"Actor: Neil Murray"

• Early Universal VOL. 1 (Masters of Cinema) 2-Disc Blu-ray Edition | Blu Ray | (13/09/2021) from £14.39   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present three early silent features from Universal Pictures, all fully restored as part of the studio's ongoing restoration program. Skinner's Dress Suit (dir. William A. Seiter, 1926) Reginald Denny stars as a shy clerk who asks his boss for a raise at the urging of his wife. His request is rejected, but he lies to his wife, who immediately goes out and buys an expensive suit, an act that upends his once-ordered life. (4K Restoration) The Shield of Honor (dir. Emory Johnson, 1927) The LAPD has a new method of fighting crime, the Air Police! Their newest recruit, young hotshot pilot Jack MacDowell (Neil Hamilton), is tasked with catching a gang of jewellery thieves. (2K Restoration) (Worldwide Debut on Blu-ray) The Shakedown (dir. William Wyler, 1929) Dave Roberts (James Murray) is a fighter better known for taking falls in fixed fights than for taking home the prize money. But then he falls head-over-heels for a fiery waitress (Barbara Kent) and a rough-and-tumble orphan (Jack Hanlon), and he begins to dramatically alter his life inside and outside of the ring. (4K Restoration) Special Features: Limited Edition O-Card Slipcase 1080p presentation on Blu-ray from restorations undertaken by Universal Pictures (Skinner's Dress Suit and The Shakedown restored in 4K, The Shield of Honor restored in 2K) Skinner's Dress Suit score by Leo Birenberg The Shield of Honor score by Alex Kovacs The Shakedown score by Michael Gatt Audio Commentary tracks on all three features A collection of additional materials from the early era of Universal Pictures, with complimentary analysis by silent film experts and historians PLUS: A Collector's Booklet featuring new writing on the films included in this set * All extras subject to change

• The Rutles - All You Need Is Cash | DVD | (25/04/2005) from £16.92   |  Saving you £-10.93 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  First screened on BBC2 in 1978, at a time when the standing of The Beatles was at its lowest, The Rutles--All You Need is Cash is the original and (pace This is Spinal Tap) best "rockumentary" spoof. Codirector Eric Idle was then enjoying success with Rutland Weekend Television, while his script displays the same feeling for the inane non-sequitur evident in his Monty Python work. The band's progress from "penniless, untalented nobodies" to "rich, untalented somebodies" is vividly brought to life--with dialogue adapted from actual Beatles interviews and newsreels, and a roster of songs sounding uncannily close to Beatles originals thanks to "Nasty" Neil Innes' genius for pastiche. Interviews with a suitably primed Mick Jagger and Paul Simon give added realism, as do cameos from George Harrison (one-time Beach Boy Rikki Fataar plays his Rutles double Stig) and Stones guitarist Ron Wood. Dan Ackroyd and John Belushi make characterful, pre-Blues Brothers appearances. On the DVD: The Rutles--All You Need is Cash has come up well in this DVD transfer. The fullscreen 4:3 ratio picture and mono sound wear their age well, enhanced by the extra scenes included. There's further interview material with Jagger and Simon, and a specially recorded, though wholly unfunny, DVD introduction from Idle, who also contributes a running commentary. All in all, this is an ideal way to get to know, or renew acquaintance with, a film that brings the swinging 60s back down to earth. --Richard Whitehouse

• The Rutles - All You Need Is Cash | DVD | (21/01/2002) from £20.00   |  Saving you £-4.01 (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Originally hatched in 1978 as a short film parody, The Rutles was later expanded into a 70-minute mockumentary about a trend-setting quartet of British mop-tops and became one of Eric Idle's better projects outside Monty Python. Taking the career (and hagiography) of The Beatles and inverting them quite nicely, Idle conjures up four doppelgangers who offer the familiar mannerisms but practically none of the intelligence of their models. If that sounds like the same gag that powered This is Spinal Tap (which emerged six years later), it is, with the crucial difference that Idle's lampoon is precise where Tap was consciously generic. In telling the saga of the Rutles, Idle (who doubles as earnest narrator and McCartney-esque Rutle Dirk McQuigley) works from a rich and immediately familiar trove of pop lore, and he has a ball revisiting and reinventing milestones from the Fab Four's fabled history. The attention to period detail helps elevate the gags further, but Idle's real secret weapon is Neil Innes, standing in as Ron Nasty, the Rutles' answer to John Lennon: it's Innes who serves as the musical architect for the wonderful Beatles parodies that give All You Need is Cash a delicious kick, and Innes--a one-time principal in the legendary Bonzo Dog Band--is gifted enough to capture the band's lyricism and energy as well as their shifting sense of style. With the blessing and on-camera participation of George Harrison, and wry cameos from Mick Jagger and Paul Simon, All You Need is Cash is a perfect companion to the Beatles' own glorious screen comedies and a great antidote to sanctimonious pop documentaries. --Sam Sutherland, Amazon.com

• Body Melt | DVD | (04/03/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Injected with an experimental drug the research chemist Ryan leaves a mysterious rural health farm and drives to the outer city suburb of Homesville. As Ryan's body starts to deteriorate and his driving becomes more erratic a cruising police car starts to chase him. Charging towards a group of houses in Pebble Court Ryan leaves a cryptic message on his dicataphone: 'The first phase is hallucination. The second phase is glandular. The third phase is...' Before he can finish the sent

• The Black Sabbath Story - Vol. 2 - 1978-1992 | DVD | (26/08/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  This second instalment in The Black Sabbath Story covers the period between 1978 and 1992. These were the wilderness years after founding vocalist Ozzy Osbourne left the group and it often seemed as though Sabbath had fitted their tour bus with a revolving door--by 1986, guitarist Tony Iommi was the only founder member left in the group. Five different vocalists are featured in this programme: Ronnie James Dio (ex-Rainbow), Ian Gillan (ex-Deep Purple), Glenn Hughes, Geoff Nicholls and Tony Martin. The nine promo videos collected here are representatives of an era that all but the most die-hard of Sabbath fans have tried to forget. It is an ignominy that is richly merited. The kindest thing that can be said of this collection of awful 80s hair-metal soundtracking dreadful black-and-white videos of men with haircuts that not even German football players would be caught dead with is that it's an interesting period piece. On the DVD: The Black Sabbath Story is presented in widescreen. Sound is available in Dolby 5.1 Surround or Dolby Digital. The menu of extras is badly laid out, but includes a gallery of Sabbath albums and further interviews with band members--including an extraordinary and hilarious reminiscence from Ian Gillan, which confirms that that Black Sabbath's reality was far more preposterous than any of the satirical conceits offered by This Is Spinal Tap.--Andrew Mueller

• Whitesnake - Rock Milestones | DVD | (03/12/2007) from £9.80   |  Saving you £3.45 (40.40%)   |  RRP £11.99

  30 years on from their inception David Coverdale's Whitesnake are still going strong! With some of the best performances from an explosive career this must have DVD also includes a wealth of rare interviews with Coverdale bassist Neil Murray archive footage of Deep Purple and a crack team of experts adding their industry insights.