Classic Films

• Blood Feast | DVD | (28/10/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  A shocking drive-in sensation when released in 1963, Blood Feast remains a milestone in the exploitation genre. A serial killer is on the loose; women are being killed and body parts are being stolen; the police are stumped (so to speak). Meanwhile, Egyptmania seems to be gripping this small Florida town. Fuad Ramses' "exotic catering" shop is doing a booming business and his book, Ancient Weird Religious Rituals, is being studied by the local book club. Is there a connection between Ramses and the murders? Of course! In this film by the wizard of gore, Herschell Gordon Lewis, plot and suspense take a back seat to the gruesome and bloody murder scenes. The acting may not be very good, the script is weak at best and the effects don't hold up to later standards of Hollywood gore, but there is an infectious enthusiasm that comes through Lewis' desire to shock his audience. The exploitation elements may be dated but that only makes them all the more entertaining. Blood Feast was followed (in what would come to be known as Lewis' "blood trilogy") by Two Thousand Maniacs! and Color Me Blood Red. --Andy Spletzer, Amazon.com

• The Phantom of the Opera | Blu Ray | (01/10/2012) from £13.48   |  Saving you £1.51 (11.20%)   |  RRP £14.99

  This lavish retelling of Gaston Leroux's immortal horror tale stars Claude Rains as the masked phantom who haunts the Paris Opera House. A crazed composer who schemes to make beautiful young soprano Christine DuBois (Susanna Foster) the star of the opera company, the Phantom also wreaks revenge on those he believes stole his music. Nelson Eddy, as the heroic baritone, tries to win the affections of Christine as he tracks down the murderous, horribly disfigured Phantom. Special Features: The Opera Ghost: A Phantom Unmasked Production Photographs Feature Commentary with Film Historian Scott MacQueen 100 Years of Universal: The Lot Theatrical Trailer

• Nosferatu | DVD | (16/11/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Nosferatu ... the name alone can chill the blood!". F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu, released in 1922, was the first (albeit unofficial) screen adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula. Nearly 80 years on, it remains among the most potent and disturbing horror films ever made. The sight of Max Schreck's hollow-eyed, cadaverous vampire rising creakily from his coffin still has the ability to chill the blood. Nor has the film dated. Murnau's elision of sex and disease lends it a surprisingly contemporary resonance. The director and his screenwriter Henrik Gaalen are true to the source material, but where most subsequent screen Draculas (whether Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee, Frank Langella or Gary Oldman) were portrayed as cultured and aristocratic, Nosferatu is verminous and evil. (Whenever he appears, rats follow in his wake.)The film's full title--Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (Nosferatu, A Symphony of Horror)--reveals something of Murnau's intentions. Supremely stylised, it differs from Robert Wiene's The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1919) or Ernst Lubitsch's films of the period in that it was not shot entirely in the studio. Murnau went out on location in his native Westphalia. As a counterpoint to the nightmarish world inhabited by Nosferatu, he used imagery of hills, clouds, trees and mountains (it is, after all, sunlight that destroys the vampire). It's not hard to spot the similarity between the gangsters in film noir hugging doorways or creeping up staircases with the image of Schreck's diabolic Nosferatu, bathed in shadow, sidling his way toward a new victim. Heavy chiaroscuro, oblique camera angles and jarring close-ups--the devices that crank up the tension in Val Lewton horror movies and edgy, urban thrillers such as Double Indemnity and The Postman Always Rings Twice--were all to be found first in Murnau's chilling masterpiece. --Geoffrey Macnab

• The Boston Strangler | DVD | (18/10/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  The unexpected casting of Tony Curtis as the presumed Boston Strangler, Albert DeSalvo, is only the first of the attractions of this hard-nosed suspense picture. Although the style of The Boston Strangler looks dated today, with its split-screen experiments and post-Bonnie and Clyde permissiveness, the film still has the clean, strong lines of a methodical policier. For the first hour, we don't focus on the Strangler, instead following the Beantown cops (led by Henry Fonda) as they track down leads; the best sequence is the near-accidental connection made between burglary suspect DeSalvo and the killings. Director Richard Fleischer had a forceful hand with true-crime material (Compulsion, 10 Rillington Place) and he takes an unblinking look into the then-taboo subject of sexual pathology. Curtis's physical transformation into a dumpy, dull-eyed brute is the best aspect of his performance; it's a role he lobbied hard for, but it did not lead to more challenging work. --Robert Horton

• The Ladykillers | Blu Ray | (15/02/2010) from £29.68   |  Saving you £-4.69 (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  The Ladykillers director Alexander Mackendrick's third Ealing farce is the final comedy produced by the famous British studio and one of its most celebrated. Like the equally applauded Kind Hearts And Coronets the film is more sophisticated and blacker in tone than typically lighthearted Ealing fare (such as Mackendrick's Whiskey Galore!). Alec Guinness stars as the superbly shifty toothily threatening Professor Marcus the leader of a crime ring planning a heist. Marcus rents rooms from a sweet eccentric old lady Mrs. Wilberforce (Katie Johnson) in her crooked London house. The professor and his co-conspirators blowhard Major Courtney (Cecil Parker) creepily suave Louis (Herbert Lom) chubby Harry (Peter Sellers) and muscleman One-Round (Danny Green) pose as an unlikely string quartet using the rooms for rehearsal. Dodging Mrs. Wilberforce's constant interruptions the hoods hit upon the idea to use her in the daring daylight robbery (filmed in and around London's King's Cross station). When the old girl discovers the truth Marcus and company cannot persuade her to stay buttoned up about it and thus decide to do her in. Accompanied by a noirish cacophony of screeching trains parrots and little old ladies at afternoon tea a series of unlikely events builds to the hilarious surprising finale.

• Themes Of Shakespeare ? Othello And Julius Caesar | DVD | (20/08/2007) from £16.16   |  Saving you £-6.17 (-61.80%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Produced by the Emmy Award winning team at Cromwell Productions this DVD is an invaluable guide to understanding Shakespeare's tragedies. With the expert knowledge and interpretation of Professor Stanley Wells and Dr Russell Jackson of the Shakespeare Institute and Dr Robert Smallwood of the Shakespeare Centre Stratford-Upon-Avon the central themes of two of Shakespeare's works are examined. Topics addressed include: Othello: Q - What are Iago's motives? Is he simply evil? Q - I

• Richard III | DVD | (17/09/2001) from £7.95   |  Saving you £7.04 (88.55%)   |  RRP £14.99

  The third and final entry in Laurence Olivier's Shakespeare triptych, Richard III is an audacious portrait of a man determined to prove himself a villain. A pure master of the political stage, Richard deploys a barrage of odious, unscrupulous traps in an attempt to exercise complete control over his rivals. As the personification of evil impudence, Olivier portrays the Duke of Gloucester with such aplomb that he even lures the audience on to his side. This is true even as Richard engineers plots to murder his brother Clarence (John Gielgud), betray his cousin Buckingham (Ralph Richardson) and seduce his niece Lady Anne (Claire Bloom). From the play's famous opening lines ("Now is the winter of our discontent"), Olivier delivers every speech with truly Machiavellian splendour. As usual, his voice is a force of nature--a full-bodied coloratura at one moment, an earthy baritone cello a few beats later. As a director, Olivier fully realises but underplays the corners of the script that most directors would hinge their dramatisation on. But he can also play it large: Olivier's superb staging of the climactic battle rivals his work on Henry V. Though Richard is finally brought down by the whispered curses of Queen Margaret, the audience exits feeling that the journey has been both entertaining and complete. Regrettably, this would be Olivier's last Shakespeare film, as a planned adaptation of Macbeth was abandoned for financial reasons. Olivier justly received an Oscar nomination for his performance; and believe it or not, this film was the inspiration for the original Blackadder! --Kevin Mulhall

• An Ideal Husband | DVD | (15/06/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  If we men married the women we deserved...We should have a very bad time of it. 1890s high society provides the setting for Oscar Wilde's sparkling comedy of morals and manners in which an 'ideal' husband must fight to save both his marriage and reputation when a blackmailing adventures threatens him with a political scandal.

• Fog Island | DVD | (14/06/2010) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £1.99

  A former convict is living in seclusion on an island with his step-daughter. He invites a group of former friends to his island tempting them with hints of a hidden fortune. Unfortunately each of the former friends was responsible for him doing time in prison....

• Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas/The Big Lebowski/Burn After... | DVD | (09/09/2013) from £21.58   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Fear and Loathing in Las VegasWhen a writing assignment lands journalist Raoul Duke (Johnny Depp) and sidekick Dr. Gonzo (Benicio Del Toro) in Las Vegas they decide to make it the ultimate business trip. But before long business is forgotten and trip has become the key word.Fuelled by a suitcase full of mind-bending pharmaceuticals Duke and Honzo set off on a fast and furious ride through non stop neon surreal surrounding and a crew of the craziest characters ever (Including cameo appearances by Cameron Diaz Christina Ricci Gary Busey and many others). But no matter where misadventure leads them Duke and Gonzo discover that sometimes going too far is the only way to go.Capturing the insane madness of Hunter S. Thompson's literary classic was the challenge that director Terry Gilliam (12 Monkeys) openly embraced.Buy The Ticket. Take The Ride!Big LebowskiBurn After Reading

• The Trial | DVD | (13/08/2007) from £12.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Josef K awakes one morning to be arrested by the police. He is to be put on trial but no one will tell him what it is he is accused of. His attempts to profess his innocence of any charge only alienates him from his friends and his whole world becomes a nightmare.

• Good Times | DVD | (08/04/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  A real archaeological artefact from 1967, Good Times will be mostly of interest to anyone who wants to see a parade of fashions that Austin Powers would reject as too garish to be seen on the street in. The nothingy plot concerns then-married Sonny and Cher playing themselves as a one-note bickering sit-com couple, signing up with sinister film tycoon Mordicus (an impeccable George Sanders) to make a movie but not wanting to do the mouldy rags-to-riches hillbilly script on offer. Cher is supposed to be less interested than Sonny in making a movie--which might well have been the truth since she mostly lies around doodling outrageous fashion designs or contributing her strange sung-through-the-nose vocals as poor, goofy Sonny does all the hard work flogging life into skits that had been squeezed dry by the Monkees before being passed to him. The finale finds Sonny and Cher standing up for integrity and refusing to make a bad film even if it means they gets blacklisted all over town--a lesson it's a shame that they (especially Cher) didn't take to heart in their later careers. Astonishingly, this was the feature directorial debut of The Exorcist's William Friedkin, who fills the screen with colour, action and gaggery after the manner of the then-hip Batman TV show while focusing on screaming outfits that remain among the darnedest things you ever saw. Aside from a reprise of "I Got You, Babe", the score is a little light on the slim canon of S&C hits; the songs included are "It's the Little Things", "Good Times", "Trust Me", "Don't Talk to Strangers", "I'm Gonna Love You" and "Just a Name". The DVD extras include a few sketchy bios and a jump-to-a-song feature. --Kim Newman

• 10th Victim | Blu Ray | (13/09/2011) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Carry On - The Ultimate Carry On | DVD | (08/10/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £109.99

  Twelve classic titles in one box set

• Odds Against Tomorrow | DVD | (27/04/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Harry Belafonte Robert Ryan Shelley Winters and Ed Begley unite together in this crime drama which is a gritty tense look at racial tension. One hundred and fifty thousand dollars ready for the taking. It's too much to resist for bigoted ex-con Earl Slater. He agrees to take part in a bank robbery with former cop Burke but hesitates when he finds out that one of his partners is black. As tensions mount and the men get closer to their biggest score ever Earl's hatred erupts resulting in violent consequences for the heist and their lives.

• Falstaff-Chimes At Midnight | DVD | (28/02/2011) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  This film is an amalgam of Henry IV parts 1 & 2 and also Richard II Henry V and the Merry Wives of Windsor. It's based on Welles' play Five Kings an adaptation of four Shakespeare plays which he produced in 1939 and again in 1960. The film's narration spoken by Ralph Richardson is taken from the chronicler Raphael Holinshed. Orson Welles plays Sir John Falstaff alongside an incredible cast featuring Margaret Rutherford Jeanne Moreau and John Gielgud. Welles is uncompromising as the tragicomic Shakespearean character and many critics believe this is the greatest screen portrayal of Falstaff.

• Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street | DVD | (28/01/2008) from £14.27   |  Saving you £-6.28 (N/A%)   |  RRP £7.99

  Tod Slaughter stars as a Fleet Street barber who amasses a tidy fortune by cutting sailors' throats and disposing of their bodies in...homemade meat pies. All goes well until he falls in love with a young woman and excites the jealousy of his elderly female accomplice.

• Liberace-Sincerely Yours | DVD | (06/04/2009) from £9.98   |  Saving you £3.01 (30.16%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Liberace takes the lead in this romantic drama. He plays a man who has it all: he's a popular pianist who plays any style he has money great clothes a penthouse overlooking Central Park a rich blond fianc''e a loyal brunette secretary secretly in love with him and a date at Carnegie Hall. And then on concert night disease deafens him and his life begins to fall apart...

• Mary Poppins / Tarzan / Lilo And Stitch | DVD | (31/10/2005) from £17.98   |  Saving you £18.00 (120.08%)   |  RRP £32.99

  Mary Poppins - Special Edition: Mary Poppins is one of Disney's most enchanting fantasies and the motion-picture hit that made 'supercalifragilisticexpialidocious' a household word! Julie Andrews stars as the loveable nanny who soars out of the skies and into the hearts of everyone she encounters. Toting a carpetbag full of magical adventures Mary and her fun-loving sidekick Bert (Dick Van Dyke) deliver endless joy and surprises to a troubled family. Tarzan - Special Edition: The classic tale of Tarzan an orphan who is brought up by apes and believes them to be his family. This changes when on an expedition he rescues Jane and discovers that he is human after all. Now he must decide where he really belongs. 'Tarzan' was the last Disney animated blockbuster for the 20th century and it pulled out all the stops with star studded voice-overs by the likes of Nigel Hawthorne Minnie Driver Glenn Close and Rosie O'Donnell while all the songs are performed by Phil Collins. Lilo And Stitch - Special Edition: Lilo a little girl in Hawaii unknowingly adopts a dog she names Stitch who is actually an evil alien. Stitch is really a criminal whose ship crashed on Earth while he was being transported to an intergalactic prison. He is only taking the form of a dog (thus hiding two of his six legs) to escape detection from alien police who are searching for him. Through her love faith and unwavering belief in ohana (the Hawaiian concept of family) Lilo helps unlock Stitch's heart unexpectedly giving him the one thing he was never designed to have--the ability to care for someone else.

• Assault On Precinct 13 | Blu Ray | (27/03/2018) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A