More than half a century after its release in 1950, Sunset Boulevard is still the most pungently unflattering portrait of Hollywood ever committed to celluloid. Billy Wilder, unequalled at combining a literate, sulphurous script with taut direction, hits his target relentlessly. The humour-and the film is rich in this, Wilder's most abundant commodity-is black indeed. Sunset Boulevard is viciously and endlessly clever. William Holden's opportunistic scriptwriter Joe Gillis, whose sellout proves fatal, is from the top drawer of film noir. Gloria Swanson's monstrously deluded Norma Desmond, the benchmark for washed-up divas, transcends parody. And her literal descent down the staircase to madness is one of the all-time great silver-screen moments. Sunset Boulevard isn't without pathos, most notably in Erich von Stroheim's protective butler who wants only to shield his mistress from the stark truths that are massing against her. But its view of human beings at work in a ruthlessly cannibalistic industry is bleak indeed. Nobody, not even Nancy Olson's sparkily ambitious writer Betty Schaefer, is untainted. [+]

The 1967 Franco Zeffirelli film of The Taming of the Shrew had all the ingredients to make it a high point in Shakespearian cinema. In Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor it starred the most bankable couple in Hollywood history as the sparring leads in the Bard's quick-firing comic battle of the sexes; and in Zeffirelli, it had a director with a Shakespearian pedigree second to none. But the reality is that this is Burton's picture all the way. His Petruchio is a weighty performance of such intelligence that the whole film is thrown off-kilter whenever he is on screen and the other performers just can't keep up. Apart from Michael Hordern's wonderfully distracted Baptista, Burton is the only actor in total, effortless command of the language. Taylor's bosomy glamour and fiery spirit are ample compensations for her occasionally murderous treatment of Katharina's verse. Whether or not she is really tamed by the end is another matter: those legendary violet eyes suggest otherwise. Ultimately it's a rich, bawdy and colourful romp, with Burton at the peak of his powers. The DVD includes the theatrical trailer, a "making-of" featurette and filmographies. -Piers Ford.

The 1967 Franco Zeffirelli film of The Taming of the Shrew had all the ingredients to make it a high point in Shakespearian cinema. In Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor it starred the most bankable couple in Hollywood history as the sparring leads in the Bard's quick-firing comic battle of the sexes; and in Zeffirelli, it had a director with a Shakespearian pedigree second to none. But the reality is that this is Burton's picture all the way. His Petruchio is a weighty performance of such intelligence that the whole film is thrown off-kilter whenever he is on screen and the other performers just can't keep up. Apart from Michael Hordern's wonderfully distracted Baptista, Burton is the only actor in total, effortless command of the language. Taylor's bosomy glamour and fiery spirit are ample compensations for her occasionally murderous treatment of Katharina's verse. Whether or not she is really tamed by the end is another matter: those legendary violet eyes suggest otherwise. Ultimately it's a rich, bawdy and colourful romp, with Burton at the peak of his powers. The DVD includes the theatrical trailer, a "making-of" featurette and filmographies. -Piers Ford.

Ben-Hur scooped an unprecedented 11 Academy Awards in 1959 and, unlike some later rivals to this record-breaking win, richly deserved every single one. This is epic filmmaking on a scale that had not been seen before, and is unlikely ever to be seen again. It cost a staggering 15 million dollars and was one of the largest film productions ever undertaken: the Circus Maximus set alone covered 18 acres and was filled with 40,000 tons of Mediterranean sand. But it's not just running time or a cast of thousands that makes an epic, it's the subject-matter that counts and in Ben-Hur the subject is rich, detailed and sensitively handled. Despite both the original novel's and the film's subtitle, "A Tale of the Christ", this is really a parallel life, that of Prince Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston) and his estrangement from old Roman pal Messala (Stephen Boyd). The eponymous character's journey of self-discovery through bitterness and hate to eventual redemption has many deliberate echoes of Christ's life (at one point, Judah is mistaken for Jesus, much as Brian would be later in Monty Python's masterful satire), and the multi-layered script from (uncredited) literary titans Gore Vidal and Christopher Fry wrings out every nuance and every possible shade of meaning. Director William Wyler, who had been a junior assistant on MGM's original silent version back in 1925, never sacrifices the human focus of the story in favour of spectacle (he had the good sense to leave the great chariot race to second-unit director and experienced stuntman Yakima Canutt), and it is his concentration on human drama and fully rounded characters that gives Wyler's epic its heart. In this he is aided immeasurably by Miklós Rózsa's majestic musical score, arguably the greatest ever written for a Hollywood picture, in which the development of character-driven leitmotifs produces the effect of grand opera. The Christian theme concentrates on the central character's love and compassion for his family (evoked by the discovery of their leprosy) rather than any heavy-handed sermonising (the figure of Christ is seen but never heard-his presence signalled by a serene musical motif instead). On the DVD: this long-awaited release presents the film's original theatrical aspect ratio of 2. [+]

The three-way combination of ingénue Audrey Hepburn, admirable Gregory Peck and the Eternal City itself guarantees that Roman Holiday (1953) still knocks the socks off any modern rom-com you might care to name. Add to this stellar triumvirate the meticulous, loving direction of William Wyler and a warm-hearted original story by Dalton Trumbo (blacklisted and uncredited at the time) and the result is assuredly one of Hollywood's timeless classics. At the leading man's own suggestion, newcomer Hepburn was generously accorded equal above-the-title billing with Peck: he knew that the film belonged to her anyway and wasn't one to stand on ceremony. As the princess who chafes at stuffy responsibility Hepburn's appealing girlishness is suffused with a will and wilfulness that rubs delightfully against Peck's more earnest mannerisms (even playing light-hearted comedy, he's still Atticus Finch at heart). The then-unusual decision to shoot entirely on location provides the movie with its glorious travelogue backdrop, and stalwart character-actor Eddie Albert is a fine foil for the two leads. Although Wyler is best known now for the grander vistas of The Big Country and Ben-Hur, none of his epics have as much heart as this. On the DVD: Roman Holiday comes to DVD in a good digitally restored print-in itself a powerful reason to acquire the movie on disc. Sound is clean Dolby mono. Extras include a brief piece on the film restoration process, and a short documentary about costume designer Edith Head, which isn't specifically about this movie. The 25-minute making-of featurette has recent and archive interviews with cast members, including Peck and Eddie Albert, as well as William Wyler's daughter, plus Hepburn's screen test footage. [+]

James Stewart, at his warmest and most avuncular, plays the bandleader who rocketed to fame during the swing era. The Glenn Miller Story may be a whitewashed version of Miller's life, but it certainly is a pleasant example of the feel-good Hollywood biopic, with the usual conventions: early struggles, loyal wife (June Allyson at her chirpiest), personal sacrifice-Miller joins the Army when war breaks out, although he doesn't have to-and ultimate tragedy. All the Glenn Miller classics filling the soundtrack make the film pretty easy to take, too: "Moonlight Serenade," "A String of Pearls," "Chattanooga Choo-Choo. " Miller plays the great "In the Mood" with his military band during a World War II air-raid warning. Pure corn, but it works. Director Anthony Mann, better known for his superb series of hard-bitten fifties westerns with Stewart, keeps the story moving gently and gracefully. A hot jazz interlude features Louis Armstrong and Gene Krupa. -Robert Horton.

Ben-Hur scooped an unprecedented 11 Academy Awards in 1959 and, unlike some later rivals to this record-breaking win, richly deserved every single one. This is epic filmmaking on a scale that had not been seen before, and is unlikely ever to be seen again. It cost a staggering 15 million dollars and was one of the largest film productions ever undertaken: the Circus Maximus set alone covered 18 acres and was filled with 40,000 tons of Mediterranean sand. But it's not just running time or a cast of thousands that makes an epic, it's the subject-matter that counts and in Ben-Hur the subject is rich, detailed and sensitively handled. Despite both the original novel's and the film's subtitle, "A Tale of the Christ", this is really a parallel life, that of Prince Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston) and his estrangement from old Roman pal Messala (Stephen Boyd). The eponymous character's journey of self-discovery through bitterness and hate to eventual redemption has many deliberate echoes of Christ's life (at one point, Judah is mistaken for Jesus, much as Brian would be later in Monty Python's masterful satire), and the multi-layered script from (uncredited) literary titans Gore Vidal and Christopher Fry wrings out every nuance and every possible shade of meaning. Director William Wyler, who had been a junior assistant on MGM's original silent version back in 1925, never sacrifices the human focus of the story in favour of spectacle (he had the good sense to leave the great chariot race to second-unit director and experienced stuntman Yakima Canutt), and it is his concentration on human drama and fully rounded characters that gives Wyler's epic its heart. In this he is aided immeasurably by Miklós Rózsa's majestic musical score, arguably the greatest ever written for a Hollywood picture, in which the development of character-driven leitmotifs produces the effect of grand opera. The Christian theme concentrates on the central character's love and compassion for his family (evoked by the discovery of their leprosy) rather than any heavy-handed sermonising (the figure of Christ is seen but never heard-his presence signalled by a serene musical motif instead). On the DVD: this long-awaited release presents the film's original theatrical aspect ratio of 2. [+]

A movie doesn't win seven Oscars for nothing. A glowing Greer Garson (Best Actress) commands the screen as Mrs Miniver, a middle-class British housewife whose strength holds her family together as World War II literally hits their home. Walter Pidgeon as her architect husband seems to be the prototype for future TV dads in this affecting portrait of love-familial and romantic-during war. But the relationship between Mrs Miniver's college-age son (Richard Ney) and the upper-crust Carol (Best Supporting Actress Teresa Wright) is filled with inherent drama-as the war speeds up their young love, it also has the potential to doom it. The 1942 film, which also won for Best Picture and Best Director, is filled with colourful characters, snappy dialogue and sensational plot twists. Although you spend much of the movie dreading that one of the Minivers will become a casualty of war, when it finally happens, it's not what you anticipated. Exactly what you would expect from a legendary film that lives up to its billing. -Valerie J. Nelson, Amazon. com.

The three-way combination of ingénue Audrey Hepburn, admirable Gregory Peck and the Eternal City itself guarantees that Roman Holiday (1953) still knocks the socks off any modern rom-com you might care to name. Add to this stellar triumvirate the meticulous, loving direction of William Wyler and a warm-hearted original story by Dalton Trumbo (blacklisted and uncredited at the time) and the result is assuredly one of Hollywood's timeless classics. At the leading man's own suggestion, newcomer Hepburn was generously accorded equal above-the-title billing with Peck: he knew that the film belonged to her anyway and wasn't one to stand on ceremony. As the princess who chafes at stuffy responsibility Hepburn's appealing girlishness is suffused with a will and wilfulness that rubs delightfully against Peck's more earnest mannerisms (even playing light-hearted comedy, he's still Atticus Finch at heart). The then-unusual decision to shoot entirely on location provides the movie with its glorious travelogue backdrop, and stalwart character-actor Eddie Albert is a fine foil for the two leads. Although Wyler is best known now for the grander vistas of The Big Country and Ben-Hur, none of his epics have as much heart as this. On the DVD: Roman Holiday comes to DVD in a good digitally restored print-in itself a powerful reason to acquire the movie on disc. Sound is clean Dolby mono. Extras include a brief piece on the film restoration process, and a short documentary about costume designer Edith Head, which isn't specifically about this movie. The 25-minute making-of featurette has recent and archive interviews with cast members, including Peck and Eddie Albert, as well as William Wyler's daughter, plus Hepburn's screen test footage. [+]