"Iron Fists and Kung Fu Kicks" (2019) Looking at any choreographed fight scene in any modern film whether a big budget Marvel production to amateur videos on YouTube, the influence that martial arts films from Hong Kong are undeniable. Not only cinema, but looking at breakdancing techniques, video games, and other artforms, the influence has spread wider than what most people think about. "Iron Fists and Kung Fu Kicks" is a documentary that explores the origins of the genre, the paths it took along the years, and how accepted the genre became internationally through interviews with actors, directors, critics, and others with film clips and stills interspersed in between. Prior to the 1960s, films with choreographed fight scenes were fairly basic to say the least. From boxing films to brawls, stuntwork was obviously involved, but there wasn't a flair for elegance and grace and more about machismo and drunken saloon chaos to say the least. Hong Kong's most powerful film studio, the Shaw Brothers Studio was the monopoly in filmmaking and distribution, with countless hits with romantic comedies, musicals, and period dramas for decades. They had the largest private...

"Coneheads" (1993) Beldar (played by Dan Aykroyd) and his mate Prymaat (played by Jane Curtin) are aliens from the planet Remulak whose space ship crash landed on Earth during a mission. Without a way to communicate to their homeland, they decide to adapt as humans and gather enough materials to at least create a new communicator. With their bald heads being in a cone shape towering almost twice the height of a normal human's head and having a sharp series of teeth, they certainly don't look like the average human, and with their particular way of speaking with a monotone and fast cadence with unusual vocabulary, they have to make ends meet with menial work and learning from observation. With the help of people such as shop owner Otto (played by Sinbad and taxi driver Koudri (played by Shishir Kurup, they are able to make ends meet, but hot on their tails are agents of the INS, led by Agent Seedling (played by ...

"Spetters" (1980) Rien (played by Hans van Tongeren), Eef (played by Toon Agterberg), and Hans (played by Maarten Spanjer) are three best friends with a dream - to become dirt bike racing superstars, just like their idol Gerrit Witkamp (played by Rutger Hauer), a dentist by day and local champion dirt bike racer who is praised and celebrated by many. Rien is an agile young racer that has proven himself by moving up in rankings. Hans is not great, but is full of heart and is not ready to give up. Eef is their mechanic and making sure things run smoothly for the races. The three have their highs and lows in life, from their distant relationships with their respective fathers, difficulty in terms of love at a young age, but they are having fun and they are set out to follow their dreams. After Rien wins his first major tournament, it catches the attention of Fientje (played by Renée Soutendijk) who works out of a traveling...

Rob Zombie’s filmmaking career hit a peak post-“The Devil’s Rejects” (2005), with the now-certified horror helmer taking on his biggest challenge yet: Michael Myers. That infamous remake generated good box office despite tepid reviews, but its sequel was less-than-warmly received on both fronts – as was every movie Zombie has done since. No longer much of a theater marquee draw, Zombie took to the independent circuit and used his limited funding to produce “The Lords of Salem” (2012) and “31” (2016), the latter being one of the worst films I saw in 2016. His film career needed a jolt – and what better way to get back into horror fans’ black hearts than by resurrecting (almost quite literally) the Firefly clan of Otis, Baby, and Cpt. Spaulding? Who cares if they clearly died at the end of their last adventure? Rather than focus on what Zombie gets wrong here, I’d like to examine what works. The horror community has (justifiably) blasted Zombie’s films for poor writing, awful dialogue, atrocious camerawork, and bad editing. I’ve always thought his ideas worked best in short form and anything longer (read: a feature) could use...

Cinema history has proven time and again that adapting video games for the big screen rarely works. It’s nearly impossible to distill hours and hours of immersive gameplay into a satisfying narrative that hits every note for fans while also still being a serviceable feature for the masses. Christophe Gans came awfully close with his interpretation of “Silent Hill” (2006), based on the atmospheric and creepy 1999 video game released by Konami. Sticking closely to the aesthetic featured in the game, Gans gave his film that same choking smoky environment and – more importantly – featured only music from the games, as composed by Akira Yamaoka and Jeff Danna. Watching “Silent Hill” could never be in the same league as playing the game but Gans gets viewers awfully close. If it wasn’t for lots of dodgy CGI and a bloated story this could’ve been a contemporary horror classic – by studio film standards – but ultimately what winds up on screen makes for great entertainment. Rose (Radha Mitchell) and Christopher’s (...

Peter Yates, who would direct the Steve McQueen hit "Bullitt" (1968) and the definitive criminal film, "The Friends of Eddie Coyle" (1973) caught a lucky break with this taunt film that was based on an authentic train robbery in England in 1963; McQueen had seen "Robbery" and was certainly impressed with the exciting opening car chase scene that he requested Yates direct "Bullitt". As readers will recall that film featured a hair-raising car chase between McQueen and two hit men on the hilly streets of San Francisco and that exciting sequence was no doubt inspired by the opening scenes of "Robbery". Featuring some impressive hand held camera work, the initial scene sets the pace and tone for the film to follow. We see an identified man place a type of gas bomb with a timer device inside of a car as it is parked on a London street. The car departs with its driver and passenger in the back seat, but we realize that this is someone of import because the passenger is handcuffed to a brief case that contains several diamonds. The gang, of whom we haven’t met yet, are waiting dressed as attendants in an ambulance that is tailing the vehicl...

"The Shadow" (1994) Taking place in the 1930s in New York, Lamont Cranston (played by Alec Baldwin) is a wealthy playboy who has a secret life as a vigilante. Named "The Shadow", is set out to rid the world of organized crime and help the people in need, as well as recruit agents for him to be watchful eyes and accomplices, including cabdriver Shrevnitz (played by Peter Boyle) and scientist and professor Dr. Tam (played by Sab Shimono). He has amazing agility to be able to slip in and out of places unnoticed, and also has the ability to control people's minds. But when Genghis Khan's descendant Shiwan Khan (played by John Lone) appears in the city with psychic powers and an ambition to take over the world, The Shadow has met a rival that is overly more powerful than anyone he has ever encountered... In 1930, the radio program "Detective Story Hour" was broadcast with a mysterious radio personality known as "The Shadow" to promote the Smith & Street monthly publication...

"An Hour to Kill" (2018) Gio (played by Aaron Guerrero) and Frankie (played by Frankie Pozos) are hitmen that are given an assignment from their mob boss Mr. Kinski (played by Mel Novak), in which they literally have an hour until they can carry out the assignment. During the time the two end up telling three stories of horror and mayhem to make time pass. First is "Valkyrie's Bunker", in which five young girls (played by Amanda Rau, Jola Cora, Stephanie Strehlow, Alexya Garcia, and Sarah Gordy) go to an old abandoned bunker covered in graffiti which is rumored to be an old Nazi bunker where Hitler escaped to during the war. Second is "Assacre", taking place at a burrito eating contest where YouTuber Brendan (played by Brendan Mitchell) gives Jake (played by ...

Oscar (Best Foreign Language Film): The Boat is Full (nominated) - Academy Awards, 1982 C.I.D.A.L.C. Award: Markus Imhoof (winner), FIPRESCI Prize (Honorable Mention): Markus Imhoof (winner), , Interfilm Award (Special Recommendation): Markus Imhoof (winner), OCIC Award: Markus Imhoof (winner), Silver Berlin Bear (Outstanding Single Achievement): Markus Imhoof (winner), and Golden Berlin Bear : Markus Imhoof (nominee) - Berlin International Film Festival, 1981 René Clair Award: Markus Imhoof (winner) - David di Donatello Awards, 1982 Max Ophüls Award: Markus Imhoof (nominee) - Max...

When an interrupted cable only from the French boarder reveals to Colonel Walsh (King Kong's James Flavin) of the Office of Strategic Services that the Germans are transporting chemicals from countries they are occupying, he suspects that they have joined the race against the United States and other nations to build the first atomic bomb but none of his agents have an adequate understanding of nuclear physics. He appeals to former college buddy Professor Alvah Jesper (High Noon's Gary Cooper) to go to Switzerland and meet Hungarian Dr. Katarin Lodor (Isle of the Dead's Helene Thimig) who escaped the Nazis and crossed the border on foot and is now hospitalized with pneumonia. With no experience in espionage, he does not know who to trust upon arrival, even supposed ally Pinkie (...

No sooner does the household of Downton Abbey start discussing economizing measures than they receive a letter from Buckingham Palace announcing a royal visit from the King (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy's Simon Jones) and Queen (Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows' Geraldine James)during their Yorkshire tour, planning to stay there single night after a town pageant before going on to Harewood for a ball. Mary Talbot (Anna Karenina's Michelle Dockery), daughter of Robert Crawley, 7th Earl of Grantham (Notting Hill's Hugh Bonneville), and retired head butler Carson (...

Hold on, is it 1957 again, or is this an episode of "Mad Men" (2007-2015) that I missed? Capturing that Douglas Sirk look, director Todd Haynes pays tribute to the German born filmmaker with his film, "Far From Heaven", but unlike Sirk, Haynes allows his characters to actually address the real life issues that arise. Starring Julianne Moore as Cathy Whitaker. A housewife who leads a charmed life in a wealthy Hartford community. Married to Frank (Dennis Quaid), a hard working advertising executive, the film opens on a scene where Cathy receives a phone call from the local police department that her husband has been arrested and he needs her to bail him out. This is the first hint that something dark and troubling is on the way to rock Frank’s secured world. Apparently arrested on a charge of loitering in a men’s room, Frank is the epitome of masculinity, but that façade is about to crumble before us. Some people have criticized Haynes work for being a gag and remarked that this is a k...

This film, like a bad AC/DC song, is a heavy handed cautionary tale of the dangers of hitch hiking; this may have been a hot topic back in the day, but now it comes across as merely laughable, providing some lessons in exploitative filmmaking. If we consult the history books, we will find that in 1977, California seems to have been serial killer heaven: the Hillside Stranglers were prowling the highways and a few years earlier Californians were frightened by the hulking menace named Edmund Kemper. At one time California had at least three very active serial killers at large in the 70’s: the Trash Bag Murders (Patrick Kearney), the Freeway Killer (William Bonin) and the Scorecard Killer (Randy Kraft). All three were working the highways of California and they were racking up the bodies in a grim game of killing. So one can understand why director Irv Berwick had the brillia...

"Anna and the Apocalypse" (2017) It's Christmastime and a high school in Little Haven, Scotland is putting on a Christmas show for the community before the school break. Anna (played by Ella Hunt) is not particularly looking forward to the festivities and is focused on after the school year when she is planning to travel to Australia for the summer. Her father Tony (played by Mark Benton) who works at the school disapproves of her decision as he is expecting her to go straight to university. But unfortunately during the festive time, an outbreak occurs and the town becomes infested with zombies, so Anna along with her friends must somehow run, fight, and survive the impending apocalypse, while singing in dancing in a musical fashion. Within the last twenty years the number of zombie movies released have increased exponentially. While rules of the zombie genre have been well established, a few have taken the opportunity to expand the genre to go beyond the borders of horror. "Shaun of the Dead", <...

Model Shop (Jacques Demy, 1969) Synopsis: George Matthews (Gary Lockwood) is 26 and unemployed. He is an aspiring architect, with a degree in the subject from Berkeley. However, he refuses to compromise in his search for employment and is concerned that any day soon, he may receive a letter drafting him to serve in Vietnam. George’s lack of direction frustrates his girlfriend Gloria (Alexandra Hay), who is settled and employed. When creditors knock on George’s door, demanding the payments he owes towards his swanky new car, George decides to knock on the doors of various friends, including the members of the band Spirit (who sing the songs on the film’s soundtrack), asking them to loan him a couple of hundred dollars. Whilst driving through Los Angeles, he spots the exotic Lola (Anouk Aimee), a young French woman, and decides to follow her. He discovers she works in a ‘model shop’: an establishment in which men can rent out a...

The Exorcist III (William Peter Blatty, 1990) Synopsis: Georgetown, 1990. Father Dyer (Ed Flanders) and his friend, detective lieutenant William Kinderman (George C Scott), are both still haunted by the death, almost 20 years prior, of Father Damian Karras. Karras gave his life during the exorcism of a young girl, Regan MacNeil, calling the demon possessing the girl to come into him before hurling himself down a flight of steps. When a young African American boy is found murdered, having been tortured and beheaded, Kinderman finds his colleagues riddled with apathy. Kinderman recognises the modus operandi as similar to that of the Gemini Killer, a serial murderer Kinderman assisted in capturing 15 years prior. However, the Gemini Killer was executed for his crimes. When a priest, Father Kanavan, is found murdered and decapitated, Kinderman realises the connection between this crime and the killing of the boy. He learns that both victims were paralysed by a drug that is most commonly used in e...

Five years after Sloppy Secondary's last twenty-four hour famine ended in disaster, new teacher Miss Vickers (Michelle Sabiene) thinks another famine would be a good extra credit assignment to bond the cool kids and the nerds despite the misgivings of authoritarian principal Mr. Nielsen (Glenn Hoffmann). The mean kids lead by Darren (Des Larson) and Sarah (Karyn Halpin) are all pretty cagey about what happened five years before as Miss Vickers discovers when she investigates. Good girl Katie (Sanya Silver) only knows Sarah's account of what happened: that respected wrestling teacher Mr. Balszack (Nathan Durec) was horribly disfigured by acid while making advances at shy, nerdy Cathy (Beth Cantor) who has been a basket case ever since, wandering the school grounds after her psychiatr...

Oscar (Best Writing, Story and Screenplay - Written Directly for the Screen): Paul King, Joseph Stone, Stanley Shapiro, and Maurice Richlin (nominated) - Academy Awards, 1960 Golden Globe (Best Motion Picture - Comedy) and Best Actor - Comedy or Musical: Cary Grant (nominated) - Golden Globes, 1960 On the morning that the USN Sea Tiger is to be sent to the junkyard, its commander Matt Sherman (To Catch a Thief's Cary Grant) looks back to 1941 in the Philippines when the submarine was heavily damaged in an air attack. Although most of his crew has been reassigned, Sherman refuses to write off the then-year old sub as a "periscope sitting on a couple of thousand tons of scrap metal," and obtains permission to repair it to the point that it is at least se...

Oscar (Best Music, Original Song): Burt Bacharach and Hal David (nominee) - Academy Awards, 1966 Women have always been the weakness of Michael James (Caligula's Peter O'Toole) from his school days when he had a dalliance with a teacher and got a schoolmate into "trouble" to the present day as the lone male editor of the Paris arm of a major fashion magazine. While he has become engaged to English-language school teacher Carol Werner (L'important c'est d'aimer's Romy Schneider) he is not ready to give up his womanizing ways, nor does he want to cheat on her as suggested by his psychoanalyst Dr. Fritz Fassbender (The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu's ...

RoboCop (Paul Verhoeven, 1987) The first two films that Netherlands-born filmmaker Paul Verhoeven made in America, RoboCop (1987) and Total Recall (1990) established Verhoeven’s critical perspective on American society, using the tropes of the science-fiction genre to offer a critique of the dominance of corporate ideology, the roles and functions of technology (and its concomitant impact on identity) and the use of the media as a means of manufacturing hegemony. RoboCop and Total Recall are notable for introducing and refining Verhoeven’s ‘outsider’ perspective on American culture; these were the first two of Verhoeven’s feature films to be set in the US. Consequently, RoboCop has been seen as representing a collision of Verhoeven’s European sensibilities with the spectacle of Hollywood cinema. A 2002 retrospective piece about the production of RoboCop, published in the UK edition of Empire, asserts that the film...

Hitch Hike to Hell (Ive Berwick, 1977) Synopsis: In Crescent City, quiet Howard Martin (Robert Gribbin), who lives with his mother (Dorothy Bennett), works for laundry owner Mr Baldwin (John Harmon). Howard drives a van, delivering and picking up customers’ laundry. As the film opens, Howard picks up a young female hitchhiker. However, discovering that she is a runaway who apparently hates her parents, Howard is driven into a rage, strangling the young woman with one of the wire hangers in his van before dumping her body by the roadside. Later, Howard has no recollection of the murder though experiences a fragmentary but vivid flashback when he reads a newspaper article about the discovery of the girl’s body. However, whilst driving the laundry van he soon picks up another hitchhiker, again murdering her when he discovers she is a runaway who expresses hatred towards her family. Meanwhile, two detectives – Captain Shaw (Russell Johnson) and Lieutenant Davis (Randy Echols) – become aware of the connections between the killings of hitchhikers, each ...

Caligari Film Award: Kazuo Hara (won) - Berlin International Film Festival, 1987 Cinéma du Réel Award: Kazuo Hara (won) - Cinéma du Réel, 1988 KNF Award: Kazuo Hara (won) - Rotterdam International Film Festival, 1988 Festival Prize: Best Film and Best Director: Kazuo Hara (won) - Yokohama Film Festival 1988 Kenzo Okuzaki, 62, imprisoned three times – once for firing a slingshot at Emperor Hirohito during a protest, once for distributing pornographic leaflets depicting the Emperor, and once for the murder of a loan shark – continues to provoke traveling around in a vehicle covered in leftist banners, okaying his travel plans with the local police who seem to be as resigned as his own wife Shizumi. A World War II veteran who nearly starved to death when stationed in New Guinea, he has enlisted a documentary crew – lead by director Kazuo Hara – to accom...

The Tiger of Eschnapur: Arriving ahead of his brother-in-law by invitation of the Maharaja Chandra (Sissi: The Young Emperess' Walther Reyer) to embark on a massive public works program, German architect Harald Berger (The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms' Paul Hubschmid) lights upon the ravishingly beautiful Seetha (The Ten Commandments' Debra Paget), a dancer at the Temple of Benares also on her way to Eschnapur at the Maharaja's command to dance for him. She thanks him for his kindness in defending her maid Bharani (Thunderball's Luciana Paluzzi) against the imp...

The Tiger of Eschnapur: Arriving ahead of his brother-in-law by invitation of the Maharaja Chandra (Sissi: The Young Emperess' Walther Reyer) to embark on a massive public works program, German architect Harald Berger (The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms' Paul Hubschmid) lights upon the ravishingly beautiful Seetha (The Ten Commandments' Debra Paget), a dancer at the Temple of Benares also on her way to Eschnapur at the Maharaja's command to dance for him. She thanks him for his kindness in defending her maid Bharani (Thunderball's Luciana Paluzzi) against the imp...

"Goryeojang" <高麗葬> <고려장> (1963) Taking place in a poor mountain village, widowed mother Geum (played by Ju Jeung-nyeo) marries Chilbong (played by Choe Sam), a villager who already has ten sons from four previous marriages. Jealousy sets in by the ten boys with the inclusion of her and her son Guryong (played by Kim Jin-kyu), leading to an incident where the boy is crippled by a snakebite. The village shaman (played by Jeon Ok) gives a grave prophecy that one day Guryong will have his revenge and kill all ten brothers, which frightens the family, leading to Geum and Guryong living in a separate property owned by Chilbong. Will the Shaman's prophecy ring true or will there be defiance in time? Taking place over a 35 year period, the story of "Goryeojang" is probably best known for the near end sequence with the son Guryong carrying his elderly mother Geum on his back in an act of senicide - abandoning his elderly mother on a mountaintop for her to die. The custom has no ...

The Far Country (Anthony Mann, 1954) Synopsis: 1896. Driving cattle to the prospector town of Dawson in the Yukon – a town rich in gold but not in terms of food – Jeff Webster (James Stewart) is met in Seattle by his business partner, Ben Tatum (Walter Brennan). Having set out from Wyoming with four drovers, Jeff arrives in Seattle with only two – and these two have been disarmed. Jeff reveals to Ben that during the drive from Wyoming to Seattle, the four drovers plotted to steal Jeff and Ben’s cattle; Jeff killed two of the drovers and disarmed the remaining pair. Jeff and Ben plan to take the cattle aboard a paddle steamer which will give them passage to Skagway, and from Skagway they intend to travel through the mountain pass into Dawson. Also on board the ship is an acquaintance of Jeff and Ben’s, a drunken prospector named Rube (Jay C Flippen). However, as the paddle steamer leaves Seattle, Jeff is accused of murdering the two drovers. He flees and winds up in the cabin of Ronda Castle (...

"Moulin Rouge" (1952) Set in Paris in the late 1800s and based on the life of the influential artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, "Moulin Rouge" also centers around the famous cabaret of the title where Lautrec famously drew the patrons and created many of the poster artwork. Lautrec is played by José Ferrer), who frequently reminisces about his past. Brought up in a bourgeoisie home, but suffering a debilitating fall that injures his legs permanently, the slightly distant relationship he had with his family, and his decision to move to Paris to have a career as an artist. He might be respected in the art world and his patronage to the Moulin Rouge is always welcomed, his heart is still unfulfilled without a romantic relation in his life. It is one evening on his way home that he encounters Marie (played by Colette Marchand) - someone who sees him as a person rather than a crippled dwarf, but where there seems to be love and compassion comes ugliness and despair as well. "Moulin Rouge" is a biopic that does not play with convention as the person depicted ...

"Betrayed" (1988) Following the gruesome assassination of controversial radio talk show host Sam Kraus (played by Richard Libertini), the FBI send in agent Cathy Weaver (played by Debra Winger) to infiltrate a small farming town in the midwest that looks to be harboring the killers, using the code name "ZOG". Posing as "Katie", a combine driver new to town, she falls in love with widower and father of two Gary (played by Tom Berenger), a seemingly all American farmer, but with a secret life. While gathering information on the local townsfolk to find connections to the murder, Gary shows her his truth - his views as a white supremacist and how he and many others in the community plus more on a computer network are all about taking the country back and ridding the nation of all non-whites through violent means. "Betrayed" has some things in common with "Notorious" from 1946, about a woman who is sent on a mission by the US government to uncov...

Pick-Up Alley (John Gilling, 1957) Synopsis: In New York, international drugs magnate Frank McNally (Trevor Howard) murders Helen (Dorothy Alison), the sister of Narcotics Bureau detective Charles Sturgis (Victor Mature). Helen has been working undercover, posing as an addict, to get close to the mysterious McNally – whose true identity is concealed thanks to plastic surgery and a slack handful of passports. When Sturgis discovers his sister has been killed by McNally, he becomes overwhelmed with desire for revenge. Sturgis finds an addict (Betty McDowall) who leads the Narcotics Bureau to a dealer, Cashling (Alfred Burke), who cracks under interrogation and offers some information about McNally. The Narcotics Bureau receives a communique from Interpol in London, with information that McNally’s associate Salko (Alec Mango) is living in London under an assumed name. Sturgis is sent to London to question Salko. There, Sturgis meets Breckner (Andre Morrell), who heads the Interpol office in ...

Revolution is the farthest thing on the mind of bandito Juan Miranda (The Amityville Horror's Rod Steiger), his elderly father, and his six sons who are living hand-to-mouth robbing the dispossessed bourgeoisie who are hoping to regain their land and status under General Huerta who has staged a military coup and assassinated social democracy-minded president Madero. Riding into the midst of the Mirandas' latest stagecoach heist is John Mallory (The Great Escape's James Coburn), a demolitions expert who fled Ireland after being betrayed by compromised fellow revolutionaries. After seeing the effects of Mallory's "holy water," Miranda hits upon the idea of a partnership "Juan and John" (or "Johnny and Johnny") to rob the national bank in Mesa Verde. Although Miranda claims that he does not care about the money so much as cracking the heist for which his father was once imprisoned, Mallory refuses the offer of more than half the spoils...

The extraordinary feature film debut from Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Supremacy, United 93) is a disturbing and powerful true story of a British soldier (David Thewlis - Naked) injured and lost during the 1980s Falklands conflict. Presumed dead, he’s given full military honours; but on returning he’s treated with distrust and shame, and accused of desertion. Also featuring excellent performances from Rita Tushingham (A Taste of Honey, Doctor Zhivago) and Tom Bell (The L-Shaped Room, The Krays), Resurrected is an intense and provocative drama, a powerful cry against institutional violence and political indifference....

Inspired by Sei Shōnagon’s first-century diary, Peter Greenaway’s The Pillow Book is an audio-visual tour de force, and a showcase for one of British cinema’s most singular talents. Starring Vivian Wu (8½ Women), Ewan McGregor (Trainspotting) and Ken Ogata (Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters), the film is among Greenaway’s most daring and adventurous works....

The final feature by Sidney Gilliat, Endless Night capped a career that encompassed screenplays for Alfred Hitchcock and Carol Reed, the anarchic St. Trinian’s comedies, and his own directorial gems such as mystery-thriller Green for Danger. Adapting Agatha Christie’s celebrated novel of the same name, the film reunites the co-stars of cult classic Twisted Nerve, Hywel Bennett (The Virgin Soldiers) and Hayley Mills (Take a Girl Like You) and boasts an impressive supporting cast including Britt Ekland (The Wicker Man), Per Oscarsson (A Dandy in Aspic) and George Sanders (All About Eve)....

ESSEX IS RUNNING LOW ON PILLS. The unstoppable and biggest British crime series returns. And this time the boys are going international in Rise of the Footsoldier 4: Marbella. Fresh out of prison, Pat Tate (Craig Fairbrass) steps right back into his Essex nightclub business. But although the money is good, he can't stop brooding about the man who had him put away. It's not long before he's off to Marbella to find Frank Harris and seek his revenge. But Harris is long dead and the middle-man Terry Fisher (Andrew Loveday) offers Pat the biggest drug deal of his life. All Pat needs is for his pals Tony and Craig to deliver the cash from Essex to close the deal. But Craig being Craig, turns a simple plane trip to a mental road trip. All Tony wants is to make it back in time to support his friend Nigel Benn at the boxing match of his life. But when their cash gets stolen and Pat is threatened by a local firm, he comes up with an audacious plan to get them back to England in time for one of history's greatest fights... Hammers, knives, crossbows and good old-fashioned fists are making their comeback in this iconic British crime thriller starring the original loveable-rogues Craig Fairbrass and Terry Stone in Rise of the Foo...

When jaded New Yorker (Catriona MacColl) inherits a New Orleans hotel, she calls on composed local doctor (David Warbeck) to contain the inexplicable and increasingly gory accidents that are plaguing the building and its surroundings. But soon the Gates of Hell themselves open under the hotel, rendering their fight futile as the Dead emerge to walk the earth... SHAMELESS FILMS PRESENTS LUCIO FULCI'S HORROR MASTERPIECE THE BEYOND, FROM A NEW 2K SCAN Additionally, and for the first time ever The Beyond is presented with four different versions of the prologue, seamlessly branched: The now accepted standard sepia The original colour camera footage The B&W version A new fourth-way: presented as an homage to director Lucio Fulci and director of Photography, DOP Sergio Salvati. For this new alternative prologue version, for the 1st time ever, Shameless have used the restored colour camera footage as a base on which a new golden toning was applied in reference to known considerations from DOP Salvati. All other sepia tint were monochrome. The result of applying tone over the newly rediscovered and restored colour footage is that the reds of the gore are now strikingly visible and all the light sources such as the torches...

Based on a novel by Richard Condon (The Manchurian Candidate), William Richert’s brilliantly off-kilter conspiracy thriller features an all-star cast, including Jeff Bridges (Jagged Edge), John Huston (Breakout), Elizabeth Taylor (Secret Ceremony), Tomas Milian (The Last Movie), and many other famous faces. This dark vision of political corruption is presented in two cuts from a new 4K restoration....

There will always be blood, brilliance and controversy. This is the legendary story of the legendary Quentin Tarantino. This is the thrilling journey of Quentin Tarantino's first eight movies, and gives its audience an inside look at the celebrated filmmaker's body of work through interviews with former cast members and film industry experts. His films inspire, provoke and challenge us individually and as a society to the utmost extremes, all stemming from his passion for people and continuous exploration of the human condition. Featuring interviews with his contemporaries, former cast members and industry experts, including Samuel L. Jackson, Jamie Foxx, Kurt Russell, Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Jason Lee, Lucy Liu, Diane Kruger, Zoe Bell and more. QT8: Quentin Tarantino - The First Eight sheds new light on the life and legacy of Quentin Tarantino, and gives viewers unprecedented access to his vision throughout his career....

There will always be blood, brilliance and controversy. This is the legendary story of the legendary Quentin Tarantino. This is the thrilling journey of Quentin Tarantino's first eight movies, and gives its audience an inside look at the celebrated filmmaker's body of work through interviews with former cast members and film industry experts. His films inspire, provoke and challenge us individually and as a society to the utmost extremes, all stemming from his passion for people and continuous exploration of the human condition. Featuring interviews with his contemporaries, former cast members and industry experts, including Samuel L. Jackson, Jamie Foxx, Kurt Russell, Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Jason Lee, Lucy Liu, Diane Kruger, Zoe Bell and more. QT8: Quentin Tarantino - The First Eight sheds new light on the life and legacy of Quentin Tarantino, and gives viewers unprecedented access to his vision throughout his career....

The Comic Strip Presents... BAD NEWS! Four hairy musos with a dream to be the next Motorhead. Sure, they have musical differences - all great bands do. But with Colin's PA, Vim's old transit van and the entire back line stacked on HP, what could possibly go wrong? Chart success, adoring fans and excess all areas, it can only be GOOD News surely! Then the unexpected happens. BAD NEWS get picked by Channel 4 television for a fly on the wall documentary about a metal band's quest to make the big time. The film when first broadcast caused immediate outrage not just with metal fans who thought it was "far too heavy", but the band got condemned by the music press who declared them: "the worst thing since Showaddywaddy" or as one smart arse critic wrote "this isn't Metal, it's Heavy Lead". VIM, DEN, COLIN and SPIDER are BAD NEWS! The Comic Strip Presents... BAD NEWS! Four hairy muisos with a dream to be the next Motorhead. Sure they have musical differences – all great bands do. But with Colin's PA ,Vim;s old transit van and the entire back line stacked on HP, what could possibly go wrong ?…. Chart success, adoring fans and excess all areas, it can only be GOOD Newssurely! Then the unexpected happens. BAD NEWS get picked by C...

Double DVD set. Three episodes of the 1980s British comedy series. Five Go Mad in Dorset (1982), set in the 1950s, follows the escapades of Julian (Peter Richardson), Dick (Adrian Edmondson), George (Dawn French), Anne (Jennifer Saunders) and their dog Timmy as they visit their aunt and uncle on holiday in Dorset. In Five Go Mad On Mescalin (1983) the group meet an American billionaire and his spoilt son while staying at Hot Turkey Farm. Finally, in Five Go to Rehab (2012) the group reunite in Dorset for Dick's birthday and embark on a new adventure. Also includes bonus material. In the summer of 1982, the Comic Strip made their first film FIVE GO MAD IN DORSET - a spoof of Enid Blyton’s Famous Five books enjoyed by millions of children since the 50s. These stories were exciting adventures about four children and their dog who were allowed to wander off in their school holidays, on their own (with no phone) to an unknown destination and get entangled with unshaven criminals stealing our country’s secrets! In satirising the Famous Five, the Comic Strip bluntly highlighted the sexist and casual racism of the period in a way that’s no longer acceptable on TV. In 1982, with The Black and White Minstrel show barely off th...

Eat the Rich is a 1987 British black comedy film directed by Peter Richardson. A co-production between Channel Four Films, Iron Fist Motion Pictures and Michael White Productions, it features cast members from the popular television series The Comic Strip Presents... The film stars Lanah Pellay, and Nosher Powell as the Home Secretary, and includes cameos from a number of well-known figures, including: Miranda Richardson and Nigel Planer as vile DHSS clerks, Robbie Coltrane, Rik Mayall as a union boss, Paul McCartney, Shane MacGowan, Jennifer Saunders, Jimmy Fagg, Kathy Burke, Koo Stark, Dawn French, Bill Wyman, Jools Holland, Hugh Cornwell, Adrian Edmondson, Angela Bowie, and Lemmy. The film begins in a high-class London restaurant named 'Bastards' where the protagonist, Alex (Pellay), is a waiter. Subject to the upper-class customers' daily contempt and disgust, Alex is eventually fired for being obnoxious and rude to the clientele. After witnessing a terrorist act on an embassy, he robs a benefits office and goes on the run with his new friend. Meanwhile, Nosher Powell plays the Home Secretary, a menacing, beer-swilling, fornicating, lovable lout who has his own no-nonsense way of dealing with trouble, usually with his fi...

Combining the tense, psychological investigation of killer classics such as Silence of the Lambs and Zodiac with fast-paced twists, turns and edge-of-your-seat action, Night Hunter is one of this year s darkest and most daring thrillers. On the hunt for an elusive serial rapist and murderer, battle-hardened cop Marshall (Henry Cavill: Man of Steel, Mission Impossible: Fallout) crosses paths with vigilante duo Cooper (Ben Kingsley: Gandhi, Sexy Beast) and Julia (Eliana Jones) as they trap online predators and deliver their own extreme methods of justice. When Julia is kidnapped, Marshall, Cooper and the police hunt down the perpetrator but the psychologically damaged man they capture only deepens the mystery surrounding the killings. Good-cop Rachel (Alexandra Daddario: True Detective Season 1) believes the captured killer, who is linked to years of female abductions and murders, is harbouring multiple personalities, one of which may hold answers. But with Marshall taking a harder stance, pressure from the Commissioner (Stanley Tucci: The Hunger Games franchise), and a public out for blood, the plot thickens....

Four classic Hammer chillers presented on Blu-ray for the very first time in the UK. Accompanied by a wealth of new and archival extras – including exclusive new documentaries, audio commentaries, alternative versions, new and archival cast and crew interviews, a series of appreciations of their female stars, analyses of their composers’ scores, and extensive booklets – this stunning limited edition box set is strictly limited to 6,000 units....

Four classic Hammer chillers presented on Blu-ray for the very first time in the UK. Accompanied by a wealth of new and archival extras – including exclusive new documentaries, audio commentaries, alternative versions, new and archival cast and crew interviews, a series of appreciations of their female stars, analyses of their composers’ scores, and extensive booklets – this stunning limited edition box set is strictly limited to 6,000 units....

Four classic Hammer chillers presented on Blu-ray for the very first time in the UK. Accompanied by a wealth of new and archival extras – including exclusive new documentaries, audio commentaries, alternative versions, new and archival cast and crew interviews, a series of appreciations of their female stars, analyses of their composers’ scores, and extensive booklets – this stunning limited edition box set is strictly limited to 6,000 units....

Four classic Hammer chillers presented on Blu-ray for the very first time in the UK. Accompanied by a wealth of new and archival extras – including exclusive new documentaries, audio commentaries, alternative versions, new and archival cast and crew interviews, a series of appreciations of their female stars, analyses of their composers’ scores, and extensive booklets – this stunning limited edition box set is strictly limited to 6,000 units....

Limited Edition Blu-ray (World Blu-ray premiere) Joseph Losey’s lurid and often misunderstood drama stars the great Elizabeth Taylor (Suddenly, Last Summer) as an ageing London prostitute who befriends a young woman (Mia Farrow, See No Evil) that reminds her of her long-dead daughter. As the bizarre relationship between the two evolves, the appearance of Robert Mitchum (Cape Fear), as Farrow’s abusive stepfather, ignites deep emotions and dark passions. With its exquisite production design, stylish cinematography and elegant score, Joseph Losey’s lost masterpiece finally makes its long-overdue premiere on Blu-ray....

Dunkirk meets Titanic is this gripping true story about the “Barge 752” tragedy during WWII. September 1941. A barge, evacuating people from sieged Leningrad gets caught in a dramatic and violent storm. Terrified and fighting for life, the boats 1,000 evacuees descend even further in to hell when, instead of rescuers, the boat is targeted and attached by Nazi war planes. The Battle of Leningrad is a charged look at violence and tragedy of World War II....

Directed by Alberto Cavalcanti (Went the Day Well?, Dead of Night), They Made Me a Fugitive is a prime example of British film noir. Trevor Howard (Who?, The Missionary) plays Clem Morgan, an RAF officer during the war, now unemployed since demobilisation. Turning to the black market, he finds himself embroiled in a life of crime that will lead to prison, a daring escape, and a deadly manhunt. Boasting striking cinematography by Otto Heller, whose later credits would include Michael Powell’s Peeping Tom and classic Cold War thriller The Ipcress File, this UK Blu-ray premiere of They Made Me a Fugitive is accompanied by two rare short films, made during Howard’s own time in the RAF during WWII, featuring his earliest known on-screen appearances....

A rare Anglo-Czech co-production, 90° in the Shade is a fascinating, little-seen drama directed by Jiří Weiss (Romeo, Juliet and Darkness) and co-written by David Mercer (Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment). Set at the height of summer, the film concerns shop assistant Anne Heywood (The Fox), and two men who will affect her life: James Booth (The Man Who Had Power Over Women), the married man with whom she is having affair, and Rudolf Hrusínský (The Cremator), an auditor who has family problems of his own. Filmed simultaneously in English and Czech versions, Indicator is proud to present both cuts on Blu-ray for the first time ever....

Acclaimed horror directors Jen and Sylvia Soska AKA the 'Twisted Twins' (American Mary) are back with their next nightmare, the bloody, brutal and deranged RABID, based on the original film by David Cronenberg. An fashion designer (Laura Vandervoort - Jigsaw) undergoes a radical untested stem-cell treatment after being disfigured in an accident. Although the procedure transforms her into a ravishing beauty, the lasting side effects leave her with an uncontrollable taste for blood, resulting in several torrid encounters and a trail of infected victims. As the illness mutates and the contagion spreads out of control, the infected rampage through the city in a violent and gruesome killing spree....

Described as Donnie Darko meets Lost, PREY follows Toby Burns (Logan Miller: Escape Room), a millennial coldly floating through life and disconnected from his family. After his father is tragically killed, Toby is left stricken with guilt. He is begrudgingly enrolled in a program, in which he will spend three days on a remote jungle island. Toby soon finds that this uninhabited island is not so lonely when he meets a mysterious girl named Madeleine (Kristine Froseth: The Society). It soon becomes clear that neither of them are safe here and time is running out. Someone or SOMETHING bloodthirsty lurks in the jungle......

After barely surviving a furious shootout with the police, Baby Firefly (Sheri Moon Zombie), Otis Driftwood (Bill Moseley) and Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig) are behind bars. But pure evil cannot be contained. Teaming up with Otis’ half-brother Wilson (Richard Brake), the demented Firelfly clan are back to unleash a whole new wave of death and depravity. A firestorm of murder, madness and mayhem will be released in this terror ride to Hell and back....

101 Films presents Skinner (1993), a dark and brutal horror from director Ivan Nagy and writer Paul Hart-Wilden and title 010 on 101 Films' Black Label. Starring Ted Raimi (Spider-Man), Traci Lords (Blade), David Warshofsky (There Will Be Blood), Richard Schiff (Se7en) and Rikki Lake (Hairspray), Skinner is released for the first time in the UK on any format. At one time thought a lost film, Skinner has been resurrected from obscurity in a mind-blowing 4K restoration, so cult cinema fans can now witness this 90s horror gem in all its sinful, sleazy and violent glory. Dennis Skinner (Raimi) seems like a normal enough guy, but he has a very abnormal hobby. At night, he creeps through the back streets looking for potential victims, and when he finds one, carefully removes their skin with an elaborate collection of knives. Heidi (Lords), one of Dennis' victims, is on his trail, waiting for a chance to get her revenge, but in the meantime, Dennis has developed a crush on Kerry (Lake), and wants to find a way to show her he really cares....

Written and directed by Matthew Chapman (Strangers Kiss), and starring the great Helen Mirren (Age of Consent), Hussy is an offbeat blend of adult thriller and almost romantic comedy. Set in the seedier side of London, the film focuses on a prostitute, played by Mirren, who begins an affair with a man, played by John Shea (Missing), harbouring a dark secret. Part of producer Don Boyd’s efforts to reinvigorate British cinema in the late seventies and early eighties, with films such as The Great Rock ’n’ Roll Swindle and the cinema version of Scum, Hussy is an unsung and under seen gem deserving of a wider audience....

The first of six collaborations between two of British cinemas most infamous figures – Oliver Reed (The Damned, The Triple Echo) and Michael Winner (Death Wish) – The System finds both at their creative peak. Reed is leader of a gang of youths, who spend a hot summer season in Devon in pursuit of women – including Jane Merrow (The Appointment) and Barbara Ferris (A Nice Girl Like Me). Filmed on location, and shot by the great Nicolas Roeg before he turned his attentions to directing, The System boasts a fine supporting cast, including Julia Foster (Alfie), Harry Andrews (The Deadly Affair), and David Hemmings (Fragment of Fear)....

This is the definitive set of interviews with the team who brought the PAUL McGANN era of DOCTOR WHO to life! These six documentaries are the best in-depth interviews with PAUL McGANN (the Eighth Doctor), DAPHNE ASHBROOK (Grace Holloway), YEE JEE TSO (Chang Lee), ERIC ROBERTS (The Master), PHILIP SEGAL (Producer) and GEOFFREY SAX (Director) ever undertaken! Presented by SOPHIE ALDRED, ROBERT DICK and the voice of the Daleks NICHOLAS BRIGGS. For all DOCTOR Who fans, this 2 DISC special collector s edition is 5 hours of pure nostalgia, which will give you a whole new insight into the making of your favourite science fiction series! SPECIAL FEATURE: Introduction by NICHOLAS BRIGGS & Producer KEITH BARNFATHER....

Inspired by harrowing true events. This gripping war thriller uncovers a hidden slice of history that is equally shocking as it is inspiring. Norway, 1942. On her attempt to flee Nazi persecution, Esther, a Jewish 14 year old girl, finds herself alone, on an occupied farm forced to conceal her identity; leading to a series of choices and consequences which shift the paths of those around her. From the executive producers of Churchill and Peterloo and featuring the star of Inglorious Basterds August Diehl....

A Tigon British classic restored to HD. Once, in a now-deserted mansion, a man went mad and sliced up his entire family. Now, a group of jaded boys and girls from Swinging Sixties London decide to go out to the house on a dare. Frankie Avalon and Dennis Price star. Michael Armstrong directs....

After being paid-off to take a murder rap, Frank (Nicolas Cage) receives an unexpected life sentence and spends the next two decades locked behind bars festering a need for revenge. When he is given a diagnosis of a terminal illness he is released from prison to live out his final days as a free man. Keeping his condition a secret, Frank reunites with his estranged son Joey (Noah Le Gros). Their reunion is awkward because his son harbours resentment about being abandoned as a child. Frank tries to heal their relationship and they bond over expensive shopping trips and dinners, which are well beyond any legitimate means. Joey recognises these extravagances are tied to Frank’s past and knows his father hasn’t changed. With Joey threatening to leave, Frank is torn by the need to repair his relationship with his son and his need to exact vengeance against those who wronged him. When he discovers a truth withheld from him long ago, he races furiously against the ticking clock of his life, trying to expose lies from the past before it is too late. The choice between family, friendship, love and hate is no longer as clear as he once thought and Frank is forced to face secrets he has spent years avoiding....

101 Films presents Rabid (1977), an enduringly tense and gruesome horror that marked a landmark in David Cronenberg's early career. Title 009 on 101 Films' Black Label, this double Blu-ray is stacked with extras, including Part 1 of a new feature length documentary on Canadian horror film. When Rose suffers terrible injuries in a motorcycle crash, she is taken to a nearby clinic run by Dr Keloid for experimental skin-graft surgery. At first, the revolutionary procedure proves successful, but it soon leaves Rose with a strange orifice protruding from her armpit and an insatiable thirst for human blood. Hell-bent on satisfying her bloodlust, Rose leaves a trail of insane and uncontrollably aggressive victims, as the unknown virus engulfs North America in an orgy of frenetic violence....

The collaboration between filmmaker Josef von Sternberg and actress Marlene Dietrich is one of the most enduring in all Hollywood cinema. Tasked by Paramount bosses to find ‘the next big thing’, director von Sternberg lighted upon German silent star Dietrich and brought her to Hollywood. Successfully transitioning from the silent to the sound era, together they crafted a series of remarkable features that expressed a previously hitherto unbridled ecstasy in the process of filmmaking itself. Marked by striking cinematography, beautiful design and elaborate camerawork these vibrantly sensuous films redefined cinema of the time, while Dietrich’s sexually ambiguous on-screen personas caused a sensation and turned her from actor to superstar and icon. Lavish, lascivious and wildly eccentric, the films Josef von Sternberg and Marlene Dietrich made for Paramount Pictures in the 1930s provide a unique testimony to Hollywood’s Golden Age. The six films that von Sternberg made with Dietrich in Hollywood are presented here in new restorations on Blu-ray for the very first time in the UK. Containing a wealth of new and archival extras – including new appreciations, interviews, audio commentaries, rare films, outtakes and deleted audio,...

The collaboration between filmmaker Josef von Sternberg and actress Marlene Dietrich is one of the most enduring in all Hollywood cinema. Tasked by Paramount bosses to find ‘the next big thing’, director von Sternberg lighted upon German silent star Dietrich and brought her to Hollywood. Successfully transitioning from the silent to the sound era, together they crafted a series of remarkable features that expressed a previously hitherto unbridled ecstasy in the process of filmmaking itself. Marked by striking cinematography, beautiful design and elaborate camerawork these vibrantly sensuous films redefined cinema of the time, while Dietrich’s sexually ambiguous on-screen personas caused a sensation and turned her from actor to superstar and icon. Lavish, lascivious and wildly eccentric, the films Josef von Sternberg and Marlene Dietrich made for Paramount Pictures in the 1930s provide a unique testimony to Hollywood’s Golden Age. The six films that von Sternberg made with Dietrich in Hollywood are presented here in new restorations on Blu-ray for the very first time in the UK. Containing a wealth of new and archival extras – including new appreciations, interviews, audio commentaries, rare films, outtakes and deleted audio,...

The collaboration between filmmaker Josef von Sternberg and actress Marlene Dietrich is one of the most enduring in all Hollywood cinema. Tasked by Paramount bosses to find ‘the next big thing’, director von Sternberg lighted upon German silent star Dietrich and brought her to Hollywood. Successfully transitioning from the silent to the sound era, together they crafted a series of remarkable features that expressed a previously hitherto unbridled ecstasy in the process of filmmaking itself. Marked by striking cinematography, beautiful design and elaborate camerawork these vibrantly sensuous films redefined cinema of the time, while Dietrich’s sexually ambiguous on-screen personas caused a sensation and turned her from actor to superstar and icon. Lavish, lascivious and wildly eccentric, the films Josef von Sternberg and Marlene Dietrich made for Paramount Pictures in the 1930s provide a unique testimony to Hollywood’s Golden Age. The six films that von Sternberg made with Dietrich in Hollywood are presented here in new restorations on Blu-ray for the very first time in the UK. Containing a wealth of new and archival extras – including new appreciations, interviews, audio commentaries, rare films, outtakes and deleted audio,...

The collaboration between filmmaker Josef von Sternberg and actress Marlene Dietrich is one of the most enduring in all Hollywood cinema. Tasked by Paramount bosses to find ‘the next big thing’, director von Sternberg lighted upon German silent star Dietrich and brought her to Hollywood. Successfully transitioning from the silent to the sound era, together they crafted a series of remarkable features that expressed a previously hitherto unbridled ecstasy in the process of filmmaking itself. Marked by striking cinematography, beautiful design and elaborate camerawork these vibrantly sensuous films redefined cinema of the time, while Dietrich’s sexually ambiguous on-screen personas caused a sensation and turned her from actor to superstar and icon. Lavish, lascivious and wildly eccentric, the films Josef von Sternberg and Marlene Dietrich made for Paramount Pictures in the 1930s provide a unique testimony to Hollywood’s Golden Age. The six films that von Sternberg made with Dietrich in Hollywood are presented here in new restorations on Blu-ray for the very first time in the UK. Containing a wealth of new and archival extras – including new appreciations, interviews, audio commentaries, rare films, outtakes and deleted audio,...