"Actor: Shirley"

• 24 Hour Party People - Single Disc Edition | DVD | (19/07/2004) from £5.81   |  Saving you £7.18 (123.58%)   |  RRP £12.99

  The story of the Manchester music scene from 70s punk through to the early nineties, as seen from the perspective of Tony Wilson, musical entrepenuer who signed countless bands from Joy Division to the Happy Mondays to his legendary Factory Records label.

• Alfie | DVD | (26/08/2002) from £5.03   |  Saving you £10.96 (217.89%)   |  RRP £15.99

  What's it all about, Alfie?" asked the hit Burt Bacharach/Hal David title song, to which the less philosophical answer might be: an amoral young man comically seducing a succession of beautiful women in swinging-sixties London. Michael Caine was the titular anti-hero, here consolidating his new star status from Zulu (1964) and The Ipcress File (1965), his conquests including Shelley Winters, Jane Asher and Shirley Ann Field. Alfie was a huge success, bringing a new frankness about changing sexual attitudes to the screen, in which respect it was almost the male companion to Julie Christie's then shocking, Oscar-winning performance in Darling (1965). It was also a sort-of contemporary Tom Jones, which had swept the Oscars for 1963, however, Alfie was not only better made, but in Michael Caine's guilelessly amoral asides to camera, offered a groundbreaking illustration of a newly self-conscious cinema. It is a technique Caine would reprise as the middle-aged philanderer in Blame It On Rio (1983). With Blow Up also released in 1966, and Ken Russell's Women In Love following in 1969, British film-making was truly in the midst of a sexual revolution. Michael Caine would reunite with director Lewis Gilbert and meet his female match in Educating Rita (1983). --Gary S. Dalkin

• Being There (1979) | Blu Ray | (06/01/2020) from £21.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  In one of his most finely tuned performances, PETER SELLERS (The Pink Panther) plays the pure-hearted Chance, a gardener forced out of moneyed seclusion and into the urban wilds of Washington, D.C., after the death of his employer. Shocked to discover that the real world doesn't respond to the click of a remote, Chance stumbles haplessly into celebrity after being taken under the wing of a tycoon (Oscar winner MELVYN DOUGLAS), who mistakes his new protégé's mumbling about horticulture for sagacious pronouncements on life and politics, and whose wife (The Apartment's SHIRLEY MACLAINE) targets Chance as the object of her desire. Adapted from a novel by JERZY KOSINSKI, this hilarious, deeply melancholy satire marks the culmination a remarkable string of films by HAL ASHBY (Harold and Maude) in the 1970s, and serves as a carefully modulated examination of the ideals, anxieties, and media-fuelled delusions that shaped American culture during that decade. Special Edition Features New, restored 4K digital transfer, supervised by cinematographer Caleb Deschanel, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray New documentary on the making of the film, featuring interviews with members of the production team Excerpts from a 1980 American Film Institute seminar with director Hal Ashby Author Jerzy Kosinksi in a 1979 appearance on The Dick Cavett Show Appearances from 1980 by actor Peter Sellers on NBC's Today and The Don Lane Show Promo reel featuring Sellers and Ashby Trailer and TV spots Deleted scene, outtakes, and an alternate ending PLUS: An essay by critic Mark Harris

• The Deer Hunter: Special Edition (2 discs) | DVD | (04/08/2003) from £5.79   |  Saving you £11.20 (193.44%)   |  RRP £16.99

  The Deer Hunter is an expansive portrait of friendship in a Pennsylvania steel town, and of the effects of the Vietnam War. Led by the trio of Robert De Niro, John Savage and Christopher Walken (who won a supporting actor Oscar), the first hour is dominated by an engrossing Russian Orthodox wedding and reception. When the drama moves overseas it switches from anthropologically realistic documentation of a community's rituals to highly controversial and still shocking Russian Roulette scenes, symbolising the random horror of war. Unforgettable as they are, the Vietnam sequences occupy less than a third of the three-hour running time; defying movie convention The Deer Hunter is fundamentally a before-and-after ensemble character study anchored by De Niro's great performance. Although it was the first serious Hollywood feature to address the Vietnam War, the plausibility of some of the later plot developments raises awkward questions. But the film remains powerfully effective, its deliberate pace, naturalistic overlapping dialogue and unflinching seriousness marking it very much a product of the 1970s. With nine Oscar nominations and five wins, including Best Picture and Director, it's a cinematic landmark that stands the test time, almost incidentally setting Meryl Streep on the road to superstardom in her first leading role. On the DVD: The Deer Hunter: Special Edition has the film on the first disc with a serious yet amiable Region 2 exclusive discussion track between director Michael Cimino and critic SX Finnie. The picture is anamorphically enhanced at 2.35:1, and perfectly reproduces Vilmos Zsigmond's deliberately desaturated, necessarily grainy cinematography. The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack clearly reveals the mono original, being largely focused on the centre speaker and while it does a good job, some of the choral music does sound harsh. Dialogue is sometimes indecipherable, but that's due to the naturalistic nature of the original sound recording and mixing. Disc 2 offers excellent new interviews with Jon Savage (15 mins), Vilmos Zsigmond (15 mins) and Michael Cimino (23 mins). Also included is the original trailer (anamorphically enhanced 2.35:1), a routine photo gallery and a DVD version of the original press brochure. There's no trace of the 40 minutes of deleted material referred to by Cimino, but this presentation is still an object lesson in how quality of extras triumphs over quantity. --Gary S Dalkin

• Terms Of Endearment | DVD | (05/11/2001) from £6.40   |  Saving you £6.59 (102.97%)   |  RRP £12.99

  When Terms of Endearment was released in 1983, director and writer James L Brooks was lauded for his depiction of a complex mother/daughter relationship. For his leading ladies he chose actresses with two of the strongest personalities in Hollywood, but armed with an exceptionally witty script and endless patience he eventually drew magnificent performances from Shirley Maclaine as Aurora and Debra Winger as her daugher Emma, assisted considerably by Jack Nicholson's considerate professionalism. As the philandering retired astronaut who beds Maclaine and then provides her with surprising support in the film's dark later moments, Nicholson shines with comic brilliance which earned him an Oscar. It was no secret that Maclaine and Winger could barely contain a mutual antipathy on set. Yet they strike sparks off each other on screen. When comedy turns to tragedy with the development of Emma's cancer, the laughs continue even while the tear ducts are being given a good work out. In the glory days of Hollywood, this would have been acknowledged a great "women's picture" and its weepy credentials are impeccable. It stands out as a warm, accessible work that admirably rejects sugary sentiment in favour of the realistic rough edges that characterise most human relationships. On the DVD: Presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, this DVD is ideal for home cinema viewing. The picture and sound quality are fine, benefiting Michael Gore's gentle, memorable music and bringing the best out of Andrzej Bartkowiak's luminous photography. In addition to the original theatrical trailer, the major extra is the director's commentary in which James L Brooks reminisces with coproducer Penney Finkelman and production designer Polly Platt. They look back at their impressive work with a touching degree of wonder and apprentice directors should take note when Brooks recalls his steep learning curve in managing his leading ladies. --Piers Ford

• James Bond - Goldfinger (Ultimate Edition 2 Disc Set) | DVD | (17/07/2006) from £4.98   |  Saving you £12.01 (241.16%)   |  RRP £16.99

  Heralded as the best Bond movie thus far Goldfinger features some of the most iconic moments in the series to-date. Who could forget Oddjob and his killer hat; Shirley Eaton doused in gold; Or one of the greatest comeback lines in history? James Bond: Do you expect me to talk?Auric Goldfinger: No Mr. Bond. I expect you to die! Special Agent 007 (Sean Connery) has just come face to face with one of the most notorious villains of all time. And now he'll have to outwit and outgun this powerful tycoon to prevent him form cashing in on a devious scheme to raid Fort Knox - and obliterate the world economy!

• Sleeping Beauty | DVD | (04/03/2002) from £6.69   |  Saving you £13.30 (198.80%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Disney's 1959 Sleeping Beauty was the studio's most ambitious effort to date, a lavish spectacle boasting a gorgeous waltz-filled score adapted from the music of Tchaikovsky. In the 14th century, the malevolent Maleficent (not dissimilar to the wicked queen in Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) taunts a king that his infant Aurora will fatally prick her finger on a spinning wheel before sundown on her sixteenth birthday. This, of course, would deny her a happily-ever-after with her true love. Fortunately, some bubbly, bumbling fairies named Flora, Fauna and Merryweather are on hand to assist. It's not really all that much about the title character--how interesting can someone in the middle of a long nap be, anyway? Instead, those fairies carry the day, as well as, of course, good Prince Phillip, whose battle with the malevolent Maleficent in the guise of a dragon has been co-opted by any number of animated films since. See it in its original glory here, alongside Malificent's castle, which, filled with warthogs and demonic imps in a macabre dance celebrating their evil ways, manages a certain creepy grandeur. --David Kronke, Amazon.com

• Oklahoma | DVD | (20/03/2006) from £4.94   |  Saving you £11.05 (223.68%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Rodgers and Hammerstein's charming and vigorous tale of romance and adventure set in the Wild West. Songs include 'People Will Say We're In Love' 'Oh What A Beautiful Morning' and the title song 'Oklahoma!'

• Norman Wisdom - One Good Turn | DVD | (21/10/2009) from £5.29   |  Saving you £-0.30 (N/A%)   |  RRP £4.99

  A film starring Norman Wisdom, Joan Rice, Shirley Abicair, Director John Paddy Carstairs, Writers Jon Paddy Carstairs, Maurice Cowan, Ted Willis and Dorothy Whipple. producer Maurice Cowan. Rereleased by Granada Ventures Limited

• Carousel | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £7.18   |  Saving you £8.81 (122.70%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2006 Carousel tells the story of Billy Bigelow a smooth-talking carnival barker who falls in love with a mill-worker on the colourful coast of Maine. But right before the birth of his daughter Billy is killed while committing a robbery. Now in heaven years later he returns to earth for one day to attend his daughter's high school graduation and teach her one very important lesson... Featuring classics like 'If I Loved You' and the insp

• The Children's Hour | DVD | (05/07/2004) from £3.30   |  Saving you £13.95 (683.82%)   |  RRP £15.99

  A child's lie has life-shattering consequences in this daring adaptation of Lillian Hellman's celebrated play. Karen (Hepburn) and Martha (MacLaine) are the headmistresses of an exclusive school for girls. When they discipline a malicious little girl the vindictive child twists and overheard comment into slander and accuses her teachers of questionable behaviour. Soon the scandalous gossip engulf's the school's conservative community with repercussions that are swift crushing and t

• Invincible Obsessed Fighter | DVD | (05/12/2005) from £5.06   |  Saving you £4.93 (97.43%)   |  RRP £9.99

  A top notch tale of revenge augmented by carefully choreographed Kung Fu action!

• Horrible Histories: Series 9 | DVD | (25/04/2022) from £7.49   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  The complete ninth series of the award-winning CBBC history show. Based on the best-selling children's books, the series offers an anarchic and unconventional take on some of history's most gruesome and funny moments. In this series, the episodes look at black history, the lives of children through time, protests, our treatment of the planet and the history of dance.

• London's Burning - Series 1-7 - Complete | DVD | (19/10/2009) from £89.99   |  Saving you £10.00 (11.11%)   |  RRP £99.99

  London's Burning: Series 1 - 7 (20 Discs)

• Mrs Winterbourne | DVD | (04/11/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  This fast moving Cinderella-story comedy follows the fortunes of 18 year-old Connie Doyle (Ricki Lake). Homeless penniless and pregnant Connie's life changes forever when she is mistaken for another woman after the train she is travelling on crashes.

• Beat Girl (Flipside 030) (DVD + Blu-ray) | Blu Ray | (25/04/2016) from £18.98   |  Saving you £3.00 (17.66%)   |  RRP £19.99

  A cult classic British film about late-fifties youth rebellion set against an intoxicating Beatnik backdrop. When divorced architect Paul (David Farrar) marries Parisian Nichole (Noëlle Adam), his teenage daughter, Jennifer (Gillian Hills), is less than pleased, and throws herself into the London beatnik scene and a music-fuelled life of juvenile delinquency. When she discovers that Nichole's past holds a dark secret, she uses this knowledge to shame her stepmother and embarrass her father. With an all-star cast including David Farrar (Black Narcissus, The Small Back Room), Shirley Anne Field (Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, Peeping Tom), Christopher Lee (Lord of the Rings, Dracula) and a young Oliver Reed (Women in Love, Oliver!), Beat Girl is notable for its original music by composer John Barry, his first ever film commission, and the acting debuts of teen idol Adam Faith and actress Gillian Hills (Blowup, A Clockwork Orange, The Owl Service).

• Three Men In A Boat (Vintage Classics) | DVD | (19/08/2024) from £7.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Joan Of Arc | DVD | (24/02/2003) from £6.13   |  Saving you £-0.14 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  The extraordinary story tells of a quest that took as illiterate French peasant girl and transformed her into one of the most revered leaders of all time.

• Sleeping Beauty (50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) (Disney) | DVD | (27/10/2008) from £8.36   |  Saving you £11.63 (139.11%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The timeless classic "Sleeping Beauty" celebrates its 50th Anniversary by awakening on DVD. It also marks the first Disney Platinum title to be released on Blu-ray. Both DVD and Blu-ray are available to buy from Monday 27th October, 2008

• Rodgers and Hammerstein Box set | Blu Ray | (10/09/2012) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Six all time classic movies form the pens of two of the greatest collaborators in movie history. Titles Comprise:The Sound of MusicThe King and ISouth PacificOklahoma!CarouselState Fair