"Actor: Les Anderson"

• Joe 90 - Complete Series | DVD | (30/09/2002) from £31.97   |  Saving you £38.02 (118.92%)   |  RRP £69.99

  Joe 90 was Gerry Anderson's penultimate puppet show of the 1960s, following Captain Scarlet (1968) and preceding the little-known The Secret Service (1969). In 2112 professor Ian McClaine has invented the BIG RAT (Brain Impulse Galvanoscope, Record And Transfer), a machine for copying knowledge and experiences from person to person. WIN (World Intelligence Organisation) uses this to prime their top undercover agent before sending him into the field on missions which range from foiling international terrorists to recovering a nuclear weapon from beneath the polar ice. So far so good, but in perhaps the most mind-boggling concept ever to reach children's TV, that agent is McClaine's nine-year-old adopted son, Joe. Somehow even as it stays true to the Gerry Anderson techno-fantasy formula of secret organisations, gadgetry, and action-packed adventure full of spectacular explosions and violent death, Joe 90 remains blithely unconscious of its own implications. The missions are as globe-trotting as anything in Anderson's classic Thunderbirds series, and sometimes Joe does save lives, performing a risky brain operation or rescuing trapped astronauts. Yet even then his criminally irresponsible father brainwashes the lad each episode before placing him in a highly dangerous adult situation. Though the production values remain way ahead of anything else being done on British TV at the time, the question remains how did this ever seem like a good idea? On the DVD: Joe 90 comes complete in a five-disc box set of the entire 30-episode series. Each disc contains six 25-minute episodes presented, as usual with Gerry Anderson DVDs, behind a lovingly crafted menu. As expected the 4:3 picture quality is superb and the mono sound is full, detailed and without a trace of distortion. Each disc contains several pages of character biography and background information on the show, a photo gallery and varied extras such as location stills or a gallery of promotional images. --Gary S Dalkin

• Soldier Soldier - The Complete Series 2 | DVD | (14/06/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The complete second series of the hugely popular army drama. These seven episodes see the King's Fusiliers on location in Hong Kong.

• Tarzan | Blu Ray | (21/05/2012) from £12.01   |  Saving you £-6.70 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.31

  For the first time in stunning High Definition, experience the wild adventure and laugh-outloud characters of Disney's Tarzan, as the magnificent adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs' classic story of the ape man comes to Blu-ray.Deep within the African jungle, a mother gorilla names an orphaned baby boy Tarzan and adopts him as her own, even though the silverback leader Kerchak shuns the hairless wonder. Growing up alongside his wisecracking ape buddy Terk and neurotic elephant pal Tantor, Tarzan develops all the instincts and prowess of a jungle animal, surfing and swinging through the trees at lightning speed. But with the sudden appearance of Tarzan's own kind - humans - including the beautiful Jane, the only world Tarzan has ever known and the onein which he belongs collide with extraordinary force!Driven by five powerful songs written and performed by pop superstar Phil Collins, and starring the voice talents of Minnie Driver, Glenn Close and the hilarious Rosie O'Donnell, Disney's Tarzan delivers incredible adventure as well as important reminders about acceptance and family!

• Scrooge | DVD | (10/11/2008) from £14.99   |  Saving you £-2.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Alistair Sim's Scrooge is an all-time favourite Christmas family film and a genuine classic of British cinema. Scrooge is also the definitive big screen adaptation of Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol' one of the world's best loved Christmas stories

• Bad Boys For Life (2 Discs - 4K UHD & BD) | Blu Ray | (25/05/2020) from £21.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  The Bad Boys Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) are back together for one last ride in the highly anticipated Bad Boys for Life.

• Psycho (1960) | DVD | (21/04/2003) from £7.12   |  Saving you £4.87 (68.40%)   |  RRP £11.99

  Hitchcock's most notorious work remains terrifying after all these years, digitally presented, this reissue marks this milestone work's 50th Anniversary.

• The King Is Alive | DVD | (28/01/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  When a bus breaks down in the desert the passengers decide to stage a production of Shakespeare's 'King Lear' to pass the time until they are rescued. However jealousies and divisions between members of the group threaten the security of all... Intellectual and offbeat horror film from acclaimed Danish director Kristian Levring adhering to the 'Dogme95' principles of film making.

• Forbidden Planet | Blu Ray | (07/12/2020) from £14.65   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Forbidden Planet is the granddaddy of tomorrow, a pioneering work whose ideas and style would be reverse-engineered into many cinematic space voyages to come. Leslie Nielsen plays the commander who brings his space-cruiser crew to Planet Altair-4, home to Dr Morbius (Walter Pidgeon), his daughter (Anne Francis), a dutiful robot named Robby and a mysterious terror. Featuring sets of extraordinary scale and the first all-electronic musical soundscape in film history, Forbidden Planet is in a movie orbit all its own. Special Features: Deleted Scenes and Lost Footage 2 Follow-Up Vehicles Starring Robby the Robot Feature Film The Invisible Boy The Thin Man TV Series Episode Robot Client TCM Original Documentary Watch the Skies!: Science Fiction, the 1950s and Us 2 Featurettes: Amazing! Exploring the Far Reaches of Forbidden Planet, Robby the Robot: Engineering a Sci-Fi Icon Excerpts from The MGM Parade TV Series Theatrical Trailers of Forbidden Planet and The Invisible Boy

• Ultimate Force - Series 1 | DVD | (16/06/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Focusing on the adventures of an SAS unit, Ultimate Force was conceived around the character of new-man-on-the-team Jamie Dow, but realised as a star vehicle for Ross Kemp as the clichéd tough-but-caring leader Sgt "Henno" Garvie. Kemp essentially plays a legitimate version of his Eastenders hardman persona, Grant Mitchell, while Jamie--Billy Elliot--Draven wins a lot of hearts as the troubled but sensitive Dow. The two are the focus of this hit ITV series which, harking back to the thick-ear undercover shenanigans of The Professionals, echoes the macho camaraderie, soap opera character development and explosive action of London's Burning and Soldier, Soldier. By TV standards the set-pieces are bold and bloody, but the stories are routine, from rescuing hostages in the feature-length opener, to tracking a war criminal in the finale. Despite being cowritten by ex-SAS man Chris Ryan, the show regularly stretches credulity, and sometimes, as when demonising anti-globalisation protestors as would-be assassins, displays a tabloid sensibility quite out of step with reality. Ultimate Force is essentially an updated Who Dares Wins; a far better insight into the real SAS is Bravo Two Zero starring Sean Bean, which, not coincidentally, was also directed by Tom Clegg. On the DVD: Ultimate Force is presented with a near flawless anamorphically enhanced picture in the original TV broadcast ratio of 16:9, while for a modern action drama the sound is perfectly capable but less than spectacular stereo. Two DVDs contain the complete first season; a 74 minute introductory episode and five 48-minute regular shows. Other than subtitles for hard-of-hearing the only extra is a standard 17-minute behind-the-scenes featurette shot on location during the making of series 2. --Gary S Dalkin

• The Prince And The Showgirl | DVD | (07/05/2001) from £6.33   |  Saving you £7.66 (121.01%)   |  RRP £13.99

  The Prince and the Showgirl (1957) was Marilyn Monroe's only British-made film and scores highly for curiosity value. There's something rather outrageous about this iconic American star playing a second-rate hoofer living in a theatrical boarding house in Brixton. Monroe herself is predictably good and touching as Elsie Marina, plucked from the chorus to entertain the Regent of Carpathia for the evening and ultimately smoothing his rough edges. There is, however, a rather uphill feeling all the way. The making of the movie was by all accounts a troubled experience for everybody concerned. Monroe, increasingly unreliable and exasperating, had an unsympathetic director in Laurence Olivier, also playing the Regent Charles, who hardly had the patience for a star of her mercurial talents with her own ideas of professional behaviour. His own performance as the Balkan royal is hammy and mannered and there isn't even a damp squib of sexual chemistry between them. Terence Rattigan's script, based on his successful play, is far too wordy and stage-bound. But somehow Monroe effervesces through all this adversity, aided considerably by British character actor Richard Wattis and the great Sybil Thorndyke, who became her ally during the difficult filming. Not vintage Marilyn but fascinating all the same, and she looks fantastic. On the DVD: The Prince and the Showgirl is presented in 4:3 with an occasionally muffled, apparently mono, soundtrack, giving this DVD a rather dusty quality which is in keeping with the vintage British 1950s production values. Extras include a cast list, original trailer and newsreel footage of the announcement that Marilyn was to make the film with Olivier, referred to at that stage as The Sleeping Prince. --Piers Ford

• Ultimate Force - Series 3 | DVD | (09/05/2005) from £4.07   |  Saving you £15.92 (391.15%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Ross Kemp is back for more action packed missions with a whole new Red Troop team. Series 3 follows these elite soldiers as they get caught up in various battles both at home and abroad including a brutal battle between rival forces in Zimbabwe coming face to face with Al Qaeda when terrorists seize the Italian Consulate in London and hunting down a murderous rebel leader in Chechnya are all in a day's work for the men and woman of the 22nd Regiment. As Henno and his men prepare to p

• Hobson's Choice | DVD | (11/08/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  A story of feminism in 19th Century Salford Hobson's Choice deals with the empowering of female characters. Henry Hobson is a widower with a weakness for the pub and the owner of a successful bootmakers. In order to save his finances he denies his three daughters the right to marry. So in rebellion against her father eldest daughter Maggie starts up a relationship and rival bootmakers with Henry's star employee Will.

• Rita Hayworth - Screen Goddess Boxset | DVD | (03/10/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £49.99

• Ultimate Force - Series 2 | DVD | (24/01/2005) from £9.99   |  Saving you £3.00 (30.03%)   |  RRP £12.99

  The complete second season of the hard-hitting military drama starring Ross Kemp as Sergeant Henno Garvie the tough and charismatic leader of Red Troop who with his men puts his life on the line in the name of his country. Episode titles: Communication Mad Dogs Wannabes The List What In The Name Of God... Dead Is Forever.

• Harem - The Loss Of Innocence | DVD | (04/03/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £3.99

  During the final decline of the Ottoman Empire a white woman is abducted and sold into a harem. There she is menaced by one of the Sultan's jealous wives then sentenced to death for sleeping with another man--a revolutionary to boot. The girl manages to break free from her gilded prison leading the Sultan's subjects in the fight to bring down their cruel ruler.

• All Dogs Christmas Carol | DVD | (17/11/2003) from £4.99   |  Saving you £3.00 (37.50%)   |  RRP £7.99

  An All Dogs Christmas Carol is another straight-to-video sequel of a so-so animated film. The original 1989 All Dogs Go to Heaven was hardly inspired but contained expert Don Bluth animation and the amusing voices of Burt Reynolds and his gang. Now Steven Weber voices the animated mutt Charlie who is still palling around with the same gang through three movies and an animated series. Here the arch villain, Carface (Ernest Borgnine), gets the traditional Dickens treatment of being visited by three ghosts on Christmas Eve. The opening number, "When I Hear a Christmas Carol", is a good start, but soon TV-ish animation and the low humour becomes wearing. Kids who like the earlier Dog efforts won't be disappointed, but the entire series can hardly be defined as great entertainment. The saving grace is the foolproof Christmas Carol visitations. --Doug Thomas

• Jigsaw | Blu Ray | (26/02/2018) from £5.06   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Michael and Peter Spierig direct this eighth instalment in the 'Saw' horror franchise. A decade after the death of the Jigsaw killer, the investigation into a succession of brutal murders begins to point to a killer with eerily similar methods. With a group of people being held against their will and being forced to take part in a series of sadistic games of life and death, Detective Keith (Clé Bennett) and his partner Halloran (Callum Keith Rennie) face a race against time to solve the puzzle before it's too late. The cast also includes Laura Vandervoort and Hannah Anderson.

• Ultimate Force - Series 1 To 4 | DVD | (25/09/2006) from £37.51   |  Saving you £32.48 (86.59%)   |  RRP £69.99

  In the S.A.S. drama Ultimate Force Ross Kemp plays Sergeant Henno Garvie the tough and charismatic leader of Red Troop who with his men puts his life on the line in the name of his country. This release features every episode from the four series.

• Days Of Wine And Roses | DVD | (19/04/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £13.99

  An Oscar winning film of a gripping study of alcoholism and love. Jack Lemmon and Lee Remmick star as Joe and Kirsten a couple who fall in love get married and have a baby. This happy family scene gradually changes as Joe's addiction casts an ever-increasing shadow over all their lives...

• Hobson's Choice / The Sound Barrier | DVD | (14/04/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £16.99

  Hobson's Choice (1953) and The Sound Barrier (1952) is a double bill of cleverly juxtaposed films from David Lean's early canon, demonstrating that even without the landmark epics to come, British cinema would have been an infinitely poorer place without his tremendous contribution. Both films reflect his endlessly penetrating view of human behaviour and its perseverance through obstacles great and small. And both are effectively prisms that reflect all the aspects of that view, keeping the audience's sympathies constantly on the move. Hobson's Choice, based on Harold Brighouse's eternally popular 1916 comedy, boasts fine turns from Charles Laughton--at his brilliant, physical best--as the boot-shop owner with three troublesome daughters, and John Mills as the lowly boot maker, elevated and improved by the eldest daughter Maggie in a neat inversion of the Pygmalion fable. But both are kept in their place by Brenda de Banzie's portrayal of Maggie, a performance that glows with intelligence, truth and increasing warmth. The Sound Barrier is a drama about the race for a supersonic aeroplane. Superficially, its setting is quintessential post-World War II Britain: stiff upper lips, twin beds and clipped Rattigan dialogue. But it's prescient stuff. Ralph Richardson's aircraft manufacturer, sinister in his obsession, is an ominously skilful film performance. And Lean's take on the unthinkable cost of human achievement, interwoven with some spectacular cinematography, absorbs and unsettles. It's especially poignant now that the supersonic age has been summarily ended by Concorde's retirement. On the DVD: Hobson's Choice and The Sound Barrier are both black-and-white films presented in 4:3 picture format, from reasonable prints, and with a mono soundtrack of suitably robust quality for Malcolm Arnold's inventive scores. There are no extras, apart from scene indexes. --Piers Ford