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Review Universal Pictures UK / House - Series 1-3 - Complete
Actors & Directors
  • Hugh Laurie
Release date: 2007-11-19
Run time: 3026 min.
RRP: £69.99
Price: £26.09

Review House - Series 1-3 - Complete / Universal Pictures UK:

Is there a finer medical programme on television right now than House? Sure, ER continues to grab the attention and acclaim, but even a powerhouse show such as that doesn't have such an ingenious creation at the heart of it as Hugh Laurie's award-winning Dr Gregory House. The premise of House centres each episode around a diagnostic challenge for the blunt, brilliant, rude and unconventional Doctor and his team. The investigations into the various ailments even have a pseudo-CSI feel to them, generally set against the time-pressure of a rapidly degenerating patient. Yet while the medicine enthrals, House is all about the characters. The superb supporting cast, including Omar Epps, Robert Sean Leonard and Lisa Edelstein, of long-suffering colleagues and staff are strong, providing the nucleus of a fair few story threads themselves. Yet it's Hugh Laurie's astonishing performance in the title role that makes it all work. In Laurie's hands, Dr Gregory House becomes one of the most memorable television characters of recent times, replacing snide comments and sarcasm at a point where a calm bedside manner would be far more appropriate. Across the three seasons in this terrific boxset, therefore, he makes more than his fair share of enemies, including a police detective intent on sending him down and a patient or two who look to exact some form of revenge. Anchored by razor-sharp writing, House is, undoubtedly, a major success and a highly enjoyable television programme. And with over 60 episodes to enjoy here, this collection of the first three seasons is a terrific investment. [+]
-Simon Brew.

Review Warner Home Video / The West Wing - Complete Season 7 [2001]
Actors & Directors
  • Stockard Channing
  • Allison Janney
  • Martin Sheen
  • Rob Lowe
  • Jason Ensler
  • Moira Kelly
Release date: 2006-09-11
Run time: 957 min.
RRP: £61.99
Price: £21.97

Review The West Wing - Complete Season 7 [2001] / Warner Home Video:

And so this is it. The seventh series of The West Wing, collected together in this season boxset, marks the final swansong for one of the finest, snappiest American television productions of the last decade. Fortunately, and there are no spoilers here, it does go out with some style. That said, even the most ardent fan of The West Wing would argue that its finest moments came in the first four or five seasons, at the point where its creator, Aaron Sorkin, was still heavily involved in its day to day running. Yet that's meant that some of the later episodes have, unfairly, been given short shrift, when in fact they more than capably demonstrate the winning blend of character, sharp dialogue and cleverly constructed, relevant plotlines of life in fictional US President Bartlet's administration. That said, though, season seven of The West Wing still doesn't hit the heights that the show has scaled over its run, yet it's got enough within it to more than justify a purchase, and for far more reasons than simply completing a collection. Not least is the superb, respectful manner in which actor John Spencer's tragic passing was written into the show. When the credits roll for the last time come the final episode, there's a real sense that something quite special has come to an end. -Jon Foster.

Review 2 Entertain Video / Wives And Daughters [1999]
Actors & Directors
  • Nicholas Renton
  • Justine Waddell
  • Francesca Annis
  • Tom Hollander
  • Bill Paterson
  • Keeley Hawes
Release date: 2001-08-20
Run time: 301 min.
RRP: £24.99
Price: £6.00

Review Wives And Daughters [1999] / 2 Entertain Video:

Given the great success of Pride and Prejudice (1995) and that Jane Austen wrote so little, the BBC and screenwriter Andrew Davies looked elsewhere for material of comparable quality. Wives and Daughters by Mrs (Elizabeth) Gaskell is set around 1860 and tells the story of 17-year-old Molly (Justine Waddell), beloved daughter of the widowed Dr Gibson (Bill Paterson). A mercenary stepmother (Francesca Annis) and inconstant stepsister (Keeley Hawes) bring refined havoc to genteel country life, with complications ensuing when both young women fall in love with the youngest son of Squire Hamley (Michael Gambon). This is a wonderfully observed insight into Victorian village life, encompassing comedy, romance and high emotion in a four-episode, five-hour adaptation. Making the most of Davies' subtle and detailed screenplay, there are great, flamboyant performances by Michael Gambon and Francesca Annis. Keeley Hawes, Barbara Flynn and Ian Glen are excellent too, but the revelation is the beguiling central performance by Justine Waddell, also the star of Great Expectations (1999). The photography and production design are gorgeous, as is John Keane's music. Wives and Daughters is as compelling and entertaining as any Jane Austen, and possibly Andrew Davies' best literary adaptation to-date. -Gary S. Dalkin Andrew Davies' 1999 adaptation of Mrs Gaskell's Wives and Daughters was hailed as the rediscovery of a "forgotten" classic novel and found the BBC on the crest of a wave with costume dramas-led by Pride and Prejudice. [+]
Handsome and beautifully filmed, if anything, it surpassed the quality of even that highly praised landmark production. "We should all look pretty strange under a microscope," botanist Robert Hamley tells our heroine Molly Gibson and of course Mrs Gaskell places all her characters under intense scrutiny, with affection but without judgement. Davies' screenplay peals back the layers, giving full vent to the comedy, tragedy and satire that drive this tale of provincial life to its highly satisfactory conclusion. Justine Waddell imbues Molly with an increasingly exasperated but remarkably forbearing intelligence, while Francesca Annis, as the outrageously self-absorbed step-mother Hyacinth, paints a wonderful portrait of affectation without ever totally alienating our sympathy. Michael Gambon's immensely touching Squire Hamley won him a Best Actor BAFTA, but all the performances are uniformly excellent, contributing immeasurably to five hours of television drama of the highest calibre. On the DVD: Presented in 16:9 format with a Dolby Digital stereo soundtrack, this two-disc presentation retains all the hallmarks of the original BBC viewing experience. The picture quality is lush-the production lighting is excellent-and the sound quality sharp. The only gripe is with the extras: the Omnibus documentary "Who the Dickens is Mrs Gaskell?" is brutally truncated, cutting off talking heads like novelists Fay Weldon and Margaret Drabble in their prime and giving limited insight into how the production was made. As an audio bonus, there is also 30 minutes of John Keane's music. -Piers Ford.

Review 2 Entertain Video / Persuasion : Complete ITV Adaptation [2007]
Actors & Directors
  • Anthony Head
  • Alice Krige
  • Tobias Menzies
  • Sally Hawkins
  • Rupert Penry-Jones
  • Adrian Shergold
Release date: 2007-04-02
Run time: 93 min.
RRP: £17.99
Price: £4.50

Review Persuasion : Complete ITV Adaptation [2007] / 2 Entertain Video:

The work of Jane Austen is being confidently mined by filmmakers at the moment, and Persuasion is the latest to be visited. And while there are some fair issues raised about just how faithful the film is to the source material, it's nonetheless a lavish and enjoyable take on Austen's story, with much to admire. Much of the reason as to why this version of Persuasion works well lies with its talented cast. Rupert Penry-Jones, for instance, tackles the role of Captain Wentworth with skill, and Sally Hawkins too gives a performance to be admired. Backed by a primarily good supporting cast, the romantic drama is both watchable and engaging. Inevitably, parallels are going to be drawn with the similarly strong 1995 television adaptation, and the truth is that some will favour one, some will favour the other. For our money, the earlier version just about nudges it, but the two takes on Persuasion both have enough ideas of their own to make them suitable companion pieces. Diligently directed and suitably lavish to look at, Persuasion then shows little sign of dampening the enthusiasm for bringing Austen to screens of all sizes. And on the basis of the charming 93 minutes on offer here, that's no bad thing at all. -Jon Foster.

Review Universal Pictures UK / House - Season 2 (Hugh Laurie)
Actors & Directors
  • Robert Sean Leonard
  • Omar Epps
  • Sela Ward
  • Hugh Laurie
  • Jennifer Morrison
Release date: 2006-10-23
RRP: £49.99
Price: £12.50

Review House - Season 2 (Hugh Laurie) / Universal Pictures UK:


Review 2 Entertain Video / Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy : Complete BBC Series [1979]
Actors & Directors
  • Brian Hawksley
  • Thorley Walters
  • Nigel Stock
  • Alec Guinness
  • Milos Kirek
Release date: 2003-05-26
Run time: 350 min.
RRP: £15.99
Price: £5.50

Review Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy : Complete BBC Series [1979] / 2 Entertain Video:

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy stars Alec Guinness as George Smiley, John Le Carré's familiar, ageing British Intelligence agent, called out of retirement to discover the identity of the high-ranking Russian mole who has burrowed deep into "The Circus"-codename for the British secret service. This slow-burning, complicated and ultimately rewarding BBC adaptation, dramatised by Arthur Hopcroft and directed by John Irvin, perfectly captures Le Carré's own insight into the shady underworld of spies and the political climate during the Cold War. Le Carré's style is the antithesis of his contemporary Ian Fleming's-far from the glamorous lifestyle of Bond, with his fast cars and faster women, these agents ride around in Skodas, and Beryl Reid is the closest thing to a femme fatale, save for Smiley's elusive wife, Anne. An extraordinary cast (including Ian Bannen, Hywel Bennett and Ian Richardson), gritty realism and close attention to detail make Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy an outstanding piece of television drama. -Nicola Perry.

Review Momentum Pictures Home Ent / Amazing Grace [2007]
Actors & Directors
  • Michael Gambon
  • Youssou N'Dour
  • Rufus Sewell
  • Albert Finney
  • Michael Apted
  • Ioan Gruffudd
Release date: 2007-08-06
Run time: 112 min.
Creator: Steven Knight
RRP: £19.99
Price: £3.90

Review Amazing Grace [2007] / Momentum Pictures Home Ent:

In this inspirational costume drama, Michael Apted (49 Up) recounts a important period in British history. Unsurprisingly, however, his eye-opening biography of 18th century abolitionist William Wilberforce (Ioan Gruffudd) is likely to come as a revelation to many Britons. After all, despite the presence of his wife, Barbara (Romola Garai), this isn't a particularly "sexy" story, but it is a powerful one. The title comes from John Newton's hymn "Amazing Grace" ("I once was lost but now am found"). Newton (Albert Finney) was a former slaveholder, who became a clergyman and spent his days repenting. While America had John Brown, England had Wilberforce, and Newton is one of many who helped the MP to abolish slavery in the UK. The story begins towards the end of Wilberforce's mission when he's sick with colitis and addicted to laudanum. Apted continues to alternate between 1797 and 1789, when Wilberforce was fitter and more idealistic, and ends in 1807 as his efforts come to fruition. Apted and writer Steven Knight (Dirty Pretty Things) do right by their hero. Unlike Amistad, however, slaves are largely off-screen, with the exception of author Equiano (Senegalese vocalist Youssou N'Dour). [+]
Amazing Grace reserves its focus for the politicians who risked their reps for the greater good, like Wilberforce and Prime Minister Pitt (an excellent Benedict Cumberbatch), and those more concerned with the income slavery provided their constituents, like Lord Tarleton (Ciarán Hinds) and the Duke of Clarence (Toby Jones). -Kathleen C. Fennessy.

Review Warner Home Video / Gilmore Girls - Season 2
Actors & Directors
  • Alexis Bledel
  • Melissa McCarthy
  • Scott Patterson
  • Keiko Agena
  • Lauren Graham
Release date: 2006-03-13
RRP: £44.99
Price: £13.98

Review Gilmore Girls - Season 2 / Warner Home Video:


Review ITV DVD / Brief Encounter [1945]
Actors & Directors
  • Joyce Carey
  • Cyril Raymond
  • Stanley Holloway
  • Trevor Howard
  • David Lean
  • Celia Johnson
Release date: 2001-02-19
Run time: 107 min.
RRP: £15.99
Price: £3.65

Review Brief Encounter [1945] / ITV DVD:

Expanded from a one-act stage play by Noel Coward, Brief Encounter is without doubt one of the true masterpieces of British film history. The story seems slight-a respectable suburban housewife has a chance meeting with a handsome married doctor, their friendship becomes romance, but they feel the pressures of convention pulling their relationship apart-but the writing, acting and direction are sublime, turning what might have been just another melodrama into a memorable and heartbreaking story of impossible love. David Lean went on to make much bigger films than this, but few of those epics packed the emotional punch of this picture, set in a mundane world of railway stations, semi-detached houses and inexpensive cafes. Trevor Howard is perfectly cast as Alec, the doctor, but the film belongs above all to Celia Johnson, as the heroine Laura. It's easy to mock her clipped ultra-English accent, but she gives one of the greatest screen performances imaginable, brilliantly evoking how an ordinary life can be turned upside down by unexpected passion. Throw in the superb use of Rachmaninov's swooning Second Piano Concerto, shrewd supporting acting from Cyril Raymond, Joyce Carey and Everley Gregg, and some of the best black-and-white photography of its era, and the result is irresistible. Anyone who isn't besotted with Brief Encounter has either never been in love, or doesn't deserve to be. -Andy Medhurst.

Review Sony Pictures Home Entertainment / Sense And Sensibility (Collector's Edition) [1996]
Actors & Directors
  • Harriet Walter
  • Tom Wilkinson
  • Kate Winslet
  • James Fleet
  • Emma Thompson
  • Ang Lee
Release date: 2006-02-06
Run time: 131 min.
RRP: £12.99
Price: £4.92

Review Sense And Sensibility (Collector's Edition) [1996] / Sony Pictures Home Entertainment:

Emma Thompson scores a double bull's-eye with Sense and Sensibility, a marvellous adaptation of Jane Austen's novel. Not only does Thompson turn in a strong (and gently humorous) performance as Elinor Dashwood-the one with "sense"-she also wrote the witty, wise screenplay. Austen's tale of 19th-century manners and morals provides a large cast with a feast of possibilities, notably Kate Winslet, in her pre-Titanic flowering, as Thompson's deeply romantic sister, Marianne (the one with "sensibility"). Winslet attracts the wooing of shy Alan Rickman (a nice change of pace from his bad-guy roles) and dashing Greg Wise, while Thompson must endure an incredibly roundabout courtship with Hugh Grant, here in fine and funny form. All of this is doled out with the usual eye-filling English countryside and handsome costumes, yet the film always seems to be about the careful interior lives of its characters. The director, an inspired choice, is Taiwan-born Ang Lee, here making his first English-language film. He brings the same exquisite taste and discreet touch he displayed in his previous Asian films (such as Eat Drink Man Woman). Thompson's script won an Oscar. -Robert Horton.

Review 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment / Romeo And Juliet [1996]
Actors & Directors
  • John Leguizamo
  • Baz Luhrmann
  • Claire Danes
  • Brian Dennehy
  • Leonardo DiCaprio
  • Pete Postlethwaite
Release date: 2002-03-04
Run time: 115 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £2.85

Review Romeo And Juliet [1996] / 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment:

While perhaps not the defining moment in the making of Leonardo DiCaprio's career, his appearance in this dazzling take on William Shakepeare's Romeo & Juliet back in 1996 did the careers of both Clare Danes and himself no harm at all. Perhaps the real star of the show here though is director Baz Luhrmann, who employs a frenetic, at times downright-brilliant style to the age-old tale of tale of star-crossed lovers. Luhrmann would go on to make Moulin Rouge a few years' later. From the off, his take on Romeo & Juliet explodes unpredictably onto the screen, bubbling with vision and originality, accompanied throughout by an excellent score and soundtrack that rightly spawned two spin-off CDs. There are sacrifices made along the way to support Luhrmann's vision though, with the text being stripped down to leave the core of the story in tact, and that's just one of a number of complaints that Shakespeare purists may have. And yet, perhaps more than any other attempt to bring the work of the Bard to the screen of late, this is an extremely accessible entry-point to Shakepeare's work. That it's also by turns breathtaking, dazzling and a sheer joy to watch doesn't harm its cause either. The two leads are charming, the support cast backs them up superbly, and the end result is one of the most interesting visual treats that Hollywood mustered up throughout the 1990s. -Simon Brew.

Review Warner Home Video / Rome: The Complete HBO Season 1 (6 Disc Box Set) [2005]
Actors & Directors
  • Ciaran Hinds
  • Kevin McKidd
  • Polly Walker
  • Kenneth Cranham
  • James Purefoy
Release date: 2006-07-24
Run time: 594 min.
RRP: £50.99
Price: £17.19

Review Rome: The Complete HBO Season 1 (6 Disc Box Set) [2005] / Warner Home Video:

Family dysfunction. Treachery. Betrayal. Coarse profanity. Brutal violence. Graphic (and sometimes brutal) sex. No, it's not The Sopranos, it's Rome, HBO's madly ambitious series that bloodily splatters the glory of Rome just as savagely as Monty Python and the Holy Grail soiled the good name of Camelot (but with far fewer laughs; very few funny things happen on the way to this forum). Set in 52 B. C. (Before Cable), Rome charts the dramatic shifts in the balance of power between former friends Pompey Magnus (Kenneth Cranham), leader of the Senate, and Julius Caesar (Ciaran Hinds), whose imminent return after eight years to Rome after conquering the Gauls, has the ruling class up in arms. [+]
At the heart of Rome is the odd couple friendship between two soldiers who fortuitously become heroes of the people. Lucius Vorenus (Kevin McKidd) is married, honorable, and steadfast. Titus Pullo (Ray Stevenson) is an amoral rogue whose philosophy is best summed up, "I kill my enemies, take their gold, and enjoy their women". Among Rome's most compelling subplots is Lucius's strained relationship with his wife, Niobe (Indira Varma), who is surprised to see her husband alive (but not as surprised as he is to find her upon his homecoming with a newborn baby in her arms!) Any viewer befuddlement over Rome's intrigues and machinations, and determining who is hero and who is foe, disappears the minute Golden Globe-nominee Polly Walker appears as Atia, Caesar's formidable niece and a villainess for the ages. In the first hour alone, she offers her already married daughter as a bride to the recently widowed Pompey. One eagerly awaits to see what (or who) she'll do next as much as we anticipate her comeuppance in the final episode. Rome is a painstakingly mounted production that earned eight well-deserved Emmy nominations in such categories as costumes, set design, and art direction. Michael Apted (Coal Miner's Daughter) was honored with a Director's Guild Award for the first episode, "The Stolen Eagle. " But artistic considerations aside, instantly addicted viewers will agree with Atia, who notes at one point, "I adore the secrecy, the intrigue. It's most thrilling. " -Donald Liebenson.

Review MGM Entertainment / Woody Allen Collection Vol. 1 - Bananas/Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex But Were Afraid To Ask/Sleeper/Love And Death/Annie Hall
Actors & Directors
  • John Beck
  • Paul Simon
  • Woody Allen
  • Woody Allen
  • Harold Gould
  • Tony Jay
Release date: 2007-01-22
Run time: 424 min.
RRP: £34.99
Price: £10.97

Review Woody Allen Collection Vol. 1 - Bananas/Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex But Were Afraid To Ask/Sleeper/Love And Death/Annie Hall / MGM Entertainment:


Review Universal Pictures UK / Schindler's List [1993]
Actors & Directors
  • Liam Neeson
  • Caroline Goodall
  • Embeth Davidtz
  • Ben Kingsley
  • Steven Spielberg
  • Ralph Fiennes
Release date: 2006-02-20
Run time: 187 min.
RRP: £24.99
Price: £4.98

Review Schindler's List [1993] / Universal Pictures UK:

Steven Spielberg had a banner year in 1993. He scored one of his biggest commercial hits that summer with the mega-hit Jurassic Park, but it was the artistic and critical triumph of Schindler's List that Spielberg called "the most satisfying experience of my career. " Adapted from the best-selling book by Thomas Keneally and filmed in Poland with an emphasis on absolute authenticity, Spielberg's masterpiece ranks among the greatest films ever made about the Holocaust during World War II. It's a film about heroism with an unlikely hero at its center-Catholic war profiteer Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson), who risked his life and went bankrupt to save more than 1,000 Jews from certain death in concentration camps. By employing Jews in his crockery factory manufacturing goods for the German army, Schindler ensures their survival against terrifying odds. At the same time, he must remain solvent with the help of a Jewish accountant (Ben Kingsley) and negotiate business with a vicious, obstinate Nazi commandant (Ralph Fiennes) who enjoys shooting Jews as target practice from the balcony of his villa overlooking a prison camp. Schindler's List gains much of its power not by trying to explain Schindler's motivations, but by dramatising the delicate diplomacy and determination with which he carried out his generous deeds. As a drinker and womaniser who thought nothing of associating with Nazis, Schindler was hardly a model of decency; the film is largely about his transformation in response to the horror around him. Spielberg doesn't flinch from that horror, and the result is a film that combines remarkable humanity with abhorrent inhumanity-a film that functions as a powerful history lesson and a testament to the resilience of the human spirit in the context of a living nightmare. -Jeff Shannon.

Review Showtime Entertainment / Dexter: The Complete Second Season (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Michael C. Hall
  • Erik King
Release date: 2008-08-19
Run time: 636 min.
Creator: Lauren Velez
Price: £16.03

Review Dexter: The Complete Second Season (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Showtime Entertainment:


Review ITV DVD / Bonekickers - Complete BBC Series 1 [2008]
Actors & Directors
  • Julie Graham
  • Sarah O'Gorman
  • Sam Spiegel
  • James Strong
  • Anthony Green
  • Nick Hurran
  • Tamzin Merchant
  • Shauna Macdonald
Release date: 2008-08-18
Run time: 360 min.
RRP: £29.99
Price: £17.98

Review Bonekickers - Complete BBC Series 1 [2008] / ITV DVD:


Review 2 Entertain Video / Smiley's People : Complete BBC Series [1982]
Actors & Directors
  • Michael Gough
  • Ingrid Pitt
  • Alec Guinness
  • Michael Elphick
  • Dudley Sutton
Release date: 2004-06-28
Run time: 337 min.
RRP: £15.99
Price: £4.50

Review Smiley's People : Complete BBC Series [1982] / 2 Entertain Video:

The second of the BBC's well-regarded serialisations of John Le Carré's espionage bestsellers, Smiley's People is slightly less compulsively watchable than Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy if only because Tinker, Tailor had a much stronger plot premise (who is the mole in British Intelligence?) than Smiley's People, which takes a very long time to come into focus. Retired spymaster George Smiley (Alec Guinness) wanders around Europe and visits a succession of desperate or eccentric characters as he plays a game which finally leads to another confrontation with and a possible victory over his Moriarty-like Soviet arch-nemesis Karla (an expressive but silent Patrick Stewart). Directed by Simon Langton and coscripted by John Hopkins and Le Carré this is a leisurely mystery. It offers a cannily generous central performance from Guinness, who never takes off his scarf and does his best to fade into the background while a succession of striking character players hold centre screen; but slowly and by sheer presence he begins to dominate the panoramic view of European treachery, deception, and disappointment. Among the terrific supporting cast are Michel Lonsdale, Mario Adorf, Vladek Sheybal, Michael Gough, Alan Rickman (a tiny, early role as a hotel clerk), Beryl Reid, Ingrid Pitt, Bernard Hepton, Michael Elphick, Rosalie Crutchley, Michael Byrne, Bill Paterson, and Maureen Lipman. Smiley's People is more interested in character than thrills, with each cameo contributing another view of the human cost of the cold war: most of the old friends Smiley seeks out react to his reappearance by saying they never wanted to see him again, and victory is only possible because Smiley discovers that his opposite number has a weakness that makes him almost sympathetic. It was originally broadcast in six hour-long episodes, and its intelligent approach works better if you watch episode-length chunks, letting one sink in before going on. -Kim Newman.

Review ITV DVD / Far From The Madding Crowd [1998]
Actors & Directors
  • Nicholas Renton
  • Paloma Baeza
  • Jonathan Firth
  • Nigel Terry
  • Nathanial Parker
Release date: 2007-02-19
Run time: 202 min.
RRP: £9.99
Price: £3.81

Review Far From The Madding Crowd [1998] / ITV DVD:


Review Paramount Home Entertainment / Sex And The City : Complete HBO Season 1 [1998]
Actors & Directors
  • Sarah Jessica Parker
  • Kim Cattrall
  • Kristin Davis
  • Cynthia Nixon
  • Christopher Noth
Release date: 2008-05-12
Run time: 300 min.
RRP: £34.99
Price: £9.99

Review Sex And The City : Complete HBO Season 1 [1998] / Paramount Home Entertainment:

Now you can achieve multiple viewings of the best Sex on TV. Winner of Golden Globes for Best TV Series and Best Actress, Sex and the City is based on Candace Bushnell's provocative bestselling book. Sarah Jessica Parker stars as Carrie Bradshaw, a self-described "sexual anthropologist," who writes "Sex and the City," a newspaper column that chronicles the state of sexual affairs of Manhattanites in this "age of un-innocence. " Her "posse," including nice girl Charlotte (Kristin Davis), hard-edged Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), and party girl Samantha (Kim Cattrall)-not to mention her own tumultuous love life-gives Carrie plenty of column fodder. Over the course of the first season's 12 episodes, the most prominent dramatic arc concerns Carrie, who goes from turning the tables on "toxic bachelors" by having "sex like a man" to wanting to join the ranks of "the monogamists" with the elusive Mr. Big (Chris Noth). Meanwhile, Miranda, Cynthia, and Samantha have their own dating woes, few of which can be described on a family Web site. Seinfeld has nothing on Sex and the City when it comes to shallow, self-absorbed characters or coining catch phrases. Episode 2, for example, introduces the term "modelizer": a guy who is obsessed with and will only date models. Some may accuse this series of male bashing. [+]
But women, after years of enduring shows with "men behaving badly," will relish the equal time. Some may blanch at the ladies' graphic language and ribald humour, or dismiss some of the situations as unrealistic (Carrie doesn't bat an eye when she discovers that an artist friend surreptitiously videotapes his sexual conquests). Still others will view Sex and the City as documentary. Regardless of your view, this groundbreaking series will have you longing for more. -Donald Liebenson.

Review Entertainment in Video / American Psycho [2000]
Actors & Directors
  • Josh Lucas
  • Chloë Sevigny
  • Bill Sage
  • Mary Harron
  • Christian Bale
  • Justin Theroux
Release date: 2000-10-30
Run time: 98 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £2.87

Review American Psycho [2000] / Entertainment in Video:


Browse Drama:

Models & Brands:
House - Series 1-3 - Complete, The West Wing - Complete Season 7 [2001], Wives And Daughters [1999], Persuasion : Complete ITV Adaptation [2007], House - Season 2 (Hugh Laurie), Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy : Complete BBC Series [1979], Amazing Grace [2007], Gilmore Girls - Season 2, Brief Encounter [1945], Sense And Sensibility (Collector's Edition) [1996], Romeo And Juliet [1996], Rome: The Complete HBO Season 1 (6 Disc Box Set) [2005], Woody Allen Collection Vol. 1 - Bananas/Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Sex But Were Afraid To Ask/Sleeper/Love And Death/Annie Hall, Schindler's List [1993], Dexter: The Complete Second Season (REGION 1) (NTSC), Bonekickers - Complete BBC Series 1 [2008], Smiley's People : Complete BBC Series [1982], Far From The Madding Crowd [1998], Sex And The City : Complete HBO Season 1 [1998], American Psycho [2000]

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