"Actor: Omar Sharif"

• Doctor Zhivago | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £3.92   |  Saving you £10.07 (256.89%)   |  RRP £13.99

  David Lean's wintry adaptation of Boris Pasternak's melodramatic Russian Revolution romance, Doctor Zhivago, is a masterpiece of epic filmmaking, but one that risks leaving the viewer cold. Though none of the film was shot in the then USSR, Lean's assured technique nevertheless illuminates the breathtaking backgrounds magnificently: from the snowy wastes of the Urals to the strife-torn streets of Moscow, Lean stages a series of wonderful set-pieces showing war, revolution and its terrible aftermath. The problem lies in the foreground. Omar Sharif's entirely passive Zhivago is, we are told, a romantic poet of great sensitivity who internalises all his emotions and expresses them in verse. The trouble is the audience never gets to see a line of his poems, not even the centrally important "Lara" cycle. Thus Zhivago at the end of the picture is as much an emotional blank to us as he was at the beginning. His affair with the idealised beauty that is Julie Christie's Lara is also taken for granted by the filmmakers rather than set up in any convincing way, their mutual attraction remaining a mystery that creates a vacuum at the core of the picture. Given that none of the central characters with the exception of Rod Steiger's fire-breathing lecher Komarovsky ever give way to strong emotions, the romantic heart of the film remains oddly frigid. Matters are not helped by composer Maurice Jarre's incessant "Lara's Theme", which many will find teeth-grindingly irritating. Still, any David Lean epic, even a flawed one, is always going to be a first-class cinematic experience, and Zhivago is assuredly that. On the DVD: A stunning anamorphic widescreen print is the ideal way to appreciate David Lean's craftsmanship and this movie's glorious, wintry cinematography. Maurice Jarre's "Lara's Theme" and the rest of his patchwork score can be heard in a music-only track, while Omar Sharif is joined by Lean's widow Sandra and Rod Steiger for an intermittent commentary. The second bonus disc contains a good hour-long making-of documentary plus 10 shorter contemporary documentaries giving various insights into the location shooting and the cast and crew. But it's the sheer beauty of the picture that will astonish and make this disc forever treasurable. --Mark Walker

• Lawrence of Arabia | Blu Ray | (10/09/2012) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  In 1962 Lawrence of Arabia scooped another seven Oscars for David Lean and crew after his previous epic, The Bridge on the River Kwai, had performed exactly the same feat a few years earlier. Supported in this Great War desert adventure by a superb cast including Alex Guinness, Jack Hawkins and Omar Sharif, Peter O'Toole gives a complex, star-making performance as the enigmatic TE Lawrence. The magnificent action and vast desert panoramas were captured in luminous 70mm by Cinematographer Freddie Young, here beginning a partnership with Lean that continued through Dr Zhivago (1965) and Ryan's Daughter (1970). Yet what made the film truly outstanding was Robert (A Man For All Seasons) Bolt's literate screenplay, marking the beginning of yet another ongoing collaboration with Lean. The final partnership established was between director and French composer Maurice Jarre, who won one of the Oscars and scored all Lean's remaining films, up to and including A Passage to India in 1984. Fully restored in 1989, this complete version of Lean's masterpiece remains one of cinema's all-time classic visions. --Gary S Dalkin On the DVD: This vast movie is spread leisurely across two discs, with Maurice Jarre's overture standing in as intermission music for the first track of disc two. But the clarity of the anamorphic widescreen picture and Dolby 5.1 soundtrack justify the decision not to cram the whole thing onto one side of a disc. The movie has never looked nor sounded better than here: the desert landscapes are incredibly detailed, with the tiny nomadic figures in the far distance clearly visible on the small screen; the remastered soundtrack, too, is a joy. Thanks are due to Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg who supervised (and financed) the restoration of the picture in 1989; on disc two Spielberg chats about why David Lean is his favourite director, and why Lawrence had such a profound influence on him both as a child and as a filmmaker (he regularly re-watches the movie before starting any new project). Other features include an excellent and exhaustive "making-of" documentary with contributions from surviving cast and crew (an avuncular Omar Sharif is particularly entertaining as he reminisces about meeting the hawk-like Lean for the first time), some contemporary featurettes designed to promote the movie and a DVD-ROM facility. The extra features are good--especially the documentary--but the breathtaking quality of both anamorphic picture and digital sound are what make this DVD package a triumph. --Mark Walker

• Lawrance of Arabia | DVD | (11/05/2011) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  This remarkable film follows the struggles of T.E. Lawrence (played by Peter O'Toole - My Favourite Year The Last Emperor) in uniting the hostile Arab factions during the First World War and leading them to victory over the ruling Turkish Empire. The film was released originally in 1962 to huge critical acclaim winning 7 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director for David Lean.

• Funny Girl / Funny Lady | DVD | (08/10/2012) from £7.99   |  Saving you £2.00 (25.03%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Funny Girl: One of the most popular movie musicals ever made, Funny Girl follows the early career of stage comedienne Fanny Brice - a role that earned Barbra Streisand the 1968 Oscar for Best Actress. As the film opens, only her mother believes Fanny can make it in show business. When she gets her first break at Keeney's Music Hall, her hilarious debut as a roller-skating chorus girl gets her hired as a comedienne. A year later Fanny is working for Florenz Ziegfeld in his famous Follie...

• Lawrence of Arabia | Blu Ray | (15/07/2019) from £7.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  LAWRENCE OF ARABIA50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION Winner of 7 Academy Awards® including Best Picture of 1962, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA stands as one of the most timeless and essential motion picture masterpieces. The greatest achievement of its legendary, Oscar®-winning director, David Lean (1962, Lawrence of Arabia: 1957 the Bridge on the River Kwai), the film stars Peter O'Toole in his career-making performance as T.E. Lawrence, the audacious World War I British army officer who heroically united rival Arab desert tribes and led them to war against the mighty Turkish Empire. Newly restored and re-mastered at 4K resolution, the massive scope and epic action of the Director's Cut of LAWRENCE OF ARABIA can now be experienced like never before in this landmark 50th Anniversary Edition. Special Features: Secrets of Arabia: Picture-In-Picture Track (Exclusive to Blu-ray)

• Behold a Pale Horse (Limited Edition) | Blu Ray | (21/04/2025) from £16.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Gregory Peck (MacArthur), Omar Sharif (Lawrence of Arabia), and Anthony Quinn (R.P.M.) lead the cast of Behold a Pale Horse, a powerful drama from director Fred Zinnemann (The Day of the Jackal).Twenty years after the Spanish Civil War, Republican guerilla Manuel (Peck) lives in exile in France. Francoist Captain Viñolas (Quinn) is tasked with capturing him, and senses an opportunity when Manuel's mother (Mildred Dunnock) falls ill, but hasn't counted on the involvement of priest Father Francisco (Sharif), who tries to protect Manuel and guide him away from his path to violence. Adapted by J P Miller (Days of Wine and Roses) from a novel by Emeric Pressburger (The Red Shoes), Behold a Pale Horse is a riveting tale of morality, betrayal, and resistance.

• The 13th Warrior | DVD | (28/02/2000) from £8.25   |  Saving you £7.74 (93.82%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Based on Michael Crichton's best-selling novel

• JUGGERNAUT (aka TERROR ON THE BRITANNIC) (Eureka Classics) Limited Edition Blu-ray | Blu Ray | (18/11/2024) from £19.25   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Unrelentingly tense suspense thriller on the high seas featuring an all-star ensemble cast Eureka Entertainment to release JUGGERNAUT, an edge-of-the-seat shipboard thriller starring Richard Harris, Omar Sharif and an all-star ensemble cast. Presented on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK from a high-definition restoration. Available from 18 November 2024 as part of the Eureka Classics range, the Limited edition release of 2000 copies will exclusively feature an O-card slipcase, and a collector's booklet. Featuring an all-star ensemble cast in Richard Harris (The Guns of Navarone), Anthony Hopkins (The Silence of the Lambs), Omar Sharif (Lawrence of Arabia), Ian Holm (Chariots of Fire), David Hemmings (The Charge of the Light Brigade) and Shirley Knight (The Counterfeit Killer), Juggernaut is an unrelentingly tense suspense thriller directed by Richard Lester (A Hard Day's Night). The cruise liner SS Britannic is travelling through the North Atlantic with over a thousand passengers on board. As the vessel drifts through the vast ocean, its owner Nicholas Porter (Holm) receives a call from a man who identifies himself only as Juggernaut. The ominous voice on the telephone informs Porter that there are explosives planted aboard the Britannic, and that he will sink the ship at dawn unless a hefty ransom is paid. A race against time then begins as Captain Alex Brunel (Sharif), Royal Navy officer Anthony Fallon (Harris) and police superintendent John McLeod (Hopkins) work together across land and sea in a desperate attempt to avert certain disaster and secure the safety of the ship's passengers. Inspired by a real-life bomb threat against the Queen Elizabeth 2 on 17 May 1972 and drawing on a popular taste in the 1970s for taut crime thrillers and disaster movies, Juggernaut is one of the most entertaining and suspenseful British films of the decade. Eureka Classics is proud to present the film on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK from a high-definition restoration.

• Doctor Zhivago | DVD | (10/05/2010) from £6.79   |  Saving you £11.20 (164.95%)   |  RRP £17.99

  David Lean's wintry adaptation of Boris Pasternak's melodramatic Russian Revolution romance, Doctor Zhivago, is a masterpiece of epic filmmaking, but one that risks leaving the viewer cold. Though none of the film was shot in the then USSR, Lean's assured technique nevertheless illuminates the breathtaking backgrounds magnificently: from the snowy wastes of the Urals to the strife-torn streets of Moscow, Lean stages a series of wonderful set-pieces showing war, revolution and its terrible aftermath. The problem lies in the foreground. Omar Sharif's entirely passive Zhivago is, we are told, a romantic poet of great sensitivity who internalises all his emotions and expresses them in verse. The trouble is the audience never gets to see a line of his poems, not even the centrally important "Lara" cycle. Thus Zhivago at the end of the picture is as much an emotional blank to us as he was at the beginning. His affair with the idealised beauty that is Julie Christie's Lara is also taken for granted by the filmmakers rather than set up in any convincing way, their mutual attraction remaining a mystery that creates a vacuum at the core of the picture. Given that none of the central characters with the exception of Rod Steiger's fire-breathing lecher Komarovsky ever give way to strong emotions, the romantic heart of the film remains oddly frigid. Matters are not helped by composer Maurice Jarre's incessant "Lara's Theme", which many will find teeth-grindingly irritating. Still, any David Lean epic, even a flawed one, is always going to be a first-class cinematic experience, and Zhivago is assuredly that. On the DVD: A stunning anamorphic widescreen print is the ideal way to appreciate David Lean's craftsmanship and this movie's glorious, wintry cinematography. Maurice Jarre's "Lara's Theme" and the rest of his patchwork score can be heard in a music-only track, while Omar Sharif is joined by Lean's widow Sandra and Rod Steiger for an intermittent commentary. The second bonus disc contains a good hour-long making-of documentary plus 10 shorter contemporary documentaries giving various insights into the location shooting and the cast and crew. But it's the sheer beauty of the picture that will astonish and make this disc forever treasurable. --Mark Walker

• The Last Valley | DVD | (02/04/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  James Clavell's The Last Valley is a heartfelt film of paradise found and lost in the midst of the bloody Thirty Years War, a senseless religious conflict long since degenerated into a rabble of looters preying on peasants. It's also a triumph of passion over style. Michael Caine stars as the Captain, a happily tolerant leader whose army of mercenaries--a mix of Protestants and Catholics--murders, pillages and rapes side by side for whichever faction is paying more at the time. Omar Sharif is Vogel, a lone refugee whose flight from the marauding band leads them all to a beautiful village in the mountains. The Captain and Vogel make an unlikely pair: the shrewd mercenary with the dream of peace, and the philosopher-peasant hanging on to his own life in the face of certain death--and their alliance to preserve this Eden and her people stands in contrast to the soldiers who soon become splintered by greed, lust and religious zealotry. Clavell isn't exactly subtle, but his sense of irony is biting: one Christian soldier is ready to lead a mob in righteous battle after a perceived blaspheme, and in the next scene attacks and rapes an innocent Christian maiden he's sworn to protect. The film falters in clumsy battle scenes and awkward dramatic staging, but Caine's complex characterisation of the guarded Captain and Sharif's haunted performance keep the story alive, and the beautiful photography fixes the film like a jewel into its setting. --Sean Axmaker, Amazon.com

• Funny Girl | Blu Ray | (09/12/2024) from £29.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Witness the birth of a movie star as Barbra Streisand makes a screen debut for the ages in this musical spectacular. From humor to pathos, she hits every note as popular 1920s singer-comedian Fanny Brice, a young Jewish New Yorker whose spirit and supernova talent propel her to fame in the Ziegfeld Follies, but whose devotion to an unreliable gambler (a charismatic Omar Sharif) brings drama and heartbreak into her life. Adapted from a hit Broadway show and directed by Hollywood master William Wyler, Funny Girl hits emotional highs in unforgettable performances of songs like People and Don't Rain on My Parademoments that won Streisand one of the most richly deserved Best Actress awards in Oscar history.

• The Night Of The Generals (Eureka Classics) Blu-ray edition | Blu Ray | (13/05/2019) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Eureka Entertainment to release THE NIGHT OF THE GENERALS, a suspenseful WWII thriller starring Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif, and a star-studded cast, presented for the first time ever on Blu-ray in the UK, taken from a stunning 4K restoration, as part of the Eureka Classics range from 13 May 2019, featuring a Limited Edition Collector's booklet [2000 copies ONLY]. Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif star in this powerful World War II thriller from director Anatole Litvak (The Snake Pit; Sorry, Wrong Number) about a Nazi general who becomes a serial killer. When a Polish prostitute is brutally murdered in Nazi-occupied Warsaw, her killer is identified only as a German general. For years the crime remains unsolved, until the killer strikes again, bringing this mesmerising mystery to an unforgettable finish. Also starring Tom Courtenay, Donald Pleasence and Christopher Plummer, and with a score by Maurice Jarre, The Night of the Generals is an all-star thriller from a master of the form, and Eureka Classics is proud to present the film in its UK debut on Blu-ray. Blu-ray Features: 1080p presentation on Blu-ray, taken from a stunning 4K restoration Uncompressed LPCM audio (original mono presentation) Optional English subtitles Brand new and exclusive Audio Commentary by author Scott Harrison Original Theatrical Trailer Limited Edition Collector's booklet featuring new writing by author Scott Harrison [2000 copies ONLY].

• The Yellow Rolls Royce | DVD | (28/09/2009) from £13.95   |  Saving you £-0.96 (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  The Yellow Rolls Royce

• Top Secret | DVD | (04/11/2002) from £7.05   |  Saving you £5.94 (84.26%)   |  RRP £12.99

  In between the disaster movie satire Airplane! in 1980 and the hardboiled cop show parody The Naked Gun in 1988, the comedy crew of Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams and David Zucker put together a picture that's almost as funny as their better-known hits. Top Secret! sends up spy movies and cheesy teen rock 'n' roll musicals. Val Kilmer stars as swivel-hipped American rocker Nick Rivers, a sort of blonde Elvis whose secret weapon is Little Richard's tune "Tutti Fruitti." On tour behind the Iron Curtain, Nick strikes blows for democracy overtly and covertly, with his music as well as his espionage skills. In short, this is a very, very silly motion picture. Some great gags, including a subtitled scene in a Swedish book shop, and an inspired bit with a Ford Pinto that not everybody may get anymore. (The Pinto, you may or may not recall, was notoriously prone to gas tank explosions when rear-ended.) --Jim Emerson, Amazon.com

• The Far Pavilions | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Ash (Ben Cross) and Anjuli (Amy Irving) are two star-crossed lovers caught up in this passionate and haunting love story. Based on the best selling novel by M. M. Kaye The Far Pavilions is set in the India of the British Raj at the end of the 19th Century against the spectacular and epic sweep of battle treachery and intrigue. An all star cast including Omar Sharif Sir John Gielgud Christopher Lee Rossano Brazzi Robert Hardy Saeed Jaffery and Rupert Everett feature in

• Genghis Khan | DVD | (07/10/2013) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Omar Sharif plays the Mongolian chieftain Genghis Khan in this spectacular re-telling of the warlord's life. Born into royalty, raised in slavery, led by prophecy, the young warlord Temujin flees the war-ravaged plains of Mongolia for the decadence and splendour of Imperial China. Held there in pampered captivity, he gains the title Genghis Khan - Prince of Conquerors - before seizing the throne of the Emperor and turning his attentions West to the empires of India, Persia and the Russian Steppes... Packed with breathtaking battle scenes and boasting a truly distinguished cast which includes James Mason, Eli Wallach, Telly Savalas, Robert Morley, Francoise Dorleac and Michael Hordern, Genghis Khan ranks with the great historical screen epics.

• 20th Century Epics: Ben Hur / Gone With The Wind / Doctor Zhivago | DVD | (05/11/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £39.99

  Three of the 20th century's greatest cinematic spectacles, 1939's Gone with the Wind, 1959's Ben-Hur and 1965's Doctor Zhivago, are collected here in one irresistible box set. Long before computers turned every crowd scene and every grandiose backdrop into a pixellated virtual construct, these movies did it all for real. Nothing can substitute for their authentic sense of what really makes an epic: strong characters, emotionally involving storytelling and the grandest, most romantic sense of large-scale moviemaking. All three contain sequences and images that are indelibly burned into popular consciousness. Just recall Vivien Leigh's walk through the wounded of Atlanta, or her pledge never to be hungry again silhouetted against an achingly vivid sunset. Remember Charlton Heston rowing the Roman galley, or charging round the arena in his chariot. Or the enigmatic beauty of Julie Christie, the train ride to the Urals and the charge into No Man's Land. On the DVDs: These priceless treasures from the MGM archives have been preserved and restored so marvellously that all three almost look like they were made last year, not decades ago. The vivid colours and detail of Gone with the Wind look astoundingly fresh in this anamorphic 1.33:1 print (just let your eyes drink in those burnished skies). Both Ben-Hur and Zhivago, too, benefit from anamorphic widescreen presentations that reveal every last gorgeous detail. All three discs also contain the full music scores, complete with Overtures and Intermission music: Max Steiner's immortal "Tara Theme" sounds as good as ever on the rich mono soundtrack; Miklos Rozsa's magnificent music for Ben-Hur is deservedly regarded as one of cinema's finest, while Maurice Jarre's famous "Lara's Theme" can even be heard in a separate music-only track on Zhivago. There are no extras on the Gone with the Wind disc, but the other two contain commentaries (from Charlton Heston and Omar Sharif respectively) and new, in-depth making-of documentaries. Zhivago also comes with a second bonus disc that has several contemporary behind-the-scenes pieces. The only moan is the infamous Warner packaging, which consists of their notorious cardboard sleeves that are easily damaged when trying to cram them into the thin cardboard slipcases. --Mark Walker

• Lawrence Of Arabia | DVD | (31/01/2011) from £9.98   |  Saving you £-2.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  In 1962 Lawrence of Arabia scooped another seven Oscars for David Lean and crew after his previous epic, The Bridge on the River Kwai, had performed exactly the same feat a few years earlier. Supported in this Great War desert adventure by a superb cast including Alex Guinness, Jack Hawkins and Omar Sharif, Peter O'Toole gives a complex, star-making performance as the enigmatic TE Lawrence. The magnificent action and vast desert panoramas were captured in luminous 70mm by Cinematographer Freddie Young, here beginning a partnership with Lean that continued through Dr Zhivago (1965) and Ryan's Daughter (1970). Yet what made the film truly outstanding was Robert (A Man For All Seasons) Bolt's literate screenplay, marking the beginning of yet another ongoing collaboration with Lean. The final partnership established was between director and French composer Maurice Jarre, who won one of the Oscars and scored all Lean's remaining films, up to and including A Passage to India in 1984. Fully restored in 1989, this complete version of Lean's masterpiece remains one of cinema's all-time classic visions. --Gary S Dalkin On the DVD: This vast movie is spread leisurely across two discs, with Maurice Jarre's overture standing in as intermission music for the first track of disc two. But the clarity of the anamorphic widescreen picture and Dolby 5.1 soundtrack justify the decision not to cram the whole thing onto one side of a disc. The movie has never looked nor sounded better than here: the desert landscapes are incredibly detailed, with the tiny nomadic figures in the far distance clearly visible on the small screen; the remastered soundtrack, too, is a joy. Thanks are due to Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg who supervised (and financed) the restoration of the picture in 1989; on disc two Spielberg chats about why David Lean is his favourite director, and why Lawrence had such a profound influence on him both as a child and as a filmmaker (he regularly re-watches the movie before starting any new project). Other features include an excellent and exhaustive "making-of" documentary with contributions from surviving cast and crew (an avuncular Omar Sharif is particularly entertaining as he reminisces about meeting the hawk-like Lean for the first time), some contemporary featurettes designed to promote the movie and a DVD-ROM facility. The extra features are good--especially the documentary--but the breathtaking quality of both anamorphic picture and digital sound are what make this DVD package a triumph. --Mark Walker

• Lawrence of Arabia (60th Anniversary Limited Edition) | Blu Ray | (07/06/2022) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• The Fall of the Roman Empire/The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) | Blu Ray | (11/06/2024) from £14.68   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A