"Actor: Joan"

• Curtain Up (2017 Remaster) | DVD | (03/04/2017) from £9.76   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Curtain Up is a 1952 British film directed by Ralph Smart, written by Jack Davies and Philip King. In an English provincial town, a second-rate repertory company assemble at the theatre on Monday morning to rehearse the following week's play, a melodrama titled Tarnished Gold. Harry (Robert Morley), their irascible Director, is highly critical of the play, which has been foisted on him by the owners of the Company and is unenthusiastic about its prospects. The cast, a mixture of wanabee-film stars and has-beens, are equally unenthusiastic and little progress is made. Just as matters seemingly cannot get worse, the authoress of the play, Catherine Beckwith (Rutherford), appears and insists on 'sitting at the feet' of the Director.

• Mildred Pierce | Blu Ray | (09/09/2024) from £29.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Melodrama casts noirish shadows in this portrait of maternal sacrifice from Hollywood master Michael Curtiz. Joan Crawford's iconic performance as Mildred, a single mother hell-bent on freeing her children from the stigma of economic hardship, solidified Crawford's career comeback and gave the actor her only Oscar. But as Mildred pulls herself up by her bootstraps, first as an unflappable waitress and eventually as the well-heeled owner of a successful restaurant chain, the ingratitude of her materialistic firstborn (a diabolical Ann Blyth) becomes a venomous serpent's tooth, setting in motion an endless cycle of desperate overtures and heartless recriminations. Recasting James M. Cain's rich psychological novel as a murder mystery, this bitter cocktail of blind parental love and all-American ambition is both unremittingly hard-boiled and sumptuously emotional. FILM INFO- United States- 1945- 111 minutes- Black & White- 1.37:1- English 4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES- 4K digital transfer, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack- One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features- Conversation with critics Molly Haskell and Robert Polito- Excerpt from a 1970 episode of The David Frost Show featuring actor Joan Crawford- Joan Craw¬ford: The Ultimate Movie Star, a 2002 feature-length documentary- Q&A with actor Ann Blyth from 2006, presented by filmmaker Marc Huestis and conducted by film historian Eddie Muller- Segment from a 1969 episode of the Today show featuring Mildred Pierce novelist James M. Cain- Trailer- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing- PLUS: An essay by critic Imogen Sara Smith- Cover by Sean Phillips

• Charlie Chan | DVD | (01/11/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.24

  Though the Charlie Chan film franchise has earned brickbats for its casting of Caucasian actors as the Asian sleuth, the movies have retained popularity among aficionados of '40s-era B-crime pictures, and the six-disc Charlie Chan Chanthology, all featuring Sidney Toler as Chan, should please that crowd. The Missouri-born Toler starred in 11 Chan pictures for Fox before purchasing the rights to the character from creator Earl Derr Biggers's widow and bringing it to budget studio Monogram, where he starred in 11 more Chans before his death in 1947 (Roland Winters replaced him in six more features until 1949). At Monogram, Chan became a Secret Service Agent (a move calculated to cut down on exotic locations and sets), and comedy was integrated into the plots via Mantan Moreland's chauffeur Birmingham Brown; Benson Fong also joined the cast as Number Three Son Tommy, with occasional appearances by daughter Frances (Frances Chan) and son Eddie (Edwin Luke, brother of Keye Luke, who played Number One Son Lee in the Fox Chans). Other than that, the six films collected here (the first six Chans for Monogram, and all but five directed by Phil Rosen) are largely indistinguishable from one another save for the murder victims and their demises. In The Secret Service, Chan investigates the death of a wartime inventor; a San Francisco socialite expires in The Chinese Cat; daughter Frances is involved in the murder of a psychic in Meeting at Midnight (a.k.a. Black Magic); another government scientist is killed in The Jade Mask, and death by remote control is the focus of The Scarlet Clue. Director Phil Karlson (Kansas City Confidential) adds some noirish atmosphere to The Shanghai Cobra, which has bank employees dying from apparent snakebites. Dated and controversial as they may be, the Chan films are engaging diversions for vintage mystery fans. No extras are featured in the set. --Paul Gaita

• Berserk (Standard Edition) | Blu Ray | (21/03/2022) from £9.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  After the huge success of Robert Aldrich's What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962), Hollywood legend Joan Crawford found herself taking the lead in a series of lurid and sensational horror pictures in her later years and Berserk was one of the best and most successful. Crawford stars as a ruthless circus owner who exploits a series of gruesome murders for her own ends... until the killer targets her. Directed by Jim O'Connolly (Valley of Gwangi, Tower of Evil) and co-starring Diana Dors (Yield to the Night, Deep End), Michael Gough (Horror Hospital, Batman) and Judy Geeson (10 Rillington Place, Inseminoid), Berserk is a deranged slice of Great British Grand (Dame) Guignol a bloody exploitation classic! Extras High Definition remaster Original mono audio The NFT Interview with Joan Crawford (1956, 14 mins): archival interview with the celebrated actor, recorded at London's National Film Theatre Audio commentary with film historians Lee Gambin and Eloise Ross The Shopgirl's Delight (2018, 15 mins): career-spanning appreciation of Joan Crawford by film critic Pamela Hutchinson Circus of Blood (2018, 34 mins): Jonathan Rigby, author of English Gothic: Classic Horror Cinema 18972015, provides a wide-ranging production history of Berserk Didier Chatelain on Herman Cohen (2018, 14 mins): Herman Cohen's assistant and business partner remembers the famed producer Tom Baker's Beyond Belief! (1997, 5 mins): introduction by the much-loved actor, recorded for Berserk's UK VHS release Tom Baker's Beyond Belief! Outtakes (1997, 22 mins) Original theatrical trailer Image gallery: on-set and promotional photography New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

• Equus (Blu-ray) | Blu Ray | (17/08/2020) from £12.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Alan Strang (Peter Firth) is a troubled teenager who suffers from an uncontrollable urge to blind horses. In court, facing prosecution for his actions, psychiatrist Dr Martin Dysart (Richard Burton) attempts to unravel the root causes of Alan's pathologic affliction. Adapted by Peter Shaffer from his own landmark, Tony-winning play, Equus is a gripping psychological thriller exploring how corrupted ideals can lead to grave consequences. Special Features: To Be Confirmed ***FIRST PRESSING ONLY*** Fully illustrated booklet with new essays

• The Ice Storm | DVD | (12/02/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Asian American director Ang Lee sums up America in the early 1970s by focusing on the arrival of the sexual revolution in the 'burbs. Isolationism within a family, consumerism, and selfishness are personified by a cast that captures the self-obsession within two New England families. As the children struggle awkwardly with adolescence, their parents stumble through sexual experimentation. In the days of Watergate and Vietnam, society is breaking boundaries and ignoring convention. Following suit, these families are eschewing polite barriers and social taboos, with disastrous results. The Ice Storm of the title refers not only to a natural phenomenon but is a (rather heavy-handed) metaphor for a pervasive emotional temperament. The entire cast delivers textured, finely nuanced performances. This movie lingers in the psyche not only for the scope of the tragedy at its conclusion, but for Lee's often humorous and stingingly accurate assessment of pop culture. Based on Rick Moody's novel, this won the best-screenplay award at Cannes in 1997. --Rochelle O'Gorman

• Second Chorus | DVD | (05/03/2001) from £9.62   |  Saving you £6.36 (95.93%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Trumpet players Danny (Fred Astaire) and Hank (Burgess Meredith) have been avoiding graduation for seven years so that they can continue playing with their college band. They hire pretty Ellen Miller (Paulette Goddard) as the band's agent and as she quickly increases their earning power the boys find themselves with flourishing musical careers. Ellen is one day hired as Artie Shaw's band manager and makes plans for Danny and Hank to audition for Shaw. Both however are keen rival

• Worzel Gummidge - Series 1 | DVD | (27/05/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  TV's favourite scarecrow comes to life again in this bumper collection of stories. All seven from the first series are included.

• Turn The Key Softly | DVD | (26/03/2012) from £3.99   |  Saving you £9.00 (225.56%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Turn the Key Softly is a 1953 British drama dealing with the first 24 hours of freedom for three women, of widely differing backgrounds, who are released on probation on the same morning.

• Little Dorrit | DVD | (27/10/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £25.99

  The original 1987 BBC feature film adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic tale Little Dorrit starring Alec Guinness and Derek Jacobi. A story told in two films the life of Arthur Clennam and the life of Amy Dorrit in the London of the 1850's.

• Berserk! - Limited Edition | Blu Ray | (10/12/2018) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  After the huge success of Robert Aldrich's What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962), Hollywood legend Joan Crawford found herself taking the lead in a series of lurid and sensational horror pictures in her later years and Berserk was one of the best and most successful. Crawford stars as a ruthless circus owner who exploits a series of gruesome murders for her own ends... until the killer targets her. Directed by Jim O Connolly (Valley of Gwangi, Tower of Evil) and co-starring Diana Dors (Yield to the Night, Deep End), Michael Gough (Horror Hospital, Batman) and Judy Geeson (10 Rillington Place, Inseminoid), Berserk is a deranged slice of Great British Grand(Dame) Guignol a bloody exploitation classic! INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES: High Definition remaster Original mono audio The BFI interview with Joan Crawford (1956) Audio commentary with film historians Lee Gambin and Eloise Ross Pamela Hutchinson on Joan Crawford (2018) Jonathan Rigby on 'Berserk' (2018): a new appreciation by the author of American Gothic: Six Decades of Classic Horror Cinema Didier Chatelain on Herman Cohen (2018): an interview with producer Cohen's assistant and business partner Tom Baker's Beyond Belief! VHS Introduction (1997) Tom Baker's Beyond Belief! Outtakes (1997) Original theatrical trailer Image gallery: on-set and promotional photography New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing Limited Edition exclusive booklet containing a new essay by Josephine Botting, archival interviews, historic articles, an overview of contemporary critical responses and full film credits UK premiere on Blu-ray Limited Edition of 3,000 copies All extras subject to change

• A Day in the Death of Joe Egg | DVD | (26/09/2011) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Peter Nichols adapts his award-winning play to devastating effect in Peter Medak's powerful black comedy about an ordinary couple struggling to cope with a severely disabled child. School teacher Brian (Alan Bates - A kind of Loving, Georgy Girl) and his wide Sheila (Janet Suzman - Nicholas And Alexandra, The Draughtsman's Contract) are the parents of young Jo (Elizabeth Rabillard), a child afflicted with cerebral palsy. Caring for Jo threatens to overwhelm their loves, and to stay sane they rely on dark humour. But while Sheila tries to ensure that her daughter has some quality of life, Brian is increasingly obsessed with the idea that she might be better off dead...

• Equus | DVD | (04/08/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  A film adaptation of the play by Peter Shaffer, Equus stars Richard Burton as Martin Dysart, a psychiatrist who takes on an unusual case: a young stable boy (Peter Firth) who, in frenzy, has blinded six horses. Their sessions reveal that the boy has a quasi-religious fetish for horses and he rides them in the dead of night, experiencing an ecstasy unlike anything Dysart has ever known. Dysart begins to question: Is the pursuit of normalcy worth the loss of individual passions? Equus features a lot of hokum--its therapy scenes are absurd crescendos of revelation and insights--but its central question has substance, the direction is energetic, and the performances are powerful; Burton, handsome and haggard, brings a complex self-loathing to his role. It also features Jenny Agutter and Joan Plowright. --Bret Fetzer

• Peacemaker, The | DVD | (02/07/2006) from £5.83   |  Saving you £14.16 (242.88%)   |  RRP £19.99

  It seems that thrillers these days--even good ones--are all about scene-chewing bad guys, cute retorts fit for the Dennis Miller show and one big special effect to end the movie. Well, something like The Peacemaker, the first feature film from DreamWorks, puts the record straight. Here is an expertly paced thriller with a sensible villain, smart instead of cute dialogue, and a focus on action instead of special effects. It's not original, just solid. It's the second of these energetic and effective thrillers that writer Michael Schiffer (Crimson Tide) has penned. The White House Nuclear Smuggling Group tracks down 10 stolen nuclear bombs after a suspicious train wreck in Russia. The acting head of the department (Nicole Kidman) and her military field officer (George Clooney) are off to Europe to track down the bombs. Instead of a Gary Oldman-Bruce Dern madman, The Peacemaker's heavy is an unknown Romanian actor (Marcul Iures) playing a Bosnian rebel who works passionately and quietly. This may be a popcorn movie, but it uses the ripe emotions of the Bosnian War to create tension. This is the best film vehicle yet for the overwhelming charisma of George Clooney as a quick-witted, generally warm Oliver North type who will seek deadly vengeance without pause. He's matched very well by the professional polish of Nicole Kidman who is showing great flexibility in dividing her roles between serious and fun fare. --Doug ThomasOn the DVD: Extras are pretty minimal, with just two very brief featurettes. The first has director Mimi Leder talking about her two stars in between blooper reel outtakes; the second has some behind-the-scenes footage of two stunt sequences, the Viennese car chase and the New York street chase (the latter of which shows George Clooney doing all his own running). Two theatrical trailers complete the package. The feature itself is well presented in anamorphic widescreen and Dolby 5.1.with the choice of English or German language options. --Mark Walker

• The Prince's Trust Rock Gala - Vol. 1 | DVD | (05/05/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  God Save The Queen ; Big Country - In The Big Country ; Suzanne Vega - Marlene On The Wall ; Level 42 - Hot Water ; Elton John - Your Song ; Phil Collins - In The Air Tonight ; Tina Turner - Better Be Good To Me ; Eric Clapton And Tina Turner - Tearing Us Apart ; Midge Ure - Call Of The Wild ; Mark Knopfler and Sting - Money For Nothing ; Paul Young - Every Time You Go Away ; Joan Armatrading - Reach Out ; Howard Jones - No One Is To Blame ; Rod Stewart - Sailing ; Elton John - I'm Still Standing ; Paul Young And George Michael - Every Time You Go Away ; Paul McCartney And Ensemble - Long Tall Sally ; Paul McCartney And Ensemble - Get Back.

• Carry On Dick | DVD | (12/05/2003) from £6.74   |  Saving you £6.25 (92.73%)   |  RRP £12.99

  The 18th century, with its frills and bawds, was ideal territory for the Carry On team: Carry On Dick is one of the few of the series where one notices the quality of the art direction in intervals between terrible old Talbot Rothwell jokes and the creaking of standard farce moments. Captain Fancy (Kenneth Williams) is sent to the remote village of Upper Denture to arrest Big Dick Turpin (Sid James) and makes the mistake of confiding in the local Rector, the Reverend Flasher (who is Big Dick's secret alter ego). Dick has troubles of his own: his liaison with his housemaid and henchperson Harriet (Barbara Windsor) is perpetually interrupted by his amorous housekeeper (Hattie Jacques). Meanwhile, Joan Sims struts around the plot as the proprietor of a touring show of scantily clad young women. This is not one of the best of the series--a certain mean-spiritedness creeps in to the humour as does the self-conscious awareness that 1974 was a date a little late for some of the more sexist jokes--but any film with Kenneth Williams discussing satin coats with his tailor has something going for it. --Roz Kaveney

• Bing Crosby Collection - Birth Of The Blues / Blue Skies | DVD | (08/05/2006) from £8.44   |  Saving you £7.55 (89.46%)   |  RRP £15.99

  A fantastic double bill from the legendary Bing Crosby. Birth Of The Blues (Dir. Victor Schertzinger 1941): Bing Crosby and Mary Martin star as two jazz artists in the swinging world of 1920's New Orleans. Crosby is Jeff Lambert a clarinet player who is out to start a band called the Basin Street Hot-Shots. When Betty Lou (Martin) joins as vocalist romance ensues between everyone involved stirring things up a bit. The film pays homage to Dixieland greats such as Duke Ellin

• Drive Me Crazy | DVD | (25/06/2001) from £5.77   |  Saving you £7.22 (125.13%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Nicole and Chase live next door to each other - but are worlds apart.

• Monster | DVD | (22/10/2007) from £12.98   |  Saving you £2.00 (18.20%)   |  RRP £12.99

  A woman gives birth to a baby but the child is possessed by the spirit of a dwarf whom the mother once spurned.

• Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont | DVD | (07/07/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £16.99

  Mrs Palfrey At The Claremont is the story of an elderly lady (Joan Plowright) who is all but abandoned in a London retirement hotel by her family - so she strikes up a friendship with a young writer (Rupert Friend). Based on the best-selling book by Elizabeth Taylor.