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Review Sony Pictures Home Entertainment / A Man For All Seasons [1966]
Actors & Directors
  • Robert Shaw
  • Wendy Hiller
  • Fred Zinnemann
  • Leo McKern
  • Paul Scofield
  • Orson Welles
Release date: 2001-11-26
Run time: 116 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £5.56

Review A Man For All Seasons [1966] / Sony Pictures Home Entertainment:

Robert Bolt's successful play, A Man for All Seasons, was not considered a hot commercial property by Columbia Pictures-a period piece about a moral issue without a star, without even a love story. Perhaps that's why Columbia left director Fred Zinnemann alone to make the film as long as he stuck to a relatively small budget. The results took everyone by surprise, as the talky morality play became a box-office hit and collected the top Oscars for 1966. At the play's heart is the standoff between King Henry VIII (Robert Shaw, in young lion form) and Sir Thomas More (Paul Scofield, in an Oscar-winning performance). Henry wants More's official approval of divorce, but More's strict ethical and religious code will not let him waffle. More's rectitude is a source of exasperation to Cardinal Wolsey (Orson Welles in a cameo), who chides, "If you could just see facts flat on without that horrible moral squint". Zinnemann's approach is all simplicity, and indeed the somewhat prosaic staging doesn't create a great deal of cinematic excitement. But the language is worth savouring, and the ethical politics are debated with all the calm and majesty of an absorbing chess game. -Robert Horton, Amazon. com.

Review Buena Vista Entertainment / The Herbie Collection [1968]
Actors & Directors
  • Vincent McEveety
  • Michele Lee
  • Dean Jones
  • Robert Stevenson
  • Don Knotts
  • Ken Berry
  • Helen Hayes
Release date: 2005-07-04
Run time: 379 min.
RRP: £17.99
Price: £11.98

Review The Herbie Collection [1968] / Buena Vista Entertainment:


Review Odeon Entertainment / A Prize Of Arms [1962]
Actors & Directors
  • Stanley Baker
  • Fulton Mckay and Geoffrey Palmer
  • Cliff Owen
  • Tom Bell
  • Rodney Bewes
  • Patrick Magee
Release date: 2007-05-21
Run time: 101 min.
RRP: £9.99
Price: £3.90

Review A Prize Of Arms [1962] / Odeon Entertainment:


Review Warner Home Video / The Music Man [1962]
Actors & Directors
  • Buddy Hackett
  • Robert Preston
  • Hermione Gingold
  • Paul Ford
  • Morton Da Costa
Release date: 2006-04-03
Run time: 146 min.
RRP: £12.99
Price: £4.98

Review The Music Man [1962] / Warner Home Video:


Review 2 Entertain Video / Morecambe & Wise : Surviving Footage From BBC Series 1 & Complete Series 2 [1968]
Actors & Directors
  • Ernie Wise
  • Eric Morecambe
Release date: 2007-06-04
Run time: 213 min.
RRP: £15.99
Price: £5.99

Review Morecambe & Wise : Surviving Footage From BBC Series 1 & Complete Series 2 [1968] / 2 Entertain Video:


Review Second Sight Films Ltd. / Mozart's Don Giovanni / Raimondi, Opera de Paris, Maazel [Deluxe Edition] [1979]
Actors & Directors
  • Edda Moser
  • Ruggero Raimondi
  • Kiri Te Kanawa
  • Teresa Berganza
  • José Van Dam
  • Joseph Losey
Release date: 2008-02-18
Run time: 169 min.
RRP: £24.99
Price: £11.98

Review Mozart's Don Giovanni / Raimondi, Opera de Paris, Maazel [Deluxe Edition] [1979] / Second Sight Films Ltd.:


Review Liberation / Stomp Present : Rhythms Of The World
Actors & Directors
  • Luke Cresswell
  • Steve McNicholas
Release date: 2006-11-27
Run time: 82 min.
RRP: £15.99
Price: £5.97

Review Stomp Present : Rhythms Of The World / Liberation:


Review Momentum Pictures / The Graduate [1967]
Actors & Directors
  • Murray Hamilton
  • Anne Bancroft
  • William Daniels
  • Mike Nichols
  • Katharine Ross
  • Dustin Hoffman
Release date: 2001-03-26
Run time: 101 min.
RRP: £17.99
Price: £5.58

Review The Graduate [1967] / Momentum Pictures:

Few films have defined a generation as The Graduate did. The alienation, the non-conformity, the intergenerational romance, the blissful Simon and Garfunkel soundtrack-they all served to lob a cultural grenade smack into the middle of 1967 America, ultimately making the film the third most profitable up to that time. Seen from a later perspective, its radical chic has dimmed a bit, yet it's still a joy to see Dustin Hoffman's bemused Benjamin and Anne Bancroft's deliciously decadent, sardonic Mrs. Robinson. The script by Buck Henry and Calder Willingham is still offbeat and dryly funny, and Mike Nichols, who won an Oscar for his direction, has just the right, light touch. -Anne Hurley, Amazon. com.

Review 2 Entertain Video / The Very Best of Dad's Army [1968]
Actors & Directors
  • John Le Mesurier
  • John Laurie
  • Clive Dunn
  • James Beck
  • Bob Spiers
  • Arthur Lowe
  • David Croft
Release date: 2001-10-01
Run time: 153 min.
RRP: £12.99
Price: £3.65

Review The Very Best of Dad's Army [1968] / 2 Entertain Video:

If the mark of a successful TV comedy is that repeat showings attract new viewers, then Dad's Army must be one of the best. The Very Best of Dad's Army includes five episodes almost covering its whole time span-from 1969's "Sons of the Sea", an entertaining caper when lost at home, to 1977's final episode "Never Too Old", in which sparky Corporal Jones marries his longtime sweetheart, and the ageing Second World War platoon drinks a toast to Britain's Home Guard. Along with these is 1973's "The Deadly Attachment", where a captive U-boat crew falls prey to dummy hand-grenades; 1972's "Keep Young and Beautiful", a touching tale of looking younger and sticking together; and the same year's "Asleep in the Deep", where the platoon uses its skill and judgement, plus a little luck, to escape a life-threatening situation. Fans and newcomers will enjoy the priceless interplay of Arthur Lowe and John le Mesurier, along with the contributions of Clive Dunn, John Laurie, Arnold Ridley, Ian Lavender and James Beck, in this nostalgic depiction of Britain as it once was. On the DVD: The 4:3 picture reproduction has come up well and the dual mono sound is more than adequate. Each episode features six scene selections, while the artist profiles provide brief but relevant biographical details. The half-hour Selection Box gives celebrities past and present a chance to pick their favourite extracts and explain just why they're hooked. Chances are you will be too. -Richard Whitehouse.

Review 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment / Looking For Richard
Actors & Directors
  • Kevin Spacey
  • Alec Baldwin
  • Al Pacino
  • Winona Ryder
  • Aidan Quinn
  • Al Pacino
Release date: 2005-01-03
Run time: 107 min.
RRP: £12.99
Price: £2.85

Review Looking For Richard / 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment:


Review ITV DVD / Fireball XL5 - The Complete Series [1962]
Actors & Directors
  • Gerry Anderson
Release date: 2003-10-20
Run time: 975 min.
RRP: £39.99
Price: £18.97

Review Fireball XL5 - The Complete Series [1962] / ITV DVD:

Languishing in the vaults for decades, during which time it became a semi-legendary show among TV fans of a certain age, Fireball XL5 (1962) was Gerry Anderson's second puppet-animation science fiction series, the direct forerunner of Stingray (1963) and Thunderbirds (1964). This is the show on which Anderson established the formula for his later classics: a pseudo-military organisation engaged in desperate Earth-saving adventures against overwhelming odds; superb model work; puppets with very obvious strings but endearing personalities; iconic music by Barry Gray; and absolutely massive explosions. Colonel Steve Zodiac pilots the coolest spaceship then seen on British TV, the titular Fireball XL5, and is joined by medical officer Venus, a forerunner of Lady Penelope voiced by Sylvia Anderson, and comedy relief Prof Matt Matic (David Graham). Along for the ride is Robert the Robot, a thinner version of Robbie the Robot from Forbidden Planet (1956), a character who would soon turn up in Lost in Space (1965). The plots are ridiculous, with typically Cold War-era aliens routinely bent on planetary destruction for no reason, and there's zero attention to even rudimentary astronomy or anything else approaching actual science. Yet the gadgets, vehicles and puppetry are first-rate and the fast-paced, action-filled episodes are relentlessly entertaining. It's a cult just waiting to be reborn, and essential viewing for all Anderson fans. On the DVD: Fireball XL5 is presented with all 39 episodes (they run 25 minutes each) on five discs. Despite the colourful packaging, the episodes are all black and white, and the 4:3 picture is generally fine, though there are occasional instances of over-compression, which results in artefacting on smooth walls and the like. Some shots look a little soft, but detail is usually strong, making the models and puppets look better than ever. [+]
The mono sound is fine, if unremarkable. There are no extras beyond optional subtitles. -Gary S Dalkin.

Review Sony Pictures Home Entertainment / Mysterious Island [1961]
Actors & Directors
  • Michael Craig
  • Michael Callan
  • Herbert Lom
  • Gary Merrill
  • Cy Endfield
  • Joan Greenwood
Release date: 2002-12-02
Run time: 97 min.
RRP: £12.99
Price: £3.81

Review Mysterious Island [1961] / Sony Pictures Home Entertainment:

Notable neither for its director nor its stars, Mysterious Island has been given the widescreen DVD treatment rather because of its special-effects man, the legendary Ray Harryhausen. And though his input here is minimal compared with other movies, his stop-motion contributions add zest to a cracking good yarn. A gang of American Civil War soldiers hijack a hot-air balloon and escape from the frying-pan of a military prison to the fire of a deserted tropical island. When a couple of English girls are washed ashore and a legendary nautical figure resurfaces, the scene is set for a ripping survival adventure, taking in weighty theories of political democracy, equality and cowardice, and still managing to add a healthy dollop of stirring music, dodgy accents, old-fashioned sexism, pirates, giant bees, a giant crab and a fearsome, err, giant chicken. Harryhausen's eighth feature contains all the elements that make his movies great, and the pacey script, based on the Jules Verne novel, has you gripped from the off. One of his more modern-feeling early films, the colour film stock, the exotic settings and wider stable of stars (black and English actors feature alongside a pre-Clouseau Herbert Lom) move it forward an era from his dated black-and-white schlock-fests. Gripping, erudite and easily on a par with the more well-known Sinbad and Argonauts movies, this is one to be marooned with. On the DVD: Mysterious Island's colour picture is bright, clean and crisp in this anamorphic 1. 85:1 widescreen transfer, and the Dolby digital mono soundtrack is clear enough. The theatrical trailer will please the kitsch fans, as will the featurette "This Is Dynamation" produced at the same time as the first Sinbad movie. [+]
The real corker here though is the generously lengthy documentary "The Harryhausen Chronicles". Narrated by Leonard Nimoy, it features a stellar cast of devotees (George Lucas among them) waxing lyrical about the influence of Harryhausen's films, and allows the man himself to ramble fascinatingly over clips of his filmic canon. If you're a fan, it's Harryhausen heaven. -Paul Eisinger.

Review Warner Home Video / Annie Get Your Gun [1950]
Actors & Directors
  • Louis Calhern
  • J. Carrol Naish
  • George Sidney (II)
  • Howard Keel
  • Charles Walters
  • Busby Berkeley
  • Betty Hutton
  • Edward Arnold
Release date: 2002-04-22
Run time: 107 min.
RRP: £13.99
Price: £2.77

Review Annie Get Your Gun [1950] / Warner Home Video:

Irving Berlin's classic stage musical Annie Get Your Gun finally reached the big screen in 1950, four years after it had taken Broadway by storm. The irresistible combination of the story of ground-breaking sharpshooter Annie Oakley, fantastic songs like the rousing anthem "There's No Business Like Show Business" and the setting of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, made most people feel it was worth the wait. More than half a century on, the book creaks audibly and the treatment of the "Indians" who make up the bulk of the troupe is inevitably embarrassing. But in glorious Technicolor, this in-your-face spectacular defies you not to get sucked in. Quite simply, the show is a winner. Ethel Merman's performance on Broadway became an immediate show business legend, but she was largely ignored by Hollywood. Here, Betty Hutton's whirlwind Annie is, on its own terms, an explosive and hugely entertaining turn, matched by Howard Keel in his first starring part as Frank Butler. But Judy Garland was the first choice for the role and had already filmed several numbers before MGM fired her for her erratic behaviour. It seems almost cruel to include a couple of her songs as extras; even a 40-watt Garland makes the otherwise incandescent Hutton look merely adequate. They certainly add a frisson to this celebration of all-American entertainment at its boldest and brassiest. [+]
On the DVD: Annie Get Your Gun is presented in standard 4:3 format (the original aspect ratio was a similar 1. 37:1) and the picture quality is so sharp it blows you out of your seat. Likewise the stereo soundtrack, brilliant for songs which include "Doin' What Comes Natur'lly", "Anything You Can Do" and the sublime "They Say it's Wonderful". Apart from the Garland numbers, the extras include a Hutton outtake and an introduction to the show from a recent Broadway Annie, Susan Lucci. Overall, though, the show's the thing. -Piers Ford.

Review Eureka Entertainment / M - A Film by Fritz Lang [1931]
Actors & Directors
  • Inge Landgut
  • Theodor Loos
  • Ellen Widmann
  • Peter Lorre
  • Otto Wernicke
  • Fritz Lang
Release date: 2003-10-06
Run time: 105 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £7.80

Review M - A Film by Fritz Lang [1931] / Eureka Entertainment:

Fritz Lang's first sound movie, the serial-killer film M, has often been voted the best German film of all time, but, until now, most of us have never seen it properly. What we have seen is a heavily cut 1950s re-edit with extra sound and music patched in, where Lang was deliberately economical with the new technology. This new "Ultimate Edition" is dominated by a marvellous restoration which is true to his intentions and oft-voiced complaints about what had been done to his best film. The young Peter Lorre is terrifyingly ordinary as the child-murderer whom police and criminals hunt down in what is still one of the best forensic police procedurals ever made, while Gustaf Grundgens has effortless charisma as the chief gangster. Lorre's Hollywood exile and decay, and Grundgens' betrayal of old friends and principles under the Nazis, merely add a layer of irony to all this. Lang's ironic cuts-a gangster's gesture is completed by his police equivalent-and dark, studio-bound cinematography make this one of the great precursors of American film noir. Simply, seen without cracks and pops and lines running down the screen, M is revealed as a true classic-a film that shames everything made in its genre since. On the DVD: M on disc has a great deal of documentary material featuring scholars and technicians telling us just how clever they have been in preparing this splendid restoration. The film also comes with a detailed commentary into which has been spliced interview material with Lang talking in English about specific sequences. There is a German-language film interview with Lang in which he talks through his career and re-enacts the interview with Goebbels that led to his exile; an audio interview with Peter Bogdanovich; and an intelligent video critical essay by film historian R Dixon Smith. [+]
The restored film is shown in its correct, unusual visual aspect ratio of 1. 90:1 and has vivid cleaned-up digital mono sound: the murderer's whistling of "In the Hall of the Mountain King" has never sounded so chilling. -Roz Kaveney.

Review Perry Mason / Perry Mason - Series 1 [1957]
Release date: 2008-08-18
Run time: 1960 min.
RRP: £24.99
Price: £13.33

Review Perry Mason - Series 1 [1957] / Perry Mason:

There was a time when the defense attorney was a heroic everyman, not the butt of bad jokes; think Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird, and, of course, Raymond Burr's incomparable Perry Mason. The first season of Perry Mason, which launched in 1957 on CBS, shows just how dramatic a "law and order" show could be. Shot in lush black and white, on film, the episodes have been lovingly restored (including lost minutes hacked from reruns to accommodate commercials). The story arcs and atmosphere feel more like film noir (Perry Mason + Philip Marlowe = separated at birth?) than early TV. The cast was stellar, including Burr's Emmy-winning Perry Mason, the indefatigable lawyer who takes tough cases no one else will touch. Burr's chemistry crackles from episode 1 with his costars, including Barbara Hale as secretary Della, William Hopper as private detective Paul Drake, and William Talman as Hamilton Burger, the well-meaning but overmatched district attorney. While it's true that the last-minute witness-stand confessions strain some credulity, the case-cracking, character development, and dialogue set a high bar for the legal shows that followed. "The Case of the Negligent Nymph," for instance, involves a comely young woman-and murder suspect-fished out of the Pacific; Mason deadpans to Drake, "Call off the search, Paul; we've landed our mermaid. " The shows unfold at a leisurely pace, and yet don't rely on the overly expositive dialogue that, say, Law & Order does; the viewer learns a lot about each case simply as it happens. The set contains the first 19 episodes of the first season and will hook you, even if you're not a procedural buff. [+]
-A. T. Hurley.

Review Joyce Grenfell / Joyce Grenfell - The BBC Collection [1964]
Release date: 2007-03-12
Run time: 215 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £12.44

Review Joyce Grenfell - The BBC Collection [1964] / Joyce Grenfell:


Review Optimum Home Entertainment / Luis Bunuel collection [1965]
Actors & Directors
  • Michel Piccoli
  • Jean Sorel
  • Catherine Deneuve
  • Luis Bunuel
Release date: 2007-01-22
Run time: 776 min.
RRP: £44.99
Price: £28.78

Review Luis Bunuel collection [1965] / Optimum Home Entertainment:


Review / The Battle For Algiers (Criterion Collection #249) 3 disc Director Approved s.e.
Price: £19.34

Review The Battle For Algiers (Criterion Collection #249) 3 disc Director Approved s.e.:


Review MGM Entertainment / The Children's Hour [1961]
Actors & Directors
  • Miriam Hopkins
  • Fay Bainter
  • Shirley MacLaine
  • James Garner
  • William Wyler
  • Audrey Hepburn
Release date: 2004-07-05
Run time: 104 min.
RRP: £15.99
Price: £3.19

Review The Children's Hour [1961] / MGM Entertainment:


Review 2 Entertain Video / The BBC TV Shakespeare Collection
Actors & Directors
  • Alvin Rakoff
Release date: 2005-11-14
Run time: 5940 min.
RRP: £199.99
Price: £101.95

Review The BBC TV Shakespeare Collection / 2 Entertain Video:


Browse Classics:

Models & Brands:
A Man For All Seasons [1966], The Herbie Collection [1968], A Prize Of Arms [1962], The Music Man [1962], Morecambe & Wise : Surviving Footage From BBC Series 1 & Complete Series 2 [1968], Mozart's Don Giovanni / Raimondi, Opera de Paris, Maazel [Deluxe Edition] [1979], Stomp Present : Rhythms Of The World, The Graduate [1967], The Very Best of Dad's Army [1968], Looking For Richard, Fireball XL5 - The Complete Series [1962], Mysterious Island [1961], Annie Get Your Gun [1950], M - A Film by Fritz Lang [1931], Perry Mason - Series 1 [1957], Joyce Grenfell - The BBC Collection [1964], Luis Bunuel collection [1965], The Battle For Algiers (Criterion Collection #249) 3 disc Director Approved s.e., The Children's Hour [1961], The BBC TV Shakespeare Collection

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