{"id":4691,"date":"2009-02-02T17:32:35","date_gmt":"2009-02-02T17:32:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/?p=4691"},"modified":"2009-02-02T18:33:20","modified_gmt":"2009-02-02T18:33:20","slug":"uk-dvd-releases-monday-2nd-february-2009","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/2009\/02\/02\/uk-dvd-releases-monday-2nd-february-2009\/","title":{"rendered":"UK DVD Releases: Monday 2nd February 2009"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a><\/p>\n DVD PICKS<\/strong><\/p>\n John Adams<\/a><\/strong> (HBO): Based on\u00a0David McCullough<\/a>\u2019s Pulitzer Prize winning biography<\/a> of the second president of the United States<\/a>, this HBO miniseries arrives on DVD in the UK after winning several awards and garnering considerable critical acclaim.<\/p>\n For those unfamiliar with the title character, he was one of the key figures in the creation of the United States and its struggle for independence from Great Britain.<\/p>\n An impressive cast features\u00a0Paul Giamatti<\/a>\u00a0as\u00a0John Adams<\/a>,\u00a0Laura Linney<\/a>\u00a0as his wife\u00a0Abigail<\/a>,\u00a0Stephen Dillane<\/a>\u00a0as\u00a0Thomas Jefferson<\/a>,\u00a0David Morse<\/a>\u00a0as\u00a0George Washington<\/a>,\u00a0Tom Wilkinson<\/a>\u00a0as\u00a0Benjamin Franklin<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Rufus Sewell<\/a>\u00a0as\u00a0Alexander Hamilton<\/a>.<\/p>\n The seven episodes chronicle the key chapters of Adams’ life, which span the first fifty years of the\u00a0United States<\/a>:<\/p>\n A hugely ambitious project, this miniseries offers us a fascinating insight into the early years of the United States as seen through the lens of one of the key founding fathers.<\/p>\n Director Tom Hooper<\/a> (who was also behind HBO’s ‘Elizabeth I’<\/a>) and writer Kirk Ellis<\/a> have done an amazing job of distilling McCullough’s 700-page book into seven epiosdes that are rich with drama and detail.<\/p>\n Technically, it is first rate with some marvellous cinematography by\u00a0Tak Fujimoto<\/a>\u00a0capturing the candle lit interiors and and outdoor landscapes superbly well.<\/p>\n The sets and locations are also extremely impressive, making clever use of CGI which is nicely woven into the action without ever being distracting.<\/p>\n It was filmed in the Colonial Williamsburg Historic Area<\/a> in Virginia and Hungary for the European locations and also features 125 speaking roles, so it is mounted on a scale unusual even for an HBO project.<\/p>\n However, unlike some historical dramas it goes beyond the settings and costumes to grapple with the underlying themes and and issues at stake in the birth of the United States of America.<\/p>\n Part of what makes the series so attractive is the extraordinary nature of Adams’ life – one that encompassed so many crucial events in a remarkable period of history.<\/p>\n He personally embodied many of the ideals upon which the nation was founded and also had a remarkably strong relationship with\u00a0Abigail,\u00a0his feisty wife of 54 years.<\/p>\n Given the importance of the War of Independence<\/a> you might wonder why it has been so poorly represented on screen but perhaps the shadow of the disastrous Revolution<\/a> (1985) still hangs over anyone that attempts to pitch a project set in the era.<\/p>\n A good deal of credit then must go to producer Tom Hanks<\/a> and HBO for attempting such a bold and sweeping project, with a reported budget of $100 million.<\/p>\n It has paid off with plaudits and\u00a0swept the board at the 2008 Emmy Awards with 17 nominations and 13 wins including, \u2018Outstanding Actor\u2019, \u2018Outstanding Actress\u2019 and \u2018Outstanding Mini-series\u2019 and\u00a0also won four awards at the 2009 Golden Globes.<\/p>\n This 3-disc, 7 part mini series clocks in at 501 minutes and comes with the following extras:<\/p>\n Overall it is a landmark piece of television and one of the best DVD releases to come out this year.<\/p>\n Appaloosa<\/a><\/strong> (EIV):\u00a0Based on the 2005 novel by\u00a0Robert B. Parker<\/a>, this\u00a0superb western centres around a\u00a0lawman named Virgil Cole (Ed Harris<\/a>) and his\u00a0deputy\u00a0Everett Hitch (Viggo Mortensen<\/a>), two friends who are hired to defend a lawless 1880s town from a murderous\u00a0rancher<\/a>\u00a0(Jeremy Irons<\/a>). Their efforts are disrupted and friendship tested by the arrival of a woman (Ren\u00e9e Zellweger<\/a>).<\/p>\n Although it followed the fate of most westerns by dying at the UK box office, is a rich and highly accomplished film, well worth seeking out on DVD.<\/p>\n The extras on the disc include:<\/p>\n ALSO OUT<\/strong><\/p>\n Alfresco: The Complete Series<\/a><\/strong> (Network) DVD PICKS John Adams (HBO): Based on\u00a0David McCullough\u2019s Pulitzer Prize winning biography of the second president of the United States, this HBO miniseries arrives on DVD in the UK after winning several awards and garnering considerable critical acclaim. For those unfamiliar with the title character, he was one of the key figures in the creation […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[248,632],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4691"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4691"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4691\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4691"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4691"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4691"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nCategory 6: Day of Destruction<\/a><\/strong> (Brightspark)
\n Death Race<\/a><\/strong> (Universal)
\n Faintheart<\/a><\/strong> (Vertigo Films)
\n Fear(s) of the Dark<\/a><\/strong> (Metrodome)
\n Igor<\/a><\/strong> (Mometnum)
\n Immortal Beloved<\/a><\/strong> (Icon)
\n JCVD<\/a><\/strong> (Revolver)
\n Life – Season 1<\/a><\/strong> (Universal Playback)
\n Paris<\/a><\/strong> (Optimum)
\n Quo Vadis<\/a><\/strong> (Warner)
\n Redbelt<\/a><\/strong> (Sony)
\n Roadkill 2<\/a><\/strong> (Fox)
\n RocknRolla<\/a><\/strong> (Warner)
\n Step Brothers<\/a><\/strong> (Sony)
\nThe Accidental Husband<\/a><\/strong> (Momentum)
\n The Black Balloon<\/a><\/strong> (Icon)
\n The Chaser<\/a><\/strong> (Metrodome)
\n The Cosby Show – Season 4<\/a><\/strong> (Universal Playback)
\n Trip to Asia: The Quest for Harmony<\/a><\/strong> (Axiom Films)
\n Unrelated<\/a><\/strong> (New Wave Films)<\/p>\n
\n<\/a>>\u00a0Check the latest DVD prices at DVD Price Check
\n<\/a>>\u00a0Take a look at the current UK cinema releases<\/a>\u00a0(W\/C Friday 30th January)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"