Kelly's Heroes reunited Clint Eastwood with his Where Eagles Dare director Brian G Hutton, then added The Dirty Dozen star Telly Savalas in MGM's quest to turn WWII movie celluloid into box office gold three times running. The result, a sprawling adventure about a group of soldiers led by Kelly (Eastwood) on a private mission behind enemy lines to recover a cache of Nazi treasure, echoed its predecessors but wasn't as successful. While Where Eagle's Dare was somewhat tongue in cheek, Kelly's Heroes went for a cynical comic amorality with many plot parallels to 1969's The Italian Job, written by screenwriter Troy Kennedy-Martin the year before. Donald Sutherland, who also starred in the big-screen M*A*S*H (1970), plays a hippie tank commander decades before his time, and it's hard not to see both movies as more commentaries on Vietnam than on the wars in which they were ostensibly set. Though it is intermittently very funny, and despite some expertly staged action, Kelly's Heroes never really convinces as satire or adventure. On the DVD: Kelly's Heroes is presented on disc in a 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer which is immaculate and taken from a virtually perfect master. The images are so clean and sharp they look brand new, outclassing many current theatrical prints. The three-channel sound concentrates most of the action to the centre speaker but does an excellent job of capturing the often turbulent soundtrack. The only real extra is the original trailer, presented anamorphically at 1.77:1.--Gary S Dalkin
Swashbuckling BBC TV adaptation of the classic Alexandre Dumas novel. The lavish BBC costume drama based_on Alexandre Dumas' classic novel set in the early 1800s sees Alan Badel leading_a distinguished cast in the greatest tale of betrayal, adventure, romance and revenge the world has ever known. Edmond Dantes is a brave and honest young man whose peaceful life and plans to marry the beautiful Mercedes are abruptly shattered when he is falsely accused by those jealous of his good fortune Unlawfully sentenced to the infamous island prison of Chateau D'If, Edmond is destined to spend the rest of his days behind bars. When Edmond audaciously escapes the island he sets off to find the treasure and exact revenge on those who wronged him. This 12-part BBC series is now widely considered to be one of the finest adaptations of the legendary story.
This is the pilot episode that launched the television series The Sweeney. Jack Regan is a good copper but his tough intuitive style is becoming unfashionable in a Scotland Yard seeking a new technocratic image. When a policeman is mysteriously murdered Regan breaks all the rules to find the killer but he finds there are men in the Flying Squad equally prepared to break him...
The complete first series of this hugely successful television series starring John Thaw as the legendary Jack Regan and Dennis Waterman as sidekick George Carter. This is first of four box sets featuring all 13 episodes from series 1. Most of these episodes are new to DVD and 2 episodes have never been previously released on any format. Episodes comprise: 1. Ringer 2. Jackpot 3. Thin Ice 4. Queen's Pawn 5. Jigsaw 6. Night Out 7. The Placer 8. Cover Story 9. Golden Boy 10. St
The story of Kate, a forty something headmistress in a small English village and her two single friends who get together every Monday to drink, eat chocolate and decide who is The Saddest Of The Week!
Lee and Dean are best mates who do everything together, but when Lee accidently gets engaged to Nikki can their friendship survive? Throw in a client that Lee is getting ˜builders perks' from, Dean's artistic awakening and colliding stag/hen do's and Lee and Dean will keep you laughing and crying in equal measure. Also featuring, Anna Morris, Camille Ucan and established talent including Ricky Grover, Perry Benson, Ramon Tikaram and Tom Bennett. Lee and Dean by Bingo Productions is written, produced and directed by new comedy team Mark O'Sullivan, Miles Chapman & Sam Underwood, with the expertise of executive producer Phil Clarke.
The series focuses on Detective Inspector Jack Regan and Detective Sergeant George Carter of the Flying Squad Scotland Yard as they do their best to thwart criminal activity in and around London. At the time the show was considered the most realistic portrayal yet of the Police in a television series helped by the fact that a real life ex-detective in the Flying Squad was an advisor to the show. Episodes include: 1. Messenger Of The Gods 2. Hard Men 3. Drag Act 4. Trust R
Anthony Hopkins stars as Pierre in this mammoth 20 part BBC production of Leo Tolstoy's truly epic novel War and Peace. Back in 1972 this was the most expensive serial that the BBC had ever commissioned.
The final thirteen episodes of Euston Films crime drama starring George Sewell Patrick Mower and Paul Eddington. One of ITV's top rated programmes in 1974 these episodes feature guest appearances from Dennis Waterman Peter Bowles Rula Lenska and Gareth Thomas in what was to be a forerunner to 'The Sweeney'. Episodes comprise: 1. Double Exposure 2. Catherine the Great 3. Jailbait 4. Stand and Deliver 5. Something About a Soldier 6. Rendezvous 7. Sounds Sinister 8. Entente
This action-drama series was both the forerunner to and inspiration of 'The Sweeney' aimed squarely at the same audience. Episodes comprise: 1. A Copper Called Craven 2. Round the Clock 3. Inquisition 4. Assault 5. Polonaise 6. Red Herring 7. Death By Drowning 8. All the King's Men 9. Threat 10. The Other Man 11. You Won't Remember Me 12. Hostage 13. Blueprint for Murder
Regan is classic TV drama that will have you saying, "they don't make 'em like that any more". This is the feature-length pilot to what became the long-running TV series The Sweeney, starring John Thaw and Dennis Waterman as the hard-as-nails Flying Squad double act. The story opens in a south London pub decorated in shades of brown so manifold that it forms a patina on the screen more normally associated with a painterly artist. It's the early 1970s, and Thaw's Inspector Regan is a lone ranger fighting on several fronts including the imminent modernisation of the police force, which he describes as a vision of "hundreds of little grey men working on top of each other, pots of tea and committees". The dialogue is clever, rich and funny. When Regan tries to persuade Carter to work with him on the case he growls: "Mary darling, I'm not trying to start an affair with you." The heroes have thinning hair and bad habits: Regan drinks whiskey in the middle of the day and constantly smokes, he's lost his wife, let down his daughter, and then loses his girlfriend (Maureen Lipman). The filming is wonderfully crafted--shots taken from odd angles, action that surprises and gritty London locations. "You're a copper. You belong like me out in the cold," Regan says to Carter in the last scene as they go off to get a drink out of licensed hours. Not the end, but the start of a beautiful relationship. --Joan Byrne
If you were watching TV in the mid-1970s chances are The Sweeney was one of the weekly highlights and these re-mastered collections will have you pining for a time when the only choice was brown or beige, and a monkey would buy you a lot more than a nice whistle. If, however, these episodes are your first taste of Detective Inspector Jack Regan (John Thaw) and Detective Sergeant George Carter (Dennis Waterman) of the Flying Squad, be warned that you will soon be telling friends to "Shut it!" and scouring the pages of Exchange and Mart for a mint-condition Ford Granada in Tawny Metallic (ironically the choice ride for slags in the show was the Jaguar MK2, later to become so closely associated with Thaw's more cerebral take on policework, Inspector Morse).First aired as 1974's pilot Regan, the show was produced by Thames Television subsidiary Euston Films and ran over four series and 53 episodes. Despite being given strict guidelines on speaking parts, locations and structure, writers were expected to produce scripts very quickly and individual episodes were filmed within 10 working days. Based on this frenetic schedule, the result was a choice parade of slags, blags and assorted lowlife, played out across fantastic London locations with a gritty humour that set the agenda for many of the small-screen cop shows to follow. Regan and Carter manage to fit up a few collars between pints, and even occasionally shed their nylon shirts and flares for a distinctly unromantic interlude between the sheets--brown of course.This first volume of Sweeney highlights starts in relatively sedate style with "Contact Breaker", written by Robert-Banks Stewart and featuring Warren Clarke (when he only had one chin) as wire-specialist Danny Keever. When parolee Keever seems bang-to-rights for a bank job Regan smells a rat and decides to have a closer look at other possibilities, including the ex-con's missus, Brenda (Coral Atkins). The second episode, "Night Out", is a much more feisty affair, despite nearly all the action being confined to the pub inhabited by Iris (Mitzi Rogers), an old flame of Regan's under suspicion for aiding and abetting the break-in going on in the bank next door. Troy Kennedy Martin's script throws in an Old West-style saloon fight, backstreet beatings and even one for old time's sake when Regan and Iris are forced play the waiting game together. "Well", as one character observes, "it is Saturday night"! --Steve Napleton
If you were watching TV in the mid-1970s chances are The Sweeney was one of the weekly highlights and these re-mastered collections will have you pining for a time when the only choice was brown or beige, and a monkey would buy you a lot more than a nice whistle. If, however, these episodes are your first taste of Detective Inspector Jack Regan (John Thaw) and Detective Sergeant George Carter (Dennis Waterman) of the Flying Squad, be warned that you will soon be telling friends to "Shut it!" and scouring the pages of Exchange and Mart for a mint-condition Ford Granada in "Tawny Metallic". (Ironically the choice ride for slags in the show was the Jaguar MK2 later to become so closely associated with Thaw's more cerebral take on police work, Inspector Morse.) First aired as 1974's pilot Regan, the show was produced by Thames Television subsidiary Euston Films and ran over four series and 53 episodes. Despite being given strict guidelines on speaking parts, locations and structure, writers were expected to produce scripts very quickly and individual episodes were filmed within 10 working days. Based on this frenetic schedule, the result was a choice parade of slags, blags and assorted lowlife, played out across fantastic London locations with a gritty humour that set the agenda for many of the small-screen cop shows to follow. Regan and Carter manage to fit up a few collars between pints, and even occasionally shed their nylon shirts and flares for a distinctly unromantic interlude between the sheets--brown of course. In "Stoppo Driver", when a gang of villains lose their own driver in a high-speed chase the logical replacement for their next blag is Cooney (Billy Murray), the squad's latest chauffeur who learnt everything he knew from Evel Knievel. Led by Barney ("a tough monkey, plenty of form") the thieves kidnap Cooney's bride on their honeymoon night and blackmail him to help them rob a bent card game. Colin Welland provides the hired muscle in the second episode, "Faces", as renegade ex-marine Tober, visiting the Smoke from Manchester to help a terrorist gang take down four quickfire scores to fund their operations. The Sweeney boys know a hard man when they see one ("he did Smoky Evans with a hatchet") and relish the opportunity for some fisticuffs between styrofoam cups of tea (like "liquid concrete"). Things get messy when a stuck-up intelligence officer tells them the final blag is being faked to rustle out his undercover grass and Regan is forced to stand down, despite having acted on their own pint-sized informant's tip-off: "but it was the dwarf"! --Steve Napleton
This action-drama series was both the forerunner to and inspiration of The Sweeney aimed squarely at the same audience. Episodes Comprise: 1. Troika 2. Smokescreen 3. The Promised Land 4. A Date With Leonidas 5. The Kazmirov Affair 6. A New Face 7. You Don't Exist 8. The Children Of Delight 9. Reliable Sources 10. Short Change 11. Exit A Diplomat 12. Care Of Her Majesty 13. Visitor From Moscow 14. Time Bomb
This action-drama series was both the forerunner to and inspiration of ""The Sweeney "" aimed squarely at the same audience. Episodes comprise: 1. Inside 2. Dinner Date 3. Depart In Peace 4. Miss International 5. Warrant For A Phoenix 6. The Pleasure Of Your Company 7. Not To Be Trusted 8. Borderline Case 9. Love From Doris 10. Sorry Is Just A Word 11. Error Of Judgement 12. Reported Missing 13. Fool's Mate
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