Asher, Jane

Death at a Funeral

Though it doesn't hit the same comic heights as Bowfinger, Death at a Funeral is a fun little romp. Granted, not all of the characters are meant to be humorous, like Daniel (Matthew Macfadyen, Pride & Prejudice) and his wife, Jane (Keeley Hawes, Tristram Shandy), straight-faced foils for the more over-the-top performers. After Daniel's father passes away, the couple offers to host the funeral, so all his relatives descend on the family abode, including Daniel's estranged brother, Robert (Rupert Graves, V for Vendetta). The mood is already tense when their cousin, Martha (Daisy Donovan), arrives with her nervous fiancé, Simon (Alan Tudyk, Serenity). On the way over, Simon takes a Valium that's actually a hallucinogenic concoction cooked up by Martha's pharmacology student brother. By the time they arrive, Simon's inhibitions are gone with the wind. Other guests include Uncle Alfie (Peter Vaughn) and an uninvited American mourner (Peter Dinklage). By the end of the movie, one of these individuals will be dead. Though he's worked in the States for several decades, director Frank Oz was born in the UK, and Death at a Funeral feels like the work of a British filmmaker. As drawing room comedies go, it may not rival Arsenic and Old Lace, but it's still funnier than most. If the film has a flaw, it's one misjudged moment of scatological humor, which is sure to induce more cringes than giggles. Fortunately, it's over quickly, and Tudyk's hilarious performance provides ample compensation. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Beyond Death at a Funeral

More from Frank Oz

More British Comedies

More from MGM

Stills from Death at a Funeral

From acclaimed director Frank Oz (In & Out Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) comes "a fast furious and riotously funny farce" (Maxim) that'll have you dying with laughter!As the mourners and guests at a British country manor struggle valiantly to "keep a stiff upper lip" a dignified ceremony devolves into a hilarious no-holds-barred debacle of misplaced cadavers indecent exposure and shocking family secrets. Packed with extras including audio commentaries and an uproarious gag reel Death at a Funeral blows the lid off the proverbial coffin as "the film's delicious comic flourishes... sight gags slapstick flawless timing... are served up by an outstanding cast" (O The Oprah Magazine).System Requirements:Running Time: 91 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY/FAMILY GATHERINGS Rating: R UPC: 883904100287 Manufacturer No: M110028

Brideshead Revisited (25th Anniversary Collector's Edition)

Epic story of three decades of the life of a young man, Ryder (Irons), who meets the Marchmain family and becomes wrapped up in their lifestyle, but who eventually comes to accept his own fate.
Genre: Television
Rating: NR
Release Date: 10-OCT-2006
Media Type: DVD

Fill a bowl with alpine strawberries, break out the Château Lafite (1899, of course), and bask in this benchmark 1981 British miniseries based on Evelyn Waugh's classic novel. Adapted for the screen by John Mortimer (Rumpole of the Bailey), this impeccable, nearly 11-hour production mesmerized American viewers during the course of its PBS run in 1982. In his breakthrough role, Jeremy Irons stars as Charles Ryder, a disillusioned Army captain who is moved to reflect on his "languid days" in the "enchanted castle" that was Brideshead, home of the aristocratic Marchmain family, whose acquaintance Charles made in the company of an Oxford classmate, the charming wild child Sebastian. Anthony Andrews costars as the doomed Sebastian, whose beauty is "arresting" and "whose eccentricities and behavior seemed to know no bounds." The "entitled and enchanted" Sebastian takes Charles under his wing ("Charles, what a lot you have to learn"), but vows early on that he is "not going to let [Charles] get mixed up with [his] family." But mixed up Charles gets. He becomes a friend and confidante, not to mention a lover, to Sebastian's sister Julia (Diana Quick). Meanwhile, the self-destructive Sebastian's life spirals out of control. Brideshead Revisited boasts a distinguished ensemble, including Laurence Olivier in his Emmy Award-winning role as the exiled Lord Marchmain, Claire Bloom as Lady Marchmain, and the magnificent John Gielgud as Charles's estranged father. Grand locations and a haunting musical score make this a memorable revisit of an irretrievable bygone era. For those who scheduled their weeks around the original Monday-night broadcasts or those visiting Brideshead for the first time, this boxed set release will be, as Charles rhapsodizes at one point while strolling the castle grounds, "very near to heaven." --Donald Liebenson

Adventures of Robin Hood - Complete First Season

This classic television series ran from 1955 to 1960 featuring the tales of Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men. Richard Greene stars as our gallant hero who fought the forces of the evil Prince John his local official the Sheriff of Nottingham and any aristocrat or ne'er-do-well who threatened the common people and loyal subjects of King Richard. Robin and his band lived in the shelter of Sherwood Forest fighting their foes and hoping for the day when their beloved King Richard will return from the Crusades to rule once again.System Requirements:Running Time: 983 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS UPC: 683904505798 Manufacturer No: MV50579

The Masque of the Red Death / The Premature Burial

The Masque of the Red Death (1964) is Roger Corman's, and most people's, choice as the best of the Edgar Allan Poe pictures. Masque offers the expected creepy atmosphere and violence against peasants, plus metaphysical ponderings and pointed satanic cruelty. (Corman was operating as much under the influence of Ingmar Bergman as of Edgar Allan Poe.) Nicolas Roeg's color cinematography and Daniel Haller's elaborate production design would be stellar in any Hollywood A-movie; the mono-colored rooms of the prince's castle are a startling effect. Vincent Price is in fine fettle as Prince Prospero, the devil-worshipping sadist who throws lavish parties while the countryside is ravaged by the plague.

The Premature Burial (1962) substitutes Ray Milland in the usual Price role. He's a snarky landowner (with a sideline in art--dig those mod paintings) haunted by the fear of being buried alive. This single-minded focus limits the film, but it also adds to the smothering sense of anxiety that prevails throughout its unhealthy scenario. Luscious Hazel Court is Milland's new missus, and old-school cameraman Floyd Crosby proves his facility for photographing women in a classical style. Lots of cobwebs-on-candelabra in the customary Corman-Poe manner, with special emphasis on Milland's crypt, with its supposedly foolproof exit schemes. --Robert Horton

The Masque of the Red Death: Death and Debauchery reign in the castle of Prince Prospero (Vincent Price), and when it reigns... it pours! Prospero has only once excuse for his diabolical deeds--the devil made him do it! But when a mysterious, uninvited guest crashes his pad during a masquerade ball, there'll be hell to pay as the party atmosphere turns into a danse macabre!

The Premature Burial: Talk about a tortured artist! Oscar winner Ray Milland is Guy, a medical student and painter whose obsessive fear of being buried alive compels him to build himself a tomb with a view, equipped with everything he can think of to escape death. But it's when his long-suffering wife convinces him to destroy the tomb that he finds himself in the gravest danger!

The Buccaneers: The Complete Series

''Follow the adventures of Captain Dan Tempest, a former pirate pardoned by the King, now working for the Crown as a privateer. Captain Tempest sails the Caribbean, battling the Spanish that terrorize the shipping lanes, all the while he fights a constant battle in port with Lt. Beamish, the Crown-appointed deputy governor who doesn't agree with Tempest's way. Take yourself back to those days of yesteryear, where the open seas offered a lifetime of adventure and plenty of danger!

Specifications:

• Language: English
• Format:  3 DVD's, NTSC, Region 1
• Run Time: 19 hours 30 minutes
• Rating:  NR (Not Rated)

Included:


1. Buccaneers, The - Articles of War

With the food ship several weeks from arriving, the meat rations for New Providence have been limited to the sick and the children. The crew of "The Sultana" are tired of eating fish and wish to have some beef. The crew also is upset to learn the prisoners of war are receiving beef, leading some of the men to make plans for releasing the prisoners and pretending to be sick. Things don't go according to their plans and Tempest has to fix things right.

2. Buccaneers, The - Before the Mast

The Spanish blockcade of New Providence has made the food and gunpowder supplies dangerously low. A British ship is enroute to the island to re-supply the settlement and the Spanish captain "El Supremo" intends to stop it. The Spanish sneak aboard "The Sultana", Dan Tempest's ship, and set a fire that forces Tempest to run his ship aground on the beach. Will Tempest and his crew repair "The Sultana" in time to stop "El Supremo" from attacking the supply ship?

3. Buccaneers, The - Blackbeard

A new British governor arrives at the port of New Providence assigned the task of bringing law and order to the British colony. Authorized to grant pardons to any buccaneer

Alfie

In this extremely grim comedy, Michael Caine plays a ne'er-do-well who never does good. The rakish Alfie moves from woman to woman with the emotional maturity of Bill Clinton, and even less morality. Alternately talking up to the camera and talking down to his sexual conquests, Alfie maneuvers through the minefield of emotions by remaining aloof, until of course, he is left alone. A fine performance by Shelley Winters as the wealthy woman Alfie seeks to court rounds out this well-aimed attack on the lady's man lifestyle. Nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award. --James DiGiovanna

History at the Movies

Henry VIII and His Six Wives [Region 2]

Brideshead Revisited [Region 2]

The Stone Tape