"Actor: Ivor Dean"

• The Sorcerers | DVD | (01/09/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  The Sorcerers, the second film directed by the lost "wunderkind" of British cinema Michael Reeves, may not have the scope and visceral impact of his masterpiece, Witchfinder General (1968), but there's enough fierce originality here to show what a tragic loss it was when he died from a drugs overdose aged only 24. The film also shows the effective use he made of minimal resources, working here on a derisory budget of less than £50,000--of which £11,000 went to the film's sole "named" star, Boris Karloff. Karloff plays an elderly scientist living with his devoted wife in shabby poverty in London, dreaming of the brilliant breakthrough in hypnotic technique that will restore him to fame and fortune. Seeking a guinea-pig, he hits on Mike, a disaffected young man-about-town (Ian Ogilvy, who starred in all three of Reeves' films). But the technique has an unlooked-for side effect--not only can he and his wife make Mike do their bidding, they can vicariously experience everything that he feels. At which point, it turns out that the wife has urges and desires that her husband never suspected. Karloff, then almost at the end of his long career, brings a melancholy dignity to his role; but the revelation is the veteran actress Catherine Lacey as the seemingly sweet old lady, turning terrifyingly avid and venomous as she realises her power. The portrayal of Swinging London, with its mini-skirted dollybirds thronging nightclubs where the strongest stimulant seems to be Coke rather than coke, has an almost touching innocence, but Reeves invests it with a dream-like quality, extending it into scenes of violent death in labyrinthine dark alleys. By this stage, some ten years after it started, the British horror cycle was winding down in lazy self-parody. Reeves had the exceptional talent and vision to revive it, had he only lived. On the DVD: The Sorcerers DVD has original trailers for both this film and Witchfinder General (both woefully clumsy); filmographies for Reeves, Karloff and Ogilvy; an "image gallery" (a grab-bag of posters, stills and lobby cards); detailed written production notes by horror-movie expert Kim Newman; and an excellent 25-minute documentary on Reeves, "Blood Beast", dating from 1999. The transfer is letterboxed full-width, with acceptable sound. --Philip Kemp

• The Saint: Monochrome & Colour episodes;The Contract, The Queen's Ransom | DVD | (15/01/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £1.99

  Two selected episodes from the smash series The Saint. The episodes are: The Contract The Queen's Ransom

• Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) - Complete | DVD | (26/05/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £39.99

  The complete episodes of Randall And Hopkirk Deceased starring Mike Pratt as Jeff Randall Kenneth Cope as his ghostly partner Marty Hopkirk and Annette Andre as Marty's widow Jean Hopkirk. Episodes Comprise: 1. My Late Lamented Friend 2. A Disturbing Case 3. All Work and No Pay 4. Never Trust a Ghost 5. That's How Murder Snowballs 6. Just for the Record 7. Murder Ain't What it Used To Be 8. Whoever Heard of a Ghost Dying? 9. The House on Haunted Hill 10. When Did You Start to Stop Seeing Things? 11. The Ghost Who Saved The Bank At Monte Carlo 12. For The Girl Who Has Everything 13. But What A Sweet Little Room 14. Who Killed Cock Robin? 15. The Man From Nowhere 16. When The Spirit Moves You 17. Somebody Just Walked Over My Grave 18. Could You Recognise the Man Again? 19. A Sentimental Journey 20. Money To Burn 21. The Ghost Talks 22. It's Supposed To Be Thicker Than Water 23. The Trouble With Women 24. Vendetta To A Dead Man 25. You Can Always Find A Fall Guy 26. The Smile Behind The Veil