"Actor: Stan Gottlieb"

• The Anderson Tapes | DVD | (06/01/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  An early example of the techno-thriller, The Anderson Tapes--sharply directed by Sidney Lumet from the novel by Lawrence Sanders--follows just-out-of-stir Duke Anderson (a balding Sean Connery) as he plots the heist of an entire New York apartment building, enlisting a crew that includes Martin Balsam as a vintage 1971 gay stereotype and a very young Christopher Walken in perhaps the first of his jittery crook roles. The gimmick is that Anderson has been out of circulation so long that he doesn't realise his mafia backers are only supporting him because they feel nostalgic for the days before they were boring businessmen and that the whole setup is monitored by a criss-crossing selection of government and private agencies who don't care enough to thwart the robbery, which instead becomes unglued thanks to a gutsy young radio ham. With a cool Quincy Jones score, very tight editing, a lot of spot-on cameo performances from the likes of Ralph Meeker as a patient cop, this hasn't dated a bit: it's wry without being jokey and suspenseful without undue contrivance. On the DVD The Anderson Tapes offers a nice anamorphic transfer, a few trailers and various foreign language options. --Kim Newman

• Putney Swope (Limited Edition) | Blu Ray | (01/08/2022) from £15.00   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Product Features Putney Swope (Arnold Johnson, Shaft) is the only Black executive at a stuffy Madison Avenue advertising agency. When the chairman dies unexpectedly, Putney is elected the new boss because those voting never thought anyone else would to do the same. Putney proceeds to kick out the white majority, replacing them with young, revolutionary types, and renames the agency Truth and Soul. A bracing satire, taking well-aimed pot-shots at capitalism, power and racism in America, Robert Downey's Putney Swope is a key entry in counterculture cinema, and a landmark of independent filmmaking, and after more than a half a century is still very, very funny. Product Features 4K restoration by the Academy Film Archive and the Film Foundation Original mono audio Audio commentary with writer-director Robert Downey (2001) Audio commentary with film critic and historian Sergio Mims (2019) Interview with Robert Downey (2001) Audio interview with cinematographer Gerald Cotts (2019) Film Forum Q&A with Robert Downey (2016): the writer and director in conversation with Bruce Goldstein at the Film Forum, New York Original theatrical trailer Dan Ireland trailer commentary (2014): short critical appreciation Image gallery: promotional and publicity materials New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing Limited edition exclusive booklet featuring a new essay by Christina Newland, an archival article on the film, archival comments from Robert Downey, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and full film credits UK premiere on Blu-ray Limited edition of 3,000 copies for the UK All extras subject to change

• The Owl And The Pussycat | DVD | (02/12/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Felix and Doris live in the same apartment building. His incessant typing bothers her and her stream of gentlemen callers bothers him. Felix informs their landlord of her activities so Doris then moves in on him. They both get thrown out and move in with a friend untill their antics drive him out! Doris and Felix then decide to put their theory into practise but do opposites attract?