"Actor: Alec Guinness"

• Hitler The Last Ten Days | DVD | (12/06/2017) from £6.00   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Berlin, 1945. In the Fuhrerbunker, the last hiding place of the man who unleashed a reign of terror across Europe, it is Adolf Hitler's 56th birthday. As the Allied troops close in on the doomed city, Nazi leaders headed by Martin Bormann, Goebbels and Keitel celebrate the Fuhrer's birthday - knowing it will be his last. But even as Allied guns pound Berlin to ruins, Hitler still plots, brooding over maps, moving non-existent armies. Finally he accepts the inevitable, goes through a marriage ceremony with Eva Braun, dedicates his last will and takes a pistol from a drawer. It is left to Goebbels to tell the last of his followers The Furher is dead- the heart of Germany has ceased to beat . Sir Alec Guinness gives a masterly performance as the demented Hitler in this faithful re-creation of the last days of the German leader's life.

• The Bridge On The River Kwai | Blu Ray | (04/12/2017) from £19.99   |  Saving you £3.00 (15.01%)   |  RRP £22.99

  Based on the true story of the building of a bridge on the Burma railway by British prisoners-of-war held under a savage Japanese regime in World War II, The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) is one of the greatest war films ever made. The film received seven Oscars, including Best Picture, Director, Performance (Alex Guinness), for Sir Malcolm Arnold's superb music, and for the screenplay from the novel by Pierre Boulle (who also wrote Monkey Planet, the inspiration for Planet of the Apes). The story does take considerable liberties with history, including the addition of an American saboteur played by William Holden, and an entirely fictitious but superbly constructed and thrilling finale. Made on a vast scale, the film reinvented the war movie as something truly epic, establishing the cinematic beachhead for The Longest Day (1962), Patton (1970) and A Bridge Too Far (1977). It also proved a turning-point in director David Lean's career. Before he made such classic but conventionally scaled films as In Which We Serve (1942) and Hobson's Choice (1953). Afterwards there would only be four more films, but their names are Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Dr Zhivago (1965), Ryan's Daughter (1970) and A Passage to India (1984). On the DVD: Too often the best extras come attached to films that don't really warrant them. Not so here, where a truly great film has been given the attention it deserves. The first disc presents the film in the original extra-wide CinemaScope ratio of 2.55:1, in an anamorphically enhanced transfer which does maximum justice to the film's superb cinematography. The sound has been transferred from the original six-track magnetic elements into 5.1 Dolby Digital and far surpasses what many would expect from a 1950s' feature. The main bonus on the first disc is an isolated presentation of Malcolm Arnold's great Oscar-winning music score, in addition to which there is a trivia game, and maps and historical information linked to appropriate clips. The second disc contains a new, specially produced 53-minute "making of" documentary featuring many of those involved in the production of the movie. This gives a rich insight into the physical problems of making such a complex epic on location in Ceylon. Also included are the original trailer and two short promotional films from the time of release, one of which is narrated by star William Holden. Finally there is an "appreciation" by director John Milius, an extensive archive of movie posters and artwork, and a booklet that reproduces the text of the film's original 1957 brochure. --Gary S Dalkin

• Murder By Death | DVD | (01/10/2007) from £17.07   |  Saving you £-7.08 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  The world's greatest detectives have been invited to dinner. But when murder is on the menu who will make it to dessert? You are cordially invited to join an all-star cast featuring Peter Sellers David Niven Peter Falk James Coco Elsa Lanchester Maggie Smith Alec Guinness Eileen Brennan Nancy Walker James Cromwell and Estelle Winwood for Neil Simon's hilarious murder-mystery spoof Murder By Death. The isolated mansion of eccentric millionaire Lionel Twain (Truman Capote) is the setting for the twisted puzzler. Twain informs his guests that one of them will be murdered at the stroke of midnight. The pay-off: $1 million to whoever lives through the night. Murder By Death cleverly sends up both the mystery genre and the characterisations of a host of these instantly recognisable gumshoes. Match wits with the super sleuths but remember you can't win if you end up dying from laughter!

• The Fall Of The Roman Empire | DVD | (16/05/2011) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  The second and last of Anthony Mann's historical epics is a smart, handsome spectacle of the decadence, corruption, and intrigue that tore apart the greatest empire the world has seen. The sprawling story spreads itself thin over a number of characters and stories. At the centre are handsome but stiff Stephen Boyd as Livius, the loyal soldier and symbolic son of the ageing emperor Marcus Aurelius(Alec Guinness), and Christopher Plummer as Commodus, the corrupt heir to the throne. They are boyhood friends turned enemies when the latter accedes to the throne and sells out the values of his father for greed and hedonistic pleasures. The three-hour running time is filled out with the tales of Sophia Loren (as the beautiful Lucilla in love with Livius but coveted by greedy Commodus) and a gallery of heroes and villains that includes James Mason, Mel Ferrer, Anthony Quayle, John Ireland, Omar Sharif, and Eric Porter. The film is highlighted with spectacular scenes--a grandiose funeral fit for an emperor, brutal battles in the provinces as the barbarians threaten the empire, and a climactic duel to decide the destiny of Rome--which Mann weaves into the shadowy intrigue of the halls of power. Like his previous epic El Cid, The Fall of the Roman Empire remains one of the best of the 1960s epics: well written (and historically accurate up to a point) with strong performances and a consistently elegant style, It lacks a central core and the magnetic hero of its superior predecessor. Ridley Scott's Gladiator (2000) tackles the same story with an updated action-adventure slant. --Sean Axmaker

• Twelfth Night | DVD | (04/05/2009) from £11.29   |  Saving you £1.70 (15.06%)   |  RRP £12.99

  One of Shakespeare's best-loved comedies Twelfth Night skillfully weaves a story of deception disguise and frustrated love amid the festivities of an ancient tradition: the Christmas holiday when for one night life is turned upside down and mischief reigns; men dress as women servants dress as their masters and authority is usurped. Heading an illustrious cast in this ITC production are two giants of the stage and screen: Alec Guinness is the pompous and puritanical steward Malvolio and Ralph Richardson plays Sir Toby Belch whose drunken prank deftly exposes Malvolio's vanity and hypocrisy and lies at the heart of the play's subplot. Tommy Steele is the wise fool Feste; renowned Shakespearean actress Joan Plowright plays Viola the shipwrecked young noblewoman posing as a page (Cesario) in the service of Duke Orsino. This acclaimed production is directed by the award-winning John Sichel who worked with some of the world's greatest actors and most prestigious theatre institutions and was originally screened in 1969 as part of the celebrated ITV Saturday Night Theatre series.

• Star Wars : The Empire Strikes Back | DVD | (01/06/2015) from £4.99   |  Saving you £15.00 (300.60%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Following the destruction of the Death Star Imperial forces pursue the Rebel Alliance to the ice planet Hoth. After a devastating defeat Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) journeys to the planet Dagobah to train with the Jedi Master Yoda. Meanwhile in the Cloud City of Bespin Darth Vader attempts to lure Luke into a trap by kidnapping Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher). When Luke comes to their rescue he must fght a ferce lightsaber duel with Darth Vader himself and come face to face with a stunning revelation that could change his destiny.

• A Run for Your Money | Blu Ray | (15/03/2021) from £9.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Alec Guinness, Donald Houston, Moira Lister and Hugh Griffith star in this classic piece of BAFTA-nominated Welsh whimsy from Ealing Studios. Made during their golden, post-war period, A Run for Your Money was directed by Charles Frend and is featured here as a High Definition remaster from original film elements in its original theatrical aspect ratio. Dai Number 9 and his brother Twm win a newspaper contest: £100 each and a trip to London to see Wales play England at Twickenham. But when the two colliers arrive at Paddington they miss their contact and fall in with an attractive blonde who just happens to overhear that they're in the money...

• Hitler - The Last Ten Days | Blu Ray | (03/07/2017) from £7.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  The last ten days of the Reich as seen from within Hitler's bunker, leading up to his suicide. Alec Guiness plays the Fuhrer.

• A Run For Your Money | DVD | (02/02/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  A Run For Your Money

• Star Wars: The Original Trilogy (Episodes IV-VI) - Limited Edition Steelbook | Blu Ray | (08/04/2013) from £41.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £39.99

  George Lucas's original Star Wars trilogy is a clever synthesis of pop-cultural and mythological references, taking classic fairy-tale themes, adding more than a dash of Arthurian legend, and providing cinematic high adventure inspired as much by Kurosawa's Samurai epics as by Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers. As a result, audiences of all ages can find something to identify with in Luke Skywalker's journey from disaffected teenager dreaming of adventure to Jedi Knight and saviour of the galaxy. He not only rescues a Princess, but discovers she's a close relative. And if there's a lesson to be gleaned from the Skywalker clan, it's that no matter how bad things get in the average dysfunctional family, it's never too late for reconciliation. Originally released in 1977, Star Wars, the first film, was made as a standalone. Perhaps that's why Obi-Wan Kenobi seems a tad inconsistent in his attitude towards his old pupil Anakin Skywalker, and perhaps also why Luke is allowed to develop a guilt-free crush on Princess Leia. Lucas's story, told from the point of view of the two bickering droids (a device taken from Kurosawa's Hidden Fortress), also borrows freely from Errol Flynn's Robin Hood, as does John Williams's seminal Korngold-inspired music score. Thanks in equal part to Leigh Brackett's screenplay and Irvin Kershner's direction The Empire Strikes Back (1980) is the most grown-up instalment in the series. The basic fairy-tale is developed and expanded, with the principal characters experiencing emotional turmoil--blossoming romance, mixed feelings and confused loyalties--amid a very real threat of annihilation as Darth Vader's motivations become chillingly personal. Luke's quasi-Arthurian destiny is complicated still further by the half-truths of his wizardly mentors; and swashbuckler Han Solo finds the past catching up with him, quite literally in the form of bounty hunter Boba Fett. The film is graced by more fabulous landscapes (ice, forest, clouds), more unforgettable new characters (Yoda), more groundbreaking special effects (the asteroid chase), and John Williams's finest score. The difficult third film, 1983's Return of the Jedi, seems schizophrenic in its intentions, hoping to please both the kiddies who bought all the toys and an older audience who appreciated the narrative's epic and mythological strands. The result is a film that splits awkwardly into two. One thread, which might be subtitled "The Redemption of Anakin Skywalker", pursues the story of the Skywalker family to a cathartic conclusion. The other thread, which might be described as "The Care Bears Go to War", attempts to say something profound about primitivism versus technological sophistication, but just gets silly as furry midgets doing Tarzan whoops defeat the Emperor's crack legions. In 1997 Lucas re-released the three original films in digitally remastered "Special Edition" versions, in which many scenes have been restored and enhanced (some would say "unnecessarily tinkered with"). Despite loud and continued criticisms from fans, these Special Editions are now considered definitive, if only by Lucasfilm. --Mark Walker

• Ealing Studios Boxset 1 | DVD | (16/10/2006) from £27.99   |  Saving you £2.00 (7.15%)   |  RRP £29.99

  Kind Hearts and Coronets (Dir. Robert Hamer 1949): Sir Alec Guinness became an international star with his extraordinary performance as eight different characters in this 1949 Ealing Studios classic. Dennis Price (I'm All Right Jack Private Progress) co-stars as Edwardian gentleman Louis Mazzini who plots to avenge his mother's death by seizing the dukedom of the aristocratic d'Ascoyne family. But to gain this inheritance Mazzini must first murder the line of eccentric relatives who stand between him and the title including General d'Ascoyne Admiral d'Ascoyne The Duke of Chalfont Lady Agatha d'Ascoyne and four more all brillantly portrayed by Guinness and leading to one of the most delicious final twists in comedy history. Passport To Pimlico (Dir. Henry Cornelius 1949): An ancient document reveals that London's Pimlico district really belongs to France. And the Pimlico community eager to abandon post-War constraints quickly establish their independence as a ration-free state with hilarious results. Nicholas Nickleby (Dir. Alberto Cavalcanti 1947): The classic Charles Dicken's tale of 'Nicholas Nickleby ' a man who is deprived of his inheritance and travels to seek his fortune with a group of gypsies. Went The Day Well? (Dir. Alberto Cavalcanti 1942): The residents of a British village during WWII welcome a platoon of soldiers only to discover that they're actually Germans!

• The Lavender Hill Mob | DVD | (13/11/2006) from £7.28   |  Saving you £5.71 (78.43%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Mr. Holland (Alec Guinness) has supervised the bank's bullion run for years. He is fussy and unnecessarily overprotective but everyone knows he is absolutely trustworthy. And so on the day the bullion truck is robbed he is the last person to be suspected. But there is another side to Mr. Holland; he is also Dutch the leader of the Lavender Hill Mob. Prolific Ealing writer T.E.B. Clarke won an Oscar for his deft script but he was helped greatly by the precise direction and impeccable timing of director Charles Crichton and by the brilliance of Alec Guinness's performance. When he tries to recruit Mr. Pendlebury (Stanley Holloway) as Pendlebury chips away at one of his sculptures Guinness circles Holloway playfully seducing him into the idea of robbery and as Holloway finally understands the proposition Guinness looks back over his shoulder like some elfin Lucifer. When the mob goes over its robbery plans Guinness insists on a detail and Shorty (Alfie Bass) acknowledges that Guinness is the boss. Guinness concentrating agrees. Then as he relaxes and eases back in his chair Guinness sheds his years of servitude to the bank - Dutch Holland is indeed the boss...

• Doctor Zhivago | DVD | (23/03/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Omar Sharif stars in the title role of Doctor Zhivago portraying the surgeon-poet over a half-century period. Zhivago who is married to Tonya (Geraldine Chaplin) an aristocratic girl with whom he raises a family is also in love with Lara (Julie Christie) a nurse whose life has been destroyed by tragedy. Repeatedly brought together and separated from each woman by war and revolution Zhivago is torn apart by conflict. He loves Tonya deeply but his poetic soul belongs to Lara. Much like his beloved country Zhivago's spirit becomes battered by the devastation of war as he struggles to maintain his individualism in the face of overwhelming odds.

• Brother Sun, Sister Moon | DVD | (05/04/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  It seemed like a good idea in 1973: a musical scored by Donovan about the life and times of St. Francis of Assisi, the passionate ascetic who expressed love for God by loving nature. But the finished product was something else. Filmmaker Franco Zeffirelli (Endless Love) makes a decorous effort at communicating the ideals of Francis and even tweaking the character toward flower-power relevance. But the result is feel-good fluff, a boring movie that doesn't penetrate its subject as much as reinvent him toward a modern bias. Graham Faulkner is entirely forgettable in the lead and Donovan's songs on this project aren't exactly first-rate, either. --Tom Keogh

• Scrooge | Blu Ray | (07/11/2011) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Most critics couldn't get behind Bill Murray's modern retelling of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, finding it too unfocused at times and not nearly wicked enough. Still, if you are a Murray fan, you have to enjoy his deliciously nasty portrayal of the world's meanest TV executive, who has his cathartic moment one cold Christmas night in New York City. The various ghosts lead him on a ghost-town tour of Manhattan, with stops at holidays past, present and future and a Kumbaya moment when Al Green and Annie Lennox sing "Put a Little Love in Your Heart". The effects are otherworldly, but one wishes the writing were as sharp as Murray's edgy portrayal. --Marshall Fine

• Kind Hearts And Coronets | DVD | (13/11/2006) from £9.43   |  Saving you £3.56 (37.75%)   |  RRP £12.99

  The Ladykillers director Alexander Mackendrick's third Ealing farce is the final comedy produced by the famous British studio and one of its most celebrated. Like the equally applauded Kind Hearts And Coronets the film is more sophisticated and blacker in tone than typically lighthearted Ealing fare (such as Mackendrick's Whiskey Galore!). Alec Guinness stars as the superbly shifty toothily threatening Professor Marcus the leader of a crime ring planning a heist. Marcus rents rooms from a sweet eccentric old lady Mrs. Wilberforce (Katie Johnson) in her crooked London house. The professor and his co-conspirators blowhard Major Courtney (Cecil Parker) creepily suave Louis (Herbert Lom) chubby Harry (Peter Sellers) and muscleman One-Round (Danny Green) pose as an unlikely string quartet using the rooms for rehearsal. Dodging Mrs. Wilberforce's constant interruptions the hoods hit upon the idea to use her in the daring daylight robbery (filmed in and around London's King's Cross station). When the old girl discovers the truth Marcus and company cannot persuade her to stay buttoned up about it and thus decide to do her in. Accompanied by a noirish cacophony of screeching trains parrots and little old ladies at afternoon tea a series of unlikely events builds to the hilarious surprising finale.

• Maureen O'Hara - Screen Goddess | DVD | (28/08/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £49.99

  The Quiet Man (Dir. John Ford 1952): John Ford's The Quiet Man celebrates one of Hollywood's most romantic and enduring epics. The first American feature to be filmed in Ireland's picturesque countryside Ford richly imbued this masterpiece with his love of Ireland and its people. Sean Thornton is an American who swears off boxing after accidentally killing an opponent. Returning to the Irish town of his birth he finds happiness when he falls in love with the fiery Mary Kate. Though he is sorely tempted to pick up the gloves against her brother the town bully Sean is determined not to use his fists. Mary Kate and Sean wed but her brother refuses to pay the dowry. Sean would rather walk away than accept this challenge. Even when his new wife accuses him of cowardice Sean stands firm. But when she boards a train to leave he is finally ready to take matters into his own hands. Rio Grande (Dir. John Ford 1950): John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara are embroiled in an epic battle with the Apaches and each other in this John Ford classic. Lt Col. Yorke (Wayne) heads to the Rio Grande to fight a warring tribe. But Yorke faces his toughest battle when his unorthodox plan to outwit the elusive Apaches leads to possible court-martial. Locked in a bloody war he must fight to redeem his honour and save his family. Against All Flags (Dir. George Sherman 1952): In 1700 the pirates of Madagascar menace the India trade; British officer Brian Hawke has himself cashiered flogged and set adrift to infiltrate the pirate ""republic."" There Hawke meets lovely Spitfire Stevens a pirate captain in her own right and the sparks begin to fly; but wooing a pirate poses unique problems. Especially after he rescues adoring young Princess Patma from a captured ship. Meanwhile Hawke's secret mission proceeds to an action-packed climax. Rare Breed (Dir. Andrew V. McLaglen 1966): In the 1880s Englishwoman Martha Price (Maureen O'Hara) and her daughter Hilary (Juliet Mills) come to America to sell their prize Hereford bull at an auction. When he is purchased by Bowen a wild Scotsman (Brian Keith) the women hire a footloose cowhand named Burnett (James Stewart) to help them transport the animal to its new owner. So begins an adventure that tests the mettle of all involved as they battle killers cattle stampedes and each other. But when they reach Bowen's ranch even greater obstacles force them to summon up extraordinary courage if they and the prize bull are to survive... Our Man In Havana (Dir. Carol Reed 1959): Jim Wormold (Alec Guinness) a vacuum cleaner salesman in Havana is recruited by the British Intelligence Services. As he has nothing to report he invents facts and pretends to discover secret operations...with disastrous consequences. Carol Reed directs this adaptation of the Graham Greene story. Lady Godiva Of Coventry (Dir Arthur Lubin 1955): Fictionalized account of events leading up the famous nude ride (alas her hair covers everything) of the militant Saxon lady

• Sophia Loren | DVD | (17/10/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £49.99

  A bumper box set of classic films featuring the voluptuous sex-siren Sophia Loren! Pride And The Passion (Dir. Stanley Kramer 1957): Napoleonic forces are sweeping across Europe and Spain is on the brink of falling to the mighty invasion. Standing alone against the onslaught is one brave fighter and his ragtag band of guerillas. Seizing a gigantic cannon Spanish fighter Miguel (Sinatra) plans to attack Napoleon's army by battering the walls of French-occupied Avila. But because he's untrained in complex weaponry he must rely on the expertise of Captain Trumbell (Grant) a British naval officer. Allies on the battlefield Trumbell and Miguel soon find themselves in a bitter struggle over Miguel's mistress (Loren) a sultry beauty drawn to the captain's refined ways even as they race toward the most harrowing battle of their lives... El Cid (Dir. Anthony Mann 1961): El Cid is an epic movie masterpiece a tribute to one of history's greatest legends. This dazzling spectacle with a cast of thousands fills the screen with action and romance - from knights in armour jousting on horseback to massive battles on sea and land where columns of warriors stretch across the horizon. At the centre of this powerful motion picture is Charlton Heston in the role he was born to play... the immortal El Cid. Heston is the Spanish warrior battling to drive the Moors from Spain with the vision to be just and the courage to be merciful whose love and devotion to the radiant Chimene (Sophia Loren) knows no bounds... Anthony Mann's epic was nominated for three Oscars but surprisingly returned home empty-handed. The Fall Of The Roman Empire (Dir. Anthony Mann 1964): This classic film re-enacts the spectacular collapse of perhaps the greatest dominion the world has ever known. Pestilence greed and corruption bring a once-proud empire to its knees. Now restored with stunning scenes and a cast of thousands - in battles gladiatorial and otherwise; martyrs burning at the stake; chariot races in the midst of which is the romance between two people.... White Sister (Dir. Alberto Lattuada 1972): The Key (Dir. Carol Reed 1958): In wartime England circa 1941 poorly-armed tugs are sent into U-Boat Alley to rescue damaged Allied ships. An American named David Ross arrives to captain one of these tugs. He's given a key by a fellow tugboat-man -- a key to an apartment and its pretty female resident. Should something happen to the friend Ross can use the key. Countess From Hong Kong (Dir. Charlie Chaplin 1966): Charlie Chaplin's final film is a delightful romantic comedy filled with the clever touches for which he's famous. Written directed and composed by Chaplin it revolves around Russian ''migr'' countess Natascha (Sophia Loren) forced into prostitution in Hong Kong who stows away in wealthy American Ogden's (Marlon Brando's) stateroom to blackmail her way to the States. Since Ogden has a mind of his own and can even resist Natascha's charms what follows is one of the funniest tugs of war ever devised! A wealth of talent supports these stars. There's Chaplin's son Sydney as Brando's cruise companion Tippi Hedren as his icy wife Patrick Cargill as the ultimate gentleman's gentleman and Margaret Rutherford as a dotty old dame. Chaplin himself tops it off with a cameo as the ship's steward! The gags are pure Charlie and his actors make the most of them sailing in and out of slamming doors and outrageous situations with ease!

• A Foreign Field | DVD | (03/03/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £16.99

  Starring Alec Guiness (Smiley's People) Leo McKern (Rumpole of the Bailey) Lauren Bacall (The Mirror Has Two Faces) and John Randolph (Sunset Strip) A Foreign Field is the story of two World War Two veterans who return to the battle fields where they fought to visit the grave of a friend. During their visit they discover much more and re-open many old wounds. Originally broadcast at peak time on BBC One in 1993 A Foreign Field was written by Roy Clarke (Last of the Summer Wine) and directed by Charles Sturridge (Brideshead Revisited).

• Star Wars Trilogy | DVD | (05/12/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £34.99

  These are as far as we know the same versions of the Original Star Wars Trilogy that were released last September but this set is without the 4th extra features disc. This is meant as a basic set for people who just want to see the films and dont want any extra features, this is shown in the reduced price compared to the 4 disc Boxset.