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The Early Films Of Peter Greenaway—Volumes 1 & 2

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Greenaway has more than once been known to disappear up his own aesthetics, but this collection of his short films plays to his strengths, tolerating little tedium. Disc One includes six films exploring his constant themes, from A Walk Through H (numbers, maps, the afterlife) to Windows (37 people fall through windows to their deaths). Disc Two features the obsessive Vertical Features Remake and The Falls (92 mini-biogs), and is?if you're in the mood?monumental like video art pioneer Bill Viola.

Greenaway has more than once been known to disappear up his own aesthetics, but this collection of his short films plays to his strengths, tolerating little tedium. Disc One includes six films exploring his constant themes, from A Walk Through H (numbers, maps, the afterlife) to Windows (37 people fall through windows to their deaths). Disc Two features the obsessive Vertical Features Remake and The Falls (92 mini-biogs), and is?if you’re in the mood?monumental like video art pioneer Bill Viola.

Anger Management

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Misconceived pairing of Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson, but still curiously enjoyable and often funny. Sandler underplays (though not to the extent he did in Punch-Drunk Love) as a geek wrongly diagnosed with rage problems; Jack's the quack assigned to set him straight. Comic twist being: Jack's borderline deranged. While some scenes misfire, there's usually a weird (intentional or not) tension between the two, each straining to pull off this unlikely marriage. They just about do.

Misconceived pairing of Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson, but still curiously enjoyable and often funny. Sandler underplays (though not to the extent he did in Punch-Drunk Love) as a geek wrongly diagnosed with rage problems; Jack’s the quack assigned to set him straight. Comic twist being: Jack’s borderline deranged. While some scenes misfire, there’s usually a weird (intentional or not) tension between the two, each straining to pull off this unlikely marriage. They just about do.

A Cat In The Brain

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Beginning as an eye-popping cavalcade of dismemberment, cannibalism and pigs gorging on human offal, this quickly turns into an occasionally amusing attack on the critics of director Lucio Fulci's work, with Fulci himself starring as a horror director wondering whether extended exposure to fake gore has turned him psycho-killer. Demented.

Beginning as an eye-popping cavalcade of dismemberment, cannibalism and pigs gorging on human offal, this quickly turns into an occasionally amusing attack on the critics of director Lucio Fulci’s work, with Fulci himself starring as a horror director wondering whether extended exposure to fake gore has turned him psycho-killer. Demented.

The Nightmare Before Christmas

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Dark, hugely inventive '93 animation from Tim Burton, possibly much too spooky for kids (or probably not, the sick little psychos). The Pumpkin King of Halloween tries to co-opt Christmas; the voices of Catherine O'Hara, Pee-Wee Herman and other disreputable types ooh and aah. Dazzling, macabre and faintly mad, an Oscar nominee for visual effects.

Dark, hugely inventive ’93 animation from Tim Burton, possibly much too spooky for kids (or probably not, the sick little psychos). The Pumpkin King of Halloween tries to co-opt Christmas; the voices of Catherine O’Hara, Pee-Wee Herman and other disreputable types ooh and aah. Dazzling, macabre and faintly mad, an Oscar nominee for visual effects.

The Warrior Special 2-Disc Edition

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Never released theatrically in the UK, this operatic epic about a Korean peace delegation struggling to make it home from remotest China encompasses swordplay, romance, brooding landscapes and thousands of extras, yet doesn't quite add up to the crowd-pleaser it ought to be. Zhang Ziyi of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon fame is on hand as a princess who hooks up with the mostly Korean cast.

Never released theatrically in the UK, this operatic epic about a Korean peace delegation struggling to make it home from remotest China encompasses swordplay, romance, brooding landscapes and thousands of extras, yet doesn’t quite add up to the crowd-pleaser it ought to be. Zhang Ziyi of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon fame is on hand as a princess who hooks up with the mostly Korean cast.

Magic And Loss

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Deciding that if you're going to do something, you may as well do it properly, Yoko Ono has not only created a visual accompaniment to 20 classic Lennon songs, but also the ultimate tribute to her husband. She's opened up the archives to present a collage of material which is, in parts, familiar, b...

Deciding that if you’re going to do something, you may as well do it properly, Yoko Ono has not only created a visual accompaniment to 20 classic Lennon songs, but also the ultimate tribute to her husband.

She’s opened up the archives to present a collage of material which is, in parts, familiar, but which offers a rich new spread.

Live and documentary film, home-movie footage, newsreel, press cuttings, photographs, drawings, writings and images of the personal belongings and routine minutiae of Lennon’s life?the matchbook from his favourite Caf

Love—The Forever Changes Concert

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Back in January, Arthur Lee sold out two nights at the Royal Festival Hall. They were magical shows, Lee performing '67's classic Forever Changes in its entirety, complete with horns and strings. Some complained on the night about the sound balance, but there's no problem with the quality here. Lee's in celebratory mood, as he and his backing band LA psychedelicists Baby Lemonade storm through classics like "Bummer In The Summer" in a blur of brass and strings. Superlative stuff.

Back in January, Arthur Lee sold out two nights at the Royal Festival Hall. They were magical shows, Lee performing ’67’s classic Forever Changes in its entirety, complete with horns and strings. Some complained on the night about the sound balance, but there’s no problem with the quality here. Lee’s in celebratory mood, as he and his backing band LA psychedelicists Baby Lemonade storm through classics like “Bummer In The Summer” in a blur of brass and strings. Superlative stuff.

Depeche Mode—101

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In June 1988, Depeche Mode took their stadium techno roadshow to ground-breaking heights by filling the 65,000-capacity Pasadena Rose Bowl near LA. Captured by the legendary rock-doc maestro DA Pennebaker and his long-term partner Chris Hegedus, the show became a fine concert film, incorporating reality TV-style coverage of fans travelling to the gig. Repackaged with extra footage, audio commentaries and updated interviews, it's a handsome historical record of Wagnerian electro-pop and hair gel abuse.

In June 1988, Depeche Mode took their stadium techno roadshow to ground-breaking heights by filling the 65,000-capacity Pasadena Rose Bowl near LA. Captured by the legendary rock-doc maestro DA Pennebaker and his long-term partner Chris Hegedus, the show became a fine concert film, incorporating reality TV-style coverage of fans travelling to the gig. Repackaged with extra footage, audio commentaries and updated interviews, it’s a handsome historical record of Wagnerian electro-pop and hair gel abuse.

Brian Wilson Presents Pet Sounds—Live In London

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In January 2002, Brian Wilson and a nine-piece band, including The Wondermints and Carl Wilson-alike Jeffrey Foskett, performed The Beach Boys' 1966 album Pet Sounds in its entirety, and in sequence, over six nights at London's Royal Festival Hall. And now the best of those concerts have been remixed and remastered in 5.1 surround sound. This means you can now own the original LP in mono and stereo, the Pet Sounds Sessions box set, the Pet Sounds Live CD from 2002, and the Pet Sounds Live DVD!

In January 2002, Brian Wilson and a nine-piece band, including The Wondermints and Carl Wilson-alike Jeffrey Foskett, performed The Beach Boys’ 1966 album Pet Sounds in its entirety, and in sequence, over six nights at London’s Royal Festival Hall. And now the best of those concerts have been remixed and remastered in 5.1 surround sound. This means you can now own the original LP in mono and stereo, the Pet Sounds Sessions box set, the Pet Sounds Live CD from 2002, and the Pet Sounds Live DVD!

TV Roundup

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You can't move these days for quality American TV dramas?Six Feet Under, The Badge, Boomtown, 24, the increasingly amazing Alias?so it says a lot for the enduring genius of David Chase's Mob epic that it remains the most compelling of the current generation of TV imports. Series Four was as frightening and funny as anything that preceded it, and was especially notable for its treatment of the darkening relationship between James Gandolfini and Edie Falco. The episode where Tony snuffs Ralphy is unbelievable.

You can’t move these days for quality American TV dramas?Six Feet Under, The Badge, Boomtown, 24, the increasingly amazing Alias?so it says a lot for the enduring genius of David Chase’s Mob epic that it remains the most compelling of the current generation of TV imports. Series Four was as frightening and funny as anything that preceded it, and was especially notable for its treatment of the darkening relationship between James Gandolfini and Edie Falco. The episode where Tony snuffs Ralphy is unbelievable.

Suspicious River

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The controversial director of Kissed, Lynne Stopkewich, throws the fearlessly versatile Molly Parker into another harrowing role. Here she's running a seedy Nowheresville motel, selling her body to guests and drifters. She wants out, and the latest stranger may have the ticket. But in this director's world, nothing's tender and most things are brutal. Mesmeric and coldly Lynch-like.

The controversial director of Kissed, Lynne Stopkewich, throws the fearlessly versatile Molly Parker into another harrowing role. Here she’s running a seedy Nowheresville motel, selling her body to guests and drifters. She wants out, and the latest stranger may have the ticket. But in this director’s world, nothing’s tender and most things are brutal. Mesmeric and coldly Lynch-like.

Castle In The Sky

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Magic spells, a crystal pendant and eco-friendly robots all figure in this animated new age fable from Hayao Miyazaki (creator of Spirited Away) as two children search for a legendary flying city. Not a patch on the director's later work, and the comedy material is tiresome; still, it's streets ahead of Disney, and the flying sequences are just incredible.

Magic spells, a crystal pendant and eco-friendly robots all figure in this animated new age fable from Hayao Miyazaki (creator of Spirited Away) as two children search for a legendary flying city. Not a patch on the director’s later work, and the comedy material is tiresome; still, it’s streets ahead of Disney, and the flying sequences are just incredible.

The Recruit

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Al Pacino is in workaday Mad Mentor mode (see Donnie Brasco and Devil's Advocate) as the CIA talent scout who lures the brooding, intense? Colin Farrell into the fold while director Roger Donaldson tries to rekindle memories of his definitive '80s paranoia thriller No Way Out by inserting a screamingly obvious twist into a 'mole in the agency' finale.

Al Pacino is in workaday Mad Mentor mode (see Donnie Brasco and Devil’s Advocate) as the CIA talent scout who lures the brooding, intense? Colin Farrell into the fold while director Roger Donaldson tries to rekindle memories of his definitive ’80s paranoia thriller No Way Out by inserting a screamingly obvious twist into a ‘mole in the agency’ finale.

Shout At The Devil

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A handsomely filmed 1976 comedy adventure from a Wilbur Smith novel set in Africa during WWI, Shout At The Devil fails to register. True Blue Brit Roger Moore hooks up with alcoholid Lee Marvin, and they take on the German Navy. Explosions follow. Marvin hams outrageously.

A handsomely filmed 1976 comedy adventure from a Wilbur Smith novel set in Africa during WWI, Shout At The Devil fails to register. True Blue Brit Roger Moore hooks up with alcoholid Lee Marvin, and they take on the German Navy. Explosions follow. Marvin hams outrageously.

Nowhere In Africa

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The 2003 Oscar-winner as Best Foreign Language Film, this sees a German-Jewish family flee to a farm in Kenya to escape the rise of Nazism. Naturally, problems abound as the rural life turns tough, relationships disintegrate, locusts swarm and so do anti-Semites. Viewed through a child's eyes, the importance of each event is intensified, making for a visually impressive and emotionally testing experience.

The 2003 Oscar-winner as Best Foreign Language Film, this sees a German-Jewish family flee to a farm in Kenya to escape the rise of Nazism. Naturally, problems abound as the rural life turns tough, relationships disintegrate, locusts swarm and so do anti-Semites. Viewed through a child’s eyes, the importance of each event is intensified, making for a visually impressive and emotionally testing experience.

Sympathy For Mr Vengeance

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This Korean thriller is arrestingly stylised, impeccably directed and occasionally very beautiful, but jeesh, it's nasty stuff. A deaf-mute tries to kidnap a rich man's daughter to pay for his sister's operation. Naturally, it all goes horribly wrong. The torture of a young woman with electrical cables and the blade attack on a family of organ traffickers are especially gruesome, but beyond that, there's a withering examination of urban alienation and loneliness at play.

This Korean thriller is arrestingly stylised, impeccably directed and occasionally very beautiful, but jeesh, it’s nasty stuff. A deaf-mute tries to kidnap a rich man’s daughter to pay for his sister’s operation. Naturally, it all goes horribly wrong. The torture of a young woman with electrical cables and the blade attack on a family of organ traffickers are especially gruesome, but beyond that, there’s a withering examination of urban alienation and loneliness at play.

Charlie’s Angels 2: Full Throttle

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With barely a nod to the notion of storyline, this is another loud, brash series of MTV sketches, big on energy, little on brain. Somehow the idea of three scantily-clad chicks getting along okay with each other is pitched as pop-feminist empowerment. Diaz, Barrymore and Liu kick ass and chew scenery; Demi Moore is freakish; the (great) soundtrack rides roughshod over everything. Candy floss.

With barely a nod to the notion of storyline, this is another loud, brash series of MTV sketches, big on energy, little on brain. Somehow the idea of three scantily-clad chicks getting along okay with each other is pitched as pop-feminist empowerment. Diaz, Barrymore and Liu kick ass and chew scenery; Demi Moore is freakish; the (great) soundtrack rides roughshod over everything. Candy floss.

Cowboy Bebop

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Feature-length spin-off from the Japanimated sci-fi TV show about a group of bounty hunters in the late 21st century. Here, they're battling renegade bio-terrorist commandos from Mars and a nanobyte virus. Innovative ideas and gizmos a-go-go, and though a tad predictable, its energy keeps you watching.

Feature-length spin-off from the Japanimated sci-fi TV show about a group of bounty hunters in the late 21st century. Here, they’re battling renegade bio-terrorist commandos from Mars and a nanobyte virus. Innovative ideas and gizmos a-go-go, and though a tad predictable, its energy keeps you watching.

Halloween—25th Anniversary Edition

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John Carpenter was 24 when he shot one of the most influential films in movie history in just 20 days, on a budget of just over $300,000, for the apparently meagre salary of $10,000, a cut of the profits and his name above the title. Looking back, a quarter of a century on, it was probably the best deal he ever made. After a faltering opening run, Halloween quickly became a critically acclaimed box-office smash that went on to gross over $50 million and spawned a raft of sequels and an entire industry of mostly inferior slasher movies. It also made Carpenter the hottest young director in Hollywood, although the relationship quickly soured after a series of costly flops. Halloween, of course, is a masterpiece of sustained tension and looming terror, notable for its pioneering use of Steadicam, brilliant simplicity?baby-sitters in peril!!?and the sheer audacity of the direction. There's plenty of violent incident, but no lashings of pointless gore or dripping guts. What Carpenter at his best did better than anyone was create atmospheres of dread in which lurked suggestions of even worse things to come. He kept you in a state of permanent fright, in other words. Genius.

John Carpenter was 24 when he shot one of the most influential films in movie history in just 20 days, on a budget of just over $300,000, for the apparently meagre salary of $10,000, a cut of the profits and his name above the title. Looking back, a quarter of a century on, it was probably the best deal he ever made. After a faltering opening run, Halloween quickly became a critically acclaimed box-office smash that went on to gross over $50 million and spawned a raft of sequels and an entire industry of mostly inferior slasher movies. It also made Carpenter the hottest young director in Hollywood, although the relationship quickly soured after a series of costly flops. Halloween, of course, is a masterpiece of sustained tension and looming terror, notable for its pioneering use of Steadicam, brilliant simplicity?baby-sitters in peril!!?and the sheer audacity of the direction. There’s plenty of violent incident, but no lashings of pointless gore or dripping guts. What Carpenter at his best did better than anyone was create atmospheres of dread in which lurked suggestions of even worse things to come. He kept you in a state of permanent fright, in other words. Genius.

Bowling For Columbine—Special Edition

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Corporate exploitation, US foreign policy, K-Mart, small-town rednecks, the NRA and Charlton Heston are all in the firing line as shaggy documentarian, and now best-selling author, Michael Moore tackles America's self-destructive gun culture. Mostly witty and irreverent, it's also sporadically profound?see the terrifying slow-mo security footage of the Columbine massacre and Chuck Heston's final broken and bewildered interview.

Corporate exploitation, US foreign policy, K-Mart, small-town rednecks, the NRA and Charlton Heston are all in the firing line as shaggy documentarian, and now best-selling author, Michael Moore tackles America’s self-destructive gun culture. Mostly witty and irreverent, it’s also sporadically profound?see the terrifying slow-mo security footage of the Columbine massacre and Chuck Heston’s final broken and bewildered interview.