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Review Fremantle Home Entertainment / The Bill - The Trial of Eddie Santini, Kiss Off parts 1 & 2. [1984]
Actors & Directors
  • Andy Goddard
  • James Hawes
  • John Dower
  • Michael Skivington
  • Derek Lister
Release date: 2000-10-09
Run time: 170 min.
Creator: Vanessa Haynes
Price: £12.99

Review The Bill - The Trial of Eddie Santini, Kiss Off parts 1 & 2. [1984] / Fremantle Home Entertainment:


Review ITV DVD / Reach For The Sky [1956]
Actors & Directors
  • Lee Patterson
  • Lewis Gilbert
  • Muriel Pavlow
  • Lyndon Brook
  • Kenneth More
  • Alexander Knox
Release date: 2000-01-26
Run time: 130 min.
Creator: Vernon Harris
RRP: £5.99
Price: £2.50

Review Reach For The Sky [1956] / ITV DVD:

Reach for the Sky was a box-office hit in 1956 and rightly remains a fondly regarded classic of British cinema. Kenneth More is ideally cast as Douglas Bader, the gifted pilot who loses both legs in a pre-war air crash, only to play a major role in the Battle of Britain, rise to the rank of Group Captain and become a war hero. Based on Paul Brickhill's biography, this is an "official" history maybe, but Lewis Gilbert's screenplay and direction are historically accurate and informed by that very British humour, of which More was a natural. The film is graced by a decent supporting cast and a typically "widescreen" score from John Addison. On the DVD: Reach for the Sky is vividly reproduced in 16:9 anamorphic format and decent mono. There are subtitles for the hard of hearing and detailed biographies of More, Gilbert and Barder. The original theatrical trailer is included, but it would also have made sense to include an interview or documentary footage of Bader himself. -Richard Whitehouse.

Review 4 Front Video / Lady Chatterley's Lover [1981]
Actors & Directors
  • Ann Mitchell
  • Just Jaeckin
  • Elizabeth Spriggs
  • Shane Briant
  • Nicholas Clay
  • Sylvia Kristel
Release date: 2002-07-01
Run time: 99 min.
Creator: Marc Behm
RRP: £5.99
Price: £9.99

Review Lady Chatterley's Lover [1981] / 4 Front Video:


Review Delta Visual Entertainment / Lovejoy - Complete Series 5
Actors & Directors
  • Ian McShane
  • Chris Jury
  • Phyllis Logan
  • Dudley Sutton
Release date: 2005-02-28
Run time: 740 min.
RRP: £29.99
Price: £4.99

Review Lovejoy - Complete Series 5 / Delta Visual Entertainment:


Review Warner Home Video / Honkytonk Man [1982]
Actors & Directors
  • Clint Eastwood
  • John McIntire
  • Verna Bloom
  • Clint Eastwood
  • Kyle Eastwood
  • Alexa Kenin
Release date: 1997-06-23
Run time: 118 min.
Creator: Clancy Carlile
RRP: £5.99
Price: £9.95

Review Honkytonk Man [1982] / Warner Home Video:


Review Odyssey Video / Danielle Steel's Jewels [1992]
Actors & Directors
  • Annette O'Toole
  • Sheila Gish
  • Roger Young
  • Corinne Touzet
  • Jürgen Prochnow
  • Anthony Andrews
Release date: 1994-08-08
Run time: 242 min.
Creator: Danielle Steel
Price: £10.99

Review Danielle Steel's Jewels [1992] / Odyssey Video:


Review Pathe Distribution / Dances With Wolves [1991]
Actors & Directors
  • Floyd 'Red Crow' Westerman
  • Kevin Costner
  • Rodney A. Grant
  • Graham Greene
  • Kevin Costner
  • Mary McDonnell
Release date: 2001-04-23
Run time: 173 min.
Creator: Michael Blake
RRP: £5.99
Price: £4.94

Review Dances With Wolves [1991] / Pathe Distribution:

Dances with Wolves is the film that sent director-producer-actor Kevin Costner on his hubristic way; yet it is such a resonant and powerful film that we can almost forgive him for inflicting upon us his later "epic" The Postman. Here Costner plays a Union solder stationed at the far edges of the West, and left there to rot at his post. He finally sees the wisdom of the Lakota Sioux and finds peace within their community. But his decision to "go native" is greatly frowned upon by his military commanders, and the subsequent culture clash forms the backbone of the narrative. The story is told simply, and wastes not one word of dialogue, while the South Dakota locations provide a magnificent backdrop. Costner is sympathetic and accessible as an American Everyman who awakens to himself and the world around him. -Rochelle O'Gorman, Amazon. com.

Review / E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial [1982]
Actors & Directors
  • Henry Thomas
  • Erika Eleniak
  • Steven Spielberg
  • Dee Wallace
  • Peter Coyote
  • Drew Barrymore
Run time: 115 min.
Creator: Satyajit Ray
Price: £9.99

Review E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial [1982]:

This 20th Anniversary edition of E. T. introduces the warmth and sense of magic of Steven Spielberg's much-loved movie to a whole new generation. And it is the youngsters at whom this new version has been aimed, with the film being given a Star Wars-style make-over in the hope that it will appeal to a generation weaned on digital effects. Thus, ET now has a souped-up space ship and the pursuing FBI agents are more politically correct, carrying walkie-talkies in place of guns. They've even given ET himself a CGI face-lift, digitally replacing the beloved puppet in certain scenes. But this is no Apocalypse Now Redux. The re-edited scenes are small and insignificant to the plot: the only additional footage of any note is ET taking a bath and demonstrating that he can breathe underwater, which is amusing but irrelevant. The surprise is that the deleted scene with Harrison Ford playing Elliot's school Principal has still not made it to the new version. Despite such grumbles, E. [+]
T. is still the joyful experience it was 20 years ago, only this time grown-ups can follow the story through an added glow of nostalgia, as they fondly remember just how great BMXs were! -Nikki Disney On the DVD: E. T. -20th Anniversary Edition has the revised version of the movie (but not the original cut) on Disc One, presented in 1. 85:1 anamorphic widescreen and with a choice of gloriously remastered Dolby 5. 1 or DTS sound options. The major beneficiary of this new presentation is John Williams' outstanding music score, which uniquely can also be played along with the film in the live version from the LA Shrine Auditorium 2002 premiere. A documentary about Williams conducting this extraordinary performance and a feature on his original scoring sessions are the best extra features on Disc Two. Other documentaries cover the "Evolution and Creation of ET"; a "Reunion" of the principal cast and crew with some fun behind-the-scenes footage; a piece on the planets of the Solar System narrated by ET himself (!); a photo gallery; trailers, and DVD-ROM extras. There's no director's commentary, but Spielberg does briefly introduce the movie on Disc One. -Mark Walker.

Review Cinema Club / Brassed Off [1996]
Actors & Directors
  • Stephen Tompkinson
  • Jim Carter
  • Tara Fitzgerald
  • Ewan McGregor
  • Mark Herman
  • Pete Postlethwaite
Release date: 1999-09-06
Run time: 103 min.
Creator: Steve Abbott
RRP: £5.99
Price: £3.30

Review Brassed Off [1996] / Cinema Club:

Take The Full Monty, add a sharper emotional edge and replace the strutting strippers with a dignified British band. That's the essence of Brassed Off, a bittersweet gem released in 1996, a year before its more popular (and Oscar-nominated) counterpart. In the Yorkshire town of Grimley, there has always been a coal mine, just as for the last 111 years there has been a brass band and it seems that Danny (the wondrous Pete Postlethwaite) has been the director for every one of those years. Tory economic policies, however, are closing coal mines around the country in favour of nuclear power and Grimley appears to be next on the list. Danny is unfazed by the threat, claiming, "It's music that matters. " But some of the men are about to quit the band until the appearance of Gloria (Tara Fitzgerald at her most radiant), who dazzles the all-male group (including old flame Andy, played by Ewan McGregor) first with her beauty, then with her flügelhorn playing. The new member gives the band a boost as they continue to perform and compete but closure remains very real, as director Mark Herman (Little Voice) accompanies the band's performances (played with gusto by the Grimethorpe Colliery Band) with scenes of angry labour-management confrontations and family strife. In this context, some of the characters claim that the music is an irresponsible form of escapism. It becomes clear, however, from a touching performance of "Danny Boy" to the stirring conclusion at Royal Albert Hall, that music is an expression of the human spirit, a bit of beauty and sanity in a harsh world. With defiance, the band can play "Land of Hope andGlory" even when the land offers them neither. [+]
-David Horiuchi.

Review MGM Entertainment / Exodus [1960]
Actors & Directors
  • Otto Preminger
  • Eva Marie Saint
  • Paul Newman
  • Ralph Richardson
  • Lee J. Cobb
  • Peter Lawford
Release date: 2000-03-20
Run time: 199 min.
Creator: Leon Uris
RRP: £12.99
Price: £12.95

Review Exodus [1960] / MGM Entertainment:

Otto Preminger's 1960 adaptation of Leon Uris's novel Exodus is a sprawling tale of the founding of modern Israel, starring Paul Newman as a resistance leader. The film works best as an example of Preminger's estimable skill with all levels of drama and action, but as a reflection upon history it is compromised by stereotypes, unpersuasive relationships and a certain moral ambivalence about issues related to the subject. There are good and exciting sequences, however, particularly one involving an effort to break through a British blockade and get to the homeland. -Tom Keogh.

Review 4 Front Video / Blue Velvet [1986]
Actors & Directors
  • Dennis Hopper
  • David Lynch
  • Hope Lange
  • Kyle MacLachlan
  • Isabella Rossellini
  • Laura Dern
Release date: 1997-10-13
Run time: 115 min.
Creator: Richard A. Roth
RRP: £5.99
Price: £8.00

Review Blue Velvet [1986] / 4 Front Video:

David Lynch peeks behind the picket fences of small-town America to reveal a corrupt shadow world of malevolence, sadism and madness. From the opening shots Lynch turns the Technicolor picture postcard images of middle-class homes and tree-lined lanes into a dreamy vision on the edge of nightmare. After his father collapses in a preternaturally eerie sequence, college boy Kyle MacLachlan returns home and stumbles across a severed human ear in a vacant lot. With the help of sweetly innocent high school girl (Laura Dern), he turns junior detective and uncovers a frightening yet darkly compelling world of voyeurism and sex. Drawn deeper into the brutal world of drug dealer and blackmailer Frank, played with raving mania by an obscenity-shouting Dennis Hopper in a career-reviving performance, he loses his innocence and his moral bearings when confronted with pure, unexplainable evil. Isabella Rossellini is terrifyingly desperate as Hopper's sexual slave who becomes MacLachlan's illicit lover, and Dean Stockwell purrs through his role as Hopper's oh-so-suave buddy. Lynch strips his surreally mundane sets to a ghostly austerity, which composer Angelo Badalamenti encourages with the smooth, spooky strains of a lush score. Blue Velvet is a disturbing film that delves into the darkest reaches of psycho-sexual brutality and simply isn't for everyone. But for a viewer who wants to see the cinematic world rocked off its foundations, David Lynch delivers a nightmarish masterpiece. -Sean Axmaker.

Review ITV DVD / Inspector Morse - Absolute Conviction - Series 6 - Episode 4 [1987]
Actors & Directors
  • Sean Bean
  • John Thaw
  • Antonia Bird
  • Diana Quick
  • Kevin Whately
  • Jim Broadbent
Release date: 1999-08-09
Run time: 104 min.
RRP: £9.99
Price: £1.95

Review Inspector Morse - Absolute Conviction - Series 6 - Episode 4 [1987] / ITV DVD:

When Inspector Morse first appeared on television in 1987, nobody could have predicted that it would run into the next century, maintaining throughout a quality of scripts and storylines that raised the genre of the detective series to a new level. Much of its success can be attributed to John Thaw's total immersion in the role. Morse is a prickly character and not obviously easy to like. As a detective in Oxford with unfulfilled academic propensities, he is permanently excluded from a world of which he would dearly love to be a part. He is at odds with that world-and with his colleagues in the police force-most of the time. Passionate about opera and "proper beer", he is a cultural snob for whom vulgarity causes almost physical pain. As a result, he lives from one disillusionment to the next. And he is scarred-more deeply than he would ever admit-by past relationships. But he also has a naïve streak and, deep down, sensitivity, which makes him a fascinating challenge for women. At the heart of Morse's professional life is his awkward partnership with Detective Sergeant Lewis, the resolutely ordinary, worldly sidekick who manages to keep his boss in an almost permanent state of exasperation while retaining his grudging respect. [+]
It's a testament to Kevin Whateley's consistently excellent performance that from such unpromising material Lewis becomes as indispensable to the series as Barrington Pheloung's hypnotic, classic theme music. Morse's investigations do occasionally take him abroad to more exotic locations, but throughout 14 successful years of often gruesome murders, the city of Oxford itself became a central character in these brooding two-hour dramas: creator Colin Dexter stating he finally had to kill Morse off because he was giving Oxford a bad reputation as a dangerous place! - Piers Ford.

Review Cinema Club / Girls' Night [1998]
Actors & Directors
  • Julie Walters
  • Meera Syal
  • Sue Cleaver
  • Margo Stanley
  • Nick Hurran
  • Brenda Blethyn
Release date: 2000-10-02
Run time: 98 min.
Creator: Kay Mellor
RRP: £5.99
Price: £19.99

Review Girls' Night [1998] / Cinema Club:

The Girls' Night of the title refers to Friday night, the one time of escape from the daily grind for longstanding best friends and factory co-workers, Dawn and Jackie. And Friday night means bingo. One evening their dream comes true when Dawn (the cautious, caring one) scoops £100,000, but the savage twist in the tale is that even before she gets the cheque she discovers she has an inoperable brain tumour. Cue Jackie (the spontaneous, irresponsible one) fulfilling Dawn's lifetime ambition with a holiday in Las Vegas ("Come on, we've got an hour to get the plane"). And from then on it's a buddy movie with inescapable resonances of Thelma and Louise, though the difference here is that the protagonists are two ordinary middle-aged women. Brenda Blethyn and Julie Walters are a magical pairing, with both giving mesmerising moving performances (honorary mention should also be made of Cody, the one sympathetic male character in the film, magnificently played by Kris Kristofferson). Though death is ever-present, this is by no means a depressing movie; rather the opposite, in fact, with a remarkably upbeat ending. If there's a message to be found here, it's that even the most apparently ordinary people can be extraordinary given the right circumstances. On the DVD: As well as the original trailer, there is on-location feature.

Review 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment / Gentleman's Agreement [1947]
Actors & Directors
  • Anne Revere
  • Dorothy McGuire
  • Gregory Peck
  • Elia Kazan
  • John Garfield
  • Celeste Holm
Release date: 1994-05-03
Run time: 112 min.
Creator: Moss Hart
RRP: £5.99
Price: £3.79

Review Gentleman's Agreement [1947] / 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment:


Review Granada Media / Henry VIII [2003]
Actors & Directors
  • Helena Bonham-Carter
  • Sean Bean
  • David Suchet
  • Pete Travis
  • Ray Winstone
  • Emilia Fox
Release date: 2003-10-27
Run time: 250 min.
RRP: £16.99
Price: £5.30

Review Henry VIII [2003] / Granada Media:

At the heart of Henry VIII stands a towering performance by Ray Winstone, who literally grows into the role, impressively doubling in size and ageing 40 years over the course of two feature-length episodes. Focusing on Henry's relationships with his six wives, this lavish mini-series also makes a good job of explaining the complex court intrigues of the period, detailing Henry's split with Rome and the political crisis following the creation of the Church of England. Winstone initially seems to play the King as little more than a London gangster, but he gradually unfolds a complex, brutal, manipulative, romantic, dedicated and driven man with great skill. In a role which harks back to Lady Jane (1986), Helena Bonham Carter makes an intelligent and sardonic Anne Boleyn, her bold performance contrasting strongly with Geneviève Bujold in Anne of the Thousand Days (1969). Emily Blunt impresses as the sexpot Katherine Howard, and Emilia Fox is compelling as Henry's greatest love, Jane Seymour. There's fine support from an all-star cast, including Sean Bean, Charles Dance and David Suchet. The production is unflinching, with burnings, torture, marital violence and executions graphically portrayed. If there's a weakness it lies in too-modern dialogue and an uncertain visual style, with noticeable borrowings from John Boorman's Excalibur and Ridley Scott's Gladiator, as well as setting Shakespeare in Love-style elegance against the ugly colours and graininess of reality TV. Ultimately Henry VIII plays most like a prequel to Elizabeth (1999)-right down to using the same piece of Elgar to underscore the finale-and has most of the same faults and virtues as that Oscar-winning film. -Gary S Dalkin.

Review 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment / Waiting To Exhale [1996]
Actors & Directors
  • Angela Bassett
  • Forest Whitaker
  • Loretta Devine
  • Whitney Houston
  • Lela Rochon
  • Gregory Hines
Release date: 1997-03-10
Run time: 124 min.
RRP: £5.99
Price: £2.70

Review Waiting To Exhale [1996] / 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment:


Review 2 Entertain Video / Armistead Maupin's More Tales Of The City - Episodes 4-6 [1998]
Actors & Directors
  • Pierre Gang
  • Colin Ferguson
  • Laura Linney
  • Barbara Garrick
  • Bill Campbell
  • Olympia Dukakis
Release date: 1998-07-27
Run time: 145 min.
Creator: Nicholas Wright
RRP: £12.99
Price: £24.99

Review Armistead Maupin's More Tales Of The City - Episodes 4-6 [1998] / 2 Entertain Video:


Review ITV DVD / Romeo And Juliet
Actors & Directors
  • The Royal Ballet
  • Rudolf Nureyev
  • Margot Fonteyn
Release date: 2000-08-14
Run time: 121 min.
Price: £5.99

Review Romeo And Juliet / ITV DVD:


Review Universal Pictures UK / A Touch Of Frost - Care And Protection [1992]
Actors & Directors
  • Don Leaver
  • David Jason
Release date: 1995-06-12
Run time: 102 min.
RRP: £10.99
Price: £3.95

Review A Touch Of Frost - Care And Protection [1992] / Universal Pictures UK:


Review Warner Home Video / Memphis Belle [1990]
Actors & Directors
  • Matthew Modine
  • Eric Stoltz
  • D.B. Sweeney
  • Tate Donovan
  • Michael Caton-Jones
  • Billy Zane
Release date: 2000-06-19
Run time: 103 min.
Creator: Monte Merrick
RRP: £9.99
Price: £0.99

Review Memphis Belle [1990] / Warner Home Video:

If you've never seen an aviation movie before in your entire life, you'll be blissfully ignorant of the fact that Memphis Belle shamelessly (and yet gloriously) incorporates just about every cliché in the flight-movie handbook. If you're a big fan of aviation films-especially ones about World War II bomber crews-you'll be glad that the genre's clichés have been handled with such professional flair. As it follows the crew of a B-17 bomber on its final and most dangerous mission over Germany, Memphis Belle may be little more than a slick and highly authentic presentation of familiar thrills and characters, but it's a rousing piece of entertainment. Featuring an ensemble cast of fresh faces who've since enjoyed thriving careers (including Billy Zane, Sean Astin, Eric Stoltz, DB Sweeney and Harry Connick Jr. ), the movie exists as a fitting tribute to the men who fought and often died in the air over hostile territory. It's the Hollywood version of a 1944 wartime documentary made by legendary director William Wyler (whose daughter served as one of this film's producers), and as such it's a bit contrived and melodramatic. And yet, this exciting movie is almost certain to grab and hold your attention, offering an honourable reminder of the bravery and integrity that were crucial ingredients of any bomber's crew. -Jeff Shannon, Amazon. com.

Models & Brands:
The Bill - The Trial of Eddie Santini, Kiss Off parts 1 & 2. [1984], Reach For The Sky [1956], Lady Chatterley's Lover [1981], Lovejoy - Complete Series 5, Honkytonk Man [1982], Danielle Steel's Jewels [1992], Dances With Wolves [1991], E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial [1982], Brassed Off [1996], Exodus [1960], Blue Velvet [1986], Inspector Morse - Absolute Conviction - Series 6 - Episode 4 [1987], Girls' Night [1998], Gentleman's Agreement [1947], Henry VIII [2003], Waiting To Exhale [1996], Armistead Maupin's More Tales Of The City - Episodes 4-6 [1998], Romeo And Juliet, A Touch Of Frost - Care And Protection [1992], Memphis Belle [1990]

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