First screened on BBC2 in 1978, at a time when the standing of The Beatles was at its lowest, The Rutles--All You Need is Cash is the original and (pace This is Spinal Tap) best "rockumentary" spoof. Codirector Eric Idle was then enjoying success with Rutland Weekend Television, while his script displays the same feeling for the inane non-sequitur evident in his Monty Python work. The band's progress from "penniless, untalented nobodies" to "rich, untalented somebodies" is vividly brought to life--with dialogue adapted from actual Beatles interviews and newsreels, and a roster of songs sounding uncannily close to Beatles originals thanks to "Nasty" Neil Innes' genius for pastiche. Interviews with a suitably primed Mick Jagger and Paul Simon give added realism, as do cameos from George Harrison (one-time Beach Boy Rikki Fataar plays his Rutles double Stig) and Stones guitarist Ron Wood. Dan Ackroyd and John Belushi make characterful, pre-Blues Brothers appearances. On the DVD: The Rutles--All You Need is Cash has come up well in this DVD transfer. The fullscreen 4:3 ratio picture and mono sound wear their age well, enhanced by the extra scenes included. There's further interview material with Jagger and Simon, and a specially recorded, though wholly unfunny, DVD introduction from Idle, who also contributes a running commentary. All in all, this is an ideal way to get to know, or renew acquaintance with, a film that brings the swinging 60s back down to earth. --Richard Whitehouse
In 1979, The Warriors seemed like a frighteningly realistic possible future for The Big Apple. The film's depiction of multiple street gangs no longer content with occupying their own territories was an uncomfortably real issue across New York City. A deceptively simple plot begins with a truce gathering representatives from all the gangs at a meeting. Would-be leader Cyrus has a vision. Unfortunately a member of the Rogues shoots him before we learn what it is, and then pins the blame on the Warriors. With anything up to 60,000 gang soldiers and 20,000 police on their trail, the seven Warrior members beat a hasty retreat any which way they can back to Coney Island. What's really going on, as per Sol Yurick's original novel, is a subtle examination of the seemingly contradictory traits of loyalty and nobility that occur in a close-knit group. Explosions of violence and a disregard for bystanders are secondary to what the characters mean to one another. All this brotherly love is presented with some truly amazing production design and cinematography: though dark, this is a world of colourful night-lights and even more colourful gang uniforms. Historically, this is a movie way past its sell-by date (it certainly won't instigate real life violence now as it did when released), but thematically it remains a worthy exploration of all those unspoken codes of honour. On the DVD: This is a good movie to test the dark end of the spectrum. It's in 1.78:1 and only in mono, but that somehow works for what's little more than a lot of running around in the dark. The only extra is the original trailer.--Paul Tonks
He was smart, handsome and single. When her biological clock was running out, he was... the next best thing
Renowned director Shane Meadows' multiple BAFTA award-winning drama charts the turbulent lives of a group of friends looking for love, a laugh and a future in 1980s Britain.
The cinema remake of the classic sitcom Dad's Army . The Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard platoon deal with a visiting female journalist and a German spy as World War II draws to its conclusion.
The Rebels scatter after the Empire attacks their base on the ice planet Hoth. Han Solo and Princess Leia are pursued by Imperials, while Luke trains with Jedi Master Yoda. Luke battles Darth Vader and learns the shocking truth of his past. Special Features: Audio Commentary By George Lucas, Irvin Kershner, Carrie Fisher, Ben Burtt and Dennis Muren Archival Audio Commentary By The Cast And Crew Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back Bonus Disc Conversations: The Lost Interviews Discoveries From Inside: Matte Paintings Unveiled A Conversation With The Masters (2010) Dennis Muren: How Walkers Walk Hoth Overview George Lucas On Editing The Empire Strikes Back 1979 Irvin Kershner Interview Dagobah Overview Pursued by the Imperial Fleet Overview George Lucas On The Force: 2010 Cloud City Overview Han And Leia: Extended Echo Base Argument Luke's Recovery Luke And Leia: Medical Center Wampa Attacks The Fate of General Veers Yoda's Test Hiding In The Asteroid Alternate Han And Leia Kiss Lobot's Capture Leia Tends To Luke AT-AT Walker Fallen Model Snowspeeder Model Tauntaun Maquette Rebel Transport Model Hoth Landscape Matte Painting Leia Hoth Costume Han Solo Interior: Hoth Costume Yoda Model Luke's Severed Head Dagobah Bog Matte Painting Dagobah Matte Painting Luke's Tan Costume Star Destroyer Model Millennium Falcon Model Space Slug Darth Vader's Star Destroyer Model Star Destroyer Hull Model Executor Bridge Matte Painting Boba Fett Prototype Costume Imperial Officer Costume Rebel Cruiser Model Twin-Pod Cloud Car Model Cloud City Models Cloud City Matte Painting Cloud City Landing Platform Matte Painting Cloud City Core Vane Matte Painting Cloud City Core Vane Platform Matte Painting Lando Bespin Costume Cloud City Slave I Matte Painting
The Fifth Element In the year 2257 a planet-sized sphere of supreme evil is approaching the earth at relentless speed threatening to exterminate every living organism unless four ancient stones representing the elements of earth wind fire and water are united with the mysterious 'Fifth Element'... The Abyss: In this thrilling underwater action-adventure from writer-director James Cameron a civilian oil-rig crew is recruited to conduct a search-and-rescue effort when a nuclear submarine mysteriously sinks. One diver (Ed Harris) soon finds himself on a spectacular odyssey over 25 000 feet below the ocean's surface where he confronts a mysterious force that has the power to change the world or destroy it. Aliens: Sigourney Weaver returns as Ripley the only survivor from mankind's first encounter with the monstrous Alien. Her account of the Alien and the fate of her crew are received with skepticism until the mysterious disappearance of colonists on LV-426 lead her to join a team of high-tech colonial marines sent in to investigate...
From cult film maker Sam Raimi comes the tale of Annie, a woman with rare psychic powers, is willing to use them to investigate a murder, but what she uncovers could well make her the killer's next victim.
Senior year. A time to grow up to forget to forgive to dream to learn to love all over again. People come together... except Dan consumed by anger as he tracks down whoever started the fire that almost took his life. Tree Hill is rocked by powerful new events-the good the bad and the catastrophic. The good: Haley fights to save her marriage Peyton comes to terms with her birth mother Brooke creates a hot clothing line and Keith comes home. The bad: Dan gets a rival for worst person in Tree Hill-a conniving redhead named Rachel the new girl at school. The catastrophic: Tragedy strikes Tree Hill High and suddenly who wins the cheerleading tournament or basketball championship seems insignificant compared to who lives. And who doesn't. The complete third season of One Tree Hill. Episodes Comprise: 1. Like You Like An Arsonist 2. From The Edge Of The Deep Green Sea 3. First Day On A Brand New Planet 4. An Attempt To Tip The Scales 5. A Multitude Of Casualties 6. Locked Hearts And Hand Grenades 7. Champagne For My Real Friends Real Pain For My Sham Friends 8. The Worst Day Since Yesterday 9. How A Resurrection Really Feels 10. Brave New World 11. Return To The Future 12. I've Got Dreams To Remember 13. The Wind That Blew My Heart Away 14. All Tomorrow's Parties 15. Just Watch The Fireworks 16. With Tired Eyes Tired Minds Tired Souls We Slept 17. Who Will Survive And What Will Be Left Of Them 18. When It Isn't Like It Should Be 19. I Slept With Someone In Fall Out Bay And All I Got Was This Stupid Song Written About Me 20. Everyday Is A Sunday Evening 21. Over The Hills And Far Away 22. The Show Must Go On
Like the very best of SF TV, Stargate SG-1 began very simply. Of course it had the benefit of a movie preceding it--in which the alternate universe, its rules and its characters were largely established--so this premiere season was therefore able to concentrate on good storytelling. In 1997 not every new show was obsessed with securing a syndication-guaranteed franchise (same goes for Buffy debuting the same year), instead one-off episodes were the way of things, exploring interesting scenarios and conundrums. Naturally there were allusions to the feature film, but most were subtle and inspired. For example, a trip to retrieve the trapped professor who'd worked on the Gate decades ago was an unusual way of tying up loose ends. Some groundwork was laid for continuation should the show be renewed into an ongoing series. Knowing that these elements were pure wishful thinking at the time makes the tapestry of System Lords and the interlinks with our history and mythology all the more enjoyable in revisiting the show from its beginnings. With Richard Dean Anderson, leading the team in a far more charismatic and empathetic way than Kurt Russell in the movie, the series also benefited from some spot-on casting that instantly won audiences over. Special effects and use of studio sets may be less dazzling in these initial shows, but its solid grounding in old-fashioned SF won for the show a loyal audience. --Paul Tonks
Some of us will never understand why this boy-and-his-whale tale became the hit family film of 1993 and one of the bestselling videos of all time. But it is easy to see how clever marketing and a tear-jerking story could touch the hearts of kids and parents the world over, especially because the endangered Orca whale named Willy is such a majestic creature. The story of Free Willy couldn't be more conventional--it's like Old Yeller and The Black Stallion with a big sea mammal--but as the boy who comes to Willy's aid against the whale's exploitative owner, young Jason James Richter gives an appealing performance with which children can readily identify. After two sequels and an animated television series, this popular film also had a happy real-life ending: Keiko the whale (who plays Willy) recovered from failing health and was gradually trained to survive outside of captivity. --Jeff Shannon
Landfall
Tonight they're all out to get the Warriors. A battle of gigantic proportions is looming in the neon underground of New York City. The armies of the night number 100 000; they outnumber the police 5 to 1; and tonight they're after the Warriors - a street gang unfairly blamed for a rival gang leader's death. This contemporary action-adventure story takes place at night underground in the sub-culture of gang warfare that rages from the Bronx to Coney Island Bay as the Warrio
Leslie Phillips and Michael Maloney star in this BBC adaptation of John Hadfield's 1959 comic novel Love On A Branch Line. The series concerns a civil servant Jasper Pye (Maloney) who is sent by the government to dismantle a forgotten research unit housed in an old country mansion Arcady Hall. The owner Lord Flamborough (Phillips) an eccentric double amputee lives in an old train on his own otherwise closed 'branch line' while the government pay for the upkeep of his ancestral home. Flamborough's equally eccentric family his wife and three daughters all live in Arcady Hall. When Pye arrives he is intent on producing an efficient report regarding the unit however within days he falls under the spell of the stately home and its inhabitants...
The lives and relationships of those within a British traditional touring stage company provide the backdrop for the 'The Dresser' nominated for 5 Oscars in 1983 a compelling study of intense relationship between the leader of the company and his dresser. Sir (Albert Finney) a grandiloquent old man of the theater has given his soul to his career but his tyrannical rule over the company is now beginning to crack under the strain of age and illness as he prepares for his 227th
Renowned director Shane Meadows' multiple BAFTA award-winning drama charts the turbulent lives of a group of friends looking for love, a laugh and a future in 1980s Britain.
Driven to desperate measures, nurse Cath Hardacre (Jodie Whittaker, Doctor Who, Broadchurch) steals the identity of her best friend, an A&E doctor and finds work in a struggling emergency department. It's not long before she starts to enjoy the trappings that come with her new job and Cath soon finds herself falling for fellow doctor. With her dream job and the perfect man, she buries herself in her imposter persona, until her old life threatens to shatter her new existence and she's forced to go to increasingly desperate methods to cover up her lies. Will her lack of skills have deadly consequences? How can she be in a relationship when she can't be herself? How can she keep hold of the perfect life when she is living a lie?
Arthurian mythology and modern-day decay seem perfect complements to each other in Terry Gilliam's drama/comedy/fantasy The Fisher King. Shock jock Jack Lucas (Jeff Bridges) makes an off-handed radio remark that causes a man to go on a killing spree, leaving Lucas unhinged with guilt. His later, chance meeting with Parry (Robin Williams), a homeless man suffering from dementia, gets him involved in the unlikely quest for the Holy Grail. The rickety and patently unrealistic stand that insanity is just a wonderful place to be and that the homeless are all errant knights wears awfully thin, but, there are numerous moments of sad grace and violent beauty in this film. The screenplay by Richard LaGravenese launched his successful career and his smart wordplay helped garner Mercedes Ruehl an Oscar as Lucas' girlfriend. --Keith Simanton
Originally hatched in 1978 as a short film parody, The Rutles was later expanded into a 70-minute mockumentary about a trend-setting quartet of British mop-tops and became one of Eric Idle's better projects outside Monty Python. Taking the career (and hagiography) of The Beatles and inverting them quite nicely, Idle conjures up four doppelgangers who offer the familiar mannerisms but practically none of the intelligence of their models. If that sounds like the same gag that powered This is Spinal Tap (which emerged six years later), it is, with the crucial difference that Idle's lampoon is precise where Tap was consciously generic. In telling the saga of the Rutles, Idle (who doubles as earnest narrator and McCartney-esque Rutle Dirk McQuigley) works from a rich and immediately familiar trove of pop lore, and he has a ball revisiting and reinventing milestones from the Fab Four's fabled history. The attention to period detail helps elevate the gags further, but Idle's real secret weapon is Neil Innes, standing in as Ron Nasty, the Rutles' answer to John Lennon: it's Innes who serves as the musical architect for the wonderful Beatles parodies that give All You Need is Cash a delicious kick, and Innes--a one-time principal in the legendary Bonzo Dog Band--is gifted enough to capture the band's lyricism and energy as well as their shifting sense of style. With the blessing and on-camera participation of George Harrison, and wry cameos from Mick Jagger and Paul Simon, All You Need is Cash is a perfect companion to the Beatles' own glorious screen comedies and a great antidote to sanctimonious pop documentaries. --Sam Sutherland, Amazon.com
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