Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark It s said that the original is the greatest, and there can be no more vivid proof than Raiders of the Lost Ark, the first and indisputably best of the initial three Indiana Jones adventures cooked up by the dream team of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. Expectations were high for this 1981 collaboration between the two men, who essentially invented the box office blockbuster with `70s efforts like Jaws and Star Wars, and Spielberg (who directed) and Lucas (who co-wrote the story and executive produced) didn t disappoint. This wildly entertaining film has it all: non-stop action, exotic locations, grand spectacle, a hero for the ages, despicable villains, a beautiful love interest, humour, horror…, not to mention lots of snakes. And along with all the bits that are so familiar by now--Indy (Harrison Ford) running from the giant boulder in a cave, using his pistol instead of his trusty whip to take out a scimitar-wielding bad guy, faci...

#The Greatest Action Films of All Time (2008-08-27) Raiders of the Lost ArkFor all the criticisms George Lucas has received in recent times, we must remember that he did manage to come up with this gem of an idea for a perfect action film, and in doing so he created one of the most iconic action hero s that cinema has ever seen. A role perfectly played by its star, Harrison Ford. The script, written by Lawrence Kasdan, is expertly directed by Steven Spielberg, who by this stage of his career was firing on all cylinders. He takes Kasdan s script and perfectly balances the dialogue wit...

Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy stars Alec Guinness as George Smiley, John Le Carré s familiar, ageing British Intelligence agent, called out of retirement to discover the identity of the high-ranking Russian mole who has burrowed deep into The Circus--codename for the British secret service. This slow-burning, complicated and ultimately rewarding BBC adaptation, dramatised by Arthur Hopcroft and directed by John Irvin, perfectly captures Le Carré s own insight into the shady underworld of spies and the political climate during the Cold War. Le Carré s style is the antithesis of his contemporary Ian Fleming s--far from the glamorous lifestyle of Bond, with his fast cars and faster women, these agents ride around in Skodas, and Beryl Reid is the closest thing to a femme fatale, save for Smiley s elusive wife, Anne. An extraordinary cast (including Ian Bannen, Hywel Bennett and Ian Richardson), gritty realism and close attention to detail make Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy an outstandi...

#Perfection. (2008-09-03) We watch four middle aged men enter a down-at-heal office. They take seats around a table. Thay say nothing. One at the end coughs and asks Shall we begin? One to the side huffs audibly and then the opening credits rolls. How brave a start is that? Who would start a major TV serial like that these days? Ive seen Tinker Tailor. . . five times now and look forward to watching it a again. If there was a fire and I could run to save just one DVD this would be the one.

#CAUTION! (2008-05-29) TAKE CARE! The docuemntary on this DVD has a SPOILER, which gives away the ending of the sequel, Smiley s People !

#One of the best bits of television drama. Ever. (2008-02-20) There is a Soviet mole in the Circus. At least, according to Irina, a female Russian KGB agent in Hong Kong who wants to defect to the West. Before she can deliver this precious bit of information herself to the headquarters of the british Secret Service in London (the Circus, as it s called), she is found out by her KGB colleagues and hastily flown home to Moscow. Her british Secret Service contact in Hong Kong, an agent named Ricky Tarr, barely makes it back alive to Britain, but he refuses to go go back to the Circus. ...

#excellent (2007-12-20) With forty or so 5 star reviews, I don t need to tell you how good this series is in every way. However, I would add here for future customers a warning. That is: if you intend to watch/read other Le Carre works after this then DO NOT WATCH THE DOCUMENTARY! There are spoilers in it of Smiley s People, The Constant Gardener and no doubt some others I did not pick up on. I could not believe that it showed the final scene of Smiley s People whilst a newly-purchased copy of the whole series sat unwatched next to my TV set!

#the very very best (2007-12-19) simply the best of all times, one can say no more , its where subjective is overtaken by unquestionable excellencealan watkin jones, cheshire