The most beautiful woman of our time in the most erotic adventure of all time... Leaving behind the England that she loves in 1910 Jane (Bo Derek) heads to Africa on a mission to find her father (Richard Harris). Travelling by steamboat and finally by foot she voyages deep into the heartland of the African contintent. But it's only when her search for her missing father ends that Jane's real adventure begins...
Hammer's She might be a travesty of Rider Haggard's epic adventure novel, scaling things down to fit into a budget lavish only by the studio's low standards. At least the film opens with the unexpected sight of Peter Cushing and Bernard Cribbins in a dive in Palestine in 1919, shimmying with belly-dancers and brawling with the locals John Ford-style. Less entertainingly the film then switches attention to blonde clod John Richardson who is dreamily visited by blonde goddess Ursula Andress--her eerie beauty enhanced by the usual Hammer trick of dubbing the foreign crumpet with a posh voice.Our adventurers are given a map which leads them through deserts and mountains to the lost city of Kuma, an Egyptian-style civilisation ruled by Ayesha. This immortal She-Who-Must-be-Obeyed has been unaccountably waiting for Richardson to be reincarnated ever since she pettishly killed him thousands of years ago. In this reading, She is an Aryan fascist given to tipping those who displease her into a pit of molten lava. Her final comeuppance--as she bathes again in the blue flame of immortality and finds the process reversed so she suffers one of Hammer's patented Dracula dissolves to dust--takes place during a native uprising which overthrows her whole corrupt regime.The leads look terrific but can't act for beans so it's a mercy that stalwarts Cushing and Christopher Lee (as the treacherous High Priest) are on hand, not to mention Cribbins (comedy servant in bowler hat), Andre Morell and Rosenda Monteros.The James Bernard music is enchanting in a way Robert Day's direction sadly isn't, but the sets and (especially) costumes are splendid and the film has its moments of magic and terror: as the centurion pours out the remains of Morell's daughter from a jar, as the flame burns blue and the lovers bathe in it.On the DVD: the 2.35:1 widescreen print is in very good shape. Otherwise, there's not even a trailer. --Kim Newman
With an outstanding performance by James Woods, Rudy: The Rudolph Giuliani Story is a warts-and-all portrait of New York City's lame-duck mayor, who rose from political disfavour to unexpected heights of heroism and leadership in the wake of September 11, 2001. Originally broadcast on the USA Network and based on Wayne Barrett's muckraking biography, it's a condensed, Cliff's Notes rendition of Giuliani's political career, with each commercial break serving as a chapter stop, beginning on the eve of 9/11 and alternating past and present highlights from Giuliani's rise to power. The film offers an unflinching portrait of a devoted public servant who's as fallible as he is competent: his wife (Penelope Ann Miller) understandably suffers while extramarital affairs and political fearlessness are all seen as by-products of Giuliani's compulsion to improve the city he loves. As Robert Dornhelm's clunky direction combines actual news footage with exacting recreations of 9/11 and its aftermath, Woods' charismatic performance wisely avoids mimicry to show us a flawed but noble man who, in the final analysis, deserves our conditional respect. --Jeff Shannon
Good and evil collide in this high-stakes game of survival! Mario Van Peebles and Nicollette Sheridan lead this action-packed thriller where nothing is as it seems. Van Peebles plays Blair a hard-edged cop who crosses the line just once too often. Now with a shady business deal heading south Blair stands ready to be exposed by Internal Affairs. Sheridan plays his lover Izabel. Once enamored by Blair's strength Izabel is beginning to see him for the ruthless and self-destructive man he really is. With time running out Blair decides to take any chance and risk any life to cover up his underhanded dealings. But with Izabel's loyalty now in question the battle takes a sinister turn as lovers become pitted against each other.
City by city mile by mile a married couple on the verge of a breakup travel across the country to revisit their tumultuous past and rediscover what it means to fall in and out of love - and maybe back again. With each new stop comes a new revelation for the couple - a chance to expose their weaknesses fears and betrayals with an edgy mix of acrid humour biting cruelty and extraordinary moments of heartfelt emotion. Where they're heading is up to them.
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