"Actor: Charles Bennett"

• Purple Rain | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £7.19   |  Saving you £11.80 (164.12%)   |  RRP £18.99

  While "rock musical" remains a phrase used by sadistic parents to give their offspring nightmares the genre does occasionally throw up the odd gem, Purple Rain being perhaps the shiniest example. Given the theatricality of Prince's stage shows, it was only a matter of time before the diminutive pop potentate found himself a big-screen vehicle but few could have predicted that Purple Rain would become nothing less than a cultural phenomenon. The story, co-written by one-time Starsky & Hutch scripter William Blinn, may be a somewhat hackneyed tale with His Purpleness overcoming a troubled background and musical rival Morris Day to achieve his dreams of rock stardom. However, the cast, which also includes Prince protegée Appollonia, rises above the clichés to hand in a set of performances which, while never likely to trouble the Oscars, prove that all concerned can at least play a rough approximation of themselves with minimal difficulty. What really helped push the film's box-office receipts through the roof, however, was its soundtrack featuring a clutch of hit singles--notably "When Doves Cry"--and which cemented our pint-sized hero's position as one of the globe's premiere performing artists. Sadly, subsequent attempts to re-bottle this particular brand of lightning with Under a Cherry Moon and Graffiti Moon would prove substantially less successful but Purple Rain still looks--and, more importantly sounds--rarely less than funktastic. --Clark Collis

• Northpole Double Set | DVD | (06/11/2017) from £11.49   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Double bill of festive family adventures directed by Douglas Barr. In 'Northpole' (2014) the magical land where Santa Claus (Robert Wagner) lives is powered by the festive spirit generated by people around the world. However, as modern life takes over and people have less time to spend with their families over Christmas, Northpole is rapidly losing power and so it is left to one young boy, Kevin (Max Charles), to convince his family to save Christmas. In 'Northpole - Open for Christmas' (2015) Mackenzie Warren (Lori Loughlin) hopes to sell The Northern Lights Inn that she has inherited from her late aunt, and enlists the help of handyman Ian (Dermot Mulroney) to fix up the place. Ian and his daughter are charmed by the inn but can't revive Mackenzie's childhood love for the building. But Santa needs the inn to survive so he sends Clementine the elf (Bailee Madison) to restore Mackenzie's holiday cheer. Can they all work their magic on her and save the inn?

• Purple Rain (Two Disc Special Edition) | DVD | (18/10/2004) from £14.20   |  Saving you £-0.21 (N/A%)   |  RRP £13.99

  While "rock musical" remains a phrase used by sadistic parents to give their offspring nightmares the genre does occasionally throw up the odd gem, Purple Rain being perhaps the shiniest example. Given the theatricality of Prince's stage shows, it was only a matter of time before the diminutive pop potentate found himself a big-screen vehicle but few could have predicted that Purple Rain would become nothing less than a cultural phenomenon. The story, co-written by one-time Starsky & Hutch scripter William Blinn, may be a somewhat hackneyed tale with His Purpleness overcoming a troubled background and musical rival Morris Day to achieve his dreams of rock stardom. However, the cast, which also includes Prince protegée Appollonia, rises above the clichés to hand in a set of performances which, while never likely to trouble the Oscars, prove that all concerned can at least play a rough approximation of themselves with minimal difficulty. What really helped push the film's box-office receipts through the roof, however, was its soundtrack featuring a clutch of hit singles--notably "When Doves Cry"--and which cemented our pint-sized hero's position as one of the globe's premiere performing artists. Sadly, subsequent attempts to re-bottle this particular brand of lightning with Under a Cherry Moon and Graffiti Moon would prove substantially less successful but Purple Rain still looks--and, more importantly sounds--rarely less than funktastic. --Clark Collis

• Raging Bull : Ultimate Edition (1980) | DVD | (12/09/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Raging Bull is arguably the finest work produced from the Scorsese and De Niro partnership. De Niro gives an amazing portrayal of real-life boxer Jake LaMotta whose animal side lurks just beneath the surface ever ready to erupt. Vivid and unremitting in its uncompromising brutality and honesty the fight sequences are famed for their realism. Jake LaMotta is a boxer whose psychological and sexual complexities erupt into violence both in and out of the ring. Joe Pesci and Cathy Moriarty are unforgettable as the brother who falls prey to Jake's mounting paranoia and the fifteen-year-old girl who becomes his most prized trophy. Violent throughout this film is a testament to Scorsese's and De Niro's skills creating a thoroughly absorbing film about such an unlikable character. Renowned for throwing himself into the roles of his character De Niro went on a diet to gain fifty pounds during production for the role of the faded star. Raging Bull garnered eight Oscar'' nominations and won two including Best Actor for De Niro - the second of two Golden statues for the Italian-American method actor.

• Charlie Chaplin Marathon - The Rink, The Immigrant, Tillie's Punctured Romance, The Vagabond | DVD | (01/11/1999) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  “The Rink”: Chaplin plays a waiter who spends his time at the skating rink where his skill and grace lead to possible romance and unfortunate mishaps. “The Immigrant”: En-route by boat immigrant Chaplin tries to make the best of the rough seas. He befriends a woman and appoints himself her protector. “Tillie’s Punctured Romance”: This is the first feature-length comedy ever made and features Chaplin as a con artist who talks Marie Dressler an innocent lass into taking her dad’s savings and running off to the city with him. “The Vagabond”: This is the story of The Little Tramp a pathetic fiddler that makes a scanty living and rescues damsels in distress. One of the first films directed by Charlie Chaplin.

• Colonel Effingham's Raid | DVD | (01/09/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £3.99

• Comedy Greats | DVD | (03/02/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  A "two-plus-one" package from Siren, Comedy Greats features classics from the two greatest silent-screen comics, Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, plus a rather dreary effort from Danny Kaye. Never the most scintillating of comedians, Kaye's personable talents are thinly spread in 1949's The Inspector General. Distantly(!) based on a short story by Russian satirist Nikolay Gogol, this tale of mistaken identity enables Kaye to indulge in obvious wisecracks and not-so-smart dialogue. Sylvia Fine's songs are mildly amusing, and Henry Koster draws capable support from Walter Slezak and Elsa Lanchester, but it's a long haul. When he made Tilli's Punctured Romance in 1914, Charles Chaplin had yet to perfect the "little man" routine which made him the most popular 1920s screen star. His loveable rogue is well displayed opposite Marie Dressler's formidable country maid, whose unexpected windfall becomes the real object of his desire. Mabel Normand contributes an attractively period chic, and if, in the hands of Mack Sennett, the humour tends to fall back on music-hall slapstick, the historical significance of the film is undoubted. Yet it's Buster Keaton's 1928 classic Steamboat Bill Jr which comes out on top here. Keaton is perfectly cast as the put upon student, whose bravery saves both his father and his steamboat-owning rival, and wins the hand of the latter's daughter. Solid support comes from Ernest Torrence and the winsome Marion Byron, with Charles Riesner getting maximum drama from the cyclone sequence, but it's Keaton's soulful expression and breathtaking stuntwork which are the most potent reminders of a talent only later to receive its due. On the DVD: Comedy Greats is acceptably remastered, with 1.33:1 aspect ratio and 12 chapter headings per film, and decently packaged, this is worth acquiring--even though Keaton's film is the only one you're likely return to often. --Richard Whitehouse

• Thomas And Sarah - Episodes 1 To 7 | DVD | (07/06/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  The continuation of the Upstairs Downstairs saga which follows the lives of the two servants Thomas and Sarah. Episodes included: The Vanishing Lady Made In Heaven Alma Mater Birds Of A Feather The Silver Ghost The Biters Bit and A Day At The Metropole.