"Actor: Larry Bla"

• Sunset Boulevard | DVD | (07/04/2003) from £5.99   |  Saving you £10.00 (166.94%)   |  RRP £15.99

  More than half a century after its release in 1950, Sunset Boulevard is still the most pungently unflattering portrait of Hollywood ever committed to celluloid. Billy Wilder, unequalled at combining a literate, sulphurous script with taut direction, hits his target relentlessly. The humour--and the film is rich in this, Wilder's most abundant commodity--is black indeed. Sunset Boulevard is viciously and endlessly clever. William Holden's opportunistic scriptwriter Joe Gillis, whose sellout proves fatal, is from the top drawer of film noir. Gloria Swanson's monstrously deluded Norma Desmond, the benchmark for washed-up divas, transcends parody. And her literal descent down the staircase to madness is one of the all-time great silver-screen moments. Sunset Boulevard isn't without pathos, most notably in Erich von Stroheim's protective butler who wants only to shield his mistress from the stark truths that are massing against her. But its view of human beings at work in a ruthlessly cannibalistic industry is bleak indeed. Nobody, not even Nancy Olson's sparkily ambitious writer Betty Schaefer, is untainted. And neither are we, "those wonderful people out there in the dark". Norma might be ready for her close-up, but it's really Hollywood that's in the frame. No wonder Wilder incurred the charge of treachery from his peers. It's cinematic perfection. On the DVD: Sunset Boulevard lends itself effortlessly to a collector's edition of this quality. The film itself is presented in full-frame aspect ratio from an excellent print and the quality of the mono soundtrack is faultless: the silver screen comes to life in your living room. The extras are superb, including a commentary from film historian Ed Sikov and a making-of documentary which includes the memories of Nancy Olson. Interactive features such as the Hollywood location map add to the fun. --Piers Ford

• Earth vs The Flying Saucers | DVD | (14/10/2002) from £14.49   |  Saving you £-1.50 (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Notable neither for its director nor its stars, Earth vs the Flying Saucers has been given the widescreen DVD treatment rather because of its special-effects man, the legendary Ray Harryhausen. A Twilight Zone styled voiceover introduces Dr Marvin Russell and his wife of two hours as they're buzzed by an overhead flying saucer--the first of many. When a translation device reveals the saucer-occupants' fiendish plan to take over the world, it's time for a good old army-alien punch-up. Cue screenfuls of avuncular patriarchs, loads of techno-flannel space-speak and plenty of gratuitous American-monument destruction. A by-numbers B-movie, this is only really notable for Harryhausen's stop-motion FX work--and though this, his fifth feature, isn't a patch on his later Technicolor masterpieces, his trick of demolishing facsimiles of recognisable landmarks is cited by many premier filmmakers as being hugely influential on their work. This is very much of its time, the saucer-people arousing few of the thrills engendered by his later creations (Sinbad's Cyclops, for example). And with Cold War fears now just a memory, the Ruskies, or rather aliens, can no longer prevail upon a zeitgeist of xenophobic paranoia for their power. On the DVD: Earth vs the Flying Saucers's black-and-white picture is clean and crisp in this anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen transfer and the Dolby digital mono soundtrack is clear enough. The theatrical trailer will please fans of kitsch, as will the featurette "This Is Dynamation" produced at the same time as the first Sinbad movie. The real corker here though is the generously proportioned documentary "The Harryhausen Chronicles": narrated by Leonard Nimoy, it features a stellar cast of devotees (George Lucas among them) waxing lyrical about the influence of Harryhausen's films, and allows the man himself to ramble fascinatingly over clips of his filmic canon. If you're a fan, it's Harryhausen heaven. --Paul Eisinger

• 3 Classic Sci-Fi Films Of The Silver Screen - Missile To The Moon / Earth Vs The Flying Saucers / Planet Outlaws | DVD | (04/04/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £4.99

  Missile to the Moon: An expedition to the moon arrives to find a sinister female presiding over a race of moon-women. A remake of 'Cat Women of the Moon'. Earth Vs The Flying Saucers: Aliens travel to Earth to seek help for their dying planet. However when they arrive at a U.S Army base the Army mistakenly greet them with gunfire... Planet Outlaws (aka Destination Saturn): The re-edited version of the 1939 Universal serial 'Buck Rogers'. Buck and his comrade Buddy are released from suspended animation after 500 years on ice. The world which they once knew is now under the control of Killer Kane a terrifying mobster. Needless to say the duo quickly get onboard a plan to take down the criminal mastermind and his band of futuristic assasins.

• Cold War Creatures: Four Films from Sam Katzman Limited Edition | Blu Ray | (13/09/2021) from £54.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Zombies! Werewolves! Atomic Mutation! Intergalactic Avians! Let this quartet of classic terrors take you back to the golden age of B-Movie Monsters! A mob boss hires an ex-Nazi scientist to reanimate his dead thugs in Creature with the Atom Brain. An auto-accident survivor is used as an experimental subject to create a vaccine for nuclear fall-out with hair-raising side-effects in The Werewolf. Treasure hunters get more than they bargained for in the search for a cargo of diamonds that went down with a sunken ship when they discover the zombified crew members are guarding the loot in Zombies of Mora Tau. Meanwhile, an enormous bird from outer-space descends to chow down on the people of planet Earth in The Giant Claw! Four fantastic feature presentations from prolific producer Sam Katzman with a bounty of brand new extras and a raft of new writing by a range of respected raconteurs. These Cold War Creatures are coming for you! Special Features: High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentations of all 4 films Original uncompressed mono audio for all films Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing Fully illustrated 60-page collector's book featuring extensive new writing by Laura Drazin Boyes, Neil Mitchell, Barry Forshaw, Jon Towlson and Jackson Cooper 80-page collector's art book featuring reproduction stills and artwork from each film and new writing by historian and critic Stephen R. Bissette 2 double-sided posters featuring newly commissioned artwork by Matt Griffin Reversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork for each film by Matt Griffin Disc 1 - Create with the Atom Brain Brand-new introduction by historian and critic Kim Newman Brand-new audio commentary by critic Russell Dyball Sam Katzman: Before and Beyond the Cold War Creatures, a brand-new feature-length illustrated presentation on the life, career and films of Sam Katzman by historian and critic Stephen R. Bissette Condensed Super 8mm version of Creature with the Atom Brain, produced for home cinema viewing Theatrical Trailer Image Gallery Disc 2 - The Werewolf Brand-new introduction by critic Kim Newman Brand-new audio commentary by critic Lee Gambin Beyond Window Dressing, a brand-new visual essay exploring the oft-overlooked role of women in the films of Sam Katzman by historian and critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas Condensed Super 8mm version of The Werewolf, produced for home cinema viewing Theatrical Trailer Image Gallery Disc 3 - The Zombies of Mora Tau Brand-new introduction by critic Kim Newman Brand-new audio commentary by critic Kat Ellinger Atomic Terror: Genre in Transformation, a brand-new visual essay exploring the intersection of mythical horror creatures and the rational world of science in the films of Sam Katzman by critic Josh Hurtado. Theatrical Trailer Image Gallery Disc 4 - The Giant Claw Brand-new introduction by critic Kim Newman Brand-new audio commentary by critics Emma Westwood and Cerise Howard Family Endangered!, a brand-new visual essay examining the theme of Cold War paranoia in Sam Katzman monster movies, by critic Mike White Condensed Super 8mm version of The Giant Claw, produced for home cinema viewing. Theatrical Trailer Image Gallery

• The Lost Skeleton Returns Again | DVD | (04/04/2011) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £4.99

  Larry Blamire's sequel to his 2001 B-movie pastiche 'The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra'. When the mysterious but extremely valuable radioactive element Geranium-90 is discovered in the Valley of the Monsters in the Amazon jungle a race ensues between the US government rival scientists bickering alien couple Lattis (Susan McConnel) and Kro-Bar (Andrew Parks) and sultry humanoid Animala (Jennifer Blaire) as they all vie to get their hands on the coveted mineral.

• The Persuaders - Complete | DVD | (07/10/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £69.99

  Between heroic spells as the Saint and James Bond, Roger Moore was teamed with Tony Curtis in The Persuaders, a derivative but fun series about a couple of millionaire dilettante adventurers who swan around the world competing for the attention of beautiful women and getting involved in perplexing mysteries. Moore is Lord Brett Sinclair, an upper crust Brit of impeccable breeding, while Curtis is Danny Wilde, an up-from-the-streets self-made man whose trademark is a pair of brown gloves. The allegedly tasteful Brett and the crasser Danny both model a succession of garish early 70s fashions while their pursuits of duplicitous crumpet usually wind up with the women getting away and the heroes stuck with each other. Given all that, this may well be the most blatantly homoerotic of all the buddy television pairings (see the eponymous stars of Starsky and Hutch, Regan and Carter in The Sweeney, Bodie and Doyle of The Professionals) that ran ove! r the screen in the 70s, in which the male leads sublimated their feelings for each other by pulling out their guns and shooting at baddies. --Kim Newman

• Spree | DVD | (01/12/2009) from £8.98   |  Saving you £3.00 (42.92%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Jackie flees her abusive husband loses her children and turns to crime in an attempt to get them back. Imprisoned she learns her husband has regained custody. Love for the children and need for revenge pushes her to the limits.

• Lucky Luciano | DVD | (21/05/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  In 1946 the famous gangster Charles 'Lucky' Luciano is deported to his native Italy. Luciano has just finished serving nine years in jail, and returns to Naples to instigate deals with other mobsters. Unknown to Lucky, his long-time nemesis, a former federal narcotics agent, continues to gather evidence in order to testify against him and put him away forever...

• Ernest Scared Stupid | DVD | (06/03/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99