Carol Reed's celebrated British noir THE THIRD MAN is widely regarded as 'The greatest British film of all time'. Brilliantly scripted by Graham Greene and set to Anton Karas' evocative zither score, this justly celebrated classic is further enhanced by Robert Krasker's Academy Award® winning cinematography and Orson Welles in one of his most iconic screen roles.Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten, Citizen Kane), a naive writer of pulp westerns, arrives in Vienna to meet his old friend Harry Lime (the incomparable Orson Welles) but finds that Lime has apparently been killed in a suspicious accident. Martins, too curious for his own good, hears contradictory stories about the circumstances of Lime's death and as witnesses disappear he finds himself chased by unknown assailants. Complicating matters are the sardonic Major Calloway (Trevor Howard, Brief Encounter), head of the British forces, and Lime's stage actress mistress, Anna Schmidt (Alida Valli). Will Martins' curiosity lead him to discover things about his old friend that he'd rather not know?NEW Noreen Ackland on Saving The Third Man (Excerpt from BEHP audio interview)The Third Man - A Filmmaker's InfluenceRestoring The Third ManAudio Commentary With Guy Hamilton, Simon Callow & Angela AllenJoseph Cotten's Alternate Opening Voiceover NarrationThe Third Man Interactive Vienna TourThe Third Man On The RadioInterview & Zither Performance By Cornelia MayerShadowing The Third ManGuardian NFT Interview - Joseph Cotten (Audio Only)Guardian NFT Interview - Graham Greene (Audio Only)Behind The Scenes Stills GalleryTrailer
In the May of 1941 RKO radio Pictures released a controversial film by a 25 year-old first-time director. That premiere of Orson Welles' Citizen Kane was to have a profound and lasting effect on the art of motion pictures. It has been hailed as the best American film ever made and it's as powerful film today as it was fifty years ago. It earned eight Academy Award nominations and won the Oscar for Best Screenplay. Through its unique jigsaw-puzzle story-line inventive cinematograp
With her husband Tim off at war Anne Hilton (Colbert) struggles to be a pillar of strength for her daughters Jane (Jones) and Bridget (Temple). During America's darkest hours she bravely steers her girls through heartbreak and hardships as she eagerly awaits news from overseas and wonders if life will ever be the same.
THE THIRD MAN has been beautifully restored in 4K for the first time showcasing the genius of this celebrated British noir voted the ‘The greatest British film of all time’ by a British Film Institute poll. Holly Martins (Joseph Cotton Citizen Kane ) a naïve writer of pulp westerns arrives in Vienna to meet his old friend Harry Lime (the incomparable Orson Welles) nut finds that Lime has apparently been killed in a suspicious accident. Martins too curious for his own good hears contradictory stories about the circumstances of Limes death and as witnesses disappear he finds himself chased by unknown assailants. Complicating matters are the sardonic Major Calloway (Trevor Howard Brief Encounter) head of the British forces and Lime’s stage actress mistress Anna Schmidt (Alida Valli). Will Martin’s curiosity lead him to discover things about his old friend that he’d rather not know? Brilliantly scripted by Graham Greene and set to Anton Karas’ evocative zither score this justly celebrated classic is further enhanced by Robert Karasker’s Academy Award winning cinematography and Orson Welles in one of his most iconic screen roles. Extras: Feature Audio Commentary Famous Fan Featurette Restoring the Third Man Interview & Zither Performance by Cornelia Mayer Guardian Interview Cotton (audio) Guardian Interview Greene (audio) Joseph Cotton’s Alternative Opening (Audio) Shadowing The Third Man Dangerous Edge Third Man on Radio (Audio) Trailer
Arguably the greatest of American films, Orson Welles' 1941 masterpiece, made when he was only 25, still unfurls like a dream and carries the viewer along the mysterious currents of time and memory to reach a mature (if ambiguous) conclusion: people are the sum of their contradictions and can't be known easily. Welles plays newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane, taken from his mother as a boy and made the ward of a rich industrialist. The result is that every well-meaning or tyrannical or self-destructive move he makes for the rest of his life appears in some way to be a reaction to that deeply wounding event. Written by Welles and Herman J. Mankiewicz, and photographed by Gregg Toland, the film is the sum of Welles's awesome ambitions as an artist in Hollywood. He pushes the limits of then-available technology to create a true magic show, a visual and aural feast that almost seems to be rising up from a viewer's subconscious. As Kane, Welles even ushers in the influence of Bertolt Brechton film acting. This is truly a one-of-a-kind work, and in many ways is still the most modern of modern films this century. --Tom Keogh
The true story of how Winston Churchill led England away from the bleak Dunkirk battle and rallied the Allied generals to a D-Day victory. Based upon Churchill's memoirs. Timothy West in the title role is instantly believable and the swings of temper and mood portray the way it must have been being around this impossible man who embodied the fight against Hitler during the early war years. Some of the finest actors from Britain and USA were assembled to take on the difficult task of making believable characters from well-known historical figures including Joseph Cotton (Citizen Kane) as General George C. Marshall.
This classic noir mystery from the team of Carol Reed and Graham Greene is regarded to be the best filmwork of both of these extreme talents. The Third Man features Joseph Cotten as Holly Martins a pulp novelist who has come to post-WWII Vienna with the promise of work from his friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles). When he finds that Lime has just been killed in a questionable car accident he decides to remain in the city to investigate his friend's mysterious death. The Third Man is a masterpiece of melancholia featuring extraordinary writing acting and directing as well as a classic zither score by Anton Karas.
While Soylent Green may be one of the many dystopian visions of the future, the film stands out because it's one of the few titles that addresses current environmental issues head on. Adapted from Harry Harrison's novel Make Room, Make Room, it gives us a nightmarish vision of an over-populated, polluted future on the brink of collapse--a vision that gets uncomfortably closer every year. Charlton Heston as police officer Thorn investigates a murder in between suppressing food riots and uncovers the nightmarish truth about Soylent Green, the new foodstuff being sold to the poor. The film neatly combines police procedural with conspiracy thriller. Heston's scenes are counterpointed by more elegiac ones in which the centenarian Edward G Robinson as his friend Sol broods on the world he has outlived--his death in a euthanasia chamber is a gloriously lachrymose moment, which he plays to the hilt. Heston, too, is good as Thorn, a morally equivocal cop who loots the apartments of the victims whose deaths he investigates--he's a man just getting by in an impossible world. On the DVD: Soylent Green on disc comes with a commentary from director Richard Fleischer, the highpoint of which is a memorable description of what it was like to work with the brilliant ailing, entirely deaf Robinson. He is joined by Leigh Taylor-Young whose work on the film as heroine led to years of serious environmentalist commitment. It has a useful contemporary making-of documentary and touching shots of Robinson's 100th birthday party with telegrams from Sinatra and others. The feature itself is presented in anamorphic widescreen with its original mono sound. --Roz Kaveney
THE THIRD MAN has been beautifully restored in 4K for the first time showcasing the genius of this celebrated British noir voted the ‘The greatest British film of all time’ by a British Film Institute poll. Holly Martins (Joseph Cotton Citizen Kane ) a naïve writer of pulp westerns arrives in Vienna to meet his old friend Harry Lime (the incomparable Orson Welles) nut finds that Lime has apparently been killed in a suspicious accident. Martins too curious for his own good hears contradictory stories about the circumstances of Limes death and as witnesses disappear he finds himself chased by unknown assailants. Complicating matters are the sardonic Major Calloway (Trevor Howard Brief Encounter) head of the British forces and Lime’s stage actress mistress Anna Schmidt (Alida Valli). Will Martin’s curiosity lead him to discover things about his old friend that he’d rather not know? Brilliantly scripted by Graham Greene and set to Anton Karas’ evocative zither score this justly celebrated classic is further enhanced by Robert Karasker’s Academy Award winning cinematography and Orson Welles in one of his most iconic screen roles. Extras: Feature Audio Commentary Famous Fan Featurette Restoring the Third Man Interview & Zither Performance by Cornelia Mayer Guardian Interview Cotton (audio) Guardian Interview Greene (audio) Joseph Cotton’s Alternative Opening (Audio) Shadowing The Third Man Dangerous Edge Third Man on Radio (Audio) Trailer
Eureka Entertainment to release HUSH HUSH, SWEET CHARLOTTE; Robert Aldrich's brooding and tense tale of murder, mayhem and deceit starring Bette Davis, as part of The Masters of Cinema Series for the first time on Blu-ray in the UK in a special Dual Format (Blu-ray & DVD) edition on 21 January 2019. Originally conceived as an informal follow-up to What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, Robert Aldrich's Hush Hush, Sweet Charlotte was yet another hit for the legendary director, receiving seven Academy Award nominations. Charlotte Hollis (Bette Davis) has been closeted in her mansion since the grisly murder of her married lover many years earlier. When the county wants to tear down the house to build a highway, the spinster's relatives and friends appear to rally behind her, but each slowly preys on her mind until the gruesome rumours of the last 40 years appear to be coming true. On hand are cousin Miriam (Olivia de Havilland), Dr. Drew Bayliss (Joseph Cotten), Jewel Mayhew (Mary Astor), and the scariest inhabitant of all, loyal servant Velma (Oscar® nominee Agnes Moorehead). A dark and twisted psychological thriller from one of Hollywood's most idiosyncratic filmmakers, The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present Robert Aldrich's Hush Hush, Sweet Charlotte for the first time on Blu-ray in the UK in a special dual-format edition. DUAL FORMAT SPECIAL FEATURES: 1080p presentation on Blu-ray, with a progressive encode on the DVD LPCM 2.0 Audio (on Blu-ray) Optional English SDH subtitles New and exclusive feature length audio commentary by critic Kat Ellinger Audio commentary by film historian Glenn Erickson Hush Hush, Sweet Joan: The Making of Charlotte [22 mins] Bruce Dern Remembers [13 mins] Wizard Work [5 mins] an archival behind-the-scenes look at the film, narrated by Joseph Cotton Trailer & TV spots PLUS: A collector's booklet featuring a new essay by Lee Gambin, illustrated with archival imagery
The most acclaimed film in cinema history, Citizen Kane receives extra bolstering each time it tops a "greatest films ever" list. As a piece of filmmaking it ticks all the right boxes: a precociously talented director and lead actor in Orson Welles, Gregg Toland's innovative cinematography, a strong screenplay by Welles and Herman J Mankiewicz, rich scoring from Bernard Herrmann, and so on. For its time, it was technically groundbreaking, and laid out a blueprint for Hollywood filmmaking that's still influential. But, most importantly, as a viewing experience it's still one of the most mesmerising and beautiful films in existence. From its opening scenes--Kane's eerie Gothic mansion, his lone figure muttering the word "Rosebud" as he dies, journalists discussing the newsreel footage of his obituary--Kane lays out an enigma: who exactly was this man? Looping flashbacks build up a portrait of a contradictory figure who, despite living in the public eye, remained a mystery at heart. A testament to the corrupting influence of money, fame and the media and at its centre the tale of a man in search of love, Citizen Kane is a personal tragedy on an epic scale. Technically, it's a lesson in filmmaking in itself whose daring aesthetics nonetheless remain unobtrusive. It's doubtful that a debut director will ever be given such free reign by a studio again and even if this happened, it's doubtful that such a masterpiece would be created. On the DVD: Citizen Kane in this DVD special edition is beautifully remastered and comes with a feature illustrating the before and after of the restoration process. A 50-minute documentary, "Anatomy of a Classic", hosted by Barry Norman, delves into the making of the film as well as trying to deal with some of the myths that surround it, like the (untrue) rumour that Welles ran over both time and budget. Film historian Ken Barnes takes over for a commentary and Welles himself is featured in his controversial 1938 radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds and 1945 broadcast of The Happy Prince. A photo gallery, extensive cast and crew profiles, breakdown of all the films expenses and trailer round off this admirable package.--Laura Bushell
Hailed by critics and fans alike as one of the greatest films ever made, Citizen Kane continues to influence filmmakers and astound viewers 80 years later. Nominated for nine 1941 Academy Awards, with a win for Best Original Screenplay. Orson Welles' controversial masterpiece uses innovative flashbacks and ground-breaking cinematography to follow the epic rise and fall of wealthy newspaper magnate. For any fan of films, this is an essential viewing experience. Special Features on Blu-ray: Separate Commentaries by Roger Ebert and Peter Bogdanovich Interviews with Ruth Warrick and Robert Wise Opening: World Premiere of Citizen Kane Still Photography with Commentary by Roger Ebert and More
Here is just one of the many mishaps chronicled in Tora! Tora! Tora!: "Sir, there's a large formation of planes coming in from the north, 140 miles, 3 degrees east." "Yeah? Don't worry about it." The epic film shows the bombing of Pearl Harbour from both sides in the historic first American-Japanese coproduction: American director Richard Fleischer oversaw the complicated production (the Japanese sequences were directed by Toshio Masuda and Kinji Fukasaku, after Akira Kurosawa withdrew from the film), wrestling a sprawling story with dozens of characters into a manageable, fairly easy-to-follow film. The first half maps out the collapse of diplomacy between the nations and the military blunders that left naval and air forces sitting ducks for the impending attack, while the second half is an amazing re-creation of the devastating battle. While Tora! Tora! Tora! lacks the strong central characters that anchor the best war films, the real star of the film is the climactic 30-minute battle, a massive feat of cinematic engineering that expertly conveys the surprise, the chaos and the immense destruction of the only attack by a foreign power on American soil since the Revolutionary war. The special effects won a well-deserved Oscar, but the film was shut out of every other category by, ironically, the other epic war picture of the year, Patton. --Sean Axmaker, Amazon.com
Carol Reed's celebrated British noir THE THIRD MAN is widely regarded as 'The greatest British film of all time'. Brilliantly scripted by Graham Greene and set to Anton Karas' evocative zither score, this justly celebrated classic is further enhanced by Robert Krasker's Academy Award® winning cinematography and Orson Welles in one of his most iconic screen roles.Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten, Citizen Kane), a naive writer of pulp westerns, arrives in Vienna to meet his old friend Harry Lime (the incomparable Orson Welles) but finds that Lime has apparently been killed in a suspicious accident. Martins, too curious for his own good, hears contradictory stories about the circumstances of Lime's death and as witnesses disappear he finds himself chased by unknown assailants. Complicating matters are the sardonic Major Calloway (Trevor Howard, Brief Encounter), head of the British forces, and Lime's stage actress mistress, Anna Schmidt (Alida Valli). Will Martins' curiosity lead him to discover things about his old friend that he'd rather not know?NEW Noreen Ackland on Saving The Third Man (Excerpt from BEHP audio interview)The Third Man - A Filmmaker's InfluenceRestoring The Third ManAudio Commentary With Guy Hamilton, Simon Callow & Angela AllenJoseph Cotten's Alternate Opening Voiceover NarrationThe Third Man Interactive Vienna TourThe Third Man On The RadioInterview & Zither Performance By Cornelia MayerShadowing The Third ManGuardian NFT Interview - Joseph Cotten (Audio Only)Guardian NFT Interview - Graham Greene (Audio Only)Behind The Scenes Stills GalleryTrailer
Sinister and with a touch of the macabre, Tales of the Unexpected holds, at its heart, a core of black humour that makes each story both compelling and surprising, with a twist in each tale that delighted audiences throughout the country. Although Roald Dahl is best known for his children's books, his most famous and sinister adult creation was Tales of the Unexpected. Adapting works from Dahl himself, Patricia Highsmith, Ruth Rendell and a host of other celebrated writers, this highly acclaimed series ran for an impressive nine years from its first transmission on ITV in 1979. Its iconic title sequence and haunting theme tune (from prolific TV composer Ron Grainer) ensured that Tales of the Unexpected was memorable viewing. The series attracted an astonishing array of guest stars: Oscar winners Sir John Gielgud and José Ferrer, Ian Holm, Joan Collins, Sir John Mills, Peter Bowles, Derek Jacobi, Sian Phillips, Denholm Elliott, Zoe Wanamaker, Joss Ackland and Brian Blessed are just a few of the names to feature in its illustrious cast. Sometimes gory, but always surprising, the stories all have a twist to entertain and often shock the viewer. This set contains every episode of Tales of the Unexpected, originally transmitted between 1979 and 1988.
Eureka Entertainment to release Robert Aldrich's TWILIGHT'S LAST GLEAMING, a nail-biting thriller starring screen legend Burt Lancaster and Richard Widmark, on home video for the first time in the UK in a Dual Format edition, as part of the Masters of Cinema series, on 17 October 2016. High among idiosyncratic auteur Robert Aldrich's most powerful and intense dramas, Twilight's Last Gleaming is a thunderous political thriller and race-against-time doomsday classic. Burt Lancaster stars as the Air Force general Lawrence Dell who seizes control of a stockpile of nuclear missiles to force the US President (Charles Durning) to tell the truth about the Vietnam war. As negotiations get ever more desperate, General MacKenzie (Richard Widmark) leads an elite fighting team into the complex to disable Dell and his team directly. One of the most overlooked nail biters of the 1970s, Twilight's Last Gleaming is presented here on UK home video for the first time in a new Dual-Format edition. SPECIAL FEATURES: High-definition digital restoration Uncompressed PCM audio on the Blu-ray English subtitles for the deaf and hearing-impaired Aldrich Over Munich - The Making of Twilight's Last Gleaming documentary PLUS: A booklet featuring new writing and archival images
Arguably the greatest of American films, Orson Welles' 1941 masterpiece, made when he was only 25, still unfurls like a dream and carries the viewer along the mysterious currents of time and memory to reach a mature (if ambiguous) conclusion: people are the sum of their contradictions and can't be known easily. Welles plays newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane, taken from his mother as a boy and made the ward of a rich industrialist. The result is that every well-meaning or tyrannical or self-destructive move he makes for the rest of his life appears in some way to be a reaction to that deeply wounding event. Written by Welles and Herman J. Mankiewicz, and photographed by Gregg Toland, the film is the sum of Welles's awesome ambitions as an artist in Hollywood. He pushes the limits of then-available technology to create a true magic show, a visual and aural feast that almost seems to be rising up from a viewer's subconscious. As Kane, Welles even ushers in the influence of Bertolt Brechton film acting. This is truly a one-of-a-kind work, and in many ways is still the most modern of modern films this century. --Tom Keogh
Poor Charlotte Hollis. She's been shunned by the community for decades, ever since the fateful night in 1927 when her lover was hacked apart with an axe. Her antebellum southern mansion is slated for the bulldozer, as it stands in the way of highway construction. Charlotte's only hope lies in her cousin Miriam (Olivia de Havilland), coming down from up north to help settle things. Miriam, however, has other designs. Together with her boyfriend Drew (Joseph Cotten), she embarks on a scheme to systematically drive Charlotte out of her mind (not a great leap) and get her mitts on the family fortune. From there, things only get more complicated. Charlotte puts the "gothic" in southern gothic, as a great showcase for completely bizarre, overwrought, and out-of-control performances from all involved. Agnes Moorehead plays Charlotte's loyal, dishevelled housekeeper to the hilt, with an odd inflection that calls to mind Amos and Andy more than southern gentility. As the drunken, conniving Dr. Drew, Cotten's accent is indeterminate at times, and seems to come and go. As great as the supporting players are, though, the crown goes to Bette Davis as the shrieking Charlotte, a portrait of isolation and decay stuck in a world of tragic delusions inside her crumbling mansion. De Havilland is a close second as the scheming Miriam; the scene where she slaps the holy snot out of a hysterical Charlotte is itself worth the price of admission. Mary Astor (in her last role) and Cecil Kellaway (as a kindly Lloyd's of London adjuster) put in the only performances with any restraint, acting as counterweights for the rest of the cast. Besides, you'll never get another chance to see Joseph Cotten playing the harpsichord and singing, or caked in mud and lily pads! With Robert Aldrich's claustrophobic direction, Charlotte is as Southern as a field of kudzu, and as subdued as a train wreck. --Jerry Renshaw
This stunning box set features 3 of the finest movies to feature the 'First Lady of Film' Bette Davis. All About Eve (1950): It's all about women.... and their men! From the moment she glimpses her idol at the stage door Eve Horrington (Anne Baxter) moves relentlessly towards her goal: taking the reins of power from the great actress Margo Channing (Bette Davies). The cunning Eve manoeuvres her way into Margo's Broadway role becomes a sensation and even causes turmoil in
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