"Actor: Donald Li"

• Pride And Prejudice - 2005 | DVD | (06/02/2006) from £4.66   |  Saving you £15.33 (328.97%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Keira Knightley and Matthew MacFadyen star in this adaptation of Jane Austen's classic novel.

• Where Eagles Dare | DVD | (27/01/2020) from £7.19   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Ad Astra BD | Blu Ray | (27/01/2020) from £9.09   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Astronaut Roy McBride (Brad Pitt) travels to the outer edges of the solar system to find his missing father and unravel a mystery that threatens the survival of our planet. His journey will uncover secrets that challenge the nature of human existence and our place in the cosmos.

• The Hunger Games - Complete Collection | Blu Ray | (21/03/2016) from £15.99   |  Saving you £-2.99 (N/A%)   |  RRP £13.00

  Now watch the epic Hunger Games franchise from start to finish. All 4 films now available in one Complete Collection boxset, featuring: The Hunger Games: Gary Ross directs this sci-fi action film based on the best-selling novel by Suzanne Collins. Jennifer Lawrence stars as 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen, a citizen of the totalitarian post-apocalyptic country of Panem, formerly the United States. Every year, the all-powerful ruling agency known as the Capitol selects one boy and one girl from each of Panem's 12 impoverished rival districts to fight to the death on live national television in a contest known as 'The Hunger Games', in which the winner is given food to feed their entire district for a year. When her younger sister Primrose (Willow Shields) is selected as a contestant, Katniss steps up to take her place in the match. Under the tutelage of inebriated former champion Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson), Katniss goes into training for the fight of her life. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire: Jennifer Lawrence reprises her role as Katniss Everdeen in the second instalment of the sci-fi adventure trilogy based on the novel by Suzanne Collins. Fresh from her triumph in the 74th Annual Hunger Games, Katniss, along with fellow winner Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), returns home to District 12 for some much needed rest. But soon after, while on a 'Victory Tour' of the other districts, she becomes aware of growing dissent to the Capitol's rule, and realises that rebellion is in the air. As Panem prepares itself for the third 'Quarter Quell' (75th Hunger Games), autocratic ruler President Coriolanus Snow (Donald Sutherland), still smarting from the Capitol's humiliation in the last games, stacks the deck to ensure that the upcoming tournament will wipe out any resistance from the districts once and for all. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1: The worldwide phenomenon of The Hunger Games continues to set the world on fire with The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1, which finds Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) in District 13 after she literally shatters the games forever. Under the leadership of President Coin (Julianne Moore) and the advice of her trusted friends, Katniss spreads her wings as she fights to save Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) and a nation moved by her courage. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 is directed by Francis Lawrence from a screenplay by Danny Strong and Peter Craig and produced by Nina Jacobson's Color Force in tandem with producer Jon Kilik. The novel on which the film is based is the third in a trilogy written by Suzanne Collins that has over 65 million copies in print in the U.S. alone. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 brings the franchise to its powerful final chapter in which Katniss Everdeen [Jennifer Lawrence] realises the stakes are no longer just for survival they are for the future. With the nation of Panem in a full scale war, Katniss confronts President Snow [Donald Sutherland] in the final showdown. Teamed with a group of her closest friends including Gale [Liam Hemsworth], Finnick [Sam Claflin] and Peeta [Josh Hutcherson] Katniss goes off on a mission with the unit from District 13 as they risk their lives to liberate the citizens of Panem, and stage an assassination attempt on President Snow who has become increasingly obsessed with destroying her. The mortal traps, enemies, and moral choices that await Katniss will challenge her more than any arena she faced in The Hunger Games.

• The Hunger Games - Complete Collection | DVD | (21/03/2016) from £11.99   |  Saving you £-2.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Now watch the epic Hunger Games franchise from start to finish. All 4 films now available in one Complete Collection boxset, featuring: The Hunger Games: Gary Ross directs this sci-fi action film based on the best-selling novel by Suzanne Collins. Jennifer Lawrence stars as 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen, a citizen of the totalitarian post-apocalyptic country of Panem, formerly the United States. Every year, the all-powerful ruling agency known as the Capitol selects one boy and one girl from each of Panem's 12 impoverished rival districts to fight to the death on live national television in a contest known as 'The Hunger Games', in which the winner is given food to feed their entire district for a year. When her younger sister Primrose (Willow Shields) is selected as a contestant, Katniss steps up to take her place in the match. Under the tutelage of inebriated former champion Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson), Katniss goes into training for the fight of her life. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire: Jennifer Lawrence reprises her role as Katniss Everdeen in the second instalment of the sci-fi adventure trilogy based on the novel by Suzanne Collins. Fresh from her triumph in the 74th Annual Hunger Games, Katniss, along with fellow winner Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), returns home to District 12 for some much needed rest. But soon after, while on a 'Victory Tour' of the other districts, she becomes aware of growing dissent to the Capitol's rule, and realises that rebellion is in the air. As Panem prepares itself for the third 'Quarter Quell' (75th Hunger Games), autocratic ruler President Coriolanus Snow (Donald Sutherland), still smarting from the Capitol's humiliation in the last games, stacks the deck to ensure that the upcoming tournament will wipe out any resistance from the districts once and for all. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1: The worldwide phenomenon of The Hunger Games continues to set the world on fire with The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1, which finds Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) in District 13 after she literally shatters the games forever. Under the leadership of President Coin (Julianne Moore) and the advice of her trusted friends, Katniss spreads her wings as she fights to save Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) and a nation moved by her courage. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 is directed by Francis Lawrence from a screenplay by Danny Strong and Peter Craig and produced by Nina Jacobson's Color Force in tandem with producer Jon Kilik. The novel on which the film is based is the third in a trilogy written by Suzanne Collins that has over 65 million copies in print in the U.S. alone. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 brings the franchise to its powerful final chapter in which Katniss Everdeen [Jennifer Lawrence] realises the stakes are no longer just for survival they are for the future. With the nation of Panem in a full scale war, Katniss confronts President Snow [Donald Sutherland] in the final showdown. Teamed with a group of her closest friends including Gale [Liam Hemsworth], Finnick [Sam Claflin] and Peeta [Josh Hutcherson] Katniss goes off on a mission with the unit from District 13 as they risk their lives to liberate the citizens of Panem, and stage an assassination attempt on President Snow who has become increasingly obsessed with destroying her. The mortal traps, enemies, and moral choices that await Katniss will challenge her more than any arena she faced in The Hunger Games.

• Spider-Man Triple: Home Coming, Far from Home & No Way Home | Blu Ray | (04/04/2022) from £9.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  For the first time in the cinematic history of Spider-Man, our friendly neighborhood hero's identity is revealed, bringing his Super Hero responsibilities into conflict with his normal life and putting those he cares about most at risk. When he enlists Doctor Strange's help to restore his secret, the spell tears a hole in their world, releasing the most powerful villains who've ever fought a Spider-Man in any universe. Now, Peter will have to overcome his greatest challenge yet, which will not only forever alter his own future but the future of the Multiverse.

• Backdraft (Includes Blu-Ray) | Blu Ray | (31/05/2021) from £16.75   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  From Academy Award®-winning° director Ron Howard, Backdraft is a visually stunning, emotionally charged, action-thriller about the adventurous lives of professional firefighters. Kurt Russell and William Baldwin star as two feuding siblings carrying on a heroic family tradition as Chicago firefighters. When a puzzling series of arson attacks is reported, they are forced to set aside their differences to solve the mystery surrounding these explosive crimes. Scott Glenn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Rebecca De Mornay, Donald Sutherland and Robert De Niro also star in this critically acclaimed suspense story that features Academy Award®-nominated visual effects and sound with some of the most awe-inspiring fire sequences ever filmed. Special Features Ron Howard Introduction Deleted Scenes Igniting The Story Bringing Together The Team The Explosive Stunts Creating The Villain: The Fire Real-Life Firemen, Real-Life Stories And More

• The Bridge On The River Kwai | DVD | (04/12/2000) from £4.65   |  Saving you £18.34 (394.41%)   |  RRP £22.99

  Based on the true story of the building of a bridge on the Burma railway by British prisoners-of-war held under a savage Japanese regime in World War II, The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) is one of the greatest war films ever made. The film received seven Oscars, including Best Picture, Director, Performance (Alex Guinness), for Sir Malcolm Arnold's superb music, and for the screenplay from the novel by Pierre Boulle (who also wrote Monkey Planet, the inspiration for Planet of the Apes). The story does take considerable liberties with history, including the addition of an American saboteur played by William Holden, and an entirely fictitious but superbly constructed and thrilling finale. Made on a vast scale, the film reinvented the war movie as something truly epic, establishing the cinematic beachhead for The Longest Day (1962), Patton (1970) and A Bridge Too Far (1977). It also proved a turning-point in director David Lean's career. Before he made such classic but conventionally scaled films as In Which We Serve (1942) and Hobson's Choice (1953). Afterwards there would only be four more films, but their names are Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Dr Zhivago (1965), Ryan's Daughter (1970) and A Passage to India (1984). On the DVD: Too often the best extras come attached to films that don't really warrant them. Not so here, where a truly great film has been given the attention it deserves. The first disc presents the film in the original extra-wide CinemaScope ratio of 2.55:1, in an anamorphically enhanced transfer which does maximum justice to the film's superb cinematography. The sound has been transferred from the original six-track magnetic elements into 5.1 Dolby Digital and far surpasses what many would expect from a 1950s' feature. The main bonus on the first disc is an isolated presentation of Malcolm Arnold's great Oscar-winning music score, in addition to which there is a trivia game, and maps and historical information linked to appropriate clips. The second disc contains a new, specially produced 53-minute "making of" documentary featuring many of those involved in the production of the movie. This gives a rich insight into the physical problems of making such a complex epic on location in Ceylon. Also included are the original trailer and two short promotional films from the time of release, one of which is narrated by star William Holden. Finally there is an "appreciation" by director John Milius, an extensive archive of movie posters and artwork, and a booklet that reproduces the text of the film's original 1957 brochure. --Gary S Dalkin

• The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 | DVD | (16/03/2015) from £3.99   |  Saving you £16.00 (401.00%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The worldwide phenomenon of The Hunger Games continues to set the world on fire with The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 which finds Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) in District 13 after she literally shatters the games forever. Under the leadership of President Coin (Julianne Moore) and the advice of her trusted friends Katniss spreads her wings as she fights to save Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) and a nation moved by her courage. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 is directed by Francis Lawrence from a screenplay by Danny Strong and Peter Craig and produced by Nina Jacobson's Color Force in tandem with producer Jon Kilik. The novel on which the film is based is the third in a trilogy written by Suzanne Collins that has over 65 million copies in print in the U.S. alone. Lionsgate presents a Color Force / Lionsgate production a Francis Lawrence film.

• Deep Cover (1992) (Criterion Collection) UK Only | Blu Ray | (23/08/2021) from £19.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Film noir hits the mean streets of 1990s Los Angeles in this stylish and subversive underworld odyssey from veteran actor-director BILL DUKE (The Killing Floor). LAURENCE FISHBURNE (The Matrix) stars as Russell Stevens/John Hull, a police officer who goes undercover as the partner of a dangerously ambitious cocaine trafficker (The Fly's JEFF GOLDBLUM) in order to infiltrate and bring down a powerful Latin American drug ring operating in LA. But the further Stevens descends into this ruthless world of money, violence, and power, the more disillusioned he becomesand the harder to make out the line between right and wrong, crime and justice. Steeped in shadowy, neon-soaked atmosphere and featuring DR. DRE's debut solo single, this unsung gem of the nineties' Black cinema explosion delivers a riveting character study and sleek action thrills alongside a furious moral indictment of America and the devastating failures of the war on drugs. Special Features: New 4K digital restoration, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack New interview with director Bill Duke New conversation between film scholars Racquel J. Gates and Michael B. Gillespie about Deep Cover's place within both the Black film boom of the early 1990s and the noir genre New conversation between scholar Claudrena N. Harold and professor, DJ, and podcaster Oliver Wang about the film's title track and its importance to the history of hip-hop Panel discussion from 2018 featuring Duke and Fishburne and moderated by film critic Elvis Mitchell Trailer English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing PLUS: An essay by Gillespie

• Clueless | DVD | (04/12/2000) from £6.99   |  Saving you £9.00 (128.76%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Alicia Silverstone won everyone over with her portrayal of a Beverly Hills teen, Cher, whose penchant for helping others with their relationships and self-esteem is a cover for her own loneliness. Director Amy Heckerling (Fast Times at Ridgemont High) made a smart, funny variation on Jane Austen's novel Emma, sweetly romantic and gently satirical of 90210 social manners. The cast is unbeatable: Dan Hedaya as Cher's rock-solid dad, Wallace Shawn as a geeky teacher, Paul Rudd as the boy who has always been Cher's surrogate brother--and the true holder of her most secret wishes. --Tom Keogh

• Kelly's Heroes | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £6.35   |  Saving you £7.64 (120.31%)   |  RRP £13.99

  Kelly's Heroes reunited Clint Eastwood with his Where Eagles Dare director Brian G Hutton, then added The Dirty Dozen star Telly Savalas in MGM's quest to turn WWII movie celluloid into box office gold three times running. The result, a sprawling adventure about a group of soldiers led by Kelly (Eastwood) on a private mission behind enemy lines to recover a cache of Nazi treasure, echoed its predecessors but wasn't as successful. While Where Eagle's Dare was somewhat tongue in cheek, Kelly's Heroes went for a cynical comic amorality with many plot parallels to 1969's The Italian Job, written by screenwriter Troy Kennedy-Martin the year before. Donald Sutherland, who also starred in the big-screen M*A*S*H (1970), plays a hippie tank commander decades before his time, and it's hard not to see both movies as more commentaries on Vietnam than on the wars in which they were ostensibly set. Though it is intermittently very funny, and despite some expertly staged action, Kelly's Heroes never really convinces as satire or adventure. On the DVD: Kelly's Heroes is presented on disc in a 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer which is immaculate and taken from a virtually perfect master. The images are so clean and sharp they look brand new, outclassing many current theatrical prints. The three-channel sound concentrates most of the action to the centre speaker but does an excellent job of capturing the often turbulent soundtrack. The only real extra is the original trailer, presented anamorphically at 1.77:1.--Gary S Dalkin

• Ad Astra DVD | DVD | (27/01/2020) from £8.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Astronaut Roy McBride (Brad Pitt) travels to the outer edges of the solar system to find his missing father and unravel a mystery that threatens the survival of our planet. His journey will uncover secrets that challenge the nature of human existence and our place in the cosmos.

• The Thirty Nine Steps | DVD | (15/01/2001) from £4.99   |  Saving you £5.00 (100.20%)   |  RRP £9.99

  It's not the 1935 Hitchcock classic, but this sturdy 1978 adaptation of John Buchan's The Thirty Nine Steps is still a rollicking good adventure. In keeping with the Boys' Own derring-do of the story (set in Edwardian London and the Scottish Highlands), the movie maintains a brisk pace that's interrupted only for tea or cocktails. Robert Powell is Richard Hannay, the man who unwittingly becomes embroiled in a dastardly Prussian plot to assassinate the Greek Prime Minister. Framed for murder, Hannay must flee to Scotland and attempt to clear his name whilst outwitting the prune-faced Prussian agents. Among all the deftly choreographed action sequences and careful period settings there's a strong vein of humour in the film, and if it wasn't for the numerous murders there would be little reason for PG certification. The grand dénouement comes with the realisation that the predicted time for the assassination is linked to Big Ben; unlike the earlier movie this version climaxes memorably with Powell hanging from the clock's minute hand. It might not be Hitchcock behind the lens, but it's still jolly good fun. --Joan Byrne

• The Blues Brothers, The / Blues Brothers 2000 | DVD | (26/03/2001) from £4.83   |  Saving you £8.16 (168.94%)   |  RRP £12.99

  The Blues Brothers: John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd--as "legendary" Chicago brothers Jake and Elwood Blues--brought their "Saturday Night Live" act to the big screen in this action-packed hit from 1980. As Jake and Elwood struggle to reunite their old band and save the Chicago orphanage where they were raised, they wreak enough good-natured havoc to attract the entire Cook County police force. The result is a big-budget stunt-fest on a scale rarely attempted before or since, including extended car chases that result in the wanton destruction of shopping malls and more police cars than you can count. Along the way there's plenty of music to punctuate the action, including performances by Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Cab Calloway and James Brown that are guaranteed to knock you out. Keep an eye out for Steven Spielberg as the city clerk who stamps some crucial paperwork near the end of the film. The Blues Brothers 2000: It's hard to ignore the sad and conspicuous absence of the late John Belushi, but this long-delayed sequel still has Dan Aykroyd to keep the music alive. Once again, Elwood's trying to reunite the original Blues Brothers Band, and this time he's got a strip-joint bartender (John Goodman) and a 10-year-old orphan named Buster (J Evan Bonifant) joining him at centre stage. It's a shameless clone of the first film, and nobody--especially not Aykroyd or director John Landis--seems to care that the story's not nearly as fun as the music. Of course there's a seemingly endless parade of stunts, including a non-stop pileup of police cars that's hilariously absurd, but what really matters here--indeed, the movie's only saving grace--is the great line-up of legendary blues musicians. Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Junior Wells, Eric Clapton, BB King, Jonny Lang, Eddie Floyd and Blues Traveler are among the many special guests assembled for the film, and their stellar presence makes you wonder if the revived Blues Brothers shouldn't remain an obscure opening act. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

• An American Werewolf in London UHD | Blu Ray | (18/07/2022) from £17.05   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  One of the greatest directors of the 1980s, John Landis (The Blues Brothers, Trading Places), expertly combines macabre horror with dark humour in the lycanthropic classic, An American Werewolf in London. American tourists David (David Naughton) and Jack (Griffin Dunne) are savaged by an unidentified vicious animal whilst hiking on the Yorkshire Moors. David awakes in a London hospital to find his friend dead and his life in disarray. Retiring to the home of a beautiful nurse (Jenny Agutter, Walkabout) to recuperate, he soon experiences disturbing changes to his mind and body, undergoing a full-moon transformation that will unleash terror on the streets of the capital... An American Werewolf in London had audiences howling with laughter and recoiling in terror upon its cinema release. Landis' film has gone on to become one of the most important horror films of its decade, rightly lauded for its masterful set-pieces, uniquely unsettling atmosphere and Rick Baker's truly ground-breaking, Oscar-winning special make-up effects. Now restored and presented with an abundance of extra features, this big beast of horror can be devoured as never before... Product Features 4K restoration by Arrow Films from the original camera negative 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) Original uncompressed 1.0 mono and optional 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing Audio commentary by Beware the Moon filmmaker Paul Davis Audio commentary by actors David Naughton and Griffin Dunne Mark of The Beast: The Legacy of the Universal Werewolf, a feature-length documentary by filmmaker Daniel Griffith, featuring interviews with John Landis, David Naughton, Joe Dante and more An American Filmmaker in London, an interview with John Landis in which he reflects on British cinema and his time working in Britain I Think He's a Jew: The Werewolf's Secret, a video essay by filmmaker Jon Spira (Elstree 1976) about how Landis' film explores Jewish identity The Werewolf's Call, Corin Hardy, director of The Hallow and The Nun, chats with writer Simon Ward about their formative experiences with Landis' film Wares of the Wolf, a featurette in which SFX artist Dan Martin and Tim Lawes of Prop Store look at some of the original costumes and special effects artefacts from the film Beware the Moon, Paul Davis' acclaimed, feature-length exploration of Landis' film which boasts extensive cast and crew interviews An American Werewolf in Bob's Basement and Causing a Disturbance: Piccadilly Revisited, two 2008 featurettes filmed by Paul Davis Making An American Werewolf in London, a short archival featurette on the film's production An Interview with John Landis, a lengthy archival interview with the director about the film Make-up Artist Rick Baker on An American Werewolf in London, the legendary make-up artist discusses his work on the film I Walked with a Werewolf, an archival interview with Rick Baker about Universal horror and its legacy of Wolfman films Casting of the Hand, archival footage from Rick Baker's workshop showing the casting of David Naughton's hand Outtakes Storyboards featurette Original trailer and teaser plus TV and radio spots Extensive image gallery featuring over 200 stills, posters and other ephemera Reversible sleeve featuring original poster art and artwork by Graham Humphreys

• Solo: A Star Wars Story | Blu Ray | (24/09/2018) from £19.45   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Board the Millennium Falcon and journey to a galaxy far, far away in Solo: A Star Wars Story, an all-new adventure with the most beloved scoundrel in the galaxy. Through a series of daring escapades deep within a dark and dangerous criminal underworld, Han Solo befriends his mighty future copilot Chewbacca and meets the notorious gambler Lando Calrissian, in a journey that will set the course of one of the Star Wars saga's most unlikely heroes.

• Ordinary People | DVD | (02/12/2002) from £10.98   |  Saving you £4.00 (44.49%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Robert Redford made his Oscar-winning directorial debut with this highly acclaimed, poignantly observant drama (based on the novel by Judith Guest) about a well-to-do family's painful adjustment to tragedy. Mary Tyler Moore and Donald Sutherland play a seemingly happy couple who lose the elder of their two sons to a boating accident; Timothy Hutton plays the surviving teenage son, who blames himself for his brother's death and has attempted suicide to end his pain. They live in a meticulously kept home in an affluent Chicago suburb, never allowing themselves to speak openly of the grief that threatens to tear them apart. Only when the son begins to see a psychiatrist (Judd Hirsch) does the veneer of denial begin to crack, and Ordinary People thenceforth directly examines the broken family ties and the complexity of repressed emotions that have festered under the pretence of coping. Superior performances and an Oscar-winning script by Alvin Sargent make this one of the most uncompromising dramas ever made about the psychology of dysfunctional families. There are moments--particularly related to Mary Tyler Moore's anguished performance as a woman incapable of expressing her deepest emotions--when this film is both intensely involving and heartbreakingly real. No matter how happy and healthy your upbringing was, there's something in this excellent film that everyone can relate to. --Jeff Shannon

• Ad Astra 4K UHD + BD | Blu Ray | (27/01/2020) from £18.67   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Astronaut Roy McBride (Brad Pitt) travels to the outer edges of the solar system to find his missing father and unravel a mystery that threatens the survival of our planet. His journey will uncover secrets that challenge the nature of human existence and our place in the cosmos.

• Cast A Giant Shadow | DVD | (20/05/2002) from £11.42   |  Saving you £1.57 (13.75%)   |  RRP £12.99

  1966’s Cast a Giant Shadow is based on Ted Berkman’s biography of Colonel "Mickey" Marcus, the American soldier who served as an adviser in the fight to establish the state of Israel in 1948. It stars Kirk Douglas as the likeable "stiffneck" and WWII veteran persuaded to take up the cause. Israel back then was depicted as a negligible military force under threat of extinction at the hands of its Arab neighbours, hamstrung by a UN embargo on arms supplies. It takes Douglas at his most square-jawed to see off the Egyptian military and defy a blockade to beat a path through to Jerusalem. This is not cinema verité but Hollywood. Marcus’ dilemma--to settle into peacetime in America or follow his more natural, combative instincts abroad--is symbolised by a love triangle, involving wife Angie Dickinson and Santa Berger as Magda, the soldier whom he falls for in Palestine. Although lavish and spectacular, especially in the war scenes--filmed in the actual Middle Eastern locations in which they occurred--Cast a Giant Shadow is not entirely authentic (for a start, they’re driving 1950s vehicles in the 40s). Moreover, in the light of later troubles in the region, not everyone will be heart warmed by this depiction of plucky little Israel coping against Arab foes who are barely depicted as human throughout the film, merely as tanks and gunfire. Still, it’s an impressive enough relic of epic 1960s cinema, with cameos from Yul Brynner, John Wayne as Marcus’ wartime general, and Frank Sinatra as a pilot scattering the enemy by dropping soda dispensers on them. On the DVD: Cast a Giant Shadow‘s restoration here is visually immaculate. The mono sound, however, is often indistinct, with a good deal of sibilant hiss. Disappointingly, the only extra is the original trailer.--David Stubbs