The epic SF series Babylon 5 was a unique experiment in the history of television. It was effectively a novel for television in five seasons, consisting of 110 episodes with a clear beginning, middle and end. The first season introduces the main characters, headed this year by Commander Jeffery Sinclair (Michael O'Hare) and Security Chief Michael Garibaldi (Jerry Doyle), and familiarises the audience with the unique environment of a five-mile-long space station in the year 2257. The first episode, "Midnight on the Firing Line", plays at a breathless pace, introducing Commander Susan Ivanova (Claudia Christian) and establishing the conflict between the Narn and Centauri races as represented by their ambassadors, G'Kar (Andreas Katsulas) and Londo Mollari (Peter Jurasik). Then follow several mediocre episodes which initially give the impression that B5 is a Star Trek clone afflicted with "silly alien of the week" syndrome. Episodes such as "Soul Hunter" and "Infection" are best watched in hindsight, with knowledge of how good the show later became. With "And the Sky Full of Stars" B5 really begins to hit its stride, Sinclair being forced to relive his mysterious experiences during the Earth-Minbari war. Filler shows such as "TKO" are notable only for being controversially violent, while the disappointing "Grail" points to writer-creator J. Michael Straczynski's fascination with Arthurian mythology. "Signs and Portents" introduces the sinister Mr Morden (Ed Wasser) and offers the chilling first appearance of ancient alien threat, the Shadows. B5 hits warp speed with a run of exceptional episodes building to the season finale. The two-part "A Voice in the Wilderness" has Mars breaking into open revolt against Earth and the discovery of a "Great Machine" on the dead world Epsilon 3. Referencing 1950s SF classic Forbidden Planet, the story leads to the superb time travel-based "Babylon Squared". Season finale "Chrysalis" proves more than just the usual television cliff-hanger, placing Minbari ambassador Delenn in conflict with her ruling Grey Council and forcing on her a decision which laid the groundwork for Babylon 5 eventually to become a great love story. --Gary S Dalkin
Set around a London bus depot, On the Buses starred Reg Varney as Stan, an ageing bachelor and driver of the No.11 bus who still lives with his Mum (Cicely Courtneidge), his plain sister Olive (Anna Karen) and disgruntled brother-in-law Arthur (Michael Robbins). At work, he fraternises with the laddish and lecherous Jack (Bob Grant), with whom he pursues innumerable (and improbable) giggly, mini-skirted "clippies" (conductors) and cheeks the beady-eyed and punctilious bus inspector, Blakey (Steven Lewis) This first series was broadcast in black and white in 1969. Much of the comedy derives from gender role reversal--Stan and Arthur forced to do the household chores when Olive and Mum fall ill ("Family Flu"); "The Canteen", in which the busmen decide to run the canteen themselves; or "The Darts Match", in which Stan and Jack are bested at darts by--imagine--a pair of dollybird clippies. Despite its immense popularity, On the Buses hasn't dated well. Like the buses themselves, the jokes don't arrive very often and when they do, they're visible a long way off. The studio audience whoops cathartically at anything remotely alluding to sex, making you wonder at the repressed nature of British society in 1969. In later decades it would come to be treasured as somewhat creaky kitsch by audiences nostalgic for an age of politically incorrect innocence. On the DVD: On the Buses has no extra features here. The original black and white versions have scrubbed up reasonably well, although defects such as fading sound and poor dubbing have proven beyond amendment.--David Stubbs
Set around a London bus depot, On the Buses starred Reg Varney as Stan, an ageing bachelor and driver of the No.11 bus who still lives with his Mum (Doris Hare), his plain sister Olive (Anna Karen) and disgruntled brother-in-law Arthur (Michael Robbins). At work, he fraternises with the laddish and lecherous Jack (Bob Grant), with whom he pursues innumerable (and improbable) giggly, mini-skirted "clippies" (conductors) and cheeks the beady-eyed and punctilious bus inspector, Blakey (Steven Lewis) Despite its immense popularity, On the Buses hasn't dated well. Like the buses themselves, the jokes don't arrive very often and when they do, they're visible a long way off. The studio audience whoops cathartically at anything remotely alluding to sex--even a bared male nipple--making you wonder at the repressed nature of British society in 1969. In later decades it would come to be treasured as somewhat creaky kitsch by audiences nostalgic for an age of politically incorrect innocence. On the DVD: On the Buses has no extra features here. The original black and white versions have scrubbed up reasonably well, although defects such as fading sound and poor dubbing have proven beyond amendment. --David Stubbs
One of the most successful TV series ever made running from 1969 to 1973 On the Buses is great British comedy at its best. Starring Reg Varney as jack-the-lad bus driver Stan and Stephen Lewis as the long-suffering dim-witted Inspector Blake ('Blakey') who does his best to get the buses out in time whilst making their lives as miserable as possible. Episodes Comprise: 1. Olive's Divorcee 2. The Perfect Clippie 3. The Ticket Machine 4. The Poster 5. The Football Match 6. One The Omnibuses 7. Goodbye Stan 8. Hot Water 9. The Visit 10. What The Stars Foretell 11. The Allowance 12. Friends In High Places 13. Gardening Time
The Gathering", the feature-length pilot episode for Babylon 5, still ranks amongst the best of introductions to any TV science fiction show. In 1993 there was just nothing else to compare with its wall-to-wall CGI effects backed up by eye-popping architectural and interior production design, costumes, alien make-up and hairstyles. A couple of flat performances let down an otherwise intriguingly cast ensemble, but these problems would vanish in the series. Here, character introduction and development was refreshingly left to fend for itself within an elaborate narrative structure that kicked-off several plot threads at once. Creator Michael Straczynski ambitiously starts proceedings with a multi-layered mystery concerned with the nature and destiny of the soul. Political shenanigans, trigger-happy action stereotypes and wavering physics linger in the viewer's memory, but the tantalising tale told by smooth Commander Sinclair (Michael O'Hare) about the "hole in his mind" makes the strongest impression. Considering how convoluted the show's mysteries would become, "The Gathering" remains an essential starting point. On the DVD: Babylon 5: The Gathering is presented here in its 1998 Special Edition version. However, nowhere on the packaging is this stated. In fact, the back-cover credits are incorrect: apart from anything else, this version features a new score by Christopher Franke and not Stewart Copeland's original. Special effects and sound quality are also superior to the original version, even if still only presented in 1.33:1 ratio and two-channel Dolby.--Paul Tonks
You'll finding yourself rooting for this movie to take off in a sustained flight of comic inspiration, but it seldom does. It's too bad that it doesn't, given the casting, because both leads (Eric Idle and Robbie Coltrane) are capable of extreme funniness. Idle and Coltrane play a couple of low-level crooks who decide to get a piece of the action for themselves and abscond with the loot from a big score. But they're discovered before they can getaway and their only avenue of egress is into a convent. So they don habits and hide out by pretending to be nuns, teaching parochial school to budding young girls. Now think about the possibilities in that premise and anything you can think of is in the film (though Coltrane remains one of the funniest men alive). --Marshall Fine
The Sixth instalment of American Horror Story: Roanoke. Presented as a paranormal documentary series, the story follows a married couple whose experiences are re-enacted by actors. The couple settles into their new home, strange and paranormal occurrences begin to haunt them. This instalment of the Emmy® and Golden Globe® winning franchise features an all-star cast of Lady Gaga, Cuba Gooding Jr, Sarah Paulson, Kathy Bates, Angela Bassett, Denis O'Hare, Cheyenne Jackson, Evan Peters and Finn Wittrock.
Lizzie is a compelling psychodrama based on the infamous 1892 axe murder of the Borden family in Fall River, Massachusetts. The film explores Lizzie Borden's life, focusing on the period leading up to the murders and their immediate aftermath and reveals many layers of the strange, fragile woman who stood accused of the brutal crime. As an unmarried woman of 32, and a social outcast, Lizzie (Chloë Sevigny) lives a claustrophobic life under her father's cold and domineering control. When Bridget Sullivan (Kristen Stewart), a young maid, comes to work for the family, Lizzie finds a sympathetic, kindred spirit, and a chance intimacy that blossoms into a wicked plan , and a dark, unsettling end.
This rousing romantic adventure Robert Redford plays ex-world champion cowboy reduced to huckstering breakfast food in a suit studded with flash lights. Jane Fonda is a chic sharp member of the electronic media a TV newswoman who'll do anything to get a good story. When Redford rides out of Las Vegas casino into the desert astride his sponsor's living symbol a multi-million dollar racehorse Jane is determined to discover why. She does one step ahead of a posse of pursuing police. But by the time they reach a remote rendezvous high in the Utah mountains she is in love with both the Cowboy and his convictions...
Eric Idle and Robbie Coltrane team up for this bad boy comic burlesque, directed by Jonathan Lynn. Idle and Coltrane play Brian Hope and Charlie McManus, a pair of two-bit hoods who want to go straight, repulsed by the increasing reliance on guns and violence in their line of work. In thrall to vicious gangster Case Casey (Robert Patterson), the duo determine that their next job will be their last. When a large amount of money is extracted from a gang of Hong Kong drug dealers and it falls into the laps of Brian and Charlie, the two take off with the loot, with the Chinese Triad and Casey in relentless pursuit. When their car runs out of gas in front of a convent, Brian and Charlie run inside and disguise themselves as two of the ugliest nuns imaginable. Inside the convent, Brian and Charlie pass themselves off as nuns from a different order, assigned to the convent before leaving the country on missionary work. As the two men enjoy their undercover work with a collection of nubile nuns and coeds, the bad guys close in on their trail.
Listen To Your Heart. It's the late '60s and the British Invasion has conquered the world! The Liverpool Sound tops the charts in every country except in Ireland where traditional Irish music still reigns supreme! But could the unthinkable happen? Could an upstart Irish band from Liverpool win the All Irish Music Championship for the first time in history? Transplanted Irishman Jimmy McMahon (Colm Meany) and his motley English crew have their hearts set on it. Meanwhile back in County Clare Ireland Jimmy's stalwart older brother John Joe (Bernard Hill) and his feisty local band are determined to win the trophy for the third year in a row. Meanwhile Clare's star fiddler Anne (the radiant music icon Andrea Corr of The Corrs family band) chafes under her mother's rules against dating - especially when her eye lands on Teddy (Shaun Evans) Liverpool's star flute player. They are Ireland's answer to Romeo and Juliet. The film weaves these timeless themes of discord - star-crossed lovers feuding brothers narrow-minded parents and rebellious children - with the passion all the characters share for the music they play. And against a backdrop of amber-lit pubs narrow streets and sandy shores the visuals keep pace with toe-tapping soundtrack and reflect the honor and traditions at stake in the competition.
Nicolas Cage and Russell Brand star in this comedy directed by Larry Charles. The film follows 50-year-old ex-construction worker Gary Faulkner (Cage) as he travels to Pakistan on a mission to kill Osama bin Laden (Amer Chadha-Patel). After experiencing a number of vivid hallucinations as a result of an ongoing kidney disease, Faulkner becomes increasingly frustrated with the US government's attempts to capture the wanted terrorist and takes matters into his own hands. Initially attempting to sail to Pakistan from San Diego, the determined Faulkner eventually finds his way to Islamabad where he is guided by his visions of God (Brand) as he sets out to complete his quest. The cast also includes Wendi McLendon-Covey and Rainn Wilson/
A series of now-legendary stage comedies from the 1920s and '30s the Aldwych Farces broke theatre box-office records and made the transition to celluloid with a run of hit films – making stars of Tom Walls Ralph Lynn and Robertson Hare. Most were penned by leading comic playwright Ben Travers and peopled by a regular cast of silly-ass aristocrats battleaxe wives and put-upon husbands; nimble wordplay and finely crafted buffoonery were their hallmarks and the public loved them. Though only ten adaptations were made on film the influence of these enduringly popular films was great and can be seen in some of the key British comedies from the first half of the 20th century. This ongoing range will include not only the Aldwych Farces themselves but those films that they influenced. They are presented here as brand-new transfers from original film elements in their original aspect ratio. A CUP OF KINDNESS (1934) A tale of two feuding families whose offspring cause uproar when they announce their marital plans. Black and White / 76 mins / 1.33:1 / Mono / English DIRTY WORK (1933) Two assistants at a high-class jeweller's devise a cunning plan to attempt to catch a gang of jewel thieves. Black and White / 69 mins / 1.33:1 / Mono / English
A series of now-legendary stage comedies from the 1920s and '30s the Aldwych Farces broke theatre box-office records and made the transition to celluloid with a run of hit films – making stars of Tom Walls Ralph Lynn and Robertson Hare. Most were penned by leading comic playwright Ben Travers and peopled by a regular cast of silly-ass aristocrats battleaxe wives and put-upon husbands; nimble wordplay and finely crafted buffoonery were their hallmarks and the public loved them. Though only ten adaptations were made on film the influence of these enduringly popular films was great and can be seen in some of the key British comedies from the first half of the 20th century. This ongoing range will include not only the Aldwych Farces themselves but those films that they influenced. They are presented here as brand-new transfers from original film elements in their original aspect ratio. A CUCKOO IN THE NEST (1933) A newlywed husband is compelled through circumstances to spend the night sharing a room with an also-married lady friend. Black and White / 83 mins / 1.33:1 / Mono / English. TURKEY TIME (1933) When two gentlemen try their best to be chivalrous they find themselves caught on the sticky end of a series of unfortunate misunderstandings. Black and White / 69 mins / 1.33:1 / Mono / English.
A series of now-legendary stage comedies from the 1920s and '30s, the Aldwych Farces broke theatre box-office records and made the transition to celluloid with a run of hit films making stars of Tom Walls, Ralph Lynn and Robertson Hare. Most were penned by leading comic playwright Ben Travers and peopled by a regular cast of silly-ass aristocrats, battleaxe wives and put-upon husbands; nimble wordplay and finely crafted buffoonery were their hallmarks and the public loved them.Though only ten adaptations were made on film, the influence of these enduringly popular films was great and can be seen in some of the key British comedies from the first half of the 20th century. This ongoing range will include not only the Aldwych Farces themselves but those films that they influenced. They are presented here as brand-new transfers from original film elements in their original aspect ratio.FIGHTING STOCK (1935)Feuding, intrigue and blackmail put a brigadier-general's fishing holiday on hold.Black and White / 70 mins / 1.33:1 / Mono / EnglishFOREIGN AFFAIRES (1935)An ageing aristocrat schemes to secure his dwindling finances by any means fair or foul!Black and White / 69 mins / 1.33:1 / Mono / English
An Englishman In New York
One of the most successful TV series ever made running from 1969 to 1973 On the Buses is great British comedy at its best. Starring Reg Varney as jack-the-lad bus driver Stan and Stephen Lewis as the long-suffering dim-witted Inspector Blake ('Blakey') who does his best to get the buses out in time whilst making their lives as miserable as possible. Episodes comprise: 1. Family Flu 2. The Used Combination 3. Self Defence 4. Aunt Maud 5. Late Again 6. Bon Voyage
A series of now-legendary stage comedies from the 1920s and '30s, the Aldwych Farces broke theatre box-office records and made the transition to celluloid with a run of hit films making stars of Tom Walls, Ralph Lynn and Robertson Hare. Most were penned by leading comic playwright Ben Travers and peopled by a regular cast of silly-ass aristocrats, battleaxe wives and put-upon husbands; nimble wordplay and finely crafted buffoonery were their hallmarks and the public loved them.Though only ten adaptations were made on film, the influence of these enduringly popular films was great and can be seen in some of the key British comedies from the first half of the 20th century. This ongoing range will include not only the Aldwych Farces themselves but those films that they influenced. They are presented here as brand-new transfers from original film elements in their original aspect ratio.LADY IN DANGER (1934)A businessman is compelled to help the queen of a strife-torn country leaving his fiancée distinctly unimpressed.Black and White / 65 mins / 1.37:1 / Mono / EnglishPOT LUCK (1936)A retired Scotland Yard inspector meets mayhem on the trail of a gang of thieves who have purloined a priceless antique vase.Black and White / 69 mins / 1.37:1 / Mono / English
Available for the first time on DVD! Timmy and Sid are entertainment officers at a holiday camp. They must organise a beauty contest successfully or find themselves out of work!
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