"Actor: Orson"

• The Third Man | DVD | (20/07/2015) from £7.55   |  Saving you £10.44 (138.28%)   |  RRP £17.99

  THE THIRD MAN has been beautifully restored in 4K for the first time showcasing the genius of this celebrated British noir voted the ‘The greatest British film of all time’ by a British Film Institute poll. Holly Martins (Joseph Cotton Citizen Kane ) a naïve writer of pulp westerns arrives in Vienna to meet his old friend Harry Lime (the incomparable Orson Welles) nut finds that Lime has apparently been killed in a suspicious accident. Martins too curious for his own good hears contradictory stories about the circumstances of Limes death and as witnesses disappear he finds himself chased by unknown assailants. Complicating matters are the sardonic Major Calloway (Trevor Howard Brief Encounter) head of the British forces and Lime’s stage actress mistress Anna Schmidt (Alida Valli). Will Martin’s curiosity lead him to discover things about his old friend that he’d rather not know? Brilliantly scripted by Graham Greene and set to Anton Karas’ evocative zither score this justly celebrated classic is further enhanced by Robert Karasker’s Academy Award winning cinematography and Orson Welles in one of his most iconic screen roles. Extras: Feature Audio Commentary Famous Fan Featurette Restoring the Third Man Interview & Zither Performance by Cornelia Mayer Guardian Interview Cotton (audio) Guardian Interview Greene (audio) Joseph Cotton’s Alternative Opening (Audio) Shadowing The Third Man Dangerous Edge Third Man on Radio (Audio) Trailer

• Othello | DVD | (21/04/2014) from £8.75   |  Saving you £21.24 (242.74%)   |  RRP £29.99

  Filmed as a classical tragedy, Orson Welles' Othello is a tale of passion, jealousy and murder. Welles used his earnings from several performances (including Carol Reed's classic The Third Man) to finance the production, which was shot over several years across multiple locations including Italy and Morocco. The footage was well matched photographically, resulting in an artistically brave compression of a great play. In the title role, Welles shows us a man who has fought many wars but still maintains a princely disposition. As Desdemona, Suzanne Cloutier is guileless but strong enough to have wanted and pursued the Moor. She alone is accused of pretending to be what she is not, and her openness makes her suspect in a world where few appear to be as they are. In a rare filmed role, Micheál MacLiammór excels as the diabolical Iago, a master of manipulating appearances and devoid of any motive save pure evil. MacLiammór shows how a hint can be greater than a howl, executing a series of deceptions (whose victims include Roderigo, Brabantio, and Cassio) that culminate in the symbolic destruction of Desdemona. The financial constraints appear to have ignited an even higher level of creativity within Welles, who never takes the expected angle and directs the film with a vertiginous, exhibitionist energy. Though Roderigo's death scene was filmed in a Moroccan steam bath because the costumes had not arrived, it is refreshing to see a Shakespeare film in which the cast doesn't look like it's on its way to a Beverly Hills costume party with an Elizabethan theme. The allegorical journey between heaven and hell concludes with the exposure of both Iago's scheme and the tragedy of Othello, who ultimately could not believe in the purity of his wife. This Othello won the prestigious Palme d'Or at Cannes in April 1952. --Kevin Mulhall

• CASINO ROYALE (DVD) | DVD | (15/11/2021) from £6.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  This wacky send-up of James Bond films stars David Niven as the iconic debonair spy, now retired and living a peaceful existence. Bond is called back into duty when the mysterious organization SMERSH begins assassinating British secret agents.Circumstances lead to the involvement of a colourful cast of characters, including the villainous Le Chiffre (Orson Welles), seasoned gambler Evelyn Tremble (Peter Sellers) and Bond's bumbling nephew, Jimmy Bond (Woody Allen).

• Citizen Kane : Special Edition | DVD | (21/07/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £7.99

  The most acclaimed film in cinema history, Citizen Kane receives extra bolstering each time it tops a "greatest films ever" list. As a piece of filmmaking it ticks all the right boxes: a precociously talented director and lead actor in Orson Welles, Gregg Toland's innovative cinematography, a strong screenplay by Welles and Herman J Mankiewicz, rich scoring from Bernard Herrmann, and so on. For its time, it was technically groundbreaking, and laid out a blueprint for Hollywood filmmaking that's still influential. But, most importantly, as a viewing experience it's still one of the most mesmerising and beautiful films in existence. From its opening scenes--Kane's eerie Gothic mansion, his lone figure muttering the word "Rosebud" as he dies, journalists discussing the newsreel footage of his obituary--Kane lays out an enigma: who exactly was this man? Looping flashbacks build up a portrait of a contradictory figure who, despite living in the public eye, remained a mystery at heart. A testament to the corrupting influence of money, fame and the media and at its centre the tale of a man in search of love, Citizen Kane is a personal tragedy on an epic scale. Technically, it's a lesson in filmmaking in itself whose daring aesthetics nonetheless remain unobtrusive. It's doubtful that a debut director will ever be given such free reign by a studio again and even if this happened, it's doubtful that such a masterpiece would be created. On the DVD: Citizen Kane in this DVD special edition is beautifully remastered and comes with a feature illustrating the before and after of the restoration process. A 50-minute documentary, "Anatomy of a Classic", hosted by Barry Norman, delves into the making of the film as well as trying to deal with some of the myths that surround it, like the (untrue) rumour that Welles ran over both time and budget. Film historian Ken Barnes takes over for a commentary and Welles himself is featured in his controversial 1938 radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds and 1945 broadcast of The Happy Prince. A photo gallery, extensive cast and crew profiles, breakdown of all the films expenses and trailer round off this admirable package.--Laura Bushell

• Citizen Kane | Blu Ray | (28/02/2022) from £21.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Hailed by critics and fans alike as one of the greatest films ever made, Citizen Kane continues to influence filmmakers and astound viewers 80 years later. Nominated for nine 1941 Academy Awards, with a win for Best Original Screenplay. Orson Welles' controversial masterpiece uses innovative flashbacks and ground-breaking cinematography to follow the epic rise and fall of wealthy newspaper magnate. For any fan of films, this is an essential viewing experience. Special Features on Blu-ray: Separate Commentaries by Roger Ebert and Peter Bogdanovich Interviews with Ruth Warrick and Robert Wise Opening: World Premiere of Citizen Kane Still Photography with Commentary by Roger Ebert and More

• Waterloo | DVD | (06/06/2005) from £7.74   |  Saving you £-1.75 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  A film that will never be equalled for its spectacle and dramatic power" says the stirring trailer on this otherwise sparsely featured DVD. Taking the story of the Napoleonic Wars to Bonapartes final defeat, Waterloo is an unofficial continuation to director Sergei Bondarchuks own 70mm super-epic War and Peace (1968). The climactic battle of Waterloo is shown in the second half of the film and re-enacted with such stunning realism by a cast of around 20,000 extras that it looks like documentary footage from history itself (some 20 years later, Gettysburg, 1993, did the same for the American Civil War). Those who hailed the groundbreaking impact of Saving Private Ryan should see Bondarchuks films, as for sheer scale and intensity--if not bloodiness--they make Spielbergs hit look like an amateur video. Without ever attempting a French accent, Rod Steiger makes a commanding Napoleon, Christopher Plummer a worthy adversary as Wellington, while the supporting cast led by Orson Welles, Jack Hawkins and Virginia McKenna is excellent. The DVD transfer is richly detailed and clear, though the print itself could have done with just a little restoration. Though dated, Abel Glances Napoleon (1928) remains definitive for many, perhaps explaining why Stanley Kubrick eventually abandoned his planned Napoleon film, instead making the 18th Century period epic Barry Lyndon (1974). --Gary S.Dalkin

• A Man For All Seasons | DVD | (12/02/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  A Man For All Seasons: a motion picture for all time! Winner of six Academy Awards - including 1966 Best Picture - 'A Man For All Seasons' stars Paul Scofield as Sir Thomas More a respected English statesman whose steadfast refusal to recognise King Henry VIII's marriage to Anne Boleyn cost him his head. Featuring an all-star supporting cast - Wendy Hiller Leo McKern Robert Shaw Orson Welles Susannah York and Vanessa Redgrave - and directed by two-time Oscar-winner Fred Zinnemann Robert Bolt's A Man For All Seasons is ""a picture that inspires admiration courage and thought."" - The New York Times.

• Waterloo (Standard Edition) | Blu Ray | (25/10/2021) from £12.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Waterloo is the 1970 epic period war film directed by Sergei Bondarchuk and produced by legendary producer Dino De Laurentis. It depicts the story of the preliminary events and the Battle of Waterloo and is famous for its lavish battle scenes. Starring Rod Steiger as Napoleon Bonaparte and Christopher Plummer as the Duke of Wellington with a cameo by Orson Welles as Louis XVIII of France, and Jack Hawkins all contribute fine portraits of great men against a magnificent backdrop of battle and bloodshed.

• Casino Royale | DVD | (23/04/2001) from £12.00   |  Saving you £3.99 (33.25%)   |  RRP £15.99

  John Huston was only one of five directors on Casino Royale, the expensive, all-star 1967 spoof of Ian Fleming's 007 lore. David Niven is the aging Sir James Bond, called out of retirement to take on the organised threat of SMERSH and pass on the secret-agent mantle to his idiot son (Woody Allen). The amazing cast (Orson Welles, Peter Sellers, Deborah Kerr and others) is wonderful to look at, but the film is not as funny as it should be, and the romping even starts to look mannered after a while. The musical score by Burt Bacharach, however, is a keeper. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com

• The Muppet Movie | DVD | (24/04/2006) from £6.21   |  Saving you £8.78 (141.38%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Jim Henson's Muppets make their film debut in this charming story that chronicles their rise to fame. It all begins with Kermit the Frog sitting in a swamp singing and strumming a guitar. Realizing he can use his talent to ""make people happy "" Kermit decides to head for Hollywood. During his trip Kermit meets fellow Muppets Fozzie the Bear the Great Gonzo Miss Piggy and an odd assortment of others who join Kermit on his song-filled journey. But before Kermit and friends achieve

• Waterloo - Special Edition (LIMITED TO 5,000 COPIES) | Blu Ray | (14/06/2021) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  First time on Blu-Ray in the UK. Waterloo is the 1970 epic period war film directed by Sergei Bondarchuk and produced by legendary producer Dino De Laurentis. It depicts the story of the preliminary events and the Battle of Waterloo and is famous for its lavish battle scenes. Starring Rod Steiger as Napoleon Bonaparte and Christopher Plummer as the Duke of Wellington with a cameo by Orson Welles as Louis XVIII of France, and Jack Hawkins all contribute fine portraits of great men against a magnificent backdrop of battle and bloodshed.

• Casino Royale | Blu Ray | (15/11/2021) from £10.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  This wacky send-up of James Bond films stars David Niven as the iconic debonair spy, now retired and living a peaceful existence. Bond is called back into duty when the mysterious organization SMERSH begins assassinating British secret agents. Circumstances lead to the involvement of a colourful cast of characters, including the villainous Le Chiffre (Orson Welles), seasoned gambler Evelyn Tremble (Peter Sellers) and Bond's bumbling nephew, Jimmy Bond (Woody Allen).

• Casino Royale | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  With gadgets, gaming and girls galore, this camp classic celebrates 40 fabulous years as not only the coolest of the spy films, but also as a brilliant parody of - itself! Will the real James Bond please stand up?When secret agency chief M (John Huston) is killed, Sir James Bond (David Niven) is thrust out of spy retirement to help smash SMERSH, the band of hitmen who are likely responsible. And to protect his real identity, Bond's name is given to numerous other agents, including Evelyn Tremble (Peter Sellers) and Bond's neurotic nephew, Jimmy (Woody Allen). With five directors, a cast of Hollywood icons that also includes Ursula Andress, Charles Boyer, Peter O'Toole, Jacqueline Bisset and Orson Welles, a soundtrack by Burt Bacharach, and a frisky, farcical script, Casino Royale is Bond. Psychedelic Bond.

• The Lady from Shanghai (Standard Edition) | Blu Ray | (25/05/2020) from £11.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Orson Welles' delirious and inventive film noir classic is a dazzling cinematic jigsaw puzzle. Welles plays a sailor who rescues a young woman (played by his real-life ex-wife Rita Hayworth) from a violent assault only to fall under her spell Extras 4K restoration from the original nitrate negative Original mono audio Audio commentary with filmmaker and Welles expert Peter Bogdanovich Simon Callow on 'The Lady from Shanghai' (2017, 22 mins): a new filmed appreciation by the acclaimed actor and Welles scholar An Interview with Rita Hayworth (1970, 4 mins): an archival interview filmed for the French TV programme Pour le cinéma A Discussion with Peter Bogdanovich (2000, 21 mins): the renowned filmmaker and author talks about Welles and The Lady from Shanghai Joe Dante trailer commentary (2013, 3 mins): a short critical appreciation Original theatrical trailer Image gallery New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing

• The Third Man | Unknown | (16/06/2025) from £16.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Carol Reed's celebrated British noir THE THIRD MAN is widely regarded as 'The greatest British film of all time'. Brilliantly scripted by Graham Greene and set to Anton Karas' evocative zither score, this justly celebrated classic is further enhanced by Robert Krasker's Academy Award® winning cinematography and Orson Welles in one of his most iconic screen roles.Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten, Citizen Kane), a naive writer of pulp westerns, arrives in Vienna to meet his old friend Harry Lime (the incomparable Orson Welles) but finds that Lime has apparently been killed in a suspicious accident. Martins, too curious for his own good, hears contradictory stories about the circumstances of Lime's death and as witnesses disappear he finds himself chased by unknown assailants. Complicating matters are the sardonic Major Calloway (Trevor Howard, Brief Encounter), head of the British forces, and Lime's stage actress mistress, Anna Schmidt (Alida Valli). Will Martins' curiosity lead him to discover things about his old friend that he'd rather not know?NEW Noreen Ackland on Saving The Third Man (Excerpt from BEHP audio interview)The Third Man - A Filmmaker's InfluenceRestoring The Third ManAudio Commentary With Guy Hamilton, Simon Callow & Angela AllenJoseph Cotten's Alternate Opening Voiceover NarrationThe Third Man Interactive Vienna TourThe Third Man On The RadioInterview & Zither Performance By Cornelia MayerShadowing The Third ManGuardian NFT Interview - Joseph Cotten (Audio Only)Guardian NFT Interview - Graham Greene (Audio Only)Behind The Scenes Stills GalleryTrailer

• TOUCH OF EVIL (Masters of Cinema) Standard Edition 2-Disc 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray | Blu Ray | (16/09/2024) from £25.29   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Touch of Evil begins with one of the most brilliant sequences in the history of cinema; and ends with one of the most brilliant final scenes ever committed to celluloid. In between unfurls a picture whose moral, sexual, racial, and aesthetic attitudes remain so radical as to cross borders established not only in 1958, but in the present age also. Charlton Heston portrays Mike Vargas, the Mexican chief of narcotics who sets out to uncover the facts surrounding a car bomb that has killed a wealthy American businessman on the US side of the border. As Vargas investigates, his newly-wed wife Susie (Janet Leigh, two years before Hitchcock's Psycho) is kidnapped by a gang out to exact vengeance for the prosecution of the brother of their leader (Akim Tamiroff). Meanwhile, Vargas' enquiries become progressively more obfuscated by the American cop Hank Quinlan (played by Welles himself, in one of the most imposing and unforgettable screen performances of his career), a besotted incarnation of corruption who alternately conspires with Susie's captors and seeks solace in the brothel of the Gypsy madame (Marlene Dietrich) who comforted him in bygone times. Welles' final studio-system picture has at last become secure in its status as one of the greatest films ever made. It remains a testament to the genius of Welles -- a film of Shakespearean richness, inexhaustible. The Masters of Cinema Series is extremely proud to present Touch of Evil in on Ultra HD Blu-ray. 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentations of all three versions, presented in Dolby Vision HDR: the Theatrical version (95 mins), the Preview version (109 mins), and the 1998 Reconstruction (110 mins) | Four audio commentaries, featuring: restoration producer Rick Schmidlin (reconstructed version); actors Charlton Heston & Janet Leigh, with Schmidlin (reconstructed version); critic F. X. Feeney (theatrical version); and Welles scholars James Naremore & Jonathan Rosenbaum (preview version) | Video interview with critic, broadcaster and cultural historian Matthew Sweet | Video interview with critic Tim Robey | Video interview with author and critic Kim Newman | Bringing Evil to Life + Evil Lost and Found - two video pieces, featuring interviews with cast and crew, as well as critics and admirers | Original theatrical trailer | PLUS: A collector's booklet featuring writings by Orson Welles, François Truffaut, André Bazin, and Terry Comito

• Transformers - The Movie | DVD | (26/11/2001) from £13.50   |  Saving you £2.49 (18.44%)   |  RRP £15.99

  The heroic Autobots and evil Decepticons must deal with a world-devouring being called Unicron. This new two-disc edition of the fondly remembered animated tale boasts over five hours of extra features.

• Magician: The Astonishing Life & Work of Orson Welles (DVD) | DVD | (24/08/2015) from £9.99   |  Saving you £10.00 (100.10%)   |  RRP £19.99

  2015 marks the centenary year of the remarkable Orson Welles, and this insightful documentary explores the enigma and polymath that was Welles. Jean-Luc Godard once said of this exceptional actor, writer and director: All of us will always owe him everything. Directed by critically-acclaimed documentary maker, Chuck Workman, Magician divides Welles' life into four chapters, with Workman portraying him as an artist who never stopped working throughout his career, but whose unconventional approach ensured he was much misunderstood by Hollywood. Magician is a montage, featuring scenes from almost every existing Welles film - from Hearts of Age to rarely-seen clips from his final unfinished films such as Don Quixote - as well as his television and commercial work. This is an essential film not just for fans of the great Orson Welles, but anyone interested in the magic of cinema.

• Citizen Kane | Blu Ray | (29/08/2016) from £9.75   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Arguably the greatest of American films, Orson Welles' 1941 masterpiece, made when he was only 25, still unfurls like a dream and carries the viewer along the mysterious currents of time and memory to reach a mature (if ambiguous) conclusion: people are the sum of their contradictions and can't be known easily. Welles plays newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane, taken from his mother as a boy and made the ward of a rich industrialist. The result is that every well-meaning or tyrannical or self-destructive move he makes for the rest of his life appears in some way to be a reaction to that deeply wounding event. Written by Welles and Herman J. Mankiewicz, and photographed by Gregg Toland, the film is the sum of Welles's awesome ambitions as an artist in Hollywood. He pushes the limits of then-available technology to create a true magic show, a visual and aural feast that almost seems to be rising up from a viewer's subconscious. As Kane, Welles even ushers in the influence of Bertolt Brechton film acting. This is truly a one-of-a-kind work, and in many ways is still the most modern of modern films this century. --Tom Keogh

• Twinky | DVD | (05/02/2007) from £8.14   |  Saving you £1.85 (22.73%)   |  RRP £9.99

  It must be love but it's definitely exhausting. Scott Warden A middle-aged American writer of pornographic novels meets and falls in love with sixteen-year old Twinky. This alone is cause for concern but when the couple gets married and moves to America the trouble (and fun) really begins...