Michael Felgate (Hugh Grant), an elegant, debonair Englishman who runs an auction house in New York, is head-over-heels in love for the first time in his life.
With its high-intensity plot about an attempt to assassinate French President Charles de Gaulle, the bestselling novel by Frederick Forsyth was a prime candidate for screen adaptation. Director Fred Zinnemann brought his veteran skills to bear on what has become a timeless classic of screen suspense. Not to be confused with the later remake The Jackal starring Bruce Willis (which shamelessly embraced all the bombast that Zinnemann so wisely avoided), this 1973 thriller opts for lethal elegance and low-key tenacity in the form of the Jackal, the suave assassin played with consummate British coolness by Edward Fox. He's a killer of the highest order, a master of disguise and international elusiveness, and this riveting film follows his path to de Gaulle with an intense, straightforward documentary style. Perhaps one of the last great films from a bygone age of pure, down-to-basics suspense (and a kind of debonair European alternative to the American grittiness of The French Connection), The Day of the Jackal is a cat-and-mouse thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat until its brilliantly executed final scene (pardon the pun), by which time Fox has achieved cinematic immortality as one of the screen's most memorable killers. --Jeff Shannon
Father Ted is one of those rare sitcoms that defies categorisation--it owes as much to Flann O'Brien and Samuel Beckett as it does to Monty Python--and its blend of satire, character comedy and anarchic surrealism has made it a cult favourite around the world. Exiled to remote Craggy Island, Father Ted shares a house with the breathtakingly stupid Father Dougal Maguire and the constantly inebriated Father Jack, who has a small vocabulary and a taste for furniture polish. Their housekeeper, Mrs Doyle, takes care of them with a never-ending supply of tea and sandwiches: "Go on now, Father, won't you try one? They're diagonal." Together they fight boredom by dressing up as Elvis, startling ducks at the fair and provoking nuns. This set compiles the entire three-year series. --Simon Leake
Peter Parker returns in Spider-Manâ¢: Far From Home, the next chapter of the Spider-Manâ¢: Homecoming series! Our friendly neighborhood Super Hero decides to join his best friends Ned, MJ, and the rest of the gang on a European vacation. However, Peter's plan to leave super heroics behind for a few weeks are quickly scrapped when he begrudgingly agrees to help Nick Fury uncover the mystery of several elemental creature attacks, creating havoc across the continent! Click Images to Enlarge
Comedy legend Tony Hancock makes his feature film-starring debut in this witty satire that takes both white-collar monotony and the pretensions of the art-world in its crosshairs. A self-taught artist with an enthusiasm that far exceeds any ability, Anthony Hancock throws in his hollow office job and moves to Paris to live his dream. Although he quickly finds acceptance among the bohemians and beatniks, legitimate critics scoff at his work. However, he begins to taste critical success when the art of his talented former roommate becomes confused with his own.
Who Dares Wins starring Lewis Collins Edward Woodward and Richard Widmark is an uncompromising and exciting action thriller which dramatises the activities of the SAS. When a British government undercover agent is assassinated a radical anti-nuclear group is held responsible. SAS agent Skellen is called upon to infiltrate the group and put an end to their terrorist activities. However the group raids the American embassy and Skellen from within the residence must use his skill and courage to support and guide his SAS colleagues. It will require the full force of the world's most lethal fighting unit to save the lives of several high-ranking hostages...
Rapid Fire was the penultimate film starring Brandon Lee before his untimely death on the set of The Crow. It's a standard martial arts thriller in which Lee plays Jake Lo, a young arts student who witnesses a gangland execution and is unwittingly drawn into a pitched standoff between the mafia, a Chinese drug syndicate and Ryan, a downbeat but resolute Chicago cop (Powers Boothe) determined to nail his prey. With a plot that careens through every genre cliché, Lee's smouldering looks and showy fighting skills carry the film. The martial arts sequences (which Lee co-choreographed) are nicely staged, but given the unusual settings--the penultimate fight takes place in a Chinese laundry--could have been even more inventive. The workmanlike direction by Dwight H Little (Marked for Death, Free Willy 2) fails to inject much into the material. In particular, traumatised by seeing his Special Agent father die in the Tiananmen Square massacre, Jake Lo's attraction to both a corrupt FBI agent and Ryan as surrogate father figures could have been given more resonance given the loss of Brandon Lee's own father at an early age. With hundreds of bloodless deaths, cringe-worthy dialogue and a dated power rock soundtrack, Rapid Fire looks and feels like a TV film. And on that level, at least, it's entertaining. On the DVD: The main feature is presented in letterboxed widescreen. Sound and picture quality are very good. Subtitles are provided for ten languages (Czech, Danish, Finnish, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Norweigian, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish) and in English for the hard of hearing. Extra features are limited to chapter selection and a theatrical trailer. --Chris Campion
Is it a sitcom? Is it a serious documentary about the Catholic priesthood? No, it's The Very Best of Father Ted, a choice collection of episodes from Graham Linehan and Arthur Matthews' affably surreal sitcom. Ted's the normal one, as evidenced by his moving Song for Europe entry, "My Lovely Horse"--a modern classic if ever there wasn't one. Gasp as "poor idiot boy" Father Dougal becomes a rollerblading fiend in "Cigarettes and Alcohol and Rollerblading"; be amazed as super Ted saves Craggy Island from a deadly milk-float in the stunning blockbuster sequel "Speed 3" (well, it's faster and more fun than Speed 2); fall off the window-sill as devoted housekeeper Mrs Doyle utters the line that's almost Shakespearean in its sublimity, "Cup of tea, Father?". Graham Norton pops up to annoy everyone in "The Mainland", there's a whole host of Elvis impersonators in "Competition Time", and meanwhile Father Jack doesn't need an excuse to hit the bottle (or to smash one over someone's head) in any episode. Not saying Mass has probably never been so much fun. On the DVD: The Very Best of Father Ted on disc has six episodes as opposed to five on the video release: the extra one is the Christmas special, "A Christmassy Ted". Extra features are selected commentaries by Graham Linehan and Ardal O'Hanlan, a clip compilation of each character, and a rather poor photo gallery. Picture is 4:3 and sound basic stereo. --Gary S Dalkin
Many lesbian movies are long on charm and short on production values; Better Than Chocolate has a solid dose of both and steamy sex scenes to boot. Our heroine Maggie (Karyn Dwyer), a clerk at a lesbian bookshop, meets footloose butch Kim (Christina Cox) and, after Kim's van is towed away, they move in together. Unfortunately for their romantic bliss, Maggie's mother, Lila (Wendy Crewson), and teenage brother move in that very evening thanks to Lila's impending divorce. But what really complicates matters is that Maggie can't bring herself to come out to her mother. Even when she tries, Lila steamrollers through the conversation, as if she knows what's coming and doesn't want to hear it. Interwoven with this is the struggle of Judy (Peter Outerbridge), a male-to-female transsexual who's in love with the bookshop's owner, Frances (Ann-Marie MacDonald), who's freaking out because customs officers are holding a list of books at the border that they claim are obscene. The overlapping plots are deftly juggled, the personal and political are compellingly interwoven, and, most satisfying of all, the characters have problems that aren't going to be easily resolved. A handful of candy-coloured lip-synching musical numbers give the movie some flash and the sex scenes give it some heat, but it's the elements of sorrow and ambiguity that really make the joy in Better Than Chocolate something to savour. --Bret Fetzer, Amazon.com
From its very beginning in 1995, Graham Linehan and Arthur Matthews' affable sitcom Father Ted occupied a previously undiscovered niche in TV comedy: by turns endearing and surreal, it was always effortlessly hilarious. Ted's the almost normal one, fighting the good fight to keep his sanity amid the chaos of his own household, where he lives with "poor idiot boy" Father Dougal, psychotically devoted housekeeper Mrs Doyle and foul-mouthed Father Jack, who doesn't need an excuse to hit the bottle (or smash one over someone's head) in any episode and whose vocabulary consists of just three immortal words: "Drink, Feck, Girls!"The first series opens with "Good Luck, Father Ted" as we learn just how dreary life on Craggy Island really is when Funland arrives (which boasts such attractions as Freak Pointing and the Spinning Cat!). Everyone's patience is tested further when "Entertaining Father Stone"--quite possibly the most boring man on Earth--in the second episode. Proving bad publicity can be good publicity, Ted and Dougal then accidentally manage to attract audiences to the blasphemous film "The Passion of St Tibulus". Their ingenuity is tested to the limit in "Competition Time" as they become "The Three Ages of Elvis". Dermot Morgan's Ted is at his most sympathetic in "And God Created Women" when he gets the wrong end of the stick about the intentions of romantic novelist Polly Clarke. Then, lastly, in " Grant Unto Him Eternal Rest", everyone rallies round at Father Jack's "funeral" to reminisce about what a fine priest and good-natured fellow he was! These six episodes made for a wonderful series debut; catchphrases were born ("Drink!"), as were regular characters (Jim Norton's sinister Bishop Brennan); and like Mrs Doyle's ever-wandering facial mole, audiences wanted it to "go on go on go on".On the DVD: the only extra is an exceedingly self-deprecatory commentary from co-writer Graham Linehan, who explains the origins of the characters and how he wrote in collaboration with Arthur Matthews. He frequently and hilariously compares himself with others (chiefly Mel Brooks on Young Frankensteinand The Producers). Fans will be delighted to hear many jokes that nearly made it into the show, but will undoubtedly end up somewhere else! --Paul Tonks
In the days of silent film serials one of the noblest trios to grace the screen and get the bad guys was the Three Amigos: Dusty Bottoms (Chevy Chase) Lucky Day (Steve Martin) and Ned Nederlander (Martin Short). But when their Hollywood glory days wane they receive a letter from a desperate community in Mexico that thinks their heroic characters are for real: they want the Three Amigos to come to their tiny Mexican village and defeat the notorious bandit El Guapo (Alfonso Arau).
Sitcom legend Tony Hancock makes his feature film-starring debut in this clever comedy from long-time collaborators Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. A witty satire that vigorously ridicules effete pseudo-intellectualism, middle-class pretensions and bohemian artiness, The Rebel is presented here as a brand-new High Definition restoration from the original camera negative in its original theatrical aspect ratio. A self-taught artist with an enthusiasm that far exceeds any ability, Anthony Hancock throws in his monotonous office job to live the dream. His genius unappreciated by the local peasantry he decides there's only one place for his talents to flower - amongst the beatniks and bohemians of Paris! Special Features: Limited edition booklet containing the script for The Day Off - what would have been Galton and Simpson's second film for Hancock had he not turned it down Theatrical trailer Image gallery
This set contains the final series of Father Ted, which ended abruptly in 1998 with the death of its talented comic star, Dermot Morgan. The eight episodes here are a little uneven, but the best stuff is classic, laugh-out-loud satire, including "Are You Right There, Father Ted", in which Morgan's titular Catholic priest is re-banished to Ireland's Craggy Island, a green rock replete with paranoid sheep, randy milkmen, Nazi memorabilia collectors and an inexplicably large community of Chinese immigrants. Outstanding, too, is "Speed 3", in which Ted discovers that a number of babies recently born on Craggy all look like a self-made swinger named Pat Mustard. "Kicking Bishop Brennan Up the Arse" speaks for itself, and "The Mainland" gives supporting actor Ardal O'Hanlon (as idiotic fellow cleric Dougal) a great showcase. --Tom Keogh
Sitcom legend Tony Hancock makes his feature film-starring debut in this clever comedy from long-time collaborators Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. A witty satire that vigorously ridicules effete pseudo-intellectualism, middle-class pretensions and bohemian artiness, The Rebel is presented here as a brand-new restoration from the original camera negative in its original theatrical aspect ratio. A self-taught artist with an enthusiasm that far exceeds any ability, Anthony Hancock throws in his monotonous office job to live the dream. His genius unappreciated by the local peasantry he decides there's only one place for his talents to flower - amongst the beatniks and bohemians of Paris!
Punch & Judy Man: Tony Hancock is a melancholy Punch and Judy man trying to establish himself as an important citizen in the seaside town where he works. When his snobbish wife is taught a lesson at an important social event it looks like the British comic genius may just get the new lease of life of which he's always dreamed... (Dir. Jeremy Summers 1963) The Rebel: Tony Hancock portrays a bored city clerk who has ambitions of becoming an artist in France. (Dir. Robert Day 1961)
The Rebel (1961) and The Punch and Judy Man (1963) are the only two feature films made expressly as star vehicles for the great television comic Tony Hancock. The Rebel is by far the more ambitious, being in colour with Parisian locations, a large cast, and not least a supporting role for international star George Sanders. The opening rebellion against office life surely inspired The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin, while references follow to Look Back in Anger (1958) and Billy Wilder's The Apartment (1960) and Some Like It Hot (1959). Hancock goes to Paris to follow his artistic muse and as he rises through the art world his naivety is taken for genius, allowing for some very funny moments and spot-on satire, which are just as relevant today as 40 years ago. Filmed in black-and-white in Bognor Regis, The Punch and Judy Man is a more modest yet evocative portrait of life in a small coastal resort. Hancock is the titular beach entertainer who is happy to live from day to day with the affable companionship of John Le Mesurier and Hugh Lloyd. The problem is he's burdened with a socially ambitious wife, Sylvia Syms. Gentle humour comes from Hancock's frustrations as a proto-Basil Fawlty, and the film, packed with familiar British character actors, has an old-fashioned charm. It makes for an enjoyable supporting feature to The Rebel, which is undoubtedly a minor classic. On the DVD: Tony Hancock Double Feature presents both films at 4:3 ratio. The earlier film looks decidedly cropped in several scenes, though the latter survives the reformatting largely unscathed. The Rebel's colour is faded and the image grainy, while The Punch and Judy Man generally has a much stronger black and white image. Even so, there is some flickering and print damage. The music is distorted in The Rebel but the mono sound is fine during The Punch and Judy Man. There are no extras. --Gary S Dalkin
Among the five episodes collected here are two of Father Ted's finest half-hours. "Rock-A-Hula Ted" was one of the few episodes in which the writers of the show abandoned any concern for their largely British audience and stacked the script with explicitly Irish references: Craggy Island's "Lovely Girls" festival is a burlesque of the all-too-genuine "Rose Of Tralee" pageant, and fire-breathing pop singer Niamh Connolly--played with aplomb by Clare Grogan--an obvious enough Sinead O'Connor manqué. "New Jack City", meanwhile is the classic episode in which the choleric Father Jack is finally despatched to an old folks' loony bin only to be replaced by the mesmerisingly appalling ragga-fixated chain-smoker Father Fintan Stack. As one of the high points of the Father Ted series this episode is also one of the high points of television comedy. There isn't much wrong with the other three episodes here, either. On the DVD: an interactive menu allows the selection of individual episodes, and segments within those episodes. The only extra feature is the option of watching the episodes with the dialogue replaced with a commentary by co-writer Graham Linehan and actor Ardal O'Hanlon, who plays Father Dougal Maguire. Occasionally interesting and revealing though this is, it gets rapidly wearing in this form, and would have worked much better if transcribed in an accompanying booklet. The disc is presented in 4:3 aspect ratio with English subtitles available.--Andrew Mueller
When Snow White runs away from her evil Step Mother she runs to an enchanted cottage in the forest.
Three classic princess stories involving the characters Cinderella Sleeping Beauty and Snow White.
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