03.04.03
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's
Classic Drama range now available on DVD
Five
superb series from the golden age of Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ drama launch Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Worldwide's
new Classic Drama range on DVD for the very first time. These long-awaited
titles were originally transmitted during the 70s and 80s and represent
some of the best-remembered and most influential drama programmes
ever broadcast on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ television. They made household names of the
stars and generated catchphrases that passed into common usage.
Μύ
Abigail's
Party
Writer
Mike Leigh has perfected the art of dramatising the most excruciating
moments in the lives of ordinary people and in Abigail's Party his
eye for the embarrassing is at its sharpest. Beverly takes advantage
of a neighbour's teenage daughter's party to host a small gathering
of her own for the adults. Beverly, played by Alison Steadman is
wonderfully bitchy while her estate agent husband Lawrence is browbeaten
and harassed. Beverly wears low-cut dresses, too much make-up and
has a reputation as a man-eating monster and turns the social get-together
into a virtual time bomb of emotional tension.
Alison
Steadman won two best actress awards for her portrayal of the bored,
bitchy hostess in this savagely funny study of pretentious middle-class
social manners.
Special features include:
- Photo
Gallery
- Producer
and director commentary
- Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ
Two's Abigail's Party night welcome, intro and goodbye
Abigail's
Party is in the top 20 in the BFI's all-time top 100 British television
programmes and stars Tim Stern, Janine Duvitski (Waiting for God),
John Salthouse and Harriet Reynolds.
Title:
Abigail's Party
Price: 15.99
Catalogue no: Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔDVD1181
Running time: 66 mins approx
Release date: 26 May 2003
Certificate: tbc
Μύ
Boys
from the Blackstuff
Alan
Bleasdale's hugely acclaimed series, first shown in 1982, echoes
the misery and despair of long-term unemployment. Set in Liverpool,
these profoundly moving human dramas follow in turn the attempts
of five working-class heroes to survive.
The Times described the series as "a major drama that defines
the state of the nation".
Boys
from the Blackstuff stars Bernard Hill (Titanic, Lord of the Rings),
Michael Angelis (Lovejoy), and Julie Walters (Billy Elliot, Harry
Potter).
Extras
on the DVD include commentary from Alan Bleasdale and director Jim
Goddard.
Title:
Boys from the Blackstuff
Price: Β£15.99
Catalogue no: Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔDVD1178
Running time: 416 mins approx
Release date: 26 May 2003
Certificate: tbc
Μύ
Edge
of Darkness
First
shown in 1985, and starring Bob Peck (Jurassic Park, Macbeth) and
Joanne Whalley (Singing Detective), Michael Wearing's Edge of Darkness
won nine awards including six BAFTAs. Director Martin Campbell went
on to Hollywood to direct blockbusters including The Mask of Zorro
and GoldenEye.
As
Yorkshire detective Ronald Craven investigates the murder of his
daughter, the story spirals into a gripping eco-thriller of political
conspiracy, secret service machinations and even shady mediaeval
societies. As he draws closer to the dangerous inner sanctums of
organised environmental protests and nuclear power interests, he
discovers the ultimate truths at the heart of our society.
Music
is by Michael Kamen and Eric Clapton.
Extras
on the DVD include:
- Bob
Peck interview from Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Breakfast Time
- The
BAFTAs 1986 - including interviews with Bob Peck and Joe Don Baker.
- Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ
Arts programme Did You See ...? reviews Edge of Darkness
- Magnox
- The Secrets of Edge of Darkness. Featuring contributions from
writer Troy Kennedy Martin, producer Michael Wearing, composer
Michael Kamen, and actors Bob Peck, Ian McNeice, Charles Kay and
John Woodvine, series technical advisor Walt Patterson and visual
effects designer Mat Irvine.
- The
Broadcasting Press Guild Awards 1986, featuring interviews with
producer Michael Wearing and actor Bob Peck.
The
Mail on Sunday called it, "a thriller enriched by humanity,
a tragedy enhanced by wit, a fantasy endorsed by grisly reality."
Title:
The Edge of Darkness
Price:
Β£15.99
Catalogue no: Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔDVD1179
Running time: 400 mins approx
Release date: 26 May 2003
Certificate: tbc
Μύ
Hotel
du Lac
Starring
Anna Massey, Patricia Hodge and Denholm Elliott, Christopher Hampton's
adaptation of Anita Brookner's novel was shot on location in London
and Switzerland and went on to win two CableACE, an RTS and 3 BAFTA
awards. It was first transmitted in 1986.
Hotel
du lac is the story of a young woman who is in disgrace with her
family and friends for having a mind of her own over marriage. She
retreats to a hotel on Lake Geneva where she makes some unexpected
new acquaintances with their own sad stories - and encounters another
tantalizing possibility of love.
The News of the World said, "Hotel du Lac lacked nothing. A
rare television treat."
DVD
extras include a photo gallery and producer and director commentaries.
Title:
Hotel du Lac
Price: Β£15.99
Catalogue no: Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔDVD1226
Running
time: 75 mins approx
Release date: 26 May 2003
Certificate: tbc
Μύ
Tinker,
Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Made in 1979, the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ this adaptation of John Le Carre's hugely
popular spy novel was much-praised. The Washnington Post said it
was, "one of the most madly atmospheric and enjoyably literate
films ever done for television".
It
has a stellar cast including Sir Alec Guiness, Joss Ackland, Michael
Aldridge, Ian Bannen, Anthony Bates and George Sewell.
The bespectacled spymaster is once again called from retirement
to come to the aid of the 'circus' - and he returns with a vengeance.
The murder of an emigre Soviet general who was also a British agent
sends him digging into the past on a twisted trail across Europe
that moves, inexorably, towards a final showdown with his old adversary,
Karla of Moscow centre.
The
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ-produced Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is probably the most intellectually
demanding - and reqarding - TV series ever seen in the US",
Time Magazine
Special
features include:
- Scene
selection
- Photo
gallery
- Producer
and director commentary
Title:
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Price: Β£15.99
Catalogue no: Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔDVD1180
Running time: 350 mins approx
Release date: 26 May 2003 Certificate: tbc
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