"Actor: Nicholas Wright"

• The Sound Of Music | DVD | (08/03/2004) from £5.36   |  Saving you £10.63 (198.32%)   |  RRP £15.99

  The most widely seen movie produced by a Hollywood studio, The Sound of Music grows fresher with each viewing. Though it was planned meticulously in pre-production (save for the scene where Maria and the children take a dipping in an Austrian lake that nearly cost a life), on each viewing one is struck anew by the spontaneous almost improvisatory air of the acting, notably of Julie Andrews under Robert Wise's direction. There are also the little human touches he brings to, for instance, the scene where Maria leads the children to the hills, over bridges and along tow paths where the smallest boy trips up and momentarily gets left behind: it creates a feeling that most of us have encountered. From the opening pre-credit sequence of muted excitement as the camera roves over the Austrian Alps (photographed in magnificent colour), where little phrases from the wind instruments on the soundtrack are flung as if on the breeze, foreshadowing the title song to follow, the production never puts a foot wrong. On the DVD: On the first disc the film itself has never looked or sounded better since its original presentation in Todd AO (prints of which are said to have disappeared forever). The disc also contains a separate audio guide that takes the viewer through the film sequence by sequence, with director Robert Wise commenting on the weather, the production design by Boris Leven, the sequences filmed on location and in Hollywood (like the interiors of the Von Trapp villa), and the naming of other actors who were eager for the lead roles, notably Doris Day and Yul Brynner. On the second disc there are the documentaries. "Salzburg Sight and Sound" was Charmian Carr's own record of her time on location in the summer of 1964, playing Liesl, the eldest Von Trapp daughter. "From Fact to Fiction", running two hours, begins with the birth of Maria in 1905 who inspired the film, charts her subsequent marriage to Captain Von Trapp, their escape from Nazi Germany not across the Alps but via a train across the Italian boarder, their home in Vermont and thence to the German film of the family that was brought to the attention of Rodgers and Hammerstein as an ideal vehicle for a stage musical. A second group of documentaries covers previews, television and radio commercials and a 1973 interview with Wise and Andrews. Overall, this is a marathon package but in its way is as compelling as the film itself. --Adrian Edwards

• Benny Hill:The Complete 70's Annual (Repackaged) | DVD | (01/11/2008) from £39.39   |  Saving you £20.60 (52.30%)   |  RRP £59.99

  For nearly four decades Benny Hill reigned supreme as the king of bawdy humour on British television. Of his body of work it is the shows that he did for Thames television in the 1970's for which he is best remembered with their combination of farce risque jokes and beautiful ladies. It is these shows that made him a global superstar - topping the ratings in the US also. With his 'three stooges': Henry McGee Bob Todd and Jack Wright Benny Hill produced a handful of 'specials' every year - all of which were critically acclaimed ratings toppers. This fantastic compendium brings together each of the annuals through out the '70's and is a must for any hardened fan of the great man.

• The Sound Of Music - 2 disc Special Edition | DVD | (09/04/2001) from £12.82   |  Saving you £7.17 (55.93%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The most widely seen movie produced by a Hollywood studio, The Sound of Music grows fresher with each viewing. Though it was planned meticulously in pre-production (save for the scene where Maria and the children take a dipping in an Austrian lake that nearly cost a life), on each viewing one is struck anew by the spontaneous almost improvisatory air of the acting, notably of Julie Andrews under Robert Wise's direction. There are also the little human touches he brings to, for instance, the scene where Maria leads the children to the hills, over bridges and along tow paths where the smallest boy trips up and momentarily gets left behind: it creates a feeling that most of us have encountered. From the opening pre-credit sequence of muted excitement as the camera roves over the Austrian Alps (photographed in magnificent colour), where little phrases from the wind instruments on the soundtrack are flung as if on the breeze, foreshadowing the title song to follow, the production never puts a foot wrong. On the DVD: On the first disc the film itself has never looked or sounded better since its original presentation in Todd AO (prints of which are said to have disappeared forever). The disc also contains a separate audio guide that takes the viewer through the film sequence by sequence, with director Robert Wise commenting on the weather, the production design by Boris Leven, the sequences filmed on location and in Hollywood (like the interiors of the Von Trapp villa), and the naming of other actors who were eager for the lead roles, notably Doris Day and Yul Brynner. On the second disc there are the documentaries. "Salzburg Sight and Sound" was Charmian Carr's own record of her time on location in the summer of 1964, playing Liesl, the eldest Von Trapp daughter. "From Fact to Fiction", running two hours, begins with the birth of Maria in 1905 who inspired the film, charts her subsequent marriage to Captain Von Trapp, their escape from Nazi Germany not across the Alps but via a train across the Italian boarder, their home in Vermont and thence to the German film of the family that was brought to the attention of Rodgers and Hammerstein as an ideal vehicle for a stage musical. A second group of documentaries covers previews, television and radio commercials and a 1973 interview with Wise and Andrews. Overall, this is a marathon package but in its way is as compelling as the film itself. --Adrian Edwards

• Charlotte Gray | DVD | (05/01/2004) from £5.58   |  Saving you £4.41 (79.03%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Set in Nazi-occupied France at the height of World War Two the story centres on a young Scottish woman (Cate Blanchett) working with the French Resistance in the hope of rescuing her lover, a missing RAF pilot shot down behind enemy lines.

• The Sound Of Music | DVD | (28/11/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Share the magical heartwarming true-life story that has become the most popular family film of all time - Rodgers and Hammerstein's The Sound Of Music. Julie Andrews lights up the screen as Maria the spirited young woman who leaves the convent to become governess to the seven children of Captain von Trapp an autocratic widower whose strict household rules leave no room for music or merriment. Winner of five Academy Awards including Best Picture this timeless cla

• Benny Hill - The Best Of Benny Hill | DVD | (24/09/2001) from £14.96   |  Saving you £-1.98 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Benny Hill was always best at quasi-silent slapstick, so it's no surprise that some of the best stuff on The Best of Benny Hill seems to owe more to the work of Mack Sennett and Fatty Arbuckle than to mainstream TV comedy. It may also be no coincidence that, unusually, this release began life in the cinema. There's some classic material on offer here: the extended opening item, "Hospital Care" for example, almost transcends buffoonery to become social comment, but best of all is the sketch which features Hill as a chat-show host (people really used to wear matching shirts and ties) attempting to deal with a West End star and starlet, the former monosyllabic, the latter catastrophically plastered. Among the 15 other items featured, the knowing send-up of the pretentiousness of avant-garde French cinema is also very funny, while the short linking items include a wicked parody of Alan Whicker and a sideswipe at barely literate actresses ("What's that in the road? A head?"). Fans will be pleased to know that Hill's regular supporting cast, including Patricia Hayes, Nicholas Parsons and Rita Webb, are all present. On the DVD: The Best of Benny Hill on DVD comes with full-frame picture as expected but no extras, which is a shame as at the very least some biographical material would have been welcome. --Roger Thomas

• The Bogey Man - Uncut | DVD | (22/09/2000) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The Bogey Man had been banned since 1982. The Bogey Man is the chilling story of concentrated evil and its gruesome effect on a small American farming community. The evil is so great that even exorcism cannot stop the blood-bath. As a young girl Lucy witnessed her brother murder her mother's lover. In an attempt to recover her psychological turmoil she later visits the house and finds the demons have not left.

• Down Will Come Baby | DVD | (22/09/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Leah Garr's (Meredith Baxter) life is fraught with tensions: a strained relationship with her husband and a young daughter Robin (Evan Rachel Wood) - who feels insecure and neglected. When a tragic accident devastates Robin it would seem that the Garr's new neighbour Dorothy (Diana Scarwid) is the answer to Leah's prayers - a kindly divorcee who's willing to act as companion and confidante to Robin while Leah pursues her career in a distant city...

• Thunderdome | DVD | (01/01/1980) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

• Sound of Music: 50th Anniversary Limited Edition Steelbook | Blu Ray | (02/03/2015) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Rodgers & Hammerstein's The Sound of Music Winner of five ACADEMY AWARDS® including Best Picture* with this 2-disc Blu-ray™ set that includes an all-new hour-long documentary detailing Julie Andrews' return visit to Salzburg where she filmed her iconic role as Maria half a century ago! *1965: Directing, Film Editing, Music, Best Picture, Sound Includes All-New 60-Minute Documentary The Sound of a City: Julie Andrews Returns to Salzburg and more!