"Actor: Vita"

• Cabaret - 30th Anniversary Special Edition | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £16.99   |  Saving you £-12.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £4.99

  Cabaret is one of those film musicals whose cultural and stylistic influence extend well beyond the cinema. It confirmed Bob Fosse's status as one of the boldest choreographers of the 20th century and gave Liza Minnelli an early peak in a film career which would never scale such heights again. Minnelli is both the film's strength--on its own merits her performance is an Oscar-winning tour de force--and weakness. The real Sally Bowles was a third-rate performer and just one of a rich gallery of characters; here, the constant allowances for Minnelli's star turns and mannerisms ultimately throw the story off balance. But the source material is impeccable: Kander and Ebb's stage show, based on the autobiographical stories of Christopher Isherwood, has long since been acknowledged a classic. The songs, augmented by some new numbers in the film, are ageless. Joel Grey from the original Broadway production is the Emcee, the master of ceremonies who, with his Kit Kat Klub girls, provides a depraved Greek chorus satirising the rise of the Nazi regime and the lazy complacency of the 1930s Berlin cabaret-goers. The "divine decadence" tag is only part of the story, though. Cabaret still works a sinister, uncomfortable magic which sets it apart as a uniquely powerful film musical. On the DVD: Cabaret's 30th Anniversary Special Edition is packed with extras which include a scratchy "making of" documentary from 1972 and a retrospective from 1997, the latter featuring reminiscences from the cast. There’s also the original theatrical trailer, though in the absence of the late director Fosse the lack of some kind of commentary is a disappointment. The picture itself, presented in widescreen 16:9 letterbox format with a Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo soundtrack, gleams as sharply, visually and aurally, as it did on its first release. --Piers Ford

• Rififi | DVD | (03/07/2017) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  RIFIFI (ri-f -fi) n. French argot. 1. Quarrel, rumble, free-for-all, open hostilities between individuals or gangs, rough and tumble confrontation between two or more individuals. 2. A tense and chaotic situation involving violent confrontations between parties. A seminal work of crime filmmaking that lead the young critic François Truffaut to declare the best Film Noir I have ever seen , Jules Dassin s Rififi [Du rififi chez les hommes] has influenced films as diverse as Reservoir Dogs and Ocean s Eleven since its release. Following Tony, le Stéphanois (Jean Servais), a master thief fresh out of jail, wearing a harried look and suffering ill health he refuses to be involved with crime, until he finds his girlfriend shacked up with a rival gangster. With little reason to keep living he plans a final job. Tony sets about finding his crew and meticulously planning the job; a robbery of the jewellery store Mappin & Webb. Rififi revolves around the central heist, famed for its finite detail and incredible tension, but the drama does not end at the heist like so many other crime films. Dassin s film is a humanist tale that hinges on the loyalty among thieves and draws on the fatalistic, doom laden lives common to crooks and thieves in pulp literature. An instant commercial success in Paris and worldwide, the film was also very well received by the critics with Jules Dassin being awarded the best director prize at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival.

• Fog And Crimes: The Complete Second Season | DVD | (11/05/2015) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  A passion for solving difficult cases makes Franco Soneri the best investigator in Ferrara Italy – but it also makes him a hard man to manage. He’s brusque and irascible but he and his team manage to uncover what others might prefer to keep hidden. Cases from season two include two senior citizens found in their car at the bottom of the River Po a body of a woman washed up onto its banks a hit-and-run fatality the brutal killing of a prostitute a murdered teenage girl and a high-profile attorney found dead in his apartment. Filmed on location in the atmospheric countryside of northern Italy these mysteries are based on the characters from the bestselling crime novels by Valerio Varesi.

• The Kingdom | DVD | (27/05/2002) from £4.04   |  Saving you £19.21 (691.01%)   |  RRP £21.99

  The Kingdom has been described as "ER meets Twin Peaks", and seldom can the standard and the surreal have met in more perfect accord. The hospital that conceals dark secrets is the premise for this riveting "soap"--seen on Danish TV in 1994--in which science and civilisation are eroded by superstition and instinct. Lars von Trier is not a director who aims to please, and the claustrophobic visuals he draws from handheld cameras and natural lighting anticipate the stripped-down film work of his Dogme 95 movement. Yet there's nothing cerebral about the goings-on here, thanks to the rich variety of characters who people the labyrinthine corridors and functional wards. The Minister's visit and the Haiti jaunt are slapstick humour worthy of the best Python sketches, and Trier is never afraid to mix the prosaic with the profound. There are wonderfully observed performances from Ernst Hugo Jaregard as chequered Swedish surgeon Stig Helmer, and Kirsten Rolffes as common-sense psychic Sigrid Drusse. These are only the first five episodes: having seen them, you'll be awaiting the remainder with impatience. This is persuasive, provocative filmmaking. On the DVD: The Kingdom on disc has audio and visual reproduction that is authentically Trier, with English subtitles and 10 access points per episode. Each part is viewable separately or in sequence, though make sure you don't lose some of the director's amusingly offbeat postscripts. The first disc also features Tranceformer, a frank insight into the mind and movies of Lars von Trier with extracts from his features between 1984 and 95. --Richard Whitehouse

• Fogs and Crimes: The Complete Third Season | DVD | (28/09/2015) from £18.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Fog & Crimes S3

• Cabaret | DVD | (04/09/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Rififi | Blu Ray | (17/11/2014) from £9.09   |  Saving you £10.90 (119.91%)   |  RRP £19.99

  RIFIFI (ri-f’ -fi) n. French argot. 1. Quarrel rumble free-for-all open hostilities between individuals or gangs rough and tumble confrontation between two or more individuals. 2. A tense and chaotic situation involving violent confrontations between parties. A seminal work of crime filmmaking that lead the young critic François Truffaut to declare “the best Film Noir I have ever seen” Jules Dassin’s Rififi [Du rififi chez les hommes] has influenced films as diverse as Reservoir Dogs and Ocean’s Eleven since its release. Following Tony le Stéphanois (Jean Servais) a master thief fresh out of jail wearing a harried look and suffering ill health he refuses to be involved with crime until he finds his girlfriend shacked up with a rival gangster. With little reason to keep living he plans a final job. Tony sets about finding his crew and meticulously planning the job; a robbery of the jewellery store Mappin & Webb. Rififi revolves around the central heist famed for its finite detail and incredible tension but the drama does not end at the heist like so many other crime films. Dassin’s film is a humanist tale that hinges on the loyalty among thieves and draws on the fatalistic doom laden lives common to crooks and thieves in pulp literature. An instant commercial success in Paris and worldwide the film was also very well received by the critics with Jules Dassin being awarded the best director prize at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. Arrow Academy is proud to present Jules Dassin’s legendary film in 1080p high definition for the first time in the UK. FEATURES: High Definition restoration Uncompressed original mono PCM audio Newly translated English subtitles Introduction by French cinema critic and author Ginette Vincendeau Interview with Jules Dassin Q&A with Jules Dassin from BFI Southbank London Original Theatrical Trailer Reversible sleeve featuring two original artworks Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by critic and filmmaker David Cairns Alastair Philips on source novel author Auguste Le Breton and the Série Noire a contemporary review by François Truffaut notes on the translation and the BBFC’s John Trevelyan on Rififi illustrated with original posters and stills

• Rififi | Blu Ray | (09/05/2011) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  A seminal work of crime filmmaking that lead the young critic Francois Truffaut to declare “the best Film Noir I have ever seen”, Jules Dassin’s Rififi [Du rififi chez les hommes] has influenced films as diverse as Reservoir Dogs and Ocean’s Eleven since its release.Following, Tony le Stephanois (Jean Servais), a master thief fresh out of jail, wearing a harried look and suffering ill health he refuses to be involved with crime, until he finds his girlfriend shacked up with a rival gangster. With little reason to keep living he plans a final job. Tony sets about finding his crew and meticulously planning the job; a robbery of the jewellery store Mappin & Webb. Rififi revolves around the central heist, famed for its finite detail and incredible tension, but the drama does not end at the heist like so many other crime films. Dassin’s film is a humanist tale that hinges on the loyalty among thieves and draws on the fatalistic, doom laden lives common to crooks and thieves in pulp literature.An instant commercial success in Paris and worldwide, the film was also very well received by the critics with Jules Dassin being awarded the best director prize at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. Arrow Academy is proud to present Jules Dassin’s legendary film in 1080p high definition for the first time in the UK.

• Modern Warriors | DVD | (12/04/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £7.99

  A must see exploration of the Martial Arts... These world renowned masters demonstrate techniques and discuss their philosophy in this fascinating action-packed documentary which provides insight into the martial arts phenomenon and its ever increasing global popularity. ""Modern Warriors"" addresses key martial arts issues such as the philosophical and physical aspects showing how they can be used for self-defence self-discipline and self-control. Experts explore the rich spiritual

• World's Best Whorehouse For Women | DVD | (10/07/2006) from £9.98   |  Saving you £5.00 (62.58%)   |  RRP £12.99

  A clever and sensuous young man gathers his friends and together they decide to establish an exclusive whorehouse for women only. It is the first and the best of its kind! Their ambition is to solely cater to fulfilling the sexual pleasures of their customers, women with an infinite variation of lust and need. What ensues are many strange, exciting and downright hilarious sexual encounters as the boys vigilantly strive to provide 100% customer satisfaction!