"Actor: Richard Vernon"

• Class Act - The Complete Series | DVD | (02/08/2010) from £13.79   |  Saving you £16.20 (117.48%)   |  RRP £29.99

  Joanna Lumley stars in this pacy racy comedy drama penned by BAFTA winner Michael Aitkins and produced by Verity Lambert; Ian McNeice Dennis Waterman Elizabeth Spriggs Keith Allen and Celia Imrie are among a host of guest stars. Attracting over ten million viewers Class Act ran for two hit seasons in 1994 and 1995 and the complete series is available here for the very first time on DVD. The aristocratic Kate Swift has been left in trouble and in debt by her wide-boy husband Duncan; having vanished while under investigation for fraud he has also left Kate to carry the can. When journalist and key witness Jack Booker implicates her in the crime Kate is imprisoned for six months. On her release she is broke angry and determined to find her husband. Ready for anything she forms an unlikely alliance with Booker an alcoholic card-carrying coward and former inmate Gloria O'Grady a young Australian woman with a special talent for burglary. Wit instinct theft and sex become the dubious tools of their trade as they try to stay out of the red... and out of jail.

• The Morecambe And Wise Movie Collection | DVD | (20/05/2002) from £24.95   |  Saving you £0.04 (0.16%)   |  RRP £24.99

  The Morecambe & Wise Collection brings together the total cinematic oeuvre of Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise: The Intelligence Men (1965), That Riviera Touch (1966) and The Magnificent Two (1967). Though intermittently amusing, they serve mostly to confirm that Morecambe & Wise did the smart thing in devoting the majority of their career to television sketch show. Their comedy was most potent in small doses. The Intelligence Men is an obvious but likeable parody of the early Bond films and sets the pattern for all three films: Eric and Ernie as two well-meaning blunderers cast into an unfamiliar milieu (in this case, international espionage) and forced to survive armed with little more than a repertoire of wince-inducing puns. That Riviera Touch is an obvious but likeable parody of the heist genre. Again, Eric and Ernie are cast as hapless ingénues, in this case a pair of traffic wardens whose holiday in France intersects with the plottings of a gang of jewel thieves. If anything, it’s even more contrived than that sounds, but the scenes in which Eric cleans out the casino by accident are wonderfully understated, and a reminder of a peerless comic actor. The Magnificent Two, the final and by some distance the least funny of the three, is an updated though rather laboured subversion of the Spaghetti Western, relying rather too much on the notion that anything and everything to do with foreigners is inherently hilarious. On the DVD: The Morecambe & Wise Collection has English subtitles for all three discs and all include the original cinematic trailer. That Riviera Touch is presented in 4:3 format, the remaining two in 16:9. As special features go, these are annoyingly desultory for a release that will certainly only be purchased by die-hard fans. It wouldn’t have killed the producers to commission some liner notes at the very least.--Andrew Mueller

• Tomb Of Ligeia | DVD | (17/10/2005) from £14.90   |  Saving you £-1.91 (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Cat or woman or a thing too evil to mention? Roger Corman and Vincent Price hook up for yet more horror in Edgar Allan Poe's most terrifying tale of passion possession and PURR-fect evil! When a dead wife sinks her claws into immortality - and comes back as a ferocious feline - she leads her husband's (Price) new bride on a deadly game of cat and mouse. And when the fur starts flying she soon learns that even in death... she can land on her feet!

• Duchess Of Duke Street, The Series 1 - Part 1 | DVD | (07/04/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Gemma Jones stars as Louisa Trotter a cook for the upperclass at a fancy hotel. Very similar in style to 'Upstairs Downstairs' this classic British TV series first aired in 1976.

• Paradise Postponed | DVD | (08/08/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £59.99

  Written by barrister and playwright Sir John Mortimer Paradise Postponed takes in all of the upheavals of post-war British society. Why does the left-wing cleric Rev. Simeon Simcox leave the Simcox brewery millions to the morally loathsome Leslie 'The Toad' Titmuss? Titmuss is a city developer and Conservative cabinet minister who has wheeled and dealed his way through life. Simeon's sons set out to unravel the truth behind the will. Episodes comprise: 1. Death Of A Saint

• Batman - The Animated Series - Vol. 2 - Tales Of The Dark Knight | DVD | (26/07/2004) from £5.38   |  Saving you £5.61 (51.00%)   |  RRP £10.99

  He rules the night as Gotham City's shadowy protector - a crusading Dark Knight defending the innocent and striking fear into the hearts of evildoers. The legend of Batman continues in this thrilling collection of the second volume of the Emmy award-winning 'Batman: The Animated Series'. Episodes comprise: The Underdwellers P.O.V. The Forgotten Be A Clown.

• The Duchess Of Duke Street - Series 2 - Part 2 | DVD | (06/10/2003) from £17.90   |  Saving you £0.09 (0.50%)   |  RRP £17.99

  First broadcast in 1976 this release features the second half of series 2. It's 1918 the guns are finally silent and the Great War in Europe is over. But at the Bentinck Hotel in London's St James the devastating effects of four years conflict are still plain to see. Home from the front at last Charlie Haslemere is on his last legs and when the inevitable happens Louisa decides on drastic action much to the displeasure of the hotel's staff. Louisa's life must go on and there a

• Class Of Nuke 'Em High | DVD | (20/11/2000) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £2.99

  Welcome to Tromaville High School the most bizarre High School you'll ever attend and it is conveniently located a stone's throw from the local Nuclear Power Plant. Meet the students as they transform into horrifying mutations! Become a member of The Cretins - a psychotic punk gang who ride motorcycles through the classrooms trashing the school. If you're thinking of bunking off classes you had better beware - there is a gigantic gremlin-like creature growing in the hot water pipes and a gigantic slime drenched monster growing in the basement - just waiting for you!

• Eating Raoul | DVD | (19/03/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  You'd think a black comedy about murder, tackiness, and sexual perversion would quickly become dated, but Eating Raoul (1982) feels surprisingly fresh and delightful. When Mary Bland (Mary Woronov) gets assaulted by one of the repulsive swingers from the neighbouring apartment, her husband Paul (Paul Bartel) rescues her with a swift blow from a frying pan--only to discover a substantial wad of cash in the swinger's wallet. A lure-and-kill scheme follows, which nicely fills their nest egg until a slippery thief named Raoul (Robert Beltran of Star Trek: Voyager, making his film debut) stumbles onto the truth and insists on getting a share. When Raoul starts demanding a share of Mary as well, Paul has to take drastic steps. The key to Eating Raoul isn't the sensational content, but the blithe, matter-of-fact attitude Bartel and Woronov take to it; their sly underplaying makes the movie sparkle with wicked wit. --Bret Fetzer

• Friday The 13th: Part 5 - A New Beginning | DVD | (18/03/2002) from £16.18   |  Saving you £-3.19 (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Jason is back complete with hockey mask. And he's up to his old maniacal tricks in Friday The 13th Part V - A New Beginning. This time he seems to have set his sights on the young patients at a secluded halfway house. And more than a few of his teen targets end up in half in quarters you name it Jason does it. This is the fifth scary installment in the Friday The 13th saga. If you liked the first four and think you're up to getting back on Jason's bloody trail you'll love 'Frida

• The Duchess Of Duke Street - Series 2 - Part 1 | DVD | (15/09/2003) from £30.90   |  Saving you £-5.91 (-23.60%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Gemma Jones stars as Louisa Trotter a cook for the upperclass at a fancy hotel.

• The Servant | DVD | (25/02/2002) from £12.00   |  Saving you £1.99 (16.58%)   |  RRP £13.99

  For anyone interested in voyeurism, role playing, class envy and sexual humiliation, The Servant is an essential buy. Directed by Joseph Losey, scripted by Harold Pinter, it probes away remorselessly at areas other British film-makers would not go near. Dirk Bogarde, the golden boy of 50s British cinema, is transformed into a scheming, unctuous butler, Barrett. Hired by dapper young toff Tony (James Fox), he proceeds gradually to take over his master's life. In one scene, he seduces Tony's fiancée (Wendy Craig). Tony is soon slavering over the voluptuous but vaguely sinister Vera (Sarah Miles), whom he has been told is his butler's sister (in fact, she's Barrett's mistress). Gradually, the lines between master and servant are blurred. Tony becomes beholden to his butler's every whim.Nobody does queasy quite as well as Losey. The American-born director relishes the chance to disrupt the smooth workings of what seems a typical upper-class household. Compared to the bland comedies made at Pinewood in the late 50s, The Servant couldn't help but seem groundbreaking. Thanks to his performance, Bogarde, who'd starred in so many of those comedies, was at last taken seriously as more than a matinee idol. The critics adored the film, which was first released at around the time of the Profumo crisis. "Even if I make 10 better pictures in my lifetime", Losey observed, "I don't suppose one could expect to have such unanimous appreciation and approval again". --Geoffrey Macnab

• A Month In The Country | DVD | (09/08/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Based on J L Carr's novel two young soldiers fresh from the trauma of World War I meet in a tranquil Yorkshire village and form an unusual bond. Birkin has come to spend a month restoring a church mural whilst Moon who is still suffering nightmares from the horrors of war has come to excavate a forgotten chapel. Set against the background of an idyllic summer passion and forbidden love are uncovered as Birkin falls for the rector's beautiful wife and Moon has to face his own inner desires. As the men become drawn into their work they find reassurance and escape from their experiences and can begin a personal journey to recovery.

• Early Bird, The / Press For Time | DVD | (12/05/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Norman Wisdom reprises his best-loved character, the comically inept Pitkin, in 1965's The Early Bird, ably supported once again by Edward Chapman in his final appearance as Mr Grimsdale. This time around Wisdom is the only milkman working for Grimsdale's Dairy, a small business threatened by a menacing large corporation in the shape of Consolidated Dairies and their electric milk floats. Grimsdale and Pitkin must evoke the Dunkirk spirit to save their family firm from the grasp of the faceless giant. Of course, the wafer-thin plot is the merest excuse for a series of calamitous set pieces in which Wisdom wreaks havoc in his trademark bumbling manner. The best bits involve a disastrous game of golf, the usual shenanigans with a fire hose and a virtuoso tour de force opening sequence as the household struggles to wake up in the morning, all set to Ron Goodwin's tongue-in-cheek music score. --Mark Walker In Press for Time Norman Wisdom offered his version of the crusading reporter movie, though by 1966 time was running out for Norman's style of big-screen comedy. Perhaps a sign of his growing frustration with the formulaic nature of his pictures was that he stretched himself to play not just his usual underdog hero, but also his own mother and his grandfather, the Prime Minister. Wisdom also cowrote the movie in which, as a reporter in a small seaside town, he causes chaos for the council, organises a beauty parade and dresses as a suffragette. Though now nearing the end of his years as a movie star, Wisdom shows himself to still be as polished as ever at his own brand of good-natured slapstick. --Gary S Dalkin

• Verdi-La Forza Del Destino | DVD | (17/10/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

• The Early Bird | DVD | (12/11/2001) from £16.24   |  Saving you £-3.26 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Norman Wisdom reprises his best-loved character, the comically inept Pitkin, in 1965's The Early Bird, ably supported once again by Edward Chapman in his final appearance as Mr Grimsdale. This time around Wisdom is the only milkman working for Grimsdale's Dairy, a small business threatened by a menacing large corporation in the shape of Consolidated Dairies and their electric milk floats. Grimsdale and Pitkin must evoke the Dunkirk spirit to save their family firm from the grasp of the faceless giant. Of course, the wafer-thin plot is the merest excuse for a series of calamitous set pieces in which Wisdom wreaks havoc in his trademark bumbling manner. The best bits involve a disastrous game of golf, the usual shenanigans with a fire hose and a virtuoso tour de force opening sequence as the household struggles to wake up in the morning. Wisdom's own brand of Jerry Lewis-inspired clowning, with mugging and pratfalls aplenty, is all good clean fun with little or none of the smutty innuendo that characterised the contemporary Carry On series. He carries this film, as he does all his others, solely on the strength of his winningly naïve charm: this is innocent comedy from the days before supermarkets really did wreck all the local businesses, not to mention from the days before The Godfather gave a whole new spin on the comedy value of going to bed with your horse. On the DVD: There are no extra features on this disc at all. Given Wisdom's household-name status and the longevity of these much-loved movies, this seems like a sadly missed opportunity. The 4:3 picture has not been digitally remastered and shows its age, as does the muddy mono soundtrack. Only Ron Goodwin's wonderfully tongue-in-cheek music score comes across reasonably well. --Mark Walker

• La Fanciulla Del West - Puccini | DVD | (15/08/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £16.99

  Giacomo Puccini's 'La Fanciulla del West' a stage production by The Metropolitan Opera 1992.

• Puccini - Tosca | DVD | (09/10/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £16.99

  Puccini: Tosca (Sinopoli Metropolitan Opera Orchestra)

• Battle Dogs (3D Vers.)(Blu-ray) (FSK 18) | Blu Ray | (19/11/2013) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Eye Of God | DVD | (10/03/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Martha Plimpton stars as an Oklahoma diner waitress who weds the born-again prison inmate (Kevin Anderson) with whom she's been corresponding but she soon finds that his ostensible piety masks a cruel domineering nature that leads inevitably to horrific violence.