"Actor: John Tate"

• Thunderbirds: Volume 8 | DVD | (19/07/2004) from £21.58   |  Saving you £-5.59 (-35.00%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Filmed in VIDECOLOR--[explosions, drum roll, music builds to a climax]--and SUPERMARIONATION"! The opening sequence of Thunderbirds is itself a masterclass in Gerry Anderson's marionette hyperbole: who else would dare to make a virtue out of the fact that (a)the show is in colour and (b) it's got puppets in it? But everything about this series really is epic: Thunderbirds is action on the grandest scale, pre-dating such high-concept Hollywood vehicles as Armaggedon by 30 years and more (the acting is better, too), and fetishising gadgets in a way that even the most excessive Bond movies could never hope to rival. Unsurprisingly, it transpires that the visual effects are by Derek Meddings, whose later contributions to Bond movies like The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker echo his pioneering model work here. As to the characters, the clean-cut Tracey boys take second place in the audience's affections to their cool machines--the real stars of the show--while comic relief is to be found in the charming company of Lady Penelope and her pink Rolls (number plate FAB1), driven by lugubrious chauffeur Parker, whose "Yes, milady" catchphrase resonated around school playgrounds for decades. (Spare a thought for poor old John Tracey, stuck up in space on Thunderbird 5 with only the radio for company.) The puppet stunt-work is breathtakingly audacious, and every week's death-defying escapade is nail-bitingly choreographed in the very best tradition of disaster movies. First shown in 1964 and now digitally remastered, Thunderbirds is children's TV that still looks and sounds like big-budget Hollywood. On this DVD: The four episodes are: "Alias Mr. Hackenbacker", "Lord Parker's 'Oliday", "Ricochet" and "Give or Take a Million". Amazon.com

• Thunderbirds: Volume 6 | DVD | (19/07/2004) from £9.96   |  Saving you £9.02 (129.41%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Filmed in VIDECOLOR--[explosions, drum roll, music builds to a climax]--and SUPERMARIONATION"! The opening sequence of Thunderbirds is itself a masterclass in Gerry Anderson's marionette hyperbole: who else would dare to make a virtue out of the fact that (a)the show is in colour and (b) it's got puppets in it? But everything about this series really is epic: Thunderbirds is action on the grandest scale, pre-dating such high-concept Hollywood vehicles as Armaggedon by 30 years and more (the acting is better, too), and fetishising gadgets in a way that even the most excessive Bond movies could never hope to rival. Unsurprisingly, it transpires that the visual effects are by Derek Meddings, whose later contributions to Bond movies like The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker echo his pioneering model work here. As to the characters, the clean-cut Tracey boys take second place in the audience's affections to their cool machines--the real stars of the show--while comic relief is to be found in the charming company of Lady Penelope and her pink Rolls (number plate FAB1), driven by lugubrious chauffeur Parker, whose "Yes, milady" catchphrase resonated around school playgrounds for decades. (Spare a thought for poor old John Tracey, stuck up in space on Thunderbird 5 with only the radio for company.) The puppet stunt-work is breathtakingly audacious, and every week's death-defying escapade is nail-bitingly choreographed in the very best tradition of disaster movies. First shown in 1964 and now digitally remastered, Thunderbirds is children's TV that still looks and sounds like big-budget Hollywood. On this DVD: The four episodes are: "The Duchess Assignment", "Brink of Disaster", "Attack of the Alligators!" and "Martian Invasion". Amazon.com

• Thunderbirds: Volume 7 | DVD | (19/07/2004) from £12.13   |  Saving you £3.86 (31.82%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Filmed in VIDECOLOR [explosions, drum roll, music builds to a climax] and SUPERMARIONATION"! The opening sequence of Thunderbirds is itself a masterclass in Gerry Anderson's marionette hyperbole: who else would dare to make a virtue out of the fact that (a) the show is in colour and (b) it's got puppets in it? But everything about this series really is epic: Thunderbirds is action on the grandest scale, pre-dating such high-concept Hollywood vehicles as Armaggedon by 30 years and more (the acting is better, too), and fetishising gadgets in a way that even the most excessive Bond movies could never hope to rival. Unsurprisingly, it transpires that the visual effects are by Derek Meddings, whose later contributions to Bond movies like The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker echo his pioneering model work here.As to the characters, the clean-cut Tracey boys take second place in the audiences' affections to their cool machines--the real stars of the show--while comic relief is to be found in the charming company of Lady Penelope and her pink Rolls (number plate FAB1), driven by lugubrious chauffeur Parker, whose "Yes, milady" catch phrase resonated around school playgrounds for decades. (Spare a thought for poor old John Tracey, stuck up in space on Thunderbird 5 with only the radio for company.) The puppet stunt-work is breathtakingly audacious, and every week's death-defying escapade is nail-bitingly choreographed in the very best tradition of disaster movies. First shown in 1964 and now digitally remastered, Thunderbirds is children's TV that still looks and sounds like big-budget Hollywood.On this DVD: The four episodes are: "The Cham Cham", "Security Hazard", "Atlantic Inferno" and "Path of Destruction".

• Argo: Declassified Extended Edition | DVD | (10/02/2014) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Set against the Iranian hostage crisis of 1979 and 1980, Ben Affleck’s Argo is a nerve-jangling footnote to the birth of Ayatollah Khomeini’s Islamic Republic. The movie opens at the crest of the 1979 revolution--the storming of the US embassy in Tehran, and the escape of six diplomats to the precarious safety of the Canadian ambassador’s residence. To the rescue is Tony Mendez--a composed CIA agent whose heroism remained classified until 1997--and his state-approved plan to get the stranded embassy staff out of Iran under a brazen cover story: they’re an innocent film crew on a location hunt for the fake sci-fi blockbuster Argo. Hollywood is usually pressed into the service of the state in the name of comedy (either burying dictators in Team America: World Police or just bad news in Barry Levinson’s Wag the Dog), but Argo is a true story, and the tone of Affleck's Oscar-winning script is carefully split, switching between mounting tension in consular Tehran and a satire of the Hollywood machine as fronted by Alan Arkin and John Goodman--two raffish producers hired by Mendez to reverse-engineer some convincing buzz for the Argo movie. Affleck himself takes the role of Mendez, the steady-eyed agent betting everything on Hollywood’s age-old efficiency at creating a media circus for a project long before it exists. ‘History starts out as farce and ends up a tragedy’, remarks Goodman, but Argo ends on a patriotic upbeat, and doesn’t reflect much on history. It politely nods at the context of Iran’s attitude to the West, and we’re told about but not shown--bar the blank rage of the revolutionary mob--Iran’s anger at the Westerly flow of resources under Shah Pahlavi. Instead, Argo concentrates on the eggshell complexities of deception in plain sight, including a climactic set-piece in which Mendez’ team must fend their way through layers of suspicious Iranian airport security--with imminent capture, execution and political calamity only on the other side of their paper-thin pretext. It may have the ring of historical escapism, but Argo holds its nerve as a great Hollywood escape. --Leo Batchelor /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";}

• Gentleman's Motor Racing Diary | DVD | (18/12/2006) from £6.89   |  Saving you £1.10 (15.97%)   |  RRP £7.99

  Motor racing in the 1950s as told and filmed by a man who was at its very heart - John Tate. This fascinating film contains a combination of race footage from early Grand Prix and Le Mans pit lane close ups and even a driver's eye view as Tate takes us round the track.

• The Day Of The Triffids | DVD | (02/04/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  All reports confirm that the world is witnessing an unprecedented shower of meteorites - a once in a lifetime spectacle that must be seen.' Bill Masen lies in his hospital bed and listens to the radio broadcast in frustration - the bandages on his eyes are not meant to be removed until the following morning. When the time comes he is relieved to find he can see perfectly. But is soon to discover that he is one of the few people left in the world that can. The previous night's light show has blinded all those who watched. With the meteorites have come the spores of a man-eating alien plant form - Triffidus Celestus. Multiplying quickly they uproot themselves in search of a prey that stumbles helplessly in the dark. The fate of the world is in the hands of a few as the Triffids threaten the future of mankind in this classic adaptation of John Wyndham's sci-fi chiller.

• ARGO 4K | Blu Ray | (10/10/2022) from £16.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Acting under the cover of a Hollywood producer scouting a location for a science fiction film, a CIA agent launches a dangerous operation to rescue six Americans in Tehran during the U.S. hostage crisis in Iran in 1979. Product Features Picture-in-Picture: eyewitness account Rescued From Tehran: We were there Feature-length Commentary (On 4K And Blu-ray) With director Ben Affleck and writer Chris Terrio

• Thunderbirds: Collection Part 2 (Vols 5 - 8 ) | DVD | (19/07/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £63.99

  The Man From MI5: A British spy vanishes while carrying atomic weapon blueprints. Lady Penelope is hot on the scent but is soon in great danger. Cry Wolf: An Australian operative is terrorised by the Hood. When his sons raise the alarm they are ignored by Jeff because the boys have ""cried wolf"" before. Danger At Ocean Deep: After the launch of the ship Ocean Pioneer.fears are raised that its potentially explosive cargo of liquid alsterene may mean impending di

• Thunderbirds: Collection Part 1 (Vols 1 - 4 ) | DVD | (19/07/2004) from £87.73   |  Saving you £-23.74 (-37.10%)   |  RRP £63.99

  Trapped In The Sky: Criminal mastermind the Hood puts a bomb on a plane. International Rescue must foil the Hood's evil plans and at the same time save Tin-Tin who is on board. Pit Of Peril: The Sidewinder a revolutionary mobile army unit disappears underground during testing. Brains concocts an elaborate and risky scheme to rescue the men on board. The Perils Of Penelope: Professor Borender an important scientist and Lady Penelope are both abducted. T

• Dead-Bang | DVD | (27/06/2017) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• The Legend Of The Lone Ranger | DVD | (28/07/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  This epic Western shows how young Texan John Reid became masked avenger The Lone Ranger (Klinton Spilsbury). At 11 years old John and his Native American friend Tonto discover a gang of outlaws have attacked John's home and murdered his parents. Years later as a Texas Ranger he is seriously wounded in a shootout with Cavendish gang. Here Tonto (Michael Horse) discovers his long lost friend and takes him back to his camp to nurse him back to health. Fully recoverd John is joined by Tonto on a campaign for justice and retribution for the Cavendish gang and the legend of the Lone Ranger - and his trusted friend - begins.

• Brain From Planet Arous, The / Teenage Monster / Space Cadet | DVD | (01/09/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  You have to credit the folks who put this double bill together. The Brain from Planet Arous, a low-budget alien invasion 1958 film, is one of those programmes that lingers in the memory as much for its title and impressively ludicrous giant-staring-transparent-brain monster as for its poverty row dramatics, in which the usually stiff John Agar grins evilly and flashes contact lenses when possessed by the creature and a good guy brain shows up to take over his dog to thwart the renegade cerebrum's plan for world domination. For this release, Brain is teamed with its original co-feature, a movie so bad you wouldn't buy it on its own but whose presence here is a pleasing extra. Whereas Brain from Planet Arous delivers exactly what its title promises, Teenage Monster is a cheat: rather than feature a mutant 1950s delinquent in a leather jacket, it's a melodramatic Western in which prospector's widow Anne Gwynne keeps her hulking caveman-like son (who seems to be well into middle-age) hidden, only for a scheming waitress to use the goon in her murder schemes. Brain is snappily directed, even when staging disasters well beyond its budget, while Teenage Monster drags and chatters and moans until its flat finale. On the DVD: The Brain from Planet Arous/Teenage Monster double bill disc is a solid showing for such marginal items, featuring not only the trailers for these attractions but a clutch of other 1950s sci-fi pictures (Phantom from Space, Invaders from Mars, etc.) and a bonus episode ("The Runaway Asteroid") from a studio-bound, live-broadcast juvenile space opera of the early 50s (Tom Corbett, Space Cadet) in which hysterical types in a capsule break off from the space programme to deliver ringing endorsements of gruesome-looking breakfast foods. --Kim Newman