"Actor: Archie"

• Sea Of Souls - Series 1 | DVD | (31/01/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  One man's truth is another man's mystery and that is where Dr Douglas Monaghan and his team come to the fore. They make up the fictional Parapsychology Unit at Clyde University that is at the heart of Sea of Souls a fascinating and compelling BBC1 drama which looks at the power of the paranormal. From Voodoo to cult rituals past life experiences to telepathic twins the trio of bewitching storylines featured in Sea of Souls tap into the fascination with all things paranormal as Doug

• The Life And Adventures Of Nicholas Nickleby | DVD | (13/05/2002) from £39.99   |  Saving you £-20.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  This 2000 television adaptation confirms Nicholas Nickleby's place among television dramatists' favourite Dickens novels. It has all the vital ingredients: a sensitive, intelligent young hero cast by circumstances in the role of everyman whose fortitude is tested at every turn; romance; danger; one of Dickens' richest braces of characters; and a sense of humanity that is, at times, overwhelming. Condensing all this into three hours is no mean achievement. Martyn Edward Hesford's screenplay maintains an impressive balance between dramatic tension and allowing the characters the space they need to reveal their essential qualities. Only in the last 30 minutes does it become something of a gallop to the finishing post. True, the horrors of the boarding school could be more horrific; the grime of Victorian London and its toothless inhabitants could be grimier and less cosmetic. But as always with a superior production of a Dickens novel, the richness and depth of the drama outweigh such minor quibbles. As for the cast, James D'Arcy's Nicholas is pitch-perfect: part cipher for the injustices and despair he encounters, part emblem for the triumph of goodness, an innocent whose eyes are quickly forced open to the darker realities of life. These darker realities are congealed in Charles Dance's relentlessly chilling, heartless Ralph Nickleby. This is a deceptively complex performance; even as we cheer the gathering forces which finally extinguish his increasingly desperate power, the awful tragedy of his end still elicits a discomforting ounce of sympathy. Gregor Fisher as the one-eyed Squeers and Pam Ferris as his fearsomely lascivious wife are outstanding in an ensemble of fine character actors. And Lee Ingleby's Smike gives our tear ducts a good workout while steering just the right side of sentimentality. On the DVD: Nicholas Nickleby is presented in widescreen format with Dolby Digital soundtrack, and has all the technical qualities you might expect from the DVD release of a modern television production. Extras include cast filmographies, a Dickens biography and a list of his work, all of which add to the disc's merits as a literary educational tool. --Piers Ford

• Orson Welles' Macbeth | DVD | (17/07/2000) from £17.46   |  Saving you £2.53 (14.49%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Orson Welles' Macbeth is an expressionist masterpiece about a doomed man of ordinary ambition who believes an evil prophecy that he will become King. The shortest of Shakespeare's tragedies, Welles long considered Macbeth to be the most filmable of the Bard's work. Produced on a slim budget over a mere 32 days, the results are consistently impressive. As depicted by Welles, the title character is not a warrior king or conscience-stricken, poetic soul on a par with Hamlet; rather, he is revealed to be a facile, superstitious man consigned to fate even as the character does not trust to fate. For her part, Lady Macbeth (Jeanette Nolan) is merely obsessed with the unimpeded exercise of her will to power, viewing her husband's life as a tale told by an idiot (she is particularly effective during the "out, damned spot" scene from Act V). Welles has also created some new scenes here, conflating several characters into a "Holy Father" (Alan Napier) while eliciting strong supporting turns from actors such as Dan O'Herlihy (Macduff) and Roddy McDowall (Malcolm). All of this unfolds within a highly disordered state in which nature itself is on the rant ("Fair is foul and foul is fair"). Though the technically poor soundtrack and the occasional indecipherable Scottish brogue make the film seem a trifle compromised at times, each moment feels preternaturally alive. There is an almost Brechtian quality here, with Welles giving us splendid pieces then leaving it to us to fit them into a theatrically coherent puzzle. Refusing to believe that Birnham Wood could ever travel to Dunsinane, Macbeth is finally exposed as a man of insufficient character. As such, some might suggest that this Macbeth is more accurately described as the story of how Malcolm became King. --Kevin Mulhall

• The Adventures of Robin Hood: The Complete Series | DVD | (23/09/2019) from £57.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Richard Greene stars as television s most famous Robin Hood in ITV's first smash-hit series from the very early days of British commercial television. First seen in 1955, The Adventures of Robin Hood ran for 143 episodes and its worldwide success gave rise to a whole strand of swashbuckling heroes, including Sir Lancelot, William Tell and The Buccaneers. Still shown around the world and highly regarded more than 50 years later, this series more than any other established a tone and style for the half-hour adventure format series, influencing every series that came after. This set contains the complete run of 143 episodes over 18 discs.

• Gran Turismo: Based On A True Story 4K UHD + Blu-ray SteelBook (Region A, B, C) | Blu Ray | (13/11/2023) from £24.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Gran Turismo is based on the unbelievable true story of a team of unlikely underdogs. A struggling working-class gamer (Archie Madekwe), a failed former racecar driver (David Harbour), and an idealistic motorsport executive (Orlando Bloom). Together, they risk it all to take on the most elite sport in the world. Gran Turismo is an inspiring, thrilling, and action-packed story that proves that nothing is impossible when youre fueled from within.

• Best Of British: East Is East, Brassed Off, Purely Belter | DVD | (30/09/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  East Is EastFor the seven kids of George Khan life is one long compromise. Tomboy Meenah prefers playing footie to wearing a sari hippie Saleem pretends to be studying engineering when he's really at art school heart throb Tariq has got a reputation as a local Casanova and Sajid hasn't even been circumcised yet! Brassed OffIt's 1992 and the miners of Grimley Colliery are facing uncertainty. Not only is their pit under threat but the Grimley Colliery Band is on the verge of breaking up - that is until Gloria (Tara Fitzgerald) arrives. As the only female member of the band she somehow manages to rekindle their enthusiam for the forthcoming National Championships as well as rekindling a childhood romance with Andy (Ewan McGregor). Purely BelterAt the centre of this heart warming comedy are two young boys who won't give up on the pursuit of their dreams. Gerry and Sewell are broke. Owning season tickets to their beloved football club is their biggest dream of all. The tickets cost ''1000: they''re ''1000 short...

• East Is East | Blu Ray | (16/06/2009) from £10.98   |  Saving you £11.00 (122.36%)   |  RRP £19.99

  In early 1970's England, a traditional Pakistani father (Om Puri) finds his family spinning in decidedly non-traditional directions.

• Pressure / Baldwin's Nigger | DVD | (26/09/2005) from £4.99   |  Saving you £15.00 (300.60%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Pressure (1976):Set in 1970s London Pressure follows the story of Tony the son of West Indian immigrants as he struggles to find a sense of belonging and social acceptance. Baldwin's Nigger (1968): James Baldwin accompanied by civil rights activist Dick Gregory discusses the issues surrounding black identity.

• Happy Birthday Postman Pat | DVD | (12/09/2011) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £7.99

  Everyone in Greendale is helping to arrange a surprise party for a special someone's birthday - Postman Pat! The preparations are underway with kids, adults and even Ted's machines helping out. But all the while, Pat thinks friends and family have forgotten his special day. Will everything go to plan and be ready in time for the big surprise?

• Vera Cruz | DVD | (11/06/2001) from £12.94   |  Saving you £3.04 (30.55%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Vera Cruz was only director Robert Aldrich's second Western (his first, made a few months earlier, was the revisionist, pro-Native-American Apache), but it's such an assured, stylish affair that he might have been roaming the sagebrush for decades. In the aftermath of the American Civil War two lone adventurers make their way south of the border, where Mexico is fighting a civil war of its own to rid the country of the French-imposed Emperor Maximilian. Neither the dour Benjamin Trane (Gary Cooper) nor the grinning, devil-may-care Joe Erin (Burt Lancaster) has much in the way of idealism, but Trane still retains a thin bitter edge of integrity, a quality quite alien to the cheerfully amoral Erin. In uneasy alliance, constantly looking to outwit or double-cross each other, the two find themselves escorting a beautiful French countess (Denise Darcel) and a shipment of gold across country. Cooper and Lancaster create a superb double-act, using their contrasted screen personas to point up the humour and the cynicism of the two mercenaries' relationship. Darcel makes less than she might of the femme fatale role, but there are relishable cameos from Cesar Romero as a suavely duplicitous aristo and Ernest Borgnine as another gringo with an exceptionally vicious streak. The script, according to Aldrich, was written on the run, "always finished about five minutes before we shot it", but you wouldn't guess it from the laconic wit of the dialogue. It looks great, too--Ernest Laszlo's widescreen photography makes the most of the handsome Mexican locations. With its irreverent take on the accepted moral conventions of the genre, Vera Cruz ushered in a new kind of Western, and its central love-hate relationship would be replayed in Sam Peckinpah's Ride the High Country (1962) and Sergio Leone's The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966). On the DVD: Not much in the way of extras but the mono sound has been expertly remastered to the benefit of Hugo Friedhofer's spirited score. Above all, the film's presented in its full Superscope ratio (16:9), a blessed relief after all those years when it showed up panned-and-scanned on BBC1. If ever a movie needed widescreen, it's this one--if only to fit in all Burt's teeth. You can see why they called him "Crockery Joe". --Philip Kemp

• Phoenix Nights: Series 1 | DVD | (19/06/2006) from £14.43   |  Saving you £5.56 (38.53%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Legendary social club owner Brian Potter and his hapless band of staff and regulars are determined to make Phoenix Club a success no matter what. Not even a racist folk band an unforeseeable psychic or a drunken horse will get in the way of their dream that 'Clubland will never die'.

• CSI: Crime Scene Investigation - Season 1 Part 1 | DVD | (01/07/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £39.99

  The latest in a long line of successful US police dramas, the forensic cop show Crime Scene Investigation varies the formula by focusing on a team of civilian scientists who work the night shift in Las Vegas, poring over crime scenes for fingerprints, blood spatters, DNA-laced mucus and (especially) maggots. Star William Petersen plays a variation of his role from Manhunter, the cool puzzle-solving genius who can rattle off mystifying speeches with aplomb, while his contrasting partner is Marg Helgenberger, cast as a single mother/ex-stripper who is as concerned with the emotional as well as the physical mess left by crime. While most US cop shows (witness NYPD Blue) tend towards soap, neglecting the cases in favour of personal crises, CSI gives its regulars enough life to make them human but is essentially puzzle-based, with individual episodes following two or three cases à la Homicide: Life on the Street. The occasional special focuses on a major job with the team investigating the slaughter of a whole family ("Blood Drops") or a death in first class on a plane over Vegas ("Unfriendly Skies"). A few continuing threads are laid down, with a recurrent villain who gets away, but will inevitably return, but on the whole these shows play pretty well as one-offs. Very high-tech in style, with lots of zooms into microscopic examinations of hair follicles or stomach contents and distinctive visualisations of the different stories told by witnesses and evidence, this is one of the best shows currently airing. On the DVD: CSI's first DVD box set contains the show's first 12 episodes: the pilot followed by "Cool Change", "Crate & Burial", "Pledging Mr Johnson"; "Friends and Lovers", "Who Are You?", "Blood Drops"; "Anonymous", "Unfriendly Skies", "Sex Lies and Larvae"; "The I-15 Murders" and "Fahrenheit 932". In addition to inventive menus, the three-disc set offers character profiles, a trailer, some B-roll on-set footage, a subtitle option, and snippet-like interviews with the cast and creatives. --Kim Newman

• Blindspot - Season 2 | Blu Ray | (07/08/2017) from £21.69   |  Saving you £0.80 (3.69%)   |  RRP £22.49

  Sullivan Stapleton and Jaimie Alexander star in this one-hour action thriller from Berlanti Productions (The Flash, Arrow) and writer/executive producer Martin Gero. Stapleton stars as hardened FBI agent Kurt Weller, who is drawn into a complex conspiracy when a mysterious woman, with no memories of her past, is found in Times Square her body completely covered in intricate cryptic tattoos. As Weller and his teammates at the FBI -- Edgar Reade, Tasha Zapata and the tech-savvy Patterson -- begin to investigate the veritable road map of Jane Doe's tattoos, they are drawn into a high-stakes underworld that twists and turns through a labyrinth of secrets and revelations -- with the information exposing a larger conspiracy of crime, while bringing her closer to discovering the truth about her identity.

• Britannic | DVD | (27/05/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  It was the sister ship of the infamous Titanic...and its final destiny was the same. Experience the true untold story of Britannic a tumultuous epic voyage of human passion courage and betrayal aboard an ill-fated ocean liner bound for a shattering demise. With the world at war an undercover British agent (Amanda Ryan) embarks the Britannic in search of a German spy believed to be on board to sabotage the ship. Posing as a governess the undercover agent finds herself falling in love with the ship's chaplain (Edward Atterton Man In The Iron Mask). In a stunning discovery the lovers suddenly find themselves enemies of war. And when a massive explosion deals a deathblow to the ship their battle becomes one for their own survival. With a dynamic international cast and story line that hosts a chilling tale of espionage politics and romance Britannic brings one of history's most devastating events to riveting new life.

• The Good Wife: Seasons 1.5 | DVD | (15/09/2014) from £59.90   |  Saving you £10.09 (16.84%)   |  RRP £69.99

  The Good Wife is a drama starring Emmy Award winner Julianna Margulies as a wife and mother who boldly assumes full responsibility for her family and re-enters the workforce after her husband's very public sex and political corruption scandal lands him in jail. Pushing aside the betrayal and crushing public humiliation caused by her husband Peter Alicia Florrick starts over by pursuing her original career as a defense attorney. As a junior associate at a prestigious Chicago law firm she joins her longtime friend former law school classmate and firm partner Will Gardner who is interested in rekindling their former relationship. The firm's top litigator and other partner Diane Lockhart likes Alicia's work and her connections so she and Will award her with a full-time associate position following a trial period. Alicia beat out Cary Agos a clever young attorney who takes a job in the state's attorney's office now bitter and vengeful. Alicia finds an ally and a friend in Kalinda the firm's tough and mysterious in-house investigator. Gaining confidence every day Alicia transforms herself from embarrassed politician's scorned wife to resilient career woman especially for the sake of providing a stable home for her children 14-year-old Zach and 13-year-old Grace. Now that Peter is back home and planning to run for office again with help from Eli Gold his cunning image consultant Alicia continues to redefine herself and her role in her family's life.

• Postman Pat - Magic Christmas | DVD | (10/11/2003) from £7.98   |  Saving you £2.00 (33.39%)   |  RRP £7.99

  Episodes from the brand new series commissioned by the BBC. Postman Pat And The Greendale Rocket: The local children set off on a school outing and are very excited to find Greendale's forgotten old train. Pat and Ted try to get it working again but with no luck so they call on the help of Julian's pen pal whose Dad is a train enthusiast. Will they get the Greendale Rocket running in time for the grand opening of the new train station? Postman Pat's Magic Christmas:

• CSI: Crime Scene Investigation - Season 1 Part 2 | DVD | (07/10/2002) from £5.34   |  Saving you £34.65 (648.88%)   |  RRP £39.99

  The second half of CSI's first year takes Grissom and his untiring team down some darker paths than before. Nick finally gives in to his urges and sleeps with the hooker who has a crush on him in "Boom"--with predictably disastrous consequences. Sarah is badly affected by the rape and attempted murder of an unknown woman in "Too Tough to Die"; and even Grissom is shaken when dealing with the sudden death of an infant in "Gentle, Gentle". The final episode of the year, "Strip Strangler", is a real shocker, as the team track a brutal serial killer. Elsewhere, the morbid business of investigating corpses and crime scenes is enlivened with flashes of welcome humour: when a horse is found dead with packets of uncut diamonds concealed in its uterus, Grissom deadpans "This horse is a mule". Throughout, the show remains focused on its scientific remit, only revealing enough of the characters' private lives to provide added piquancy to each investigation: Sarah's complete lack of a life outside her work; Warrick's old gambling habit; Catherine's attachment to her daughter and troubles with ex-husband Eddie; Nick's over-eagerness to please. Grissom, meanwhile, like the Dalai Lama, is the model of inscrutable wisdom. The show itself, like a millennial antidote to a decade of X-Files, is relentlessly empirical: everything that initially seems mysterious--from spontaneous human combustion to an apparent case of vampirism--is always explicable and explained by the team's scientific dedication. On the DVD: CSI, Series 1 Part 2 contains 11 episodes on three discs. Extra features consist of a brief promo featurette, production notes and a series of on-set interviews with the cast. Oddly for such a cutting-edge show, picture is old-fashioned 4:3 with basic Dolby stereo sound. --Mark Walker

• Excuse My Glove | DVD | (27/04/2015) from £7.98   |  Saving you £4.00 (66.78%)   |  RRP £9.99

  This light-hearted story of romantic heroism and sporting glory features British boxing legend Len Harvey as a young man who steps into the limelight by accident... then decides it's worth fighting to stay there! Also starring Cockney comedy star Ronald Shiner and a line-up of the cream of 1930s boxing talent Excuse My Glove is featured here in a brand-new transfer from original film elements in its as-exhibited theatrical aspect ratio. Don Carter who is more interested in stained glass than fisticuffs unwittingly accepts a challenge to fight in a boxing-booth at a fair. Recognising a potential money-spinner when he sees one the booth's proprietor appoints himself Don's manager and Don quickly finds out that the spirit of the Marquess of Queensberry does not always prevail – on either side of the ropes! Bonus Features: Image gallery

• East Is East | DVD | (10/09/2001) from £8.34   |  Saving you £4.64 (86.73%)   |  RRP £9.99

  In early 1970's England, a traditional Pakistani father (Om Puri) finds his family spinning in decidedly non-traditional directions.

• Postman Pat - Postman Pat And The Ice Cream Machine | DVD | (20/09/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £8.49

  A quartet of great new adventures with Postman Pat! Episodes comprise: 1. Postman Pat And The Ice Cream Machine 2. Postman Pat And The Great Greendale Race 3. Postman Pat And The Hungry Goat 4. Postman Pat And The Jumble Sale