"Actor: George Meeker"

• Paths of Glory (Blu-ray) (1957) (Masters of Cinema) | Blu Ray | (19/09/2016) from £13.35   |  Saving you £6.64 (49.74%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The pity of war has been a much-favoured film topic; the treachery of war much less so, though never more persuasively than in Paths of Glory, Stanley Kubrick's breakthrough feature from 1957. Kirk Douglas gives one of his finest screen performances as Colonel Dax, the idealistic First World War soldier appalled by the arbitrary court-marshal meted out to three of his men after an impossible attempt to storm German lines goes disastrously wrong. George Macready is an utterly believable Gerneral Mireau, obsessed with his own honour and standing, whom Adolphe Majou complements tellingly as the urbane and cynical General Bruler. Those who know Kubrick from his later sprawling epics will be surprised at the tautness and concision shown here, even though the screenplay--which he co-wrote--has a certain theatrical stiffness. On the DVD: Paths of Glory on disc reproduces well in full-screen format, and Gerald Fried's bitingly ironic score comes through powerfully. There are five dubbed and six subtitled languages. The original trailer is a masterpiece of gritty reportage, well worth reviving. Along with Dr Strangelove and 2001, this is Kubrick's most focussed and durable film. --Richard Whitehouse

• The St Valentine's Day Massacre | DVD | (27/05/2013) from £6.46   |  Saving you £3.53 (54.64%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Roger Corman directs this gangster thriller, using docu-drama styles to depict the notorious gangland killings in 1929. Al Capone (Jason Robards) is consolidating his grip on Chicago's underworld, with only the Moran gang standing in his way. After Capone wipes them out in the St Valentine's Day shootings, the film goes on to explore how the murders affected the lives of those involved.

• The Dirty Dozen | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £7.31   |  Saving you £6.68 (91.38%)   |  RRP £13.99

  A model for dozens of action films to follow, this box-office hit from 1967 refined a die-hard formula that has become overly familiar, but it's rarely been handled better than it was in this action-packed World War II thriller. Lee Marvin is perfectly cast as a down-but-not-out army major who is offered a shot at personal and professional redemption. If he can successfully train and discipline a squad of army rejects, misfits, killers, prisoners, and psychopaths into a first-rate unit of specialised soldiers, they'll earn a second chance to make up for their woeful misdeeds. Of course, there's a catch: to obtain their pardons, Marvin's band of badmen must agree to a suicide mission that will parachute them into the danger zone of Nazi-occupied France. It's a hazardous path to glory, but the men have no other choice than to accept and regain their lost honor. What makes The Dirty Dozen special is its phenomenal cast including Charles Bronson, Donald Sutherland, Telly Savalas, George Kennedy, Ernest Borgnine, John Cassavetes, Richard Jaeckel, Jim Brown, Clint Walker, Trini Lopez, Robert Ryan, and others. Cassavetes is the Oscar-nominated standout as one of Marvin's most rebellious yet heroic men, but it's the whole ensemble--combined with the hard-as-nails direction of Robert Aldrich--that makes this such a high-velocity crowd pleaser. The script by Nunnally Johnson and Lukas Heller (from the novel by E.M. Nathanson) is strong enough to support the all-star lineup with ample humour and military grit, so if you're in need of a mainline jolt of testosterone, The Dirty Dozen is the movie for you. --Jeff Shannon

• PATHS OF GLORY (Masters of Cinema) Special Edition 4K Ultra-HD Blu-ray | Blu Ray | (26/02/2024) from £23.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Road To Rio | DVD | (27/01/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  To avoid being charged with arson after burning down a circus Hot Lips Barton (Bob Hope) and Scat Sweeney (Bing Crosby) stow away on an ocean bound ship. Aboard the vessel the duo fall for Lucia Maria de Andrade (Dorothy Lamour) who is under the spell of her evil aunt (Gale Sondergaard) who has arranged a marriage for the young beauty. This film was in good hands since many of Hope's best collaborators worked on the picture. Director Norman Z. McLeod went on to direct Hope in four more features -- Alias Jesse James Casanova's Big Night My Favorite Spy and The Paleface. McLeod had a remarkable career behind the cameras working with such Hollywood greats as Danny Kaye (The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty) W.C. Fields (It's A Gift) and Cary Grant (Topper). Writer Edmund Beloin supplied the stories for both My Favorite Spy and The Lemon Drop Kid. His collaborator Jack Rose penned My Favorite Brunette The Great Lover Sorrowful Jones and The Seven Little Foys. This film also features musical guests The Wiere Brothers and The Andrew Sisters.

• Road To Rio | DVD | (27/01/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  To avoid being charged with arson after burning down a circus Hot Lips Barton (Bob Hope) and Scat Sweeney (Bing Crosby) stow away on an ocean bound ship. Aboard the vessel the duo fall for Lucia Maria de Andrade (Dorothy Lamour) who is under the spell of her evil aunt (Gale Sondergaard) who has arranged a marriage for the young beauty. This film was in good hands since many of Hope's best collaborators worked on the picture. Director Norman Z. McLeod went on to direct Hope in four

• The Dirty Dozen (2 Disc Special Edition) | DVD | (07/08/2006) from £17.99   |  Saving you £-1.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £16.99

  Train them! Excite them! Arm them!...Then turn them loose on the Nazis! Atten-hut! Twelve jailbirds will earn their freedom... if they survive a suicide mission against the Nazi brass. Tough-as-nails Lee Marvin leads a nothing-to-lose convict squad in this all-time action trendsetter. They don't make 'em like this anymore!

• The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (Standard Edition) | Blu Ray | (25/04/2022) from £10.00   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Roger Corman's most ambitious and expensive production his only film for a major studio is a violent and lurid account of the events leading up to one of the most infamous events in American crime history. Detailing the bitter and brutal rivalry between feuding Chicago mob bosses Al Capone and ˜Bugs' Moran, Corman's vividly realised film features terrific performances from Jason Robards, Ralph Meeker and George Segal, and remains one of Corman's best films. Special Features 4K restoration from the original negative Original mono audio Roger Corman Remembers (2014, 4 mins): the director discusses the making of The St. Valentine's Day Massacre Scenes of the Crime (2018, 14 mins): a critical analysis by Barry Forshaw, film historian and author of American Noir The Man of a Thousand Voices (2018, 11 mins): a new appreciation of the great voice actor Paul Frees by Ben Ohmart, author of Welcome, Foolish Mortals: The Life and Voices of Paul Frees Super 8 version: original cut-down home cinema presentation Original theatrical trailer Roger Corman trailer commentary (2013, 3 mins) Image gallery: promotional photography and publicity material New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

• The Dirty Dozen | DVD | (31/05/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £49.99

  A model for dozens of action films to follow, this box-office hit from 1967 refined a die-hard formula that has become overly familiar, but it's rarely been handled better than it was in this action-packed World War II thriller. Lee Marvin is perfectly cast as a down-but-not-out army major who is offered a shot at personal and professional redemption. If he can successfully train and discipline a squad of army rejects, misfits, killers, prisoners, and psychopaths into a first-rate unit of specialised soldiers, they'll earn a second chance to make up for their woeful misdeeds. Of course, there's a catch: to obtain their pardons, Marvin's band of badmen must agree to a suicide mission that will parachute them into the danger zone of Nazi-occupied France. It's a hazardous path to glory, but the men have no other choice than to accept and regain their lost honor. What makes The Dirty Dozen special is its phenomenal cast including Charles Bronson, Donald Sutherland, Telly Savalas, George Kennedy, Ernest Borgnine, John Cassavetes, Richard Jaeckel, Jim Brown, Clint Walker, Trini Lopez, Robert Ryan, and others. Cassavetes is the Oscar-nominated standout as one of Marvin's most rebellious yet heroic men, but it's the whole ensemble--combined with the hard-as-nails direction of Robert Aldrich--that makes this such a high-velocity crowd pleaser. The script by Nunnally Johnson and Lukas Heller (from the novel by E.M. Nathanson) is strong enough to support the all-star lineup with ample humour and military grit, so if you're in need of a mainline jolt of testosterone, The Dirty Dozen is the movie for you. --Jeff Shannon

• Rough Riders Round-Up | DVD | (14/02/2005) from £17.53   |  Saving you £-0.54 (N/A%)   |  RRP £16.99

  When Roy Rusty and Tommy join the Border Patrol Tommy gets killed in a saloon fight by Arizona Jack. Suspended from duty Roy and Rusty cross the border looking for the killer. Arizona Jack and mining engineer Lanning are running a gold smuggling racket and when Roy and Rusty find Arizona's hideout his gang captures them and they are slated to be killed.