"Actor: Charles Ki"

• Laurel & Hardy Volume 8 - Blackmail/Classic Shorts | DVD | (03/05/2004) from £8.49   |  Saving you £0.49 (8.91%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Comedy with Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Chickens Come Home (b/w) Chickens Come Home (colourised) Politiquerias (Chickens Come Home in an extended Spanish-language edition with Laurel & Hardy speaking their own Spanish dialogue!) Come Clean (b/w) Love 'Em and Weep (b/w silent with music score) Sugar Daddies (b/w silent with music score) Early to Bed (b/w silent with music score) A collection of classic Laurel & Hardy shorts based around the theme of blackmail - actual or implied! In one of the team's best shorts 'Chickens Come Home' Ollie is a candidate for Mayor whose campaign is endangered by the reappearance of a girl from his past. Alongside the familiar version of this film is its feature-length Spanish equivalent 'Politiquerias' with L&H speaking their own foreign dialogue plus the early silent short 'Love 'Em And Weep' on which it was based. Another early silent 'Sugar Daddies' provides a variant on the idea (plus the same climactic gag!) while in the sound short 'Come Clean' regular foil Mae Busch - the blackmailer in 'Love 'Em And Weep' and its remake - is once again demanding money from Stan and Ollie. In the classic silent 'Early To Bed' Ollie has money to spare - and this time it's Stan who learns the power of blackmail!

• Miss Leslie's Dolls | DVD | (03/09/2018) from £7.29   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  A rare specimen from the more deranged end of the Grindhouse spectrum, Miss Leslie's Dolls is a memorably demented tale of possession and transvestitism from director Joseph G. Prieto (who, under the name Joseph P. Mawra, directed the outrageous 1965 lesbian sexploitation documentary Chained Girls). Believed lost for decades, it has been remastered from original film elements especially for this release. Stranded in the backwoods during a thunderstorm, a beautiful teacher and her three promiscuous students take refuge at a lonely house owned by the middle-aged Miss Leslie. Miss Leslie, however, is less a mild-mannered spinster and more an axe-wielding, homicidal cross-dresser intent on transferring his spirit into the nubile body of any girl foolish enough to come visiting...

• Strauss: Arabella | DVD | (16/04/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £13.99

  Like most of his later operas, Richard Strauss' Arabella ends with a meltingly lovely duet. But then criticising Strauss for composing melodically enduring operas is as pointless as lambasting Vermeer for painting only exquisite interior scenes. Those who say Strauss never improved on Rosenkavalier may be right but when such beguiling sounds kept coming from his music for the next 30 years of his life, there shouldn't be any quibbles. Arabella is, in a nutshell, the story of a woman who cannot make up her mind about a suitor. Taped at the Metropolitan Opera House in 1994 under the baton of conductor Christian Thielemann, this production features Kiri Te Kanawa in the title role; her acting is mediocre but vocally she never forces anything and at least sounds like the perfect Arabella. Wolfgang Brendel does well with Mandryka, who finally ends up with Arabella and Marie McLaughlin makes a sympathetic younger sister to the heroine as Zdenka. Otto Schenk's production is sturdily conservative, the video transfer is acceptable if unspectacular and the sound mix is CD-quality. --Kevin Filipski, Amazon.com

• Sondheim - Sunday in the Park with George | DVD | (23/03/1999) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.96

• Random Hearts | DVD | (15/05/2000) from £8.73   |  Saving you £-4.74 (N/A%)   |  RRP £3.99

  Random Hearts, starring Harrison Ford and Kristen Scott Thomas, is a compelling love story about two people who never would have met in a perfect world.

• Carry On At Your Convenience | DVD | (27/08/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  In 1971 when Carry On at Your Convenience hit the screen, the series had long since become part of the fabric of British popular entertainment. Never mind the situation, the characters were essentially the same, film after film. The jokes were all as old as the hills, but nobody cared, they were still funny. But it's just too easy to treat them as a job lot of postcard humour and music hall innuendo. This tale of revolt at a sanitary ware factory--Boggs and Son, what else?--certainly chimed in with the state of the nation in the early 1970s when strikes were called at the drop of a hat. Here, tea urns, demarcation and the company's decision to branch out into bidets all wreak havoc. Kenneth Williams as the company's besieged managing director, Sidney James and Joan Sims give their all as usual, but it's the lesser roles that really add some lustre. Hattie Jacques as Sid's budgerigar-obsessed, sluggish put-upon wife and Renee Houston as a superbly domineering battleaxe with a penchant for strip poker remind us that in the hands of fine actors, even the laziest of caricatures becomes a real human being. On the DVD: Presented in 4:3 format with a good clean print and standard mono soundtrack, Carry On at Your Convenience feels as comfortable as an old pair of shoes. But where's the context? The lack of extras leaves the viewer wanting biographies and some documentary sense of the film's position in the series. The scene index is often arbitrary and the budget packaging means that we don't even get a full cast list. --Piers Ford

• Beethoven/Beethoven's 2nd | DVD | (05/06/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Beethoven: A St. Bernard puppy 'adopts' a new home after escaping from dog thieves. The Newton family just haven't realised the trouble that 185lbs of dog can get into... (Dir. Brian Levant 1992) Beethoven's 2nd: Beethoven has fallen in love with the fetching Missy and is ready to settle down with a family of his own. Like it or not George Newton his hapless owner is about to discover the meaning of chaos - times four! Tchaikovsky Chubby Dolly and Mo a quartet of irresistible puppies that have definitely inherited their father's talent for getting into mischief. Trouble ensues when Missy's evil owner Regina heartlessly severs Beethoven from his lady love and plots to steal the pups too. Will Beethoven and the puppies be reunited with Missy? Will Regina get her comeuppance? Will George Newton ever know peace and quiet again? (Dir. Rod Daniel 1993)

• American Graffiti | Blu Ray | (31/05/2011) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Kinjite - Forbidden Subjects | DVD | (16/01/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  A cop full of hatred can't work by the book. Charles Bronson is at his two-fisted best in this gritty action-packed thriller about a cop hellbent on wiping out a vicious child prostitution ring. Lt. Crow (Bronson) is a veteran L.A. vice cop who nearly goes berserk after his young daughter is molested by an unidentified Asian man. As he battles his own racial prejudices and feelings of rage Crowe is ordered to hunt down a brutal pimp who has kidnapped thedaughter of a Japane

• The Blues Brothers | DVD | (07/11/2005) from £14.87   |  Saving you £15.12 (101.68%)   |  RRP £29.99

  The Blues Brothers (Dir. John Landis 1980): They'll never get caught. They're on a mission from God. After the release of Jake Blues (John Belushi) from prison he and brother Elwood (Dan Aykroyd) go to visit the orphanage where they were raised by nuns. They learn that the church stopped its support and will sell the place unless the tax on the property is paid within 11 days. The brothers decide to raise the money by putting their blues band back together and stagin

• Verdi: Un Ballo in Maschera -- Metropolitan Opera/Levine | DVD | (09/09/2002) from £15.79   |  Saving you £1.20 (7.60%)   |  RRP £16.99

  A performance of Verdi's opera 'Un Ballo In Maschera' by the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra And Chorus; conducted by James Levine. Singers include: Luciano Pavarotti and Aprile Millo. Directed by Brian Large.

• Fallen Angel | DVD | (29/03/2004) from £17.99   |  Saving you £2.00 (11.12%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Down on his luck Eric meets the wealthy June and formulates a plan to marry her then divorce her and steal her fortune that will enable him to live in comfort with Stella with whom he is in love. However when Stella is mysteriously murdered things start to go very wrong indeed...

• A Low Down Dirty Shame | DVD | (08/03/2004) from £5.38   |  Saving you £9.61 (178.62%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Outrageous comedian Keenen Ivory Wayans is Shame a down-on-his-luck ex-cop turned private investigator. He's hired to track down his seductive former girlfriend - and $20 million in stolen drug money. With his trusty sidekick Peaches (Jada Pinkett) Shame aims to make a buck and clear his name in what becomes his wildest and most dangerous assignment ever.

• To Serve Them All My Days Series 1, 2 and 3 | DVD | (15/03/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £59.99

  John Duttine stars as David Powlett-Jones who has been invalided out of the First World War and sent to work in a large public school in Devon. Utterly unconvinced of his teaching abilities he is persuaded to stay and so begins his long relationship with Bamfylde school...

• Messenger of Death | Blu Ray | (25/07/2016) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Rewind back to the cinema of the 1980s and you might discover at least fun fact about an otherwise conservative decade: Hollywood was a lot less ageist! Indeed, in an action genre dominated by Arnold, Chuck and Sly, at least one big name looked as if he was more likely to be collecting his pension than provoking mayhem and that man was the late, great Charles Bronson. The star of DEATH WISH never slowed down, even as the decade came to a close, and 1988's fierce Cannon Films classic MESSENGER OF DEATH is one of the legendary genre star's most menacing motion pictures. In this fast-paced and potent thriller, Bronson plays an investigative journalist who prods a little too deeply into the affairs of a local, and lunatic, religious organisation. Bullets, blood and a slew of dead bodies soon follow. Mixing Mormonism and malevolence with the sort of high-octane brutality one might expect from director J. Lee Thompson (CAPE FEAR/ DEATH WISH IV: THE CRACKDOWN), MESSENGER OF DEATH is back in HD - and ready to blast its way into your Cannon collection!

• Sonic The Hedgehog - The Movie | DVD | (15/12/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Dr. Robotnik claims that he is hanging around the beautiful Land of the Sky because he has been booted from the Land of Darkness! An incredibly evil Metal Robotnik came out of nowhere drove him from the twisted city of Robotropolis and then sabotaged the high-voltage power-producing Robot Generator. Dr. Robotnik claims that if the Robot Generator isn't stopped it will blow all of planet freedom to smithereens! He needs some help - fast! Can Sonic trust his worst enemy? Should he rush headlong into an obvious trap and possibly save the universe? Or just smack the egg-shaped nightmare across his flapping moustache? The President's absolutely adorable daughter Sara says that she will marry Sonic if he saves the universe. So that settles it. But wait! Is she in love with Sonic or the never-before-seen Hyper Metal Sonic! You could turn blue just thinking about it or crack the entertainment barrier with ADV Films' Sonic the Hedgehog.

• Child's Play 2 | Blu Ray | (16/08/2022) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Ginger In The Morning | DVD | (24/09/2001) from £17.97   |  Saving you £-11.99 (N/A%)   |  RRP £2.99

  Ginger is hitch-hiking through New Mexico and is picked up by Joe who has just gone through a bitter divorce. A romantic story of opposites attracting.

• Marlene Dietrich - Small Goddess | DVD | (28/08/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £49.99

  The Lady Is Willing (Dir. Mitchell Leisen 1942): Bold eccentric Broadway performer Lisa Madden befuddles her handlers by coming home with a baby she picked up on the street. She wants to keep the baby but has to find a husband to make adoption viable. Why not her new obstetrician Dr. McBain? She offers him help with his research on rabbits in exchange for marriage - and he accepts. The marriage of convenience turns into a marriage of real love but when Dr. McBain's ex-wife comes looking for money matters get complicated... Shanghai Express (Dir. Josef von Sternberg 1932): Many passengers on the Shanghai Express are more concerned that the notorious Shanghai Lil is on board than the fact that a civil war is going on that may make the trip take more than three days. The British Army doctor Donald Harvey knew Lil before she became a famous ""coaster."" A fellow passenger defines a coaster as ""a woman who lives by her wits along the China coast."" When Chinese guerillas stop the train Dr. Harvey is selected as the hostage. Lil saves him but can she make him believe that she really hasn't changed from the woman he loved five years before? Destry Rides Again (Dir. George Marshall 1939): Kent the unscrupulous boss of Bottleneck has Sheriff Keogh killed when he asks one too many questions about a rigged poker game that gives Kent a stranglehold over the local cattle rangers. The mayor who is in cahoots with Kent appoints the town drunk Washington Dimsdale as the new sheriff assuming that he'll be easy to control. But what the mayor doesn't know is that Dimsdale was a deputy under famous lawman Tom Destry and is able to call upon the equally formidable Tom Destry Jr to be his deputy. Foreign Affair (Dir. Billy Wilder 1948): In occupied Berlin an army captain is torn between an ex-Nazi cafe singer and the U.S. congresswoman investigating her. Blonde Venus (Dir. Josef von Sternberg): American chemist Ned Faraday marries a German entertainer and starts a family. However he becomes poisoned with Radium and needs an expensive treatment in Germany to have any chance of being cured. Wife Helen returns to night club work to attempt to raise the money and becomes popular as the Blonde Venus. In an effort to get enough money sooner she prostitutes herself to millionaire Nick Townsend. While Ned is away in Europe she continues with Nick but when Ned returns cured he discovers her infidelity. Now Ned despises Helen but she grabs son Johnny and lives on the run just one step ahead of the Missing Persons Bureau. When they do finally catch her she loses her son to Ned. Once again she returns to entertaining this time in Paris and her fame once again brings her and Townsend together. Helen and Nick return to America engaged but she is irresistibly drawn back to her son and Ned. In which life does she truly belong? Devil Is A Woman (Dir. Josef von Sternberg 1935): Told in flashbacks Devil Is A Woman is a tale of an older man's obsession for a woman who can belong to no-one but can frustrate everyone. The backdrop is Sternbergs surreal and fantastic Carnaval in Spain. In a cafe the older man details his encounters with the heartbreaker that his younger friend has only just met at the parade. Forewarned the young man swears he will avoid the fate of his friend but rushes all the same to his evening rendevous. A dreamlike story of frustrated lost romance spoken in the past tense never really resolved.

• Savate | DVD | (03/09/2001) from £4.95   |  Saving you £-1.96 (N/A%)   |  RRP £2.99

  The true story of the worlds first kickboxer. In 1865 a corrupt Texas land owner's plan to evict innocent settlers is stopped dead by a new kind of fighter.