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Review 2 Entertain Video / Martin Chuzzlewit [1994]
Actors & Directors
  • Paul Scofield
  • Tom Wilkinson
  • Elizabeth Spriggs
  • John Mills
  • Peter Wingfield
Release date: 1995-02-06
Run time: 337 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £16.97

Review Martin Chuzzlewit [1994] / 2 Entertain Video:


Review Koch Lorber Films / Sister My Sister [1995] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Sophie Thursfield
  • Nancy Meckler
  • Amelda Brown
  • Jodhi May
  • Julie Walters
  • Joely Richardson
Release date: 2004-05-11
Run time: 85 min.

Review Sister My Sister [1995] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Koch Lorber Films:


Review Acorn Media / Clarissa [1991] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Saskia Wickham
  • Jonathan Phillips
  • Robert Bierman
  • Jeffrey Wickham
  • Sean Bean
  • Lynsey Baxter
Release date: 2005-08-09
Run time: 201 min.
Price: £13.14

Review Clarissa [1991] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Acorn Media:


Review Acorn Media / Vanity Fair [1967]
Actors & Directors
  • Susan Hampshire
Release date: 2004-09-13
Run time: 219 min.
RRP: £24.99
Price: £15.98

Review Vanity Fair [1967] / Acorn Media:


Review BFS Entertainment Entertainment / Falling for a Dancer [1998] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Dermot Crowley
  • Richard Standeven
  • Rory Murray
  • Elisabeth Dermot Walsh
  • Liam Cunningham
  • Maureen O'Brien
Release date: 2001-06-01
Run time: 200 min.
Price: £11.07

Review Falling for a Dancer [1998] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / BFS Entertainment Entertainment:


Review Origin Arts / Tis Pity She's a Whore [1972]
Actors & Directors
  • Giuseppe Patroni Griffi
  • Fabio Testi
  • Oliver Tobias
  • Rik Battaglia
  • Antonio Fasi
  • Charlotte Rampling
Release date: 2007-03-20
Run time: 106 min.
Creator: Ennio Morricone
Price: £8.79

Review Tis Pity She's a Whore [1972] / Origin Arts:


Review Paramount / Forrest Gump [1994] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Mykelti Williamson
  • Robert Zemeckis
  • Gary Sinise
  • Sally Field
  • Robin Wright Penn
  • Tom Hanks
Release date: 2001-08-28
Run time: 251 min.
Price: £4.70

Review Forrest Gump [1994] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Paramount:

If you read the label on a box of chocolates you'll know exactly what you're gonna get. Life isn't like that in Forrest Gump, however, which is one of the reasons why this movie divided appreciative audiences from hard-hearted critics like few others before it. Audiences responded to the Frank Capra-style sentimentality of this warm-hearted tale of a good ol' American boy making his way in the world without ever losing his pure and simple innocence. Critics, however, were made uneasy by the apparently reactionary subtext to the parallel lives of Forrest and his girlfriend Jenny. Her fate, contrasted with his, suggests a triumph for plain ol' American values over dangerous freethinking hippies and liberals. Whether the movie is just unadulterated sentiment or right-wing propaganda, one thing at least was acknowledged by all: that Forrest Gump displays all the craftsmanship of one of Hollywood's most inventive directors and features a central performance from an actor renowned for his total commitment to every role. Thanks to Robert Zemeckis and Tom Hanks, even the most cynical critic will find it hard not to shed at least one tear by the end of this undeniably engrossing movie. The soundtrack is great, too. On the DVD: another good two-disc set gives fans of Gump and budding filmmakers alike plenty to enjoy. The anamorphic picture and Dolby Surround on Disc 1 do full justice to Zemeckis' vision, which is accompanied by two commentaries: one from the director, producer Steve Starkey and production designer Rick Carter, and another one from producer Wendy Finerman. [+]
Disc 2 has the usual making of documentary (30 mins), plus some neat featurettes on the production and sound design and the many special effects shots (including how they made Gary Sinise lose his legs). In addition there are some screen tests of Robin Wright and a very young Haley Joel (The Sixth Sense) Osment, plus trailers and a photo gallery. All in all this is a worthwhile package. -Mark Walker.

Review WGBH Boston / Masterpiece Theatre: Jane Eyre [2006] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Amy Steel (II)
  • Ruth Wilson (II)
  • Toby Stephens
  • Bethany Gill
  • Susanna White
  • Daniel Pirrie
Release date: 2007-02-20
Run time: 228 min.
Price: £8.72

Review Masterpiece Theatre: Jane Eyre [2006] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / WGBH Boston:


Review Universal Studios / Pride and Prejudice [HD DVD] [2005] [US Import]
Actors & Directors
  • Keira Knightley
  • Carey Mulligan
  • Joe Wright (IV)
  • Rosamund Pike
  • Talulah Riley
  • Jena Malone
Release date: 2007-11-13
Run time: 129 min.
Price: £6.29

Review Pride and Prejudice [HD DVD] [2005] [US Import] / Universal Studios:


Review Pathe Distribution / The Abduction Club [2002]
Actors & Directors
  • Sophia Myles
  • Alice Evans
  • Liam Cunningham
  • Matthew Rhys
  • Stefan Schwartz
  • Daniel Lapaine
Release date: 2003-10-27
Run time: 92 min.
RRP: £5.99
Price: £22.99

Review The Abduction Club [2002] / Pathe Distribution:

"We are gentlemen brought together by necessity!" So goes the thinking behind The Abduction Club, the name of a wily gang of penniless 18th-century chaps who attempt to cure their singledom by swiping wealthy heiresses from the comfort of their own homes. The aim? To sweet talk them into marriage by morning, securing their future in the manner to which they are accustomed with the aid of the lady's hefty dowry. Daniel Lapaine and Matthew Rhys are two loveable rogues who get more than they bargain for with the feisty Kennedy sisters (Alice Evans and Sophia Myles), who give them a run for their money. But, with their family in hot pursuit, the question is: will the girls ever relent and fall for the boys? And if so, what will their folks say? Based on true events, the whole setup of The Abduction Club is dubious, intended to be overlooked by the fact that these abductors are rather handsome, so of course the ladies don't mind being kidnapped. But to launch a moral tirade against such a frivolous film would be as ludicrous as some of the oversized wigs and corsetry on offer here. There is some dodgy acting and some even more unsteady scripting, but The Abduction Club is just a genial romp that aims to amuse, and little else. On the DVD: The Abduction Club disc is completely bereft of any additional material apart from a trailer. -Laura Bushell.

Review Lions Gate / Christy: Return to Cutter Gap [2000] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Bruce McKinnon
  • Lauren Lee Smith
  • Chuck Bowman
  • Andy Stahl
  • James Waterston
  • Stewart Finlay-McLennan
Release date: 2001-08-28
Run time: 89 min.
Price: £3.00

Review Christy: Return to Cutter Gap [2000] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Lions Gate:


Review Image / The Hunchback of Notre Dame [1923] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Patsy Ruth Miller
  • Wallace Worsley
  • Winifred Bryson
  • Kate Lester
  • Norman Kerry
  • Lon Chaney
Release date: 2007-10-09
Run time: 117 min.
Price: £8.02

Review The Hunchback of Notre Dame [1923] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Image:

Lon Chaney, the man of a thousand faces, was best known for playing Quasimodo and the Phantom of the Opera. But the former role in The Hunchback of Notre Dame was clearly the most ambitious of his illustrious career, full of such longing and anguish. It's as though his entire being was consumed by this ugly outcast with a heart as big and beautiful as Notre Dame itself. And the makeup is still astonishing. The rest of this unrequited love story is pretty effective as well, with the re-creation of medieval Paris a standout for its lavishness. Like all great silent films, it delivers a poetry of life that is abstract and tangible at the same time. -Bill Desowitz.

Actors & Directors
  • Kathy Burke
  • Brid Brennan
  • Catherine McCormack
  • Michael Gambon
  • Meryl Streep
  • Pat O'Connor
Release date: 2008-09-01
Run time: 91 min.
RRP: £15.99
Price: £9.98

Review Dancing At Lughnasa [1998] / 4dvd:


Review Walt Disney Video / Disney's Ruby Bridges [1998] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Lela Rochon
  • Euzhan Palcy
  • Penelope Ann Miller
  • Chaz Monet
  • Kevin Pollak
  • Michael Beach
Release date: 2004-02-03
Run time: 90 min.
Price: £3.84

Review Disney's Ruby Bridges [1998] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Walt Disney Video:


Review Walt Disney Video / Summer of Sam [2000] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Ben Gazzara
  • Michael Badalucco
  • Jimmy Breslin
  • Adrien Brody
  • Ken Garito
  • Spike Lee
Release date: 1999-12-21
Run time: 142 min.
Creator: Terence Blanchard
Price: £4.07

Review Summer of Sam [2000] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Walt Disney Video:

It's important to note that Spike Lee's drama is not titled Son of Sam. Summer of Sam doesn't chronicle the killer as much as the times: the blistering hot summer of 1977 when the Big Apple's psyche was taken hostage by the lone gunman. We spot the killer (Michael Badalucco) in his mad ramblings but the film centres on two friends from the Bronx: Vinny and Ritchie (John Leguizamo and Adrien Brody). Vinny and his wife, Dionna (Mira Sorvino), bury a bad marriage (he cheats at a drop of a hat) in the disco halls of the area. Ritchie returns to the neighbourhood sporting punk hair, punk clothes and a British accent that immediately infuriates the neighbourhood boys oozing far too much testosterone. Cops, local mob leaders and the guys on the street all have ideas who the killer is: everyone from neighbourhood loners to Reggie Jackson (in the midst of World Series heroism) are on their misguided lists of suspects. When the film looks at how the citizens faced the fearful times, Lee scores with his energetic camerawork and pop soundtrack. Yet the film is banal in its domestic dramatics, taking large detours into Vinny's home sex life (stagnant) and Ritchie's extracurricular activities. One of the marriage arguments-though real and well acted-is so long and cliché-ridden you wonder if someone fell asleep in the editing booth. Add the point-blank killings and non-stop vulgarity and you have Lee's most unpleasant film. [+]
-Doug Thomas.

Review Dd Home Entertainment / Nicholas Nickleby
Actors & Directors
  • Liz Smith
  • Freddie Jones
  • Nigel Havers
  • Patricia Routledge
Release date: 2005-09-19
Run time: 325 min.
RRP: £19.99
Price: £6.50

Review Nicholas Nickleby / Dd Home Entertainment:


Review Lionsgate / Balzac [1999] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Fanny Ardant
  • Virna Lisi
  • Jeanne Moreau
  • Katja Riemann
  • Gérard Depardieu
  • Josée Dayan
Release date: 2007-01-02
Run time: 186 min.
Price: £3.06

Review Balzac [1999] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Lionsgate:


Review DreamWorks / Amistad [1998] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Steven Spielberg
  • Anthony Hopkins
  • Matthew McConaughey
  • Djimon Hounsou
  • Morgan Freeman
  • Nigel Hawthorne
Release date: 1999-05-04
Run time: 155 min.
Price: £2.81

Review Amistad [1998] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / DreamWorks:

Steven Spielberg's most simplistic, sanitised history lesson, Amistad, explores the symbolic 1840s trials of 53 West Africans following their bloody rebellion aboard a slave ship. For most of Schindler's List (and, later, Saving Private Ryan) Spielberg restrains himself from the sweeping narrative and technical flourishes that make him one of our most entertaining and manipulative directors. Here, he doesn't even bother trying, succumbing to his driving need to entertain with beautiful images and contrived emotion. He cheapens his grandiose motives and simplifies slavery, treating it as cut- and-dry genre piece. Characters are easy Hollywood stereotypes-"villains" like the Spanish sailors or zealous abolitionists are drawn one-dimensionally and sneered upon. And Spielberg can't suppress his gifted eye, undercutting normally ugly sequences, such as the terrifying slave passage, which is shot as a gorgeous, well-lit composition. At its core, Amistad is a traditional courtroom drama, centred by a tired, clichéd narrative: a struggling, idealistic young lawyer (Matthew McConaughey) fighting the crooked political system and saving helpless victims. Worse yet, Spielberg actually takes the underlying premise of his childhood fantasy, E. T. and repackages it for slavery. [+]
Cinque (Djimon Hounsou), the leader of the West African rebellion, is presented much like the adorable alien: lost, lacking a common language, and trying to find his way home. McConaughey is a grown-up Elliot who tries communicating complicated ideas such as geography by drawing pictures in the sand or language by having Cinque mimic his facial expressions. Such stuff was effective for a sci-fi fantasy about the communication barriers between a boy and a lost alien; here, it seems like a naive view of real, complex history. -Dave McCoy, Amazon. com.

Review Paramount / The Last Tycoon [1976] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Robert De Niro
  • Jeanne Moreau
  • Jack Nicholson
  • Robert Mitchum
  • Elia Kazan
  • Tony Curtis
Release date: 2003-11-18
Run time: 123 min.
Price: £3.16

Review The Last Tycoon [1976] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Paramount:


Review Columbia TriStar / Head in the Clouds [2004] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Charlize Theron
  • Stuart Townsend
  • John Duigan
  • Thomas Kretschmann
  • Penélope Cruz
  • Steven Berkoff
Release date: 2005-01-25
Run time: 121 min.
Price: £4.58

Review Head in the Clouds [2004] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Columbia TriStar:


Models & Brands:
Martin Chuzzlewit [1994], Sister My Sister [1995] (REGION 1) (NTSC), Clarissa [1991] (REGION 1) (NTSC), Vanity Fair [1967], Falling for a Dancer [1998] (REGION 1) (NTSC), Tis Pity She's a Whore [1972], Forrest Gump [1994] (REGION 1) (NTSC), Masterpiece Theatre: Jane Eyre [2006] (REGION 1) (NTSC), Pride and Prejudice [HD DVD] [2005] [US Import], The Abduction Club [2002], Christy: Return to Cutter Gap [2000] (REGION 1) (NTSC), The Hunchback of Notre Dame [1923] (REGION 1) (NTSC), Dancing At Lughnasa [1998], Disney's Ruby Bridges [1998] (REGION 1) (NTSC), Summer of Sam [2000] (REGION 1) (NTSC), Nicholas Nickleby, Balzac [1999] (REGION 1) (NTSC), Amistad [1998] (REGION 1) (NTSC), The Last Tycoon [1976] (REGION 1) (NTSC), Head in the Clouds [2004] (REGION 1) (NTSC)

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