The icily beautiful French goddess Catherine Denueve is celebrated here in Optimum's Screen Icons series with a box-set of films that span the full range of her illustrious 45-year career so far. Umbrellas Of Cherbourg was the film that made Deneuve a star and introduced her to the world. A conventional love story made completely original by all the dialogue being sung and a rainbow of colours reflecting the radiance of the story and characters alike. Umbrellas won the Palme D'Or in Cannes in 1964. Belle du Jour Undoubtedly Luis Buuel's most accessible film Belle de Jour is an elegant and erotic masterpiece that maintains as hypnotic a grip on modern audiences as it did on its debut 30 years ago. Denueve plays a bored and sexually frustrated housewife who becomes a part-time prostitute and begins a dangerous relationship with a young gangster. Donkey Skin is a wonderfully bizarre film from Jacques Demy a unique synthesis of Jean Cocteau and Walt Disney. Ahead of its time and strikingly modern in its production design it's also a warts and all fairytale ripe with incorrect royalism and medieval misogyny. Deneuve plays the dual role of the King's wife and daughter. Manon 70 a 1960's version of an 18th century French novel and a 19th century Italian opera Denueve plays the confused Manon torn between a young but penniless lover and an older richer suitor whose generosity she finds very tempting... Ma Saisson Preferee An Andre Techine family drama starring Daniel Auteuil.
French New Wave director Louis Malle made two pieces of memorable Americana in mid-career, Atlantic City (1980) and Pretty Baby (1978). Atlantic City stars Burt Lancaster in one of his greatest screen performances: as an ageing crook now working the numbers racket from a seedy apartment in the casino town of Atlantic City. Susan Sarandon is a waitress whose brother is on the run from the mob, having stolen a cache of drugs. She and Lancaster form an odd but engaging couple and hatch a plot to beat the odds stacked against them. Atmospheric, bittersweet, with lots of character and some neat action: it all adds up to a pretty classy offering. On the DVD: Unfortunately, the picture and sound quality on the DVD are only average. The image is 14:9 ratio and has been taken from a print of variable quality in which some reels are barely adequate. There are no additional features. --Ed Buscombe
An astronaut and his robot companion inadvertantly enter a time-space warp and are hurled into the past where they find themselves in the court of King Arthur!
In the town where movies go over schedule and directors go over budget something far more evil is about to go out of control! In a frightening new twist in the terror on Elm street Wes Craven (director of the original film) finds that his dreams have begun to dictate real-life horrors for the stars of the film!
The Lady and the Highwayman, produced by Lew Grade as part of a series of Barbara Cartland dramatisations in 1987, contains all the ingredients that made Cartland's unique style of romantic fiction so successful. The highwayman in question, known as Silver Blade, is actually an aristocratic outlaw played by a youthful Hugh Grant in a bouffant mullet wig. The lady is Panthea (Lysette Anthony), delicate but firm of purpose, who knows her man when she sees him. It's Restoration England, so the frocks are fabulous. But Cartland's pretensions to historical accuracy evaporate when she makes Charles II's mistress, Barbara Castlemaine (Dynasty's Emma Samms), the villainess of the piece. From there, it's a freewheeling ride of Robin Hood-inspired philanthropy, duplicitous cousins and some uncomfortably fetishistic shots of the rituals and instruments of execution, although everybody is rescued in time for the romantic soft-focus finale. Full of splendidly self-indulgent performances from the likes of Claire Bloom, John Mills and Michael York, The Lady and the Highwayman is a feast of thespian ham. Somehow, the cast triumph over the banality of the basic material. On the DVD: The Lady and the Highwayman is presented in 4:3 aspect ratio with a standard Dolby Digital stereo soundtrack. With an eye on the international market, it looks and feels like any lush mini-series of the 1980s. There are no extras. --Piers Ford
A couple move to live in a small town where their lives are interrupted by the appearance of a strange little girl.
Robert Downey Jr stars in this coming-of-age drama about a boy growing up in Astoria, N.Y., during the 1980s.
From the multiple BAFTA Award winning writer Steven Moffat (Coupling Press Gang Doctor Who Jekyll Tin Tin) comes the first series of Joking Apart starring Robert Bathurst and Fiona Gillies. First shown in 1993 the series was a huge cult hit and has been eagerly awaited on DVD ever since. Comedy writer Mark Taylor knows he has found the woman of his dreams when he meets Becky and sweeps her off her feet with his non-stop quick-fire one-liners. But five years on Mark doesn't realise that the joke has worn thin and a surprise party for Becky changes his life completely. Told in flashback this award-winning bittersweet comedy has it all; laughter and tears joy and pain.
Lying just off the coast of China, the exotic island of Macao is one of the most dangerous and corrupt places in the world. A haven for gamblers, smugglers, fugitives and killers, it's a place where everything - and everyone - has a price. On a morning like any other morning on Macao, three strangers arrive in port - fugitive drifter Nick Cochran (Robert Mitchum), jaded nightclub singer Julie Benson (Jane Russell) and international salesman Lawrence Trumble (William Bendix). But on Macao no one may be who they say they are.One of the new arrivals is an undercover police officer. Now big time casino owner and racketeer Vincent Halloran (Brad Dexter) must find out who - and fast. He's already killed one cop, a fortune in contraband is missing - and he's beginning to feel the Macao heat...
Based on the unfinished novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald celebrated actor Robert De Niro heads a powerhouse cast as ruthless motion-picture studio head Monroe Stahr. Tony Curtis Robert Mitchum Jeanne Moreau Theresa Russell Anjelica Huston and Jack Nicholson contribute supporting performances in this richly detailed 1930's epic.
Mortal Engines Visionary ï¬lmmaker Peter Jackson presents a startling new adventure unlike any youve seen before. Hundreds of years after our civilisation was destroyed, a new world has emerged. A mysterious young woman named Hester Shaw leads a band of outcasts in the ï¬ght to stop London now a giant predator city on wheels from devouring everything in its path. The Great Wall Starring global superstar MATT DAMON and directed by one of the most breath-taking visual stylists of our time, ZHANG YIMOU (Hero, House of Flying Daggers), The Great Wall tells the story of an elite force making a valiant stand for humanity on the world's most iconic structure. JING TIAN, PEDRO PASCAL, WILLEM DAFOE, and ANDY LAU also star in this sweeping epic. Warcraft The peaceful realm of Azeroth stands on the brink of war as its civilisation faces a fearsome race of invaders: orc warriors ï¬eeing their dying home to colonise another. As a portal opens to connect the two worlds, one army faces destruction, and the other faces extinction. From opposing sides, an unlikely set of heroes are set on a collision course that will decide the fate of their families, their people, and their home.
Sharing the screen for the first time in motion picture history Academy Award® winner Robert De Niro and two-time Oscar® nominee John Travolta star in the nail-biting Killing Season. Two veterans of the Bosnian War - one an American named Benjamin Ford (Robert De Niro) the other a former Serbian soldier Emil Kovac (John Travolta) - engage in a tense action-packed cat and mouse game against the backdrop of America's most forbidding and remote landscape - the Appalachian mountain wilderness.
An easygoing British Corporal (John Mills) in France finds himself responsible for the lives of his men when their officer is killed. He has to get them back to Britain somehow. Meanwhile British civilians are being dragged into the war with Operation Dynamo the scheme to get the French and British forces back from the Dunkirk beaches. Some come forward to help others are less willing...
In this sequel/remake to the original 1980 ecological horror movie a secret government experiment turns nightmarish when genetically altered fish bred as amphibious weapons escape. Scientists believe them dead after a biohazardous chemical spill. Far from it the creatures thrive as bloodthirtsy killers threatening to annihilate a small coastal town by slaughtering the men and abducting the women for mating! Government scientists attempt to keep the creatures' origin a secret while trying to destroy them. Starring Emma Samms Humanoids From The Deep 2 also stars Robert Carradine and Justin Walker as the locals who try to put an end to the carnage!
Brand new and sealed Steelbook Edition of the Hammer Horror film based on the original BBC TV series by Nigel Kneale starring Andrew Keir, Barbara Shelley, James Donald, Duncan Lamont and Julian Glover
Twenty years after Diana s death, this major new documentary rewrites many of the myths of her legacy. Rather than portraying Diana as unhappy, at war with the Royal family and herself; and suffering a tragically death - we discover an exceptional woman who changed the future of the Royal family forever. With a cast who knew Diana intimately, including Ken Wharfe, Diana's long term Protection Officer, her personal trainer, ballet teacher, spiritual healer and personal friends, Diana The Woman Inside highlights Diana as a woman and mother rather than just a tragic icon.
Angela's Ashes (Dir. Alan Parker 1999): Angela's Ashes the Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir comes to life in this stirring film from acclaimed director Alan Parker (Evita) starring Academy Award-nominee Emily Watson (Breaking The Waves) and Robert Carlyle (The Full Monty). Life in impoverished Depression-era Ireland holds little promise for young Frank McCourt the oldest son in a tightly knit family. Living by his wits cheered by his irrepressible spirit and sustained by his mother's fierce love Frank embarks on an inspiring journey to overcome the poverty of his childhood and reach the land of his dreams: America. Stepmom (Dir. Chris Columbus 1998): Jackie (Susan Sarandon) is a divorced mother of two. Isabel (Julia Roberts) is the career minded girlfriend of Jackie's ex-husband Luke (Ed Harris) forced into the role of unwelcome stepmother to their children. It is the universal dilemma of the 'non-traditional family' they all love the children but the complex interplay between parents step-parents step-children ex-spouses and significant others is decidedly tricky. But when Jackie discovers she is ill both women realise they must put aside their differences to find a common ground and celebrate life to the fullest while they have the chance. Billy Elliot (Dir. Stephen Daldry 1998): Starring Julie Walters and newcomer Jamie Bell the film (based on a real-life story) follows the progress of little Billy Elliot a motherless 11 year-old from a poor Durham pit village. When young Billy chooses ballet classes over boxing lessons his life is changed forever. He decides to keep the lessons secret from his father a coal miner but when his ballet instructor persuades him to try out for the Royal Ballet School in London Billy must make the choice between family responsibilities and his dreams...
Based on the acclaimed book by neurologist Oliver Sacks, director Penny Marshall's hit 1990 drama Awakenings stars Robin Williams as Dr. Malcolm Sayer. Sayer is a neurologist who discovers that the drug L-Dopa can be used to "unlock" patients in a mental hospital from the mysterious sleeping sickness that has left them utterly immobilized. Leonard (Robert De Niro) is one such patient who awakens after being in a comatose state for 30 years, leaving Sayer to guide Leonard in adjusting to the world around him. Penelope Ann Miller costars as the daughter of another patient, with whom Leonard falls tenuously in love. Earning Oscar nominations for best picture, actor and screenplay, this moving fact-based drama was a hit with critics and audiences alike. --Jeff Shannon
The eighth series of The X-Files was a year of brave decisions. David Duchovny's increasing dissatisfaction with the role meant he only appeared in a few episodes. The solution: enter Agent John Doggett (Robert Patrick) who basically stole the show within his first two minutes of screen time (and watch out for several Terminator 2 in-jokes too). Scully switched roles to being the believer alongside Doggett's sceptic in a year that was more reliant on the background story arc than ever before. Her pregnancy remained at the foreground, while a more prominent Skinner joined in a hunt for the abducted Mulder that drew upon the black oil, cloning and bounty hunting aspects of the convoluted alien conspiracy story. A distinct lack of guest stars or writers indicated maturity beyond the need for ratings stunts: dedicated fans were pleased to see cameos from sinister Krycek, the reliable Lone Gunmen and the return of the show's very first abductee. The real strengths of the series came from new characters, including alternative female role model Special Agent Monica Reyes (Annabeth Gish), and some terrific standalone episodes. Investigations covered a man going backwards in time, deaths aboard an oil rig, a contagion in the Boston subway tunnels and creatures resembling bats and slugs. Agent Leyla Harrison (named after an X-Files fan who died of cancer) got to ask all the petty questions regular viewers want to know themselves. This year turned out to be a remarkable achievement so late in the show's life. On the DVD: The X-Files, Series 8 is a six-disc box set with all the episodes presented in anamorphic 16:9 format with Dolby 2.0 sound. The extras are mainly confined to the final disc, though there are selected deleted scenes and "international" clips from the dubbed German, Japanese and Italian versions of the show on the other discs. Two audio commentaries for the episodes "Alone" (from director Frank Spotnitz) and "Existence" (from director Kim Manners) are supplemented by a routine 30-minute behind-the-scenes documentary, more deleted scenes (with optional commentary), character profiles and special effects clips. --Paul Tonks
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