"Actor: George Donald"

• 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

• Straw Dogs | DVD | (07/10/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £7.99

  According to critic Pauline Kael Straw Dogs was "the first American film that is a fascist work of art". Sam Peckinpah's only film shot in Britain is adapted from a novel by Gordon M Williams called The Siege of Trencher's Farm which Peckinpah described as a "lousy book with one good action-adventure sequence". The setting is Cornwall, where mild-mannered US academic David Sumner (Dustin Hoffman) has bought a house with his young English wife Amy (Susan George) in the village where she grew up. David is mocked by the locals (one of whom is Amy's ex-boyfriend) and treated with growing contempt by his frustrated wife, but when his house comes under violent siege he finds unexpected reserves of resourcefulness and aggression. The movie, Peckinpah noted, was much influenced by Robert Ardrey's macho-anthropological tract, The Territorial Imperative. Its take on Cornish village life is fairly bizarre--this is a Western in all but name--and many critics balked at the transposition of Peckinpah's trademark blood-and-guts to the supposed peace of the British countryside. A scene where Amy is raped caused particular outrage, not least since it's hinted she consents to it. Not for the first time in Peckinpah's movies there are disquieting elements of misogyny, and it doesn't help that the chemistry between Hoffman and George is non-existent. (Impossible to believe these two would ever have clicked, let alone married.) But taken as a vision of irrational violence irrupting into a civilised way of life Straw Dogs is powerful and unsettling, and the action sequences are executed with all Peckinpah's unfailing flair and venom. Oh, and that title? A quote from Chinese sage Lao-Tze, it seems, "The wise man is ruthless and treats the people as straw dogs." The film was long withheld from home viewing in Britain by nervous censors, but this release presents it complete and uncut. --Philip KempOn the DVD: Straw Dogs is as jam-packed a disc as is possible for a film made before the days of obligatory "making of" features. Both the sound and visuals have transferred well, and, like the script, have aged well. There's a bumbling original interview in the style of Harry Enfield's Mr. Cholmondley-Warner, along with stills and original trailers. The new material includes a feature on the history of the film's censorship and commentaries by Peckinpah's biographers musing over interesting fan-facts (though none of the speakers have any first-hand experience of the making of the film). However, Katy Haber's commentary, and interviews with Susan George and Dan Melnick, offer a much more in-depth and intimate portrayal of the man and the making of the film. --Nikki Disney

• The Perfect Storm | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £5.85   |  Saving you £8.14 (139.15%)   |  RRP £13.99

  George Clooney & Mark Wahlberg star in this spectacular tale of a fishing boat caught at sea during the worse storm ever recorded.

• The Dirty Dozen | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £7.31   |  Saving you £6.68 (91.38%)   |  RRP £13.99

  A model for dozens of action films to follow, this box-office hit from 1967 refined a die-hard formula that has become overly familiar, but it's rarely been handled better than it was in this action-packed World War II thriller. Lee Marvin is perfectly cast as a down-but-not-out army major who is offered a shot at personal and professional redemption. If he can successfully train and discipline a squad of army rejects, misfits, killers, prisoners, and psychopaths into a first-rate unit of specialised soldiers, they'll earn a second chance to make up for their woeful misdeeds. Of course, there's a catch: to obtain their pardons, Marvin's band of badmen must agree to a suicide mission that will parachute them into the danger zone of Nazi-occupied France. It's a hazardous path to glory, but the men have no other choice than to accept and regain their lost honor. What makes The Dirty Dozen special is its phenomenal cast including Charles Bronson, Donald Sutherland, Telly Savalas, George Kennedy, Ernest Borgnine, John Cassavetes, Richard Jaeckel, Jim Brown, Clint Walker, Trini Lopez, Robert Ryan, and others. Cassavetes is the Oscar-nominated standout as one of Marvin's most rebellious yet heroic men, but it's the whole ensemble--combined with the hard-as-nails direction of Robert Aldrich--that makes this such a high-velocity crowd pleaser. The script by Nunnally Johnson and Lukas Heller (from the novel by E.M. Nathanson) is strong enough to support the all-star lineup with ample humour and military grit, so if you're in need of a mainline jolt of testosterone, The Dirty Dozen is the movie for you. --Jeff Shannon

• Man On The Moon | DVD | (04/04/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  A master at manipulating audiences, Kaufman could generate belly laughs, stony silence, tears or brawls.

• Bandolero! | DVD | (04/07/2005) from £16.00   |  Saving you £-3.01 (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  It's a Wild West clash of personalities in Val Verde Texas for the warring Bishop brothers (Dean Martin and James Stewart) who must now join forces to escape a death sentence. Featuring an all-star cast including Raquel Welch and George Kennedy and exploding with action Bandolero! packs a smoking six-gun wallop from its first tense show-down to its last exciting shootout.

• Kentucky Fried Movie | DVD | (15/12/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £6.99

  The Kentucky Fried Movie is a non-stop hysteria loaded with puns double entendres and a constant parade of bountiful babes!

• 633 Squadron | DVD | (05/05/2003) from £7.20   |  Saving you £7.05 (118.69%)   |  RRP £12.99

  With the fate of Europe still hanging in the balance a disparate bunch of brave Mosquito pilots are ordered on a near suicide low-level mission to destroy a Nazi rocket fuel depot in Norway... To make the film which was based on a true story a squadron of legendary de Havilland Mosquito fighter-bombers was resurrected from near extinction. Dazzling flying sequences bone-shaking sound and superb special effects help to make this one of the most realistic air combat films ever to

• Dark Command (John Wayne) | DVD | (05/06/2006) from £6.83   |  Saving you £3.16 (46.27%)   |  RRP £9.99

  A Civil War tale based on the exploits of the notorious outlaw Quantrill. The Duke plays a U.S. Marshal out to stop the cutthroat raider and his band. Based on the novel by W.R. Burnett.

• British Transport Films Collection - Vol. 2 - See Britain By Train | DVD | (28/11/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Following the nationalisation of transport in 1948 the British Transport Commission set up its own in-house film production and distribution unit headed by Egar Anstey OBE one of the pioneers of British documentary films. The unit produced hundreds of travelogues promoting travel on Britain's railways and other forms of transport. Consistently winning top awards at film festivals including an Oscar in 1966 the films provide a wonderfully crafted visual record of 20th century life

• Shock Doctrine | DVD | (02/08/2010) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  An investigation of disaster capitalism based on Naomi Klein's proposition that neo-liberal capitalism feeds on natural disasters war and terror to establish its dominance.

• Curb Your Enthusiasm - Series 1 To 5 | DVD | (11/09/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £79.99

  Larry David co-creator of Seinfeld stars in Curb Your Enthusiasm as himself! This hilarious award-winning HBO series follows Larry and his knack for getting himself into uncomfortable situations... Series 1: 1. The Pants Tent 2. Ted and Mary 3. Porno Gil 4. The Bracelet 5. Interior Decorator 6. The Wire 7. AAMCO 8. Beloved Aunt 9. Affirmative Action 10. The Group Series 2: 1. The Car Salesman 2. Thor 3. Trick Or Treat 4. The Shrimp Incident 5. The Thong 6. The Acupuncturist 7. The Doll 8. Shaq 9. The Baptism 10. The Massage Series 3: 1. Chet's Shirt 2. The Benadryl Brownie 3. Club Soda and Salt 4. The Nanny 5. The Terrorist Attack 6. The Special Section 7. The Corpse-Sniffing Dog 8. Crazy-Eyez Killah 9. Mary Joseph and Larry 10. The Grand Opening Series 4: 1. Mel's Offer 2. Ben's Birthday Party 3. The Blind Date 4. The Weatherman 5. The 5 Wood 6. The Car Pool Lane 7. The Surrogate 8. Wandering Bear 9. The Survivor 10. Opening Night Series 5: 1. The Larry David Sandwich 2. The Bowtie 3. The Christ Nail 4. Kamikaze Bingo 5. Lewis Needs A Kidney 6. The Smoking Jacket 7. The Seder 8. The Ski Lift 9. The Korean Bookie 10. The End

• North West Mounted Police | DVD | (24/01/2011) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  An epic Oscar winning film shot in glorious Technicolor by Cecil B. DeMille in which Louis Riel (Francis J. McDonald) tries to organize Indians and French settlers into a fighting force that will battle against the ruling British and the North West Mounted Police. One of Riel's associates Jacques Corbeau (George Bancroft) is wanted for murder and is being pursued into Canada by Texas Ranger Dusty Rivers (Gary Cooper). Rivers joins up with the Mounties to pursue his outlaw but then falls for nurse April Logan (Madeleine Carroll) the beau of a stiff upper-lipped Mountie sergeant Jim Brett (Preston S. Foster). But events overtake their rivalry when the rebels obtain a Gatling gun and April's brother Ronnie Logan (Robert Preston) also a member of the North West Mounted Police falls in love with Louvette (Paulette Goddard) a fiery vixen and 'half-breed' who is Corbeau's sister.

• T.A.P.S. | DVD | (07/06/2004) from £9.43   |  Saving you £3.56 (37.75%)   |  RRP £12.99

  When their academy's existence is threatened by local developers military cadets take extreme measures to protect their honour...

• Amityville Horror | UMD | (24/10/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  There's no place like home...for bloodcurdling horror! James Brolin Margot Kidder and Academy Award winner Rod Steiger fall prey to the powers of darkness in this spine-tingling tale of a house possessed by unspeakable evil. One of the most talked-about haunted-house stories of all time The Amityville Horror will hit you where you live. For George and Kathy Lutz the colonial home on the river's edge seemed ideal: quaint spacious and amazingly affordable. Of course six brutal murders had taken place there just a year before but houses don't have memories....or do they? Soon the Lutz dream house becomes a hellish nightmare as walls begin to drip blood and satanic forces threaten to destroy them. Now the Lutzes must try to escape or forfeit their lives - and their souls!

• Scotland and the What? - the Final Fling | DVD | (03/11/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £8.99

• Perfect Storm / Three Kings / Deep Blue Sea | DVD | (29/09/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £22.99

  Perfect Storm: George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg lead a talented cast in this harrowing special-effects adventure that intercuts the plight of seafarers struggling to reach safe harbor with the heroics of air/sea rescue crews. Directed by Wolfgang Petersen The Perfect Storm tosses excitement your way in waves. Three Kings: The Gulf War is over. Operation Desert Storm is no more. Now three American soldiers have the opportunity of a lifetime; to become Three Kings. Amid the partying and confusion three soldiers disappear into the Iraqi desert to find millions in stolen Kuwaiti bullion and are plunged into the heart of a democratic uprising that spins the day - and their lives - out of control. Deep Blue Sea: Researchers on the undersea laboratory Aquatica have genetically altered the brains of captive sharks to develop a potential cure for Alzheimer's disease. There is one unexpected side effect. The sharks are getting smarter. Which could mean trouble for the researchers. And lunch for the sharks.

• King Rat | DVD | (08/08/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  They made him the toughest among them..... The Japanese prisoner of war camp Changi in Singapore which houses Allied prisoners of war is a living hell. The great mass of prisoners that are living at sub-human subsistence level. US Army Corporal King has been living up to his surname through his control of the camp's black market and by scamming the officers and other POWs. Nominated for 2 Academy Awards.

• Tomorrow Never Comes | DVD | (31/01/2000) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £6.99

  Jim Wilson (Reed) is a police lieutenant in a corrupt resort town. Revolted by the brutality of modern police work he decides to leave and take up duties in his quiet home town. But on his final day a violent drama explodes. A deadly confrontation breaks out between Frank (McHattie) the abandoned lover of singer Janie (George) and her new boyfriend Lyne (Osborne). The police are called and Frank shoots a young officer. Within minutes a full siege is underway in full view of the tou

• Gilda | DVD | (10/01/2000) from £5.00   |  Saving you £14.99 (299.80%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The legendary Rita Hayworth sizzles with sensuality and magnetism as she sings ""Put the blame on Mame"" and delivers a dazzling performance as the enticing temptress Gilda. In the story of Gilda Johnny Farrell (Glenn Ford) goes to work for Ballin Mundson (George MacReady) the proprietor of an illegal gambling casino in a South American city and quickly rises to become Mundson's ""main man"". All is well until Mundson returns from a trip with his new bride Gilda - a woman from Johnn