Jones, Freddie

The Count of Monte Cristo

Edmund Dantes becomes the Count of Monte Cristo after his escape from prison. He vows to search for justice and vengeance upon his enemies.
Genre: Feature Film-Action/Adventure
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 14-OCT-2003
Media Type: DVD

Revenge rarely gets sweeter than it does in The Count of Monte Cristo, a rousing, impeccably crafted adaptation of Alexandre Dumas père's literary classic. Filmed countless times before, the story is revitalized by director Kevin Reynolds (rallying after Waterworld) and screenwriter Jay Wolpert, who wisely avoid the action-movie anachronisms that plagued 2001's dubious Dumas-inspired The Musketeer. Leading a superior cast, Jim Caviezel (Frequency) expresses a delicate balance of obsession and nobility as Dantes, the wrongly accused Frenchman who endures 13 years of prison and torment, then uses a hidden treasure to finance elaborate vengeance on those who wronged him. Memento's Guy Pearce is equally effective as Dantes's betraying nemesis, and Richard Harris tops his Harry Potter wizardry with a humorous turn as Dantes's fellow prisoner and mentor. Filmed on stunning locations in Ireland and Malta, The Count of Monte Cristo easily matches Rob Roy for intelligent swashbuckling entertainment. --Jeff Shannon

Dune (Extended Edition)

Paul Atreides, son of Duke Leto, along with the native inhabitants of the planet Arrakis (Dune), struggle to overthrow the terrible Baron Harkonnen and his family to control the mind-altering spice produced by giant sand worms of Arrakis.
Genre: Feature Film-Action/Adventure
Rating: PG13
Release Date: 31-JAN-2006
Media Type: DVD

Even more than most of David Lynch's deliberately bizarre and idiosyncratic movies, Dune is a "love-it-or-hate-it" affair. An ambitious, epic, utterly mind-boggling--and, let's admit it, all-out weird--adaptation of Frank Herbert's classic science fiction novel, Dune remains one of the most controversial films in the director's exceedingly provocative career. The story (if Dune can be said to have just one story) is complex and convoluted in the epic tradition; it has

Kyle MacLachlan as Paul Usul Muad'Dib Atreides

something to do with political intrigue and a planet that is home to a precious spice and gigantic sand worms. Think Shakespeare's Henry IV with a dash of Tremors, and set in another galaxy. But despite plenty of strangely whispered voice-overs that explain the characters' thoughts (and endlessly detailed exposition), storytelling is not really among the film's strong points. There are, however, a lot of memorably fantastic/grotesque images, an extraordinary cast, and a soundtrack featuring Toto. I told you it was weird. Among the stars are Kyle MacLachlan, José Ferrer, Dean Stockwell, Brad Dourif, Sting, Kenneth McMillan, Patrick

Sting as Feyd-Rautha

Stewart, Sean Young, and Linda Hunt. --Jim Emerson

DVD features
Melange fans have a lot to be excited about with this impressive edition of Dune, though the "Extended Edition" label is a bit misleading. If you are expecting the mythic 4 hour "David Lynch preferred" version that is rumored to be sitting in a vault, don't get your hopes up. This isn't it. In an attempt to quickly sober spice-fueled giddy fans, producer Raffaella De Laurentiis (daughter of Dino De Laurentiis) immediately reveals in the 'Deleted Scenes' introduction that the rumored 4 hour version is just that; a rumor. What this DVD set does contain is the 2 Hour 17 Minute original theatrical release digitally remastered, available for the first time in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and 5.1 surround sound. The presentation on this edition is a drastic improvement from the original letterboxed release. On the flipside of the DVD

Knife fight!

is the alternate 2 hour 57 minute version cut for television. As many fans know, this 'extended' version was disowned by Lynch, who insisted his name be replaced by that famous Hollywood pseudonym "Alan Smithee;" the name used by directors whose film was taken away and recut against their wishes. There is some new material in the 14 minutes of deleted scenes offering a bit more background into the Bene Gesserit sisterhood, the Kwisatz Haderach prophecy and the Fremen culture and their struggle. All other extras focus on the international production crew of Dune including the design team, special effects, and short documentaries on the miniature models and wardrobe designs. Disappointingly, there are no appearances in the bonus features by any of the original cast or Lynch himself. However, many of the production crew members talk openly about working with David Lynch and his artistic involvement in the visual process. To cap it off, this edition comes in a very stylish and sturdy DVD tin that opens like a keep case. --Rob Bracco

Further Explore the World Of Dune

Dune (Dune Chronicles, Book 1)	Dune Messiah (Dune Chronicles, Book 2)	Children of Dune (Dune Chronicles, Book 3)
Sci-Fi Action Films on DVD	The Dune TV Series	David Lynch Essentials

Cold Comfort Farm

When orphan Flora Poste descends on her eccentric relatives at Cold Comfort Farm, she finds nothing but chaos and sees it her duty to restore order.
Genre: Feature Film-Comedy
Rating: PG
Release Date: 1-JUL-2003
Media Type: DVD

This hilarious spoof on British costume dramas based on great literature stars Kate Beckinsale (Much Ado About Nothing) as a strong-willed, young woman named Miss Flora Poste, who finds herself orphaned and without means in the 1930s. Moving in with some half-savage relatives on a country farm, Flora is hardly daunted by their primitivism (as she might have been in a novel by Thomas Hardy) but instead takes charge and imposes hygiene, order, and good manners on the dirty, superstitious lot. John Schlesinger directs this brisk, infectious adaptation of the 1932 novel by Stella Gibbons. Beckinsale is wonderful, and the rest of the savvy, inspired cast perfectly send up a host of literary clichés. --Tom Keogh

Krull

There's something inescapably appealing about this camp 1983 Star Wars-meets-The Lord of the Rings knockoff that encourages the viewer to overlook its many silly shortcomings and simply enjoy the fun. James Horner's rollicking music score certainly helps, as does the epic-scale CinemaScope photography of the breathtaking Italian landscapes. The costumes and extravagant production design are also great to look at, and much of Derek Meddings's visual effects work still looks striking. Freddie Jones stands head and shoulders above the rest of the cast as the wise Ynyr, while the two romantic leads, Ken Marshall as Prince Colwyn and Lysette Anthony (with an overdubbed American voice) as Princess Lyssa, are mere formalities on which to hang the plot. The all-British supporting cast includes Todd Carty, Bernard Bresslaw, Robbie Coltrane, Liam Neeson, and the gorgeous Francesca Annis. If you feel the need for some escapist sword-and-sorcery fantasy, then Krull delivers in full measure. --Mark Walker

In a fantasy adventure set in a world peopled by creatures of myth and magic a prince embarks on a quest to find the magical Glaive and then rescues his young bride. Colwyn (Ken Marshall) is the leader of a mythical sword-and-sorcery group in pursuit of "the Beast" that has kidnaped his fiance Lyssa (Lysette Anthony).System Requirements:Running Time: 120 Min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: SCI-FI/FANTASY Rating: PG UPC: 043396058903 Manufacturer No: 05890

Ladies in Lavender

A couple of old Dames make the slender story of Ladies in Lavender surprisingly moving. Janet and Ursula (Maggie Smith and Judi Dench), a pair of elderly sisters living on the Cornish coast, discover a young Polish man named Andrea (Daniel Bruhl, Goodbye Lenin!) washed ashore and barely alive. They nurse him back to health and discover that he's a talented violinist--a fact also recognized by a mysterious young woman (Natascha McElhone, The Truman Show), who may woo Andrea away from them. The core of the movie is not its plot but the skillful and delicate play of emotions underlying how the sisters treat Andrea; Ursula, a spinster, finds herself sliding from maternal affection to an embarrassing but irresistible schoolgirl crush. Ladies in Lavender captures something that few contemporary movies bother to consider: Older men and women are as capable of passion and desire as the young, but the young carelessly (and sometimes cruelly) disregard the old. In the hands of Dench (Shakespeare in Love, Iris) and Smith (California Suite, Gosford Park)--as well as David Warner (Time After Time) as a bitter doctor--Ladies in Lavender becomes a bit like a violin concerto itself: Discreet and subtle, but finding in the smallest movements a richness of feeling. --Bret Fetzer

The Black Cauldron (Disney Gold Classic Collection)

The Libertine

Johnny Depp stars as the decadent John Wilmot the second Earl of Rochester. The film follows the Earl s adventures in London from his passionate romance with a young actress to the writing of a scurrilous play which blisteringly and bawdily lampoons the very monarch who commissioned it Charles II leading to the Earl s banishment and eventual downfall.System Requirements:Running Time: 114 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: R UPC: 796019794060 Manufacturer No: 79406

The beautifully sculpted face of Johnny Depp fits right in with this masterpiece of design. The Libertine--filmed in a grainy, color-muted chiaroscuro--captures the lush costumes, extravagant decor, and remarkable filth of Restoration England. John Wilmot, the Earl of Rochester (Depp, Pirates of the Caribbean, Ed Wood), warns the audience at the very beginning of the film that they will not like him. From there, he treats his wife cruelly, drinks to relentless excess, abuses his friendships, and generally wallows in dissipation, much to the dismay of King Charles II (John Malkovich, Dangerous Liaisons), who hopes that Rochester will write a play glorifying his reign. But Rochester finds his true inspiration (and the movie comes to life) when he sees a young actress named Lizzie Barry (Samantha Morton, Minority Report, Morvern Callar). Rochester sets out to make her the greatest actress of their time--and she, with some reluctance, submits to his teaching. The weakness of The Libertine is not that Rochester is unlikable; it's that he doesn't want to do anything. Barry galvanizes the movie because she burns with ambition, but Rochester's only apparent aim in life is an agonizingly slow self-destruction. Still, The Libertine has lurid Saturnalian visions, Morton is superb, Malkovich gives a typically insidious turn, and Depp, as always, finds moments of sad poetry in the bitterest of speeches. --Bret Fetzer

Fall of Eagles

Fall of Eagles is the BBC's stunning 1974 dramatisation of the declining years and final collapse of three of the most powerful European dynasties the Hapsburgs Romanovs and Hohenzollerns between the mid-19th century and the end of the First World War. The series focuses on the tempestuous reigns of Emperor Franz Josef of Austria-Hungary (Laurence Naismith) Tsar Nicholas II of Russia (Charles Kay - below) and Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany (Barry Foster - below). Other key players include Tsarina Alexandra (Gayle Hunnicutt - below) Lenin (Patrick Stewart) Princess Vicky (Gemma Jones) and Fritz (Denis Lill).System Requirements:Running Time: 710 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 741952635697 Manufacturer No: KOCDV6356

Young Sherlock Holmes

This 1985 adventure directed by Barry Levinson (Rain Man) and written by Chris Columbus (Gremlins) may not have much to do with the Sherlock Holmes of Arthur Conan Doyle's invention. But it is a delightful and somewhat unexpected combination of exciting elements: Victorian-era, foggy-London mystique, Gothic horror, and Indiana Jones-like exotica. Nicholas Rowe plays Holmes as a schoolboy at a boarding academy for young men. Paired with the owlish, reticent young Watson (Alan Cox), Holmes embarks on the solution of a mystery that involves a hallucinatory and lethal drug, and a religious cult celebrating ancient Egyptian rites of mummification. Levinson makes handsome and crisp work of this Steven Spielberg production, without a trace of the treacle that often found its way into other Spielbergian projects at the time (The Goonies). Rowe is wonderfully convincing as a teen incarnation of the Great Detective, and while Cox mostly maintains Hollywood's traditionally unflattering idea of Watson, he does bring warmth and comedy to the role. The cast includes Freddie Jones as an eccentric inventor, Anthony Higgins as the villain, and Sophie Ward as Holmes's love interest. --Tom Keogh

The NeverEnding Story III - Escape From Fantasia