One of the last decent Carry On movies, Carry On Abroad is a 1972 venture into the world of package holidays. After this, the series descended into unfunny coarseness as opposed to camply laboured double entendre, culminating in the dreadful Carry On Emanuelle. Here, publican Sid James and dutiful mother's son turned sex maniac Charles Hawtrey are among a brace of Brits heading for the "paradise island" of Elsbels. Kenneth Williams is the out-of-his-depth tour operator, reverting to the sort of effete types he played in the 1950s, Peter Butterworth a pre-Manuel-style manager of a half-built hotel. A series of disasters ensue, with the entire gang landing up in jail following a fracas in a brothel at one point, but everyone finds romantic and sexual fulfilment in a quaint disco finale. This includes a gay character who is "dissuaded" from his homosexuality in a typical example of the thoroughly reactionary subtext that constitutes the really naughty bit of most Carry On films. Nonetheless, this throwback to an imaginary time when the lewdest innuendo of a dirty old man was greeted by young females with a flirty "Ooh, saucy!" is enjoyable on condition that you enter into its seaside-postcard spirit. June Whitfield is fine as a sexually uptight wife, Kenneth Connor a model of red-faced frustration as her wimpish husband. On the DVD: Sadly, no extra features except scene selection. The picture is a 4:3 ratio full-screen presentation. --David Stubbs
Carry On favourite Barbara Windsor makes her debut in this outrageous send-up of the James Bond movies. Fearless agent Desmond Simpkins and James Bind aided and abetted by the comely Agent Honeybutt and Agent Crump battle against the evil powers of international bad guys STENCH and their three cronies.
Miss Marple (New): Series 4 (4 Discs)
Anyone doubting the layered, nuanced, and heartbreaking acting abilities of Michelle Williams will find My Week with Marilyn a tremendous revelation. And Williams fans will enjoy it even more. In My Week with Marilyn Williams takes on the formidable challenge of playing Marilyn Monroe, and does so with depth and assuredness, and without resorting to caricature. Williams's Marilyn commands the screen with pain and delicacy, and doesn't let go until the final credits. My Week with Marilyn focuses on a small time frame in Monroe's life, right after her marriage to Arthur Miller. Monroe, already "the world's most famous woman," still feels the need for validation as an actress. What better way to achieve that, she believes, than committing to costarring with Laurence Olivier in The Prince and the Showgirl, a film she firmly believed would finally cement her reputation as a serious actress. My Week with Marilyn is based on the short memoir of Colin Clark, a crew member on The Prince and the Showgirl, who quickly became the confidant of the wildly insecure Monroe and watched a train wreck of egos--mostly Olivier's and Monroe's--collide in a fiery near-disaster. Kenneth Branagh gives an uncharacteristically restrained performance as the exasperated Olivier, resentful of the "new blood" in Hollywood that the young Monroe represents, and disdainful of her cult-like devotion to Method acting. (And of Monroe's chronic tardiness, which threatens to undermine the veddy, veddy strict British work schedule.) Eddie Redmayne plays Clark with a sweet, gentle veneer, someone who grows to care genuinely about the complex Monroe. Julia Ormond is clipped and proper as Olivier's then-wife, Vivien Leigh, and Emma Watson shows a lovely gravitas as Lucy, Monroe's acting coach. But it's Williams who gives the revelatory performance, capturing with painful intensity the insecurity that begins to seep out of Monroe like a fearful sweat. "Excuse my horrible face," she blurts out, while looking nothing less than her usual radiant self. Where does this tragic insecurity come from? My Week with Marilyn doesn't attempt to answer the unanswerable, but instead shines a light on the very real woman who became lost in the giant shadow of legend. --A.T. Hurley
The thrillers of Edgar Wallace one of the twentieth century’s most successful crime novelists have been widely adapted for film and television – the most memorable of which being the Edgar Wallace Mysteries series made at Merton Park Studios during the first half of the 1960s. A noir-esque series it updates some of the author’s stories to more contemporary settings blending classic B-movie elements with a distinctly British feel. Unseen for decades these dramas have been freshly transferred from the original film elements specifically for this release.
Tom Cruise stars as a high ranking German officer, who along with a small group of peers hatches a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler in an attempt to end the war.
Ealing Studios' output from the 1940s and the 1950s helped define what was arguably the golden age for British cinema. It fostered great directors such as Alexander MacKendrick and Robert Hamer, while giving stars such as Alec Guinness and Peter Sellers the chance to shine. John Mills stars as Captain Robert Scott in this film of the explorer's ill-fated expedition to be the first man to discover the South Pole. Directed by Charles Frend who went on to direct The Magnet, the film was nominated for both the Golden Lion in Venice and the BAFTA for Best British Film.
Featuring illustrious individual casts and outstanding scripts from a writing team that includes Randall and Hopkirk star Kenneth Cope, renowned playwright Peter Terson, fan favourite comedy dramatist Donald Churchill and Coronation Street contributors Harry Kershaw and Tim Aspinall, this Granada anthology features seven dramas centred on the events unfolding in a typical village hall. Diverse storylines explore the lives and idiosyncrasies of locals and visitors alike, with buried tensions, secret loves and rivalry all rising to the surface in these gently humorous portraits of provincial English life. This second series sees the village hall hosting a beauty contest with a few surprises, the increasingly ambitious pie-making efforts of two love rivals, the controversial visit of a German brass band, and the final reunion of a wartime battalion. Performers include John Le Mesurier, Zo Wanamaker, Joan Hickson, Anton Rodgers, Kenneth Cranham, Jan Francis, and Dinah Sheridan.
In this 12th-century version of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Henry II of England (Peter O'Toole) and his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine (Katharine Hepburn), meet on Christmas Eve to discuss the future of the throne. These two are having slight marital problems, as she is kept in captivity most of the year for raising a rebellion against him, and he flaunts his young mistress. Then there are the problems raised by their three treacherous and traitorous sons. James Goldman won an Oscar for the brilliant screenplay, based on his Broadway play. It is a tad wordy, as the action is kept to a minimum, but those words are sharp as daggers. The humour is wicked and black and delivered with very dry, dead-on precision. Sparks fly and the screen sizzles whenever Hepburn and O'Toole tango, which is often. Both were nominated for Academy Awards for their vigorous performances. (She won, he didn't.) There is also an infamous homoerotic exchange between Philip of France (Timothy Dalton) and Richard the Lionhearted (Anthony Hopkins). Both actors were making their feature film debuts. --Rochelle O'Gorman, Amazon.com
Exactly one hundred years ago, off the rocky shore of an isolated Northern California town, a ship of lepers seeking refuge is betrayed by the town's founding fathers and burned, killing everyone aboard. Now the ghosts of the long-dead mariners have returned from their watery graves to exact revenge. Shrouded within a supernatural fog, the ghosts trap the residents of the remote community, intent on seeking out the descendants of those who founded the town, and killing anyone who stands in their murderous path.
Director Clint Eastwood's 1997 box-office hit stars himself as Luther Whitney, a highly skilled thief who finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, witnessing the murder of a woman involved in a secret tryst with the US president (played by Gene Hackman). Determined to clear his name, Whitney cleverly eludes a tenacious detective (Ed Harris) while investigating a corruption of power reaching to the highest level of government. Adapted by veteran screenwriter William Goldman from David Baldacci's novel, this thriller balances expert suspense with well-drawn characters and an intelligent plot that's just a pounding heartbeat away from real White House headlines. Absolute Power features the great Judy Davis in a memorable supporting role as the White House chief of staff who desperately attempts to cover up the crime. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com
Eight-part crime drama starring John Turturro and Riz Ahmed. New York student Naz (Ahmed) embarks on a wild night out with a mysterious woman after picking her up in his dad's cab. The next morning he finds her stabbed to death in his bed. With no recollection of the previous night's events, Naz flees the scene but is quickly brought in by the city's police and identified as the main suspect for the victim's murder. After he is denied a legal representative, defence lawyer John Stone (Turturro) steps in to help Naz prove his innocence. As he awaits prosecution on Rikers Island, Naz adapts to the politics of life on the inside while his legal team try to piece together what happened on the night of the crime. The episodes are: 'The Beach', 'Subtle Beast', 'A Dark Crate', 'The Art of War', 'The Season of the Witch', 'Samson and Delilah', 'Ordinary Death' and 'The Call of the Wild'.
These episodes are completely remastered from the original films. Includes the following episodes:1. The Bride-Groom2. Edna's Secret3. Food For Thought4. Holidays5. The Dragon6. The Wish-Bone7. The Chrysalis8. The Magnet9. Wugged Wocks10. The Flight Of Mavis11. The Thoughts Of Moog12. The Joys Of Spring13. Games With Edna14. The Hot Hot Day15. Halloween16. The Gnome17. Boring Old Edna18. The 'You Know What'
The John Woo gangster classic that started it all, a romantic, violent, swirlingly stylish melodrama about duelling brothers--with a mesmerizing lead performance by Hong Kong's favourite actor, Chow Yun-Fat. In repose, Chow's sleepy magnetism recalls the glory days of Robert Mitchum, Steve McQueen, and Takakura Ken; when he's stepping high, Chow has a unique, ebullient star presence, a man who embraces life so unselfconsciously that he becomes vulnerable to all kinds of suffering and heartache (he endures masochistic megadoses of violence here). The sequence in which Chow's Mark avenges his betrayed best friend---by blasting his way into, and then out of, a Chinese restaurant, twin .45s blazing---is a swashbuckling standout. Woo's film technique may have been more polished in later efforts, but A Better Tomorrow has a direct emotional power that is still unique. Kung fu star of the 1970s, Ti Lung is also terrific here as the 40ish established mobster, relied upon by all, who allows conflicting loyalties toward Mark and toward his younger brother, now a cop, to undermine the stability of his position. --David Chute, Amazon.com
Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited is a moving tragic story which chronicles the tempestuous journey of Charles Ryder through the tangled and stormy world of the aristocratic Marchmain family. It is an epic tale of his love - for his closest friend Sebastian Flyte for Sebastian's sister Julia Flyte and for an entire way of life. This classic visually stunning TV drama directed by Charles Sturridge and Michale Lindsay-Hogg was adapted for the screen by John Mortime
This was to be Pierce Brosnan's final outing as 007 and what a great Bond he was too! James Bond's newest mission begins with a spectacular high-speed hovercraft chase through a minefield in the demilitarized zone separating North and South Korea - and the action doesn't let up until the credits roll. From Hong Kong to Cuba to London Bond circles the world in his quest to unmask a traitor and prevent a war of catastrophic proportions. On his way he crosses paths with Jinx (Oscar ''-winner Halle Berry) and Miranda Frost (Rosamund Pike) who will play vital roles in his latest adventure. Hot on the trail of deadly megalomaniac Gustav Graves (Toby Stephens) and his ruthless right-hand man Zao (Rick Yune) Bond travels to Iceland into the villain's lair: a palace built entirely of ice. There he experiences firsthand the power of a new hi-tech weapon. Ultimately it all leads to an explosive confrontation - and an unforgettable conclusion - back in Korea where it all started.
Kenneth Connor, Terry Scott and Are You Being Served's Frank Thornton star in this groovy comedy-musical-sci-fi fantasia that could only have been made in the '60s! Featuring performances from Lulu and the Luvvers, The Nashville Teens and the Graham Bond Organisation, Gonks Go Beat is presented here as a High Definition transfer from the original film elements in its original theatrical aspect ratio. In the far future, Earth has split into two musically-opposing factions: Beatland where all the cool cats live and Balladisle, where it's customary to sport smart jumpers and trouser creases. Perturbed at this squabbling The Great Galaxian decides to send an ambassador to bring harmony to these unruly Earthlings. Unfortunately, the only one available is a rather unorthodox chap with a disgraceful record of incompetence! Special Features: Theatrical trailer Image gallery PDF material
For anyone who travels the congested roads of Britain these days the utterly delightful Genevieve will provoke a wistful, nostalgic sigh of regret for times gone by when there were no motorways, traffic jams were almost non-existent and friendly police motorcyclists riding classic Nortons (without helmets) cheerfully let people driving vintage cars race each other along country lanes. Even in 1953, Henry Cornelius gentle comedy must have seemed pleasingly old-fashioned, concerned as it is with the antics of two obsessive enthusiasts on the annual London to Brighton classic car rally. The principal quartet could hardly be bettered: though John Gregson is something of a cold fish as Genevieves proud owner, the radiant warmth of Dinah Sheridan as his long-suffering wife more than compensates. Kenneth More is ideally cast in the role of boastful rival enthusiast and Kay Kendall has possibly the best comic moment of all when she astonishes everyone with her drunken trumpet playing. Cornelius also directed Ealings Passport to Pimlico, so his sure eye for gently mocking and celebrating British eccentricities is never in doubt. The screenplay by (American writer) William Rose now seems like an elegy to a way of life long disappeared: the pivotal moment when Gregson stops to humour a passing old buffer about his love of classic cars comes from a vanished era of politeness before road rage; as does the priceless exchange between hotel owner Joyce Grenfell and her aged resident: "No ones ever complained before", says the mystified Grenfell after Gregson and Sheridan moan about the facilities, "Are they Americans?" asks the old lady, unable to conceive that anyone British could say such things. Genevieve is both a wonderful period comedy and a nostalgic portrait of England the way it used to be. On the DVD: the "Special Edition" version of Genevieve has a decent new documentary with reminiscences from Dinah Sheridan (still radiant), the director of photography and the films editor, who talk about the challenges of filming on location. Most treasurable of all, though, is legendary harmonica player Larry Adler, who remembers his distinctive score with much fondness and is not at all embittered by his Hollywood blacklisting, which meant he was denied an Academy Award nomination. Theres also a short piece on some of the locations used (which for economic reasons were mostly in the lanes around Pinewood studios), cast biographies and a gallery of stills. The 4:3 ratio colour picture looks pretty good for its age and the mono sound is adequate. --Mark Walker
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