New DVDs: Feature Length Films and TV Series – August 2008

Beau Brummell: This Charming Man
A look at the man who changed fashion during 18th century England, at a time when men wore heavy perfume, makeup, and wigs, by showing princes and lords how he felt a man should truly look. Cast: James Purefoy, Hugh Bonneville, Matthew Rhys. Based on Ian Kelly’s biography of Brummell.

Blue Murder: Set 3
Award-winning actress Caroline Quentin portrays Janine with the perfect combination of toughness and tenderness. And Ian Kelsey brings a subtle vulnerability to his role as DI Richard Mayne, the lead detective on Janine’s team. These tense, tightly plotted British mysteries show the everyday trials and triumphs of a woman balancing career and family.

Foyle’s War: Set Five
Michael Kitchen stars as DCS Christopher Foyle, investigating wartime crimes in an English coastal town. With the end of World War II slowly but inevitably approaching, Foyle and his fellow citizens learn the price of victory and face a peace that will transform their lives in unexpected ways.

Inspector Morse: Part 13 Sins of the Fathers
Real ale buff Inspector Morse is in his element when he investigates foul play at a family-run brewery. Cast: John Thaw, Kevin Whately, John Bird, Lisa Harrow, Alex Jennings, Betty Marsden, Paul Shelley, Kim Thomson, Trevor Martin, Paul Mooney, Simon Slater.

Inspector Morse: Part 14 Driven to Distraction
Morse’s investigations into the apparently motiveless murder of a young woman lead him to question his own driving ability and to consider selling his coveted Mark 2 Jaguar. Cast: John Thaw, Kevin Whately, Patrick Malahide, David Ryall, Christopher Fulford, Mary Jo Randle and James Grout.

Inspector Morse: Part 15 Masonic Mysteries
Morse is top of the list of suspects when his lady friend is found murdered. Even the loyal Sergeant Lewis has to admit that all the clues point to Morse when Beryl Newsome is stabbed at a dress rehearsal for the local drama society’s production of the Magic Flute. Cast: John Thaw, Kevin Whately, Madelaine Newton, Diane Fletcher, Richard Kane, Ian McDiarmid,Iain Cuthbertson, James Grout.

Inspector Morse: Part 17 Fat Chance
Romance threatens the well-ordered life of Inspector Morse when he is attracted to a female cleric whilst investigating the suspicious death of a young woman deacon. A strong candidate to become the first female chaplain of St. Saviour’s College in Oxford, the victim had a vociferous group of supporters. But could the strong feelings surrounding the campaign have developed into murder? Cast: John Thaw, Kevin Whately, Maurice Denham, Zoe Wanamaker, Maggie O’Neill, Kenneth Maig, James Grout, Caroline Ryder and Peggy Mount.

Inspector Morse: Part 18 Who Killed Harry Field?
Harry Field was an artist, a raconteur, a drinker, and not averse to forging the odd painting. When he is mysteriously killed, Morse takes over the investigation and is plunged into the arty world of Harry’s Bohemian friends. Cast: John Thaw, Kevin Whately, Geraldine James, Nicola Cowper, Freddie Jones, Ronald Pickup.

Inspector Morse: Part 19 Greeks Bearing Gifts
The Greek community in Oxford closes ranks when a Greek restaurant chef is found dead and a baby goes missing. Morse feels more at home with Oxford’s other Greek connection – the classical scholars – and surprisingly discovers there could be a link between the two worlds. Cast: John Thaw, Kevin Whately, Jan Harvey, Martin Jarvis, James Hazeldine, James Faulkner.

Inspector Morse: Part 21 Dead on Time
When an elderly Don apparently commits suicide, Inspector Morse is called in and finds he has a personal involvement in the case. The wife of the dead man is the woman Morse was engaged to be married to years ago. Cast: John Thaw, Kevin Whately, Richard Pasco, Joanna David.

Inspector Morse: Part 24 Absolute Conviction
Bailey, Thornton and Cryer were eighties entrepreneurs until it was found that they had stolen millions of pounds from their investors. All three are serving sentences in the same prison where Cryer is found dead in his cell. It looks like a heart attack but the pathologist’s report quickly points to murder. Morse and Lewis go behind bars to investigate but must tread carefully with the prison governor. Cast: John Thaw, Kevin Whately, Richard Wilson, Sean Bean, Diana Quick.

Inspector Morse: Part 25 Cherubim & Seraphim
When Morse visits his stepmother and half-sister, he finds himself in the middle of a tragedy. His stepniece has committed suicide. Cast: John Thaw, Kevin Whately, Isla Blair, Sorcha Cusack, Jason Isaacs, John Junkin, James Grout.

Inspector Morse: Part 26 Deadly Slumber
Avril Steppings is permanently brain damaged after a minor operation. When the doctor who runs the clinic that treated Avril is murdered, Inspector Morse has an immediate suspect, Avril’s father. Cast: John Thaw, Kevin Whately, Brian Cox, Penny Downie, Janet Suzman.

Inspector Morse: Part 27 The Day of the Devil
Chief Inspector Morse matches wits with a dangerous escaped mental patient who is a master of disguise. Morse also has to deal with growing Satanism in Oxfordshire. He is helped in the hunt by his psychiatrist, who appears to be a target. Cast: John Thaw, Kevin Whately, James Grout, Harriet Walter, Richard Griffiths, Keith Allen, Gilly Coman.

Inspector Morse: Part 29 The Way through the Woods
The Lovers Lane Killer is dead. The man accused of murdering five people has himself been killed in a prison fight before his trial. The body of Karen Anderson, supposedly the killer’s fifth victim, was never found. Although her bag was recovered at the bottom of the lake at Blenheim, Morse is convinced that Karen’s remains are in Wytham Woods. When a body is discovered at Blenheim, Morse and Sergeant Lewis are on the case. Will the woods at Wytham yield up their secrets to Morse and Lewis? Cast: John Thaw, Kevin Whately, Malcolm Storry, Neil Dudgeon, Michelle Fairley, James Grout, Nicholas Le Prevost, Clare Holman.

Inspector Morse: Part 30 The Daughters of Cain
Suspects abound after the murder of Dr. Felix McClure and so do their alibis. A retired university Fellow is stabbed to death in cold blood and Inspector Morse and Sergeant Lewis are plunged back into the heart of Oxford’s academic world. An apparent routine investigation for the two detectives is complicated as they unravel a story of undergraduate suicide, drugs in college and the dismissal of a college scout. Cast: John Thaw, Kevin Whately, James Grout, Gabrielle Lloyd, Phyllis Logan, Amanda Ryan, Tony Haygarth, Benjamin Whitrow.

Inspector Morse: Part 32 The Wench Is Dead
On a June morning in 1859, the body of a young woman was found by the Oxford Canal. In the present day, recovering after an operation in hospital, Morse is visited by Adele Cecil and American scholar Millie Van Buren whose book on the murder becomes his preoccupation. Morse soon becomes convinced that the two boatmen publicly hanged for the murder of the respectably married Joanna Franks were the victims of a gross miscarriage of justice. Inspector Morse is joined by Adrian Kershaw, a young graduate police constable, who assists him in his investigations. Cast: John Thaw, Judy Loe, Lisa Eichhorn, Matthew Finney, James Grout, Clare Holman.

Inspector Morse: Part 33 The Remorseful Day
In this last Morse dramatization, an ailing Inspector Morse returns to work to investigate new evidence that has surfaced regarding the brutal murder of the agreeably flirtatious nurse who attended to him when he was in the hospital. Cast: John Thaw, Kevin Whately, Paul Freeman, T. P. McKenna, Clare Holman, Anna Wilson-Jones, Jesse Birdsall, James Grout.

Lord Peter Wimsey: The Nine Tailors
Twenty years after visiting East Anglia, Lord Peter Wimsey (Ian Carmichael) is stranded there after an auto mishap. When a mutilated body is found on the estate, Wimsey discovers a connection to the jewels that were stolen 20 years before. The full picture eludes him until a natural disaster strikes and the nine church bells that signal death in a country town ring out. DVD release of the original 1974 BBC drama seen on PBS’ Masterpiece theatre. Based on the novel by Dorothy L. Sayers.

Mother Teresa
In a powerful portrayal Golden Globe-winner Olivia Hussey illuminates the life story of Mother Teresa the selfless missionary who brought hope love and salvation to the poorest of the poor. A shrewd diplomat and an indomitable force Mother Teresa is unwilling to accept what others deem impossible fearlessly fighting for the unloved and the forgotten. Her good works transcend hardships and ultimately earn her international acclaim including the Nobel Peace Prize. The small miracles and humble triumphs of Mother Teresa will inspire you in this poignant tale of a modern-day saint.

Porterhouse Blue
Set in a fictional, all-male Cambridge college this movie aims it’s barbs at aristocrats, politicians, and TV reporters as well as academics. Based on the novel by Tom Sharpe. Originally broadcast as single episodes of the TV series in 1987. Cast: Ian Richardson and David Jason.

Smallville: The Complete Fourth Season
Clark Kent will have plenty of reasons to remember senior year! Clark embarks on a quest for three Kryptonian crystals, and trying to keep the crystals from destroying Earth. He also stars on the football team, and the annoying Lois Lane comes to Smallville. Cast: Tom Welling, Kristin Kreuk, Michael Rosenbaum, Jensen Ackles, Allison Mack, John Glover, Annette O’Toole, John Schneider.

Smallville: The Complete Fifth Season
During this exciting pivotal season: Clark faces rogue Kryptonians, Lex Luthor launches a vicious political campaign, the Fortress of Solitude rises, Clark’s love for Lana Lang deepens and he and Lois Lane remain friendly adversaries, Clark crosses paths with AC (aka Aquaman), Victor Stone (aka Cyborg) and the mysterious Milton Fine (aka Brainiac). Cast: Tom Welling, Kristin Kreuk, Michael Rosenbaum, Erica Durance, Allison Mack, John Glover, Annette O’Toole, John Schneider.

Smallville: The Complete Sixth Season
They tried to be friends, but their chosen paths set them on a collision course. The Clark Kent-Lex Luthor rivalry explodes into the fierce good-versus-evil battle. Cast: Tom Welling, Kristin Kreuk, Michael Rosenbaum, Erica Durance, Allison Mack, John Glover, Annette O’Toole. Originally broadcast on television during the 2006-2007 season.

Stargate Atlantis: The Complete First Season
A secret base built by the Ancients is found in the ice in Antarctica. The Stargate Atlantis team is sent on a one-way mission to explore the distant Pegasus galaxy. The team encounters many new civilizations, including the sinister Wraith. Cast: Joe Flanigan, Torri Higginson, Rachel Luttrell, Rainbow Sun Francks, David Hewlett, Paul McGillion.