Excellent series with fantastic sets, magical stories and emotion

While clearly the original material is quite old and the video presentation is not up to modern standards, my wife and I found this series quite excellent in terms of the film sets and the magic and emotion of the stories. These stories capture the wonderful imagination of Catherine Cookson at her best and create a marvellous vision of life in the North East during the 1800's.

This DVD box set represents fantastic value at only nominally £2 per DVD and my wife and I only wish we could give this set 10 out of 5 points rating and there were more than 24 in the series to view.

Thrilling inspirational courage

The story of Wing Commander Douglas Bader. After joining the RAF in the late 1920s, Bader badly injured himself in an air crash, losing both legs. He left the air force and seemed condemned to a life of boring 'civviedom' trapped in an office. The outbreak of World War 2 however gave him another opportunity to fly and he rejoined the RAF as a fighter pilot. He flew throughout the Battle of Britain before eventually being shotdown during the 'Rhubarb' flights over occupied France. Even in captivity he continued to campaign against the Germans, attempting to escape numerous times before being transferred to the infamous Colditz prison camp for serial escapers.

This film, like all war films of the immediate post war period, gains greatly by being able to use actual footage from the war interspersed with the actors. A stunning film portraying a true British hero.

Surprisingly risque...

The fantasist Sally Bowles, played delectably by Liza, is superbly cast as the American tart-with-a-heart opposite the seemingly-wooden but similarly amoral Michael Yorke. Opening in 1931 Berlin and the Kit-Kat Club, the latter spawning louche displays of extravagance, while outside Hitler gears up to take control of Germany.

The all-knowing, omnipresent master of ceremonies and the light fantasy of the club contrast poignantly with the slow-burning deepening of the relationships between the protagonists, including an intriguing three-wayer.

Cabaret is a metaphor for life: we'd like it to be a Cabaret, but the reality is often quite different. As Jonathan Swift wrote: 'Happiness is the art of being well-deceived' and its a moot point as to whether or not Sally or Brian are ever happy, or indeed Max. As for the master of ceremonies, played by a man with one of the most enduring faces in cinema, he sings Sally and us through a world which is gone forever but is paradoxically still with us. The final cymbal clash, and the resulting silence leave much food for thought.

A Bob Fosse musical, but its enduring popularity has much to do with its deeper side. Very much worth watching and the 30th anniversary disc does give you some useful extras for a few pence more.

An entertaining film, although inaccurate.

Waterloo was"a close run thing", as the Duke of Wellington once said. It was fought by at least four armies in their different uniforms. Wellington not only had English troops under his command, but also Dutch and Belgians who fought bravely and did indeed help to make the diference. The film gives the impression that the battle was fought exclusively by British and French troops. Aside from that, and a few historic inaccuracies which have to be be forgiven for the sake of of the story, the film is an impressive achievement on the part of both the director and cast, who are all professionals of the highest order.

What A Long Strange Trip It's Been

"Some films captivate the zeitgeist of the American imagination so completely that they become instant cult favorites. But few such films prove potent enough to retain the favor of audiences in perpetuity. So the fact that, 35 years after the film's release, audiences around the world are still captivated by the raw vision of Easy Rider is no small accomplishment. Wyatt (Peter Fonda) and Billy (Dennis Hopper) are the quintessential hippie bikers. Cruising across America with a gas tank full of dope, these two dropouts are living the dream of freedom and rugged individuality. To this day, the image of Fonda and Hopper (neither of whom knew how to ride a motorcycle before making this film) careening helmetless down the open highway to the tune of Steppenwolf's"Born to be Wild" defines the American biker motif more clearly than any Hell's Angel could ever hope to." Bart Zeigler

"Get your motor runnin'
Head out on the highway
Lookin' for adventure
And whatever comes our way" Steppenwolf-"Born To be Wild'

37 years after 'Easy Rider' was first shown, I viewed the movie again. I was prepared to think I remembered the story, the story of an American myth, with anitheroes riding from the West only this time on bikes into the evil of middle America. I thought the best thing about the film was the soundtrack. It was an important film but not a very good one. Then I watched it, and I was hooked from scene one. The film drew me in, such a very good film. Not perfect but very good. Dennis Hopper's character,was so real, the dishelveled, long-haired. I remember many people who dressed and acted just like him. He directed the film and gave the character's names Wyatt and Billy, old west names discovering new territory. The acting was natural, not self-conciuous. It covers alot of territory in 90 plus minutes. The landscapes so beautiful and unspoiled. The surprises were the fact that Phil Spectre was cast as the connection- how trite and real is that? The early scene with the rancher and his family was one of the beautiful scenes of the film. Wyatt tells the rancher:"It's not everyman who can live off the land, you know, doing his own thing his own time. You should be proud."

The film comes alive with the character of George, played by Jack Nicholsen as an ACLU lawyer. What a handsome dude, a purveyor of many roles to come. I remembered wondering about his character and thinking his Southern accent was too much and his football helmet silly. Now I understand about the football helmet and George's speech about how America used to be"a helluva good country". That night around the campfire, he samples grass for the first time,"Lord have mercy, is that what that is?" But best of all, yes, best of all, is Peter Fonda and the quiet, intelligent, Captain America/Wyatt. He moves through the movie with, as my best friend would say, a noblesse oblige, a retired drug pusher who, minutes into the movie, casts away his past and his allegiance to time with his wristwatch. Captain America and Billy find the whorehouse George directed them to and drop acid in the cemetery with two hookers, Karen Black in a great role. It is a long acid trip that sets the standard for hallucination portrayals for years to come. It's a bad trip, but maybe they chose the wrong place with the wrong people. And all is not well in the land of the free. A brief run-in with a few local yokels leads to their undoing. I'd thought Easy Rider would seem dated. Turns out it's timeless.

Easy Rider is a lengthy music video for the '60s culture. But it is also an honest perspective on the counterculture movement. Fonda and Hopper's portrayal of that experience is free of the romanticized tone that characterizes so many other films from this era. Fonda's dialogue the night before his death is a purveyor of things to come. Hopper is happy because they've made it to their destination with their drug money."We blew it," Fonda tells him."We blew it, man." Heavy.


"Easy Rider (1969) is the late 1960s"road film" tale of a search for freedom (or the illusion of freedom) in a conformist and corrupt America, in the midst of paranoia, bigotry and violence. Released in the year of the Woodstock concert, and made in a year of two tragic assassinations (Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King), the Vietnam War buildup and Nixon's election, the tone of this 'alternative' film is remarkably downbeat and bleak, reflecting the collapse of the idealistic 60s. Easy Rider, one of the first films of its kind, was a ritualistic experience and viewed (often repeatedly) by youthful audiences in the late 1960s as a reflection of their hopes of liberation and fears of the Establishment."
Roger Ebert

'Easy Rider' took to me a place and time I knew intimately, and I was trasported back to those not so innocent happy times. 'What a long strange trip it's been'.

'Truckin' Grateful Dead

"Sometimes the light's all shining on me
Other times I can barely see
Lately it occurs to me
What a long strange trip it's been"

Highly, Heartily, Recommended. prisrob 07-05-07


Easy Rider - Deluxe Edition CD

Classic film

I remember seeing this film at the local cinema and I have never laughed so much in my life--in fact the whole audience was in hysterics for most of the film as if the slightest comic action by M Hulot sent everyone off again in uncontrollable shrieks of laughter --I have never laughed so much since!!! An all time classic

Reality and kitsch - a winning double!

A terrific double feature from Optimum Home Entertainment. The London Nobody Knows is the main attraction, dating from 1967, a compulsively watchable documentary on the real London of the 60's - not the usual cliches of dolly birds swinging down Carnaby Street, but a roam round the city by the urbane and sympathetic (and occasionally opinionated) James Mason, from Camden's old Bedford Music Hall (just before it was pulled down), to the Stables Market when it was - stables! Eccentric street entertainers, sad meths drinkers, street markets. An absolute must for anyone with any kind of affection for the city of London.

The 30min Les Bicyclettes de Belsize is a piece of irresistible 60's kitsch. Some guy on a bike cycles round Hampstead village (not Belsize Park by the way) ogling a, yes, dolly bird on a poster until he finally gets to meet her, accompanied by godawful 60's ballads. Horribly watchable.

Let's do the Time Warp again!

This is a great film, it has transvestites, ace dance moves, a Frankenstien sort of creation, it has lasers and everything. I strongly recommend that you buy this!!

Cool!

Amazingly, I'd never seen this film before, though I've enjoyed listening to the soundtrack for many years.

I'd heard all sorts of stories about the film: "no story","just a car chase" and"looks good, but no substance", but I was more than pleasantly surprised on how much I enjoyed it. I must admit the car chase was shorter than I'd hoped it would be, but overall the film was great from start to finish.

It looked superb and I can see where George Clooney's"Ocean" films got the look from. The supporting cast was great too, Robert Vaughn and Jacqueline Bissett both being superb in their respective roles.

As for Mr McQueen himself. Has anyone looked cooler? I doubt it.

Five stars.

You have got to own this DVD!

First on this disc, the not-so-good"Fear Her", with quite a boring storyline and a cheap monster, a drawing on the wall. But as for the series finale"Army Of Ghosts"+"Doomsday" they are FANTASTIC! The Cybermen AND the Daleks in one episode, FIGHTING EACH OTHER! WOW! And Rose and the Doctor get seperated, sad, bless, boo-hoo! A brilliant selection of episodes!

Dare I say it? - A Personal and Purely Subjective Review

As a theatre and Shakespeare fan, I loved the idea of taking a couple of his plays and making them accessible to people who wouldn't usually go out and watch a theatrical production of them. I particularly loved"A Midsummer Night's Dream" which has always been one of my favourites. The story is enchanted and the performances of the entire cast are just marvellous (Imelda Staunton is just fantastic)."Much Ado About Nothing" was splendid and a lot of fun to watch. Sarah Parish as Beatrice is a force of nature and Damian Lewis (Benedick) absolutely and typically male (in the best sense :o) ). Well, what can you say about the Scottish play? It was all in good taste :o).

Having written all that, I have to add that I was highly disappointed by"The Taming of the Shrew" which featured two of my favourite actors I might add, Rufus Sewell and Shirley Henderson. Maybe it's just me but Rufus's portrayal of Petrucchio reminded me of Eddie Izzard on crack, Shirley's Kate was not just a shrew, she was a maniac. How she had gotten to become the leader of any political party behaving the way she did is way beyond me. Maybe one would have to be British to see the humour in this production? Nah, I don't think so. Even though I'm not British, I love so many British films and series that that couldn't be it.

All in all, I still believe this is a great idea and hope that the BBC may decide on producing more of those.

TAKES ME TO ANOTHER PLACE

I'm knocking on the door of the big 40 and i still enjoy the Wizard of Oz. I want to introduce my kids to this film when they are old enough, so they can enjoy it for years to come. It's like a comfy pair of slippers in film format!!

This is a classic and if you haven't seen it, you should be beaten with a broom handle.

On the street where you live

Professor Henry Higgins (Rex Harrison) who specializes in the English language makes a bet with Colonel Hugh Pickering (Wilfrid Hyde-White) that he can take someone who speaks with a lower-class language and by correcting the speech can pass off as upper-class or royalty. Overhearing this bet is a flower girl Eliza Doolittle (Audrey Hepburn); she wants to work a flower stand. But they will not take her unless she can speak more"genteel". Professor Higgins takes up the challenge.
Will he succeed?
What does her father (Stanley Holloway) thing finding that she moved in whit the two professors and did not want any clothes?

This is a musical version of the movie Pygmalion (1938), based on a play by George Bernard Shaw.

As people find that music and movies bring memories of the time in which they heard or viewed it. His movie has a meaning to me as I too was in love and found my self singing"On the street where you live." One of the strengths of the movie is that many of the songs instead of being classical and just stuffed into at odd times actually are songs that you would initiate in your life and they did so in the lives of the characters in the movie.

Worth watching

I have fifty English pounds and a stunning cast that could perform any Shakespearean play. Let's make a film! This could easily explain the reason Trevor Nunn has brought Shakespeare's Twelfth Night to the big screen. Only his third attempt at directing film; credit where credit is due, Nunn has succeeded in providing a simple but effective adaptation of the original text.

A miniscule budget and distinct lack of cinematic devices (although bestowed with Cornwall's magnificent scenery) suggests a dismal hope of a box office smash. However, that does not mean that Twelfth Night is not worth watching. Whilst it relies heavily on the comic aspects within the original text, it therefore provides an informative insight to themes and characterisation. Yet Nunn cannot be accused of being naïve to the demands of a modern audience, shaping Shakespeare's lines to lacerate callously, invoking eminent and prevailing emotion. Nunn has far from rejected the play's evident connotations to `Comedy of Errors', revelling in slapstick comedy and mistaken identity. Twelfth Night pursues the tale of two mixed-sex twins, separated in a dramatic shipwreck both assume the other has perished. When Viola adorns her brother's persona for better protection all sorts of mayhem and foibles transgress as fate draws them back together.

Nunn's decision to set the film in the 1890's is the most peculiar aspect of the film, although the Merchant's costume suggests subtle connotations towards the Boer War. The other period dress, incredibly, succeeds as a composition. Nunn has not attempted a completely contemporary approach but has implied that Shakespeare's words are still prominent throughout history.

The truly gritty, dark and intense approach to the text, especially regarding the camera shots (close-ups are utilised particularly efficiently) and cinematography, is compounded by what can only be described as a brilliant and radiant cast. Even the smaller roles are played with a conviction that would make any production team proud. Maria's (Ismelda Staunton) understated role provides a sense of humanity through desire to the character of Sir Toby that would otherwise be lost. Richard. E. Grant in the role of Sir Aguecheek devises a suave chemistry between himself and Mel Smith (as Sir Toby) that propels them into the realm of comedy duo genius, reminiscent of Laurel and Hardy's interaction and physical appearance.

Imogen Stubbs is indisputably enchanting as Viola and compared to the pastel, youthful complexion of Sebastian (Steven Mackintosh) plausibly achieves the transition between genders. Nunn excels himself by including the palpable sexual tension between the dashing Duke Orsino (Toby Stephens) and his manservant Cesario, the skilfully disguised Viola. Using composition close-ups that provide an intensity and realism that only enhance the virtuosity of Shakespeare's lines. Olivia (Helena Bonham Carter who looks as though she has just stepped out of a Rossetti painting) brings innocence and poignancy to her unfeasible desire for Cesario. Tearing the audience between comedy and tragedy, her desperation for love emphasises how the play itself totters precariously on the edge of disaster.

The complexity of the situation is developed by the sinister element of humour established by Sir Toby, Sir Aguecheek and Maria as they deservedly exploit Malvolio's flaws as an avaricious, ambitious character. However, Nigel Hawthorne's (Malvolio) mesmerising portrayal of a pompous yet vulnerable character, invokes pathos amongst the audience. As he leaves the court forever, it provides a poignant and unbalanced end; Nunn's directing highlights the events have not resulted in opulence for all.

Feste is particularly evocative as the anarchic, idiosyncratic but wise fool present in a number of Shakespeare's works. Ben Kingsley immerses himself in the role, creating a superiority that scorns the other actors, adding a dimension and theme of observation to the film. His contribution to the music ergo, rhythm the scenes in which he is present is another reason his performance stands out. Interchanging between diegetic and non-diegetic songs, his melancholy but seductive voice is an aural delicacy. Sound, plays a crucial part in this adaptation of Twelfth Night and Nunn's awareness of production elements is startlingly clear. As Viola is scrambling ashore, the disjointed arpeggio as the keys of the piano are swept aground is symbolic of the confusion and distress that is exuded from her character.

Renaissance Films have undoubtedly spent far less than on other Shakespearean adaptations (for example, Kenneth Branagh's Much Ado About Nothing) but should be exceptionally satisfied with Trevor Nunn's original and considered approach to such a vastly well-known and undeniably daunting comedy. The film is one of elegance and dignity (produced without bias or agenda) and at no point degrades itself for cheap laughs or sympathetic humour but retains confidence in the lines and this is something that makes it stand out amongst many.

i LOVE to be in america!!!

As a teenager acting in the show of West Side Story I found that this film is the best of the rest. Watching the film before producing the play was very helpful as the acting was superb and the music was amazing. The play is one of the best around and the script is just magical. I have to say though, the music and songs were the most enjoyable. I will never forget the play and the joy of being in the musical. The best in the business. Buy it.

Best Feel Good Film EVER!

This is one of my all time favourites. This film has the best feel good factor of any movie I have ever watched. Definitley one for the family at Christmas time! I too have a tradition with this film. Chritmas Eve, Children in Bed, Husband & I wrapping presents, glass of Wine & watching It's a Wonderful Life.............If you have NEVER seen this film, please buy it, you will never regret it. I have never met anyone who doesn't like this movie!!!!

If you dont like this - you need to be on the next stage coach out of town !?

It is so hard to believe this film was made in 1953 !? It has a timeless quality and no matter how many times you watch it (thanks to fresh as a daisy Doris) this film never feels old.

The colour, life and sheer dynamism of Doris in the role takes your breath away - she IS Calamity Jane. Doris was born to play this title role. She is sassy, self-assured, cocky and confident. It almost seems a shame that she needs a man to make her 'complete', but the evolution of her character from Tom Boy to Beautiful Woman is legendary - who could fail to be stunned at the sight of Doris in that yellow dress, picking daffodils, singing 'My Secret Love' ?

Everything seems to take 2nd place to Doris in this film - she shines so brightly - but the music is catchy, melodic and fun ( I love that 'I got two wonderful arms, I got two wonderful lips...' drag act !?) and the story moves along nicely, with a heart-warmingly old-fashioned happy ending that will keep Mum, Gran AND the kids content for an afternoon of pure indulgence.

A classic. Must-have for any DVD Musical collection.

Gritty, funny and witty

Plenty as been said about this film, but sometimes the humour is overlooked.

Some of the scenes in the school, with the kids filmed naturally talking the way they do, and improvising, and of course the classic football sequence, all add to the depth and fun of this classic.

All the themes stand the test of time and are always relevant: the battle between the individual and the needs of society, and the tragic neglect of talent brought about by dogmatic and unimaginative thinking.

As good as it gets!

Classic, unadulterated Tom & Jerry, with nothing but great cartoons from the golden era. Just one niggle, a sound bug during one of the cartoons and some lacklustre editing for the DVD, but it's the content that matters and it still shines.

Volume 1 is equally good, while vol. 3 is great, but starts to trail off at the end due to poorer quality cartoons as production costs start getting cut. Volume 4 is absolutely horrible, dating from a time where production costs appear to have hit rock bottom, so don't even bother with vol. 5.

Get this without fear and re-live your childhood through some of the most imaginitive cartoon slapstick you'll ever find!

Horror benchmark!

I agree with all the reviewers that loved this classic chiller.
Thought provoking, spine tingling, never boring, always engaging. All done with no gore and very few but mind ripping special effects. Great sound effects.
I never get bored with this movie.