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Friday 28th February 2020 |
It's Friday and it's the end of the month - pay-day! Woohoo! We're longing to add some new titles to our shelves, and delight in some remastered classics. These guys are very much our heroes - how about you?
Coming soon
This Country - The Complete Collection
Praised as one of the best British comedies in years, this mockumentary hit has catapulted its young writer-performers - Charlie and Daisy May Cooper - to instant star status. Feckless cousins Kerry and Lee 'Kurtan' Mucklowe live in the picturesque, but depressingly dull, village of in the Cotswolds. As they fritter away their days in the most pointless ways possible, they push their friendship to breaking point by constantly winding each other up. But, whether suffering the indignity of Kerry's house being pelted with plums, or celebrating the death of their old woodwork teacher with a bottle of cheap fizzy booze, these two miscreants always manage to stay loyal to each other.
All three series, plus the hit Aftermath special episode, are included. If you've already got Series 1 & 2, the Series 3 (with The Aftermath) DVD is available to order separately.
The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Future: Douglas Adams And The Digital World
Technology affects almost everything we do, and its possibilities can be both exhilarating and daunting. This collection features two radio documentaries in which Adams explored his visions of the digital future, plus follow-up Did Douglas Get It Right?, presented by Mitch Benn.
Buster
The story of Great Train Robber Buster Edwards, a small-timer who fell in with more ambitious thieves.
After the gang robs a London to Glasgow Royal Mail train in 1963, he takes his family into hiding in Mexico but finds that money is no substitute for life back home.
With an all-star cast including Phil Collins, Dame Julie Walters, Larry Lamb, Martin Jarvis and Sheila Hancock, Buster is the hilarious feel-good comedy with the fantastic best-selling accompanying soundtrack we know and love.
Last Holiday
Last Holiday is a 1950 black comedy starring Alec Guinness in fine form as George Bird, a mild-mannered salesman, who's been told by his doctor that he only has a short time left to live. Determined not to waste his final days, he decides to go on one last holiday to live the rest of his life to the full. Written by renowned novelist and playwright J.B. Priestley, Last Holiday is a timeless parable on the notion that life is not just about how long you live, but how well.
This brand new high definition restoration will be available on Blu-ray, to download, and downscaled to puny DVD, next month.
Roger + The Rottentrolls - The Complete Series 1-4
A thousand years ago, in a very strange valley where the rocks are all slightly mad, Merlin was trying to create a ski resort for King Arthur, when he picked up some strange Norwegian trolls in a snow cloud.... Ever since, they waited for their mystical leader whose name they found carved in a rock - Roger Was Ere. So one day, when Roger Becket from Cowgill stopped at the bottom of the valley and shouted 'Roger Was Here' - from that moment on, he was King of the Rottentrolls!
The Card
A gentle, Oscar-nominated British comedy featuring a memorably charming performance from Alec Guinness, The Card co-stars Valerie Hobson, Glynis Johns and Petula Clark in an early performance. Directed by Ronald Neame, it is featured here as a brand-new high definition transfer from original film elements in its as-exhibited theatrical aspect ratio.
A precocious child who has grown into a cheeky charmer, ambitious Denry Machin relishes the challenge of surmounting social and other barriers with his amiably affectionate personality. He soon becomes the youngest ever mayor of his home town, but he soon meets his match when it comes to women!
Bristow - The Complete Series 1-3
Michael Williams stars in all three series of the BBC Radio 4 sitcom based on Frank Dickens's famous comic strip character.
Bristow is a middle-aged, ineffectual buying clerk for the Chester-Perry Organisation. He is merely a small cog in a gigantic wheel...and he knows it. But he has his own small ways of rebelling, and together with sparring partner, Jones, and tea lady, Mrs Purdy, he weaves hopeless tangles of red tape to confound the system and liven up everyone's day. In these 14 episodes, Bristow hopes to make a mint from a rumoured takeover bid, helps Jones to plan his escape from Chester-Perry, crusades to improve conditions for the cleaning ladies, and falls in with troublemaker, Tom Paine, at the office dinner dance.
Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investigators - Series Three
Third series of the hit BBC show combining corpses, comedy and cracking mysteries. With smatterings of the beautiful British countryside, this quirky comedy crime drama has won viewers in more than 200 countries.
Now that Lu has passed her private investigator exams and Frank's tidied himself up a bit, there's no stopping them. But murder, kidnap, blackmail and infidelity still abound in the pretty tourist town of Stratford-upon-Avon. An ageing heavy metal star with a pact with the devil. A Shakespeare museum full of deadly secrets. A King Lear story set in a carpet warehouse. Welcome to the birthplace of the Bard, where low-life criminals get caught up in deliciously high drama.
Featuring another ten 45-minute episodes, this series recently concluded its TV run. A fourth series will film later this year for broadcast in early 2021.
Last Tango In Halifax - Series 5
The brand new, hit fifth series of the acclaimed comedy drama - back on screens after more than 3 years.
Alan and Celia are seven years into their marriage and having moved into a desirable bungalow, they aren't seeing eye to eye. Alan's new supermarket job brings an unexpected challenge when a wild local lad takes a shine to him and, at Far Slack Farm, Gillian faces trouble with a giraffe. John's back on the scene, and Caroline finds herself caught in an emotional tangle with someone at work. Into all this jets Alan's brother, Ted, on holiday from New Zealand... but it turns out he only bought a one-way ticket.
StarDog And TurboCat
Launched into space by his scientist owner in 1969, loyal dog Buddy crash lands in the present-day in a small town where pets are ruthlessly rounded up by animal-hating cop Peck.
Desperate to be reunited with his owner, Buddy recruits genius millionaire cat Felix to help him on a madcap adventure across town. But when they encounter rabbit Cassidy and her misfit organisation of animal rights activists G.U.A.R.D., Buddy and Felix are forced to confront Peck and become the heroes they need to be!
Starring Luke Evans, Nick Frost, Gemma Arterton and Bill Nighy, it's a funny animated adventure about friendship, heroism and belief in the human capacity for good that introduces the whole family to the greatest heroes ever unleashed: STARDOG AND TURBOCAT!
Daliso Chaponda: Citizen Of Nowhere - Series 1 & 2
Britain's Got Talent star Daliso Chaponda takes a comic look at the relationship between the UK and Africa in these two BBC Radio 4 series.
The UK and Africa have had a long and complicated past. The series look at the history of this relationship, with Daliso as our relationship guidance counsellor, helping us navigate the rocky historical waters between the two places. A Malawian comedian who grew up all over the world, Daliso straddles cultural divides. He will help us all better understand how to sort out our differences. Or not.... Along with his sidekick 'The Other Guy' (James Quinn), Daliso explores how the UK and Africa first met; looks at the people on both sides who don't want the relationship to work; considers charities and organisations who want to help and discusses the process of immigration
Some People
A lively musical tale of teen rebellion, Some People stars BAFTA winner Kenneth More alongside a group of young actors on the cusp of bursting onto the Swinging London film scene. Ray Brooks, Annika (Anneke) Wills and David Hemmings play the young, bored rebels "living for kicks" in this key British film from the early 1960s, newly transferred from original film elements in high definition and available on Blu-ray for the first time.
Young and bored, Johnnie, Bill and Bert are teenage tearaways whose only interests are motorbikes and rock music. When they are banned from riding and fined heavily, they become convinced that society has no use for them. But a choirmaster finds them playing rock on a church organ and, for some of them at least, there seems to be a way out of a no-hope situation.
The Personal History Of David Copperfield
Adapted from the classic novel by Charles Dickens, The Personal History Of David Copperfield brings to life one of the author's most cherished characters.
From birth to infancy, from adolescence to adulthood, the good-hearted David Copperfield (Dev Patel) is surrounded by kindness, wickedness, poverty and wealth, as he meets an array of remarkable characters in Victorian England. As David sets out to be a writer, in his quest for family, friendship, romance and status, the story of his life is the most seductive tale of all.
This delicious period piece is full of stars: Hugh Laurie, Gwendoline Christie, Peter Capaldi, Daisy May Cooper, Victor Maguire and Ben Whishaw amongst them. Directed by Armando Iannucci and adapted by Iannucci and Simon Blackwell, it is a real delight.
The Windsors - Complete Series Three
The complete third series of Channel 4's comedy satirising the private lives of the Royal Family. It's only started on television this week, but pre-orders are now being taken ahead of a DVD release in June.
For more, see our full list of new releases and products coming soon.
Out now
The League Of Gentlemen
A rogues' gallery of the cream of British acting talent star in this wonderful comic crime caper, from director Basil Dearden. Jack Hawkins gives a memorable performance as an embittered former army officer, alongside Roger Livesey, Nigel Patrick, Richard Attenborough and Bryan Forbes - who also wrote the BAFTA-nominated screenplay. The film is presented here as a brand-new high definition transfer from original film elements in its original theatrical aspect ratio.
After being 'retired' from the army, an ex-Colonel nurtures a bitter resentment at his country's ingratitude. Luckily for him he's not the only one and he assembles a small group of bankrupt or similarly embittered former military men in a bid to stage an ingenious bank robbery, the likes of which has never been seen in Britain before. Combining their precise military training and discipline, this could just prove to be the perfect crime.
Phil Nichol - I Don't Want To Talk About It
For a comedian, when life sucks, the material's good. If life gets really bad, that's even better. If it's completely horrendous then it makes for a great show. This should be a great show!
Monty Python's Flying Circus - Complete Series 2
The second, highly-anticipated series of the complete, fully restored Monty Python's Flying Circus is now available to own, and Series 3 will be available from the end of March.
All four series of the iconic, international smash-hit have been completely restored from the best surviving master materials: film elements (including Gilliam's inimitable animations) have been re-scanned at full HD resolution; video tape has been re-digitised, cleaned and upscaled to HD size; edited sketches have been restored to their original length; removed sketches reinstated in their entirety; and all meticulously cleaned, coloured and graded with a fine tooth comb to make these releases the definitive Python collection.
It is no exaggeration but a literal fact to say that Monty Python's Flying Circus has never previously looked nearly this good - not even on its first ever BBC broadcast.
The Goes Wrong Show - Series 1
The Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society undertake another (overly) ambitious endeavour, held back by prolific over-actor Robert Grove, the screen-hogging Sandra Wilkinson and the artistically mistrusted Dennis Tyde.
Six brand new, hand-crafted, half hours of theatrical catastrophe include the gripping courtroom drama A Trial To Watch and World War II spy thriller The Pilot (which is not the pilot). The Goes Wrong Show is simply Mischief's biggest disaster yet.
A second series is now being written, so don't miss this first outing for the hilarious TV format.
Orphans
Renowned actor Peter Mullan (Mum, Trainspotting) made his feature film directing debut with this fierce jet-black Scottish comedy of familial grief shot in and around the streets of Glasgow where he grew up.
As four siblings reunite for the funeral of their mother, Orphans blends realist drama, wildly absurdist humour, and moving social observation. Gleefully unsentimental and taking wicked delight in subverting audience expectations, Orphans is a dark, dangerous, funny and extraordinarily touching modern classic of Scottish cinema.
On Blu-ray for the very first time, this release is packed with special features new and old, plus an exclusive booklet detailing the film.
The Love Ban
A rumbustious comedy from Ralph Thomas and Betty Box, The Love Ban (originally released with the title It's A 2'6" Above The Ground World) stars Hywel Bennett and Nanette Newman as an enthusiastically procreative couple with a family planning problem. Based on the hit stage play - and also featuring Nicky Henson and John Cleese - it is presented here as a brand-new high definition transfer from the original film elements.
Young married couple Kate and Mick have a problem - Mick's strict Catholicism forbids the use of birth control, but after six pregnancies in eight years Kate has had enough and institutes a nookie ban! Turned out of his own bed, Mick quickly finds his mind running away with him, and fantasies he never knew he had coming to life right before his eyes. Something has got to give...
Tom Wrigglesworth's Hang Ups - Series 1-5
Listen in on award-winning comedian Tom Wrigglesworth's family phone calls in these five popular series. Across 24 episodes, Tom phones home for his weekly check-in, giving us a funny, fascinating glimpse into his family background and the influences that have shaped his temperament, opinions and hang ups.
As the conversations unfold, Tom takes time out from the calls to explain the situation and his parents' reactions, and relate various anecdotes from the past which illustrate his family's views. And sometimes he just needs to sound off about life's everyday annoyances.
Gavin & Stacey - A Special Christmas
Within a week of its Christmas broadcast, this special episode revisiting the characters of the hit sitcom after almost a complete decade off air, had become one of the most-watched television programmes of the 21st Century - clocking up enough viewing time to span the birth of Jesus right through till the late 1940s. An incredibly achievement, disproving those who claim comedy doesn't get high viewing figures any more because there are so many channels and other platforms vying for our attention.
That Christmas special can now be owned and watched again on DVD. Fans will be keenly hoping a full new series follows.
For more, see our full list of new releases and products coming soon.
Thanks for reading
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