Obviously, Message from Moonbase Alpha (SD – 6:58) is also missing due to complicated licensing issues. However, you can find it in the A&E/New Video DVD Megaset. Better still, it’s also currently available on DVD (NTSC/Region 0) directly from Fanderson in the UK as part of their Space:1999 and UFO – The Documentaries DVD release ( see this link to their online store). That DVD is actually well worth having, because it also includes Kindred’s 2-part Space: 1999 Documentary (SD – 102:37), along with the Space: 1899 short (SD – 3:37), The UFO Documentary (SD – 59:19), and Derek Meddings: The Anderson Years (SD – 13:36). It's all the more remarkable, then, that Paddy Chayefsky's marvelous script for Network is so frighteningly prescient. After all, in 1976, when the film was released, the evening news was still a nightly tradition for most adult Americans, and the three broadcast networks ruled the airwaves with iconic anchors like Cronkite, Smith, Chancellor and Brinkley. It would be four to five more years until shows like Entertainment Tonight started cropping up in syndication, slowly blurring the line between news and entertainment, and 24 hour news networks like CNN appeared on the horizon, needing, well, 24 hours of content to fill their broadcasting day, thereby creating a whole new market for shows which blended elements of news and entertainment. It seemed to happen almost overnight, seen now from the distance of that quarter century, but Chayefsky obviously saw it coming well before it dawned on the rest of us, and Network was his brilliantly acerbic warning shot across the bow. Unfortunately, too few of us heard, refusing to believe that things could get as bad as Network portrayed them, however satirically. How terribly, terribly wrong we were. Tune In Next Tuesday - presented here is a visual essay by Dave Itzkoff, author of Mad as Hell: The Making of Network and the Fateful Vision of the Angriest Man in Movies. In English, not subtitled. (48 min). Description: Michael Gough turns in a memorable performance as a demented professor in this cult favourite B-movie that takes a skewed look at the King Kong story, transposing the action from New York to London. Also starring teen heartthrob Jess Conrad, Konga is featured here as a High Definition remaster from original film elements in its original theatrical aspect ratio. Horace Quilby treads a perpetual odyssey through the London streets on behalf of Finklebaum and O'Casey – dealers in 'misfit clothing'. Resplendent in top hat, tails and sandwich board his is a unique angle from which to observe life. Today, however, he is preoccupied – Esmerelda, his racing pigeon, is taking part in the race of her life!

Cinematographer Owen Roizman ( The French Connection, The Exorcist) utilized light in a variety of different ways to give the film the desired by director Lumet visual style. It is broken into three phases -- naturalistic, realistic, and commercial -- each with different and constantly evolving tonalities. Bernard Hedges manages to convince the other staff at Fenn Street Secondary Modern that it's a good idea to take rowdy class 5C on a two-night stay at a country summer camp. It doesn't take long, however, before 5C start wreaking havoc – with both the camp and the snobbish pupils of an upper-class boys' school who are also staying there! Network' comes to Blu-ray with a terrific 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 encode (1.85:1) that retains Owen Roizman's intentional look and feel. The photography commences rough and bleak, but as the story progresses, it seems to mature and appear more elegant. The high-def transfer displays this subtle development beautifully. The film opens with an average picture that would be acceptable for its age and period. Slowly, the fine details of hairs, clothes, and the random items which clutter network offices are sharply defined and distinct. Facial complexions are naturally textured and reveal every wrinkle in the actors' faces. A thin veil of grain washes over the image for an appreciable cinematic quality, and dimensionality improves along with the story. In any case, despite the fact that there are still a few special features missing, it should be clear now that Via Vision Entertainment/Imprint Television’s new Space: 1999 – The Complete Series Ultimate Edition box set truly is the most comprehensive Blu-ray release of this series to date. Yes, it’s more expensive than the previous Blu-ray editions. But if you’re looking for a single REGION FREE Blu-ray set that contains the largest number (and overwhelming majority) of special features, along with beautifully-remastered HD video, and the correct 5.1 and mono audio mixes too, this is box set is absolutely unmatched.For for US fans of Space: 1999, none of these Blu-ray releases has been ideal. For one thing, the UK sets are Region B only. Yet they included significant bonus material not found in the Shout! Factory set. Meanwhile, that US set is Region A and it includes some new extras, but Shout! unfortunately created their own 5.1 mixes for all the episodes—rather than simply utilizing the 5.1 mixes from the UK sets—and they’re not particularly good. (Specifically, the audio in the surround channels is very low. And for some reason the Shout! BDs don’t let you switch from 5.1 to mono with your remote.) So what’s a self-respecting US Space: 1999 fan to do? Well, I’m very pleased to say that I’ve finally got a good answer to that question… Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Sidney Lumet's Network arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video.

Sidney Lumet's Network is unquestionably one of the most prophetic American films from the last thirty years. It accurately predicted that the world of television was bound for a massive makeover and that eventually the news networks will begin creating their own news while comfortably manipulating the public. You’d be hard pushed to tell this was an up-scale, with staples like skin texture and clothing weaves being very prevalent. Paperwork, computer consoles and screen text, notepad drawings, litigation papers: all are clean, clear, and precise. As a piece, The Owl Service maintains a sense of tragic inevitability and largely maintained ambiguity throughout its eight episodes. It somewhat botches these aspects with an abrupt and overly convenient finale, but there is enough unsettling atmosphere, interpersonal and social tensions and echoes of folklore to let this time capsule resonate for a time in the memory. Now then, I mentioned that this is a true Ultimate Edition release with substantial extras carried over from both the Network UK BD sets and also the more recent Shout! Factory BD set. So let’s break down the contents of Imprint’s new box set disc by disc (note that some of the special features listed in HD have been upsampled from SD)…Interview (SD, 14 min) — This vintage segment from the TV show 'Dinah!' shows an interview with Paddy Chayefsky by Dinah Shore. It's an interesting discussion about writing the script, his inspirations and intentions. There are many big-time actors in the film, but it never looks or feels like they are competing with each other. Their characters become real people with unique identities and legit dilemmas. Obviously, the script from Paddy Chayefsky is outstanding, but the terrific chemistry between the actors is crucial for the film's brilliance.

Few films resonate with audiences for several generations after their release quite like Sidney Lumet's 'Network.' The film perfectly captures a human attribute born out of modernity which seems universally relevant no matter the age of moviegoers. And today, possibly more than ever, Paddy Chayefsky's eloquent, sharply-written and provocative script still speaks to us with such eye-opening accuracy and insight. 'Network' displays an alien reality with ferocity and urgency, imitating the speed at which the world of TV production moves. People speak at full tilt in a foreign language while major decisions are made within moments, and money is always at the heart of every matter. The only difference between a board meeting and a terrorist organization talking distribution rights is the scenery. As well as its four Oscars, Network was also garlanded with a quartet of Golden Globes, a BAFTA and numerous other awards. In the years since its release, its reputation has only grown: the Library of Congress granted it a place on their prestigious National Film Registry; the American Film Institute named it as one of the greatest American films of all time; and the Writers Guild of America declared its screenplay one of the ten best of all time. It remains a true classic. Tune in Next Tuesday – a visual essay by Dave Itzkoff, the author of Mad as Hell: The Making of Network and the Fateful Vision of the Angriest Man in Movies The final four pieces focus primarily on the production itself, like a closer examination of making the iconic "mad as hell" speech. Cast and crew talk about how the whole thing was done and the direction ("Mad as Hell! Creation of a Movie Moment"). The same group is also allowed almost a half-hour to talk freely about their experience working on the production and specifically with Lumet. There are also a few brief comments from the director about the script ("The Experience"). Then we have several minutes on the photography and design of the movie with interviews of Owen Roizman and Philip Rosenberg ("The Style"). Bringing everything to an end is a nine-minute interview with the legendary news anchor Walter Cronkite, his thoughts on the film and memories of Sidney Lumet. For fans, this is a great, not-to-be-missed documentary. The extras also include a photo gallery of the show’s production and commentaries on some of the episodes by writer and broadcaster Tim Worthington. Though not connected with the show (and by his own admission, not born at the time of its release), Worthington’s enthusiasm and knowledge of the show is palpable and infectious. He discusses such aspects as the design of the title sequence; the ‘care and attention’ paid to the visual composition; why the show is ‘important’; and compares his commentary to others and his wish to be different and informative. For the most part, he succeeds, much as The Owl Service itself mostly succeeds as an evocative, atmospheric and intriguing drama, one that offers plenty to enjoy for modern audiences just as it did for those over fifty years ago.

Network: Other Editions

Description: Original Goon Michael Bentine co-writes and gives a memorable performance as an amiable 'Sandwich Man' in this gentle, whimsical comedy that features a Who's Who? of British talent, including Norman Wisdom, Diana Dors, Harry H. Corbett, Dora Bryan, Bernard Cribbins and Terry-Thomas. The Sandwich Man is featured here as a brand-new High Definition remaster from original film elements in its original theatrical aspect ratio.