"Actor: Josephine Chaplin"

• The Canterbury Tales (I Racconti di Canterbury) | DVD | (18/06/2001) from £8.97   |  Saving you £11.02 (122.85%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Italian director Pier Paolo Pasolini's film of The Canterbury Tales was one of a trilogy from the early 1970s that, like its companions The Decameron and the Arabian Nights, was an international box-office hit playing for long runs in mainstream cinemas. All of them adapt a masterpiece of literature where man becomes the moral catalyst for his own destiny. Chaucer's ribald sense of humour was a natural outlet for Pasolini's own desire to throw caution to the wind on screen, causing controversy at the time by displaying all facets of the male and female body unadorned. (Although it all looks pretty tame now, the Italian authorities were a threatening presence to Pasolini at the time.) Produced by Alberto Grimaldi with a large budget, the location scenes were filmed in many historic sites in England, notably Wells Cathedral, its crypt, and the surrounding flatlands leading toward Glastonbury, captured in early spring by Tonino Delli Colli's cinematography. The cast with Italian and English actors dubbed into Italian with English subtitles is a mixed blessing. Hugh Griffith as Sir January is one Anglo-Saxon recognisable from his role as the lecherous squire in Tom Jones, and overacts like the rest of the cast. Pasolini himself appears briefly as Chaucer in a non-speaking role that one regrets he didn't enlarge for himself in this sprawling tableaux of pilgrim's tales (Ken Russell's excesses from the same period come to mind). The musical score, an adaptation by Ennio Morricone of some traditional indigenous melodies, prefigures the early music revival by a few years and provides a stimulating soundtrack. --Adrian Edwards

• The Canterbury Tales (DVD + Blu-ray) | Blu Ray | (05/12/2011) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The second part of Pasolini’s Trilogy of Life is based on the fourteenth-century stories of Geoffrey Chaucer. Plunging with gusto into some of the blackest and bawdiest of the tales, Pasolini celebrates almost every conceivable form of sexual act with a rich, earthy humour. The film’s visual magic is complimented by this new high-definition restoration.Special features Alternative English-language version presented with English-version inserts Original Italian trailer Exclusive new documentary exploring Pasolini’s significance on the Italian genre film Fully illustrated booklet including essays, reviews and biography A particular delight is the use of a largely British cast, including Hugh Griffith, Jenny Runacre and Tom Baker, which Pasolini himself takes the part of Chaucer.

• Jack The Ripper | DVD | (31/05/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £16.99

  In this classic tale of horror and perversion the infamous Jack the Ripper terrorizes the East End of London of the late 19th century by killing and mutilating prostitutes. Scotland Yard assigns Inspector Selby (Andreas Mannkopff) a young and ambitious police commissioner to the case. As his investigation goes nowhere and public pressure rises his beautiful girlfriend Cynthia (Josephine Chaplin) decides to help him out by posing as a hooker and secretly visiting the bars where the

• The Canterbury Tales | DVD | (27/04/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The second part of Pasolini's trilogy is based on the 14th century stories of Geoffrey Chaucer. Plunging with gusto into some of the blackest and bawdiest of the tales Pasolini celebrates almost every conceivable form of sexual act with a rich earthy humour. The film's visual magic is complimented by this new high-definition restoration. Tom Baker is included in a largely British cast with the director himself taking on the role of Chaucer.

• The Canterbury Tales | Blu Ray | (27/04/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  The second part of Pasolini's trilogy is based on the 14th century stories of Geoffrey Chaucer. Plunging with gusto into some of the blackest and bawdiest of the tales Pasolini celebrates almost every conceivable form of sexual act with a rich earthy humour. The film's visual magic is complimented by this new high-definition restoration. Tom Baker is included in a largely British cast with the director himself taking on the role of Chaucer.

• Jess Franco: Complete Collection | DVD | (17/01/2011) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £59.99

  The Man The Myth The Legend: Jess Franco With over 190 movies to his name Jess Franco is without a doubt one of the most active and prolific directors in the history of European cinema. His unique style and creativity have garnered him a vast cult following over the years and a reputation as being the master of erotic exploitation. This is a collection of fifteen sexually-charged classics from the underrated genius of superlative art-house. Containing digitally mastered versions of his most revered work including Eugenie: Marquis De Sade's Philosophy in the Boudior (starring Christopher Lee) Barbed Wire Dolls Jack The Ripper (starring Klaus Kinski) and Mansion Of The Living Dead this is the definitive collection for any Jess Franco fan.