"Actor: Ruth Gordon"

• Rosemary's Baby | DVD | (05/11/2001) from £6.73   |  Saving you £6.26 (93.02%)   |  RRP £12.99

  For Rosemary’s Baby, his modern horror tale about Satanic worship and a pregnant woman’s decline into madness, Roman Polanski moves from the traditional monolithic mansions of Gothic flicks to an apartment building in New York City. Based on Ira Levin’s novel, the story concerns Rosemary (Mia Farrow) and Guy Woodhouse who find the apartment of their dreams in a luxurious complex in Manhattan. Soon after moving in and making friends with a group of elderly neighbours, Guy’s career takes off and Rosemary discovers she is pregnant. Their happiness seems complete. But gradually Rosemary begins to sense that something is wrong with this baby, and slowly and surely her life begins to unravel. Polanski uses such subtle means to build up the sense of preternatural disquiet that initially you suspect Rosemary’s prenatal paranoia to be a figment of her imagination. But the guilty parties and their demonic plan to make Rosemary the receptacle of their master’s child are eventually revealed and, as Rosemary looses her grip on reality, she realises that no one can be trusted. The performances are excellent throughout; Farrow as the young wife is so fragile that you wonder how she made it unscathed to adulthood and John Cassavetes is horrifyingly duplicitous as her husband Guy. But the real star is Polanski’s masterful direction. The mood is at the same time oppressive and hysterical with the mounting terror coming from the situation and gradually unravelling plot rather than any schlock horror moments. On the DVD: the Dolby 5.1 soundtrack shows off Christopher Komeda’s eerie "lullaby" score to it’s haunting best. The film is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen and is relatively free of speckle and dust, some scenes filmed in low light are slightly grainier but this adds to the oppressive tension that Polanski is building up in the film. In terms of extras there is a 20-minute "making of" feature from 1968 and retrospective interviews with Polanski, production designer Richard Sylbert and producer Robert Evans. --Kristen Bowditch

• Cast A Giant Shadow | DVD | (20/05/2002) from £11.42   |  Saving you £1.57 (13.75%)   |  RRP £12.99

  1966’s Cast a Giant Shadow is based on Ted Berkman’s biography of Colonel "Mickey" Marcus, the American soldier who served as an adviser in the fight to establish the state of Israel in 1948. It stars Kirk Douglas as the likeable "stiffneck" and WWII veteran persuaded to take up the cause. Israel back then was depicted as a negligible military force under threat of extinction at the hands of its Arab neighbours, hamstrung by a UN embargo on arms supplies. It takes Douglas at his most square-jawed to see off the Egyptian military and defy a blockade to beat a path through to Jerusalem. This is not cinema verité but Hollywood. Marcus’ dilemma--to settle into peacetime in America or follow his more natural, combative instincts abroad--is symbolised by a love triangle, involving wife Angie Dickinson and Santa Berger as Magda, the soldier whom he falls for in Palestine. Although lavish and spectacular, especially in the war scenes--filmed in the actual Middle Eastern locations in which they occurred--Cast a Giant Shadow is not entirely authentic (for a start, they’re driving 1950s vehicles in the 40s). Moreover, in the light of later troubles in the region, not everyone will be heart warmed by this depiction of plucky little Israel coping against Arab foes who are barely depicted as human throughout the film, merely as tanks and gunfire. Still, it’s an impressive enough relic of epic 1960s cinema, with cameos from Yul Brynner, John Wayne as Marcus’ wartime general, and Frank Sinatra as a pilot scattering the enemy by dropping soda dispensers on them. On the DVD: Cast a Giant Shadow‘s restoration here is visually immaculate. The mono sound, however, is often indistinct, with a good deal of sibilant hiss. Disappointingly, the only extra is the original trailer.--David Stubbs

• Rosemary's Baby | Blu Ray | (07/10/2013) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Under ROMAN POLANSKI's chilling direction, a classic thriller is born. Rosemary (MIA FARROW) and Guy Woodhouse (JOHN CASSAVETES) are newlyweds, but Rosemary has no idea that her wedded bliss is about to come to a horrific end. Her husband's ambition as a struggling actor is about to plunge her into an abyss of terror like she has never known. In exchange for a taste of fame, Guy makes a deal with the devil that puts his wife and soul in jeopardy. When Rosemary becomes pregnant, her husband b...

• Harold & Maude | DVD | (13/05/2002) from £8.99   |  Saving you £4.00 (44.49%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Black comedies don't come much blacker than cult favourite, Harold and Maude (1972), and they don't come much funnier either. It seems that director Hal Ashby was the perfect choice to mine a load of eccentricity from the original Colin Higgins script, about the unlikely romance between a death-obsessed 19-year-old named Harold (Bud Cort) and a life-loving 79-year-old widow named Maude (Ruth Gordon). They meet at a funeral, and Maude finds something oddly appealing about Harold, urging him to "reach out" and grab life by the lapels as opposed to dwelling morbidly on mortality. Harold grows fond of the old gal--she's a lot more fun than the girls his mother desperately tries to match him up with- -and together they make Harold and Maude one of the sweetest and most unconventional love stories ever made. Much of the early humour arises from Harold' s outrageous suicide fantasies, played out as a kind of twisted parlour game to mortify his mother, who has grown immune to her strange son's antics. Gradually, however, the film's clever humour shifts to a brighter outlook and finally arrives at a point where Harold is truly happy to be alive. Featuring soundtrack songs by Cat Stevens, this comedy certainly won't appeal to all tastes (it was a box-office flop when first released), but if you're on its quirky wavelength, it might just strike you as one of the funniest films you've ever seen. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

• Rosemary's Baby 4K UHD | Blu Ray | (09/10/2023) from £19.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Concieved in terror. Born in fear. The chilling classic that birthed a new direction in horror, based on the bestseller by Ira Levin and produced by William Castle. Newlywed Rosemary (Mia Farrow) has no idea that her wedded bliss is about to come to a horrific end. After she becomes pregnant, her husband becomes odd, her neighbours (Sidney Blackmer and Oscar winner Ruth Gordon) border on obsessive, and her normal life turns into a surreal nightmare. Slowly, she begins to realise that a seed of evil has been planted and she is its host. Product Features Rosemarys Baby A Retrospective Mia and Roman Theatrical Trailer 50th Anniversary Redband Trailer

• Roman Polanski Collection | DVD | (01/09/2008) from £14.57   |  Saving you £1.68 (12.62%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Rosemary's Baby: Like most first time mothers Rosemary experiences confusion and fear. Her husband an ambitious but unsuccessful actor makes a pact with the devil that promises to send his career skyward... Possibly the best horror film ever made this brilliant adaptation of Ira Levin's best-selling novel is the story of a loving young New York city couple who are experiencing their first child. Director Roman Polanski elicits uniformly extraordinary performances from the all-star cast. Ruth Gordon won an Oscar for her performance as an oversolicitous next-door neighbour in this classic chiller. Chinatown: Jack Nicholson is private eye Jake Gittes living off the murky moral climate of sunbaked pre-war Southern California. Hired by a beautiful socialite (Faye Dunaway) to investigate her husband's extra-marital affair Gittes is swept into a maelstrom of double dealings and deadly deceits uncovering a web of personal and political scandals that come crashing together for one unforgettable night in ... Chinatown. The Tenant Roman: Polanski directs and stars as Trelkovsky an expatriate Pole in Paris who takes over the lease of a gloomy apartment and comes to believe that the other tenants in the block are conspiring to drive him to kill himself. The real or imagined conspiracy is supported by the suicide of the previous tenant. Trelkovsky finds himself assuming the identity of his predecessor but the twist that sets this film above the competition is that this previous occupant was a girl. Polanski uses this twist to explore the character's latent bisexuality in an atmosphere of paranoia and delusion.

• The Big Bus | DVD | (08/03/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  The Bus of the title is the world's first nuclear-powered coach and this fabulous parody of early 70's disaster movies hits the mark with misfit stereotyped passengers rediscovering God sex and the will to live a saboteur from the oil companies and a cannibalistic driver all coming together for the maiden voyage of the block-long super-coach. The passengers on this fun-filled ride from New York to Denver including ensure that the one-liners come thick and fast in this very funn

• Rosemary's Baby 4K UHD Collector's Edition | Blu Ray | (23/09/2024) from £31.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  The chilling classic that birthed a new direction in horror, based on the bestseller by Ira Levin (THE STEPFORD WIVES) and produced by William Castle (THE HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL). Newlywed Rosemary (Mia Farrow) has no idea that her wedded bliss is about to come to a horrific end. After she becomes pregnant, her husband becomes odd, her neighbours (Sidney Blackmer and Oscar® winner* Ruth Gordon) border on obsessive, and her normal life turns into a surreal nightmare. Slowly, she begins to realise that a seed of evil has been plantedand she is its host.This collector's edition includes the following:¢ Rigid Slipcase ¢ Digipack ¢ Original Theatrical Poster¢ 6 Art Cards ¢ Reproduction Production Notes from 1968 ¢ All Of Them Witches Collectible Board¢ Button Badge StickerSpecial Features:-Rosemary's Baby A Retrospective-Mia and Roman-50th Anniversary Redband Trailer-Theatrical Trailer

• Harold And Maude (Masters of Cinema) (Blu-ray) | Blu Ray | (14/07/2014) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  A glorious mixture of the riotously morbid and joyously life-affirming Hal Ashby's Harold and Maude was an instant counter-culture favourite on its release in 1971 and whose popularity has spread in the decades since to become simply one of the most beloved cult comedies ever made. Following the burgeoning relationship between the gloomy 20-year-old suicide-staging Harold (Bud Cort) suffocated by his wealthy homestead and the sprightly octogenarian Maude (Ruth Gordon) whose bohemian wiles and open-arms approach to living enable his first gentle steps towards embracing existence. With its brilliant script by Colin Higgins a magnificent standard-setting soundtrack by Cat Stevens wonderful performances and Hal Ashby's stunning directorial control Harold and Maude combines a jet-black comic edge with romance philosophy satire and beauty to form a masterfully funny and moving whole. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present this masterpiece for the first time on Blu-ray in the UK. Special Features: Newly restored 1080p high-definition master More on-disc extras to be announced closer to release! 36-page booklet with a new essay vintage stills and more!

• Roman Polanski Collection | DVD | (16/08/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  A talented musician struggles to survive the destruction of the Warsaw ghetto and the concentration camps of World War II.

• The Thin Man Collection | DVD | (19/09/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £45.99

  The sparkling series featured the irresistible William Powell and Myrna Loy chemistry as husband and wife sleuths who solved murders with the aid of their wire-haired terrier Asta. Set in the glamorous world of 1930s upper-class Manhattan The Thin Man and its sequels established the standard for witty comedy clever dialogue and urbane one upmanship. This fantastic collection includes 'The Thin Man' 'After the Thin Man' 'Another Thin Man' 'Shadow of the Thin Man' 'The Thin Man

• Any Which Way You Can / Every Which Way But Loose | DVD | (27/02/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £13.99

  Every Which Way But Loose (Dir. James Fargo 1978): Clint Eastwood smashed box-office records as trucker Philo Beddoe the best bar-room brawler west of the Rockies who lives with a 165-pound orangutan named Clyde. With a fun country soundtrack and co-stars like Sondra Locke Geoffrey Lewis Beverly D'Angelo and the great Ruth Gordon it's in every which way possible a grand time for all. Any Which Way You Can (Dir. Buddy Van Horn 1980): They're back. Philo Beddoe th

• Harold and Maude | DVD | (01/11/2004) from £13.05   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• The Voyage Of The Rock Aliens | DVD | (07/11/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £16.99

  Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No its a Rock Alien! The leader of a High School rock band Frankie falls in love with singer Dee Dee. Their happiness comes under threat from a guitar-shaped space ship which lands on Earth intent on destroying everything. Can Frankie and Dee Dee save the world..? A rock 'n roll sci-fi comedy adventure with a special appearance by Jermaine Jackson and Jimmy and The Mustangs.

• Harold & Maude - Paramount Originals (includes Limited Edition reproduction film poster) | DVD | (23/07/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  A classic cult film that features one of the screen's most unlikely pairs. It will defy everything you've ever seen or known about screen lovers. Bud Cort is Harold a young man bored with wealth but interested in death. And Ruth Gordon is Maude a wonderful old rascal who can see nothing but good intentions in the world. Hal Ashby (Coming Home Being There) directed from Colin Higgin's (Foul Play) first script. An outrageously funny and affecting film that proves love has no boundari

• Abe Lincoln In Illinois | DVD | (28/01/2013) from £13.98   |  Saving you £-0.99 (-7.60%)   |  RRP £12.99

  The double Oscar nominated Abe Lincoln in Illinois portrays the story of Abraham Lincoln, from his early days in backwoods Kentucky to his election as the 16th President of the United States. A stellar performance in the title role from Raymond Massey saw him nominated for the Best Actor award alongside James Wong Howe for Best black and white cinematography. After running livestock to New Orleans, Abe Lincoln settles in New Salem where he falls in love with Ann Rutledge (Mary Howard) and eventually becomes the postmaster. His popularity with the locals leads to him running for and being successfully elected to the State legislature but his victory is overshadowed by Ann's death. Overcome by a sense of doom and a lack of ambition, Lincoln leaves the legislature after his first term and returns to practising law. However, a fateful meeting with Mary Todd (Ruth Gordon), an extremely ambitious woman, changes the course of Abe's life and of America's destiny. By entering politics again Lincoln knows that his taking of a stand on slavery will mean the dissolution of the Union. In a series of electrifying debates with Stephen Douglas (Gene Lockhart), Lincoln is catapulted into the national consciousness of political America and leaves Illinois for Washington, never to return.

• Rosemary's Baby | DVD | (04/10/2004) from £20.00   |  Saving you £-4.01 (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Possibly the best horror film ever made this brilliant adaptation of Ira Levin's best-selling novel is the story of a loving young New York city couple who are experiencing their first child. Like most first time mothers Rosemary experiences confusion and fear. Her husband an ambitious but unsuccessful actor makes a pact with the devil that promises to send his career skyward. Director Roman Polanski elicits uniformly extraordinary performances from the all-star cast. Ruth Gordon won an Oscar for her performance as an oversolicitous next-door neighbour in this classic chiller.

• Whatever Happened To Aunt Alice? | DVD | (02/07/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice? sees a change of direction for Robert Aldrich's unofficial trilogy which all involve "ageing actresses" in macabre thrillers (What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? and Hush ... Hush, Sweet Charlotte). The busy Aldrich only produced What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice?, calling in TV director Lee H Katzin (a Mission: Impossible regular) to handle the megaphone. Aldrich also opted to shoot the film in pastel colours appropriate to the unusual Arizona desert setting rather than the gothic black and white of the earlier films. The film cast the less iconic Geraldine Page as the genteelly unpleasant Mrs Clare Marrable. Left apparently penniless by her departed husband, Mrs M opts to keep up appearances by hiring a succession of timid elderly housekeepers, bossing them around with well-spoken nastiness, duping them out of their life savings and, on the pretence of getting help with a midnight tree-planting program, lures them into their own graves, batters them to death and plants lovely pines over them. Page gets her own way with the meek likes of Mildred Dunnock, until the feistier, red-wigged R!uth Gordon applies for the job and gets down to amateur sleuthing. While Bette Davis and her partners went wildly over the top in previous films, Page and Gordon play more subtly, finding odd pathetic moments in between the monstrous, irony-laced horror stuff. The supporting cast of pretty or handsome young things, mostly putty in the hands of the manipulative Page, contribute striking little cameos (Rosemary Forsyth sports a pleasing 1969 hairdo as the kindly but intimidated neighbour), but the film belongs to its leading ladies, delivering a fine line in twist-packed cat-and-mouse theatrics. The video is handsomely letterboxed, as befits a film made before widescreen films were shot with all the action in the middle of the frame to facilitate television sales. --Kim Newman