Classic Films

• Girl On A Motorcycle | DVD | (01/09/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Caught midway between 1970s soft-porn clunker The Story of O and Bunuel's sado-masochistic fantasy Belle de Jour, the 1968 erotic curio Girl on a Motorcycle is one of Marianne Faithfull's chief claims to notoriety. She stars as Rebecca, a leather-clad, former bookstore clerk in search of sexual fulfilment who flees her dependable schoolteacher husband for a dangerous liaison with Daniel (Alain Delon), a dashing Professor addicted to speed. The story is told entirely in flashbacks as Rebecca rockets along the road, having donned her leathers and walked out on her sleeping husband at the crack of dawn. It all must have seemed fairly daring and provocative in 1968, providing viewers with ample opportunities to view a naked Faithfull at the height of her allure. But today the existential musings of the lead character seem achingly pretentious, the erotic symbolism merely gawky and unintentionally amusing: the sight of Alain Delon with a phallic pipe dangling from his mouth is like something out of a Rene Magritte painting. The sex scenes between Delon and Faithfull are all swamped in a polarised visual effect that, while garish and psychedelic, is dated and distinctly unerotic. Director Jack Cardiff is better known as a cinematographer on classics such as The African Queen and Black Narcissus. Among Cardiff's other directorial credits is a worthy adaptation of DH Lawrence's Sons & Lovers, but Girl on a Motorcycle is a saucy road movie with no final destination. On the DVD: This DVD version is misleadingly presented as being the fully restored and uncut version of the film. Yet it was the US version not the European one that was heavily cut (and titillatingly re-titled "Naked Under Leather"). The restoration certainly does not refer to the print quality: although the colours are vivid and bright, the print used to master the DVD (in 16:9 anamorphic format) is extremely grainy and, at times, speckled with dirt and scratches. Included as one of the special features, a theatrical trailer loaded with innuendo shows just how much the film was marketed to a prurient audience. Director Jack Cardiff provides an audio commentary but has few revelatory things to say about his film beyond technical considerations, and even makes several clunking errors (recalling his casting decisions concerning a scene that takes place in a provincial German café, he raves about how he strove to find authentic French locals!). He does reveal that the film's use of a voice-over was inspired by the internal monologue that forms the basis of James Joyce's Ulysses. Given Cardiff's age and experience one feels that he must have more interesting anecdotes and insights, making this commentary feel like a wasted opportunity. --Chris Campion

• Loopy De Loop: The Complete Collection | DVD | (09/09/2014) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Mighty Joe Young | DVD | (27/11/2014) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Shake Rattle And Rock! | DVD | (28/06/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £10.99

  A group of concerned adults try to ban rock and roll music in their town believing that the music promotes juvenile delinquency. A prominent TV producer and a disc jockey attempt to convince the adults in the town that rock and roll is nothing but harmless fun. The two sides do battle in court during a televised trial. To help decide the future of rock and roll star witnesses are called from the rock and roll hall of fame.

• Circle of Iron | Blu Ray | (19/05/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• The Misadventures Of Merlin Jones | DVD | (04/09/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Tommy Kirk and Annette Funicello star as the sweethearts of Midvale College in this wacky laugh-filled campus romp. Kirk is Merlin Jones the gifted but slightly oddball student who accompanied by his girlfriend Jennifer (Funicello) sets out on a series of comic misadventures. From trying to solve what appears to be a horrendous burglary and murder plot to having a chimp-napping charge pinned on him no one is exempt from Merlin's wacky sense of oddball adventure!

• On The Beat | DVD | (12/11/2001) from £8.96   |  Saving you £1.03 (11.50%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Having proved himself a war hero in The Square Peg (1958), Norman Pitkin, Norman Wisdom's most famous incarnation of his riotous buffoon character, is here demobbed and, as usual for a Wisdom movie, dreaming of something better. Norman wants to follow in his father's footsteps and become a policeman, but being decidedly on the short side, has to settle for washing police cars. Of course it's not long before Norman is impersonating an officer of the law. As in The Square Peg, Wisdom also plays his nemesis here, the German General Schreiber, as well as the chief suspect in a series of jewel robberies which only Pitkin's chaotic antics can solve. In fact, as if emphasising that On the Beat really is The Square Peg with different uniforms, Terence Alexander, who later found fame as Charlie Hungerford in the long running BBC series Bergerac, also returns, albeit playing a different character. Wisdom film-regular David Lodge, previously seen co-starring in The Bulldog Breed (1960) is also on hand, though otherwise the supporting cast is less stellar than before. Solid if very predictable feel-good entertainment, Wisdom's particular brand of charming anarchy proves again his box-office formula could withstand endless variations. --Gary S Dalkin

• Gian-Carlo Menotti - the Consul | DVD | (29/03/2004) from £24.22   |  Saving you £0.77 (3.10%)   |  RRP £24.99

  The Consul.A Musical Drama in Three Acts.

• Charlie Chaplin Marathon - Vol. 2 - A Dog's Life / The Kid / Behind The Screen | DVD | (09/02/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Featuring 'A Dogs Life' and 'The Kid' and 'Behind The Screen'.

• Devil Doll | DVD | (11/02/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Grab a good seat and don't look away from the stage for The Great Vorelli (Bryant Haliday) is about to dazzle London with his eerie mixture of hypnotism and ventriloquism. However there may be something a little too lifelike about his dummy Hugo who has the ability to walk across the stage all by himself. Experience the haunting imagery and unforgettable twist ending of Devil Doll the cult horror classic from producer Richard Gordon which has chilled audiences for decades. Hailed as tense and terrifying this gem of psychological suspense and supernatural thrills can now be enjoyed in a dazzling new transfer--so little Hugo can reach out and shock you like never before!

• The Decline of the Roman Empire LTD. - Novobox Classic Edition LTD. | Blu Ray | (31/07/2020) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Nathan Milstein Centennial Tribute (Hendl, Chicago So) | DVD | (31/05/2004) from £9.99   |  Saving you £15.00 (150.15%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Symphonies include:Violin Concerto in E Minor Op. 64 by MendelssohnPrelude from Partita for Solo No. 3 in E major BWV 1006 by BachViolin Concerto in D Major Op. 35 by Tchaikovsky

• Of Human Bondage | DVD | (27/07/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Of Human Bondage

• Pakeezah | DVD | (11/02/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• A Breath of Scandal / Houseboat Double Pack | DVD | (22/04/2013) from £8.08   |  Saving you £4.91 (60.77%)   |  RRP £12.99

  A Breath Of Scandal: Drawn from Sidney Howard's successful Broadway Americanization of the Molnar farce Olympia, and adapted by a then-blacklisted and uncredited Walter Bernstein, the film opens in the Austrian countryside of 1907. The widowed Princess Olympia (Loren) is living a lush, if dull, exile from the court of Frances Joseph I, banished as a result of vaguely-referenced indiscretions that have caused the royal family embarrassment. She's desperate for distraction, wh...

• Zwei wilde Companeros (Classic Cult Edition) | Blu Ray | (30/09/2021) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Way Down East | DVD | (07/05/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Way Down East was the most successful film of the 1920s, even more so than the original versions of Ben-Hur or The Ten Commandments. That says much about tastes and values of the day, since this is no visually spectacular epic designed to wow audiences: director DW Griffith gave it the subtitle "A Simple Story of Plain People". The story follows impoverished New England country girl Anna Moore (Lillian Gish) to Boston in search of family aid. Instead she's duped into a fake marriage by playboy Lennox Sanderson (Lowell Sherman). Pregnancy forces Sanderson to abandon her to care for the child alone, which dies soon after birth. The disgrace sends her back into the countryside to work for Squire Bartlett, whose son David (Richard Barthelmess) begins to fall for her. But the dreadful secret threatens to be revealed, since the dastardly Sanderson turns out to be their neighbour. Themes of loyalty and social change come to a head for a thrilling finale. Amazing stunt work occurs on a frozen river's ice sheets that break up, dashing an unconscious Anna toward a waterfall. Populated by eccentric cameo roles, this view of 1920s' life is a far more fascinating exploration of the contemporary female than the novel or disastrous stage play that preceded it. On the DVD: Naturally a movie from 1920 is in mono and 4:3 ratio (which is effectively the old Academy standard ratio). But with subtle colour tints and using a musical score from its 1931 reissue, it still looks pretty good. Only a few reels have suffered damage (eg some heat blisters), otherwise film historian David Shepard's restoration job is commendable. The only extra is an essay on the history of the film which scrolls up the screen as an introduction. --Paul Tonks

• KOMMISSAR MAIGRET-VOL.5 - MOVI | DVD | (22/07/2016) from £5.46   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• The Twilight Zone - Complete Season One Limited Edition | DVD | (22/08/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £59.99

  There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow between science and superstition and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area we call...The Twilight Zone! This fantastic 6 DVD boxed set contains all 36 episodes from Rod Serling's classic groundbreaking series. Episodes comprise: 1. Where Is Everybody? 2. One For The Angels 3. Mr. Denton On Doomsday 4. Sixteen Millimeter Shrine 5. Walking Distance 6. Escape Clause 7. The Lonely 8. Time Enough At Last 9. Perchance To Dream 10. Judgment Night 11. And When The Sky Was Opened 12. What You Need 13. The Four Of Us Are Dying 14. Third From The Sun 15. I Shot An Arrow Into The Air 16. The Hitch-Hiker 17. The Fever 18. The Last Flight 19. The Purple Testament 20. Elegy 21. Mirror Image 22. The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street 23. A World Of Difference 24. Long Live Walter Jameson 25. People Are Alike All Over 26. Execution 27. The Big Tall Wish 28. A Nice Place To Visit 29. Nightmare As A Child 30. A Stop At Willoughby 31. The Chaser 32. A Passage For Trumpet 33. Mr. Bevis 34. The After Hours 35. The Mighty Casey 36. A World Of His Own

• Mark Of The Devil | DVD | (23/06/2003) from £20.00   |  Saving you £-14.01 (-233.90%)   |  RRP £5.99

  An apprentice witch hunter (Kier) believes strongly in his mentor (Lom) and the ways of the church but loses faith when begins to see that the witch trials are nothing but a scam for the clergy to rob people of their land and money...