"Actor: Charles Tingwell"

  • Miss Marple Box Set: Murder Ahoy / Murder At The Gallup / Murder Most Foul / Murder, She SaidMiss Marple Box Set: Murder Ahoy / Murder At The Gallup / Murder Most Foul / Murder, She Said | DVD | (02/02/2004) from £8.99   |  Saving you £26.00 (289.21%)   |  RRP £34.99

    Murder Ahoy (1964): Miss Marple investigates the murder of one of her fellow trustees of a fund which rehabilitates young criminals... Murder At The Gallop (1963): The old and wealthy Mr. Enderby dies of a heart attack but the ever suspicious Miss Marple has her doubts... Murder Most Foul (1964): Miss Marple is the only member of a jury who believes that an accused is innocently charged with murder and sets out to uncover the real killer... Murder She Said (1961): While on board one train Jane Marple witnesses a murder on another train. Can she expose the murderer before all the passengers disembark?

  • Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons: The Complete Series [Blu-ray]Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons: The Complete Series | Blu Ray | (08/10/2018) from £24.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

    One of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's best-loved series, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons brought a new level of realism and sophistication to Century 21's endlessly popular Supermarionation productions. To mark its fiftieth anniversary, the series has been remastered in HD from the original 35mm film elements for this Blu-ray edition it has never looked better! The year is 2068; after a misunderstanding leading to an attack on their Martian city, the Mysterons declare war on the inhabitants of Earth. Ranged against this devastatingly powerful enemy is Spectrum, a worldwide security organisation its leading operative: Captain Scarlet. Having been captured and replicated by the Mysterons, but breaking free of their control, he now possesses extraordinary powers that make him Spectrum's most powerful agent in the fight to save humanity!

  • Thunderbirds Box Set (9 discs)Thunderbirds Box Set (9 discs) | DVD | (13/11/2000) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £124.99

    Filmed in VIDECOLOR [explosions, drum roll, music builds to a climax] and SUPERMARIONATION"! The opening sequence of Thunderbirds is itself a masterclass in Gerry Anderson's marionette hyperbole: who else would dare to make a virtue out of the fact that (a) the show is in colour and (b) it's got puppets in it? But everything about this series really is epic: Thunderbirds is action on the grandest scale, pre-dating such high-concept Hollywood vehicles as Armaggedon by 30 years and more (the acting is better, too), and fetishising gadgets in a way that even the most excessive Bond movies could never hope to rival. Unsurprisingly, it transpires that the visual effects are by Derek Meddings, whose later contributions to Bond movies like The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker echo his pioneering model work here.As to the characters, the clean-cut Tracey boys take second place in the audiences' affections to their cool machines--the real stars of the show--while comic relief is to be found in the charming company of Lady Penelope and her pink Rolls (number plate FAB1), driven by lugubrious chauffeur Parker, whose "Yes, milady" catch phrase resonated around school playgrounds for decades. (Spare a thought for poor old John Tracey, stuck up in space on Thunderbird 5 with only the radio for company.) The puppet stunt-work is breathtakingly audacious, and every week's death-defying escapade is nail-bitingly choreographed in the very best tradition of disaster movies. First shown in 1964 and now digitally remastered, Thunderbirds is children's TV that still looks and sounds like big-budget Hollywood.In this box set: All 32 episodes on eight discs, plus a bonus DVD featuring "The Thunderbirds Companion", an exclusive documentary with interviews and behind-the-scenes footage. --Mark Walker

  • Thunderbirds Are Go - The Movie [1966]Thunderbirds Are Go - The Movie | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £7.26   |  Saving you £8.73 (120.25%)   |  RRP £15.99

    Thunderbirds Are Go followed the remarkable success of the Thunderbirds television series, bringing the three-dimensional puppet animation adventures of International Rescue to the big screen. Set in the 21st century, there is no attempt to explain the background story: as in the TV show International Rescue is a private family organisation who use hi-tech craft to rescue anyone in peril. Here it is the first manned flight to Mars which is in danger, as International Rescue foils a sabotage attempt at the launch, then race to avert disaster when the spaceship returns to earth. What could have made a 50-minute TV episode is expanded to feature length with Martian "rock monsters" and a surreal dream-sequence involving Alan Tracy, Lady Penelope and "Cliff Richard Jnr" & the Shadows, with a new song performed by the real Cliff and the Shadows. In the cinemas this was competing against another British children's TV SF spin-off, the equally colourful Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150AD, and would be followed by Thunderbird 6 (1968). Yet apart from more complex model work, a bigger orchestra and even bigger explosions, on TV this plays like a widescreen double-length episode. On the DVD: The mono sound is powerful, with Barry Gray's stirring music suffering intermittent distortion. Presented in anamorphic widescreen the picture is very good, with strong colours and only minimal grain, though the print does show occasional damage. Unfortunately the original extremely wide 2.74:1 Techniscope image is cropped to more conventional 2.35:1, to the extent that the careful compositions are noticeably damaged, which director David Lane refers to in his joint commentary with producer Sylvia Anderson (who also played Lady Penelope). 35 years after the event their commentary is packed with details of the filming process and full of information about the many problems of and solutions to making an animated feature. Both Anderson fans and budding animators will find this a real education. The original, rather battered, trailer is included, as are galleries of behind the scenes photos, promotional artwork and posters. Altogether it's rather FABulous. --Gary S Dalkin

  • Captain Scarlet - Complete Series Box Set [1966]Captain Scarlet - Complete Series Box Set | DVD | (17/09/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £75.99

    First broadcast in 1967, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons was the most grown-up of all Gerry Anderson's SuperMarionation adventures. There are gadgets and toy-friendly machines galore, of course--like the Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle, the Angel Aircraft and Cloudbase itself--but, unlike the colourful fantasies of Stingray and Thunderbirds, this series' concern with an implacable, vengeful enemy, conspiracies and double-agents drew its inspiration from James Bond and the Cold War spy dramas of the 1960s. Special effects whiz Derek Meddings imbues the action sequences with a truly Bondian grandeur and, like the sinister Spectre of the Bond films, the Martian Mysterons seem all the more hostile for their unseen presence, their agents infiltrating every organisation dedicated to their destruction just as it seemed the Soviets were doing at the time. The indestructible Captain Scarlet is killed then resurrected every week (though not like South Park's Kenny), and more often than not the unstoppable Mysterons emerge triumphant, and always undefeated. The varied cast of Spectrum agents and their voice characterisations also aim at verisimilitude (Captain Scarlet, voiced by Francis Matt hews, sounds like a grim Cary Grant), while the puppetry is more realistic than ever. This box set contains all 32 episodes, with newly remastered picture and Dolby 5.1 surround sound. The DVD box also includes extra features on each disc, plus a sixth documentary disc, "Captain Scarlet: S.I.G.". In its new digital incarnation, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons still looks and sounds like the epitome of 60s cool. --Mark Walker

  • Breaker Morant [1980]Breaker Morant | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £6.93   |  Saving you £3.06 (44.16%)   |  RRP £9.99

    Before coming to America to make such acclaimed films as Tender Mercies and Driving Miss Daisy, Australian director Bruce Beresford made a lasting impression with this compelling courtroom drama, considered one the finest films of the Australian new wave of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Based on a true story about three soldiers in the Boer War who are served up as political scapegoats of the British Empire, the film uses a flashback structure to dramatise the courtroom testimony. It begins when the three Australian soldiers are railroaded for the justified killing of a German missionary and placed on trial for court-martial not as a matter of justice, but to mollify the German government for the sake of political expediency. Burdened with a competent but inexperienced and hopelessly disadvantaged lawyer, the soldiers realise that their fate has been sealed and the outcome of their trial is a fait accompli. Unfolding with urgent precision and a riveting focus on its well-drawn characters, Breaker Morant was the all-time box-office hit in Australia at the time of its release in 1980, and it remains one of the very best historical dramas ever made. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

  • Thunderbirds Are Go / Thunderbird Six [1966]Thunderbirds Are Go / Thunderbird Six | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.32

    Stand by for another action-packed adventure from the amazing international rescue team! Thunderbirds Are Go: The excitement begins as Zero X a 21st Century spacecraft is leaving the earth's atmosphere bound for Mars with five men on board. The craft is suddenly blasted by a mysterious explosion. Sabotage! Can the Tracy team uncover the perpetrators and save the next launch? Thunderbird Six: The trouble begins when rescue team member Alan Tracy sets out on a holida

  • Thunderbirds: Volume 4 [1965]Thunderbirds: Volume 4 | DVD | (19/07/2004) from £7.01   |  Saving you £8.98 (56.20%)   |  RRP £15.99

    Filmed in VIDECOLOR--[explosions, drum roll, music builds to a climax]--and SUPERMARIONATION"! The opening sequence of Thunderbirds is itself a masterclass in Gerry Anderson's marionette hyperbole: who else would dare to make a virtue out of the fact that (a)the show is in colour and (b) it's got puppets in it? But everything about this series really is epic: Thunderbirds is action on the grandest scale, pre-dating such high-concept Hollywood vehicles as Armaggedon by 30 years and more (the acting is better, too), and fetishising gadgets in a way that even the most excessive Bond movies could never hope to rival. Unsurprisingly, it transpires that the visual effects are by Derek Meddings, whose later contributions to Bond movies like The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker echo his pioneering model work here. As to the characters, the clean-cut Tracey boys take second place in the audience's affections to their cool machines--the real stars of the show--while comic relief is to be found in the charming company of Lady Penelope and her pink Rolls (number plate FAB1), driven by lugubrious chauffeur Parker, whose "Yes, milady" catchphrase resonated around school playgrounds for decades. (Spare a thought for poor old John Tracey, stuck up in space on Thunderbird 5 with only the radio for company.) The puppet stunt-work is breathtakingly audacious, and every week's death-defying escapade is nail-bitingly choreographed in the very best tradition of disaster movies. First shown in 1964 and now digitally remastered, Thunderbirds is children's TV that still looks and sounds like big-budget Hollywood. On this DVD: The four episodes are: "Vault of Death", "The Mighty Atom", "City of Fire" and "The Imposters". Amazon.com

  • Thunderbirds: Volume 5Thunderbirds: Volume 5 | DVD | (19/07/2004) from £9.17   |  Saving you £6.82 (74.37%)   |  RRP £15.99

    Filmed in VIDECOLOR [explosions, drum roll, music builds to a climax] and SUPERMARIONATION"! The opening sequence of Thunderbirds is itself a masterclass in Gerry Anderson's marionette hyperbole: who else would dare to make a virtue out of the fact that (a) the show is in colour and (b) it's got puppets in it? But everything about this series really is epic: Thunderbirds is action on the grandest scale, pre-dating such high-concept Hollywood vehicles as Armaggedon by 30 years and more (the acting is better, too), and fetishising gadgets in a way that even the most excessive Bond movies could never hope to rival. Unsurprisingly, it transpires that the visual effects are by Derek Meddings, whose later contributions to Bond movies like The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker echo his pioneering model work here.As to the characters, the clean-cut Tracey boys take second place in the audiences' affections to their cool machines--the real stars of the show--while comic relief is to be found in the charming company of Lady Penelope and her pink Rolls (number plate FAB1), driven by lugubrious chauffeur Parker, whose "Yes, milady" catch phrase resonated around school playgrounds for decades. (Spare a thought for poor old John Tracey, stuck up in space on Thunderbird 5 with only the radio for company.) The puppet stunt-work is breathtakingly audacious, and every week's death-defying escapade is nail-bitingly choreographed in the very best tradition of disaster movies. First shown in 1964 and now digitally remastered, Thunderbirds is children's TV that still looks and sounds like big-budget Hollywood.On this DVD: The four episodes are: "The Man from MI5", "Cry Wolf", "Danger at Ocean Deep" and "Move and You're Dead".

  • Thunderbirds: Volume 2 [1965]Thunderbirds: Volume 2 | DVD | (19/07/2004) from £4.90   |  Saving you £11.09 (226.33%)   |  RRP £15.99

    Filmed in VIDECOLOR [explosions, drum roll, music builds to a climax] and SUPERMARIONATION"! The opening sequence of Thunderbirds is itself a masterclass in Gerry Anderson's marionette hyperbole: who else would dare to make a virtue out of the fact that (a) the show is in colour and (b) it's got puppets in it? But everything about this series really is epic: Thunderbirds is action on the grandest scale, pre-dating such high-concept Hollywood vehicles as Armaggedon by 30 years and more (the acting is better, too), and fetishising gadgets in a way that even the most excessive Bond movies could never hope to rival. Unsurprisingly, it transpires that the visual effects are by Derek Meddings, whose later contributions to Bond movies like The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker echo his pioneering model work here.As to the characters, the clean-cut Tracey boys take second place in the audiences' affections to their cool machines--the real stars of the show--while comic relief is to be found in the charming company of Lady Penelope and her pink Rolls (number plate FAB1), driven by lugubrious chauffeur Parker, whose "Yes, milady" catch phrase resonated around school playgrounds for decades. (Spare a thought for poor old John Tracey, stuck up in space on Thunderbird 5 with only the radio for company.) The puppet stunt-work is breathtakingly audacious, and every week's death-defying escapade is nail-bitingly choreographed in the very best tradition of disaster movies. First shown in 1964 and now digitally remastered, Thunderbirds is children's TV that still looks and sounds like big-budget Hollywood.On this DVD: The four episodes are: "Edge of Impact", "Day of Disaster", Thirty Minutes After Noon" and "Desperate Intruder".

  • Irresistible [2006]Irresistible | DVD | (11/06/2007) from £5.93   |  Saving you £0.06 (1.01%)   |  RRP £5.99

    Sophie Hartley (Susan Sarandon) is convinced that she is being stalked. She becomes increasingly certain that her husband's (Sam Neill) beautiful co-worker Mara (Emily Blunt) wants her children her husband and her life. But no one believes Sophie. Forced to prove her sanity Sophie grows increasingly paranoid - but is she imagining things? Sophie becomes completely caught up in her obsession turning stalker herself - and makes a discovery more frightening than her worst fear.

  • Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons - Vol. 2 - Episodes 7 To 12 [1966]Captain Scarlet And The Mysterons - Vol. 2 - Episodes 7 To 12 | DVD | (17/09/2001) from £9.42   |  Saving you £6.57 (69.75%)   |  RRP £15.99

    First broadcast in 1967, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons was the most grown-up of all Gerry Anderson's SuperMarionation adventures. There are gadgets and toy-friendly machines galore, of course--like the Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle, the Angel Aircraft and Cloudbase itself--but, unlike the colourful fantasies of Stingray and Thunderbirds, this series' concern with an implacable, vengeful enemy, conspiracies and double-agents drew its inspiration from James Bond and the Cold War spy dramas of the 1960s. Special effects whiz Derek Meddings imbues the action sequences with a truly Bondian grandeur and, like the sinister Spectre of the Bond films, the Martian Mysterons seem all the more hostile for their unseen presence, their agents infiltrating every organisation dedicated to their destruction just as it seemed the Soviets were doing at the time. The indestructible Captain Scarlet is killed then resurrected every week (though not like South Park's Kenny), and more often than not the unstoppable Mysterons emerge triumphant, and always undefeated. The varied cast of Spectrum agents and their voice characterisations also aim at verisimilitude (Captain Scarlet, voiced by Francis Matt hews, sounds like a grim Cary Grant), while the puppetry is more realistic than ever. Now with newly remastered picture and Dolby 5.1 surround sound, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons still looks and sounds like the epitome of 60s cool. --Mark Walker

  • Thunderbirds: Volume 1 [1965]Thunderbirds: Volume 1 | DVD | (19/07/2004) from £5.46   |  Saving you £10.53 (192.86%)   |  RRP £15.99

    Filmed in VIDECOLOR [explosions, drum roll, music builds to a climax] and SUPERMARIONATION"! The opening sequence of Thunderbirds is itself a masterclass in Gerry Anderson's marionette hyperbole: who else would dare to make a virtue out of the fact that (a) the show is in colour and (b) it's got puppets in it? But everything about this series really is epic: Thunderbirds is action on the grandest scale, pre-dating such high-concept Hollywood vehicles as Armaggedon by 30 years and more (the acting is better, too), and fetishising gadgets in a way that even the most excessive Bond movies could never hope to rival. Unsurprisingly, it transpires that the visual effects are by Derek Meddings, whose later contributions to Bond movies like The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker echo his pioneering model work here. As to the characters, the clean-cut Tracey boys take second place in the audiences' affections to their cool machines--the real stars of the show--while comic relief is to be found in the charming company of Lady Penelope and her pink Rolls (number plate FAB1), driven by lugubrious chauffeur Parker, whose "Yes, milady" catchphrase resonated around school playgrounds for decades. (Spare a thought for poor old John Tracey, stuck up in space on Thunderbird 5 with only the radio for company.) The puppet stunt-work is breathtakingly audacious, and every week's death-defying escapade is nailbitingly choreographed in the very best tradition of disaster movies. First shown in 1964 and now digitally remastered, Thunderbirds is children's TV that still looks and sounds like big-budget Hollywood. On this DVD: International Rescue's very first adventure provides a template for all the rest: in "Trapped in the Sky" an experimental new aircraft becomes the target of an evil Bond-style megalomaniac who wants to get his hands on all the neat pieces of kit operated by the Tracey siblings. The show introduces, in fetishistic detail, the recurring set-pieces: Thunderbird 1 taking off from the roll-back swimming pool, which pod will Thunderbird 2 use this week--the mole or the submarine perhaps?--and so on. Nostalgia fans will be pleased to learn that despite digital remastering the puppet strings are still in evidence, and no amount of high-tech restoration could remove the clunky expository dialogue: Stewardess: "It's the maiden flight of the new atomic-powered Fireflash." Passenger: "Isn't that the new aircraft that flies six times the speed of sound?" Stewardess: "That's right, but don't worry: it's perfectly safe." [Cut to: interior, Fireflash landing gear, a device clearly labelled "Auto-Bomb Detonator Unit"] Sinister bad guy (talking to himself for no readily apparent reason): "Perfect. Enough explosives to smash the Atomic Reactor." In the second episode, "Pit of Peril", an absurdly impractical US Army vehicle falls into the eponymous pit, necessitating use of pod five, the mole. Joy! Lady Penelope indulges in some James-Bond-style counter-espionage measures in the third episode, "The Perils of Penelope", while Parker indulges some of his famous Eliza Dolittle-isms; although he is trumped by the Cary Grant sound-a-like character Sir Jeremy Hodge (or 'odge as Parker would have it), whose response to a crisis is, "I say, open the door, we're British!". Then it's back to the action for the fourth episode, "Terror in New York City", in which poor Virgil is shot down by the US Navy in Thunderbird 2 before the boys must rescue an unscrupulous newshound from the wreckage of the Empire State Building (featuring the first appearance of their very own yellow submarine, Thunderbird 4) --Mark Walker

  • Emergancy Ward 10 Vol. 1Emergancy Ward 10 Vol. 1 | DVD | (31/03/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £39.99

    Set in the fictitious Oxbridge General Hospital Emergency - Ward 10 concentrated as much on the private lives of the staff as it did on their jobs setting the template for today's modern medical soaps. It also introduced the viewers to medical procedures earning praise from the British Medical Council for helping to allay the public's fears of hospitals. This series no longer exists in its entirety; included in this set are 24 of the earliest surviving episodes from 1959 and 1960: 247 - 30 June 1959 254 - 24 July 1959 255 - 28 July 1959 260 - 14 August 1959 261 - 18 August 1959 262 - 21 August 1959 263 - TX 25 August 1959 265 - TX 1 September 1959 266 - TX 4 September 1959 268 - TX 11 September 1959 269 - TX 15 September 1959 270 - TX 18 September 1959 385 - TX 25 October 1960 386 - TX 28 October 1960 387 - TX 1 November 1960 388 - TX 4 November 1960 389 - TX 8 November 1960 390 - TX 11 November 1960 392 - TX 18 November 1960 393 - TX 22 November 1960 394 - TX 25 November 1960 396 - TX 2 December 1960 397 - TX 6 December 1960 399 - TX 13 December 1960

  • Dracula, Prince Of Darkness [1965]Dracula, Prince Of Darkness | DVD | (23/10/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

    Ignoring a strange warning a young party travelling to the Carpathian Mountains are abandoned by their coachman. Their luck changes however when another mysterious coach appears and delivers them to the hospitality of Count Dracula...

  • Catweazle - Series 1Catweazle - Series 1 | DVD | (23/05/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

    Catweazle the all-time children's classic appears for the first time on DVD! Geoffrey Bayldon stars as the eleventh century magician Catweazle who escaped from soldiers through time to find himself nine centuries into the future. His magic is very hit-and-miss and it is compounded by his inability to deal with the trappings of modern-day life such as electricity (""electrickery"") and the telephone (""telling bone""). Catweazle is befriended by a farmer's son and they share a numbe

  • Emergency Ward 10 Volume 2Emergency Ward 10 Volume 2 | DVD | (14/01/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

    Set in the fictitious Oxbridge General Hospital Emergency - Ward 10 concentrated as much on the private lives of the staff as it did on their jobs setting the template for today's modern medical soaps. It also introduced the viewers to medical procedures earning praise from the British Medical Council for helping to allay the public's fears of hospitals.

  • Bitter Springs [DVD]Bitter Springs | DVD | (29/06/2020) from £6.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

    A dramatic Australia-filmed production from Ealing Studios, this rip-roaring adventure stars Chips Rafferty and Tommy Trinder in a memorable tale of the hardships endured by a pioneer family in the early 1900s. Featuring stunning cinematography of Australia s iconic Flinders Ranges, Bitter Springs is presented here as a brand-new remaster from original film elements in its original fullscreen aspect ratio. Crossing 600 hazardous miles of desert and mountainous territory in search of new grazing land, Wally King and his family are shocked to find that the nearest permanent waterhole is home to a tribe of aborigines. Conflict soon arises.

  • Thunderbirds: Volume 3 [1965]Thunderbirds: Volume 3 | DVD | (19/07/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

    Filmed in VIDECOLOR [explosions, drum roll, music builds to a climax] and SUPERMARIONATION"! The opening sequence of Thunderbirds is itself a masterclass in Gerry Anderson's marionette hyperbole: who else would dare to make a virtue out of the fact that (a) the show is in colour and (b) it's got puppets in it? But everything about this series really is epic: Thunderbirds is action on the grandest scale, pre-dating such high-concept Hollywood vehicles as Armaggedon by 30 years and more (the acting is better, too), and fetishising gadgets in a way that even the most excessive Bond movies could never hope to rival. Unsurprisingly, it transpires that the visual effects are by Derek Meddings, whose later contributions to Bond movies like The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker echo his pioneering model work here.As to the characters, the clean-cut Tracey boys take second place in the audiences' affections to their cool machines--the real stars of the show--while comic relief is to be found in the charming company of Lady Penelope and her pink Rolls (number plate FAB1), driven by lugubrious chauffeur Parker, whose "Yes, milady" catch phrase resonated around school playgrounds for decades. (Spare a thought for poor old John Tracey, stuck up in space on Thunderbird 5 with only the radio for company.) The puppet stunt-work is breathtakingly audacious, and every week's death-defying escapade is nail-bitingly choreographed in the very best tradition of disaster movies. First shown in 1964 and now digitally remastered, Thunderbirds is children's TV that still looks and sounds like big-budget Hollywood.On this DVD: The four episodes are: "End of the Road", "The Uninvited", "Sun Probe" and "Operation Crash Dive".

  • Dracula Prince Of Darkness [1966]Dracula Prince Of Darkness | DVD | (29/10/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

    As the third in what became a series of eight, Prince of Darkness was distinguished among the Hammer Dracula movies for several reasons. It was the third and last directed by Terence Fisher and his familiarity with the mythos and studio practices meant the rushed production still came out looking spectacular in places. Moving into the tail end of the 1960s, Hammer looked for ways of cost cutting: the film's dramatic finale on a frozen river takes place on a two-for-one set being used simultaneously for another shoot. This was also the series entry that included a substitute for the Renfield character missing from the first movie. Thorley Walters as Ludwig is a colourful cameo and that's also all that can be said of Christopher Lee. Despite top billing, the mute monster occupies but a fraction of the overall on-screen time. The real frights come from gaunt butler Klove who scares the life (literally) out of hapless travellers Alan, Charles, Helen and Diana. Surely their fate would ensure no-one else took the mountain pass to Carlsbad? But only two years later, audiences discovered Dracula Has Risen from the Grave. On the DVD: apart from scene access there's nothing making use of the DVD format here. The 2.55:1 presentation is certainly welcome, and the mono audio somehow feels appropriate. --Paul Tonks

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