"Actor: Mort Mills"

• Torn Curtain | DVD | (17/10/2005) from £6.22   |  Saving you £3.77 (60.61%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Paul Newman and Julie Andrews star in Torn Curtain, what must unfortunately be called one of Alfred Hitchcock's lesser efforts. Still, sub-par Hitchcock is better than a lot of what's out there, and this one is well worth a look. Newman plays cold-war physicist Michael Armstrong, while Andrews plays his lovely assistant-and-fiancée Sarah Sherman. Armstrong has been working on a missile defence system that will "make nuclear defence obsolete", and naturally both sides are very interested. All Sarah cares about is the fact that Michael has been acting awfully fishy lately. The suspense of Torn Curtain is by nature not as thrilling as that in the average Hitchcock film--much of it involves sitting still and wondering if the bad guys are getting closer. Still, Hitchcock manages to amuse himself: there is some beautifully clever camera work and an excruciating sequence that illustrates the frequent Hitchcock point that death is not a tidy business. --Ali Davis

• Soldier Blue | Blu Ray | (18/08/2020) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Touch Of Evil | DVD | (10/11/2003) from £7.63   |  Saving you £2.36 (30.93%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Considered by many to be the greatest B movie ever made, the original-release version of Orson Welles' film noir masterpiece Touch of Evil was, ironically, never intended as a B movie at all--it merely suffered that fate after it was taken away from writer-director Welles, then reedited and released in 1958 as the second half of a double feature. Time and critical acclaim would eventually elevate the film to classic status (and Welles' original vision was meticulously followed for the film's 1998 restoration), but for four decades this original version stood as a testament to Welles' directorial genius. From its astonishing, miraculously choreographed opening shot (lasting over three minutes) to Marlene Dietrich's classic final line of dialogue, this sordid tale of murder and police corruption is like a valentine for the cinematic medium, with Welles as its love-struck suitor. As the corpulent cop who may be involved in a border-town murder, Welles faces opposition from a narcotics officer (Charlton Heston) whose wife (Janet Leigh) is abducted and held as the pawn in a struggle between Heston's quest for truth and Welles' control of carefully hidden secrets. The twisting plot is wildly entertaining (even though it's harder to follow in this original version), but even greater pleasure is found in the pulpy dialogue and the sheer exuberance of the dazzling directorial style. --Jeff Shannon

• Psycho - 50th Anniversary Special Edition Steelbook | Blu Ray | (09/08/2010) from £26.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  After 50 years the ultimate nightmare returns in stunning high definition on Blu-ray with superior picture spine-chilling sound plus a host of extras. More chilling than ever before Alfred Hitchcock's landmark masterpiece of the macabre stars Anthony Perkins as the troubled Norman Bates whose old dark house and adjoining motel are not the place to spend a quiet evening. No one knows that better than Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) the ill-fated traveller whose journey ends in the notorious shower scene. First a private detective (Martin Balsam) then Marion's sister (Vera Miles) search for her as the horror and suspense mount to a terrifying climax where the mysterious killer is finally revealed.

• Touch of Evil | Blu Ray | (08/03/2022) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A