The Naked Gun series must be the only successful big-screen franchise to have been a spin-off from a spectacularly unsuccessful TV series. Although Police Squad went on to become a cult favourite, at the time the American TV network was so unimpressed they only showed four of the six episodes before cancelling it. But Leslie Nielsen's bumbling Lt Frank Drebin just wouldn't go away. Supported in masterly deadpan style by George Kennedy and Priscilla Presley, Nielsen cemented his reputation as a gifted comic actor with The Naked Gun decades after he had first become known as a minor Hollywood leading man (in 1955's Forbidden Planet for example). The first movie appeared in 1988 and spawned two sequels that replayed exactly the same routines: in The Naked Gun series sight gags (some of which are worthy of the Marx Brothers, some not) combine with excruciating puns and lots of toilet humour to follow the same hit formula as the creators' earlier slapstick masterpiece, Airplane. By the third film the formula may have become more than a little overworked, and few including the filmmakers cared much about the increasingly creaky scenarios, but Nielsen's easygoing idiotic charm goes a long way towards saving the day. There are still a lot of laughs to be found in all three Naked Gun movies, even if some of them are the unintentional result of seeing OJ Simpson before notoriety overtook his budding film career. On the DVDs: All three features are anamorphically enhanced 1.78:1 widescreen ratios, with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. Each disc also has a jovial ensemble commentary featuring co-creator David Zucker with other producers and writers, which is only intermittently informative but is at least intermittently funny, too. --Mark Walker
Ted Striker: ""Surely you can't be serious?"" Dr. Rumack: ""I am serious... and don't call me Shirley."" Voted ""one of the ten funniest movies ever made"" by the American Film Institute Airplane! is a masterpiece of off-the-wall comedy. Featuring Robert Hays as an ex-fighter pilot forced to take over the controls of an airliner when the flight crew succumbs to food poisoning; Julie Hagerty as his girlfriend/ stewardess/ co-pilot; and a cast of all-stars inclu
Cold Feet is the fast and funny ITV comedy drama about a group of friends which has gripped the nation. Immersing us in the lives of 3 couples who are coping with life love careers marriage friendship infidelity and of course sex. It gets to the heart of 30-something relationships like no other programme of its kind. Pilot Episode: Pete and Jenny are trying desperately to have a baby. As they have had little success Jenny begins to plot their lives around her ovulation
Hard-hitting and unsentimental, For Maddie With Love is the story of a woman who knows she is dying and, in doing so, rediscovers the love she has for her husband and family. Showcasing memorable performances from Nyree Dawn Porter and Ian Hendry and an affecting, stylishly minimalist design ethic, this daytime afternoon drama which ran twice-weekly through much of 1980 became compulsive viewing due to its powerful take on terminal illness, self-determined euthanasia and the aftermath of a death in the family. This set contains all 48 episodes from both series of this classic drama. Special feature Limited edition booklet by archive television historian Billy Smart.
A psychopath kidnaps a teenage girl and buries her alive in a capsule that will become her tomb in 83 hours unless her father pays a huge ransom. Based on a true story.
From the independent studio behind the Sundance Film Festival smash 'Personal Velocity' come four of the hottest indie films in the 21st centuray digital revolution. Tape: After ten years apart three people come together at a motel to play out the unresolved drama of their final days in high school. The nature of memory and truth the bonds between old friends and lovers are examined with hagged intensity. Amy arrives at the motel expecting only to see Vince but is stunned to be also facing John and her past. Chelsea Walls: The Chelsea Hotel used to be the hippest place to live for New York artists. Painters writers and musicians from Mark Twain to Jimi Hendrix enlivened the hotel's halls. Now even though the iron fa''ade has become rusty a new generation of dreamers inhabit the hotel. Memories aspirations passion and scandal influence the creative visionaries to create their own masterpieces... Ten Tiny Love Stories: Love. Sex. Stories. And everything in between! Ten women talk about the men they remember most. The man who last loved them; the man who left them; the man who wasn't enough; the man who was too cruel; the man who passed away; the man they married and the man they sent away. The film presents an honest portrait of women where memories are the only connection to the men that touched their lives. Final: When Bill (Denis Leary) wakes up in the psychiatric wing at Sumner Hospital he has trouble distinguishing his dreams from reality. He is quite certain of his sanity but memories of being cryogenically frozen tissue regeneration experiments and talk of a final lethal injection race through his mind. With the help of Ann (Hope Davis) the psychiatrist assigned to his case he struggles to piece his memories together while newer more rational memories flood his mind. Struggling with his paranoia Bill begins to question Ann's motives. Can he trust the only person in the position to help him or will she be the one holding the needle that does him in?
The League of Gentlemen is a sardonic crime drama in which Jack Hawkins plays an embittered retired army officer who recruits seven fellow ex-soldiers to carry out a bank raid with military precision. The film presents an England between post-war austerity and the more liberated 1960s where traditional moral certainties were rapidly being discarded; a London where ex-officers left on the scrapheap at war's end could justify turning their military experience to armed robbery. Unfortunately the tale is neither particularly amusing or thrilling, with an overlong central detour via an army camp prefacing the exciting heist and a largely anti-climactic ending. Nevertheless Hawkins effectively subverts his heroic officer type from The Cruel Sea (1953) and The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), and there's excellent support from a great cast including Nigel Patrick, Richard Attenborough and Roger Livesey. Bryan Forbes not only wrote the cynical screenplay but costarred with wife Nanette Newman in her first significant screen role. More influential than truly classic, The League of Gentlemen has lent its name to a modern BBC comedy, an "Extraordinary" comic strip-turned-movie, and proved the template for heist films ever since, including both versions of The Italian Job (1969 and 2003). On the DVD:The League of Gentlemen is presented in an anamorphically enhanced 16:9 transfer from an excellent condition print and mostly looks and sounds fine. There's minimal print damage, though sadly Philip Green's ironically patriotic main title music suffers from significant distortion. The only extra is the original trailer, which is now something of a period piece itself. --Gary S Dalkin
The mob's best hitman Tony Lazorka becomes the mob's most wanted when he decides to double-cross his bosses. Using the FBI and the witness protection programme his new identity is made known when a disc changes hands. Now his family is at the mercy of both the Mob and the CIA....
Titles Comprise:Remember Me: Tyler (Robert Pattinson, Twilight), a rebellious young man, meets Ally (Emilie de Ravin, Lost) through a twist of fate. Her spirit helps him heal after a family tragedy, though soon the circumstances that brought them together threaten to tear them apart.An unforgettable love story, Remember Me is directed by Allen Coulter (Hollywoodland) and also stars Pierce Brosnan, Academy Award winner Chris Cooper (Adaptation) and Academy Award nominee Lena Olin (Chocolat).Charlie St. Cloud: Based on an acclaimed novel, Charlie St. Cloud is a romantic drama starring Zac Efron as a young man who survives an accident that lets him see the world in a unique way. In this emotionally charged story, he begins a romantic journey in which he embraces the dark realities of the past while discovering the transformative power of love.Accomplished sailor Charlie St. Cloud (Efron) has the adoration of mother Claire (Oscar winner Kim Basinger) and little brother Sam (newcomer Charlie Tahan), as well as a college scholarship that will lead him far from his sleepy Pacific Northwest hometown. But his bright future is cut short when a tragedy strikes and takes his dreams with it.After his high-school classmate Tess (Amanda Crew) returns home unexpectedly, Charlie grows torn between honoring a promise he made four years earlier and moving forward with newfound love. And as he finds the courage to let go of the past for good, Charlie discovers the soul most worth saving is his own.
Albie Kinsella (Robert Carlyle) is at his father's funeral. This death compounded by Albie's marriage breakdown triggers some kind of post traumatic stress disorder and when an Asian newsagent refuses him 4p credit something snaps and Albie murders him. Initially shocked by his actions Albie tries to justify this needless killing with a twisted logic a logic which threatens the whole community. Convinced that this murder bears all the hallmark of a racist attack the police centre their investigation around local fascist sympathisers. However when all leads prove fruitless and another psychologist's profile is undermined Fitz's expertise is required. Fitz has to unlock the force that drives Albie to commit murder a philosophy that has no reason and is potentially explosive.
Director William Wyler's suspense classic marks the only time cinema giants Humphrey Bogart and Fredric March worked together. And the result is everything you'd expect: taut terrifying and terrific. Bogart plays an escaped con who has nothing to lose. March is a suburban Everyman who has everything to lose - his family is held hostage by Bogart. As The Desperate Hours tick by the two men square off in a battle of wills and cunning that tightens into an unforgettable fear-drench
Dante's Peak (Dir. Roger Donaldson 1997): Without warning day becomes night. Air turns to fire and solid ground gives way to white-hot molten terror. Brace yourself for action-packed earth shaking thrills and whatever you do... don't look back. Pierce Brosnan and Linda Hamilton star in an epic adventure from Director Roger Doaldson that will blow you away! Erupting with spectacular special effects heart-pounding suspense romance and remarkable characters Dante's Peak is a blast! Twister (Dir. Jan De Bont 1996): The house rips apart piece by piece. A bellowing cow spins through the air. Tractors fall like rain. A 15 000-pound gasoline tanker becomes an airborne bomb. A mile-wide 300 mile-per-hour force of total devastation is coming at you: Twister is hitting home. In this adventure swirling with cliffhanging excitement and awesome special effects Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton play scientists pursuing the most destructive weatherfront to seep through mid America's Tornado Alley in 50 years. By launching electronic sensors into the funnel the storm chasers hope to obtain enough data to create an improved warning system. In order to do so they must place themselves in the twisters' deadly path... Deep Impact (Dir. Mimi Leder 1998): What would you do if you knew that in a handful of days an enormous comet would collide with Earth and all humanity could be annihilated? Mimi Leder directs guiding an all-star cast featuring Robert Duvall Tea Leoni Elijah Wood Vanessa Redgrave Maximilian Schell and Morgan Freeman. With the film's dynamic fusion of large-scale excitement and touching human-scale storylines Deep Impact makes its impact felt in a big and unforgettable way.
Now a fully licensed MI5 agent under the eccentric eye of The Examiner (Robert Lindsay) Tim (Darren Boyd) is still raw from the disappointment of Caitlin's fiancé turning up unexpectedly and so he sets about trying to sabotage their relationship with the help of best friend Chris. Meanwhile Marcus (Jude Wright) starts a new school term only to discover that his status as top dog is under threat from new boy Nick. And the family has to deal with a new therapist Owen whose unorthodox methods give Philip cause for concern when he realises that Owen is trying to seduce Judith. Includes the Christmas Special. Special Features: Behind the scenes
It's No Picnic! Brace yourself for mutant mayhem and pestilent payback in this scary (Los Angeles Times) and repulsively convincing (The Hollywood Reporter) creature feature about good bugs gone BAD! Starring queen of mean Joan Collins this incredible insect extravaganza is swarming with flesh-crawling chills hair-raising thrills and spine-tingling terror...with a venge-ANTS! A heavenly paradise becomes a hellish nightmare when a toxic spill turns harmless ants into rampaging radioactive reprobates! Stumbling into their creepy lair a sleazy land developer (Collins) and her clients are horrified to realize that the ants are having a picnic...and humans are on the menu! Fleeing for their lives - only to be squashed underfoot - they soon discover that these bad-boy bugs are hell-bent on exterminating mankind and building an evil empire where humans check in...but they can't check out!
VIPCO proudly presents Tobe Hooper's much-villified follow up to his wildly successful 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre'. 'Death Trap' tells the story of a deranged madman who uses the guests of his rundown hotel not only to be victims for his demented thirst for blood but also as food for the crocodile he keeps under the hotel... Whilst 'Texas Chaisaw Massacre' was almost gore free and relied on music atmosphere etc. 'Death Trap' goes straight for the jugular and delivers the goods
A documentary examining the last truly 'Golden Age' of Hollywood film production the 1970s in which arthouse successes such as 'The Godfather' and 'French Connection' became bona fide blockbusters at the box office in the days before multimedia conglomerations and pre-release test scores...
One man's conviction divided a nation Australia 1958. A nine year old white girl is found murdered in a remote cave and the local police are quick to arrest an illegitimate Aborigine by the name of Max Stuart. Under interrogation Max admits to the the killing and signs the statement that will send him to the gallows. With no Court of Appeal established in the country and a legal system compromised by intimidation tactics from institutional racism gifted but naive lawyers David O'Sullivan (Carlyle) and Helen Devaney (Fox) are put to the test in their efforts to take the case all the way to the Privy Council in London... This compelling real-life drama is based on a landmark case that irrevocably changed a nation.
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