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Review MGM Entertainment / A Bridge Too Far (2 Disc Special Edition) [1977]
Actors & Directors
  • Michael Caine
  • Sean Connery
  • Ryan O'Neal
  • Laurence Olivier
  • Gene Hackman
  • Richard Attenborough
Release date: 2004-05-24
Run time: 168 min.
Creator: William Goldman
RRP: £19.99
Price: £3.04

Review A Bridge Too Far (2 Disc Special Edition) [1977] / MGM Entertainment:

1977's A Bridge Too Far by director Richard Attenborough features an all-star cast in an epic rendering of a daring but ultimately disastrous raid behind enemy lines in Holland during the Second World War. A lengthy and exhaustive look at the mechanics of warfare and the price and futility of war, the film is almost too large for its aims but manages to be both picaresque and affecting, particularly in the performance of James Caan. The impressive cast includes Robert Redford, Gene Hackman, Anthony Hopkins, Laurence Olivier, Dirk Bogarde, Sean Connery and Liv Ullmann among others. While not a classic war film, it nevertheless manages to be a consistently interesting and exciting adventure. -Robert Lane.

Review Uca / Waterloo [1970]
Actors & Directors
  • Christopher Plummer
  • Jack Hawkins
  • Virginia McKenna
  • Sergei Bondarchuk
  • Orson Welles
  • Rod Steiger
Release date: 2005-06-06
Run time: 128 min.
Creator: Vittorio Bonicelli
RRP: £5.99
Price: £3.34

Review Waterloo [1970] / Uca:

"A film that will never be equalled for its spectacle and dramatic power" says the stirring trailer on this otherwise sparsely featured DVD. Taking the story of the Napoleonic Wars to Bonaparte's final defeat, Waterloo is an unofficial continuation to director Sergei Bondarchuk's own 70mm super-epic War and Peace (1968). The climactic battle of Waterloo is shown in the second half of the film and re-enacted with such stunning realism by a cast of around 20,000 extras that it looks like documentary footage from history itself (some 20 years later, Gettysburg, 1993, did the same for the American Civil War). Those who hailed the groundbreaking impact of Saving Private Ryan should see Bondarchuk's films, as for sheer scale and intensity-if not bloodiness-they make Spielberg's hit look like an amateur video. Without ever attempting a French accent, Rod Steiger makes a commanding Napoleon, Christopher Plummer a worthy adversary as Wellington, while the supporting cast led by Orson Welles, Jack Hawkins and Virginia McKenna is excellent. The DVD transfer is richly detailed and clear, though the print itself could have done with just a little restoration. Though dated, Abel Glance's Napoleon (1928) remains definitive for many, perhaps explaining why Stanley Kubrick eventually abandoned his planned Napoleon film, instead making the 18th Century period epic Barry Lyndon (1974). -Gary S. Dalkin.

Review Nouveaux Pictures / The Star (Region 2) [2002]
Actors & Directors
  • Anatoly Gushchin
  • Amadu Mamadakov
  • Nikolai Lebedev
  • Alexei Kravchenko
Release date: 2007-02-05
Run time: 97 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £4.69

Review The Star (Region 2) [2002] / Nouveaux Pictures:


Review Universal Pictures UK / The Mummy 1, 2 & 3 Box Set [Blu-ray] [1998]
Actors & Directors
  • Arnold Vosloo
  • Rob Cohen
  • Brendan Fraser
  • Oded Fehr
  • Stephen Sommers
  • Rachel Weisz
  • John Hannah
Release date: 2008-12-01
Run time: 367 min.
RRP: £49.99
Price: £36.99

Review The Mummy 1, 2 & 3 Box Set [Blu-ray] [1998] / Universal Pictures UK:


Review 4Digital Asia / Death Note 2 - The Last Name (2 Disc Limited Edition) [2006]
Actors & Directors
  • Shusuke Kaneko
  • Erika Toda
  • Shido Nakamura
  • Tatsuya Fujiwara
  • Takeshi Kaga
Release date: 2008-10-13
Run time: 141 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £11.72

Review Death Note 2 - The Last Name (2 Disc Limited Edition) [2006] / 4Digital Asia:


Review MGM Entertainment / James Bond Ultimate Sean Connery - Dr.No/From Russia With Love/Goldfinger/Thunderball/You Only Live Twice/Diamonds Are Forever
Actors & Directors
  • Lewis Gilbert
  • Claudine Auger
  • Ursula Andress
  • Terence Young
  • Honor Blackman
  • Sean Connery
  • Guy Hamilton
  • Daniela Bianchi
Release date: 2006-11-27
Run time: 677 min.
RRP: £44.99
Price: £32.97

Review James Bond Ultimate Sean Connery - Dr.No/From Russia With Love/Goldfinger/Thunderball/You Only Live Twice/Diamonds Are Forever / MGM Entertainment:


Review 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment / X-Men 1-3 Box Set (6 Disc) [2000]
Actors & Directors
  • Ian McKellen
  • Patrick Stewart
  • Hugh Jackman
  • Halle Berry
Release date: 2006-10-02
Run time: 327 min.
RRP: £39.99
Price: £10.49

Review X-Men 1-3 Box Set (6 Disc) [2000] / 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment:


Review Momentum Pictures / Equilibrium [2003]
Actors & Directors
  • Christian Bale
  • Dominic Purcell
  • Kurt Wimmer
  • Sean Bean
  • Emily Watson
  • Taye Diggs
Release date: 2003-10-06
Run time: 103 min.
Creator: Ninon Tantet
RRP: £17.99
Price: £3.17

Review Equilibrium [2003] / Momentum Pictures:

A broad science fiction thriller in a classic vein, Equilibrium takes a respectable stab at a Fahrenheit 451-like cautionary fable. The story finds Earth's post-World War III humankind in a state of severe emotional repression; if no-one feels anything, no-one will be inspired by dark passions to attack their neighbours. Writer-director Kurt Wimmer's monochromatic, Metropolis-influenced cityscape provides an excellent backdrop to the heavy-handed mission of John Preston (Christian Bale), a top cop who busts "sense offenders" and crushes sentimental, sensual, and artistic relics from a bygone era. Predictably, Preston becomes intrigued by his victims and that which they die to cherish; he stops taking his mandatory, mood-flattening drug and is even aroused by a doomed prisoner (Emily Watson). Wimmer's wrongheaded martial arts/duelling guns motif is sheer silliness (a battle over a puppy doesn't help), but Equilibrium should be seen for Bale's moving performance as a man shocked back to human feeling. -Tom Keogh.

Review Icon Home Entertainment / Seraphim Falls [2007]
Actors & Directors
  • Kevin J. O'Connor
  • David Von Ancken
  • Nate Mooney
  • Pierce Brosnan
  • Jimmi Simpson
  • Michael Wincott
Release date: 2007-12-24
Run time: 115 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £3.93

Review Seraphim Falls [2007] / Icon Home Entertainment:

Out of nowhere, the Western seems to be enjoying its latest mini-resurgence. And while Seraphim Falls isn't quite as high profile as the recent 3:10 To Yuma, it's still a solidly made piece of cinema that's well worth spending some time with. It centres around the search for a man named Gideon, played by Pierce Brosnan, and the reasons for said search aren't clear at the start of the film. But what is certain is that a small party is on his trail, led by Liam Neeson's Morsman Carver, and that Carver is very determined to get his man. From this set up, Seraphim Falls slowly unfolds as an intelligent, ambiguous mish-mash of Western and thriller, and an intriguing one at that. Seraphim Falls, it should be said, isn't a ride without a few problems. The pacing isn't consistent, for instance, and the back end of the film doesn't make the most of the build up before it. But there's still plenty in its corner. Its two star actors are in excellent form, with both Brosnan and Neeson revelling in the complexity of their respective characters, while some sequences are genuinely exciting too. If Serphami Falls, though, fails to quite deliver what it hints it's capable of, then it still leaves enough in place to enjoy. [+]
Refusing to dumb down its approach, it's a grown-up, interesting movie, and one that's easily possible to warm to in spite of the aforementioned problems. Roll on more Westerns, say we… -Jon Foster.

Review Lions Gate Home Entertainment / The Forbidden Kingdom [Blu-ray] [2008]
Actors & Directors
  • Rob Minkoff
  • Jackie Chan
  • Crystal Liu
  • Ye Xiaokeng
  • Yifei Liu
  • Ngai Sing
Release date: 2008-11-17
Run time: 104 min.
RRP: £24.99
Price: £16.75

Review The Forbidden Kingdom [Blu-ray] [2008] / Lions Gate Home Entertainment:


Review Monkey / Monkey! - The Complete Series
Release date: 2004-12-20
RRP: £99.99
Price: £39.95

Review Monkey! - The Complete Series / Monkey:


Review 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment / Star Wars Episode VI:Return Of The Jedi (Limited Edition, Includes Theatrical Version) [1983]
Actors & Directors
  • Kenny Baker
  • Carrie Fisher
  • David Prowse
  • Mark Hamill
  • Harrison Ford
  • Richard Marquand
Release date: 2006-09-11
Run time: 255 min.
RRP: £22.99
Price: £5.00

Review Star Wars Episode VI:Return Of The Jedi (Limited Edition, Includes Theatrical Version) [1983] / 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment:


Review Universal Pictures Video / Curse of the Golden Flower [2007]
Actors & Directors
  • Li Gong
  • Yun-Fat Chow
  • Ye Liu
  • Jay Chou
Release date: 2007-09-03
Run time: 114 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £3.49

Review Curse of the Golden Flower [2007] / Universal Pictures Video:

Chinese director Zhang Yimou ends his bid to outfly Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon with Curse Of The Golden Flower, the third in his Wuxia (the Chinese style of flying and fighting) films. Much like Hero and House Of Flying Daggers, it is drenched in colours so dazzling, and boasts action scenes so exhilarating, that you can almost forgive any shortcomings in the story. Almost. Despite its grandeur, this film is in many ways the least rewarding of the three. Set in China's tenth century Tang dynasty, the story sees Chow Yun Fat's emperor trying to poison his wife, a trussed-up and progressively unstable Gong Li, who is having an affair with her step-son Wan, and trying to manoeuvre her other son Jai against his tyrannical father. Let's just say that it gets more complicated from there on in, and involves lots of running through endless corridors, but really, it's best to just sit back and let that intense visual style work its magic. Swapping action for dramatic intrigue might have been Yimou's mistake, but there's no mistaking his knack for breath-taking cinematography. Even if purely on a visual scale, Golden Flower still manages to captivate, and the final battle scene is at least worth the slightly overlong wait. Die hard fans of these films might feel a bit stiffed, but everyone else won't be short of eye candy. -Luke Mawson.

Review 2 Entertain Video / My Boy Jack
Actors & Directors
  • David Haig
  • Kim Cattrall
  • Daniel Radcliffe
Release date: 2007-11-19
Run time: 93 min.
RRP: £17.99
Price: £5.35

Review My Boy Jack / 2 Entertain Video:


Review Paramount Home Entertainment / Saving Private Ryan [1998]
Actors & Directors
  • Tom Sizemore
  • Barry Pepper
  • Tom Hanks
  • Edward Burns
  • Steven Spielberg
  • Matt Damon
Release date: 2000-11-06
Run time: 162 min.
Creator: Robert Rodat
RRP: £15.99
Price: £5.01

Review Saving Private Ryan [1998] / Paramount Home Entertainment:

Since its release in 1998, Steven Spielberg's D-Day drama Saving Private Ryan has become hugely influential: everything, from the opening sequence of Gladiator ("Saving Marcus Aurelius") to the marvellous 10-hour TV series Band of Brothers, has been made in its shadow. There have been many previous attempts to recreate the D-Day landings on screen (notably, the epic The Longest Day), but thanks to Spielberg's freewheeling hand-held camerawork, Ryan was the first time an audience really felt like they were there, storming up Omaha Beach in the face of withering enemy fire. After the indelible opening sequence, however, the film is not without problems. The story, though based on an American Civil War incident, feels like it was concocted simply to fuel Spielberg's sentimental streak. In standard Hollywood fashion the Germans remain a faceless foe (with the exception of one charmless character who turns out to be both a coward and a turncoat); and the Tom Hanks-led platoon consists of far too many stereotypes: the doughty Sergeant; the thick-necked Private; the Southern man religious sniper; the cowardly Corporal. Matt Damon seems improbably clean-cut as the titular Private in need of rescue (though that may well be the point); and why do they all run straight up that hill towards an enemy machine gun post anyway? Some non-US critics have complained that Ryan portrays only the American D-Day experience, but it is an American film made and financed by Americans after all. Accepting both its relatively narrow remit and its lachrymose inclinations, Saving Private Ryan deserves its place in the pantheon of great war pictures. On the DVD: Saving Private Ryan on disc comes in a good-quality anamorphic 1. 85:1 transfer with a suitably dynamic Dolby Digital 5. 1 sound mix in which bullets fly all around your living room. [+]
Extra features are pretty minimal, with a standard 30-minute "making of" piece called "Into the Breach" and two trailers. There are text notes on the cast and crew as well as the production, and a brief message from Mr Spielberg himself about why he decided to make the movie. -Mark Walker.

Review Warner Home Video / Bullitt (2 Disc Special Edition) [1968]
Actors & Directors
  • Jacqueline Bisset
  • Simon Oakland
  • Robert Duvall
  • Steve McQueen
  • Robert Vaughn
  • Peter Yates
Release date: 2005-07-18
Run time: 109 min.
RRP: £16.99
Price: £4.87

Review Bullitt (2 Disc Special Edition) [1968] / Warner Home Video:


Review Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm / Chronicles Of Narnia - The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe/Prince Caspian [2005]
Actors & Directors
  • Skandar Keynes
  • Anna Popplewell
  • Ben Barnes
  • Andrew Adamson
  • Tilda Swinton
  • Liam Neeson
Release date: 2008-11-17
Run time: 281 min.
RRP: £22.99
Price: £16.75

Review Chronicles Of Narnia - The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe/Prince Caspian [2005] / Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainm:


Review Walt Disney Home Video / Pirates Of The Caribbean - The Curse Of The Black Pearl - 1 disc [2003]
Actors & Directors
  • Keira Knightley
  • Geoffrey Rush
  • Gore Verbinski
  • Orlando Bloom
  • Lee Arenberg
  • Johnny Depp
Release date: 2006-05-22
Run time: 138 min.
RRP: £17.99
Price: £3.79

Review Pirates Of The Caribbean - The Curse Of The Black Pearl - 1 disc [2003] / Walt Disney Home Video:

The movie that helped breathe new life into the summer blockbuster, the success of Pirates Of The Caribbean: Curse Of The Black Pearl is remarkable for several reasons. Firstly, there's the unlikely source material. There's no previous history of theme park rides inspiring major hit movies, yet that's just what's happened here. Secondly, there's the patchy performance of pirate-related movies over the years (does anyone remember seeing Cutthroat Island in a cinema?). And then there's that performance from Johnny Depp, the one that had Disney executives in a flap prior to the release of the movie. His Captain Jack Sparrow is a fantastic, unlikely creation, proving to be both unpredictable yet utterly compelling. Such is his impact on the film that it's hardly surprising Depp snared an Oscar nomination for the role. Yet Depp's performance shouldn't blind anyone to the film's many other qualities. The supporting cast, particularly the likes of Geoffrey Rush, Jack Davenport and Jonathan Pryce are all clearly having a whale of a time, while Gore Verbinski's pacey yet controlled direction rarely lets the momentum slow. And with all their work grounded by a quality script and worthwhile story, the end result is a film that clicks in many, many different ways. [+]
Of course, it's now proved the inspiration for a pair of sequels, yet no matter how they turn out, Pirates Of The Caribbean: Curse Of The Black Pearl will always stand as a quite brilliant example of what happens on those rare occasions when Hollywood blockbusters get it absolutely right. And it's a treat that can easily be enjoyed time after time. -Simon Brew.

Review 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment / Vanishing Point [1971]
Actors & Directors
  • Dean Jagger
  • Paul Koslo
  • Victoria Medlin
  • Cleavon Little
  • Barry Newman
  • Richard C. Sarafian
Release date: 2002-09-09
Run time: 95 min.
Creator: Malcolm Hart
RRP: £9.99
Price: £3.69

Review Vanishing Point [1971] / 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment:


Review Paramount Home Entertainment / The Adventures Of Young Indiana Jones Vol.1 (12 Disc Box Set) [1992]
Actors & Directors
  • Lukas Haas
  • Elizabeth Hurley
  • Jim O'Brien
  • George Hall
  • Vanessa Redgrave
  • Corey Carrier
Release date: 2008-02-25
Run time: 650 min.
RRP: £44.99
Price: £23.83

Review The Adventures Of Young Indiana Jones Vol.1 (12 Disc Box Set) [1992] / Paramount Home Entertainment:

DVD sets don't come more generous or well-intended than The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Volume One. George Lucas' 1990s television series, inspired by his feature film collaborations with Steven Spielberg and actor Harrison Ford, used a childhood version of Jones as a catalyst for involving young viewers in the dynamics of 20th century history and thought. As much a scamp as Ford's swaggering hero-with-a-bullwhip, little Henry "Indy" Jones (Corey Carrier) gets into a great deal of mischief in his travels around the world with his disciplined father, Professor Henry Jones, Sr. (Lloyd Owen, doing a credible version of Sean Connery's voice from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade). Also accompanied by his mother (Ruth de Sosa) and imperious tutor, Miss Seymour (Margaret Tyzack), Indy ends up in various unanticipated adventures with some of the most noteworthy individuals of his age. A trip to Paris finds him cavorting with young Norman Rockwell and an ultra-arrogant Pablo Picasso (who is out to prove that the style of aging Impressionist Edgar Degas is easy to forge). A stay in India lands Indy in the company of the great guru, Krishnamurti. In Russia, he feuds with Tolstoy as if the two were in a buddy movie. In Italy, Puccini puts romantic moves on Mrs. Jones, while Indy listens carefully in Vienna to definitions of love by none other than Freud, Jung and Adler. [+]
The overall effect of these handsome, feature-length stories, all shot on glorious location, is of a certain audacity-Lucas having the nerve to name-drop all over the place and situate Jones with some of the greatest achievers in world culture. But each episode is nothing less than spectacularly educational as well as entertaining. Scripts are carefully written to reflect what these famous individuals actually contributed to mankind, and to give a sense of what their personalities were like. The last three shows in Volume One find Jones at age 20 (played by Sean Patrick Flanery), now more or less on his own as he gets into various scrapes in Mexico (where he rides with Pancho Villa) and Ireland (where he meets William Butler Yeats). There is so much to glean from these stories, but even more to bask in on the set's many special features, which include multiple, exquisitely produced documentaries about the historical figures, political and artistic movements, and crucial events that play into this series. This is a great set for kids (probably beginning at the late primary school level) and adults as well, preferably to watch together. -Tom Keogh.

Browse Action & Adventure:

Models & Brands:
A Bridge Too Far (2 Disc Special Edition) [1977], Waterloo [1970], The Star (Region 2) [2002], The Mummy 1, 2 & 3 Box Set [Blu-ray] [1998], Death Note 2 - The Last Name (2 Disc Limited Edition) [2006], James Bond Ultimate Sean Connery - Dr.No/From Russia With Love/Goldfinger/Thunderball/You Only Live Twice/Diamonds Are Forever, X-Men 1-3 Box Set (6 Disc) [2000], Equilibrium [2003], Seraphim Falls [2007], The Forbidden Kingdom [Blu-ray] [2008], Monkey! - The Complete Series, Star Wars Episode VI:Return Of The Jedi (Limited Edition, Includes Theatrical Version) [1983], Curse of the Golden Flower [2007], My Boy Jack, Saving Private Ryan [1998], Bullitt (2 Disc Special Edition) [1968], Chronicles Of Narnia - The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe/Prince Caspian [2005], Pirates Of The Caribbean - The Curse Of The Black Pearl - 1 disc [2003], Vanishing Point [1971], The Adventures Of Young Indiana Jones Vol.1 (12 Disc Box Set) [1992]

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