A global byword for cinematic quality of a quintessentially British nature, Ealing Studios made more than 150 films over a three decade period. A cherished and significant part of British film history, only selected films from both the Ealing and Associated Talking Pictures strands have previously been made available on home video format - with some remaining unseen since their original theatrical release. The Ealing Rarities Collection redresses this imbalance - featuring new transfers from...
A global byword for cinematic quality of a quintessentially British nature, Ealing Studios made more than 150 films over a three decade period. A cherished and significant part of British film history, only selected films from both the Ealing and Associated Talking Pictures strands have previously been made available on home video format - with some remaining unseen since their original theatrical release. The Ealing Rarities Collection redresses this imbalance - featuring new transfers from...
A riposte to the criticisms levelled at The Camp on Blood Island, Hammer's previous war picture, released a year earlier, this stark and often savage examination of how war and conflict can corrupt otherwise good men, Val Guest's Yesterday's Enemy is one of the famed studio's most hard-hitting but underappreciated productions. It posits an impossible moral dilemma is it ever justifiable to sacrifice a small number of innocent lives in the hope that thousands more will be saved? Headed by the formidable Stanley Baker (Hell Drivers, Eve), Yesterday's Enemy consciously and directly opposed the overwhelmingly patriotic spirit of British war films of the period, and remains a bleak exploration of duty, survival, and the effects of war. Special Features High Definition remaster Original mono audio Two presentations of the film: the uncensored UK theatrical version, and the US theatrical version with toned-down dialogue The Guardian Interview with Val Guest (2005, 46 mins): archival audio recording of the celebrated filmmaker in conversation with Jonathan Rigby at London's National Film Theatre Total War: Inside Yesterday's Enemy' (2018, 27 mins): documentary written and directed by Hammer expert Marcus Hearn, narrated by Claire Louise Amias, and featuring film historians Alan Barnes and Jonathan Rigby Hammer's Women: Edwina Carroll (2018, 8 mins): critic and author Becky Booth on the popular Burmese-born actress Stephen Laws Introduces Yesterday's Enemy' (2018, 9 mins): appreciation by the acclaimed horror author New Territory (2018, 13 mins): analysis of the film by British cinema expert Steve Chibnall Frontline Dispatches (2018, 8 mins): second assistant director Hugh Harlow and props chargehand Peter Allchorne recall their time working on the film Original theatrical trailer Image gallery: promotional photography and publicity material New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
A fallen aristocrat with a mountainous gambling debt enlists three men with similar financial instabilities to assist him in a mail van robbery.
The Girls' Night of the title refers to Friday night, the one time of escape from the daily grind for longstanding best friends and factory co-workers, Dawn and Jackie. And Friday night means bingo. One evening their dream comes true when Dawn (the cautious, caring one) scoops £100,000, but the savage twist in the tale is that even before she gets the cheque she discovers she has an inoperable brain tumour. Cue Jackie (the spontaneous, irresponsible one) fulfilling Dawn's lifetime ambition with a holiday in Las Vegas ("Come on, we've got an hour to get the plane"). And from then on it's a buddy movie with inescapable resonances of Thelma and Louise, though the difference here is that the protagonists are two ordinary middle-aged women. Brenda Blethyn and Julie Walters are a magical pairing, with both giving mesmerising moving performances (honorary mention should also be made of Cody, the one sympathetic male character in the film, magnificently played by Kris Kristofferson). Though death is ever-present, this is by no means a depressing movie; rather the opposite, in fact, with a remarkably upbeat ending. If there's a message to be found here, it's that even the most apparently ordinary people can be extraordinary given the right circumstances. On the DVD: As well as the original trailer, there is on-location feature
Hell Drivers sees James Bond (Sean Connery), Doctor Who (William Hartnell), one of the men from UNCLE (David McCallum), the Prisoner (Patrick McGoohan) and a Professional (Gordon Jackson), all supporting Stanley Baker in this hard-as-nails British action picture realistically set in a bleak late-1950s England. Baker plays Tom Yately, an ex-con who takes the only job he can get--truck driving at breakneck speeds for a corrupt manager (Hartnell) and brutal foreman (McGoohan). The constant short runs and competition between the drivers makes for an intense atmosphere which inevitably explodes into violence. Baker's only friend is an Italian ex-POW played sensitively by Herbert Lom, while Peggy Cummings is a remarkably free-spirited heroine for a British film of the time. Baker himself is superb, quietly tough, and broodingly charismatic, McGoohan is compellingly malevolent and Hartnell simply chilling. The film is consistently engrossing and often exciting, even when the plot spirals into melodrama towards the finale. One has to wonder where the police are during all this mayhem, but the fact that the screenplay, by John Kruse and Cy Endfield, received a BAFTA nomination suggests the scenario was at least reasonably realistic. Endfield also directed this, the second of six films he would helm for Baker, the most famous of which would be the all-time classic, Zulu (1964). On the DVD: Hell Drivers is presented in an anamorphically enhanced ratio of 1.77:1. This means a little of the original 1.96:1 VistaVision (70mm) image is cropped at the sides, which is just noticeable in a few shots. The print used is excellent, with only very minor damage, and the mono sound is fine. The disc also includes Look in on Hell Drivers, a 1957 TV programme that offers interviews with Stanley Baker, Cy Endfield and Alfie Bass, as well as comments from genuine truck drivers confirming the realism of the story, and a contemporary 15-minute television interview with Baker, which focuses on Hell Drivers, Sea Fury(1958) (also directed by Cy Endfield) and Violent Playground (1958). The original trailer rounds out an excellent package. --Gary S Dalkin
Buster Keaton Rides Again - In the autumn of 1964, just over a year before his death, Buster Keaton travelled to Canada to make The Railrodder, a silent short that would turn out to be one of his final films. Documenting this mobile production in fascinating and unexpected detail, Buster Keaton Rides Again offers a rare glimpse of the comedy legend's temperament, philosophies, hobbies, marriage (his third), and occasionally combative creative process. Canadian International Pictures fondly presents this intimate look at one of cinema's most enduring legends. In addition, this disc includes The Railrodder and six other shorts by director and Buster Keaton Rides Again co-star Gerald Potterton (The Rainbow Boys, Heavy Metal). Helicopter Canada - Made in celebration of the Canadian centennial, this Oscar-nominated documentary offers a stunning aerial exploration of the country's vast and varied landscape. Featuring impressive widescreen cinematography by director Eugene Boyko, amusingly irreverent commentary, and even a cameo by The Beatles, this enchantingly oddball time capsule brings Canadiana to new heights. In honour of the film's debt to the sprawling Cinerama travelogues of the '50s, this disc also includes a presentation of Helicopter Canada in the Smilebox format, simulating the effect of a curved screen. Special Features New 2K transfers from the 35mm interpositives Alternate 2.76:1 and Smilebox presentations of Helicopter Canada Audio commentary with Gerald Potterton and David De Volpi on Buster Keaton Rides Again and The Railrodder Hors-d'oeuvre (1960, 7 min.) My Financial Career (1962, 7 min.) Christmas Tree Decoration (1963, 5 min.) The Ride (1963, 7 min.) The Railrodder (1965, 25 min.) The Quiet Racket (1966, 7 min.) The Awful Fate of Melpomenus Jones (1983, 8 min.) Bonus short: Canada the Land (1970, 8 min.) Booklet featuring a new interview with Gerald Potterton Reversible cover artwork English SDH subtitles for all 10 films Region Free
Action-god Jackie Chan does his best James Bond impression with First Strike, an ecstatic sequel to the classic Supercop. The bare-bones plot has Chan in pursuit of international terrorists, but the narrative quickly gives way to an unceasing barrage of insane stunt work (including a nitro-fuelled ski chase and a grandiose fight scene set inside a functioning shark tank). As with most of the ageing star's recent films, there is more of an emphasis placed on big, impersonal (albeit impressive) stunts rather than the close-up combat that made him famous; but the end result is still a must-see rush for longtime fans and a great introduction for newcomers eager to see what all the well-deserved fuss is about. The scene where Jackie takes on multiple goons while armed only with a ladder is one of his most jaw-dropping set pieces ever--and that's saying quite a lot. Be sure to stick around for the closing credits of gags gone awry, which graphically prove that Chan is truly the hardest working man in show business. --Andrew Wright
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