Despite making many other distinguished films in his long, wandering career, Francis Ford Coppola will always be known as the man who directed The Godfather trilogy, a series that has dominated and defined their creator in a way perhaps no other director can understand. Coppola has never been able to leave them alone, whether returning after 15 years to make a trilogy of the diptych, or re-editing the first two films into chronological order for a separate video release as The Godfather Saga. The films are an Italian-American Shakespearian cycle: they tell a tale of a vicious mobster and his extended personal and professional families (once the stuff of righteous moral comeuppance), and they dared to present themselves with an epic sweep and an unapologetically tragic tone. Murder, it turned out, was a serious business. The first film remains a towering achievement, brilliantly cast and conceived. The entry of Michael Corleone into the family business, the transition of power from his father, the ruthless dispatch of his enemies--all this is told with an assurance that is breathtaking to behold. And it turned out to be merely prologue; two years later The Godfather, Part II balanced Michael's ever-greater acquisition of power and influence during the fall of Cuba with the story of his father's own youthful rise from immigrant slums. The stakes were higher, the story's construction more elaborate and the isolated despair at the end wholly earned. (Has there ever been a cinematic performance greater than Al Pacino's Michael, so smart and ambitious, marching through the years into what he knows is his own doom with eyes open and hungry?) The Godfather, Part III was mostly written off as an attempted cash-in but it is a wholly worthy conclusion, less slow than autumnally patient and almost merciless in the way it brings Michael's past sins crashing down around him even as he tries to redeem himself. --Bruce Reid, Amazon.com On the DVD: Contained in a tasteful slipcase, the three movies come individually packaged, with the second instalment spread across two discs. The anamorphic transfers are acceptable without being spectacular, with Part 3 looking best of all. Francis Ford Coppola--obviously a DVD fan--provides an exhaustive and enthusiastic commentary for all three movies, although awkwardly these have to be accessed from the Set Up menu. The fifth bonus disc is a real goldmine: the major feature is a 70-minute documentary covering all three productions, which includes fascinating early screen-test footage. There's also a 1971 making-of featurette about the first instalment, plus several shorter pieces with Coppola, Mario Puzo and others talking about specific aspects of the series, including a treasurable recording of composer Nino Rota performing the famous theme. Another section contains all the Oscar-acceptance speeches and Coppola's introduction to the TV edit, plus a whole raft of additional scenes that were inserted in the 1977 re-edited version. Text pieces include a chronology, a Corleone family tree and biographies of cast and crew. Overall, this is a handsome and valuable package that does justice to these wonderful movies. --Mark Walker
Something of a genre homecoming Antoine Fuqua's latest film once again finds him delving into the gritty brutal realm of cops and crooks-as he did in Training Day. Tango is an undercover officer on a narcotics detail that forces him to choose between duty and friendship. Having been to hell and back he wants out but the powers that be won't let him quit. Family-man Sal is a detective tempted by greed and corruption. He can barely make ends meet and now his wife has an illness that threatens the life of their unborn twins. Eddie is nearing retirement age and has long since lost his dedication to his job as a cop. He wakes up every morning trying to come up with a reason to go on living...and he can't think of one. Fate brings the three men to the same Brooklyn housing project as each takes the law into his own hands. Crosscutting between multiple subplots Brooklyn's Finest unfolds violently and passionately as coiled constantly roving cinematography contributes a measure of unease to the underworld action.
Continue your Doctor Who archive with the ultimate collectors' set. Continue your Doctor Who archive with the ultimate collectors' set. Starring Sylvester McCoy in his first season as the Seventh Doctor, this set includes serials: Time And The Rani Paradise Towers Delta And The Bannermen Dragonfire All 14 episodes have been newly remastered alongside extensive and exclusive Special Features including: Extended Versions Of All Four Stories, Featuring Previously Un-Transmitted Material. Immersive 5.1 Surround Sound & Isolated Scores Brand New Documentaries - Including A Feature-Length Overview Of Season 24 - Here'S To The Future, Plus The Making Of Delta And The Bannermen. Rare Studio & Location Footage - Over 25 Hours Of Raw Material Never Seen Before, Including Behind-The-Scenes Footage From The Regeneration Scene. In Conversation - Matthew Sweet Interviews Sylvester Mccoy About His Life, Career, And Time As The Seventh Doctor. Behind The Sofa - Four New Episodes With Sylvester Mccoy, Bonnie Langford, Sophie Aldred, Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, Sarah Sutton, Colin Baker & Michael Jayston. The Doctor'S Table - Sylvester Mccoy, Bonnie Langford, Sophie Aldred And Clive Merrison Reminisce About The Making Of The Season. Rare Gems From The Archives - Hours Of Footage Covering The Promotion Of This Season Including Lots Of Previously Unreleased Material. An Audience With Lady Stevens - A Brand New Interview With Season 24 Actor And Rocky Horror Cult Figure Patricia Quinn. Blu-Ray Trailer - A Brand New Mini-Episode. Convention Footage Hd Photo Galleries - Including Many Previously Unseen Images. Info Text - Behind-The-Scenes Information And Trivia On Every Episode. Scripts, Costume Designs, Rare Bbc Production Files And Other Rarities From Our Archive And Lots More! The eight-disc box set also includes hours of special features previously released on DVD and Blu-Ray.
With a company of American soldiers trapped by the Germans during The Battle of the Bulge their captain is an abject psychopathic coward who has a record of exposing his men to danger. When his cowardice turns to sheer panic during combat it becomes necessary for the enlisted men to take things into their own hands...
Welcome to Delos, the high-tech Disneyland for adults that Michael Crichton created for Westworld, a nifty science fiction thriller from 1973 that also marked the popular novelist's feature-film directorial debut. The movie is so named because the vacationing buddies who travel to Delos (James Brolin, Richard Benjamin) choose Westworld as their destination (the other choices being Roman World and Medieval World), where they are free to indulge their movie-inspired fantasies of the Wild West). The place is populated by perfectly humanlike robots programmed and monitored to cater to every guest's fancy, from brothel beauties to black-hatted gunslingers (such as the villain played by Yul Brynner). But fun turns into abject horror when the robots--particularly Brynner's villain--begin to malfunction and Delos turns into an amusement park that's anything but amusing. Westworld has moments of camp and the look of a low-budget back-lot production, but two decades before Crichton revamped his idea to create Jurassic Park, this movie made the most of its interesting and exciting premise. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com
Twins: An ambitious genetic experiment takes the wrong turn when two twins (Danny De Vito and Arnold Schwarzenegger) - who look nothing alike - are born and then separated. Years later the unlikely siblings meet: Julius a highly educated but sheltered giant with a big heart and Vincent a pint-sized hustler with an insatiable lust for women and money. With girl friends in tow and a hitman on their tail the new-found brothers set off on a wild cross-country misadventure to find their mother but end up finding out more about themselves and each other... (Dir. Ivan Reitman 1988) Kindergarten Cop: Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as an undercover cop posing as a kindergarten teacher in order to catch a dangerous criminal. Once he wrangles his young charges as well as the affections of a beautiful teacher (Penelope Ann Miller) he prepares for a final showdown with his intended prey in this ""Totally Enjoyable"" (People Magazine) action-comedy from director Ivan Reitman! (Dir. Ivan Reitman 1990) True Lies: Arnold Schwarzenegger is special agent Harry Tasker a top spy in the ultra-secret Omega Sector although to his wife Helen he's just a boring computer salesman. When Harry's two lives unexpectedly collide both he and Helen find themselves in the clutches of international terrorists fighting to save not only their marriage but their lives. Jammed with incredible special effects 'True Lies' is an exhilarating mix of non-stop action and romantic comedy. (Dir. James Cameron 1994)
Two of the most popular stars in screen history are brought together for the first time in the follow up to True Grit. The film returns John Wayne to the role of the rapscallion eye patched whiskey guzzling Deputy Marshall that won him an Academy Award. Katharine Hepburn is prim Eula Goodnight a Bible thumping missionary who teams up with the gun fighter to avenge the death of her father. While in pursuit of the outlaws a warm rapport develops between the rough n' tumble lawman and the flirty reverend's daughter.
Angela Gheorghiu's stunning debut as Violetta from the Royal Opera House Covent Garden it was this performance that turned the Romanian soprano into an international sensation. The occasion also marked Sir George Solti's first performances of Verdi's ever-popular tragedy. World-class performances by opera's finest - Frank Lopardo (Alfredo) Leo Nucci (Germont) Leah-Marian Jones (Flora) and Gillian Knight (Annina). With Richard Eyre's dramatic staging Bob Crowley's elegant strik
ID1 - John, an ambitious young copper, is sent undercover into the hardcore football gangs to track down the generals' - the shadowy figures who orchestrate the violence. Gradually, the hard drinking, hard fighting macho world proves irresistible and John slowly finds himself turning into one of the thugs he has been sent to destroy. ID2 - 20 years on from the ferocious and deeply upsetting original fi lm a young British Asian police officer is going deep undercover into the heart of the Shadwell FC firm. The team's resurgent hooligan element are fired up by a takeover from a Russian billionaire and adventures into Europe, whilst plans to build a new mosque in the shadow of Shadwell's ground create an explosive environment for Mo to defuse. As football and political violence create a perfect storm of social unrest this undercover copper is faced with the question of who he really is and where he belongs. Bonus: ID2 - Making Of Deleted Scenes
Released in 1977, Close Encounters of the Third Kind was that year's cerebral alternative to Star Wars. It's arguably the archetypal Spielberg film, featuring a fantasy-meets-reality storyline (to be developed further in E.T.), a misunderstood Everyman character (Richard Dreyfuss), apparently hostile government agents (long before The X-Files), a sense of childlike awe in the face of the otherworldly, and a sweeping feel for epic film-making learned from the classic school of David Lean. Contributing to the film's overall success are the Oscar-winning cinematography from Vilmos Zsigmond, Douglas Trumbull's lavish effects and an extraordinary score from John Williams that develops from eerie atonality à la Ligeti to the gorgeous sentiment of "When You Wish Upon a Star" over the end credits. Not content with the final result, Spielberg tinkered with the editing and inserted some new scenes to make a "Special Edition" in 1980 which ran three minutes shorter than the original, then made further revisions to create a slightly longer "Collector's Edition" in 1998. This later version deletes the mothership interior scenes that were inserted in the "Special Edition" and restores the original ending. On the DVD: CE3K is packaged here with confusing documentation that fails to make clear any differences between earlier versions of the film and this "Collector's Edition"--worse, the back cover blurb misleadingly implies that this disc is the 1980 "Special Edition" edit. It is not. A gorgeous anamorphic widescreen print of Spielberg's 1998 "Collector's Edition" edit occupies the first disc: this is the version with the original theatrical ending restored but new scenes from the "Special Edition" retained. The second disc rounds up sundry deleted scenes that were either dropped from the original version or never made it into the film at all--fans of the "Special Edition" can find the mothership interior sequence here. The excellent "making-of" documentary dates from 1997 and has interviews with almost everyone involved, including the director speaking from the set of Saving Private Ryan. Thankfully the superb picture and sound of the feature make this set entirely compelling and more than compensate for the inadequate packaging. --Mark Walker
All 28 episodes from the first three series of the BBC drama starring Aidan Turner as Captain Ross Poldark. After spending three years fighting in the American War of Independence, Poldark must rebuild his life in the small Cornish copper mining town he calls home. However, when he finds his father dead, his estate in ruins and his childhood sweetheart Elizabeth (Heida Reed) engaged to his cousin, the life he once knew seems to no longer exist. With the help of his new maid Demelza (Eleanor Tomlinson), Ross attempts to navigate the hostile, poverty-stricken locals and the region's wealthy and influential businessmen to reopen his family's disused copper mine, Wheal Leisure.
In Dr. Dolittle (1998), as a boy, John Dolittle (Eddie Murphy) finds he can talk to animals, but his disapproving father (Ossie Davis) forces him to repress his gift. Now a doctor with a young family, John rediscovers his ability after accidentally running over a dog. He begins to communicate with animals again, and soon has a queue of ailing pets in his waiting room. However, John's colleagues, worried for his sanity, have him committed to an asylum. Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001) sees Dolittle (Mur...
Heartburn is an autobiographical tale based on the marriage of high-flying journalists Carl Bernstein (who helped uncover the Watergate scandal for the Washington Post) and Nora Ephron. When the two meet at a friends wedding they fall in love and subsequently marry. Living in different cities the relationship begins to unravel as the pair slowly drift apart and infidelities eventually wreck the marriage. Focusing on social events like weddings parties and birthdays the film exp
3:10 to Yuma is a tight, taut Western in the High Noon tradition. Struggling rancher and family man Van Heflin sneaks captured outlaw Glenn Ford out from under the eyes of his gang and nervously awaits the prison train. Adapted from an Elmore Leonard story, this tense thriller is boiled down to its essential elements: a charming and cunning criminal, an initially reluctant hero whose courage and resolution hardens along the way and a waiting game that pits them in a battle of wills and wits. Glenn Ford practically steals the film in one of his best performances ever: calm, cool and confident, he's a ruthless killer with polite manners and an honourable streak. Director Delmer Daves (Broken Arrow) sets it all in a harsh, parched frontier of empty landscapes, deserted towns and dust, creating a brittle quiet that threatens to snap into violence at any moment. --Sean Axmaker, Amazon.com
Ten classic film noirs in this gripping 5 disc collection! Disc 1: Scarlet Street / Robinson / Detour Disc 2: The Strange Love of Martha Ivers / Whistle Stop Disc 3: He Walked By Night / Trapped Disc 4: Impact / D.O.A. Disc 5: Quicksand / The Hitchhiker
Captain America leads the fight for freedom in the action-packed blockbuster starring Chris Evans as the ultimate weapon against evil! When a terrifying force threatens everyone across the globe the world's greatest soldier wages war on the evil HYDRA organization led by the villainous Red Skull (Hugo Weaving The Matrix). Critics and audiences alike salute Captain America: The First Avenger as the best superhero movie of the year (Box Office Magazine). Special Features: Marvel One-Shot: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Thor's Hammer The Assembly Begins 6 Featurettes Deleted Scenes HD Commentary by Director Joe Johnston Director of Photography Shelly Johnson and Editor Jeffrey Ford
There's a new friend at Peppa's playgroup - meet Mandy Mouse! Mandy is very sporty and loves to play games with Peppa and friends. There are also two other new friends at playgroup, Peggi and Pandora Panda, who are identical twins. They love to solve mysteries just like their Daddy, Police Officer Panda. How exciting to have so many new friends! Plus more fun stories... Piggy tales 1. Mandy Mouse 2. Lots of Muddy Puddles 3. The Panda Twins 4. Chinese New Year 5. Recorders 6. Miss Rabbit's Relaxation Class 7. Father's Day 8. Funny Music 9. Buttercups, Daisies and Dandelions 10. The Marble Run 11. Grandpa Pig's Metal Detector 12. World Book Day
Richard Burton stars in Alexander the Great, a middling entry in the 1950s CinemaScope epic cycle. The film boasts excellent production values and a fine cast--including Frederic March, Claire Bloom, Harry Andrews, Stanley Baker, Peter Cushing and Michael Hordern--but it rarely comes to life other than as a big fat ancient Greek wedding of the talents of Burton and Bloom. They strike real dramatic sparks together, so much so they would be reunited in Look Back in Anger (1958) and The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965). The film's failures must be laid at the feet of writer, director and producer Robert Rossen, who never before or after helmed anything remotely on this scale; his best work would follow with the intimate The Hustler (1961). Rossen simply shows little sensibility for the epic, staging lavish but brief and rather pedestrian battles and somehow drawing from the usually mesmerising Burton a performance lacking the charisma essential to a great military commander. Burton fans can enjoy him at his epic best as Marc Anthony in Cleopatra (1963). On the DVD: Alexander the Great is presented anamorphically enhanced at 2.35:1, although the picture is still obviously cropped at either side of the screen throughout. The print is very variable, in places quite grainy and soft with some serious flickering blotchiness, but otherwise it has strong colours, detail and contrast. The sound is primitive stereo. The only extra is the theatrical trailer, effectively presented in anamorphic 2.35:1. --Gary S. Dalkin
Riding the coat-tails of the early 1990's Western revival, the HBO television movie The Last Outlaw is a good, taut B-picture evoking the conventions of bigger and better Spaghetti Westerns of the 1960s and 70s. Set in New Mexico in 1873, from the opening bank robbery onwards the movie plays like The Wild Bunch meets High Plains Drifter, the obsessive, psychotic Colonel Graff (Mickey Rourke at his best) hunting down his own men after they refuse to abandon an injured comrade. Facing up to Graff is the impressively understated Dermot Mulroney as Eustis, a man who has seen too much killing and simply wants it to stop. Writer Eric Red spins some interesting variations on a classic Western set-up, delivering a comparable psychological intensity to his earlier The Hitcher (1986); as the story unfolds Graff becomes an avenging emissary of death, the tale assuming a timeless mythological resonance. Director Geoff Murphy stages what comes down to one long chase with considerable style, and while there's nothing here fans of the genre haven't seen many times before, in an age starved of Westerns that's actually a large part of the appeal. --Gary S Dalkin
Set in and around the corridors of power, Bodyguard tells the story of David Budd (Richard Madden), a heroic but volatile war veteran now working as a Specialist Protection Officer for the Royalty and Specialist Protection Branch (RaSP) of London's Metropolitan Police Service. When he is assigned to protect the ambitious and powerful Home Secretary Julia Montague (Keeley Hawes), Budd finds himself torn between his duty and his beliefs. Responsible for her safety, could he become her biggest threat?
Please wait. Loading...
This site uses cookies.
More details in our privacy policy