The sailor man with the spinach can! The legendary beloved anvil-armed sailor of the seven seas comes magically to life in this delightful musical starring Robin Williams as Popeye who meets all challenges with the unshakable philosophy 'i yam what I yam and that's all that I yam'. Shelley Duvall is Popeye's devoted long-limbed sweetie Olive Oil one of the familiar and loveable characters who joins Popeye in his adventures in the harbour town of Sweethaven. Meet Wimpy an
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
Can this one-joke spoof possibly be from the same man who gave us The Producers, Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein? Sadly, the answer is yes. Mel Brooks treads water shamelessly with Robin Hood: Men in Tights and the few laughs to be had depend almost entirely on mocking Kevin Costner's earnest blockbuster Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves from two years earlier ("Unlike some other Robin Hoods, I can speak with an English accent", boasts Cary Elwes' Robin). Not only is this far too easy a target for a skit, but the single-film parody concept is stretched way too thin over an entire movie (Brooks elected to repeat the trick with 1995's Dracula: Dead and Loving It). Elwes models his portrayal on Errol Flynn, but only infrequently gets to have fun with the legend: in the climactic sword fight, for example, the shadow play of Flynn and Basil Rathbone's sheriff is affectionately parodied, but such moments are few and far between. Brooks regular Dom DeLuise chips in with a Marlon Brando impersonation, but everyone else is simply taking off characters from the Costner movie: Patrick Stewart even gives us his best Sean Connery impression as a Scottish Richard I. Brooks himself does his stock Jewish act, this time as Rabbi Tuckman; Isaac Hayes has a small cameo in the Morgan Freeman part but seems to think Jerusalem is in Africa; while his on-screen son (David Chappelle) makes the mistake of reminding the audience of what they are missing: "A black sheriff? Why not, it worked in Blazing Saddles". Indeed it did. On the DVD: Precious few extras here, just a small behind the scenes feature and trailer. But the anamorphic picture looks good. --Mark Walker
Julian Kay is on the prowl and looking for someone to please. Boyish and sensual he speaks five or six languages and is equally comfortable as a chauffeur for a wealthy middle-aged matron and as a translator/companion for the lonely wife of an executive. He is the 'American Gigolo'. But Julian's love-for-sale lifestyle turns deadly when a client is murdered and Julian became the prime suspect. Richard Gere is electrifying as Julian in this stylish sexually charged drama from Pa
Little Red Riding Hood
Titles Comprise: American Gigolo: Julian Kay is on the prowl and looking for someone to please. Boyish and sensual he speaks five or six languages and is equally comfortable as a chauffeur for a wealthy middle-aged matron and as a translator/companion for the lonely wife of an executive. He is the 'American Gigolo'. But Julian's love-for-sale lifestyle turns deadly when a client is murdered and Julian became the prime suspect. Richard Gere is electrifying as Julian in this stylish sexually charged drama from Paul Schrader (Light Sleeper Cat People). Co-starring Lauren Hutton. Ghost: A romantic thriller in which yuppie banker Sam Wheat (Patrick Swayze) is murdered but returns to Earth as a ghost to protect his grief-stricken young girlfriend Molly (Demi Moore) and solve his own murder. As he cannot communicate directly with his love he turns to fake medium Oda Mae Brown (Whoopi Goldberg) for help. Nobody is more shocked than Oda Mae to discover she has the genuine power to contact the dead. An Officer and a Gentleman: Richard Gere stars as Navy recruit Zack Mayo while the stunning Debra Winger is his love interest. Lou Gossett Jnr. won an Academy Award for his brilliant portrayal of a tough drill instructor. David Keith plays Zacks struggling fellow candidate. Zack Mayo is a young loner with a bad attitude. Tempted by the glamour and admiration of the life of a Navy pilot he decides to sign up for Officer Candidate School. After thirteen tortuous weeks under Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley (Gossett Jnr.) he slowly begins to learn the importance of discipline love and friendship. Foley warns Zack about the local girls who will do anything to catch themselves a pilot for a husband but despite this Zack finds himself falling in love with Paula (Winger).
The English National Opera Orchestra provide sumptuous musical accompaniment to this moving interpretation of 'The Rape Of Lucretia'. The story evokes strong passionate themes as one would expect from a thrilling combination of opera and Greek tragedy. Anthony Rolfe Johnson Jean Rigby Russell Smythe and Kathryn Harries infuse the lead roles with just the right amount of tension and passion making this a fascinating spectacle for the enthralled audience present and now for viewers at home as well.
A Kingdom Ruled By Evil. A Princess Enslaved By Passion. A Warrior Driven By Justice. Meet Talon a daring mercenary who conquers castles and dungeons alike with his lethal three-bladed sword. But when Talon learns that he is the prince of a kingdom controlled by an evil sorcerer he is thrust into the wildest fight of his life. Can Talon rescue the beautiful princess and slay the warlock or will he fall prey to the black magic of medieval mayhem? Lee Horsley Kathleen Beller Simon MacCorkindale and Richard Moll star in this action-packed adventure saga filled with brutal battles luscious maidens savage monsters and more!
Recorded at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera 1975
The White Countess: Set in Shanghai in the late 1930s this is the story of the relationship between a blind former US diplomat and a refugee Countess (Richardson) reduced to a sordid life in the city's bars. Todd Jackson (Fiennes) once an American diplomat filled with idealism now bitterly disillusioned by realpolitik and the seemingly unavoidable nature of war finds his life enriched by the beautiful spirited Sofia.... Remains Of The Day: Stevens is the perfect English butler. Now employed by Mr Lewis the new American owner of Darlington Hall Stevens has spent the best part of his working life serving Lord Darlington the host of many prestigious international conferences in the 1930s. It was only when war broke out in 1939 that Lord Darlington's involvement with the Nazi party was uncovered. Now twenty years later Stevens realizes that his unquestioning faith and dedication to duty were misplaced and cost him dearly in his own personal life. Over several years he carried on an intense relationship with the Estate's attractive young housekeeper Miss Kenton. But his unwavering sense of duty led Stevens to deny his emotions - and eventually drive away the one woman he loved. Now he wants to make amends... An extraordinary story of blind emotion and repressed love The Remains Of The Day achieved an astounding 8 Academy Award nominations including Best Picture Best Actor and Best Actress. Anthony Hopkins received the BAFTA Award for the Best Performance by an actor in a leading role. Howards End: ""Only Connect"". This famous command is the catalyst which brings together two very different Edwardian families - the one passionate and progressive the other hidebound by wealth and social status - with irreversible and devastating consequences. A dying woman's impulsive wish marks a turning point in the relationship between the cosmopolitan Schlegel sisters Margaret and Helen and the wealthy Wilcox family when Ruth Wilcox bequeaths her idyllic country house Howards End to Margaret (Emma Thompson). Convinced that he is acting in the best interests of his family the patriarcal Henry Wilcox destroys his wife's ""unofficial"" will. But as the lonely repressed Henry falls in love with Margaret and Helen's willful attacks on class and convention strike at the very heart of the Wilcox family fate decrees that Henry must pay dearly for his deceit.
Benjamin Britten's opera 'Billy Budd' in two acts tells of the sadism and injustice abroad a British man-of-war.
David Pountney and Quinny Sacks' production of Henry Purcell's The Fairy Queen caused something of a sensation when it hit the ENO stage in 1995. It has the feel of a decadent 17th-century masque re-invented with late-20th-century energy: half the principals and chorus are in cross-dressing costumes, female characters are played by men (leading to some rather wonderful polymorphous perversity), and everything has an air of mad, hallucinogenic hipness about it. While Robert Israel's wild sets don't appear to their full advantage on the small screen, Dunya Ramicova's costumes look fantastic (the details are simply stunning). The very fine singing is recorded with excellent clarity: while this is obviously a live performance, there are remarkably few moments that go out of microphone range, and the balance with the orchestra is handled very sensitively. The ENO band, under the baton of Nicholas Kok, respond to Purcell's wiry lines and spiky harmonies with glee, and sound like they're having a ball, as do the singers. In particular Jonathan Best as The Drunken Poet is hilarious, and it is a wonderful testament to his acting skills that he is as funny close-up as he was from the auditorium stalls.--Warwick Thompson
The famous performance of Verdi's romantic tragedy captures one of the most sensational debuts in operatic history. Singing Violetta for the first time was the young Romanian soprano Angela Gheorghiu whose remarkable interpretation reached the front pages of the world's press and led the BBC immediately to film the production. Equally notable was the masterly conducting of Sir Georg Solti and director Richard Eyre's stylish staging. This DVD and highlights CD present the definitive record of a momentous occasion.
A classic ENO production of Britten's 1953 opera, which has only now received the critical acclaim it deserves.Gloriana came into being when Benjamin Britten was asked to compose an opera to celebrate the Coronation of HRH Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. He took as his starting point Lytton Strachey's Elizabeth and Essex, which had much interested him when he first read it.The opera traces the downfall of the Earl of Essex who, presuming upon his privilege as the Queen's favourite, forces a tragedy upon them both.
A Kingdom Ruled By Evil. A Princess Enslaved By Passion. A Warrior Driven By Justice. Meet Talon a daring mercenary who conquers castles and dungeons alike with his lethal three-bladed sword. But when Talon learns that he is the prince of a kingdom controlled by an evil sorcerer he is thrust into the wildest fight of his life. Can Talon rescue the beautiful princess and slay the warlock or will he fall prey to the black magic of medieval mayhem? Lee Horsley Kathleen Beller Simon MacCorkindale and Richard Moll star in this action-packed adventure saga filled with brutal battles luscious maidens savage monsters and more!
All enclosed operas are recorded live at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera.Contains the operas:- Macbeth (1972).- Il Ritorno D'Ulisee In Patria (1973).- The Rake's Progress (1975).- Falstaff (1976).- Fidelio (1979).
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