"Actor: Alain"

• Mon Oncle (DVD and Blu-ray) | Blu Ray | (29/10/2012) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The BFI’s acclaimed Jacques Tati remaster series continues with the world premiere High Definition release of Tati’s multi-award-winning third feature, Mon Oncle, in two different versions. This 1958 box-office hit confirmed his reputation as the foremost comic artist of his day and picked up a string of awards, including the 1959 Oscar for Best Foreign Film.Tati’s second outing as the accident-prone Monsieur Hulot takes him to Paris where the high-tech lifestyle of his relatives, the Arpels, is contrasted with his old-fashioned ways in a scruffy part of town. With an eye on the international market, and wishing to avoid subtitles (which he always disliked), Tati shot two versions of the film – Mon Oncle and My Uncle, the latter replacing French signs such as ‘Ecole’ and ‘Sortie’ with their English equivalents and dubbing much of the main dialogue into English. This specially remastered edition contains both versions.

• La piscine | Blu Ray | (28/11/2011) from £22.93   |  Saving you £-2.94 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Jacques Deray's 1969 classic La Piscine is set in a magnificent villa near a sun-drenched St. Tropez, where Jean-Paul (Alain Delon) and Marianne (Romy Schneider) are spending a happy, lazy summer holiday. Their only concern is to gratify their mutual passion - until the day when Marianne invites her former lover and his beautiful teenage daughter to spend a few days with them. From the first moment, a certain uneasiness and tension begin to develop between the four, which soon escalates in a dangerous love-game. Beautifully shot, and with music composed by three-times Academy Award-winning Michel Legrand, this slow-burning, sensual thriller is now available for the first time on Blu-ray. This release features a brand new HD restoration of the original, French version of the film and the English version in a new standard definition digital transfer, together with the following extras: * Photo Gallery * Trailer *Alternative Ending

• The Joseph Losey Collection | DVD | (20/10/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £49.99

  The Go Between: Summer 1900: Queen Victoria's last and the summer Leo turns 13. He's the guest of Marcus a wealthy classmate at a grand home in rural Norfolk. Leo is befriended by Marian Marcus's twenty-something sister a beauty about to be engaged to Hugh a viscount and good fellow. Marian buys Leo a forest-green suit takes him on walks and asks him to carry messages to and from their neighbor Ted Burgess a bit of a rake. Leo is soon dissembling realizes he's betraying Hugh but continues as the go-between nonetheless asking adults naive questions about the attractions of men and women. Can an affair between neighbours stay secret for long? And how does innocence end? The Servant: In this landmark drama of class struggle and moral decay a pampered playboy (James Fox) acquires an elegant townhouse complete with a dedicated man servant (Dirk Bogarde). But when the young man's fiance (Wendy Craig) becomes suspicious of the servant's intentions he and his 'sister' (Sarah Miles) thrust the household into a sinister game where seduction is corruption and power becomes the most shocking desire of all. Accident: When an accident kills one of his student and Oxford professor (Dirk Bogarde) recounts the circumstances of their meeting. But as these turbulent memories unfold they reveal a series of shocking relationships betrayed by adultery obsession and self-destruction in which nothing is what it seems and everything has its cost. The Criminal: Stanley Baker (Hell Is A City Zulu) stars as underworld kingpin Johnny Bannion sprung from prison by his best friend Mike Carter to mastermind a daring racetrack heist. But when Johnny is sent back to jail shortly after hiding the stolen loot he must survive and ordeal of brutality and betrayal at the hands of his fellow convicts and former accomplices in this gritty drama that was originally advertised as The Toughest Film Ever Made In Britain! Eva: Welsh writer Tyvian Jones (Stanley Baker) seems to have it all Sixties style -- an international best seller an apartment in Rome a gorgeous fianc''e in Virna Lisi - but he's bitter anyway. He meets his existential match in ennui in the mod seductress Eve played by Jeanne Moreau who was never more cynical or iconic. Decked out in pointy pumps and heavy eyeliner listening to Billie Holiday on scratchy LPs as she counts the lire and smokes endless packs of cigarettes in strangers' bedrooms she is the epitome of frayed glamour. An emotional tyrant Eve's casual maneuvering forces Baker to confront his past - and his weaknesses - as a man and an artist. Mr. Klein: As Jews flee Paris Mr. Klein exploits them preying on their desperation by buying their valuables at a fraction of their worth... until he finds his name is shared by a Jewish member of the anti-Nazi resistance. Klein reports this to the authorities only find that he is uncontrollably sinking into the quicksand of mistaken identity. The Sleeping Tiger: An intriguing psychological drama starring Dirk Bogarde as a petty crook who is sheltered by a psychiatrist planning to use him as a guinea pig until Bogarde seduces his wife. The Big Night: After his adored father is savagely beaten by sports writer Al Judge 17 year-old George goes on a mission of revenge. In a twisted coming of age tale George explores the seedy side of his town and in his inability to understand the savage attack gets more than he bargained for.

• Massenet: Manon -- Paris Opera/Lopez-Cobos | DVD | (30/01/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  A performance of the Massenet opera 'Manon'. The Paris National Opera Orchestra and Chorus are conducted by Jesus Lopez-Cobos.

• Faust | DVD | (06/02/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £22.99

  FAUST - CHARLES GOUNOD - Edizioni Choudens Parigi - Rappresentante esclusivo per l'Italia Casa Musicale Sonzogno Milano:The exceptional nature and high artistic content of this performance justify publication of this video even though it was made only for the theatre's archives and at times lacks somewhat in visual clarity.

• Shock Treatment | Blu Ray | (27/10/2020) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Offenbach: La Vie Parisienne | DVD | (14/02/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  Offenbach's 1867 La Vie Parisienne is perhaps the quintessential French comic operetta: a broad satire on Paris society set against the backdrop of the 1867 Exposition and the descent of easily lampooned foreigners on to the city; sharp moments that Molière would be proud of; undercurrents of quick-fire farce, confusion, lust and mistaken identity; and a rich cast of characters racing inexorably to a can-can finale. This 1991 production by the Lyon National Opera presents a welcome opportunity to revel in a uniquely Gallic confection rarely seen outside France. It's also a chance to enjoy one of Offenbach's most inventive, melodic scores in which the starring musical role and many of the best tunes go to the orchestra, here conducted by Jean-Yves Ossonce. This is no accident: the operetta was originally created for a company of actors who relied on pastiche and the composer's help to get them through their "numbers". Not so these singers, of course. As Metella, the languorous courtesan who is responsible for the unravelling debacle, Helene Delavault is in meltingly good voice for her show-stopping rondeau, "A minuit sonnant commence la fete". Her sparring suitors Gardefeu (Jean-Francois Sivadier) and, particularly, Bobinet (Jacques Verzier) combine marvellous visual comedy with fluid singing and there is some dazzling vocal work from the supporting cast. It's a long piece, but hugely enjoyable. On the DVD: La Vie Parisienne has the usual, excellent booklet notes of ArtHaus DVD releases, which go some way to compensate for a disappointing lack of extras. Time, surely, to introduce some on-screen history or cross-references to other relevant works. The picture quality is good and sharp, although the 4:3 format does little justice to Carlo Tommasi's sweeping, stylish sets. The PCM Stereo soundtrack provides an adequate orchestral experience while managing to muffle much of the spoken dialogue. --Piers Ford

• Tales Of Ordinary Madness / Touche Pas La Femme Blanche | DVD | (05/06/2006) from £26.98   |  Saving you £-6.99 (-35.00%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Tales Of Ordinary Madness (1981): Based on stories by Charles Bukowski like much of his work there's an overtly autobiographical feel throughout. Ben Gazzara stars as Charles Serking the archetypal Bukowski protagonist; moving through a variety of drunken scenarios bedding a bevy of increasingly bizarre women in the process... Don't Touch The White Woman! (1974): Marcello Mastroianni stars as General George Armstrong Custer in this bizarre French farce where Nixon i

• Status Anxiety | DVD | (17/04/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  We are richer than ever before. We live longer own more property and induldge in greater luxuries. So why aren't we getting any happier? One concern above all keeps us awake at night: status. Am I a success? Have I made it? Do I have the right car the right clothes? Do people think I'm a loser and should I really care? Specially designed in easy to navigate segments to dip in and out of writer and presenter Alain de Botton challenges the idea that what we do where we live and what we own should define our status and determine our happiness.

• Les Amants | DVD | (26/03/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Louis Malle's film Les Amants (The Lovers) tells the story of a bored neglected bourgeois house wife who falls for an irreverent young student.

• The Assassination Of Trotsky | DVD | (27/12/2000) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Mexico City 1940. Communist parades are celebrating May day. In a hotel room near Zocalo Square there are two people who are destined to play a major part in the events leading to the assassination of Leon Trotsky the ageing idealist and 'dedicated Marxist and atheist' banished from Russia by Josef Stalin who has been given sanctuary by the Mexican Government - Frank Jacson travelling on a Canadian passport who claims to be a Belgian in Mexico avoiding national service and Gita Samuels a one-time translator.

• Girl On A Motorcycle | DVD | (01/09/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Caught midway between 1970s soft-porn clunker The Story of O and Bunuel's sado-masochistic fantasy Belle de Jour, the 1968 erotic curio Girl on a Motorcycle is one of Marianne Faithfull's chief claims to notoriety. She stars as Rebecca, a leather-clad, former bookstore clerk in search of sexual fulfilment who flees her dependable schoolteacher husband for a dangerous liaison with Daniel (Alain Delon), a dashing Professor addicted to speed. The story is told entirely in flashbacks as Rebecca rockets along the road, having donned her leathers and walked out on her sleeping husband at the crack of dawn. It all must have seemed fairly daring and provocative in 1968, providing viewers with ample opportunities to view a naked Faithfull at the height of her allure. But today the existential musings of the lead character seem achingly pretentious, the erotic symbolism merely gawky and unintentionally amusing: the sight of Alain Delon with a phallic pipe dangling from his mouth is like something out of a Rene Magritte painting. The sex scenes between Delon and Faithfull are all swamped in a polarised visual effect that, while garish and psychedelic, is dated and distinctly unerotic. Director Jack Cardiff is better known as a cinematographer on classics such as The African Queen and Black Narcissus. Among Cardiff's other directorial credits is a worthy adaptation of DH Lawrence's Sons & Lovers, but Girl on a Motorcycle is a saucy road movie with no final destination. On the DVD: This DVD version is misleadingly presented as being the fully restored and uncut version of the film. Yet it was the US version not the European one that was heavily cut (and titillatingly re-titled "Naked Under Leather"). The restoration certainly does not refer to the print quality: although the colours are vivid and bright, the print used to master the DVD (in 16:9 anamorphic format) is extremely grainy and, at times, speckled with dirt and scratches. Included as one of the special features, a theatrical trailer loaded with innuendo shows just how much the film was marketed to a prurient audience. Director Jack Cardiff provides an audio commentary but has few revelatory things to say about his film beyond technical considerations, and even makes several clunking errors (recalling his casting decisions concerning a scene that takes place in a provincial German café, he raves about how he strove to find authentic French locals!). He does reveal that the film's use of a voice-over was inspired by the internal monologue that forms the basis of James Joyce's Ulysses. Given Cardiff's age and experience one feels that he must have more interesting anecdotes and insights, making this commentary feel like a wasted opportunity. --Chris Campion

• 36 Hours To Die | DVD | (15/09/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £2.99

  Millionaire Noah Stone suffers a heart attack and is told to rest at home to recover. In his abscence his brother allows Noah's business to be used by The Mob. When Noah gets back to work he finds himself faced with the full force of the underworld....

• Blue Money | DVD | (29/03/2005) from £9.24   |  Saving you £-1.99 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Alain Patrick stars in this dark drama about a man losing control of his life as he becomes caught up in the sleazy underworld of pornographic filmmaking. The cast also includes Inga Maria and Barbara Caron.

• Xcalibur | DVD | (07/06/2010) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Xcalibur The Lords of Sex. Another Masterpiece from Pierre Woodman Productions. A Costume Epic a Tale of Intrigue and Romance and Red Hot Bonking. Packed with the Gorgeous Woodman Stable Chicks. Cay Curtis & Divinity Love to name just two. Forget Camelot welcome to Cum-a-lot.

• Soft Kill | DVD | (01/12/2009) from £3.98   |  Saving you £8.00 (402.01%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Los Angeles private eye Jack Ramsey is being set up to take the fall for a murder when his lover Kim (Moss) the wife of ambitious politician Martin Lewis (Bernsen) is found strangled. As the noose tightens around his neck Jack must race against time and the law to prove his innocence...

• HISTORY OF THE ORGAN 4: MODERN AGE | DVD | (27/10/2008) from £16.18   |  Saving you £-1.19 (-7.90%)   |  RRP £14.99

• Prokofiev - the Love for Three Oranges (Deneve, Pelly) | Blu Ray | (27/10/2008) from £27.31   |  Saving you £2.68 (9.81%)   |  RRP £29.99

  The Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra perform Prokofiev's The Love For Three Oranges at the Amsterdam Muziektheater in 2005.

• Spirits Of The Dead | DVD | (05/11/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Three giants of world cinema conspire to bring the dark prose of Edgar Allan Poe to the screen in Spirits of the Dead. Roger Vadim Luis Malle and Federico Fellini direct Jane and Peter Fonda Brigitte Bardot Alain Delon and Terence Stamp in three separate stories of souls tormented by their own phantasmal visions of guilt lust and greed.

• Bob Le Flambeur / Un Flic | DVD | (04/04/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  A double bill of Jean-Pierre Melville classics including 'Bob Le Flambeur' and the hardboiled thriller 'Un Flic'. Bob Le Flambeur (1955): Once a renowned criminal Bob the Gambler now contents himself with gambling frequenting casinos in the shady districts of Paris. He is convinced his gangster days are over - until he meets up with an old accomplice who has news which interests him. The casino at Deauville has a safe which is loaded with several hundred million francs. Short of cash Bob decides to plan one last great robbery. He recruits a number of former fellow criminals and plans the theft to the greatest detail. Unfortunately on the day of the robbery things rapidly begin to go wrong. Bob's luck appears to have taken an unexpected turn - for the better. Un Flic: Melville's last film returns to the genre in which he made the classic Le Samourai. A band of crooks carry out a bank robbery and then an incredible hold-up on a train. When he investigates the crimes Parisian detective Commissaire Coleman discovers that they were masterminded by his friend - the night club owner Simon abetted by his seductive girlfriend Cathy...