"Actor: Betty Murray"

• The Parallax View | DVD | (02/02/2004) from £17.95   |  Saving you £-1.96 (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  There is no conspiracy. Just twelve people dead. Alan J. Pakula's The Parallax View a superb conspiracy thriller about one man's paranoia that turns out to be total incredible fact ranks among the best movies of its kind. Warren Beatty is a news reporter who aong with seven others witnesses the assassination of a political candidate. When the other seven die in ""accidents"" the newsman begins to doubt the offiical position: that the lone madman was responsible for the crime. He imagines a sophisticated network of highly trained murderers. But his nightmares pale against the bizarre truth he uncovers.

• Passport To Pimlico | DVD | (21/06/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £13.99

  An archaic document found in a bombsite reveals that the London district of Pimlico has for centuries technically been part of France. The local residents embrace their new found continental status seeing it as a way to avoid the drabness austerity and rationing of post-war England. The authorities do not however share their enthusiasm... A whimsical and charming British film 'Passport To Pimlico' is one of the finest examples of the classic Ealing comedies.

• Marilyn Monroe - The Diamond Collection | DVD | (05/08/2002) from £29.95   |  Saving you £50.04 (167.08%)   |  RRP £79.99

  Released to mark the 40th anniversary of her death in 1962, The Diamond Collection brings together all of Marilyn Monroe's films for 20th Century Fox. This handsome box set stands as a salutary reminder of the considerable achievements of an actress who still reigns supreme as the greatest screen goddess of them all. The uninitiated might be surprised at the versatility of someone whose legend is founded so much on her image as a sex symbol. In particular, her touching performance as the abused second-rate bar singer Cherie in Bus Stop (1956) is a rounded study of a woman still capable of dreaming when life has done everything to dull her. The box set as a whole offers plenty of evidence that while she certainly specialised in a unique and complex variation on the blonde bombshell stereotype--embodied in her timeless performances as Lorelei Lee (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes) and short-sighted Pola in How to Marry a Millionaire, both 1953--she could certainly diversify. The documentary, Marilyn Monroe: The Final Days, provides a sympathetic take on the troubles and behaviour which led to her being sacked from her final picture, Something's Got to Give. The presentation of the restored footage from that movie is less successful, though, as the glimpses of Monroe's incandescent screen presence, belying her illness and depression, leave a palpable sadness in their wake. Better by far to focus on her earlier work. Whatever the role, her luminous beauty and statuesque figure, combined with an unselfconsciously joyful sexuality and an on-screen vulnerability, were always at their best under the careful guidance of directors like Billy Wilder and Otto Preminger. These qualities continue to give her an enduring appeal. On the DVD: The Diamond Collection has been digitally restored using, for the most part, the original negatives, making this a sumptuous package for any Monroe fan. Niagara and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes are both presented in standard 4:3 ratio but the rest--filmed in Cinemascope and presented here in letterbox format--are certainly better-served by widescreen viewing. The colours, like Monroe, come alive. The sound quality is crisp and Monroe's singing--she had limited but genuine musical talent--has polished up well. Multiple extras include before-and-after restoration comparisons, trailers from various countries, stills and posters, and newsreel footage. Eleven discs of Marilyn in one box, this is a veritable feast indeed. --Piers Ford

• Coronation Street - 1977 | DVD | (16/01/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Coronation Street was first broadcast in December of 1960 and since then has gone from strength to strength in establishing itself as the nation's favourite soap opera. With a more light hearted slant on the genre Coronation Street has always drawn viewers from across the generations and its longevity is tribute to it's across the board appeal. On this DVD we take a look back to 1977 and eight classic episodes from that year.