Sink the Bismarck!
by Lewis Gilbert (II)
from 20th Century Fox
Sink the Bismarck! recounts one of the most famous battles in the history of naval warfare. Shot in semidocumentary style, the black-and-white film covers all sides in the famous hunt for the powerful German warship that terrorized the sea for eight days. The story and combat are rendered as faithfully as possible to C.S. Forester's novel. There are a few historical errors and some other minor liberties taken for dramatic license, both of which the viewer will easily be able to overlook. The only major addition to historical fact is a fictional romance between leads Kenneth More and Dana Wynter, which never gets in the way of the action. Edward R. Murrow cameos, and one of the founding fathers of movie magic, Howard Lydecker, assists with the special effects. The film is a compelling wartime drama that deserves a viewing. --Mark Savary
It's spring 1941, and Great Britain is the only country in Europe yet to be defeated by the Nazi army, but all of that could change soon. The Nazis have launched their juggernaut battleship, the Bismarck, to close off British supply lines and ultimately invade England. A counterstrike is ordered, and with an arsenal of ships at their command, Royal intelligence officers Jonathan Shepard (Kenneth More) and Anne Davis (Dana Wynter) fight desperately to distroy the Bismarck.
The Spy Who Loved Me
by Lewis Gilbert (II)
from MGM (Video & DVD)
The best of the James Bond adventures starring Roger Moore as tuxedoed Agent 007, this globe-trotting thriller introduced the steel-toothed Jaws (played by seven-foot-two-inch-tall actor Richard Kiel) as one of the most memorable and indestructible Bond villains. Jaws is so tenacious, in fact, that Moore looks genuinely frightened, and that adds to the abundant fun. This time Bond teams up with yet another lovely Russian agent (Barbara Bach) to track a pair of nuclear submarines that the nefarious Stromberg (Curt Jürgens) plans to use in his plot to start World War III. Featuring lavish sets designed by the great Ken Adam (Dr. Strangelove), The Spy Who Loved Me is a galaxy away from the suave Sean Connery exploits of the 1960s, but the film works perfectly as grandiose entertainment. From cavernous undersea lairs to the vast horizons of Egypt, this Bond thriller keeps its tongue firmly in cheek with a plot tailor-made for daredevil escapism. --Jeff Shannon
Nobody does it better than Bond, and he proves it once more in this explosively entertaining adventure that takes him from the Egyptian pyramids to the ocean floor to a gravity-defying mountaintop ski chase! Roger Moore brings inimitable style to Agent 00
The Lavender Hill Mob
by Charles Crichton
from Starz / Anchor Bay
Sir Alec Guinness received his first Oscar ® nomination as Best Actor for his delightful performance as Henry Holland a meek clerk who devises an ingenious plan to rob a fortune in gold bullion from his own bank. But when Henry and his odd accomplice (Stanley Holloway of MY FAIR LADY fame) melt the gold into souvenir Eiffel Towers to smuggle into France their perfect crime becomes a disastrous caper of Cockney crooks customs chaos and an ill-timed group of British schoolgirls all leading to some of the most hilarious and unexpected surprises in criminal history. Sidney James (of the CARRY ON series) and a young Audrey Hepburn co-star in this beloved Ealing Studios hit directed by Charles Crichton (A FISH CALLED WANDA THE TITFIELD THUNDERBOLT) that won the 1951 Academy Award ® for Best Screenplay. THE ALEC GUINNESS COLLECTION presents this screen legend's classic comedies including KIND HEARTS & CORONETS THE LADYKILLERS THE MAN IN THE WHITE SUIT and THE CAPTAIN'S PARADISE all still considered to be among the greatest comedies ever made. Includes a 4-Page Collector's BookletSystem Requirements:Starring: Alec Guinness Stanley Holloway Sidney James Director: Charles Crichton Producer: Michael Balcon Running Time: 81 Min.Format: DVD MOVIE
Britain's Ealing Studios was at the top of its game when this classic comedy was released in 1951--one of the all-time best crime-caper comedies and a quintessential example of the witty and subtly subversive Ealing style. Alec Guinness stars as a mild-mannered transporter of gold bullion who has spent 20 years moving gold bars to banks in an armored truck. Then one day he simply decides to help himself to a million British pounds' worth of the gold, but to pull off the heist he enlists and old friend (Stanley Holloway), who sculpts and manufactures paperweights. Once the gold is hijacked, it's molded into souvenir miniatures of the Eiffel Tower and shipped off to Paris, right under the noses of British customs officials on alert for the missing gold. Panic ensues when six of the gold miniatures are mistakenly sold to a group of English schoolgirls, and just when the amateur thieves think they've finally pulled off their heist without a hitch ... well, let's just say this classic comedy has a few climactic tricks up its sleeve. Guinness is in peak form here, and director Charles Crichton (who scored a late-career hit with A Fish Called Wanda over a quarter-century later) keeps the action moving with impeccable British efficiency. Along with The Ladykillers and The Man in the White Suit (both starring Guinness), The Lavender Hill Mob represents the golden age of British comedy, and it's still delightfully entertaining. --Jeff Shannon
The Alec Guinness Collection (Kind Hearts and Coronets / The Lavender Hill Mob / The Ladykillers / The Man in the White Suit / The Captain's Paradise)
by Charles Crichton
from Starz / Anchor Bay
Five of the British film industry's best-loved comedies in one boxed set makes The Alec Guinness Collection absolutely essential for anyone who has any passion at all for movies. It contains Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949), The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), The Man in the White Suit (1951), The Captain's Paradise (1953) (only available in this set), and The Ladykillers (1955). The Ealing Studio's greatest comedies captured the essence of post-war Britain, both in their evocation of a land once blighted by war but now rising doggedly and optimistically again from the ashes, and in their mordant yet graceful humor. They portray a country with an antiquated class system whose crumbling conventions are being undermined by a new spirit of individual opportunism. In the delightfully wicked Kind Hearts and Coronets, a serial killer politely murders his way into the peerage; in The Lavender Hill Mob a put-upon bank clerk schemes to rob his employers; The Man in the White Suit is a harshly satirical depiction of idealism crushed by the status quo; in The Captain's Paradise, a ferryboat captain complements his proper British wife with a fiery Spanish wife; while The Ladykillers mocks both the criminals and the authorities with its unlikely octogenarian heroine Mrs. "lop-sided" Wilberforce. Many factors contribute to these films' success--including fine music scores from composers such as Benjamin Frankel (Man in the White Suit), Malcolm Arnold (Captain's Paradise), and Tristram Cary (The Ladykillers); positively symphonic sound effects (White Suit); marvelously evocative locations (the environs of King's Cross in Ladykillers, for example); and writing that always displays Ealing's unique perspective on British social mores ("All the exuberance of Chaucer without, happily, any of the concomitant crudities of his period")--yet arguably their greatest asset is Alec Guinness, whose multifaceted performances are the keystone upon which Ealing built its biting, often macabre, yet always elegant comedy. --Mark Walker
He was quite simply one of the greatest actors of all time. And while Sir Alec Guinness may be best known for his legendary dramatic roles his true genius lay in his incomparable comedy performances. THE ALEC GUINNESS COLLECTION presents four of this screen legend s magnificent Ealing Studios comedies as well as the classic THE CAPTAIN S PARADISE available exclusively in this collection.Features:Kind Hearts And CoronetsFull-Frame PresentationTheatrical TrailerAlec Guinness BioThe LadykillersWidescreen Presentation enhanced for 16x9 TVsTheatrical TrailerAlec Guinness BioLanguages: English; FrenchThe Lavender Hill MobFull-Frame PresentationTheatrical TrailerAlec Guinness BioThe Man In The White SuitFull-Frame PresentationTheatrical TrailerAlec Guinness BioThe Captain's ParadiseFull-Frame PresentationTheatrical TrailerAlec Guinness BioSystem Requirements:Running Time: 451 Min.Format: DVD MOVIE
Alfie
by Lewis Gilbert (II)
from Paramount
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
The Adventurers
by Lewis Gilbert (II)
from Paramount
Despite the tumultuous events in this sleek, handsome 1970 adaptation of Harold Robbins' bestselling novel, The Adventurers is arresting entertainment from the constantly inventive director of the original Alfie, Lewis Gilbert. Smoldering Yugoslavian actor Bekim Fehmiu stars as Dax Xenos, son of a revolutionary hero in an unnamed South American nation. As a child (played by Loris Loddi), Dax witnessed the murder of his mother and sisters by government goons, and he helped insurgent leader Rojo (Alan Badel) execute those responsible. As Dax grows up, his destiny is inexorably tied to the fate of his country and the whims of an increasingly despotic Rojo. But before he realizes that, the hunky gadabout chases women and races in the streets of Rome, spends some time as a gigolo (romancing a wealthy, heartbreakingly sympathetic Olivia de Havilland), marries and separates from a lovely heiress (Candice Bergen), and becomes a pawn in a terrible plot by Rojo to consolidate his power. The outstanding cast in this nearly three-hour film includes Fernando Rey, Charles Aznavour, Leigh Taylor-Young, and Ernest Borgnine. Gilbert's production is endlessly imaginative and exciting. Long before crowd scenes in movies could be computer-generated, directors such as Gilbert really did have to assemble thousands of extras for moments as spectacular as the battle sequences in The Adventurers. --Tom Keogh
THE ADVENTURERS is an irresistible mega-movie loaded with all the trappings and treacheries, power plays and passions, intrigues and in-fighting of the world's super-rich. At the center of the jet-setting story is troubled playboy Dax, raised far from his South American homeland of Corteguay. Amid the high society and political intrigue of Italy, Dax uses romance as a stepping stone to success... and all the while schemes to bring vengeance on those who once wronged him and his family.
The Spy Who Loved Me (Special Edition)
by Lewis Gilbert (II)
from MGM (Video & DVD)
The best of the James Bond adventures starring Roger Moore as tuxedoed Agent 007, this globe-trotting thriller introduced the steel-toothed Jaws (played by seven-foot-two-inch-tall actor Richard Kiel) as one of the most memorable and indestructible Bond villains. Jaws is so tenacious, in fact, that Moore looks genuinely frightened, and that adds to the abundant fun. This time Bond teams up with yet another lovely Russian agent (Barbara Bach) to track a pair of nuclear submarines that the nefarious Stromberg (Curt Jürgens) plans to use in his plot to start World War III. Featuring lavish sets designed by the great Ken Adam (Dr. Strangelove), The Spy Who Loved Me is a galaxy away from the suave Sean Connery exploits of the 1960s, but the film works perfectly as grandiose entertainment. From cavernous undersea lairs to the vast horizons of Egypt, this Bond thriller keeps its tongue firmly in cheek with a plot tailor-made for daredevil escapism. --Jeff Shannon
A Kid for Two Farthings
by Carol Reed
from Homevision
This dreamy, quirky film, directed by Sir Carol Reed (The Third Man), combines elements of British "kitchen sink" realism with Fellini-esque fantasy and the Jewish fables of Isaac Bashevis Singer. A spunky little boy, Joe, lives with his mother in old Mr. Kandinsky's tailor shop in the midst of a bustling London bazaar a few years after the Blitz. Kandinsky fills Joe's head with stories of the magical power of unicorns and their ability to grant wishes. Eager to help his extended family attain their dreams, Joe buys a unicorn--actually a one-horned baby goat--from a vagrant. For himself and his mother, Joe requests his father's return from South Africa; for neighborhood beauty Sonia (Diana Dors, "the English Marilyn Monroe"), he wishes an engagement ring. Joe also wishes for Sonia's boyfriend, Body Beautiful magazine cover boy Sam, to beat the evil giant Python Macklin (Primo Carnera, a.k.a. "the Ambling Alp") at wrestling, and for Kandinsky to get a steam presser.
The story is sweet but the movie has overtones both serious and surreal: discordant jazz plays on the soundtrack and Joe's pets keep dying on him. The tale Kandinsky tells Joe about how unicorns became extinct is an obvious metaphor for the extermination of the Jews by the Nazis. Joe's neighborhood is a true cultural melting pot: one doesn't see many 1950s British movies with settings like this. The film might have been too eccentric to become a family staple, but it's quite fascinating today. --Laura Mirsky
From legendary filmmaker Carol Reed (The Third Man, Odd Man Out, Oliver!) comes this charming fantasy about the power of childhood imagination. Joe is a young boy who lives in a poor section in London. He becomes convinced that through the mythical powers of a unicorn, he can grant the wishes of his mother and friends. Joe searches endlessly and finally discovers his unicorn—which turns out to be just a goat with a misshapen horn. Or is it? A Kid For Two Farthings is a touching film about the power of make believe.
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