"Actor: De"

• Years of Lead: Five Classic Italian Crime Thrillers 1973-1977 | Blu Ray | (13/12/2021) from £29.85   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  The 1970s were a time of intense uncertainty and instability in Italy. Political corruption and widespread acts of left and right-wing terrorism, alongside a breakdown in social cohesion and a loss of trust in public institutions such as the government and police, created a febrile atmosphere of cynicism, paranoia and unexploded rage. Throughout this period, these sentiments found expression in a series of brutal, often morally ambiguous crime thrillers which tapped into the atmosphere of violence and instability that defined the so-called Years of Lead. This box set gathers five films from the heyday of the poliziotteschi the umbrella term used to describe this diverse body of films. In Vittorio Salerno's Savage Three (1975) and Mario Imperoli's Like Rabid Dogs (1976), random acts of violence committed by vicious young sociopaths threaten the fragile fabric of respectable society. In Massimo Dallamano's Colt 38 Special Squad (1976) and Stelvio Massi's Highway Racer (1977), renegade cops battling against red tape and political corruption turn to new and morally dubious methods to dispense justice. Finally, class dynamics are explored in Salerno's No, the Case is Happily Resolved (1973) as an innocent man finds himself under suspicion for a savage crime committed by a highly respected member of society. Decried by critics for their supposedly fascistic overtones, the poliziotteschi were in fact more ideologically varied and often considerably more nuanced than such superficial readings would suggest, and proved a huge hit with theatregoers, who responded to their articulation of present day social concerns. Featuring an impressive line-up of Euro-cult stars, including Joe Dallesandro (The Climber), Ivan Rassimov (Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key), Maurizio Merli (Violent City) and Enrico Maria Salerno (The Bird with the Crystal Plumage), this collection of stylish, hard-hitting Euro-crime thrillers showcases the range and breadth of the genre and is a must-have for newcomers and grizzled veterans alike. Special Features High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations of all five films, restored from the original camera negatives Original lossless mono Italian audio on all five films Original lossless mono English audio on Colt 38 Special Squad and Savage Three English subtitles for the Italian soundtracks Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack on Colt 38 Special Squad and Savage Three Poliziotteschi: Violence and Justice in the Years of Lead, a visual essay by critic Will Webb exploring the recurring traits and themes of the genre Rat Eat Rat, an interview with writer/director Vittorio Salerno and actress Martine Brochard on Savage Three The Savage One, an interview with actor Joe Dallesandro on Savage Three When a Murderer Dies, an interview with cinematographer Romano Albani and film historian Fabio Melelli on Like Rabid Dogs It's Not a Time for Tears, an interview with assistant director Claudio Bernabei on Like Rabid Dogs Music sampler for Like Rabid Dogs Always the Same Ol' 7 Notes, an interview with composer Stelvio Cipriani on Colt 38 Special Squad A Tough Guy, an interview with editor Antonio Siciliano on Colt 38 Special Squad Archival introduction to Colt 38 Special Squad by Stelvio Cipriani Faster Than a Bullet, an interview with film historian Roberto Curti on Highway Racer Mother Justice, an interview with writer/director Vittorio Salerno on No, the Case is Happily Resolved Alternate ending to No, the Case is Happily Resolved Original trailers for Like Rabid Dogs, Colt 38 Special Squad and No, the Case is Happily Resolved Poster galleries Reversible sleeves featuring original artwork for all five films

• Once Upon a Time in America | Blu Ray | (07/02/2011) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Once Upon a Time in America has a chequered history, having been chopped from its original 229-minute director's cut to 139 minutes for its theatrical release. The longer edition presented here benefits from having the complete story (the short version has huge gaps) about turn-of-the-century Jewish immigrants in America finding their way into lives of crime, as told in flashback by an ageing Jewish gangster named Noodles (Robert De Niro). On the other hand, it's almost four hours long, and this sometimes-indulgent Sergio Leone film is no Godfather. Still, it is notable for the contrast between Leone's elegiac take on the gangster film and his occasional explosive action, as well as for the mix of the stoic, inexpressive De Niro and the hyperactive James Woods as his lifelong friend and rival. --Marshall Fine

• Wages Of Fear | DVD | (21/01/2002) from £18.88   |  Saving you £1.11 (5.88%)   |  RRP £19.99

  In 1953, before any American studio exec used the phrase "high concept", Henri-George Clouzot's The Wages of Fear boasted a premise so literally explosive that audiences were excited before they got into the theatres. With an oil-fire burning out of control deep in the South American jungle, two lorryloads of highly unstable nitro-glycerin have to be driven through miles of unstable terrain littered with dangerous turns, crumbling planks, falling rocks and mediocre hardtop. One good jolt will vaporise truck, nitro, drivers and a substantial swathe of the countryside, so the company recruits desperate souls among the loser tramps who loiter around the nowhere town of Las Piedras, begging for any kind of work. On the road, Clouzot stages a string of unforgettable sequences: one stretch of badly paved track can only be crossed by driving at under six miles an hour or over 40; a mountain turn requires that the trucks back out onto a rickety, rotten wooden structure; a 50-ton boulder has fallen into the road, and one of the drivers calmly drains a litre of nitro into his thermos to blow it up, only remembering when the fuse is lit that this will rain pebbles all over the countryside and a few good hits on the cargo will set it off. This is perhaps as great a mix of action-adventure and contest as The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, and still a textbook example of sustained suspense. On the DVD: The print is in great shape, though the image is a little soft; the menu has a clever explosive aspect and uses the same vintage artwork as the sleeve cannily combined with a snippet. There are trailers for both Wages and Clozuot's other masterpiece, Les Diaboliques, as well as biographies of the principal cast, eight stills and three posters.--Kim Newman

• Olympiad | DVD | (31/12/2010) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  After being commissioned by the 1936 Olympic Committee to create a feature film of the Berlin Olympics Riefenstahl shot a documentary that celebrates the human body by combining the poetry of bodies in motion with close-ups of athletes in the heat of competition. Includes the marathon men's diving and American track star Jesse Owens' sprint races at the 1936 Olympic Games. The production tends to glorify the young male body and some say expresses the Nazi attitude toward athletic prowess. Includes the lighting of the torch at the stadium and Adolf Hitler looking on in amazement as Jesse Owens wins an unprecedented four Gold Medals.

• Stone | DVD | (28/03/2011) from £4.19   |  Saving you £11.80 (73.80%)   |  RRP £15.99

  A convicted arsonist looks to manipulate a parole officer into a plan to secure his parole by placing his beautiful wife in the lawman's path.

• The Valley Of Gwangi | DVD | (28/06/2013) from £19.95   |  Saving you £-3.96 (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  When a prehistoric horse is captured a group of adventurers decide to travel to it's home in Mexico's Forbidden Valley in search of other specimens for their circus. They brave a host of winged and fanged monsters to find and snare a living dinosaur a savage killer. They soon have it on display but when the beast escapes from its cage to wreak bloody revenge on its captors the scene is set for a fiery showdown!

• Woman On Top | DVD | (29/10/2001) from £6.36   |  Saving you £6.63 (104.25%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Set against the backdrop of enticing Brazilian music and fantasy, an engaging romantic fable about a seductive young woman's journey to emotional freedom.

• Vengeance Valley | DVD | (04/04/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £4.99

  An unusual adult Western for its time Vengeance Valley (1951) gave Burt Lancaster his first Western role. His athletic prowess made him perfect for the genre and he'd go on to make Gunfight At O.K. Corral Apache and The Unforgiven among others. Vengeance Valley emphasises character development and the solid cast meets the challenge. Robert Walker plays Burt's foster brother. Joanne Dru John Ireland Ted de Corsia Hugh O'Brien and Glenn Strange lend support. One of the real stars of the picture is the gorgeous three-strip Technicolor photography by George J.Folsey. The West has rarely looked more colorful.

• Analyze This | DVD | (03/04/2000) from £4.55   |  Saving you £9.44 (207.47%)   |  RRP £13.99

  Cast Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal together in a film and it should be a sucker's bet as to who's going to be funnier and who's going to give the more nuanced performance. Somehow, though, De Niro walks away with most of the laughs, mugging gleefully through Analyze This, a buddy action-comedy about a mob boss (De Niro, naturally) suffering from panic attacks who makes a shrink (Crystal, naturally) an offer he can't refuse--actually, it's not really an offer, it's a command. The good doctor is forced to help the gangster get in touch with his feelings. Had the brilliant TV series The Sopranos not underscored how thin and formulaic director-cowriter Harold Ramis's approach to such potentially rich material actually is, the movie--a hit in cinemas (and De Niro's biggest film ever)--would seem more fresh. De Niro is definitely a hoot as the ever milder menace and Crystal actually concentrates on giving a credible performance opposite the acting legend (alas, he doesn't turn his character's fear of his patient into inspired comedy, as Alan Arkin did in Grosse Pointe Blank). The conclusion devolves into the requisite gunplay and Chazz Palminteri and Lisa Kudrow are criminally wasted as an opposing mob boss and Crystal's fiancée, respectively, but overall, Analyze This is breezy fun. --David Kronke

• Arrested Development - Season 4 | DVD | (09/06/2014) from £15.91   |  Saving you £12.07 (93.42%)   |  RRP £24.99

  The hilarious comedy series follows the wildly eccentric and entertainingly dysfunctional Bluth family. It's the story of a wealthy family that lost everything and the one son who had no choice but to keep them all together. It's Arrested Development the Emmy Award and Golden Globe-winning series starring one of the funniest ensembles in TV comedy who taught viewers the meaning of 'never nude ' spread a dangerous amount of misinformation about maritime law and reminded everyone 'that's why you always leave a note.' Episodes Comprise: Flight of the Phoenix Borderline Personalities Indian Takers The B. Tea A New Start Double Crossers Colony Collapse Red Hairing Smashed Queen B. A New Attitude Senoritis It Gets Better Off The Hook Blockheads

• Listen up Philip (2013) | Blu Ray | (27/07/2015) from £21.58   |  Saving you £-5.59 (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Combining intellectual ambition with a singular comic sensibility the third feature film by writer-director Alex Ross Perry marked a defining moment for the American independent cinema of the 2010s. As with his previous features Impolex and The Color Wheel the blackly hilarious Listen Up Philip is distinguished as much by its literary pedigree as by its fine attunement to atmosphere sense of place and enabled by the camerawork of Sean Price Williams the texture of the image. Jason Schwartzman in one of his most accomplished roles since such Wes Anderson collaborations as Rushmore and The Darjeeling Limited  achieves the height of comic verbal violence as the novelist Philip Lewis Friedman who having received his first taste of literary acclaim embarks upon the publicity campaign for his soon-to-be-published second novel Obidant. The attention of his literary hero Ike Zimmerman (played by the first-rate Jonathan Pryce) a major novelist some decades his elder leads to an open invitation to abscond from Brooklyn and work from Zimmerman’s small-town home upstate. And so the stage is set for all-out warfare between Philip’s seemingly irrepressible ego and the emotionality of his talented photographer girlfriend Ashley who in a brilliant performance by Mad Men’s Elisabeth Moss exhibits the kind of dynamism that could dull Philip's edge for good. Put into relief by a cast including Krysten Ritter Joséphine de La Baume Keith Poulson Kate Lyn Sheil and Dree Hemingway Schwartzman-as-Friedman embodies what must be one of the most charmingly loathsome or most diabolically winning personalities in recent films. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present Listen Up Philip the picture Manohla Dargis of The New York Times called "a masterwork about what it is to live for love and not just the self ” in its UK debut on Blu-ray and DVD. Special Features: Gorgeous 1080p presentation of the film on Blu-ray Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing  New and exclusive video conversation between director Alex Ross Perry and cinematographer Sean Price Williams New and exclusive video interview with graphic designer Teddy Blanks the creator of the Zimmerman and Friedman book jackets featured in the film Feature-length audio commentary with Alex Ross Perry Original theatrical trailer 36-PAGE FULL-COLOUR BOOKLET containing writing on the film and full-colour reproductions of the Zimmerman and Friedman book jackets accompanied by never-before-published synopses of each novel written by Perry

• Carmen | DVD | (23/04/2012) from £8.99   |  Saving you £4.00 (44.49%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Based on the French novel and Bizet's most popular opera which it inspired Carlos Saura's exhilarating flamenco Carmen became an instant classic on its release and was rewarded with many international accolades including Academy Award nominations and prizes at the Cannes Film Festival. The film explores the legend by staging a modern ensemble of musicians and dancers busy rehearsing a flamenco interpretation of the Carmen story. The producer and star dancer is Antonio (Antonio Gades) chooses a girl named Carmen (Laura del Sol) to play 'his' Carmen but life begins tragically to imitate art...

• Everybody's Fine | DVD | (18/04/2011) from £5.39   |  Saving you £14.60 (73.00%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Robert DeNiro leads an acclaimed all-star cast - Drew Barrymore Kate Beckinsale and Sam Rockwell - in Everybody's Fine the heartwarming film that will move you to laughter and tears. When Frank Goode's (DeNiro) grown children cancel a family reunion the recent widower sets off on a cross-country journey to reconnect with each of them. Expecting to share in the joys of their happy successful lives his surprise visits reveal a picture that's far from perfect. A family separated by physical and emotional distance finds a way to come together in a story that will touch your heart.

• Casino (Special Edition) | DVD | (11/07/2005) from £5.40   |  Saving you £6.59 (122.04%)   |  RRP £11.99

  Director Martin Scorsese reunites with members of his GoodFellas gang (writer Nicholas Pileggi; actors Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Frank Vincent) for a three-hour epic about the rise and fall of mobster Sam "Ace" Rothstein (De Niro), a character based on real-life gangster Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal. (It's modelled on Wiseguy and GoodFellas and Pileggi's true crime book Casino: Love and Honour in Las Vegas.) Through Rothstein, the picture tells the story of how the Mafia seized, and finally lost control of, Las Vegas gambling. The first hour plays like a fascinating documentary, intricately detailing the inner workings of Vegas casinos. Sharon Stone is the stand out among the actors; she nabbed an Oscar nomination for her role as the voracious Ginger, the glitzy call girl who becomes Rothstein's wife. The film is not as fast-paced or gripping as Scorsese's earlier gangster pictures (Mean Streets and Good Fellas) but it's still absorbing. And, hey--it's Scorsese! --Jim Emerson, Amazon.com

• Not Another Happy Ending | DVD | (10/02/2014) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  With her debut novel, Happy Ending , Jane Lockhart (Karen Gillan) pulled off that rare double critical acclaim and mainstream success. But now, with just the last chapter of the follow-up novel to write, she encounters crippling writer s block. She has no idea how her story ends... This is not good news for her publisher, Tom. His company is up against the wall financially and the only thing that will save him is a hit, in the form of Jane's next novel. When he discovers that his most importa...

• Dope | DVD | (04/01/2016) from £3.77   |  Saving you £14.22 (377.19%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Malcolm (Shameik Moore) is a brilliant geek who is obsessed with 90s hip-hop. He and his two best friends play in a punk band together and get hassled at high school for their throwback style. When illegal substances are hidden in his backpack at an underground dance club, his life gets extremely complicated. Malcolm will go to crazy lengths to achieve his dreams: getting into Harvard University, getting closer to his fantasy girl Nakia (Zoë Kravitz) and cashing in his fortune in bitcoins. Produced by Forest Whitaker and featuring a funky retro soundtrack curated by Executive Producer Pharrell Williams, DOPE is a fresh, funny and vibrant film that wowed audiences at the Sundance and Cannes Film Festivals.

• The Galton And Simpson Playhouse - The Complete Series | DVD | (19/01/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  The Galton And Simpson Playhouse: The Complete Series

• Riverdance 2002 | DVD | (13/05/2002) from £19.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Over 13 million people worldwide have now seen Riverdance since its premier in Dublin in 1995. It is still the most successful and biggest dance show in the world. This latest recording filmed live in Geneva captures the show in its newest production. With its ground-breaking numbers new costumes and dance routines this DVD proves why Riverdance is the world's most popular dance show!

• The History Of Tom Jones A Foundling | DVD | (13/03/2006) from £19.98   |  Saving you £-3.99 (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  The classic tale of Tom Jones a boy who is adopted in childhood by the kindly Squire Allworthy adapted from the novel written by Henry Fielding. As a result he becomes a privileged gentleman but one with a roving eye. Soon an amorous indiscretion results in him being exiled from his home...

• Camp | DVD | (26/04/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  After a series of Broadway flops, songwriter Bert Hanley goes to work at a musical camp for young performers. Inspired by the kids, he finds an opportunity to regain success by staging an altogether new production.