"Actor: Carl Frank"

• A Personal Journey With Martin Scorsese Through American Movies | DVD | (05/06/2000) from £4.99   |  Saving you £15.00 (300.60%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Scorsese's invigorating history of American movies avoids the straitjacket of chronology. Although he makes dutiful nods in the direction of Edwin S. Porter, D.W. Griffith and Orson Welles, he is equally interested in figures working at the margins, film-makers such as Andre De Toth, Ida Lupino, Sam Fuller and Edgar Ulmer, "who circumvented the system to get their vision onto the screen". He describes them as "illusionists", "smugglers", con artists who managed to hoodwink the money men into allowing them to make the films they wanted. Some worked in B-movies ("less money, more freedom") others (like Scorsese himself) struck their own Faustian bargains with the studios, making "one movie for them, one for yourself"His heroes are the outsiders, the film-makers who chafe against the assurances of the American dream. He offers a vivid, guilty vignette of himself as a four-year-old child, sitting in a darkened auditorium watching in amazement as Gregory Peck overpowers Jennifer Jones in Duel in the Sun, one of the first films his mother took him to. "The savage intensity of the music, the burning sun, the overt sexuality ... it seems that the two could only consummate their passion by killing each other". There's a certain irony in Scorsese, who once seriously considered becoming a priest, succumbing to a David O. Selznick Technicolor extravaganza which had already been condemned by the church.While often sounding like a serious-minded apprentice who watches old movies to pick up tips which will help him in his own work ("study the old masters, enrich your palette, expand the canvas-there's always so much more to learn") he never overlooks the illicit pleasure that cinema can bring. "I don't really see a conflict between the church and the movies, the sacred and the profane". --Geoffrey Macnab

• Sink the Bismarck / The Enemy Below (Double Pack) | DVD | (02/06/2003) from £14.35   |  Saving you £0.64 (4.46%)   |  RRP £14.99

  The Enemy Below and Sink the Bismarck! form a double feature of semi-classic CinemaScope-era WWII naval dramas sailing from the Fox vault onto DVD for the first time. In The Enemy Below Robert Mitchum and Curt Jurgens are respectively captains of a US destroyer and a German U-boat whose vessels come into conflict in the South Atlantic. Both are good men with a job to do, the script noting Jurgens' distaste for Hitler and the Nazis and engaging our sympathy with the German sailors almost as much as the Americans. Made at the height of the Cold War of the 1950s, the film delivers a liberal message of cooperation wrapped inside some spectacular action scenes and a story that builds to a tense and exciting, moving finale. Sink the Bismarck! is a British film dating from three years later and adopts a more documentary style in recounting the race against time to track and destroy what was in 1941 the most powerful battleship then built, the Bismarck. Shot in gleaming black and white so as to make use of genuine WWII archive footage, the film is held together by the introduction of a fictional naval officer in overall command of the operation, played excellently by Kenneth More. To add some human warmth he is given a tentative romantic subplot with a WREN played by the luminous Dana Wynter. Though initially slow to gather steam, Sink the Bismarck! finally delivers an epic, thoroughly horrifying conclusion. On the DVD: The Enemy Below and Sink the Bismarck! come as a two-disc set with multiple language and subtitle options, including English for Hard of Hearing, but no extras other than the original trailers. These are presented at 16:9 and 2.35:1. Both are rather faded, but are fine examples of an era when watching the previews didn't guarantee a migraine. Both films are anamorphically enhanced in their original 2.35:1 CinemaScope, and, bar a little grain in some shots and the inevitably inferior archive footage, the picture quality is excellent. The Enemy Below boasts sturdy three-channel sound (left, front, right) while Sink the Bismarck! is in very well mixed stereo. --Gary S Dalkin

• I'm Not There | DVD | (14/07/2008) from £7.69   |  Saving you £12.30 (159.95%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Ruminations on the life of Bob Dylan, where seven characters embody a different aspect of the musician's life and work.

• Fly, The / The Fly 2 | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £5.99   |  Saving you £14.00 (233.72%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The Fly (Dir. David Cronenberg 1986): This frightening but extremely moving and romantic horror film stars Jeff Goldblum as an over-ambitious scientist who accidentally merges with a housefly while conducting a bizarre teleporting experiment. A journalist (Geena Davis) who has fallen in love with him while covering his scientific endeavours suddenly finds herself caring for a horrific creature whose insect half gradually begins to take over. The Fly 2 (Dir. Chris Walas

• Ultimate Fighting Championship 15 / Ultimate Fighting Championship 16 | DVD | (03/07/2006) from £12.13   |  Saving you £-2.14 (-21.40%)   |  RRP £9.99

  UFC 15 - Bout List: 1. Maurice Smith vs Tank Abbott 2. Mark Kerr vs Dwane Cason 3. Vitor Belfort vs Randy Couture 4. Dave Beneteau vs Carlos Barreto 5. Mark Kerr vs Greg Scott 6. Houston Dorr vs Dwane Cason 7. Alex Hunter vs Harry Moskowitz UFC 16 - Bout List: 1. Frank Shamrock vs Igor Zinoviev 2. Kimo vs Tsuyoshi Koshaka 3. Chris Brennan vs Pat Miletich 4. Kevin Jackson vs Jerry Bohlander 5. Pat Miletich vs Townsend Saunders 6. Mike Burnett vs Eugenio Tadeu

• Asteroid | DVD | (02/06/2003) from £16.58   |  Saving you £-10.59 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  A two-part US TV miniseries here edited into a 122-minute feature, Asteroid was originally rushed onto (television) screens in 1996, well before the one-two big screen punch of Deep Impact and Armageddon. Single mum-cum-astronomy boffin Dr Lily McKee (Annabella Sciorra) works out that a comet is about to divert a meteor shower towards Earth ("at its present rate, Helios would hit with the force of a thousand Hiroshimas and the heat of the Sun") and spends the first half of the film alerting the authorities to the danger, and the second half helping rugged rescue guy Jack Wallach (Michael Biehn) haul survivors out from under the rubble caused when a bunch of minor asteroids collide with the planet (well, America); all while as the usual shenanigans go on to cope with the big, preventable chunk. The script explains everything in children's science lecture terms ("Mom, are we going to die like the dinosaurs?" "I don't think so, honey, we're much smarter than the dinosaurs") and is written in pure comforting cliché-speak ("I'm sure she's serious, but is she for real?"). With its hymn to the quick-thinking authorities and intently cooperating heroes, this may be the most pro-Establishment disaster film ever made: only a few panicky civilians cause any trouble, and we need plot contrivances to get made-for-TV he-man Biehn into danger as he outruns a flood in Kansas City or searches for the heroine's missing kid (Zachary B Charles) in the burning wreckage of Dallas. A large supporting cast of no-name labcoats, uniforms and victims clutter up the screen between the effects. Of course, this can't compete with its big-screen counterparts, but it did get there first, coopting the CGI and modelwork techniques of Independence Day to the rock-from-space sub-genre (cf: Meteor) as cities are smashed, crowds submerged, the planet battered and multitudes saved to order. --Kim Newman

• The A-Team - Vol. 2 | DVD | (01/10/2001) from £4.99   |  Saving you £5.00 (100.20%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Initially one of NBC network's most successful series, The A-Team ran for 90 one-hour episodes (with a few feature-length specials thrown in) from 1983 to 1987. The premise of the series was certainly different. A group of US operatives is sent to rob the Bank of Hanoi during the Vietnam War in an attempt to destabilise the country's economy, but the bigwig who organises the raid is killed, leaving no indication that the mission was officially sanctioned. Returning home, Smith (George Peppard), BA (it stood for "Bad Attitude") Baracus (Mr T), Face (Dirk Benedict) and that "crazy foo" Murdoch (Dwight Schultz) suddenly find themselves accused of criminal activity, obliging them to set up as benevolent mercenaries. They tear around the country in what looks like a delivery van, generally do-gooding while keeping one step ahead of the inept military police. Snappy, witty and fast paced, the series began as a spoof of the action-thriller genre. It wasn't until the later episodes that an element of seriousness crept in, which may have caused the decline in audience figures eventually resulting in the show's cancellation. On video and DVD though, it remains a feast for fans of classic cult TV.--Roger Thomas

• The Lady From Shanghai | DVD | (18/08/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Legend has it that Orson Welles more or less conned studio boss Harry Cohn over the phone into making The Lady from Shanghai by grabbing the title from a nearby paperback. In any case, this is one of Welles's most fascinating works, a bizarre tale of an Irish sailor (Welles) who accompanies a beautiful woman (Rita Hayworth) and her handicapped husband (Everett Sloane) on a cruise and becomes involved in a murder plot. But never mind all that (the aforementioned legend also claims that Cohn offered a reward to anyone who could explain the plot to him). The film is really a dream of Welles's driving preoccupations both on and off-screen at the time: the elusiveness of identity, the mystique of things lost, and most of all the director's faltering marriage to Hayworth. In the tradition of male filmmakers who indirectly tell the story of their love affairs with leading ladies, Welles tells his own, photographing Hayworth as a deconstructed star, an obvious cinematic creation, thus reflecting, perhaps, a never-satisfied yearning that leads us back to the mystery of Citizen Kane. --Tom Keogh

• 100 Days to Victory | DVD | (26/11/2018) from £4.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  The Stunning new BBC series to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armistice 11th November 1918. Through cinematic recreations, interviews with top historians and state-of-the-art CGI, 100 Days To Victory is a gripping account of the last 100 Days of the First World War, telling the story of how the Allied generals worked together in new ways to win the war. Five of historys most visionary leaders Marshal Ferdinand Foch (France), Field Marshal Douglas Haig (Britain), General John J. Pershing (United States), General Arthur Currie (Canada) and General John Monash (Australia) came together to defeat the enemy with unprecedented teamwork and innovation. Exciting and dramatic, this docudrama brings the men and women behind WWIs finest multinational feat of arms vividly to life. Includes subtitles for the Hard Of Hearing

• The A-Team - Series 1 | DVD | (13/09/2004) from £16.35   |  Saving you £18.64 (114.01%)   |  RRP £34.99

  In 1972 a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn't commit. These men promptly escaped a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today still wanted by the government they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem if no one else can help and if you can find them maybe you can hire the A-Team! Episodes comprise: 1. Mexican Slayride (Part 1) 2. Mexican Slayride (Part 2) 3. Children Of Jamestown 4

• Fair Game | DVD | (24/01/2000) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £13.99

  She's a lawyer. He's a cop. Some former KGB-types with a wide variety of slippery accents and enough sophisticated technological surveillance gadgets to make one wonder how the Soviet Union could have possibly failed, want her dead. The cop (William Baldwin) is the only man who can save her. It helps that the high-powered attorney is played by Cindy Crawford, who gives new meaning to the phrase "habeas corpus." So the plot doesn't make any sense: first, they try to kill her, no questions asked. Then they capture her and spill their guts about all the details of their nefarious plan. Logic is not what Fair Game is about. It's about explosions, car crashes and more explosions. The only pauses in the action are for showers (one for Baldwin, two for Crawford) and a change of clothing (Crawford slips out of a tight T-shirt into an even tighter tank top). The best feature of the DVD is the addition of a Gallic track. With very little actual sex in the movie, having the main characters conversing in French definitely adds some sauciness to the dialogue scenes. --Richard Natale, Amazon.com

• Free Enterprise | DVD | (15/01/2001) from £16.40   |  Saving you £-13.41 (N/A%)   |  RRP £2.99

  Set in LA among the same narcissistic, vain and pop culture-obsessed generation already celebrated in Kevin Smith's Clerks and Doug Liman's Swingers, Free Enterprise is a smart-aleck comedy that consciously holds a mirror up to the lives of twenty- and thirtysomethings everywhere. Anyone who grew up in the shadows of Star Trek and Star Wars will find plenty to laugh about and identify with here. The loose premise follows two self-professed geeks: Mark (Eric McCormack), in a delightful spin on Logan's Run, is agonising about reaching his 30th birthday before he has achieved anything much at all, while his slacker pal Robert (Rafer Wiegel) neglects his daytime editing job to woo a comic-reading, nerdy yet totally babelicious wish-fulfilment girlfriend. The great joy of the movie, however, is not the constant parade of witty movie in-jokes, but the appearance of William Shatner as himself. He plays a washed-up, boozy actor desperately touting to anyone who will listen his idea for "William Shatner's William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar: The Musical" (words W. Shakespeare, music W. Shatner), displaying all the while a refreshing gift for comic understatement. Shatner brings real pathos and self-deprecating humour to the depiction of the gulf between the other characters' hero-worship of his on-screen persona and his subjective reality as a misunderstood actor. By the time he gets round to performing a mind-boggling bizarre rap version of Marc Anthony's soliloquy, the ageing Captain Kirk has redeemed himself, both in the eyes of the characters and the viewing audience. --Mark Walker

• Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed | DVD | (28/06/2013) from £8.96   |  Saving you £9.03 (100.78%)   |  RRP £17.99

  When a doctor is killed at a mental asylum the evil Baron Frankenstein seizes the chance to transplant his brain into the meek body of Doctor Richter. But the bloody operation creates an entity of evil which shatters the lives of everyone...

• Sophia Loren | DVD | (17/10/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £49.99

  A bumper box set of classic films featuring the voluptuous sex-siren Sophia Loren! Pride And The Passion (Dir. Stanley Kramer 1957): Napoleonic forces are sweeping across Europe and Spain is on the brink of falling to the mighty invasion. Standing alone against the onslaught is one brave fighter and his ragtag band of guerillas. Seizing a gigantic cannon Spanish fighter Miguel (Sinatra) plans to attack Napoleon's army by battering the walls of French-occupied Avila. But because he's untrained in complex weaponry he must rely on the expertise of Captain Trumbell (Grant) a British naval officer. Allies on the battlefield Trumbell and Miguel soon find themselves in a bitter struggle over Miguel's mistress (Loren) a sultry beauty drawn to the captain's refined ways even as they race toward the most harrowing battle of their lives... El Cid (Dir. Anthony Mann 1961): El Cid is an epic movie masterpiece a tribute to one of history's greatest legends. This dazzling spectacle with a cast of thousands fills the screen with action and romance - from knights in armour jousting on horseback to massive battles on sea and land where columns of warriors stretch across the horizon. At the centre of this powerful motion picture is Charlton Heston in the role he was born to play... the immortal El Cid. Heston is the Spanish warrior battling to drive the Moors from Spain with the vision to be just and the courage to be merciful whose love and devotion to the radiant Chimene (Sophia Loren) knows no bounds... Anthony Mann's epic was nominated for three Oscars but surprisingly returned home empty-handed. The Fall Of The Roman Empire (Dir. Anthony Mann 1964): This classic film re-enacts the spectacular collapse of perhaps the greatest dominion the world has ever known. Pestilence greed and corruption bring a once-proud empire to its knees. Now restored with stunning scenes and a cast of thousands - in battles gladiatorial and otherwise; martyrs burning at the stake; chariot races in the midst of which is the romance between two people.... White Sister (Dir. Alberto Lattuada 1972): The Key (Dir. Carol Reed 1958): In wartime England circa 1941 poorly-armed tugs are sent into U-Boat Alley to rescue damaged Allied ships. An American named David Ross arrives to captain one of these tugs. He's given a key by a fellow tugboat-man -- a key to an apartment and its pretty female resident. Should something happen to the friend Ross can use the key. Countess From Hong Kong (Dir. Charlie Chaplin 1966): Charlie Chaplin's final film is a delightful romantic comedy filled with the clever touches for which he's famous. Written directed and composed by Chaplin it revolves around Russian ''migr'' countess Natascha (Sophia Loren) forced into prostitution in Hong Kong who stows away in wealthy American Ogden's (Marlon Brando's) stateroom to blackmail her way to the States. Since Ogden has a mind of his own and can even resist Natascha's charms what follows is one of the funniest tugs of war ever devised! A wealth of talent supports these stars. There's Chaplin's son Sydney as Brando's cruise companion Tippi Hedren as his icy wife Patrick Cargill as the ultimate gentleman's gentleman and Margaret Rutherford as a dotty old dame. Chaplin himself tops it off with a cameo as the ship's steward! The gags are pure Charlie and his actors make the most of them sailing in and out of slamming doors and outrageous situations with ease!

• Blind Dead Box | DVD | (14/11/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  Four cult classics from Amando de Ossorio! They are called 'Blind Dead' heretic horsemen whose eyes were burned out to prevent them from finding their way back from Hell. Over the course of 4 unforgettable films writer/director Amando de Ossorio created what fright fans worldwide consider to be one of the most startling series in horror history. This unique quartet of shockers delivers a relentless onslaught of creepy atmosphere shocking violence forbidden sexuality and the stil

• Sophia Loren | DVD | (13/03/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £49.99

  A bumper box set of classic films featuring the voluptuous sex-siren Sophia Loren! Pride And The Passion (Dir. Stanley Kramer 1957): Napoleonic forces are sweeping across Europe and Spain is on the brink of falling to the mighty invasion. Standing alone against the onslaught is one brave fighter and his ragtag band of guerillas. Seizing a gigantic cannon Spanish fighter Miguel (Sinatra) plans to attack Napoleon's army by battering the walls of French-occupied Avila. But because he's untrained in complex weaponry he must rely on the expertise of Captain Trumbell (Grant) a British naval officer. Allies on the battlefield Trumbell and Miguel soon find themselves in a bitter struggle over Miguel's mistress (Loren) a sultry beauty drawn to the captain's refined ways even as they race toward the most harrowing battle of their lives... El Cid (Dir. Anthony Mann 1961): El Cid is an epic movie masterpiece a tribute to one of history's greatest legends. This dazzling spectacle with a cast of thousands fills the screen with action and romance - from knights in armour jousting on horseback to massive battles on sea and land where columns of warriors stretch across the horizon. At the centre of this powerful motion picture is Charlton Heston in the role he was born to play... the immortal El Cid. Heston is the Spanish warrior battling to drive the Moors from Spain with the vision to be just and the courage to be merciful whose love and devotion to the radiant Chimene (Sophia Loren) knows no bounds... Anthony Mann's epic was nominated for three Oscar's but surprisingly returned home empty-handed. The Fall Of The Roman Empire (Dir. Anthony Mann 1964): This classic film re-enacts the spectacular collapse of perhaps the greatest dominion the world has ever known. Pestilence greed and corruption bring a once-proud empire to its knees. Now restored with stunning scenes and a cast of thousands - in battles gladiatorial and otherwise; martyrs burning at the stake; chariot races in the midst of which is the romance between two people.... White Sister (Dir. Alberto Lattuada 1972) The Key (Dir. Carol Reed 1958): In wartime England circa 1941 poorly-armed tugs are sent into U-Boat Alley to rescue damaged Allied ships. An American named David Ross arrives to captain one of these tugs. He's given a key by a fellow tugboat-man -- a key to an apartment and its pretty female resident. Should something happen to the friend Ross can use the key. Countess From Hong Kong (Dir. Charlie Chaplin 1966): Charlie Chaplin's final film is a delightful romantic comedy filled with the clever touches for which he's famous. Written directed and composed by Chaplin it revolves around Russian ''migr'' countess Natascha (Sophia Loren) forced into prostitution in Hong Kong who stows away in wealthy American Ogden's (Marlon Brando's) stateroom to blackmail her way to the States. Since Ogden has a mind of his own and can even resist Natascha's charms what follows is one of the funniest tugs of war ever devised! A wealth of talent supports these stars. There's Chaplin's son Sydney as Brando's cruise companion Tippi Hedren as his icy wife Patrick Cargill as the ultimate gentleman's gentleman and Margaret Rutherford as a dotty old dame. Chaplin himself tops it off with a cameo as the ship's steward! The gags are pure Charlie and his actors make the most of them sailing in and out of slamming doors and outrageous situations with ease!

• Fly, The / The Fly 2 | DVD | (22/10/2001) from £9.43   |  Saving you £5.56 (37.10%)   |  RRP £14.99

  'The Fly' is a remake of the 1958 horror classic about a brilliant scientist who develops a machine that molecularly transports objects in seconds but inadvertently turns him into a fly incredibly agile super strong and driven to insanity by appetites he cannot control. In 'The Fly 2' Martin Brundle son of 'The Fly' continues his father's work on the teleporters for Bartok Industries. He is ignorant of his father's true identity and believes himself to have a growth disease. Wh

• Replacement Killers | DVD | (18/02/2002) from £12.71   |  Saving you £7.28 (57.28%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Chow Yun-Fat makes his Hollywood debut with Mira Sorvino in this fierce and explosive action thriller. A seamless fusion of style and Hong Kong action adventure 'Replacement Killers' will blow you away! After he betrays Mr. Wei the ruthless crime boss who hired him to avenge his son's death professional killer John Lee goes on the run. Enlisting the aid of beautiful document forger Meg Coburn Lee attempts to return to his family in China before they are targets of their impress

• Mr. Popper's Penguins / A Christmas Carol / Miracle on 34th Street Christmas Collection | DVD | (07/10/2013) from £6.49   |  Saving you £8.50 (56.70%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Miracle on 34th StreetIn this new holiday miracle based on the famous 1947 film classic a little girl discovers dreams can come true if you really believe. Six-year-old Susan Walker has doubts about childhood's most enduring miracle - Santa Claus. Her mother told her the secret about Santa a long time ago so Susan doesn't expect to receive the most important gifts on her Christmas list. But after meeting a special department store Santa who's convinced he's the real thing Susan is given the most precious gift of all - something to believe in. Starring Richard Attenborough Elizabeth Perkins Dulan McDermott and Mara Wilson as Susan. This uplifting and joyous film will make believers out of the entire family. A Christmas CarolAcademy Award Winner George C. Scott gives a powerful performance as Ebenezer Scrooge in this truly heartwarming telling of Charles Dickens' beloved drama. At first miserable greedy old Scrooge can't tolerate the revelry of Christmas; much less comprehend its meaning. But visits from his former business partner's ghost and three cautionary specters from the past present and future force the man to soul-search. Grappling with his own losses Scrooge recognizes the repercussions of heartlessness in this classic timeless story that also stars Susannah York and David Warner. Mr. Popper's PenguinsChill out with the funniest family comedy of the year! Jim Carrey stars as Mr. Tom Popper a successful businessman who's clueless when it comes to the really important things in life...until he inherits six adorable penguins each with its own unique personality. Soon Mr. Popper's rambunctious roommates turn his swank New York apartment into a snowy winter wonderland - and the rest of his world upside-down. Based upon the award-winning classic children's book Mr. Popper's Penguins is a cool blast of fun for all ages! Chill out with the funniest family comedy of the year! Jim Carrey stars as Mr. Tom Popper a successful businessman who's clueless when it comes to the really important things in life...until he inherits six adorable penguins each with its own unique personality. Soon Mr. Popper's rambunctious roommates turn his swank New York apartment into a snowy winter wonderland - and the rest of his world upside-down. Based upon the award-winning classic children's book Mr. Popper's Penguins is a cool blast of fun for all ages!

• Asteroid | DVD | (26/06/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Two giant asteroids are on a collision course with earth hurtling towards us at 34 000mph and each could hit with 10 000 megatons of explosive power creating shock waves and a fireball that would obliterate the human race. From the producers of Courage Under Fire and Predator and the special effects team behind Star Trek. This epic disaster movie is guaranteed to make a big big impact.