Tony Palmer's epic film was made in 1982/3 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Wagner's death. Filmed in 200 locations throughout Europe, many where the actual historical events took place, with a team from 19 different countries, the entire production was completed in less than a year. Sadly Wagner was to be Richard Burton's last major role, but the stellar cast - including Laurence Oliver, John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson, Vanessa Redgrave, Lszl Gllfi, Gemma Craven, Ekkehardt Schall, Richard Pasco, Marthe Keller, Gabriel Byrne, Franco Nero, Ronald Pickup, Corin Redgrave, Cyril Cusack, Prunella Scales, Andrew Cruickshank, Joan Greenwood, Liza Goddard, Bill Fraser, Arthur Lowe, Joan Plowright, with composer Sir William Walton in a cameo role - assembled partly because of him.Only now is the film being released on DVD as its director Tony Palmer wishes it to be viewed. Previously it's been seen in badly edited versions and been made available on DVD (reproduced from poor-quality VHSs) with sub-standard pictures and sound. Finally, here is the restored presentation as it was originally edited by Tony Palmer in its complete 7 hours 46 minutes duration, issued in wide-screen, re-mastered in Hi-Definition. The music, performed by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Sir Georg Solti with singers including Dame Gwyneth Jones and Peter Hofmann, has never sounded better, and the astonishing images of cameramen Vittorio Storaro and Nic Knowland have never looked better.The script by Charles Wood remains a miracle of historical compression and accuracy, given that Wagner himself was an appalling fantasist and the truth often hard to ascertain. And Richard Burton, who towers above the production, reminds us what a great actor he was. This is a fitting tribute to his - and to Wagner's - genius.
When it was released in 1977 The Exorcist II: The Heretic was virtually laughed off the screen. A much-anticipated sequel to the Oscar-winning original, it turned out to be an unintentionally hilarious mishmash and received such terrible reviews that director John Boorman yanked it out of cinemas. He reedited it, cutting eight minutes in hopes of getting the story (written by William Goodhart) to the point of coherency--but to no avail. The film remains a kind of reverse gold standard for sequels. It's still a ridiculously overacted, although at times visually haunting, movie. Richard Burton stars as a troubled priest (something of a speciality of his) who is brought in to follow up on the case of Linda Blair, who is institutionalised, still troubled by her encounter with the devil (who wouldn't be?). By the time they confront Satan's minion in the final struggle, you'll be rooting for evil to win. --Marshall Fine
Even now Richard Wagner (1813-83) remains an enigma. His was a rags-to-riches saga with a fairy tale ending. He was loved yet hated admired yet despised a villain yet a hero who was worshipped a man whose fame and exploits were the gossip of Europe. Above all he was an incurable romantic whose love affair with Liszt's illegitimate daughter rivals that of Romeo and Juliet in excitement and drama. But he was also a dangerous political revolutionary whose influence penetrated the
In 1978 Jeff Wayne composed and produced one of the most groundbreaking and best-selling musical works of all time. In 2006 after much anticipation Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of The Worlds was brought to the stage for the first time playing to sold-out arenas across the UK. The War of The Worlds - Live is a spectacular mix of live music theatre multi-media and visual arts on a grand scale. It combines the brilliance of the original performers including Jeff Wayne Justin Hayward Chris Thompson and even the late Richard Burton (In Sight and Sound) along with a brand new cast the 10-piece Black Smoke Band the 48-piece ULLAdubULLA Strings and an unforgettable fully operating 30ft Martian Fighting Machine!
In 1978 Jeff Wayne composed and produced one of the most groundbreaking and best-selling musical works of all time. In 2006 after much anticipation Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of The Worlds was brought to the stage for the first time playing to sold-out arenas across the UK. The War of The Worlds - Live is a spectacular mix of live music theatre multi-media and visual arts on a grand scale. It combines the brilliance of the original performers including Jeff Wayne Justin Hayward Chris Thompson and even the late Richard Burton (In Sight and Sound) along with a brand new cast the 10-piece Black Smoke Band the 48-piece ULLAdubULLA Strings and an unforgettable fully operating 30ft Martian Fighting Machine!
In 1978 Jeff Wayne composed and produced one of the most groundbreaking and best-selling musical works of all time. In 2006 after much anticipation Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of The Worlds was brought to the stage for the first time playing to sold-out arenas across the UK. The War of The Worlds - Live is a spectacular mix of live music theatre multi-media and visual arts on a grand scale. It combines the brilliance of the original performers including Jeff Wayne Justin Hayward Chris Thompson and even the late Richard Burton (In Sight and Sound) along with a brand new cast the 10-piece Black Smoke Band the 48-piece ULLAdubULLA Strings and an unforgettable fully operating 30ft Martian Fighting Machine!
Possibly the most alluring mysterious and powerful woman of all time Cleopatra (Elizabeth Taylor) changed the course of history when two of the most powerful men in Rome fell in love with her. Rex Harrison is Julius Caesar who wins the Egyptian throne for Cleopatra marries her and provides her with a child Caesarion. Upon returning to his native country Caesar is crowned Dictator of Rome but his desperate desire for even greater power causes a worried Roman Senate to fatally conspire against him on the Ides of March.
Film Legends Richard Burton ( Where Eagles Dare Cleopatra) Roger Moore ( James Bond the Spy who Loved Me) and Richard Harris ( Gladiator Unforgiven) lead 'The Wild Geese' a group of crack mercenaries wholand in a remote and hostile corner of Africa to free the popular leader of the resistance from a heavily guarded prison. However sinister forces in the corridors of power have done a deal with the corrupt government leaving the mercenaries stranded their escape route cut off. Forced to flee across treacherous terrain they battle the marauding armies who will stop at nothing to prevent them completing their mission.
The Desert Commando Raid They Wiped Off the Record Books! A Word War II drama starring Richard Burton (Academy Award nominee for Best Actor Equus 1977 and Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf? 1966) and Curt Jurgens (The Spy Who Love Me) as Captain Leith and Major Brand a pair of British Army officers assigned to execute a daring commando raid on the Libyan stronghold of General Rommel. Even before the mission begins the tension between the two is evident.
Three all time classic war films on this fantastic boxed set featuring the screen presence of Clint Eastwood Richard Burton Donald Sutherland and Telly Savalas. Where Eagles Dare: The mission is clear. Get in. Get the general. Get out. Commandos charged with freeing a U.S. general from an Alpine fortress should also be told to trust nothing - including the search-and-rescue orders just issued. Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood go Where Eagles Dare in this twisty World War
At a Catholic boys' school, domineering disciplinarian Father Goddard (Richard Burton, Look Back in Anger, The Spy Who Came In from the Cold) rules over his pupils with an iron hand. When one of his teenage charges confesses to murder, the dogmatic but deeply repressed Goddard finds his faith challenged and his life spiralling dangerously out of control. Also starring Billy Connolly (in his first feature-film role), Dominic Guard (The Go-Between, Picnic at Hanging Rock), Kes star Dai Bradley, and the inimitable Brian Glover (Kes, Jabberwocky, Alien3), and written by the great Anthony Shaffer (The Wicker Man, Sleuth), Absolution is one of British cinema's most underrated chillers, not least for a towering central performance by Burton. Product Features 2K restoration Original mono audio Alternative presentations of the main feature: the original 1978 Theatrical Version and the 2018 Director's Cut Audio commentary with Kevin Lyons, editor of The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Film and Television, on the original theatrical version The Devil to Pay (2018, 12 mins): new and exclusive interview with director Anthony Page in which he reflects on the production of Absolution Them and Us (2018, 13 mins): new and exclusive interview with actor Dominic Guard Cutting the Cloth (2018, 9 mins): new and exclusive interview with costume designer Anne Gainsford Original theatrical trailer Stills and posters gallery Press materials gallery New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Based on the best-selling novel by Daphne du Maurier (author of the peerless Rebecca), My Cousin Rachel (1952) weaves an eerie tale of Gothic romance, set against the backdrop of the wild, rock-ribbed Cornish coast. Richard Burton, in his first American film role, stars as an anguished young Englishman, torn between dark suspicion of and an uncontrollable passion for his guardian's widow, the alluring and mysterious Rachel (Olivia de Havilland). With atmospheric direction by Henry Koster (The Robe) and a darkly romantic score by Franz Waxman (Sunset Boulevard), My Cousin Rachel is a seductive entry in the annals of cinematic ambiguity.
This outstanding drama traces the turbulent life of a seaman brutalised by a life of hard work and hard drinking and the challenges facing the three children he abandons as they struggle to make their way in Depression-era Liverpool. Featuring powerful performances from Robert Newton Susan Shaw Kathleen Harrison and a young Richard Burton – appearing here in only his third film – Waterfront is presented in a brand-new transfer from the original film elements in its as-exhibited theatrical aspect ratio. When ship's fireman Peter McCabe walks out on his long-suffering wife he leaves her impoverished with two young daughters and a boy born soon after his departure. After an absence of fourteen years McCabe returns sacked and humiliated trailing trouble in his wake... Bonus Features: Image Gallery Original Pressbook PDF
This outstanding drama traces the turbulent life of a seaman brutalised by a life of hard work and hard drinking and the challenges facing the three children he abandons as they struggle to make their way in Depression-era Liverpool. Featuring powerful performances from Robert Newton Susan Shaw Kathleen Harrison and a young Richard Burton – appearing here in only his third film – Waterfront is presented in a brand-new transfer from the original film elements in its as-exhibited theatrical aspect ratio. When ship's fireman Peter McCabe walks out on his long-suffering wife he leaves her impoverished with two young daughters and a boy born soon after his departure. After an absence of fourteen years McCabe returns sacked and humiliated trailing trouble in his wake... Bonus Features: Image Gallery Original Pressbook PDF
In The Desert Ratshis second Hollywood role--between Oscar-nominated turns in My Cousin Rachel and The Robe--Richard Burton stars as a Scottish commando put in charge of a battalion of the Ninth Australian Division defending Tobruk. The Aussies don't like him, and with a year of grim North African duty already under his belt, he's not too crazy about his new responsibilities either. The outfit is charged with staving off the battering assaults of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel for two months to give the British Army time to regroup in Cairo and prepare for a counterattack. In the end, the "Desert Rats" play hell with the Desert Fox for 242 days, during which they and their commander develop some mutual respect.This is a solid, workmanlike World War Two picture that, having been made in 1953 rather than 1943, can acknowledge a degree of eccentric humanity and soldierly professionalism in the enemy. Featured guest star James Mason reprises his Rommel from The Desert Fox (1951)--playing all his scenes in German except for a scene of ironical repartee with Burton. Another distinguished Brit, Robert Newton, gets co-star billing as a boozy, self-confessed coward who used to be Burton's schoolmaster once upon a time. However, a goodly number of Australians--including Chips Rafferty and Charles "Bud" Tingwell (still going strong nearly 50 years later in Paul Cox's wonderful Innocence)--rate as much screentime. Robert Wise directed, with a trimness that reminds us he started out as an editor, and Lucien Ballard provides the pungent black-and-white cinematography. --Richard T Jameson, Amazon.com
Their home is their battlefield. Their calling is war. Their only loyalty is to each other. They are the Wild Geese. While they fight their mission in Africa sinister forces in the corridors of power are working to seal their fate.
At a Catholic boys' school, domineering disciplinarian Father Goddard (Richard Burton, Look Back in Anger, The Spy Who Came In from the Cold) rules over his pupils with an iron hand. When one of his teenage charges confesses to murder, the dogmatic but deeply repressed Goddard finds his faith challenged and his life spiralling dangerously out of control. Also starring Billy Connolly (in his first feature-film role), Dominic Guard (The Go-Between, The Picnic at Hanging Rock) Kes star Dai Bradley, and the inimitable Brian Glover (Kes, Jabberwocky, Alien 3), and written by the great Anthony Shaffer (The Wicker Man, Sleuth), Absolution is one of British cinema's most underrated chillers, not least for a towering central performance by Burton. Special Features: High Definition remaster Original mono audio Audio commentary with film historian Kevin Lyons, editor of The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Film and Television Interview with director Anthony Page (2018): a new interview with the great theatre, film and television director Interview with actor Dominic Guard (2018): a new interview with the young star of the film Original theatrical trailer Image gallery: promotional photography and publicity material New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Neil Sinyard, an overview of contemporary critical responses, historic articles, and film credits UK premiere on Blu-ray Limited Edition of 3,000 copies
From John Boorman, the director of Point Blank and Deliverance, comes Exorcist II: The Heretic, a visionary metaphysical thriller that confounded audience expectations by delivering something unique and entirely unexpected. It has been four years since the exorcism that saved the life of Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair) and caused the deaths of Lankester Merrin (Max Von Sydow) and Damien Karras, the priests who helped her. Regan remembers nothing, but her therapist Dr Tuskin (Louise Fletcher) believes those memories are simply repressed and waiting. Meanwhile, Father Philip Lamont (Richard Burton) - his own faith shaken by a failed exorcism - is tasked by the Vatican with investigating Father Merrin, who faces posthumous charges of heresy for his controversial writings. His investigation will lead him to Africa, New York and Georgetown as he and Regan are drawn together in a spiritual battle that encircles the globe. With an all-star cast, sublime cinematography, and a standout score from legendary composer Ennio Morricone, Exorcist II: The Heretic is a daring vision, packed with the kind of bold ideas and extraordinary images that Boorman would also explore in Zardoz and Excalibur. Forget what you think you know... LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS -High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentations of the 118-minute Original Premiere Version and the 103-minute International Version-Original lossless mono audio-Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing-Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Peter Savieri-Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing by film critics Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Glenn Kenny and Matt Rogerson, plus an archival interview with cinematographer William Fraker DISC ONE - ORIGINAL PREMIERE VERSION -New commentary by film historian Lee Gambin and filmmaker David Kittredge, director of the forthcoming feature-length Exorcist II documentary, Heretics-New audio commentary by screenwriter and author Kelly Goodner and film historian Jim Hemphill-Archive audio commentary with director John Boorman-Archive audio commentary with special consultant Scott Michael Bosco-It's Okay, He's Gone, a new visual essay by film critics BJ and Harmony Colangelo-What Does She Remember?, an archive interview with actress with Linda Blair-Archive interview with editor Tom Priestley-Theatrical trailer-Teaser trailer-Extensive image galleries DISC TWO - INTERNATIONAL VERSION -Archive audio commentary by film critic Mike White of The Projection Booth podcast-Theatrical trailer
The peaceful village of Dolwyn is known for its friendly folk and its simple ways. But this idyllic retreat in North Wales is about to be thrown into utter turmoil thanks to the arrival of a ruthless water company. Due to geological difficulties the only way to complete their planned reservoir is to flood the village of Dolwyn. The campaign is lead by an embittered local who has returned from the big city and is intent on destroying the place he once called home. Are the village residents capable of fighting the industrialists and saving their home? Or is this truly the last days of Dolwyn? Written and directed by Emlyn Williams (The Man Who Knew Too Much), this compelling and tragic British melodrama is known for being one of Richard Burton’s earliest roles on film.
The Longest Day, producer Darryl F Zanuck's epic account of June 6, 1944, is Hollywood's definitive D-Day movie. More modern accounts such as Saving Private Ryan and the mini-series Band of Brothers are more vividly realistic, but Zanuck's production is the only one to attempt the daunting task of covering that fateful day from all perspectives. From the German high command and front line officers to the French Resistance and all the key Allied participants, the screenplay by Cornelius Ryan, based on his own authoritative book, is as factually accurate a depiction of events as possible. Zanuck picked three different directors to handle the German, French and Allied sequences respectively and the result should have been a grittily realistic semi-documentary work of unparalleled authenticity. That it is not is due to the unfortunate decision to populate the movie with an apparently endless parade of stars: John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Robert Mitchum, Sean Connery and Kenneth Moore to name a few all pop up from time to time; while Roddy McDowall and Richard Burton, on leave from the set of Cleopatra, also get cameos. The end result is an uneasy mix of verisimilitude and Hollywood star-power. Add to that the need for every character to provide almost endless explanatory exposition and the film falls a little flat for too much of its running time. The set-piece battles are still spectacular, however, and if the landings on Omaha beach lack the graphic gore of Private Ryan they nonetheless show the sheer scale and audacity of the invasion. Despite its top-heavy cast, The Longest Day is still the best D-Day movie ever made.On the DVD: The black and white print is in excellent condition, as is the remixed Dolby 5.0. Made in 1969, the 50-minute supplementary documentary "D-Day Revisited" has producer Zanuck revisiting key locations in Normandy, chatting to the locals in rather stiff French and providing a personal narrative of the events of June 6, 1944 intercut with scenes from his film. The sight of the elderly Zanuck standing on Omaha Beach or beside the headstone of an unknown soldier is easily as poignant as the bookend scenes of Saving Private Ryan, but without the Spielbergian sentiment. --Mark Walker
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