"Actor: Harry Engel"

• It Came From Beneath The Sea | DVD | (16/06/2003) from £24.51   |  Saving you £-11.52 (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  It Came from Beneath the Sea appeared two years after Ray Harryhausen unleashed The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms upon New York City. This time the master special-effects creator turned loose a giant (albeit six-armed) octopus on San Francisco, and the result is another enjoyable atom-age adventure that should please fans of vintage science fiction. Kenneth Tobey, who battled The Thing (From Another World) in 1951, stars as a Navy captain pursuing a monstrous octopoid (sextapoid?) after it attacks his atomic sub. After it wreaks havoc with shipping lanes, he tracks the creature to San Francisco for a final showdown. Scripting by George Worthing Yates (Them) and Hal Smith and direction by Robert Gordon are perfunctory at best, which gives the always-reliable Tobey and costar Faith Domergue little to do, but this is Harryhausen's show, and his monster, though the budget was restrained, is still impressive. Younger audiences weaned on digital FX may find this creaky, but nostalgic viewers will enjoy its simple thrills. --Paul Gaita

• Berlin Schoenhauser Corner | DVD | (12/02/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  This classic 1950s teen cult film neo-realist in style is a perceptive social portrayal of a city in which political and economic division have affected the entire population. Although the film became a box-office hit it was greeted with suspicion by GDR cultural officials. Director Gerhard Klein and screenwriter Wolfgang Kohlhaase were reproached for emphasizing 'negative problematic images of our [East German] life.' Despite the negative reception from GDR officials this film was loved by the public precisely for its truthful portrayal of everyday life. Ranked by film critics among Germany's 100 most important films this and other 'Berlin films' by director Klein and screenwriter Kohlhaase made an important contribution to the international youth film genre.