"Actor: Helmut Griem"

• Cabaret - 30th Anniversary Special Edition | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £16.99   |  Saving you £-12.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £4.99

  Cabaret is one of those film musicals whose cultural and stylistic influence extend well beyond the cinema. It confirmed Bob Fosse's status as one of the boldest choreographers of the 20th century and gave Liza Minnelli an early peak in a film career which would never scale such heights again. Minnelli is both the film's strength--on its own merits her performance is an Oscar-winning tour de force--and weakness. The real Sally Bowles was a third-rate performer and just one of a rich gallery of characters; here, the constant allowances for Minnelli's star turns and mannerisms ultimately throw the story off balance. But the source material is impeccable: Kander and Ebb's stage show, based on the autobiographical stories of Christopher Isherwood, has long since been acknowledged a classic. The songs, augmented by some new numbers in the film, are ageless. Joel Grey from the original Broadway production is the Emcee, the master of ceremonies who, with his Kit Kat Klub girls, provides a depraved Greek chorus satirising the rise of the Nazi regime and the lazy complacency of the 1930s Berlin cabaret-goers. The "divine decadence" tag is only part of the story, though. Cabaret still works a sinister, uncomfortable magic which sets it apart as a uniquely powerful film musical. On the DVD: Cabaret's 30th Anniversary Special Edition is packed with extras which include a scratchy "making of" documentary from 1972 and a retrospective from 1997, the latter featuring reminiscences from the cast. There’s also the original theatrical trailer, though in the absence of the late director Fosse the lack of some kind of commentary is a disappointment. The picture itself, presented in widescreen 16:9 letterbox format with a Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo soundtrack, gleams as sharply, visually and aurally, as it did on its first release. --Piers Ford

• Cabaret | DVD | (04/10/2004) from £16.08   |  Saving you £-10.09 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

• The Damned | DVD | (24/05/2004) from £19.98   |  Saving you £-5.99 (N/A%)   |  RRP £13.99

  In 1930s Germany a wealthy industrialist family struggles to maintain its status and influence in the face of the relentless rising tide of fascism. Divided by the rapidly changing social and economic climate the family members resort to blackmail sexual manipulation and murder in a desperate struggle for power and prestige.

• Ludwig | DVD | (19/06/2006) from £31.03   |  Saving you £-18.04 (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Visconti's 1972 film is a lavish and operatic portrait of Ludwig II the `Mad King' of Bavaria. From his glittering coronation to his mysterious suicide Ludwig II (1845-86) epitomised the doomed nineteenth-century Romantic hero. A loner by nature he was tormented by his unrequited love for his cousin Empress Elisabeth of Austria who sensed his true sexual nature and fragile grip on reality. But as war raged around him Ludwig's sole obsession remained the visionary music of Ric

• The McKenzie Break | DVD | (05/04/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  In the closing days of WWII German POWs plot to escape from their Scottish camp with a plan to rejoin the U-Boat fleet from where they were captured...

• Ludwig | Blu Ray | (13/12/2021) from £23.79   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  A string of masterpieces behind him including Ossessione, Senso, The Leopard and Death in Venice the great Italian director Luchino Visconti turned his attentions to the life and death of King Ludwig II of Bavaria in 1972, resulting in an epic of 19th-century decadence. Dominated by Helmut Berger (The Damned, The Bloodstained Butterfly) in the title role, Ludwig nevertheless manages to find room for an impressive cast list: Romy Schneider (reprising her Elisabeth of Austria characterisation from the Sissi trilogy), Silvana Mangano (Bitter Rice), Gert Fröbe (Goldfinger), John Moulder-Brown (Deep End) and Trevor Howard (Brief Encounter) as Richard Wagner. As opulent as any of Visconti's epics Piero Tosi's costume design was nominated for an Academy Award Ludwig is presented here in its complete form in accordance with the director's wishes. Special Features 2K restoration from the original film negative High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation Two viewing options: the full-length theatrical cut or as five individual parts Original Italian soundtrack with optional English subtitles Original English soundtrack with optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing Interview with actor Helmut Berger Interview with producer Dieter Geissler Luchino Visconti, an hour-long documentary portrait of the director by Carlo Lizzani (Wake Up and Kill, Requiescant) containing interviews with Burt Lancaster, Vittorio Gassman, Francesco Rosi, Claudia Cardinale and others Speaking with Suso Cecchi d'Amico, an interview with the screenwriter Silvana Mangano: The Scent of a Primrose, a half-hour portrait of the actress Theatrical trailer Reversible sleeve featuring two choices of original poster artwork

• Cabaret | DVD | (26/11/2007) from £28.49   |  Saving you £-22.50 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Cabaret brings 1931 Berlin to life inside and outside the Kit Kat Klub. There, starry eyed American Sally Bowles (Liza Minnelli) and an impish emee (Joel Grey) sound the call for decadent fun, while in the street the Nazi party is beginning to grow into a brutal political force. Into this heady world arrives British language teacher Brian Robert (Michael York) who falls for Sally's charm and soon, the two of them find themselves embroiled in the turmoil and decadence of the era.

• Children of Rage | DVD | (23/07/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £7.99

  Children Of Rage is a war story set amidst the bloody conflict in the Middle East following the lives of both Israelis and Palestinians caught up in this tragic battle - the Israelis in defence of their homeland the Palestinians in a brutal struggle to create one. Blunt honest and courageous this film combines gripping action and bravery alongside the violence brutality and human tragedy of war.

• The Damned (Criterion Collection) | Blu Ray | (28/09/2021) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Cabaret (1972) (BD) | Blu Ray | (20/11/2018) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Cabaret | Blu Ray | (09/09/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99