Director Joe Dante's web site Trailers from Hell is a habit-forming delight, presenting trailers from cult movies along with narration by directors and film historians. Click here to view the original trailer for the 1970s buddy cop comedy Freebie and Bean starring James Caan and Alan Arkin.

By John Exshaw

Imagine my surprise, on perusing last week’s Sunday Times, to discover that none other than the great Kevin Brownlow, Mr. Silent Cinema himself, was scheduled to appear, if not “at a cinema near you”, then at least at a rambling country estate not a million miles from me. Hot damn! I thought, and I’m sure you’ll agree it was warranted. For anyone with even a sliver of interest in the history of cinema, Brownlow is a positively Olympian figure, the man who, trusty two-reel tape recorder in hand, assiduously stalked the retirement homes of the Hollywood Hills to capture the last flickering memories of a time when the movies moved, later collected in his classic 1968 book, The Parade’s Gone By . . . The man who, together with his collaborator, the late David Gill, rescued and restored such great films as Rex Ingram’s The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921) and Abel Gance’s monumental Napoléon (1927), before returning them to the world, with scores by Carl Davis, in the manner in which they were meant to be seen. And the man behind a series of definitive documentaries on such luminaries as Griffith, Chaplin, Keaton, and Lloyd. Hot damn, indeed.

RETRO-ACTIVE: THE BEST FROM THE CINEMA RETRO ARCHIVES

One of my favorite comedies of the 1960s is The Ghost and Mr. Chicken starring Don Knotts, in typical nervous guy persona, as Luther Heggs, a nerd who is annointed a local hero because he survived a night alone in a supposedly haunted house. This results in his worst nightmare: having to address the local Chamber of Commerce picnic. As can only happen to Knotts, he's nervous enough even with his speech written, out but when a freak gust of wind blows it away, the mayhem begins. - Lee Pfeiffer

To view click here

To buy the DVD from Amazon click here

Click here to buy the Don Knotts four film DVD collection including The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, The Reluctant Astronaut, The Shakiest Gun in the West and The Love God?.

Cinema Retro has received the following press release:

With two of the finest British actresses of this or any other generation in the main roles and a cast of instantly recognisable homegrown talent, Mary Queen Of Scots is a long lost classic costume drama on an epic scale.

Mystifyingly unavailable since its original theatrical release almost 40 years ago, it is at last set to make its DVD courtesy of Second Sight on 1 February 2010.

Nominated for five Oscars this outstanding costume drama stars two of the greatest British actresses; Vanessa Redgrave (Julia) in the title role and Glenda Jackson (Woman In Love) as Queen Elizabeth I, along with a stellar cast including Ian Holm, Trevor Howard, Patrick McGoohan and Timothy Dalton. It also boasts a score by John Barry. 

Originally released in 1971, this lavish Tudor power play tells the story of Queen Mary, the last Catholic ruler of Scotland who faces religious prejudice, from the Protestant community and, in particular, her half-brother James Stuart (McGoohan) leader of the Protestant faction. Throughout her reign she is faced with a fierce adversary, her cousin the Queen of England Elizabeth I. 

Mary Queen Of Scots is a passionate and energetic costume drama with an outstanding cast that makes for powerful viewing.

Bonus features include: Isolated John Barry music track with commentary by film historians Nick Redman and Jon Burlingame, Overture and intermission music, Promotional featurette

Includes subtitles for hard of hearing

(Click here to order from Amazon UK) 

‘Two of Britain's finest actresses shine in tailor-made roles’

Radio Times