"Director: Fritz LANG"

• Metropolis | Blu Ray | (19/01/2015) from £31.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  If you think you know Fritz Lang's Metropolis backwards, this special edition will come as a revelation. Shortly after its premiere, the expensive epic--originally well over two hours--was pulled from distribution and re-edited against Lang's wishes, and this truncated, simplified form is what we have known ever since 1926. Though not quite as fully restored as the strapline claims, this 118-minute version is the closest we are likely to get to Lang's original vision, complete with tactful linking titles to fill in the scenes that are irretrievably missing. Not only does this version add many scenes unseen for decades, but it restores their order in the original version. Until now, Metropolis has usually been rated as a spectacular but simplistic science fiction film, but this version reveals that the futuristic setting is not so much prophetic as mythical, with elements of 1920s architecture, industry, design and politics mingled with the mediaeval and the Biblical to produce images of striking strangeness: a futuristic robot burned at the stake, a steel-handed mad scientist who is also a 15th Century alchemist, the trudging workers of a vast factory plodding into the jaws of a machine that is also the ancient God Moloch. Gustav Frohlich's performance as the hero who represents the heart is still wildly overdone, but Rudolf Klein-Rogge's engineer Rotwang, Alfred Abel's Master of Metropolis and, especially, Brigitte Helm in the dual role of saintly saviour and metal femme fatale are astonishing. By restoring a great deal of story delving into the mixed motivations of the characters, the wild plot now makes more sense, and we can see that it is as much a twisted family drama as epic of repression, revolution and reconciliation. A masterpiece, and an essential purchase. On the DVD: Metropolis has been saddled with all manner of scores over the years, ranging from jazz through electronica to prog-rock, but here it is sensibly accompanied by the orchestral music Gottfried Huppertz wrote for it in the first place. An enormous amount of work has been done with damaged or incomplete elements to spruce the image up digitally, and so even the scenes that were in the film all along shine with a wealth of new detail and afford a far greater appreciation for the brilliance of art direction, special effects and Helm's clockwork sexbomb. A commentary written but not delivered by historian Ennio Patalas covers the symbolism of the film and annotates its images, but the production information is left to a measured but unchallenging 45-minute documentary on the second disc (little is made of the astounding parallel between the screen story in which Klein-Rogge's character tries to destroy the city because the Master stole his wife and the fact that Lang married the actor's wife Thea von Harbou, authoress of the Metropolis novel and screenplay!). There are galleries of production photographs and sketches; biographies of all the principals; and an illustrated lecture on the restoration process which uses before and after clips to reveal just how huge a task has been accomplished in this important work. --Kim Newman

• You Only Live Once 75the Anniversary | DVD | (04/06/2012) from £11.49   |  Saving you £4.50 (39.16%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Joan and Eddie are in love but he is a career criminal. She uses her influence to get him out of prison and after their marriage he vows to go straight. However, things don't go according to plan and they both go off the rails...

• Fritz Lang Box Set | DVD | (23/04/2007) from £74.90   |  Saving you £-24.91 (N/A%)   |  RRP £49.99

  Hailed as one of the greatest directors of silent films and after the coming of sound Fritz Lang was one of the most influential and innovative artists of the twentieth century and in the history of cinema. Released to mark the 80th Anniversary of the epic Metropolis this Box Set contains five of the filmmaker's most legendary works in their recently restored forms spread across eight discs and supplemented with a host of extras. The two-part film Dr. Mabuse the Gambler is one of the most sensational crime thrillers ever filmed and mirrors German society of the 1920s in all its crime-ridden decadence. Its sinister theme is dominated by terror as the power-crazed Mabuse (Rudolf Klein-Rogge) masterminds the worlds most dangerous gang of counterfeiters thieves and murderers wielding hypnotic powers with an iron fist to obtain total obedience to his will. Inspired by the towering Manhattan skyline Metropolis is a science fiction classic. Sixteen months in the making with a cast of over thirty seven thousand the film cost over two million dollars at 1920s prices. Set in the year 2026 a mammoth city is ruled by the super efficient industrialist Joh Fredersen (Alfred Abel). On the surface the city appears to be a utopian dream with wealthy inhabitants living in palatial apartments set in colossal glass and concrete spires but underground it's a different story. Armies of slaves work gruelling hours to maintain the luxurious lifestyles of their masters. The tense balance of these two societies is soon realized when the workers revolt and destroy everything in sight. Fritz Lang's penultimate silent film Spione is a flawlessly constructed labyrinthine spy thriller. An international spy ring headed by Haghi (Rudolf Klein-Rogge) uses technology threats and murder to obtain government secrets. As master spy president of a bank and music hall clown Haghi leads several lives using instruments of modern technology to spearhead a mad rush for secrets - secrets that assert his power over others. Like a brand the letter 'M' has made its mark on film history as one of the most chilling serial killer films ever produced; its disturbing theme having lost none of its power or impact. Sinister dark and foreboding M tells the story of Hans Beckert (Peter Lorre) as the globe-eyed child murderer hunted by both the law and the underworld of Berlin. Fritz Lang resuscitated the evil genius Dr Mabuse ten years after making Dr Mabuse the Gambler in the sequel The Testament of Dr Mabuse. The sequel picks up the story with Mabuse's capture madness and incarceration. Even though he has been locked away in an asylum for ten years his crime organisation is still perpetrating an insane orgy of wanton destruction threats shoot-outs thefts explosions bombings burnings and floods. Rudolf Klein-Rogge reprises his role as Dr Mabuse. Banned by the Nazis The Testament of Dr Mabuse is one of Fritz Lang's most inventive crime thrillers and one of cinema's most accomplished early talkies.

• Doctor Mabuse - The Gambler | DVD | (24/05/2004) from £6.33   |  Saving you £16.66 (263.19%)   |  RRP £22.99

  Dr Mabuse The Gambler is a fascinating reflection of German society in the 1920s and all its criminal-ridden decadence. In Fritz Lang's epic tale of domination by terror the power-crazed Mabuse (Rudolph Klein-Rogge) masterminds the world's most dangerous gang of counterfeiters thieves and murderers wielding hypnotic powers with an iron fist to obtain total obedience to his will! This double DVD set presents the complete 4 1/2 hour version of Lang's silent masterwork.

• The Blue Gardenia | DVD | (02/04/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Nora is a pretty telephone operator engaged to a soldier overseas. On her birthday she gets a Dear John letter from him. Feeling despondent she agrees to a date with a wolf from her office. He gets her drunk and leads her back to his apartment where she resists his advances and bludgeons him in self-defense. She flees leaving behind the blue gardenia he bought her. The next morning she's can't remember the details of what happened.

• The Woman In The Window | DVD | (12/01/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  The Woman In The Window

• Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956) DVD | DVD | (18/07/2011) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Hoping to expose fatal flaws in the legal system a writer (Dana Andrews Laura) places a bet that he can have himself convicted of murder on purely circumstantial evidence by planting false clues at a crime scene before sensationally revealing his trick at the last minute. However a series of disastrous coincidences leaves him facing execution - and a frantic search for the true killer begins. Fritz Lang's ingenious thriller (his last Hollywood film and the companion-piece to While The City Sleeps) also stars Academy Award winner Joan Fontaine (Rebecca) and Arthur Franz (The Caine Mutiny).

• Western Union | DVD | (21/02/2005) from £22.06   |  Saving you £-12.07 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Former outlaw Vince Shaw gives up a life of crime and goes to work for a telegraph company. However his brother Jack Slade leads a gang of criminals to prevent the company from connecting the line between Omaha and Salt Lake City bringing the two into deadly conflict...

• While the City Sleeps (1956) | DVD | (11/10/2010) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £11.99

  While a police-eluding serial killer prowls the New York streets newspaper publisher Walter Kyne (Vincent Price) pits his three top newsmen against each other to catch the maniac and scoop the story but in the ensuing chase the hounds become entangled in professional rivalry and romantic complications - with deadly consequences. Fritz Lang's tense fast-paced Hollywood thriller features an all-star cast and cinematography by noir maestro Ernest Laszlo (Kiss Me Deadly).

• Spione | DVD | (20/04/2005) from £14.98   |  Saving you £5.01 (25.10%)   |  RRP £19.99

  An international spy ring headed by Haghi (Rudolf Klein-Rogge) uses technology threats and murder to obtain government secrets. As master spy president of a bank and music hall clown Haghi leads several lives using instruments of modern technology to spearhead a mad rush for secrets; secrets that assert his power over others. Agent No 326 (Fritsch) is ordered to stop the spy ring but instead falls in love with one of the spies... Fritz Lang's espionage epic his penultimate sil

• Western Classics Collection | DVD | (22/05/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £39.99

  A collection of 7 classic westerns! Broken Arrow: By 1870 there has been ten years of a cruel war between settlers and Cochise's Apache Indians. Tom Jeffords an ex-soldier saves the life of a young Apache boy and starts to reassess his opinions of the Indians. As an ambassador of goodwill he enters Cochise's stronghold but is peace achievable? (Dir. Delmer Daves 1950 Cert. PG) Broken Lance: Tyrannical cattle baron Matt Devereaux (Spencer Tracy) has raised his ol

• The Return Of Frank James | DVD | (09/08/2010) from £17.53   |  Saving you £-1.54 (-9.60%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Frank James continues to avoid arrest in order to take revenge on the Ford brothers for their murder of his brother Jesse.

• Scarlet Street | DVD | (06/11/2006) from £12.63   |  Saving you £-7.64 (N/A%)   |  RRP £4.99

• Metropolis | Blu Ray | (22/11/2010) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  With its dizzying depiction of a futuristic cityscape and alluring female robot Metropolis is among the most famous of all German films and the mother of sci-fi cinema (an influence on Blade Runner and Star Wars among countless other films). Directed by the legendary Fritz Lang (M Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse The Big Heat etc.) its jaw-dropping production values iconic imagery and modernist grandeur - it was described by Luis Bu'uel as a captivating symphony of movement - remain as powerful as ever. Drawing on - and defining - classic sci-fi themes Metropolis depicts a dystopian future in which society is thoroughly divided in two: while anonymous workers conduct their endless drudgery below ground their rulers enjoy a decadent life of leisure and luxury. When Freder (Gustav Fr''hlich) ventures into the depths in search of the beautiful Maria (Brigitte Helm in her debut role) plans of rebellion are revealed and a Mariareplica robot is programmed by mad inventor Rotwang (Rudolf Klein-Rogge) and master of Metropolis Joh Fredersen (Alfred Abel) to incite the workers into a self-destructive riot. A Holy Grail among film finds Metropolis is presented here in a newly reconstructed and restored version as lavish and spectacular as ever thanks to the painstaking archival work of the Friedrich-Wilhelm-Murnau-Stiftung and the discovery of 25 minutes of footage previously thought lost to the world. Lang's enduring epic can finally be seen - for the first time in 83 years - as the director originally intended and as seen by German cinema-goers in 1927.

• Hangmen Also Die | DVD | (23/09/2013) from £19.94   |  Saving you £-4.95 (-33.00%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Triple Oscar winner Walter Brennan stars alongside Brian Donlevy and Anna Lee in Fritz Lang's masterful 1943 epic of suspense. Prague 1942. Czechoslovakia is occupied by the Nazis and suffering under a brutal regime controlled by SS Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich - the vicious sadist the Czech's call 'The Hangman'. When Heydrich is gunned down by a Czech patriot the fleeing resistance fighter (Brian Donlevy) finds temporary refuge in the apartment of Nasha Novotny (Anna Lee) and her family before escaping. In retaliation the Nazis take hundreds of hostages - including Nasha's father (Walter Brennan) - and threaten to shoot them if Heydrich's assassin is not handed over. Nasha Novotny is left with the most terrible decision of her life. Should she save her father - by betraying Heydrich's killer to the Gestapo? Nominated for two Oscars and co-written by the legendary playwright Bertholt Brecht Hangmen Also Die is a gripping war story given a stunning Film Noir edge. Digitally restored and remastered it is now available to own on DVD for the very first time.

• You Only Live Once | DVD | (09/08/2004) from £14.98   |  Saving you £-4.99 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Joan and Eddie are in love but he is a career criminal. She uses her influence to get him out of prison and after their marriage he vows to go straight. However things don't go according to plan and they both go off the rails...

• M | Blu Ray | (22/02/2010) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Of all Fritz Lang's creations none have been more innovative or influential than M the film that launched German cinema into the sound era with stunning sophistication and mesmerising artistry. A spate of child killings has stricken a terrified Berlin. Peter Lorre gives a legendary performance as the murderer Hans Beckert who soon finds himself chased by all levels of society. From cinema's first serial killer hunt Lang pulls back to encompass social tapestry police procedural and underworld conspiracies in an astonishingly multi-faceted and level-headed look at a deeply incendiary topic. One of the greatest psychological thrillers of all time M remains as fresh and startling almost 80 years on.

• The Testament Of Dr Mabuse | DVD | (22/03/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £22.99

  The Testament of Dr Mabuse is Fritz Lang's sequel to his flamboyant Dr Mabuse two-part epic of the 1920s, this time adding subtle use of sound to the creepy effects developed for the earlier film. Once a Moriarty-like mastermind, the haggard Dr M (Rudolf Klein-Rogge) has become an autistic asylum inmate who scrawls plans for daring crimes in his cell and exerts an unhealthy influence on his psychiatrist. Inspector Lohmann (Otto Wernicke), the jolly policeman from Lang's M, is puzzled by a series of daring crimes that bear the Mabuse signature, and a gang of thugs take instructions from a shadowy figure who claims after the doctor's death to be Mabuse reborn and is staging a reign of crime apparently designed to bring about the ruin of all law-abiding society. Though it works best as a textbook thriller, some commentators, including Lang, suggested that the pulp plot was intended to allegorise the evil influence of the Nazi party, with a crime boss who rants like Hitler. The many impressive set-pieces still work, too: the pursuit of a spy through a grinding print-works, an assassination at a traffic light, hero and heroine trapped in a room with a bomb and cutting a water main to flood their way to freedom, the persecution of the asylum head by a phantom of his patient, and a last-reel night-time chase. On the DVD: The Testament of Dr Mabuse on disc is accompanied by a 15-minute illustrated essay on the film and its history. There are English subtitles. --Kim Newman

• M | DVD | (13/09/1999) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Peter Lorre made film history with his startling performance as a psychotic murderer of children. Too elusive for the Berlin police, the killer is sought and marked by underworld criminals who are feeling the official fallout for his crimes. This riveting, 1931 German drama by Fritz Lang--an early talkie--unfolds against a breathtakingly expressionistic backdrop of shadows and clutter, an atmosphere of predestination that seems to be closing in on Lorre's terrified villain. M is an important piece of cinema's past along with a number of Lang's early German works, including Metropolis and Spies. (Lang eventually brought his influence directly to the American cinema in such films as Fury, They Clash by Night and The Big Heat.) M shouldn't be missed. This original 111-minute version is a little different from what most people have seen in the cinema. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com

• Frau im Mond (aka Woman in the moon) | DVD | (21/01/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  In this Lang's final silent epic the legendary filmmaker spins a tale involving a wicked cartel of spies who co-opt an experimental mission to the moon in the hope of plundering the satellite's vast (and highly theoretical) stores of gold. When the crew helmed by Willy Fritsch and Gerda Maurus finally reach their impossible destination they find themselves stranded in a lunar labyrinth without walls - where emotions run scattershot and the new goal becomes survival. A modern Daedalus tale which uncannily foretold Germany's wartime push into rocket-science Frau im Mond is as much a warning-sign against human hubris as it is a hopeful depiction of mankind's potential. This DVD presents the culmination of Fritz Lang's silent cinema newly restored to its near-original length.