"Actor: Claude Gensac"

• The Flashing Blade | DVD | (24/09/2001) from £15.98   |  Saving you £11.00 (78.63%)   |  RRP £24.99

  The Flashing Blade is a tale of high adventure set in 1630 as the dashing Chevalier de Recci (Robert Etcheverry) undertakes a dangerous mission across occupied territory to avert war between France and Spain. This 13-episode serial was made for French television in 1967, and in dubbed form regularly shown on the BBC during school holidays from 1969 through the 1970s (usually when 1965's Adventures of Robinson Crusoe was having a rest). This release is aimed at that generation who, from the spine-tingling theme song onward, remember the show with tremendous affection. Like the classic Hollywood movie serials, each 23-minute episode packs in a couple of action sequences; some plot twists, a little comic relief and very variable acting and costumes. For a children's programme the story is remarkably complex, and takes a while to gather pace. The colours have faded, the use of classical music is clumsy, but the dubbing is surprisingly accomplished. The swashbuckling action is at odds with the more serious historical drama, but viewed with nostalgia The Flashing Blade is thoroughly entertaining vintage TV. --Gary S Dalkin

• The Wing and the Thigh | DVD | (16/08/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.62

  In this comedy Louis de Funes is a top restaurant critic the head of an important French culinary guide. At the beginning of the film he and his son (Coluche) are at odds as the son prefers working as a circus clown to studying the fine arts of gastronomy. The two join forces however to thwart the greedy owner of a chain of inferior restaurants who plans to take over the finest restaurants in France and substitute his formulaic fodder for real cooking. Another lure bringing the son into the picture is a lovely secretary working for the guide.