"Actor: Richard H"

• High Stakes | DVD | (14/05/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  High Stakes is set in Kendrick Maple Investment Bacnk which is steeped in tradition and has recognised a need to change. The bank appoints a chairman to oversee this modernisation and in doing so causes conflict between the chairman and the existing managing director. Between the two men it Greg Hayden acting as mediator and trying to limit the fallout from their explosions. This Double DVD set contains Series one and the never before broadcast Series 2 available for the first time ever.

• Rossini: Il Barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville) - Netherlands Opera | DVD | (22/12/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  In an audio recording, the distinctive quality of this Netherlands Opera production of The Barber of Seville would go unnoticed, and a lot of people might like it better without pictures. The singing is first-class, with a pert, smart, visually appealing Rosina (Jennifer Larmore), a Count who can spin out bel canto melodies and also do a good drunk scene (Richard Croft), and a Figaro with lots of personality (David Malis). Conductor Alberto Zedda is an expert in the music of Rossini, but video reveals that, for better or for worse, this Barber of Seville differs radically from other treatments of Rossini's comic masterpiece. Usually, The Barber of Seville is an intimate little comedy with a half-dozen solo roles and a small, all-male chorus. Except for a few ensemble numbers, there are only two or three people on stage at any given moment, often conversing in stage whispers. Sometimes, in a plot full of secrets and deceptions, supernumeraries are out of place. Dario Fo's staging ignores this stylistic tradition. He gives the solo singers a crowd of artfully choreographed silent partners (including acrobats, dancers and two men rigged to imitate a donkey), who scamper around the stage carrying ladders and sheets, pushing platforms, waving banners and making sure that there is always something to amuse the eyes as well as the ears. This staging gives a solid visual embodiment to the comic spirit of the words and music, but it wipes out any pretence of dramatic realism. The Barber of Seville does not pretend to be "a slice of life" and many patrons will find that the energy of these added participants is its own justification. But those who treasure traditional staging and the conventions of realism should be ready for a lively but unconventional production. Perhaps they can listen with their eyes closed and enjoy a first-class sound recording. --Joe McLellan

• Bob Le Flambeur / Un Flic | DVD | (04/04/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  A double bill of Jean-Pierre Melville classics including 'Bob Le Flambeur' and the hardboiled thriller 'Un Flic'. Bob Le Flambeur (1955): Once a renowned criminal Bob the Gambler now contents himself with gambling frequenting casinos in the shady districts of Paris. He is convinced his gangster days are over - until he meets up with an old accomplice who has news which interests him. The casino at Deauville has a safe which is loaded with several hundred million francs. Short of cash Bob decides to plan one last great robbery. He recruits a number of former fellow criminals and plans the theft to the greatest detail. Unfortunately on the day of the robbery things rapidly begin to go wrong. Bob's luck appears to have taken an unexpected turn - for the better. Un Flic: Melville's last film returns to the genre in which he made the classic Le Samourai. A band of crooks carry out a bank robbery and then an incredible hold-up on a train. When he investigates the crimes Parisian detective Commissaire Coleman discovers that they were masterminded by his friend - the night club owner Simon abetted by his seductive girlfriend Cathy...

• Sands Of Iwo Jima | DVD | (19/08/2002) from £22.96   |  Saving you £-9.98 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Blazing action and spectacle are on the menu as battle-toughened sergeant John M Stryker (John Wayne) prepares a group of soldiers for action in the Pacific. His training methods are harsh and the men dislike him especially new recruit Peter Conway (John Agar).Slowly however this dislike turns to respect especially when Stryker saves Conway's life. But the men have got their biggest test ahead on Iwo Jima where they have to inch their way up Mt. Suribachi under constant Japanese fire.One of John Wayne's finest performances it earned him his first Oscar nomination for Best Actor. Terrifying battle sequences and an excellent cast also earned three further Oscar nominations for Best Screenplay Best Editing and Best Sound Recording.

• Miami Supercops | DVD | (25/04/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Here's the very lastest in the riotous series of action-packed comedies from the dynamic Hill/Spencer duo! In 'Miami Supercops' our heroes are two courageous crimefighters on the trail of $20 million stolen in a heist some years before. It's murder mayhem and pandemonium all the way as they track down the money - and their man - with of course a little help from two beautiful girls!

• Russian Fireworks | DVD | (02/12/2002) from £16.16   |  Saving you £-6.17 (-61.80%)   |  RRP £9.99

  This Russian Fireworks instalment of the "Naxos Musical Journey" series focuses on the wide geographical and cultural diversity of a vast country, from winter forest scenes near St Petersburg to the holiday resort of Yalta on the Black Sea, complemented by music drawn from a range of Russian composers linking the musical history of their homeland. The film opens with the Procession of the Sardar by Ippolitov-Ivanov with pictures of lakes and mountains in Uzbeksitan. Lyadovs charming Russian Folksongs begins east of Moscow in Suzdal, in the 13th-century cathedral. Rubinsteins Dance of the Bayaderes No. 2 takes us to Yalta, the lake resort where Chekov recovered from tuberculosis. A Galop by Kabalevsky underscores pedestrians running up and down the Potemkin steps in Odessa; while Mussorgsky accompanies scenes of the rich farm land round Kiev, Uzbekistan and oases on the silk-road to Samarkand. Lyadovs Baba Yaga is set in woods round St Petersburg, evoking the witch of Russian folk lore, and Kilimora, set in the same location, depicts a snowy landscape. The Enchanted Lake shows the Valday Heights, where the Volga rises. All these pieces are well played by the Slovak Philharmonic, following one another with very short breaks. On the DVD: Russian Fireworks comes with travel notes as a guide to each location in the filming. There are also brief composer biographies, and trailers for more "Musical Journeys". The picture and sound quality leave nothing to be desired. --Adrian Edwards

• Monteverdi: L'Incoronazione di Poppea | DVD | (04/12/2000) from £2.96   |  Saving you £23.29 (1,370.00%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Monteverdi's L'Incoronazione di Poppea (1642) marks one of the very foundations of opera. Revolving around real historical characters, the Roman emperor Nero, his love for Poppea, the betrayal of the empress Octavia, and death of the philosopher Seneca, Monteverdi pits human love, ambition and intrigue against the fates. The set, a symbolic part-globe, and the costumes drawn from various ages suggest--very much in the way of the surreal film of Shakespeare's Titus (1999)--that the concerns of ancient Rome are timeless. With the emphasis on the text (the music alone does not hold the attention for 150 minutes) conductor Jacobs depends upon an excellent cast to bring the production alive. Patricia Schumann dominates the stage, her Poppea is warm, sensual and likeable, without being entirely trustworthy, an effective counterpart to Richard Croft's Nero. Darla Brooks brings just the right degree of vivacious gullibility to Drusilla, while Curtis Ryam offers eccentric comedy as Arnalta. As Ottone Jeffrey Gall is a man acutely tormented by love. Recorded at the 1993 Schwetzinger Festspiele, there is no sign of an audience, the many close-ups suggesting this performance was specially given for video. On the DVD: There are subtitle options for English, French and German, but no special features. The booklet is well documented but does not contain the libretto. The sound is good PCM stereo while the 4:3 image (not 16:9 as stated on the packaging) is better than video but otherwise unremarkable. --Gary S. Dalkin

• Jaws | Blu Ray | (03/09/2012) from £7.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Directed by Academy Award winner Steven Spielberg, Jaws set the standard for edge-of-your seat suspense quickly becoming a cultural phenomenon and forever changing the way audiences experience movies. When the seaside community of Amity finds itself under attack by a dangerous great white shark, the town's chief of police (Roy Scheider), a young marine biologist (Richard Dreyfuss) and a grizzled shark hunter (Robert Shaw) embark on a desperate quest to destroy the beast before it strik...

• Aerial Gunner | DVD | (19/05/2007) from £7.09   |  Saving you £-1.10 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Lieutenant Davis and his striken aircraft return to base following a successful bombing mission over Japan only to discover members of his crew are either missing or dead. Recounting in flashbacks the events leading up to the fatal mission Davis tells of his rivalry with his aerial gunner Sgt Foxy Pattis. A dramatic story of envy revenge and comradship set against the background of World War Two.

• Side By Side | Blu Ray | (05/02/2013) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Stargate S.G -1: Season 4 (Vol. 15) | DVD | (24/09/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The 1994 film Stargate was originally intended as the start of a franchise, but creators Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin were distracted when celebrating their Independence Day. Episodic TV treatment was the natural next step. In the roles of Colonel Jack O'Neill and Dr Daniel Jackson respectively are Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks. They're joined by Captain Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) and guilt-stricken former alien baddie Teal'c (Christopher Judge) to form the teacher's-pet primary unit SG-1. With a seemingly endless network of Stargates found to exist on planets all across the known universe, their mission is to make first contact with as many friendly races as possible. Chasing their heels at almost every turn are the "overlord" Goa'uld--the ancient Egyptian Gods who are none too chummy after the events of the original film. The welcome notion of a continued plot thread sees offshoots that follow the reincarnation of Daniel's wife, Sam's father literally joining a renegade faction of the Goa'uld and Jack in an unending quest to out-sarcasm everyone. There's something of The Time Tunnel to the show's premise, but amid a dearth of derivative lookalikes, Stargate has held its own with stories that put the science fiction back into TV sci-fi. On this DVD: "Divide and Conquer" presents a disturbing theory that none of us may be who we think we are. Newly recurring guest star Vanessa Angel returns as Freya to reveal that "za'tarc" technology can programme a person to be an assassin without their knowledge. This episode becomes a claustrophobic showcase for the actors to display distrust for one another. "Window of Opportunity" is the now mandatory Groundhog Day scenario episode that all franchise series must attempt. Typically the SG-1 writers make more of the material than in other shows, with O'Neill and Teal'c growing to enjoy having 10 hours to live repeatedly. Ultimately, though, there's a lesson to be learned about the fruitlessness of trying to recapture the past. "Watergate" demonstrates the excellent continuity kept up by the show in revealing what happened to the original missing Dial Home Device--the Russians have it! Not only that, they have their own Stargate, a disturbing amount of information on the SG-1 team, a mysterious link to a water planet and a scientist who bears an uncanny resemblance to Deanna Troi from Star Trek: The Next Generation (Marina Sirtis). "The First Ones" is a warm variant on the Lion and the Mouse fable when Daniel establishes a relationship with a primitive alien creature. The planet is the original home world of the Goa'uld parasites, meaning that the SG Team's rescue mission turns into a dangerous period of paranoid suspicion. Who has been compromised and what does Chaka really want with Daniel? --Paul Tonks

• Beauty and the Beast (Disney Read-Along) | DVD | (07/10/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

• Strictly Confidential | DVD | (21/04/2008) from £4.03   |  Saving you £8.96 (222.33%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Strictly Confidential is a comedy romp in which two conmen are released from prison and decide to ply their old trade by resuming their military disguises. 'Commander' Bissham-Riley (Richard Murdoch) and 'Major' Rory McQuarry (William Kendall) are thrown out by an enraged restaurant owner and bump into a beautiful young widow Maxine Millard (Maya Koumani). Millard is the chairman of Grannies Globules Ltd and appoints the two heels as Managing Directors. As they create havoc with their bumbling it is up to the works manager Mr Grimshaw (William Hartnell) to save the family firm.

• Stargate S.G -1: Season 3 (Vol. 11) | DVD | (23/04/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £4.99

  The 1994 movie Stargate was originally intended as the start of a franchise, but creators Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin were distracted celebrating their Independence Day. Episodic TV treatment was the natural next step. In the roles of Colonel Jack O'Neill and Dr Daniel Jackson respectively are Richard Dean Anderson and Michael Shanks. They're joined by Captain Samantha Carter (Amanda Tapping) and guilt-stricken former alien baddie Teal'c (Christopher Judge) to form the teacher's pet primary unit SG-1 With a seemingly endless network of Stargates found to exist on planets all across the known universe, their mission is to make first contact with as many friendly races as possible. Chasing their heels at almost every turn are the "overlord" Goa'uld--the ancient Egyptian Gods who are none too chummy after the events of the original film. The welcome notion of a continued plot thread sees offshoots that follow the reincarnation of Daniel's wife, Sam's father joining a renegade faction of the Goa'uld, and Jack in an unending quest to out-sarcasm everyone. There's something of The Time Tunnel to the show's premise, but amid a dearth of derivative look-a-likes, Stargate has held its own with stories that put the science fiction back into TV sci-fi. --Paul TonksOn this DVD: Resolving the cliffhanger from Volume 10, "The Devil You Know" reveals an embarrassing secret that could allow the team to escape the clutches of Satanic Sokar. Then, when following up clues to find the Harcesis child "Forever in a Day", Teal'c is the only one to notice the SGC has been taken over by chameleonic aliens trying to establish a "Foothold" on Earth for invasion. The following "Pretense" is one of those sci-fi series staples as a character is put on trial to prove their guilt on behalf of another. "Urgo" is this volume's highlight, and expands the general sardonic humour with a little pathos for the guest appearance by Dom DeLuise. Lots of slapstick ensues. As well as trailers for the next volume, the disc includes a seven-minute interview with Don Davis on his character of General George Hammond. He talks about his own Captaincy in the army and an acting career that began with MacGuyver! There's also five minutes with costume designer Christine McQuarrie explaining what has to be done in just seven days. --Paul Tonks

• Stargate S.G -1: Season 5 (Vol. 20) | DVD | (22/04/2002) from £11.45   |  Saving you £11.53 (136.29%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The opening episodes of the fifth season of Stargate SG-1 had a lot of story left over from the nail-biting Season 4 cliffhanger, so this year had to open with a two-part conclusion. "Enemies" is aptly named because the team are faced with their biggest nemeses of all, Apophis and the Replicators, while stuck in another galaxy 120 years away from Earth. The biggest interpersonal problem facing them, however, is a switch in allegiance by Teal'c. Continuing into "Threshold", it takes the wisdom of his old master Bra'tac to perceive that all is not as it seems. But after so many attempts, can the enemies ever truly be vanquished? At long last, Sam gets a sympathetic and revealing spotlight. We get to see some of her home life and who she is away from the science lab. In her garage she has a 1940 Indian motorcycle, a 1961 vintage Volvo and a Harley. These aren't the only things she tinkers with in "Ascension", however. In a case of torn loyalties, she's confronted by an imaginary friend/lover (Young Indiana Jones himself, Sean Patrick Flanery). And then Jack seems to experience something very similar when the team gains a "Fifth Man". Both these episodes' storylines are threatened by the poisonous introduction of Colonel Simmons (John de Lancie, Star Trek's Q). --Paul Tonks

• Doom | UMD | (03/04/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The legendary computer game comes to life in this all-action sci-fi adventure.

• Hells Angels On Wheels | DVD | (19/02/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Hell's Angels on Wheels' takes you back to an era of drug and gasoline fuelled rebellion. Photographed by Lazlo Kovacs (Director of photography on 'Paper Moon' and 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind') and starring Jack Nicholson in one of his finest roles this movie goes hog wild! The director Richard Rush worked alongside the notorious Sonny Barger and the Oakland Hell's Angels as well as using Hunter S. Thompson's 'Hell's Angels' as major background source. Adam Rourke plays 'Buddy' the head of the Angels and Nicholson plays 'Poet' a gas jockey who joins the brotherhood. Nicholson soon comes to realise that there are a lot of slaves in Buddy's Hell and he doesn't want to be one of them. Until that realisation however he delights in the violence and the orgies - which allows Nicholson to give his baby-faced-killer grin a thorough workout...

• Please Sir! - The Best Of Please Sir! - Vol. 3 | DVD | (03/02/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  The Decent Thing: When Bernard spends a night with Sharon's mother he doesn't bargain on the consequences such as Sharon telling people that her mother is in the club again. Is Bernard about to have his first nervous breakdown? The Generation Gap: Class 5c becomes socially aware and take to promoting care in the community amongst the older residents. Unfortunately it's not necessarily the students who have to be co-operative as Potter finds out with Mr. De'Ath. The School Captain: The newly founded House system at Fenn Street runs into a few teething problems with election rigging and uncooperative students all whilst Bernard is trying to maintain his own reputation as Housemaster.

• Die Walkure - Wagner | DVD | (02/05/2005) from £21.20   |  Saving you £13.79 (39.40%)   |  RRP £34.99

  In the second work of Wagner's epic cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen Wotan faces the consequences of his actions begun in Das Rheingold while his daughter Brunnhilde emerges as the heroic voice of the conscience he strives to silence. Struggles of power mix with adulterous and incestuous love in an episode of dramatic vengeance. Filmed at Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu in 2003 Harry Kupfer's acclaimed production first staged in Berlin numbers among the greatest productions of modern times and is recorded in sumptuous surround sound.

• Teenage Caveman | DVD | (06/09/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £10.99

  Known only as the boy he is the son of a leader of a prehistoric tribe who live in a desolate valley. Making a perilous journey with them he sees them killed one by one....