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- Gladiator (2000) DVD (Region 1)
- Gladiator (2000) DVD (Region 2)
- Gladiator (2000) VHS (PAL)
Starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Oliver Reed
A big-budget summer epic with money to burn and a scale worthy of its golden Hollywood predecessors, Ridley Scott's Gladiator is a rousing, grisly, action-packed epic that takes moviemaking back to the Roman Empire via computer-generated visual effects. While not as fluid as the computer work done for, say, Titanic, it's an impressive achievement that will leave you marveling at the glory that was Rome, when you're not marveling at the glory that is Russell Crowe. Starring as the heroic general Maximus, Crowe firmly cements his star status both in terms of screen presence and acting chops, carrying the film on his decidedly non-computer-generated shoulders as he goes from brave general to wounded fugitive to stoic slave to gladiator hero. Gladiator's plot is a whirlwind of faux-Shakespearean machinations of death, betrayal, power plays, and secret identities (with lots of faux-Shakespearean dialogue ladled on to keep the proceedings appropriately "classical"), but it's all briskly shot, edited, and paced with a contemporary sensibility. Even the action scenes, somewhat muted but graphic in terms of implied violence and liberal bloodletting, are shot with a veracity that brings to mind--believe it or not--Saving Private Ryan, even if everyone is wearing a toga. As Crowe's nemesis, the evil emperor Commodus, Joaquin Phoenix chews scenery with authority, whether he's damning Maximus's popularity with the Roman mobs or lusting after his sister Lucilla (beautiful but distant Connie Nielsen); Oliver Reed, in his last role, hits the perfect notes of camp and gravitas as the slave owner who rescues Maximus from death and turns him into a coliseum star. Director Scott's visual flair is abundantly in evidence, with breathtaking shots and beautiful (albeit digital) landscapes, but it's Crowe's star power that will keep you in thrall--he's a true gladiator, worthy of his legendary status. Hail the conquering hero!
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- U-571 (2000) DVD Region 1
- U-571 (2000) VHS - (PAL Format - Europe)
Starring Matthew McConaughey, Bill Paxton, Jon Bon Jovi, Harvey Keitel
Taut and gripping, U-571 follows the exploits of a fictional team of World War II U.S. submariners who undertake a secret mission to capture a German Enigma machine to decode German documents. Writer-director Jonathan Mostow (Breakdown) tells an intense, economical tale, reminiscent of the best classic war films, while infusing it with modern sentiments.
Spring 1942: a crew of young submarine sailors are on a much-needed 48-hour liberty when they're suddenly called together and engaged in an expedition. At the helm are Lieutenant Commander Mike Dahlgren (Bill Paxton), Lieutenant Andrew Tyler (Matthew McConaughey), and Chief Klough (Harvey Keitel). Other pivotal crew members include Tyler's Annapolis pal Lieutenant Pete Emmett (Jon Bon Jovi, proving his acting mettle) and Lieutenant Hirsch (Jake Weber), who, along with Marine Major Coonan (David Keith), organizes the mission. As much of the movie takes place in a submarine during WWII, there are inevitable comparisons with the technical masterpiece Das Boot, but Mostow's masterfully shot tale can hold its own.
McConaughey's Tyler is believably earnest as he comes to grips with the reality, tragedy, and consequence of being in command. While this explosion-filled film consistently maintains its tense pace (as did the underrated Breakdown), it also presents with surprising restraint a genuine human story--and the remarkable journey of an unexpected hero.
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- The Count of Monte Cristo Box Set (Mini-Series) (1999) VHS - (NTSC Format - USA & Canada)
- The Count of Monte Cristo Collection (Mini-Series) (1999) DVD - (Region 1 - USA & Canada)
Starring Gérard Depardieu, Ornella Muti
Memories of past adaptations of the Alexandre Dumas novel inevitably hover over this four-part French miniseries, originally broadcast on American cable television in 1999. It's hard, for instance, to top the 1934 feature starring Robert Donat as Edmond Dantès, the sea captain who is framed and unjustifiably imprisoned in 1815 for nearly two decades. Similarly, anyone who saw Richard Chamberlain essay the same role in a memorable 1975 TV movie may remember just how exciting that program was. Yet this lengthy costume adventure starring Gérard Depardieu as the vengeful Dantès, despite a rocky beginning, is absolutely mesmerizing in its own way. Rich in detail and overlapping subplots, strikingly handsome in art direction without getting ostentatious, this particular Count comes to life after Dantès escapes his lengthy incarceration in solitary confinement. Fans of the story know what comes next: Dantès makes his way to an uninhabited island off Italy, where he locates a vast treasure he has heard about. His sudden, phenomenal wealth gives him the means to reward allies, punish enemies, and become an architect of events without anyone knowing who's behind them. While Dantès's mind is bent on destroying those who betrayed him, his deeper nature causes him to perform a vast amount of good as well. Depardieu's big, beefy, clean-shaven self is not exactly the right fit, initially, for a character supposedly subsisting on thin soup for 18 years. He quickly assumes the central role with one of his most knowing and subtle performances, ingeniously painting Dantès as a man who has exchanged one sort of prison for another, the latter his own hatred. The sharp, engaging screenplay is by Didier Decoin (The Chambermaid on the Titanic), and the production is directed with flashes of bold inventiveness by Josée Dayan, a prominent European television director.
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- Erik The Viking (1989) - VHS - (PAL Format - Europe)
Starring Terry Jones, John Cleese
Erik the Viking gathers warriors from his village and sets out on a dangerous journey to Valhalla, to ask the gods to end the Age of Ragnorok and allow his people to see sunlight again. A Pythonesque satire of Viking life.
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- Final Justice (1984) DVD - (Region 1 - USA & Canada)
Starring Joe Don Baker, Greydon Clark
Thomas Jefferson Geronimo, III is a deputy sheriff working in a small town in South Texas. Joseph Polrmo (Venantino Venantini) and his brother Anthony (Elvisio Cannori), two Mafia killers, are attempting to escape across the border into Mexico. Geronimo, using the skill of a western quick-draw gunman kills Anthony and captures Joseph. Geronimo is requested to extradite Palermo back to Italy, his native country. The Mafia has other ideas and forces the plan down in Malta. Palermo escapes thinking that Geronimo has been killed when the plane when down. Geronimo is very much alive and determined to find Palermo and recapture him. But he must do it in only 24 hours. The exciting climax of "Final Justice" occurs when Geronimo makes a single-handed assault on underworld kingpin La Manna's villa for a final showdown between Palermo and Geronimo.
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- The Mackintosh Man (1973) - VHS - (NTSC Format - USA & Canada)
Starring Paul Newman, Dominique Sanda
In this screen adaptation of the Desmond Bagley novel, "The Freedom Trap," British intelligence hires an agent named Rearden to capture a spy who is also a conservative, influential Member of Parliament. The action shifts from London to Ireland to Malta as Rearden tries to carry out his mission.
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- Midnight Express (1978) VHS - (NTSC Format - USA & Canada)
- Midnight Express (1978) DVD - (Region 1 - USA & Canada)
- Midnight Express (1978) DVD - (Region 2 - Europe, Middle East & Japan only)
Starring Brad Davis, Randy Quaid
A young American boy is caught smuggling dope and sentenced to life imprisonment in a Turkish jail.Alan Parker's 1978 movie remains a masterpiece of exploitation cinema. From the stupendously misleading "based on a true story" legend (most of the gooshy stuff as well as the toning down of Billy's gay affair is script invention) through incredible racism (Amnesty International pulled out of a publicity deal with the filmmakers when they saw the flick), borderline homophobia and ultra-stylish gratuitous violence, Parker retains a vice-like grip on his audience's emotions, building both tension in the stunningly realised arrest and escape sequences as well as a mounting sense of sympathy for Hayes (Brad Davis who died in 1991 from AIDS). Oliver Stone's Oscar-winning script displays the explosive bombast that would typify his later directorial work, particularly in a fight sequence in which Hayes bites out a guard's tongue. Incidentally, the Turkish authorities still have a warrant out for the real Hayes' arrest. God knows how they feel about Alan Parker.
****Special features on the Europe DVD version: Old school trailer plus a short interview with the real Billy Hayes made at the time in which he visits the set in Malta sporting a perm that many would say justified incarceration.
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- Murphy's War (1971) - VHS - (NTSC Format - USA & Canada)
Starring Peter O'Toole, Siân Phillips
Murphy is the sole survivor of his crew, that has been decimated by a German U-Boat in the closing days of World War II. He lands on a forgotten Pacific island and begins to plot his vengence. He wishes to sink the U-Boat that has floated up by means of any method imaginable to him, and sets about to make the courageous attempt, assisted by Louie, the islands Government Admistrator.
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- Never Say Never Again (1983) - VHS - (NTSC Format - USA & Canada)
Starring Sean Connery, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Barbara Carrera, Kim Basinger
In this remake and updated version of the 1965 "Thunderball," Bond, who has been primarily teaching for the last few years, is quite happily yanked out of semi-retirement to deal with the deadly SPECTRE organization's newest plan for the destruction of the planet. Agent Number 2, also known as Maximilian Largo, has managed to steal two cruise missiles armed with nuclear warheads, and Agent Number 1, Blofeld, has threatened to explode them in areas with large populations if a huge, and almost impossible, ransom demand from the NATO countries is not met.
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- Pirates (1986) - VHS - (NTSC Format - USA & Canada)
Starring Walter Matthau, Cris Campion, Damien Thomas
Roman Polanski's homage/parody to the swashbuckling adventure films of the 1930s and 1940s, with Walter Matthau as the peg-legged pirate captain who, along with his handsome sidekick, is captured by the captain of a Spanish galleon.
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- Popeye (1980) - VHS - (NTSC Format - USA & Canada)
Starring Robin Williams, Shelley Duvall
The comic strip and cartoon hero, Popeye, comes to life in Robert Altman's film adaptation of the adventures of the Spinach munchin' sailor. But Altman's shenanigans transpire before Popeye declares his love for Olive and discovered his affinity for Spinach. After he's thrown from his ship during a storm, Popeye finds refuge in a quaint seaside town. There he rents a room from the Oyls and meets their daughter Olive. She is engaged to Captain Bluto, a bully and ruffian who is in charge of collecting taxes for the mysterious Commandant. Popeye, who was orphaned at an early age, is now searching for his missing father. What he doesn't realize is that the shipwreck has brought him unexpectedly close to his final destination.
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- Raise The Titanic (1980) - VHS - (PAL Format - Europe)
Starring Jason Robards, Richard Jordan (I), Anne Archer, Alec Guinness
The American military have a experimental defense system that requires an extremely rare mineral in order to work. Investigations prove that the only known source of this mineral is in the Soviet Union, but it is known that around the turn of the century a miner exported some of the mineral. Hopes are dashed when it is learned that he transported the mineral about the Titanic, which struck an iceberg and sank without a trace. But perhaps the Titanic can be salvaged....
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- Shout At The Devil (1976) - VHS - (PAL Format - Europe)
Starring Roger Moore, Lee Marvin
This 70s artefact hammers elements of The African Queen to suit the personalities of a pair of veterans who were enjoying brief periods of big-screen stardom at the time. Smoothie English adventurer Roger Moore and whiskery American poacher Lee Marvin brawl and bond all over Mozambique, but finally get together to bash the Jerries by sinking a warship. This stodgy tosh encourages its stars to overact in an unwise attempt at projecting endearingly roguish charm which serves mainly to make them look like a pair of embarrassing old idiots marooned in the jungle
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- Sinbad And The Eye Of The Tiger (1977) - VHS - (PAL Format - Europe)
Starring Patrick Wayne, Jane Seymour
Sinbad must deliver a prince transformed into a monkey to the lands of the Ademaspai to restore him to his human form in time for his coronation. On the way he must contend with the evil witch Zenobia, her son and their magic, and several nasty-looking Ray Harryhausen beasties.
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- Sandbaggers Collection 1 - VHS - (NTSC Format - USA & Canada)
- Sandbaggers Collection 2 - VHS - (NTSC Format - USA & Canada)
Starring Roy Marsden, Ray Lonnen
THE SANDBAGGERS is a taut British spy series comprising twenty 50-minute episodes produced by Yorkshire Television, an ITV franchise (i.e., a commercial regional British television franchise). The stories centered on the elite covert operations section of British Intelligence, nicknamed the Sandbaggers, and their boss, Neil Burnside, himself a former Sandbagger but now having to battle more with British bureaucracy than with enemy agents. It was set contemporaneously with its original broadcast in the late '70s and early '80s when the Cold War still dominated the Western intelligence agenda.
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- The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) DVD - (Region 1 - USA & Canada)
- The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) VHS - (PAL Format - Europe)
Starring Roger Moore, Barbara Bach, Richard Kiel
The best of the James Bond adventures starring Roger Moore as tuxedoed Agent 007, this globe-trotting thriller introduced the steel-toothed Jaws (played by seven-foot-two-inch-tall actor Richard Kiel) as one of the most memorable and indestructible Bond villains. Jaws is so tenacious, in fact, that Moore looks genuinely frightened, and that adds to the abundant fun. This time Bond teams up with yet another lovely Russian agent (Barbara Bach) to track a pair of nuclear submarines that the nefarious Stromberg (Curt Jürgens) plans to use in his plot to start World War III. Featuring lavish sets designed by the great Ken Adam (Dr. Strangelove), The Spy Who Loved Me is a galaxy away from the suave Sean Connery exploits of the 1960s, but the film works perfectly as grandiose entertainment. From cavernous undersea lairs to the vast horizons of Egypt, this Bond thriller keeps its tongue firmly in cheek with a plot tailor-made for daredevil escapism.
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- The Tragedy of Flight 103 (1990) - VHS - (NTSC Format - USA & Canada)
Starring Ned Beatty, Peter Boyle
On December 21, 1988, Pan Am flight 103, a Boeing 747 carrying 259 people on a London-JFK flight, exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all passengers, plus 11 people on the ground. Now that we know flight 103 was brought down by a bomb, this movie shows, several years after the event, the threats of Pan Am safety and the spirit of vengeance from the Middle East after an Iran Air airbus is brought down by mistake by an American missile in 1988, leading finally to the transfer of a bomb disguised as a radio at Frankfurt, then on to flight 103.
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- Voyage (1993) - VHS - (PAL Format - Europe)
Starring Rutger Hauer, Eric Roberts
Morgan and Catherine Norvell have their future plans ready. In Monte Carlo, their sailboat is stocked. From there they are going to sail to Malta and live on the boat for a year. They have bought some real estate with an old ruin of a hotel on it, which they are going to rebuild. A few days before they are about to start, they meet Gil and Ronnie Freeland. They would give anything to join them for a couple of days on the sea, and no sooner said than done, all four of them are enjoying the sweet life on the boat. The Norvells soon discover that it was a big mistake to invite them on board...
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- Zeppelin (1971) VHS - (NTSC Format - USA & Canada)
- Zeppelin (1971) VHS - (PAL Format - Europe)
Starring Michael York, Elke Sommer
The outbreak of World War I places Scots officer Geoffrey Richter-Douglas in an uncomfortable position. Although his allegiance is to Britain, his mother was from an aristocratic Bavarian family, and he spent his summers in Germany as a child. When Geoffrey is approached by a German spy who offers him a chance to defect, he reports the incident to his superiors, but instead of arresting the spy they suggest that he accept her offer--and become an Allied agent. In Germany, among old friends, Geoffrey discovers that loyalty is more complicated than he expected, especially when he finds himself aboard the maiden voyage of a powerful new prototype Zeppelin, headed for Scotland on a secret mission that could decide the outcome of the war.
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