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Grease (UK)
Grease was a phenomenal hit with its target teenage audience when it was released in 1977. The songs dominated the pop charts and brought heady success for its lead actors, John Travolta (Danny) and Olivia Newton-John (Sandy) despite the fact that--as with their energetic co-stars--their own teenage years were some way behind them. As they seize the chance to relive their schooldays, their verve and enthusiasm explodes from the screen. The real class, though, comes from Stockard Channing as feisty Rizzo and, in a couple of cameos, wisecracking silver screen actresses from yesteryear Eve Arden and Joan Blondel.
Based on the 1972 stage show and adding several new numbers, Grease is at heart a rites-of-passage movie with plenty of feel-good moments and a euphoric buzz. "You're the One That I Want", "Hopelessly Devoted to You" and "Summer Nights" became the soundtrack for a generation of high-school students on the cusp of adulthood. Today, it looks like a pastiche of those 1950s Connie Francis rock & roll beach films. But the steady stream of double entendres and knowing body language render it more accessible to the less innocent late 1970s. It's overwhelming nostalgia for anyone in the vicinity of 40.

On the DVD: The 25th anniversary special edition of Grease rolls back the years: the 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen presentation transports you instantly back to fifth-form heaven in the local fleapit. The Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound ensures that the songs--ever the staple of MOR radio--complete the nostalgia trip with real zip. The main extra is a short series of fond reminiscences from the actors and director Randal Kleiser, actually filmed for the 20th anniversary. --Piers Ford

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Extended Version [2002]- UK

With significant extra footage and a multitude of worthwhile bonus features this extended version of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers is as colossal an achievement as its predecessor, The Fellowship of the Ring. There are valuable additions to the story, including two new scenes which might appease those who feel that the characterisation of Faramir was the film's most egregious departure from the book; fans will also appreciate an appearance of the Huorns at Helm's Deep plus a nod to the absence of Tom Bombadil. Seeing a little more interplay between the gorgeous Eowyn and Aragorn is welcome, as is a grim introduction to Eomer and Theoden's son. And among the many other additions, there's an extended epilogue that might not have worked in cinemas, but is more effective here in setting up The Return of the King. While the 30 minutes added to The Fellowship of the Ring felt just right in enriching the film, the extra footage in The Two Towers at times seems a bit extraneous--we see moments that in the theatrical version we had been told about, and some fleshed-out conversations and incidents are rather minor. But director Peter Jackson's vision of JRR Tolkien's world is so marvellous that it's hard to complain about any extra time we can spend there.
While it may seem that there would be nothing left to say after the bevy of features on the extended Fellowship, the four commentary tracks and two discs of supplements on The Two Towers remain informative, fascinating, and funny, far surpassing the recycled materials on the two-disc theatrical version. Highlights of the 6.5 hours' worth of documentaries offer insight on the stunts, the design work, the locations and the creation of Gollum and--most intriguing for avid fans--the film's writers (including Jackson) discuss why they created events that weren't in the book. Providing variety are animatics, rough footage, countless sketches and a sound-mixing demonstration. Again, the most interesting commentary tracks are by Jackson and writers Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens and by 16 members of the cast (eight of whom didn't appear in the first film, and even including John Noble, whose Denethor character only appears in this extended cut). The first two instalments of Peter Jackson's trilogy have established themselves as the best fantasy films of all time, and among the best film trilogies of all time, and their extended-edition DVD sets have set a new standard for expanding on the already epic films and providing comprehensive bonus features. --David Horiuchi

Synopsis
The tale continues with the Fellowship broken and three groups heading their different ways. Frodo and Sam carry on for Mordor and acquire along the way a travelling companion by the name of Gollum who promises to help them reach the Mountain of Doom. Elsewhere Merry and Pippin's attempt to escape the Uruk Hai leads them to enter Fangorn Forest where they encounter Treebeard, a walking, talking tree shepherd. Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli reach Rohan to discover that King Theoden has been taken over by Saruman, All the residents of Rohan are ordered to go to Helm's Deep where a massive battle against the Uruk Hai ensues. Extended edition containing over forty-two minutes of never-before-seen footage. Includes three bonus featurettes. Discs 3 and 4 contain hours of original content including multiple documentaries and design.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring [Extended Version] - Four Disc Set [2001]- UK
In every aspect, the extended edition of Peter Jackson's epic fantasy The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is superior to the theatrical version. No-one who cares at all about the film should ever need to watch the original again. Well, maybe the impatient and the squeamish will still prefer it, because this extended edition makes a long film 30 minutes longer and there's a wee bit more violence. But the changes--sometimes whole scenes, sometimes merely a few seconds--make for a richer film. There's more of the spirit of JRR Tolkien, embodied in more songs and a longer opening focusing on Hobbiton. There's more character development, and more background into what is to come in the two subsequent films, such as Galadriel's gifts to the Fellowship and Aragorn's burden of lineage. Some additions make more sense to the plot while others are merely worth seeing, such as the wood elves leaving Middle-earth or the view of Caras Galadhon (but sorry, there's still no Tom Bombadil).
On the DVDs: The Fellowship of the Ring--Extended Version comes in two distinct packages: choose either the four-disc set itself, handsomely presented in a hardback book-style fold-out, or the huge and more expensive Collector's Box Set, which has the same four-disc set accompanied by two chunky "polystone" sculpted Argonath bookends, both of which are solid enough to support either your DVD or Tolkien book collection. The discs themselves have extremely useful chapter menus that indicate which scenes are new or extended. The only drawback is that the film is now spread over two discs, with a somewhat abrupt break following the council at Rivendell, due to the storage capacity required for the longer running time, the added DTS ES 6.1 audio, and the commentary tracks. But that's a minor inconvenience. Of the four commentaries those with the greatest general appeal are the one by Jackson with cowriters Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, and the one by 10 cast members; but the more technically orientated commentaries by the creative and production staff are also worth hearing.

The bonus features (encompassing two complete DVDs) are far superior to the largely promotional materials included on the theatrical release, delving into such matters as script development, casting, and visual effects. This extended edition DVD set is the Fellowship to rule them all. --David Horiuchi

Synopsis
Set in Middle-Earth many many years ago, this is the story of a young Hobbit named Frodo, who has in his possession a ring... This ring is needed by the evil Lord Sauron to destroy civilisation and plunge the world into complete darkness. In order to prevent this, Frodo must find a way to the Mount of Doom and destroy the ring.

The Office - The Complete Series 1 (2 Disc Set) [2001]
It feels both inaccurate and inadequate to describe The Office as a comedy. On a superficial level, it disdains all the conventions of television sitcoms: there are no punch lines, no jokes, no laugh tracks and no cute happy endings. More profoundly, it's not what we're used to thinking of as funny. Most of the fervently devoted fan base that the programme acquired watched with a discomfortingly thrilling combination of identification and mortification. The paradox is that its best moments are almost physically unwatchable.
Set in the offices of a fictional Slough paper merchant, The Office is filmed in the style of a reality television programme. The writing is subtle and deft, the acting wonderful and the characters beautifully drawn: the cadaverous team leader Gareth, a paradigm of Andy McNab's readership; the monstrous sales rep, Chris Finch; and the decent but long-suffering everyman Tim, whose ambition and imagination have been crushed out of him by the banality of the life he dreams uselessly of escaping. The show is stolen, as it was intended to be, by insufferable office manager David Brent, played by cowriter Ricky Gervais. Brent will become a name as emblematic for a particular kind of British grotesque as Alan Partridge or Basil Fawlty, but he is a deeper character than either. Partridge and Fawlty are exaggerations of reality, and therefore safely comic figures. Brent is as appalling as only reality can be. --Andrew Mueller

On the DVD The Office, Series 1 is tastefully packaged as a two-disc set appropriately adorned with John Betjeman's poem "Slough". The special features occupy the second disc and consist of a laid-back 39-minute documentary entitled "How I Made The Office by Ricky Gervais", with co-writer Stephen Merchant and the cast contributing. Here we discover that Gervais spends his time on set "mucking around and annoying people", and that actress Lucy Davis (Dawn) is the daughter of Jasper Carrott; as well as seeing parts of the original short film and the original BBC pilot episode; plus we get to enjoy many examples of the cast corpsing throughout endless retakes. There are also a handful of deleted scenes, none of which were deleted because they weren't funny. --Mark Walker

Synopsis
A documentary film crew follows David Brent, regional manager of the Slough branch of Paper Merchants, Wernham Hogg as he and his 'team' go about their business. As David works he manages to alienate, belittle, embarrass and offend just about everyone who works with him... Features the episodes 'Downsize', Work Experience', 'The Quiz', 'Training' 'New Girl' and 'Judgemen


Bensons World
Bensons World, the home of discount DVDs have over 30,000 videos and DVDs, is a part of Mr Bensons World Of Home Entertainment, the longest establishment video online & mail order company in the UK.


The Hitchcock Collection DVD (UK)

This seven-disc box set includes the following titles:
The Trouble with Harry: the 1955 black comedy concerning a pesky corpse that becomes a problem for a quiet, Vermont neighbourhood.

The Man Who Knew Too Much: the 1956 remake of Hitchcock's own 1934 spy thriller. James Stewart and Doris Day play American tourists who discover more than they wanted to know about an assassination plot.

Rear Window: the 1954 film in which the story and visual perspective are dictated by its protagonist's (Jimmy Stewart) imprisonment in his apartment. Stewart's convalescence in a wheelchair provides the revolutionary perspective from which both he and the audience observe the lives of his neighbours.

Rope: the 1948 experimental film masquerading as a Hollywood thriller, the plot is simple and based on a successful stage play: two young men commit murder as an intellectual exercise.

Shadow of a Doubt: the 1943 thriller which sets a tone of menace and fear by introducing a psychotic killer into the quite suburban town of Santa Rosa, California. Hitchcock claimed it to be his personal favourite.

Saboteur: the 1942 film, set during the initial stages of World War II, concerning a ring of Nazi fifth columnists who plot to weaken American military defences and cause a falsely accused man being forced on the run.

Bonus disc: Psycho: the 1960 film which contains one of the most famous scenes in movie history. Anthony Perkins is unforgettable as Norman Bates (a role he could never seem to leave behind) the mama's-boy proprietor of the Bates Motel.

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