"Actor: Donald Pleasence"

• Look Back In Anger | DVD | (31/08/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Look Back In Anger

• The Great Escape - World Cup Special Edition | DVD | (20/05/2002) from £10.99   |  Saving you £12.00 (109.19%)   |  RRP £22.99

  A stirring example of courage and the indomitable human spirit, for many John Sturges' The Great Escape is both the definitive World War II drama and the nonpareil prison escape movie. Featuring an unequalled ensemble cast in a rivetingly authentic true-life scenario set to Elmer Bernstein's admirable music (who writes contrapuntal march themes these days?), this picture is both a template for subsequent action-adventure movies and one of the last glories of Golden Age Hollywood. Reunited with the director who made him a star in The Magnificent Seven Steve McQueen presents a career-defining performance as the laconic Hilts, the baseball-loving, motorbike-riding "Cooler King". The rest of the all-male Anglo-American cast--Dickie Attenborough, Donald Pleasance, James Garner, Charles Bronson, David McCallum, James Coburn and Gordon Jackson--make the most of their meaty roles (though you have to forgive Coburn his Australian accent). Closely based on Paul Brickhill's book, the various escape attempts, scrounging, forging and ferreting activities are authentically realised thanks also to the presence of technical advisor Wally Flood on set, one of the original tunnel-digging POWs. Sturges orchestrates the climactic mass break-out with total conviction, giving us both high action and very poignant human drama. Without trivialising the grim reality, The Great Escape thrillingly celebrates the heroism of men who never gave up the fight. On the DVD: The Great Escape World Cup Special Edition includes all the features of the two-disc special edition, plus a full-size St George's Cross England flag, a feature on England footballers' World Cup memories and World Cup-themed packaging. --Mark Walker

• THX 1138 | Blu Ray | (18/10/2010) from £9.75   |  Saving you £8.24 (84.51%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Robert Duvall is THX-1138 a humble worker in a soulless sprawling subterranean society where each person has a number not a name sex is outlawed and laws are enforced by constant surveillance and sinister silver faced androids. His discovery that there is more to life than the state-required drug stupor and the loss of his mate to a sinister technician finally gives him the courage to recover from his nightmare world. Using strong visuals and astonishing sound effects to heighten the gripping story George Lucas gave the world advance notice of his formidable talent with his classic debut feature THX-1138 adapted from his award-winning short film with the encouragement of none other than Francis Ford Coppola. Made in 1971 THX-1138 marked the stunning debut of one of the screen's most innovative filmmakers and was produced by Francis Ford Coppola and his revolutionary American Zoetrope studios at the height of the American independent movement.

• The Great Escape - Special Edition | DVD | (04/12/2006) from £6.20   |  Saving you £13.79 (222.42%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The all time classic tale of a massive escape from a World War Two German Prisoner of War camp released as a two disc DVD set with a host of extra features.

• Fantastic Voyage | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £6.99   |  Saving you £3.00 (42.92%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Fantastic Voyage is the original psychedelic inner-space adventure. When a brilliant scientist falls into a coma with an inoperable blood clot in the brain, a surgical team embarks on a top-secret journey to the centre of the mind in a high-tech military submarine shrunk to microbial dimensions. Stephen Boyd stars as a colourless commander sent to keep an eye on things (though his eyes stay mostly on shapely medical assistant Raquel Welch), while Donald Pleasance is suitably twitchy as the claustrophobic medical consultant. The science is shaky at best, but the imaginative spectacle is marvellous: scuba-diving surgeons battle white blood cells, tap the lungs to replenish the oxygen supply, and shoot the aorta like daredevil surfers. The film took home a well-deserved Oscar for Best Visual Effects. Director Richard Fleischer, who had previously turned Disney's 1954 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea into one of the most riveting submarine adventures of all time, creates a picture so taut with cold-war tensions and cloak-and-dagger secrecy that niggling scientific contradictions (such as, how do miniaturised humans breathe full-sized air molecules?) seem moot. --Sean Axmaker

• Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers | DVD | (18/02/2019) from £6.73   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  TEN YEARS AGO, HE CHANGED THE FACE OF HALLOWEEN. TONIGHT, HE'S BACK. A decade ago, he butchered 16 people trying to get to his sister. He was shot and incinerated, but still the entity that Dr. Sam Loomis (the legendary Donald Pleasence) calls Evil on two legs would not die. Tonight, Michael Myers has come home again to kill! This time, Michael returns to Haddonfield for Jamie Lloyd (Danielle Harris of HALLOWEEN 5 and THE LAST BOY SCOUT) the orphaned daughter of Laurie Strode and her babysitter Rachel (Ellie Cornell of HALLOWEEN 5 and HOUSE OF THE DEAD). Can Loomis stop Michael before the unholy slaughter reaches his innocent young niece? Michael Pataki, Sasha Jenson and Kathleen Kinmont co-star in this smash sequel that marked the long-awaited return to the original storyline and remains infamous for its startling twist ending and graphic violence.

• You Only Live Twice | DVD | (03/11/2003) from £6.00   |  Saving you £7.25 (152.95%)   |  RRP £11.99

  The film boasts the best of the Bond title songs (this one sung on a dreamy track by Nancy Sinatra), but the movie itself is one of the weaker ones of the Sean Connery phase of the 007 franchise. The story concerns an effort by the evil organisation SPECTRE to start a world war, but the not-so-super villain behind the plot is the awfully civilised Donald Pleasence. The thin script is by Roald Dahl (shouldn't we have expected a better Bond nemesis from the creator of mad genius Willy Wonka?), and direction is by British veteran Lewis Gilbert (Alfie). But the movie can't hold a candle to Dr. No, From Russia with Love, or Goldfinger. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.comOn the DVD: This was another troubled production according to the insightful "making of" documentary: director and producers luckily avoided boarding a plane out of Tokyo that crashed and killed everyone on board; the Japanese actresses couldn't speak English and one threatened suicide if she was dropped from the part; and the aerial cameraman filming the helicopter fight had his leg sliced off by a rotor blade. Maurice Binder's evocative main title designs are the subject of the second documentary, "Silhouettes", in which his colleagues voiceboth their admiration of his art and frustration at his chaotic working practices. The commentary is another edited selection of interviews with principal cast and crew. An animated storyboard sequence, trailers, radio spots and a handsome booklet add up to another winning entry in this series. --Mark Walker

• Cul-De-Sac: Digitally Remastered | DVD | (26/07/2010) from £9.45   |  Saving you £8.54 (90.37%)   |  RRP £17.99

  A mismatched couple (he effeminate and petulant she sensual and enigmatic) share a bizarre sexual relationship living in a remote castle. Their very isolation from the world prevents their eccentric partnership from foundering. Only an outsider can disrupt their make-believe lifestyle. That disruption arrives in the belligerent form of Richard and Albert two oddball gangsters straight out of a 1940's film noir wounded desperate and on the run. They demand shelter and as Richard waits for instructions from his gangland boss he slips into a dangerous round of game-playing with his unwilling hosts. But it seems that Richard is not always to have the upper hand...

• Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers | DVD | (18/02/2019) from £6.89   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  MICHAEL LIVES. AND THIS TIME, THEY'RE READY! Because Hell would not have him, Michael Myers survived the mine explosion thought to have killed him. One year later, his traumatized young niece Jamie (Danielle Harris of HALLOWEEN 4) is horrified to discover she has a telepathic bond with her evil Uncle and that Uncle Michael is on his way back to Haddonfield. But Dr. Loomis (the late, great Donald Pleasence) has a new plan to destroy The Boogey Man in his childhood home using Jamie as bait. Tonight, the carnage begins again: Michael Myers is back with a vengeance! Ellie Cornell and Beau Starr return for this hit sequel that features grisly gore by K.N.B. EFX Group (ARMY OF DARKNESS, SCREAM, HOSTEL).

• Kidnapped | Blu Ray | (01/02/2021) from £15.19   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Based on the novels by Robert Louis Stevenson and directed by Oscar-winning Delbert Mann, this epic, star-studded adventure sees Michael Caine in the role of a Jacobite rebel who befriends an orphan fleeing a life of slavery. A strong drama with a moving score from Roy Budd (and end theme sung by folk legend Mary Hopkin), Kidnapped co-stars Jack Hawkins, Donald Pleasence, Trevor Howard and Gordon Jackson. It is featured here as a brand-new High Definition restoration from original film materials in its original Panavision aspect ratio. 1746: as defeated Jacobite rebels flee government forces in the aftermath of the battle at Culloden, eighteen-year-old orphan David Balfour's attempt to claim his inheritance results in his incarceration on a slaver ship heading for the West Indies. Luckily for David the ship's captain runs afoul of Alan Breck, and both Breck and David make their bloody escape. SPECIAL FEATURES Original theatrical trailer Production featurette A Tale and a Half: 2020 Vivien Heilbron interview Archive Michael Caine interviews Image gallery

• Danger Man - Vol. 1 - Episodes 1,2,3 And 4 | DVD | (10/07/2000) from £20.00   |  Saving you £-10.01 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  In 1960, television-executive Lew Grade's ITC company inaugurated a tradition of escapist adventure/mystery shows with Danger Man, a pocket-sized take on the spy stuff strutted in fiction by Ian Fleming's as-yet-unfilmed James Bond books. The versatile Patrick McGoohan took the lead role of John Drake, a daring spy for the NATO powers. This first, half-hour incarnation of the show (that would be known in the US as Secret Agent) concentrated on tight little plots executed at a rapid pace. McGoohan proved as adept in the numerous fight scenes and he was at spitting out the hardboiled dialogue which counterpointed Edwin Astley's memorable music. Although Drake is a deliberately colourless leading man, the format of the show allowed McGoohan to go undercover each week as a different, often strange character. Later, the series came back as an hour-long programme that segued wildly into McGoohan's masterpiece, The Prisoner. Volume One includes the following episodes: "View from the Villa" (with Barbara Shelley); "Time to Kill" (with Derren Nesbitt); "Josetta"; and "The Blue Veil" (with Ferdy Mayne). --Kim Newman

• Circus of Horrors | Blu Ray | (12/10/2020) from £10.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  For the 2020 restoration of Circus of Horrors, STUDIOCANAL went back to the original camera negative which was scanned and restored in 4K to produce a brand new HD master. Dr. Rossiter botches an operation and scars his patient for life, so flees to France and into a travelling circus. Soon he is operating on disfigured women for his Temple of Beauty , but when they threaten to leave they die mysteriously. Extras: New: Interview with critic and author Kim Newman New: Interview with broadcaster Stuart Maconie Behind the scenes stills gallery Trailer

• Hell Is A City | DVD | (08/10/2012) from £8.99   |  Saving you £7.00 (77.86%)   |  RRP £15.99

  A 1960's Hammer films production, Hell Is A City is a taut, fast-paced thriller set against the grimy back streets and rain-streaked bright lights of Manchester. Stanley Baker (The Cruel Sea) stars as a tough, dedicated police inspector on the trail of a man on the run - a man who he had put away for 14 years for robbery - and who will now be sent to the gallows for murder! Clubbing a warder to death as he broke out of jail, the inspector knows now he'll stop at nothing... Special Features: Alternate Ending

• Steve McQueen Collection - The Great Escape/The Magnificent Seven/The Thomas Crown Affair/The Sand Pebbles | DVD | (19/02/2007) from £13.49   |  Saving you £-2.12 (-18.60%)   |  RRP £11.37

  The Great Escape (Dir. John Sturges 1963): One of the most ingenious and suspenseful adventure films of all time The Great Escape is a masterful collaboration between director John Sturges screenwriters James Clavell (Shogun) and W.R. Burnett and composer Elmer Bernstein. Based on a true story this film also stars Steve McQueen James Garner Charles Bronson and James Coburn. The Thomas Crown Affair (Dir. Norman Jewson 1968): Thomas Crown (Steve McQueen) is a lone wolf in chic clothing. He's a Boston tycoon who masterminds a daring bank job even though he doesn't need the money. What he needs is the thrill of the heist the adrenaline rush of not getting caught. Catching crooks is where insurance investigator Vicky Anderson (Faye Dunaway) comes in. She always gets her man. But this time she may be too much in love to give him up. McQueen and Dunaway are lovers and adversaries in a stylish cat-and-mouse thriller written by Alan R. Trustman and directed by Norman Jewison. Jewsion makes exciting use of split screen images as the action leaps from the boardroom to the boudoir the polo field to a glider cockpit. The Oscar winning Best Song (1968) ""The Windmills of Your Mind"" sets the perfect tone for the swirl of romance and intrigue... The Magnificent Seven (Dir. John Sturges 1960): Yul Brynner stars as one of seven master gunmen who aid the helpless farmers of an isolated village pitted against an army of marauding bandits in this rousing action tale based on Akira Kurosawa's classic Seven Samurai. Released in 1960 John Sturges' masterpiece garnered an Oscar nomination for Elmer Bernstein (for Best Score) and launched the film careers of Steve McQueen Charles Bronson Robert Vaughn and James Coburn. Sand Pebbles (Dir. Robert Wise 1966): It's the story of China a slumbering giant that rouses itself to the cries of its people - and of the Americans who are caught in its bloody awakening. It's the story of Frenchy (Richard Attenborough) a crewman on the USS San Pablo who kidnaps his Chinese bride from the auction block. Most of all it's the story of Jake Holman (Steve McQueen) a sailor who had given up trying to make peace with anything: including himself.

• Armchair Theatre - Volume 4 | DVD | (11/02/2013) from £13.02   |  Saving you £26.97 (207.14%)   |  RRP £39.99

  Pioneering, immensely influential and often challenging, Armchair Theatre was ITV's flagship drama anthology series. Bringing high-quality drama to the viewing public, the series easily demonstrated the network's potential to rival the BBC's drama output, with diverse and powerful plays showcasing some of Britain's most gifted writers. This set comprises twelve plays featuring performances by some of the era's most celebrated and accomplished actors - including Susannah York, Colin Blakely, Ian Holm, Irene Handl, Donald Pleasence, Terry-Thomas, Patrick Macnee, Arthur Lowe and John Le Mesurier, among many others. This volume includes early plays by both Jack Rosenthal and David Perry, and a star-studded production of Oscar Wilde's ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’.

• Jaguar Lives! | DVD | (13/09/2010) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Jaguar Lives featuring Christopher Lee (Lord of the Rings) and scenery chewing master class in screen villainy from Donald Pleasence (Halloween) is a James Bond-riffing action classic from the Halcyon days of the back street video shop. 1979 World Karate Champion Joe Lewis is the Jaguar; a man betrayed who is drawn back into the shady world of international crime fighting when a Heroin cartel sweeps to power across the Middle East and threatens to unbalance world peace. Only one man can infiltrate the borderless gang of criminal masterminds and that man is... The Jaguar. He will stop at nothing and he's ready to kill to bring down the pushers and keep the streets clean. The Jaguar - Man of Action Master of Martial Arts Lady Killer - is here to save the world again in a 70s B-Movie classic that'll blow your mind. Packed with fast cars big fights and bigger explosions Jaguar Lives is a square jawed Rollercoaster ride to wall-to-wall Kung Fu and white hot action!

• Columbo - Season 3 | DVD | (14/11/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £27.99

  Oh, just one more thing, mystery mavens--get ready to be mystified and entertained by the award-winning third season of Columbo, starring Peter Falk as the rumpled but unbeatable Lieutenant. Having taken home Emmys for outstanding limited drama and lead actor in its '71-'72 debut season, Columbo was again named best drama for its third season ('73-'74). The reason for the repeat success? The formula remained the same: intelligent, engaging scripts and direction, guest performances by top actors, and, of course, Falk at center stage as Columbo, the most unlikely of supersleuths, but unquestionably one of the sharpest (the role would later earn Falk three more Emmys between 1975 and 1990). The 10 episodes compiled in this two-disc set again feature top talent from film and television: directors include veterans Jeannot Swarc and Boris Sagal, as well as actors Nicholas Colasanto (better known as Coach from Cheers) and Ben Gazzara (Falk's frequent co-star in the films of John Cassavetes), while the season's scripts feature contributions from Stephen J. Cannell, Steven Bochco, and Larry Cohen. And in regard to co-stars, Falk matched wits with the likes of Donald Pleasance, Martin Sheen, Vincent Price, Robert Culp (in one of four turns on the series), Jose Ferrer, Ida Lupino, and in two novel but effective casting choices, Johnny Cash and hard-boiled mystery scribe Mickey Spillane. And there's even a bonus feature in the form of an episode of the spinoff series Mrs. Columbo, starring Kate Mulgrew as the Lieutenant's oft-mentioned better half. In short, it's 11 hours of solid sleuthing for armchair detectives. --Paul Gaita, Amazon.com

• The Barchester Chronicles | DVD | (30/05/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  The first two episodes of this BBC miniseries only hint at the delights to come. A lawsuit aimed at church reform in the town of Barchester forces a decent middle-aged clergyman (Donald Pleasence) into a moral crisis and a conflict with his son-in-law, a pompous archdeacon (Nigel Hawthorne, The Madness of King George). The gracefully written and acted narrative shows glimpses of dry wit--but in episode 3, the arrival of a new bishop (Clive Swift, Keeping Up Appearances), his imperious wife (Geraldine McEwan, The Magdalene Sisters), and his devious chaplain (Alan Rickman, Truly Madly Deeply, the Harry Potter movies) launches The Barchester Chronicles into a satirical power struggle all the more mesmerizing because of the smallness of the territory. The scheming of the citizens and clergy of this British town is both Byzantine and wonderfully comic as the tempestuous personalities claw and dig at each other. Rickman, in one of his first film or television roles, turns in a tour de force of oily ambition. McEwan's ferocious machinations are downright terrifying, while the sputtering Hawthorne seems constantly in danger of bursting a vein. At the center of it all is Pleasence. Making goodness compelling has always been difficult, since wickedness is always more dramatic; but Pleasence brings a deep and stirring passion to his role that proves as engaging as all the back-biting that surrounds him. And these are just the more familiar faces; a host of lesser-known actors give equally superb performances. The final episode (of seven) will have you on pins and needles. The Barchester Chronicles, adapted from two novels by Anthony Trollope, is one of those marvels of British television, a skillful production that proves intelligent fare can be hugely entertaining. --Bret Fetzer

• The Night Of The Generals | DVD | (11/10/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Available for the first time on DVD! Five years after their triumphant teaming in Lawrence of Arabia Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif reunited for this powerful World War II thriller about a Nazi General who becomes a serial killer. When a Polish prostitute is brutally murdered in Nazi-occupied Warsaw her killer is identified as a German General. The investigator Major Grau (Sharif) narrows the suspects to three Generals in the German high command: the heroic Tanz (O'Toole) the cy

• Halloween | DVD | (25/09/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  It was a cold Halloween night in 1963 when six year old Michael Myers brutally murdered his 17-year-old sister. Fifteen years later he escapes from prison and returns home...