British War Collection 2
4 action-packed British War movies on 2 DVDs!
We Dive At Dawn
The Way Ahead
The One That Got Away
Reach For The Sky
Reach For The Sky – Based on the novel by Paul Brickhill, this is the remarkable true story of Douglas Bader, a pilot in the RAF who overcomes every obstacle to prove his worth. He is a young and ambitious pilot who, after a plane crash, is badly injured. Although doctors expect him to die, he survives but loses both his legs. As his colleagues prepare for his horror and devastation, they find instead a determination in him which refuses to be changed by the accident. He re-enters the RAF where he is determined to continue his career as a pilot. A Winner of the BAFTA Film Award for Best Picture!
1956 | 136 min | B&W | Optional English Subtitles: SDH† | 1.78:1/16×9 | Dolby Digital | Region 1 | NR
We Dive At Dawn – British submarine ‘Sea Tiger’ docks after a long voyage and the crew are given a week’s leave. Each heads off for his chosen destination. However all their arrangements are then cancelled as they are recalled to their sub and instructed to find and destroy a Nazi battleship, the ‘Brandenburg’. On their way, they pick up three German seamen who tell them where the ship lies in the treacherous Baltic Sea. When they eventually find it they fire their torpedoes but must beat a hasty retreat. They do not know if they were successful and must return to port quickly to refuel, not knowing if the ‘Brandenburg’ is following them.
1943 | 97 min | B&W | 1.33:1/4×3 | Dolby Digital | Region 1 | NR
The Way Ahead – Carol Reed’s lump-in-the-throat, flag-waver still packs a powerful punch and his semi-documentary technique provides a realistic grittiness to the on screen action. A highly talented cast moves this impressive wartime story on, as we observe a motley crew of young recruits, as they learn to become soldiers, through to the end of the film when they must prove themselves against the enemy. Film debut of Trevor Howard. Originally released in the U.S. in a shortened, more serious version titled “The Immortal Battalion”.
1944 | 115 min | B&W | Optional English Subtitles: SDH† | 1.33:1/4×3 | Dolby Digital | Region 1 | NR
The One That Got Away – This is the dramatic true story of Franz Von Werra, the only German prisoner-of-war in Britain to escape and return to his homeland. During the Battle of Britain, his plane is hit and it plunges down onto British soil. Even though the pilot is captured, he is extremely confident and focused on his plan: to escape and return home against all the odds. Starring Hardy Kruger, who was a real-life prisoner of war, as von Werra in his first UK production.
1957 | 111 min | B&W | Optional English Subtitles: SDH† | 1.66:1/Pillar Boxed | Dolby Digital | Region 1 | NR
ActorsReach for the Sky – Kenneth More, Muriel Pavlow, Lyndon Brook, Lee Patterson, Alexander Knox, Dorothy Alison, Michael Warre
We Dive at Dawn – Sir John Mills, Louis Bradfield, Ronald Millar, Jack Watling, Reginald Purdell, Caven Watson, Niall MacGinnis, Eric Portman
The Way Ahead – David Niven, Stanley Holloway, James Donald, John Laurie, Leslie Dwyer, Hugh Burden, Jimmy Hanley
The One That Got Away – Hardy Kruger, Colin Gordon, Michael Goodliffe, Terence Alexander, Jack Gwillim, Andrew Faulds, Julian Somers
Directed byReach for the Sky – Lewis Gilbert
We Dive at Dawn – Anthony Asquith
The Way Ahead – Carol Reed
The One That Got Away – Roy Ward Baker
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Euro-Trash Double Feature
THE NYLON NOOSE (Die Nylonschlinge) – Stockbrokers get necks broken in an Edgar Wallace Krimi-style crime thriller complete with old-dark-house setting, fiendish serial killer and intrepid Scotland Yard sleuth. A shadow-strewn mansion is the backdrop for macabre melodrama with blackmail leading to murder, plus a hulking man-monster (Ady Berber of Dark Eyes of London infamy) haunts the dank caves below the house! 1963|71 min.|B&W|1.37:1|NR
ESCAPE FROM SAHARA (Madeleine und der Legionär) – It’s a nightmare at 20,000 feet when three French Foreign Legion paratroopers decide to desert, and force their plane’s pilot to take them to Spain. Following a fight and a desert crash-landing, they meet a nurse (Hildegard Neff) who offers help. There are run-ins with military patrols, a trip on a merchant ship–and romance–until the deserters find themselves in the country they fear more than any other–France! 1958|B&W|1.37:1|NR
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A Walk in the Sun (Restored)
During the World War II Allied invasion of Italy, the film stars Dana Andrews as Sgt. Tyne, one of the officers leading an attack on a farmhouse in the Italian countryside which functions as a German stronghold. When the ranking officers are killed soon after the platoon lands on the beach, Tyne must take over. The film is noted for its attempt to portray the infantryman’s experience realistically, in particular the banter and mid-1940s slang. “A Walk in the Sun” has just been inducted to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as part of its annual selection of 25 motion pictures. A WALK IN THE SUN combines documentary-like sequences with a sharp awareness of the isolation of each soldier in the midst of battle. 1945|117 min.|B&W|1.37:1|NR (Close Captioned)
SPECIAL FEATURES: Interview with Actor Norman Lloyd on “A Walk in the Sun” – “The Men of ‘A Walk in the Sun'” with Joel Blumberg.
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Psychotronica Collection Vol. 1
6 movies/3 DVDs
DELINQUENT SCHOOLGIRLS: Our protagonists in this K-Mart budgeted cinematic carrion are escapees from an insane asylum! One is an ex-baseball player turned rapist, another is gay, and the ringleader is a low-rent impressionist. When they stumble upon an all-girls school, antisocial behavior with these siliconed “students” ensues, but with a twist – the busty babes know karate! Dream No Evil: Don’t pay any attention to the turtleneck-sweatered snobs who demand that the negative to this classic be burned. It does have a script, kind of, even if it appears to have been written as they filmed. A deranged young woman searches for her father, and every time the continuity becomes too confusing a narrator comes on to save the day with “explanations.” With lines like, “your duck is bleeding really badly,” you can’t pass this up! 1972|89 min|Color|1.85:1/widescreen|NR
MONDO KEYHOLE: A serial rapist relishes his attacks on women, but are they only fantasy, real though they may seem? A debauched classic of the “roughie” genre, complete with S&M fantasies that probably won’t win any awards from “Ms Magazine.” Jack Hill is the total auteur of this production, so put down your demitasse coffee cup, fasten your seatbelt, and expect the unexpected! 1966:78 min|1.85:1/widescreen|NR
THE RAW ONES: In 1957 the Supreme Court ruled that nudity in and of itself is not obscene. This decision opened the door to nudist camp “documentaries.” This one is padded to the sprocket holes with nude figure models jumping rope, bouncing on the trampoline, snapping each other with towels, and lots more of what was formerly forbidden fruit! 1965|73 min|Color|1.33:1|NR
THE MERMAIDS OF TIBURON – Director’s Cut: This film was produced and directed in 1962 as a fantasy-adventure by noted underwater cinematographer, John Lamb. Two years later, he chopped out 10 minutes, re-shot the close-ups and medium shots of the mermaids; revealing the enchantresses in the nude (with emphasis on actress Gaby Martone), and released it as “The Aqua Sex “. Twenty-three years later, Lamb took the time to re-edit his epic like he really wanted and, just to make sure, added additional nude footage using glamour model Diane Webber! The result is a beautifully photographed fantasy about mermaids who assist…and distract…a young scientist in his quest for sunken treasure, complete with Timothy Carey at his menacing best. Filmed in the pearl garden of Mexico’s La Pez, and the kelp forest along the coast of Santa Catalina. 1987|76 min|Color|1.85:1/widescreen|NR
YAMBAO (Cry of the Betwitched): Sultry, cat-like, dancer-turned-actress Ninón Sevilla plays “Yambaó” in this classic Mexican psychological thriller. She arrives at a Cuban sugar plantation in 1850, at the same time the nearby village is hit with a plague! Guess who the villagers blame for the pestilence? Of course, it could just have been a misunderstanding, or just bad timing. But, the plot definitely thickens when it is revealed that her departed grandmother was a sorceress! Filmed simultaneously in English and Spanish. 1957|80 min|Color|1.85:1/widescreen|NR
DREAM NO EVIL: A deranged young woman searches for her non-existent father, when “Daddy” comes to life on a morgue galley he scalpels his mortician to death! From legendary low-budget filmmaker, John Hayes. 1970|84 min|Color| 1.87:1|Rated R
SPECIAL FEATURES: Mermaids of Tiburon: Original 1962 version; Introduction by Elijah Drenner; Original Theatrical Trailers for three different release versions – Delinquent Schoolgirls Commentary by actor Bob Minor moderated by Elijah Drenner; The Raw Ones Commentary by director Jack Hill moderated by Elijah Drenner – Yambao Alternate Spanish sound track; English and Spanish Trailers
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Sabu Double Feature
JUNGLE HELL: Still playing a “Jungle Boy” in his 30s, the inimitable Sabu of Thief of Bagdad fame made an unsuccessful 1950s stab at TV stardom, with the unsold episodes morphing into this feature-length film instead. As usual he’s up to his diaper-loincloth in trouble as the jungles of India bristle with danger, from a wicked witch doctor to rogue elephants. David Bruce (The Mad Ghoul) and K.T. Stevens (Missile to the Moon) co-star. 1964|78 min|1.33:1|NR
SAVAGE DRUMS: Startling thrills and primitive passions as Sabu, a boxer training for a light heavyweight championship fight in Los Angeles, is implored to return to his Indo-Chinese island home and help rid the area of Communist sympathizers. As Red Chinese troops prepare to invade the island, Sabu and his fight manager Sid Melton stand up for democracy! 1951|72 min|B&W|NR
SPECIAL FEATURES: Interview with Margia Dean (Savage Drums); Trailers
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