"Actor: Arthur"

• Scarlet Street | DVD | (18/03/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  In a way, Scarlet Street is a remake. It's taken from a French novel, La Chienne (literally, "The Bitch") that was first filmed by Jean Renoir in 1931. Renoir brought to the sordid tale all the colour and vitality of Montmartre; Fritz Lang's version shows us a far harsher and bleaker world. The film replays the triangle set-up from Lang's previous picture, The Woman in the Window, with the same three actors. Once again, Edward G Robinson plays a respectable middle-aged citizen snared by the charms of Joan Bennett's streetwalker, with Dan Duryea as her low-life pimp. But this time around, all three characters have moved several notches down the ethical scale. Robinson, who in the earlier film played a college professor who kills by accident, here becomes a downtrodden clerk with a nagging, shrewish wife and unfilled ambitions as an artist, a man who murders in a jealous rage. Bennett is a mercenary vamp, none too bright, and Duryea brutal and heartless. The plot closes around the three of them like a steel trap. This is Lang at his most dispassionate. Scarlet Street is a tour de force of noir filmmaking, brilliant but ice-cold. When it was made the film hit censorship problems, since at the time it was unacceptable to show a murder going unpunished. Lang went out of his way to show the killer plunged into the mental hell of his own guilt, but for some authorities this still wasn't enough, and the film was banned in New York State for being "immoral, indecent and corrupt". Not that this did its box-office returns any harm at all. On the DVD: sparse pickings. There's an interactive menu that zips past too fast to be of much use. The full-length commentary by Russell Cawthorne adds the occasional insight, but it's repetitive and not always reliable. (He gets actors' names wrong, for a start.) The box claims the print's been "fully restored and digitally remastered", but you'd never guess. --Philip Kemp

• Men Seeking Women | DVD | (22/08/2005) from £6.97   |  Saving you £0.01 (0.25%)   |  RRP £3.99

  Won't Any Women Give Him A Shot? Three best friends mess up their already flagging love lives with an ill-fated bet. They each put two thousand dollars in a bank account the winner being the one who can not only get a girlfriend but also live with her for three months. Nick decides to hoodwink his two friends by faking a relationship with an old girlfriend from college while Al proceeds to embark on a series of the worst dates imaginable and Les finds himself getting deeply

• The Lost World | DVD | (23/07/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The granddaddy of giant monster movies, The Lost World was one of the most expensive movies ever made in 1925, costing more than a million dollars, and has remained one of the most influential. Every larger-than-life creature feature since--from King Kong to Godzilla and Jurassic Park--owes a debt to this original adventure fantasy based on Arthur Conan Doyle's novel. It's the story of a maverick scientist (Wallace Beery under a bushy beard) who finds a land that time forgot on a plateau deep within the South American jungles and comes back to London with a captured brontosaurus to prove it. His expedition includes Bessie Love, the daughter of an explorer who disappeared on the previous expedition, and big game hunter Lewis Stone. The ostensible stars of the picture are all upstaged by Willis O'Brien's dinosaurs, simple models brought to life with primitive stop-motion animation (the technique was soon to be perfected by O'Brien for King Kong). Hardly realistic by any measure, these pioneering special effects are still a sight to behold, especially the lumbering brontosaurus which receives the most care from O'Brien, both foraging in his jungle and rampaging through the streets of London. With the coming of talkies, The Lost World became obsolete: all known American prints were destroyed in favour of a sound remake (which became King Kong) and the film only survived in a severely truncated form (even the original negative was lost). For this release David Shepard meticulously "rebuilt" the film using material from eight different surviving prints from all over the world, cleaning and restoring along the way. The result is 50% longer than previously extant prints, still not complete but closer than any version since its 1925 debut. The difference is not merely in restored scenes but in a rediscovered sense of grace in scenes filled out to their original detail and pace. The film moves and breathes once again like a silent film. On the DVD: From the attractive solid slipcase to the wonderful "period" menu interface, this is a delightful DVD package. The film itself looks surprisingly good--a real tribute to the restoration team's efforts--with careful tinting in the style of the period (blues for evening, reds for dawn etc.). The disc features the choice of either an original score by The Alloy Orchestra or a classical orchestral score compiled and conducted by Robert Israel (both enjoyable and effective), 13 minutes of O'Brien's animation outtakes (including a couple of isolated frames that capture O'Brien manipulating his models) and a well-meaning but basic commentary by Arthur Conan Doyle historian Roy Pilot. There's also a text biography of Conan Doyle and a display of original postcards, posters and other promotional items. --Sean Axmaker, Amazon.com

• Follyfoot Series 1 | DVD | (13/08/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Young Dora is sent to stay with her uncle on his farm in rural England while her parents travel overseas for a year. Seeing as she has a love for horses her uncle suggests she visit Follyfoot Farm which is a part of his estate that looks after unwanted and unloved horses. It is only here that Dora feels truly happy but what will happen when her parents return? Episodes Comprise: 1. Dora 2. Steve 3. Gypsy 4. Shadow 5. One White Foot Charley 6. The Charity Horse 7. Know-All's Nag 8. Moonstone 9. Stryker's Good Deed 10. Mr. She-Knows 11. The Standstiil Horse 12. Birthday at Follyfoot 13. A Day in the Sun

• How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying | DVD | (04/01/2010) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  A window cleaner buys a book entitled 'How To Succeed in Business' and employs its methods to help him climb the corporate ladder.

• Doctor Who: The Complete 6th Series - Limited Edition | Blu Ray | (21/11/2011) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £64.99

  The Doctor returns, alongside newly weds Amy and Rory, to face monsters and mysteries and adventures all across time and space, in a thrilling new series of Doctor Who.Episodes Comprise:1. A Christmas Carol 2. The Impossible Astronaut3. Day Of The Moon 4. The Curse Of The Black Spot5. The Doctor's Wife 6. The Rebel Flesh7. The Almost People 8. A Good Man Goes To War9. Let's Kill Hitler 10. Night Terrors11. The Girl Who Waited 12. The God Complex13. Closing Time 14. The Wedding Of River Song

• Will Hay - Good Morning Boys / Hey! Hey! USA | DVD | (11/08/2003) from £6.54   |  Saving you £6.45 (49.70%)   |  RRP £12.99

  In 1937's Good Morning Boys Will Hay plays the pompous but ill-qualified headmaster of St Michael's, Dr Benjamin Twist, who befuddles his class with meaningless mathematical equations while they set their wits to constructing booby traps for him. However, when his boys pass an inter-schools examination, having seen the French paper in advance, they're invited by the French educational authorities to Paris and become involved in a plot to steal the Mona Lisa. Although it is at times too silly plot-wise even for those with a high endurance for farce, Good Morning, Boys is another fine showcase for Hay to display his well-honed repertoire of tics, double-takes and blathering half-sense. In Hey! Hey! USA!, a 1938 comedy intended to boost Hay's stock in America, he again plays Dr Twist who becomes tutor to millionaire's son Bernie Schulz aboard an Atlantic liner. Predictably the boy knows more about all aspects of history than Hay, having to remind him that Britain lost in the War of Independence against America. "Yes, but we sent our second eleven," Hay reminds him, "And we were playing away." Further capers ensue when two rival gangs attempt to capture the precocious lad, with his parents dispatching Hay to pass on the ransom money. Hey! Hey! USA!has its moments, but despite the presence of old Laurel and Hardy sidekicks Edgar Kennedy (as a dim-witted gangster) and Charlie Hall, this was too leaky a comedic vessel to transport Hay's peculiarly British UK success across the Atlantic. On the DVD: Good Morning Boys and Hey! Hey! USA! are presented on disc well restored from their original 1930s film stock, give or take the odd crackle. There are no extras except scene index. --David Stubbs

• A Lady Takes A Chance | DVD | (31/05/2004) from £16.29   |  Saving you £-0.30 (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  When New Yorker Molly Truesdale takes a bus tour of the West rodeo rider Duke Hudkins literally falls into her lap. It's love at first sight for Molly and she sets out to catch her cowboy! 'A Lady Takes A Chance' is vintage John Wayne available to buy for the first time in the UK.

• James Stewart - In The Frame Collection | DVD | (29/10/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  This box set features the following films: You Can't Take It With You (Dir. Frank Capra) (1938): James Stewart Jean Arthur Lionel Barrymore and Edward Arnold star in this screwball comedy. Arthur stars as Alice Sycamore the stable family member of an offbeat clan of free spirits who falls for Stewart the down-to-earth son of a snooty wealthy family. Amidst a backdrop of confusion the two very different families rediscover the simple joys of life... Mr Smith Goes To Washington (Dir. Frank Capra) (1939): James Stewart Jean Arthur and Claude Rains star in this award-winning 1939 classic about an idealistic small-town politician who heads to Washington and suddenly finds himself single-handedly battling ruthless politicians out to destroy him. Man From Laramie (Dir. Anthony Mann) (1955): Will Lockhart comes to a small town to find the man who sold rifles to the Apaches and caused the death of his brother a cavalry officer. Beaten and nearly killed by cohorts of the arms dealer he also becomes embroiled with a ranch baron and his overwrought son. Father and son are plotted against by their treacherous foreman who wants the ranch for himself. Anatomy Of A Murder (Dir. Otto Preminger) (1959): A riveting courtroom drama of rape and premeditated murder is brought to life with an all-star cast in the suspenseful and highly-acclaimed Anatomy Of A Murder. Nominated for seven Academy Awards including Best Picture (1959) the film pits a humble small-town lawyer (James Stewart) against a hard-headed big-city prosecutor (George C. Scott). Emotions flare as a jealous army lieutenant (Ben Gazzara) pleads innocent to murdering the rapist of his seductive beautiful wife (Lee Remick). Produced and directed by the renowned Otto Preminger the film features a brilliant score by Duke Ellington. Packed with drama passion and intrigue Anatomy Of A Murder is a cinematic masterpiece that will keep you on the edge of your seat! Two Rode Together (Dir. John Ford) (1961): A group of children are held captive by the Indians. A Lieutenant enlists the help of a Texas Marshall in a rescue attempt. Based on the novel by Will Cook. Bell Book And Candle (Dir. Richard Quine) (1958): James Stewart is publisher Shep Henderson sucked into the underworld of Greenwich Village by the beautiful Gillian Holroyd (Kim Novak). Their liaison kicks off when Gillian employs her skills to indulge in a bit of fun. By the time Shep gets wise and rejects the artificial premise for a relationship she has sacrificed her powers to emotional awakening and all is set for a happy ending.

• Man In A Suitcase - Complete | DVD | (29/08/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £79.99

  Richard Bradford is ex-CIA agent 'Mac' McGill who now works as a private investigator. He goes from job to job living out hotel rooms with all his worldly possessions in one old brown suitcase... Featuring all the episodes ever made! Episodes comprise: 1. Brainwash 2. The Sitting Pigeon 3. Day of Execution 4. Variation on a Million Bucks (1) 5. Variation on a Million Bucks (2) 6. Man from the Dead 7. Sweet Sue 8. Essay in Evil 9. The Girl Who Never Was 10. All That Glitter

• Fishing For Beginners | DVD | (23/09/2004) from £20.00   |  Saving you £-0.01 (-0.10%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Disc 1 - Pike Fishing: Big fish expert Des Taylor takes us bait fishing for pike at Thorpe Park in Surrey. He explains and displays in some detail the rigs methods and a number of the best fish baits. Different fish such as trout roach and mackerel are used. Des catches good double-figure pike on his chosen methods finishing with a fine 20 pounder. How to cast play unhook and carefully return each fish is shown and the film is enjoyable as well as instructive. Disc 2 - Still Water Fishing: Keith Arthur has been acknowledged as one of the best anglers in the country. In this video he demonstrates the art of still water fishing. Fishing a lake eleven foot deep he shows how to fish the Waggler and the Sliding Float and also discusses the art of shotting and the most important feeding. He also catches a lot of fish. Filmed with the cooperation of the Northern Ireland Tourist Board. Disc 3 - River Fishing: Jan Porter first made his name on the River Trent in the early 1980s fishing the swimfeeder. Be it block and feeder with maggot or the open ended feeder using caster and hemp combinations Jan has very few equals when employing this devastating method. In this film Jan deals with every facet of the method looking at rods lines and the multitude of swimfeeders on the market today. He also looks at the problems confronting the pleasure angler when facing running water and demonstrates the importance of balancing the feeder to the flow. This is the complete programme for the would-be feeder fisherman.

• Sunrise | DVD | (26/01/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  In 1928 Sunrise won Oscars for Janet Gaynor as Best Actress and cinematography as a "Unique and Artistic Picture". In 1967 it was declared "the single greatest masterwork in the history of cinema" by key French new wave magazine Cahiers du Cinema. Released with a synchronised score and effects soundtrack but no dialogue, it is a cinematic landmark from the transition period between silent cinema and the talkies. Beginning as a prototype film noir in which a farmer (George O' Brien) plans the murder of his wife (Gaynor) with his vacationing lover from the city (Margaret Livingstone), the film develops from tense thriller into a story of reawakened love and redemption. Anticipating Orson Welles's artistic freedom on Citizen Kane (1941), German expressionist director FW Murnau was given carte blanche following the huge American success of The Last Laugh (1924). The result was this poetic fable making inventive use of every technical device then available, including in-camera multiple exposures and superimpositions, long elegant tracking shots, forced perspectives, complex miniatures and synchronised sound, as well as the largest single-street-scene set ever built. The result is a film that influenced everything from Hitchcock suspense to Titanic (1997) and Eyes Wide Shut (1999). Murnau summons powerful performances from his principal players--Gaynor would later headline A Star Is Born (1937) and O'Brien would take important roles in several classic John Ford westerns--while the transcendent finale evokes and reworks the ending of the director's earlier classic, Nosferatu (1922). Though now inevitably dated Sunrise remains essential for anyone seriously interested in the development of cinematic art. On the DVD:Sunrise is presented on an immaculately produced two-disc special edition. Though restored to full length and presented in the original 1.2:1 ratio with the complete music and effects soundtrack, the film has been taken from a print made in 1936, the original camera negative having been destroyed in a fire. As a result this is the best possible modern presentation of Sunrise, though the print, while perfectly acceptable, is very grainy, lined and flickery by contemporary standards. The mono sound has been superbly restored and is remarkably effective for its vintage; an alternative stereo musical track recorded for recent reissue sounds excellent. The film also boasts a commentary by John Bailey: apart from talking a little too much about how beautiful the lighting is, Bailey offers seriously in-depth knowledge about the film and about Murnau that really puts everything into historical context and explains the constant technical ingenuity. The second disc presents the useful A Song of Two Humans, a 12-minute visual essay by film historian R Dixon Smith, and almost 10 minutes of outtakes with optional commentary by John Bailey, as well as a trailer, stills gallery and notes explaining the nature of the restoration. There is also an excellent 40-minute documentary Murnau's 4 Devils: Traces of a Lost Film, telling the story of the director's lost follow up to Sunrise. Microsoft Word and PDF files available via DVD-ROM present various incarnations of the screenplays for both Sunrise and 4 Devils. --Gary S. Dalkin

• Targets | DVD | (05/04/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Aging horror film star Orlok (Karloff) announces his retirement as an apparently average young man (O'Kelly) goes on a shooting spree eventually showing up at a drive-in theater where Orlok is making his final personal appearance...

• American in Paris | Blu Ray | (31/03/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• She Said No | DVD | (22/04/2002) from £7.95   |  Saving you £-4.96 (-165.90%)   |  RRP £2.99

  Beth Early is trying to get over her broken marriage. She attends the local college where she meets Martin Knapek a successful lawyer. One night after accepting his lift home she is subjected to a brutal assault. At his trial he is freed and Beth is then faced with a libel suit for wrongly accusing him of rape... Based on a true story...

• Futureworld | DVD | (12/04/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Sequel to Westworld where the robots have rebuilt the theme park. Not content with the simple aims of capitalism the robots led by the indomitable Duffy (Hill) are bent on complete global domination. When powerful leaders are invited to the park they uncover a sinister cloning plan to carry out the mission.

• The Ruling Class | DVD | (02/02/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Based on Peter Barnes' hit play this caustic hilarious and irreverent black comedy has rightly become a cult classic. The House of Gurney has a family problem - namely the 14th Earl of Gurney (Peter O' Toole) who thinks he is Jesus Christ and when restored to 'normalcy' turns into Jack the Ripper. Unfortunately the young earl is also the sole heir to the family fortune so his relatives go to great lengths to trick him into siring a new heir. Then they can institutionalise him and gain access to the money through the child. But the 14th Earl of Gurney has a few tricks up his sleeve... This controversial tragicomedy managed to condemn just about every section of British society - from the public school system to the Houses of Parliament and from the Church to homosexuality. It also boasts some truly inspirational performances including O'Toole (who received an Oscar nomination for his tour de force role) Alastair Sim as a feeble-minded bishop and Arthur Lowe as a hilariously insolent left wing manservant.

• The Arthur Askey Collection - Back Room Boy/Band Waggon/Bees In Paradise/King Arthur Was A Gentleman/Miss London Ltd/I Thank You | DVD | (19/02/2007) from £49.99   |  Saving you £-25.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  A six disc collection from Arthur Askey including: Back Room Boy Band Waggon Bees In Paradise King Arthur Was A Gentleman Miss London Ltd I Thank Yo

• Borderline | DVD | (07/05/2007) from £33.73   |  Saving you £-8.74 (-35.00%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Adah a black woman has an affair with a white married man Thorne much to the dismay of his wife and the prejudiced townsfolk. Adah attempts a reconciliation with her partner Pete but eventually leaves both him and the town. Meanwhile Thorne's wife Astrid goes mad attacks her husband and then mysteriously dies. Thorne is tried for her murder...

• My Friend Flicka | DVD | (13/03/2006) from £5.07   |  Saving you £7.92 (156.21%)   |  RRP £12.99

  In this touching family film based on the celebrated novel by Mary O'Hara ten-year-old Kenny McLaughlin a rancher's son desperately wants a horse of his own. When his father finally agrees to let him choose a foal Ken picks Flicka a beautiful but high-spirited filly who comes from a bloodline considered to be hopelessly wild. It is up to Ken to prove Flicka is tamable or risk losing her. Along the way Ken and his family learn some important lessons in this poignant tale of love patience faith and hope beyond hope.