"Actor: Kurt"

• Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier -- Vienna/Kleiber | DVD | (03/09/2004) from £16.96   |  Saving you £-0.71 (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  The epic grandeur of Der Rosenkavalier stems not just from its immense length (over three hours) but from the all-too-human complexity of its characters--each of whom is smitten with someone else--and the endless stream of graceful melodies the composer conjures. After the tonality-stretching dissonance of Salome and especially Elektra, Strauss moved onto a different musical path here: the music's sheer gorgeousness has given this most heartbreaking of 20th-century operas its pride of place in the repertory. For this 1994 performance at the Vienna Opera House, conductor Carlos Kleiber leads a committed reading of the buoyant score that savours every note. The three leads are superb singer-actresses who get full marks for embodying Strauss's most richly romantic creations: Felicity Lott (the Marschallin), Anne Sophie von Otter (Octavian) and Barbara Bonney (Sophie) also offer a truly entrancing final trio, one of the great scenes in all opera. The stereo sound mix is solid, as is the video transfer. --Kevin Filipski, Amazon.com

• Poseidon/The Perfect Storm Double Pack | Blu Ray | (17/09/2012) from £16.78   |  Saving you £4.47 (28.80%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Poseidon On New Year's Eve, the luxury ocean liner, Poseidon, capsizes after being swamped by a rogue wave. The survivors are left to fight for survival as they attempt to escape the sinking ship. The Perfect Stom An unusually intense storm pattern catches some commercial fishermen unaware and puts them in mortal danger.

• Wonder Woman - Complete Season 2 | DVD | (26/09/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £40.99

  The complete second season of Wonder Woman! Meet the United States' secret and most beautiful weapon in the fight against tyranny: Wonder Woman! Former Miss USA Lynda Carter stars as the heroine who hides her identity behind the oversized glasses of a War Department functionary. But when duty and danger call she transforms. And the wonders never cease! Episodes comprise: 1. The Return Of Wonder Woman 2. Anschluss '77 3. The Man Who Could Move The World 4. The Bermuda Tr

• WWE - Royal Rumble 2006 | DVD | (10/04/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  All the high octane action and bravado from the 2006 Royal Rumble. Bout List: Cruiserweight Invitational: Kid Kash vs Funaki vs Jaime Noble vs Paul London vs Nunzio vs Gregory Helms Ashley Massaro vs Mickie James (with Trish Stratus as Special Guest Referee) JBL vs Boogeyman WWE Championship: Edge (C) vs John Cena World Heavyweight Championship: Kurt Angle (C) vs Mark Henry The 2006 Royal Rumble: Rey Mysterio vs Simon Dean vs Psicosis vs Ric Flair vs Big Show vs Jonathan

• Beneath | DVD | (20/04/2015) from £4.26   |  Saving you £8.73 (204.93%)   |  RRP £12.99

  A crew of coal miners becomes trapped 600 feet below ground after a disastrous collapse. As the air grows more toxic and time runs out they slowly descend into madness and begin to turn on one another. Inspired by true events.

• WWE: Wrestlemania 21 | DVD | (18/08/2014) from £9.99   |  Saving you £7.00 (87.61%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Get ready for the greatest show on earth as Wrestlemania Goes Hollywood! See the spectacle that is WrestleMania featuring all your favourite WWE Superstars from Raw and SmackDown! come together for the greatest night in sports-entertainment. Relive one of the greatest WrestleManias of all time including matches between Triple H and Batista JBL vs. John Cena Shawn Michaels vs. Kurt Angle Undertaker vs. Randy Orton the first ever Money in the Bank ladder match plus many more! Matches Include:World Heavyweight ChampionshipTriple H vs. Batista WWE ChampionshipJBL vs. John Cena Sumo MatchBig Show vs. Akebono Piper's PitSpecial Guest Stone Cold Inter-Promotional MatchShawn Michaels vs. Kurt Angle Women's Championship MatchTrish Stratus vs. Christy Hemme (w/Lita) Legend vs. Legend KillerUndertaker vs. Randy Orton 'Money In The Bank' Ladder MatchChris Jericho vs. Chris Benoit vs. Shelton Benjamin vs. Edge vs. Christian vs. Kane. Winner earns future World Heavyweight Title shot. Rey mysterio Vs. Eddie guerrero Special Features: Exclusive WWE Hall-of-Fame Induction Ceremony in its entirety featuring this year's newest members: Hulk Hogan 'Rowdy' Roddy Piper The Iron Sheik and more... All 9 WrestleMania 21 trailers including outtakes and bloopers WrestleMania Week Activities Exclusive WrestleMania Battle Royal Shawn Michaels Kurt Angle and Undertaker Career Retrospectives Motörhead Unplugged with Triple H

• McMillan And Wife - Season 1 | DVD | (25/09/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £34.99

  San Francisco attorney Stewart MacMillan is named commisioner of the San Francisco police department. With his pretty but somewhat kooky wife Sally his hard drinking housekeeper Mildred and his assistant the somewhat dimwitted Seargent Charlie Enright Mac manages to solve some of San Francisco's most baffling crimes... Episodes Comprise: 1. Murder By The Barrel 2. The Easy Sunday Murder Case 3. Husbands Wives Killers 4. Death Is A Seven Point Favourite 5. The Face Of Murder 6. Til Death Do Us Part 7. An Elementary Case Of Murder

• People On Sunday | DVD | (25/04/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  A tale of five young Berliners - a taxi driver a travelling wine dealer a record shop sales girl a film extra and a model - spending a typical Sunday. In this vivid snapshot of Berlin life a trip to the countryside reveals the flirtations rivalries jealousies and petty irritations common to any group outing. All too soon it is the end of the day and the prospect of Monday looms and the return to the weekday routine. People on Sunday marked the start of the film careers of si

• Auto Focus | DVD | (29/09/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  An absorbing glimpse into the colorful life, and mysterious death, of actor Bob Crane, star of classic 60s sit com "Hogan's Heroes."

• Land Of The Giants - Series One | DVD | (28/03/2011) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £39.99

  Debuting in 1968 and lasting just two all-too-brief series Land Of The Giants the original science-fiction/adventure series created by sci-fi visionary Irwin Allen has far outlived its initial run. Taking on a remarkable life of its own the show maintained an astonishing degree of popularity spawning worldwide fan clubs newsletters and convention appearance. Now for the first time in the UK the first series on this cult classic comes to DVD in a wonderful 7 disc set which includes some fantastic Special Features!

• WWE - Vengeance 2003 | DVD | (03/11/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  The WWE's 2003 'Vengeance' wrestling extravaganza! Featuring: Brock Lesnar vs. Kurt Angle vs. The Big Show Vince McMahon vs. Zach Gowen The Undertaker vs. John Cena Sable vs. Stephanie McMahon The World's Greatest Tag Team vs. Billy Kidman & Rey Mysterio Jr. APA Bar Room Brawl Billy Gunn w/ Torrie Wilson vs. Jamie Noble Eddie Guerrero vs. Chris Benoit.

• Fight Night | DVD | (13/07/2009) from £5.38   |  Saving you £10.61 (66.40%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Blood broken bones and scars it's all part of being an illegal underground fighter. But for LG Jeremy and Conrado there is much more. It's a way out a way to support a family and a way to carry on a tradition. Mack and Napoleon who run the fights for their gambling website see the kids as nothing more than a cheap commodity expendable and an easy way to entertain their on-line audience.

• Leonard Bernstein conducts West Side Story -- The Making of the Recording | DVD | (04/02/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Filmed in 1984 for the BBC, the feature-length documentary Leonard Bernstein conducts West Side Story follows the composer through one week as he records the first-ever complete album of his musical theatre masterpiece. (The previous Broadway cast and original soundtrack albums had both been cut down to single LP length.) Virtually the entire documentary takes place in a New York recording studio with a pick-up orchestra, session singers and headliners Kiri Te Kanawa (Maria), José Carreras (Tony), Tatiana Troyanos (Anita) and Kurt Ollmann (Riff). The 89-minute programme alternates rehearsal footage with complete final takes of the main numbers--including "Tonight", "America", and "Maria"--with a limited amount of comment from the principal players. Te Kanawa explains how much the music means to her, Troyanos notes how she grew-up in the very streets depicted on stage and Carreras provides a rare moment of tension when a session ends unsatisfactorily. Bernstein himself is by turns commanding, charming, enthusiastic or weary. For anyone wanting an extensive insight into what happens as a major album is recorded this is fascinating, though others who just want to enjoy the wonderful music will be better served by the resultant two-CD set. On the DVD: Though filmed for British television, Deutsche Grammophon have chosen to release a single region-free (Region 0) DVD for the entire world. Unfortunately this means the disc is in NTSC format rather than PAL, and requires an NTSC-compatible television for playback. It also means that while the sound has been effectively remastered for PCM stereo the picture shows all the signs of a bad NTSC copy--weak, washed-out colours and poor definition with a serious lack of detail. Most videos are far better. The DVD has subtitles in German, French, Spanish and Chinese. There are no extras, though the booklet adapts an interesting article by producer Humphrey Burton which originally appeared in Gramophone magazine in 1985.--Gary S Dalkin

• Studio Classic: Classic War Movies | DVD | (10/10/2005) from £28.33   |  Saving you £6.66 (19.00%)   |  RRP £34.99

  The Longest Day (Dir. Ken Annakin and Andrew Marton 1962): On June 6 1944 the Allied Invasion of France marked the beginning of the end of Nazi domination over Europe. The attack involved 3 000 000 men 11 000 planes and 4 000 ships comprising the largest armada the world has ever seen. Presented in the original black & white version The Longest Day is a vivid hour-by-hour re-creation of this historic event. Featuring a stellar international cast and told from the perspectives of both sides it is a fascinating look at the massive preparations mistakes and random events that determined the outcome of one of the biggest battles in history. Sink The Bismarck! (Dir. Lewis Gilbert 1960): In the Spring of 1941 Nazi Germany's greatest battleship - the Bismarck scourge of Atlantic shipping - is pinned down at her anchorage in Norway. Making a break for freedom and the safety of air cover from the Luftwaffe the great ship is chased by the Royal Navy. Eventually after heavy casualties including the loss of HMS Hood the Bismarck is finally trapped and sunk. Kenneth More stars as Captain Shepherd - the Admiralty's Director of Naval Operations - who embittered by the death of his wife in an air raid is assigned to this post just as the Bismarck makes its escape. The Desert Rats (Dir. Robert Wise 1953): Richard Burton stars in this exciting film about the courageous men who held off notorious German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel despite being hopelessly outnumbered. The year is 1941 and all that stands between Rommel and the Suez Canal is the fortress of Tobruk which is manned only by a small Australian battalion whom Captain MacRoberts (Burton) must whip into shape - fast! James Mason co-stars in a stunning portrayal as Rommel in this stirring action-packed story of the World War II heroes known as the Desert Rats. Twelve O'Clock High (Dir. Henry King 1949): Convinced an Air Force Commander is at breaking point Brigadier General Savage (Gregory Peck) takes over his struggling bomber group. At first resentful and rebellious the flyers gradually change as Savage guides them to amazing feats. But the stress of command soon takes its toll and the weary general reaches his own breaking point. Authentic aerial battle footage and numerous acclaimed performances make Twelve O'Clock High a credible stirring tale of courage and sacrifice. A Farewell To Arms (Dir. Charles Vidor 1957): This dense adaption of Ernest Hemingway's novel features Rock Hudson as American soldier Lt. Henry and his ill-fated love affair with British Nurse Catherine portrayed by Jennifer Jones during World War I. The two lovers will stop at nothing to be together but Lt. Henry's internal struggles ultimately threaten the relationship. Hemingway's theme of questioning the nature of war and fighting is fully recognised under Charles Vidor's direction.

• Felix Mendelssohn - Gala Concert | DVD | (16/08/2000) from £25.90   |  Saving you £-5.91 (-29.60%)   |  RRP £19.99

  A concert dedicated to the work of Felix Mendelssohn recorded live at the Gewandhaus Leipzig. Includes 'Violin Concerto In E Minor' 'Wedding March From A Midsummer Night's Dream' and 'Symphony No 3'.

• Tenderness of the Wolves Dual Format | Blu Ray | (02/11/2015) from £18.98   |  Saving you £8.00 (47.09%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Fritz Haarmann, aka the Butcher of Hanover and the Vampire of Hanover, was a German serial killer responsible for the murders of two dozen boys and young men during the so-called ˜years of crisis' between the wars. His case would partly inspire Fritz Lang's M, and its central character portrayed by Peter Lorre, as well as this forgotten gem from 1973. Tenderness of the Wolves treats the viewer to a few weeks in the company of a killer. Baby-faced and shaven-headed, in a manner that recalls both M and F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu, Haarmann is a fascinating, repulsive figure. Using his status as a police informant to procure his victims, he dismembers their bodies after death and sells the flesh to restaurants, dumping the remainder out of sight. This isn't an easy film to watch, but it certainly gets under the skin Produced by Rainer Werner Fassbinder (who also supplies a shifty cameo), Tenderness of the Wolves provided two of his regular actors with a means of expanding their careers. Ulli Lommel later responsible for the infamous video nasty The Boogeyman made his directorial debut, while Kurt Raab wrote the screenplay as well as delivering an astonishing performance as Haarmann.

• Sworn To Justice | DVD | (14/10/2002) from £16.75   |  Saving you £-10.76 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  After attackers inexplicably murder her sister and nephew psychologist Jenna (Rothrock) is in the dock as a defence witness by day and an avenging angel meteing out martial arts justice by night...

• The Thing (Double Pack Including Original) | DVD | (26/03/2012) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £22.99

  The Thing (1982)Horror-meister John Carpenter (Halloween, Escape from New York) teams Kurt Russell's outstanding performance with incredible visuals to build this chilling version of the classic The Thing. In the winter of 1982, a twelve-man research team at a remote Antarctic research station discovers an alien buried in the snow for over 100,000 years. Once unfrozen, the form-changing alien wreaks havoc, creates terror and becomes one of them.The Thing (2011)Paleontologist Kate Lloyd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) joins a Norwegian scientific team in Antarctica that has discovered an extraterrestrial ship buried in the ice, and an organism that seems to have died in the crash. When an experiment frees the alien, a shape-shifting creature with the ability to turn itself into a perfect replica of any living being, Kate must join the crew's pilot, Carter (Joel Edgerton), to keep it from killing them off one at a time. Paranoia soon spreads like an epidemic as they're infected, one by one, and a thrilling race for survival begins...The Thing is a prelude to John Carpenter's classic 1982 film of the same name.

• Scary Movie | Blu Ray | (18/04/2011) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  The sleeper hit of the summer in the US, this is an outrageous & funny spoof of the rash of recent teenage 'slasher' movies!

• The Blue Angel | DVD | (17/09/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Two things make it impossible to consign Josef von Sternberg's seedily atmospheric 1930 masterpiece The Blue Angel to the archives of museum land: it was the first film to put Marlene Dietrich in front of an international audience; and it features a towering performance from Emil Jannings as the professor whose fall from grace is precipitated by his obsession with Dietrich's archly vampish showgirl Lola-Lola. On both counts The Blue Angel remains a potent, vibrant work which still has moments of real relevance. Dietrich's performance is indeed hypnotic: von Sternberg lights her face and exposed flesh--shoulders and thighs--in a way that clearly indicates the erotic charge she generates among the men in the Blue Angel night club, and in Jennings in particular. Before our eyes his repressed, puritanical self-will disintegrates and his fate is sealed. The pivotal moment is, of course, when Dietrich teases her audience with "Falling in Love Again", her stockinged and suspendered legs astride a beer barrel, a top hat rakishly on her head. It would become the signature tune of her cabaret act in later years but here she delivers it with a far less studied, throwaway cheeriness; how, indeed, can it be her fault if men cluster around her like moths around a flame? This is the raw material on which an icon was built, but there is much else to fascinate in the film itself: you can still smell the pungent grim reality of a trouper's life on the road; and the professor's pathetic efforts to control his class of unruly boys still resonates today... this is an essential piece of film history. On the DVD: The Blue Angel is presented in its German and English-language versions, both restored and digitally remastered. As far as the sound quality is concerned this is of limited benefit since there is a great deal of distortion on both versions. But thanks to the picture restoration we can see how von Sternberg treats Dietrich: her face becomes a radiant, mocking pool of light always in contrast with the dark, grainy characters around her. The English version (in truth, only the Dietrich/Jannings scenes were shot in each language) is slightly pruned, missing a key scene in which the professor's repressed sensitivity is established at the very beginning. So despite some erratic sub-titling, the German version remains definitive. And it also reveals the worldliness of the original lyrics to Friedrich Hollander's classic songs: "I Was Made for Love from Head to Toe" suggests a rather more robust attitude than the vague whimsy of "Falling in Love Again." A final thought: releasing films of this importance on DVD surely creates an opportunity to put them in context by including documentary and factual resources, but this release has no extras of any kind. At the very least it cries out for an authoritative commentary. --Piers Ford