Classic Films

• Follow A Star | DVD | (12/11/2001) from £7.91   |  Saving you £2.08 (26.30%)   |  RRP £9.99

  In The Square Peg Norman Wisdom plays one of a pair of council workmen who, while repairing the road outside an army base, come to illustrate the oxymoronic nature of the phrase "military intelligence". Finding themselves drafted, the workmen are sent to repair the roads ahead of the Allied advance through war-torn Europe by the sergeant they previously embarrassed. Norman finds himself behind the German lines, joins up with French Resistance, gets captured then sets out to rescue British prisoners from a German military HQ by impersonating General Schreiber. Of course Wisdom plays Schreiber too. The Square Peg is the film that introduced Norman Wisdom's famous catch-phrase, "Mr. Grimsdale!". Also here Hattie Jacques gets to sing a remarkable duet with Wisdom, and a pre-Goldfinger Honor Blackman provides the love interest. Following his rising star was just what Norman Wisdom's audience had been doing all through the 1950s and, by 1959, and after six films with director John Paddy Carstairs, it was time for a change. Hence Robert Asher made his directorial debut with Follow a Star. The plot is a comedy version of A Star is Born (1954), with Norman yet again playing a dreaming shop worker, this time aspiring to singing stardom. Vernon Carew (played by Wisdom regular Jerry Desmonde) is the fading singer who schemes to use Wisdom's talent to sustain his own rapidly failing career, while the girl is overlooked starlette June Laverick. Norman is surrounded by a particularly strong supporting cast, with Hattie Jacques returning from The Square Peg (1958), Richard Wattis, John Le Mesurier, Fenella Fielding, Ron Moody and, uncredited, future Bond villain Charles Grey. --Gary S Dalkin

• Romance With A Double Bass (John Cleese & Connie Booth) | DVD | (05/05/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £7.99

  Romance with A Double Bass is a truly delightful film and an important piece of film history. Based on a short story by Anton Chekhov this project was one of John Cleese's first post-Python projects. Romance With A Double Bass was the second writing collaboration for Cleese and Connie Booth and their first on screen appearance together before they created the classic Fawlty Towers. A bassist (Cleese) shows up early for the betrothal ball of a beautiful princess (Booth) and whiles away the time having a dip in the river. The princess is doing the same unbeknownst to the bass player but when someone steals their clothes the bass player helps the princess to preserve her dignity by transporting her back to the castle in his bass case; along the way they overcome many mishaps and discover they have feelings for each other. The film also starts a host of British talent including June Whitfield Graham Crowden Freddie Jones Jonathan Lynn and Andrew Sachs.

• My Favorite Brunette | DVD | (18/12/2006) from £5.28   |  Saving you £2.71 (51.33%)   |  RRP £7.99

  In My Favorite Brunette we witness Bob Hope's own unique brand of film comedy as he teams up with the great screen beauty Dorothy Lamour (who later co-starred with him in many of the classic Road To... movies along with Bing Crosby). Co-starring Peter Lorre and Lon Chaney Jr. Hope romps through this yarn playing a bumbling photographer turned private eye and finds himself involved with a spy caper the mob and a dangerous brunette.

• Young And Innocent | DVD | (15/01/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Among Alfred Hitchcock's pre-Hollywood movies, 1938's Young and Innocent is a most unfairly overlooked classic. It's full of themes and stylistic touches that became permanent fixtures in his career. Based on Josephine Tey's novel A Shilling for Candles, the film title refers to the characters' outlook. However Hitchcock characteristically chips away at that innocence with flourishes of macabre humour, such as scenes of a dead rat at the lunch table and a hopeless conference with a defence lawyer, while suspense is heightened in a game of blindman's buff at a children 's party. The story concerns a typically Hitchcockian innocent man (Derrick de Marney) on the run, with a trivial object to find (a raincoat) that will prove his innocence. He's helped by a fiery young girl (Nova Pilbeam) who's unfortunately the daughter of the chief constable, but has some handy first aid skills. There's also an oppressive mother figure in the shape of an overbearing aunt (Mary Clare). Aside from these thematic traits, what remains impressive for viewers new or old is Hitchcock's technical set-pieces: a car sinks into a mineshaft, a railway station is recreated in miniature, and the twitchy-eyed murderer is finally located via an extended aerial tracking shot across a ballroom (pre-empting many similar shots, eg: Notorious). This sequence took two days to accomplish, and demonstrates the director was more than ready to move to the older and less innocent American industry . --Paul Tonks

• Don't Bother to Knock | DVD | (23/07/2012) from £21.26   |  Saving you £-11.27 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  An airline pilot, dumped by his girlfriend, pursues a baby-sitter in his hotel...and gradually realizes she's dangerous.

• Road To Bali | DVD | (01/09/2003) from £5.98   |  Saving you £-1.99 (N/A%)   |  RRP £3.99

• Elvis Presley - 68 Comeback Special (3-DVD Amaray Version) | DVD | (04/08/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £21.99

  When in June 1968 Elvis Presley made a television special to be aired in December of the same year he accomplished two things. He saved his career and he made the best music of his life. Wearing a black leather suit as if he were born in it - Elvis sang his old songs but they did not sound old. He invested them with so much emotion that suddenly these were less songs than events-where anything could happen where everything did. The 3 discs that make up this Deluxe Edition are a treasure chest of that moment: the special itself as it aired on December 3 1968; the two complete Sit Down shows the rough improvised altogether explosive attacks on the likes of One Night Lawdy Miss Clawdy and Blue Christmas with the audience so close Elvis could touch the people in it and did; the two Arena Shows Elvis appearing on his own again before audiences with a big band and chorus off stage; and three-and-a-half hours of bonus material alternate stagings of the skits and dramatized musical numbers from the show-some of them a lot hotter than anything that made it to the screen. The most comprehensive presentation of the footage of this historic event all with meticulously remastered sound and picture more than half of its seven hours of content previously unreleased. Disc 1: Available for the first time the original Elvis television special as it first aired on NBC on December 3 1968. Available in their absolute entirety for the first time both of the black leather sit-down shows - Elvis clad in black leather performing jam sessions with original band-mates Scotty Moore and D.J. Fontana and friends Discs 2: Available in their absolute entirety for the first time both of the black leather stand-up shows - Elvis clad in black leather performing solo on stage. Available for the first time everything in its complete raw form used and unused takes: Trouble/Guitar Man opening of the special Gospel production number Guitar Man production number If I Can Dream show closer Elvis scene shot for the closing credits roll without the credits roll The complete taping session for Elvis's on-camera huh-huh-huh promotional tag for the television special The exciting new If I Can Dream music video created for this DVD set combining white-suit finale w/ black-leather performance footage Disc 3: All components/takes shot for the gospel production number and the Guitar Man production number

• Royal Air Force - The Unseen Films 1962-1965 | DVD | (14/05/2007) from £4.98   |  Saving you £5.01 (100.60%)   |  RRP £9.99

  The Royal Air Force: The Unseen Films is a unique DVD series collecting together rare or previously unseen and unavailable films from the RAF's long and distinguished history. As well as providing film records of RAF aircraft units and activities it also offers an invaluable 'behind the scenes' look at life in the RAF. This collection features eight films: 1. RAF Jubilee 1912-1962 (1962) 2. Air-Head (1963) 3. Streaked Lightning (1960) 4. Flight - An Anthology (1964) 5. No Claims Bonus (1961) 6. Routine Adventure (1965) 7. Winged Horizons (1965) 8. The New Men.

• What's Up Tiger Lily | DVD | (05/02/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  What better way for writer-star Woody Allen to cash in on the success of What's New Pussycat? than to write a quickie exploitation comedy that makes fun of quickie exploitation films? In What's Up Tiger Lily? his actors dub new dialogue onto a ridiculous Japanese spy extravaganza. Allen's exquisite sense of the absurd is in fine form as espionage professionals pursue a top-secret recipe for egg salad. At one point during the planning of a break-in, a spy unfolds a map of their quarry's residence, explaining that the man "lives here". "He lives on that small piece of paper?" questions one of the henchmen. It's that silly. But it's often uproarious. Louise Lasser, Allen's former wife is among the voice actors. --Jim Emerson, Amazon.com

• 101 Dalmatians Platinum Edition - Deluxe Book Pack | DVD | (03/03/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  101 Dalmatians is back in this special Deluxe Book pack! Relive this classic animated tale about Pongo Perdita and their family of Dalmatians! When Pongo and Perdita a pair of adorable Dalmatians play Cupid for their human pets wedding bells soon ring! In a short time the dogs become the proud parents of 15 winsome puppies but their happiness is short-lived. The wicked Cruella De Vil wants to buy the all puppies - to make a coat! When her dastardly offer is turned down she orders her bumbling henchmen Horace and Jasper to abscond with the puppies as well as every other Dalmatian puppy in London. Pongo and Perdita must rally a network of animals across England with the 'twilight bark' to help find Cruella's secret hideaway and rescue 99 precious puppies.

• Batfink Vol.4 | DVD | (09/04/2007) from £8.08   |  Saving you £-2.09 (-34.90%)   |  RRP £5.99

  ""Together we can make the world a safer place!"" Batfink the crime-busting superhero with his supersonic sonar-radar and infamous wings of steel is on a mission to make the world a safer place. With his powerful yet unavailing sidekick Karate Batfink must battle against his arch villains Hugo A Go Go Gluey Louie The Skinny Minnie Gang and many more in the fight against evil! This timeless cartoon a spoof of the famously campy Batman television series was a favourite in the early 1980s.

• Mr. Smith geht nach Washington (4K Ultra HD) | Blu Ray | (08/07/2021) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• The Michael Caine Collection--The Ipcress File, Educating Rita, The Eagle Has Landed, Without a Clue | DVD | (12/11/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  The Ipcress File: The tense spy thriller by Len Deighton that turned Michael Caine into a superstar. Cynical and rebellious ex-army sergeant Harry Palmer has been blackmailed into working for Britain's security service. Hot on the trail of a kidnapped scientist Palmer finds himself enmeshed in a sinister conspiracy involving horrifying brainwashing techniques murder and treachery that reaches up to the highest levels of the security service itself... Educating Rita: Rita a hairdresser with a sharp wit is married to Danny and at 26 doesn't want a baby. She wants to discover herself - so she joins the Open University. Dr Frank Bryant is a disillusioned university professor of literature. His marriage has failed his girlfriend is having an affair with his best friend and he can't get through the day without downing a bottle or two of whiskey. He refers to himself as an appalling teacher of appalling students. What Frank needs is a challenge - and along comes Rita. In this hilarious and often moving drama the story tells how two people find a new lease of life through each other. The Eagle Has Landed: A Nazi strike force plots to assassinate Winston Churchill while he is resting in a desolate Norfolk Village. Colonel Radl masterminds the plot which if successful would change the outcome of the war. He enlists the help of Colonel Steiner (Caine) and Liam Devlin (Sutherland). Disguised as Polish airmen German paratroopers land in England. Radl's plan appear to be going smoothly until an unforeseeable incident exposed the Germans. But the kidnap continues and Steiner Luger in hand approaches the unmistakable figure of Churchill... Without A Clue: A madcap comedy which takes a fresh look at the classic Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson escapades. Holmes is actually a figment of Dr. Watson's own success in crime detection a character who Watson uses when he writes in 'The Strand' magazine. But when the printing plates for five pound notes are stolen Queen Victoria herself calls for the country's greatest detective...

• Big Wednesday | DVD | (11/09/2018) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Various Composers - Works (Reiner, Chicago So) | DVD | (12/07/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Various Composers - Works (Reiner Chicago SO)

• The Ultimate Drummers Weekend - 10th Anniversary | DVD | (06/12/2004) from £9.15   |  Saving you £12.84 (140.33%)   |  RRP £21.99

  The Ultimate Drummers weekend celebrated its 10th Anniversary in 2002 and this DVD was produced as a result of one of the greatest weekends of drumming. Features concert performances workshops and interviews from over 20 top drummers. Also includes footage of the events 10 year history. The DVD includes 30 Minutes of the Dave Weckl Band and Dave Weckl workshop as well as 30 minutes of Virgil Donati and the Vorticity Music Power Trio (Frank Gambale and Ric Fierabracci) as well as the Virgil Donati workshop.

• The Sorcerers | DVD | (01/09/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  The Sorcerers, the second film directed by the lost "wunderkind" of British cinema Michael Reeves, may not have the scope and visceral impact of his masterpiece, Witchfinder General (1968), but there's enough fierce originality here to show what a tragic loss it was when he died from a drugs overdose aged only 24. The film also shows the effective use he made of minimal resources, working here on a derisory budget of less than £50,000--of which £11,000 went to the film's sole "named" star, Boris Karloff. Karloff plays an elderly scientist living with his devoted wife in shabby poverty in London, dreaming of the brilliant breakthrough in hypnotic technique that will restore him to fame and fortune. Seeking a guinea-pig, he hits on Mike, a disaffected young man-about-town (Ian Ogilvy, who starred in all three of Reeves' films). But the technique has an unlooked-for side effect--not only can he and his wife make Mike do their bidding, they can vicariously experience everything that he feels. At which point, it turns out that the wife has urges and desires that her husband never suspected. Karloff, then almost at the end of his long career, brings a melancholy dignity to his role; but the revelation is the veteran actress Catherine Lacey as the seemingly sweet old lady, turning terrifyingly avid and venomous as she realises her power. The portrayal of Swinging London, with its mini-skirted dollybirds thronging nightclubs where the strongest stimulant seems to be Coke rather than coke, has an almost touching innocence, but Reeves invests it with a dream-like quality, extending it into scenes of violent death in labyrinthine dark alleys. By this stage, some ten years after it started, the British horror cycle was winding down in lazy self-parody. Reeves had the exceptional talent and vision to revive it, had he only lived. On the DVD: The Sorcerers DVD has original trailers for both this film and Witchfinder General (both woefully clumsy); filmographies for Reeves, Karloff and Ogilvy; an "image gallery" (a grab-bag of posters, stills and lobby cards); detailed written production notes by horror-movie expert Kim Newman; and an excellent 25-minute documentary on Reeves, "Blood Beast", dating from 1999. The transfer is letterboxed full-width, with acceptable sound. --Philip Kemp

• Arizona Colt - Mediabook - Cover B (+ DVD) | Blu Ray | (10/11/2022) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• American Graffiti - Original Posters Series | DVD | (26/08/2013) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  California 1962: Four young men get together on the last night before two of them depart for college. They each mature somewhat during a hectic 24 hours of girl chasing and police baiting. Special Features: Limited Edition packaging featuring rarely seen film posters and design artwork The Making of Theatrical Trailer Cast and Filmmaker Biographies Production Notes

• Beethoven - Hammerklavier Op. 106, Rondo Op. 51/2 (Kempff) | DVD | (03/01/2005) from £19.66   |  Saving you £-0.67 (N/A%)   |  RRP £18.99

  Wilhelm Kempff (1895-1991) was a paragon of the German classic piano tradition. His Beethoven performances in particular were marked by an intense musicality that favored introspection over technical flamboyance. His career was remarkably long and he gave characteristic performances well into his 80s.Beethoven is the subject of this rare Kempff video from the rich archives of Radio-Canada. Featured is the great Hammerklavier Sonata (Op. 106) here given a truly magisterial performance in which the astonishing complexities of this great work are elucidated in the hands of a supreme Beethoven interpreter.Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827) - Rondo in G major for piano.Wilhelm Kempff discusses the Hammerklavier sonata.Sonata No. 29 in B-flat Major for Piano op. 106 Hammerklavier.Wilhelm Kempff - Telecast of November 29 1964.