Underdown, Edward

Khartoum

Set in the expanse of the Sudan desert in the midst of holy war, Khartoum (1966) plays like an attempt to work the Lawrence of Arabia magic on the (mostly) true story of eccentric British general Charles "Chinese" Gordon in 1884 North Africa. The magnificent opening desert battle suggests David Lean's epic sweep, at least until the film settles into a more modest story of political games, military standoffs, and a battle of wits and wiles between two fierce leaders. Charlton Heston plays the wily Christian soldier as cocky, unconventional maverick, and Laurence Olivier (behind heavy make-up and a thick black beard) is almost as good as his cagey nemesis the Mahdi, the Islamic holy warrior on a mission of annihilation. More talk than spectacle, the film falls short of Lawrence but is nonetheless a compelling story of colonial politics, cynical maneuvering, and the unconventional heroics of another colorful British maverick abroad. --Sean Axmaker

Academy AwardÂ(r) winners* Charlton Heston and Laurence Olivier face off in this epic, stirring drama of two men and two empires. Filmed in glorious CineramaÂ(r), with stunning desertbattles staged by the creator of the Ben-Hur chariot race, Khartoum is a "magnificently staged action spectacle [with] outstanding portrayals" (Boxoffice) and breathtaking cinematography. In 1883, British Prime Minister Gladstone (Ralph Richardson) dispatches General Charles Gordon (Heston) to Khartoum, Sudan, where thousands of civilians are threatened by a Muslim fanatic, the Mahdi (Olivier), and his army of followers. Gordon gains the Mahdi's respect but can't prevent the Mahdi's men from laying siege to the city. Now, as history hangs in the balance, Gordon faces the fight of his life defending the ancient city of Khartoum. *Heston: Actor, Ben-Hur (1959). Olivier: Actor, Hamlet (1948); Lifetime Achievement (1978); Outstanding Achievement as Actor, Producer and Director on Henry V (1946)

James Bond Ultimate Edition - Vol. 2 (A View to a Kill / Thunderball / Die Another Day / The Spy Who Loved Me / Licence to Kill)

Disc 1: *Thunderball (1965) THE COMPLETE SPECIAL FEATURES LIBRARY: MISSION DOSSIER Audio Commentary Featuring Terence Young and Others

Disc 2: **Thunderball Bonus Disc DECLASSIFIED: MI6 VAULT The Incredible World of James Bond - Original 1965 NBC Television Special A Child's Guide to Blowing Up a Motor Car - 1965 Ford Promotional Film On Location With Ken Adam Bill Suitor: The Rocket Man Movies Thunderball Boat Show Reel Selling Bonds - Original 1965 Television Advertisements 007 MISSION CONTROL Interactive Guide Into the World of Thunderball Audio Commentary Featuring Peter Hunt, John Hopkins and Others The Making of Thunderball The Thunderball Phenomenon The Secret History of Thunderball MINISTRY OF PROPAGANDA Original Trailers, TV Spots, Photo Gallery & Radio Communications

Disc 3: *Die Another Day (2002) THE COMPLETE SPECIAL FEATURES LIBRARY: MISSION DOSSIER Audio Commentary Featuring Director Lee Tamahori and Producer Michael G. Wilson & Pierce Brosnan

Disc 4: **Die Another Day Bonus Disc DECLASSIFIED: MI6 VAULT From Script to Screen Shaken and Stirred on Ice Just Another Day The British Touch: Bond Arrives in London On Location With Peter Lamont 007 MISSION CONTROL Interactive Guide Into the World of Die Another Day Audio Commentary Featuring Pierce Brosnan and Rosamund Pike MI6 DataStream Additional DVD-ROM Features Available! Madonna 'Die Another Day' Music Video MINISTRY OF PROPAGANDA Photo gallery

Disc 5: *The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) **The Spy Who Loved Me Bonus Disc Newly Recorded Audio Commentary Featuring Sir Roger Moore THE COMPLETE SPECIAL FEATURES LIBRARY: MISSION DOSSIER Audio Commentary Featuring Director Lewis Gilbert, Production Designer Ken Adam, Co-Writer Christopher Wood and Michael G Wilson

Disc 6: DECLASSIFIED: MI6 VAULT 007 in Egypt Roger Moore: My Word Is My Bond On Location With Ken Adam 007 Stage Dedication Original 1977 Featurette Escape From Atlantis: Storyboard Sequence 007 MISSION CONTROL Interactive Guide Into the World of The Spy Who Loved Me Inside The Spy Who Loved Me Ken Adam: Designing Bond MINISTRY OF PROPAGANDA Original Trailers, TV Spots, Photo Gallery & Radio Communications

Disc 7: *A View To A Kill (1985) **A View To A Kill Bonus Disc Newly Recorded Audio Commentary Featuring Sir Roger Moore THE COMPLETE SPECIAL FEATURES LIBRARY: MISSION DOSSIER Audio Commentary Featuring Director John Glen and Members of the Cast and Crew

Disc 8: DECLASSIFIED: MI6 VAULT Film '85 BBC Report Float Like A Butterfly Test Footage Deleted Scenes & Expanded Angles with Introductions by Director John Glen 007 MISSION CONTROL Interactive Guide Into the World of A View to a Kill Inside A View to a Kill The Music of James Bond Duran Duran 'A View to a Kill' Music Video MINISTRY OF PROPAGANDA Original Trailers, TV Spots & Photo Gallery

Disc 9: *License To Kill (1989) THE COMPLETE SPECIAL FEATURES LIBRARY: MISSION DOSSIER Audio Commentary Featuring Director John Glen and Members of the Cast Audio Commentary Featuring Michael G Wilson and Members of the Crew

Disc 10: **License To Kill Bonus Disc DECLASSIFIED: MI6 VAULT Deleted Scenes With Director John Glen Introductions Bond '89 On the Set With John Glen On Location With Peter Lamont Ground Check With Corkey Fornof 007 MISSION CONTROL Interactive Guide Into the World of Licence to Kill Inside Licence to Kill Production Featurette "Behind the Scenes" Kenworth Trucks Featurette Gladys Knight 'Licence to Kill' Music Video Patti LaBelle 'If You Asked Me To' Music Video MINISTRY OF PROPAGANDA Original Trailers & Photo Gallery

Thunderball

James Bond's fourth adventure takes him to the Bahamas, where a NATO warplane with a nuclear payload has disappeared into the sea. Bond (Sean Connery) travels from a tiny health spa (where he tangles with a mechanized masseuse run amuck) to the casinos of Nassau and soon picks up the trail of SPECTRE's number-two man, Emilio Largo (Adolfo Celi), and his beautiful mistress, Domino (Claudine Auger), whom Bond soon seduces to his side. Equipped with more gadgets than ever, courtesy of the resourceful "Q" (Desmond Llewelyn), agent 007 escapes an ambush with a personal-size jet pack and takes to the water as he searches for the undersea plane, battles Largo's pet sharks, and finally leads the battle against Largo's scuba-equipped henchmen in a spectacular underwater climax. This thrilling Bond entry became Connery's most successful outing in the series and was remade in 1983 as Never Say Never Again, with Connery returning to the role after a 12-year hiatus. Tom Jones belts out the bold theme song to another classic Maurice Binder title sequence. --Sean Axmaker

The thrills never let up as James Bond dives into this riveting adventure filled with explosive confrontations and amazing underwater action sequences! Sean Connery brings his characteristic style, humor and magnetism to Agent 007 as he travels to Nassau

The Day the Earth Caught Fire

Despite its melodramatic title, which carried on a '50s doomsday naming convention, this taut 1961 English science fiction thriller offers an object lesson in the power of story over special effects. When both the Soviets and the West detonate nuclear tests simultaneously, the seismic double whammy jolts the earth off its axis and onto a new orbit sending it fatally closer to the sun--a fate that writer-director-producer Val Guest views from the street-level perspective of its principal characters, rather than an off-world vantage point. The street in question, however, is London's Fleet Street, the venerable hub of its newspaper and tabloid publishers, and the hard-nosed reporters growing realization that their number is up carries its own stark punch. Edward Judd is Peter Stenning, a rugged, appropriately grim reporter, Leo McKern is tough but compassionate editor Bill Maguire, and Janet Munro is Stenning's love interest, in an elfin, sexy turn that's a striking contrast to her best-known turn in Disney's Darby O'Gill and the Little People. With an effects arsenal that consists largely of a spray bottle to apply beads of "sweat," Guest and his small but crack cast are surprisingly effective, and the cold war plot hook still works, thanks to its uncomfortable proximity to more contemporary environmental terrors. --Sam Sutherland

Man in the Middle

Despite its exotic WWII locations, Guy Hamilton's Man in the Middle is a courtroom drama with Robert Mitchum as a military lawyer urged by his superiors to cover up the facts behind a civilian murder committed by a military officer. Set in 1944 India, Mitchum plays a lieutenant colonel assigned to defend American soldier Keenan Wynn after he murders a British civilian; Mitchum quickly discovers that everyone involved in the case, from top general Barry Sullivan to British medical officer Alexander Knox, wants him to fall in line with a rush to execute Wynn and save face, despite his obvious insanity. Mitchum is typically solid in the lead, and the supporting cast, which includes France Nuyen as his semi-love interest and Sam Wanamaker as an army psychiatrist, offer fine performances; Hamilton, who would direct Goldfinger the following year, handles the legal fireworks with finesse. The DVD includes the original trailer as well as a gallery of promotional photographs (which play up the barely-there romance between Mitchum and Nuyen). -- Paul Gaita

Beat the Devil

Beat the Devil is a witty, dry-humored, and well-plotted spoof of the classic capers popular at the time. The film, written by famed author Truman Capote, is centered on a group of four crooks, all of whom are traveling to Africa under the guise of selling vacuum cleaners. Their true motivation for the trip is to get rich off uranium by smuggling it out of East Africa.

Thunderball

James Bond's fourth adventure takes him to the Bahamas, where a NATO warplane with a nuclear payload has disappeared into the sea. Bond (Sean Connery) travels from a tony health spa (where he tangles with a mechanized masseuse run amuck) to the casinos of Nassau and soon picks up the trail of SPECTRE's number-two man, Emilio Largo (Adolfo Celi), and his beautiful mistress, Domino (Claudine Auger), whom Bond soon seduces to his side. Equipped with more gadgets than ever, courtesy of the resourceful "Q" (Desmond Llewelyn), agent 007 escapes an ambush with a personal-size jet pack and takes to the water as he searches for the undersea plane, battles Largo's pet sharks, and finally leads the battle against Largo's scuba-equipped henchmen in a spectacular underwater climax. This thrilling Bond entry became Connery's most successful outing in the series and was remade in 1983 as Never Say Never Again, with Connery returning to the role after a 12-year hiatus. Tom Jones belts out the bold theme song to another classic Maurice Binder title sequence. --Sean Axmaker

Beat the Devil

Brass Monkey

Based on an old British radio show, The Brass Monkey is a fast-paced British mystery and comedy thriller. Caroll Levis stars as a radio personality who attempts to prevent a connoisseur of Buddhist artifacts from stealing the priceless Brass Monkey. The

Beat the Devil/That Uncertain Feeling