The Beiderbecke Collection is a charming mix of comedy and drama that has all the hallmarks of a classic detective thriller. Follow the exploits of jazz fan Trevor and his long-suffering girlfriend Jill as they find themselves embroiled in various mysteries which follow them to Amsterdam and Edinburgh and include dodgy businessmen black economies refugees and much much more.... 'The Beiderbecke Affair' (1984) - Follow the exploits of Jazz nut Trevor Chaplin (James Bolam) and his long-suffering girlfriend Jill Swinburne (Barbara Flynn). Whilst trying to track down a set of missing records they encounter a mystery platinum blonde who weaves a complex web of intrigue that soon escalates to dealing with dodgy businessmen 'black economies' and council corruption. 'The Beiderbecke Tapes' (1987) - Feature length mystery with Trevor and Jill as they continue to embroil themselves in all sorts of clandestine meetings and intrigue. Nuclear waste in the Yorkshire Dales sinister conversations and a missing barman take Trevor and Jill on a whirlwind mystery from the Dales to Amsterdam and Edinburgh. 'The Beiderbecke Connection' (1988) - Trevor and Jill are now parents to a baby boy however their old pals Big Al and Little Norm prevail upon them to give sanctuary to a homeless refugee. It is not long however before they are again caught up in a complex deception of a musical kind featuring the music of jazz supremo Frank Ricotti.
1946. The war is over... but not for everyone. Demobbed pilot Jack Ruskin (Roy Marsden The Sandbaggers) has developed a passion for aviation and he's determined to keep flying. Unable to find work with an established civilian airline, and armed with only his demob suit and a seventy-pound gratuity, he decides to launch his own air freight company with wartime colleague Peter Witney. Boasting just one plane, Ruskin Air Services is born amid the austerity of post-war Britain... and it's not only the Great Freeze that threatens to keep Jack's fledgling business on the ground. Airline vividly brings to life the faltering and sometimes perilous progress of the independent airline operators of the Forties, encompassing landmark events such as the Berlin Airlift and capturing the excitement of the earliest passenger services. Richard Heffer (Colditz) and Terence Rigby (Beiderbecke) also star in this highly original series, devised and written by Wilfred Greatorex (The Power Game).
A fictional tale of English gangsters, inspired by the actual murder of three men killed in a Range Rover in Essex.
No-one will be neutral about Plunkett and Macleane. Either you go with its notion of cheeky, stylish fun or you want to grab first-time director Jake Scott by the ear and slap him silly. Your inclination may depend on whether you recall his dad Ridley's own directing debut, The Duellists (1977), and savour the correspondences. Dad took a Joseph Conrad tale of the Napoleonic Wars, cast it with the ultra-contemporary Keith Carradine and Harvey Keitel, and filmed it with a swooping, mobile camera. Son Jake has made a feisty period piece about a pair of thieves (Robert Carlyle, Jonny Lee Miller) in 1748 London and filled it with blatant anachronisms. A decadent aristo (Alan Cumming), asked whether he "still swings both ways," replies, "I swing every way!" A ballroom full of revellers dances the minuet (or is it the gavotte?) while our ears--if not theirs--are filled with a trance ballad. And so forth. Is this sophomoric? Maybe. But it's also often fresh and inventive. Why shouldn't a filmmaker be allowed to speak directly to a contemporary consciousness, even flaunt it, as long as he also delivers startling imagery and convincing period detail? The solid cast includes Michael Gambon as a corrupt magistrate, Ken Stott as a very nasty enforcer named Mr Chance (who favours a thumb through the eye socket and into the brain as a mode of execution) and Terence Rigby as a philosophical jailer. Even Liv Tyler looks more interesting than usual. In the end pretty frivolous, Plunkett and Macleane is nonetheless a lively debut. --Richard T Jameson, Amazon.com
Written by actor, best-selling author and noted satirist John Wells and based on his and Richard Ingrams' hilarious Dear Bill letters for Private Eye Anyone for Denis? was a major West End hit in the early 1980s and remains an unequivocally high watermark of British farce. Starring Wells himself as the much-put-upon Denis and Angela Thorne in an arguably career-best performance as The Iron Lady, a remarkable supporting cast includes Robert Stephens, Joan Sanderson, Alfred Molina, Roy Kinnear, Nicky Henson and John Cater. This television adaptation for Thames Television one of the hits of the ITV network's 1982 Christmas season was directed award-winning writer/director (and comedy legend in his own right) Dick Clement. While Maggie is away at a Euro-Conference, Denis invites two of his drinking chums for a weekend of mischief at Chequers. Things start to go seriously wrong, however, when she returns unexpectedly and mistakes her husband's friends for EEC Commissioners!
Youth crime and drugs are rife in London and Scotland Yard is having trouble dealing with it. A new force is in play within the underworld namely the gangland leader Carl Frazer (Viggo Mortensen) - an American who is an expert at turning young men into ruthless gangsters. Scotland Yard call in an advisor from the American DEA John Harris (Harvey Keitel) to help the London police to break up the organisation. Harris arrives in London to find nothing different from the LA he just left...
This riveting mystery is a whodunit at its best. The legendary British sleuth Sherlock Holmes accompanied by his loyal sidekick Watson become wrapped up in yet another jewel-centered mystery when a beautiful young woman finds herself the surprised recipient of the world's second largest diamond. The master detective is summoned to figure out just who sent her the jewel and why.
Much like Richard Adams' wonderful novel this animated tale of wandering rabbits is not meant for small children. It is, however, rich storytelling, populated with very real individuals inhabiting a very real world. The animation is problematic, sometimes appearing out of proportion or just below par; but it seems to stem from an attempt at realism, something distinguishing the film's characters from previous, cutesy, animated animals. A band of rabbits illegally leave their warren after a prophecy of doom from a runt named Fiver (voiced by Richard Briers). In search of a place safe from humans and predators, they face all kinds of dangers, including a warren that has made a sick bargain with humankind, and a warren that is basically a fascist state. Allegories aside, Down is engaging and satisfying, and pulls off the same amazing trick that the novel did--you'll forget that this is a story about rabbits. --Keith Simanton, Amazon.com
One of the big Elizabethan-era films of 1998, Shekhar Kapur's Elizabeth serves up a brimming goblet of religious tension, political conspiracy, sex, violence and war. England in 1554 is in financial and religious turmoil as the ailing Queen "Bloody" Mary attempts to restore Catholicism as the national faith. She has no heir, and her greatest fear--that her Protestant half-sister Elizabeth will assume the throne after her death--is realised. Still, the late Queen Mary has her loyalists. The newly crowned Elizabeth finds herself knee-deep in dethroning schemes while also dodging assassination attempts. Her advisers (including Sir William Cecil, superbly played by Richard Attenborough) beg her to marry any one of her would-be suitors to stabilise England's empire. No matter that she already has a lover. The passionate Robert Dudley (Joseph Fiennes) is married, however, and shows he cannot stand up to the growing strength of the Queen. With the help of her aide Walsingham (Geoffrey Rush), Elizabeth strikes against her enemies before they get to her first. But her rise ultimately entails rejecting love and marriage to redefine herself as the indisputable Virgin Queen. Cate Blanchett's Oscar-nominated performance as the naive and vibrant princess who becomes the stubborn and knowing queen is both severe and sympathetic. Her ethereal, pale beauty is equal parts fire and ice, her delivery of such lines as "There will be only one mistress here and no master!" expressed with command rather than hysterics. As striking as Blanchett's performance is the film's lavish and dramatic production design. The cold, dark sets paired with the lush costuming show the golden age of England's monarchy emerging from the Middle Ages. Rich velvet brushes over the dank stones while power is achieved at any price, and with such attention to physical detail, Elizabeth fully immerses you into its compelling chronicle of pioneering feminism and revisionist history. --Shannon Gee
Johns Barlow defined the nations very notion of a no-nonsense, sharp-tongued police chief not averse to thrashing suspects into submission, while Windsor°Ûªs Watt played mellower mind games with the villains. Together with their Special Operations squad, they tackle fictional Thamesford°Ûªs most monstrous crimes and puzzling cases. Unafraid to address problematic social issues of the day, the series, like its predecessors Z-Cars and Softly Softly, provided a startling window on police methods and the simmering tensions and resentments on the streets of 1970s Britain. Created by BBC crime stalwart Elwyn Jones, other popular returning characters include fellow Softly Softly stalwart DS Harry Hawkins (Norman Bowler), dog handler PC Snow (Terence Digby), cheery Sergeant Evans (David Lloyd Meredith) and troubled Chief Constable Cullen (Walter Gotell). Following the edgy tradition set by the earlier shows, most of these episodes were originally broadcast live
After the death of her bullying husband the not-so aged and downtrodden housewife Thelma Caldicot (Pauline Collins) is shipped off to the Twilight Years Rest Home by her money-grabbing son and manipulative daughter in-law. Appalled by the conditions Mrs Caldicot decides to taker matters into her own hands...
The Beiderbecke Collection' is a charming mix of comedy and drama that has all the hallmarks of a classic detective thriller. Follow the exploits of jazz fan Trevor and his long-suffering girlfriend Jill as they find themselves embroiled in various mysteries which follow them to Amsterdam and Edinburgh and include dodgy businessmen black economies refugees and much much more.... This box set contains the following titles: 'The Beiderbecke Affair' 'The Beiderbecke Tapes' and 'The Beiderbecke Connection'.
Accident: (WS 1.66:1) Following their destructive foray into English class hatreds in 'The Servant' director Joseph Losey and screen writer Harold Pinter turn their attention to the Dons of Oxford. Pinter examines the motivations of several men in a brusque study of love and jealousy centred around one woman. The 'Accidental' death of one of them springs a trap of guilt remorse and thwarted sexual ambition on all concerned. Each scene brings more prickly revelations in a complex and thought provoking masterpiece. The Family Way: (FS 4:3) Based on Bill Naughton's warm hearted play 'The Family Way' is a thought-provoking exploration of the emotional impact of the 1960s sexual revolution. Hayley Mills stars in her first 'X' rated film with Hywel Bennett as two sensitive youngsters who fail to consummate their marriage following the vulgar ribaldry of their typically working class Lancashire wedding.
Delightful comedy drama about school teachers Trevor and Jill who are also a duo of amateur investigators. Features all six episodes from the first series: 'What I Don't Understand Is This...' 'Can Anybody Join In?' 'We Call It The White Economy' 'Um... I Know What You're Thinking' 'That Was A Very Funny Evening' and 'We Are On The Brink Of A New Era If Only....
Peter Curtis (Ian McShane) has just been released from prison after serving four years for manslaughter. His victim's mysterious last words were High Tide's at 9.52 - and now Peter wants to find out why. Heading south in search of answers he books into a hotel - and discovers the only other resident knows all about him. Then he picks up a hitch-hiker Celia who may be far from innocent. Other people it seems are interested in those enigmatic last words and are prepared to kill to solve the mystery before Peter. As Peter conducts his search in the tidal estuaries of West England he finds that there are far greater dangers than treacherous currents to contend with... Part of ITV's hugely popular Armchair Thriller series High Tide was originally broadcast as a four part serial and has never been released on DVD before.
The ongoing saga of investigative schoolteachers Trevor Chaplin and Jill Swinburne continues in this four part series....
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.
No-one will be neutral about Plunkett and Macleane. Either you go with its notion of cheeky, stylish fun or you want to grab first-time director Jake Scott by the ear and slap him silly. Your inclination may depend on whether you recall his dad Ridley's own directing debut, The Duellists (1977), and savour the correspondences. Dad took a Joseph Conrad tale of the Napoleonic Wars, cast it with the ultra-contemporary Keith Carradine and Harvey Keitel, and filmed it with a swooping, mobile camera. Son Jake has made a feisty period piece about a pair of thieves (Robert Carlyle, Jonny Lee Miller) in 1748 London and filled it with blatant anachronisms. A decadent aristo (Alan Cumming), asked whether he "still swings both ways," replies, "I swing every way!" A ballroom full of revellers dances the minuet (or is it the gavotte?) while our ears--if not theirs--are filled with a trance ballad. And so forth. Is this sophomoric? Maybe. But it's also often fresh and inventive. Why shouldn't a filmmaker be allowed to speak directly to a contemporary consciousness, even flaunt it, as long as he also delivers startling imagery and convincing period detail? The solid cast includes Michael Gambon as a corrupt magistrate, Ken Stott as a very nasty enforcer named Mr Chance (who favours a thumb through the eye socket and into the brain as a mode of execution) and Terence Rigby as a philosophical jailer. Even Liv Tyler looks more interesting than usual. In the end pretty frivolous, Plunkett and Macleane is nonetheless a lively debut. --Richard T Jameson, Amazon.com
Here in all its glory is the second volume of Crossroads including episodes released on DVD for the very first time. Meg and Sandy Richardson Benny Hawkins Adam Chance Shughie McFee - the names still strike a chord in the memories with a generation of people who sat entranched watching the latest escapades of the staff and customers of Crossroads motel. Unrepeated for many years the general perception of Crossroads is coloured by that of Acorn Antiques
When Teddy (Jayston) brings his wife Ruth (Marchant) home to meet his family for the first time murky secrets are revealed and old wounds are reopened... The American Film Theatre production of Harold Pinter's play features direction from Peter Hall and showcases Ian Holm giving one of the finest performances of his career as vicious thug Lenny.
Please wait. Loading...
This site uses cookies.
More details in our privacy policy