Customer Reviews:
Simply Stunning.......2007-07-24
A R1 bargain featuring two of the greatest "documentary" films ever made from a 28 year old who was ahead of his time.
Utilising the docu-drama technique prevalent today,Watkins made Culloden(1964)a biting critique of the last battle fought on British soil based on John Prebble's classic book.The treatment is dazzling,historical balance and judgement seem well presented and the battle scenes for a low budget enterprise are well done and stylishly contemporary.
War Game(1965)notoriously banned for over 20 years after the Labour Government of the time suppressed it as being against the public interest with the aid of its producers- the spineless BBC.That said, I found it mesmerising and chilling in equal measure over 40 years later so god knows what the population of the day in the grip of the cold war would of made of seeing the probable fallout from a nuclear attack in their living room.
In 49 minutes,Watkins achieves more than dramas such as Threads and The Day After to name but two by detailing established facts and govt planning. By holding them up to the mirror of public scrutiny we find them fatally flawed- were the public really going to believe that hiding under a table would reduce their exposure to radiation.
Vital and brilliant work from a true genius who never recovered from the War Game debacle.A shame because Broomfield, Moore et al are not in his league.
Product Description
Step into a galaxy far, far away .... Relive your favourite moments from the entire Star Wars saga and experience the films like never before in this Trivial Pursuit DVD game. See classic Star Wars scenes and galactic conflicts, while your favourite Star Wars episodes come to life on your screen!
Customer Reviews:
Star Wars Trivial Pursuits.......2007-01-15
Good fun for anyone whose into Star Wars, although the questions can be very specific, only the die hard fans would get some of the random character names. In general anyone whose seen all the films will enjoy the game. From questions like, 'which ship makes this noise' to ' guess the character in carbonite' its a well put together game with many great features. The only real criticism is the cheesiness of some of the general american public who are obviously Star Wars fans, acting out guess the scene in their own bizarre fashion! Still a good all round game though and definitely worth playing!
Customer Reviews:
Another one way overdue for R2 release.......2008-02-16
I've given four stars to it based on distant memory only, but I know it gripped me when I saw it last, yonks ago. I would love the chance to buy it and then re-rate it, but I can't imagine it would be downgraded, even though I am an extremely hard marker. Yes, Steiger was the stand out thing in it, as he so often is in movies he's in. It is worth owning for his charisma alone. So, please studios, release this DVD very soon on Region 2 so us Brits and Europeans can marvel at this dark thriller.
An astonishing performance from Rod Steiger.......2004-03-26
Rod Steiger at the height of his powers creates a tension that builds throughout the film. Based on the Boston Strangler this movie stands up to repeated viewing if only for Steiger's Macbeth speach. A truly remarkable movie from a remarkable and sadly uner rated actor.
Amazon.co.uk Review
Based on the best-selling book by Michael Foreman, War Game is the award-winning animated story of three English boys who leave their idyllic country lives to fight in the trenches of World War One. During a ceasefire on Christmas Day 1914, as if by a miracle, a soccer match is started between the Germans and the English soldiers, fulfilling a long-held dream of the three protagonists to one day play football for England. This powerful, moving story for the whole family features the voice of Kate Winslet, among others.
Customer Reviews:
Desperately disappointing.......2006-08-27
War Game is a desperately disappointing animated adaptation of Michael Foreman's excellent children's picture book about the Christmas Truce of 1914. Unfortunately, in the hands of the Snowman team it's all just too nice and safe for the respite to have any power, and the loss of the haunting ending from the book (where the hero's body slowly vanishes under falling snow) in favour of something less upsetting to the kiddies renders it all even more so what: only the beautiful yet quietly devastating closing lines of narration truly work. Terrible performances from many of the voice cast, too. At least at 29 minutes it's brief.
A must for everyone.......2005-07-30
I cannot rate this film highly enough. I happened to catch it by chance when it was shown on Christmas Day a few years ago and I was mesmerised. It is heartbreakingly poignant. It is described as a children's film but it doesn't shy away from the brutality of war at all and it is certainly not just for children. It may be an animation but it will make you think about the futility of war, whatever your age. Please buy this wonderful film for yourselves and your children.
Amazon.co.uk Review
Before Harrison Ford assumed the mantle of playing Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan hero in Patriot Games, Alec Baldwin took a swing at the character in this John McTiernan film and hit one to the fence. If less instantly sympathetic than Ford, Baldwin is in some respects more interesting and nuanced as Ryan, and drawing comparisons between both actors' performances can make for some interesting post-movie discussion. That aside, The Hunt for Red October stands alone as a uniquely exciting adventure with a fantastic co-star: Sean Connery as a Russian nuclear submarine captain attempting to defect to the West on his ship. Ryan must figure out his true motives for approaching the US. McTiernan (Predator, Die Hard) made an exceptionally handsome movie here with action sequences that really do take one's breath away. --Tom Keogh
Customer Reviews:
Get your money's worth!.......2008-02-14
I never tire of watching this DVD. I hate that expression favourite movie of all time. But if it is a film you watch again and again and enjoy everytime, does that not make it a special favourite? The actors are brilliant, the story is brilliant and the whole thing is very true to the original book, which in itself is a marvellous read. (I would recommend reading it) So I would say to you, buy this DVD, you will really get your money's worth from it!
the hunt is on.......2007-11-15
this is easily the best Tom Clancy adapt by far, Patriot Games is good. But no way near to this. Don't be fooled by the seventeen year age, the effects... there were EFFECTS?! This is definatley one for the boys. A true modern classic!
A BRILLIANT ADAPTION.......2007-08-16
This is easily one of my top ten favorite movies of all time, just because it's so flawless. I mean, yes, there are plenty of entries on the 'goofs' page for it, but I mean as far as character, plot, and overall structure of the story. Maybe Tom Clancy is solely responsible for that and maybe he isn't (I've still never read the book), but I must've watched this movie over a dozen times since I bought it a few years back, and it keeps getting better every time I see it.
It's the subtle touches, really. The way Greer gently moves his hands over to Ryan's when Ryan is laying into a U.S. General with a little too much gusto. Or the way Ryan has an entire conversation about a stuffed bear-- it's not relevant to the plot, but it fleshes out the characters and the real lives they all have beyond just the events shown in the movie. Or the Russian/English transition that was particularly ingenious, so much so that it was badly copied years later in "The Mummy Returns." Isn't imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, after all? ...
For a time I really admired director John McTiernan, because this film, along with "Die Hard" and "Predator" did such an excellent job of creating a real literary world, with tension and compelling action/character, and if there were any holes, he did such a great job of covering them that you never noticed. After I watched any of these three films, I felt like I had just read a really great adventure novel. Of course, I don't think McTiernan has made a great movie since these three, so I have no idea WHAT happened. From Medicine Man to Rollerball, he clearly has lost his edge somewhere along the way.
But this film is just so utterly enjoyable, and was cast perfectly. I watched whichever was the next Jack Ryan movie (with Harrison Ford) when it came out, but wasn't overly impressed... this is the one that will always do it for me, with such a great mixture of bewilderment and determination on Alec Baldwin's face at any given time. This may have been the peak for Clancy, McTiernan and the submarine genre all at once, and hey, I can't complain. One flawless movie is better than ten mediocre ones.
Give me a ping Vasily, one ping only........2006-11-07
Widely recognised as having the worst Russian accent ever, Sean Connery stars in this cold war movie as Captain Marko Ramius, commander of a Soviet missile submarine the "Red October". The central premise of the movie is as it says on the label, the hunt for the ballistic missile submarine, a submarine whose commander has gone renegade and threatens to launch his nuclear missiles at America. The US Navy are searching for them as is the Russian Red Banner Fleet, all with orders to sink the submarine.
One man believes that Ramius and his hand picked officers are trying to defect to escape to the west. That man is Jack Ryan, an analyst for the CIA. It is up to Jack to contact Ramius and warn him, but can he make himself understood in time? Will the Red October see the West intact?
One of the all time great Cold War movies with some of the worst accents imaginable - yes worse than Tom Cruise in Far and Away. The story is based on Tom Clancy's masterpiece of the same name. A believable tale executed well and replete with excitement and pragmatic poignancy regarding the cold war.
A definite must for the collection.
Classic Written all over!.......2006-07-07
I love this film to bits, and that was since watching it on a years old, dodgy VHS recording. That was when I decided to buy the DVD and add it to my collection. It's an old Paramount DVD, so it's good because it has the film, audio and chapter selection. Short and simple, no extras, documentaries etc. which you only ever watch once and then forget.
It's another one of these films, like Event Horizon (Paramount), where you know pretty much all of the actors in it. This one has some of my favourites (Sam Neill, Sean Connery, James Earl Jones and Stellan Skarsgard). As for the story, well it's fantastic and gets you engrossed in what you are watching. Personally, I was cheering for Captain Tupolev right at the very end but I had no hope with that of course. If you're into Soviet patriotism, then this may shift you a little because of the defection. This storyline in fact was so good I really found myself wishing I was a KGB agent on the Red October and stopped Ramius from hauling the poor little sub into a country it didn't want to go to.
I love a film that keeps you on the edge. I recommend it for anyone who likes Soviet-American set stories and enjoys submarine films. Don't wash it away if you didn't like K19 Widowmaker or Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (even though I like them both), this is different!
Customer Reviews:
'Cowards?' A Moot Point.......2006-09-21
I found all the episodes, had some merit, unlike 'Inspector Morse,' where I found certain episodes distasteful. War Games, being one of the best. The reviewer who thought, that 'War Games' and 'The Funk Hole,', could have been on one DVD, made a valid point, also. It is easy to criticize those who used the "Funk Hole,' when one has not been involved directly in war. It is easy to criticize also, the collaborators, when Britain was never occupied, by a ruthless enemy. In any case every soldier, friend or foe, was somebody's son. Note the businessman in another episode, who bribed a magistrate to exempt his son, influenced by the horrors of World War 1, inter alia.
If Britain, France, and others, had not been so vindictive towards The Central Powers, particularly Germany, after World War 1. Hitler might never have come to power.
I agree with Foyle, that murder of any human being, was just as deserving of investigation, although there was a war on. Thinking otherwise, was akin to 'Nazi Philosophy.'
Expensive But Worth It.......2004-05-08
I really don't see why these two episodes of Foyle's War need a DVD each, when it would clearly be possible to fit them on one disc, but be that as it may, this set is a delight. Both of my favourite episodes from the second four episode season of Foyle's War! In general I like Foyle's War for its atmospheric evocation of aspects of life on the home front during World War Two. Often these are aspects that we would perhaps rather forget: duplicity, paranoia, cowardice, greed; but it brings the period alive in a way that more ordinary dramas bent on portraying every 40's Briton as a hero do not. They are rather good murder mysteries too, I've never yet spotted the whole story before the end, they've always managed to keep a surprise in store.
In War Games we see a businessman trying to play on both sides of the war, a burglar attemoting to play it straight and spies everywhere, complicating everyone's games.
The Funk Hole deals with a rest home for cowards trying to avoid the privations the war, a gang stealing precious rationed food, and a mysterious allegation that Foyle himself is a coward guilty of sedition.
Customer Reviews:
A provocative, historically significant classic.......2004-02-08
Invasion USA is essentially the grand-daddy of all nuclear war movies, a remarkable film released in 1953 that almost certainly proved frightening to movie audiences of that era. Nowadays, the film exudes an aura of campiness and, depending on one's political viewpoint, draws either laughs or respect (and sometimes both). Invasion USA is definitely a Cold Warriors movie, an unforgettable piece of cinematic propaganda that turned its spotlights clearly on the threat of the Red menace. Making liberal use of stock footage from World War II, this movie not only offers a vision of Communist invasion but explains why such an invasion might succeed, thus rallying the American people not to retreat into post-war isolationism and materialism. The price of freedom is eternal vigilance, and this is the message Invasion USA conveyed rather impressively.
I happen to think this movie is brilliant. I was born in 1970, and I knew the fear of nuclear war as a child. For those living in the 1950s, the fear of nuclear was an even more pervasive threat - as was Communism. I still hate Communism with every fiber of my being, and for me personally the Cold War will not end until the number of Communists in the world falls all the way to zero. The generation coming of age today does not truly know the gnawingly pervasive threat of intercontinental nuclear war nor do today's youth remember a world in which the USSR not only existed but cast dark shadows across many parts of the world. To many today, the Red Scare conjures up comical images of a fanatical Joseph McCarthy and the John Birch Society looking for Communists under rocks and park benches. Invasion USA will thus strike many viewers today as rather silly, but I regard this as, to some degree, an educational film that offers an insightful look into the American mind of the 1950s. Certainly, the characters are rather two-dimensional, the dialogue is unintentionally funny on several occasions, and the ending is likely to produce a few groans among modern audiences, but the film's theme and message is not only historically informative but still, in the broadest sense, relevant and instructive.
The setup and "kicker" plot twist at the end may well leave one with a bad taste in his/her mouth initially, but Invasion USA is still capable of resonating over time in the minds of those who see it. It is really an unusual film in more ways than one. Not only does it offer a frightening vision of America subjugated by an unnamed yet ruthless and easily identifiable enemy, it assigns the blame for this possible future defeat on a populace of men and women too concerned with their own lives and desires to look out for the interests of the nation. One of the characters in the film, for example, is a wealthy tractor manufacturer who just turned down a government request to produce needed military tanks, putting profit above patriotism. Complacency and the voluntary wearing of blinders among a population sick of world wars is shown to be the weakest link in America's contemporary defense. Everybody complains about taxes, concentrates solely on their own needs, and goes about his/her life pretending that America could never possibly be attacked - script writer Robert Smith clearly communicated the dangerous vulnerability implicit in such a worldview. Invasion USA is a clarion call to a prosperous people courting danger by avoiding a frightening truth. The film was amazingly effective in delivering this crucial and timely warning to its audience. The same message applies in our own world; while the threat comes from a different source, only a vigilant and cooperative attitude among the American people can safeguard our freedoms from those who wish to destroy us.
Clearly, Invasion USA was a success, one which soon led to similar films built around the horrifying threat of nuclear war. The movie earned more than one million dollars - not too shabby for a film shot in the course of only seven days on a budget of one hundred twenty seven thousand dollars. Stock footage from World War II makes up some 30% of the film. Fictional news broadcasts explaining the progress (or, more correctly, lack of progress) in the war leave room for only so much actual human interaction and dialogue - this is perhaps fortunate, as the characters are less than captivating in and of themselves. Still, there is enough of a personal dimension to the tragedy unleashed on film to really bring Invasion USA's message across to the sympathetic viewer. It's impossible not to laugh at parts of this movie all these decades later, but there is an eternally valuable message - exaggerated as it may be - here that all freedom-loving men and women would do well to ponder over.
Customer Reviews:
Poetic depiction of childhood.......2007-02-21
Also known under the french title "Jeux Interdits" this is a touching look at childhood innocence from Rene Clement.Brigitte Fossey is superb as little Paulette orphaned during WW2 who finds herself living with a farming family and forming a friendship with the youngest son Michel (Georges Poujouly). Together they hide from the traumas around them by building a animal cemetery.Beautifully realised - a little gem.
DVD:
- The Wiggles: Wiggle Time [2000] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Thomas And Friends - Bumper Party Collection
- Thomas Edison
- Thunderbirds: Collection Part 2 (Vols 5 - 8 ) [1965]
- Thunderbirds: Volume 7 [1965]
- Tractor Tom - Haywire Hens And Other Stories [2003]
- Transformers - Original Series - Vol. 3 [1986]
- Trapped [1949] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Tribulation [2000] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
- Trumpet Of The Swan [2000]
DVD List
DVD
![The War Game/Culloden [1964] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31RTRX5MR6L.jpg)
All Action & Adventure
|
Action & Adventure
|
Categories
|
DVD
|
Video
![The Gladiators [1969] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000EMHWV4.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
The Gladiators [1969] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
![La Commune [2001] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000GYI3JA.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
La Commune [2001] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
![The Freethinker [1994] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000Q7ZO58.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
The Freethinker [1994] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
![Punishment Park [1971] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B0007UQ2BY.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
Punishment Park [1971] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
![Edvard Munch [1976] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000E1NX90.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
Edvard Munch [1976] (REGION 1) (NTSC)
![The War Game/Culloden [1964] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://www.bill88.com/buy.gif)
![The War Game / Culloden [1964]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21Z6QF7H4DL.jpg)
![Maya Deren's Experimental Films [2002]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000PY3XE6.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Edvard Munch [Masters of Cinema] [1976]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000UM1GC4.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Threads [1984]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B0009S9LNK.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Trivial Pursuit Interactive DVD Game - Star Wars Saga Edition [Interactive DVD]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31ZmO3XByiL.jpg)
![Trivial Pursuit Interactive DVD Game - Lord of the Rings Trilogy Edition [Interactive DVD]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000I2J038.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Tom Baker's Ultimate Sci-Fi Quiz - Interactive DVD Game [Interactive DVD] [2006]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000I8OCKS.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Trivial Pursuit: Totally On-Screen [Interactive DVD]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000ILZENY.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![The Ultimate Sci-Fi TV Quiz [Interactive DVD]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000I8OOZ6.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![No Way to Treat a Lady [1968] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/2151RBG7BCL.jpg)
![Fuzz [1972] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B0000542CG.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Baby, The Rain Must Fall [1965] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B0001A9I52.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Seven Thieves [1960] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000P6XPXS.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![The Laughing Policeman [1973] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B0006HBZBK.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![The Hospital [1971] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00009Y3QE.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![36 Hours [1964] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31%2B30t4ThaL.jpg)
![Hell to Eternity [1960] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000NTPG66.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Beachhead [1954] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00079ZAC2.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Bataan [1943] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/0792841654.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Submarine Base [1943] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B0001DMWUC.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Sailor of the King [1953] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000MGBLJG.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![The Hunt for Red October [1990] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21ZTDA8TPQL.jpg)
![Patriot Games Special Edition [1992]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00009P9KC.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Clear And Present Danger Sp Edition [1994]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00009P9KD.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Crimson Tide [1995]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000HWXQL6.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![K-19 : The Widowmaker [2002]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00006FMG6.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Crimson Tide [1995]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000060NYL.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Foyle's War - War Games / The Funk Hole [2002]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/217YR8DE5DL.jpg)
![Foyle's War - Fifty Ships / Among the Few [2002]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000163WKS.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Foyle's War - A Lesson In Murder / Eagle Day [2002]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000085RNB.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Foyle's War - The German Woman / The White Feather [2002]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000085RN6.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Invasion USA [1952] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://www.germanelectronics88.com/noimage.gif)
![Forbidden Games [1952] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/21PW4GQRYSL.jpg)
![The Wide Blue Road [1956] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00007ELEH.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Le Trou [1960] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00005NFZA.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![The Burmese Harp [1956] (REGION 1) (NTSC)](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B000M2E3FY.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
![Fists In The Pocket [1966]](http://images-eu.amazon.com/images/P/B00004CXDP.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg)
