George Roubicek Movies

Two lifelong friends set off on a remarkable adventure in this animated feature. Azur (Rayan Mahjoub) is an orphaned boy living in 18th century France, where he's being raised by Jenane (Hiam Abbass), a nurse of Arab heritage who cares for the boy alongside her own son, Asmar (Abdelsselem Ben Amar). Jenane regales the boys with tales of the mysterious Fairy Djinn, a magical creature with great powers but equally great protectors at her disposal. Azur is sent away to school, but when he returns home as a grown man (now voiced by Cyril Mourali), he finds Jenane and Asmar have gone. Convinced the Fairy Djinn is responsible, Azur hops a ride aboard a sailing ship and sets out to find the Djinn as well as his friends. However, in time Azur meets up with Asmar (now voiced by Karim M'Ribah) only to discover he and his mother are also searching for the powerful Djinn for their own purposes. Now that his best friend has become a competitor in the race to find the Djinn, Azur recruits a team of helpers to aid him as he tries to beat Asmar in their game. Azur and Asmar received its world premiere at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Shortly before the 1944 World War II "Battle of the Bulge," in the Ardennes Forest (the border region between Belgium and Germany), a German Major, knowing that the war is lost, decides to try to surrender his men to the Allies and save numerous lives. In this story, based on the novel by Alfred Andersch, Major Dincklage has the unenviable task of arranging the tricky surrender before the next wave of fighting begins. He must persuade key subordinates to undertake the surrender and also convince the U.S. Allied Forces that it is genuine. Conflicting priorities between his men, the local population and the allies lay the groundwork for a tragic finale. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Filmed in late 1967, this episode wasn't seen on British television until January 15, 1969, and even then it was beaten by its American TV premiere on March 27, 1968. The plot is motivated by an unusual school, designed to train civilian astronauts. When one of the "students" is found murdered, Steed and Tara enroll in the school, only to find themselves in the vanguard of a widespread extraterrestrial invasion. "Distinguished" by some of the worst special effects in the history of television, "Invasion of the Earthmen" at least benefits from a clever script by Terry Nation. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the conclusion of the four-part story "The Tomb of the Cybermen," the titular villains unleash their Cybermat army on the members of an expedition on the planet Telos. Among those threatened is the Doctor (Patrick Troughton), who fortunately has the wherewithal to destroy the Cybermen. Unfortunately, he is also armed with the knowledge that if the Cybermen are indeed wiped out, the consequences could be devastating. Originally telecast September 23, 1967, Doctor Who: The Tomb of the Cybermen, Episode 4 was written by Kit Pedler and Gerry Davis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In the second episode of the four-part story "The Tomb of the Cybermen," the Doctor (Patrick Troughton) and his friends have joined an archeological expedition on the planet Telos. Upon finding the ice tombs of the dreaded Cybermen, the Doctor also uncovers a horrible secret. Without giving the game away, it can be noted that there are at least three other members of the expedition who have their own agenda. Originally telecast September 9, 1967, Doctor Who: The Tomb of the Cybermen, Episode 2 was written by Kit Pedler and Gerry Davis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Director Robert Aldrich took what he considered a hopelessly old-fashioned script by Lukas Heller and Nunnally Johnson and fashioned The Dirty Dozen into one of MGM's biggest moneymakers of the 1960s--and the sixth highest-grossing film in the studio's history. Lee Marvin plays Major Reisman, assigned to coordinate a suicide mission on a French chateau held by top Nazi officers. Since no "normal" GI can be expected to volunteer for this mission, Reisman is compelled to draw his personnel from a group of military prisoners serving life sentences. This "dirty dozen" includes a sex pervert (Telly Savalas), a psycho (John Cassavetes), a retarded killer (Donald Sutherland), and the equally malevolent Charles Bronson, Trini Lopez, Jim Brown, and Clint Walker. On the dim promise of receiving pardons if they survive, the criminals undergo a brutal training program, then are marched behind enemy lines dressed as Nazi soldiers, the better to overtake the chateau and kill everyone in it--including the innocent wives and mistresses of the German officers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Bedford Incident was an attempt by Columbia Pictures -- which had previously made Dr. Strangelove and released Fail-Safe -- to tap the well of public anxiety surrounding nuclear weapons and the Cold War one more time. Reporter Ben Munceford (Sidney Poitier) is allowed aboard a navy ship on patrol near the Arctic Circle, under the command of Captain Eric Finlander (Richard Widmark). His job is to observe the ship in action and do an article on Finlander, a hard-as-nails sailor and a dedicated anti-Communist with a patriotic zeal that's extraordinary even in a man of his rank and position. Finlander's main problem, however -- when he's not sparring with the reporter -- is tracking and hunting a Soviet sub that he knows is patroling the same waters. What alarms Munceford (and the audience) is that Finlander acts like there is an actual "hot" war going on; he drives his men mercilessly, up to and past the breaking point, trying to hunt down the submarine and force it to surface, and nothing -- not the questions of the reporter, the angry protests of the newly-arrived medical officer (Martin Balsam), or the quietly voiced concerns of retired U-Boat commander Commodore Shrepke (Eric Portman), aboard as an observer, can get him to relent. Then, when it looks like Finlander has been proved right and has gotten away with his provocation of the "enemy," a mistake by one over-tired young officer (James MacArthur) suddenly unleashes all of the destructive power with which Finlander has been flirting. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

The title refers to an astronomical phenomenon that might bring about the end of the world. The only scientist who knows for certain what's in store for mankind is brutally murdered, bringing Steed and Cathy in on the case. As the Avengers elude various villains and sidestep government cover-ups in order to get to the truth, the "dwarf" -- actually a meteor -- draws nearer and nearer to the Earth. An interesting precursor to the X-Files school of justifiable paranoia, "The White Dwarf" was written by Malcolm Hulke. First seen in England on February 16, 1963, the episode made its American TV debut exactly 28 years and nine days later. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The title character in this fact-based POW drama is Franz von Werra, played by Hardy Kruger. Shot down early in the war, Luftwaffe pilot von Werra is incarcerated in an English prison camp. He refuses to submit to camp routine, insisting that he's on the brink of escaping. After two failed attempts, von Werra is transferred to a camp in Montreal. If you want to know what happens next, take a squint at the title. If you want to know how he does it and why he gets away with it, catch the film. One That Got Away was based on a novel by Kendal Burt and James Leasor. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide