Roadshow - November 2011 Releases

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GEORGE HARRISON – LIVING IN THE MATERIAL WORLD

RELEASE DATE:       14 November 2011
RRP DVD:                $39.99
RRP BLU-RAY:        $49.99

George himself is no mystery. But the mystery inside George is immense. It’s watching him uncover it all little by little that’s so damn interesting.” John Lennon

By the age of 25 George Harrison had achieved unparalleled international fame and financial success as the lead guitarist of the Beatles. He spent years navigating the Lennon-McCartney song writing team, while quietly establishing himself as one of the greatest guitarists in rock and roll. Constantly searching for new ways to expand his talents and express his voice, George took up the sitar with virtuoso Ravi Shankar. He had a keen eye for talent and recruited Eric Clapton and Billy Preston to collaborate with the Beatles. Most importantly, George began to write his own songs, many of which became well known hits - Something, Here Comes the Sun and While My Guitar Gently Weeps.

By the late 1960's Beatlemania became claustrophobic and George began to seek meaning beyond his material success, ?We had lots of material things at quite an early age and we learned that wasn't it, we still lacked something. So began a lifelong quest to balance the material with the spiritual. George would document this journey through his songs. In 1970 he released the groundbreaking triple album, All Things Must Pass to critical acclaim and commercial success. He continued to break new ground by organizing the first all-star rock benefit, Concert for Bangladesh, which showcased performances by George and his close friends, Ringo Starr, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton and Ravi Shankar, among others.

George continued to write and release songs until his death in 2001. Not content with his song writing success, George pursued his talents as a music producer, filmmaker and Formula One enthusiast. In 1979 he mortgaged his home to finance Monty Python's religious satire Life of Brian. In the late 1980's he formed the Traveling Wilburys with close friends Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne. He devoted himself to restoring his 35 acre estate, Friar Park - an eccentric country manor that was being used as a convent when he bought it in 1970.

Using never before seen photos and footage, Academy Award winning director Martin Scorsese traces the lines of George's journey, from Liverpool to India to Los Angeles to the banks of the Thames, from George's birth in 1943 to his passing in 2001. Despite its epic reach, the film is deeply personal, weaving together interviews with Harrison's closest friends, performance footage, home movies and rare archival materials. We experience George's musical and spiritual voyage through his own eyes and get a rare glimpse into the mind and soul of one of the most talented artists of his generation.

The film includes interviews with those closest to him, including Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Eric Idle, Tom Petty, Yoko Ono, Phil Spector, Jackie Stewart, Terry Gilliam, George Martin and Olivia and Dhani Harrison. They talk honestly and frankly about George's many talents and contradictions.

"George had two incredible separate personalities - he had the love bag of beads personality and the bag of anger." Ringo Starr

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TOP GEAR: THE COMPLETE SERIES 16

STUDIO:               BBC
RELEASE DATE:     9 November 2011
STARRING:            Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond
                          James May
RRP DVD:              $59.99
RRP Blu-Ray:         $64.99
NUMBER OF DISCS: 3

Top Gear returns with an epic adventure into the Middle East, as our three wise men embark on an adventure of endurance as they attempt to recreate a certain famous journey. Travelling across the conflict ridden mountains of Southern Turkey to the searing deserts of Syria, Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May test the limits of mechanical and physical endurance - in a trio of completely unsuitable open top sports cars. Their road trip sets the tone for the rest of this series of extreme thrills, hilarious banter and, of course, amazing motors.

Featuring the incredible Pagani Zonda R, one of the loudest objects known to man, and the most powerful road going Ferrari ever, the 599 GTO, the new series is packed full of serious cars and serious power. There's also Jeremy racing against time in the new Jag XJ as he tries to beat the sun to Land's End, Richard attempting to beat gravity in a Porsche 911 Turbo S Cabriolet and James taking the Ariel Atom V8, the new more powerful version of the car which tried to rip Jeremy's face off, around the Top Gear track.

All this plus the usual line-up of star guests driving the Reasonably Priced Car, including tennis star Boris Becker, presenter Jonathan Ross and actors Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, it's another cracking high-octane series from the world's biggest car show.

Extras:

• Season 16 chats

• "Celebs in a Reasonably Priced Car"

• Studio tour

• Outtakes

• Behind the scenes - and more!

DVD released as a SteelBook
As seen on Prime TV.

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THE KENNEDYS

STUDIO:              ABC
RELEASE DATE:    23 November 2011
STARRING:          Katie Holmes, Greg Kinnear, Barry Pepper
RRP:                   $29.99

"He only half dies who leaves an image of himself in his sons." When philosopher Carlo Goldoni offered that view of fatherhood two hundred years ago, he could not have known he was capturing in thirteen words the entire life and legacy of Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr., patriarch of America's most prominent political dynasty of the twentieth century, a man whose lust for power and influence led his sons on the journey of their lives - and brought them to their deaths.

The Kennedys, a four part miniseries, uses public events as a background to tell the intimate story of this iconic family. The series is about epic achievements and private failures, about loyalty and love, resentment and betrayal, about people imbued with great gifts and burdened by great flaws, about success of Biblical proportions and tragedy worthy of the Greeks.

SPECIAL FEATURES: Making of The Kennedys Featurette, Trailer.

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LUTHER - SERIES 2

RELEASE DATE:    30 November 2011
STARRING:          Idris Elba
CATEGORY:          Drama / Thriller
RRP:                   $39.99

The dark psychological drama starring Idris Elba as John Luther, the near-genius detective struggling with his own demons, returns to DVD with two distinctive, thrilling crime stories.

Devastated by the brutal murder of his wife, John Luther returns to policing in a different world where he spends his time working on cold cases. With his old unit gone he begins working in the newly created Serious and Serial unit. Headed by former police complaints officer Martin Schenk, it's Luther's chance for a fresh start, but is it one he really wants?

Luther quickly gathers together his team, rescuing his old partner Detective Justin Ripley from career oblivion. Joining them is ambitious Detective Erin Gray who's heard of Luther's reputation, seen what's happened to Ripley and doesn't want her own job prospects tarnished in the same way.

It's not long before they're dealing with their first case. A masked man wanders the streets of London, carrying out ritualistic murders in historic locations - Smithfield, Petticoat Lane. He's taking Luther on a tour through the narrow alleyways and back streets of the city, using murders to mark out his territory and working up to one final masterpiece.

Crackling with energy, beautifully shot and with snappy, clever dialogue, this series sees Luther take bigger risks and face even darker challenges.

Also available: Luther Series 1 & Series 2, 4 disc box set. RRP $59.99.

As seen on UKTV.

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HUMAN PLANET

RELEASE DATE:    23 November 2011
CATEGORY:          Documentary
NUMBER OF DISCS: 3
RRP DVD:             $59.99
RRP Blu-Ray:        $64.99

Following the global success of Planet Earth on DVD, with sales of over 5.4 million, Roadshow Entertainment on behalf of BBC is pleased to announce Human Planet, the latest breathtaking series from the Natural History Unit, will be available on DVD and Blu-Ray from 23 November 2011.

Human Planet examines the extraordinary ways human beings survive in the most hostile environments on earth. Awe-inspiring and astounding, this series turns the camera on ourselves, the human species. Three years in the making and filmed in over 70 locations using HD cameras and state of the art equipment, this ground -breaking series brings you stories that have never been told before.

Each one of the eight episodes takes the audience on a journey to reveal real life dramas about men, women and children and how they have used their remarkable adaptability to survive and thrive in the most remote places imaginable.

Humans are the ultimate animals - arguably the most successful species on the planet. From the frozen arctic, to steamy rainforests, from tiny islands set in vast oceans to the driest deserts we have found astonishing solutions often in the face of extreme adversity.

Oceans - Into the Blue. Humans have always been drawn into the big blue yet we are not adapted to a life aquatic. Somehow we have found remarkable ways to immerse ourselves in the ocean realm. This episode takes us from the shores of our continents to people who virtually live most or their life at sea.

Deserts - Life in the Furnace. Humans can live for many weeks without food, but only a few days without water. When the heat is on, your whole life is dictated by the quest to find this most precious resource. In deserts around the world humans have found extraordinary ways of conjuring water from the dust.

Arctic - Life in the Deep Freeze. For much of the winter the people of the Arctic have seen no sun, but with the start of Spring windows of opportunity start to open up. These often brief opportunities offered by nature will take these incredibly hardy people through another year in nature's deep freeze.

Mountains - Life in Thin Air. Mountains are some of the most inhospitable places on Earth. The higher you climb the harder it gets. Yet humans who reach for the sky have found the most incredible ways of adapting to places that literally take your breath away. This episode takes you from the people of the lower altitudes to those who live in the highest and most isolated places on earth.

Jungles - People of the Trees. There are more species here than anywhere on earth, yet for human beings jungles are complex and extremely unforgiving places. The only people who really survive successfully in these forests are the few who have come to understand the rich tangle of raw nature that surrounds them.

Grasslands - The Roots of Power. Grasslands are our ultimate success story, the bread basket of humanity, won by the control of the land and the domestication of animals. But even in the environment where we are best adapted to flourish life isn't always a picnic. This remarkable episode reveals that grasslands may well be the place where we laid down the roots of human power but the battle for supremacy isn't over yet .

Rivers - Friend and Foe. Rivers provide all the essentials for human life - fresh water for drinking, food and natural highways, they provide life lines in virtually every habitat on earth. This exciting and surprising episode shows that living by a river isn't always easy.

Cities - Surviving the Urban Jungle. Cities are the habitat built by humans for humans; over half of the human population now live in the urban jungle. They may have been built to keep wild nature out, but nature cannot be pushed away.

Human Planet is brought to you by BBC Earth, creator of 50 years of outstanding natural history content. With John Hurt narrating and a stunning soundtrack by multi-award winning composer Nitin Sawhney this DVD also includes amazing extras such as a featurette based on the hardest volcano shoot ever and Behind the Lens with the cities team in Morocco.

The Blu-Ray format of this ground breaking series will also take you further into the world of Human Planet with Blu-ray Live content.

Extras: Fez and Volcano featurette.

As seen on Prime TV.

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Published 6th Dec 2011

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