"Actor: Gennadi"

• War And Peace | DVD | (22/10/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £16.99

  This 3 DVD six-and-a-half-hour set features the 1968 film and brings all the passion and turbulence of Leo Tolstoy's epic masterpiece dramatically to the screen. The book was written in the nineteenth century and gives a graphic insight in to Russian society at the time and is still considered to be one of the greatest novel ever written. This classic film directed by Sergei Bondarachuk is considered to be the most faithful to the original novel and with a combination of amazing large scale battle scenes and intimate character portrayals this film is many peoples' favourite interpretation of Tolstoy's classic novel... The story follows the fortunes of the aristocratic Bolkonsky and Rostov families as Napoleon's armies sweep through Europe culminating in the French invasion of Russia in 1812. The evil effects of war are a significant theme and war forms the backdrop as it influences the lives of these families and their many associates.

• First Squad | DVD | (26/12/2011) from £3.00   |  Saving you £14.99 (83.30%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Nadya is a very special 14-year-old girl. With amazing psychic powers and trained as an assassin, she is recruited by the Russian army during World War II to become a member of First Squad, a special fighting unit specializing in combating paranormal forces. When she is the last member left standing in a brutal attack, she is returned to the unit for a special project – to bring her comrades back from the dead to fight Von Wolff, a 700-year-old spirit brought back to life to help the Nazis take over the world. First Squad is a compelling and action-packed new animated movie filled with drama and suspense, containing stunning, atmospheric visuals from Studio 4C, the acclaimed animation studio behind The Animatrix and Halo: Legends.

• The Nutcracker | DVD | (20/11/2000) from £18.26   |  Saving you £-1.27 (-7.50%)   |  RRP £16.99

  Tchaikovsky's 'The Nutcracker' performed by The Kirov Ballet and Orchestra conducted by Viktor Fedotov. Dancers include Viktor Baranov and Larissa Lezhnina. Filmed at the Maryinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg.

• Dmitri Shostakovich - Shostakovich - Cherry Town | DVD | (14/05/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £13.99

  Cherry Town (Cheryomushki) - is a delightful musical comedy written in 1959 and set in the suburbs of Moscow.

• David Oistrakh - Artist Of The People? | DVD | (26/08/2002) from £28.53   |  Saving you £-10.54 (-58.60%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Bruno Monsaingeon's David Oistrakh: Artist of the People? is a probing portrait of perhaps the most thought-provoking of modern violin virtuosi, and a good companion to his similarly revealing documentary on pianist Sviatoslav Richter. Although conversation with the man himself is minimal (Oistrakh died in 1974), Monsaingeon is able to draw upon the priceless reminiscences of those who worked with him, including his son Igor, conductor Gennady Rozhdestvensky, cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, protegé Gidon Kremer, and the late Yehudi Menuhin: their frank and sincere comments on Soviet society make for sobering listening. Equally important, the range of Oistrakh's repertoire is covered, from Bach to Shostakovich, in footage covering half a century of performance. The musicianship and humanity of a life dedicated to music in the face of an often ruthless establishment is powerfully and movingly evoked. This is a documentary that no-one interested in great music-making or 20th-century culture should miss. On the DVD: David Oistrakh: Artist of the People? reproduces its disparate sources with remarkable consistency in a 4:3 picture, and if the high level transfer of the musical extracts gives a harder edge to Oistrakh's sound than was the case, the Linear PCM Stereo itself is fine. There are subtitles in five European languages, and a useful background article by Monsaingeon, similarly translated, in the booklet. --Richard Whitehouse