Grieve, Andrew

Horatio Hornblower Collector's Edition

From midshipman to commander, experience the thrilling escapades of the ultimate high-seas hero with the HORATIO HORNBLOWER COLLECTOR'S EDITION, an eight-volume treasure chest of sweeping naval adventure and lavish historical drama. Joining the British Royal Navy at the outset of the Napoleonic Wars, the enterprising Horatio Hornblower rises quickly from raw recruit to seasoned sailor, charting a course from the West Indies to the coast of Africa in the name of the Crown. Along the way he encounters roiling sea battles, mutiny, plague and love, but always proves himself equal to the task. Gorgeously filmed and richly produced, A&E's Emmy®-winning adaptations of C.S. Forester's classic novels star Ioan Gruffudd (Fantastic Four, Black Hawk Down) and a stellar supporting cast that includes Robert Lindsay (Wimbledon), Jamie Bamber (Band of Brothers) and Paul Copley (Queer as Folk). The HORATIO HORNBLOWER COLLECTOR'S EDITION contains all eight feature-length Hornblower films (with many a bonus material below deck): The Duel The Fire Ships The Duchess and the Devil The Wrong War The Mutiny Retribution Loyalty Duty DVD Features: Exclusive Interview with Ioan Gruffudd; Filmmaker Commentary on "Loyalty" and "Duty"; 3 Bonus Programs: "England's Royal Warships," "Sail 2000: Aboard the Eagle," and "The Making of Horatio Hornblower"; About C.S. Forester; Nautical Terms and Definitions; Interactive 3D Naval Cannon; Guide to Royal Warships; C.S. Forester Biography; Cast and Crew Biographies; Photo Gallery; Interactive Menus; Scene Selection

Poirot - The Complete Collection (Lord Edgeware Dies / The Murder of Roger Ackroyd / Evil Under the Sun / Murder in Mesopotamia)

Four beautifully made mysteries comprise this boxed-set collection of Agatha Christie classics, in which David Suchet perfectly captures the brilliant detective Hercule Poirot. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, in which yet another of Poirot's retirements is interrupted with murder, is an admirable adaptation of a nearly unfilmable plot. Lord Edgeware Dies offers the pleasing combination of murder, theater folk, and a glimpse of a besotted Poirot. Evil Under the Sun features cold-blooded murder at a sunny health resort, and Murder in Mesopotamia doubles the fun by dropping all the intrigue into an archaeological dig. Each mystery is lovingly crafted with clever direction, a clear fondness for Christie's work, and painstakingly accurate period settings. Suchet and Hugh Fraser (as Captain Hastings) make a marvelous pair, capturing both the easy companionship and the frequent bickering of true friendship. Special DVD features include an index of all the Hercule Poirot stories and biographies of Agatha Christie and David Suchet. --Ali Davis

Horatio Hornblower - The New Adventures (Loyalty / Duty)

Dashing Ioan Gruffud stars as dashing Horatio Hornblower, unparalleled British naval hero, in two more delightful episodes from the A&E series. In Loyalty, a peace with France has left Hornblower decommissioned and short on funds. Only the help of his landlady's daughter Maria (heartbreaking Julie Sawalha, Absolutely Fabulous) keeps him from being kicked out into the street. Fortunately for our hero, Napoleon's armies are afoot, and Hornblower soon finds himself sailing to France in command of the Hotspur, grappling with Irish traitors and French skullduggery. Duty picks up where Loyalty leaves off; Hornblower marries Maria with some ambivalence, but the day after his wedding sails for the coast of France to find a missing ship. After rescuing a supposedly Swiss man and his American wife in a storm, Hornblower finds himself caught between an old foe in France and diplomats in England. Though the derring-do is sometimes melodramatic, Horatio Hornblower swiftly becomes engrossing and suspenseful. Credit is due to smart scripts, efficient direction, Gruffud's heroically curly hair, and a superb supporting cast, including Robert Lindsay and Paul McGann (Withnail and I). --Bret Fetzer

Agatha Christie's Poirot: Collector's Set Volume 1

David Suchet brings the great detective Hercule Poirot to rich life in this collection of some of Agatha Christie's best work. This entertaining set includes three episodes, all lovingly true to their 1930s settings. The Disappearance of Mr. Davenham takes the standard case of a businessman's disappearance and spices it up with a friendly wager that Poirot can't solve the mystery without leaving his apartment. The Veiled Lady is more of a comic caper, as Poirot and the ever-ready Captain Hastings (Hugh Fraser) resort to burglary to stop a blackmailing cad, and The Lost Mine is cleverly set in a Chinatown reminiscent of the '30s concept of the Mysterious East. Suchet is a perfect Poirot, capturing both his dignity and his humor, and Fraser does a beautiful job of underplaying Hastings enough to keep him the perfect sidekick without ever making him boring. Special features include selected cast filmographies and biographies of Agatha Christie, David Suchet, and Poirot himself. --Ali Davis

Agatha Christie's Poirot: Collector's Set Volume 4

In two of the three episodes included here, Belgian detective Hercule Poirot tries to solve a crime before it's even happened. In "Wasps' Nest," it's a murder--but the victim isn't the person you'd expect. In "The Million-Dollar Bond Robbery," it's the theft of American bonds en route from London to New York. But even the most devious criminal mind is no match for Agatha Christie's famous detective. These videos, originally produced for the BBC, are sure to delight old fans and enchant new ones. David Suchet's portrayal gives Poirot a depth of character often missing from other screen versions; Suchet's Poirot is charming, witty, finicky, and sometimes downright testy. Yet he is always compassionate, especially in the more somber "Plymouth Express," in which a mining magnate's daughter is killed for her jewels. The series' producers spared no expense with the set, re-creating mid-1930s London from Poirot's well-appointed art deco apartment to the seedy side streets where bookies and jewel thieves ply their trade. In "The Million-Dollar Bond Robbery," black-and-white footage of Poirot and his associate, Captain Hastings (Hugh Fraser), has even been worked into a historical newsreel of the maiden voyage of the Queen Mary. With details like these, the series brings to life not only one of the most famous detectives in fiction, but also an entire bygone era. --Larisa Lomacky Moore

Poirot - The Movie Collection, Set 2 (Murder on the Links / Hickory Dickory Dock / Dumb Witness / Hercule Poirot's Christmas)

Supersleuth Hercule Poirot bets his beloved mustache that he can solve a murder more quickly than a truculent French detective in this excellent collection of four movies based on Agatha Christie mysteries. The bet takes place in Murder on the Links; a body found on a golf course points to a crime committed years before--but the real question is, has Poirot's good friend Captain Hastings (Hugh Fraser) found true love? Similarly, though the twisty plot of Hickory Dickory Dock revolves around diamond smuggling and a death in a student hostel, for many fans it's the story in which Poirot's ever-precise secretary Miss Lemon (Pauline Moran, nowhere near as ugly as Christie's description of the character) makes a rare mistake. In Dumb Witness, a fox terrier gives Poirot the final insight to catch the killer of a wealthy woman, cutting through the seance-crazed antics of a pair of eccentric old sisters. But perhaps the best of the quartet is Hercule Poirot's Christmas, featuring a sexy Spanish spitfire, a vengeful marked woman, and one of the most unsavory victims in all of Christie's work. Through it all, fastidious and scrupulously observant, Poirot sifts through the slippery details and comes to his unerring conclusion. As the Belgian detective, David Suchet has taken a character who could easily be a cartoon or a cardboard cutout and made him three-dimensional and sympathetic. One starts to wonder, what is his home life like? Does he grow lonely? Such musings are the mark of a truly vivid performance; Suchet never fails to drive each movie forward, step by irrevocable step. (The extras are meager; filmographies, sketchy biographies, and odd bits of trivia.) --Bret Fetzer

P.D. James: The Essential Collection

This 12-disc collection contains seven thrilling Adam Dalgliesh mysteries by popular suspense writer P.D. James.The stories included are:COVER HER FACESHROUD FOR A NIGHTINGALETHE BLACK TOWERDEATH OF AN EXPERT WITNESSUNNATURAL CAUSESA TASTE FOR DEATHORIGINAL SINSystem Requirements:Running Time: 2075Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLERS UPC: 741952656593 Manufacturer No: KOC-DV6565

Agatha Christie's Poirot: Collector's Set Volume 6

Wherever Hercule Poirot goes, murder follows--although the crimes are not always what they first appear to be in the three stories included in this boxed set of Agatha Christie's Poirot. Poirot's attempt at a practical joke livens up the somewhat tedious "Theft of the Royal Ruby"--an episode in which the redirection of romantic attentions seems to be as much the goal as preserving England's political relations with Egypt. A guest appearance by Stephanie Cole (who later starred in the series Waiting for God) makes this episode an interesting collector's item for British TV fans.

Costumes and clever disguises ultimately fail to mask the truth from Poirot's prying eyes in the other two episodes. Even a fever-stricken Poirot is able to deduce the culprit's double identity in "The Mystery of Hunter's Lodge." And the dazzling commedia dell'arte costumes in "The Affair at the Victory Ball" are stripped away when the Belgian sleuth reassembles the surviving cast of a radio mystery play to broadcast his own whodunit scene. David Suchet is, as always, the consummate Hercule Poirot, from his dapper demeanor to his endearing concern for the plight of servants and train station attendants. --Larisa Lomacky Moore

C'est vrai!
David Suchet is the definitive Poirot.
Hercule Poirot is the detective, and no actor has defined the brilliant little Belgian's onscreen persona like DAVID SUCHET, the Poirot. Millions of fans made Suchet's Poirot the most-watched detective in the history of the PBS Mystery! series and a hit all over again on A&E. Armed only with his razor-sharp wit, Poirot unravels the intricate plots concocted by Dame Agatha Christie, the mother of the modern mystery story. Ablaze with the elegance of its 1930s setting, the series also stars Hugh Fraser as Captain Hastings, Philip Jackson as Chief Inspector Japp and Pauline Moran as Miss Lemon.

THE THEFT OF THE ROYAL RUBY — International relations are at stake as Poirot hunts for a stolen Egyptian royal jewel. THE AFFAIR AT THE VICTORY BALL — When two revelers at a lavish costume ball are murdered, small but telling clues lead Poirot to the killer. THE MYSTERY OF HUNTER'S LODGE — Poirot must find a murderer among the members of a quarrelsome hunting party. DVD SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE biographies of Agatha Christie and David Suchet, cast filmographies and Agatha Christie materials.

Agatha Christie's Poirot: Collector's Set Volume 5

"I have the order, the method, the psychology... I am the best. I am Hercule Poirot," declares Agatha Christie's most famous detective in "The Mystery of the Spanish Chest." And David Suchet continues to prove himself as the best actor to portray Poirot in this boxed set of three hour-long episodes. Suchet has said it is his goal to reveal Poirot's many dimensions, going beyond the caricature previous actors had made him out to be. This is most evident in "The Double Clue," in which Poirot meets his match from the criminal world--and falls in love. Captain Hastings (Hugh Fraser) and Miss Lemon (Pauline Moran) provide comic relief with their own attempts to solve the case, but in the end this remains a poignant tale of the one that got away. Suchet reveals a more lighthearted side of Poirot in "The Mystery of the Spanish Chest," treating viewers to the unforgettable spectacle of the fussy detective dancing the Charleston. And in "The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor," he stages a cunning, ghostly charade to smoke out the murderer. As always, the production of these episodes is stunning in its attention to detail, re-creating the look, sound, and feel of 1930s high-society England. From the shot of a train shrouded in a mask of fog to the eerie sight of a room full of people in gas masks during an air raid test, the episodes also evoke the ominous atmosphere that makes mysteries so deliciously goose-pimply when viewed from the safety of a warm couch. --Larisa Lomacky Moore

Stamping out evil has never been so tidy or so much fun. Set in the art deco lushness of 1930s Europe, this PBS hit series evokes a time when fictional crime solving was far more elegant affair than it is today. David Suchet plays Agatha Christie's brilliant detective with a winning combination of fussiness and charm, making his Poirot the most watched detective in the history of the PBS Mystery! series. Costars include Hugh Fraser as Captain Hastings, Philip Jackson as Chief Inspector Japp and Pauline Moran as Miss Lemon.

The Mysteries:
The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor—After refusing to stoop to fictional crime-solving, Poirot is soon occupied by a real whodunit.
The Double Clue—While Hastings and Miss Lemon work on a high-profile case, Poirot romances a beautiful Russian countess.
The Mystery of the Spanish Chest—A woman fearing her jealous husband invites Poirot to a fateful dinner party.

All or Nothing at All

"...classy and involving... incredibly gripping..." - The Sunday Times

"Laurie plays the hero with the right mixture of charm and guile... engaging stuff..." - The Times

"...nice performances all round, especially from Laurie" - The Daily Telegraph

In this compelling story of a daring conman, Leo Hopkins (Hugh Laurie - House) prospers from the greed of others - but his undeniable charm and willingness to take risks plunge him into a mess of troubles and worry. Addicted to gambling, seduced by his secretary and threatened by his corrupt boss, his life spirals downward and Leo must find a way to straighten himself out before he loses everything.

Starring: Hugh Laurie, Jessica Turner, Bob Monkhouse, Pippa Guard, Steve Steen, Caroline Quentin and Phyllida Law

Special Features: Cast Profiles

approx. 150 mins.