"Actor: Alfred Brown"

• The Seventh Voyage Of Sinbad | DVD | (01/08/2005) from £6.73   |  Saving you £3.26 (48.44%)   |  RRP £9.99

  A major Columbia Pictures release in glorious Technicolor, The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad was one of Hollywood's first modern fantasy action blockbusters. On a mission to rescue his fiancée, the Princess Parisa (Kathryn Grant), Kerwin Mathews acquits himself well as Sinbad, while Torin Thatcher is a suitably malevolent magician who has shrunken the princess in a bid to get Sinbad to undertake a perilous quest. Truth be told, no one remembers Ray Harryhausen films for the script or the acting; the real stars are the still impressive action set-pieces, a battle with a cyclops, a giant Roc, a dragon, and a duelling skeleton; this last anticipating a much more lavish battle with skeleton warriors in Jason and the Argonauts. The cast may be all-American rather than Arab but even so, everything about this film works, from the fabulous set design of the Sultan's palace which evokes a real fairytale atmosphere, to Bernard Herrmann's truly classic score. On the DVD: The film exhibits a strong anamorphically enhanced 1.85-1 ratio image, with powerful mono sound. At about 80 minutes, the extras last almost as long as the movie. The most important and extensive addition is "The Harryhausen Chronicles", a documentary, while "This is Dynamation" gives an introduction to the stop-motion animation process itself. Ray Harryhausen is an affable host, a modest man who talks engagingly about his work in a way that really makes one appreciate the sheer ingenuity and skill which went into making not just The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, but also Jason and the Argonauts, the subject of a further featurette on the disc. On top of this there are trailers for the aforementioned films, plus one for the disappointing but still fun Golden Voyage of Sinbad. Overall, a first-class film on an equally good DVD. --Gary S. Dalkin

• Alan Bleasdale Presents - Reqiuem Apache - Ch4 | DVD | (28/05/2018) from £5.11   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Based on the play by Jim Morris. Blood on the Dole follows the lives of four teenagers, two boys and two girls, struggling to cope after being thrust into the real world for the first time after leaving school. Living in deprived Merseyside, the four youths' bright-eyed optimism for their futures and new-found freedom is soon crushed by the realities of unemployment, poverty, and the brutal reality of living and trying to find work in a city in decline. They all soon find themselves in the hopeless situation of facing complete dependence on state handouts, the dole . The four teenagers instead find themselves turning to each other to find the strength to survive. An impressively fresh social commentary and portrayal of teenage love set within a disturbingly authentic account of disenfranchised youth. With austerity still very much a part of our political climate, and recent films such as I, Daniel Blake continuing to challenge such government policy, Blood on the Dole is still a hugely relevant watch today. Produced by BAFTA-winner Alan Bleasdale as a part of the Alan Bleasdale Presents series, a Channel 4 anthology showcasing and given a platform to new, up-and-coming talent young writers. After his successes in landmark dramas including Boys from the Black Stuff, The Monocled Mutineer and GBH, in 1994 Channel 4 gave Alan Bleasdale the opportunity to find and mentor new TV writers. Four big-budget, standalone films were made as a result, with top casts and experimental storylines.