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Ninety Degrees In The Shade [DVD]

James Booth , Anne Heywood , Jirí Weiss    Suitable for 12 years and over   DVD
3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
Price: Ł8.96 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Ninety Degrees In The Shade [DVD] + The Challenge DVD [1960]
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Product details

  • Actors: James Booth, Anne Heywood, Rudolf Hrusinsky, Ann Todd
  • Directors: Jirí Weiss
  • Format: PAL
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: 12
  • Studio: Odeon Entertainment Ltd
  • DVD Release Date: 21 Mar 2011
  • Run Time: 87 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B004H53FV0
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 83,932 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)

Reviews

Product Description

A rare gem of a film that was a British/Czech co-production, filmed in Prague before the Soviet clampdown of 1968 and nominated for the 1966 Golden Globe award for best English foreign language film. Vorell (James Booth) is a flighty married man with little concern for anyone other than himself. He has recently ended an affair with co-worker, Alena (Anne Heywood), the manageress of a liquor store in communist Prague, but when a government inspector, Mr Kurka (Rudolf Hrusínský), arrives to check their inventory, it soon becomes apparent that Vorell is running a scam to sell liquor on the black market. Scared for his job and reputation Vorell leans on Alena, reigniting their affair under the watchful and lecherous eyes of the emasculated Mr Kurka, whose wife (Ann Todd) is an alcoholic unwilling to have sex with him. As the temperature of Prague s summer reaches ninety degrees in the shade, the heat of lust and envy in the liquor store inevitably leads to violence and death...

Product Description

United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 0 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN (2.35:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Anamorphic Widescreen, Black & White, Booklet, Interactive Menu, Remastered, Scene Access, Trailer(s), SYNOPSIS: A rare gem of a film that was a British/Czech co-production, filmed in Prague before the Soviet clampdown of 1968 and nominated for the 1966 Golden Globe award for best English foreign language film. Vorell (James Booth) is a flighty married man with little concern for anyone other than himself. He has recently ended an affair with co-worker, Alena (Anne Heywood), the manageress of a liquor store in communist Prague, but when a government inspector, Mr Kurka (Rudolf Hrusínský), arrives to check their inventory, it soon becomes apparent that Vorell is running a scam to sell liquor on the black market. Scared for his job and reputation Vorell leans on Alena, reigniting their affair under the watchful and lecherous eyes of the emasculated Mr Kurka, whose wife (Ann Todd) is an alcoholic unwilling to have sex with him. As the temperature of Prague's summer reaches ninety degrees in the shade, the heat of lust and envy in the liquor store inevitably leads to violence and death. SCREENED/AWARDED AT: Berlin International Film Festival, Golden Globes, ...Ninety Degrees in the Shade ( 90 Degrees in the Shade (Tricet jedna ve stinu) ) ( Ninety in the Shade )

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars The Shop Around the Corner with adult themes 19 Mar 2013
Format:DVD
90 Degrees is a strange, if excellent little film which sees Zulu's James Booth appear in what could easily be a work from the Czech new wave, and indeed some viewers might find the British accents of the cast (some apparently dubbed, some not) a little disconcerting in the context, although it is done well. It's a modestly scaled tale which is by turn sexual, claustrophobic, and tragic, a title pretty obscure these days but which ought never the less to be better known as it rarely takes a foot wrong. Although Booth looks a little out of place in his European environment, he turns in a characteristically chippy performance as the scoundrel womaniser Vorell, but he is almost upstaged by the dour inspector Kurka (Rudolf Hrusinsky), whose humourlessness is surely inspired by that of contemporary communist functionaries, as well as the performance of Anne Heywood as the doomed Alena.

The 90 degrees of the title of course refers to more than just the sweltering heat of the year, it also invokes the sexual tensions which run throughout the film (most notably in the 'coffee wiping' stock room scene near the beginning). Vorell and Alena, as well as Kurka and his wife, are essentially two aspects of the same game; ultimately Vorell's replacement of tea-filled liquor bottles in the stockroom is a much a betrayal of empathy as is Kurka's replacement of marital warmth back at home with the coldness of duty. Down the cast list is Donald Wolfitt, no barnstorming from him here though, and one eventually wonders why he accepted such a supporting role. In some ways this is The Shop Around the Corner but a year after and with adult themes. Those familiar with Prague will also relish the backgrounds.

The condition of the print is generally very good, and altogether it can be highly recommended as a forgotten bywater of British cinema. There is some fleeting nudity.
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1 of 12 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Okay film 6 April 2011
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
I had built up my expectations for this film but I struggled with it and realised that was not in my taste.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com: 4.5 out of 5 stars  2 reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars The Shop Around the Corner but a year after and with adult themes 20 Mar 2013
By Richard Bowden - Published on Amazon.com
90 Degrees is a strange, if excellent little Czech-British co-production which sees Zulu's James Booth appear in what could easily be a work from the Czech new wave. Indeed some viewers might find the British accents of the cast (some apparently dubbed, some not) a little disconcerting in the arty european context, although it is done well. It's a modestly scaled tale which is by turn sexual, claustrophobic, and tragic, and a title pretty obscure these days but which ought never the less to be better known as it rarely takes a foot wrong. Although Booth looks a little out of place in his european environment, he turns in a characteristically chippy performance as the scoundrel womaniser Vorell, but he is almost upstaged by the dour inspector Kurka (Rudolf Hrusinsky), whose humourlessness is surely inspired by that of contemporary communist functionaries, as well as the performance of Anne Heywood as the doomed Alena.

The 90 degrees of the title of course refers to more than just the sweltering heat of the year, it also invokes the sexual tensions which run throughout the film (most notably in the 'coffee wiping' stockroom scene near the beginning). Vorell and Alena, as well as Kurka and his wife, are essentially two aspects of the same game; ultimately Vorell's replacement of tea-filled liquor bottles in the stockroom is a much a betrayal of empathy as is Kurka's replacement of marital warmth back at home with the coldness of duty. Down the cast list is Donald Wolfitt, no barnstorming from him here though, and one eventually wonders why he accepted such a supporting role. In some ways this is The Shop Around the Corner but a year after and with adult themes. Those familiar with Prague will also relish the backgrounds.

The condition of the print is generally very good, and altogether it can be highly recommended as a forgotten bywater of British cinema. There is some fleeting nudity.
5.0 out of 5 stars A Sleeper Classic - please release in USA format or streaming 9 Mar 2013
By Robert Kornfeld, Jr. - Published on Amazon.com
This is a wonderful, mid 20th century black and white classic film. Jiri Weiss could have been one of the well known directors of the era in the USA but it didn't turn out that way. I saw the film in the 1970's when my dad was working on a project with Weiss, who brought it over to our house as a film reel and we put up a screen and showed it on our 16mm projector. We were treated to the director's comments throughout the film, which I wish were recorded, including some hilarious anecdotes about film production in the communist system, when they knew that there was always an informer placed somewhere in the crew to listen for anti-government attitudes. Weiss did soon emmigrate to the West because of the Soviet crackdown. I have wanted to see this film again ever since, and this is tantalizing, if only it were in USA format or streaming.
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