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Review 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment / The Edge [1998]
Actors & Directors
  • Lee Tamahori
  • Anthony Hopkins
  • Harold Perrineau
  • Bart the Bear
  • Elle Macpherson
  • Alec Baldwin
Release date: 1999-05-24
Run time: 113 min.
Creator: David Mamet
RRP: £5.99
Price: £7.23

Review The Edge [1998] / 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment:

In The Edge writer David Mamet created two engrossing and memorable characters; an urbane fashion photographer played by Alec Baldwin and a reserved and intellectual billionaire played by Anthony Hopkins. They find themselves teamed up against both a giant Kodiak bear and their own inner demons, when lost together in the Alaskan wilderness. The subject matter includes male rivalry, the isolationism of extreme wealth and, most conspicuously, the survival of the fittest. Mamet's script, which sounds a little too arched in spots, is well served by New Zealand director Lee Tamahori, who knows how to capture beauty and brutality in one frame. Although the themes are enormous in scope, they are well balanced and one rarely overpowers the other, nor does the achingly beautiful scenery overshadow the acting. Even if you don't like the intellectualism of the dialogue, there are some great scenes with the bear. -Rochelle O'Gorman, Amazon. com.

Review 4 Front Video / Airport '77 [1977]
Actors & Directors
  • Joseph Cotten
  • Olivia De Havilland
  • Brenda Vaccaro
  • Jerry Jameson
  • Lee Grant
  • Jack Lemmon
Release date: 1999-07-01
Run time: 109 min.
RRP: £5.99
Price: £9.95

Review Airport '77 [1977] / 4 Front Video:


Actors & Directors
  • Bill Kerr
  • Frank Whitten
  • Gordon Shields
  • Penelope Stewart
  • Fiona Kay
  • Vincent Ward
Release date: 1994-01-10
Run time: 86 min.
Creator: Graeme Tetley
RRP: £12.99
Price: £9.98

Review Vigil [1984] / Art House Productions Ltd.:


Review Granada Media / Band Of Gold - Complete Series 1 [1995]
Actors & Directors
  • Christopher McGrail
  • Richard Laxton
  • Rachel Talalay
  • Charles Beeson
  • Samantha Morton
  • Richard Standeven
  • Barbara Dickson
  • Geraldine James
  • Cathy Tyson
Release date: 2001-08-20
Run time: 312 min.
Price: £14.99

Review Band Of Gold - Complete Series 1 [1995] / Granada Media:


Review MGM Entertainment / Liebestraum [1991]
Actors & Directors
  • Graham Beckel
  • Mike Figgis
  • Bill Pullman
  • Kim Novak
  • Kevin Anderson
  • Pamela Gidley
Release date: 1993-07-05
Run time: 108 min.
Creator: Scott Millaney
RRP: £10.99
Price: £8.25

Review Liebestraum [1991] / MGM Entertainment:


Review ITV DVD / Inspector Morse - Infernal Serpent - Series 4 - Episode 1 [1987]
Actors & Directors
  • John Thaw
  • Cheryl Campbell
  • Geoffrey Palmer
  • Barbara Leigh Hunt
  • Kevin Whately
Release date: 1999-02-08
Run time: 104 min.
RRP: £9.99
Price: £1.95

Review Inspector Morse - Infernal Serpent - Series 4 - Episode 1 [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 4 Front Video / Don't Go Breaking My Heart [1999]
Actors & Directors
  • Ben Reynolds
  • Linford Christie
  • Anthony Edwards
  • Willi Patterson
  • Jenny Seagrove
  • Charles Dance
Release date: 2001-12-27
Run time: 90 min.
Creator: Geoff Morrow
RRP: £5.99
Price: £6.75

Review Don't Go Breaking My Heart [1999] / 4 Front Video:


Review 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment / In Old Chicago [1937]
Actors & Directors
  • Alice Brady
  • Henry King
  • Don Ameche
  • Tyrone Power
  • Alice Faye
  • Andy Devine
Release date: 1994-07-04
Run time: 91 min.
RRP: £5.99
Price: £9.98

Review In Old Chicago [1937] / 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment:


Review MGM Entertainment / Jack And Sarah [1995]
Actors & Directors
  • Samantha Mathis
  • Richard E. Grant
  • Tim Sullivan
  • Judi Dench
  • Cherie Lunghi
  • Eileen Atkins
Release date: 2001-01-29
Run time: 105 min.
Creator: Steve Morrison
RRP: £7.99
Price: £12.50

Review Jack And Sarah [1995] / MGM Entertainment:

The story of a father and baby daughter, 1995's Jack and Sarah is the best cinematic depiction of what came to be known as "the 90s man". No matter how bad things get we know Richard E Grant will eventually learn to get in touch with his feelings and express his emotions. Grant plays Jack, whose reaction to the loss of his wife during childbirth is initially complete rejection followed by an alcoholic binge. Jack's family coax fatherhood from him easily enough however and this is where the film's heart lies. Brushing away the bitter beginning, Grant's comedic performance in juggling life around newborn baby Sarah is often hilarious: the image of the child in a sock hat being carried in a padded envelope is priceless. Bouncing off Grant's acting are some terrific cameos from Judi Dench as his stuffy mum and Sir Ian McKellen as a convincingly inebriated butler. Samantha Mathis plays an American waitress who provides a twist to the tale. There's genuine chemistry between her and Grant, specifically when they are both around the outrageously cute baby Sarah. Written and directed by Tim Sullivan, this is clearly a very personal expression of the meaning of family. Although backed by lots of Simply Red songs, it hopefully won't be one that's too quickly outdated. [+]
On the DVD: The ratio is confusingly stated as "Widescreen 4:3". Effectively it's an anamorphic 1:66:1 presentation giving a tad more edge than its video predecessor. Sound is in Dolby surround. The minimal extras are four repetitive TV spots and two theatrical trailers. -Paul Tonks.

Review Arrow Films / La Balance [1983]
Actors & Directors
  • Richard Berry
  • Bernard Freyd
  • Philippe Léotard
  • Bob Swaim
  • Nathalie Baye
  • Maurice Ronet
Release date: 1994-05-03
Run time: 98 min.
Creator: Mathieu Fabiani
Price: £15.99

Review La Balance [1983] / Arrow Films:


Review Uca Catalogue / Finding Forrester [2001]
Actors & Directors
  • Rob Brown
  • F. Murray Abraham
  • Busta Rhymes
  • Sean Connery
  • Gus Van Sant
  • Anna Paquin
Release date: 2003-04-07
Run time: 131 min.
Creator: Mike Rich
RRP: £10.99
Price: £28.77

Review Finding Forrester [2001] / Uca Catalogue:

Finding Forrester is a very accomplished example of the sentimental melodrama that Gus Von Sant has made his own-issues like integrity and snobbery are presented with just enough simplification to the set pieces that no-one feels challenged. Brilliant baseball player Jamal gets the chance to move from a sink school in the Bronx to a private academy where his real intellectual and artistic talent will be nurtured along with his sporting skills. This is an American film about class and race, but one that makes the real issue Jamal's unsuspecting need to defend himself against accusations of plagiarism. His artistic mentor is a reclusive novelist, whose whereabouts he keeps secret even when he stands to lose everything. Rob Brown is extraordinary as the boy, conveying the sensitivity, genius, obstinacy and physicality of a character written as a paragon; Sean Connery turns in a predictably fine performance as Forrester, using his authority to make the part credible; F Murray Abrahams is, as always, an effective villain-he brings an observed creepy snobbery to the film; Anna Paquin makes a good impression in the minor part of Jamal's white schoolfellow and supporter. On the DVD: The disc includes two powerful deleted scenes of school choirs, a "making-of" documentary and a short film about the auditions process which found Rob Brown. It has fine sound-Dolby Digital 5. 1-that brings out the film's jazz score perfectly. The anamorphic 2. 35:1 aspect ratio, enhanced for 16:9 TVs, looks just fine. [+]
-Roz Kaveny.

Review MGM Entertainment / Never On Sunday [1959]
Actors & Directors
  • Georges Foundas
  • Jules Dassin
  • Jules Dassin
  • Melina Mercouri
  • Titos Vandis
Release date: 2000-09-18
Run time: 97 min.
RRP: £9.99
Price: £3.95

Review Never On Sunday [1959] / MGM Entertainment:


Review MGM Entertainment / Mrs.Soffel [1984]
Actors & Directors
  • Mel Gibson
  • Trini Alvarado
  • Matthew Modine
  • Gillian Armstrong
  • Edward Herrmann
  • Diane Keaton
Run time: 107 min.
RRP: £10.99
Price: £5.74

Review Mrs.Soffel [1984] / MGM Entertainment:


Review Limelight / The Mark Of Zorro [1920]
Actors & Directors
  • Marguerite De La Motte
  • Charles Hill Mailes
  • Douglas Fairbanks
  • Noah Beery
  • Claire McDowell
  • Fred Niblo
Release date: 2000-02-28
Run time: 82 min.
Creator: Johnston McCulley
RRP: £12.99
Price: £1.69

Review The Mark Of Zorro [1920] / Limelight:


Review MGM Entertainment / Quigley Down Under [1990]
Actors & Directors
  • Chris Haywood
  • Ron Haddrick
  • Simon Wincer
  • Tom Selleck
  • Laura San Giacomo
  • Alan Rickman
Release date: 2000-04-10
Run time: 115 min.
Creator: John Hill
RRP: £9.99
Price: £4.70

Review Quigley Down Under [1990] / MGM Entertainment:


Review Warner Home Video / Cross Of Iron [1977]
Actors & Directors
  • Sam Peckinpah
  • Klaus Löwitsch
  • James Coburn
  • James Mason
  • Maximilian Schell
  • David Warner
Release date: 1999-07-05
Run time: 127 min.
Creator: Willi Heinrich
RRP: £9.99
Price: £2.49

Review Cross Of Iron [1977] / Warner Home Video:

In Cross of Iron Sam Peckinpah weighs in on World War II from the German point of view. The result is as bleak, if not quite as bloody, as one expects from the director of The Wild Bunch, in part because this 1977 film was cut to ribbons by nervous studio executives. The assorted excerpts that remain don't constitute an exhilarating or even an especially thrilling battle epic. The war is grinding to a close, and veterans like James Coburn's Steiner are grimly aware that it's a lost cause. The battlefield is a death trap of sucking mud and barbed wire, and the German generals (viz. , the martinet played by James Mason) seem to pose a bigger threat to the life and limbs of Steiner's men than the inexorable enemy. Not even Peckinpah's famous sensuous exuberance when shooting violence is much in evidence; the picture is a depressive, claustrophobically overcast experience. The bloody high (or low) point isn't a shooting; it's a wince-inducing de-penis-tration during oral sex. For a fun time with the men in (Nazi) uniform, try Das Boot instead. -David Chute, Amazon. [+]
com.

Review 4 Front Video / Sands Of Iwo Jima [1950]
Actors & Directors
  • Wally Cassell
  • Forrest Tucker
  • John Agar
  • Allan Dwan
  • Adele Mara
  • John Wayne
Release date: 1996-05-06
Run time: 108 min.
Creator: James Edward Grant
RRP: £5.99
Price: £3.97

Review Sands Of Iwo Jima [1950] / 4 Front Video:

This classic World War II actioner has Wayne as a tough but compassionate Marine Corps sergeant, John M. Stryker. Tough name, too. Stryker's job is to turn a bunch of raw recruits into a fighting machine. His no-holds-barred approach causes a great amount of friction, not to mention a running subplot concerning his personal life that makes him something of an enigma to his men. The mystery of his past is not fully resolved until the very ending, by which point Stryker is decidedly a war hero. The supporting roles of those who hate Stryker's guts, and who are inevitably won over, are played handsomely by John Agar and Forrest Tucker. Veteran film director Allan Dwan helmed this one, and used real war footage and three of the surviving soldiers who raised the flag on Mt. Suribachi to reenact that momentous event. An engrossing and entertaining war flick all around, Sands of Iwo Jima boasts one of the Duke's finest, most measured and layered performances. [+]
-Jim Gay.

Review Paramount Home Entertainment / Vanilla Sky [2002]
Actors & Directors
  • Tom Cruise|Penelope Cruz
  • Cameron Crowe
Release date: 2002-11-18
Run time: 130 min.
RRP: £9.99
Price: £0.50

Review Vanilla Sky [2002] / Paramount Home Entertainment:

Vanilla Sky reunites director Cameron Crowe (Jerry Maguire) with uberplayboy Tom Cruise; adds another sexy Cruz (Penélope) and Cameron Diaz for good measure; and delivers a wildly entertaining, bizarre venture into erotic science fiction. Adapted near exactly from Spanish filmmaker Alejandro Amenábar's 1997 romantic thriller Open Your Eyes, the film follows David Aames (Cruise) as he falls from his graceful Manhattan perch of inordinate wealth, good looks and newfound love with Sofia (Cruz) because of severe facial disfigurement in a car accident caused by a suicidal ex-lover (Diaz). Reduced to wearing a latex mask and spurned by his friends, what at first promises to be a conventional allegory of redemption via true love is turned on its head as Cruise's character only wins back his princess after a miracle of plastic surgery restores his former beauty. A series of plot twists follow as waking life, technological advances and nightmares merge to dizzying effect, leaving David face to face with his own mortality. Despite a final conceit to some vague morality, the appeal of the film is the wonderfully callous message conveyed by the whole-money and physical beauty equal happiness and an unabashed vanity perfectly embodied by Cruise and Cruz. -Fionn Meade, Amazon. com.

Review Granada Media / Maigret - The Complete Second Series [1992]
Actors & Directors
  • Jack Galloway
  • Geoffrey Hutchings
  • James Larkin
  • John Moffatt
  • Michael Gambon
Release date: 2000-09-11
Run time: 305 min.
RRP: £14.99
Price: £9.00

Review Maigret - The Complete Second Series [1992] / Granada Media:


Review 2 Entertain Video / The Forsyte Saga
Actors & Directors
  • Kenneth More|Eric Porter|Nyree Dawn Porter|Susan Hampshire
Release date: 2002-03-03
Price: £69.99

Review The Forsyte Saga / 2 Entertain Video:


Models & Brands:
The Edge [1998], Airport '77 [1977], Vigil [1984], Band Of Gold - Complete Series 1 [1995], Liebestraum [1991], Inspector Morse - Infernal Serpent - Series 4 - Episode 1 [1987], Don't Go Breaking My Heart [1999], In Old Chicago [1937], Jack And Sarah [1995], La Balance [1983], Finding Forrester [2001], Never On Sunday [1959], Mrs.Soffel [1984], The Mark Of Zorro [1920], Quigley Down Under [1990], Cross Of Iron [1977], Sands Of Iwo Jima [1950], Vanilla Sky [2002], Maigret - The Complete Second Series [1992], The Forsyte Saga

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