British singer and talk / variety / game show host Des O'Connor was totally unknown to this American DVD reviewer until given the chance to review Network DVD's Des O'Connor - Volume 1, a two-disc set of highlights from the star's 1970 series - his first in colour and part of a 13 episode-run of shows that at some point aired on America's NBC network.

There's more than four hours of material, the vast majority of which - about 90% - turns out to be either O'Connor covering popular tunes of the era (Nilsson's "Everybody's Talkin,'" etc.) or O'Connor at the center of some typically '60s/early'70s-style variety show sketch comedy. A few familiar faces turn up in these sketches, but there's a singular dearth of star names one usually associates with programs like t...Read the entire review

I wish I was a space man.
The fastest guy alive.
I'd fly you 'round the universe,
In Fireball XL-5.
Way out in space together,
Compass of the sky,
My heart would be a fireball,
A fireball,
Every time I gazed into your starry eyes.

We'd take the path to Jupiter,
And maybe very soon.
We'd cruise along the Milky Way,
And land upon the moon.
To our wonderland of stardust,
We'll zoom our way to Mars,
My heart would be a fireball,
A fireball,
If you would be my Venus of the stars.
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Fireball XL5's Theme Song

Though impressed by its production values, I was never much a fan of Thunderbirds, Gerry & Sylvia Anderson's internationally popular puppet series filmed in "Supermarionation," to say nothing of Videcolor. It was big and elaborate, with special effects rivaling the most ...Read the entire review

Though set in the present-day Canadian Rockies and made by British filmmakers, Campbell's Kingdom (1957) is almost classically a Western, with a story and genre iconography instantly recognizable. The British weren't known for their Westerns, but this is a big, colorful, and pretty exciting effort, a film that deserves to be better known in America, and to Western genre fans.

We weren't sent final product, but the Region 2/PAL check disc DVD we received offers a handsome 16:9 widescreen presentation of the Eastman Color production, along with a few extras.

The story pits ruthless damn builder Owen Morgan (Stanley Baker), under contract to a mining company anxious to generate electricity for its operations, against terminally ill Bruce Campbell (Dirk Bogarde),...Read the entire review

Reviewer's Note: This review of Shut That Door! Larry Grayson at ITV is based on screener check discs, not the final shelf product. Any evaluations concerning A/V quality, as well as packaging and even final content must then be qualified until we receive a final pressing. As well, it's important to note that as of this writing, this title is only available in the Region 2 format.

What a gay day! Network DVD has released in the U.K. Shut That Door! Larry Grayson at ITV, an exhaustive look at the beloved camp TV comic's work for ITV during the 1970s. Featuring the sole surviving episode of Shut That Door, Grayson's first starring series, as well both seasons of the hour-long The Larry Grayson Show, Shut That Door! Larry Grayson at ITV also includes several documentaries covering the late comedian's "overnight success" story and subsequent super-...Read the entire review

THE MOVIE:

NOTE: This review is of a Region 2, PAL-formatted DVD. Please be sure you have the equipment to play this disc before seeking it out for purchase.

Though I had seen David Lean's 1945 drama Brief Encounter, based on the play Still Life by Noel Coward, multiple times, I was not aware that there had been any other film versions of it. So, when I was offered the opportunity to review this 1974 television version, I was intrigued.

This updated Brief Encounter is set in contemporary times rather than during World War II, but the basic story is otherwise much the same. Directed by Alan Bridges (The Shooting Party) and written by John Bowen, both television veterans, it replaces Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson with Richard Burton and Sophia Loren. The two actors prove a surprisingly suitable couple and more than capable of the complex emot...Read the entire review