"Actor: Don Ameche"

• Trading Places | DVD | (02/12/2002) from £4.99   |  Saving you £8.00 (160.32%)   |  RRP £12.99

  In this crowd-pleasing 1983 comedy of high finance about a homeless con artist who becomes a Wall Street robber baron, Eddie Murphy consolidated the success of his startling debut in the previous year's 48 Hours and polished his slick-winner persona. The turnabout begins with an argument between super-rich siblings, played by Ralph Bellamy and Don Ameche: are captains of industry, they wonder, born or made? To settle the issue, the meanies construct a cruel experiment in social Darwinism. Preppie commodities trader Dan Aykroyd (perfectly cast) is stripped of all his worldly goods and expelled from the firm, and Murphy's smelly derelict is appointed to take his place, graduating to tailored suits and a world-class harem in record time. Eventually the two men team up to teach the nasty old manipulators a lesson, cornering the market in frozen orange juice futures in the process. Director John Landis (The Blues Brothers) doesn't have the world's lightest touch, but he hits most of the jokes hard and quite a few of them pay off. Trading Places is also a landmark film for fans of Jamie Lee Curtis. --David Chute, Amazon.com

• Midnight (Criterion Collection) - UK Only | Blu Ray | (14/07/2025) from £22.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Screwball comedy doesn't get any more effortlessly elegant and gleefully irreverent than this roulette wheel of romantic deception, gleaming with cunning wit and Continental élan. A couture-clad Claudette Colbert is divine as a penniless American chorus girl who crashes Parisian high society by posing as a wealthy Hungarian baronessbut both a scheming nobleman (John Barrymore) and a smitten taxi driver (Don Ameche) are soon on to her game. Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett's sophisticated scripta typically subversive blend of fairy-tale escapism and caustic social observationand the pitch-perfect direction of master craftsman Mitchell Leisen yield a topsy-turvy Cinderella story with a cynical bite. BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack New audio commentary featuring author and film critic Michael Koresky New program featuring audio excerpts of a 1969 interview with director Mitchell Leisen Lux Radio Theatre adaptation of the film from 1940 Trailer English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing PLUS: An essay by film critic David Cairns New cover by Abigail Giuseppe

• Harry and the Hendersons | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  When you can't believe your eyes trust your heart. When an average American family meets a legendary creature the fur is sure to fly. After John Lithgow's car accidentally hits 'Harry' his life is turned upside down when he makes friends with a real-life Bigfoot. It's a race against time to get Harry back to his natural environment in this hilarious comedy for the entire family. Incidentally Harry won the Oscar for his outstanding make-up at the 1988 Academy Awards. Harry's good friend Rick Baker picked up the statuette on his behalf!

• Trading Places | Blu Ray | (05/12/2022) from £6.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  The very rich and extremely greedy Duke Brothers (Don Ameche and Ralph Bellamy) wager a bet over whether born-loser Billy Ray Valentine (Eddie Murphy) could become as successful as the priggish Louis Winthorpe III (Dan Aykroyd) if circumstances were reversed. So begins one of the funniest, most outrageous comedies of the '80s, cementing Eddie Murphy's superstar status. Alongside the street-smarts of Ophelia (Jamie Lee Curtis), Winthorpe and Valentine are a trio ready for a riotous revenge that culminates on the commodities trading floor in New York City. Trading Places is presented here newly remastered from a 4K film transfer, under the supervision of director John Landis. Product Features New Filmmaker Focus: Director John Landis on Trading Places HD Insider Trading: The Making of Trading Places Dressing the Part The Trade in Trading Places Trading Stories Industry Promotional Piece Deleted Scene with commentary by Executive Producer George Folsey, Jr. Deleted Scene Isolated Score Theatrical Trailer

• Harry and the Hendersons | Blu Ray | (22/02/2021) from £10.35   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  The Henderson family adopt a friendly Sasquatch but have a hard time trying to keep the legend of 'Bigfoot' a secret.

• Cocoon / Cocoon The Return | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £12.55   |  Saving you £2.44 (19.44%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Cocoon: A group of senior citizens residing in a rest home find their lives turned upside down after they are offered the gift of eternal youth by benevolent aliens in Ron Howard's wonderful tribute to the human spirit. Brian Dennehy is Walter an alien who returns to earth to rescue 20 of his friends now hibernating in cocoons off the coast of Florida. With the help of a charter boat captain (Steve Guttenberg) the cocoons are stored in a deserted swimming pool. When three men

• Trading Places 4K UHD | Blu Ray | (06/11/2023) from £19.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  The very rich and extremely greedy Duke brothers (Don Ameche and Ralph Bellamy) wager a bet over whether born loser Billy Ray Valentine (Eddie Murphy) could become as successful as the priggish Louis Winthorpe III (Dan Aykroyd) if circumstances were reversed. So begins one of the funniest, most outrageous comedies of the '80s, cementing Eddie Murphy's superstar status. Joining up with street smart Ophelia (Jamie Lee Curtis), Winthorpe and Valentine form a trio ready for a riotous revenge on the commodities trading floor in New York City. Trading Places is presented here for the first time ever in 4K ULTRA HD™, under the supervision of director John Landis. Product Features Filmmaker Focus: Director John Landis on Trading Places Deleted Scene Deleted Scene with commentary by Executive Producer George Folsey, Jr. Insider Trading: The Making of Trading Places Dressing the Part The Trade in Trading Places Trading Stories Industry Promotional Piece

• Oscar | DVD | (22/02/2005) from £6.99   |  Saving you £8.00 (114.45%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Anchor Bay presents seven films from Showtime's much-anticipated Masters Of Horror series!

• Cocoon (1985) (30th Anniversary Special Edition) (Blu-ray) | Blu Ray | (18/07/2016) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  In 1985 Cocoon was a significant trend-bucker amongst summer blockbusters. Whereas other genre efforts were devised to lure a teenage audience into FX extravaganzas, this looked like one for their grandparents. Except that it turned out to be a gentle, affecting tale for all ages. Adapted from David Saperstein's novel, director Ron Howard took great delight in focusing on family relationships and the encroachment of old age (themes that reappeared in nearly all his work from here on). The plot is rather surreal in summary: a group of Florida OAPs befriend aliens in next-door's swimming pool and are rejuvenated to youthful well-being. It's in the FX and characterisations that the story comes alive. Both were acknowledged with Academy Awards; with Don Ameche's supporting role deserving praise for more than just the moment when he does some bodypopping on the dance floor. Wilford Brimley is the real star, a bluff old codger wanting to do right by everyone. Steve Guttenberg provides comic support and allows for a little non-wrinkly nudity with foxy space gal Kitty (Tahnee Welch). ILM's visuals remain polished and inspired, but never allowing us to lose sight of the characters basking in their dazzle. --Paul Tonks

• Harry And The Hendersons | DVD | (01/09/2008) from £8.22   |  Saving you £4.77 (58.03%)   |  RRP £12.99

  When an average American family meets a legendary creature the fur is sure to fly. After John Lithgow's car accidentally hits 'Harry' his life is turned upside down when he makes friends with a real-life Bigfoot. It's a race against time to get Harry back to his natural environment in this hilarious comedy for the entire family. Incidentally Harry won the Oscar for his outstanding make-up at the 1988 Academy Awards. Harry's good friend Rick Baker picked up the statuette on his beha

• Trading Places | DVD | (04/06/2007) from £20.00   |  Saving you £-7.01 (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Eddie Murphy established himself as a comedy superstar in his role as streetwise hustler Billy Ray Valentine. Fellow Saturday Night Live alumnus Dan Aykroyd co-stars as Louis Winthorpe III a wealthy investment executive at Duke Brothers a Wall Street firm. The fun begins when the rich and greedy Duke Brothers (Don Ameche and Ralph Bellamy) wager a bet over whether born loser Valentine could become as successful as the priggish Winthorpe if circumstances are reversed. The Dukes have the money to make this happen but when Valentine and Winthorpe catch on they arrange for a rich and riotous payback!

• Corrina, Corrina | DVD | (30/06/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  In Corrina, Corrina Ray Liotta plays a 1950s jingle composer whose wife dies, leaving him to raise their grieving young daughter (Tina Majorino) alone. Dad hires an African-American housekeeper (Whoopi Goldberg), who helps fill the gap in the child's life--and then Dad's life. Soon an interracial relationship crossing the social mores of the era is underway. Written and directed by Jessie Nelson (The Story of Us), the film is a spot-on recreation of 1950s suburbia without gratuitous kitsch. Liotta is perfect as a working man of the day, given to white shirts and narrow ties; Goldberg gives one of her finest performances as the level-headed Corrina; and little Majorino is heartbreakingly effective. But the film entirely bears the stamp of one person, and that's Nelson, who has a wonderfully witty eye and a sophisticated but sensitive approach to the crosscurrents of emotion at play in this story. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com

• Columbo - Series 1 | DVD | (13/09/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £34.99

  TV detective fans rejoice: Peter Falk's rumpled and infallible Lt. Columbo joins the DVD precinct with a five-disc set that features the detective's first nine appearances for NBC. Though Falk as Columbo (no first name) made his TV debut in 1967, the detective had actually first appeared on an episode of the 1960-61 Chevy Mystery Show (Bert Freed played the role) written by veteran TV scribes Richard Levinson and William Link (The Fugitive, Alfred Hitchcock Presents). The pair turned the episode into a stage play titled Prescription: Murder, which was adapted into a TV movie in 1967 with Falk in the lead. NBC greenlit a two-hour Columbo pilot (Ransom for a Dead Man) in 1971, and the series was launched that fall as part of the NBC Sunday Mystery Movie, a rotating 90-minute program that alternated Columbo with episodes of MacMillan and Wife and McCloud (another Levinson/Link creation). Viewers were quickly won over by Falk's shrewd performance as he matched wits with a host of exceptional guest stars (including Gene Barry, Patrick McGoohan, and others), all of whom assumed that the disheveled detective would never figure out their "perfect crimes"; the popularity and quality of the original series allows Falk to continue to don the trenchcoat some 30 years later for occasional Columbo TV movies. All seven 90-minute episodes of the 1971-72 debut season are included here, along with Prescription: Murder and Ransom for a Dead Man; unfortunately, as the lieutenant himself would say, "Oh, just one more thing"--no extras are included in the set, but having these fine TV mysteries in one set should be reward enough for armchair sleuths. --Paul Gaita

• Heaven Can Wait | DVD | (05/11/2012) from £8.36   |  Saving you £1.63 (19.50%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Newly deceased playboy Henry Van Cleve (Don Ameche) presents himself to the outer offices of Hades, where he asks a bemused Satan for permission to enter the gates of hell. Though the Devil doubts Henry's sins will qualify him for eternal damnation, Henry proceeds to recount a lifetime spent wooing and pursuing women, his long, happy marriage to Martha (Gene Tierney) not withstanding. Nominated for Academy Awards for best picture and director, Heaven Can Wait is an enduring cl...

• Cocoon | DVD | (30/06/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  In 1985 Cocoon was a significant trend-bucker amongst summer blockbusters. Whereas other genre efforts were devised to lure a teenage audience into FX extravaganzas, this looked like one for their grandparents. Except that it turned out to be a gentle, affecting tale for all ages. Adapted from David Saperstein's novel, director Ron Howard took great delight in focusing on family relationships and the encroachment of old age (themes that reappeared in nearly all his work from here on). The plot is rather surreal in summary: a group of Florida OAPs befriend aliens in next-door's swimming pool and are rejuvenated to youthful well-being. It's in the FX and characterisations that the story comes alive. Both were acknowledged with Academy Awards; with Don Ameche's supporting role deserving praise for more than just the moment when he does some bodypopping on the dance floor. Wilford Brimley is the real star, a bluff old codger wanting to do right by everyone. Steve Guttenberg provides comic support and allows for a little non-wrinkly nudity with foxy space gal Kitty (Tahnee Welch). ILM's visuals remain polished and inspired, but never allowing us to lose sight of the characters basking in their dazzle. --Paul Tonks

• That Night in Rio | DVD | (24/09/2012) from £6.10   |  Saving you £3.89 (63.77%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Have a rendezvous with music and gaiety! An entertainer (Ameche) in Rio impersonates a wealthy arisocrat (also Ameche). When the aristocrat's wife (Faye) asks him to carry the impersonation further, complications ensue.

• Things Change (Standard Edition) | Blu Ray | (26/06/2023) from £9.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Written and directed by David Mamet (Oleanna), the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright known for his intense dramas, Things Change is a charming, expertly crafted 'mistaken identity' comedy. The Mob force unassuming shoe-shine man Gino (Don Ameche, Trading Places) into taking the hit for a murder he didn't commit. The pay-off? A fishing boat in Sicily when he gets out. Small-time crook Jerry (Joe Mantegna, House of Games) takes Gino on one last jaunt to Lake Tahoe before his term begins, but, when Gino is mistaken for a major league gangster, the duo soon fall prey to local hoodlums... An unexpected change of pace for Mamet, Things Change benefits from an intelligent, witty script and superb central performances from Ameche and Mantegna, who received Best Actor awards at the Venice Film Festival for their efforts. Product Features High Definition remaster Original mono audio Engineering Things (2021, 21 mins): acclaimed writer-director David Mamet reminisces about his career and the making of Things Change Things Happen (2021, 30 mins): actor Joe Mantegna on working with Mamet and Don Ameche Melodies for Mamet (2021, 17 mins): composer Alaric Rokko Jans describes the process of scoring Things Change, and his other collaborations with Mamet Life As It Could Be (2021, 10 mins): appreciation by comedian, musician and writer Rob Deering Original theatrical trailer Image gallery: promotional and publicity materials New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

• Down Argentine Way | DVD | (17/04/2006) from £3.99   |  Saving you £9.00 (225.56%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Irresistible songs and lavish musical numbers give a staccato beat to the romantic adventures of Betty Grable and Don Ameche in this Technicolor extravaganza. Everyone goes south of the border in this comic tale of horseracing with lots of romance and nightclubbing tossed in. Glenda (Grable) wants to buy a horse from Ricardo (Ameche). But because their families have been feuding for years Ricardo's father refuses. But in true Romeo and Juliet fashion the two fall in love. Carmen

• Eddie Murphy Box Set - Trading Places / Coming To America | DVD | (20/10/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Eddie Murphy's 1988 vehicle Coming to America was probably the point at which his status as a mainstream big-screen comedian finally gelled, following the highly successful 48 Hours pairing with Nick Nolte. Never mind the hackneyed storyline: under John Landis's tight direction, he turns in a star performance (and several brilliant cameos) that is disciplined and extremely funny. Murphy plays an African prince who comes to New York officially to sow his wild oats. Privately, he is seeking a bride he can marry for love rather than one chosen by his parents. With his companion (Arsenio Hall, who pushes Murphy all the way in the comedy stakes), he settles in the borough of Queens and takes a job in a hamburger joint. A succession of hilarious satire-barbed adventures ensue, plus the required romantic conclusion. The script is crammed with ripe one-liners , but "Freeze, you diseased rhinoceros pizzle" has to be the most devastating hold-up line of all time. Film buffs will appreciate a brief appearance by Don Ameche as a down-and-out, but this is Murphy's film and he generates warmth enough to convert the most ambivalent viewer. On the DVD: The only--rather pointless--extra on offer is the original theatrical trailer which adds nothing apart from a rapid recap of the story. But the 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen presentation (the picture quality is diamond sharp) and Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack recreate the original authentic cinematic experience. The choreography of 1980s pop diva Paula Abdul in the lavish wedding scenes and Nile Rodgers' pounding musical score are the main beneficiaries. --Piers Ford

• Things Change (Limited Edition) | Blu Ray | (22/03/2021) from £15.00   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Written and directed by David Mamet (Oleanna), the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright known for his intense dramas, Things Change is a charming, expertly crafted 'mistaken identity' comedy. The Mob force unassuming shoe-shine man Gino (Don Ameche, Trading Places) into taking the hit for a murder he didn't commit. The pay-off? A fishing boat in Sicily when he gets out. Small-time crook Jerry (Joe Mantegna, House of Games) takes Gino on one last jaunt to Lake Tahoe before his term begins, but, when Gino is mistaken for a major league gangster, the duo soon fall prey to local hoodlums An unexpected change of pace for Mamet, Things Change benefits from an intelligent, witty script and superb central performances from Ameche and Mantegna, who received Best Actor awards at the Venice Film Festival for their efforts. Extras High Definition remaster Original stereo audio New interview with writer-director David Mamet New interview with actor Joe Mantegna New Interview with actor William H Macy New Interview with composer Alaric Jans Original theatrical trailer Image gallery: promotional and publicity materials Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Ellen Cheshire, an archival production report, extracts from interviews with David Mamet and Don Ameche, an overview of contemporary critical responses and film credits World premiere on Blu-ray Limited edition of 3,000 copies All extras subject to change