Daneman, Paul

Zulu

"Sentries have come in from the hill, sir.... They report Zulus to the southeast. Thousands of them." One of the best pure action movies ever made, this rousing adventure recounts the true story of a small 18th-century regiment of British troops (including a very blue-blooded turn by a young Michael Caine) endlessly besieged by an seemingly unceasing number of fierce attackers. Although the basic premise has since been executed with more technical skill and panache (most notably by Aliens and Michael Mann's The Last of the Mohicans), it's unlikely that anything will ever top the utter spectacle and, above all, sheer unbelievable size of the combat scenes that almost wholly comprise the last half of this film. A gloriously exhilarating essential for anyone looking to get lost in the heat of cinematic battle, topped off with a healthy dose of gallows humor. Not to be missed. Richard Burton voiced the stirring narration. Zulu was followed by a slightly dry but still recommended prequel, Zulu Dawn. --Andrew Wright

A towering cinematic achievement. An astonishing true story. And "a battle film in the grand tradition of Four Feathers and Gunga Din" (Time)! Filmed against the exotic locales of Africa and starring Stanley Baker (The Guns of Navarone), Jack Hawkins (Lawrence of Arabia) and Academy AwardÂ(r) winner* Michael Caine (in his first major motion picture role), Zulu is a thrilling account of one of history's fiercest battles! As a terrifying war chant echoes across the majestic African plains, 4000 Zulu tribesmen rise up from the tall grassthat hides them. Furiously beating their swords against their shields, the warriors descend upon a small garrison of English soldiers. "Usuto! Usuto! (Kill! Kill!)," they cry as they launch into a battle with the vastly outnumbered English militia who must manifest incredible skill and incomparable bravery just to survive. *1999: Supporting Actor, The Cider House Rules; 1986: Supporting Actor, Hannah and Her Sisters

Tears in the Rain

Oh! What a Lovely War

A movie about the First World War based on a stage musical of the same name portraying the "Game of War" and focusing mainly on the members of one family (last name Smith) who go off to war. Much of the action in the movie revolves around the words of the marching songs of the soldiers and many scenes portray some of the more famous (and infamous) incidents of the war including the assassination of Duke Ferdinand the Christmas meeting between British and German soldiers in no-mans-land and the wiping out by their own side of a force of Irish soldiers newly arrived at the front after successfully capturing a ridge that had been contested for some time. Plot Keywords: Anti War Independent Film Based On PlaySystem Requirements:Run Time: 144 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: MUSICALS/MUSICALS UPC: 097360690149 Manufacturer No: 069014

It's a product of its Vietnam era just as surely as Robert Altman's M*A*S*H, and like that film Oh! What a Lovely War is ostensibly about a different war. Based on a celebrated anti-war stage piece produced by Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop, the film chronicles the various madnesses of the First World War. Along with vignettes involving the members of the fictional Smith family, the movie lands its punches with a two-pronged attack: by using the songs of the war, mostly patriotic; and by using the real-life words of various figures from WWI. You can see how this would have fit a stylized stage show; in the more literal, realistic realm of film, it mostly comes across as heavy-handed pretentiousness. Richard Attenborough, who would later explore the lives of Gandhi and Chaplin, first made his way to the director's chair here, and he enlisted a staggering who's who of his fellow British actors for roles in the large ensemble: Olivier, Gielgud, and Richardson among them. John Mills plays the most bull-headed of the generals, blithely measuring out yards of territory gained by the thousands of casualties involved. The songs are a historically fascinating lot, mostly given an ironic or sinister treatment in this incarnation, as jolly patriotic tunes that mask the utter carnage at the front. Among the high points is Maggie Smith singing (well, declaiming) an ode to recruitment, promising war as a grand adventure. The blending of arch content with Attenborough's realistic staging of trench warfare just doesn't take, but what does hit home are the actual quotes and the statistics of killing; World War I set a bloody standard for sheer, blind slaughter. --Robert Horton

Tears In the Rain

How I Won the War [Region 2]

Zulu (Michael Caine)

"Sentries have come in from the hill, sir.... They report Zulus to the southeast. Thousands of them." One of the best pure action movies ever made, this rousing adventure recounts the true story of a small 18th-century regiment of British troops (including a very blue-blooded turn by a young Michael Caine) endlessly besieged by an seemingly unceasing number of fierce attackers. Although the basic premise has since been executed with more technical skill and panache (most notably by Aliens and Michael Mann's The Last of the Mohicans), it's unlikely that anything will ever top the utter spectacle and, above all, sheer unbelievable size of the combat scenes that almost wholly comprise the last half of this film. A gloriously exhilarating essential for anyone looking to get lost in the heat of cinematic battle, topped off with a healthy dose of gallows humor. Not to be missed. Richard Burton voiced the stirring narration. Zulu was followed by a slightly dry but still recommended prequel, Zulu Dawn. --Andrew Wright

Hold the Dream

The love of her life was there all along, she just didn't know it. This is the sequel to the outstanding A Woman of Substance, which was a sort of Upstairs Downstairs meets Gone with the Wind. As sequels go, it's a little like the sequel to Gone with the Wind: it's not devoid of merit, but it's not as captivating or enthralling as the original. In Hold the Dream, Paula Fairley (Jenny Seagrove) inherits and runs the retail empire built by her grandmother, Emma Harte (Deborah Kerr). This somewhat lackluster tale of dutiful, hard-working Harte versus undeserving, greedy heirs set in the rather sterile world of 1980s New York City penthouses and English country manors lacks both its precursor's production budget and inspiring poor-girl-makes-good conviction.

On the other hand, the love story between Paula and Shane (7th Heaven's Stephen Collins) manages to transcend the miniseries' weaknesses. Overcoming obstacles, tragedy, and deceit on numerous fronts, Paula remains driven by her sense of duty and business acumen. Finally learning that she cannot live on work and her grandmother's dream alone, Paula slowly warms to the possibility of true love. Her most loyal supporter and lifelong friend Shane helps her see that her own dreams can be the most rewarding. Wonderful performances by Seagrove and Collins make Hold the Dream a heartwarming tale about a powerful businesswoman learning to look beyond the bottom line and accept the love of a man who has loved her in silence her whole life. --Tara Chace

Time Without Pity

Tension rises to a fevered pitch in Joseph Losey's ingenious thriller about an alcoholic who has one day to save his son from the gallows. The distinguished cast features Michael Redgrave (The Browning Version) in the lead role and Leo McKern (A Man for All Seasons) as the demented millionaire who will hide the truth at any cost. Moody cinematography by Oscar®-winner Freddie Francis and dynamic imagery create an atmosphere thick with panic. The first film Losey made under his own name after McCarthy-era blacklisting, Time Without Pity is both an impassioned plea against apathy and a shining example of film noir.


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Judith Krantz's Till We Meet Again

Sweeping from the risqué music halls of Paris to Hollywood in the '30s, to World War II in England to the sun-drenched vineyards in France's Champagne region, Till We Meet Again tells the story of three extraordinary generations of women who risked their lives for love and country. Starring an all-star cast including Hugh Grant and Courteney Cox Arquette.

1989 • Color • 230 Minutes

How I Won the War