"Actor: Ian Wallace"

• Book Club (DVD) | DVD | (08/10/2018) from £5.59   |  Saving you £4.41 (78.89%)   |  RRP £10.00

  Diane (Diane Keaton) is recently widowed after 40 years of marriage. Vivian (Jane Fonda) enjoys her men with no strings attached. Sharon (Candice Bergen) is still working through a decades-old divorce. Carol's (Mary Steenburgen) marriage is in a slump after 35 years. Four lifelong friends' lives are turned upside down to hilarious ends when their book club tackles the infamous Fifty Shades of Grey. From discovering new romance to rekindling old flames, they inspire each other to make their next chapter the best chapter.

• The Princess Bride 30th Anniversary Edition | Blu Ray | (23/10/2017) from £7.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Screenwriter William Goldman's novel The Princess Bride earned its own loyal audience on the strength of its narrative voice and its gently satirical, hyperbolic spin on swashbuckled adventure that seemed almost purely literary. For all its derring-do and vivid over-the-top characters, the book's joy was dictated as much by the deadpan tone of its narrator and a winking acknowledgement of the clichés being sent up. Miraculously, director Rob Reiner and Goldman himself managed to visualize this romantic fable while keeping that external voice largely intact: using a storytelling framework, avuncular Grandpa (Peter Falk) gradually seduces his sceptical grandson (Fred Savage) into the absurd, irresistible melodrama of the title story. And what a story: a lowly stable boy, Westley (Cary Elwes), pledges his love to the beautiful Buttercup (Robin Wright), only to be abducted and reportedly killed by pirates while Buttercup is betrothed to the evil Prince Humperdinck. Even as Buttercup herself is kidnapped by a giant, a scheming criminal mastermind, and a master Spanish swordsman, a mysterious masked pirate (could it be Westley?) follows in pursuit. As they sail toward the Cliffs of Insanity... The wild and woolly arcs of the story, the sudden twists of fate, and, above all, the cartoon-scaled characters all work because of Goldman's very funny script, Reiner's confident direction, and a terrific cast. Elwes and Wright, both sporting their best English accents, juggle romantic fervor and physical slapstick effortlessly, while supporting roles boast Mandy Patinkin (the swordsman Inigo Montoya), Wallace Shawn (the incredulous schemer Vizzini), and Christopher Guest (evil Count Rugen) with brief but funny cameos from Billy Crystal, Carol Kane, and Peter Cook. --Sam Sutherland

• The Pink Panther Cartoon Collection | DVD | (22/09/2014) from £13.59   |  Saving you £26.40 (194.26%)   |  RRP £39.99

  The Pink Panther is - paws down - the world's grooviest cartoon star. In 1964 the pink-inked feline slinked onto the opening credits of a live action film comedy and not only stole the show... but also the hearts of critics audiences and sophisticated cinephiles alike! And though the cartoons continue to this day the earlier entries are considered classics. Collected here for the first time are all of the original cartoon favourites - including the Oscar®-winning ThePink Phink (1964: Animated Short Subject) - that captured a world of fans... and will undoubtedly continue to do so for decades to come!

• Radio Days | DVD | (11/03/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Woody Allen's gentlest and most unassuming movie, Radio Days isn't so much a story as a series of anecdotes loosely linked together by a voice-over spoken by the director. The film is strongly autobiographical in tone, presenting the memories of a young lad Joe (clearly a stand-in for Allen himself) growing up in a working-class Jewish family in the seafront Brooklyn suburb of Rockaway during the late 1930s and early 40s. In this pre-TV era the radio is ubiquitous, a constant accompaniment churning out quiz shows, soap operas, dance music, news flashes and Joe's favourite, the exploits of the Masked Avenger. Given Allen's well-publicised gallery of neuroses, you might expect childhood traumas. But no, everything here is rose-tinted and even the outbreak of war makes little impact on the easygoing, protective tenor of family life. Now and then Allen counterpoints his family album with the doings of the radio folk themselves (blink, and you'll miss a young William H Macy in the studio scene when the news of Pearl Harbour comes through). The rise to fame of Sally (Mia Farrow), a former night-club cigarette girl turned crooner, is the nearest the film comes to a coherent storyline. But most of the time Allen is content to coast on a flow of easy nostalgia, poking affectionate fun at the broadcasting conventions of the period and basking in the mildly rueful Jewish humour and small domestic crises of Joe's extended family. There aren't even any of his snappy one-liners, and the humour is kept low-key, raising at most an indulgent smile. A touch of Allen's usual acerbity wouldn't have come amiss. But for anyone who shares these memories, Radio Days will surely be a delight. On the DVD: Not much besides the theatrical trailer, scene menu and a choice of languages. The screen's the full original ratio, but nothing seems to have been done to enhance the soundtrack, and the dialogue's not always clear. A boost in volume may help.--Philip Kemp

• Gypsy | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £4.95   |  Saving you £11.04 (223.03%)   |  RRP £15.99

  The girl who became the greatest show in show business. Ringing with the show-biz sass of its Jule Styne/Stephen Sondheim score the film version of the Broadway hit Gypsy takes you on a grand vaudeville tour. It sweeps you up in the roller-coaster relationship of Louise (Natalie Wood) the wallflower later to blossom into sophisticated stripper Gypsy Rose Lee and her ambitious mother Rose (Rosalind Russell whose performance won her a fifth Best Actress Golden Globe

• The Curse Of The Jade Scorpion | DVD | (01/11/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Woody Allen stars as a top New York insurance investigator of the 1940s who, thanks to the hypnotic powers of the Jade Scorpion, finds the mind of a thief taking him over!

• The Ladykillers | DVD | (25/10/2004) from £4.79   |  Saving you £13.20 (275.57%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Tom Hanks teams up with the Coen brothers for a remake of the classic 1955 Ealing comedy about a group of thieves trying to bump off their landlady.

• The Princess Bride 30th Anniversary Edition | DVD | (23/10/2017) from £5.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Screenwriter William Goldman's novel The Princess Bride earned its own loyal audience on the strength of its narrative voice and its gently satirical, hyperbolic spin on swashbuckled adventure that seemed almost purely literary. For all its derring-do and vivid over-the-top characters, the book's joy was dictated as much by the deadpan tone of its narrator and a winking acknowledgement of the clichés being sent up. Miraculously, director Rob Reiner and Goldman himself managed to visualize this romantic fable while keeping that external voice largely intact: using a storytelling framework, avuncular Grandpa (Peter Falk) gradually seduces his sceptical grandson (Fred Savage) into the absurd, irresistible melodrama of the title story. And what a story: a lowly stable boy, Westley (Cary Elwes), pledges his love to the beautiful Buttercup (Robin Wright), only to be abducted and reportedly killed by pirates while Buttercup is betrothed to the evil Prince Humperdinck. Even as Buttercup herself is kidnapped by a giant, a scheming criminal mastermind, and a master Spanish swordsman, a mysterious masked pirate (could it be Westley?) follows in pursuit. As they sail toward the Cliffs of Insanity... The wild and woolly arcs of the story, the sudden twists of fate, and, above all, the cartoon-scaled characters all work because of Goldman's very funny script, Reiner's confident direction, and a terrific cast. Elwes and Wright, both sporting their best English accents, juggle romantic fervor and physical slapstick effortlessly, while supporting roles boast Mandy Patinkin (the swordsman Inigo Montoya), Wallace Shawn (the incredulous schemer Vizzini), and Christopher Guest (evil Count Rugen) with brief but funny cameos from Billy Crystal, Carol Kane, and Peter Cook. --Sam Sutherland

• Pompeii Life and Death in a Roman Town - Presented by Mary Beard - As Seen on BBC2 | DVD | (13/05/2013) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £11.99

  Pompeii: one of the most famous volcanic eruptions in history. We know how its victims died, but this film sets out to answer another question - how did they live? Gleaning evidence from an extraordinary find, Cambridge professor and Pompeii expert Mary Beard provides new insight into the lives of the people who lived in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius before its cataclysmic eruption. In a dark cellar in Oplontis, just three miles from the centre of Pompeii, 54 skeletons who didn't succumb to t...

• Critters : Attack! | DVD | (26/08/2019) from £4.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  In this continuation of the beloved 80s film series, a young townie must protect the kids she's babysitting from an invasion of Crites - tiny, insatiable, carnivorous aliens - who've returned to capture a runaway royal of the species. Who will survive? And who will be eaten?

• Rumble Fish | Blu Ray | (27/08/2012) from £9.69   |  Saving you £5.30 (54.70%)   |  RRP £14.99

  The second of Francis Ford Coppola's films based on the popular juvenile novels of S.E. Hinton (the first being The Outsiders), Rumble Fish split critics into opposite camps: those who admired the film for its heavily stylised indulgence, and those who hated it for the very same reason. Whatever the response, it's clearly the work of a maverick director who isn't afraid to push the limits of his innovative talent. Filmed almost entirely in black and white with an occasional dash of color for symbolic effect, this tale of alienated youth centers on gang leader Rusty James (Matt Dillon) and his band of punk pals. Rusty's got a girlfriend (Diane Lane), an older brother named Motorcycle Boy (Mickey Rourke), and a drunken father (Dennis Hopper) who've all given up trying to straighten him out. He's best at making trouble, and he pursues that skill with an enthusiastic flair that eventually catches up with him. But it's not the whacked-out story here that matters--it's the uninhibited verve of Coppola's visual approach, which includes everything from time-lapse clouds to the kind of smoky streets and alleyways that could only exist in the movies. The supporting cast includes a host of fresh faces who went on to thriving careers, including Nicolas Cage, Christopher Penn, Vincent Spano, Laurence Fishburne, and musician Tom Waits. --Jeff Shannon

• Sons & Daughters - Collection Two (Complete Season 2) | DVD | (12/03/2021) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• The Princess Bride | DVD | (17/09/2007) from £6.79   |  Saving you £9.20 (135.49%)   |  RRP £15.99

  A young boy confined to bed with the flu is less than thrilled when his grandfather (Peter Falk) arrives to read him the story of The Princess Bride. It tells the adventures of Buttercup the most beautiful woman in the world and Westley the man she loves in the fairy-tale kingdom of Florin. When Buttercup is kidnapped Westley has to overcome some pretty tough obstacles if he is to rescue her from the clutches of three kidnappers - scaling the cliffs of insanity battling rodents of unusual size facing tortue in the Pit of Despair... True love has never been a snap.

• Critters : Attack! | Blu Ray | (26/08/2019) from £9.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  In this continuation of the beloved 80s film series, a young townie must protect the kids she's babysitting from an invasion of Crites - tiny, insatiable, carnivorous aliens - who've returned to capture a runaway royal of the species. Who will survive? And who will be eaten?

• Grand Hotel | DVD | (16/02/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £13.99

  Oscar-winning drama with an all-star cast exploring the interwoven relationships of the residents of a plush Berlin hotel...

• The Big Combo | Blu Ray | (25/06/2018) from £17.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Lieutenant Diamond (Cornel Wilde, The Naked Prey) is determined to bring down mob boss Mr Brown (Richard Conte, Thieves Highway), even if it means jeopardising his own career, but the feeling is mutual and the unscrupulous gangster is more than willing to operate outside the law to get his man. The confrontation escalates, leading to some wince-inducing set-pieces involving such handy props as a radio and a hearing aid. This masterpiece from Joseph H. Lewis (Gun Crazy, Terror in a Texas Town), drenched with sleazy innuendo, came late to the film noir cycle, but is now considered one of the defining examples of the genre, not least thanks to some extraordinary chiaroscuro lighting by the great cinematographer John Alton (already an Oscar-winner for An American in Paris) and a heartbreaking performance by Jean Wallace (No Blade of Grass) as Brown s troubled girlfriend. The film also boasts a menacing early performance from a pre-stardom Lee Van Cleef (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly) as one of Brown s henchmen. When the film was revived in London in the mid-seventies, a polemically breathless Time Out review called it almost certainly the greatest movie ever made... as heady as amyl nitrate andas compulsive as stamping on insects . SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS: High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation transferred from original film elements Uncompressed mono 1.0 PCM audio soundtrack Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing Commentary by noirchaeologist Eddie Muller Geoff Andrew on The Big Combo, the critic and programmer offers an introduction to and analysis of the film Wagon Wheel Joe, a visual essay on director Joseph H. Lewis by filmmaker David Cairns Original Screenplay (DVD/BD-ROM content) International poster gallery Trailer for Lewis final, noir-themed film, Terror in a Texas Town Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Scott Saslow

• Wind Chill | DVD | (05/05/2008) from £8.08   |  Saving you £7.91 (49.50%)   |  RRP £15.99

  There Are Worse Things Than Dying A chilling teen horror flick starring nominee Emily Blunt. Two college students share a ride home for the holidays. When they break down on a desolate stretch of road they're preyed upon by the ghosts of people

• Radio Days | Blu Ray | (20/02/2017) from £14.84   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Woody Allen's gentlest and most unassuming movie, Radio Days isn't so much a story as a series of anecdotes loosely linked together by a voice-over spoken by the director. The film is strongly autobiographical in tone, presenting the memories of a young lad Joe (clearly a stand-in for Allen himself) growing up in a working-class Jewish family in the seafront Brooklyn suburb of Rockaway during the late 1930s and early 40s. In this pre-TV era the radio is ubiquitous, a constant accompaniment churning out quiz shows, soap operas, dance music, news flashes and Joe's favourite, the exploits of the Masked Avenger. Given Allen's well-publicised gallery of neuroses, you might expect childhood traumas. But no, everything here is rose-tinted and even the outbreak of war makes little impact on the easygoing, protective tenor of family life. Now and then Allen counterpoints his family album with the doings of the radio folk themselves (blink, and you'll miss a young William H Macy in the studio scene when the news of Pearl Harbour comes through). The rise to fame of Sally (Mia Farrow), a former night-club cigarette girl turned crooner, is the nearest the film comes to a coherent storyline. But most of the time Allen is content to coast on a flow of easy nostalgia, poking affectionate fun at the broadcasting conventions of the period and basking in the mildly rueful Jewish humour and small domestic crises of Joe's extended family. There aren't even any of his snappy one-liners, and the humour is kept low-key, raising at most an indulgent smile. A touch of Allen's usual acerbity wouldn't have come amiss. But for anyone who shares these memories, Radio Days will surely be a delight. On the DVD: Not much besides the theatrical trailer, scene menu and a choice of languages. The screen's the full original ratio, but nothing seems to have been done to enhance the soundtrack, and the dialogue's not always clear. A boost in volume may help.--Philip Kemp

• Prophet Of Evil | DVD | (22/04/2002) from £8.98   |  Saving you £-2.99 (-49.90%)   |  RRP £5.99

  The true story of Ervil LeBaron a fanatical cult leader who ordered the death of anyone who dared to challenge his beliefs. Investigator Dan Fields is determined to bring this figure of pure evil to justice even with a price on his own head...

• Porterhouse Blue | DVD | (15/07/2002) from £17.99   |  Saving you £-8.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Based on Tom Sharpe’s satirical novel and set in a fictional, all-male Cambridge College, 1987’s Porterhouse Blue is a crusty delight. Ian Richardson stars as the austere moderniser who takes over as master of Porterhouse with a view to bringing in radical changes; David Jason is Skullion, head porter for 45 years and a bulldog-style traditionalist.Porterhouse Blue is a wonderfully grotesque and not inaccurate depiction of an Oxbridge college that has set itself resolutely and decadently against the modern world. Crammed with hoggish, port-swilling dons who are more concerned that the college stay "head of the river" than with academic achievement, the highlight of Porterhouse’s year is the Founder’s Feast, in which students and tutors gorge debauchedly on roast swan stuffed with widgeon, to the horror of the new vegetarian master. Jason’s Skullion looks on approvingly: he’s a stickler for Porterhouse’s inverted values, disapproving, for instance, of student Zipser (John Sessions), the only fellow at the college actually there to work. When the master eventually fires Skullion, the forces of traditionalism gather in sympathy and attempt their revenge.Unfolding over 190 leisurely minutes, Porterhouse Blue is an elegantly turned comedy in which practically every morsel of dialogue is to be savoured for its delicious tang. Jason and Richardson are reliably excellent in what is an overall exhibition of British TV thespianism at its finest. --David Stubbs