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Review Simitar / The Black Tulip [1991]
Actors & Directors
  • Brian Anderson
  • Phillip Hinton
  • Paul Johnstone
  • Juliette Jordan
  • Keith Scott
  • Franco Cristofani
Release date: 1997-04-30
Run time: 49 min.
Creator: Paul Leadon
Price: £28.24

Review The Black Tulip [1991] / Simitar:


Review BFS Entertainment Entertainment / Snowy [1993] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Paul Moloney
  • Denis Moore
  • Jacek Koman
  • Terry Gill
  • Roz Hammond
  • John Flaus
  • Ian Gilmour
Release date: 2003-09-16
Run time: 600 min.
Creator: Roger Simpson
Price: £24.88

Review Snowy [1993] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / BFS Entertainment Entertainment:


Review Vci Video / Broken Harvest [1994] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Colin Lane
  • Marian Quinn
  • Maurice O'Callaghan
  • Darren McHugh
  • Joe Jeffers
  • Niall O'Brien
Release date: 2001-04-24
Run time: 97 min.
Creator: Kate O'Callaghan
Price: £4.02

Review Broken Harvest [1994] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Vci Video:


Review Heritage Theatre Ltd / The Winter's Tale: Production Casebook [1998]
Actors & Directors
  • Gregory Doran; Robin Lough
  • Anthony Sher; Alexandra Gilbreath; Emily Bruni; Ken Bones; Ryan McCluskey; Peter Macqueen
Release date: 2002-09-23
Run time: 90 min.
RRP: £18.99
Price: £6.94

Review The Winter's Tale: Production Casebook [1998] / Heritage Theatre Ltd:


Review Warner Home Video / Felicity: An American Girl Adventure [2005] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Shailene Woodley
  • Kevin Zegers
  • David Gardner
  • Nadia Tass
  • Marcia Gay Harden
  • John Schneider
Release date: 2006-12-20
Run time: 85 min.
Creator: Valerie Tripp
Price: £16.23

Review Felicity: An American Girl Adventure [2005] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Warner Home Video:


Review Kino / Chi-Haw-Seon: Painted Fire [2003] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Kwon-taek Im
  • Sung-kee Ahn
  • Min-sik Choi
  • Yeo-jin Kim
  • Ye-jin Son
  • Ho-jeong Yu
Release date: 2004-02-03
Run time: 120 min.
Creator: Yong-ok Kim
Price: £12.01

Review Chi-Haw-Seon: Painted Fire [2003] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Kino:


Review Image Entertainment / The World of Geisha [1973] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Junko Miyashita
  • Tatsumi Kumashiro
  • Gô Awazu
  • Nahomi Oka
  • Moeko Ezawa
  • Hideaki Esumi
Release date: 2003-09-09
Run time: 72 min.
Creator: Kafu Nagai
Price: £56.70

Review The World of Geisha [1973] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Image Entertainment:


Review Image Entertainment / Hong Kong 1941 [1984]
Actors & Directors
  • Po-Chih Leong
  • Alex Man
  • Ma Wu
  • Kien Shih
  • Yun-Fat Chow
  • Cecilia Yip
Release date: 1999-01-19
Run time: 100 min.
Creator: Koon-Chung Chan
Price: £4.29

Review Hong Kong 1941 [1984] / Image Entertainment:

Hong Kong 1941 is a film from the former Crown Colony uniquely focusing on the Japanese occupation during the Second World War. Starring Chow Yun-Fat, shortly before A Better Tomorrow (1986) made him a superstar, this is a war drama far removed from the usual action fare expected from Hong Kong cinema. The English title deliberately evokes Spielberg's 1941, though the content anticipates the same director's Empire of the Sun, even to the extent that the hymn "Suo Gan" is used in both movies. The story of two friends in love with the same woman may call to mind Pearl Harbor, though this comparatively low-budget feature offers an infinitely more convincing account of the horrors of war than Michael Bay's glossy big-budget epic, with some of the most harrowing sequences since The Deer Hunter. The film does not shy away from the moral complexities of collaboration with the enemy, and likewise presents the main characters as fully three-dimensional. Chow Yun-Fat inevitably dominates (he won a Golden Horse award for his performance), yet Cecilia Yip Tong makes a strong impression as the heroine whose terminal illness does not result in the expected sentimental clichés. Alex Man is memorable as the third corner of the triangle, but what makes Hong Kong 1941 genuinely notable is its emotionally charged evocation of WWII from a rarely seen perspective. On the DVD: Hong Kong 1941 is presented in an anamorphically enhanced transfer at 1. 77:1, cropping just a little of the original Hong Kong Critics Award-winning cinematography. The picture is excellent, with no blemishes, fine detail, rich colours and barely a hint of grain. [+]
The sound is offered in stereo in the original Cantonese, with optional English subtitles, or in a Dolby Digital 5. 1 remix and dubbed into English. Both tracks have occasional distortion on the music. The original version preserves the performances much better, though some of the subtitles are wildly inaccurate-references to living in the 21st century and to Japanese jet planes-while the dubbed track offers better than average voice acting but with many of the cultural references Westernised. The multi-channel remix adds only discrete ambient effects and is barely noticeable. The main special features are an information-packed commentary by Hong Kong movie expert Bay Logan, and two interviews. Chow Yun-Fat speaks rather nervously in English for 12 minutes on a variety of topics, concentrating on his work with John Woo. The interview with Cecilia Yip Tong, specific to Hong Kong 1941, is in Cantonese with English subtitles, runs 27 minutes and is anamorphically enhanced with excellent image quality. Also included is a routine photo gallery, the original theatrical trailer and 12 Hong Kong Legends DVD trailers. -Gary S Dalkin.

Review First Run Features / Torremolinos 73 [2005] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Candela Peña
  • Juan Diego
  • Mads Mikkelsen
  • Pablo Berger
  • Javier Cámara
  • Fernando Tejero
Release date: 2006-02-21
Run time: 91 min.
Creator: Yuko Harami
Price: £7.71

Review Torremolinos 73 [2005] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / First Run Features:


Review Paramount / Bride of the Wind [2001] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Simon Verhoeven
  • Bruce Beresford
  • Sarah Wynter
  • Jonathan Pryce
  • Gregor Seberg
  • Vincent Perez
Release date: 2001-11-13
Run time: 99 min.
Creator: Marilyn Levy
Price: £11.91

Review Bride of the Wind [2001] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Paramount:


Review Kino / A Sunday in the Country [1984]
Actors & Directors
  • Sabine Azéma
  • Louis Ducreux
  • Monique Chaumette
  • Bertrand Tavernier
  • Michel Aumont
  • Geneviève Mnich
Release date: 2003-09-02
Run time: 90 min.
Creator: Colo Tavernier
Price: £79.99

Review A Sunday in the Country [1984] / Kino:


Review BFS Entertainment Entertainment / Sharpe's Mission [1996] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Abigail Cruttenden
  • James Laurenson
  • Hugh Fraser
  • Daragh O'Malley
  • Sean Bean
  • Tom Clegg
Release date: 2001-03-20
Run time: 100 min.
Creator: Eoghan Harris
Price: £8.13

Review Sharpe's Mission [1996] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / BFS Entertainment Entertainment:

Based on the novels by Bernard Cornwell, Sharpe (1993-7) ran to 14 full-length television films that follow the adventures of the titular soldier through the later years of the Napoleonic Wars. The programmes are an outstanding achievement for the small screen, dominated by Sean Bean's central performance as the heroic, troubled outsider who turns out to be a resourceful and loyal leader. Bolstered by a strong supporting cast, particularly Daragh O'Malley as Harper and (in later episodes) Abigail Cruttenden as Jane, Sharpe is often visually striking, the action tense and gripping. Consistency is maintained by all 14 episodes being directed by Tom Clegg. -Gary S Dalkin.

Review Spellbound Pictures Ltd USA LLC / The Climb [1997]
Actors & Directors
  • John Hurt
  • Bob Swaim
  • Seth Smith
  • Gregory Smith
  • David Strathairn
  • Stephen McHattie
Release date: 2001-10-30
Run time: 94 min.
Price: £39.99

Review The Climb [1997] / Spellbound Pictures Ltd USA LLC:


Review Miramax / Frida [2003] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Salma Hayek
  • Alejandro Usigli
  • Julie Taymor
  • Amelia Zapata
  • Mía Maestro
  • Diego Luna
Release date: 2003-06-10
Run time: 123 min.
Price: £4.41

Review Frida [2003] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Miramax:

Salma Hayek makes up for many bad movies with her fierce performance in the sumptuous biopic Frida. Hayek plays the Mexican surrealist painter Frida Kahlo, whose tempestuous life with her unfaithful husband, muralist Diego Rivera (Alfred Molina), drives the story. Maverick director Julie Taymor (Titus, the stage production of The Lion King) pulls out a wealth of gorgeous visuals to capture everything from the horrific bus accident that damaged Kahlo's spine to her and Rivera's trip to New York City, where Rivera's political leanings ruptured a commission from the Rockefeller family. Though the script spends too much time telling us how great Frida's painting is (rather than trusting in the power of the images themselves), Taymor's dynamic energy and Kahlo's forceful personality give Frida genuine emotional impact. The superb cast includes Roger Rees, Valeria Golino, Ashley Judd, Geoffrey Rush, Antonio Banderas and Edward Norton. The Oscar-winning score is by Taymor's husband, Elliot Goldenthal. -Bret Fetzer.

Review Columbia TriStar / The Howards of Virginia [1940] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Cary Grant
  • Frank Lloyd
  • Cedric Hardwicke
  • Richard Carlson
  • Alan Marshal
  • Martha Scott
Release date: 2003-03-25
Run time: 116 min.
Creator: Sidney Buchman
Price: £27.13

Review The Howards of Virginia [1940] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Columbia TriStar:


Review Showtime Entertainment / The Heart of Me [2003] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Thaddeus O'Sullivan
  • Eleanor Bron
  • Luke Newberry
  • Paul Bettany
  • Olivia Williams
  • Helena Bonham Carter
Release date: 2004-02-10
Run time: 96 min.
Creator: Rosamond Lehmann
Price: £5.99

Review The Heart of Me [2003] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Showtime Entertainment:


Review Heretic Films / Sacred Flesh [2000] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Rachel Taggart
  • Simon Hill
  • Sally Tremaine
  • Moyna Cope
  • Nigel Wingrove
  • Kristina Bill
Release date: 2005-11-15
Run time: 75 min.
Creator: Mark Sloper
Price: £14.35

Review Sacred Flesh [2000] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Heretic Films:


Review Fox Lorber / Les Dangerous Liasons [2003] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Josée Dayan
  • Leelee Sobieski
  • Catherine Deneuve
  • Danielle Darrieux
  • Rupert Everett
  • Nastassja Kinski
Release date: 2004-03-16
Run time: 203 min.
Creator: Jean-Luc Azoulay
Price: £105.45

Review Les Dangerous Liasons [2003] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / Fox Lorber:


Review A&E Home Video / The Last King [2003] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • Rufus Sewell
  • Joe Wright
  • Michael Pober
  • Ian McDiarmid
  • Rupert Graves
  • Martin Turner
Release date: 2004-04-27
Run time: 188 min.
Creator: Lee Morris
Price: £10.08

Review The Last King [2003] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / A&E Home Video:

One of the better BBC costume dramas of recent years, 2003's Charles II: The Power and the Passion depends very strongly on its central performance. Fortunately, Rufus Sewell is admirable throughout as the saturnine, witty monarch who has retained popular fondness down the centuries in spite of his conscientious adherence to the bad and losing cause of absolute monarchy. Adrian Hodge's intelligent script dramatises the issue in quick sound bites-many politicians accepted the Restoration to avoid chaos and were determined to bring Charles to heel, whereas he was determined to defend the position for which his father had been martyred. If that meant handing the throne to his Catholic brother in default of a legitimate son of his own, so be it. The four hour-long episodes cover the Restoration, the Plague and the Fire of London, the secret treaties with France and the Popish Plot, as well as giving us a fair bit of Charles's moderately happy marriage to Catherine (Shirley Henderson in the most hideously accurate historical hairdos ever) and his affairs with various mistresses. Among a number of fine supporting performances, Rupert Graves stands out as Buckingham, the friend who betrayed Charles. This sort of costume drama only ever works if the acting is as good as it is here. On the DVD: Charles II on disc comes with a making-of documentary and a commentary on the first episode from writer Adrian Hodge and the director and producer. It also includes an extended documentary on Charles's back story-his education, his attempt to fight Cromwell's forces, his period on the run in England and his long exile-in which a number of eminent historians, including Richard Holmes and Ronald Hutton, talk about how he became the king he was. -Roz Kaveney.

Review BFS Entertainment Entertainment / Sharpe's Siege [1996] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
Actors & Directors
  • James Laurenson
  • Daragh O'Malley
  • Abigail Cruttenden
  • Hugh Fraser
  • Sean Bean
  • Tom Clegg
Release date: 2001-03-20
Run time: 100 min.
Creator: Bernard Cornwell
Price: £8.13

Review Sharpe's Siege [1996] (REGION 1) (NTSC) / BFS Entertainment Entertainment:

Based on the novels by Bernard Cornwell, Sharpe (1993-7) ran to 14 full-length television films that follow the adventures of the titular soldier through the later years of the Napoleonic Wars. The programmes are an outstanding achievement for the small screen, dominated by Sean Bean's central performance as the heroic, troubled outsider who turns out to be a resourceful and loyal leader. Bolstered by a strong supporting cast, particularly Daragh O'Malley as Harper and (in later episodes) Abigail Cruttenden as Jane, Sharpe is often visually striking, the action tense and gripping. Consistency is maintained by all 14 episodes being directed by Tom Clegg. -Gary S Dalkin.

Models & Brands:
The Black Tulip [1991], Snowy [1993] (REGION 1) (NTSC), Broken Harvest [1994] (REGION 1) (NTSC), The Winter's Tale: Production Casebook [1998], Felicity: An American Girl Adventure [2005] (REGION 1) (NTSC), Chi-Haw-Seon: Painted Fire [2003] (REGION 1) (NTSC), The World of Geisha [1973] (REGION 1) (NTSC), Hong Kong 1941 [1984], Torremolinos 73 [2005] (REGION 1) (NTSC), Bride of the Wind [2001] (REGION 1) (NTSC), A Sunday in the Country [1984], Sharpe's Mission [1996] (REGION 1) (NTSC), The Climb [1997], Frida [2003] (REGION 1) (NTSC), The Howards of Virginia [1940] (REGION 1) (NTSC), The Heart of Me [2003] (REGION 1) (NTSC), Sacred Flesh [2000] (REGION 1) (NTSC), Les Dangerous Liasons [2003] (REGION 1) (NTSC), The Last King [2003] (REGION 1) (NTSC), Sharpe's Siege [1996] (REGION 1) (NTSC)

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