DVDpedia : GQ DVD & Blu-Ray Library : Title : H

Theatrical: 1936

Studio: Image Entertainment

Genre: Science Fiction & Fantasy

Summary: I just want to reiterate the comments below that this new Image Entertainment DVD release is by far the finest version of this sci-fi classic that I've ever seen. Though not perfect, it towers above the many public domain versions that have been floating around over the years. Though occasionally a bit pompous, this memorable film is justifiably notable for its striking production design--the futuristic portion may be the part everyone remembers but the design of the post-apocalyptic Everytown by William Cameron Menzies is just as impressive. "Things To Come" is a worthy addition to one's sci-fi DVD collection.

Theatrical: 2002

Studio: Dimension

Genre: Horror

Duration: 89

Summary: Number 8 in the "Halloween" line maintains connections to John Carpenter's original. "Resurrection" picks up the thread of "Halloween: H2O", with poor Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) now in a psychiatric hospital and determined to shut down homicidal Michael Myers once and for all. After this prologue, the story shifts to the old Myers house, where a TV reality show has enticed six teenagers to spend a single night in the spooky home. Needless to say, things are spoiled when Michael barges in: "I "so" did not sign up for this," sighs the young heroine, when the bloodletting begins. The mayhem is being broadcast live on the Internet, which makes the film a bit like "Rear Window" with Instant Messaging. The interesting premise is routinely handled, but that's enough to make this one of the better sequels in the series. Maybe they finally finished off Michael in this one, wink wink. "--Robert Horton"

Theatrical:

Studio: Force Entertainment

Genre: Horror, Box Set

Duration: 463 mins

Summary:

Theatrical: 1958

Studio: Warner Home Video

Genre: Horror

Summary: This collection released by Warner Brothers brings together the three films that established Hammer as the leading purveyors of gothic horror. It is perhaps difficult to appreciate now, but the major innovation that Hammer brought to these tired gothic tales was filming them in colour. In just the same way that Universal used the innovative German expressionist techniques of lighting and set design, Hammer chose the opposite route and celebrated the excesses and transgressions of the gothic strain. They brought to the horror genre a physical and sensual style of filmmaking which covered up the very regressive attitudes to gender and class that bubbled beneath the surface.

This collection works very well because of the continuity of personnel that became a trademark of Hammer. These three films are connected by cast, director, art designer, composer, producer and cinematographer - which gives these three films the feel of a trilogy. Of the three films "Dracula" stands up to modern scrutiny the best, its energy and dynamism remain undiminished. But to fully appreciate the aesthetic merits of "Dracula" one must acknowledge "Curse of Frankenstein" which preceded it. This was Hammer's most daring production up to that point, and much of Hammer's conventions of style and theme were established here. However to modern audiences the film does seem somewhat overly talky, and the makeup for the creature, whilst impressive, lacks the impact of Universals. "The Mummy" falls in the middle ground between the two, but possesses an epic rich grandeur of sets the other two lack, "The Mummy" is a gorgeous looking film. But like "Curse of Frankenstein" suffers from some pacing problems.

Warner's have chosen well here and must be commended for their selection, other Hammer box sets have a disappointing randomness. But little seems to have been done in terms of picture and sound restoration, and aside from trailers for all films, there are no further special features. All in all quite disappointing treatment for such important horror films. But the box itself is well designed, and the price (at least when it was first released) represented good value for money.

Theatrical:

Studio: MRA Entertainment / destravision

Genre: Horror

Summary: Hammer Films - The Best in British Horror

This collectors 3 DVD digipack boxset also includes a deluxe 12 page booklet complete with annecdotes and publicity stills and posters. WHAT THE PRESS HAVE SAID ABOUT THIS BOXSET

"...three of the studio's lesser seen, but no less reputable, shockers from the early '70s". REGION 4 ISSUE 42

The Vampire Circus

The Vampire Circus is one of Hammer’s more interesting attempts to inject new blood into its house style.

In a twelve-minute prologue, angry villagers stake to death Count Mitterhaus (Robert Tayman), who swears his revenge on the townsfolk. The story proper starts fifteen years later when the exotic Circus of the Night arrives in town to avenge the Count. The troupe’s shape-shifting performers unleash their uninhibited bloodlust on the town’s plague-ridden residents.

First time director Robert Young shows promise, particularly in the shape-shifting sequences and several bloody impalements. The film is also notable for its bleak view of humanity. It presents all the characters as ‘clowns’ by day and ‘animals’ by night.

STARRING: Adrienne Cori, Thorley Waters, Dave Prowse, Laurence Payne, John Moulder Brown, Anthony Corlan, Elizabeth Seal
DIRECTED BY: Robert Young
PRODUCED BY: Wilbur Stark
SCREENPLAY: Judson Kinberg

WHAT THE PRESS HAVE SAID:
“…Graphically gory in the Hammer tradition..” 3 stars John Stanley – Creature Features
“…an elegant and visually absorbing revenge tragedy – only two of the many principal characters survive its gory unfolding – the film succeeds admirably on all levels…” Marcus Hearn and Alan Barnes – THE HAMMER STORY

DVD DETAILS
PAL, Colour, Region 4, Aspect Ratio – 16:9, Total Running Time: 84 mins, 1971

Hands of the Ripper

A psychiatrist (Eric Porter) treats a young woman (Angharad Rees) following the murder of her aunt. He shuns the notion that she is possessed, but she continues to kill while under his care.

Using hypnosis, he discovers that glittering lights and gestures of affection set the girl off into dangerous trances during which she re-enacts an incident she witnessed in childhood – the murder of her mother by her father, Jack the Ripper!

STARRING: Eric Porter, Angharad Rees, Jane Merrow, Keith Bell, Derek Godfrey, Dora Bryan, Majorie Rhodes
DIRECTED BY: Peter Sadsy
PRODUCED BY: Aida Young
SCREENPLAY: L W Davidson (based on a short story by Edward Spencer Shew)

WHAT THE PRESS HAVE SAID: “…one of the modern cinema’s most intelligent and fascinating, if not definitive, Ripper films.” John McCarty – The Modern Horror Film
“…Gory Hammer horror with well done scenes.” - John Walker – HALLIWELL’S FILM GUIDE
“…Ripping good…..” 3 stars John Stanley – Creature Features
“…One of Sadsy’s best films….” James O’Neil – TERROR ON TAPE

DVD DETAILS
PAL, Colour, Region 4, Aspect Ratio – 16:9 Total Running Time: 85 mins, 1971,

TWINS OF EVIL

The final installment in the “The Karnstein Trilogy”, Twins of Evil represents Hammer’s most sexually explicit work. Inspired by J. Sheridan le Fanu’s 19th century novella, Carmilla, and penned by Barbarella scriptwriter Tudor Gates, the films take advantage of an easing of censorship restrictions to exploit a voyeuristic interest in lesbian sex.

Twins of Evil is both a fun ride and one of Hammer’s most notably anti-religious films. Peter Cushing plays a sadistic and murderous witch-hunter Gustav Weil, whose puritan ways push one of his beautiful twin nieces (Mary and Madeleine Collinson) into sexual rebellion and vampirism.

WHAT THE PRESS HAVE SAID:
“….Lush production, strong direction and a spirited cast…one of the company’s most entertaining ‘70s films….” James O’Neil – TERROR ON TAPE
“…a tightly plotted tragedy…and heavily influenced by pictures such as Matthew Hopkins Witchfinder General, it has an intensity and sense of purpose rare in horror.” Marcus Hearn & Alan Barnes – THE HAMMER STORY

STARRING: Peter Cushing, Dennis Price, Mary and Madeleine Collinson, Damien Thomas, David Warbeck, Isobel Black, Kathleen Byron.
DIRECTED BY: John Hough
PRODUCED BY: Harry Fine, Michael Style
SCREENPLAY: Tudor Gates (based on characters created by Sheridan Le Fanu)

DVD DETAILS
PAL, Colour, Region 4,Aspect Ratio – 16:9, Total Running Time: 83 mins , Trailer

Theatrical:

Studio: Magna

Genre: Horror, Box Set

Duration: 663 mins

Summary: Hammer House of Horror is one of the best horror series ever broadcast on television. With the master of horror, Peter Cushing, as the star, its finesse was assured from the start. Grotesque and sinister, many episodes curdle the blood. This is not for the faint hearted. From Satanic nightmares to houses literally bleeding to death, Hammer House of Horror has it all and presents us with a vivid picture of real fear. Your worst nightmares come true in each episode. Screen siren Diana Dors complements Peter Cushing’s demonic demonstrations in the scariest series you are ever likely to see. Hold on to your hearts for this series is bound to make you scream. This collection is presented in full colour. Episodes List: The House That Bled To Death
The Silent Scream
The Two Faces Of Evil
The Mark Of Satan
Witching Time
Visitor From The Grave
Rude Awakening
Charlie Boy
Children Of The Full Moon
The Thirteenth Renunion
The Carpathian Eagle
Guardian Of The Abyss
Growing Pains

Theatrical: 1968

Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)

Genre: Western

Summary: After starring in the now-legendary trilogy of spaghetti Westerns for Italian director Sergio Leone, Clint Eastwood became a box-office star and imported the style of those classic shoot-'em-ups for this 1967 Western directed by Ted Post, with whom Eastwood had worked during their days on the television series "Rawhide". Eastwood plays an innocent rancher who is mistaken for a cattle rustler and sentenced to hang by an angry mob. When he is saved from the noose by a passing lawman, he embarks on a renegade campaign of vengeance against the men who attempted to lynch him. "Hang 'Em High" offers a number of memorable moments and stylistic flourishes, and features a superb supporting cast of Western veterans, including Ben Johnson, Ed Begley, Pat Hingle, Dennis Hopper, Bruce Dern, L.Q. Jones, and the "Skipper" himself, Alan Hale Jr. Made just three years before "Dirty Harry", the film marked a turning point for Eastwood, who would soon move into a prolific period of contemporary thrillers. The digital video disc offers standard and widescreen formats and a remastered soundtrack. "--Jeff Shannon"

Theatrical: 1975

Studio: Homevision

Genre: Asian Cinema

Summary: Are you a fan of samurai films, but wish they were somehow..."dirtier"? Welcome to the deranged world of "Hanzo the Razor", a weird blend of swordplay and sexploitation. The first "Hanzo" movie, "Sword of Justice", came out a year after "Shaft" and "Dirty Harry" and fuses the influence of both: stout and surly Hanzo (Shintaro Katsu), a rebellious yet obsessively moral samurai, is also enormously well-endowed and provides almost unbearable pleasure to the women he "interrogates"--that is to say, rapes in the name of the law. Hanzo also tortures and blackmails without qualm as he slices through crime, uncovering corruption at higher levels in each progressive film. In "Sword of Justice" he overturns his own craven superiors; in "The Snare", he breaks into a temple used by local magistrates for the sadistic torture of young girls; in "Who's Got the Gold", the shogunate treasury is being looted by its own officials--had there been a fourth film, Hanzo would probably have confronted the shogun himself. But while the movies wallow in Hanzo's ruthless treatment of criminals and women, it also ogles the torture Hanzo inflicts upon himself! "Sword of Justice" will knock you sideways as you struggle to balance Hanzo's puritanical code with his masochism and brutality (as well as the funky '70s soundtrack). "The Snare" and "Who's Got the Gold?", disappointingly repeat many of the same routines (in particular, the "net torture" of female suspects). But while the fight choreography in the first two films is often crude, "Who's Got the Gold" (directed by Yoshio Inoue) has more visual finesse and social commentary--not many movies combine temple orgies and geysers of blood with inflation, unemployment, and high interest rates. (There's a particularly eerie scene in which a samurai in debt is hounded by a pack of blind men.) "Hanzo the Razor" undoubtedly influenced the moral outrage/leering voyeurism mix of "Death Wish" and its ilk, but Shintaro Katsu's gleeful ferocity (in contrast with Charles Bronson's dour, repressed deadpan) makes this trilogy stranger and sleazier. Katsu was also the star of the hugely popular "Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman" series. "--Bret Fetzer"

Theatrical: 1968

Studio: Paramount

Genre: Crime & Thriller, Television, Box Set

Duration: 1271

Summary: There's plenty to like about "Hawaii Five-0", the late '60s cop show debuting on DVD by way of this seven-disc set including all episodes from the first season, along with the two-hour pilot that preceded it. Like the music, featuring Morton Stevens' popular theme song. Or the lovely Hawaiian scenery. And let's not forget "Book 'em, Danno," the signature line delivered (although not nearly as frequently as one might expect) by star Jack Lord's Steve McGarrett, not to mention Lord's perfect hair and wrinkle-free slacks. As for everything else, let's just say that "Hawaii Five-0" has not aged well. Some of that is inevitably due to the infinitely more sophisticated production values of the series that have followed in its wake; "Five-0"'s technology, sets, and other practical elements are laughably primitive by current standards. Problem is, the cheese factor extends to pretty much every other aspect of the show as well. Most of the action sequences are utterly tension-free, and the pace is frequently glacial, with interminable scenes bogged down by talky exposition. The dialogue is risible: McGarrett refers to one adversary as "a dirty, double-dealing fink," while the so-called hippies who populate the islands utter the kind of idiocies that could only have been written by cubes whose closest contact with the counterculture came from TV commercials for Hai Karate men's cologne ("Looks like splittin' the scene was real cool, baby" is but one egregious example). Lord does a decent job as the stiff-but-heroic McGarrett, variously described as "a hardhead," "an organizational misfit," "a brilliant operator," and "a rebel," but by and large the acting (including guest shots by Sal Mineo, Ricardo Montalban, Gavin MacLeod, and Yaphet Kotto) is wooden. Story-wise, "Cocoon," the pilot, features an intriguing premise wherein U.S. intelligence agents undergo sensory-deprivation torture before spilling their secrets; elsewhere, the elite Five-0 team deals with jewel thieves, gold smugglers, kidnappers, gamblers, murderers, mobsters, all-purpose "criminal masterminds," and even "Red agents" spreading the bubonic plague. In sum: with its light (if not quite frothy) tone, "Hawaii Five-0" will offer harmless escapism to some viewers, especially those with a nostalgic bent. Others, however, will long for more substantial fare--you know, like "Deal or No Deal". The DVD set includes a single bonus feature: "Emme's Island Moments: Memories of "Hawaii Five-O"," a retrospective with James "Danno" MacArthur and other cast and crew members. "--Sam Graham"

Beyond " Hawaii Five-0 "
Virtual Hawaii DVD List
More ‘60s TV Series
More TV Series on DVD for the First Time Stills from " Hawaii Five-0: The Complete First Season " (click for larger image)

Theatrical: 1968

Studio: Paramount

Genre: Crime & Thriller, Television, Box Set

Duration: 1206

Summary: Solving crimes and putting the perps behind bars is Steve McGarrett's bag. Why, he says so himself, and in so many words, in the very first of the 24 episodes collected in this five-disc set comprising the complete second season (1969-70) of "Hawaii Five-0". Portrayed by Jack Lord, and described by no less an authority than the "New York Times" as "a model of steadfast decency" and "beyond cool but still so square he could have been Lawrence Welk’s cop brother-in-law," McGarrett is the leader of the islands' crack, four-man police unit, and as usual, he has his hands full. Perhaps that's why the man has no discernible sense of humor and only the merest suggestion of a social life. Between keeping his famous hair in order, delivering stern lectures about right and wrong to clueless lowlifes, and, as he puts it in another Second Season episode, constantly worrying "about a world without law and justice… where no one gives a damn about anything," who has time for such trivialities? This season finds McGarrett and cohorts Danno (James McArthur), Kono (Zulu), and Chin Ho (Kam Fong) dealing with the usual complement of sleaze: murderers, gamblers, druggies, prostitutes, insurance scammers, low-rent terrorists, and so on. But "Hawaii Five-0" offers its share of weirdness as well. In "Forty Feet High and It Kills!", Red Chinese uber-criminal Wo Fat (Khigh Dhiegh) and his crew orchestrate a fake tsunami warning so they can kidnap a brilliant scientist (an amusing performance by Will Geer) and force him to conduct genetic-tampering experiments designed to create a master race. In the fairly ridiculous "King Kamehameha Blues," a group of young folks steal the legendary king's robe from a museum, just to show they can; it's a measure of McGarrett's ultra-hardline attitude that the governor's offer of amnesty to the thieves if they'll return the precious garment really sticks in his righteous craw. And in "The Singapore File," McGarrett travels overseas in order to accompany a comely murder witness back to Honolulu; though tempted by her charms, he's far too scrupulous to indulge in any extra-curriculars while on the job (and Steve McGarrett is "always" on the job). "Hawaii Five-0"'s other elements are a mixed bag. As always, the Hawaiian scenery is gorgeous. Morton Stevens' theme song remains one of the best ever, and much of the other music, especially the jazzy stuff, is also terrific. However, the show isn't big on either action or tension; too many scenes are slow and talky. And in the final year of the '60s, when men walked on the moon and Woodstock and Altamont marked the respective high and low points of the hippie movement, its depiction of the counterculture is laughably square; it's as if the entire decade barely happened. The box set includes brief, previous-week promos for each episode, but no other bonus material. "--Sam Graham"

Theatrical: 1968

Studio: Paramount Home Video

Genre: Crime & Thriller, Television, Box Set

Summary: The sky is blue, the sea is a brilliant turquoise, the surf is up, the scenery is lush and gorgeous, and Steve McGarrett's hair is as stiff as the breeze blowing in off the Pacific. In other words, all is right with the world as "Hawaii Five-O: The Third Season" arrives in a six-disc, 24-episode (including a pair of two-parters) box set. McGarrett, of course, is the main man in the islands' crack, four-man police unit; played by Jack Lord, he's the guy memorably described by the "New York Times" as "beyond cool but still so square he could have been Lawrence Welk’s cop brother-in-law." Not much has changed in his universe as the series moves into a new decade (these episodes aired in 1970 and '71). McGarrett is still the humorless embodiment of moral rectitude; imperious, often sarcastic (especially when dealing with the fools from other law enforcement agencies who dare challenge his authority), he's one of those guys whose moral superiority is unquestioned, especially by him. Steadfast cohorts Danno (James McArthur), Kono (Zulu), and Chin Ho (Kam Fong) are still on hand, as is the usual assortment of bad guys, most of them risibly stereotypical--including arch-nemesis Wo Fat (Khigh Dhiegh), a kind of cut-rate Bond villain who speaks elaborately formal English as he plots to help Red China overthrow all that is good and righteous in the free world. And as in the first two seasons, "Hawaii Five-O"'s style is notable primarily for the lack of it, especially in the stiff acting (with the exception of a few guest stars--notably Hume Cronyn, who's terrific in the season's most amusing and clever episode, "Over 50? Steal"), lukewarm action sequences, and appalling hair (if bad cuts and silly sideburns were a crime, the streets would be empty and the prisons full). But then, that is precisely the show's charm.
Also as in past seasons, the Five-O crew takes on crimes both common (murder, robbery, extortion, kidnapping) and not so much; in "Reunion," some World War II vets are convinced they've come across the Japanese officer who tortured them during the war, while "The Last Eden" features with eco-terrorism and "And Time to Die" deals with China's nuclear secrets. In the end, regardless of the problem, it's McGarrett and company's dogged police work that solves it. Meanwhile, the music remains the series' hippest element by far; while Nancy Wilson might not be a particularly convincing junkie in "Trouble in Mind," her renditions of the title song, "Stormy Monday," and other tunes are absolutely first-rate. Bonus features are again limited to brief, previous-week promos for each episode. "--Sam Graham"

Theatrical: 1986

Studio: Warner Bros.

Genre: War

Duration: 125 mins

Summary: Clint Eastwood is Gunnery Sergeant Tom Highway, career Marine and combat veteran. He is a man whose life has been defined by war. Korea and Vietnam taught him how to survive. He won the Congressional Medal of Honor but found public apathy and military bureaucracy. He is a hard drinking loner but he's trying to reorganise his life and understand the woman he loves. He is a traditionalist who has to shape up his ragtag troops and he'll get the job done. His integrity is unwavering. His past is Heartbreak Ridge. He is ready for another battlefield and his finest hour. It will come.

Theatrical: 1995

Studio:

Genre: Crime & Thriller

Summary: Having developed his skill as a master of contemporary crime drama, writer-director Michael Mann displayed every aspect of that mastery in this intelligent, character-driven thriller from 1995, which also marked the first onscreen pairing of Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. The two great actors had played father and son in the separate time periods of "The Godfather, Part II", but this was the first film in which the pair appeared together, and although their only scene together is brief, it's the riveting fulcrum of this high-tech cops-and-robbers scenario. De Niro plays a master thief with highly skilled partners (Val Kilmer and Tom Sizemore) whose latest heist draws the attention of Pacino, playing a seasoned Los Angeles detective whose investigation reveals that cop and criminal lead similar lives. Both are so devoted to their professions that their personal lives are a disaster. Pacino's with a wife (Diane Venora) who cheats to avoid the reality of their desolate marriage; De Niro pays the price for a life with no outside connections; and Kilmer's wife (Ashley Judd) has all but given up hope that her husband will quit his criminal career. These are men obsessed, and as De Niro and Pacino know, they'll both do whatever's necessary to bring the other down. Mann's brilliant screenplay explores these personal obsessions and sacrifices with absorbing insight, and the tension mounts with some of the most riveting action sequences ever filmed--most notably a daylight siege that turns downtown Los Angeles into a virtual war zone of automatic gunfire. At nearly three hours, the film qualifies as a kind of intimate epic, certain to leave some viewers impatiently waiting for more action, but it's all part of Mann's compelling strategy. "Heat" is a true rarity: a crime thriller with equal measures of intense excitement and dramatic depth, giving De Niro and Pacino a prime showcase for their finely matched talents. "--Jeff Shannon"

Theatrical:

Studio:

Genre: Crime & Thriller

Duration: 171 mins

Summary: In Los Angeles, a gang of armed thieves is hitting serious targets - major banks, vaults, and armored cars. These thieves are led by arch-criminal Neal MacAuley. One of their operations, an armored-car robbery, goes bad and the armored-car guards are murdered by the gunmen - putting LAPD homicide detective Vince Hanna on the trail of the thieves. Hanna knows it will take a lot to bring these dangerous, armed thieves down, and it will end in a horrifying gun battle when the thieves try to rob a major federal bank.

Theatrical: 2004

Studio: Columbia Tristar Hom

Genre: Science Fiction & Fantasy

Summary: Based on the Dark Horse comic, HELLBOY is probably one of the more unusual superhero films around today. In a prologue set in World War II, the U.S. Army foils a Nazi plot to open an other dimensional portal and unleash monster fiends upon the world. However, an infant demon slips through into our world. Taking pity on him, government scientist Professor Broom raises the tyke as his own. 60 years later, we find the demon all grown-up and fighting paranormal menaces for a secret U.S. government agency. However, Hellboy finds himself batting not only the evils of his past, but his own feelings for Liz, a fellow freak with pyrotechnic powers. Ron Perlman is perfectly cast as the demon with a blue-collar attitude towards his job. In many ways, he comes across as your local garbage man or plumber with his world-weary view towards the many monsters he faces. His snappy comebacks are especially amusing. Perlman's costume and make-up also reinforce the image with his floppy raincoat and filed-down horns, which resemble goggles more than anything. Selma Blair is touching as the somewhat sullen object of Hellboy's affections, while John Hurt brings an added amount of warmth as the elder Professor Broom. Rupert Evans is solid as the young FBI agent introduced to this unusual situation. As the evil Rasputin, Karel Rodin somewhat underplays the part, making him a rather bland bad guy. Doug Jones, with the voice of David Hyde Pierce, are delightful as fish-man Abe Sapien. Lending solid support is Jeffrey Tambor as Hellboy's antagonistic boss. Despite having a lower budget than most films of its type, the special effects are definitely better than average with snaky haired monsters providing menace and a complaining zombie half-corpse providing laughs. HELLBOY is a fast-paced, fun film that definitely will draw in fans of the cult comic, while the irreverent attitude will appeal to action fans in general. It doesn't matter if you're familiar to the comic or not, this film is definitely a fun time, and as such, is one that I definitely recommend.

Theatrical: 1987

Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)

Genre: Horror

Duration: 97

Summary: When Hamilton High's Prom Queen of 1957, Mary Lou Maloney is killed by her jilted boyfriend, she comes back for revenge 30 years later. Bill Nordham is now the principle of Hamilton High and his son is about to attend the prom with Vicki Carpenter. However, she is possessed by Mary Lou Maloney after opening a trunk in the school's basement. Now Bill must face the horror he left behind in 1957.

Theatrical: 1977

Studio: Anchor Bay

Genre: Horror

Summary: Fans of Wes Craven's more recent major studio work (the "Scream" series) may be put off by the low-budget griminess of his sophomore feature, "The Hills Have Eyes", but the director's longtime supporters and aficionados of '70s horror will be riveted by this unsettling culture clash fable. Originally titled "Blood Relations", Hills strands a suburban family (which includes "E.T."'s Dee Wallace Stone and future documentarian Robert Houston) in the desert and pits them against a clan of inbred cannibals. The resourceful killer brood quickly decimates the outsiders' numbers, forcing the survivors to fight back with equally savage means. Like Craven's debut, "Last House on the Left", "Hills" is a relentlessly tense film which demolishes numerous societal taboos (fratricide and infant kidnapping, for starters), but it also delivers a powerful subtext about family and the fine line between civilization and animal behavior amidst the mayhem. Highly recommended for Craven completists and fans of no-holds-barred horror. "--Paul Gaita"

Theatrical: 1985

Studio: Image Entertainment

Genre: Horror

Summary: Everyone's favorite desert-dwelling mutant cannibals return in this gruesome sequel to the classic drive-in shocker! Years after the original massacre which pitted a suburban family against a band of cave dwellers, traumatized survivors lead a team of dirt bikers back into the wild for a bus expedition. After their vehicle breaks down, the travelers must fend for their lives when the hungry savages (led by spooky Michael Berryman) emerge from the hills in search of dinner! Directed by horror maestro Wes Craven (Scream, A Nightmare on Elm Street), this brutal chiller features shocking highlights from the original film (including the now legendary canine flashback) and an eerie score by "Friday the 13th's" Henry Manfredini. Vicious, delirious, and outrageous!

Theatrical: 2006

Studio: 20Th Century Fox

Genre: Horror

Duration: 107

Summary: A new take on Wes Craven's 1977 film of the same name, THE HILLS HAVE EYES is the story of a family road trip that goes terrifyingly awry when the travellers become stranded in a government atomic zone. Miles from nowhere, the Carters soon realise the seemingly uninhabited wasteland is actually the breeding ground of a blood-thirsty mutant family.and they are the prey.

Theatrical:

Studio: Universal Pictures Video

Genre: Crime & Thriller

Summary: This seven-disc box set includes the following titles:
"The Trouble with Harry": the 1955 black comedy concerning a pesky corpse that becomes a problem for a quiet, Vermont neighbourhood.
"The Man Who Knew Too Much": the 1956 remake of Hitchcock's own 1934 spy thriller. James Stewart and Doris Day play American tourists who discover more than they wanted to know about an assassination plot.
"Rear Window": the 1954 film in which the story and visual perspective are dictated by its protagonist's (Jimmy Stewart) imprisonment in his apartment. Stewart's convalescence in a wheelchair provides the revolutionary perspective from which both he and the audience observe the lives of his neighbours.
"Rope": the 1948 experimental film masquerading as a Hollywood thriller, the plot is simple and based on a successful stage play: two young men commit murder as an intellectual exercise.
"Shadow of a Doubt": the 1943 thriller which sets a tone of menace and fear by introducing a psychotic killer into the quite suburban town of Santa Rosa, California. Hitchcock claimed it to be his personal favourite.
"Saboteur": the 1942 film, set during the initial stages of World War II, concerning a ring of Nazi fifth columnists who plot to weaken American military defences and cause a falsely accused man being forced on the run.
Bonus disc: "Psycho": the 1960 film which contains one of the most famous scenes in movie history. Anthony Perkins is unforgettable as Norman Bates (a role he could never seem to leave behind) the mama's-boy proprietor of the Bates Motel.
On the DVD: with the wealth of writing and documentation surrounding the great master and his work, it would be a great loss to find this collection lacking in special features. Thankfully this box set does not disappoint. The special features are not only laid out clearly but they offer an outstanding range of information that will please any Hitchcock fan. Each disc varies in content but many include original storyboards and sketches from art directors and even, on one occasion, Hitchcock himself. They contain beautifully edited interviews or "Making Of" features, plus there's a trailer compilation with a voice-over from the great Jimmy Stewart. All discs come with a scene selection and choice of languages and subtitles. The DVD picture and sound is almost perfect, making each classic feel like new.
The box set offers a small booklet with details of each film along with original poster. The "Psycho" bonus disc, includes cast biographies and a theatrical trailer and the lavish package design makes it a great coffee-table accessory --"Nikki Disney"

Theatrical:

Studio: Beyond Home Entertainment

Genre: Crime & Thriller

Duration: 681 mins

Summary: Enjoy the formative works from the man who was once referred to by The New York Times as “The most famous director in movie history”. Hitchcock displayed an incredible craftsmanship and originality in his films along with his signature themes, so allow yourself to recapture all the thrills, intrigue and betrayal from the golden age of filmmaking. Includes:
1926 The Lodger
1927 The Ring
1928 Easy Virtue
1928 The Farmers’ Wife
1929 The Manxman
1929 Young and Innocent
1929 Blackmail
1930 Juno and the Paycock

Theatrical:

Studio: Beyond Home Entertainment

Genre: Crime & Thriller

Duration: 681 mins

Summary: Enjoy the formative works from the man who was once referred to by The New York Times as “The most famous director in movie history”. Hitchcock displayed an incredible craftsmanship and originality in his films along with his signature themes, so allow yourself to recapture all the thrills, intrigue and betrayal from the golden age of filmmaking. Includes:
1930 Murder
1932 Number Seventeen
1932 Rich And Strange
1934 The Man Who Knew Too Much
1936 Sabotage
1936 Secret Agent
1938 The Lady Vanishes
1939 Jamaica Inn

Theatrical: 1958

Studio: Universal Pictures Video

Genre: Crime & Thriller

Summary: A welcome second volume of classics from the Master of Suspense, this seven-disc "Hitchcock Collection" box-set consists of the following:
"The Birds": Based on a Daphne Du Maurier short story, "The Birds" (1963) is Hitchcock at his most terrifying, as the residents of a small town are attacked by thousands of apparently homicidal birds.
"Marnie": Tippi Hedren and newly Bonded Sean Connery star in this excellent 1964 thriller, which finds a calculating thief who robs her employers pursued by a her new boss, who is desperate to unlock her secrets
"Torn Curtain": This 1966 spy thriller, pairing Paul Newman and Julie Andrews, finds Newman as a world-famous physicist intent on defecting to East Berlin in order to obtain funding for his latest project.
"Topaz": Based on the Leon Uris novel, Hitch's 51st film, made in 1969, concerns a CIA agent who learns of Russian missiles in Cuba. With the aid of a French agent, they negotiate a plethora of corruption and murder.
"Frenzy": This critically acclaimed 1972 film was Hitch's first British-made film for more than 20 years. A classic Hitch story of an innocent man accused of being the "necktie murderer"--a vicious sex criminal terrorising London--he eludes the authorities and seeks the real killer.
"Family Plot": Hitchcock's final film, made in 1976, is a blackly funny mix of murder, theft and kidnapping as a cab-driver and a psychic team up to find a dead man--not actually dead--in exchange for a $10,000 reward.
"Bonus Disc--Vertigo": An irreducible masterpiece, this 1958 double-identity thriller finds Hitch serving aces, as Jimmy Stewart's detective is drawn in to a complex plot when the girl he loves apparently falls to her death.
On the DVD: Like the first volume, this is an equally impressive package that will satisfy the rotund fright-master's fans. Along with the standard selection of trailers, production notes and picture galleries, each disc houses an impressive "making of" documentary, each expertly detailing Hitch's meticulous work. "The Birds" features Tippi Hedren's screen test and--in storyboard form--deleted scenes and the alternative ending. "Topaz" has no less that three alternative endings, while "Torn Curtain" includes scenes scored by composer Bernard Herrmann before his music was rejected by Hitch. The "Vertigo" disc features an excellent group commentary from producer Herbert Coleman and restoration experts Robert A Harris and James Katz, as well as a documentary, "Obsessed with "Vertigo"". Housed in attractive fold-out packaging, this is an excellent opportunity to obtain a rich slice of Hitchcock's dark magic.--"Danny Graydon"

Theatrical: 2001

Studio: Elektra / Wea

Genre: Music DVDs - Concerts

Summary: Missy the artist is cool, confident. Missy the producer/songwriter is in charge, innovative. This is Missy the video artist--off the wall and off the hook. The "Hits of Miss E...The Videos, Volume 1" DVD and VHS feature four of her groundbreaking videos, all available for purchase for the first time. In addition, the DVD version includes behind-the-scenes footage and Surround Sound. This companion video to Missy's album "Miss E... So Addictive" leaves no doubt that Missy is as far ahead of the game in front of the camera as she is behind the mixing board and the microphone. "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)," "Hit 'Em wit' da Hee," "She's a Bitch," "Get Ur Freak On."

Theatrical: 1993

Studio: A&E HOME VIDEO

Genre: Crime & Thriller, Television, Box Set

Duration: 5880

Summary: Special configuration - all six Homicide: Life on the Street DVD Sets (Season One & Two 4-pack, Season Three 6-pack, Season Four 6-pack, Season Five 6-pack, Season Six 6-pack, and Season Seven 6-pack)

Theatrical: 1968

Studio: Lions Gate

Genre: Crime & Thriller

Duration: 115

Summary: In this stylish, riveting French thriller, film icons Charles Bronson and Alain Delon team up to create a one-of-a-kind buddy film with a fascinating premise. After serving together in the French Foreign Legion, Franz Propp (Bronson) and Dr. Dino Barran (Delon) go their separate ways only to be reunited by an extraordinary coincidence. Barran is persuaded by a friend to sneak into an underground bank vault and help return stolen bonds. While he is hiding, he comes upon Propp who is actually there to rob the safe. After getting locked inside the vault, the two very different men strike up a powerful friendship that binds them together through a series of shocking developments - from a miraculous escape to being framed for murder.

Theatrical: 2006

Studio: Magnolia Home Entertainment

Genre: Horror

Duration: 120

Summary: Aficionados of movie monsters will find things in "The Host" that they have been waiting to see all their lives: a monster lazily unfurling itself from the girders beneath a bridge, for instance, or a view from a moving elevated train that frames the monster as it gallops lustily across a park filled with scattering locals. If the realization of a creature were all this movie had going for it, director Bong Joon-ho would have enough to be proud of, but "The Host" offers more food for thought, and plenty of food for the monster. Bong creates both a deeply eccentric comedy about family and a cheeky gloss on political currents. The monster is created when a U.S. military doctor (Scott Wilson in an unnerving cameo) orders a South Korean soldier to discard chemicals into the Han River in Seoul. Sure enough, a toxic monster is born, as we see in an opening reel that is surely the most exhilarating monster intro in years. Our central figure--of the human variety, that is--is played by Song Kang-ho (who also starred in Bong's "Memories of Murder"), as a hilariously lazy slob who must fight to discover what happened to his daughter after she was snatched up by the creature. Along the way, the film makes some pointed cracks at the ease with which governments can exploit public fear for their own purposes, and there's some satire aimed at U.S. intervention in global affairs. The film has some serious lulls, and would have been a tighter, crazier head-rush if it were 90 minutes long instead of two hours. But in general this is a much smarter Godzilla movie than Godzilla movies ever were. "--Robert Horton"

Theatrical:

Studio:

Genre: Comedy

Summary: 2 Disc Special Edition, includes FREE Orange SIM card with 300 free texts. Classification - 15
Anamorphic Widescreen
Aspect Ratio - 2.35:1
Dolby Digital 5.1
PAL, Regions 2 and 4
Original Language - English

Theatrical: 1981

Studio: Mgm/Ua Studios

Genre: Horror

Summary: A graduate of Roger Corman's school of low-budget ingenuity, Joe Dante gained enough momentum with 1978's Piranha to rise to the challenge of The Howling, and he brought along Piranha screenwriter John Sayles to cowrite this instant werewolf classic. Makeup wizard Rob Bottin was recruited to create what was then the wildest onscreen transformation ever seen. With Gary Brandner's novel The Howling as a starting point, Sayles and Dante conceived a werewolf colony on the California coast, posing as a self-help haven led by a seemingly benevolent doctor (Patrick Macnee), and populated by a variety of "patients," from sexy, leather-clad sirens (among them Elisabeth Brooks) to an old coot (John Carradine) who's quite literally long in the tooth. When a TV reporter (Dee Wallace) arrives at the colony to recover from a recent trauma, the resident lycanthropes prepare for a howlin' good time. Dante handles it all with equal measures of humor, sex, gore, and horror, pulling out all the stops when the ravenous Eddie (Dante favorite Robert Picardo, later known as the Doctor on Star Trek: Voyager) transforms into a towering, bloodthirsty werewolf. (Bottin's mentor Rick Baker would soon raise the makeup ante with An American Werewolf in London.) As usual, in-jokes abound, from characters named after werewolf-movie directors, amusing cameos (Corman, Sayles, Forrest J. Ackerman), and hammy inserts of wolfish cartoons and Allen Ginsberg's "Howl." It's best appreciated now as a quintessential example of early-'80s horror, with low-budget limitations evident throughout, but The Howling remains a giddy genre milestone. --Jeff Shannon

Theatrical: 2003

Studio: Virgin Records Ltd.

Genre: Music DVDs - Concerts

Summary: Digitally remastered and released on DVD for the first time, most of Phil Oakey and pals' greatest hits are included on The Very Best of the Human League. With their heavy eye make-up, bizarre hair-styles and generally dodgy fashion sense, few people could have predicted back in the early 1980s that the group would become long-standing pop and style icons. Opening with the simple promos for experimental tracks "Circus of Death" and "Empire State Human", the videos evolve in budget and sophistication, reflecting the band's growing popular success and the general development of the pop video as a genre. Some of the early promos attempt pastiches of popular film and television productions: "Love Action (I Believe in Love)" is a take on The Graduate, while "Don't You Want Me" appears to have been shot on the set of Jersey-based detective series Bergerac. Heralding the arrival of the Quantel Paintbox--the ground-breaking televisual special effects generator--the "Open Your Heart" promo incorporates a variety of tacky special effects, which may have looked great on Swap Shop in 1981, but now look remarkably ridiculous. The lesser-known video for the Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis-produced track "I Need Your Loving" and the retrospective video montage for their 1998 Greatest Hits collection track "Love is All That Matters" also oddly make it on to this compilation. The videos for the non-Virgin Record singles are included, too ("Tell Me When", "One Man in My Heart" and "All I Ever Wanted"), with "One Man in My Heart" providing a step-by-step guide to making a cappuccino. On the DVD: The Very Best of The Human League has been mastered effectively overall, with the visual and audio quality of the 1981 promo for "Love Action" being particularly crisp. The Top of the Pops and Later... performances provide an added perspective on the evolution of the band, and the interview with Phil, Joanne and Susan supplies a further comprehensive and accessible overview of their past and future development. --John Galilee