Separation concerns the inner life of a woman during a period of breakdown - marital and possibly mental. Her past and (possible?) future are revealed through a fragmented but brilliantly achieved and often humorous narrative in which dreams and desires are as real as the 'swinging' London (complete with Procul Harum music and Mark Boyle light show) of the film's setting.
Boxset of four classic films from the 1960s. 'No Love for Johnnie' (1961) stars Peter Finch as an MP whose thirst for greater power leads him to political intrigue. Johnnie Byrne (Finch) aspires to the big time and his hopes are raised when his party triumphs in a general election. As Johnnie is overlooked for a role on the front benches his personal life also hangs in the balance as his wife (Rosalie Crutchley) decides to leave him. When Johnny is approached by a couple of fellow backbenchers for help in a scheme that may destabilise the government but advance their careers, Johnny is faced with a difficult decision. 'The Beauty Jungle' (1964) is a British comedy drama in which a young woman finds a new career as a beauty queen. Attractive typist Shirley Freeman (Janette Scott) is encouraged by newspaper journalist Don Mackenzie (Ian Hendry) to enter a beauty pageant while on holiday. After winning she decides to quit her job and become a full time contestant, proving to be very successful. However, her success won't last forever... 'The High Bright Sun' (1964) is set in Cyprus in 1957 against the backdrop of Cyprus's determined struggle for independence from British rule. Dirk Bogarde stars as a British Intelligence Officer whose sense of duty imperils the life of the woman he loves. 'Flame in the Streets' (1961) is a hard-hitting melodrama about racial tensions in early 1960s England starring John Mills and Sylvia Sims. Jacko Palmer (Mills) is a union man who has to confront the prejudices of his members when a black foreman (Earl Cameron) is appointed and the members threaten to strike. When he discovers that his daughter (Sims) wants to marry Jamaican schoolteacher Peter Lincoln (Johnny Sekka) however, Jacko must confront his own prejudices and become a bigger man.
Throughout the 1930s Jessie Matthews was Britain's best-loved musical film star, her dynamism and gamine charm beguiling audiences on both sides of the Atlantic. With a string of box-office hits spotlighting her unique talent, it's easy to see how she became so popular and why she remains so to this day. Showcasing some the era's finest cinema talent including Betty Balfour, Victor Saville, Michael Balcon, and actor/director (and Matthews' husband) Sonnie Hale two films in this set are presented as transfers from the original film elements, in their original theatrical aspect ratios. There Goes the Bride Fleeing her own wedding, Annette heads for Paris with detectives hot on her heels! The last thing she needs is to fall in love with a stranger... Black and White / 76 mins / 1.37:1 / Mono / English Evergreen The illegitimate daughter of starlet Harriet Green has inherited her mother's looks and talent and, thanks to a wily agent, a unique stage act is born! Black and White / 86 mins / 1.37:1 / Mono / English
Throughout the 1930s Jessie Matthews was Britain's best-loved musical film star her dynamism and gamine charm captivating audiences on both sides of the Atlantic. With a string of box-office hits spotlighting her unique talent it's easy to see how she became so popular – and why she remains so to this day. Showcasing some the era's finest cinema talent – including director and comedy star (and Matthews' husband) Sonnie Hale musical director Louis Levy and legendary art director Alfred Junge – the two films on this volume are presented as transfers from the original film elements in their as-exhibited theatrical aspect ratios. THE MAN FROM TORONTO (1933) Leila and Fergus have never met but when they are bequeathed a fortune there is a condition attached: they must marry each other within a year! Black and White / 74 mins / 1.33:1 / Mono / English HEAD OVER HEELS (1937) An aspiring star must choose between an idle selfish womaniser and the faithful radio engineer who truly loves her. Black and White / 79 mins / 1.33:1 / Mono / English
An iconic film of the German expressionist cinema and one of the most famous of all silent movies F. W. Murnau's Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror continues to haunt - and indeed terrify - modern audiences with the unshakable power of its images. By teasing a host of occult atmospherics out of dilapidated set-pieces and innocuous real-world locations alike Murnau captured on celluloid the deeply-rooted elements of a waking nightmare and launched the signature Murnau-style that would change cinema history forever. In this first-ever screen adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula a simple real-estate transaction leads an intrepid businessman deep into the superstitious heart of Transylvania. There he encounters the otherworldly Count Orlok - portrayed by the legendary Max Schreck in a performance the very backstory of which has spawned its own mythology - who soon after embarks upon a cross-continental voyage to take up residence in a distant new land... and establish his ambiguous dominion. As to whether the count's campaign against the plague-wracked populace erupts from satanic decree erotic compulsion or the simple impulse of survival - that remains perhaps the greatest mystery of all in this film that's like a blackout... Remade by Werner Herzog in 1979 (and inspiring films as diverse as Abel Ferrara's King of New York and The Addiction and E. Elias Merhige's Shadow of the Vampire) F. W. Murnau's surreal 1922 cine-fable remains the original and landmark entry in the entire global tradition of the horror film. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present newly restored on 1080p Blu-ray at long last Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror in its definitive restoration complete with original intertitles and accompanied by the score that played with the film at the time of its initial release. Special Features: Brand new high-definition restoration by Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung Two audio commentaries: one newly recorded by film historian David Kalat; the second by historian R. Dixon Smith and critic Brad Stevens The Language of Shadows a 53-minute documentary on Murnau's early years and the filming of Nosferatu New video interview with BFI Film Classics Nosferatu author Kevin Jackson Newly translated English subtitles with original German intertitles More surprises to be revealed closer to release date! PLUS: a 56-page booklet featuring writings and rare imagery
NOTICE: Polish Release, cover may contain Polish text/markings. The disk DOES NOT have English audio and subtitles.
From Alfred Hitchcock, the Master of Suspense, nine of his earliest films presented together for the first time, running from the silent film era to the invention of talkies. Hitchcock's silent films such as The Ring(1928), The Farmer's Wife(1929) and Champagne(1928) were greeted with great enthusiasm by critics, and, at a time of expansion and increasing optimism for the British film industry, they were heralded as evidence that British films had reached an international standard of artistry. Hitchcock's final silent film The Manxman(1930) was also a considerable commercial success. In 1929, Hitchcock directed Blackmail, hailed as a film which used sound and dialogue with more flair and imagination than any Hollywood or European film of the time. In particular, Hitchcock's inventive and expressionist use of sound demonstrated that the new technology opened a new realm of possibilities. In the wake of Blackmail, there were searches for new challenges. These included an adaptation of a high profile West End play, The Skin Game(1931), two more thrillers Murder! (1930), Number Seventeen(1932), and an intriguingly odd marital drama, the appropriately titled Rich and Strange(1932).
NOTICE: Polish Release, cover may contain Polish text/markings. The disk DOES NOT have English audio and subtitles.
Heat And Dust Blending east with west and moving effortlessly between the vibrant world of modern-day India and the magnificent splendours of the Raj 'Heat And Dust' intertwines the contemporary story of Anne a young woman drawn to India by her desire to unravel the scandal surrounding her great-aunt Olivia's seduction in the 1920's by a glamorous Indian Prince. For Anne it proves as much a journey of self-discovery as the opportunity to solve an enigma as she too becomes seduced by the romantic and luxurious enchantments of India. Bombay Talkie The story set off by elaborate studio numbers is a melodrama echoing those of Bombay's mass audience movies and the sexy best sellers of the film's heroine American authoress Lucia Lane (Jennifer Kendal). A character study about a best-selling English novellist who comes to Bombay in search of creative inspiration she becomes romantically involved with handsome movie star Vikram (Shashi Kapoor). When that doesn't work out she flees to an ashram to take up the spiritual ife. That also hilariously doesn't work out and the ill-fated couple get together again with explosive results! Shakespeare Wallah Essentially a culture-clash romance which blends Shakespeare and British tradition with the emerging Indian 'pop' culture the film traces the developing relationship between Lizzie one of the members of the acting troupe with Sanju a wealthy Indian playboy. But their romance is beset by hinderances not least being the machinations of Manjula a fiery Indian cinema star who is also in love with Sanju. The Courtesans Of Bombay Roughly situated over 24 hours we visit Pavan Pool a compound in Bombay where poor women sing dance and engage in prostitution. The Deceivers In 1825 India lives under fear. A mysterious religion's followers murder everyone that stands against their plans. In Custody Drama based on the novel by Anita Desai which follows Deven a teacher at an Indian college and his attempt to interview a famous poet...
A writer investigating the execution of a serial killer known as ""The Haymarket Strangler"" 20 years previously begins to suspect that the wrong man might have been hanged. However when he picks up a scalpel used by the murderer he finds himself possessed by the killer's spirit and begins committing similar murders...
On the brink of Civil War King Henry IV (John Gielgud) attempts to consolidate his reign while fretting with unease over his sons seeming neglect of his royal duties. Hal (Keith Baxter) the young Prince openly consorts with Sir John Falstaff (Orson Welles) and his company of “Diana’s foresters Gentlemen of the shade Minions of the moon”. Hal’s friendship with the fat knight substitutes for his estrangement from his father. Both Falstaff and the King are old and tired; both rely on Hal for comfort in their final years while the young Prince the future Henry V nurtures his own ambitions. Orson Welles considered Chimes at Midnight his personal favorite of all his films. Perhaps the most radical and groundbreaking of all Shakespeare adaptations the film condenses the Bard’s Henriad cycle into a single focused narrative. Its international cast comprises of Jeanne Moreau Fernando Rey Margaret Rutherford and Ralph Richardson as the narrator in addition to Welles and Gielgud. The film’s harrowing war scenes have proven especially influential cited in Kenneth Branagh’s Henry V as well as Mel Gibson’s Braveheart.
The son of a Jewish cantor must defy his father in order to pursue his dream of becoming a jazz singer. Special Features: Commentary by Ron Hutchison and Vince Giordano Al Jolson in A Plantation Act (1926 WB Short) An Intimate Dinner in Celebration of Warner Bros. Silver Ju bilee (1930 WB Short) I Love to Singa (1936 WB Cartoon) Hollywood Handicap (1938 MGM Short) A Day at Santa Anita (1939 WB Short) 6/2/1947 Lux Radio Theatre Broadcast Theatrical Trailer
A big Oscar winner in 1975, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest still holds up remarkably well. Ken Kesey's novel, an allegory of repression and rebellion set in a mental hospital in the early 1960s, is cannily adapted by Czech director Milos Forman into a comedy drama with a cool, unassuming, near-documentary look. Jack Nicholson has his most jacknicholsonian role as Randle P McMurphy, a livewire troublemaker who unwisely cons his way out of prison and into a mental institution without realising he has switched from serving a sentence with a release date to being committed until adjudged sane by the same people he is winding up on a daily basis. Louise Fletcher, in a career-defining turn, is Nurse Ratched, the soft-spoken sadist who represents the worst type of matronly authoritarianism and clashes with Randle all down the line. Taking another look at the picture after all these years, it's a surprise that all the unknown actors who seemed like real mental patients have graduated to becoming prolific character actor stars: Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd, Vincent Schiavelli, Brad Dourif, the late Will Sampson, Sidney Lassick, Michael Berryman. Unlike many Best Picture Oscar winners, this deals with profound subject matter without seeming self-important: Forman's approach and all-round great acting make it play as a small character story as well as a Big Statement about the human condition. Full marks also for Jack Nitzsche's musical saw-based score. On the DVD: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest comes to DVD in a two-disc special edition with a great-looking anamorphic 1.85:1 print and 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack, plus tracks in French and Italian and optional subtitles in half a dozen languages. Disc 2 has the trailer, about 13 minutes of deleted scenes (mostly from the first third of the film, and all pretty good) and a making-of retrospective documentary with interesting material from producers Michael Douglas (who inherited the rights from Kirk) and Saul Zaentz, Forman, screenwriter Bo Goldman and many cast-members (though not Nicholson). There's also a commentary track by Forman, Douglas and others which repeats a few things from the documentary but also goes into more scene-specific detail about the development and shooting. --Kim Newman
A typically laconic Robert Mitchum stars as Lieutenant Duke Halliday in this terse efficient noir. Framed for the theft of an army payroll he takes off on a chase from Verz Cruz into the heart of Mexico after the real thief Jim Fiske (Patrick Knowles) in an effort to clear himself. Joining him in the search is Fiske's jilted fiance Joan Graham (Jane Greer). Close on the heels of both is police captain Vince Blake (William Bendix) not to mention Mexican inspector Colonel Ortega (Ramon Novarro). Along the way Duke and Joan's breakneck pursuit is strewn with comedic obstacles including a herd of goats an oxcart and an impressively underachieving Mexican road crew.
Originally released in 1941, The Wolf Man introduced the world to a new Universal movie monster and redefined the mythology of the werewolf forever. Featuring a heartbreaking performance by Lon Chaney Jr. and groundbreaking make-up by Jack Pierce, The Wolf Man is the saga of Larry Talbot, a cursed man who transforms into a deadly werewolf when the moon is full. The dreamlike atmospheres, elaborate settings and chilling musical score combine to make The Wolf Man a masterpiece of the genre. Special Features: Monster by Moonlight The Wolf Man: From Ancient Curse to Modern Myth Pure in Heart: The Life and Legacy of Lon Chaney, Jr. He Who Made Monsters: The Life and Art of Jack Pierce The Wolf Man Archives Feature Commentary with Film Historian Tom Weaver
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