Author: Competitions
To mark the release of The Proud Valley on 27th March, we’ve been given 3 copies to give away on Blu-ray.
David Goliath (Paul Robeson), a charismatic African-American stoker, washes up in a small Welsh village where he finds work alongside the miners down the pit. A competent singer, Goliath’s roaring voice soon draws the attention of the local choir master Dick Parry (Simon Lack: The Silver Darlings, Enemy at the Door) and his son Emlyn (Edward Chapman: Convoy, It Always Rains on Sunday), who have ambitions of winning the national choir contest.
Following a deadly explosion, the pits are closed, leaving the villagers out of work and struggling to make ends meet. Wanting to help the community that welcomed him so generously, David rouses a group of activists to march to London in the hope of reopening the mine in time to serve the...
To mark the release of The Proud Valley on 27th March, we’ve been given 3 copies to give away on Blu-ray.
David Goliath (Paul Robeson), a charismatic African-American stoker, washes up in a small Welsh village where he finds work alongside the miners down the pit. A competent singer, Goliath’s roaring voice soon draws the attention of the local choir master Dick Parry (Simon Lack: The Silver Darlings, Enemy at the Door) and his son Emlyn (Edward Chapman: Convoy, It Always Rains on Sunday), who have ambitions of winning the national choir contest.
Following a deadly explosion, the pits are closed, leaving the villagers out of work and struggling to make ends meet. Wanting to help the community that welcomed him so generously, David rouses a group of activists to march to London in the hope of reopening the mine in time to serve the...
- 3/27/2017
- by Competitions
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
MaryAnn’s quick take… Not alt-history but a true story from a Nazi-occupied English-speaking place, a hugely relevant reminder that resistance to injustice is an absolute imperative. I’m “biast” (pro): always desperate for movies about women
I’m “biast” (con): nothing
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
We seem to be enthralled at the moment by alt-history stories about Nazis in England and America: the just-wrapped SS-gb on the BBC, The Man in the High Castle on Amazon. Perhaps they’re expressions of relief, of how easily such things might have happened; more likely we fear that similar nightmares are starting to happen now under slightly different guises. Yet it seems we’ve almost forgotten that there actually was a Nazi occupation of English-speaking places in WWII: the Channel Islands, the British Crown dependences between England and France. We’ve almost forgotten because tales...
I’m “biast” (con): nothing
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
We seem to be enthralled at the moment by alt-history stories about Nazis in England and America: the just-wrapped SS-gb on the BBC, The Man in the High Castle on Amazon. Perhaps they’re expressions of relief, of how easily such things might have happened; more likely we fear that similar nightmares are starting to happen now under slightly different guises. Yet it seems we’ve almost forgotten that there actually was a Nazi occupation of English-speaking places in WWII: the Channel Islands, the British Crown dependences between England and France. We’ve almost forgotten because tales...
- 3/23/2017
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
Imposing stage and screen actor whose work ranged from Shakespeare to The Bill
The character actor Bernard Horsfall, who has died aged 82, appeared in television, films and on the stage for more than half a century. Tall, imposing and authoritative, he appeared in many of the major television series from Z Cars and Dr Finlay's Casebook to Casualty and The Bill, and in Doctor Who took no fewer than four roles.
In 1968 he played Lemuel Gulliver in The Mind Robber, where he was encountered by Patrick Troughton, the second Doctor, in the Land of Fiction. The following year he returned as a Time Lord in The War Games. In 1973, with Jon Pertwee now donning the time-traveller's cape, he played the Thai chieftain, Taron, in the six-part Planet of the Daleks. And finally, he was another Time Lord, Chancellor Goth, in the 1976 story The Deadly Assassin, famously battling with Tom Baker...
The character actor Bernard Horsfall, who has died aged 82, appeared in television, films and on the stage for more than half a century. Tall, imposing and authoritative, he appeared in many of the major television series from Z Cars and Dr Finlay's Casebook to Casualty and The Bill, and in Doctor Who took no fewer than four roles.
In 1968 he played Lemuel Gulliver in The Mind Robber, where he was encountered by Patrick Troughton, the second Doctor, in the Land of Fiction. The following year he returned as a Time Lord in The War Games. In 1973, with Jon Pertwee now donning the time-traveller's cape, he played the Thai chieftain, Taron, in the six-part Planet of the Daleks. And finally, he was another Time Lord, Chancellor Goth, in the 1976 story The Deadly Assassin, famously battling with Tom Baker...
- 1/31/2013
- by Michael Coveney
- The Guardian - Film News
Stalwart of the TV police series Juliet Bravo
Noel Collins, who has died of cancer aged 74, was a linchpin of the police series Juliet Bravo throughout its entire six-series run. As Sergeant George Parrish, he was familiar for his "Yes, ma'am" response to consecutive uniformed inspectors Jean Darblay (Stephanie Turner) and Kate Longton (Anna Carteret). Parrish and his male colleagues were seen adjusting to working with a female boss in the BBC programme, which was launched a decade before the more hard-edged Prime Suspect – although four months after ITV's The Gentle Touch, which starred Jill Gascoine as a detective inspector.
The pace of life was slow in Juliet Bravo, whose title came from a police call-sign. The series (1980-85), set in the fictional Lancashire town of Hartley and described by one television critic as "Dixon in skirts", was also notable for being the flipside to its creator Ian Kennedy-Martin's previous,...
Noel Collins, who has died of cancer aged 74, was a linchpin of the police series Juliet Bravo throughout its entire six-series run. As Sergeant George Parrish, he was familiar for his "Yes, ma'am" response to consecutive uniformed inspectors Jean Darblay (Stephanie Turner) and Kate Longton (Anna Carteret). Parrish and his male colleagues were seen adjusting to working with a female boss in the BBC programme, which was launched a decade before the more hard-edged Prime Suspect – although four months after ITV's The Gentle Touch, which starred Jill Gascoine as a detective inspector.
The pace of life was slow in Juliet Bravo, whose title came from a police call-sign. The series (1980-85), set in the fictional Lancashire town of Hartley and described by one television critic as "Dixon in skirts", was also notable for being the flipside to its creator Ian Kennedy-Martin's previous,...
- 9/11/2011
- by Anthony Hayward
- The Guardian - Film News
Actor best known as the private detective Frank Marker in the television series Public Eye
For 10 years, the actor Alfred Burke, who has died aged 92, starred as the downbeat private detective Frank Marker in the popular television series Public Eye (1965-75). The character was intended as a British rival to Raymond Chandler's American gumshoe Philip Marlowe. Tough, unattached and self-sufficient, Marker could take a beating in the service of his often wealthy clients without quitting. "Marker wasn't exciting, he wasn't rich," Burke said. "He could be defined in negatives."
An ABC TV press release introduced the character as a "thin, shabby, middle-aged man with a slightly grim sense of humour and an aura of cynical incorruptibility. His office is a dingy south London attic within sound of Clapham Junction. He can't afford a secretary, much less an assistant, and when he needs a car, he hires a runabout from the local garage.
For 10 years, the actor Alfred Burke, who has died aged 92, starred as the downbeat private detective Frank Marker in the popular television series Public Eye (1965-75). The character was intended as a British rival to Raymond Chandler's American gumshoe Philip Marlowe. Tough, unattached and self-sufficient, Marker could take a beating in the service of his often wealthy clients without quitting. "Marker wasn't exciting, he wasn't rich," Burke said. "He could be defined in negatives."
An ABC TV press release introduced the character as a "thin, shabby, middle-aged man with a slightly grim sense of humour and an aura of cynical incorruptibility. His office is a dingy south London attic within sound of Clapham Junction. He can't afford a secretary, much less an assistant, and when he needs a car, he hires a runabout from the local garage.
- 2/19/2011
- by Dennis Barker, Michael Coveney
- The Guardian - Film News
Going into it, I was really afraid that the second series of Wish Me Luck would be much like that of Enemy at the Door: incomprehensible unless you'd seen series 1. Luckily, that was not the case with Wish Me Luck, which follows British women undercover as secret agents in France during World War II. And, unlike the similarly-set Enemy at the Door, Wish Me Luck is immediately watchable. Series 2, which hits DVD on January 25, is surprisingly great.
That's not to say that some of the plots aren't carried over from the first season (also available from Acorn Media). Kate Buffery's character Liz Grainger has demons in her past left over from the first season, but those are only really evident from distant glares that overcome her in nearly every scene she's in. It's possible to work it out from context clues, but there's obviously an entire season's worth...
That's not to say that some of the plots aren't carried over from the first season (also available from Acorn Media). Kate Buffery's character Liz Grainger has demons in her past left over from the first season, but those are only really evident from distant glares that overcome her in nearly every scene she's in. It's possible to work it out from context clues, but there's obviously an entire season's worth...
- 1/11/2011
- by Sam McPherson
- TVovermind.com
Perhaps it's my unconditional love for Quentin Tarantino's most recent epic, but I found a lot reminiscent of Inglourious Basterds when I watched Enemy at the Door. Of course, it's the other way around -- the ITV drama outdates Basterds by a good three decades. But Tarantino fans will get a kick out of the subdued tension that permeates through much of Enemy at the Door, which is also set in World War II.
As of this writing, I had not seen series one of the drama, leaving me quite confused with the season opener, "Call of the Dead." That's quite possibly a good thing for those who have seen the first series, though -- there isn't any talking down to the audience. So much of today's television is spent on catch-ups that it takes a good ten minutes for the story to continue; with this series, viewers either...
As of this writing, I had not seen series one of the drama, leaving me quite confused with the season opener, "Call of the Dead." That's quite possibly a good thing for those who have seen the first series, though -- there isn't any talking down to the audience. So much of today's television is spent on catch-ups that it takes a good ten minutes for the story to continue; with this series, viewers either...
- 12/21/2010
- by Sam McPherson
- TVovermind.com
January 4, 2011 will be a day filled with despicable people. That's all thanks to Acorn Media, who is releasing the shows The Guilty and Dirty Tricks on DVD on the same day. The shows both feature protagonists who are ultimately horrible people. The Guilty's Steven Vey and Dirty Tricks's nameless protagonist are both simply awful people who do terrible things for money. The only difference? Dirty Tricks is funny.
The show struck me immediately as being similar to Desperate Housewives, though from a male perspective and much more focused. The show stars Doc Martin's Martin Clunes as an unsuccessful Oxford graduate teacher who becomes friends with a rich couple. This friendship becomes incredibly different when he begins having an affair with the wife, Karen (Lindsay Duncan). Soon, both Karen and her husband meet sudden - and Our Hero claims accidental - demises. But is he telling the truth? As he...
The show struck me immediately as being similar to Desperate Housewives, though from a male perspective and much more focused. The show stars Doc Martin's Martin Clunes as an unsuccessful Oxford graduate teacher who becomes friends with a rich couple. This friendship becomes incredibly different when he begins having an affair with the wife, Karen (Lindsay Duncan). Soon, both Karen and her husband meet sudden - and Our Hero claims accidental - demises. But is he telling the truth? As he...
- 12/21/2010
- by Sam McPherson
- TVovermind.com
The Guilty is what Shakespeare would have written if the Bard had written for British television. The 1992 miniseries, starring Foyle's War's Michael Kitchen, is a tour-de-force of television. It's gripping from beginning to end. It was so gripping, in fact, that I deprived myself of precious sleep in order to finish watching it all the way through (I'm still depriving myself of sleep, even now, because I'm so enthusiastic to write this review).
I didn't expect much upon receiving my copy of the series. The packaging isn't quite noticeable at all. In fact, it's rather plain: the only real color in the image comes from Michael Kitchen's stern eyes. The rest is faded black and white, providing a very bleak image that might put off those who aren't familiar with the miniseries (or those who haven't at least seen the 2000 film adaptation starring Bill Pullman). However, the austere...
I didn't expect much upon receiving my copy of the series. The packaging isn't quite noticeable at all. In fact, it's rather plain: the only real color in the image comes from Michael Kitchen's stern eyes. The rest is faded black and white, providing a very bleak image that might put off those who aren't familiar with the miniseries (or those who haven't at least seen the 2000 film adaptation starring Bill Pullman). However, the austere...
- 12/21/2010
- by Sam McPherson
- TVovermind.com
DVD Playhouse December 2010
By
Allen Gardner
America Lost And Found: The Bbs Story (Criterion) Perhaps the best DVD box set released this year, this ultimate cinefile stocking stuffer offered up by Criterion, the Rolls-Royce of home video labels, features seven seminal works from the late ‘60s-early ‘70s that were brought to life by cutting edge producers Bert Schneider, Steve Blauner and director/producer Bob Rafelson, the principals of Bbs Productions. In chronological order: Head (1968) star the Monkees, the manufactured (by Rafelson, et al), American answer to the Beatles who, like it or not, did make an impact on popular culture, particularly in this utterly surreal piece of cinematic anarchy (co-written by Jack Nicholson, who has a cameo), which was largely dismissed upon its initial release, but is now regarded as a counterculture classic. Easy Rider (1969) is arguably regarded as the seminal ‘60s picture, about two hippie drug dealers (director Dennis Hopper...
By
Allen Gardner
America Lost And Found: The Bbs Story (Criterion) Perhaps the best DVD box set released this year, this ultimate cinefile stocking stuffer offered up by Criterion, the Rolls-Royce of home video labels, features seven seminal works from the late ‘60s-early ‘70s that were brought to life by cutting edge producers Bert Schneider, Steve Blauner and director/producer Bob Rafelson, the principals of Bbs Productions. In chronological order: Head (1968) star the Monkees, the manufactured (by Rafelson, et al), American answer to the Beatles who, like it or not, did make an impact on popular culture, particularly in this utterly surreal piece of cinematic anarchy (co-written by Jack Nicholson, who has a cameo), which was largely dismissed upon its initial release, but is now regarded as a counterculture classic. Easy Rider (1969) is arguably regarded as the seminal ‘60s picture, about two hippie drug dealers (director Dennis Hopper...
- 12/20/2010
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
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