"Actor: Barbara O"

• Offenbach: Des Contes D'Hoffmann | DVD | (25/04/2001) from £19.85   |  Saving you £6.40 (34.43%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Unfortunately the qualities that make Jacques Offenbach's operetta The Tales of Hoffmann an irresistible melodic profusion of wit, dash and unfailing high spirits are only in evidence in the playing of the Lyon Opera Orchestra under Kent Nagano: operetta, more than its serious cousin, continues to be fair game for the whims of producers and designers. In this case an excellent cast including Daniel Galvez-Vallejo as Hoffmann, Natalie Dessay as Olympia, Brigitte Balley as Nicklausse and Isabelle Vernet as Giulietta, as well as Gabriel Bacquier who sings three roles, are obliged to perform Offenbach's operetta in a lunatic asylum designed by Philippe Starck as a three-dimensional grey set, topped with barbed wire. The production by Louis Erlo adapts and cuts scenes to fit this concept, so the tavern scene where Hoffmann sings his celebrated number "The Legend of Kleinzack" disappears, as do the chorus who are banished to the wings. In this environment there's no room for charm or even a kind of mad-hatter behaviour. The cast are reduced to stereotypes and of necessity singularly unlovable ones. What a wasted opportunity. The sound is excellent as it is on two fillers: a short film of Penderecki conducting his choral work, The Seven Gates to Jerusalem from the Midem festival at Cannes and a trailer for a Lyon Opera House production of Berlioz's Damnation of Faust. --Adrian Edwards

• Lady and the Tramp 1 and 2 Double Pack | DVD | (30/01/2012) from £37.78   |  Saving you £-13.79 (-57.50%)   |  RRP £23.99

  Lady And The Tramp: Embark on a thrilling adventure with Lady, a lovingly pampered cocker spaniel; Tramp, a mutt from across the tracks with a heart of gold; Jock and Trusty, Lady's best friends; and Si and Am, two of the most devious cats to prowl across the screen. The happiest of endings takes place on a lovely bella notte as Lady learns what it means to be footloose and leash-free.Lady And The Tramp II: The adventure continues as Lady and Tramp have their paws full raising mischievous Scamp - who's always in the doghouse. When Scamp ventures far from home and joins the Junkyard Dogs, he is faced with the ultimate test of a collar-free life: choosing between a world of adventure and his love for the family he has left behind.

• Barbara Dickson - In Concert At The Royal Albert Hall | DVD | (01/12/2008) from £8.07   |  Saving you £-2.08 (-34.70%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Originally filmed for the BBC's ""In Concert"" series this DVD sees Barbara Dickson perform a selection of her best loved tracks in front of a sell out crowd at the Royal Albert Hall in 1987.

• Sorry - Series 6 | DVD | (26/09/2011) from £10.78   |  Saving you £5.21 (48.33%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Will his dream come true or will Mother make it a nightmare? In a role specially written for him, Ronnie Corbett is hilarious as the eternally frustrated Timothy Lumsden. One of the most successful comedy series of the 1980s, Sorry! confirmed Corbett as a British comic institution. There might not be a woman good enough for her son, but Phyllis is not about to give her tank top-wearing, forty-something son, Timothy an easy time. Timothy’s small rebellions, such as going out on his bath night, incite her full wrath and any attempts to speak his mind are met with the fiercest of rebukes – We are not at home to Mr Cheeky! Undaunted, Timothy, urged on by his sister Muriel and his friend Frank, continues to seek an escape from Stalag 27 Ravenscroft Avenue, with love as the spur to untie the granny knots on his mother’s apron strings. In this sixth series Timothy invites an escaped convict, a female mud wrestler and a French maid into the house and attends an assertiveness course leading to his girlfriend seeing him in a new light. As wedding bells beckon, could Timothy finally have made his escape? Everything has been taken care of to make sure the day runs smoothly – so what could possibly go wrong?

• Airplane! | DVD | (29/05/2006) from £9.65   |  Saving you £6.34 (65.70%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Ted Striker: ""Surely you can't be serious?"" Dr. Rumack: ""I am serious... and don't call me Shirley."" Voted ""one of the ten funniest movies ever made"" by the American Film Institute Airplane! is a masterpiece of off-the-wall comedy. Featuring Robert Hays as an ex-fighter pilot forced to take over the controls of an airliner when the flight crew succumbs to food poisoning; Julie Hagerty as his girlfriend/ stewardess/ co-pilot; and a cast of all-stars inclu

• The Stunt Man | DVD | (24/02/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Vietnam veteran Cameron (Steve Railsback) is on the run from the police when he stumbles onto the set of a war movie directed by megalomaniac Eli Cross (Peter O'Toole). But when the young fugitive is forced to replace a dead stunt man he falls in love with the movies leading lady (Barbara Hershey) while trying to avoid getting arrested or killed. Is Eli trying to capture Cameron's death on film? And what happens to a paranoid stunt man when illusion and reality change places?

• Mission Impossible - Season 1 | DVD | (20/11/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £44.99

  An elite covert operations unit known as the Impossible Mission Taskforce (IMF) carries out highly sensitive missions subject to official denial in the event of failure capture or death. Their mission should they choose to accept it is given by the unseen figure known only as the 'Secretary' who instructions are relaid on a tape guaranteed to self-destruct in five seconds... Episodes Comprise: 1. Pilot episode 2. Memory 3. Operation Rogosh 4. Old Man Out (Part 1) 5. Old Man Out (Part 2) 6. Odds On Evil 7. Wheels 8. The Ransom 9. A Spool There Was 10. The Carriers 11. Zubrovnik's Ghost 12. Fakeout 13. Elena 14. The Short Tail Spy 15. The Legacy 16. The Reluctant Dragon 17. The Frame 18. The Trial 19. The Diamond 20. The Legend 21. Snowball In Hell 22. The Confession 23. Action! 24. The Train 25. Shock 26. A Cube Of Sugar 27. The Traitor 28. The Psychic

• Justice | DVD | (29/07/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £2.99

  Hollywood superstar James Belushi stars as undercover mole Frank Spello in this all action thriller. After years of deep undercover operation Spello is determined to smash the organized crime syndicates and even endures doing time in one of America's toughest prisons and all the brutal treatment dished out in these so called correction institutions. Spello is by no means the model prisoner and will go to any length in order to be accepted by the underworld and finds himself in many life threatening situations where the cell block rules are..No Rules..No Witnesses.. No Mercy..And No Justice! Eventually winning the respect of Chicago crime lord Sal The Joker Licata Spello is confident his cell block education will assist him on his eventual release . But nothing could prepare Spello for the double-dealing double-crossing and ruthless disregard for human life demonstrated by the Chicago Mafia and Colombian Drug Barons. Teaming up with Gina Gallagher a beautiful young federal prosecutor they find their every move blocked by conspiracy and corruption and as they hurtle from one life threatening situation to another they are convinced that Lady Justice wears a blindfold and must make the ultimate decision as to follow their oath of to serve and protect or dispense their own brand of justice...

• Lust For A Vampire | DVD | (11/10/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £13.99

  Through the unholy rites of black magic the notorious female vampire Carmilla Karnstein is reincarnated as a luscious young debutant (Yutte Stensgaard). But when the depraved seductress is enrolled at an exclusive girl's school she begins to inflame the desires of her fellow students as wellias her weak-willed teacher (Ralph Bates). Can these perverse hungers be quenched by theimere taste of blood or will an entire village be unwittingly consumed by their lust for a vampire?

• Double Indemnity (1944) (Criterion Collection) UK Only | Blu Ray | (30/05/2022) from £32.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Has dialogue ever been more perfectly hard-boiled? Has a femme fatale ever been as deliciously evil as BARBARA STANWYCK (The Lady Eve)? And has 1940s Los Angeles ever looked so seductively sordid? Working with cowriter RAYMOND CHANDLER, director BILLY WILDER (Ace in the Hole) launched himself onto the Hollywood A-list with this paragon of film-noir fatalism from JAMES M. CAIN's pulp novel. When slick salesman Walter Neff (The Caine Mutiny's FRED MACMURRAY) walks into the swank home of dissatisfied housewife Phyllis Dietrichson (Stanwyck), he intends to sell her insurance, but he winds up becoming entangled with her in a far more sinister way. Featuring scene-stealing supporting work from EDWARD G. ROBINSON and the chiaroscuro of cinematographer JOHN F. SEITZ (Sunset Blvd.), Double Indemnity is one of the most wickedly perverse stories ever told and the cynical standard by which all noir must be measured. Product Features New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack Audio commentary featuring film critic Richard Schickel New interview with film scholar Noah Isenberg, editor of Billy Wilder on Assignment New conversation between film historians Eddie Muller and Imogen Sara Smith Billy, How Did You Do It?, a 1992 film by Volker Schlöndorff and Gisela Grischow featuring interviews with director Billy Wilder Shadows of Suspense, a 2006 documentary on the making of Double Indemnity Audio excerpts from 1971 and 1972 interviews with cinematographer John F. Seitz Radio adaptations from 1945 and 1950 Trailer English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

• Get Smart Again | DVD | (11/08/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £3.99

  The free world's secret weapon dormant for 20 years has been called up for active duty. He's the bumbling addle brained master spy extrodinaire Maxwell Smart aka Agent 86. Smart is primed again to do battle against the sinister forces of KAOS. His wife 99 wants to get involved too however she's already more involved than she thinks...

• Worzel Gummidge - A Fishy Tale / The Trial Of Worzel Gummidge / Very Good Worzel | DVD | (23/09/2002) from £8.90   |  Saving you £-2.91 (-48.60%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Mrs Bloomsbury-Barton has invited some important guests to lunch so she hires a butler and a parlour maid for the day. By mistake these jobs are given to the clumsy Worzel and Aunt Sally...

• Three Sovereigns For Sarah | DVD | (22/09/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Early in the 1690's a wave of witchcraft hysteria hit the Massachusetts village of Salem. More than 400 people were accused of witchcraft by a group of children seemingly possessed by the devil. Twenty were executed or killed and many others were jailed and were still awaiting trial when the Governor had them released. Sarah Coyle (Vanessa Redgrave) was one who survived after years imprisoned. Her two sisters (Phyllis Thaxter and Kim Hunter) were hanged as witches. Ten years later

• Tune In Tomorrow | DVD | (06/09/2004) from £9.43   |  Saving you £3.56 (27.40%)   |  RRP £12.99

  When radio reporter Martin (Reeves) falls for his sexy aunt Julia (Hershey) the station's zany soap opera writer Pedro (Falk) decides to play Cupid and broadcast the details! Courtship soon turns to chaos with Martin's love life in shambles Julia in disgrace and irate listeners rioting in the streets. Everyone will have to tune in tomorrow to discover how it all turns out!

• Verdi - Falstaff / Graham Vick, Bernard Haitink, Royal Opera House | DVD | (10/10/2001) from £24.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  The Graham Vicks production of Falstaff opened the new Covent Garden Royal Opera House, and was not to everybody's taste; the garish primary colours of the costumes, especially Falstaff's unusually hideous get-ups, go several steps beyond the Breughelian effect Vicks intended. The staging is effective--the complicated counterpoint of the ensembles is reflected in unobtrusive blocking that keeps the vocal lines clear and separate, especially in the final fugue. Bryn Terfel's Falstaff is a memorable creation, self-mocking and self-aggrandising at the same time--so much so, in fact, that he almost does not need the vast prosthetic body he has to wear for the part. Desiree Rancatore is an admirably sweet-toned Nanetta; Bernadette Manca di Nissa an appropriately sardonic Mistress Quickly; Roberto Frontali as Ford, in his Act 2 scena, perfectly distils and parodies every jealousy aria ever written, including Verdi's own. Haitink's conducting is exemplary in the lyrical passages, gets almost everything out of the fast and furious comic sections. --Roz Kaveney On the DVD: The Dolby Digital 5.1 sound is powerful and filled with detail, capturing the excitement of the performance and the atmosphere of the Royal Opera House superbly. The anamorphically enhanced 1.77:1 widesceen image is very clear, and while given the source inevitably not up to the highest feature film standards, is among the best live classical titles yet released on DVD. The bold colours are particularly well realised, though the red lighting of the Garter Inn scenes causes the image to falter a little. There are optional subtitles in English, French and German. These are presented directly over the picture and would be easier to read had they been a little larger, or outlined in some way. The special features consist of a brief synopsis by James Naughtie, taken directly from the original television broadcast, a minute-long "comment" by conductor Bernard Haitink and short but interesting interviews with Bryn Terfel and director Graham Vick. Finally there is a nine-minute episode from the series of short BBC films, Covent Garden Tales on the 1999 modernisation of the Royal Opera House. --Gary S Dalkin

• Europa | DVD | (29/07/2002) from £17.99   |  Saving you £2.00 (11.12%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The unquiet twin spirits of Fritz Lang and Franz Kafka preside over Europa, Lars von Trier's sardonic, saturnine vision of just-post-WWII Germany. In 1945 Leo Kessler, a young American of German descent, returns to the shattered land of his forebears to help in its reconstruction. Through his uncle, who works for the huge railway network Zentropa, he gets a job as a trainee sleeping-car conductor and also meets the seductive Katharina Hartmann, daughter of Zentropa's owner Max. But acts of sabotage and murder are being planned by unregenerate young Nazis calling themselves Werewolves, and very soon Leo's hapless innocent abroad starts finding out that, in this time and place of shifting loyalties, nothing and no one are what they seem. As if to accentuate this mood of nervous ambiguity, von Trier constantly switches from black and white to colour, and from English to (subtitled) German dialogue, often right in the middle of a scene. The cast boasts several iconic figures of European cinema, including Barbara Sukowa (a Fassbinder favourite) as femme fatale Katharina, and Eddie Constantine (from Godard's Alphaville) as a manipulative American colonel, while a literally hypnotic voice-over is spoken by the great Bergman actor Max von Sydow. There's more than a hint that von Trier intends a mischievous side-glance at today's Europe, and today's European film industry, in resentful thrall to the might of Hollywood. And while Europa is gripping and richly atmospheric, it's never without humour. The long, final episode is a tour de force of tragicomedy, with poor Leo juggling the competing demands of love and loyalty, life and death, while being harassed by his uncle who, horrified that Leo has lost his official peaked cap, forces him to wear a knotted handkerchief on his head, as well as by a pair of punctilious railroad inspectors demanding to know how long it takes him to make up a sleeping-car bunk. Lang and Kafka, sure, but maybe a touch of the Marx Brothers, too. --Philip Kemp

• Two Evil Eyes | Blu Ray | (24/08/2021) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Puppet Master | DVD | (13/11/2000) from £10.56   |  Saving you £-4.57 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Five psychics hear rumours that the secret of life has been discovered by Andre Toulon a puppeteer and decide to investigate. What they find are five mutated puppets which have been specially designed to kill...

• Agnosia | DVD | (30/05/2011) from £3.86   |  Saving you £9.13 (236.53%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Agnosia (a-gnosis or loss of knowledge) a neuropsychological illness that affects perception. Although the eyes or ears are in perfect condition the brain cannot interpret the stimuli it receives through them. This visually stunning & elegant story follows the life of Joana Prats a beautiful young woman who suffers from agnosia. As the only one who knows the deep dark secret left behind by her father she is drawn into a sinister and life-threatening plot by those trying to garner information taking advantage of her sensory confusion. The deceitful criminals will stop at nothing to get what they want and as the plot unfolds will her two closest suitors protect her from falling victim to their cunning plans?

• Brass | DVD | (05/07/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Bradley Hardacre owner of the brass factory as well as everything else in the town is the most ruthless of men and enjoys a life of luxury much to the disgust of Agnes Fairchild. However her plans to overthrow the Hardacre Empire are thwarted by her husband George who is ever the unswervingly loyal employee. Meanwhile to complicate matters further the loves and passions of the Hardacre girls and the Fairchild sons are heating up with some truly hilarious consequences for everyone concerned.