"Actor: Doug Wong"

• The Salton Sea | DVD | (26/05/2003) from £5.38   |  Saving you £8.61 (160.04%)   |  RRP £13.99

  The largest lake in California becomes a symbol of a lost idyll in DJ Caruso's excellent noir-ish thriller The Salton Sea. Val Kilmer is superb as lowlife Danny Parker, or perhaps trumpeter Thomas Van Allen; a man so far over the edge in tragedy, duplicity and drugs he no longer knows or cares who he is. A warped revenge drama occupying similar territory to Memento, The Salton Sea is not as ingenious as that instant classic, but is more elegantly stylised, boasting superb production design, cinematography and music, the latter by Thomas Newman. Along for the ride is Deborah Kara Unger, and those who remember her from The Game will do well to take Kilmer's narration to heart when he says nothing is as it seems. Distinguishing what could have been simply a good thriller are elements not just of humour, but of laugh-out-loud hilarity funnier than most recent comedies; indeed, The Salton Sea is the most striking fusion of laughter and darkness since the admittedly very different An American Werewolf in London (1981). In this respect, Vincent D'Onofrio delivers a side-splitting and audacious performance as drug baron Pooh Bear. Watch out for the rabid badger. On the DVD: The Salton Sea is presented anamorphically enhanced at 1.77:1, with a flawless picture that captures the rich tones and extreme visual contrasts to perfection. The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is crystal clear and deeply atmospheric. Extras are the theatrical trailer, plus features on the production design (eight minutes) and cast and crew (nine minutes). More intelligent than the expected Electronic Press Kit material, the running length means they are still fairly perfunctory. --Gary S Dalkin

• The Thief Of Bagdad | DVD | (25/02/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Dating from 1924 this Thief of Bagdad is justifiably billed here as "one of the truly great silent films of the 1920s." As the forerunner of generations of magical, effect-laden fantasy epics, its importance is practically immeasurable. And still, after eight decades, it has startling, thrilling qualities which the finest computer graphics would struggle to surpass. Douglas Fairbanks, co-founder of United Artists, is the eponymous hero, swindling, fighting and leaping his way to true love through a series of adventures which take him from a magnificently surreal Bagdad to enchanted forests, ocean bottoms and magic carpet rides. "Happiness must be earned," is the motto; Fairbanks and his director Raoul Walsh certainly don't short-change their audience in bringing it to life. The effects are stunning, with a particularly gruesome slaying of a monster. Every scene is crammed with detail and incident. Fairbanks is a whirlwind of muscular, balletic flamboyance. And while his princess (Julanne Johnson) is a stereotype of vapidity, there's gleamingly malevolent support from Anna May Wong as the evil Mongol Slave Girl. Over two hours of sheer enjoyment belie the notion that cinematic sophistication is a modern achievement. On the DVD: The Thief of Bagdad disc presents the restored and remastered print (the tints have a luminous quality) complete with a 1975 score by master organist Gaylord Carter--you can almost feel the Wurlitzer rising from the pit of your entertainment centre. The audio essay, written by film historian R Dixon Smith, is an invaluable extra, providing essential information on how the picture was made and how the art designers played with proportion to create many of the visual tricks and a fantastical atmosphere. --Piers Ford

• New Killers In Town / Escape From Brothel | DVD | (03/11/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  New Killers In Town: Battling babes heroine Moon Lee and Shaw Brothers veteran Lui Chi Liang prepare to do battle with the chinese underworld. One of the best Asian babe flicks of the 1990's. Escape From Brothel: When two young girls are trapped in a ruthless vice ring they enlist the help of their brothers to regain their freedom. However the brutal gang lords have other idea! An all-out Kung Fu fest with Billy 'Fist Of A Legend' Chong and sex kitten Pauline Wong this best seller is now available on DVD for the first time.

• Evil Destroyer | DVD | (28/11/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Fast and furious old skool martial arts action from the Far East! Kung Fu and black belt hall of fame superstar James Lew stars in this ultra-rare hard-hitting kung fu flick from Taiwan. After perfecting his Kung Fu techniques with an old Shaolin Monk Lew leaves the Temple in search of an arch criminal who has mastered the Eagle Claw and Iron Amour forms. To get to him Lew must first wade his way through an army of foo fighters...