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Posted: |
Jan 20, 2017 - 7:18 PM
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By: |
johnjohnson
(Member)
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British label Network Releasing has revealed that it is planning to release on Blu-ray David Wickes' Jack the Ripper (1988), starring Michael Caine, Armand Assante, Ray McAnally, Lewis Collins, and Jane Seymour. The two-disc set will be available for purchase on February 27.
Synopsis: Michael Caine heads a star-studded cast in this acclaimed dramatisation of the hunt for the notorious serial killer who preyed on the prostitutes of London's East End.
Made for the 1988 centenary of these infamous murders, the production team were granted unprecedented access to Home Office files on the Ripper case the resulting two-part miniseries winning Caine a Golden Globe award for his portrayal of the dogged Scotland Yard detective Frederick Abberline. Jack the Ripper is presented here as a brand new high-definition restoration from original film materials, in its original aspect ratio.
In the autumn of 1888, Chief Inspector Abberline is sent to investigate the murder and mutilation of a prostitute. Others soon meet the same fate, and a press frenzy ensues. With "Jack the Ripper" terrorising London and both police and outraged public clamouring for a conclusion, Abberline and his partner, Godley, work doggedly through their list of suspects more than one of whom has royal connections.
Special Features:
NEW Restoration From Original Film Elements
NEW Audio 5.1 mix
Image Gallery
And More...
http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=20630
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Posted: |
Jan 20, 2017 - 7:24 PM
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By: |
johnjohnson
(Member)
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The second of the ITC series produced by Monty Berman and Dennis Spooner, Department S was in some respects a revamp of the format they had successfully developed for their preceding series The Champions: three investigators, two male and one female, based in a European capital, probing a variety of mysteries, and reporting to a departmental head in overall control of operations. But whereas the Nemesis agents of The Champions had the benefit of super powers to assist them in their missions, the personnel of Department S would have to rely on their own individual brilliance coupled with an analytical approach to problem-solving: and their missions would all begin with a seemingly insoluble mystery.
The series was sold to Lew Grade of ITC on the cost-saving innovation of being a joint production alongside Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased). Shooting on Department S commenced on 30 April, 1968, while its companion series entered production a month later.
In creating the Department S format, Dennis Spooner toyed with an idea from World War II: Winston Churchill had reputedly employed a team of authors, headed up by satanic specialist Dennis Wheatley, to dream up imaginative ideas for combatting the Nazis. This in turn gave Spooner the idea of a successful writer solving bizarre mysteries in the mould of Sherlock Holmes, and thus was born the character Robert Cullingford, initially envisaged as a tweedy Oxford don.
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The part was conceived with an actor like Kenneth More in mind, but Cyril Frankel, creative consultant on the series, suggested Peter Wyngarde for the role. Wyngarde, in turn, took the decision to modernise Spooner’s creation, re-imagining Cullingford as a flamboyant, womanising man of the moment, never far from a convenient bottle of champagne, and always immaculately attired in tailor-made suits. The name Robert Cullingford, with its suggestion of dusty academia, was ditched in favour of the considerably hipper Jason King. The result was a character whose time had most definitely come.
Following the casting formula of The Champions, King was placed alongside an American agent in the shape of Stewart Sullivan (Joel Fabiani) and a female operative, computer specialist Annabelle Hurst (Rosemary Nicols). Wyngarde aside, perhaps the most innovative casting decision was the inclusion of Gambian actor Dennis Alaba Peters as Department S chief Sir Curtis Seretse, reflecting a move away from stereotypical portrayals of Afro-Caribbean characters in film and television.
The original idea was to have Jason King on hand in a consultancy capacity, offering suggestions to the two Department S operatives, and the first episodes in production all adhered to this template, with the character often absent for large chunks of the narrative. However, it quickly became clear that the strutting, peacock-like King, with his imperious manner and suave way with the ladies was a strong enough lead to have carried the stories single-handedly. Jason King quickly became the focus for most of the action and went on to enjoy his own spin-off series, to say nothing of making a household name out of Peter Wyngarde.
While The Champions had operated on a global stage, the action in Department S was largely confined to Europe, and most frequently, England (despite the operatives working out of Interpol’s offices in Paris). This creative decision worked to the series’ advantage, requiring fewer of the unconvincing sound stages that had been necessary in The Champions to depict jungles and other exotic locales, and offering greater scope for location work. Some episodes, in fact, relied rather too heavily on location shooting, with several overrunning their production schedules quite significantly. Even so, work on the series was completed in June 1969, with episodes having been on air since January of the same year, a full nine months ahead of its production partner, Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased).
Department S has never quite enjoyed the same popular appeal as some of its contemporaries. In media retrospectives, Jason King has always eclipsed his original series, and Department S has continually been passed over during revivals of material from the same era: it was absent from the ITV repeat runs of the mid ’80s, and missing again during BBC2’s 1990s ITC reruns. Its first full repeat run in some twenty years was on the long-defunct satellite channel Bravo during the mid ’90s, and barring a solitary episode shown during a themed BBC2 evening of 1960s television, Department S has gone unseen on terrestrial television for forty years.
However you remember it, it won’t have been in High Definition, and its has certainly never looked as good as it does in our new, remastered Blu-ray edition. Now is the time to properly appreciate the exploits of the Department S operatives in never-before-seen quality. Roll up those cuffs and crack open the champagne… Jason King and co are back!
http://networkonair.com/features/2017/01/20/department-s-on-reflection/
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Posted: |
Jan 21, 2017 - 5:31 AM
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By: |
johnjohnson
(Member)
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British label Network Releasing will bring to Blu-ray director Cy Endfield's action thriller Hell Drivers (1957), starring Stanley Baker, Herbert Lom, Peggy Cummins, Patrick McGoohan, and William Hartnell. The release will be available for purchase on February 20.
Synopsis: This tremendous hard-boiled action thriller from Zulu director Cy Endfield features memorable performances from both Stanley Baker and Patrick McGoohan as rival drivers for a ruthless road-haulage company. An outstanding cast includes Herbert Lom, Peggy Cummins, William Hartnell, Sid James, Gordon Jackson and Wilfrid Lawson, with early appearances from Sean Connery and David McCallum. Hell Drivers is featured here in a stunning new high-definition transfer from the original film elements, in its original aspect ratio.
When ex-con Tom Yately signs up as a driver for Hawlett's, he uncovers shady dealings between the manager and the viciously ambitious head driver the drivers are paid per trip, with a bonus system encouraging them to drive at reckless speeds and take dangerous risks. The stakes are raised when a fatal accident claims the life of Tom's only workplace ally, and he vows to take revenge.
Special Features:
Audio Commentary with Sound Assistant Harry Fairbairn and journalist Andrew Robertson
Theatrical Trailer (HD)
Look In On Hell Drivers
The Stanley Baker Story
Full Screen Ahead (HD)
Galleries (HD) and PDFs
Danger Man with Patrick McGoohan: Loyalty Always Pays
Stanley Baker archive interview (1960s)
Who Killed Lamb? with Stanley Baker
Stanley Baker plaque news footage
Return to the Rhondda documentary
Booklet
http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=20638
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Posted: |
Feb 13, 2017 - 12:24 PM
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By: |
johnjohnson
(Member)
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James Robertson Justice, Leslie Phillips, Stanley Baxter, Eric Sykes, John Le Mesurier and Richard Wattis feature in this raucous early-sixties PoW escapade directed by Ken Annakin and co-written by Jack Davies – both Oscar-nominated for Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines. Based on real-life events during World War II, Very Important Person (re-titled A Coming Out Party for its US release) is featured here in a brand-new transfer from the original film elements, in its original aspect ratio.
As the subject of a This Is Your Life-style television show, eminent aviation scientist Sir Ernest Pease revisits his wartime experience on a secret reconnaissance mission which ended abruptly when the bomber he was testing was downed over Germany. Captured and held in a prisoner of war camp, Pease found himself among a motley, relentlessly optimistic group of RAF officers – who were tireless in helping their brilliant but ill-tempered fellow prisoner carry out his audacious escape plan!
SPECIAL FEATURES:
[] Original theatrical trailer
[] Image gallery
http://networkonair.com/shop/2561-very-important-person.html
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Posted: |
Mar 20, 2017 - 6:13 PM
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By: |
johnjohnson
(Member)
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Hell Drivers Blu-ray.
This tremendous hard-boiled action thriller from Zulu director Cy Endfield features memorable performances from both Stanley Baker and Patrick McGoohan as rival drivers for a ruthless road-haulage company. An outstanding cast includes Herbert Lom, Peggy Cummins, William Hartnell, Sid James, Gordon Jackson and Wilfrid Lawson, with early appearances from Sean Connery and David McCallum. Hell Drivers is featured here in a stunning new High Definition restoration from the original film elements, in its as-exhibited aspect ratio.
When ex-con Tom Yately signs up as a driver for Hawlett's, he uncovers shady dealings between the manager and the viciously ambitious head driver – the drivers are paid per trip, with a bonus system encouraging them to drive at reckless speeds and take dangerous risks. The stakes are raised when a fatal accident claims the life of Tom's only workplace ally, and he vows to take revenge.
SPECIAL FEATURES (Standard Definition unless noted)
[] Commentary with sound assistant Harry Fairbairn and journalist Andrew Robertson
[] Theatrical Trailer
[] Look In on Hell Drivers
[] The Stanley Baker Story
[] Full Screen Ahead (HD)
[] Galleries (HD) and PDFs
[] Danger Man with Patrick McGoohan: Loyalty Always Pays
[] Stanley Baker archive interview (1960s)
[] Who Killed Lamb? with Stanley Baker
[] Stanley Baker plaque news footage
[] Return to the Rhondda documentary
[] Booklet by Dave Rolinson
http://networkonair.com/shop/2602-hell-drivers-blu-ray--5027626807146.html
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Unseen for over fifty years, this exceptionally rare feature sees comedy legend Norman Wisdom at his best playing a naïve explosives expert who finds himself involved with a criminal gang after uncovering nefarious dealings by a prominent industrialist!
Hailed as one of Wisdom's finest films, it was one of two features he made independently, and marked a departure from his more familiar and endlessly popular comic creation, 'the Gump'. Co-starring Alfred Marks and Susannah York, There Was a Crooked Man was directed by the BAFTA-nominated Stuart Burge.
SPECIAL FEATURES
[] Image gallery
[] Original promotional PDFs
[] Booklet by Norman Wisdom expert Richard Dacre
http://networkonair.com/shop/2610-there-was-a-crooked-man.html
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Posted: |
Sep 28, 2017 - 12:27 AM
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By: |
Disco Stu
(Member)
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This classic ITC series stars Richard Bradford in a career-defining role as McGill, a discredited ex-CIA agent reduced to working as a private investigator. Now travelling the world as a gun for hire, McGill has an unorthodox approach and a strong sense of personal integrity that often brings him into conflict with both his employers and the authorities – and makes him more enemies than friends...
Critically acclaimed and endlessly popular, Man in a Suitcase is newly remastered in HD from the original 35mm film elements for this Blu-ray edition.
I bought "Man in a suitcase", regular DVD, during the sale a few months ago along with "The Baron" and many others so I haven't seen all episodes. What I've seen so far is fun. My reason for buying those 60s ITC-series is the look of them. The 60s scenery, clothes and cars keep on making me feel good. Stories are fun. Additional fun element is Richard Bradford channeling his inner "extreme James Dean" sometimes he talks so laid back he almost sounds drunk.
I watch series in reversed order because many times that means going from less/bad to good quality (image, story etc.). Example for the rule: "Batman" 1966 TV, example of an exception: "Mission impossible".
There's one story with a great plot twist at the end that beats any of the so called "unexpected" Roald Dahl tales.
I don't have a bluray, and regular DVDs can be played on any DVD-player so I don't have a need to upgrade. I would love to have any of the additional extras but that's not sufficient reason.
For those who don't have the series yet however: get it, it's fun.
D.S.
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