"Actor: Mario"

• Verdi: Falstaff | DVD | (06/03/2006) from £26.89   |  Saving you £-1.90 (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  This 1956 Falstaff from Radiotelevisione Italiana is one of the finest of the many studio productions that RAI presented in the 1950s. In addition to the presence of the legendary maestro Tullio Serafin there is the elegant physical production and brilliant staging by the renowned opera director Herbert Graf. the top-notch cast includes a number of singers particularly associated with this opera. Anna Moffo scored many of her early successes as Nannetta often opposite Luigi Alva's Fenton. Just a month after appearing in this production the two joined the cast of the studio recording of Falstaff under Karajan also featuring Fedora Barbieri as Mrs Quickly. Giuseppe Taddei Rosanna Carteri and Anna Maria Canali had also taken part in a 1949 Cetra recording of the opera. Taddei Rosanna Carteri and Anna Maria Canali had also taken part in a 1949 Cetra recording of the opera. Taddei who made a specialty of the title role began his long career in the mid-1930s.

• Turbo | Blu Ray | (05/05/2014) from £13.93   |  Saving you £16.06 (115.29%)   |  RRP £29.99

  From the makers of Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda Turbo is a high-velocity 3D comedy about a snail who dares to dream big - and fast. After a freak accident infuses him with the power of super-speed Turbo kicks into overdrive and embarks on an extraordinary journey to achieve the seemingly impossible: competing in the world's fastest race the Indianapolis 500. With the help of his tricked-out streetwise snail crew this ultimate underdog puts his heart and shell on the line to prove that no dream is too big and no dreamer too small.

• Saved By The Bell - 3 Classic Episodes / Hawaiian Style / Wedding In Las Vegas | DVD | (06/09/2004) from £25.00   |  Saving you £-12.01 (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Saved by The Bell is back with this exclusive three-disc DVD collection of all the very best moments from Bayside High. 'Classic Episodes' Collection Includes the first ever episode when Slater and Zack battle it out to be Kelly's dance partner in a national competition. Then comes Graduation Day when Zack is forced to join the ballet class and the College Years when Kelly plans to get hitched. But it all seems hopeless until a familiar face turns up and that's when the fun rea

• Puccini: Tosca -- 1976 film version | DVD | (15/10/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Opera is an inherently theatrical medium that does not lend itself readily to the realism of film treatment. The shining exception is Puccini's Tosca, an action-packed melodrama that unfolds in three taut and gripping acts, like the meatiest of Hollywood films noir. And unlike most operas, these three acts are set in three very specific Roman locales. Thus this 1976 film takes place in the church of Sant'Andrea della Valle (Act 1), the Palazzo Farnese (Act 2) and the Castel Sant'Angelo (Act 3). The evocative settings, however, would be mere window-dressing if the cast wasn't just right; fortunately here Placido Domingo is at his virile peak in the heroic tenor role of Cavaradossi; Raina Kabaivanska is a sultry, vocally beautiful Tosca; while a more infamous and domineering Scarpia than that of Sherrill Milnes can hardly be imagined. Bruno Bartoletti and the New Philharmonia Orchestra give lustily dramatic support. Here the music and vocals are pre-recorded and the singers mime to the playback. Occasionally the result is a little unnatural, but overall the cast are good enough actors to bring off the conceit even in the close-ups. It all pays off triumphantly with the gripping realism of the rooftop finale, the one place where film can improve on stage. With the authenticity of the settings assured and such distinguished leads singing so well, this is an almost ideal filmed Tosca. On the DVD: Tosca on disc is presented in 4:3 ratio with a choice of Dolby 5.1 or LPCM Stereo. The picture is adequate but a little flat (possibly because the format is NTSC not PAL) and the same can be said for the sound, which does what it should but is never revelatory. Subtitles are provided in the main European languages and Chinese. --Mark Walker

• Blowback | DVD | (07/06/2004) from £12.99   |  Saving you £-7.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  The terror has never been so intense in the most twisted tale since Seven! When Inspector Don Morell (Mario Van Peebles Highlander III New Jack City) witnesses the state execution of serial killer Claude Whitman (James Remar Mortal Kombat: The Annihilation) he thinks he can finally close the case that has almost destroyed his marriage sanity and life. But when former jury members begin to be brutally murdered one by one Morell recognises Whitman in the cryptic Biblical messages at the crime scenes. Could he be back to fulfill his demonic agenda? Don't miss a second!

• You're My Hero | DVD | (21/02/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The odds were stacked against Ramn from the start. He was always an outsider and to keep himself sane he lived by a strict mantra: don't fight don't snitch and don't cry. When his family settles in Seville Ramn becomes victim to the unwanted attention of the school's most notorious crowd. Backed against a wall he is forced to break the first rule of his mantra. This sets in full swing a chain of events that opens Ramn's eyes to an entirely new world. In the throes of adoles

• Ridi Pagliaccio (Gigli) | DVD | (28/02/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £22.99

  Paul Horbiger movingly portrays the real-life Canio on whom the opera was based. In the opera's premiere Gigli is the Canio. The express the drama he colours his voice far more than any other Canio on film or record.The music in the film breathes beautifully presumably thanks to the conducting of the legendary Luigi Ricci. This is a rare recorded example of his work. (He is remembered as a coach to Gigli Olivero and others and was a composer in his own right).

• Eagle Silver Fox | DVD | (20/09/2004) from £13.48   |  Saving you £-3.49 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  After the collapse of the Manchu Dynasty the surviving officials plan to restore order across China. One of these men Silver Fox (Hwang Jang Lee the villian from 'Drunken Master') hires the best fighters in the country to assasinate those who were responsible for the revolution and destroy all kung fu schools. To combat this menace the various schools band together and nominate Chow Fung master of the Eagle style to face the might of the Silver fox in a one-on-one bone breaking

• Giallo | DVD | (04/07/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  A triple bill of stylish 'Giallo' thrillers from Italian maestro Dario Argento: The Bird With The Crystal Plumage (1970) The Cat o' Nine Tails (1971) and Phenomena (1984). The Bird With The Crystal Plumage : An American writer (Tony Musante - Toma TV series) travelling in Rome is the only witness to an attempted murder by a sinister man in a raincoat and black leather gloves though he is powerless to do anything to stop him. With a feeling that something is not quite right about the scene he has witnessed and the police's inability to make any progress he launches his own personal investigation - and nearly loses his life in the process. While this modern day Jack-the-Ripper type is slithering through the dark byways of Rome slicing up pretty girls director Dario Argento is carving up the emotions of terrified viewers. Dark deeds are mixed with black comedy worthy of Hitchcock in a film of almost unbearable tension and nail-biting suspense. Cat O'Nine Tales: The second movie directed by Dario Argento. With the screenplay by Dardano Sachetti and score by Ennio Morricone Cat O'Nine Tails is a haunting and suspensful thriller in the classic giallo tradition. The story begins when a blind puzzle maker (Karl Malden) overhears a conversation shortly before a robbery is committed at a genetics institute. When he teams up with a journalist (Franciscus) intent on solving the crime they uncover a trail off murders linked to the institute. Can they discover the murderer's identity before it is too late? Phenomena: Young Jennifer Corvino (Jennifer Connelly) is sent to study at an exclusive boarding school in Switzerland. A psychopathic killer is at large and has already murdered one of the academy's students. Jennifer sleepwalks and has a strange empathic relationship with insects. One day she befriends local entomologist Dr. McGregor (Donald Pleasance) who has been helping the police in their murder investigation with his knowledge of insects. McGregor encourages her to use her gift to track down the killer bu this places her in mortal danger...

• Bangkok Assassins | DVD | (24/02/2014) from £6.99   |  Saving you £9.00 (128.76%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Kidnapped and forced into a life on the harsh streets of Bangkok, four youths are mentored by a skilled Shaolin Master. Learning the ancient secrets of kung fu they become a force to be reckoned with.

• Children Of The Night | DVD | (19/03/2012) from £4.99   |  Saving you £-3.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £1.99

  Based on actual events, Children Of The Night sees Kathleen Quinlan as a sociology student who when studyingcrimes committed by women discovers the plight of teenage prostitutes.

• Crazy Six | DVD | (17/06/2002) from £20.98   |  Saving you £-12.99 (-162.60%)   |  RRP £7.99

  The Eastern Bloc has fallen and Communism is dead. In its place has come new opportunity but not without a deadly price. Powerful Mafia families have emerged from the anarchy to vie for control of the lucrative underground weapons and technology trade. Crazy Six (Rob Lowe) and Dirty Mao (Mario Van Peebles) are the leaders of two rivalling mob families who agree to form an uneasy alliance in order to overthrow Raul (Ice-T) the leader of one of the largest crime cartels in Europe. But when the mission goes awry the place turns into a deadly battleground with three world-class gangsters fighting each other to the death.

• Cronos | DVD | (28/10/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  A strange object the Cronos device has been found inside the statue of an angel in an antique store. While the dealer Jesus Gris is holding the device it springs open and its metallic legs pierces his flesh. Once bitten he develops a craving for human blood and his body grows more and more youthful with each drink. As the addiction spreads through his body he realizes he desires the blood of his innocent granddaughter. In horror he sacrifices himself and destroys the Cronos for love. Cannes Festival Critics' Week Winner.

• Raw Nerve | DVD | (11/02/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Good and evil collide in this high-stakes game of survival! Mario Van Peebles and Nicollette Sheridan lead this action-packed thriller where nothing is as it seems. Van Peebles plays Blair a hard-edged cop who crosses the line just once too often. Now with a shady business deal heading south Blair stands ready to be exposed by Internal Affairs. Sheridan plays his lover Izabel. Once enamored by Blair's strength Izabel is beginning to see him for the ruthless and self-destructive man he really is. With time running out Blair decides to take any chance and risk any life to cover up his underhanded dealings. But with Izabel's loyalty now in question the battle takes a sinister turn as lovers become pitted against each other.

• Bach - the Cello Suites (Rostropovich) | DVD | (02/02/2004) from £20.00   |  Saving you £-0.01 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Bach Cello Suites - Rostropovich

• Beyond Evil | DVD | (12/07/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  When an architect and his wife move into a house with a bloody past a 100 year old ghost possesses the wife!

• Solo | DVD | (01/10/1999) from £12.96   |  Saving you £10.02 (100.50%)   |  RRP £19.99

  There is a hint, albeit a very brief one, of James Whale's classic 1931 Frankenstein in this low-budget movie about a robot soldier, Solo (Mario Van Peebles), created by the Pentagon to be the perfect, unfeeling fighting machine. When Solo is sent into Central American jungles to battle guerrillas, a flaw in his program emerges when it is discovered that he has compassion and a conscience. Fleeing his keepers, the robot becomes part of a jungle village after its inhabitants get over the need to run from him (this is where the Frankenstein parallel comes in). The film isn't particularly clever, just noisy and ugly, and one can't help but think of it as a knock-off of The Terminator. Van Peebles doesn't seem the ideal choice for an action hero along the lines of Arnold Schwarzenegger or Kurt Russell--who do this kind of thing well--but then again this is straight-to-video fodder. --Tom Keogh

• Judgement Day | DVD | (13/12/1999) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  In the depths of space a giant meteor collides with an asteroid sending a deadly shower of fragments towards Earth. After a small piece makes impact eliminating everything around it the United States Airforce observes that the worse is yet to come - a 14 mile long fragment powerful enough to destroy all life on Earth. Determining that their own 'Spaceguard' is not up to the job the military turns to Dr. David Corbett - inventor of 'Thor' an explosive device capable of eliminating the meteor. But deranged religious leader Thomas Payne has another plan. Kidnapping Corbett so that Thor cannot be used. Payne and his cult believe that the world is fated for the impending doom.

• A Crack In The Floor | DVD | (22/10/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  The continuing popularity of horror spoofs has created an opportunity for low-quality slashers such as A Crack In the Floor to pass themselves off as humorous. The story follows axe-wielding psychotic hermit Jeremiah who meets a bunch of fresh-faced young hikers and the movie employs every trick in the genre's book but still fails to rise itself above cheap exploitation (best indicated by the tasteless rape of Jeremiah's mother that prefaces the action). Brazenly claiming to feature Tracy Scoggins and Gary Busey--who in reality appear for about five minutes each--the film features young unknowns, the most high profile being Saved By the Bell's Mario Lopez. Which is fitting really because the film, with its mix of teen enthusiasm, redneck stereotypes and crass violence, is little more than that show meets The Dukes of Hazzard meets Deliverance meets Friday the 13th. Recommended for connoisseurs of everything gory and tacky but no-one else. On the DVD: The DVD manages to keep the quality set so spectacularly by the film itself--featuring an appalling trailer, a reprint of the information on the disc's box, biographies of the handful of established actors who make the briefest of cameos and trailers for some equally naff TV movies. Not what DVD was invented for. --Phil Udell

• A Genius, Two Partners And A Dupe | DVD | (07/04/2003) from £9.98   |  Saving you £10.01 (100.30%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Produced by Sergio Leone (and considered by many the missing link in Leone's career) Genius features Terence Hill and a barnstorming performance from McGoohan plus a bizarre cameo from Klaus Kinski. In one of the last major productions of the 70s boom in Italian Westerns Hill plays freewheeling con-artist Joe Thanks in this semi-sequel to the hugely succesful 'My Name is Nobody' up against crooked cavalry officer Major Cabot (McGoohan) who is planning an Indian massacre in orde