Here's how director Sam Peckinpah described his motivation behind The Wild Bunch at the time of the film's 1969 release: "I was trying to tell a simple story about bad men in changing times. The Wild Bunch is simply what happens when killers go to Mexico. The strange thing is you feel a great sense of loss when these killers reach the end of the line." All of these statements are true, but they don't begin to cover the impact that Peckinpah's film had on the evolution of American movies. Now the film is most widely recognized as a milestone event in the escalation of screen violence, but that's a label of limited perspective. Of course, Peckinpah's bloody climactic gunfight became a masterfully directed, photographed, and edited ballet of graphic violence that transcended the conventional Western and moved into a slow-motion realm of pure cinematic intensity. But the film--surely one of the greatest Westerns ever made--is also a richly thematic tale of, as Peckinpah said, "bad men in changing times." The year is 1913 and the fading band of thieves known as the Wild Bunch (led by William Holden as Pike) decide to pull one last job before retirement. But an ambush foils their plans, and Peckinpah's film becomes an epic yet intimate tale of betrayed loyalties, tenacious rivalry, and the bunch's dogged determination to maintain their fading code of honor among thieves. The 144-minute director's cut enhances the theme of male bonding that recurs in many of Peckinpah's films, restoring deleted scenes to deepen the viewer's understanding of the friendship turned rivalry between Pike and his former friend Deke Thornton (Robert Ryan), who now leads a posse in pursuit of the bunch, a dimension that adds resonance to an already classic American film. The Wild Bunch is a masterpiece that should not be defined strictly in terms of its violence, but as a story of mythic proportion, brimming with rich characters and dialogue and the bittersweet irony of outlaw traditions on the wane. --Jeff Shannon
Get mindless for awhile with this 1997 disaster flick, starring the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles as a funky place for lava to spew, plus Tommy Lee Jones and Anne Heche as the brave souls who know how to shut off the spout. Director Mick Jackson (The Bodyguard) wastes no time getting to the good stuff--it's happening in Volcano even before opening credits are over--and neither should anyone in the mood for technical efficiency without the burden of art. --Tom Keogh
Sheriff John Higgins quits and goes into prospecting after he thinks he has killed his best friend in shooting it out with robbers...
Chuck Norris plays Det. Eddie Cusack a tough Chicago cop who battles two opposing mob gangs in this fast-paced police actioner. Norris is asked to rectify the situation when the daughter of an underworld Don is used as a pawn in an escalating drug war. Complete with dazzling martial arts action and incredible stunts!
Although the confectionary does make an appearance at the end of the film, Turkish Delight, as a title, may be interpreted in a number of ways. This violent tale of love is told in flashback from the perspective of bohemian artist Eric Vonk (Rutger Hauer, collaborating for the first time with director Paul Verhoeven). Opening on a brutal attack and then a succession of one-night stands, it seems at first that the guy's a complete jerk. Then a sudden lurch backwards two years reveals the motivations for both his dreams and behaviour, as well as the subject of the photos he spends his time pining for. He meets Olga (a fantastic Monique Van De Ven) as the result of a car accident. But their tempestuous relationship is shaken by many peculiar events: a surreal wedding ceremony, unveiling a statue to the Queen and the death of Olga's father. The real problem is Olga herself, however, which leads to a shock ending many have compared to Love Story. Somewhat dated now, and made long before his move to Hollywood, Turkish Delight is nonetheless unmistakably a product of the now-familiar Verhoeven style. The film's language and images still have the power to shock or offend, and we certainly get to see far too much of Hauer's private parts, even though some amazing visuals (mirrored candles, inspired beach art and a nightmarish red Chinese restaurant) are some compensation. --Paul Tonks
One of the great late period films by Sacha Guitry - the total auteur who delighted (and scandalised) the French public and inspired the French New Wave as a model for authorship as director-writer-star of screen and stage alike. In every one of his pictures (and almost every one served as a rueful examination of the war between the sexes), Guitry sculpted by way of a rapier wit - one might say by way of the Guitry touch - some of the most sophisticated black comedies ever conceived... and La Poison [Poison] is one of his blackest. Michel Simon plays Paul Braconnier, a man with designs on murdering his wife Blandine (Germaine Reuver) - a woman with similar designs on her husband. When Braconnier visits Paris to consult with a lawyer about the perfect way of killing a spouse - that is, the way in which he can get away with it - an acid comedy unfolds that reaches its peak in a courtroom scene for the ages. From the moment of Guitry's trademark introduction of his principals in the opening credits, and on through the brilliant performance by national treasure Michel Simon (of Renoir's Boudu sauve des eaux and Vigo's L'Atalante, to mention only two high-water marks), here is fitting indication of why Guitry is considered by many the Gallic equal of Ernst Lubitsch. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to introduce Sacha Guitry into the catalogue with La Poison for the first time on video in the UK in a dazzling new Gaumont restoration. Special Features: New HD restoration of the film, presented in 1080p on the Blu-ray Newly translated optional subtitles Substantial booklet containing writing on the film, vintage excerpts, and rare archival imagery
Scratch is the definitive film that explores the world of the hip-hop DJ. From the birth of hip-hop when pioneering DJs began extending breaks on their party records (which helped inspire break dancing & rap) to the invention of scratching and 'beat-juggling' vinyl to its recent explosion as a musical movement called 'turntablism' it's a story of unknown underdogs and serious virtuosos who are radically changing the way we hear play and create music.Here are some of the worlds best DJs those famous for solo scratching competing in international DJ battles playing for rap artists or just rocking parties with the most insane records ever dug up. Check out dynamic performances and interviews with DJs Qbert Z-Trip Mix Master Mike (of the Beastie Boys) Rob Swift and X-ecutioners Cut Chemist & NuMark (of Jurassic 5) DJ Craze DJ Shadow The Bullet Proof Space Travellers Babu (of Dilated Peoples) DJ Krush DJ Premier (Gang Starr) and others along with 'old-school' innovators like Afrika Bambaataa and Grand Wizzard Theodore.
This is the thrilling story of a Federal Agent whose pursuit of an escaped witness brings him directly in contact with a highway haunted by a treacherous past. Set in the desert on a condemned stretch of road just off the historic Route 66. Darkly humurous and suspenseful 'Route 666' is a uniquely macabre horror film where a desert highway's legacy of evil meets the present in a gory confrontation.
Buffalo Bill (Paul Newman) plans to put on his own Wild West sideshow and Chief Sitting Bull has agreed to appear in it. However Sitting Bull has his own hidden agenda involving the President and General Custer...
One of the great late period films by Sacha Guitry - the total auteur who delighted (and scandalised) the French public and inspired the French New Wave as a model for authorship as director-writer-star of screen and stage alike. In every one of his pictures (and almost every one served as a rueful examination of the war between the sexes), Guitry sculpted by way of a rapier wit - one might say by way of the Guitry touch - some of the most sophisticated black comedies ever conceived... and La Poison [Poison] is one of his blackest. Michel Simon plays Paul Braconnier, a man with designs on murdering his wife Blandine (Germaine Reuver) - a woman with similar designs on her husband. When Braconnier visits Paris to consult with a lawyer about the perfect way of killing a spouse - that is, the way in which he can get away with it - an acid comedy unfolds that reaches its peak in a courtroom scene for the ages. From the moment of Guitry's trademark introduction of his principals in the opening credits, and on through the brilliant performance by national treasure Michel Simon (of Renoir's Boudu sauve des eaux and Vigo's L'Atalante, to mention only two high-water marks), here is fitting indication of why Guitry is considered by many the Gallic equal of Ernst Lubitsch. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to introduce Sacha Guitry into the catalogue with La Poison for the first time on video in the UK in a dazzling new Gaumont restoration. Special Features: Newly translated optional subtitles Substantial booklet containing writing on the film, vintage excerpts, and rare archival imagery
Into the idyllic town of Brewster comes Whiley Pritcher an intense and enigmatic stranger who begins a public access show that asks the question 'What's wrong with Brewster?' The question soon has neighbour turning on neighbour and before long there are some that are ready to confide in Whiley and reveal the town's darker secrets. But is it wise to talk to strangers?
Sheriff John Higgins quits and goes into prospecting after he thinks he has killed his best friend in shooting it out with robbers...
Into the idyllic town of Brewster comes Whiley Pritcher an intense and enigmatic stranger who begins a public access show that asks the question What's wrong with Brewster? The question soon has neighbour turning on neighbour and before long there are some that are ready to confide in Whiley and reveal the town's darker secrets. But is it wise to talk to strangers? A winner at the Sundance Film Festival 'Public Access' was the debut film of director Bryan Singer.
Scarface: In the spring of 1980 the port at Mariel Harbour was opened and thousands set sail for the United States. They came in search of the American Dream. One of them found it on the sun-washed avenues of Miami... wealth power and passion beyond his wildest dreams. He was Tony Montana. The world will remember him by another name - Scarface! Al Pacino gives an unforgettable performance as Tony Montana one of the most ruthless gangsters ever depicted on film in this gripping crime epic inspired by the 1932 classic of the same title. Casino: Robert De Niro Sharon Stone and Joe Pesci star in Director Martin Scorsese's riveting look at how blind ambition white-hot passion and 24-carat greed toppled an empire. Las Vegas in 1973 is the setting for this fact-based story about the Mob's multi-million dollar casino operation - where fortunes and lives were made and lost with a roll of the dice...
Two times DMC world champion Q.Bert is the DJs' DJ the one innovator that brought new techniques leads the revolution in the deejaying and turntable world. Q.Bert was simply the first DJ to transform the one & twos into a real musical instrument and to bring scratching to the forefront. On this DVD you'll witness Q.Bert's first live DJ set in Paris an unforgettable musical journey. You'll also discover Q.Bert's turntable the QFO. The best moments of this unique session are on
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