Network DVDs: First half of July 2009

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Network DVDs: First half of July 2009 Distributed by
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Posted: June 26th, 2009.

DVD:

A star-studded British comedy; Frankie Howerd, Tommy Cooper, Lionel Blair and Mike & Bernie Winters headline Michael Winner’s high-camp Swinging Sixties adaptation of Gilbert & Sullivan’s famous opera. THE COOL MIKADO (U) is available for the first time on DVD from Strike Force Entertainment/Network Releasing on 6th July 2009, RRP £14.99.

Hank (Kevin Scott), son of American Judge Herbert Mikado (Stubby Kaye), refuses to marry his father’s chosen bride, the vampish Katie Shaw (Jaqueline Jones), and joins the army. He is then posted to Japan, where he meets and falls in love with the beautiful Yum-Yum (Jill Mai Meredith). Unfortunately, she already has an avid suitor: infamous local gangster Ko-Ko Flintridge as played by Frankie Howerd starring in his first ever musical alongside Tommy Cooper as the incompetent private detective Pooh-Bah.

THE COOL MIKADO features a gloriously incongruous soundtrack (with arrangements by John Barry and Martin Slavin), and is possibly the only production to boast a ‘Three Little Maids’ that breaks into a Cha-Cha-Cha dance routine, a Lord High Executioner chorus with a Tijuana brass backing, and a bagpipe rendition of We are Gentlemen of Japan!

Special Features:

• “Girls, Girls, Girls!” – This amusing tale of metropolitan life in the early 1960s features three beautiful ladies Tania Mallett (who soon after this became a Bond Girl in Goldfinger), Primrose Austen (now immortalised in the National Portrait Gallery) and Sandra le Brocq (who became a famous choreographer). We get to see inside Lucie Clayton’s world famous Finishing School and also get to meet world-famous fashion photographers Tom Hustler and Roy Round, as well as choreographer Betty Buchel (the St. Trinians series of films).
• “It’s Magic” – Glen gets a bit of a shock when he spots some attractive women taking notice of a street juggler. He decides it’s time to become more popular with the opposite sex – he wants to be a magician! This tongue-in-cheek look at conjuring and magic includes rare footage of the Cambridge University Pentacle Club and escapologist Alan Alan (winner of the Magic Circle’s prestigious Maskelyne award) performing his “burning-rope chain escape.”
• Image gallery.

The DVD is released on July 6th, it runs for 141 mins and retails for £15.99 on DVD,but is currently on Amazon at the link above for £9.98.

DVD:

NETWORK is releasing the groundbreaking 70s comedy series, FROM A BIRD’S EYE VIEW – THE COMPLETE SERIES (12). This is the first time that two established comediennes – an Anglo – American pairing at that – are cast together for a television sitcom. FROM A BIRD’S EYE VIEW is the first time that the entire series is presented in any format, this 3 – disc set is available to buy on 6th July 2009, RRP£24.99.

The beloved comedienne Millicent Martin (That Was the Week That Was) is the dangerously impulsive Millie – a high- spirited air stewardess with a heart of gold. All too often, she allows her heart to takeover any trace of sensibility in her thinking and her actions. Successful actress and fellow comedienne Patte Finley (The Rockford Files) plays the part of Millie’s airborne colleague and best friend Maggie, who is riddled with anxiety in the knowledge that every trip is a flight into the unknown. Between the two of them, the ladies embark on an endless series of dilemmas and dizzying situations in this rarely seen ITC/ATV co-production.

With Peter Jones (The Rag Trade) starring as their long-suffering boss and Robert Cawdron (The Saint) taking on the part of Millei’s Irish Uncle, this series is packed with laughter and familiar faces of television stars. A wealth of British and American guest stars also makes their presence known in this gem of a series: John Laurie (Dad Army), Robert Rietty (Madame Sousatzka), Alexandra Bastedo (The Champions), Joan Hickson (Miss Marple) to name but a few.

The DVD is released on July 6th, it runs for 400 mins and retails for £24.99 on DVD,but is currently on Amazon at the link above for £15.98.

DVD:

Thora Hird returns for IN LOVING MEMORY – THE COMPLETE SECOND SERIES (Cert TBC), released on 6th July 2009, RRP £12.99. It follows the hugely successful release of the first series earlier this year.

Oldshaw, 1929; when you could enjoy a night out at the Theatre Royal, a pint in the interval, a hot pie on the way home – and still have change from a shilling. You could also have an argument with a brewer’s dray and end up as a client of Jeremiah Unsworth and Co., Undertakers and Monumental Masons… and be given one of the most disastrous funerals in the long and noble history of undertaking.

Thora Hird (Talking Heads, Last of the Summer Wine) brings her inimitable humour to the role of Ivy Unsworth in this much-loved comedy series set in a fictional Lancashire mill town. As the widow of funeral director Jeremiah, Ivy has been left to run Unsworth and Co. along with her accident-prone nephew, Billy (Christopher Beeny – Upstairs Downstairs) – a scenario based on that of a pilot episode which had already proven a ratings hit more than ten years previously.

IN LOVING MEMORY was a huge commercial success for Yorkshire Television and ran for five series between 1979 and 1986; this complete second series was originally screened in 1980.

The DVD is released on July 6th, it runs for 175 mins and retails for £12.99 on DVD,but is currently on Amazon at the link above for £8.48.

DVD:

Network is proud to announce the release of PUBLIC EYE – THE COMPLETE 1975 SERIES (12) on 6th July 2009, available to buy on DVD, RRP £39.99

Alfred Burke (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets) reprises the role of cynical, world weary Private Investigator Frank Marker in this compelling series. Struggling to carve out a living and make ends meet, Marker takes on ‘low rent’ cases involving blackmail, robbery and adultery to get by. This series sees Marker working alongside ex-detective Ron Nash (Peter Childs – Minder) and another move is in the offing…

Burke perfectly captured the complex nature of Frank Marker and his performance as the disillusioned but compassionate detective makes for compulsive viewing. Created by Roger Marshall (The Avengers) and Anthony Marriott (No Sex Please: We’re British) PUBLIC EYE was a ratings smash, immensely popular throughout its ten year run. This four-disc set contains all 13 episodes of the final series, complete and uncut.

The DVD is released on July 6th, it runs for 650 mins and retails for £39.99 on DVD,but is currently on Amazon at the link above for £28.98.

DVD:

Strike Force Entertainment and Network Releasing is delighted to announce the DVD release of the cult British sex comedy SECRETS OF A DOOR TO DOOR SALESMAN (18), available on DVD on 6th July 2009, RRP £14.99.

Written by Joe McGrath (Morecambe and Wise – Night Train to Murder) and veteran TV writer Dennis Norden under the alias of Roy Nicholas’, SECRETS OF A DOOR TO DOOR SALESMAN stars Brendan Price, Karen Boyer and Steve Patterson. Lobster fisherman David (Brendan Price) decides to move to London in search of fame and fortune. Lodging in an all female boarding house, he finds himself with a rather enviable problem: all the girls fancy him. The bashful David is initially reticent, but soon lands himself a role in a sex film – and after enjoying a series of erotic adventures, returns to his home village older, wiser, and a little more experienced!

The DVD is released on July 6th, it runs for 79 mins and retails for £15.99 on DVD,but is currently on Amazon at the link above for £9.98.

DVD:

Strike Force Entertainment and Network Releasing are delighted to announce the DVD release of the X-rated sexploitation drama THE WORLD IS FULL OF MARRIED MEN (18) ––based on Jackie Collins’ steamy novel that was banned in two countries – available to buy on DVD on 6th July 2009, RRP £14.99.

A legendary cast star in this cult movie which has lost none of its raunchiness. David Cooper (Anthony Franciosa) is a successful advertising executive, still attractive at forty and proving it to himself with a variety of girls. Believing his marriage is perfectly secure, David feels perfectly entitled to play the field. Girls come and go – until David meets the devastatingly bad and beautiful Claudia Parker (Sherrie Lee Cronn), sometime model and a girl on her way to the top. Claudia’s apparent coolness drives David mad, and she becomes more than a casual lover; she becomes an obsession…

Linda (Carroll Baker) – feeling increasingly hurt and rejected – is propositioned at a party by the young singer Gem Gemini (Paul Nicholas), who is beginning to tire of his groupie entourage. Realising her marriage is over, she begins a tempestuous affair with Gem while David begins to see a darker side to Claudia’s sexual nature. All are all courting pain and humiliation. They may know how to play the game… but every game has its winners and losers!

Special Features:

• Two trailers (X-rated and U-rated)
• Image gallery
• Original synopsis PDF

Directed by Robert Young with a fantastic ‘70s soundtrack, and a fabulously raunchy routine by legendary dance troupe “Hot Gossip”, THE WORLD IS FULL OF MARRIED MEN is a titillating movie that requires repeated viewing.

The DVD is released on July 6th, it runs for 102 mins and retails for £15.99 on DVD,but is currently on Amazon at the link above for £9.98.

DVD:

Network is releasing the hit ITV drama PEAK PRACTICE – THE COMPLETE FIFTH SERIES (15) on DVD on 13th July 2009 as a 4 – disc set, including all 14 episodes from the fifth series complete and uncut, RRP £29.99.

This fifth series of the hit drama is filmed in the breathtaking scenery of the Peak District. It once again brings together the adorable trio of doctors, Dr. Will Preston (Simon Shepherd), Dr. Erica Matthews (Saskia Wickham) and Dr. Andrew Attwood (Gary Mavers). This is also the series where Dr. David Shearer (Adrian Lukis) is introduced at The Beeches Medical Practice.

One of ITV’s most popular shows which regularly attracted up to 15 million viewers, it ran for almost a decade. PEAK PRACTICE COMPLETE SERIES ONE, TWO, THREE and FOUR are also available to buy from Network.

The DVD is released on July 13th, it runs for 723 mins and retails for £29.99 on DVD,but is currently on Amazon at the link above for £19.98.

DVD:

Network Releasing is proud to announce the release of this riotous, satirical film adapted from Evelyn Waugh’s barbed comic novel. SCOOP (PG) is available to buy on DVD on 27th July 2009, RRP £12.99.

William Boot is a young, naïve newspaper columnist, who writes a weekly nature column for the Daily Beast, featuring detailed observations made from the depths of his country estate. All is peaceful and well until a case of mistaken identity tragically strikes, and the hapless Boot is erroneously dispatched to the East African republic of Ishmaelia to cover a major political crisis. Once there, and perhaps inevitably, hilarity and chaos ensue; the dramatically new experience also opens his eyes to the world and the little matter of love for the first time…

With a venerable cast led faultlessly by Michael Maloney (Notes on a Scandal), Donald Pleasence (The Great Escape) and Denholm Elliott (A Bridge too Far); directed by Foyle’s War director Gavin Millar and scripted by internationally acclaimed writer and journalist William Boyd, this is not only a wonderful comedy, but an entertaining and immensely enjoyable film.

The DVD is released on July 27th, it runs for 120 mins and retails for £12.99 on DVD,but is currently on Amazon at the link above for £8.48.

DVD:

Network DVD is delighted to announce the first ever DVD release of the Yorkshire TV drama TOM GRATTAN’S WAR (CERT TBC), available in a 4-disc set on 13th July 2009, RRP £39.99.

The themes of duty and moral conflict are paramount in this drama with contributions from the likes of Stephen Frears. Broadcast between 1968 and 1970 the teenage protagonist is Tom Grattan (Michael Howe). With his father fighting at the front and his mother working in a London munitions factory, the 16-year old boy is sent to stay with relatives in rural Yorkshire for the duration of the First World War. Once at the Kirkbys’ farm he is set to work in the fields, making his own quiet contribution to the war effort. But Tom is introduced to much more than unfamiliar country ways. Along with the Kirkbys’ daughter, Julia, he encounters espionage, kidnapping, robbery and sabotage, and also faces more complex dilemmas – not least when German prisoners of war working at the nearby quarry become the target for angry attacks by local people who have lost loved ones at the front. Whilst the war is fought on the remote battlefields of Europe, its consequences are all too real for Tom and his new friends.

The DVD is released on July 13th, it runs for 650 mins and retails for £39.99 on DVD,but is currently on Amazon at the link above for £28.98.

DVD:

Network announces the release of WATCHING – THE COMPLETE FIFTH SERIES (PG), released on 13th July 2009, RRP £19.49. This hugely successful ITV sitcom drew over 13 million viewers when initially aired.

The series follows the on-again, off-again romance of a mismatched Merseyside couple: fun-loving extrovert Brenda Wilson (Emma Wray) and shy, retiring birdwatcher Malcolm Stoneway (Paul Bown). The path of true love is far from smooth and there are tears and break-ups, rows and reconciliations galore, but there is also an inexplicable attraction which brings the pair back together after every stormy parting.

A top-rated comedy that also starred Liza Tarbuck and Patsy Byrne, Watching ran for seven series and four specials between 1987 and 1993; this complete fifth series – in which Elizabeth Spriggs joins the regular cast – was originally screened in 1990 and 1991.

The DVD is released on July 13th, it runs for 250 mins and retails for £19.99 on DVD,but is currently on Amazon at the link above for £12.98.

Vote and comment on these DVDs:View CommentsView the discussion thread.blog comments powered by Disqus= 0) {query += ‘url’ + i + ‘=’ + encodeURIComponent(links[i].href) + ‘&’;}}document.write(”);})();//]]]]>]]>News page content input by Dominic Robinson, 2009.

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