Forthcoming DVDs

Journey of a Lifetime – to be released by Network on BD and DVD (5th April 2021)

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Journey of a Lifetime will be released on the 5th of April 2021 by Network on both DVD and BD. Press release is below –

Unseen for over 50 years, and now presented in colour for the first time, Journey of a Lifetime is an adventure of spiritual enlightenment across the Holy Land and through the Scriptures.

Filmed in the early 1960s throughout Israel and Jordan this unique quasi-documentary series follows young newlyweds, Ann and John, as they explore this sacred region rediscovering the past through their discovery of the present – while visiting such historic places as the Dead Sea, Nazareth, Jerusalem, the Sea of Galilee, Petra, Bethlehem, Samaria, Jericho, Emmaus, Judaea and the River Jordan.

Through their journey of discovery and enchantment the couple see for themselves the holy places that Ann’s faith has always made real for her while John, who keeps an open mind, finds that much which he considered miraculous and unlikely could well have happened. Their discussions and encounters with friends and strangers along the way reassert their understanding of the need for unity and tolerance between religious denominations.

Delving into the breathtaking landscapes of these ancient places, and with reference to key passages from the Bible, the landmarks the couple venture to are brought to life through religious teachings and stories – remaining a fascinating snapshot of these areas at the time.

Part travelogue, part history lesson and part reaffirmation of one’s personal faith, this is an absorbing series for the whole family – it does not preach but has a message for those who wish to listen.

At Last The 1948 Show to be released by the BFI (16th September 2019)

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A three-DVD deluxe set of At Last The 1948 Show is due to be released by the BFI on 16/9/18. The press release, detailing the mouth-watering collection of extras, is reproduced below.

At Last The 1948 Show
Collector’s Edition

3-DVD set released on 16 September 2019

At Last The 1948 Show debuted in 1967: the silly, cerebral team effort of future Pythons John Cleese and Graham Chapman, Goodie-to-be Tim Brooke-Taylor and the marvellously fizzogged Marty Feldman. With laconic links by The Lovely Aimi MacDonald and set-pieces including the debut of the landmark ‘Four Yorkshiremen’ sketch, this pioneering comedy series is now ready to be enjoyed by a new generation of fans (or by old ones all over again). The research, reconstruction and restoration involved in creating this 3-DVD set and its companion, Do Not Adjust Your Set, both released on 16 September 2019, is the biggest TV project ever undertaken by the BFI National Archive.

Initially beginning work six years ago, a team of the BFI’s specialist TV curators gathered every episode known to exist. Further down the line, the Video Publishing and Technical Delivery teams work tirelessly to reconstruct missing episodes, using audio recordings and shooting scripts, to create the most complete collection ever assembled of this series.

This Collector’s Edition includes all 10 surviving shows, plus two near-complete reconstructions and a partially complete episode with full-length audio: all presented with an array of archive gems and newly filmed extras. The accompanying booklet includes an essay by curator Steve Bryant detailing the research and technical work that was carried out.

At Last The 1948 Show will be launched during a month-long season at BFI Southbank, It’s… Monty Python at 50, running 1 September – 1 October 2019, celebrating Monty Python – their roots, influences and subsequent work both as a group, and as individuals. The season forms part of the 50th anniversary celebrations of the beloved comedy group, whose seminal series Monty Python’s Flying Circus first aired on 5 October 1969. It will include all the Monty Python feature films; oddities and unseen curios from the depths of the BFI National Archive and from Michael Palin’s personal collection of super 8mm films; back-to-back screenings of the entire series of Monty Python’s Flying Circus in a unique big-screen outing; and screenings of post-Python TV (Fawlty Towers, Out of the Trees, Ripping Yarns) and films (Jabberwocky, A Fish Called Wanda, Time Bandits, Wind in the Willows and more). There will be a free exhibition of Python-related material from the BFI National Archive and The Monty Python Archive, and a Python takeover in the BFI Shop.

On Sunday 8 September at 15:00 in NFT1, there will be a special screening of At Last The 1948 Show (two recovered editions from the series plus an exclusive preview of some of the extra material from this DVD release) followed by a Q&A with Tim Brooke-Taylor.

Special features
• Something About the Year 1948 (2019, 31 mins): John Cleese on working with Humphrey Barclay, David Frost and Graham Chapman, At Last The 1948 Show and the path to Python;
• We Just Wanted to Be Silly (2019, 38 mins): Tim Brooke-Taylor recalls his comedy influences and the making of At Last The 1948 Show;
• John Cleese in Conversation (2006, 36 mins): John Cleese joins comedy historian Dick Fiddy at BFI Southbank to reflect on At Last The 1948 Show;
• Reconstructing At Last The 1948 Show (2000, 44 mins, audio): the BFI’s Steve Bryant in discussion with Aimi MacDonald, Tim Brooke-Taylor and audiophile Ray Frensham;
• John Cleese Introduces At Last The 1948 Show (2003, 2 mins): an introduction recorded for the BFI’s Missing Believed Wiped event;
• At Last It’s Dee Time (1967, 12 mins audio): the At Last The 1948 Show team’s unruly guest appearance on the BBC chat show;
• Now and Then: Marty Feldman (1968, 25 mins): Feldman discusses the nature of comedy in this unedited interview, shot for a never-broadcast Bernard Braden documentary series;
• The Humphrey Barclay Scrapbook: rare photos and drawings from the legendary TV producer’s personal archive;
• At Last Some Pictures: image gallery of promotional material;
• Reproductions of two scripts for the incomplete episodes;
• Illustrated booklet with Not Quite 500 Words by Tim Brooke-Taylor, Steve Bryant’s account of recovering and restoring the programmes and a look at the show’s place in comedy history by the BFI’s Dick Fiddy, plus episode notes with transmission dates and credits.

Product details
RRP: £29.99/ Cat. no. BFIV2121/ Cert 12
UK / 1967-1968 / black and white / 320 mins / English language, with optional hard-of-hearing subtitles / original aspect ratio 4:3 / DVD9 x 3: PAL, 25fps, Dolby Digital 1.0 mono audio (192kbps)

All Good Things to be released by Simply Media – 28th November 2016

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All Good Things, originally broadcast in 1991, will be released by Simply Media on the 28th of November 2016.  Review here.

A marriage and home can be made complete with the arrival of a new baby, but Shirley Frame (Brenda Blethyn) feels a need to share her good fortune by going out into the world and helping others – driving husband Phil (Warren Clarke) up the wall.

Shirley Frame (39) gives birth to her third child and is over the moon. Intent on sharing her delight with the world she embarks on a plan to make life a better place for as many people as possible. Husband Phil and their two teenagers aren’t easily convinced.

Very quickly Shirley learns that it’s not easy being a Good Samaritan, especially in a world of tower blocks, drug abuse and homelessness, even if your own life is rosy. Shirley identifies a string of potential good causes, leaving Phil holding the baby as she tries and fails to fix the lives of others.

Whether coaxing a potential suicide from a watery grave, giving reading lessons to an illiterate young mum with an abusive husband, or trying her hand at marriage guidance, Shirley puts her foot in it at every good turn – and invariably brings other people’s problems too close to home for comfort.

Joining double Oscar nominee, BAFTA and Golden Globe winner Blethyn (Secrets & Lies, Little Voice) and the ever-dependable Clarke (Dalziel & Pascoe, Nice Work) in this 1991 BBC six-parter are Celia Imrie, Jemma Redgrave and Ken Stott, who were all on track to become equally well-loved household names.

Screenwriter Lesley Bruce’s TV credits also include Doctor Finlay, Lizzie’s Pictures, The Practice and Home Video.

Now on DVD for the first time, this is a wry comedy of errors about losing the plot while attempting to mend the ways of life’s ne’er-do-wells and no-hopers.

Spike Milligan’s Q Series – Volume One to be released by Simply Media – 21st November 2016

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A pleasant surprise to see this on the release schedule as it’s the type of series which seemed increasingly unlikely to ever materialise on DVD.  And apart from a few minor trims (to excise unclearable music tracks) it will be as complete as it can possibility be.  Review here.

Spike Milligan’s Q was one of the most surreal sketch shows ever made and a huge influence on Monty Python’s Flying Circus, which launched six months after Q first aired in 1969. Now this highly sought-after BAFTA-nominated series gets its first ever home entertainment release courtesy of Simply Media, with Q Volume 1: Series 1-3 released on DVD on 21 November 2016.

Considered one of the best examples of the British Comedy Award winner’s eccentricity and ‘stream-of-consciousness’ humour, Spike Milligan’s sketches in Q make outrageous leaps from one subject matter or location to another, stopping with no apparent conclusion, and not shying away from controversial matters. Filled with invention and taking huge risks, Q provides the perfect showcase for Milligan’s surreal wit.

It is clear to see Monty Python in Spike’s work, and the Pythons were quick to nab director Ian MacNaughton for their own show. The series features regular appearances from John Bluthal (The Vicar of Dibley), John D. Collins (‘Allo ‘Allo), Peter Jones (The Rag Trade), and Margaret Nolan (Goldfinger), with seasoned satirists Richard Ingrams and John Wells prominent in the rarely seen early episodes.

Enjoy the madness and mayhem of Spike Milligan’s Q5, Q6, and Q7 again in this landmark DVD release which contains all surviving episodes from series one, and the complete series two and three.

Chucklevision Series One and Two to be released by Simply Media – July/August 2016

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Simply Media will release Chucklevision Series One on the 25th of July 2016 with Series Two following on the 29th of August 2016.  Review here.

‘To me to you to me to you’… a phrase that will bring a chuckle to many generations.

With its catchy theme song Chuckle Vision Chuckle Chuckle Vision and inimitable stars The Chuckle Brothers, Chucklevision was one of the BBC’s longest running children’s series gracing our screens from 1987 – 2009 and now series one and two of the hilarious, madcap, much loved series arrive on DVD courtesy of Simply Media.

The Chuckle Brothers aka Barry and Paul Elliott are a TV phenomenon, with their unique humour that transcends kids TV to entertain all ages, and in 2008 they received the Special Award at the Children’s BAFTAs for their work.

Chucklevision first aired in 1987 and now The Complete Series One arrives on DVD on 25 July 2016 and features 13 original barmy episodes. With laughs and larks aplenty, Paul and Barry Chuckle try to launch their own television series, with a little help from Simon Lovell, the magician extraordinaire, and Billy Butler’s Armchair Theatre. It’s quite a show with dancing, singing, conjuring and even bodybuilding as the brothers try their hand at a bit of everything for our entertainment.

The second series of the wacky and thoroughly entertaining show aired from 1988 – 1989 and now Chucklevision The Complete Series Two, featuring another 13 zany episodes, arrives on DVD on 29 August 2016.

This series sees the boys investigate hobbies, farming and U.F.O.s, celebrate Christmas and the Australian Bicentennial, perform with a symphony orchestra and learn the art of puppetry, invent a robot and observe wildlife… and that’s not all!

The Ambassador to be released on DVD by Simply Media on 15/8/16

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Simply Media will release both series of The Ambassador on the 15th of August 2016.  Review here.

British acting legend Pauline Collins OBE (Shirley Valentine, Dickensien) stars as The Ambassador in this powerful BBC drama from award-winning, BAFTA-nominated Russell Lewis (Inspector Morse, Endeavour), which originally aired in 1998 and now makes its UK DVD premier courtesy of Simply Media.

Harriet Smith is the newly appointed British ambassador to Ireland; recently widowed, this sharp-witted confident woman, holds one of Britain’s most coveted and powerful Embassy posts and has unenviable task of quelling the mounting tensions between the two countries. She must perform a delicate balancing act between raising her two teenage sons and the demands of her career.

John Stone (Denis Lawson – Bleak House, Star Wars) is Harriet’s determined commercial attache and main aide. But the ever-crafty Stone also works for another master – MI6.

Harriet finds herself in a sinister and dangerous world far removed from the cocktail parties of Downing Street. Entangled in a complicated web of half-truths and withheld information – rife both in and outside of the Embassy walls – Harriet is up against a host of people who would love nothing more than to see her fail.

 

Simply Media BBC DVD Releases for March 2016. The Missing Postman, Children of Green Knowe and Stalky & Co

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Released next week from Simply Media are three more classic BBC dramas.

postman

The Missing Postman, which won Best Comedy Drama at the British Comedy Awards in 1997, stars James Bolam as postman Clive Peacock.  Forced to take early retirement, he decides to deliver his last batch of letters by hand, which sets him off on an adventure up and down the country.  Apart from the ever solid Bolam, there’s a quality supporting cast which includes Alison Steadman, Larry Lamb and Barbara Dixon.

The Missing Postman has a running time of 150 minutes and an RRP of £19.99.  DVD Review.

knowe

Toseland (Alec Christie) seems doomed to spend the holidays at his boarding school, but an invitation from his mysterious great-grandmother Mrs Oldknow (Daphne Oxenford) provides him with a welcome diversion.  Her estate, Green Knowe, is impressive, but things take an unexpected turn when he sees the spirits of children who lived in the house during the reign of Charles II.  Transmitted in 1986, The Children of Green Knowe is a fondly remembered series which some rate as highly as The Box of Delights.  Soon we’ll be able to see if they’re right.

The Children of Green Knowe has a running time of 100 minutes and an RRP of £19.99.  DVD Review.

stalky

Stalky (Robert Addie), M’Turk (Robert Burbage) and Beetle (David Parfitt) are three schoolboys resident in a Victorian public school.  They entertain themselves by playing practical jokes on their schoolmasters and they currently rule the roost – but will they remain on top?  Produced by Barry Letts and based on the novel by Rudyard Kipling, I’m looking forward to rewatching this 1982 adaptation, not least for the performance of the late Robert Addie (probably best known as the much put-upon Guy of Gisburne from Robin of Sherwood).

Stalky & Co has a running time of 180 minutes and an RRP of £24.99.  DVD Review.

All three titles are released on the 28th of March.

Simply Media BBC DVD releases for April 2016. The Ginger Tree, Charters & Caldicott, Next of Kin and Nature Boy

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Simply Media continues to be one of the few companies to mine the BBC archives and they’ll be adding another four releases to their increasing range of BBC DVDs next month.

The Ginger Tree, Charters and Caldicott, Next of Kin and Nature Boy are four very different series which should offer something for most tastes.  I have to confess that I’m most looking forward to Charters and Caldicott, thanks to the wonderful combination of Robin Bailey and Michael Aldridge (although the supporting cast, including Tessa Peake-Jones and Caroline Blakiston, is very decent as well).

All four DVDs are due to be released on the 25th of April 2016 and below are some more details on each of them.

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The Ginger Tree, broadcast in 1989, is a historical drama set in 1903.  It stars Samantha Bond as a young Scottish woman, Mary MacKenzie, who travels to Manchuria to marry a British army officer.  But she grows disenchanted and begins an affair with a married Japanese nobleman, Count Kentaro Kurihama (Daisuke Ryu).  After bearing his child, she finds herself ostracised by Japanese society.  DVD Review.

Title: The Ginger Tree. Certificate: 12
Release Date: 25 April 2016. Cat No: 166312
Running Time: 240 mins approx. RRP: £19.99

 

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Robin Bailey and Michael Aldridge star as Charters and Caldicott.  The characters first appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s film adaptation of The Lady Vanishes, although this serial finds them living in the modern (1985) world.  After a young girl is found murdered in Caldicott’s flat, the pair turn detective to solve what turns out to be a complex mystery.  DVD Review.

Title: Charters and Caldicott. Certificate: 12
Release Date: 25 April 2016. Cat No: 166313
Running Time: 300 mins approx. RRP: £24.99

 

kin

Sitcom stalwarts Penelope Keith and William Gaunt take the lead roles in Next of Kin which ran for three series during 1995 and 1997 (all the episodes are included on this DVD).  Maggie and Andrew Prentice are forced to put their plans for an early retirement on hold when they reluctantly find themselves – following the death of their son – the guardians of their grandchildren.  Gaunt was no stranger to the family sitcom (having starred in No Place Like Home) but the unusual theme of this series makes it worth a look.  Although it managed three series (not unusual for even middling sitcoms back then) it seems to have disappeared without trace since, so it’ll be interesting to see how it stands up today.  DVD Review.

Title: Next of Kin: The Complete Collection Series 1-3). Certificate: 12
Release Date: 25 April 2016. Cat No: 166314
Running Time: 660 mins approx. RRP: £39.99

 

nature

David (Lee Ingleby) only has vague memories of his father (played by Paul McGann) who left home when he was a young child.  Now seventeen, David (endowed with a love of nature thanks to his father’s influence) vows to track him down.  Along the way he finds love, pain and a new life as an environmental campaigner.  Nature Boy, broadcast in 2000, won the Royal Television Society Award for Best Drama in 2001.  DVD Review.

Title: Nature Boy. Certificate: 15
Release Date: 25 April 2016. Cat No: 166412
Running Time: 240 mins approx. RRP: £24.99