"Director: Roy Baker"

• Asylum | DVD | (06/10/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  One of the patients in an institution for the incurably insane was once its director, and a young psychiatrist (Robert Powell) has to figure out which one as they all tell him their stories. What better setting for a horror anthology? It's an inspired framing device, making this one of the better examples of the genre, even if screenwriter Robert Bloch at times resorts to gimmicks rather than invention. The first two stories are less than brilliant (the first is highlighted by dismembered body parts neatly wrapped in butcher paper wriggling back to life for revenge), but Charlotte Rampling and Britt Ekland are marvellous in the third tale, about a mentally unbalanced young woman and her dangerous best friend. Herbert Lom is also excellent in the final story as a scientist who carves an army of dolls he claims he can bring to life by sheer willpower. Director Roy Ward Baker (Quatermas and the Pit) builds momentum with each story until the dark and deliciously bloody climax. This Amicus Studios production looks visually dull compared to Hammer's gothic gloss, but it features a great British cast (including Patrick Magee and Hammer stalwart Peter Cushing), and ultimately Baker makes that gloomy look work for his increasingly creepy production. Amicus produced a series of horror anthologies, including the original 1972 Tales from the Crypt and The Torture Garden (also scripted by Bloch). --Sean Axmaker, Amazon.com

• The Avengers : The Definitive Dossier 1966 (Box Set 2) | DVD | (30/12/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Seven further swingingly stylish adventures with super spies John Steed and Mrs Peel! Flashback to the Sixties with the coolest duo in crimefighting! Room Without A View Steed becomes a Gourmet and Emma awakens in Manchuria. Small Game For Big Hunters In which Steed joins the natives and Emma gets the evil eye. A Touch Of Brimstone Steed joins the Hellfire Club and Emma becomes the Queen of Sin. What The Butler Saw Steed becomes a Gentleman's Gentleman and Emma faces a fate worse than death. A Sense Of History Steed dons a gown and Emma becomes a Don. How To Succeed...At Murder Steed becomes a perfect boss and Emma goes seeking charm. Honey For The Prince Steed becomes a Genie and Emma joins a harem.

• Saracen - The Complete Series | DVD | (07/06/2010) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  Saracen: The Complete Series

• The Persuaders - Complete | DVD | (07/10/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £69.99

  Between heroic spells as the Saint and James Bond, Roger Moore was teamed with Tony Curtis in The Persuaders, a derivative but fun series about a couple of millionaire dilettante adventurers who swan around the world competing for the attention of beautiful women and getting involved in perplexing mysteries. Moore is Lord Brett Sinclair, an upper crust Brit of impeccable breeding, while Curtis is Danny Wilde, an up-from-the-streets self-made man whose trademark is a pair of brown gloves. The allegedly tasteful Brett and the crasser Danny both model a succession of garish early 70s fashions while their pursuits of duplicitous crumpet usually wind up with the women getting away and the heroes stuck with each other. Given all that, this may well be the most blatantly homoerotic of all the buddy television pairings (see the eponymous stars of Starsky and Hutch, Regan and Carter in The Sweeney, Bodie and Doyle of The Professionals) that ran ove! r the screen in the 70s, in which the male leads sublimated their feelings for each other by pulling out their guns and shooting at baddies. --Kim Newman

• Scars Of Dracula | DVD | (11/10/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £7.99

  When two innocent victims discover the blood drained corpse of a missing friend in Dracula's castle necropolis the flesh-creeping horror begins. Christopher Lee the definitive Count Dracula to British film fans portrays both the creature's essential power and evil and his sexual and magnetic appeal in a script which stems directly from the original Bram Stoker novel.

• Randall And Hopkirk Deceased - Vol. 4 - Ghost Who Saved / For The Girl / But What A Sweet / Cock Robin | DVD | (16/07/2001) from £12.34   |  Saving you £3.65 (29.58%)   |  RRP £15.99

  It's good to have a ghost on your side in the private eye business especially in cases when an invisable ally can really turn the tide in your favour. Mike Pratt plays Jeff Randall and Kenneth Cope is his ghostly partner Marty Hopkirk cursed to wander the earth for 100 years. Episodes include: Episode 11 - The Ghost Who Saved The Bank At Monte Carlo Episode 12 - For The Girl Who Has Everything Episode 13 - But What A Sweet Little Room Episode 14 - Who Killed Cock Robin?

• Randall And Hopkirk Deceased - Vol. 3 - Murder Ain't / Who Ever Heard / House On Haunted Hill | DVD | (14/05/2001) from £9.82   |  Saving you £6.17 (62.83%)   |  RRP £15.99

  It's good to have a ghost on your side in the private eye business especially in cases when an invisable ally can really turn the tide in your favour. Mike Pratt plays Jeff Randall and Kenneth Cope is his ghostly partner Marty Hopkirk cursed to wander the earth for 100 years. Episode 7 - Murder Aint What It Used To Be?: Marty has a ghostly rival Bugsy a gangster who met his demise in the Roaring Twenties. Not only does he have a repertoire of better tricks he is also out to kill one of Jeff's clients. Episode 8 - Whoever Heard of a Ghost Dying?: A criminal mastermind and his clairvoyant co-conspirator discover the reason for Randall's recent success at detection - the late Marty Hopkirk. They plot to make the duo fall guys for robberies and even try to exoricse poor Marty! Episode 9 - The House On Haunted Hill: It's a case for Marty when Jeff is asked to investigate the mystery of a 'haunted house'. It's just as well as Jeff is preoccupied with solving a diamond robbery. Episode 10 - When Did You Start to Stop Seeing Things?: The day Randall and Hopkirk have been dreading has arrived. Jeff can no longer see or hear his ghostly partner. To Marty's consternation Jeff doesn't even appeared to be bothered by this!

• The Snows Of Kilimanjaro | DVD | (01/09/2003) from £10.57   |  Saving you £-6.58 (-164.90%)   |  RRP £3.99

• Danger UXB | DVD | (06/09/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Classic military drama series revolving around a World War Two bomb disposal squad. Dead Man's Shoes: It is the autumn of 1940. The Great Blitz has taken London by surprise hundreds of civilians have been killed and thousands more made homeless nightly. Brian Ash a young Royal Engineer Officer finds himself posted to a Bomb Disposal Company hastily assembled to combat a terrible new menace - the hundreds of unexploded bombs that are coming close to paralysing the whole city. Unsung Heroes: Second Lieutenant Brian Ash is settling in with life in Bomb Disposal but he soon finds out that even in the blitz there are certain rules that you can break at your peril. Just Like a Woman: When the tragedy of war comes too close it brings out an even stronger determination from the men of the Bomb Disposal to help defend the citizens of London. But a bomb has to be handled gently...

• The Persuaders: The Complete Series (Repackaged) | DVD | (01/11/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £39.99

  A 9 disc set featuring the complete collection (all 24 episodes ever produced) of the cult TV series featuring John Barry's classic theme tune! Upper crust Lord Brett Sinclair (Roger Moore) and nouveau riche Danny Wilde (Tony Curtis) two wealthy playboys from very different backgrounds are paired up by a stern judge who tasks them with becoming international crimestoppers.... Episodes Comprise: 1. Overture 2. The Gold Napoleon 3. Take Seven 4. Greensleeves 5. Powerswitch 6. The Time and the Place 7. Someone Like Me 8. Anyone Can Play 9. The Old the New and the Deadly 10. Angie Angie 11. Chain of Events 12. That's Me Over There 13. The Long Goodbye 14. The Man in the Middle 15. Element of Risk 16. A Home of One's Own 17. Five Miles to Midnight 18. Nuisance Value 19. The Morning After 20. Read and Destroy 21. A Death in the Family 22. The Ozerov Inheritance 23. To the Death Baby 24. Someone Waiting

• Don't Bother to Knock | DVD | (23/07/2012) from £24.21   |  Saving you £-14.22 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  An airline pilot, dumped by his girlfriend, pursues a baby-sitter in his hotel...and gradually realizes she's dangerous.

• Danger UXB 4 | DVD | (20/05/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Classic military drama series revolving around a World War Two bomb disposal squad.

• Vault Of Horror | DVD | (25/08/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Vault Of Horror

• Flame Trees Of Thika | DVD | (05/09/2002) from £8.99   |  Saving you £11.00 (122.36%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Based on the beloved autobiographical novel by Elspeth Huxley, BBC miniseries The Flame Trees of Thika brings an eventful childhood in Eastern Africa to vivid life. In 1913, 11-year-old Elspeth Grant (Holly Aird) traveled with her mother, Tilly (Hayley Mills), from England to Kenya to help build a coffee plantation. (Born in 1907, Huxley was actually six at the time.) Her father, Robin (David Robb), who had preceded them, was waiting to greet his family in the arid town of Thika. Also waiting for them were lions, elephants, giraffes, and countless other creatures (the 18-week production was filmed on location in Kenya). Directed by Roy Ward Baker (A Night To Remember) and written by John Hawkesworth (Upstairs, Downstairs), The Flame Trees of Thika isn't just about one girl, or one family, adrift in an occasionally hostile foreign land, but also about the dangers of colonialism. The Grants, their neighbors, the Palmers (Nicholas Jones and Sharon Maughan), and most of the other Europeans in Thika feel certain they're bringing culture to the uncivilized, without realizing what they're destroying in the process. Ian Crawford (Ben Cross from Chariots of Fire), is one possible exception to the rule, but he brings another kind of danger in his pursuit of Mrs. Palmer. Since their actions are seen through the eyes of a child, The Flame Trees of Thika is never preachy, but the meddling of these adults--however well intentioned--in the affairs of the Masai, the Kikuyu, and other locals frequently creates tension. As Tilly notes, "It's like two whole separate circles revolving around each other--their world and ours--and only just touching occasionally." What began as Elspeth's coming-of-age story, becomes one for her parents, as well, in this sensitive and engaging series. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

• The Protectors - Series 1 Vol. 2 - Episodes 9-16 | DVD | (24/06/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Another series from Lew Grade's ITC stable, The Protectors attracted high ratings on both sides of the Atlantic when screened during 1971-3. Combining the high-tech ingenuity of Mission: Impossible with the glamour of The Champions, the basic premise of jet-setting special agents going where governments fear to tread is typical of its era. As Harry Rule, Robert Vaughn develops the thinking man of action persona he perfected in The Man from U.N.C.L.E, complemented by Nyree Dawn Porter's stylish Contessa di Contini. The underrated Tony Anholt makes the most of his Mediterranean good looks as Paul Buchet. Ten episodes are included here, all following a well-honed formula of intrigue and strategy, but with enough variety in scenario and setting--a range of European cities and resorts--to offset routine. Look out for a host of soon-to-be-familiar faces. There's also Tony Christie's full-throated rendition of the "Avenues and Alleyways" theme to round off each episode. On the DVD: The Protectors on disc comes in a full-screen format that reproduces excellently for its age (Lew Grade's productions always seem to last well). Each episode is divided into four chapter headings, with English subtitles available. A detailed biography of Vaughn is included along with a gallery of captioned stills, some of which are curiously reproduced in black-and-white. Taken with a healthy dose of nostalgia, entertainment is assured. --Richard Whitehouse

• The Protectors - Series 1 Vol. 1 - Episodes 1-8 | DVD | (24/06/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Another series from Lew Grade's ITC stable, The Protectors attracted high ratings on both sides of the Atlantic when screened during 1971-3. Combining the high-tech ingenuity of Mission: Impossible with the glamour of The Champions, the basic premise of jet-setting special agents going where governments fear to tread is typical of its era. As Harry Rule, Robert Vaughn develops the thinking man of action persona he perfected in The Man from U.N.C.L.E, complemented by Nyree Dawn Porter's stylish Contessa di Contini. The underrated Tony Anholt makes the most of his Mediterranean good looks as Paul Buchet. Eight episodes are included here, all following a well-honed formula of intrigue and strategy, but with enough variety in scenario and setting--a range of European cities and resorts--to offset routine. Look out for a host of soon-to-be-familiar faces. There's also Tony Christie's full-throated rendition of the "Avenues and Alleyways" theme to round off each episode. On the DVD: The Protectors on disc comes in a full-screen format that reproduces excellently for its age (Lew Grade's productions always seem to last well). Each episode is divided into four chapter headings, with English subtitles available. With an informative run-down of how the series evolved and a gallery of captioned stills--some of which are curiously reproduced in black-and-white--taken with a healthy dose of nostalgia, entertainment is assured. --Richard Whitehouse

• I, Robot/Alien Nation | DVD | (19/03/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £8.99

  I Robot (Dir. Alex Proyas 2004): What will you do with yours? In the year 2035 technology and robots are a trusted part of everyday life. But that trust is broken when a scientist is found dead and a skeptical detective (Smith) believes that it may have been perpetrated by a robot. However his investigation uncovers a larger threat to humanity! Alien Nation (Dir. Graham Baker 1988): Prepare Yourself. Thought-provoking witty and entertaining this action-packed blend of science fiction and police drama finds Los Angeles the new home of 300 000 humanoid extraterrestrials. When a gang of these Newcomers kills a police detective's (James Caan) partner he sets out to solve the crime with his new partner (Many Patinkin) - the L.A.P.D.'s first Newcomer detective. But the unlikely pair soon uncover a far more dangerous threat to society...

• Minder - Series 3 - Part 4 Of 4 | DVD | (11/02/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Broken Arrow One hundred and eighty! Arthur decides that a darts tournament is a natural for making him some money. Guest Stars: Sean Matthias. Poetic Justice Innit? Terry is left minding the lock-up when Arthur has to do a stint of jury service. Guest Stars: Larry Martyn and Michael Culver. Back In Good Old England Terry's pleasure at seeing ""Oily"" Wragg on his return to England vanishes when he realises that there are others who want to settle old scores.

• Reach For The Sky / A Night To Remember / North West Frontier | DVD | (14/11/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Reach For The Sky: A story of one man's indomitable courage and endurance. As a young sports-loving Pilot Officer Douglas Bader loses both legs in a flying accident. Not only does he overcome his devastating disability; he goes on to become a Battle of Britain ace. Eventually Bader is shot down and imprisoned in Germany. In 1945 when three hundred aircraft fly in triumph over London led by a solitary Spitfire the honour of leading the fly-past goes to Douglas Bader. This is the story of one of the few to whom so many owed so much. A Night To Remember: On April 10th 1912 RMS Titanic sailed from Southampton on her maiden voyage. On her fourth night at sea she struck and iceberg and sank with the loss of 1 500 passengers and crew. The film faithfully depicts the drama heroism and horror of the night the unsinkable sank. North West Frontier: Captain Scott (More) is sent by the British Governor in India to rescue a five year old Hindu prince and his American governess (Bacall) when a rebellion breaks out among the tribesmen. Pursued by the abductors the trio commandeer a derelict steam train to take them 300 miles through the mountains to safety...

• Morning Departure / Above Us - The Waves / We Dive At Dawn | DVD | (14/11/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Morning Departure: While hunting German shipping the Royal Navy submarine Trojan accidentally strikes an electronically-operated mine - and the race begins to save the lives of the crew of the stricken vessel. Rocked by a tremendous explosion the Trojan plunges to the sea bed. As time - and air - starts to run out the captain gathers together the survivors. A lucky few can escape immediately through emergency hatches - but the others will have to remain trapped in the dying submarine and hope that rescuers will arrive before it is too late. Those left behind must battle with terrifying fear and claustrophobia in the stricken disintegrating hulk far beneath the sea while rescuers begin a last-ditch attempt to raise the submarine to the surface. The rescue is difficult and fraught with danger at the best of times - but a storm of unprecedented ferocity is brewing which threatens to end all hope of rescue. This nail-biting and suspenseful thriller boasts a truly distinguished cast including John Mills Richard Attenborough and Nigel Patrick. Above Us The Waves: The dramatic World War II story of Britain's heroic attempts to sink the monster German battleship Tirpitz in a Norwegian Fjord using midget submarines. In this adventure of unsurpassed courage the crews of the Navy become human torpedos. Dive At Dawn: When all leave is cancelled for the crew of the British submarine Sea Tiger the men know they are in for an important mission. Their target: the German warship Brandenburg located in the Baltic and surrounded by mines and escorting destroyers. Picking up three German airmen who have been shot down they learn the exact position of the Brandenburg and head for it. Now they must face the mines the destroyers and perhaps the biggest threat of all - the Brandenburg's own deadly torpedoes!