"Actor: Schell"

• Superman / Superman 2 | DVD | (24/09/2001) from £8.89   |  Saving you £22.10 (248.59%)   |  RRP £30.99

  Modern blockbuster cinema came of age with the release of three huge science fiction/fantasy extravaganzas in the late 1970s. In 1978 Superman was the last of these, a gigantic hit unfairly overshadowed by Star Wars (1977) and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). Christopher Reeve is completely convincing as both Superman and mild-mannered alter ego Clarke Kent, sparking real chemistry with Margot Kidder's fellow reporter Lois Lane. Though the tone becomes lighter and introduces comedy as Superman battles arch-nemesis Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) the film succeeds because Donner plays the titular character straight. From Marlon Brando's heavyweight cameo to the surprisingly wrenching finale, Superman unfolds as an epic modern myth, a spiritual fable for a secular age and a fantastic entertainment for the young at heart. With breathtaking production design, special effects, gorgeous cinematography, thrilling set-pieces, wit, romance and John Williams' extraordinarily rich music score, Superman has the power to make you believe a man can fly.Although Superman II is credited to director Richard Lester the film is largely the work of Richard Donner, who shot 70 per cent of the footage back-to-back with Superman at a staggering combined cost of $55 million. Indeed, while each film works perfectly well alone, together they form four-and-a-half hours of the finest fantasy in cinema history. Superman II sees the release of the three super-villains exiled at the beginning of Superman, then without the need to tell Superman's origins offers a full two hours of rip-roaring comic-book action. The villains, led by a marvellously menacing Terrance Stamp, prove stronger adversaries than Lex Luthor, while Clarke's romance with Lois Lane is developed through polished comedy and a serious subplot in which Superman must chose between love and duty. From an atom bomb on the Eiffel Tower to an epic battle amid the skyscrapers of Metropolis (New York) the action and special effects are superb, the characters portrayed with verve and the story delivered with just the right amount of seriousness. A rousing entertainment very nearly as fine as its predecessor, the wirework battles paved the way for Hong Kong's seminal Zu: Warriors of the Magic Mountain (1983) and ultimately The Matrix (1999).On the DVD: Superman is presented in an extended director's cut which adds eight minutes to the theatrical original. The restored material is so artfully integrated many viewers may not even notice, but it would have been nice to at least have the opportunity to watch the original via seamless branching. The sound has been remixed into extraordinarily powerful Dolby Digital 5.1--the superb main title sequence is worth the price alone--and the anamorphically enhanced 2.35:1 image is, except for some unavoidably grainy effects shots, pristine. The commentary by Richard Donner and writer Tom Mankiewicz reveals more about the background than all but the most dedicated fan will ever need to know, while film music aficionados will revel in the opportunity to listen to John Williams' score isolated in Dolby Digital 5.1. On the second side of the disc are a eight alternate John Williams music cues, a selection of deleted scenes and the screen tests of a variety of would-be Lois Lanes, introduced and with optional commentary by casting director Lynn Stalmaster. These are fascinating, and show how right for the part Margot Kidder really was. A DVD-ROM only feature presents the storyboards plus various Web features, while the real highlight is a 90-minute documentary divided into three sections covering pre-production, filming and special effects. The picture quality on all the extras is very good indeed. An enthralling package, DVD doesn't get much better than this. In contrast to the fantastic Superman DVD the Superman II disc is a bare-bones release with the original trailer being the only extra. The anamorphically enhanced 2.35:1 image is absolutely first-rate, but if Superman can be presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 sound with an isolated score there is absolutely no excuse for the sequel being offered in lacklustre stereo. --Gary S Dalkin

• Space: 1999 - Series 1 | DVD | (25/06/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £84.99

  Featured episodes include: Breakaway A Matter Of Life & Death Black Sun Ring Around The Moon Earthbound Another Time Another Place Missing Link Guardian of Piri Force Of Life Alpha Child The Last Sunset Voyager's Return

• Counterpoint | DVD | (01/09/2014) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Evans (Charlton Heston) is the director of an orchestra captured by Nazis and due to be executed. General Schiller (Maximilian Schell) however is a music lover who orders them to perform for the Nazis. But Evans realises that when the concert is over his orchestra will be killed - and so begins a deadly game of cat and mouse...

• The Persuaders - Vol. 6 - Episodes 19-22 | DVD | (08/07/2002) from £12.26   |  Saving you £3.73 (30.42%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Starring two icons of the movie world - Tony Curtis as a Bronx boy made good and Roger Moore as an upper crust peer of the realm. Together they are The Persuaders - seekers of justice in an unjust world. Four episodes include: The Morning After wherein Brett awakens after a heavy night's drinking party and finds he has a wife; Read And Destroy where Brett offers his stately home to a double agent on the wrong; A Death In The Family in which a distant relative is killing off the Sinclair family; andThe Ozerov Inheritance where The Grand Duchess requires Brett and Danny's help in establishing her rights to some priceless jewels.

• Dante's Peak / Twister / Deep Impact | DVD | (24/10/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Dante's Peak (Dir. Roger Donaldson 1997): Without warning day becomes night. Air turns to fire and solid ground gives way to white-hot molten terror. Brace yourself for action-packed earth shaking thrills and whatever you do... don't look back. Pierce Brosnan and Linda Hamilton star in an epic adventure from Director Roger Doaldson that will blow you away! Erupting with spectacular special effects heart-pounding suspense romance and remarkable characters Dante's Peak is a blast! Twister (Dir. Jan De Bont 1996): The house rips apart piece by piece. A bellowing cow spins through the air. Tractors fall like rain. A 15 000-pound gasoline tanker becomes an airborne bomb. A mile-wide 300 mile-per-hour force of total devastation is coming at you: Twister is hitting home. In this adventure swirling with cliffhanging excitement and awesome special effects Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton play scientists pursuing the most destructive weatherfront to seep through mid America's Tornado Alley in 50 years. By launching electronic sensors into the funnel the storm chasers hope to obtain enough data to create an improved warning system. In order to do so they must place themselves in the twisters' deadly path... Deep Impact (Dir. Mimi Leder 1998): What would you do if you knew that in a handful of days an enormous comet would collide with Earth and all humanity could be annihilated? Mimi Leder directs guiding an all-star cast featuring Robert Duvall Tea Leoni Elijah Wood Vanessa Redgrave Maximilian Schell and Morgan Freeman. With the film's dynamic fusion of large-scale excitement and touching human-scale storylines Deep Impact makes its impact felt in a big and unforgettable way.

• Battle Of The Planets - Vol. 1 | DVD | (15/04/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Features the episodes: Attack Of Space Terrapin Rescue Of The Astronauts The Space Mummy The Space Serpent Ghost Ship Of Planet Mira Robot Gold Crab Ace From Outer Space The Fearful Sea Anemonie The Jupiter Moon Menace Swarm Robot Ants Space Rocket Express Beast With Sweet Tooth.

• The Shaggy D.A. | DVD | (24/07/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Tim Allen transforms from family dad to family dog and back again in this fresh update of the Disney comedy classic The Shaggy Dog. It all begins when workaholic D.A. Dave Douglas (Allen) takes on a case involving an animal laboratory - one that will take him away yet again from his wife (Davis) and kids who already yearn for his all too distracted attention. But when Dave is accidentally infected with a top secret genetic-mutation serum everything he thought he knew about being himself and his family changes. Yet with his newly perked up ears and his front row seat on the household carpet Dave is able to gain a whole new perspective into his family's secrets and dreams. Now he wants nothing more than to stop fetching and return to fathering - only first he'll have to stop the evil forces behind the serum...in an adventure that will bring the whole family together.

• The Devil And Max Devlin | DVD | (05/04/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  After stepping into the path of an oncoming bus the deceased Max Devlin strikes a bargain with the devil. Max will be restored to life providing he can convince three innocent people to sell their souls to the devil within two months. His targets have other ideas however in this devilishly comic fantasy featuring Marvin Hamlisch's music.

• Telling Lies in America | DVD | (27/08/2012) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  leveland, the 1960s. 17-year-old Hungarian immigrant Karchy Jonas (Brad Renfro) decides to enter a popularity contest for high school students organised by the DJ Billy Magic (Kevin Bacon). After persuading his co-worker Diney (Calista Flockhart) to date him if he wins, Karchy refuses to leave it up to chance and secures his victory by sending in hundreds of nominations for himself. Billy is impressed by this tactic, and takes the hero-worshipping Karchy on as his gofer; but Karchy is soon to...

• Space: 1999 - Series 2 Complete | DVD | (12/11/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £79.99

  Many fans don't rate the second series of Space: 1999 as highly as the first. Responding to audience feedback, as well as the separation of producers Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, the programme makers drafted in new producer Fred Freiberger, the man responsible for the third and weakest season of the original Star Trek. Under his guidance the storylines drifted away from the hard sci-fi of the first season in favour of more action and a faster pace. The theme music, sets and costumes all changed, as did some key personnel. Out went professorial (and very dull) Barry Morse, in came dashing Tony Anholt as security officer Tony Verdeschi, while the glamour quotient was upped considerably by Catherine Schell as the shape-shifting Maya (a much-needed change, since the frosty Barbara Bain had reduced the show's sex appeal to nil in Series 1). Series 2 also introduced lots and lots more aliens kitted out in badly fitting costumes and dodgy glam-rock era makeup. Responding to yet more feedback from American TV executives the protagonists now had to encounter more highly unconvincing monsters than even Dr Who ever dared imagine: "The Beta Cloud", for example, is a classic rampaging-bloke-in-a-suit scenario. That said, this second season has more emphasis on characters other than the headline stars, as various stranded Alphans are allowed to come to the fore instead of just blankly following Commander Koenig's orders. It's all good fun in a silly, nostalgic sort of way, and fans of the more vintage Season 1 will find it hard to resist this second season as well.On the DVD: There aren't many extras here, although sundry interviews with principal cast and crew are scattered across the six discs in this complete box set. There's also a commentary on some episodes with special effects man Brian Johnson, a couple of deleted scenes, production stills and some text features. Each disc has a small booklet that gives some useful background information on the episodes. The remastered 4:3 ratio picture and mono sound are fine. --Mark Walker

• The Mark | DVD | (10/09/2012) from £21.02   |  Saving you £-8.03 (-61.80%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Three years ago, Jim Fuller (Stuart Whitman) attempted to assault a young girl. Now he’s out on the streets again, thanks to the recommendation of his psychiatrist Dr McNally (Oscar winner Rod Steiger). Fuller moves to a new town, gets a new job and tries to rebuild his life. But then the flashbacks start – and the nightmares. As he struggles with his past, he falls in love with a work colleague, Ruth (Maria Schell) – not knowing she has a 10-year-old daughter of her own… and when a young girl is murdered in the town, suspicion once again falls upon Fuller and his life starts to fall apart…

• The Return Of The Pink Panther | DVD | (02/01/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Peter Sellers's third go-around as the prideful but bumbling Inspector Jacques Clouseau in The Return of the Pink Panther is funny enough, but this 1975 Blake Edwards revival of the Sellers-Clouseau connection is a little weak in comparison to predecessors The Pink Panther and A Shot in the Dark (both made in 1964). Co-star Christopher Plummer actually gets some of the most interesting screen time as a retired cat burglar whom Clouseau accuses of getting back into the business. (If it sounds like there might be a To Catch a Thief vibe mixed in here, you're right.) Herbert Lom is hilarious as Clouseau's psychologically eroding boss, and Clouseau's ritualistic collisions with valet Cato (Burt Kwouk) are great examples of Edwards' delicious comic timing. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com

• The Angel With The Trumpet | Blu Ray | (12/08/2019) from £16.35   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  A British adaptation of one of post-war Austria's most significant films, The Angel With the Trumpet is the powerful, panoramic story of a family's tribulations from the last decades of the nineteenth century through to the dark days of Nazi rule. Featuring the great dramatic actress Eileen Herlie in her first starring role, this film also stars Basil Sydney, Norman Wooland and Anthony Bushell, who also directed. It is presented here as a new High Definition remaster from original film elements in its as-exhibited theatrical aspect ratio. When Francis Alt, the head of the famous family of Viennese piano makers, decides to marry socialite Henrietta Stein, his family object due to her Jewish heritage and known dalliance with the Crown Prince Rudolph. When the marriage goes ahead despite their objections the Prince commits suicide, leaving Henrietta a note... Special Features: Image gallery Promotional Material PDFs

• The Thing / Vampires / Village Of The Damned | DVD | (03/10/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The Thing (1982): Horror-meister John Carpenter teams Kurt Russell's outstanding performance with incredible visuals to build this chilling version of the classic The Thing. In the winter of 1982 a twelve-man research team at a remote Antarctic research station discovers an alien buried in the snow for over 100 000 years. Soon unfrozen the shape-shifting alien wreaks havoc creates terror and becomes one of them... John Carpenter's Vampires (1998): In the blood-chilling tradition of Halloween and Village Of The Damned comes John Carpenter's unique vision of the ultimate killing machines vampires. Forget everything you've ever heard about vampires warns Jack Crow (James Woods) the leader of Team Crow a relentless group of mercenary vampire slayers. When master Vampire Valek (Thomas Ian Griffith) decimates Jack's entire team Crow and the sole team survivor Montoya (Daniel Baldwin) set out in pursuit. Breaking all the rules Crow and Montoya take one of Valek's victims hostage. The beautiful prostitute (Sheryl Lee) is their sole psychic link to Valek and through her senses they will track down the leader of the undead. As Valek nears the climax of his 600 year search for the Berziers cross Jack and the new Team Crow do everything humanly possible to prevent him from possessing the only thing that can grant him and all vampires the omnipotent power to walk in the daylight... Village Of The Damned (1995): From the master of suspense John Carpenter comes a chilling new version of the sci-fi classic. Something is terribly wrong in the tiny village of Midwich. After an unseen force invades a quiet coastal town 10 women mysteriously find themselves pregnant. Local physician Dr. Alan Chaffee (Reeve) and government scientist Dr. Susan Verner (Alley) join forces when the women simultaneously give birth...and the reign of terror begins. In what the New York Times calls one scarifying trip the people of Midwich must try to find a way to stop the children in the Village Of The Damned.

• The Freshman | DVD | (20/05/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Andrew Bergman’s tongue-in-cheek comedy The Freshman keeps the spoofing low key, underplaying the outrageous situations even as he piles them higher. Young Clark Kellog (Matthew Broderick) had no idea film school would drop him into the hands of a real-life Godfather, but after a street punk robs him during his first day in New York City, that’s just where the road leads. Marlon Brando lets everyone know he’s in on the joke with his hammy, good-humoured performance as the bulldog-jowled Mafioso Carmine Sabatini, the man Clark’s prissy, self-important professor swears was the real-life inspiration for Don Corleone. Carmine has a modest proposal for the naive kid from Vermont involving Carmine’s gorgeous daughter Tina (Penelope Ann Miller) and the illegal importing of an endangered lizard. And if the sight of a six-foot-long lizard scattering shoppers as it runs wild through a New York City mall doesn’t do it for you, there’s always Bert Parks’ rousing rendition of Bob Dylan’s "Maggie’s Farm".--Sean Axmaker, Amazon.com

• Gulliver's Travels | DVD | (04/07/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £7.99

  Shipwrecked and cast adrift Lemuel Gulliver wakes to find himself on Lilliput an island inhabited by little people whose height makes their quarrels over fashion and fame seem ridiculous. His subsequent encounters give Gulliver new bitter insights into human behaviour... A combination of live action and animation in a version of Jonathan Swift's satire.

• The Man In The Glass Booth | DVD | (26/07/2004) from £26.98   |  Saving you £-6.99 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Arthur Goldman a rich Jewish industrialist who lives in luxury in Manhattan and is irreverent about many things Jewish is arrested by Israeli secret agents for allegedly being a Nazi war criminal... Robert Shaw best known for his acting roles in movies such as 'From Russia With Love' and 'Jaws' turned playwright to create this brilliant drama inspired by the trial of Adolf Eichmann concerned with guilt paranoia conspiracy theories and martyrdom. Directed by Arthur Hiller

• Battle Of The Planets - Vol. 2 | DVD | (30/09/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  G-Force Princess Tiny Keyop Mark Jason and watching over them from Centre Neptune their computerised co-ordinator 7-Zark-7! Watching warning against surprise attacks by alien galaxies beyond space! Fearless young orphans protecting earth''s entire galaxy. Always five acting as one... Dedicated Inseparable Invincible!

• Space: 1999 - Series 2 - Vol. 6 | DVD | (12/11/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Dorzak: A spaceship lands on the moon. A beautiful young woman emerges from inside seeking medical attention for a colleague who was injured by a criminal that they had captured. The criminal turns out to be a man from Maya's home planet Psychon named Dorzac and persuades Maya that he was not responsible for the injury signalling the start of the troubles to come. Devil's Planet: Answering a distress signal Koenig and Blake Maine go to Entra. The first thing they see is a man being chased by three beautiful girls carrying long electric whips! Maine is killed and then Koenig imprisoned. Can he escape? The Immunity Syndrome: On a seemingly inhabitable planet a series of misfortunes befall Alpha's advance party. Tony Verdeschi is rendered insane by a piercing sound. The metal in the Eagle corrodes and the craft starts to fall apart. Two Alphans die after drinking spring water. Then a skeleton is found inside a geodetic structure with a video beside it explaining how any future visitors might survive. The Dorcons: A huge alien Dorcon ship materialises nearby. When the three leaders demand Maya be sent to them Koenig refuses. A leader comes aboard the spaceship and takes Maya and Alpha by force. But Koenig manages to come along too and using the power struggle between the three leaders tries to rescue Maya.

• Space: 1999 - Vol. 4 - Episodes 13-16 | DVD | (11/06/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  For the time, there had never been a more lavishly produced science fiction TV series than Space: 1999, which was British-made on an astounding first-season budget of 3.25 million pounds, and ran for two seasons from 1975-77. What keeps fans enthralled after all these years has only partly to do with the first-rate production values, the plausibly constructed spaceship models and expert special effects. The tone of the show is one of scientific dispassion, setting it apart from its TV SF predecessors such as Star Trek in which the mood is more generally convivial. Our heroes here are in dire circumstances that require cool heads as a survival trait. Those circumstances: the moon and the 311 crew members of Moonbase Alpha experience a cataclysm that causes the moon to break away from Earth orbit and travel endlessly through space, making our heroes into unintentional explorers. No TV series has created a more palpable feel of hard science fiction than this. Of course, the show is not without its detractors, having been soundly lambasted for its many scientific errors. No less august a figure than Isaac Asimov criticised the show for its premise in the opening episode "Breakaway", which had nuclear explosions on the "dark side of the moon" somehow propelling it out of Earth orbit and flying through space without regard to physical law. In "Earthbound", aliens travelling to Earth state it will take them 75 years to reach their destination, making one wonder why it didn't take the moon that long to encounter the aliens. While these are serious complaints, fans tend to remember the scientific seriousness of the series and the sense of awe created by the many strange creatures and phenomena they encounter on their journey through the galaxy. --Jim Gay, Amazon.com