All four series of the classic BBC comedy starring Robert Lindsay as revolutionary leader Wolfie Smith of the Tooting Popular Front. Hoping to emulate his icons, Wolfie forms the TPF with a small group of his friends. However, he soon finds himself struggling to get his ambitious plans off the ground due to his laid back attitude and lack of organisation. Series 1 episodes are: 'Pilot', 'Crocodile Tears', 'Guess Who's Coming to Dinner', 'Abide With Me', 'The Weekend', 'The Hostage', 'The Path of True Love', 'But Is It Art?' and 'A Story for Christmas'. Series 2 episodes are: 'Speed's Return', 'Rebel Without a Pause', 'The Tooting Connection', 'Working Class Hero' and 'Rock Bottom'. Series 3 episodes are: 'Spanish Fly', 'Don't Look Down', 'Only Fool and Horses...', 'The Big Job', 'Tofkin's Revenge', 'We Shall Not Be Moved', 'The Party's Over' and 'The Glorious Day'. Series 4 episodes are: 'Bigger Than Guy Fawkes', 'Changes', 'The Final Try', 'The Letter of the Law', 'Prisoners', 'Casablanca Was Never Like This', 'Sweet Sorrow' and 'Buon Natale'.
Writer Peter Mayle's autobiographical adventurous account of the first year he and his wife spent in Provence is brought wonderfully to life in this BBC adaptation starring John Thaw and Lindsay Duncan. Having decided to leave their jobs London and the rat race behind them the Mayles head off to the south of France seduced by the prospect of the idyllic countryside the simple rural way of life great food fine wines and sun. However everything is not quite as they imagined it to be and one comic situation follows another as they brave mistral winds truffle season and mafia involvement while a succession of colourful characters constantly interrupt their plan for a quiet life...
Stretching from the Stone Age to the year 2000, Simon Schama's Complete History of Britain does not pretend to be a definitive chronicle of the turbulent events which buffeted and shaped the British Isles. What Schama does do, however, is tell the story in vivid and gripping narrative terms, free of the fustiness of traditional academe, personalising key historical events by examining the major characters at the centre of them. Not all historians would approve of the history depicted here as shaped principally by the actions of great men and women rather than by more abstract developments, but Schama's way of telling it is a good deal more enthralling as a result. Schama successfully gives lie to the idea that the history of Britain has been moderate and temperate, passing down the generations as stately as a galleon, taking on board sensible ideas but steering clear of sillier, revolutionary ones. Nonsense. Schama retells British history the way it was--as bloody, convulsive, precarious, hot-blooded and several times within an inch of haring off onto an entirely different course. Schama seems almost to delight in the goriness of history. Themes returned to repeatedly include the wars between the Scots and the Irish and the Catholic/Protestant conflicts--only the Irish question remains unresolved by the new millennium. As Britain becomes a constitutional monarchy, Schama talks less of Kings and Queens but of poets and idea-makers like Orwell. Still, with his pungent, direct manner and against an evocative visual and aural backdrop, Schama makes history seem as though it happened yesterday, the bloodstains not yet dry. On the DVD: The Complete History of Britain extras are generously packaged on a separate disc and include the original score and a Simon Schama biography. There's an interesting "promotional message" to camera in which Schama explains the role of a cab driver, Wally, in inspiring the series, along with an interview with Mark Lawson in which Schama stresses the deliberate subjectivity of these programmes and an inaugural BBC History lecture in which he defends TV's ability to transpose history to camera. --David Stubbs
This screen adaptation of Flowers in the Attic, Virginia Andrews' classic teen novel of adolescent torment and forbidden love, shies away from what made the book so hugely popular, namely the incestuous sex between the two older children, Cathy (Kristy Swanson) and Chris (Jeb Stuart Adams). When the father of four beautiful blond children is suddenly killed, their mother (Victoria Tennant) takes them to the family home she fled 17 years earlier. Their fierce and frightening grandmother (Louise Fletcher) locks them in an upstairs room, from which the only escape is into the cluttered and cobwebbed attic. The children's isolation gets more and more extreme as their mother abandons them, finally even slowly poisoning them to gain her father's inheritance. The movie insinuates but does not make explicit incestuous longing in all directions: Cathy's father brings her special presents before he dies, Chris scrubs Cathy's back in the tub, Chris has a noticeably stronger attachment to their mother than Cathy does--not to mention that the grandmother whips the half-naked mother in front of the grandfather. Fletcher brings a bit of bite to her role, and the movie occasionally rises to absurdly lurid zest. --Bret Fetzer, Amazon.com
A long-running drama based upon the Little House series of books by Laura Ingalls Wilder Little House on the Prairie follows the lives of the simple farming Ingalls family: Charles Caroline Mary Laura Carrie and then Grace and the later adopted Albert James and Cassandra who settle into a quaint little house on the banks of Plum Creek near the small town of Walnut Grove during the late 1800s. Often narrated by Laura the series follows her simple farm upbringing from her childhood until her adulthood with Almanzo Wilder with whom she starts a family of her own. Episodes Comprise: 1. Laura Ingalls Wilder: Part 1 2. Laura Ingalls Wilder: Part 2 3. A New Beginning 4. Fight Team Fight 5. The Silent Cry 6. Portrait of Love 7. Divorce Walnut Grove Style 8. Dearest Albert I'll Miss You 9. The In-laws 10. To See the Light: Part 1 11. To See the Light: Part 2 12. Oleson Versus Oleson 13. Come Let Us Reason Together 14. The Nephews 15. Make a Joyful Noise 16. Goodbye Mrs Wilder 17. Sylvia: Part 1 18. Sylvia: Part 2 19. Blind Justice 20. I Do Again 21. The Lost Ones: Part 1 22. The Lost Ones: Part 2
Based freely on the classic novels by CS Forester, Hornblower is a series of TV films following the progress of a young officer through the ranks of the British navy during the Napoleonic Wars. The series greatest asset is the handsome and charismatic Ioan Gruffudd in the lead role, surely a major star in the making. For television films, the production values are very good, though as Titanic, Waterworld and The Perfect Storm demonstrated, filming an aquatic adventure is a very expensive business, and it is clear that the Hornblower dramas simply make the best of comparatively small budgets. No more faithful to Forester's books than the 1951 Gregory Peck classic Captain Horatio Hornblower, the real inspiration seems to have come from the success of Sharpe, starring Sean Bean, which likewise featured a British hero in the Napoleonic Wars. Nevertheless, while rather more easy-going than the real British navy of the time, the Hornblower saga delivers an entertaining adventure, greatly enhanced by the presence of such guest stars as Denis Lawson, Cheri Lunghi, Ronald Pickup and Anthony Sher. --Gary S Dalkin
Paul Newman and his Butch Cassidy director, George Roy Hill, made a very original comedy in this 1977 story of an over-the-hill player/coach (Newman) for a lousy hockey team who gets results when he teaches his players to get dirty. One of the most hilariously profane movies ever to come out of Hollywood, this is the kind of film that makes its own rules as it goes along. Newman is very good, and while Hill goes for the gusto in terms of capturing the violence of this world, his instinct for comedy has never been sharper. Great support from Strother Martin, Paul Dooley, and the rest. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com
Le Week-End is a beautifully observed and poignant story of a long-married British couple (Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan) who return to Paris for the first time since their honeymoon to revitalize their marriage. While there they run into an old friend (Goldblum) who transforms their thoughts on life and their love for one another. Directed by Roger Michell (Notting Hill).
Oppressed by her family setting dead-end school prospects and the boys law in the neighbourhood Marieme starts a new life after meeting a group of 3 free-spirited girls. She changes her name her dress code and quits school to be accepted in the gang hoping that this will be a way to freedom.
The term 'free cinema' was coined by critic and filmmaker Lindsay Anderson in early 1956 when he Karel Reisz Tony Richardson and Lorenza Mazzetti showed a programme of their short films at the National Film Theatre. Although the name was intended only for that screening it proved so successful that five more programmes were shown under the same banner between 1956 and 1959. The films were 'free' in the sense that they were made outside the framework of the film industry and that
Log line: Wallace and Gromit''s new bakery business faces danger when a mysterious killer starts targeting all the bakers in town. Two liner: Wallace and Gromit have opened a new bakery business - Top Bun - but a deadly murderer is targeting all the bakers in town. Wallace couldn''t care - he''s found true love in the shape of Piella Bakewell former star of the Bake-O-Lite bread commercials. Can Gromit discover the identity of the Cereal Killer before Wallace becomes the next victim? Two para: Wallace and Gromit have opened a new bakery - Top Bun - and business is booming not least because a deadly Cereal Killer has murdered all the other bakers in town. Gromit is worried that they may be the next victims but Wallace couldn''t care - he''s fallen head over heels in love with Piella Bakewell former star of the Bake-O-Lite bread commercials. So Gromit is left to run things on his own when he''d much rather be getting better acquainted with Piella''s lovely pet poodle Fluffles. But then Gromit makes a shocking discovery which points to the killer''s true identity. Can he save his master from becoming the next baker to be butchered? And does Fluffles know more than she is saying? It''s a classic 'who-doughnut'' mystery as four-time Academy Award winning director Nick Park creates a hilarious new masterpiece in the tradition of 'master of suspense'' Alfred Hitchcock.
The ultimate small-screen representation of Loaded-era lad culture--albeit a culture constantly being undermined by its usually sharper female counterpart--there seems little argument that Men Behaving Badly was one of 1990s' definitive sitcoms. Certainly the booze-oriented, birds-obsessed antics of Martin Clunes' Gary and Neil Morrissey's Tony have become every bit as connected to Britain's collective funny bone as Basil Fawlty's inept hostelry or Ernie Wise's short, hairy legs. Yet, the series could easily have been cancelled when ITV viewers failed to respond to the original version, which featured Clunes sharing his flat with someone named Dermot, played by Harry Enfield. Indeed, it was only when the third series moved to the BBC and was then broadcast in a post-watershed slot--allowing writer Simon Nye greater freedom to explore his characters' saucier ruminations--that the show began to gain a significant audience. By then, of course, Morrissey had become firmly ensconced on the collective pizza-stained sofa, while more screen time was allocated to the boys' respective foils, Caroline Quentin and Leslie Ash. Often glibly dismissed as a lame-brained succession of gags about sex and flatulence, the later series not only featured great performances and sharp-as-nails writing but also sported a contemporary attitude that dared to go where angels, and certainly most other sitcoms, feared to tread. Or, as Gary was once moved to comment about soft-porn lesbian epic Love in a Women's Prison: "It's a serious study of repressed sexuality in a pressure-cooker environment." Series 5 includes: "Hair" in which Tony returns from holiday to discover Dorothy has convinced Gary she should move in. And that Tony should move out; "The Good Pub Guide" in which our heroes are dismayed when The Crown gets a new look and new landlord (The Fast Show's John Thomson). Tony rescues the pub's old condom machine as a present for Deborah ("I thought it was something we could enjoy together."); "Cowardice" in which Tony becomes convinced Deborah is going through a lesbian phase; "Your Mate Vs Your Bird" in which increased tension in the household persuades Dorothy to reconsider her living arrangements; "Cardigan" in which Gary, concerned he's becoming middle-aged, suggests they go to a rave; "Rich and Fat" in which Tony goes on a diet after Gary accuses him of being "a bit of a podgemeister"; "Home Made Sauna" in which temptation comes Gary's way when Dorothy and Deborah go away for a sailing weekend. The DVD version also features aquiz.
Paul Reynolds is a Gatsby-like figure: owner of a magnificent house a host of great parties and a collector of interesting people. He persuades Lizzie Thomas a secretary in a local estate agent to come and work for him as his assistant to bring some order to his chaos. He inspires her with his enthusiasm and imagination and frustrates her with his apparent carelessness and destructiveness which culminates in her calling the police as a great party is turned over by local troubl
The Wicker Man has had an enduring fascination for audiences since its release in 1973, commanding a devotion that most films can only dream of. A unique and bone-fide horror masterpiece, brilliantly scripted by Anthony Shaffer (Sleuth, Frenzy) and featuring an astounding performance by the legendary Christopher Lee. Director Robin Hardy's atmospheric use of location, unsettling imagery and haunting soundtrack gradually builds to one of the most terrifying and iconic climaxes in modern cinema. When a young girl mysteriously disappears, Police Sergeant Howie (Edward Woodward) travels to a remote Scottish island to investigate. But this pastoral community, led by the strange Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee), is not what it seems as the devoutly religious detective soon uncovers a secret society of wanton lust and pagan blasphemy. Can Howie now stop the cult's ultimate sacrifice before he himself comes face to face with the horror of The Wicker Man? Extras: THE FINAL CUT (2013 version APPROVED BY ROBIN HARDY)BURNT OFFERING: THE CULT OF THE WICKER MAN DOCUMENTARY WRITTEN BY MARK KERMODE WORSHIPPING THE WICKER MAN FAMOUS FANS FEATURETTE THE MUSIC OF THE WICKER MAN FEATURETTE INTERVIEW WITH ROBIN HARDY INTERVIEW WITH CHRISTOPHER LEE & ROBIN HARDY (1979) RESTORATION COMPARISON TRAILER
A family's desire to survive following the tragic death of the father drives the mother to take her four children to a new home where a bizarre and disturbing future awaits them... Based on V.C. Andrews bestseller 'Flowers In The Attic' is a shocking tale of greed depravation incest and cruelty.
When Alan's radio station, North Norfolk Digital, is taken over by a new media conglomerate, it sets in motion a chain of events which see Alan having to work with the police to defuse a potentially violent siege.
You're not alone. Whenever, forever. Yuuta Hibiki is a first-year student in high school living in Tsutsujidai. One day, he wakes up without his memories. Yuuta later meets Hyper Agent GRIDMAN who is inside an old computer. GRIDMAN tells him to fulfill his purpose. Yuuta's quest to understand the meaning behind those words and to find his memories begins. While all of this is sudden, Yuuta has helpful assistance from his classmates, Shou Utsumi, Rikka Takarada, and Akane Shinjou, but... Those peaceful days are destroyed mercilessly by a monster that suddenly appears.
Sex, drugs and double glazing Britain, the early 80s. At Cachet Windows, the stakes are high and so are the staff. Vincent Swan, Cachet's head of sales, excels at selling his favourite product himself. Martin Lavender has a university degree, which in the world of sales is as much use as an aerated condom. Brian Fitzpatrick is an excellent liar with no principles: he makes a pretty good salesman. And then there's Carol, Britain's lousiest receptionist. They are getting filthy rich thanks to uPVC double-glazing, a dirt-cheap alternative to timber. To you and me, it's just plastic. To them, it's white gold.
Exasperated with her rebellious daughter, a woman sends the teen to Idaho to live with her own stern mother.
Spanning the three series of this superb sitcom, The Very Best of The Royle Family is a prime taster for those not familiar with the series. Co-created by Caroline Aherne and Craig Cash, who star as Denise and Dave respectively, The Royle Family deserves its own comedic category. They had a hard fight persuading the BBC to leave a laughter track off the show, which would have disrupted its unique ambience and chemistry. Never departing from the house of lazy, good-for-nothing but defiantly sardonic Jim Royle (Ricky Tomlinson) and wife Barbara (Sue Johnston), The Royle Family chronicles the everyday chat and banal comings and goings of this Northern household, which barely qualifies as "working" class, since mostly they are slumped on the sofa in front of the telly in a cathode-induced stupor. Confused viewers waiting for something to "happen" in the conventional sitcom manner will be disappointed. What they'll get instead is an irresistible stream of dialogue that captures unerringly the humdrum cadences of "ordinary" people. These episodes capture the Royles in customary, festive mood--Denise's marriage, Christmas, baby David's birthday party and so forth--which is good, as we get to see more of Liz Smith's magnificent Nana. As each seemingly inconsequential scene vividly illustrates, this is hardly a romanticised family. Denise is an appallingly negligent mother, there's probably never been a green vegetable in the house, most of their friends, including Darren, are well dodgy, and mum Barbara is unfairly put-upon ("Eh, I've been so busy this morning I haven't had time to smoke", she laments at one point). Yet undoubtedly, unlike their regal counterparts, this Royle Family are close-knit, somehow getting by. The family that watches telly together stays together. On the DVD: The Very Best of the Royle Family, disappointingly, has no extra features. --David Stubbs
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