"Actor: Ray Brooks"

• Cathy Come Home | DVD | (05/09/2011) from £5.99   |  Saving you £0.01 (0.17%)   |  RRP £6.00

  Controversial moving and brilliantly acted this film directed by Ken Loach is arguably the most influential television drama ever broadcast. Watched by 12 million people - a quarter of the British population at the time - on its first broadcast on 16 November 1966 Cathy Come Home was a defining moment in British television history. It provoked major public and political discussion and challenged the accepted conventions of television drama. The film tells the story of Cathy and Reg a couple with three young children who find their life spiralling into poverty when Reg loses his well-paid job. Gripping and emotional it remains a truly ground-breaking piece of dramatic fiction engaging viewers with social issues such as homelessness unemployment and the rights of mothers to keep their own children. Utilising documentary-style filming on location the film consolidated director Ken Loach's reputation for hard-hitting social realism.

• In A Lonely Place | DVD | (27/01/2003) from £79.99   |  Saving you £-67.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  One of the classics of the noir psychological thriller, In a Lonely Place is one of Humphrey Bogart's finest performances. He is almost unbearably intense as Dixon Steele, a screenwriter with high standards and a nasty temper who finds himself under suspicion when Mildred, a hat-check girl he knows, is found murdered. Immediately he gets an alibi from a neighbour, Laurel, and equally quickly, he recognises that this is a woman who meets his standards: the question is, as suspicion of his involvement in Mildred's death continues, can he make himself meet hers? This is a wonderful study in trust and suspicion and the limits of love; Bogart's performance is impressive simply because he is prepared to go well over the limits of our sympathy in the name of emotional truth. The scene where he explains imaginatively to a cop and his wife how the murder might have happened is a spine-chilling, creepy portrait of amoral artistic brilliance. Gloria Grahame is equally fine as the woman who lets herself love him, for a while. On the DVD: In a Lonely Place comes with an excellent documentary in which Curtis Hanson (LA Confidential) explains the importance of the film to him and discusses its place in the work of Bogart and the director Nicholas Ray; there is also a quick interesting documentary about the restoration and digitisation of classic films. The film is presented with a visual aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and with restored Dolby Surround sound that does full justice to the film's snappy dialogue and the moody George Antheil score. --Roz Kaveney

• Anatomy Of A Murder | DVD | (20/08/2001) from £9.98   |  Saving you £12.00 (150.19%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Anatomy of a Murder, Otto Preminger's 1959 film of the novel by Robert Traver (a pen name for a Michigan Supreme Court Justice), was controversial in its day for making frank on-screen use of then-unheard words such as "panties", "rape" and "spermatogenesis"--and it remains a trenchant, bitter, tough, witty dissection of the American legal system. With its striking Saul Bass title design and jazzy Duke Ellington score, Anatomy of a Murder takes a sophisticated approach unusual for a Hollywood film of its vintage. Most radically, it refuses to show the murder or any of the private scenes recounted in court, leaving it up to us to decide along with the jury whether the grumpy and unconcerned Lieutenant Frederick Manion (Ben Gazzara) was or was not subject to an "irresistible impulse" tantamount to insanity when he shot dead Barney Quill, the bear-like bar owner alleged to have raped Manion's teasing trailer-trash wife Laura (Lee Remick in unfeasibly tight trousers). James Stewart plays Paul "Polly" Biegler a former District Attorney keen to get back into court to clash with the political dullard who replaced him in office. Biegler is supported by the skills of his snide secretary (Eve Arden) and boozy-but-brilliant research partner (Arthur O'Connell). For the prosecution, the befuddled local DA hauls in Dancer (George C Scott), a prissy legal eagle from the local big city whose sharp-suited, sly elegance makes an interesting clash with Biegler's "aw-shucks" jimmy-stewartian conniving. This is simply the best trial movie ever made, with a real understanding of the way lawyers have to be not only great actors but stars, assuming personalities that exaggerate their inner selves and weighing every outburst and objection for the effect it has on the poor saps in the jury box. On the DVD: The print is letterboxed to 1.85:1, but it's a bit of a cheat since that seems to involve trimming the top and bottom of the image (losing the steps under and the clouds above the Columbia lady in the opening titles), though the film isn't seriously hurt by a tighter look at the action. Also included are: an Ellington-scored photo montage, soundtracks in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish with subtitles in ten languages, filmographies for director and principal cast, original advertising (highlighting Saul Bass' poster designs, a trailer and more trailers for more Columbia Jimmy Stewart or courtroom films. --Kim Newman

• Mr Benn - The Complete Series | DVD | (10/10/2005) from £13.05   |  Saving you £6.94 (53.18%)   |  RRP £19.99

  As if by magic the shopkeeper appeared! Mr Benn sets out on some amazing adventures. A balloonist a cowboy a wizard and a spaceman - an ordinary man can become all of these things when he visits the magic costume shop.... Episodes from the cult classic children's animation that have enthralled generations; all 14 original episodes are now available on DVD for the first time ever!

• Big Deal - Series 1 | DVD | (24/07/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Life's a gamble. Robbie Box is one of life's good guys. Except that his gambling addiction threatens everything. In the lowlife circuit of pubs bookies and smoky gambling dens he rides a rollercoaster from bankruptcy to wealth and back again but when it jeopardises his relationship with his long-suffering family Robbie is determined to give it all up. Until the next big game all-night poker session or race meeting...

• Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. 4K Collector's Edition | Blu Ray | (18/07/2022) from £49.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Regenerated in out of this world 4K, Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. directed by Gordon Flemyng, stars Peter Cushing in his return to the big screen as British TV's most iconic sci-fi hero, Dr. Who. The earth of 2150 A.D. is a desolate and hostile ruin of a planet, crumbling at the edge of civilisation, slowly disappearing into the darkness of space. For the future of planet earth now belongs to The Daleks, a destructive army of alien invaders who have turned humans into cowering slaves. Meanwhile deep within the London Underground a group of resistance freedom fighters are planning an attack. But there's only one man who could possibly help them succeed in destroying their extra-terrestrial enemies and take back control of planet earth. A man of mystery, a man of time and space, a man known only as The Dr. Product Features The Dalek Legacy: Invasion Earth Audio Commentary with critic Kim Newman, screenwriter/writer Robert Shearman, and actor/writer Mark Gatiss Dalekmania Interview with Gareth Owen Interview with Bernard Cribbins Restoring Dr. Who in 4K Original Trailer Stills Gallery

• The KNACK .and how to get it (DVD + Blu-ray) | Blu Ray | (18/06/2018) from £7.29   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  From the director of the Beatles A Hard Day's Night (1964) and Help! (1965) comes this inventive and hilarious romp through love and sex in 1960s London. Featuring a wildly frenetic filmmaking style that careers from slapstick to serious avant-garde, this genuinely dazzling film is a mod masterpiece. Cool and sophisticated Tolen (Ray Brooks) has a monopoly on womanising - with a long line of conquests to prove it while the naïve and awkward Colin (Michael Crawford) desperately wants a piece of it. But when Colin falls for an innocent country girl (Rita Tushingham), it's not long before the self-assured Tolen moves in for the kill. Is all fair in love and war, or can Colin get the knack and beat Tolen at his own game? Special features Presented in High Definition and Standard Definition Captain Busby the Even Tenour of Her Ways (1967, 16 mins): Ann Wolff's surreal riff on Philip O'Connor's poem, featuring Quentin Crisp Now and Then: Dick Lester (1967, 17 mins): Bernard Braden's wide-ranging interview with the director Rita Tushingham Remembers THE KNACK... and how to get it (2018, 11 mins): newly shot interview with the actress Staging THE KNACK...and how to get it (2018, 2 mins): interview with the director of the first stage version of The Knack British Cinema in the 1960s: Richard Lester in Conversation (2018, 59 mins): the director discusses his career with Neil Sinyard Illustrated booklet with writing by Neil Sinyard and Melanie Williams, plus full film credits

• The Pemini Organisation (1972-1974) (UK Limited Edition) | Blu Ray | (30/05/2022) from £29.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  In the early 1970s, three ambitious friends Peter Crane, Michael Sloan and Nigel Hodgson combined the first letters of each of their names and set up the Pemini Organisation, a young and vital independent British film production company. Active between 1972 and 1974, Pemini produced one mid-length film, Hunted, a high-suspense thriller starring Edward Woodward and June Ritchie, and two feature films: Assassin, a grimly realistic spy film starring Ian Hendry, Edward Judd, Frank Windsor, Ray Brooks and Mike Pratt; and Moments, an enigmatic romantic mystery starring Keith Michell and Angharad Rees. When Pemini disbanded, the films disappeared into the ether... Now, these three lost works, made by one of the most vibrant independent production companies of the era, have been rescued from the archives to be given their first ever home entertainment release in this deluxe, individually numbered Limited Edition Blu-ray set, accompanied by a wealth of newly produced extras, including feature-length director commentaries, cast and crew interviews, and an 80-page book. Product Features New 2K restorations of Hunted, Assassin, and Moments from the only surviving film elements Original mono audio Audio commentaries on Hunted, Assassin, and Moments with director Peter Crane and film historian Sam Dunn (2022) Interview with Peter Crane, director of Hunted, Assassin, and Moments (2022) Interview with Michael Sloan, writer of Hunted, Assassin, and Moments (2022) Interview with Bruce Atkins, production designer Hunted, Assassin, and Moments (2022) Interview with Pemini Organisation co-founder Nigel Hodgson (2022) Interview with June Ritchie, star of Hunted (2022) Interview with Hunted composer Graham Dee (2022) Interview with Martyn Chillmaid, assistant director of Assassin (2022) Interview with Moments actor Valerie Minifie (2022) Interview with Moments composer John Cameron (2022) Interview with Bill Summers, electrician on Moments (2022) ˜Moments' in Cannes (2022): Peter Crane recounts a memorable story from an exhibitor screening Film historian Vic Pratt charts the history of the Pemini Organisation (2022) Ian Hendry biographer Gabriel Hershman looks at the actor's role in Assassin (2022) Moments: deleted sex scene (1974): sequence removed from release prints at the behest of the distributor In Search of Lebanon (1970): student film directed by Peter Crane and Nigel Hodgson exploring present day Lebanon as the living source of the Adonis myth Original theatrical trailers Image galleries: extensive promotional and publicity materials from the Pemini Organisation's archives New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing Limited edition exclusive 80-page book featuring extensive extracts from Peter Crane's ˜Memories of Pemini', detailing the rise and fall of the Pemini Organisation and the production of their three films, extracts from the films' original press materials, archival news articles on Pemini's activities, new writing on In Search of Lebanon, and full film credits World premiere on Blu-ray Limited edition of 6,000 copies for the UK and US All extras subject to change

• Play it Cool | DVD | (10/02/2014) from £6.99   |  Saving you £3.00 (42.92%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Featuring the big-screen debut of Liverpudlian pop idol Billy Fury - 'Britain's Elvis Presley' - this charming, pre-Beatles-era musical feature was among Michael Winner's earliest films. A 1962 box-office hit spawning a Top-Ten single and EP, Play It Cool features cameos from some of the most recognisable stars of the Sixties and beyond, with Bobby Vee, Helen Shapiro and Shane Fenton (aka Alvin Stardust) among the artistes encountered by Fury and his fictional band. The film is present...

• Some People | DVD | (20/05/2013) from £6.99   |  Saving you £3.00 (42.92%)   |  RRP £9.99

  A lively musical tale of teen rebellion Some People stars BAFTA winner Kenneth More alongside a group of young actors on the cusp of bursting onto the Swinging London film scene. Ray Brooks Annika (Anneke) Wills and David Hemmings play the young bored rebels living for kicks in this key British film from the early 1960s. Some People is featured here in a brand-new transfer from original film elements in its as-exhibited theatrical aspect ratio. Young and bored Johnnie Bill and Bert are teenaged tearaways whose only interests are motorbikes and rock music. When they are banned from riding and fined heavily they become convinced that society has no use for them. But a choirmaster finds them playing rock on a church organ and for some of them at least there seems to be a way out of a no-hope situation... SPECIAL FEATURES [] Full-frame 4:3 as-filmed version of main feature [] Original theatrical trailer [] Image gallery [] Press book PDF

• Mr. Benn Complete Series: 50th Anniversary Edition | DVD | (08/02/2021) from £13.79   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Mr Benn is the ordinary, bowler-hatted office worker who lives in the ordinary suburban street of Festive Road. However, when he tries on a costume in a mysterious costume shop, he steps out of the changing room into a different time and place, appropriate to his apparel. His adventures include him being an astronaut, a pirate and a Native American.

• Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. | DVD | (27/05/2013) from £11.99   |  Saving you £6.00 (60.06%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Daleks Invasion Earth 2150 directed by Gordon Flemyng now fully restored and starring Peter Cushing in his return to the big screen as British TV's most iconic sci-fi hero Doctor Who. The earth of 2150 AD is a desolate and hostile ruin of a planet crumbling at the edge of civilisation slowly disappearing into the darkness of space. For the future of planet earth now belongs The Daleks a destructive army of alien invaders who have turned the human race into cowering slaves. Meanwhile deep within the London Underground a group of resistance freedom fighters are planning an attack. But there's only one man who could possibly help them succeed in destroying their extra terrestrial enemies and take back control of planet earth. A man of mystery a man of time and space a man known only as... The Doctor. Special Features: Restoring Daleks Invasion Earth: 2150 AD Interview with Actor Bernard Cribbins Interview with Author Gareth Owen Stills Gallery Trailer

• Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. | Blu Ray | (27/05/2013) from £59.99   |  Saving you £-40.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Daleks Invasion Earth 2150 directed by Gordon Flemyng now fully restored and starring Peter Cushing in his return to the big screen as British TV's most iconic sci-fi hero Doctor Who. The earth of 2150 AD is a desolate and hostile ruin of a planet crumbling at the edge of civilisation slowly disappearing into the darkness of space. For the future of planet earth now belongs The Daleks a destructive army of alien invaders who have turned the human race into cowering slaves. Meanwhile deep within the London Underground a group of resistance freedom fighters are planning an attack. But there's only one man who could possibly help them succeed in destroying their extra terrestrial enemies and take back control of planet earth. A man of mystery a man of time and space a man known only as... The Doctor. Special Features: Restoring Daleks Invasion Earth: 2150 AD Interview with Actor Bernard Cribbins Interview with Author Gareth Owen Stills Gallery Trailer

• Ken Loach at the BBC | DVD | (05/09/2011) from £19.99   |  Saving you £-0.99 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.00

  1965 saw Ken Loach working as one of the in house directors of the groundbreaking The Wednesday Play series at The BBC which included Three Clear Sundays Up the Junction and The End of Arthur's Marriage. Of these plays Up The Junction had the most impact telling the story of three young women factory workers in their work and home lives focusing on Rube as she meets her first boyfriend and chronicles the significant life changing events that follow including an illegal abortion. Not only controversial at the time Loach's inter-cutting of real life interviews mixed in with drama became a signpost for his future directing style striving for naturalism and realism. 1966 saw Ken Loach's breakthrough piece Cathy Come Home. The play follows the lives of young sweethearts Cathy (Carol White fresh from Up The Junction) and Reg (Ray Brooks) starting out as a newly married couple moving into a new place and having children. Reg then suffers an accident which means he is unable to work and they end up being evicted and separated. With Cathy homeless but still looking after the children she faces having her children taken away from her by Social Services. This is perhaps the play that has had more impact than any other on television highlighting the very real problem of homelessness. Even some forty years later the power of Cathy Come Home remains undiminished. In Two Minds charts the turbulent life of a young woman who endures a difficult family life and after throwing a kitchen knife at her mother is diagnosed as a schizophrenic. Much like Cathy Come Home the realistic documentary style helps provide veracity to the story. Written by Jim Allen The Big Flame is a story of striking Liverpool dock workers who decide that to safeguard their futures they must control the port themselves. This was the first of several Ken Loach / Jim Allen collaborations - many of which would be starkly political. The BAFTA nominated Days of Hope was Jim Allen's tale of a working-class family in the period from 1916 to 1926 taking in the First World War events in Ireland and the General Strike of 1926. Running to well over six hours the series tells an epic story particularly in the light of the parlous state of the economy and labour relations in Britain at the time. A radical series in every sense Jim Allen was able create real parallels in Days of Hope that resonated with the working class of the mid 1970's and the political climate at that time. Loach returned to the BBC with The Price of Coal (written by Kes author Barry Hines) a film which depicted the lives of those living in a coalfield community. The first part subtitled Meet The People is a comic tale surrounding the story of a colliery community in preparation for a visit by Prince Charles and the efforts being put on by the management to make the pit fit for a future king involving grassing over an unsightly coal slag heap and whitewashing everything in site. The second part Back To Reality is completely different in tone when the colliery suffers a sudden underground explosion trapping killing and injuring the miners and as the rescue team work frantically to rescue those trapped those above ground argue about who is to blame. The Rank and File which completes the collection again written by Jim Allen is a story based around the strike by the Pilkington Glass workers. This beautifully packaged collection displays some of Loach's very best work and gives a real insight into working class life in the 60's and 70's. The collection also features an interview with Ken Loach a documentary entitled Housing Problems and a commentary track for Cathy Come Home.

• House of Whipcord (Blu-ray) | Blu Ray | (02/06/2014) from £8.99   |  Saving you £13.00 (144.60%)   |  RRP £21.99

  Many young girls have entered these gates – none have yet come out! British horror maestro Peter Walker (Frightmare) delivers the ultimate tale of terror and degradation as Page 3 beauty Penny Irving finds herself locked up in a secret women’s prison where girls are abused whipped and hung to cure them of their immoral ways! Ann Michelle co-stars.

• Randall And Hopkirk (Deceased): The Complete Series | Blu Ray | (02/10/2017) from £56.12   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  The twist of private-eye show Randall & Hopkirk Deceased is that in the first episode, gumshoe Marty Hopkirk (Kenneth Cope) is killed off by the villains, only to pop up in an immaculate white suit as a ghost visible only to his hardboiled partner Jeff Randall (Mike Pratt). In theory, the supernatural streak--which meant a complex set of rules about Marty's appearances and effects on the physical world--should lead the show into wilder territory, but most episodes squander the team's unique abilities on ordinary cases about blackmail and murder-for-profit. A persistent subplot has the living Jeff getting cosy with the dead Marty's widow Jean (Annette Andre) to the discomfort of her late husband. The elementary effects and the nice underplaying of the leads have a certain period charm, and the show could afford a high calibre of special guest villains and dolly birds. A 1990s remake with Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer hasn't obliterated memories of the original. --Kim Newman

• Some People | Blu Ray | (06/04/2020) from £20.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  A lively musical tale of teen rebellion, Some People stars BAFTA winner Kenneth More alongside a group of young actors on the cusp of bursting onto the Swinging London film scene. Ray Brooks, Annika (Anneke) Wills and David Hemmings play the young, bored rebels living for kicks in this key British film from the early 1960s. Some People is featured here as a brand-new High Definition restoration from original film elements in its original theatrical aspect ratio. Young and bored, Johnnie, Bill and Bert are teenaged tearaways whose only interests are motorbikes and rock music. When they are banned from riding and fined heavily, they become convinced that society has no use for them. But a choirmaster finds them playing rock on a church organ and, for some of them at least, there seems to be a way out of a no-hope situation. Special Features: Fullscreen, as-filmed version of main feature Original theatrical trailer Image gallery

• Dr. Who - Die Invasion der Daleks auf der Erde 2150 n. Chr. | Blu Ray | (21/07/2022) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• H.M.S. Defiant | DVD | (18/03/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Set in 1797 at the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars, HMS Defiant is an enthralling British naval drama made to capitalise upon MGM's epic remake of Mutiny on the Bounty, also released in 1962. Based on the novel Mutiny by Frank Tilsey and starring Alex Guinness as a fair-minded captain locked in psychological conflict with Dirk Bogarde, his manipulative, coldly malicious first officer, the parallels with the famous true story are clear. However there were many naval mutinies at this period and this large-scale saga, which includes some spectacularly staged widescreen naval battles, offers a realistic depiction of life in the British navy at the time--from the press gangs and floggings, to the appalling food and living conditions. Director Lewis Gilbert--who previously helmed Sink the Bismarck! (1960)--strikes a good balance between the personal drama and sweeping maritime adventure. Guinness successfully varies his firm-but-fair officer from The Bridge on the River Kwai, Bogarde is chillingly hateful and Anthony Quayle gives strong support. ITV's recent Hornblower cumulatively offers a more detailed portrait of the British navy during the Napoleonic Wars, though the TV series cannot match the visual scale of this big-screen production. On the DVD: HMS Defiant is presented anamorphically enhanced at 2.35:1, though a little of the original CinemaScope frame is still cropped at the sides. The image is generally very good, though a handful of scenes near the end show considerable print damage and there is an inconstancy of colour grading between some shots. Grain is variable, but not generally a problem, though some unattractive "ringing" from edge enhancement is noticeable, particularly around Alex Guinness when he stands against a bright sky. The sound is in very clear mono with just occasional distortion on the music score. The disc offers the option of watching with dubbed French, German, Italian or Spanish soundtracks. The original trailer is included--under the American title of Damn the Defiant!--as are trailers for three other classic war films. The only other extra features are a small gallery of original publicity materials and three very basic filmographies. --Gary S Dalkin

• Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. Steelbook | Blu Ray | (18/07/2022) from £28.85   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Regenerated in out of this world 4K, Daleks' Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. directed by Gordon Flemyng, stars Peter Cushing in his return to the big screen as British TV's most iconic sci-fi hero, Dr. Who. The earth of 2150 A.D. is a desolate and hostile ruin of a planet, crumbling at the edge of civilisation, slowly disappearing into the darkness of space. For the future of planet earth now belongs to The Daleks, a destructive army of alien invaders who have turned humans into cowering slaves. Meanwhile deep within the London Underground a group of resistance freedom fighters are planning an attack. But there's only one man who could possibly help them succeed in destroying their extra-terrestrial enemies and take back control of planet earth. A man of mystery, a man of time and space, a man known only as The Dr. Product Features The Dalek Legacy: Invasion Earth Audio Commentary with critic Kim Newman, screenwriter/writer Robert Shearman, and actor/writer Mark Gatiss Dalekmania Interview with Gareth Owen Interview with Bernard Cribbins Restoring Dr. Who in 4K Original Trailer Stills Gallery