"Actor: Elizabeth"

• Johann Strauss: Simplicius -- Zurich Opera/Welser-Most | DVD | (21/02/2003) from £6.07   |  Saving you £18.92 (311.70%)   |  RRP £24.99

  This is a superb performance of excellent, long-forgotten music. Simplicius was lost for more than a century, but when it was recovered (including a few patches for missing parts), the Zurich Opera House welcomed it back with a production worthy of a historic event. Johann Strauss II, like most comic geniuses, had a lifelong wish to produce something deeply serious. Parts of Simplicius come close to that goal, but then a delectable tune in 3/4 time pops up and we are back in the realm of the waltz king, enjoying it all the more because of the contrast. In both styles, the music is wonderful and Franz Welser-Most conducts with exactly the right touch. The absurdist set designs of Johann Engels and the stage direction of David Pountney sometimes call Hieronymus Bosch to mind. This production puts detailed plot summaries on the screen during the overture and at other strategic point--a good idea because the plot is complicated and slightly absurd. It is set during the Thirty Years War and is full of hidden identities, unreasonable rules and sudden plot twists. Besides various tangled love pairings, and the idiocies of war, the plot centres on the figure of Simplicius, a holy simpleton like Candide or Parsifal, and his comic encounters with the realities of love and war. The story is full of colourful characters, all sung and acted with distinction. Michael Volle is a hermit who has raised his son Simplicius (Martin Zysset) in isolation from humanity until, at age 20, he is abducted by soldiers and comes into contact with reality. Other vivid performances are given by Rolf Haunstein as a rather absurd general, Elizabeth Magnuson as his silly daughter, Oliver Widmer as an astrologer, and Louise Martini as Schnappslotte, who sells liquor to the soldiers. Martina Jankova steals the show as her daughter Tilly, and Liliana Nikiteanu makes much of a small role as a Swedish spy. --Joe McLellan

• Fawlty Towers: Series 1 and 2 | DVD | (19/11/2001) from £30.47   |  Saving you £-0.48 (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  Often hailed as the greatest ever British sitcom, Fawlty Towers is closer to the more elaborate tradition of farce. Comprising two series made in 1975 and 1979, the total of just 12 episodes were painstakingly constructed by writers John Cleese and Connie Booth. Unlike most British farce, however, Fawlty Towers deals with the big themes--death, psychology, xenophobia and even sex-o-phobia (Basil's marriage to Sybil is the most sterile ever depicted in a sitcom). Basil's contempt for his guests is, of course, legendary. It takes little from patrons to unleash his sledgehammer sarcasm: "Rosewood, mahogany, teak? Sorry, I was wondering what you'd like your breakfast tray made out of", he sneers at a guest who dares to request breakfast in bed. Like every Englishman, he wants to be king of his own castle and resents having to take in lodgers to maintain the place, especially the open-necked younger generation, whom he regards as sub-human. Mostly, though, Fawlty Towers is comedy of exasperation--who can forget the "damn good thrashing" Basil gives his clapped-out car, or the nervous breakdowns he almost suffers trying to make himself understood to Manuel? It's also comedy of embarrassment. The very fear of losing his dignity generally leads Basil into the most spectacularly undignified of predicaments. His inevitable misery is our sheer delight. -- David Stubbs On the DVD: each six-episode season is given its own disc with a commentary track from John Howard Davies and Bob Spiers, directors of Season 1 and Season 2 respectively. The third disc has all the additional material, the best of which are new interviews with John Cleese, Andrew Sachs and Prunella Scales. Also included are text biographies of all the leads and the guest stars, a short background featurette on Torquay and the hotel owner who is said to have inspired Basil, a very short blooper reel of outtakes and a brief teaser with Cleese in character entitled "Cheap Tatty Review". Much of this extra material was comfortably fitted onto the individually available Season 1 and 2 discs, so it's a bit of a mystery why a third disc was deemed necessary for the box set. --Mark Walker

• Playing The Field - Series 1 And 2 - Complete | DVD | (29/01/2007) from £50.49   |  Saving you £-25.50 (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  The on-the-field trials and tribulations and the off-the-field lives loves and infidelities of 'The Castlefield Blues' an under funded badly managed ladies football team from South Yorkshire in the north of England whose loyalty to the team the game and each other far exceeds their chances of ever winning the championship. Features the complete first and second seasons.

• Smashed | DVD | (03/06/2013) from £7.99   |  Saving you £10.00 (125.16%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Kate and Charlie are a young married couple whose bond is built on a mutual love of music, laughter and drinking...especially the drinking. When Kate decides to sober up, her new lifestyle brings to the surface a troubling relationship with her mother, facing the lies she's told her employer and calls into question whether or not her relationship with Charlie is built on love or just a boozy diversion from adulthood.

• Puppetmaster 2 | Blu Ray | (22/10/2012) from £13.49   |  Saving you £2.50 (18.53%)   |  RRP £15.99

  You can't keep a good man down or a Puppet Master buried as Tunneler, Leech Woman, Pinhead and the rest of the puppets return to exhume their beloved creator in Puppet Master II, the sequel to the hit horrorfest, Puppet Master. This time, the little devils are after the special fluid that keeps them alive, which is only found in...you guessed it...human brains. Lucky for the puppets, a new team of paranormal researchers has come to the hotel to investigate its murder-soaked past. (Don't these guys ever learn?) The puppets-led by a new member, the flamethrowing Torch-are happy to shed some light on the (brain) matter, as they tunnel, burn, strangle and hook to survive. Featuring the special effects wizardry of Academy Award nominee David Allen (Young Sherlock Holmes, Willow)..

• Deal | DVD | (02/11/2009) from £7.49   |  Saving you £-1.50 (-25.00%)   |  RRP £5.99

  A cocky amateur with a lot to learn. A former champ with a lot to prove. Bets will be placed.... stakes will be raised.... only one will take it all. The game is on! Alex (Bret Harrison) is a cocky hotshot card-playing college senior who dreams of becoming a professional Texas Hold 'em poker player. He doesn't yet have the skills to totally master the table but a chance encounter introduces him to retired poker legend Tommy (Burt Reynolds). Tommy realises he can regain his own self confidence; repair his pride and a win a poker championship title by turning Alex into his prot''g''. The two pair up and soon every tournament they enter is theirs but this winning streak and their friendship is eventually thwarted by the interference of Las Vegas call girl Michelle. Parting ways they prepare separately for the World Poker Tour. Facing each other across the table at the final tournament of the season only one will be declared champion.

• The Purge - 3 Movie Collection | Blu Ray | (26/12/2016) from £17.00   |  Saving you £-6.20 (N/A%)   |  RRP £10.80

  The Purge - In the future, a wealthy family is held hostage for harboring the target of a murderous syndicate during the Purge, a 12-hour period in which any and all crime is legalized. The Purge: Anarchy - Three groups of people are trying to survive Purge Night, when their stories intertwine and are left stranded in The Purge trying to survive the chaos and violence that occurs. The Purge: Election Year - Years after sparing the man who killed his son, former police sergeant Barnes has become head of security for Senator Charlie Roan, a Presidential candidate targeted for death on Purge night due to her vow to eliminate the Purge.

• The Sorcerers | DVD | (03/11/2014) from £16.84   |  Saving you £-0.59 (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  The Sorcerers, the second film directed by the lost "wunderkind" of British cinema Michael Reeves, may not have the scope and visceral impact of his masterpiece, Witchfinder General (1968), but there's enough fierce originality here to show what a tragic loss it was when he died from a drugs overdose aged only 24. The film also shows the effective use he made of minimal resources, working here on a derisory budget of less than £50,000--of which £11,000 went to the film's sole "named" star, Boris Karloff. Karloff plays an elderly scientist living with his devoted wife in shabby poverty in London, dreaming of the brilliant breakthrough in hypnotic technique that will restore him to fame and fortune. Seeking a guinea-pig, he hits on Mike, a disaffected young man-about-town (Ian Ogilvy, who starred in all three of Reeves' films). But the technique has an unlooked-for side effect--not only can he and his wife make Mike do their bidding, they can vicariously experience everything that he feels. At which point, it turns out that the wife has urges and desires that her husband never suspected. Karloff, then almost at the end of his long career, brings a melancholy dignity to his role; but the revelation is the veteran actress Catherine Lacey as the seemingly sweet old lady, turning terrifyingly avid and venomous as she realises her power. The portrayal of Swinging London, with its mini-skirted dollybirds thronging nightclubs where the strongest stimulant seems to be Coke rather than coke, has an almost touching innocence, but Reeves invests it with a dream-like quality, extending it into scenes of violent death in labyrinthine dark alleys. By this stage, some ten years after it started, the British horror cycle was winding down in lazy self-parody. Reeves had the exceptional talent and vision to revive it, had he only lived. On the DVD: The Sorcerers DVD has original trailers for both this film and Witchfinder General (both woefully clumsy); filmographies for Reeves, Karloff and Ogilvy; an "image gallery" (a grab-bag of posters, stills and lobby cards); detailed written production notes by horror-movie expert Kim Newman; and an excellent 25-minute documentary on Reeves, "Blood Beast", dating from 1999. The transfer is letterboxed full-width, with acceptable sound. --Philip Kemp

• Santa Clause 3 | DVD | (12/11/2007) from £2.85   |  Saving you £15.14 (531.23%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Santa must juggle family responsibility with an attempted coup by Jack Frost in this festive adventure.

• Power Rangers UHD BD | Blu Ray | (31/07/2017) from £21.25   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Saban's Power Rangers follows five ordinary high school kids who must become something extraordinary when they learn that their small town of Angel Grove and the world is on the verge of being obliterated by an alien threat. Chosen by destiny, our heroes quickly discover that they are the only ones who can save the planet. But to do so they will have to overcome their real-life issues and band together as the Power Rangers before it is too late. The film stars Dacre Montgomery (A Few Less Men) as Jason the Red Ranger, RJ Cyler (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl) as Billy the Blue Ranger, Naomi Scott (The 33) as Kimberly the Pink Ranger, Becky G (Empire) as Trini the Yellow Ranger, Ludi Lin (Monster Hunt) as Zack the Black Ranger, Elizabeth Banks (Pitch Perfect, The Hunger Games franchise) as Rita Repulsa, Bryan Cranston (Godzilla, Breaking Bad) as Zordon and Bill Hader (Trainwreck, The BFG) as Alpha 5.

• The Tomorrow People - Series 7 | DVD | (25/04/2005) from £6.24   |  Saving you £9.75 (156.25%)   |  RRP £15.99

  They seem to be just ordinary kids perhaps a bit quieter than most but they are The Tomorrow People forerunners of a new race... the homo superior. Gifted with superhuman powers they are nature's response to man's aggression: a new species wiser and more peace loving than homo sapiens and until more of their race evolve these four have intergalactic responsibility for the future of Planet Earth. Featuring all six episodes from the serials 'Castle Of Fear' 'Achilles Heel' and

• Catwoman: Hunted | DVD | (07/02/2022) from £7.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  In the all-new original Catwoman: Hunted, Catwoman's attempt to steal a priceless jewel puts her squarely in the crosshairs of both a powerful consortium of villains and the ever-resourceful Interpol, not to mention Batwoman. It might just be enough to contain her. Or not. Bonus Features When the Hunter Becomes the Hunted Catwoman: The Feline Femme Fatale-It's complicated. Discover the origins and evolution of Catwoman, as filmmaker and industry legends reveal why Selina Kyle, the Cat, is both one of the greatest comic book supervillains and greatest anti-heroes of all time.

• Song Of Norway - The Life And Music Of Edvard Grieg | DVD | (13/09/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  This dramatic story of the life of composer Edward Grieg set in his native Norway includes abridged versions of his best music and highlights of his personal life.

• Jean Cocteau - Le Sang D'Un Poete | DVD | (05/08/2019) from £9.00   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  In an artist's studio, an unfinished statue comes to life. The lips of its androgynous face move, pressing a kiss to the artist's hand. At the statue's demand, he plunges it into a mirror.

• D.O.A. | DVD | (20/05/2002) from £20.00   |  Saving you £-5.01 (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  A stylish piece of neo-noir, D.O.A. was directed by Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel during their glory days as creators of Max Headroom. Sometimes mocked at the time for its extravagant visual imagery, this is a film which has aged better than might have been expected. Vastly reworked from the 40s original, D.O.A. stars Dennis Quaid as the burned-out campus novelist who discovers he has been fatally poisoned and sets out to find his killer in the short time left to him, along the way rediscovering his love for the life he is going to lose. Quaid is good enough both at chain-smoking cynicism and angry zest that this becomes emotionally credible; a worryingly young Meg Ryan is excellent as the hero-worshipping sophomore he co-opts into his search. With camerawork of sometimes hallucinatory vividness, rather too many shots of fans and Ferris wheels, and Charlotte Rampling playing a dragon-lady villainess to the hilt, this is a film which teeters on the brink of camp, but has the courage of its individuality. On the DVD: D.O.A. comes to disc with almost no special features whatever save for a Spanish soundtrack and subtitles in Spanish and the Scandinavian languages. Its widescreen visual aspect is 1.85:1 and the Dolby sound does full justice to a very loud score by bands like Timbuk 3.--Roz Kaveney

• Red Lights | Blu Ray | (22/10/2012) from £8.57   |  Saving you £6.42 (74.91%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Red Lights centres on a psychologist (Sigourney Weaver), and her assistant (Cillian Murphy), whose study of paranormal activity leads them to investigate a world-renowned psychic (Robert De Niro).

• Passenger 57 | DVD | (26/04/1999) from £8.88   |  Saving you £5.11 (57.55%)   |  RRP £13.99

  It's Die Hard on a plane in this action thriller, starring Wesley Snipes as an anti-terrorist specialist whose early retirement is interrupted when his flight is overtaken by a bloodthirsty villain (Bruce Payne). Watching this at home is pretty much an excuse to order pizza and kick back, as the familiar rhythms of maverick-cop-versus-international-criminal take over and nothing new or fresh in the formula emerges. The supporting cast includes Elizabeth Hurley (Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery) as a gun-wielding, junior terrorist, which is fun simply for being unexpected. The release includes optional full-screen and widescreen presentations, Dolby sound, production notes and optional English, French and Spanish subtitles. --Tom Keogh

• Tenko - Series 2 - Part 1 | DVD | (11/08/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  The story of ex-patriot European women living in Singapore at the outbreak of war in the Far East and their capture by the Japanese. Episodes 1 to 5 of the second series.

• Avengers 1-3 Boxset | Blu Ray | (20/07/2018) from £11.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Avengers Assemble: Marvel presents Marvel's Avengers Assemble, the Super Hero team-up of a lifetime. Iconic Marvel Super Heroes Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor and Captain America assemble for the first time ever in this new action-packed Marvel saga, starring Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson and Samuel L. Jackson, and directed by Joss Whedon. When an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, Director of the international peacekeeping agency S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself needing a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster. Marvel's Avengers Assemble is packed with action, adventure and spectacular special effects. Avengers Age of Ultron: Marvel Studios presents the global phenomenon Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron. Good intentions wreak havoc when Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) unwittingly creates Ultron (James Spader), a terrifying A.I. monster who vows to annihilate humanity. Now, Iron Man, Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo)alongside Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) must reassemble to defeat Ultron and save mankind if they can! Avengers Infinity War: An unprecedented cinematic journey ten years in the making and spanning the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel Studios' Avengers: Infinity War brings to the screen the ultimate showdown of all time. The Avengers and their Super Hero allies must be willing to sacrifice all in an attempt to defeat the poweful Thanos. Features: Avengers Assemble: A Visual Journey Marvel One-shot: Item 47 Gag Reel Deleted Scenes Avengers Age of Ultron: From the Inside Out Making of the Avengers: Age of Ultron The Infinite Six Global Adventure Deleted & Extended Scenes Gag Reel Audio Commentary with Director Joss Whedon Avengers Infinity War: Intro By Directors Joe And Anthony Russo Featurettes: Strange Alchemy, The Mad Titan, Beyond the Battle: Titan & Wakanda Deleted Scenes Gag Reel Audio Commentary

• Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads | DVD | (22/05/2006) from £14.09   |  Saving you £1.90 (13.48%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais returned to the world of The Likely Lads with this sequel series which is generally considered to be even better than the original show. Terry Collier (James Bolam) returns from his stint in the army to find his north-east home-town and its inhabitants have changed beyond recognition. Out of contact during the intervening years his best friend Bob Ferris (Rodney Bewes) has settled into a respectable white-collar job and is engaged to his boss'