"Actor: Andrew MacLachlan"

• Hornblower - The Examination For Lieutenant | DVD | (03/02/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Based freely on the classic novels by CS Forester, Hornblower is a series of TV films following the progress of a young officer through the ranks of the British navy during the Napoleonic Wars. The series greatest asset is the handsome and charismatic Ioan Gruffudd in the lead role, surely a major star in the making. For television films the production values are very good, though as Titanic, Waterworld and The Perfect Storm demonstrated, filming an aquatic adventure is a very expensive business, and it is clear that the Hornblower dramas simply make the best of comparatively small budgets. No more faithful to Forester's books than the 1951 Gregory Peck classic Captain Horatio Hornblower, the real inspiration seems to have come from the success of Sharpe, starring Sean Bean, which likewise featured a British hero in the Napoleonic Wars. Nevertheless, while rather more easy going than the real British navy of the time, the Hornblower saga delivers an entertaining adventure, greatly enhanced by the presence of such guest stars as Denis Lawson, Cheri Lunghi, Ronald Pickup and Anthony Sher. Firmly settled on HMS Indefatigable and mentored by Captain Pellew (an excellent Robert Lindsay), "The Examination for Lieutenant" finds Spain entering the war in an adventure involving both the Black Death and a lethal fireship.--Gary S Dalkin

• By The Sword Divided | DVD | (13/09/2004) from £46.99   |  Saving you £3.00 (6.38%)   |  RRP £49.99

  Contains By The Sword Divided - parts one and two. This classic BBC period drama series follows the fortunes of the aristocratic Lacey family living peacefully in their Arnescote castle until the onset of the English Civil War in 1640. The head of the family Sir Martin Lacey is unswervingly loyal to the King. However the family is torn apart when his eldest daughter Anne weds John Fletcher son of a merchant family who support the forces of Cromwell. Episodes comprise: Gathe

• Monty Python's The Meaning of Life | DVD | (04/09/2000) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Returning to the sketch-show format of their earlier days, Monty Python' s The Meaning of Life was always going to feel less ambitious and less coherent than their cinematic masterpiece, The Life of Brian. And inevitably given the format, some sketches are better than others. But, for a movie that has been much-maligned, The Meaning of Life actually features some of the Pythons' most memorable set-pieces: the exploding Mr Creosote has to be the most wonderfully grotesque creation of a team whose speciality was the grotesque; while the sublime "Sperm Song" mixes satire and lavish visual humour in a musical skit of breathtaking audacity. Elsewhere, Eric Idle produces another musical gem with "The Universe Song" ("Pray that there's intelligent life somewhere out in space / 'Cause there's bugger all down here on earth!"), while the Grim Reaper's appearance at an achingly tedious dinner party is the Pythons doing what they do best: mocking their own middle-class origins. Best of all, perhaps, is Terry Gilliam's modest introductory feature, "The Crimson Permanent Assurance", a 20-minute epic tale of the little men rebelling against the corporate system, a theme and a visual style that foreshadows his own masterwork, Brazil. Admittedly too many sketches sacrifice subtlety for shock tactics (the organ donation scene in particular requires a strong stomach), but when this film works it's nothing less than vintage Python. --Mark Walker

• Personal Services | DVD | (07/07/2003) from £12.98   |  Saving you £-2.99 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Julie Walters gives a sterling performance in this riotous comedy which takes a look behind the scenes at the sex-life of the British inspired by the life the notorious Madam Cynthia Payne...

• Lorna Doone | DVD | (19/09/2000) from £39.99   |  Saving you £-25.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Set against spectacular scenery with an exhilarating mix of action adventure and romance Lorna Doone is one of the world's greatest and most enduring love stories. Having seen his father murdered by the Doones - an aristocratic but murderous clan of outlaws - the young Ridd vows revenge. But his vengeance is complicated when he falls in love with the beautiful Lorna daughter of the Doone's. Their 'Romeo and Juliet' relationship wreaks havoc on those closest to them finally threatening their romance.

• Monty Python's The Meaning Of Life | DVD | (15/05/2006) from £97.85   |  Saving you £-87.86 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  It took God six days to create the earth and Monty Python just 90 minutes to screw it up. Those six pandemonium-mad Pythons are back with their craziest adventure ever! These naughty lads offer the usual tasteful sketches involving favourite bodily parts and functions the wonders of war the miracle of birth and a special preview of what's waiting for us in Heaven. Nothing is too sacred for the probing Python crew. After seeing them in action you'll never look at life in quite the same way again. It's far-out frank and jolly good fun!