"Actor: Richard Ri"

• Death Drums Along The River | DVD | (14/04/2014) from £7.00   |  Saving you £5.99 (85.57%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Based on an Edgar Wallace’s novel ‘Death Drums along the River’ was made on location in Africa and contains some outstanding filming of both scenery and wildlife. While investigating the murder of a fellow police officer in the British West African colony of Gambia ex-patriot Inspector Harry Sanders (Richard Todd) discovers links to a sinister diamond smuggling operation working further up the River Gambia. The evidence points to a clinic run by Dr Schneider (Walter Rilla) and his assistant director Dr Weiss (Albert Lieven). At first Inspector Sanders suspects that a local businessman Jack Pearson is behind the crimes. But when Pearson together with American journalist Jim Hunter are murdered Sanders realises he was mistaken and begins to suspect that the clinic may be the centre of a diamond smuggling ring. Can the Inspector solve both the murder and the centre of the smuggling activity before the River resonates once more to the funeral beat of the ‘Death Drums’?

• Never Let Go | DVD | (07/10/2002) from £11.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Remembered dimly as Peter Sellers' only venture into "serious" acting, Never Let Go has a lot of other things to recommend it, mostly because it manages to include a lot of the lurid elements that gained it an X certificate in 1960. It has a near-demented melodrama plot, as two desperate obsessives collide in a bizarre feud. Richard Todd, doing meek and put-upon, is a sales rep for smug Peter Jones' cosmetics firm whose life is turned upside-down when his Ford Anglia, bought on hire purchase and uninsured, is stolen by teddy boy Adam Faith. Looking like an inhabitant of Royston Vasey in The League of Gentlemen, Sellers plays a grinning, jumped-up spiv who runs a legitimate garage which is a front for the car thieves and is sugar daddy to teenage tartlet Carol White. Typical of Sellers' demonic rottenness is a scene in which he breaks down-and-out Melvyn Johns' heart by stamping on his beloved terrapin. "Peanut" Todd's crusade to get back his motor (catchphrase "what about my car?") brings trouble too: he gets repeatedly beaten up, abandoned by his wife (Elizabeth Sellars) and dragged to the edge of madness for a final punch-up in a garage. With a delightfully sleazy, jazzy John Barry score, lots of local colour in the caffs and gaffs of criminal London circa 1960 and a parade of welcome character actors (John le Mesurier, David Lodge, Noel Willman, Nigel Stock), this has its soapy spells, but it's a fascinating relic. On the DVD: Never Let Go's menu plays under Faith's theme song ("When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again--Oh Yeah Oh Yeah!"). The print is slightly letterboxed but looks a few generations away from the master with some careless transfer work that greys shadows and overexposes some scenes. --Kim Newman

• Alvarez Kelly | DVD | (01/10/2001) from £6.78   |  Saving you £6.21 (91.59%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Alvarez Kelly (1966) doesn't really justify the description of "Western Classic" which Columbia Tristar attach to it, but it's a pleasant enough Western directed by Edward Dmytryk. The rather convoluted plot (adventurer plays one side off against the other on a cattle drive from Mexico during the Civil War) relies heavily on the charm of the two stars, William Holden and Richard Widmark, but the two prove as reliable as ever. There are some so-so action scenes, but it's the battle of wits between the two principals that supplies all the fireworks. By contrast Janice Rule is just adequate as the love interest. On the DVD: It's a good-looking DVD transfer, with a 1:2.35 aspect ratio and Dolby Digital sound. Subtitles are available in English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Dutch and Polish with dubbing into French, German, Italian and Spanish. For extras there are trailers and some filmographies, so partial as to be not much use. --Ed Buscombe

• Withnail and I + How to Get Ahead in Advertising | Blu Ray | (09/02/2015) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £22.99

  Camden Town the arse-end of the sixties. Two struggling unemployed actors decide some respite is in order and so depart their miserable flat for a week in the Lake District – one that will involve rain booze minimal supplies a randy bull and an even randier Uncle Monty. Based on the real-life experiences of former actor turned writer/director Bruce Robinson WITHNAIL and I has become one of British cinema’s most fondly remembered comedies. A cult film in the truest sense that has also become a classic. Perfectly cast – with career-defining roles for Richard E. Grant Paul McGann Richard Griffiths and Ralph Brown – and crammed with irresistibly quotable dialogue WITHNAIL and I is a sheer delight even on the umpteenth viewing.

• Lord Peter Wimsey - Gaudy Night | DVD | (10/03/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Edward Petherbridge stars as Lord Peter Wimsey in this classic adaptation of the novel by Dorothy L. Sayers. Harriet Vane is invited to return to Shrewsbury College but someone is terrorising the faculty and the students of the college by sending vicious anonymous letters.

• Whodunnit? - The Complete Series 2 | DVD | (13/08/2012) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Doctor Who star Jon Pertwee is your host in this highly popular, light-hearted panel game where viewers are invited to play detective - pitting their wits against a panel of celebrities to solve a fictitious murder mystery. The show's brilliantly original formula, devised by comedians Lance Percival and Jeremy Lloyd, presented short dramas laden with clues and red herrings to be pieced together by the celebrity panellists, who would then question the characters involved and finally point the finger at the most likely suspect. Lively repartee was the order of the day and joining Pertwee in this series is a veritable who's who of 1970s television: Richard O'Sullivan, Patrick Mower, Aimi Macdonald, Anthony Valentine, Harry H. Corbett, Arthur Mullard and Rodney Bewes join up with celebrities Jackie Collins, Henry Cooper and Kingsley Amis to track down "whodunnit".

• Lord Peter Wimsey - Strong Poison | DVD | (11/02/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Edward Petherbridge stars as the aristocratic detective Lord Peter Wimsey in this who-dun-nit from the pen of Dorothy L. Sayers. Mystery writer Harriet Vane is on trial for the murder of her lover. The evidence seems pretty conclusive. Not an hour after leaving her flat Philip Boyles was found dead in the back of a taxi cab - from arsenic posioning. Wimsey attends the trial and becomes beguiled by the writer. He also becomes convinced of her innocence of the crime. When the jury

• Shattering The Silence | DVD | (13/03/2006) from £4.91   |  Saving you £1.08 (22.00%)   |  RRP £5.99

  United in a strong loving marriage Veronica Ricci (Joanna Kerns Growing Pains) and her husband Ted (Michael Brandon Dempsey & Makepeace) feel their world is complete with the arrival of their first child. Their joy is short-lived when a chance remark by Veronica's father Malcolm triggers off a horrific suppressed memory from Veronica's childhood. Her mind filled with disturbed but confusing images Veronica begins to disintegrate mentally. Fearing her memories may

• The Muppets Six Pack DVD UK Boxset | DVD | (25/02/2013) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £39.99

  Disney's THE MUPPETS Complete 6 Movie Collection : The Muppets (2012) ; The Muppet Movie ; The Great Muppet Caper ; The Muppet Christmas Carol ; Muppet Treasure Island ; The Muppets Wizard of Oz. All in Fantastic Boxset (Individual Slimline cases) - Limited Release in UK (Region 2) in English.

• The Howards Of Virginia | DVD | (10/01/2005) from £8.08   |  Saving you £1.91 (19.10%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Available for the first time on DVD! Leading man Cary Grant plays Matt Howard a common man who gains employment as a surveyor through the help of Thomas Jefferson. Howard quickly falls head over heels for his wealthy employer's daughter Jane Peyton (Martha Scott). The couple appear to be set for happiness until Matt becomes involved in politics and the War of Independence arrives...

• The Spanish Prisoner | DVD | (30/06/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Joe Ross (Campbell Scott) is a man on the brink of something big. He has designed a process that will make his company millions and him a very wealthy man. Unnerved by a lack of commitment from his boss a chance meeting with a weathly jetsetter Dell (Steve Martin) causes him to further suspect the true intentions of his colleagues. But with such a money-spinning opportunity at stake is there anyone he can trust? Writer/director David Mamet's 'The Spanish Prisoner' is a film that

• The Lost World - Jurassic Park 2 | DVD | (08/01/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Director Steven Spielberg takes us back to the scene of Jurassic Park in The Lost World the blockbuster sequel with even more dinosaurs more action and more breathtaking visual effects than its record-breaking predecessor. This DVD edition contains exclusive interviews and rare behind-the-scenes footage. The Lost World remains among the most successful films of all time and features an all-star cast including Jeff Goldblum Julianne Moore and Pete Postlethwaite. It has been four years since the disaster at Jurassic Park and two groups are in a race against time that will determine the fate of the remote island's prehistoric inhabitants.

• Ben 10: Top Ten Alien Battles | DVD | (28/10/2019) from £4.65   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  While on a seemingly endless summer vacation with his Grandpa Max and Cousin Gwen, Ben Tennyson Discovers an alien watch the Omnitrix. This amazing device gives Ben the ability to transform into any one of ten spectacular and powerful alien heroes! Ben, Gwen and Max travel the country in their motor home, affectionately known as the Rust Bucket; Seeing the sights, sticking their foot in it, and beating down would-be vilains while generally having a blast! Blending fast-paced action with great comedic timing, the show is bursting to life with crisp graphics, bold colours and the powerful punch of 10 aliens. Includes episodes: Max to the Max ~ Villain Time ~ Riding the Storm Out ~ Something I Ate ~ Rustbucket RIP ~ Need for Speed ~ Animo Farm ~ Steam is the Word ~ Bon Voyage ~ Tomorrow Today

• Verdi: Il Trovatore -- Opera Australia | DVD | (05/06/2002) from £22.89   |  Saving you £2.10 (9.17%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Il Trovatore, Verdi's 1853 maelstrom of passion, infanticide, double-crossing and revenge, would be a mightily gamy affair if it didn't contain some of his finest arias, a cracker of a tenor's role and one of opera's most powerfully-written characters in the old gypsy woman, Azucena. Although Joan Sutherland, who plays the self-sacrificing lady-in-waiting Leonora in this 1983 Australia Opera production at Sydney Opera House, is the headline star, in truth the supreme assets of this recording are mezzo-soprano Lauris Elms' Azucena, a beautifully sung performance of haunted, wild-eyed sadness; and Sydney Nolan's wonderfully infernal sets, all purple and burnt ochre with suggestions of distorted faces. Sutherland came late to a part which allowed her to sing up a storm without taxing her rather stolid acting style. Her husband and musical director Richard Bonynge gives her the space to unleash some of Verdi's most fluidly opulent melodies--"D'amor sull'ali rosee" is a case in point--whose beauty is often at odds with the underlying horrors of the tale, based on a rather dodgy Spanish melodrama by Gutierrez. Sutherland has strong support from tenor Kenneth Collins as the doomed Manrico and Jonathan Summers as the vengeful Count. On the DVD: Il Trovatore on disc offers the inevitable shortcomings of a filmed for television performance: to the detriment of Nolan's designs (and the hard-pressed make-up team), the lighting doesn't translate well to video. Presented in 4:3 picture format, the quality is frequently murky. The PCM Stereo soundtrack also has its flat and fuzzy moments, particularly during chorus scenes ("Vedi! Le fosche notturne spoglie") when the orchestra drowns out the singing. But on the whole Sutherland et al sound great.--Piers Ford

• Jeanne La Pucelle - The Prisons | DVD | (24/08/2009) from £21.58   |  Saving you £-5.59 (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  The second part of Jacques Rivette's austere and magnificent epic masterpiece.

• Carry On Columbus (DVD) | DVD | (30/01/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  It is 1492 and the Sultan of Turkey controls overland trade from the Far East to Europe. Christopher Columbus looking to make his fortune persuades the King and Queen of Spain to finance an expedition to find a new sea route to India.

• Hollywood Musicals Of The 60's | DVD | (01/09/2000) from £6.76   |  Saving you £-0.77 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  The 60's were the last great decade for the American movie musical but it was also probably its best. With blockbusters like The Sound of Music West Side Story My fair Lady Mary Poppins Oliver! and Funny girl the artform reached its peak. Join us on a singing and dancing tour from the Austrian Alps to the vauderville halls of Brooklyn... from dancing in the streets of Spanish Harlem to the shores of River City... from the chimneys of Old London to the sound stages of Hollywoo

• Puckoon | DVD | (05/03/2007) from £24.90   |  Saving you £-11.91 (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  1924: the Boundary Commission is deciding on the new territorial line between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic... After months of haggling over every inch of territory the commissioners are forced to finish the job by hand after a bicycle incident destroys the surveyor's equipment. With all the participants holding down the pencil and much pushing and shoving the border finds its way down the middle of Puckoon dividing house from outhouse man from wife pub chairs from bar

• Rhapsody In August | DVD | (14/04/2000) from £15.93   |  Saving you £0.06 (0.40%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Japanese grand master Akira Kurosawa's eloquent examination of the nuclear holocaust in Nagasaki as seen though the eyes of a survivor and her four grandchildren 44 years after the event. The grandmother recalls the history of her family and Japanese society. As she searches for an understanding of the past she falls into despair over the loss of her husband in the blast as its anniversary draws near.

• The Flamingo Kid | DVD | (08/04/2002) from £14.98   |  Saving you £-8.99 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  As The Flamingo Kid amply demonstrates, there's always room for one more rites of passage film if it's made with care and affection. Garry Marshall's 1984 study of a young Brooklyn poker player who thinks the grass is greener at a Long Island beach club, nails the bad guy, realises he got it wrong and returns to the bosom of his "humble" family certainly satisfies on both counts. It also has a strong cast: Matt Dillon as Jeffrey, whose niggling aspirations create the inevitable barrier between himself and his parents; Richard Crenna as his prospective role model who turns out to have feet of clay; and Hector Elizondo as his bemused father. But Jessica Walter (Clint Eastwood's stalker from hell in Play Misty for Me) almost steals the show as an acid-tongued beach-club wife. If the whole thing lacks the depth and warmth of, say, Neil Simon's Brighton Beach Memoirs, it succeeds on its own merits as an homage to a more innocent time when a young man didn't need to stray far from his own tenement block in order to find himself, with the help of a suitably nostalgic early-1960s soundtrack of course. On the DVD: As far as extras go, this is a budget offering. There are detailed actor biographies but precious little on the film itself, apart from the snippet that Richard Crenna earned a Golden Globe award nomination. There is an adequate scene index and, for those who want to study Dillon in detail, a reasonable stills gallery. The picture is presented in standard format, and hardly distinguishable from ordinary VHS or telecast quality, but the stereo audio certainly helps pump out the period soundtrack. --Piers Ford