Guy Rolfe, Michael Hordern, Ronald Shiner and Lionel Jeffries find their sea legs in this little-known but hugely engaging nautical yarn from 1958. Also featuring legendary duettist Teddy Johnson (along with early sightings of Warren Mitchell and - in his first big-screen role - Richard Briers), Girls at Sea is presented here in brand-new transfer from the original film elements in its as-exhibited theatrical aspect ratio. When HMS Scotia pays a visit to the French Riviera, the office...
Martin Chuzzlewit (Dir. Pedr James 1994): Martin Chuzzlewit is a wealthy old man. But who will inherit his riches? He has disinherited his grandson young Martin suspecting the motives of the young man's love for Mary Chuzzlewit's nurse and companion. With such a prize to play for the rest of his family - including the snivelling hypocrite Pecksniff and the fabulously evil Jonas - bring forth all of their cunning greed and selfishness. With his grandson floundering in Amer
Antony Sher stars in The History Man, the BBC's critically acclaimed four-part drama series based on Malcolm Bradbury's savagely satirical novel of seventies campus life. Sher plays the moustachio'd Howard Kirk, left-wing Marxist, promiscuous womaniser and bully. An ambitious sociology lecturer, he delights in stirring up revolutionary feelings at the University of Watermouth, manipulating students, colleagues and lovers alike to further his career. The supporting cast features Geraldine Jame.
From the golden age of the miniseries comes Shogun, the 10-hour, Golden Globe-winning saga based on James Clavell's bestselling epic novel. In his award-winning performance, Richard Chamberlain stars as John Blackthorne, the 17th-century English navigator on a Dutch trading ship. A storm runs the ship aground off the coast of Japan, a "torn and cruelly divided country" locked in a power struggle between Toranaga (the venerable Toshiro Mifune) and Ishido, two warlords who would be Shogun. Blackthorne gets over his initial culture shock ("I piss on you and your country", he defiantly proclaims to his samurai captors, which to his humiliation turns out to be an unfortunate choice of words) to become a trusted ally of Toranaga and the lover of the beautiful interpreter Lady Mariko (Yoko Shimada). Their forbidden, ill-fated romance--and Blackthorne's total assimilation into Japanese culture--is set against political intrigue as Toranaga prepares for the inevitable showdown with Ishido, and Blackthorne's growing influence threatens the local Jesuits who had built up a lucrative trade monopoly. Shogun was a production blessed with good karma, and it remains an awesome achievement from a bygone era when the miniseries was king. --Donald Liebenson
Baron Zorn (Robert Hardy) believes his son Emil (Shane Briant) and daughter Elizabeth (Gillian Hills) are suffering from a madness they inherited from their late mother. He keeps his children locked up, but at night Emil is released and murders women in the local village. Discredited psychologist Falkenberg (Patrick Magee - Dementia 13, The Masque of the Red Death) analyses the family and it transpires that the children witnessed their mother cut her own throat. The villagers, driven on by a manic priest (Michael Hordern) identify Zorn as the demon' responsible for killing their daughters. The deranged Emil escapes with Elizabeth, but the murderous Zorn pursues them. Blood, he vows, will have blood One of the most ambitious and unusual horror films produced by Hammer, Demons of the Mind was directed by Peter Sykes (Venom, To the Devil a Daughter) and released in 1972. The distinguished cast includes Shane Briant, who would go on to appear in three further films for Hammer. EXTRAS: NEW FEATURETTE - Blood Will Have Blood: Inside Demons of the Mind ORIGINAL TRAILER
Richard Burton stars as successful novelist John Morlar who believes he has 'a gift for disaster' - the power to cause death and destruction through unconscious telekinesis. When Morlar is viciously assaulted and left for dead the night of the Moon Mission disaster and a jet crash police investigating the attack quickly turn to Morlar's mysterious therapist Zonfeld (Lee Remick) in the belief that there is a link between the assault and Morlar's disturbing complex...
Films comprise: 1. I Was Monty's Double (Dir. John Guillermin 1958) 2. Ice Cold In Alex (Dir. J. Lee Thompson 1958) 3. Went The Day Well? (Dir. Alberto Cavalcanti 1942)
This timeless masterpiece is based on the internationally acclaimed books by Michael Bond and remains one of the most successful children's programs ever produced in the UK. Contains all 56 episodes and three longer specials, now restored and remastered in Hi-Definition for the first time ever.
As a Christmas treat in the late 1960s and 70s, the BBC produced adaptations of ghost stories based on the works of MR James, the Cambridge academic and author of some of the most spine-tingling tales in the English language, which were broadcast to terrified viewers in the dead of winter. This was a tradition that was briefly revived by the BBC between 2007 and 2010. These adaptations, which have a subtlety and style all of their own, have been a major influence on many contemporary British horror filmmakers and have come to be some of the most sought after British TV titles of all time by their legions of eager fans. Episode Comprise: Whistle and I’ll Come to You. The Stalls of Barchester. A Warning to the Curious. Lost Hearts. The Treasure of Abbot Thomas. The Ash Tree. The Signalman. Stigma. The Ice House. A View from a Hill. Number 13.
Since it's first publication in 1908 Kenneth Grahame's THE WIND IN THE WILLOWS has become a best-seller throughout the world. In this unique film the award-winning animators of Cosgrove Hall have brought Grahame's characters Badger Mole Ratty and the flamboyant Toad of Toad Hall magically to life in a beautiful Edwardian country scene. Join these four lively characters in a wonderful production that captures all the fun and enchantment of a fairy tale adventure.
Lieutenant Goodbody (Crawford) has absolutely no idea how to lead his British regiment in the North African battlefield of WWII. But what he lacks in experience he makes up for in enthusiasm. And when he's ordered to build a cricket playing field 100 miles behind enemy lines he's determined to succeed even if this means most of his men are killed in the process. Abandoned by his superiors betrayed by his inferiors and finally captured by Nazis it's going to take more than his unre
Set in the expanse of the Sudan desert in the midst of holy war, Khartoum (1966) plays like an attempt to work the Lawrence of Arabia magic on the (mostly) true story of eccentric British general Charles "Chinese" Gordon in 1884 North Africa. The magnificent opening desert battle suggests David Lean's epic sweep, at least until the film settles into a more modest story of political games, military standoffs, and a battle of wits and wiles between two fierce leaders. Charlton Heston plays the Christian soldier as cocky, unconventional maverick, and Laurence Olivier (behind heavy make-up and a thick black beard) is almost as good as his cagey nemesis the Mahdi, the Islamic holy warrior on a mission of annihilation. More talk than spectacle, the film falls short of Lawrence but is nonetheless a compelling story of colonial politics, cynical manoeuvring and the unconventional heroics of another colourful British maverick abroad. --Sean Axmaker
Meet Maurice Allington. This money grabber, alcoholic, letch and all round oddball is owner of the ‘quaint’ country inn, The Green Man. When he isn’t trying to bed them, he’s regaling his guests with tales of the ghosts and ghouls who haunt his hotel. The fun really begins when Maurice realises the phantoms are real – and they’re not playing his game. Part sex farce, part supernatural thriller, this ghost story will have you screaming…with laughter! Based on the 1969 satirical ghost story by Kingsley Amis and adapted by Malcolm Bradbury (The History Man, Eating People is Wrong) this BBC series won a BAFTA for Best Original Music. Albert Finney (Big Fish, Annie, Skyfall) takes the lead as the slimy Maurice alongside co-stars Josie Lawrence and Michael Hordern (Where Eagles Dare, Gandhi, Labyrinth).
A brilliant, bizarre 1973 comedy-horror, Theatre of Blood pitches somewhere between a Hammer horror and the Ealing comedy Kind Hearts and Coronets. Vincent Price stars as the hammy, self-important and thoroughly psychotic Edward Lionheart, a veteran thespian who refuses to play anything other than Shakespeare. Piqued by a circle of critics, whom he feels were disrespectful in their notices and denied him his rightful Best Actor of the Year Award, he decides to murder them one by one in parodies of some of Shakespeare's grislier scenes. He's aided by his daughter Edwina (played by Diana Rigg, often in fake moustache and male drag) and a ghoulish company of dosshouse zombies. Some of the murders are quite extraordinarily gruesome, despite their camp, comedic overtones. Arthur Lowe's henpecked critic has his head sawn off while asleep (in a parody of Cymbeline) and Robert Morley's plumply effete dandy is force-fed a pie made from his beloved poodles, choking him to death (cf Titus Andronicus). Jack Hawkins and Michael Horden also meet unpleasant ends. Theatre of Blood is a genuine and underrated oddity in the annals of British cinema and especially uncomfortable for those who happen to be in the reviewing trade. On the DVD: Theatre of Blood on disc is not a triumph of digital enhancement, with sound blemishes unamended and hazy, faded visuals in places. The only extra is the original trailer. --David Stubbs
This classic movie directed by John Guillerman has been beautifully restored as part of the Vintage Classics Collection. It is based on the true story of one of the best intelligence operations of World War II. An actor, trained by Major Harvey (John Mills), is seconded to impersonate General Montgomery on a tour of North Africa. The plan is to divert the Germans' attentions away from the real Monty and his plans for D-Day. Starring the real life actor and lookalike M.E. Clifton James and a formidable supporting cast including Cecil Parker, Leslie Phillips, Bryan Forbes and John Le Mesurier, this is a gripping retelling of those fateful few weeks before the Normandy campaign. The Vintage Classics collection from Studiocanal celebrate the most iconic and beloved films in British cinematic history by giving these masterpieces of yesteryear stunning restorations fit for the 21st Century. Extras: New interview with author/historian Terry Crowdy John Mills Home Movie footage Monty's Double (1947) Behind the Scenes stills gallery
Alistair Sim's Scrooge is an all-time favourite Christmas family film and a genuine classic of British cinema. Scrooge is also the definitive big screen adaptation of Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol' one of the world's best loved Christmas stories
You know the story: Cinderella rides in a magical pumpkin to the ball, enchants the prince and flees at midnight. He finds her slipper and tracks her down, and they live happily ever after. But wait! In The Slipper and the Rose, it turns out there's more to the life of a prince than being charming. The king prefers to choose the prince's wife, one of proper social station who would provide a strong political alliance to ward off the kingdom's enemies. That's one of the twists in this 1976 British take on the classic fairy tale, one of a long line of musical versions. The disgruntled prince, who's as much of a focal point here as the lady with the footwear, is played by Richard Chamberlain, during the years when he was taking on the classics and had not yet been crowned king of the TV mini-series. He displays a pleasant voice opposite Gemma Craven as Cinderella, and veteran character actor Michael Hordern as the king leads the supporting ensemble. Add lavish sets and lush scenery (partially filmed in Austria), humour, fun choreography, and an Oscar-nominated score full of charming songs by Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman (veterans of such Disney movies as Mary Poppins and The Jungle Book, and who also co-wrote the script with director Bryan Forbes), and you have a grand, engaging family musical. The 143-minute running time and dreamy, deliberate pace might test the patience of antsy viewers, but The Slipper and the Rose's legion of fans wouldn't have it any other way. --David Horiuchi, Amazon.com
The 1967 Franco Zeffirelli film of The Taming of the Shrew had all the ingredients to make it a high point in Shakespearian cinema. In Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor it starred the most bankable couple in Hollywood history as the sparring leads in the Bard's quick-firing comic battle of the sexes; and in Zeffirelli, it had a director with a Shakespearian pedigree second to none. But the reality is that this is Burton's picture all the way. His Petruchio is a weighty performance of such intelligence that the whole film is thrown off-kilter whenever he is on screen and the other performers just can't keep up. Apart from Michael Hordern's wonderfully distracted Baptista, Burton is the only actor in total, effortless command of the language. Taylor's bosomy glamour and fiery spirit are ample compensations for her occasionally murderous treatment of Katharina's verse. Whether or not she is really tamed by the end is another matter: those legendary violet eyes suggest otherwise. Ultimately it's a rich, bawdy and colourful romp, with Burton at the peak of his powers. The DVD includes the theatrical trailer, a "making-of" featurette and filmographies. --Piers Ford
Scripted and starring Ronnie Barker Futtock's End makes its way to DVD for the first time! This 45-minute silent film eschews dialogue in favour of increasingly bizarre sound effects. The story features rude and rumbustious goings-on at a country mansion presided over by the monocled General Futtock - played by Barker himself.
Please wait. Loading...
This site uses cookies.
More details in our privacy policy