Release date: 2008-10-06
RRP: £12.99
Price: £9.28
Review Christmas Collection - White Christmas/Little Prince/Scrooge / Christmas Collection:
![Review Artificial Eye / The Piano Teacher [2001]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/516NC1CW6BL._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Susanne Lothar
- Benoît Magimel
- Annie Girardot
- Udo Samel
- Anna Sigalevitch
- Michael Haneke
Run time: 129 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £4.35
Review The Piano Teacher [2001] / Artificial Eye:An unexpected critical (Grand Prix at Cannes) and commercial (three months in London's West End) success on its release in 2001, The Piano Teacher is a provocative, but ultimately frustrating, film. The intensifying relationship between Erika Kohut, a Viennese piano teacher whose musical focus is gradually undone by sexual repression, and Walter Klemmer, her uninhibited but unsuspecting student and admirer, lacks an underlying motivation, either physical or emotional, to sustain the tortuous encounters of the film's later stages. Director Michael Haneke powerfully evokes the claustrophobic décor of the flat that Kohut shares with her dictatorial yet ineffectual mother, with whom her relationship progresses from the pitiful to the farcical. And farce of the blackest kind is what the film descends to, as Kohut and Klemmer play out a vicious game of sado-masochistic control with an intriguing but indecisive conclusion. Isabelle Huppert is magnificently assured as Kohut, but Benoît Magimel often seems confused as Klemmer, while Annie Girardot resorts to a caricature of the mother. Fans of classical piano will enjoy the masterclass and rehearsal sequences during the first hour, though music is then relegated to a minor role-its deeper relevance to the film being ultimately difficult to define. English subtitles are provided, and the monochrome shades in which the scenes abound come through with suitably wan intensity. Yet it's hard not to feel that a more profound inquiry into the darker side of sexual desire has been lost along the way. -Richard Whitehouse.
Actors & Directors
- Lesley Dunlop
- Oliver Tobias
- Dennis Abey
Run time: 332 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £11.97
Review Smuggler - Complete Series / Network:
![Review ITV DVD / A Touch of Frost: Series 10 [1992]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51XHPKWJCGL._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- John Lyons
- Arthur White
- James McKenna
- Bruce Alexander
- David Jason
Run time: 297 min.
Creator: Lars MacFarlane
RRP: £24.99
Price: £7.78
Review A Touch of Frost: Series 10 [1992] / ITV DVD:
![Review MGM Entertainment / A Bridge Too Far [1977]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51G77Z2CR2L._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Sean Connery
- Gene Hackman
- Ryan O'Neal
- Richard Attenborough
- Michael Caine
- Laurence Olivier
Run time: 168 min.
Creator: William Goldman
RRP: £12.99
Price: £2.54
Review A Bridge Too Far [1977] / MGM Entertainment:This massive 1977 adaptation by director Richard Attenborough (Gandhi) of Cornelius Ryan's novel 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, Amazon. com.
![Review Network / Room At The Top [1959]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51VTVHtRs7L._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Simone Signoret
- Laurence Harvey
- Heather Sears
- Jack Clayton
Run time: 112 min.
RRP: £14.99
Price: £9.98
Review Room At The Top [1959] / Network:
![Review Playback / A Touch of Frost: Series 1-5 [1992]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41PWH9T70WL._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Susannah Doyle
- James McKenna
- Tristan Maguire
- Tricia Thorns
- Arthur White (II)
Run time: 999 min.
RRP: £108.99
Price: £80.00
Review A Touch of Frost: Series 1-5 [1992] / Playback:
Actors & Directors
- Paul Linke
- Larry Wilcox
- Erik Estrada
- Lou Wagner
- Robert Pine
Run time: 1023 min.
RRP: £24.99
Price: £10.71
Review CHiPs - Complete Season 2 / Warner Home Video:
![Review Paramount Home Entertainment / Man Who Shot Liberty Valance [1962]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/4111JMSRH9L._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- John Ford
- John Wayne
- James Stewart
- Edmond O'Brien
- Vera Miles
- Lee Marvin
Run time: 118 min.
Creator: James Warner Bellah
RRP: £12.99
Price: £3.83
Review Man Who Shot Liberty Valance [1962] / Paramount Home Entertainment:"When the legend becomes fact, print the legend. " That's more than the code of a newspaperman in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance; it's practically the operating credo of director John Ford, the most honoured of American filmmakers. In this late film from a long career, Ford looks at the civilising of an Old West town, Shinbone, through the sad memories of settlers looking back. In the town's wide-open youth, two-fisted Westerner John Wayne and tenderfoot newcomer James Stewart clash over a woman (Vera Miles) but ultimately unite against the notorious outlaw Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin). Ford's nostalgia for the past is tempered by his stark approach, unusual for the visual poet of Stagecoach and The Searchers. The two heavyweights, Wayne and Stewart, are good together, with Wayne the embodiment of rugged individualism and Stewart the idealistic prophet of the civilisation that will eventually tame the Wild West. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance may be the saddest Western ever made, closer to an elegy than an action movie, and as cleanly beautiful as its central symbol, the cactus rose. -Robert Horton The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance is a late film from the long career of director John Ford that tells of the civilising of an Old West town, Shinbone, through the sad memories of settlers looking back. Ford's nostalgia for the past is tempered by his stark approach, unusual for the visual poet of Stagecoach and The Searchers. The two heavyweights, John Wayne and James Stewart, are good together, with Wayne the embodiment of rugged individualism and Stewart the idealistic prophet of the civilisation that will eventually tame the Wild West. [+]This may be the saddest Western ever made, closer to an elegy than an action movie, and as cleanly beautiful as its central symbol, the cactus rose. -Robert Horton.
![Review Paramount Home Entertainment / Dead Again Dvd [1991]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/518JGYZ17YL._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Kenneth Branagh
- Richard Easton
- Kenneth Branagh
- Andy Garcia
- Emma Thompson
- Lois Hall
Run time: 103 min.
Creator: Scott Frank
RRP: £12.99
Price: £2.39
Review Dead Again Dvd [1991] / Paramount Home Entertainment:
Actors & Directors
- Josh Duhamel
- Greg Yaitanes
- Guy Norman Bee
- Timothy Busfield
- Vanessa Marcil
- Nikki Cox
- Kevin Hooks
- Molly Sims
- James Caan
- Michael Watkins
Run time: 980 min.
RRP: £34.99
Price: £12.49
Review Las Vegas - Series 2 - Unseen And Exposed / Universal Pictures UK:
![Review Optimum Home Entertainment / The Deer Hunter (Special Edition) (2 Disc) [1978]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51kGLvMDhyL._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- John Savage
- John Cazale
- Michael Cimino
- Meryl Streep
- Robert De Niro
- Christopher Walken
Run time: 177 min.
RRP: £17.99
Price: £4.72
Review The Deer Hunter (Special Edition) (2 Disc) [1978] / Optimum Home Entertainment:
![Review Universal Pictures UK / The Glenn Miller Story [1953]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51Q6eefCLOL._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Frances Langford
- June Allyson
- Henry Morgan
- James Stewart
- Anthony Mann
- Louis Armstrong
Run time: 108 min.
RRP: £9.99
Price: £4.58
Review The Glenn Miller Story [1953] / Universal Pictures UK: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.
![Review Universal Pictures UK / The Black Donnellys - Series 1 - Complete [2007]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51CAyxZDXvL._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Jonathan Tucker
- Deran Sarafian
- Peter Greene
- Olivia Wilde
- Tom Guiry
- Paul Haggis
- Keith Nobbs
Run time: 537 min.
RRP: £24.99
Price: £9.48
Review The Black Donnellys - Series 1 - Complete [2007] / Universal Pictures UK:
![Review Revelation Films Ltd / Dr Quinn - Medicine Woman Series 4 [1995]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51QR7WNBBCL._SL160_.jpg)
Release date: 2007-06-18
Run time: 1300 min.
RRP: £29.99
Price: £19.35
Review Dr Quinn - Medicine Woman Series 4 [1995] / Revelation Films Ltd:
![Review Sony Pictures Home Entertainment / Pal Joey [1957]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51CE1XYYXGL._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- George Sidney
- Barbara Nichols
- Frank Sinatra
- Bobby Sherwood
- Rita Hayworth
- Kim Novak
Run time: 105 min.
Creator: John O'Hara
RRP: £12.99
Price: £3.50
Review Pal Joey [1957] / Sony Pictures Home Entertainment:First born in the pages of The New Yorker, then translated into a hit Rodgers and Hart Broadway musical, the title character of Pal Joey had undergone quite a transformation by the time he hit the movies in 1957. He was a singer, rather than a dancer, but more importantly he'd had his rough edges sweetly softened; the callous heel dreamed up by novelist John O'Hara was more of a naughty scamp in the film version. However, Pal Joey remains delightfully watchable for two very good reasons: a terrific song score and a surplus of glittering star power. Frank Sinatra, at the zenith of his cocky, world-on-a-string popularity, glides through the film with breezy nonchalance, romancing showgirl Kim Novak (Columbia Pictures' new sex symbol) and wealthy widow Rita Hayworth (Columbia Pictures' former sex symbol). The film also benefits from location shooting in San Francisco, caught in the moonlight-and-supper-club glow of the late 50s. Sinatra does beautifully with the Rodgers and Hart classics "I Didn't Know What Time It Was" and "I Could Write a Book" and his performance of "The Lady Is a Tramp" (evocatively shot by director George Sidney) is flat-out genius. Sinatra's ease with hep-cat lingo nearly outdoes Bing Crosby at his best, and included in the DVD is a trailer in which Sinatra instructs the audience in "Joey's Jargon", a collection of hip slang words such as "gasser" and "mouse. " If not one of Sinatra's very best movies, Pal Joey is nevertheless a classy vehicle that fits like a glove. -Robert Horton The eponymous Pal Joey, born in the pages of The New Yorker then translated into a hit Rodgers and Hart Broadway musical, had undergone quite a transformation by the time he hit the movies in 1957. By then he was a singer rather than a dancer, but more importantly he'd had his rough edges sweetly softened; the callous heel dreamed up by novelist John O'Hara was more of a naughty scamp in the film version. [+]However, Pal Joey the film remains delightfully watchable for two very good reasons: a terrific song score and a surplus of glittering star power. Frank Sinatra, at the zenith of his cocky, world-on-a-string popularity, glides through the film with breezy nonchalance, romancing showgirl Kim Novak (Columbia Pictures' new sex symbol) and wealthy widow Rita Hayworth (Columbia Pictures' former sex symbol). The film also benefits from location shooting in San Francisco, caught in the moonlight-and-supper-club glow of the late 1950s. Sinatra does beautifully with the Rodgers and Hart classics "I Didn't Know What Time it Was" and "I Could Write a Book", and his performance of "The Lady is a Tramp" (evocatively shot by director George Sidney) is flat-out genius. Sinatra's ease with hep-cat lingo nearly outdoes Bing Crosby at his best. If not one of Sinatra's very best movies, Pal Joey is nevertheless a classy vehicle that fits like a glove. -Robert Horton.
![Review Acorn Media / The Maeve Binchy Collection (The Anner House/Echoes/The Lilac Bus) [1988]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51W7t0HMTTL._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Conor Mullen
- Stephanie Beacham
- Flora Montgomery
- Brendan Conroy
- Liam Cunningham
Run time: 240 min.
RRP: £49.99
Price: £21.97
Review The Maeve Binchy Collection (The Anner House/Echoes/The Lilac Bus) [1988] / Acorn Media:
![Review Network / Odd Man Out [1946]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ENPP7Q6PL._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Cyril Cusack
- Fay Compton
- Kathleen Ryan
- James Mason
- Robert Newton
- Carol Reed
Run time: 110 min.
RRP: £14.99
Price: £8.96
Review Odd Man Out [1946] / Network:
![Review Dnc Entertainment / Ten Items Or Less [2006]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51UbJSwp2RL._SL160_.jpg)
Actors & Directors
- Morgan Freeman
- Brad Silberling
- Paz Vega
- Jonah Hill
- Bobby Cannavale
Run time: 80 min.
RRP: £15.99
Price: £3.88
Review Ten Items Or Less [2006] / Dnc Entertainment:
Actors & Directors
- Shiloh Strong
- Sophie Ward
- Erik von Detten
- Zoltan Papp
- Omid Djalili
Run time: 546 min.
Creator: Timothy Schlattmann
RRP: £34.99
Price: £18.50
Review Dinotopia - The Series / Warner Vision International:
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Models & Brands:
Christmas Collection - White Christmas/Little Prince/Scrooge, The Piano Teacher [2001], Smuggler - Complete Series, A Touch of Frost: Series 10 [1992], A Bridge Too Far [1977], Room At The Top [1959], A Touch of Frost: Series 1-5 [1992], CHiPs - Complete Season 2, Man Who Shot Liberty Valance [1962], Dead Again Dvd [1991], Las Vegas - Series 2 - Unseen And Exposed, The Deer Hunter (Special Edition) (2 Disc) [1978], The Glenn Miller Story [1953], The Black Donnellys - Series 1 - Complete [2007], Dr Quinn - Medicine Woman Series 4 [1995], Pal Joey [1957], The Maeve Binchy Collection (The Anner House/Echoes/The Lilac Bus) [1988], Odd Man Out [1946], Ten Items Or Less [2006], Dinotopia - The Series |
