"Actor: Elsa Raven"

• The Honeymoon Killers | DVD | (06/12/2004) from £5.00   |  Saving you £-2.01 (N/A%)   |  RRP £2.99

  Though it was pre-produced by Martin Scorsese, who left the project after arguments with the producers, The Honeymoon Killers wound up being written and directed by Leonard Kastle, one of cinema's great one-hit wonders. The Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer of 1969, The Honeymoon Killers follows hefty nurse Martha Beck (Shirley Stoler, who looks like a humourlessly malevolent Roseanne) and her low-rent gigolo lover Raymond Fernandez (Tony Lo Bianco) as they take up serial murder for profit and passion, luring middle-aged women into marriage through lonely-hearts ads, then killing them and raiding their savings. Based on a genuine crime case history, it is filmed in the candid-camera style of a Frederick Wiseman documentary. The intense scenes (such as the couple's frightening love-play: escalating arguments that end in awkward killings) unfold with a fly-on-the-wall dryness, showcasing the extraordinary acting of the leads and their cameo victims. A rare film in which genuine romantic love does not excuse the central couple's amoral behaviour, this still manages to generate some sympathy for the truly monstrous Martha. The washed-out black and white photography and sometimes scratchy soundtrack (the score is sampled from Mahler) have a deliberately amateurish feel which adds to the film's chilling power, lodging it into the memory. On the DVD: Along with a lurid trailer and gallery of images are filmographies for Stoler, Lo Bianco and (redundantly) Kastle. The widescreen transfer is excellent, representing perfectly the film's rough-hewn look but also bringing out a lot of detail--like Stoler's freckles, which have looked like grain on video releases. --Kim Newman

• Creator | DVD | (04/02/2002) from £5.58   |  Saving you £-1.59 (-39.80%)   |  RRP £3.99

  Nobel laureate Harry Wolper (Peter O'Toole) is obsessed with a project to recreate his wife from cells he has kept since her death 30 years ago. He needs some assistance so he hires graduate student Boris (Vincent Spano). However Wolper is distracted not only by the attentions of Meli (Mariel Hemingway) but also by his attempts to set up Boris with Barbara (Virginia Madsen) a beautiful medical student. When Wolper's dream is finally destroyed Boris pleads with him to channel his talents into saving Barbara's life. This unique love story is guaranteed to make you laugh and cry.

• The Honeymoon Killers | DVD | (27/08/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £2.99

  Though it was pre-produced by Martin Scorsese, who left the project after arguments with the producers, The Honeymoon Killers wound up being written and directed by Leonard Kastle, one of cinema's great one-hit wonders. The Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer of 1969, The Honeymoon Killers follows hefty nurse Martha Beck (Shirley Stoler, who looks like a humourlessly malevolent Roseanne) and her low-rent gigolo lover Raymond Fernandez (Tony Lo Bianco) as they take up serial murder for profit and passion, luring middle-aged women into marriage through lonely-hearts ads, then killing them and raiding their savings. Based on a genuine crime case history, it is filmed in the candid-camera style of a Frederick Wiseman documentary. The intense scenes (such as the couple's frightening love-play: escalating arguments that end in awkward killings) unfold with a fly-on-the-wall dryness, showcasing the extraordinary acting of the leads and their cameo victims. A rare film in which genuine romantic love does not excuse the central couple's amoral behaviour, this still manages to generate some sympathy for the truly monstrous Martha. The washed-out black and white photography and sometimes scratchy soundtrack (the score is sampled from Mahler) have a deliberately amateurish feel which adds to the film's chilling power, lodging it into the memory. On the DVD: Along with a lurid trailer and gallery of images are filmographies for Stoler, Lo Bianco and (redundantly) Kastle. The widescreen transfer is excellent, representing perfectly the film's rough-hewn look but also bringing out a lot of detail--like Stoler's freckles, which have looked like grain on video releases. --Kim Newman

• Creator | DVD | (04/12/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £3.99

  Dr. Harry Wolper is a character. First he steals Boris a new student assistant by promising him a co-ed's phone number. Then he hijacks new high tech equipment for his own research confusing the other university researchers who can't see ""the big picture."" Harry has a plan he wants to clone his dead wife but first he needs an egg and a host. He mounts his search by stapling notices to every telephone pole in town from his bike which is how he meets Mili. As the year progresses he sees Boris' romance follow the same pattern as his own twenty-five years ago.

• Final Countdown, The / Creator | DVD | (21/10/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £6.99