"Director: Thomas"

• Carry On Girls | DVD | (27/08/2001) from £15.05   |  Saving you £-5.06 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Carry On Girls was the last really successful instalment of the epic series of British film comedies. It's studded with gems of cameo performances and a tremendously innuendo-laden Talbot Rothwell script that is easily the equal of any of its predecessors. The setting, a beauty contest to raise the profile of the dismal resort Fircombe-on-Sea, is ripe for politically incorrect activity of the sort that could only be conducted by Sid James at the height of his lecherous powers. Enter Bernard Bresslaw in a corset, Wendy Richard as Ida Downs, Barbara Windsor as Miss Easy Rider and a host of other semi-clad lovelies and watch as the whole thing rises to a slapstick climax of frisky old colonels, bikinis, bosoms and itching powder. In the smaller roles, Joan Hickson (BBC television's Miss Marple) is hilarious as an elderly woman who believes she is a man-magnet and the always under-used Patsy Rowlands excels as the downtrodden mayor's wife, a worm who finally turns. But in many ways this is June Whitfield's film. As the terrifying reactionary councillor Mrs Prodworthy, with a butch lesbian sidekick, she plots the downfall of her male colleagues with classic lines. "Rosemary, get the candle", she orders as Patsy Rowlands requests initiation into the cause. Margaret Thatcher never sounded so ominous. On the DVD: Like most of the other DVD Carry On releases, this one is presented in 4:3 format with a mono soundtrack. All right, you don't really need anything more sophisticated to recreate the cosy ritual of Carry On watching in your living room. And the print is good and sharp. But apart from the usual scene index, the lack of extras reflects a disappointingly unimaginative approach to celebrating a genre of film comedy that, for all its low budget reputation, provided a showcase for the cream of a whole generation of British comic actors. They deserve better.--Piers Ford

• Rocky - The Complete Saga with Creed Sneak Peak | Blu Ray | (05/10/2015) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £78.99

  Go the distance with this Rocky TM Heavyweight Collection featuring all six knockout Rocky TM filmson Blu-ray™ plus six exclusive character cards with collectible artwork. Sylvester Stallone stars in the greatest boxing saga of all time and triumphs as one of the most inspirational characters in cinematic history. Witness every epic, action-packed fight and unforgettable moment as Rocky strives for greatness through sheer determination against impossible odds.

• Misfits - Series 3 | Blu Ray | (12/01/2012) from £13.98   |  Saving you £13.00 (108.42%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Misfits follows five outsiders on community service who get struck by a flash storm and lumbered with special powers.

• Alvin And The Chipmunks 1-3 | DVD | (25/01/2016) from £4.29   |  Saving you £15.70 (365.97%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Alvin, Simon and Theodore have plenty to sing about in three hilarious comedies for the whole family! In Alvin and the Chipmunks, when struggling songwriter Dave Seville (Jason Lee) opens his home to a trio of talented chipmunks, they become overnight sensations. Then in Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel, the boys are back for an awesome encore and joined by the beautiful Chipettes. Finally, a rockin' vacation aboard a cruise liner turns into a nutty adventure in Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked! Chip-Tasic Bonus Disc includes: Alvin and the Chipmunks: Road Chip Down Memory Lane The Ultimate 'Munk Mash Up Chip-tastic Personality Test

• Carry On Sergeant | DVD | (27/08/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £13.99

  The first of the Carry On movies, 1958's Sergeant is rather different from its successors, much more a film of its time (the latter days of National Service) and rather less a bawdy picture postcard. Sergeant Grimshaw (William Hartnell long before Doctor Who) is about to retire and hopes that he can get his last platoon into shape as Champion Platoon of its intake. Unfortunately, the new recruits include the clumsy Golightly (Charles Hawtrey), the barrack-room lawyer Bailey (Kenneth Williams) and the hypochondriac Horace Strong (Kenneth Connor). Love interest is provided by Bob Monkhouse and Shirley Eaton--newlyweds separated by the call-up and reunited by her taking a job in the canteen--and by the pursuit of Horace by Dora Bryan's Nora. The film relies heavily on a mixture of slapstick and paradoxical revelations of character complexity--the obnoxious Bailey nonetheless takes the trouble to coach the incorrigibly dense Herbert (Norman Rossington); the series' later obsession with low comedy only really emerges in the scenes between Horace and the medic Captain Clark (Hattie Jacques). The platoon's eventual coming together as other than total incompetents is predictable, but likable.On the DVD: The DVD has no frills whatever except for a widescreen picture and chapter selections; it has been cleaned up however so that we get a remarkably crisp mono picture and mono sound, which brings out the quality of the military-band score by Bruce Montgomery, who was also the writer Edmund Crispin. --Roz Kaveney

• Check Point | DVD | (19/06/2017) from £3.40   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  A 'sleeper cell' Terrorist plot is discovered in a small town where every one knows one another, or so they thought they did. As justice seems lost when an insurgent attack threatens to escalate into a full-blown invasion of the US, a team of unlikely heroes must rise up to fight the enemy and protect their country.

• Carry On Cabby | DVD | (29/01/2007) from £7.44   |  Saving you £8.55 (114.92%)   |  RRP £15.99

  The seventh entry in the Carry On series and the first not to feature Kenneth Williams. Charlie (Sid James) owner of the Speedee Cabs company finds he has some serious competition when his wife Peggy (Hattie Jacques) sets up a rival firm consisting only of glamorous female drivers. Cabbies driven to distraction include Charles Hawtrey Kenneth Connor and Jim Dale (in his first Carry On appearance).

• The Alien Conspiracy - Grey Skies | DVD | (14/04/2003) from £3.82   |  Saving you £0.17 (4.45%)   |  RRP £3.99

  Two invading alien species known as the Greys and the Morphs battle for control of Earth with mankind caught in the crossfire.

• Norwegian Ninja | DVD | (18/04/2011) from £16.56   |  Saving you £-3.57 (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  In 1984 the charismatic Norwegian diplomat Arne Treholt (38) is arrested on charges of spying for the Soviet Union. He is ultimately sentenced to 20 years in prison. But Treholt was never a spy. He was a Ninja entrusted by King Olav himself to lead a secret force of enlightened shadow warriors called The Ninja Force! Norwegian Ninja takes place in the time leading up to Treholt's arrest. The Ninjas discover that Stay Behind a sinister NATO force created to battle the Soviet Union are planning a coup-d'tat in peacetime. The Ninjas must defeat the conspirators at all costs in order to keep Norway free. A love letter to 1980's Ninja movies Bond films conspiracies and special effects Norwegian Ninja is the radical feature film debut of writer/director Thomas Cappelen Malling.

• La Clemenza Di Tito - Mozart | DVD | (03/01/2006) from £4.99   |  Saving you £25.00 (501.00%)   |  RRP £29.99

  Commissioned for the coronation of Leopold II in Prague Mozart's last opera is a deep humane reflection on relationships power and forgiveness. With the composition of some of the most beautiful passages in his oeuvre Mozart has succeeded in giving this opera seria both a noble sobriety and transparent instrumentation to which this commanding production by the Hermann partnership does full justice on all levels. Susan Graham's most extraordinary Sesto and Christoph Pregardien's Superb Tito set the standard for this riveting Opera National de Paris Performance conducted by the outstanding Sylvain Cambreling.

• American - The Bill Hicks Story | Blu Ray | (27/09/2010) from £20.00   |  Saving you £4.99 (24.95%)   |  RRP £24.99

  At last, the true life story of the outlaw comic who tried to save the world...and still might!

• One Dark Night | DVD | (26/12/2017) from £10.35   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  American horror starring Adam West in which high school student Julie Wells (Meg Tilly) agrees to stay in a mausoleum overnight as part of an initiation process, in the hopes of getting accepted into an elitist group of friends called The Sisters. Julie is unaware that she is joined by two girls from the group, Carol (Robin Evans) and Kitty (Leslie Spights), who sneak back into the mausoleum after dropping Julie off in an attempt to frighten her by donning costumes and playing pranks on their hopeful member. The playful pranks soon come to an end, however, when an occultist is resurrected from the dead and begins to terrorise them, causing them to fight for their own survival.

• Three By Rambert | DVD | (01/07/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The Rambert Dance Company first made its name in the 1920s for its creative melding of tradition and innovation. That tenet has remained central to the company's ethos and Three by Rambert showcases its particular strengths to great effect in three highly contrasting ballets. Musically, we have three utterly different scores: Janacek’s searing Second String Quartet (subtitled "Intimate Letters", from which the ballet adapts its name), the moody, evocative songs of Bill Withers and, finally, a medley of folk songs from various climes. Though stylistically at odds, all three explore the twin themes of desire and loss. The other link is that, heard in isolation, none of these pieces seems remotely danceable. It’s a tribute both to the choreography (Robert North in the jazz ballet "Lonely Town" , the company's artistic director Christopher Bruce in the remaining two) and to the dancers themselves that the results are so stunningly effortless. Time and again, you’re struck not simply by the liquid perfection of both solo and ensemble work, but by the directness of the physical language, and the depth of emotions expressed. A brilliant showcase for one of the cultural treasures of our age. On the DVD: Three by Rambert has good sound and excellent picture, with the 16:9 format doing full justice to the different visuals encapsulated by the three ballets. The booklet is useful for basic information, though more analysis of the works would have been helpful for non-experts. Rather than 14 minutes of trailers for other titles, an introduction to the work of the company, and maybe to the ballets themselves, would have been more helpful and user-friendly.--Harriet Smith

• Alistair McGowan - The Best Of Alistair McGowan's Football Backchat | DVD | (26/11/2001) from £6.96   |  Saving you £9.03 (56.50%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Hilarious football dubbing with Alistair McGowan. It's the DVD that's got all the footballers talking. All the greatest moments from Football Backchat 1 & 2.

• 3 Classic Katherine Hepburn Films - The African Queen / On Golden Pond / Iron Petticoat | DVD | (20/10/2003) from £20.00   |  Saving you £-2.01 (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  The African Queen The boozing smoking cussing captain of a tramp steamer Charlie Allnut saves prim and proper Rose Sayer after her brother is killed by German soldiers at the beginning of World War I in Africa. Many quarrels later the two set sail on the Ulonga-Bora in order to sabotage a German ship. Based on the 1935 novel by C.S. Forester the wonderful combination of Hepburn and Bogie (who won an Oscar) makes this a thoroughly enjoyable blend of comedy and adventure. Later came the book (and Clint Eastwood film) White Hunter Black Heart which chronicled screenwriter Peter Viertel's experiences observing Huston throughout the making of the picture. On Golden Pond Family tensions explode for a loving couple Ethel and Norman Thayer (Katherine Hepburn and Henry Fonda in Academy Award winning performance) at their New England summer cabin on Golden Pond. Their daughter Chelsea (Jane Fonda) has come to visit with her new lover Bill (Dabney Coleman) and his tough young son Billy (Doug McKeon). The three generations collide. But what begins as a stubborn battle of wills between Norman and Billy slowly turns into a relationship that Chelsea always wanted with her father and Norman discovers how much he has missed by denying his daughter's love. Iron Petticoat A US Air Force captain forces down a Russian MIG only to be confronted by a Russian fighter ace. The Captain is tasked with converting her to capitalism.

• Festen | DVD | (10/11/2003) from £22.96   |  Saving you £0.02 (0.10%)   |  RRP £19.99

  A man celebrates his sixtieth birthday with friends relatives his wife and children but some unpleasant family truths are revealed...

• Helter Skelter | DVD | (11/04/2011) from £4.99   |  Saving you £8.00 (160.32%)   |  RRP £12.99

  A detective gets involved with a wealthy socialite who can't seem to stop hiccupping.

• Angelo's - Series 1 | DVD | (11/07/2011) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Is there anything more definitively British than the 'greasy spoon' experience? Full English breakfasts mugs of mud coloured tea chipped formica tables signed publicity stills of now fading celebrities who may have strayed this way for a little (fried) slice of cafe life. It's arguably one of Britain's greatest traditions; especially when it's run by foreigners. Angelo's is a caf in the heart of London a short stroll from the tourist Mecca of Trafalgar Square the grandeur of Whitehall and the sex shops of sleazy Soho. This unique geographical location means it is also the meeting place for a whole motley crew of diverse deftly drawn characters from the imagination of writer Sharon Horgan (Pulling Annually Retentive). Heading up this unlikely gang is proprietor Angelo (played by Steve Brody) an Italian immigrant and proud Anglophile who wouldn't serve up any 'foreign muck' in his establishment. Angelo always provides a warm welcome to his patrons just as long as they don't spend all day sitting over one bloody coffee. He is ably assisted by his daughter Maria (Shelley Longworth) who far from being a willing waitress spends most of her day dreaming of being discovered by Simon Cowell and leaving this dump behind her. Never far behind is best friend Alicia (Alice Lowe) who like all true companions constantly undermines Maria and tries to steal her boyfriends. Then there's Karen and Dave (Sharon Horgan and Paul Garner) the local police community officers who seem to spend more time discussing their marital problems than doing any actual police work. Other regular fixtures include: Shelley (Miranda Hart) the man-hungry mini cab driver who is saving her virginity for Mr Right even if he's taken out a restraining order against her; Kris (Simon Farnaby) a classically trained out of work actor who dresses as a gold robot and mimes for pennies from tourists; and Russell (Kim Wall) who spends every day in Angelo's searching for a new employer before his wife finds out that he has been made redundant from his last job.

• Deadlier Than The Male | DVD | (02/02/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  A rarely seen 1966 tongue-in-cheek spy thriller starring Richard Johnson as Hugh Bulldog Drummond investigating the attempted sabotage of oil deals and assassination of a Persian King. Elke Sommer co-stars.

• Carry On Jack | DVD | (27/08/2001) from £4.50   |  Saving you £11.49 (255.33%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Carry On Jack was the 1963 offering from a team which had, by then, become a repertory company with special guests dropping in for a dose of innuendo. "What's all this jigging in the rigging?" demands Kenneth Williams, this time playing a ship's captain, and the scene is set for 90 minutes of ribaldry involving cross-dressing, press-ganging and plank walking. The plot scarcely matters. It's set after the Battle of Trafalgar and the sea is awash with Spanish galleons and pirates as the British navy sets about defending its shores with as much incompetence as possible. Sally, a barmaid at the Dirty Duck (Juliet Mills in feisty principal boy mode), knocks Bernard Cribbins on the head and steals his uniform so that she can go in search of her childhood sweetheart. He is promptly press-ganged and they end up on the same ship. Williams, on the brink of his ascendancy as a star turn, just about keeps the mannerisms under control enough to build the character of the naïve and neurotic captain. Familiar Carry On faces on top form include Charles Hawtrey and Jim Dale, while Peter Gilmore--in his pre-Onedin Line days--appears as a pirate. Peter Rodgers' script is not quite vintage Carry On but the jokes keep coming and it's all good, clean fun. On the DVD: This was one of the first Carry On films to be made in colour. The print is in reasonable condition. The picture quality, apart from a couple of scratchy scenes of sailing ships that were probably drafted in from stock footage, is fair, as is the sound. But apart from the scene index there are no extras on the disc. Given the cult status of the Carry On films, and the wealth of documentary material which has been made about them and their stars, you'd think something extra could have been offered with the DVD releases to make them a more worthwhile alternative to the video. --Piers Ford