By James Whittington, 29th March 2024
LEGEND springs into action this April with eleven Channel premieres, including the UK TV premieres of two action thrillers starring the legendary Bruce Willis - AMERICAN SIEGE and HARD KILL.
There are also Channel premieres for sci-fi cult classic DEATH RACE 2000, Italian spaghetti Western A REASON TO LIVE, A, REASON TO DIE, starring Telly Savalas and James Coburn, Alan J. Pakula's THE DEVIL'S OWN, starring Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt, Brit crime drama VILLIAN, and highly-rated mystery thriller BUTTERFLY ON A WHEEL, starring Piece Brosnan and Gerard Butler.
This month's THE VINTAGE VAULT, which journeys into the history of genre cinema every Sunday night, is spearheaded by the Channel premieres of BEWARE! THE BLOB, Larry Hagman's sci-fi comedy horror, which is a sequel to The Blob and THE SATANIC RITES OF DRACULA, the eighth film in Hammer's Dracula series, and the seventh and final one to feature Christopher Lee in the iconic title role.
Legend premieres in transmission order:Let's look at the 5th with the UK TV PremiereHARD KILL where a team of fearless mercenaries are hired by billionaire tech CEO Donovan Chalmers (Bruce Willis) to protect a piece of technology that, if exposed, could destroy the world. Their mission becomes even higher risk when Chalmers' daughter is kidnapped by a dangerous terrorist group, who will stop at nothing to obtain the tech. Bruce Willis is back on the 20th in another UK TV Premiere, AMERICAN SEIGE. Small-town sheriff Ben Watts (Willis) has to contend with a gang of thieves who have taken a wealthy doctor hostage in a race against time. Also stars Rob Gough and Timothy V. Murphy.
Back to the 3rd with BUTTERFLY ON A WHEEL concerning Neil and Abby Randall who are a happily married couple living in the Chicago suburbs: bringing up their five-year-old daughter. Then their daughter is kidnapped, and in the blink of an eye Neil and Abby's safe and secure existence is turned upside down - at the mercy of a dangerous man who wants to exert total control over their lives. A REASON TO LIVE OR DIE on the 10th stars Telly Savalas and James Coburn. After an army officer, who surrendered his fort to the Confederates without a fight is labelled a coward, he decides to regain his honour by leading a group of prisoners on a mission to recapture it. A true cult classic on the 12th where we invite you to DEATH RACE 2000. Set in a dystopian future, a cross country automobile race requires contestants to run down innocent pedestrians to gain points that are tallied based on each kill's brutality. This cult classic is produced by Roger Corman, directed by Paul Bartel, and stars David Carradine.
We meet THE DEVIL'S OWN on the 13th where Brad Pitt stars as Frankie McGuire, a young Irishman committed to the struggle against the British, who comes to the U.S. on a secret mission. He moves into the suburban Staten Island home of New York Police Sergeant Tom O'Meara (Harrison Ford) and his wife. When violence enters Tom's home, he begins to suspect Rory is somehow involved. More action on the 19th with Craig Fairbrass in VILLAIN. After being released from prison after ten years, Eddie Franks (Fairbrass) attempts to help his family by reconnecting with his daughter and clearing his brother's debt. Despite his best efforts, he finds himself drawn back into a life of crime, with devastating consequences.
THE VINTAGE VAULT has a pair of chilling classics for you. BEWARE! THE BLOB on the 21st was directed by DALLAS legend Larry Hagman. A technician brings a frozen specimen of the original Blob back from the North Pole. When his wife accidentally defrosts the thing, it terrorizes the populace, including the local hippies, kittens, and bowlers. This sequel to The Blob Stars Robert Walker and Gwynne Gilford. The one of the last great Hammer movies on the 28th, THE SATANIC RITES OF DRACULA. In 1974, Professor Lorrimer Van Helsing (Peter Cushing) investigates a satanic cult on behalf of Scotland Yard, only to discover a plot by Count Dracula (Christopher Lee) to wipe out humanity with a bubonic plague.
Related show tags: AMERICAN SIEGE, HARD KILL, DEATH RACE 2000, THE DEVIL'S OWN, VILLIAN, A REASON TO LIVE, A, REASON TO DIE, BUTTERFLY ON A WHEEL, BEWARE! THE BLOB, THE SATANIC RITES OF DRACULA MORE FEATURES LEGEND reveals a bumper sixteen premieres for November Posted on 27th October 2024
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Here's everything you need to know.
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