The Legend Comes To Life. From the writers of the Superman trilogy comes Santa Claus The Movie! This is the delightful story of a master toymaker who discovers a magical kingdom of elves at the North Pole where he is entrusted with special powers to become Santa Claus! There he meets Patch (Dudley Moore) an eager-to-please elf who becomes mixed up with a dastardly tycoon's plans to take over Christmas!
A reverend puts an engaged couple through a gruelling marriage preparation course to see if they are meant to be married in his church.
A reverend puts an engaged couple through a gruelling marriage preparation course to see if they are meant to be married in his church.
What kind of guy was the wizard Merlin, anyway? He lives a long time, raises a boy to be a king, props up a Utopian empire with his magic and wisdom, and then watches as it all crumbles under such banal forces as vengeance and betrayal. This four-hour mini-series re-tells the story of Camelot and King Arthur from the perspective of the magic man who sacrifices a great deal to guide mortals toward a better destiny. Sam Neill plays Merlin as an accessible, flesh-and-blood fellow of real passion, powerless to undo the spell of a rival (Rutger Hauer) who has virtually imprisoned Merlin's great love, Nimue (Isabella Rossellini), but gifted enough to counter the treachery of Morgan Le Fey (Helena Bonham Carter) and the wicked Queen Mab (Miranda Richardson). The battle sequences and special effects are striking and original, and it is great fun to see such art-house movie actors as Richardson, Carter, Neill, etc., in fantasy entertainment the whole family can enjoy. (An unrecognizable Martin Short must be singled out, however, for a wonderful, largely dramatic performance as Mab's sidekick, Frik.) Directed by Steve Barron (The Adventures of Pinocchio), Merlin is a nice bit of glossy revisionism of a beloved legend. --Tom Keogh
Terror Beyond Belief! A notorious horror classic returns in all its depraved glory. This infamous video nasty updated the classic Giallo blueprint for the gorified 80s courting controversy and drenching the viewer in crimson arterial spray. A razor-wielding psycho is stalking the horror writer Peter Neal in Rome to promote his latest work Tenebre. But the author isn’t the obsessive killer’s only target the beautiful women who surround him are doomed as one by one they fall victim to the murderer’s slashing blade… Will fiction and reality blur as fear and madness take hold? Watch in terror as by turns the cast fall victim to the sadistic imagination of Dario Argento Italy’s master of horror. Bonus Features: Newly remastered High Definition digital transfer of the film Presented in High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) and Standard Definition DVD Optional original English & Italian Mono Audio tracks (uncompressed PCM Mono 2.0 Audio on the Blu-ray) Optional English subtitles for Italian audio and English SDH subtitles for English audio for the deaf and hard of hearing Audio Commentary with authors and critics Kim Newman and Alan Jones Audio Commentary with Argento expert Thomas Rostock Introduction by star Daria Nicolodi The Unsane World of Tenebrae: An interview with director Dario Argento Screaming Queen! Daria Nicolodi remembers Tenebrae A Composition for Carnage: Composer Claudio Simonetti on Tenebrae Goblin: ‘Tenebrae’ and ‘Phenomena’ Live from the Glasgow Arches Brand new interview with Maitland McDonagh author of Broken Mirrors/Broken Minds: The Dark Dreams of Dario Argento Original Trailer Reversible Sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx Exclusive collector’s booklet featuring writing on the film by Alan Jones author of Profondo Argento an interview with cinematographer Luciano Tovoli and an appreciation of the film by director Peter Strickland illustrated with original posters and lobby cards
After several excursions into supernatural horror, Dario Argento returned to the homicidal frenzy that made his reputation with this mystery that plays more like a grown-up slasher movie than a detective thriller. Anthony Franciosa stars as Peter Neal, a best-selling horror novelist whose promotional tour in Italy takes a terrible turn when a mysterious killer recreates the brutal murders from his book with real-life victims. The first to die are so-called "deviants", Neal's own friends and finally there comes a promise that the author himself is next on the list. Columbo it ain't, but Argento has always been more concerned with style than story and his execution of the crimes is pure cinematic bravura. From the simple beauty of a straight razor shattering a light bulb (the camera catches the red-hot filament slowly blacking out) to an ambitious crane shot that creeps up and over the sides of a house under siege in a voyeuristic survey that would make Hitchcock proud, Argento turns the art of murder into a stylish spectacle. He even lets his kinkier side show with flashbacks of an adolescent boy and a teasing dominatrix in red stiletto heels that become a key motif of the film. The objects of Argento's homicidal tendencies are traditionally lovely, scantily clad Italian beauties, and with self-deprecating humour he even inserts a scene in which Neal is taken to task for the misogynist violence of his stories--an accusation Argento himself has weathered for years. --Sean Axmaker
Generally regarded as one of Italian horror maestro Dario Argento's finest films the terrifying Tenebrae marked the director's return to the giallo genre in which he first made his name after making two supernatural themed films Suspiria (1977) and Inferno (1980). Banned on video in the UK until 1999 when it was released in a cut form Tenebrae is now being released on DVD in its rarely seen uncensored version for the first time in the UK. Shortly after American mystery-thriller novelist Peter Neal arrives in Rome to promote his new book (the Tenebrae of the title) an attractive young woman is murdered by a razor-wielding maniac who stuffs pages of Neal's latest novel into the mouth of his victim before slashing her throat. So begins a bizarre series of horrific murders the details of which strangely resemble the fictional murders in Neal's book. Baffled by the killings the local police believe the author may hold the key to solving the case and turn to him for help. Circumstances change however when Neal himself begins to receive death threats from the killer. Speaking about Tenebrae Argento said it was his intention to put on film a gory rollercoasterfull of fast and furious murders. There is no question about whether or not he succeeded. As well as being a superbly orchestrated and inventive suspense thriller Tenebrae is a shockingly horrific orgy of graphic violence set to a pounding score by Argento regulars Goblin and beautifully shot by Suspiria cinematographer Lucio Tovoli. The film is a perfect showcase for Argento's inimitable trademark visual style
The Transporter Ex-Special Forces operator Frank Martin lives what seems to be a quiet life along the French Mediterranean hiring himself out as a mercenary transporter who moves goods - human or otherwise - from one place to another. No questions asked. Carrying out mysterious and sometimes dangerous tasks in his tricked-out BMW Martin finds his latest assignment could well be his last after his package is revealed to be a beautiful woman (Shu Qi) at the centre of a human trafficking ring... Broken Arrow Two military pilots (Travolta and Slater) engage in a no-holds-barred battle against time and each other in a race to recover two stolen nuclear warheads. When a Stealth Bomber crashes in the Utah desert during a top-secret test run the military quickly moves in to retrieve its two broken arrows. But the situation spins wildly out of control after one of the pilots reveals the crash to be part of an incredible nuclear extortion plot. A supersonic hit from renowned action director John Woo Broken Arrow is a breathless non-stop joyride. --Dennis Cunningham WCBS-TV. Point Break Keanu Reeves stars as Johnny Utah a clean-cut FBI rookie assigned to track down a gang of bank robbers operating in Southern California. Since his partner (Gary Busey) is convinced that the robbers are surfers Johnny decides to go undercover in the maverick world of surfing. He soon meets Bohdi (Patrick Swayze) a charismatic adrenaline junkie who'll do anything for a thrill..perhaps even rob banks. As the two become friends Johnny falls under the dangerous influence of Bohdi. He becomes addicted to the endless days of surfing and reckless nights of partying and even gets involved with Bohdi's ex-girlfriend (Lori Petty). As Johnny gets closer to cracking the case he learns the truth of Bohdi's most important lesson - if you want the ultimate thrill you have to pay the ultimate price.
Al Pacino plays a Maryland lawyer who takes on a judicial system rife with deal making in And Justice for All, an awkward blend of satire and sentimentality. Topical director Norman Jewison can't seem to help Pacino get comfortable with the mismatched material, which pushes the film into outrageousness at some turns and mawkishness at others. The script by Barry Levinson and Valerie Curtin is more an accumulation of random ideas and moments than a congruent story. However, it's interesting to see the large cast of good actors, most of whom were unknowns at the time including Christine Lahti who made her film debut here. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com
Based on the book by Danielle Steel Bill Grant (John Ritter) is the popular producer of a top TV soap but separated from his ex-wife and two young sons he badly misses family life. Adriane (Polly Draper) is a happily married news executive at the same TV station. But when she unexpectedly becomes pregnant her child-phobic husband deserts her rather than compromise his career with the responsibilities of parenthood. Both alone and lonely Bill and Adriane eventually meet and quic
The Longest Day, producer Darryl F Zanuck's epic account of June 6, 1944, is Hollywood's definitive D-Day movie. More modern accounts such as Saving Private Ryan and the mini-series Band of Brothers are more vividly realistic, but Zanuck's production is the only one to attempt the daunting task of covering that fateful day from all perspectives. From the German high command and front line officers to the French Resistance and all the key Allied participants, the screenplay by Cornelius Ryan, based on his own authoritative book, is as factually accurate a depiction of events as possible. Zanuck picked three different directors to handle the German, French and Allied sequences respectively and the result should have been a grittily realistic semi-documentary work of unparalleled authenticity. That it is not is due to the unfortunate decision to populate the movie with an apparently endless parade of stars: John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Robert Mitchum, Sean Connery and Kenneth Moore to name a few all pop up from time to time; while Roddy McDowall and Richard Burton, on leave from the set of Cleopatra, also get cameos. The end result is an uneasy mix of verisimilitude and Hollywood star-power. Add to that the need for every character to provide almost endless explanatory exposition and the film falls a little flat for too much of its running time. The set-piece battles are still spectacular, however, and if the landings on Omaha beach lack the graphic gore of Private Ryan they nonetheless show the sheer scale and audacity of the invasion. Despite its top-heavy cast, The Longest Day is still the best D-Day movie ever made.On the DVD: The black and white print is in excellent condition, as is the remixed Dolby 5.0. Made in 1969, the 50-minute supplementary documentary "D-Day Revisited" has producer Zanuck revisiting key locations in Normandy, chatting to the locals in rather stiff French and providing a personal narrative of the events of June 6, 1944 intercut with scenes from his film. The sight of the elderly Zanuck standing on Omaha Beach or beside the headstone of an unknown soldier is easily as poignant as the bookend scenes of Saving Private Ryan, but without the Spielbergian sentiment. --Mark Walker
Sweet Karma
In the 30th Century, when Battlefield Earth is uncovered in a mass grave for bad films by revisionist cineastes, it is more than likely that it will still be the worst science fiction film ever made. John Travolta's $73m pet sci-fi project--an adaptation of Scientology guru L Ron Hubbard's rambling pulp novel --is like the long lost sequel to Ed Wood's Plan Nine from Outer Space. Incompetent, incomprehensible and, at nearly two hours running time, way over long, Battlefield Earth is nothing more than a rehash of hackneyed post-Star Wars sci-fi clichés. It has the production values of Buck Rogers in the 21st Century and a sprawling plot that merges Planet of the Apes and the TV mini-series V.It is the year 3000 and the Psychlos, a race of dreadlocked aliens, are busy raping the Earth of its natural resources to revive their own dead planet. Peppy young turk Jonnie Goodboy Tyler decides to fight back: he speed-learns the Psychlo language, masters their alien technology and then rallies the beleaguered human race to victory. The Psychlos are at a distinct disadvantage since they persist in wearing ludicrously-stacked heels that make it hard to do anything but totter like stilt-walkers. Therefore, out of necessity, most of the action sequences in Battlefield Earth are shot in slow motion. John Travolta plays Terl, the blustering Psychlo chief of security on Earth, like a pantomime villain delivering leaden dialogue that elicits unintentional pathos. Forest Whitaker in the role of his oafish, double-crossing sidekick Ker erases all traces of screen credibility gained through his role in Jim Jarmusch's Ghost Dog. And as Tyler, pretty boy Barry Pepper has the charisma of a plastic action figure. Even the tagline for this film--"A saga for the year 3000"--is startlingly banal.On the DVD: At first glance, this DVD looks to be packed with extras. A director's commentary, two TV spots, trailer and three "making of" feaurettes--but once you've seen one of the featurettes, you've literally seen them all, as the other two simply recut the same footage. After watching this travesty of a film, it is unlikely you'll want to hear British director Roger Christian gushing over his own work on the audio commentary with production designer Patrick Tatopolous. One can only guess that the creative team got stranded on Planet Psychlo and lost all their critical faculties. The main feature is of good enough picture quality to accentuate the ghastly blue and orange hues that colour almost every scene. The film is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic format with optional 5.1 Dolby Digital sound. --Chris Campion
Winds Of The Wasteland: The boss of a stagecoach company competes for government contracts in the days of the Pony Express. His Private Secretary: Dick Wallace a millionaire's son tends to chase rather dubious women causing his father to despair of him. When he really falls in love his father assumes the girl is a gold digger...
Captain Corelli's Mandolin (Dir. John Madden) (2001): In keeping with Hollywood's time-honored tradition of turning celebrated novels into cinematic spectacles director John Madden brings Louis de Berniere's acclaimed 1994 work 'Captain Corelli's Mandolin' to life. Set on the Greek island of Cephalonia in 1940 the film tells the story of the beautiful Pelagia (Penelope Cruz) who lives with her father Dr. Iannis (John Hurt) and is engaged to local fisherman Mandras (Christian Bale). When Mandras leaves the island to fight for his country against the approaching German army Pelagia is left behind to worry and wait for a letter which never arrives. In the meantime the Italian army occupies Cephalonia and Pelagia and Dr. Iannis receive a new visitor into their home. Captain Antonio Corelli (Nicolas Cage) a romantic opera lover with a passion for playing the mandolin annoys Pelagia with his free-spirited personality but it is this charm that eventually wins her heart. Soon the two are head-over-heels in love only for Mandras to return... Chocolat (Dir. Lasse Hallstrom) (2001): Nominated for five Academy Awards including Best Picture Best Actress (Juliet Binoche) and Best Supporting Actress (Judi Dench) 'Chocolat' is the beautiful and captivating comedy from the acclaimed director of 'The Cider House Rules'. Nobody could have imagined the impact that the striking Vianne (Binoche) would make when she arrived in a tranquil old-fashioned French town. In her very unusual chocolate shop Vianne begins to create mouth-watering confections that almost magically inspire the straight-laced villagers to abandon themselves to temptation and happiness. But it is not until another stranger the handsome Roux (Johnny Depp) arrives in town that Vianne is finally able to recognise her own desires.
Based on the book by Danielle Steel Bill Grant (John Ritter) is the popular producer of a top TV soap but separated from his ex-wife and two young sons he badly misses family life. Adriane (Polly Draper) is a happily married news executive at the same TV station. But when she unexpectedly becomes pregnant her child-phobic husband deserts her rather than compromise his career with the responsibilities of parenthood. Both alone and lonely Bill and Adriane eventually meet and quickly become close - their friendship soon deepening into love despite Adriane's pregnancy and inner longing for her husband. Caring and supportive right up to the birth Bill never doubts his love for Adriane though she secretly hopes the baby's arrival may rekindle her marriage. Will Bill's heart be broken again... or will Adriane finaly realise who will make more loving husband and father?
For a long term space mission reclusive scientist Jeff Peters (Malkovich) builds his exact double in android form! However as Peters has no social skills he is unable to program Ulysses (also Malkovich) with a personality. Thus an eccentric woman is hired to educate the mechanical man on human behaviour and she is soon falling in love. However is she in love with Ulysses or Peters?
Zorro Rides Again - Volume 1
Zorro Rides Again - Volume 2
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