Norman Wisdom became an instant movie star with the release of Trouble in Store in 1953. Playing a character called Norman, he brought his familiar stage and television personality to the big screen as a young man with the ambition to become a window dresser in a major department store. Ever lovable victim of his own clumsiness, all Norman's efforts to improve himself result in chaos. That is, until he meets Sally (Lana Morris), the girl of his dreams. Then things turn disastrous. Costarring Margaret Rutherford, Trouble in Store introduced Wisdom's self-penned song which would become his theme, "Don't laugh at Me ('cause I'm a Fool)". The film became a massive box-office hit and won Wisdom a BAFTA Award. Very much of its time, admittedly, it's still highly entertaining. In 1956 the title of his latest film, Up in the World accurately described Norman Wisdom's career. This was the great British comedian's fourth hit in as many years, this time finding himself employed as window cleaner to Lady Banderville (Ambrosine Phillpotts). Apart from having hundreds of windows to polish, things would be going fine for Norman if it weren't for the endless practical jokes played by Lady Banderville's son, Sir Reginald (Michael Caridia). However, when the irritating Reggie is kidnapped, Norman has the chance to prove himself a hero, and it just might impress his beautiful costar Maureen Swanson. By now Wisdom was set on a winning formula, working with much the same team as on his three previous smashes, including Jerry Desmonde as Major Willoughby, who had starred in both Trouble in Store (1953) and Man of the Moment (1955). --Gary S Dalkin
Lt. Joe Clemons has been given the order: take Pork Chop Hill. If it's taken by the Chinese US negotiators at the Panmunjom peace conference would lose face with their Communist adversaries - an unthinkable outcome. And so Clemons leads his troops into combat to fight for an objective that they know to be strategically pointless. But they also know that an order is an order. They must take Pork Chop Hill or die trying...
A genuine genre classic whose impact remains undimmed either by time, increasingly dire sequels, or Tim Burton's lacklustre 2001 "reimagining", the original Planet of the Apes richly deserves this 35th Anniversary special edition. Here you'll find a glorious anamorphic presentation of Franklin J Schaffner's painterly CinemaScope framing, accompanied by a new DTS 5.1 soundtrack that makes the movie seem even more vibrant and immediate than ever before. On disc one the film is accompanied by two audio commentaries: one from composer Jerry Goldsmith, and another with Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Natalie Trundy and make-up artist John Chambers. These are reasonably interesting, though with a few too many gaps. Better is Eric Greene's exhaustive text commentary. Better still are the features on the second disc. Disc two contains the exhaustive two-hour Behind the Planet of the Apes documentary (also to be found in the six-disc box set) as well as a host of other behind-the-scenes nuggets for die-hard fans: dailies and outtakes, make-up tests and Roddy McDowall's home movies. There's some overlap between a 1967 NATO presentation of the movie hosted by Charlton Heston and other featurettes from 1968 and 1972. Sequel directors Don Taylor and J Lee Thompson are seen in action, and there are trailers, film reviews from 1968 and picture galleries. --Mark Walker
From acclaimed Black British filmmaker Horace Ove (Pressure 1975) comes this comedy of manners in which a West Indian cricket team from Brixton travel to a Suffolk village to play against the local team as the culmination of the village's 'Third World Week'. Ove subtly explores and undermines white and black stereotypes and succeeds in linking two familiar but strange cultures through the simple device of a sports game.
Seinfeld is widely regarded as one of the finest examples of American sitcoms, and this long-delayed box set goes a long way in demonstrating why. From the first episode of the first season, it hit the ground running with its collection of oddball New Yorkers: Theres stand-up comedian Jerry Seinfeld, who plays himself; Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), his pushy ex-girlfriend; his neurotic loser of a best friend George (Jason Alexander); and Jerrys wacky neighbour Kramer (Michael Richards). Co-written and co-created by Seinfeld and Larry David (who later went on to plumb greater depths of misanthropy with Curb Your Enthusiasm), it revolutionised American sitcoms with its cynical and mature comedy, and its ability to find comic gems in the most mundane situations (one classic episode is set entirely in a mall car-park). Seinfeld was, as all involved frequently admitted, a show about nothing. But this extras-laden collection--which features extensive cast and creator commentaries, deleted scenes, trivia tracks, outtakes, interviews and more--is most definitely something. --Ted Kord
The North of England has always enjoyed it's own very particular brand of comedy, best seen today in Coronation Street.80 years ago however Mancunian Studios produced feature films for the northern masses. Funny Up North tells the story of the Mancunian Studios, it's eccentric owner John E Blakely and it's cavalcade of stars including such household names as Arthur Askey, Jimmy Jewell, George Formby and the legendary Frank Randle. Hosted by Professor Chris Lee, the authority on Northern Cinema, Funny Up North takes you on a journey from it's humble beginnings to it's sad demise in the 1960's. It's reet good!
Norman Pitkin's ambition is to be a policeman. But he has to be content with washing police cars until the police realise that the only way to solve a spate of jewel thefts is to make use of Norman's uncanny resemblance to the chief suspect...
The Marx Brothers Chico, Groucho, Harpo and Zeppo are one of the cornerstones of American comedy. Starting out in vaudeville, they conquered Broadway and the big screen in their own inimitable style, at once innovative, irreverent, anarchic, physical, musical, ludicrous and hilarious. With the advent of the talkies', the Brothers signed to Paramount Pictures and brought their stage act to cinema audience. They made five films in five years, all of which are collected here: The Cocoanuts (1929), Animal Crackers (1930), Monkey Business (1931), Horse Feathers (1932) and one of the greatest comedies of all time, Duck Soup (1933). The Paramount era represents the Marx Brothers at their absolute finest, retaining all of the energy and controlled chaos of their stage shows. Plots are unimportant it's the gags, set-pieces and one-liners that matter: Why a duck?, Hello, I Must Be Going, Hooray for Captain Spaulding, That's the bunk!, Horse Feathers' Swordfish scene and classic mirror sequence in Duck Soup. LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS: High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations of all five features, transferred from original film elements by Universal Original 1.0 mono audio Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing Commentary on The Cocoanuts by film scholar Anthony Slide Commentary on Animal Crackers by film historian Jeffrey Vance Commentary on Monkey Business by Marx Brothers historian Robert S Bader and Bill Marx, son of Harpo Marx Commentary on Horse Feathers by film critic FX Feeney Commentary on Duck Soup by Bader and film critic Leonard Maltin The Marx Brothers: Hollywood's Kings of Chaos, a feature-length documentary containing interviews with Leonard Maltin, Dick Cavett and others Three excerpts from NBC's The Today Show featuring interviews with Harpo Marx, Groucho Marx and Bill Marx MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED! FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Perfect-bound book featuring new and archival writing on the films
Lost Episode Rediscovered After 55 Years And Available On DVD For The First Time Tunnel Of Fear is the twentieth episode of the first series of the 1960s cult British spy-fi television series The Avengers, starring Ian Hendry, Patrick Macnee and Ingrid Hafner and was broadcast by ABC Television on 5 August 1961. It's one of only three known complete season 1 episodes to have survived since the original broadcast. Lost for 55 years, the episode came to light in a private film collection in 2016 and was recovered by the British television preservation group Kaleidoscope. Now for the first time ever Avengers fans will be able to own the episode its entirety on DVD with a host of extra content. Harry Black, an escaped convict, bursts into Dr David Keel's surgery wounded. He claims to have been framed for a crime that he did not commit and begs the doctor not to hand him over to the police. Steed arrives and ascertains that Black has links to Southend-on-Sea which might well tie in with an investigation currently being undertaken by his department. They are aware that top government secrets are being leaked from a fun fair in Southend, and Black's story, if true, could possibly lead them to the source of the operation. Can Steed and Keel bring down the operation, prove Harry's innocence and get out of Southend with their lives? Features: Big Finish Audio Play Series 1 Reconstruction - Tunnel of Fear New Interview with John Dorney writer of the Big Finish episode Ulster TV interview: Ian Hendry (1962) Ulster TV interview: Patrick Macnee (1964) Reconstructions - Series 1 Slideshows
TV's favourite scarecrow comes to life again in this bumper collection of stories presented in a special package.
From the filmmakers behind Salesman (1968) and The Rolling Stones' Gimme Shelter (1969) the Maysles Brothers present another of their 'non-fiction features' this time an offbeat voyeuristic and absorbing insight into the lives of two eccentric and reclusive women: Edith Bouvier Beale and her daughter Edie. As aunt and cousin to the more famous Jackie Onassis 'Big Edie' and 'Little Edie' (as they became to be known) lived together in what had become a squalid mansion in the wealthy East Hampton area. What was once a grand summer residence had been reduced to a fortress of fleas feral cats and filth the gardens long gone to seed and Big Edie and Little Edie confined to just a few of the 28 rooms. For the previous twenty years they had perfected their mother/daughter act complete with song-and-dance routines. Her head mysteriously wrapped in scarves and towels Little Edie's modern dances punctuate her interpretations of life which primarily take the form of a litany of complaints against her mother. This routine seems to be old material lines well rehearsed through repeated use usually with Mrs. Beale as the foil together they invent a world with their house as a stage on which lifes disappointments and pleasures are recycled into riveting performances. This cult classic which has inspired a current Broadway show a centre page fashion spread in both Vogue and Harpers Bazaar and a forthcoming Hollywood 'remake' prompted the intervention of Jackie O. to save the couple from a hazardous health eviction order and any further `embarrassment for the family.
Pressure (1976):Set in 1970s London Pressure follows the story of Tony the son of West Indian immigrants as he struggles to find a sense of belonging and social acceptance. Baldwin's Nigger (1968): James Baldwin accompanied by civil rights activist Dick Gregory discusses the issues surrounding black identity.
Sam Marlowe travels to the States with the intention of convincing his aunt to let him rent out her summer house in England. But when the aunt discovers that Eustace Sam's cousin is planning to secretly marry she sends them back to England. On the return trip Sam meets and falls for Eustace's ex-fiancee Billie with hilarious results. Adapted from the P.G. Wodehouse novel.
Desmond's followes the exploits of Peckham barber shop proprietor Desmond Ambrose his wife Shirley three children and an assortment of locals and regulars.
All six episodes from the second series of the popular sci-fi comedy. In 'Kryten' the crew of Red Dwarf answer a distress call from three woman survivors of a crashed spaceship, only to discover their long-dead bodies being waited on by android butler Kryten (David Ross). 'Better Than Life' finds the crew living out their fantasies with a virtual reality computer game. 'Thanks for the Memory' sees Lister (Craig Charles), Cat (Danny John-Jules) and Rimmer (Chris Barrie) lose all memory of the preceding four days. 'Stasis Leak' has the crew discover a doorway to the past, enabling Lister to romance Kochanski (C.P. Grogan) and Rimmer to warn himself about the future. 'Queeg' sees Holly (Norman Lovett) replaced by a much stricter back-up computer. Finally, in 'Parallel Universe', a faster-than-light drive propels the crew into a universe where they meet their female counterparts.
On hearing that a village fete is being held Worzel pays a visit and meets a forlorn Aunt Sally who is in fear of being sold to tourists by grumpy owner Mr Shepherd. The saddened scarecrow agrees to swap clothes so that she might escape...
Meet Big and Little Edie Beale: mother and daughter, high-society dropouts, and reclusive cousins of Jackie Onassis. The two manage to thrive together amid the decay and disorder of their East Hampton, New York mansion, making for an eerily ramshackle echo of the American Camelot. An impossibly intimate portrait, this 1976 documentary by Albert and David Maysles, codirected by Ellen Hovde and Muffie Meyer, quickly became a cult classic and established Little Edie as a fashion icon and philosopher queen. This special edition also features the 2006 follow-up to the film, The Beales of Grey Gardens, constructed from hours of extra footage in the filmmakers' vaults.
Set against the Notting Hill race riots of the late 1950's The Wind Of Change is a gripping kitchen-sink drama focusing on the relationship between a father (Donald Pleasence) a world-weary yet liberal man who spends all his spare time looking after his rabbits and his rebellious unemployed son Frank (Johnny Briggs). Frank is bigoted racist who believes the black immigrants are taking all the British jobs though he doesn't seem too concerned in trying to get one himself. When Frank and his gang of teddy boys beat up a black man who later dies of his injuries he must face the consequence of his actions...
Another successful collaboration between British screen sweetheart Anna Neagle and her director-producer husband Herbert Wilcox My Teenage Daughter stars Neagle as a woman who widowed during the War struggles to keep her infatuated seventeen-year-old daughter out of trouble; Sylvia Syms is the rebellious young woman whose heart defiantly rules her head. Boasting a first-class supporting cast this 1956 drama is featured here in a brand-new transfer from the original film elements in its as-exhibited theatrical aspect ratio. Magazine editor Valerie Carr lives in London with her two daughters – Jan aged seventeen and Poppet thirteen. When Jan is invited to a party at the Savoy she meets dashing young Tony Ward Black – mad about jive owner of a Bentley and supposedly running through a legacy. Attracted to the daring young man she rejects Mark a young farmer who is in love with her. But it soon becomes apparent to everyone but Jan that neither Tony’s fortune – nor even his name – may be his own and her association with him will lead her into delinquency and danger... Special Features: Image Gallery Original Script PDF
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