"Actor: Magee"

• Stanley Kubrick | DVD | (10/09/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £99.99

  This superb nine-disc Stanley Kubrick Box Set contains all the late director's work from 1962's Lolita to Kubrick's final film, the highly controversial Eyes Wide Shut (1999). There's also the excellent and highly informative two-hour documentary: Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures, narrated (a little drably) by Tom Cruise. It isn't exactly a warts-and-all portrait of Stan the Man, which is not surprising, really, given that it's directed and produced by Kubrick's brother-in-law Jan Harlan, and that Kubrick's widow Christine was closely involved in the making of it. But it does give a detailed and revealing portrait of a brilliant, demanding and often infuriating man, airing rare footage that goes right back to his earliest years as a brash youngster in the Bronx, already playing to camera with a frightening degree of self-awareness. Six of the eight movies (all but Dr Strangelove and Eyes Wide Shut) have been digitally restored and remastered, and almost all (barring Strangelove again and Lolita) now boast Dolby Digital 5.1 stereo sound remixes. For some bizarre reason, Kubrick insisted on mono sound for the 1999 set, which he approved shortly before his death. Visually the improvement over the often grainy, scratchy prints previously on offer--The Shining (1980) was notoriously messy--is immense. All the features are presented in their original ratios, which in the case of Strangelove means the changing ratios in which it was originally shot, and for 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) the full glorious 2.21:1 expanse of the Cinerama screen.So what don't you get? Essentially, the early Kubrick--the work of the young, hungry director before he moved to England and started to gather all the controlling strings into his own hand: most notably the tough, taut thriller The Killing (1956) and the icily furious war film Paths of Glory (1957). Too bad Warners couldn't have negotiated the rights for those too. But what we have here is the culminating phase of Kubrick's filmmaking career--the final 27 years of one of the great masters of cinema. On the DVDs: Besides the visual and sonic improvements mentioned above, each of the eight features includes the original theatrical trailer and multiple-language subtitles. The DVD of Dr Strangelove also gives us filmographies of the principal players, plus theatrical posters and a photo gallery, while Eyes Wide Shut includes interviews (taped after Kubrick's death) with Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman and Steven Spielberg, plus a couple of 30-second TV spots. And with The Shining we get a fascinating 34-minute documentary made by Kubrick's then 17-year-old daughter Vivian, plus--just to add a further layer--Vivian's present-day voice-over commentary on her film. --Philip Kemp

• The Peter Cushing Collection | DVD | (22/10/2012) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Peter Cushing is one the most iconic actors of British horror film history. He captivates audiences with an air of mystery and a hint of the macabre. His style, much loved by his fans, brings suspense to any film he features in and intrigue to audiences across the world. Known as the Gentleman of Horror, Cushing's illuminates the big screen, bringing a unique presence to every role. Anchor Bay is proud to present these four cinematic classics from Peter Cushing's illustrious career, collecte...

• Chariots Of Fire - 2 disc Special Edition | DVD | (11/04/2005) from £13.99   |  Saving you £6.00 (42.89%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The British Are Coming! Britain's finest athletes have begun their quest for glory in the 1924 Olympic Games. Success brings honour to their nation. For two runners the honour at stake is personal... and their challenge one from within. Winner of four 1981 Academy Awards including Best Picture 'Chariots Of Fire' is the inspiring true story of Harold Abrahams Eric Liddell and the team that brought Britain one of its greatest sports victories. Ben Cross Ian Charleson Nigel Havers Nicholas Farrell and Alice Krige enjoyed their first major movie roles in this debut theatrical feature for director Hugh Hudson. Producer David Puttnam blended those talents to shape a film of unique and lasting impact. From its awesome footage of competition to its Oscar-winning Vangelis score 'Chariots Of Fire' has blazed its way into the hearts of movie lovers everywhere.

• The Masque Of The Red Death | DVD | (30/04/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Death and debauchery reign in the castle of Prince Prospero (Vincent Price) and when it reigns- it pours! Prospero has only one excuse for his diabolical deeds - the devil made him do it! But when a mysterious uninvited guest crashes his pad during a masquerade ball there'll be hell to pay as the party atmosphere turns into a danse macabre!

• Clockwork Orange | DVD | (13/11/2000) from £8.99   |  Saving you £11.00 (122.36%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The controversy that surrounded Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of Anthony Burgess's dystopian novel A Clockwork Orange while the film was out of circulation suggested that it was like Romper Stomper: a glamorisation of the violent, virile lifestyle of its teenage protagonist, with a hypocritical gloss of condemnation to mask delight in rape and ultra-violence. Actually, it is as fable-like and abstract as The Pilgrim's Progress, with characters deliberately played as goonish sitcom creations. The anarchic rampage of Alex (Malcolm McDowell), a bowler-hatted juvenile delinquent of the future, is all over at the end of the first act. Apprehended by equally brutal authorities, he changes from defiant thug to cringing bootlicker, volunteering for a behaviourist experiment that removes his capacity to do evil.It's all stylised: from Burgess' invented pidgin Russian (snarled unforgettably by McDowell) to 2001-style slow tracks through sculpturally perfect sets (as with many Kubrick movies, the story could be told through decor alone) and exaggerated, grotesque performances on a par with those of Dr Strangelove (especially from Patrick Magee and Aubrey Morris). Made in 1971, based on a novel from 1962, A Clockwork Orange resonates across the years. Its future is now quaint, with Magee pecking out "subversive literature" on a giant IBM typewriter and "lovely, lovely Ludwig Van" on mini-cassette tapes. However, the world of "Municipal Flat Block 18A, Linear North" is very much with us: a housing estate where classical murals are obscenely vandalised, passers-by are rare and yobs loll about with nothing better to do than hurt people. On the DVD: The extras are skimpy, with just an impressionist trailer in the style of the film used to brainwash Alex and a list of awards for which Clockwork Orange was nominated and awarded. The box promises soundtracks in English, French and Italian and subtitles in ten languages, but the disc just has two English soundtracks (mono and Dolby Surround 5.1) and two sets of English subtitles. The terrific-looking "digitally restored and remastered" print is letterboxed at 1.66:1 and on a widescreen TV plays best at 14:9. The film looks as good as it ever has, with rich stable colours (especially and appropriately the orangey-red of the credits and the blood) and a clarity that highlights previously unnoticed details such as Alex's gouged eyeball cufflinks and enables you to read the newspaper articles which flash by. The 5.1 soundtrack option is amazingly rich, benefiting the nuances of performance as much as the classical/electronic music score and the subtly unsettling sound effects. --Kim Newman

• Edgar Allan Poes Black Cats: Two Adaptations by Sergio Martino & Lucio Fulci Dual Format | Blu Ray | (19/10/2015) from £102.40   |  Saving you £-56.15 (N/A%)   |  RRP £44.99

  Edgar Allan Poe's celebrated story The Black Cat has provided the inspiration for numerous films over the years. But few adaptations are as stylish as those offered up by the twin Italian titans of terror, Sergio Martino and Lucio Fulci. In Martino's classic giallo Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key, teacher Oliviero (Luigi Pistilli, A Bay of Blood) finds himself under suspicion for murder when one of his students and mistress is found brutally murdered. As more bodies start to pile up, the arrival of Oliviero's attractive niece (Edwige Fenech, Five Dolls for an August Moon, All the Colours of the Dark) brings with it complications of its own. In The Black Cat, from that other Godfather of Gore, Lucio Fulci (Zombie), Scotland Yard Inspector Gorley (David Warbeck, The Beyond) find himself summoned to a sleepy English village to investigate the recent murder of a young couple. With no obvious signs of entry at the murder scene, Gorley is forced to start considering the possibility that his suspect may not be human Finally together on Blu-ray and in stunning new 2K restorations from the original camera negatives, fans can enjoy the double-dose of terror that is Edgar Allan Poe's Black Cats Italian-style!

• No Angels | DVD | (21/03/2005) from £5.99   |  Saving you £19.00 (317.20%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Every day the girls face life death and lunacy on the wards of St. Margaret's; every night they let off steam with a dangerous appetite for uncomplicated sex and unruly misbehaviour. Anji is set on an arranged marriage and Beth is determined to settle down with a rich consultant. In the meantime however they're both happy to practice their bedside manners. For single mum Lia juggling work and home can prove tricky. And acting sister Kate soon finds out that juggling work and love is even trickier... Still they can always rely on each other. And if the drugs don't work it's probably because the junior doctor's taken them. Featuring every episode from the first series!

• King Lear | DVD | (24/05/2004) from £10.98   |  Saving you £4.00 (44.49%)   |  RRP £12.99

  A television staging of the classic Shakespeare play.

• And Now The Screaming Starts | DVD | (20/01/2003) from £33.76   |  Saving you £-17.77 (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  It is 1795 England and the lovely Catherine (Stephanie Beacham) arrives at the foreboding manor where she is to marry Sir Charles Fengriffen (Witchfinder General's Ian Ogilvy ). Almost immediately upon arrival Catherine is set upon by a series of strange hallucinations and visions involving a severed hand as well as a creepy eyeless ghost. Catherine's sanity to say nothing of her life is threatened as she tries to uncover the source of the supernatural happenings and a sudden pregnancy only adds to the mystery as she slowly begins to find out what dark secrets really exist at Fengriffen! Peter Cushing stars in the blood-curdling tale. As with just about anything he is in Cushing doesn't just carry the film he steals it! As the 18th-century psychiatrist Dr. Pope he serves as a sort of Sherlock Holmes-ish character investigating the claims of ghosts and struggles in vain to find a way to cure with reason what he perceives as Catherine's delusions. Beacham and Ogilvy give solid genre performances but when Cushing is on screen it is simply his film. Veteran heavy Herbert Lom (perhaps best remembered for his recurring role in the Pink Panther series as Peter Sellers's psychotic boss) is chilling in a flashback appearance. Gravelly voiced beatle-browed Patrick Magee makes the most of an underwritten role while Ian (The Saint) Ogilvy and Stephanie Beacham carry the film superbly as the tormented bride and groom.

• The Servant | DVD | (25/02/2002) from £12.00   |  Saving you £1.99 (16.58%)   |  RRP £13.99

  For anyone interested in voyeurism, role playing, class envy and sexual humiliation, The Servant is an essential buy. Directed by Joseph Losey, scripted by Harold Pinter, it probes away remorselessly at areas other British film-makers would not go near. Dirk Bogarde, the golden boy of 50s British cinema, is transformed into a scheming, unctuous butler, Barrett. Hired by dapper young toff Tony (James Fox), he proceeds gradually to take over his master's life. In one scene, he seduces Tony's fiancée (Wendy Craig). Tony is soon slavering over the voluptuous but vaguely sinister Vera (Sarah Miles), whom he has been told is his butler's sister (in fact, she's Barrett's mistress). Gradually, the lines between master and servant are blurred. Tony becomes beholden to his butler's every whim.Nobody does queasy quite as well as Losey. The American-born director relishes the chance to disrupt the smooth workings of what seems a typical upper-class household. Compared to the bland comedies made at Pinewood in the late 50s, The Servant couldn't help but seem groundbreaking. Thanks to his performance, Bogarde, who'd starred in so many of those comedies, was at last taken seriously as more than a matinee idol. The critics adored the film, which was first released at around the time of the Profumo crisis. "Even if I make 10 better pictures in my lifetime", Losey observed, "I don't suppose one could expect to have such unanimous appreciation and approval again". --Geoffrey Macnab

• Black Cat | DVD | (31/12/2007) from £4.85   |  Saving you £8.14 (62.70%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Inspired by the Edgar Allen Poe tale this black cat is a malevolent moggy that stalks through a sleepy English town appearing to fulfil the murderous wishes of its owner the sinister psychic medium Professor Miles (Patrick Magee). What Professor Miles has not reckoned on is his cat turning him into the next mouse to slowly kill! High on gothic atmospheric thanks to the moody cinematography of Sergio Salvati this unusual Fulci tale of claustrophobic terror is a little seen gem that compares to the best output of the Hammer and Amicus studios.

• And Now The Screaming Starts | DVD | (23/02/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

• Luther | DVD | (21/02/2005) from £11.30   |  Saving you £8.69 (43.50%)   |  RRP £19.99

  An adaptation of John Osborne's play based on the Augustinian Monk Martin Luther and his pivotal role in the political social economic and religious revolt against the medieval Catholic Church.

• Die Monster Die | DVD | (04/10/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Nahum Witley (Karloff) is a scientist whose family harvested a radioactive meteor when it plummeted to the Earth two generations ago. Believing that the family are Satan worshippers the locals in the adjoining village all but shun them. When Witley's daughter's new boyfriend arrives in the town he's also met with a frosty reception. Then when he arrives at the Witley family home and is reunited with his girlfriend strange things start to happen. This classic 60s horror is co

• Malevolence | DVD | (19/09/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £16.99

  Ma-lev-o-lence: evil disposed to injure others. It's ten years after the kidnapping of Martin Bristol. Taken from a backyard swing at his home at the age of six he is forced to witness the unspeakable crimes of a deranged madman. For years Martin's whereabouts have remained a mystery... until now. When a bank robbery goes wrong desperate felons Julian Marylin and Kurt scatter to meet up later at an abandoned house in the middle of nowhere. Grabbing hostages Samantha and h

• The Avengers : The Definitive Dossier 1963/1964 (Box Set) | DVD | (31/03/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £49.99

  The complete initial adventures of the upper crust crimefighter John Steed...

• 3 Classic Horrors Of The Silver Screen - Vol. 6 - Dementia 13 / Shock / Black Dragons | DVD | (07/02/2005) from £6.79   |  Saving you £-1.80 (N/A%)   |  RRP £4.99

  Dementia 13: Dementia 13 will delight all fans who thrive on classics such as; Night Of The Living Dead and Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The Plot revolves around a seemingly benign member of a family who is the mad axe-murderer and is steadily picking off the rest of the family. The location is used imaginatively the gothic atmosphere suitably potent and there is a magnificently sharp cameo from Patrick McGee as the family doctor. Dementia 13 is guaranteed to make you double loc

• The Amicus Box Set - Limited Edition | DVD | (01/12/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £39.99

  A 5 DVD box set containing: 'Dr Terror's House of Horrors 'The House That Dripped Blood' 'Now the Screaming Starts' 'The Beast Must Die' and 'Asylum'.

• Peter Cushing - Deluxe Collection (4 Blu-Rays) | Blu Ray | (24/11/2023) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• The Fiend | DVD | (07/03/2011) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Theres a sickness in the house on Burbott Road; a sickness not of the body but of the soul! For several years the sinister Minister (Patrick Magee) and the religious fanatic Birdy Wemys (Ann Todd) have warped the mind of her psychotic sexually confused son Kenny (Tony Beckley). But now Kenny has grown up into a big boywith big problems. In a savage vendetta of lust and anger the sexually frustrated Kenny goes on a violent rampage seeking his redemption in the murder and mutilation of saucy tarts. Witness the unrelenting carnage of The FIENDand pray for his immortal soul!