"Actor: Thomas Allen"

• You'll Like My Mother | Blu Ray | (24/07/2023) from £13.00   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Oscar® winner* Patty Duke stars in the tense and claustrophobic psychological thriller, You'll Like My Mother. When her husband is killed in Vietnam, Francesca Kinsolving (Duke) finds herself alone...and pregnant. She makes her way to Minnesota in order to meet her late husband's mother, certain that she'll be greeted with open arms. But Francesca soon discovers that there may be more to the Kinsolving family than she ever imagined...and that this simple family reunion is only the beginning of a waking nightmare. Rosemary Murphy (To Kill A Mockingbird), Richard Thomas (The Waltons), and Sian Barbara Allen (who was nominated for a Golden Globe® for her performance) also star in this intriguing, tautly directed thriller [that delivers] a high level of terror and tension (TV Guide)!

• Puccini: Manon Lescaut -- Royal Opera House | DVD | (22/09/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  This famous production of Manon Lescaut from The Royal Opera recorded in 1983 features two of the biggest stars in opera Placido Domingo and Kiri Te Kanawa in their vocal prime. Placido Domingo's performance of Des Grieux is considered to be unsurpassed. Conductor Giuseppe Sinopoli made his British operatic debut with this production which has not been available on video for 10 years. Puccini's first masterpiece was rapturously received on its first night. It has his hallmark se

• Prom At The Palace | DVD | (01/07/2002) from £9.59   |  Saving you £10.40 (108.45%)   |  RRP £19.99

  One of the most remarkable things about this recording of the Queen's Golden Jubilee Prom at the Palace--quite apart from the musical goodies on offer--is the opportunity to glimpse inside the royal garden, and see what Her Majesty's principal home looks like from the back. Who would have guessed she had her own lake? Voyeurism aside, director Bob Coles also catches the palpable sense of occasion and excitement that surrounds the concert, with some swooping camera angles and shots of a very chuffed-looking crowd. The music, introduced by Michael Parkinson, is a mix of popular favourites (Zadok the Priest, "Jupiter" from The Planets, Handel's Music for the Royal Fireworks) and a few lesser-known items such as Malcolm Arnold's The Nation's Dances. The outdoor acoustic is generally handled pretty well with some sensitive microphone placement, and the soloists all sound wonderful; Angela Gheorghiu stops the show with a passionate account of "Vissi d'Arte" (from Tosca) and 13-year-old clarinettist Julian Bliss gives a remarkably assured performance of Messager's fluffy salon-piece Solo de Concours. Occasionally the BBC Symphony Orchestra loses concentration and plays somewhat scrappily--the accompaniment to Figaro's aria "Largo al Factotum" is not all it should be--but overall this is a fine souvenir of a historic concert. On the DVD: Prom at the Palace has no special features on DVD. The arias in French and Italian are all subtitled in English. All profit from the sale of the DVD will be donated to the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Trust. --Warwick Thomson

• Humperdinck: Hansel and Gretel | Blu Ray | (01/06/2009) from £25.65   |  Saving you £4.34 (16.92%)   |  RRP £29.99

  Hansel And Gretel

• J. Strauss II: Die Fledermaus -- Glyndebourne | DVD | (20/02/2004) from £24.99   |  Saving you £5.00 (20.01%)   |  RRP £29.99

  Johann Strauss II's wonderfully convoluted and ingenious Viennese farce Die Fledermaus is a masterpiece of operetta. The tale spins waltz-like around the philandering Von Eisenstein (Thomas Allen), his wife Rosalinde (Pamela Armstrong), who is tempted by singing teacher Alfred (Par Lindskog), and Adele (Lyubov Petrova), Rosalinde's maid. Following Shakespeare's romantic comedy template there is much mistaken identity, confusion of purpose and cross-dressing, with the events unfolding around an increasingly drunken masked ball and the morning after in the local jail. The champagne-fuelled entertainment carries various satiric undertones, but this adaptation by director Stephen Lawless and Daniel Dooner emphasises colour, wit and flamboyance, always ensuring the jokes work well for a modern audience. The production requires acting as strong as the excellent singing, and Thomas Allen delivers a subtly layered interpretation of Eisenstein, while Pamela Armstrong's Rosalinde offers a winning study in smouldering sensuality, well contrasted with Lyubov Petrova's more directly sexual Adele. The revolving set mirrors the swirling Strauss dances and the elegant design is a perfect match for the boldly extrovert costumes. If this Glyndebourne 2003 production doesn't match Dame Joan Sutherland's retirement performance at the Royal Opera House in 1977 for historic value, it is easily as much fun and the production values are second to none. On the DVD: Die Fledermaus is presented on a two-disc edition with Acts 1 and 2 on the first disc and Act 3 and 37 minutes of extras on the second DVD. The 16:9 anamorphically enhanced image is as strong and detailed as BBC live digital video recording can be and the sound is offered in excellent stereo, as well as superb 5.1 DTS, which places the listener in the acoustic equivalent of the best seat in the house. The extras begin with 20 minutes of short but worthwhile interviews with Pamela Armstrong, Thomas Allen, Hakan Hagegard, conductor Vladimir Jurowski and director Stephen Lawless. There is a five-minute feature on the history of the waltz and a four-minute humorous interlude in which Udo Samel explores the pleasures of champagne in his character as the gaoler Frosch. More substantial if less entertaining is Return of the Architect (8 min), a look at the design and construction of the modern Glyndebourne opera house. The set is completed with routine photo and costume galleries and a nicely produced booklet illustrated with good quality colour photographs. Optional subtitles are available in Dutch, English, French, German and Spanish. --Gary S Dalkin

• Billy Budd | DVD | (01/04/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Benjamin Britten's opera 'Billy Budd' in two acts tells of the sadism and injustice abroad a British man-of-war.

• Humperdinck: Hansel and Gretel | DVD | (01/06/2009) from £25.52   |  Saving you £4.47 (17.52%)   |  RRP £29.99

  Hansel And Gretel (2 Dvd)

• Puccini: Manon Lescaut | DVD | (01/01/2024) from £6.85   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Carl Orff: Carmina Burana / Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 (Choral) | DVD | (10/05/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £13.99

  This DVD uniquely presents maestro Seiji Ozawa conducting two great choral masterpieces beloved by audiences and singers the world over. Carl Orff's 'Carmina Burana' by turns boisterous and lyrical sets ribald medieval songs in a celebration of life's pleasures. Also includes Ludwig van Beethoven's monumental Ninth Symphony the Choral which famously concludes with the uplifting 'Ode to Joy' a timeless plea for universal brotherhood. Performed in Latin singers include Kathleen Battle Frank Lopardo and Thomas Allen. Conducted by Seiji Ozawa and directed by Barrie Gavin.

• Two Thousand Maniacs | DVD | (30/05/2005) from £17.97   |  Saving you £-6.99 (N/A%)   |  RRP £7.99

  Brutal... Evil... Ghastly... Beyond Belief!!! The second film in Herschell Gordon Lewis' infamous `Blood Trilogy' (begun with 'Blood Feast' and completed with 'Color Me Blood Red') 'Two Thousand Maniacs!' was an attempt to both out-gore Blood Feast and make a gruesome horror movie with production values above those of its predecessor... Not only is this release digitally remastered but it's also uncut too! To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Civil War the inhabitants of a small Southern US town organise the festival to end all festivals. With a captured audience of North Americans the townsfolk amuse themselves by playing roll-the-man-in-the-nail-lined-barrel and compete at target practice using a pretty girl and a boulder. With all this chaos erupting around them a young couple make a desperate attempt to leave the town before they too fall victim to Two Thousand Maniacs!

• Richard Strauss: Ariadne auf Naxos (Glyndebourne) | Blu Ray | (29/06/2014) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Amityville Dollhouse | DVD | (07/06/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Too good for cinema, Amityville Dollhouse went direct to video just like the previous three in this series of eight. But unlike any of the other sequels to the classic 1979 Amityville Horror, this one at least has an original idea. It's a little surreal, but resurrecting the house as a pint-sized plaything has the spark of ingenuity about it. If only something else in the movie did. The Martin family move into a newly built house (nowhere near the original incidentally). Father Bill (Robin Thomas) has warning dreams and nosebleeds, but still happily gives his daughter the dollhouse he finds in their shed of evil. Naturally, spooky things start happening. We guess the toy must be dangerous (without ever learning why) because: it smokes, plays with the lights, alters photographs, blows leaves about, and oozes mustard. All the family get a taste of its badness: little Jimmy finds a tarantula in the piñata, wife Claire gets the hots for son-in-law Todd, whose own girlfriend manages to set her head on fire in the hearth. And so on. At the end of the day, these incredulity-stretching franchise instalments at least have the fun factor of working out who will survive. If not that, then you can root for who you want to see splatted and how. On the DVD: Amityville Dollhouse comes to DVD with … a trailer, stereo sound, 4:3 picture. Come on, what else did you expect?--Paul Tonks

• The Grind | DVD | (08/03/2010) from £5.38   |  Saving you £0.61 (11.34%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Street slimebag Luke owes a significant debt to the Mexican mob and has just had his final warning. In desperation he comes up with one final scheme to pay his IOU or risk losing his life. He gets together with his tech-geek mate Josh to raise easy on-line money through a reality peep show called 'hotgirlsinahouse.com.' Finding girls off the streets to participate in the 'big brother' style webcast proves easy enough but Luke needs cash up-front for the costs. He accepts a lucrative offer from a local hood to buy credit card information from the website hits as each girl's quirky personalities are streamed for all to see. On-line viewing becomes more sexual hits increase and the website's account grows. Luke leaves cash incentives for the girls to encourage the provocative behaviour and the girls play right into the scheme: fighting with each other by day competing for viewers by night. Hits grow and grow. When the competition amongst the girls turns threatening the web-masters realise they're in over their heads.

• Plain Dirty | DVD | (17/01/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £13.99

  Sometimes love hurts. Sometimes it kills. Inez Macbeth (Dominique Swain) is married to Edgar (Henry Thomas) a violent petty thief with big ambitions. When her loveless marriage leads to an affair with a gentle young lawyer Edgar retaliates by brutally holding her captive with the help of his best friend Flowers (Arie Verveen). With time running out Inez concocts a desperate escape but does she have the guts to do whatever it takes?

• Strauss - Die Fledermaus | Blu Ray | (31/03/2008) from £20.69   |  Saving you £9.30 (44.95%)   |  RRP £29.99

  Glyndebourne's pulsating new production of the Waltz King's much-loved comic operetta.

• Handel: Semele | Blu Ray | (12/05/2009) from £15.47   |  Saving you £5.78 (40.68%)   |  RRP £19.99

• Cosi Fan Tutte | DVD | (14/06/2004) from £12.65   |  Saving you £2.34 (15.60%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Opera in two acts from the Glyndebourne Festival Opera 1975. Sung in Italian.

• The People's Passion | DVD | (01/04/2000) from £13.92   |  Saving you £4.07 (22.60%)   |  RRP £17.99

  The People's Passion is a BBC/NVC Arts co-production, originally shown on BBC in short instalments, but presented here as a single 50-minute programme. This is a musical version of the story of Holy Week, the narrator sung by the leading American opera star Jessye Norman, commenting on the action played-out by a very familiar British television cast. The use of modern dress and readily identifiable faces such as Robert Hardy (Pilate), Patricia Hodge (Procula), Ron Moody (The Donkey Minder) and Kevin Whatley (Judas) is an excellent device to stress the contemporary relevance of the story. Though if this is the aim, it is a brave move to refuse to "dumb down" musically, Donald Fraser's score being more in the English classical tradition of Vaughan-Williams' Pilgrim's Progress, than a populist Jesus Christ, Superstar musical. Rather old-fashioned, too, is the portrayal of Jesus, who does not speak but is danced in Spirit by Jonathan Cope, and given voice by the boys of St Paul's Cathedral Choir. With Thomas Allen also appearing as The Centurion--in rather more dignified style than John Wayne in The Greatest Story Ever Told--this is a direct, uncluttered and highly effective version of The Passion.On the DVD: The picture is presented at approximately 1.7:1 ratio, but lacking anamorphic enhancement for widescreen televisions. The sound, disappointingly for a 1999 production, is PCM stereo. The booklet offers biographies of only Jessye Norman and Jonathan Cope, but does not include the libretto, which can be printed out via a DVD-ROM. The programme can be viewed with or without English subtitles. --Gary S. Dalkin

• Harvey Birdman - Seasons 1 - 3 Box Set | DVD | (07/12/2009) from £60.73   |  Saving you £-14.74 (N/A%)   |  RRP £45.99

  The complete saga of the superhero formerly known as Birdman is now making a mockery of the legal system representing Hannah-Barbera toons gone bad including Shaggy Scooby Fred Flinstone and Yogi Bear.

• Broken Trail | DVD | (18/06/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Set in 1898 Print Ritter (Robert Duvall) and his estranged nephew Tom Harte (Thomas Haden Church) become the reluctant guardians of five abused and abandoned Chinese girls (introducing Caroline Chan Olivia Cheng Jadyn Wong Valerie Tian and Gwendoline Yeo). Ritter and Harte's attempts to care for the girls are complicated by their responsibility to deliver a herd of horses while avoiding a group of bitter rivals intent on kidnapping the girls for their own purposes.