"Actor: Bill Brown"

• Dying Breed | Blu Ray | (28/09/2009) from £13.48   |  Saving you £4.51 (33.46%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Tasmania Australia the world's most isolated island. It's rumoured deep within Tasmania's wilderness an ancient species known as the Tasmanian tiger is alive and breeding. Yet modern science refuses to believe such a creature now exists since no witnesses have ever been able to prove it. That is until zoology student Nina claims she can breach Tasmania's impenetrable forests and reveal the tiger's existance to be true. Driving Nina's quest is one critical piece of proof: a paw print taken by her sister just before she met with a fatal accident eight years ago. But what Nina doesn't know is how Tasmania became Australia and the world's most dangerous island in the 19th Century when the murderous convict Alexander Pearce (aka The Pieman) broke out of prison only to eat his fellow escapees. Pearce was hung for cannabalism in 1824 but not before he has spawned a blood line who inherited his taste for human flesh. Soon Nina and her friends discover that in the wild whilst one species may have died out another has thrived - in the form of Pieman's descendants. When she sets out with her partner Matt and his old mate Jack and his girlfriend Rebecca their little expedition encounters the island's reigning breed but one who stands on two legs not four. The Pieman clan has survived and their need to feed and breed turns Nina Matt Jack and Rebecca into the next endangered species.

• Plaster Caster | DVD | (20/02/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Plaster Caster is an intimate documentary portrait of legendary artist and groupie Cynthia Plaster Caster famous for plaster casting the penises of rock stars including most notoriously Jimi Hendrix. The film explores how Cynthia developed her unique pursuit follows the ups and downs of casting sessions with a shy guitarist and an extroverted glam rocker and goes along for the rise as Ms. Caster prepares for her first gallery show in New York City. Featuring candi

• Black And White | DVD | (28/06/2004) from £15.98   |  Saving you £2.00 (14.30%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Australia 1958. A nine year old white girl is found murdered in a remote cave and the local police are quick to arrest an illegitimate Aborigine by the name of Max Stuart. Under interrogation Max admits to the the killing and signs the statement that will send him to the gallows. With no Court of Appeal established in the country and a legal system compromised by intimidation tactics from institutional racism gifted but naive lawyers David O'Sullivan (Carlyle) and Helen Devaney (

• The Stranger | DVD | (18/03/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £4.99

  The Stranger, according to Orson Welles, "is the worst of my films. There is nothing of me in that picture. I did it to prove that I could put out a movie as well as anyone else." True, set beside Citizen Kane, Touch of Evil, or even The Trial, The Stranger is as close to production-line stuff as the great Orson ever came. But even on autopilot Welles still leaves most filmmakers standing. The shadow of the Second World War hangs heavy over the plot. A war crimes investigator, played by Edward G Robinson, tracks down a senior Nazi, Franz Kindler, to a sleepy New England town where he's living in concealment as a respected college professor. The script, credited to Anthony Veiller but with uncredited input from Welles and John Huston, is riddled with implausibilities: we're asked to believe, for a start, that there'd be no extant photos of a top Nazi leader. The casting's badly skewed, too. Welles wanted Agnes Moorehead as the investigator and Robinson as Kindler, but his producer, Sam Spiegel, wouldn't wear it. So Welles himself plays the supposedly cautious and self-effacing fugitive--and if there was one thing Welles could never play, it was unobtrusive. What's more, Spiegel chopped out most of the two opening reels set in South America, in Welles' view, "the best stuff in the picture". Still, the film's far from a write-off. Welles' eye for stunning visuals rarely deserted him and, aided by Russell Metty's skewed, shadowy photography, The Stranger builds to a doomy grand guignol climax in a clock tower that Hitchcock must surely have recalled when he made Vertigo. And Robinson, dogged in pursuit, is as quietly excellent as ever. On the DVD: not much in the way of extras, except a waffly full-length commentary from Russell Cawthorne that tells us about the history of clock-making and where Edward G was buried, but precious little about the making of the film. Print and sound are acceptable, but though remastering is claimed, there's little evidence of it. --Philip Kemp

• Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers | DVD | (03/04/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Recorded in 1976 the concert features outstanding solo performances from Blakey and members of his band performing on a makeshift stage in the Umbrian square to a huge crowd.

• Edward G. Robinson - Scarlet Street / The Stranger | DVD | (18/03/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  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. 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. The Stranger, according to Orson Welles, "is the worst of my films. There is nothing of me in that picture". But even on autopilot Welles still leaves most filmmakers standing. A war crimes investigator, played by Edward G Robinson, tracks down a senior Nazi to a sleepy New England town where he's living in concealment as a respected college professor. Welles wanted Agnes Moorehead as the investigator and Robinson as the Nazi Franz Kindler, but his producer, Sam Spiegel, wouldn't wear it. So Welles himself plays the supposedly cautious and self-effacing fugitive--and if there was one thing Welles could never play, it was unobtrusive. Still, the film's far from a write-off. Welles' eye for stunning visuals rarely deserted him and, aided by Russell Metty's skewed, shadowy photography, The Stranger builds to a doomy grand guignol climax in a clocktower that Hitchcock must surely have recalled when he made Vertigo. And Robinson, dogged in pursuit, is as quietly excellent as ever. On the DVD: sparse pickings. Both films have a full-length commentary by Russell Cawthorne which adds the occasional insight, but is repetitive and not always reliable. The box claims both print have been "fully restored and digitally remastered", but you'd never guess. --Philip Kemp

• Giant From The Unknown (1958) | Blu Ray | (19/01/2021) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Morgan's Ferry | DVD | (09/09/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Escaped convicts Sam (Billy Zane) Monroe (Henry Rollins) and Darcy (Johnny Galecki) find their way to a run-down house owned by Bonnie (Kelly McGillis) a woman the locals have written off as crazy years ago. As they ransack her place for food clothes and money they realise that she has absolutely no fear of them. Her quiet strength enrages the psychotic Monroe but intrigues and mesmerises Sam. Bonnie's steely resolve sets in motion a chain of events that will leave all their lives changed forever...

• Spongebob SquarePants - Viking Sized Adventure | DVD | (05/04/2010) from £5.00   |  Saving you £4.99 (49.90%)   |  RRP £9.99

  SpongeBob SquarePants: Viking Sized Adventure

• The Stranger | DVD | (18/10/1999) from £4.99   |  Saving you £8.00 (160.32%)   |  RRP £12.99

  The legendary story that hovers over Orson Welles' The Stranger is that he wanted Agnes Moorehead to star as the dogged Nazi hunter who trails a war criminal to a sleepy New England town. The part went to Edward G. Robinson, who is marvellous, but it points out how many compromises Welles made on the film in an attempt to show Hollywood he could make a film on time, on budget and on their own terms. He accomplished all three, turning out a stylish if unambitious film noir thriller, his only Hollywood film to turn a profit on its original release. Welles stars as unreformed fascist Franz Kindler, hiding as a schoolteacher in a New England prep school for boys and newly married to the headmaster's lovely if naive daughter (Loretta Young). Welles, the director, is in fine form for the opening sequences, casting a moody tension as agents shadow a twitchy low-level Nazi official skulking through South American ports and building up to dramatic crescendo as Kindler murders this little man, the lovely woods becoming a maelstrom of swirling leaves that expose the body he furiously tries to bury. The rest of the film is a well designed but conventional cat-and-mouse game featuring an eye-rolling performance by Welles and a thrilling conclusion played out in the dark clock tower that looms over the little village. --Sean Axmaker

• Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers | DVD | (21/06/2002) from £21.58   |  Saving you £-1.59 (-8.00%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers are captured at a joyful outdoor gig at the Umbria Jazz Festival on July 20 during the scorching summer of 1976. Here, in his third decade of leading the band, Blakey's enthusiasm runs high throughout a set lasting almost exactly an hour across six compelling numbers. The opening "Backgammon" is a 13-minute showcase for Blakey's masterful drumming and virtuoso improvisation from trumpeter Bill Hardman, with especially fine contributions from pianist Mickey Tucker. There are strong exchanges between Cameron Brown's bass and Tucker's keys on "Along Came Betty" and, while the ten-minute workout that is "Uranus" may be the most exploratory cut, the almost equally lengthy "Blues March" keeps up the tempo. Tucker is again the star of the classic "All the Things You Are", before the set reaches an uplifting conclusion with the breathtakingly interlocking dynamics of "Gipsy Folk Tales". This may not be one of the classic Messengers line-ups, but there's no doubting the commitment and dazzling precision of the musicianship. Likewise the rapt audience and romantic courtyard setting lend a magic which only happens when all the right elements come together, as they undoubtedly do in this highly enjoyable set. On the DVD: Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers on disc has trailers for other TDK jazz releases and a text biography of Art Blakey. The 4:3 picture is sometimes slightly soft and displays the usual faults of live concert footage shot on video, but is generally much better than expected for its age. The sound defaults to good stereo but the Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 remixes add considerably to the sense of a occasion. The DTS track is particularly weighty and almost tangible in its presence.--Gary S. Dalkin

• Hollywood Raw - Celebrities Caught On Camera / Wild On The Streets | DVD | (01/08/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Celebrities Caught On Camera! See the ultimate unauthorised and uncensored program of Hollywood's hottest stars. You've heard the stories in the news but now find out the truth behind the headlines glitz and glamour in this revealing look at your favourite celebrities. Some love the paparazzi some hate them. Witness the outrageous behaviour of some stars caught on camera and you be the judge! Celebrities caught on camera: Madonna Pamela Anderson ; Tommy Lee ; Julia Roberts ; Nicolas Cage ; Leo DiCaprio ; Heather Locklear ; Sylvester Stallone ; Brad Pitt ; Jack Nicholson and many more!!!

• Art Blakey And The Jazz Messengers - Jazz Masters | DVD | (24/01/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £16.99

  Art Blakey was an acknowledged musical master a founder of modern jazz drumming and a father figure to three generations of jazz superstars. His Jazz Messengers first appeared on the scene in 1954 and the alumni is a who's who of great jazz names including Lee Morgan Donald Byrd Johnny Griffin Wayne Shorter Keith Jarrett and many more. Here Wynton Marsalis makes his debut appearance as Blakey's trumpeter. From the first distinctive Blakey drum roll the Messengers deliver a sizzling hard bop concert playing Little Man New York Webb City and an extended version of Kurt Weill's My Ship which features Wynton as trumpet soloist.

• The Stranger | DVD | (17/11/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £2.99

  The Stranger, according to Orson Welles, "is the worst of my films. There is nothing of me in that picture. I did it to prove that I could put out a movie as well as anyone else." True, set beside Citizen Kane, Touch of Evil, or even The Trial, The Stranger is as close to production-line stuff as the great Orson ever came. But even on autopilot Welles still leaves most filmmakers standing. The shadow of the Second World War hangs heavy over the plot. A war crimes investigator, played by Edward G Robinson, tracks down a senior Nazi, Franz Kindler, to a sleepy New England town where he's living in concealment as a respected college professor. The script, credited to Anthony Veiller but with uncredited input from Welles and John Huston, is riddled with implausibilities: we're asked to believe, for a start, that there'd be no extant photos of a top Nazi leader. The casting's badly skewed, too. Welles wanted Agnes Moorehead as the investigator and Robinson as Kindler, but his producer, Sam Spiegel, wouldn't wear it. So Welles himself plays the supposedly cautious and self-effacing fugitive--and if there was one thing Welles could never play, it was unobtrusive. What's more, Spiegel chopped out most of the two opening reels set in South America, in Welles' view, "the best stuff in the picture". Still, the film's far from a write-off. Welles' eye for stunning visuals rarely deserted him and, aided by Russell Metty's skewed, shadowy photography, The Stranger builds to a doomy grand guignol climax in a clock tower that Hitchcock must surely have recalled when he made Vertigo. And Robinson, dogged in pursuit, is as quietly excellent as ever. On the DVD: not much in the way of extras, except a waffly full-length commentary from Russell Cawthorne that tells us about the history of clock-making and where Edward G was buried, but precious little about the making of the film. Print and sound are acceptable, but though remastering is claimed, there's little evidence of it. --Philip Kemp

• Ultimate Lie | DVD | (20/10/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

• The Stranger | DVD | (02/02/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  The Stranger, according to Orson Welles, "is the worst of my films. There is nothing of me in that picture. I did it to prove that I could put out a movie as well as anyone else." True, set beside Citizen Kane, Touch of Evil, or even The Trial, The Stranger is as close to production-line stuff as the great Orson ever came. But even on autopilot Welles still leaves most filmmakers standing. The shadow of the Second World War hangs heavy over the plot. A war crimes investigator, played by Edward G Robinson, tracks down a senior Nazi, Franz Kindler, to a sleepy New England town where he's living in concealment as a respected college professor. The script, credited to Anthony Veiller but with uncredited input from Welles and John Huston, is riddled with implausibilities: we're asked to believe, for a start, that there'd be no extant photos of a top Nazi leader. The casting's badly skewed, too. Welles wanted Agnes Moorehead as the investigator and Robinson as Kindler, but his producer, Sam Spiegel, wouldn't wear it. So Welles himself plays the supposedly cautious and self-effacing fugitive--and if there was one thing Welles could never play, it was unobtrusive. What's more, Spiegel chopped out most of the two opening reels set in South America, in Welles' view, "the best stuff in the picture". Still, the film's far from a write-off. Welles' eye for stunning visuals rarely deserted him and, aided by Russell Metty's skewed, shadowy photography, The Stranger builds to a doomy grand guignol climax in a clock tower that Hitchcock must surely have recalled when he made Vertigo. And Robinson, dogged in pursuit, is as quietly excellent as ever. On the DVD: not much in the way of extras, except a waffly full-length commentary from Russell Cawthorne that tells us about the history of clock-making and where Edward G was buried, but precious little about the making of the film. Print and sound are acceptable, but though remastering is claimed, there's little evidence of it. --Philip Kemp

• Ladder 49/The Guardian | DVD | (05/11/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Ladder 49: (Dir. Jay Russell) (2004): What does it take for a man to run into a burning building when everyone else is running out? Why do firemen leave their families each morning to risk their lives for strangers? The film chronicles Baltimore firefighter Jack Morrison (Joaquin Phoenix) as he makes the transition from inexperienced rookie to seasoned veteran. As he struggles to cope with a risky demanding job that often shortchanges his wife and kids he relies on the support of his mentor and chief Mike Kennedy (John Travolta) and his second family - the brotherly bond between the men of the firehouse. But when Jack becomes trapped in the worst blaze of his career his life and the things he holds important - family dignity courage - come into focus. As his fellow firemen of Ladder 49 do all they can to rescue him Jack's life hangs in the balance. Guardian: (Dir. Andrew Davis) (2006): In an effort to find his place in life a troubled young man enlists in the Coast Guard where he's taken in by a renowned rescue swimmer who's hardened by the loss of his team from an accident years back. Unfortunately for the pair the past is about to re-incarnate itself...

• Starship Troopers 2: Hero Of The Federation | DVD | (10/05/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Allowing for all the low-budget shortcomings that plague any straight-to-video production, Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation serves up 92 minutes of passable SF action. Parlaying his veteran status as an animator, special-effects wizard, and stalwart survivor of the CGI revolution, Phil Tippett (with returning screenwriter Ed Neumeier) makes a woefully uninspired directorial debut with this makeshift sequel to Paul Verhoeven's 1997 blockbuster, retaining the jarhead militarism of Robert Heinlein's original novel while serving up more bugs, an all-new cast of attractive young stars and all-too-familiar plot elements borrowed from a dozen better movies. "Bigger is better" is out of the question under such meagre budgetary circumstances, so Tippett and Neumeier compensate with gruesome bug fights and gross-out effects at regular intervals, some standard-issue nudity and escalating paranoia (echoing Carpenter's The Thing) when a new breed of bugs use human hosts (à la The Hidden) to overtake a stranded platoon of Federation soldiers on a bug-infested planet. Relying on murky confinement to hide nondescript sets, Starship Troopers 2 has three engaging leads in its favour: US TV regular Richard Burgi is solidly cast as the titular hero (he's the military equivalent of Pitch Black's Riddick); Colleen Porch is engaging as the most sensible Federation survivor; and screen veteran Ed Lauter makes the most of his salty role as a battle-hardened general. Unfortunately, they're adrift in a knock-off sequel (shot on high-def digital video) that could never do justice to its energetic predecessor. --Jeff Shannon

• Giant From The Unknown (1958) | 4K UHD | (19/01/2021) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A