Fifty years on, it's hard to appreciate just how shocking one key scene in The Blue Lamp was considered by British audiences. Young delinquent Tom Riley (played with sensuous malevolence by Dirk Bogarde) guns down kindly, benevolent copper, PC Dixon (Jack Warner.) In early 1950s Britain, murdering a policeman was the ultimate taboo. Even the underworld's denizens help the police flush Riley out. Made by Ealing Studios, The Blue Lamp is not a comedy but shares many of the studio's characteristic comic hallmarks, as well as the same writer (TEB Clarke) for their classics Hue And Cry and The Lavender Hill Mob. Consensus and tolerance are the watchwords. Individualism is frowned upon. There are no extravagant displays of emotion, not even from Mrs Dixon (Gladys Henson) when she learns what happened to her husband. The understatement is very moving, although by today's standards the representation of the police seems absurdly idealised. Were they ever the doughty, patient sorts depicted here? It is no surprise to learn that Scotland Yard co-operated in the making of the film but this is much more than just police propaganda. Well-crafted, full of finely judged character performances, it ranks with Ealing's best work. It was made at an intriguing historical moment: before rock and roll and the era of teenage affluence, there was simply no place for young tearaways like Tom Riley. --Geoffrey Macnab
Four different perspectives of a train disaster are told through a quartet of short stories.
A man's nervous breakdown causes him to leave his wife and live in his attic for several months.
Don Siegel (Madigan) directs The Lineup, a brutal film noir loosely based on the radio and television series of the same name. Beginning as a straightforward police procedural, the film shifts into much darker territory as Julian and Dancer, two sociopathic gangsters played by Robert Keith (The Wild One) and Eli Wallach (The People Next Door), must retrieve a parcel of heroin that has ended up in the possession of unwitting tourists. With a screenplay by Stirling Silliphant (Murphy's War), The Lineup's influence stretches from Bob Dylan, who quoted its dialogue in Absolutely Sweet Marie', to Quentin Tarantino, whose erudite gangsters bear a close resemblance to Julian and Dancer. Extras: Indicator Standard Edition Special Features High Definition remaster Original mono audio Audio commentary with author James Ellroy and the Film Noir Foundation's Eddie Muller (2009) Audio commentary with film historian David Del Valle and author and screenwriter C Courtney Joyner (2020) The Influence of Noir (2009, 7 mins): appreciation by filmmaker Christopher Nolan The Streets of San Francisco (2020, 7 mins): video essay guide to the locations of The Lineup Three episodes of The Lineup radio series: The Candy Store Murder' (1950, 30 mins), written by Blake Edwards; The Case of Frankie and Joyce' (1951, 31 mins); and The Harrowing Haggada Handball Case' (1951, 26 mins), written by Edwards and Richard Quine Tricky Dicks (1953, 16 mins): comedy starring the Three Stooges, in which the trio send up the police procedural Original theatrical trailer Trailer commentary: short appreciation by A History of Violence screenwriter Josh Olson Image gallery: promotional and publicity materials New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Wallander: Season 2
Virginia McKenna gives a moving, BAFTA-nominated performance as Violette Szabo, one of the Second World War's most revered heroines. The dramatic story of her resistance work, imprisonment and ultimate fate, Carve Her Name with Pride stands as a tribute to the secret agent who would be posthumously awarded the George Cross for her vital and courageous role in the fight against Nazism. Directed by the Oscar-nominated Lewis Gilbert and co-starring Paul Scofield and Jack Warner, this classic feature is presented in a brand-new transfer from the original film elements in its original theatrical aspect ratio. Following her recruitment by the Special Operations Executive, Violette Szabo volunteers to be parachuted into occupied France to re-organise a shattered resistance group. Though successful in destabilising German reinforcements for the battles raging on the Normandy front, Violette knows only too well that the life expectancy of an undercover operative can usually be measured in weeks and months... SPECIAL FEATURES: Audio commentary with Virginia McKenna and John Shirley (Editor) Original Theatrical Trailer Image Gallery
Director Neil Jordan's gothic outing is a unique excursion into horror.
Based on the novel by Will Heinrich, Sam Peckinpah's only war film is an intense and uncompromising affair that brilliantly reflects both the futility of conflict and the director's fascination with individuals confronted by events beyond their control. A World War II tale told from the German perspective, Cross Of Iron follows a platoon of German soldiers in Russia when the German Wehrmacht forces had been decimated and the Germans were retreating along the Russian front. Rolf Steiner (James Coburn) is a German corporal and recipient of the Iron Cross who has grown disenchanted with Hitler's war machine. When Captain Stransky (Maximilian Schell) assumes charge, the pair are thrown into immediate conflict, the autocratic but ultimately cowardly Stransky coveting the loyalty and honour Steiner commands. Evocatively shot by John Coquillon (Billy the Kid) in sombre tones to emphasise the horrors of combat, the superlative lead performances are matched by David Warner and James Mason as war-weary senior officers. Viewed as one of Peckinpah's most powerful works, it's an unflinching vision of the Second World War. Product Features Blu-Ray Disc 1 Audio Commentary by filmmaker and film historian Mike Siegel NEW Promoting STEINER NEW STEINER on the set NEW Filming STEINER NEW Filming STEINER pt 2 NEW STEINER in colour Blu-Ray Disc 2 On Location: Sam Peckinpah On Location: James Coburn On Location: Maximillian Schell On Location: James Mason On Location: David Warner Passion and Poetry: Sam Peckinpah's War Kruger Kisses Kern Vadim & Sam: Father & Son Cutting Room Floor Steiner in Japan: Ads filmed in 1977 Mike's Home Movies: Steiner & Kiesel Meet Again US/UK Trailer German Trailer US TV Spot
1943: a German platoon suffers heavy bombardment from surrounding Soviet troops as they try to affect their withdrawal from Russia: knowing that defeat is inevitable their only goal is survival...
Digitally restored and remastered Frank Capra's heart-warming masterpiece has been embraced as a cherished holiday tradition by families around the world! George Bailey (James Stewart) sets aside his dreams of world travel to run his father's small community bank, and protect the people of Bedford Falls from greedy businessman Mr. Potter (Lionel Barrymore). When a costly mistake pushes George to the brink of despair, a visit from a kindly angel (Henry Travers) will show George how the life of one good man can change the world forever. Now you can watch the holiday classic like never before, newly remastered from the original fi lm negatives and more vibrant than ever in High Dynamic Range! DISC 1: 4K UHD FEATURE FILM Remastered Black & White Version DISC 2: BLU-RAY FEATURE FILM Remastered Black & White Version Special Features: Restoring a Beloved Classic in 4K Original Cast Party Home Movies and More! 4X the Resolution of Full HD, HDR (HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE) for More Detail, Brightness and Greater Contrast
Rocking America with laughter! Frank Capra's screwball romantic comedy available for the first time on DVD!!! Longfellow Deeds lives in a small town leading a small town kind of life - including playing the tuba in the town band. When a relative dies and leaves Deeds a fortune Longfellow picks up his tuba and moves to the big city where he becomes an instant target for everyone from the greedy opera committee to the sensationist daily newspaper. Deeds outwits them all unti
Digitally restored and remastered Frank Capra's heart-warming masterpiece has been embraced as a cherished holiday tradition by families around the world! George Bailey (James Stewart) sets aside his dreams of world travel to run his father's small community bank, and protect the people of Bedford Falls from greedy businessman Mr. Potter (Lionel Barrymore). When a costly mistake pushes George to the brink of despair, a visit from a kindly angel (Henry Travers) will show George how the life of one good man can change the world forever. Now you can watch the holiday classic like never before, newly remastered from the original fi lm negatives and more vibrant than ever with stunning clarity! Blu-Ray Feature Film: Remastered Black & White Version Special Features: Restoring a Beloved Classic Original Cast Party Home Movies and More!
The moving and dramatic story of Violette Szabo (McKenna) a courageous WW2 secret agent who was captured in northern France... Carve Her Name With Pride is the inspiring true life story of Violette Szabo. During World War II Violette (Virgina McKenna) volunteers to parachute into France as a secret agent to aid a Resistance group. Her mission successful she joins the Resistance where she stays until captured by the Germans. Tortured by the Gestapo for information she refuses to betray her comrades... Directed by Lewis Gilbert Carve Her Name With Pride is a moving tale about the endurance of the human spirit in even the most adverse circumstances.
The basic joke of the would-be romp Without a Clue is that Dr Watson (Ben Kingsley) is a detecting genius who has had to hide his light under a bushel by hiring an alcoholic ham actor Reginald Kincaid (Michael Caine) to pose as his imaginary alter ego Sherlock Holmes. He is now frustrated because the blundering idiot is hailed as an infallible hero while he is forever being pushed out of the picture. To really work, the film should have cast a leading man who gives the impression that he might make a good serious Holmes, but Caine is all too credible in his idiot act. In one of the best jokes Watson covers up a faux pas by complementing Holmes on his convincing disguise as a drunken lout, and so the laughs that should come in a flow only manage to trickle. The actual plot is about forged bank-notes ruining the Empire but is constructed to allow for the usual excursion by picturesque steam train to a clue-ridden holiday destination and some dirty deeds down by the docks. The leads coast through their routines but the supporting cast has an appropriately rat-like and embittered Inspector Lestrade from Jeffrey Jones, a winsomely duplicitous Victorian heroine from Lysette Anthony and a rather good goateed sadist Professor Moriarty from Paul Freeman. It can't hold a magnifying glass to Billy Wilder's The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, but as a Holmesian footnote it edges a deerstalker or so ahead of Gene Wilder's The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother. It certainly beats the Peter Cook-Dudley Moore Hound of the Baskervilles and John Cleese in The Strange Case of the End of Civilisation as We Know It.--Kim Newman
Mr Smith Goes To Washington (1939). Import from The Netherlands with English soundtrack and subtitles. Jean Arthur, James Stewart and Claude Rains star in Frank Capra's MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON, the award-winning 1939 classic about an idealistic, small town American senator who heads to Washington D.C. and suddenly finds himself single-handedly battling ruthless politicians out to destroy him. Receiving a total of eleven 1939 Oscar(r) nominations (including Best Picture and Best Director), and winning one (Best Writing, Original Story), MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON is considered one of Capra's, Stewart's and Columbia's finest films. In Frank Capra's bright, funny and beautifully paced satire Mr Smith Goes to Washington political heavyweights decide that Jefferson Smith (James Stewart), an obscure scoutmaster in a small town, would be the perfect dupe to fill a vacant US Senate chair. Surely this naïve bumpkin can be easily controlled by the senior senator (Claude Rains) from his state, a respectable yet corrupted career politician. Capra fills the film with Smith's wide-eyed wonder at the glories of Washington, all of which ring false for his cynical secretary (Jean Arthur) who doesn't believe for a minute this rube could be for real. But he is. Capra was repeating the formula of a previous film, Mr Deeds Goes to Town, but this one is even sharper. Stewart and Arthur are brilliant, and the former cowboy-star Harry Carey lends a warm presence to the role of the vice-president. Mr Smith Goes to Washington is Capra's ode to the power of innocence--an idea so potent that present-day audiences may find themselves wishing for a new Mr Smith in the halls of power. The 1939 US Congress was none too thrilled about the film's depiction of their august body, denouncing it as a caricature; but even today, Capra's jibes about vested interests and political machines look as accurate as ever.
The King Of Kings is the Greatest Story Ever Told as only Cecil B. DeMille could tell it. In 1927 working with the biggest budget in the history of Hollywood DeMille spun the life and Passion of Christ into one of the highest-grossing films of all time. Featuring text drawn directly from the Bible a cast of thousands and a cinematic bag of tricks that could belong to none other than Hollywood's greatest showman The King Of Kings is at once spectacular and deeply reverent-part Gospel part Technicolor epic.
Almost universally derided on its first release as the worst of the Star Trek movies to date, The Final Frontier may just have been the victim of bad press. Following in the wake of the massively successful fourth instalment The Voyage Home didn't help matters (notoriously, even-numbered entries are better), nor did having novice director and shameless egomaniac William Shatner at the helm. But if the story, conceived and co-written by Shatner, teeters dangerously on the verge of being corny at times, it redeems itself with enough thought-provoking scenes in the best tradition of the series, and a surprisingly original finale. Granted there are a few too many yawning plot holes along the way, and the general tone is over-earnest (despite some painfully slapstick comedy moments), but the interaction of the central trio (Kirk, Spock and McCoy) is often funny and genuinely insightful; while Laurence Luckinbill is a charismatic adversary as the renegade Vulcan Sybok. True, the rest of the cast scarcely get a look in, and the special effects betray serious budgetary restrictions, but with a standout score from Jerry Goldsmith and a meaty philosophical premise to play around with, Star Trek V looks a lot more substantial in retrospect. Certainly it's no worse than either Generations or Insurrection, the next "odd-numbered" entries in the series. On the DVD: This is a non-anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) print, with only two trailers as extra features. Quite frankly, Star Trek fans are being short-changed. --Mark Walker
Hollywood's best-loved star teams up with America's favourite director to create one of the world's most popular films.
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