"Actor: Bill Hinkley"

• Ed Wood | DVD | (14/10/2002) from £5.49   |  Saving you £9.50 (173.04%)   |  RRP £14.99

  The significance of Ed Wood, both man and movie, on the career of Tim Burton cannot be emphasised enough. Here Burton regurgitates and pays homage to the influences of his youth, just as he would continue to do with Mars Attacks! and Sleepy Hollow. Everything is just right, from the decision to shoot in black and white, the performances of Johnny Depp (as Ed) and Martin Landau (as Bela Lugosi), the re-creation of 1950s Hollywood and the evocative score by Howard (Lord of the Rings) Shore. The plot struck a poignant familiar chord with Burton, who saw the relationship between the Ed and Lugosi mirroring his own with Vincent Price. Most importantly Burton responded to the story of the struggling, misunderstood artist. For all Burton's big-budget blockbusters (Batman, Planet of the Apes), he still somehow retains the mantle of the kooky niche director. And in the mid-90s, this film actually represented the last vestiges of his independent film production. Fans can only hope he'll soon return to those roots soon. On the DVD: Ed Wood on disc has a good group commentary in which Burton is interviewed rather than expected to hold forth on his own, making his insights alongside the screenwriters, Landau, and various production heads very worthwhile. Also worthy are the featurettes on Landau's Oscar-winning make-up, the FX and the Theremin instrument employed in the score. Best of all is an extremely exotic Music Video based on that score. This doesn't seem to be a new transfer of the film, but in black and white you're less likely to notice. --Paul Tonks

• Silent Night, Deadly Night 3-Film Collection | Blu Ray | (13/12/2022) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Universal Soldier - The Return | DVD | (06/06/2005) from £6.18   |  Saving you £-0.19 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Universal Soldier Luc Deveraux is back. Jean-Claude Van Damme gallantly attempts to resurrect interest in his tepid career with this action-riddled roller-coaster ride. Set in the not-too-distant future, Deveraux has been employed by the government to oversee the new UniSol project. What is UniSol? It's a military plan to turn dead soldiers into invincible fighting machines (see the first Univeral Soldier for more details). It's also the scheme that went horribly wrong when the soldiers turned psycho, killing the scientists who created them. Not deterred by this early setback, the government replicates the project. This time they work out that they can control the soldiers through a supercomputer called SETH (kind of like HAL in 2001, but smarter). But, as we all know, machines frequently break down. Pretty soon the computer comes to the conclusion that it's superior to humans and therefore it must destroy them. Uh oh.Van Damme to the rescue. The muscles from Brussels heroically leap into action confronting the dangerous soldiers led by Bill (WCW) Goldberg and Michael Jai White (last seen in Spawn). The action is impressive and the stunts are engrossing. Goldberg is charismatic as the cartoonish villain who sneers and snouts while muttering macho things like, "I'm gonna kill that guy." Van Damme looks more at home in a production that he is not directing, and for once he lets his fists do the talking. Ironically, the movie is missing the gloss and big-budget pathos of its predecessor (created by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich), making the original decidedly better. -- Jeremy Storey, Amazon.com

• Blues, Rags and Hollers: The Koerner, Ray and Glover Story | Blu Ray | (28/12/2009) from £16.18   |  Saving you £-4.19 (-34.90%)   |  RRP £11.99

  This Tony Glover directed 1986 documentary contains performances interviews and rare archival footage of the acoustic blues trio as well as '95 and '07 chapter updates and 9 bonus live performances from '91-'99. It's the story of three notable American music originals told with characteristic wit grit and irreverence by those who lived it. The original film has been updated by Glover with album-by-album postscripts 10 full-length performances and more. It also includes special appearances by Willie Murphy and Bill Hinkley. Tracklisting: 1. Everybody's Goin' For The Money 2. I Ain't Blue 3. Who Will Buy The Wine 4. Shake 'Em On Down 5. Shout Sister Shout 6. Linin' Track 7. Tremors 8. Black Dog 9. Me And My Chauffeur Blues 10. Good Night Irene