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Disney+’s Rivals, based on Jilly Cooper’s popular novel, has made waves with its star-studded cast, dramatic tension, and 1980s glamour. The eight-part series, which premiered on October 18, 2024, boasts performances from David Tennant, Aidan Turner, Alex Hassell, and Bella Maclean. Set in the competitive world of British television, Rivals follows the intense power struggle between Lord Tony Baddingham (Tennant) and his nemesis Rupert Campbell-Black (Hassell), as well as the tangled relationships within their social circle. After a thrilling first season, fans are eager to know: will there be a Season 2 of Rivals? Has ‘Rivals’ Been Confirmed for Season 2?

As of now, Disney+ has not officially confirmed a renewal for Rivals Season 2. However, this isn’t unusual for streaming platforms, which often take a few weeks to announce renewals. Fortunately, the cast and crew have hinted that they’re keen to continue the story. Danny Dyer, who plays Freddie Jones,...

Exclusive: Disney+’s Rivals may launch tomorrow but the Jilly Cooper adaptation has been living inside producer Dominic Treadwell-Collins’ head since he entered the TV industry 25 years ago.

Treadwell-Collins has had a stellar career including a lengthy stint running BBC soap EastEnders and the idea to adapt Cooper’s novels has always remained front and center of his mind. But until Disney gave him the greenlight in 2022, he told Deadline he felt he was consistently coming up against the same enemy – the innate “snobbery” of British TV.

“I had meetings with the BBC and ITV years ago when I didn’t have the rights and when I said, ‘Would you go for something like Jilly Cooper?’ they would look at me like I’d farted,” he said. “There’s a snobbery about her. Throughout my career I had kept mentioning Jilly and everyone sort of laughed at and ridiculed me.

Disney+ has set a premiere date for Rivals, the Jilly Cooper adaptation starring David Tennant, Aidan Turner, Katherine Parkinson, and Danny Dyer.

Lee Mason, Disney’s director of scripted content in Europe, announced at the Edinburgh TV Festival that the eight-part series will drop on October 18 in the UK. Rivals will stream on Hulu in the U.S.

It is part of Cooper’s bestselling Rutshire Chronicles and is set against the backdrop of the excess and antics of the power-grabbing social elite of 1980s England.

The series chronicles the cutthroat world of independent television in 1986 and the long-standing rivalry of ex-Olympian, MP, and notorious womanizer Rupert Campbell-Black (Alex Hassell) and his neighbor Tony Baddingham (Tennant), controller of Corinium Television.

Poldark star Turner is TV presenter Declan O’Hara, a fierce intellectual with an even fiercer temper who is wooed to Corinium from the BBC. Other cast includes EastEnders actor Dyer as Freddie Jones,...

David Lynch has been making movies since the 1960s, when he was an art student who wanted to see his paintings move. Since then, he’s become one of the most recognizable and beloved auteurs in cinema history, a filmmaker who enjoys remarkable success, given his idiosyncratic work.

Because Lynch’s work is so personal, it has long been difficult for critics and fans to reach a consensus regarding which is his very best work. Every single one of his movies and TV series has value, and each one strikes different people in different ways. Indeed, even this writer finds himself changing his own personal ranking from time to time.

Like Lynch himself, his works are impossible to categorize and, thus, near impossible to rank, but we’ve given a go in order to celebrate the filmmakers long and celebrated career. We’re looking back at both his movies and...

Hulu has revealed a new teaser trailer and more photos for the eight-part series Rivals, based on the celebrated novel by Dame Jilly Cooper and produced by Happy Prince, part of ITV Studios. The series is set to debut on Hulu in the U.S. and on Disney+ in other countries later this year.

Set against the backdrop of the drama, excess, and shocking antics of the power-grabbing social elite of 1980s England, Rivals delves headfirst into the ruthless world of independent television in 1986.

This second wave of images (view the first wave of images here) introduces nine more iconic characters from the drama: Sarah Stratton, Caitlin O’Hara, James Vereker, and Freddie Jones.

There’s also Paul Stratton, Valerie Jones, Bas Baddingham, Lady Monica Baddingham, and Maud O’Hara.

The first looks are accompanied by a teaser trailer showcasing the ’80s set saga, which also stars Alex Hassell, Bella Maclean,...

Horses, helicopters and hanky-panky are what fans of Jilly Cooper’s iconic novel “Rivals” can expect from Disney’s screen adaptation.

Starring Emily Atack (“The Inbetweeners”), David Tennant (“Doctor Who”) and Aidan Turner (“Poldark”), “Rivals” follows the power-grabbing social elite of 1980s England as they break up and couple up.

In the first teaser trailer, which dropped today, Tennant can be seen dressed as an upper crust gentleman farmer, Turner dons a smart suit and Tom Selleck-inspired bushy moustache while Atack adjusts herself in front of a full-length mirror clad in a period-inspired bodycon dress.

Rounding out the cast are Catriona Chandler (“Enola Holmes 2”) as Caitlin O’Hara, Oliver Chris (“The Crown”) as James Vereker, Danny Dyer (“Eastenders”) as Freddie Jones, Rufus Jones (“W1A”) as Paul Stratton, Lisa McGrillis (“Maternal”) as Valerie Jones, Luke Pasqualino (“Skins”) as Bas Baddingham, Claire Rushbrook (“Sherwood”) as Lady Monica Baddingham and Victoria Smurfit...

Disney+ has unveiled a teaser trailer alongside more first-look images of the eight-part series, ‘Rivals’, based on the celebrated novel by Dame Jilly Cooper and produced by Happy Prince, part of ITV Studios.

Set against the backdrop of the drama, excess, and shocking antics of the power-grabbing social elite of 1980s England, the show delves headfirst into the ruthless world of independent television in 1986. Part of Cooper’s Rutshire Chronicles series it is packed full of romantic entanglements, dastardly deals, sex and wit.

The first-looks feature alongside a teaser trailer showcasing the ’80s set saga which also stars Alex Hassell, Bella Maclean, Katherine Parkinson, David Tennant, Aidan Turner and Nafessa Williams.

Nine more iconic characters from the drama have been unveiled in this second wave of images, introducing Sarah Stratton, Caitlin O’Hara (Catriona Chandler – ‘Pistol’, ‘Enola Holmes 2’), James Vereker (Oliver Chris – ‘The Crown’, ‘Trying’), Freddie Jones (Danny Dyer – ‘EastEnders,...

Jilly Cooper’s Rivals have nearly entered the building. Disney+ has unveiled a trailer and first looks for the adaptation that will launch later this year starring David Tennant, Aidan Turner, Katherine Parkinson and Danny Dyer. Scroll down for some more pics

Set in the fictional upper-class county of Rutshire, Rivals dives headfirst into the cutthroat world of independent television in 1986 when a long-standing rivalry between two powerful men is about to boil over: Ex-Olympian, Member of Parliament and notorious womanizer Rupert Campbell-Black (Alex Hassell) and his neighbor Tony Baddingham (Tennant), controller of the independent TV franchise Corinium Television. The series is set to debut on Hulu in the U.S. and on Disney+ in other countries later this year.

Nine characters are introduced via the wave of images including Sarah Stratton (Emily Atack), Caitlin O’Hara (Catriona Chandler), James Vereker (Oliver Chris), Freddie Jones (Dyer), Paul Stratton (Rufus Jones), Valerie Jones...

Disney+ is building buzz for its Jilly Cooper adaptation Rivals by teasing first-look images of the eight-part series. The series will stream on Hulu in the U.S.

Rivals is part of Cooper’s bestselling Rutshire Chronicles and is set against the backdrop of the excess and antics of the power-grabbing social elite of 1980s England. Scroll on for more images.

Rivals chronicles the cutthroat world of independent television in 1986 and the long-standing rivalry of ex-Olympian, MP, and notorious womanizer Rupert Campbell-Black (Alex Hassell) and his neighbor Tony Baddingham (David Tennant), controller of Corinium Television.

Poldark star Aidan Turner is TV presenter Declan O’Hara, a fierce intellectual with an even fiercer temper who is wooed to Corinium from the BBC. Other cast includes EastEnders actor Danny Dyer as Freddie Jones, a self-made electrics millionaire.

Among the wider ensemble is Nafessa Williams (Black Lighting), Bella Maclean (Sex Education), Katherine Parkinson...

Clockwise from top left: This Is Me... Now: A Love Story (Prime Video), Red Rocket (A24), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (Paramount)Image: The A.V. Club

Amazon’s Prime Video kicks off February with a summer blockbuster, a new “narrative-driven cinematic odyssey” from Jennifer Lopez, and a bunch of...

Exclusive: Doctor Who star David Tennant, Danny Dyer and Aidan Turner are featuring in an ensemble cast for Disney+’s adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s Rivals.

Unveiled at last year’s Edinburgh TV Festival, Rivals is part of iconic British author Cooper’s bestselling Rutshire Chronicles and is set against the backdrop of the drama, excess and shocking antics of the power-grabbing social elite of 1980s England.

Related Story ‘Doctor Who’ Spin-Off Details Emerge As Russell T. Davies Says Episode Of New Series Is “One Of The Greatest Things I’ve Ever Made In My Life” Related Story 'The Crown' Star Erin Doherty Boards Disney+ Period Drama 'A Thousand Blows' Related Story Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan's Action-Comedy Series 'American Born Chinese' Sets Release Date, Unleashes Teaser

Set in the fictional upper-class county of Rutshire, Rivals dives headfirst into the cutthroat world of independent...

Ignored, maligned and hammered out into an ‘Alan Smithee’ extended cut for TV, David Lynch’s outstanding Sci-fi epic arrives on 4K Ultra HD, finally achieving the visual opulence on home video that it had in 70mm prints at the end of 1984. The fractured, de-Lynched storyline can be argued over, but the amazing design and arresting characterizations never fail to impress — Lynch attracted a world-class cast of movie stars and used them well. Even if it’s described as a hundred fragmented scenes from a larger narrative, they’re superlative fragments. Lynch should have been authorized to make an alternate cut, his own completely personal ‘impressionist’ version of the Frank Herbert story.

Dune

4K Ultra HD

Arrow Video

1984 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 137 min. / Street Date August 31, 2021 / 59.95

Starring (alphabetically): Francesca Annis, Leonardo Cimino, Brad Dourif, José Ferrer, Linda Hunt, Freddie Jones, Richard Jordan, Kyle MacLachlan, Virginia Madsen, Silvana Mangano, Everett McGill,...

"The Furniture," by Daniel Walber. (Click on the images for magnified detail)

There’s an image from The Elephant Man I can’t get out of my head.

Well, there are a few. David Lynch and Freddie Francis didn’t exactly slouch here. But there’s one moment, quite early on, that struck me with its oddness. Dr. Treves (Anthony Hopkins) has snuck into the legally-tenuous circus of Mr. Bytes (Freddie Jones), just as the police are about to shut him down. The deeper one ventures, the strange the surroundings look. Here we see a cop navigating this temporary labyrinth of light and shadow...

Why is it that, when a horror film achieves something special, both the critics and the public tend to elevate it above and beyond the ‘lowly’ horror genre? David Lynch’s most humane and sympathetic film still makes our heads spin, and this new 4K remaster renders Freddie Francis’s great cinematography at its best. Lynch extends and develops the visual nightmares of his experimental Eraserhead for this true-life classic. Anthony Hopkins, John Hurt, Anne Bancroft, John Gielgud, Wendy Hiller and Freddie Jones all give indelible, emotionally-moving performances. How many horror pictures hold up hope for social decency and personal dignity?

The Elephant Man

Blu-ray

The Criterion Collection 1051

1980 / B&w / 2:35 widescreen / 123 min. / available through The Criterion Collection / Street Date September 29, 2020 / 39.95

Starring: Anthony Hopkins, John Hurt, Anne Bancroft, John Gielgud, Wendy Hiller, Freddie Jones, Michael Elphick, Hannah Gordon, Helen Ryan, John Standing, Dexter Fletcher, Lesley Dunlop, Phoebe Nicholls, Lydia Lisle,...

Here’s a first look at the trailer for director Denis Villeneuve’s highly anticipated Dune, the big-screen adaptation of Frank Herbert’s seminal bestseller.

A mythic and emotionally charged hero’s journey, “Dune” tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet’s exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence—a commodity capable of unlocking humanity’s greatest potential—only those who can conquer their fear will survive.

And gosh, is this a great cast or what?!

Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac (the “Star Wars” franchise) Oscar nominee Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Zendaya, Chang Chen, David Dastmalchian, Sharon Duncan-Brewster, with Oscar nominee Charlotte Rampling,...

So often the king of surrealism, The Elephant Man has always been one of David Lynch’s more restrained features. That’s not to say that there aren’t the usual flourishes. The opening splice of wild elephants and a terrified human face imparts the tone of what is to come. But above all, this is a deeply human film, one replete with intensely emotive moments. The profoundly beguiled look on the face of Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins) the first time he sees the man captures both the fear and awe inspired by this entirely novel person.

The man, of course, was Joseph Merrick (though referred to as John), a Victorian who lived with severe deformities across his body. Brought to life by a melancholy John Hurt, there is a desperate sadness to the Elephant Man’s being.Though saved from the humiliation of a carnival and the constant abuse...

David Lynch's The Elephant Man (1980) and Inland Empire (2006) are showing July and August on Mubi in the United Kingdom.“I am convinced we are all voyeurs. It’s part of the detective thing. We want to know secrets and we want to know what goes on behind those windows.” —David Lynch, interviewed by Newsday, March 9, 1997Whether or not you feel comfortable attaching the word horror to the universe of David Lynch depends on your receptiveness to the sort of terror that springs from the uncanny, from the moment familiar objects and situations take on the sinister glow of foreign, threatening things. To defend Lynch’s horror credentials is to embark in an act of taxonomical defence. For a genre that’s often seen to meddle with and grow alongside the thriller, Lynch’s version further obfuscates the distinction, conjuring up a hybrid that sits in between the two. Horror,...

By Hank Reineke

Basil Dearden’s intriguing The Man Who Haunted Himself is a feature-length remake of a thirty-minute televised episode of Alfred Hitchcock’s Presents. That episode - from the 1955 program’s first season - had the distinction of having been directed by the maestro of suspense himself. It was one of only a handful of dramas in the series that Hitchcock chose to helm. The episode was based on Anthony Armstrong’s short story (later novelized) “The Strange Case of Mr. Pelham” (Methuen & Co. Ltd., UK, 1957). The book was later published that very same year in the U.S. as part of Doubleday & Co.’s fabled “Crime Club” series.

Armstrong’s psychological thriller had been originally published in the November 1940 issue of Esquire magazine. The short story was later re-sold and re-published in June 1955 as part of Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine… which is likely where Hitchcock became acquainted with it.

Freddie Jones, the veteran English stage and screen character actor known for his long stint on the ITV soap Emmerdale, died Tuesday in the UK after a brief illness, according to his agent Lesley Duff. He was 91.

“Freddie was a much loved and admired actor, known for his triumphs in classical theatre, film and television,” Duff said in a statement. “He will be greatly missed by all who had the pleasure of knowing him and most especially his family.”

The father of actors Toby and Casper Jones and writer-director Rupert Jones, he left Emmerdale last year after playing Sandy Thomas since 2005 — with a nearly yearlong hiatus in 2008-09. The popular soap has aired in the UK since 1972.

Born on September 12, 1927, in Staffordshire, Jones got a late start in acting — landing his first screen roles while in in the early 1960s. But he would have a prolific career, racking up more...

Freddie Jones, the British actor who over a nearly 70-year career played such memorable roles as the sadistic freakshow owner in David Lynch’s “The Elephant Man,” died July 9 in the U.K., according to numerous British media reports. He was 91.

The father of actor Toby Jones, he had more recently been appearing on British soap “Emmerdale” as Sandy Thomas.

In 1980, he starred his first film for Lynch, “The Elephant Man,” which starred John Hurt as a deformed man in Victorian London. Subsequently, the actor continued working with Lynch and appeared in “Dune” (1984), “Wild at Heart” (1990), and the three-part U.S. TV series “Hotel Room.” Upon news of Jones’ death, the filmmaker shared his remarks on Twitter.

“Dear Twitter Friends, I loved, loved, loved Freddie Jones,” Lynch tweeted. “Man-o-man will he be missed.”

Dear Twitter Friends, I loved, loved, loved Freddie Jones. Man-o-man will he be missed.

— David Lynch (@DAVID...

Much-loved performer and father of Toby Jones was stalwart of British TV as well as a regular in David Lynch films

Freddie Jones, the versatile actor who was a regular on British screens for more than five decades, has died aged 91, it has been announced. Jones was perhaps best known for his role as Sandy Thomas in the long-running soap Emmerdale. He was also the father of the actor Toby Jones.

Related: Freddie Jones obituary...

Freddie Jones, a British actor best known for his role in ITV soap opera Emmerdale and father of actor Toby Jones (Infamous, The Hunger Games), has died at the age of 91.

"It is with great sadness that I can confirm the death of Freddie Jones," his agent Lesley Duff said in a statement. "He passed away on the evening of July 9 after a short illness." She didn't provide details on his illness. "Freddie was a much loved and admired actor, known for his triumphs in classical theater, film and television," his agent added....

Hammer’s Dracula goes out with a whimper in this final Chris Lee-Peter Cushing vampire opus, which posits the Prince of Darkness as a super-mogul super-villain (with insufficient infrastructure). He’s battling Scotland Yard, MI5 and his old nemesis Van Helsing, while still arranging ritual sacrifices. And don’t forget the quartet of vampire babes he keeps in the cellar.

The Satanic Rites of Dracula

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1973 / Color / 1:75 widescreen / 88 min. / Street Date November 13, 2018 / available through the WBshop / 21.99

Starring: Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Michael Coles, William Franklyn, Freddie Jones, Joanna Lumley.

Cinematography: Brian Probyn

Film Editor: Chris Barnes

Original Music: John Cacavas

Written by Don Houghton

Produced by Roy Skeggs

Directed by Alan Gibson

The final Hammer horror Dracula opus with Christopher Lee is The Satanic Rites of Dracula, a direct sequel to Dracula A.D. 1972, which is frequently named as the worst film of the series. A.

The cry came forth from a dark corner of my living room as it usually does this time of year, as it does sometimes during other parts of the year too. It was my wife, shrieking from the depths of her soul, articulating a cry of despair and disbelief: “You’re watching this again??!!” As the familiar strains of James Bernard’s magnificent score rose from beneath the blood-red Warner Bros.-Seven Arts insignia and the subsequent and equally scarlet opening credits, my wife didn’t even need to look up from her book to realize what was happening. It was the week before Halloween, and therefore time for my in-the-neighborhood-of-annual dose of Terence Fisher’s masterful, terrifying Hammer classic, Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969), the fifth in a line of gloriously lurid reiterations of the Frankenstein myth, the pinnacle of the series for the studio, and a movie I...

Few latecomer ’60s spy movies were big successes. This amusing Brit effort sank without a trace, perhaps taking with it the career of the talented Tom Courtenay as a leading man. The comic tale pits an underachieving, cheeky London lad against an intelligence conspiracy that wouldn’t be doing anybody much harm — if they didn’t insist on murdering people.

Otley

Blu-ray

Powerhouse Indicator (UK)

1969 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 92 min. / Available at The Ph page / Street Date March 19, 2018 / £15.99

Starring: Tom Courtenay, Romy Schneider, Alan Badel, James Villiers, Leonard Rossiter, James Bolam, Fiona Lewis, Freddie Jones, James Cossins, James Maxwell, Edward Hardwicke, Ronald Lacey, Phyllida Law, Geoffrey Bayldon, Frank Middlemass.

Cinematography: Austin Dempster

Film Editor: Richard Best

Art Direction: Carmen Dillon

Original Music: Stanley Myers

Written by Dick Clement, Ian la Frenais from a book by Martin Waddell

Produced by Bruce Cohn Curtis, Carl Foreman

Directed by Dick Clement

The British film...

It's a question we've been asking since the late Seventies: What exactly is David Lynch, and where the fuck did he come from?

With the ballyhooed resurrection of Twin Peaks, his legendary 1990-1991 TV series, Lynch yet again has stepped onto the cultural stage in a big way, and earned his profile as America's bullgoose weirdo. Magazine profiles once again try – and fail – to ascertain who exactly he is and what he's doing. Worse, they try to normalize him, place him within established cultural traditions and treating him like a wise man from Planet Whatzit.

With the glut of Stephen King novels adapted into movies during the early-to-mid 1980s, it became all too easy for certain films to fall through the cracks. It was even easier, in fact, when so many of those movies were high-profile productions made by A-list directors like Stanley Kubrick, David Cronenberg, and John Carpenter. One can understand how a movie like Mark L. Lester’s Firestarter, an adaptation of King’s 1980 novel of the same name, wound up getting overlooked. I’m guilty of it myself, having seen the movie and promptly filed it with the other middle-of-the-pack Stephen King movies. Luckily, Scream Factory has a new Blu-ray that has me reconsidering my opinion and hopefully will allow other horror fans to rediscover a really cool film.

Drew Barrymore plays Charlene “Charlie” McGee, the young daughter of college professor Andy McGee (David Keith). When he was a student, Andy and...

Well, I hope you guys have been saving your pennies, because there are a lot of great horror and sci-fi titles coming home on March 14th. Scream Factory is giving Firestarter the Collector’s Edition treatment this week, and both Drive-In Massacre and The Skull are being resurrected in HD as well.

If you missed them during their theatrical runs late last year, both The Love Witch and Paul Verhoeven’s award-winning thriller Elle are getting Blu-ray / DVD releases this Tuesday, and Demon Seed is making its way to Blu-ray as well (which I highly recommend watching if you haven't).

Other notable home entertainment titles for March 14th include Passengers, Z Nation Season 3, Johnny Frank Garrett’s Last Word, Stray Bullets, and The Man Who Could Cheat Death.

Drive-In Massacre (Severin Films, Blu-ray & DVD)

It was one of the few true slasher movies to pre-date Halloween and Friday The 13th,...

Scream Factory is channeling telekinetic, flammable powers with their Collector's Edition Blu-ray release of Firestarter, and we've been provided with three Blu-ray copies of the Stephen King adaptation to give away to lucky Daily Dead readers.

————

Prize Details: (3) Winners will receive (1) Collector's Edition Blu-ray copy of Firestarter.

How to Enter: We're giving Daily Dead readers multiple chances to enter and win:

1. Instagram: Following us on Instagram during the contest period will give you an automatic contest entry. Make sure to follow us at:

https://www.instagram.com/dailydead/

2. Email: For a chance to win via email, send an email to contest@dailydead.com with the subject “Firestarter Contest”. Be sure to include your name and mailing address.

Entry Details: The contest will end at 12:01am Est on March 17th. This contest is only open to those who are eighteen years of age or older. Only one entry per entry method,...

The Shop is going to start making house calls on Tuesday, March 14th with Scream Factory's Collector's Edition Blu-ray release of the 1984 Stephen King adaptation Firestarter, and you can watch Charlene (Drew Barrymore) work her telekinetic magic in a high-def clip and trailer.

Firestarter Collector's Edition Blu-ray: "She has the power to set objects afire with just one glance!

Firestarter, based on the unforgettable best-seller by esteemed horror author Stephen King, chronicles the extraordinary life of Charlene "Charlie" McGee. Eight-year-old Drew Barrymore stars as the child who has the amazing ability to start fires with just a glance. Can her psychic power and the love of her father save her from the threatening government agency, "The Shop," which wants to control her… or destroy her? Filled with blazing special effects and featuring an all-star cast including Martin Sheen, Heather Locklear, Art Carney, Louise Fletcher and George C. Scott, Firestarter...

Seth Metoyer,

MoreHorror.com

A new Collector’s Edition Blu-ray of Firestarter will become available on March 14th, 2017 via Scream Factory.

I'm excited about this one as it's one of my personal favorite Stephen King movie adaptations. Check out all the details below, including a lot of new bonus features.

From The Press Release

Based on the unforgettable best-seller by esteemed horror author Stephen King, Firestarter chronicles the extraordinary life of Charlene "Charlie" McGee. Eight-year-old Drew Barrymore stars as the child who has the amazing ability to start fires with just a glance. Can her psychic power and the love of her father save her from "The Shop," the threatening government agency which wants to control her…or destroy her?

Available March 14th, 2017 from Scream Factory, the Collector’s Edition of Firestarter comes loaded with bonus features, including a new 2k scan of the inter-positive film element, new interviews with director Mark L. Lester,...

Get ready to run from the Shop, because Scream Factory will unleash their Firestarter Collector’s Edition Blu-ray on March 14th, complete with bonus features that include a new audio commentary by director Mark L. Lester, who reflects on his adaptation of Stephen King’s 1980 novel.

Press Release: Based on the unforgettable best-seller by esteemed horror author Stephen King, Firestarter chronicles the extraordinary life of Charlene “Charlie” McGee. Eight-year-old Drew Barrymore stars as the child who has the amazing ability to start fires with just a glance. Can her psychic power and the love of her father save her from “The Shop,” the threatening government agency which wants to control her…or destroy her? Available March 14th, 2017 from Scream Factory, the Collector’s Edition of Firestarter comes loaded with bonus features, including a new 2k scan of the inter-positive film element, new interviews with director Mark L. Lester, actors Freddie Jones and Drew Snyder,...

Yesterday, amid a crush of sweaty people desperate for last-minute props, I visited a local Halloween superstore with my daughter, looking for a Pikachu mask. Well, there wasn’t much to choose from in the Cute Kid Division. But this particular hall of Halloween hell definitely had the adult sensibility covered. Of course there were the usual skimpy or otherwise outrageous costumes for purchase —ladies, you can dress up like a sexy Kim Kardashian-esque vampire out for a night of Hollywood clubbing, and gents, how about impressing all the sexy Kim Kardashian vampires at your party by dressing up like a walking, talking matched set of cock and balls! It’s been a while since I’ve shopped for fake tools of terror, but it seems there’s been a real advance in sophistication in the market for “Leatherface-approved” (I swear) chainsaws with moving parts and authentic revving noises,...

By Tim Greaves

Writer Derek Pykett (whose excellent book " MGM British Studios: Hollywood in Borehamwood" was reviewed here earlier this year) has turned his hand to directing; setting up and playing host to a dozen intimate interviews with some of Britain's most respected and beloved thesps, the results are now available on DVD with "From Stage to Screen", a privately produced, limited edition 6-disc box set.

With each performer given their own ‘episode’ and a total running time of 15 hours, there's so much material here that it'll take the average viewer a number of sittings to get through it all. Beyond starting with disc one and working through methodically, where one begins is probably going to be proportionate to the level of esteem in which the viewer holds each particular actor or actress represented within the set; I confess that at the time of writing I still have a fair bit to get through.

Cinema Retro has received the following press announcement:

For the first time on DVD a brand new series of relaxed, intimate, face to face interviews with some of Britain’s finest, much loved actors, who share with us moments from their lives and work in theatre, television and films.

With careers that span over seven decades, we hear stories about the greatest theatres (The National; The Old Vic; The Royal Shakespeare Company); the theatrical knights (Olivier; Gielgud; Richardson); the bright lights of Broadway, and the most celebrated movie directors of the twentieth century (Spielberg; Fellini; Huston; Chaplin; Visconti; Lean).

Featuring an extensive archive of rare photographs and film trailers, it is a nostalgic trip down memory lane in the company of highly respected actors who have given us some unforgettable performances.

Joss Ackland, Michael Medwin, Vera Day, Julian Glover, Michael Craig, Roy Dotrice, Sarah Miles, Lee Montague, Michael Jayston, Derren Nesbitt,...

Warners answers the call for Hammer horror with four nifty thrillers starring the great Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. The transfers are immaculate -- Technicolor was never richer than this. The only drawback is that Chris Lee's Dracula has so few lines of dialogue.  On hi-def, Cushing's Frankenstein movie is a major re-discovery as well. Horror Classics: Four Chilling Movies from Hammer Films Blu-ray The Mummy, Dracula has Risen from the Grave, Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed, Taste the Blood of Dracula Warner Home Video 1959-1970 / Color / 1:66 - 1:78 widescreen / 376 min. / Street Date October 6, 2015 / 54.96 Starring Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Yvonne Furneaux, George Pastell, Michael Ripper; Christopher Lee, Rupert Davies, Veronica Carlson, Barbara Ewing, Barry Andrews, Ewan Hooper, Michael Ripper; Peter Cushing, Veronica Carlson, Freddie Jones, Simon Ward, Thorley Walters, Maxine Audley; Christopher Lee, Geoffrey Keen, Linda Hayden, Isla Blair, John Carson, Ralph Bates, Roy Kinnear. <Cinematography Jack Asher; Arthur Grant; Arthur Grant; Arthur Grant.

The actor takes a role also played by his father, Freddie, for an occasionally exasperating drama-documentary

In 1970, Freddie Jones played the part of John Clare (“a minor nature poet who went mad… ”) in a BBC Omnibus broadcast. Forty five years later, his son Toby revisits the role, retreading Clare’s 80-mile walk from an asylum near Epping Forest to his Northborough home in search of lost love Mary Joyce. As Toby wanders, Freddie reads from a collection of Clare’s autobiographical writings, providing a quasi-commentary for this strange odyssey.

Part drama, part documentary, part enthralled (sh)amble, By Our Selves finds director Andrew Kötting and writer/collaborator Iain Sinclair indulging their passion for Clare without necessarily engaging ours. En route, we encounter celebrated graphic novelist Alan Moore, who describes the inescapable Northampton as “a cultural black hole with an incredible mass”, hear from Professor Simon Kövesi (dressed as a prizefighter,...

Andrew Kötting recreates scenes of the fascinating and melancholy 90-mile walk undertaken in 1841 by the nature poet John Clare, in a bizarre documentary

Film-maker Andrew Kötting again takes inspiration from that great psycho-geographer Iain Sinclair – with whom he recorded an unclassifiably strange journey by pedalo in the 2012 film Swandown. Now he has been inspired by Sinclair’s book Edge of the Orison, about the fascinating and melancholy 90-mile walk undertaken in 1841 by the nature poet John Clare, from a mental asylum in Epping to Northampton, on a pilgrimage to find Mary Joyce, the woman with whom he believed himself to be in love.

Kötting has Toby Jones recreate the scenes of Clare’s great journey or ordeal, often amid bizarrely alienating and alienated scenes of modern life. Jones recites some of Clare’s work in voiceover, and Kötting also asks Jones’s father Freddie Jones to recreate his performance as Clare from a 1970 Omnibus documentary,...

Warner Home Video has a nasty Halloween treat for all: the release of the Horror Classics Vol. 1 boxed Blu-ray set. The titles are smartly bound in a hardcover book format, complete with some cool graphics. Each of the films contains the original theatrical trailer as well. Here is the official press release:

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will scare the heck out of fans when Taste the Blood of Dracula; Dracula Has Risen from the Grave, Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed; and The Mummy are released October 6 in the new Blu-ray Horror Classics Vol. 1 Collection, just in time for Halloween celebrations. All films in the collection are newly re-mastered in 1080p HD and packaged in elegant rigid pocketbook style ($54.96 Srp).

The quartet of classic horror films, featuring cinema monsters Dracula, Frankenstein and the Mummy, represent classic examples from Hammer Film Productions. Founded in 1934, the British company became best known for a series...

Though Sir Christopher Lee sadly passed away, his work will live on forever. In a new Blu-ray set, Warner Archive is preserving three Lee-starring Hammer horror movies: Dracula Has Risen From The Grave, The Mummy, and Taste the Blood of Dracula.

Blu-ray.com reports that Warner Archive's Horror Classics Volume One Blu-ray collection will hit shelves this fall (October 6th, according to Home Theater Forum). The collection includes four Hammer films: Dracula Has Risen From The Grave (1968), The Mummy (1959), Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970), and Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969).

In addition to the Horror Classics Volume One, Warner Archive will also release the Special Effects Collection Volume One, a sci-fi / adventure Blu-ray set comprising Son of Kong, Mighty Joe Young, Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, and Them!

It's estimated that both collections will be priced at $54.96 apiece and released in early October, and it's even believed that the titles will be sold separately,...

Iconic Hammer actresses Martine Beswick, Veronica Carlson and Caroline Munro. (All photos copyright Adrian Smith. All rights reserved.)

Retro-active: The Best From Cinema Retro's Archives

(The following article was originally run in November, 2014)  

By Adrian Smith 

With around sixty special guests in attendance, the Westminster Central Hall on Saturday the 7th of November was packed to its domed roof with excited Hammer film fans.

Familiar faces including Caroline Munro, Valerie Leon, Madeline Smith and Martine Beswick were providing some glamour, but the organisers managed to make the event extra-memorable by securing the presence of Edina Ronay, George Cole, Freddie Jones and others who had not signed autographs at a fan event before. At times queues to meet them ran out of the building and down the street! Other rare UK appearances were made from Veronica Carlson and Linda Hayden, flown in from the Us to meet their fans. It was...

Cinema Retro has received the following press release:

London Film Convention

The 80th Anniversary of Hammer!

Saturday November the 8th ( 10am – 6pm )

Venue : Central Hall Westminster.

Storey’s Gate, Westminster, London SW1H 9Nh

Celebrates in a one-off special event one of the worlds longest running film production companies Hammer’s 80th anniversary.

Founded by William Hindes and James Carerras in November 1934!

The company very much dominated the world market from the 1950’s to the 1970’s in comedies but above all their now classic horror films.

Now very much back in production with several successful films over the past years.

With a sequel to their film version of the play “ Woman In Black “ that starred Daniel Radcliff due for release in 2015 “ Woman In Black : Angel Of Death “ .

The show is also a celebration of the British film industry and of the past and present creative film making in...

For the final week of September, we’ll be seeing a handful of indie genre titles coming our way to DVD and Blu-ray, as well as several cult classics, including the original Leprechaun films, finally making their high-def debut on Tuesday.

In terms of new indie movies to keep an eye out for, Grow-up Tony Phillips, the latest from up-and-coming Austin filmmaker Emily Hagins (My Sucky Teen Romance), is being released as well as American Muscle, The Paranormal Diaries, Grave Halloween and the pregnancy-themed horror flick Delivery: The Beast Within. For those of you horror fans looking for something a bit more ‘seasoned’, both Krull and Killer Fish are getting their Blu-ray treatment this week and should make for excellent additions to your home entertainment collection.

Spotlight Titles:

Grow-up Tony Phillips (Anderson Digital, DVD)

Who doesn’t love Halloween? All of Tony Phillips’ high school friends do, apparently. It’s...

Damn, it’s 1963 all over again in Missouri.

The police are using tear gas and billy clubs to control a group of peaceful protestors. All that’s missing is German Shepards and fire hoses but hey, rubber bullets more than make up for that.

I often wonder seriously, once so seriously, someone asked me to “Please stay here,” if I should take a gun and just end me before Lapd does.

The ‘here’ she was referring to was Earth.

Bet that fucked you up.

A bit over a year ago, in a restaurant two drunken white people thought they could use me as a punching bag.

They attacked me.

They hit me.

They were two, I was one.

I defended myself, they punked out.

I was the one arrested.

There is videotape evidence of my innocence.

I took a plea deal on the criminal charge.

W H Y?

Why would...

What do a pyrokinetic girl, a lonely ghost, and a group of cannibalistic children have in common? They’re all getting the Blu-ray treatment from Universal this September.

Blu-ray.com reports that Firestarter, Casper, and The People Under the Stairs are all slated for a September 2nd Blu-ray release, but only one of the films is coming with substantial bonus features:

Firestarter Release Details (via Blu-ray.com):

“Firestarter chronicles the extraordinary life of Charlene “Charlie” McGee. Eight-year-old Drew Barrymore stars as the child who has the amazing ability to start fires with just a glance. Can her psychic power and the love of her father save her from the threatening government agency, “The Shop,” that wants her destroyed?

The Blu-ray edition of Firestarter is presented in 1080p with a DTS-hd Master Audio 2.0 Mono track. An UltraViolet Digital HD digital copy of the film is included, but there are no other special features.

It has been dismissed over the years as cheesy, cheap and laughable but, as has been the case on many occasions, Hammer Films have had the last laugh. They boast a back-catalogue that is to horror movies what The Rolling Stones’ discography is to rock music. Fifty-nine years after the release of their first horror movie proper (The Quatermass Xperiment), Hammer’s films have survived scrutiny and re-evaluation and have now attained National Treasure status. Moreover, in terms of sheer importance, the Hammer films were some of the most influential of the past half-century. The ripple-effect of their imitators cashing in on their success would beget the careers of some of the biggest names in Hollywood today.

And yet since 1984 Hammer has been a dormant entity, existing only in the memory: a pile of ashes, a cape and a signet ring waiting to be reanimated by the crimson, jugular discharge of some poor,...

Vince McMahon is a certified marketing genius. Always keen to find a new way to reach a new audience, he tied pro wrestling to rock and roll, and in doing so, made it a part of popular culture to a level it hadn’t been since the early days of television. His knack for cross-promotion has struck gold again, with a crossover between the WWE Superstars and the animated adventures of the Great Dane Detective and the Mystery Inc gang in their newest direct to video movie, Scooby Doo WrestleMania Mystery, out just in time to help promote WrestleMania XXX, coming to your screens this Sunday, April 6.

The voices and likenesses of the current crop of WWE Superstars like John Cena, Triple H, Divas Champion Aj Lee and Santino Marella team up with Scooby and the gang in a fun throwback to the old days of The New Scooby Doo Movies,...

While David Lynch's "Twin Peaks" will always stand proudly as the moment the distinct filmmaker freaked out America on national network TV, once the show was done, he was finished working on the small screen format. Less known among his filmography is a detour to HBO in 1993 for the three part miniseries "Hotel Room." Well, thanks to the glory of the interwebs, you can now spend the rest of the day hiding out from your boss and watching it in full. Penned by Barry Gifford ("Wild At Heart" author, "Lost Highway") and Jay McInerney (“Bright Lights, Big City”), the miniseries chronicles the lives of folks passing through a hotel in 1969, 1992 and 1936 (in that order). It's apparently more straightforward than the kind of stuff Lynch is usually known for, but it's also touched by the director's unique sensibility. And the cast? As usual, a fantastic array of support with Harry Dean Stanton,...

Wild at Heart

Directed by David Lynch

Written by David Lynch

1990, USA

David Lynch evokes a surreal world in Wild at Heart, a film brimming over with explicit sex, murder, rape, eccentric kitsch and sleaze. There is some rather horrifyingly violence, beginning with the opening scene where a man is beaten to death, to a moment later in the film where a shotgun to the head sends someone’s brains splattered across the frame. Based on the novel by Barry Gifford, and the winner of the Palme d’Or, Wild at Heart is a perverse and over-the top Southern Gothic thriller best described as a cross between Natural Born Killers and Badlands. Here, the director is working with pulp conventions, tangential metaphors, and interwoven into the cross-country adventure are numerous references to Lynch’s favourite movie, The Wizard of Oz. Appearing is both the Wicked Witch and the Good, along with a crystal ball,...

Previously on Merlin, the series, realizing it will soon be entering its last season, quickly ticked off the mythical legends of Tristan and Isolde, the Sword in the Stone, and a Congress able to actually make a decision on anything (now that’s really fantasy fiction!), Arthur had yet another crisis in confidence (I’m sorry, but if I had Bradley James’ body my crises would be more likely to involve public nudity than waning confidence). Nonetheless, he rallied in time to defeat Morgana (again) who had invaded the kingdom (again) and restored Camelot (again) to its usual air of peace and prosperity (again, until next week.) Arthur married Guinevere/Gwen (which means Kate Middleton will be the second commoner to be Queen of England) and an injured Morgana was saved by being breathed on by a deformed hairless Chihuahua (funny, when my dog breathes on me all I get...