that fast...
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