"Actor: John Ley"

• The Fall And Rise Of Reginald Perrin - The Complete First Series | DVD | (21/10/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Boasting a virtuoso comic performance from Leonard Rossiter The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin (1976-79) remains one of the greatest of all television sitcoms. Writer David Nobbs combined the surrealist absurdity of Monty Python with an on-going story line that unfolded through each of the three seasons with a clear beginning, middle and end; a ground-breaking development in 70s TV comedy. The first and best season charts middle-aged, middle-management executive Reginald Perrin as he breaks-down under the stress of middle-class life until he informs the world that half the parking meters in London have Dutch Parking Meter Disease. He fakes suicide and returns to court his wife Elizabeth (Pauline Yates) in disguise, a plot development that formed the entire basis of Mrs Doubtfire (1993). Series Two is broader, the rapid-fire dialogue still razor sharp and loaded with caustic wit and ingenious silliness, as a now sane Reggie takes on the madness of the business world by opening a chain of shops selling rubbish. The third season, set in a health farm, is routine, the edge blunted by routine sitcom conventions. At its best The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin is hilarious and moving, its depiction of English middle-class life spot on, its satire prophetic. Reggie's visual fantasies hark back to The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (1947) and Billy Liar (1963), and look forward to Ally McBeal (1997-2002) and are the icing on the cake of a fine, original and highly imaginative show. On the DVD: Reginald Perrin's discs contain one complete seven episode season. There are no extras. The sound is good mono and the 4:3 picture is generally fine, though some of the exterior shot-on-film scenes have deteriorated and there are occasional signs of minor damage to the original video masters. Even so, for a 1970s sitcom shot on video the picture is excellent and far superior to the original broadcasts. --Gary S Dalkin

• This Happy Breed | Blu Ray | (18/06/2012) from £16.98   |  Saving you £5.00 (33.36%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Noel Coward's celebration of the strength and humour of the British working class in times of crisis struck a resounding impact with viewing audiences when first released, and still does to this day. Chronicling the trials and tribulations of the Gibbons family from the end of World War One, Coward's anthem to British resilience became the most successful film of 1944.This Happy Breed was David Lean's first credit as a solo director and was the first in a succession of worldwide hits for him and his distinctive visual style. Both Robert Newton and Celia Johnson preside over the ups and downs of their family with great humour and patience, ably supported by John Mills and Stanley Holloway. This is a High Definition digital restoration from the original film elements.

• Biggles - The Complete Series | DVD | (31/12/2014) from £60.67   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  This Granada series brought the adventures of Capt. W.E. Johns' famous fictional airman to Britain's television screens for the very first time. Starring Nevil Whiting in the title role, Biggles features action-packed tales of derring-do and chivalry, the flying ace's exciting quests taking him the from the frozen North to the Amazon, from the Panama Canal to the Pacific. Ready to take on any assignment, Biggles finds adventure both on the ground and in the air! Actor and singer John ...

• Fools Rush In | DVD | (10/05/2004) from £7.07   |  Saving you £-1.08 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Opposites attract in Fools Rush In, a conventional but refreshingly unpredictable romantic comedy. New York nightclub designer (Matthew Perry, from television's Friends) is in Las Vegas to supervise the construction of a new project when he meets a fiery Mexican beauty (Salma Hayek). It's lust at first sight, and their one-night stand takes an unexpected turn when she shows up three months later to announce that she's pregnant. They're determined to do right for each other, so they get married in a Vegas chapel with an Elvis impersonator as their witness. Then comes the hard part--trying to figure out if they're actually compatible. The plot complications are mostly familiar, but Perry and Hayek throw some bright sparks as their initial bliss turns to more realistic concerns for family and future. Along the way there's some sharp dialogue and a few good laughs to give this all-too-human comedy an enjoyable spin. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

• Passport To Pimlico | DVD | (21/06/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £13.99

  An archaic document found in a bombsite reveals that the London district of Pimlico has for centuries technically been part of France. The local residents embrace their new found continental status seeing it as a way to avoid the drabness austerity and rationing of post-war England. The authorities do not however share their enthusiasm... A whimsical and charming British film 'Passport To Pimlico' is one of the finest examples of the classic Ealing comedies.

• Network | DVD | (17/03/2003) from £17.11   |  Saving you £-1.12 (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Media madness reigns supreme in screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky's scathing satire about the uses and abuses of network television. But while Chayefsky's and director Sidney Lumet's take on television may seem quaint in the age of "reality TV" and Jerry Springer's talk-show fisticuffs, Network is every bit as potent now as it was when the film was released in 1976. And because Chayefsky was one of the greatest of all dramatists, his Oscar-winning script about the ratings frenzy at the cost of cultural integrity is a showcase for powerhouse acting by Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway and Beatrice Straight (who each won Oscars), and Oscar nominee William Holden in one of his finest roles. Finch plays a veteran network anchorman who's been fired because of low ratings. His character's response is to announce he'll kill himself on live television two weeks hence. What follows, along with skyrocketing ratings, is the anchorman's descent into insanity, during which he fervently rages against the medium that made him a celebrity. Dunaway plays the frigid, ratings-obsessed producer who pursues success with cold-blooded zeal; Holden is the married executive who tries to thaw her out during his own seething midlife crisis. Through it all, Chayefsky (via Finch) urges the viewer to repeat the now-famous mantra "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not gonna take it anymore!" to reclaim our humanity from the medium that threatens to steal it away. --Jeff Shannon

• Silent Witness - Series 2 | DVD | (17/09/2007) from £7.63   |  Saving you £12.36 (161.99%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Forensic pathologist Dr Sam Ryan (Amanda Burton) has an all-embracing passionate notion of justice. Driven almost obsessional her crusade and tenacity sometimes leads her to conduct her own enquires outside the laboratory uncovering new evidence that dramatically alters the course of police investigations. This can lead to trouble - both in her personal and professional lives but to Sam each dead body deserves nothing but the truth.... Episodes Comprise: 1. Blood Sweat and Tears 2. Cease Upon The Midnight 3. Only The Lonely 4. Friends Like These

• The Naked Civil Servant | DVD | (12/09/2005) from £7.05   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Hostel: Part III | Blu Ray | (23/01/2012) from £20.00   |  Saving you £-0.01 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  High stakes gambling takes on a sinister new meaning in this third chapter of the terrifying Hostel series. While attending a bachelor party in Las Vegas, four friends are enticed by two sexy escorts to join them at a private party way off the Strip. Once there, they are horrified to find themselves the subjects of a perverse game of torture, where members of the Elite Hunting Club are hosting the most sadistic show in town.

• Tarzan And Jane | DVD | (22/07/2002) from £9.48   |  Saving you £6.51 (40.70%)   |  RRP £15.99

  As Tarzan and Jane's first anniversary of wedded jungle bliss approaches, Jane ponders what gift would be appropriate--necessitating three flashbacks from the Disney television series explaining why various celebrations are out of the question. First Jane remembers when her old British school chums came to rescue her from the bush and whisk her back to civilization. Then Terk and Tantor help her recall the time diamond miners hired Tarzan only to double-cross him. The final remembrance features Jane's old neighbour Robert who flies to Africa to recover a music box he gave her--and to betray England. Michael T. Weiss and Olivia D'Abo do the honours as the voices of Tarzan and Jane and Mandy Moore and Phil Collins provide the vocals for two new songs. Like many of Disney's straight-to-video "sequels", the animation and story aren't up to par with the original; but the kids won't care. Ages 3 and up. --Kimberly Heinrichs, Amazon.com

• Herbie Rides Again | DVD | (12/01/2004) from £9.12   |  Saving you £5.87 (64.36%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Herbie is back in gear - revved up and ready for more madcap comedy adventure in this sidesplitting sequel to Disney's smash hit The Love Bug. This time Herbie's leading lady is Helen Hayes. Aided by co-stars Ken Berry and Stephanie Powers she's out to save her beloved Victorian firehouse home from the wrecking ball of greedy real estate tycoon Keenan Wynn! It's up to Herbie and his bug battalion to save the day...

• The Trouble With Harry | Blu Ray | (10/05/2022) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Teletubbies - Meet The Teletubbies | DVD | (30/06/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £4.99

  Share the unique Teletubbies experience with this wonderful selection of Teletubbies footage designed to be you and your child's first steps into Teletubbyland. Discover more about Tinky Winky Dipsy Laa Laa and Po and why millions of children continue to love around the world. Also enclosed is a special guide for parents and carers created to provide a wide range of information about the rich content of Teletubbies and why it generates such a positive reaction from very young children.

• The Ultimate Pixar Collection: The Incredibles, Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc., A Bug's Life (Disney Pixar) | DVD | (18/03/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £39.99

  Four Pixar animated features including 'The Incredibles', 'Monsters Inc.', 'A Bug's Life' and 'Finding Nemo'

• Rope | DVD | (17/10/2005) from £16.99   |  Saving you £-12.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £4.99

  An experimental film masquerading as a standard Hollywood thriller. The plot of Rope is simple and based on a successful stage play: two young men (John Dall and Farley Granger) commit murder, more or less as an intellectual exercise. They hide the body in their large apartment, then throw a dinner party. Will the body be discovered? Director Alfred Hitchcock, fascinated by the possibilities of the long-take style, decided to shoot this story as though it were happening in one long, uninterrupted shot. Since the camera can only hold one 10-minute reel at a time, Hitchcock had to be creative when it came time to change reels, disguising the switches as the camera passed behind someone's back or moved behind a lamp. In later years Hitchcock wrote off the approach as misguided, and Rope may not be one of Hitchcock's top movies, but it's still a nail-biter. They don't call him the Master of Suspense for nothing. James Stewart, as a suspicious professor, marks his first starring role for Hitchcock, a collaboration that would lead to the masterpieces Rear Window and Vertigo. --Robert Horton, Amazon.com

• Father Came Too! | DVD | (15/08/2005) from £6.99   |  Saving you £3.00 (42.92%)   |  RRP £9.99

  The Fast Lady team rides again! The newlywed Munroes purchase a rundown ramshackle cottage and plan to fix it up themselves primarily to escape their meddling father. However they haven't appreciated the scope of the work required to get the place up to scratch.. They have no choice but to seek outside help. When Builder Josh Wicks arrives on the scene the bills start going through the roof... Written by Henry Blyth (The Bulldog Breed) and Jack Davi

• Monty Python's Life Of Brian | DVD | (03/12/2001) from £5.02   |  Saving you £14.97 (298.21%)   |  RRP £19.99

  That rarest of rare treasures, Monty Python's Life of Brian is both achingly funny and seriously satirical without ever allowing one to overbalance the other. There is not a single joke, sight gag or one-liner that will not forever burn itself into the viewer's memory as being just as funny as it is possible to be, but, extraordinarily, almost every line and every indestructibly hilarious scene also serves a dual purpose, making this one of the most consistently sustained film satires ever made. Like all great satire, the Pythons not only attack and vilify their targets (the bigotry and hypocrisy of organised religion and politics) supremely well, they also propose an alternative: be an individual, think for yourself, don't be led by others. "You've all got to work it out for yourselves", cries Brian in a key moment. "Yes, we've all got to work it our for ourselves", the crowd reply en masse, "Tell us more". Two thousand years later, in a world still blighted by religious zealots, Brian's is still a lone voice crying in the wilderness. Aside from being a neat spoof on the Hollywood epic, it's also almost incidentally one of the most realistic on-screen depictions of the ancient world--instead of treating their characters as posturing historical stereotypes, the Pythons realised what no sword 'n' sandal epic ever has: that people are all the same, no matter what period of history they live in. People always have and always will bicker, lie, cheat, swear, conceal cowardice with bravado (like Reg, leader of the People's Front of Judea), abuse power (like Pontius Pilate), blindly follow the latest fads and giggle at silly things ("Biggus Dickus"). In the end, Life of Brian teaches us that the only way for a despairing individual to cope in a world of idiocy and hypocrisy is to always look on the bright side of life. --Mark Walker

• The General's Daughter | DVD | (06/11/2000) from £5.50   |  Saving you £10.49 (190.73%)   |  RRP £15.99

  When John Travolta first opens his mouth during the opening credits of The General's Daughter and speaks in a terrible Southern cracker drawl, one briefly hopes the movie will turn out to be just as hilariously bad. Unfortunately, the accent is soon revealed to be part of a disguise, and the movie is just as quickly unveiled as a clumsy, run-of-the-mill potboiler, too mediocre to be truly hysterical fun. A female officer is discovered strangled and tied to the ground; she's the title character, and because of the general's political ambitions, the mystery of who did it and why has to be wrapped up in 36 hours by Travolta and fellow CID officer Madeleine Stowe (Last of the Mohicans, 12 Monkeys). Sexual violence and lurid S&M have been thrown in to shore up the incomprehensible plot, but that only adds to the queasy atmosphere. The supporting actors--an impressive collection including James Woods (Salvador), Timothy Hutton (Ordinary People), and James Cromwell (Babe, L.A. Confidential)--don't embarrass themselves, but even they can't make sense of their blustering, macho dialogue. It's amazing that, screenwriter William Goldman (who wrote such great and genuinely thrilling films as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Marathon Man, All the President's Men and Misery) left his name attached to this script; there's no sign of his usual skill and intelligence. Madeleine Stowe, a graceful presence in any film, is equally wasted. It was directed with a lot of empty flash by Simon West (Con Air). --Bret Fetzer, Amazon.com

• The Deer Hunter | DVD | (04/03/2019) from £6.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  An in-depth examination of the ways in which the U.S. Vietnam War impacts and disrupts the lives of people in a small industrial town in Pennsylvania.

• Fort Apache (John Wayne) | DVD | (05/06/2006) from £12.70   |  Saving you £-2.71 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Henry Fonda is the strict new commander of a frontier fort (Henry Fonda) who soon clashes with his more experienced second in command (John Wayne), jepordising the fragile peace with the native americans.