history-light's - Favourites List

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Harry Callahan is a tough, streetwise San Francisco cop whom they call Dirty Harry. In this action classic, you'll see why - and also why Clint Eastwood's reputation as a premier film star and movie maker is secure.

A rooftop sniper (Andy Robinson) calling himself Scorpio has killed twice and holds the city ransom with the threat of killing again. Harry will nail him... one way or the other - no matter what the 'system' prescribes. Filming on location, director Don Siegel made the City by the Bay a vital part of 'Dirty Harry', a practice continued in its four sequels. The original remains one of the most gripping police thrillers ever made.

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When the seaside community of Amity finds itself under attack by a dangerous great white shark, the town's chief of police (Roy Scheider), a young marine biologist (Richard Dreyfuss) and a grizzled shark hunter (Robert Shaw) embark on a desperate quest to destroy the beast before it strikes again.

Featuring an unforgettable score that evokes pure terror, 'Jaws' remains one of the most influential and gripping adventures in motion picture history.

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"My name is Jim, but most people call me...Jim". And most people call Blazing Saddles deliriously funny.

Filmmaker, star and paddle-ball whiz Mel Brooks goes way out West and way out of his mind with a spiffy spoof set in an 1874 Old West where 1974 Hollywood is just one soundstage away-and where nonstop fun blasts prejudices to the high comedy heavens. Cleavon Little, Gene Wilder, Slim Pickens, Harvey Korman, Madeline Kahn and more join for horseplay and horselaughs, making Blazing Saddles the # 6 choice among the American Film Institute's Top-100 Comedies. Give these out to the boys in Lieu of pay. And enjoy

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Directed by master film-maker John Carpenter, this edge-of-your seat adventure stars Kurt Russell as Jack Burton, a tough talking, wisecracking truck driver whose hum-drum life on the road takes a sudden supernatural tailspin when his best friend's fiance is kidnapped.

Speeding to the rescue, Jack finds himself deep beneath San Francisco's Chinatown. It's a murky, creature-filled world ruled by Lo Pan, a 2000-year-old magician who mercilessly presides over an empire of sprits. Dodging demons and facing baffling terrors, Jack battles his way through Lo Pan's dark domain in a full-throttle, action-riddled ride to rescue the girl. Co-starring Kim Cattrall, this effects-filled sci-fi spectacle speeds to an incredible, twist-taking finish.

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Thirty years following his untimely death, Bruce Lee remains the movies' supreme martial-arts star. His masterful final film 'Enter the Dragon' stands the test of time as the most beloved martial-arts epic in film history.

For its 30th anniversary, this heart-pounding adventure returns to deluxe double-disc edition featuring several mesmerizing documentary extras that examine Lee's family life and incredible achievements, including Dragon producer Fred Weintraub's new retrospective on the making of this benchmark action movie, with newly discovered unseen vault footage of Lee in action. What a kick!

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Cabaret brings 1931 Berlin to life inside and outside the Kit Kat Klub. There, starry eyed American Sally Bowles (Liza Minnelli) and an impish emee (Joel Grey) sound the call for decadent fun, while in the street the Nazi party is beginning to grow into a brutal political force.

Into this heady world arrives British language teacher Brian Robert (Michael York) who falls for Sally's charm and soon, the two of them find themselves embroiled in the turmoil and decadence of the era.

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Brace yourself as one of the all-time spellbinders possesses you all over again.

Director William Friedkin and producer/screenwriter William Peter Blatty have revisited The Exorcist to integrate 11 minutes of scenes and images deleted before the film's 1973 release and digitally restore the picture and audio elements. The result is an experience more gripping than ever. Now seen are moments deepening the impact of the performances by Linda Blair, Ellen Burstyn, Jason Miller, Max von Sydow and Lee J. Cobb. They include a "nervous disorder" dianosis, expansion of Father Merrin's arrival before the ritual, priestly doubts during the ritual, an epilogue with Lt. Kinderman and Father Dyer and most notably, a shattering staircase descent by Regan. Winner of Oscars for Best Adapted Screenplay and Sound, The Exorcist astonishes time and again like no other movie.

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Zulu is one of the great movies, an epic adventure of courage in the face of incredible odds. Based on a true story it tells the amazing tale of 100 British soldiers who stood fast against an overwhelming force of 4000 of the Zulu nation's mightiest warriors in the defence of Rorkes Drift in 1879.

Set amongst the stunning South African scenery, Zulu is a landmark action film and a fitting tribute to some of the most magnificent acts of heroism in the history of warfare. Michael Caine's role as the arrogant but courageous Lt. Bromhead brought him international fame, and there are powerful performances from other great British actors including Stanley Baker and Jack Hawkins.

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Jackie Chan plays Wong Fei-hung (a legendary Chinese folk hero who has also been portrayed on screen by Jet Li, Gordon Liu and Donnie Yen amongst many others), who is punished for his frequent troublemaking by being forced to study under the martial arts master Su Hua Chi (Yuen Siu-tien), notorious

for his drinking as much as he is for leaving his students crippled. Wong proves himself an adept pupil, but his new skills are soon put to the test when his own father is targeted by a brutal assassin (Hwang Jang Lee).

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From the opening bomb blast outside a steamy nightclub to a last-minute escape from the President's personal jet, James Bond's third screen adventure is an exhilarating, pulse-pounding thrill-ride! Sean Connery returns as Agent 007 and faces off with a maniacal villain bent on destroying all the

gold in Fort Knox - and obliterating the world economy!

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In 16th century Japan a poor village is raided every year by a group of bandits until, driven to the brink of starvation, the villagers decide to hire professional warriors to protect them. With only three meager meals a day to offer as payment, their request seems an impossible one.

A simple plot, flawlessly executed - 'Seven Samurai' combines comedy, pathos, memorable characters, gripping tension and some of the finest action scenes ever filmed.

Fatherless Bartholomew Collins (Tommy Rettig) dreams that his nefarious piano teacher, Dr. Terwilliker (Hans Conried) plans to enslave 500 boys and force them to play an enormous piano with 5,000 keys. He enlists the help of a plumber to convince his brainwashed mother of Dr. T.'s frightening agenda.

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"The Exorcist 3" sees writer William Peter Blatty return to direct this 'first true sequel' to the original film, based on his own novel. Fifteen years have passed since Father Damien Karras (Jason Miller) died exorcising Regan MacNeil. Now his best friend Lt. Kinderman (George C.

Scott) is troubled by a series of mysterious murders which are strangely reminiscent of those committed by the Gemini killer - who was executed on the night Karras died. Does the killer's spirit live on, and if so in whom? Kinderman's investigation leads him to an amnesiac in a mental hospital who has recently awoken from a fifteen-year coma, can describe the Gemini killings in detail, and bears an uncanny resemblance to Damien Karras.

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By any standard, director Sam Peckinpah's film The Wild Bunch, a powerful tale of hangdog desperadoes bound by a code of honour, rates as one of the all-time greatest Westerns, perhaps one of the greatest of all films.

This original Director's Cut restores it to a complete, pristine condition unseen since its July 1969 theatrical debut. The image is letterboxed, the color renewed, the stereo soundtrack remixed and reintegrated - all to blood-and-thunder effect. Watch William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan and more great stars saddle up for the roles of a lifetime.
This video also features the home video debut of The Wild Bunch: An Album in Montage, the Academy Award nominated 1996 documentary by Paul Seydor and Nick Redman. It includes long-unseen footage of the on-set shooting, and reminiscences by principals connected with the film.

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'Oliver and Company' starts when Oliver, the orphaned kitten, is befriended by Dodger, the cool dog from a New York pack of pickpocket pooches. Soon, Oliver is lovingly adopted by Jenny, a lonely little rich girl, until tough-guy Sykes and his Doberman sidekicks try to keep Jenny and Oliver apart.

Now it's up to Oliver, Dodger, and all his colourful, street-smart canine pals to outwit the villains and rescue the girl.