In the near future, society is split into two strata: The lowdrives' make up the zombielike majority, mentally anaesthetized by an incessant diet of television, largely consisting of pornography. Television, and by extension the masses, is controlled by the highdrives', an educated class who remain servile through their perpetual quest for better ratings and audience subjugation. When the lowdrives start to become increasingly uninterested in the programming on offer, coordinator Ugo Priest (Leonard Rossiter) ends up accidentally happening upon a new entertainment concept ..reality television. First broadcast in 1968 The Year of the Sex Olympics is one of the most original pieces of television drama ever written and would foreshadow the likes of Big Brother and the phenomenon that is Love Island. Introduction by film critic and author Kim Newman (2003) Audio commentary by actor Brian Cox (2003) Other extras TBC ***FIRST PRESSING ONLY*** Fully illustrated booklet with new writing on the film and full film credits
A mixed bag as variations on A Christmas Carol go, this 1970 British musical tells the usual story of Scrooge (Albert Finney) and his spirits on Christmas Eve, although the whole thing is set to music by Leslie Bricusse. Except for Finney's feisty and involved performance, however, there isn't much to recommend this. The songs, which absorb so much of the evolving story line and emotions, are not all that good. Plenty of support, however, from the likes of Roy Kinnear (Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory) and Dame Edith Evans (Tom Jones), the handsome production is directed by veteran Ronald Neame (The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie). --Tom Keogh
After losing his friend Scott in a previous mission, RAF squadron leader Quint Munroe is ordered on a dangerous mission to destroy the Château de Charlon in Northern France. However, the task becomes more complicated when it is discovered that Scott and other shot-down pilots are still alive and being used as human shields in an attempt to scupper the planned raid. This taught wartime thriller, directed by Boris Sagal (The Omega Man) and starring David McCullum (The Invisible Man, The Man from Uncle) follows in the footsteps of movies like The Dam Busters and 633 Squadron and serves up a satisfying World War II aerial romp. Product Features HD (1080p) Blu-rayTM presentation 2.0 English Mono Optional English Subtitles Audio Commentary by Filmmaker/Historian Steve Mitchell and Combat Films: American Realism Author Steven Jay Rubin Original Trailer Stills Gallery
World War II aviation buffs may quibble with the details of Mosquito Squadron, but they'll love it just the same. It's an average war movie, capably directed by Boris Sagal, who thrived in television before he was tragically killed by a helicopter rotor in 1981. At the peak of his post-Man from UNCLE success, David McCallum plays a melancholy RAF ace, leading his squadron of De Havilland "Mosquito" bombers on low-altitude strikes over Nazi strongholds in Germany and France. His ground-based dilemma involves the grieving wife of his best friend, a fellow pilot presumed dead but later discovered alive with other POWs held at a French chalet where the Nazis are developing advanced V-class bombers. The RAF employs bouncing "highballs" capable of penetrating difficult targets, and the rousing climax doubles as a rescue mission and treacherous bombing run. Explosive action compensates for predictable melodrama, and Rocky Horror fans will enjoy seeing Charles ("the Criminologist") Gray as a stuffy RAF Commodore. --Jeff Shannon
Mosquito Squadron (Dir. Boris Sagal 1968): Squadron leader Quint is tasked with leading the elite Mosquito Squadron on a perilous mission to destroy a secret missile factory located deep beneath a French chateau. The Nazi project must be stopped at all costs but the factory chateau contains hundreds of RAF prisoners and the husband of the woman he loves... 633 Squadron (Dir. Walter Grauman 1964): With the fate of Europe still hanging in the balance a disparate bunch of brave Mosquito pilots are ordered on a near suicide low-level mission to destroy a Nazi rocket fuel depot in Norway... To make the film which was based on a true story a squadron of legendary de Havilland Mosquito fighter-bombers was resurrected from near extinction. Dazzling flying sequences bone-shaking sound and superb special effects help to make this one of the most realistic air combat films ever to reach the screen. A Bridge Too Far (Dir. Richard Attenborough 1977): An epic film that ""re-creates in stunning detail one of the most disastrous battles of World War II"" (The Hollywood Reporter) A Bridge Too Far is a spectacular war picture. Painstakingly recreated on actual battlefield locations and boasting a remarkable cast that includes Sean Connery Anthony Hopkins Sir Laurence Olivier and Robert Redford 'A Bridge Too Far' accurately recaptures the monumental scope excitement and danger behind one of the biggest military gambles in history. In September 1944 flush with success after the Normandy Invasion the Allies confidently launched Operation Market Garden a wild scheme intended to put an early end to the fighting by invading Germany and smashing the Reich's war plants. But a combination of battlefield politics faulty intelligence bad luck and even worse weather led to the disaster beyond the Allies' darkest fear.
Providing a showcase for some of Britain s most accomplished screenwriters Dramarama was an acclaimed 1980s anthology series which became a staple part of children s television viewing and is still widely remembered today. Spooky aired shortly before the main series was broadcast exploring the supernatural vein that would appear throughout Dramarama s run. These outstanding screenplays venture into the dark corners of the imagination to create some of the most spine-tingling scenes ever seen on children s television! Nicholas Ball Wilfrid Brambell and Colin Jeavons are among the performers; high-calibre writers include BAFTA-Award winner Paula Milne Grange Hill contributor Jane Hollowood and authors Leon Garfield and Alan Garner both recipients of the Carnegie Medal for children's literature.
Nigel Kneale's prescient 1968 play which features a vision of the future where Big Brother-style reality TV shows are used to sedate the libidos and appetites of the masses...
In this powerful, dramatic filming of the Henry James classic, superbly adapted for the screen by Jack Pulman (I, Claudius), Suzanne Neve stars as the young Isabel Archer. On the death of her father, Isabel refuses the hand of Mr. Goodwood and leaves her married sisters for Europe, stubborn, independent, and in the company of her rich eccentric Aunt Lydia (Beatrix Lehmann).Welcomed into the bosom of her aunt's family, she is soon befriended by her cousin Ralph (Richard Chamberlain) who respects and admires her spirit. Ralph persuades his father, on the aged man's deathbed, to divert half his fortune to Isabel, while he watches to see what she makes of her now fully-funded freedom.The choices she makes, both good and bad, will have a deep and long-lasting impact on those around her, arousing much passion and weighted with much grief. In his book 'The Realists', acclaimed author C.P. Snow described this production as a supreme television achievement, aesthetically and in all other ways. As gripping as it is compelling, it is not hard to see why.
Gerry Anderson's classic sci-fi series. The operatives of the secret Supreme Headquarters Alien Defence Organisation (S.H.A.D.O.) defend the earth from extra-terrestrials who are abducting humans to obtain their organs which can be transplanted into their own bodies... Episodes include: Confetti Check A-O-K E.S.P Kill Straker
Gerry Anderson's classic sci-fi series. The operatives of the secret Supreme Headquarters Alien Defence Organisation (S.H.A.D.O.) defend the earth from extra-terrestrials who are abducting humans to obtain their organs which can be transplanted into their own bodies... Episodes include: A Question Of Priorities Ordeal The Responsibility Seat
Please wait. Loading...
This site uses cookies.
More details in our privacy policy