"Actor: Andrew"

• The Human Body | DVD | (02/07/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £34.99

  The Human Body documentary is the sort of televisual undertaking that continues to justify the BBC licence fee. Presented by Robert Winston, it takes us on a journey from birth to death using time-lapse photography, computer graphics and various state-of-the-art imaging techniques to explore every aspect, every nook and crevice of the human body in its various stages of growth, maturity and eventual decay. Conception, toddlerhood, the awkward growing pains of adolescence, the incredibly complex workings of the brain (which burns up more energy than any other part of the human body, viewers of daytime TV included, apparently) and finally death are vividly depicted and explained. Winston's lucid, avuncular tones make The Human Body accessible to an intelligent 10-year-old and ages upward, though the more squeamish viewer might baulk at scenes of food being digested, or childbirth in all its inevitable messiness. Statistics abound--the average human will eat for three-and-a-half years during his or her lifetime, eat 160kg of chocolate and spend six months on the toilet. Though heart-warming in that it shows the commonality of human experience, The Human Body is also a potentially depressing reminder of our frail physicality and mortality. However, the most moving programme here features Herbie, a cancer victim who, in agreeing to have his last moments filmed as he lies dying in a hospice, has perhaps achieved a deserved immortality through this programme. On the DVD: The DVD edition includes a 50-minute feature on the making of the series and the background to the special effects used. --David Stubbs

• The Red Riding Trilogy | DVD | (13/04/2009) from £9.45   |  Saving you £20.54 (217.35%)   |  RRP £29.99

  As seen on Channel 4 this is a shocking and controversial landmark drama that British TV has been waiting for based on horrific factual events and adapted for the screen by Tony Grisoni (Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas Tideland) from David Peace's series of groundbreaking novels. The Red Riding Trilogy follows compelling stories revolving around the manhunt for the brutal Yorkshire Ripper and the tragic harrowing effects he has on a terrorised community living in fear. After a failed attempt to crack Fleet Street a cynical journalist returns to his homeland of Yorkshire and finds himself assigned to report on the case of a local girl who has gone missing. But after her bizarrely mutilated body is discovered he is thrown into a sleaze infested nightmarish world of corruption. As the killer's identity remains a mystery savage events spiral out of control spanning generations and leading to a shocking climax. Compelling complex gripping and genuinely disturbing The Red Riding Trilogy is a breathtaking neo-noir epic. Spread across three films (1974 1980 and 1983) by three different accomplished directors (Julian Jarrold James Marsh Anand Tucker) it features a cast of some of Britain's finest acting talent including Paddy Considine (Dead Man's Shoes) Sean Bean (Lord Of The Rings) and Rebecca Hall (Frost/Nixon).

• Jack Frost | DVD | (29/11/1999) from £3.99   |  Saving you £10.00 (250.63%)   |  RRP £13.99

  Whatever you do, don't confuse this Jack Frost with the 1997 comedic horror flick of the same name (its tagline: "He's chillin ... and killin'"). This family film stars Michael Keaton as Jack Frost, an aspiring musician, loving husband and occasionally absent father. Frost's life is unexpectedly cut short by a car accident and a year after his death he comes back as--you guessed it--a snowman, to help his family heal (Kelly Preston and Joseph Cross as wife and son Gabby and Charlie, respectively). The sudden death may affect sensitive younger viewers but by the time Frost returns the movie is more light-hearted and the film's message is a worthy one. There's an underlying theme that supports independence, and Gabby isn't saddled with a new dude by the film's end. There's also a good rapport developed between father and son, and especially mother and son. If an audience can take that huge leap of faith to accept the premise (as youthful audiences will no doubt be able to do), this is entertaining family fare. --N F Mendoza

• The Dirty Harry Collection -- five-disc box set | DVD | (21/01/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £45.99

  Dirty" Harry Callahan was one of the first screen characters to embody contemporary fears about crime--and the uncompromising response to it that much of the audience would liked to have seen. Clint Eastwood's laconic rogue cop became an instant screen icon; his catchphrases ("Do you feel lucky?", "Make my day") were and still are endlessly quoted, and he even inspired a futuristic comic-strip counterpart in the person of Judge Dredd. Made at the time when the real "Zodiac" serial killer was terrorising San Francisco, the original Dirty Harry struck a frighteningly realistic note in 1971: aside from Eastwood, director Don Siegel's taught, pacey direction, Lalo Schifrin's nervy jazz score and Andrew Robinson's cackling psycopath "Scorpio" all make a strong impact. Such was the film's success that it gave rise to no less than four sequels, none of which are its equal but all of which get by on the charisma of Eastwood's anti-hero, even when he's increasingly trapped by the character's one-dimensional persona. This five-disc box set contains all the "Harry" movies: Dirty Harry (1971); Magnum Force (1973, with David Soul as a vigilante bike cop); The Enforcer (1976, with Tyne "Lacey" Daly as Harry's new and reluctant partner); Sudden Impact (1983, the weakest of the lot costarring Eastwood's then-partner Sondra Locke) and The Dead Pool (1988, a surprisingly upbeat end to the series). --Mark Walker

• The Gate (Vestron) | Blu Ray | (26/02/2018) from £11.04   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  In 1987 The Gate was at the forefront of what came and went as a purely 80s genre: Kiddie Horror. Just like The Lost Boys or The Monster Squad of the same year, the idea was to let a couple of younger-than-teenage kids loose in a well-worn horror scenario and play it for as many laughs as scares. Its 15 certificate (PG-13 in the States) meant The Gate had an enormous opening weekend, and a considerable shelf life. The kids in question here are a very young Stephen (Blade) Dorff as Glen and his best friend Terry. After some tree felling in Glen's seemingly miles-square back yard they discover a hole full of precious rock. This is of course the Gate to a demonic dimension. As things start levitating, Glen's dog dies and moths get into the most awkward of places, it becomes obvious that the Gate is open! A teenage sister does little to help early on, but naturally the story develops into one about banding together under extreme circumstances. The make-up and stop-motion animation effects remain impressive in scope and there are a couple of frights still just on the right side of cliché. Since it was so successful, the writer and director went on to make an inferior sequel some years later. On the DVD: Viewers should note this is a very murky transfer that's in an unspecified widescreen ratio. There's also an unspectacular (equally unspecified) sound mix. But a gallery of 10 photos and the theatrical trailer makes up for that, right? --Paul Tonks

• Upstream Colour | Blu Ray | (30/12/2013) from £11.98   |  Saving you £10.00 (100.10%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Unconventional drama directed by and starring Shane Caruth. When Kris (Amy Seimetz), a graphics designer, is unfortunate enough to find herself the subject of the attentions of a thief (Thiago Martins) who employs somewhat unusual methods, her life rapidly goes downhill. In order to get her to transfer her savings to him, the thief implants a parasitic organism into Kris then leaves her to the equally unfavourable attentions of a pig farmer, who transfuses the parasite from Kris into a pig, c...

• Balamory - Daisy Bus Days | DVD | (13/03/2006) from £34.48   |  Saving you £-28.49 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Five fun-packed episodes from Balamory!

• In Like Flint | DVD | (20/06/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Flint's back! In Action... In Danger... In the Virgin Islands... Where the Bad Guys... Are Girls! 007 is a great number. And Austin has his powers but nobody is really ""In Like Flint!"" He's back in the ultimate spy spoof this time going head-to-head with a group of wealthy and powerful female tycoons who have discovered a way to brainwash women through beauty salon hairdryers! And if that's not enough they then replace the President with their surgically reproduced clone a

• Jimmy's Hall | DVD | (29/09/2014) from £7.55   |  Saving you £12.44 (164.77%)   |  RRP £19.99

  In the 1920s political activist and free-thinker Jimmy Gralton built a dance hall in rural Ireland as a place for young people dance play music and learn. As the hall grew in popularity its socialist and free-spirited reputation brought it to the attention of the church and politicians who forced Jimmy to flee and the hall to close. A decade later at the height of the Depression Jimmy returns to Co. Leitrim from the US and vows to live the quiet life. The hall stands abandoned but as Jimmy sees the poverty and growing cultural oppression within the community the leader and activist within him is stirred. He makes the decision to reopen the hall and in doing makes himself an enemy of the establishment.

• Pride | Blu Ray | (02/03/2015) from £9.55   |  Saving you £15.44 (161.68%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Set in the summer of 1984 – Margaret Thatcher is in power and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) is on strike. At the Gay Pride March in London a group of gay and lesbian activists decides to raise money to support the families of the striking miners. But there is a problem. The Union seems embarrassed to receive their support. But the activists are not deterred. They decide to ignore the Union and go direct to the miners. They identify a mining village in deepest Wales and set off in a mini bus to make their donation in person. And so begins the extraordinary story of two seemingly alien communities who form a surprising and ultimately triumphant partnership.

• Balamory - Days Out | DVD | (19/04/2004) from £19.99   |  Saving you £-14.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  What's the story in Balamory? Where would you like to go? Join the residents of Balamory as they explore the island and beyond in their Days Out! Big City: Archie plans to take his nephew on a visit to the big city but he is worried about how busy it will be. PC Plum gives him some advice on how to cross the road safely. Beach Ball: Josie Jump wants to take the children to the beach to play a game but her ball has a puncture. Edie comes up with a very clever solution

• Round The Twist - Completely Round The Twist | DVD | (24/04/2006) from £79.86   |  Saving you £-39.87 (N/A%)   |  RRP £39.99

  First screened in 1990 Round The Twist soon became a much loved children's show when it was first aired on in the UK on the BBC. Adapted from the stories of Paul Jennings Round The Twist became renowned for its weird mysteries and was broadcast to over 70 countries. This complete series release tells the story of the Twist family Tony Twist (Dad) and his three children - 14 year old twins Pete and Linda and eight year old Bronson who all live in an old lighthouse on the rugged A

• Great Wildlife Moments Introduced by David Attenborough | DVD | (17/11/2003) from £5.33   |  Saving you £10.66 (200.00%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Introduced and presented by David Attenborough, Great Wildlife Moments is a feature-length anthology that compiles some of the most memorable moments from the BBC Wildlife Unit. With a running time of 108 minutes it consists of 38 sequences drawn from the greatest archive of natural-history filmmaking in the world, breathtaking television spanning the entire biosphere from never-before-seen creatures in the ocean depths (Blue Planet, 2001) to Attenborough himself in zero gravity high above the Earth (The Living Planet, 1984). The anthology is divided into seven chapters covering different environments from "Snow and Ice" to "Jungles", an approach that both gives structure to the film and offers an effective vision of the sheer diversity of life on planet Earth. Most people's favourite sequences will be found here, from a killer whale taking a sea lion on the beach in The Trials of Life (1990) to Attenborough communing with mountain gorillas in Life on Earth (1979). Other segments come variously from BBC wildlife specials, Wildlife on One, The Natural World, The Kingdom of the Ice Bear (1985), Life in the Freezer (1993), The Private Life of Plants (1995), Attenborough in Paradise (1996), The Life of Birds (1998) and The Life of Mammals (2002), with additional narrators including John Hurt, Andrew Sachs and Simon King. This is a fine selection made all the more rewarding by Attenborough's endless enthusiasm and celebration of the world about us. On the DVD: Great Wildlife Moments is presented at 16:9, anamorphically enhanced for widescreen TVs. Unfortunately most of the material was originally shot for traditional 4:3 broadcast and so has been reformatted by carefully cropping shots at the top and/or bottom. For the most part this works acceptably with little of visual significance lost, though a sequence of emperor penguins from Life in the Freezer is ruined. Only one 4:3 segment--Attenborough high in the rainforest from Attenborough in Paradise--has been presented in its original ratio. Picture quality varies depending on the age of the clips, with material from Blue Planet and The Life of Mammals being flawless and older footage offering some grain, which is never too distracting. Sound is again variable, the Dolby Prologic soundtrack effectively smoothing the transitions between older mono soundtracks and more recent surround sound. The main extra is a fine commentary that is specific to each sequence and calls on the original producers, directors or cameramen (most but not every section has a commentary), while a 12-minute "making of" is actually more of an extended trailer for other BBC wildlife DVDs. The disc also includes a useful BBC Natural History Unit filmography. --Gary S Dalkin

• The Royle Family - The Complete Series 2 | DVD | (06/11/2000) from £4.98   |  Saving you £15.01 (301.41%)   |  RRP £19.99

  On paper, The Royle Family doesn't sound that promising: a working-class family from Manchester sit in their cluttered living room, watch the telly and argue over domestic details (the arrival of a telephone bill, for instance, provides the big dramatic event of the first episode, which aired in September 1998). But from such small everyday incidents, Royle Family creators Caroline Aherne and Dave Best (who play young couple Denise and Dave) have crafted one of the most successful shows on British television: a comedy about the joys and frustrations of family life that's warm, honest and very, very funny--Britain's answer to The Simpsons, whose success the show rivalled when it started broadcasting on BBC2 (the programme jumped channels to BBC1 for its second series).The Royle Family marked an on-screen reunion for Brookside-actors Ricky Tomlinson (who plays bearded, big-hearted, banjo-playing Jim Royle) and Sue Johnston as his wife Barbara, the driving force behind the Royle household. It is smart casting because The Royle Family is as much a soap opera as a situation comedy. Now in its third series, The Royle Family has seen its characters develop like real folk. Denise and Dave got married and now have a little sprog; Barbara starts menopause (how many sitcoms are brave enough to use that for laughs?) and Denise's kid brother Anthony shakes off his surly adolescence when he turned 18 in series two. Unlike Oasis, who provide the shows theme song "Halfway Round the World", this programme just keeps getting better.But no soap--not even Brookside in its dafter moments--has one-liners as brilliantly crafted as The Royle Family. (The scripts from the series are available to buy.) Slouched in his armchair, Jim's dour running commentary on the TV shows that are on at the time are particularly priceless: Changing Rooms, for instance, boils down to "a Cockney knocking nails into plywood... Is this what its come to?" Not quite: because as long as the Royle Family are around, there is something worthwhile to watch. --Edward Lawrenson

• His Dark Materials Season 1 & 2 Boxset | DVD | (28/12/2020) from £19.89   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Season One Based on author Philip Pullman's beloved trilogy, His Dark Materials Season One follows Lyra, a brave young woman from another world. Lyra's quest to find her kidnapped friend leads her to uncover a sinister plot of a secret organisation, encounter extraordinary beings and protect dangerous secrets. Bonus Features: Introducing His Dark Materials The Daemons: His Dark Materials Building His Dark Materials Dressing His Dark Materials Adapting His Dark Materials Season Two Season Two of His Dark Materials begins as Lyra embarks on a journey in a strange and mysterious abandoned city. There she meets Will, a boy from our world who is also running from a troubled past. Lyra and Will learn their destinies are tied to reuniting Will with his father but find their path is constantly thwarted as a war begins to brew around them. Meanwhile, Mrs Coulter searches for Lyra, determined to bring her home. Bonus Features: Making His Dark Materials The Subtle Knife Lyra The Powerful Mrs Coulter

• The Last Exorcism Part 2 - The Beginning Of The End | Blu Ray | (30/09/2013) from £7.55   |  Saving you £15.44 (204.50%)   |  RRP £22.99

  When Nell wakes up in hospital with little memory of a terrifying event resulting in the death of her father she is placed in temporary care. But when she starts to hear voices and see satanic signs it isn't long before her dark past catches up with her once more.

• Teachers - Series 1-4 | DVD | (02/09/2013) from £19.98   |  Saving you £-3.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  The lives and lifestyles of a group of young comprehensive school teachers in Bristol forms the backdrop for this critically acclaimed Channel 4 comedy drama series. Teachers is a funny irreverent look at the people we entrust our kids' education to. It follows a group of young teachers who aren't that different to their pupils. They smoke behind the bike-sheds argue with their parents and always have an excuse as to why they're late for school. More than anything Teachers reminds us that just because you're supposed to be a role model doesn't mean you have to share the same concerns as every other twenty-something: what am I doing with my life and I getting another sex...? Starring Andrew Lincoln (The Waking Dead); Nina Sosanya (Last Tango in Halifax); Rachel Cassidy (Lead Balloon); Gillian Bevan (Foyles War); Matt Horne (Gavin and Stacey). Special Features: Series One Behind the Scenes Interviews Series Two Behind the Scenes Interviews Series Three Behind the Scenes

• The New Normal - Season 1 | DVD | (30/09/2013) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  These days, families come in all forms - single dads, double moms, sperm donors, egg donors, one-night-stand donors... It's 2012 and anything goes. Bryan (Andrew Rannells - Girls, The Book of Mormon) and David (Justin Bartha - The Hangover) are a Los Angeles couple and they have it all. Well, almost. With successful careers and a committed, loving partnership, there is one thing that this couple is missing: a baby. And just when they think the stars will never align, enter Goldie (Georgia King - One Day), an extraordinary young woman with a checkered past. A Midwestern waitress and single mother looking to escape her dead-end life and small-minded grandmother (Emmy and Tony Award-winner Ellen Barkin), Goldie decides to change everything and move to L.A. with her precocious eight year-old daughter. Desperate and broke - but also fertile - Goldie quickly becomes the guys' surrogate and quite possibly the girl of their dreams. Surrogate mother, surrogate family.

• The Acid House | DVD | (07/06/2004) from £8.52   |  Saving you £1.47 (17.25%)   |  RRP £9.99

  In The Acid House director Paul McGuigan adapts three Irvine Welsh short stories. These are set in an unflinchingly depicted world of grey, breeze block tenements, wiry psychos, short leather skirts, beer, fags and drugs, kinky sex in badly wallpapered lounges, random violence, hideous-looking babies, raves, footy, discarded crisp packets and barely intelligible dialogue featuring the occasional use of non-profanity."The Granton Star Clause" tells the unhappy tale of wee, pasty-faced Boab Doyle, who in one long, unhappy sequence loses his place in the football team, his girlfriend, his job and gets kicked out of the house by his parents, before an encounter with God (here, a hard-bitten, lager-quaffing Maurice Roeves) leads to a surreal, Kafka-esque conclusion. The second tale, "A Soft Touch", is gruellingly and well portrayed but pointlessly depressing. Kevin McKidd plays Johnny, a supermarket employee with an appalling slag-hag of a girlfriend who takes up with his new, violently psychotic and parasitical neighbour Larry. Will he stand up for himself? The answer will leave you thoroughly unsatisfied. Finally, there's "The Acid House", the funniest but silliest of the three tales in which Ewan Bremner plays an obnoxiously livewire Hibs fan who takes one too many tabs and ends up being transported into the mind of stereotypically middle-class couple's--Martin Clunes and Jemma Redgrave--baby. The Acid House is compulsive but bleak, exhilarating but ambivalent. The viewer is asked to bring their own moral compass to these stylised yet non-judgemental episodes. Fans of Trainspotting, however, will certainly find much of the scintillating same here.On the DVD: disappointingly, only the trailer is featured here. However, the DVD transfer in letterbox format is impeccable, used to its best advantage in the more surreal, fast-cut music video-style sequences, while the soundtrack, featuring The Verve and Primal Scream among others, also benefits. --David Stubbs

• I'll Be Home For Christmas | DVD | (13/04/2004) from £4.98   |  Saving you £10.01 (201.00%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Jake Wilkinson (Jonathan Taylor Thomas) a wheeling dealing self-centered college student has one thing on his mind: get home for Christmas dinner or forfeit the vintage Porsche his father promised him. Just days before his deadline Jake awakens in the California desert - stranded and penniless wearing a Santa suit and a white beard glued to his face! Desperate to claim his gift he flies crawls cons races bullies and even sleighs his way east. But his non-stop mission turn