"Actor: Richard O"

• 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!

• Yellow | DVD | (30/07/2007) from £6.73   |  Saving you £9.26 (57.90%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Roselyn Sanchez and D.B. Sweeney star in this romantic drama about a young dancer who travels from her native Puerto Rico to the Big Apple in search of a new life after the death of her crippled father once a great ballet star in New York City. Upon her arrival in New York with no job and nowhere to live Amaryllis (Sanchez) turns to working in a strip club to make ends meet. Amaryllis quickly creates a new family in New York by befriending an older man in her building a washed-out poetry professor named Miles Emory as well as her co-workers at the strip club. Increasingly desperate Amaryllis seriously injures herself during a performance one night at the club only to be saved by Christian (Sweeney) a doctor in the audience. Miles' poem 'Yellow' inspires Amaryllis to seek a Broadway dancing job and her emotional connection to Miles helps to give him a reason for living that eluded her father. As Amaryllis' relationship with Christian turns into a love affair she must make a choice between the security of his love and following her dream.

• Stargate S.G. 1 - Series 10 - Vol. 2 | DVD | (10/09/2007) from £5.38   |  Saving you £14.61 (73.10%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Stargate SG-1 Season 10 is the final adventure for the team and the last instalment in the SG1 collection. It sees the SG-1 military squad undertaking missions across the universe through the Stargates encountering various alien creatures and cultures on their journeys as they set out on another mission to defend the earth from the unknown. Episodes Comprise: 1. Uninvited 2. 200 3. Counterstrike 4. Memento Mori

• 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

• Cuckoo | DVD | (28/02/2011) from £3.98   |  Saving you £14.00 (703.52%)   |  RRP £15.99

  In one of his darkest roles Richard E. Grant plays an ageing professor obsessed with his star student Polly (Fraser). Polly is trapped in a dead-end job working for intrusive Professor Julius Greengrass (Grant). Her relationship with boyfriend Chapman (Adam Fenton) is falling apart and jealous sister Jimi (Antonia Bernath) rarely leaves her side. When Polly has the chance to escape her nearest and dearest have other ideas. Alone in her flat Polly struggles to keep her grip on reality. Mysterious sounds surround her voices in the darkness whispers of deceit. Polly knows she's not cuckoo but why won't the noises go away? She turns to the one person she can trust - her boss. But Julius has a dark secret of his own. He wants Polly and he'll do anything to get her. Using oppressive cinematography and a haunting soundtrack from BAFTA nominee Andrew Hewitt writer/director Richard Bracewell whose first film was the acclaimed low-budget comedy The Gigolos carefully builds Polly's world echoing her stressed and anxious state. Expertly played by Fraser we feel Polly's sense of isolation as events unfold around her in this darkly atmospheric and compelling story of deception and intrigue.

• 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

• Dynamite Chicken | DVD | (21/02/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £7.99

  Dynamite Chicken will be appreciated by those intererested in the culmination of the decade of change of the late 1960s when a more experimental culture encouraged films like this. A contemporary probe and commentary on the society it reflects Dynamite Chicken featurs contributions from many of the movers and shakers of the peace and love generation of the late 1960s.

• 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

• Curio | DVD | (12/09/2011) from £6.98   |  Saving you £11.00 (220.44%)   |  RRP £15.99

  29 year old Lauren and her young daughter Emily travel from the US to visit an old cottage on the North Yorkshire Moors bequeathed to them by their distant uncle. Shortly after their arrival at the dilapidated cottage an old friend of the dead uncle visits with some hospitality. Despite Lauren's reluctance the old woman conducts an impromptu sance and things rapidly begin to go wrong. Within 24 hours Lauren and Emily are fleeing from the police across the dark bleak Yorkshire Moors with nowhere to go. Lauren wakes up in bed in an old and unfamiliar room. She has a gunshot wound to her shoulder and a badly sprained ankle. Watching over her is Len the kindly rescuer who took her in. Initially warm and generous Len soon becomes unpredictable and quick to temper. A relentless intense psychological battle ensues - she ever more desperate to save herself and Emily and he increasingly psychotic. Ever fearful of his unpredictable violent mood swings she tries to placate him in order to be reunited with Emily and to escape. As her strength improves Lauren continues to probe into Len's past. But it's dangerous; she can never be sure where she stands with him. When Len's history is finally unraveled it is far more terrifying than she could ever have known. He carries the darkest of secrets and he needs Lauren to absolve him.

• 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

• 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...

• Paradise Postponed - Part 1 | DVD | (08/08/2005) from £22.96   |  Saving you £0.02 (0.10%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Written by barrister and playwright Sir John Mortimer Paradise Postponed takes in all of the upheavals of post-war British society. Why does the left-wing cleric Rev. Simeon Simcox leave the Simcox brewery millions to the morally loathsome Leslie 'The Toad' Titmuss? Titmuss is a city developer and Conservative cabinet minister who has wheeled and dealed his way through life. Simeon's sons set out to unravel the truth behind the will. Featured episodes: 1.Death Of A Saint

• 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.