"Actor: David Hancock"

• Boy In The Striped Pyjamas | DVD | (18/04/2011) from £5.80   |  Saving you £14.19 (244.66%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Based on the best selling novel by John Boyne. Berlin 1942 - Eight-year-old Bruno knows nothing of the Final Solution and the Holocaust. He is oblivious to the appalling cruelties being inflicted on the people of Europe by his country. All he knows is that his father was promoted and he has been moved from a comfortable home in Berlin to a house in a desolate area where there is nothing to do and no-one to play with. Until he meets Shmuel a boy who lives a strange parallel existence on the other side of the adjoining wire fence and who like the other people there wears a uniform of striped pajamas Bruno's friendship with Shmuel will take him from innocence to revelation as their secret meetings result in a friendship that has startling and devastating consequences.

• The Thirty Nine Steps | DVD | (15/01/2001) from £4.99   |  Saving you £5.00 (100.20%)   |  RRP £9.99

  It's not the 1935 Hitchcock classic, but this sturdy 1978 adaptation of John Buchan's The Thirty Nine Steps is still a rollicking good adventure. In keeping with the Boys' Own derring-do of the story (set in Edwardian London and the Scottish Highlands), the movie maintains a brisk pace that's interrupted only for tea or cocktails. Robert Powell is Richard Hannay, the man who unwittingly becomes embroiled in a dastardly Prussian plot to assassinate the Greek Prime Minister. Framed for murder, Hannay must flee to Scotland and attempt to clear his name whilst outwitting the prune-faced Prussian agents. Among all the deftly choreographed action sequences and careful period settings there's a strong vein of humour in the film, and if it wasn't for the numerous murders there would be little reason for PG certification. The grand dénouement comes with the realisation that the predicted time for the assassination is linked to Big Ben; unlike the earlier movie this version climaxes memorably with Powell hanging from the clock's minute hand. It might not be Hitchcock behind the lens, but it's still jolly good fun. --Joan Byrne

• Evil Dead Trilogy | DVD | (28/07/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  The Evil Dead Trilogy in one DVD set! Evil Dead: The gruesome granddaddy of modern day horror Sam Raimi's original 1981 classic The Evil Dead has been hailed by horror writer Stephen King as the most ferociously original horror movie I have ever seen and in the UK was one of the first horror films to be labelled as a 'video nasty'. Off for a weekend of fun in a remote cabin in the woods five young friends unwittingly release a powerful force of unspeakable evil from the pages of the Necronomicon the Book of the Dead. Possession murder and dismemberment follow in rapid succession as Ash (Bruce Campbell) the one uncorrupted member of the group fights for survival against his former friends who have joined the legion of the evil dead. Evil Dead 2: The first sequel to Sam Raimi's horror masterpiece Evil Dead II sees Ash (Bruce Campbell) continuing his battle with the evil dead initially in the demon form of his girlfriend Linda (Denise Bixler). Meanwhile relatives and associates of the cabin's original owner are en route to the cabin with newly found pages from the Necronomicon. Evil Dead II manages to successfully marry outrageous comedy with nail-biting terror as Ash is forced to resort to progressively extreme measures in order to maintain his sanity and conquer the demonic forces threatening his life. Evil Dead 3: Army Of Darkness: Immediately following the events of Evil Dead II Army of Darkness finds Ash (Bruce Campbell) transported to Medieval England where the occupants of a local castle are under siege from the supernaturally evil Deadites. Hailed as the deliverer of the Necronomicon and the saviour of the living he must employ his 20th Century wits and skills to overcome his evil self before destroying his possessed medieval girlfriend and the entire Army of Darkness in a battle to save the living from the dead. Disc 4: The fourth disc in the boxed set presents the eponymous first film in The Evil Dead trilogy in its original 4x3 format (1.33:1 Full Screen Unmatted) and includes several extras exclusive to this edition making it a must-have for all Evil Dead fans and collectors.

• Liam | DVD | (26/12/2001) from £18.00   |  Saving you £1.99 (11.06%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Liam is a seven year old boy growing up in Liverpool during the 1930s. At school he is learning about the perils of Catholicism, and at home he watches things change after his Father loses his job.

• Jazz - A Film By Ken Burns | DVD | (08/10/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £79.99

  The BBC, sceptical about the British appetite for extended documentary programmes, edited Ken Burns' epic 17-hour history Jazz back to around 12 hours. That's what's presented in this box set of the series, and while the flow of the original is preserved, so are its idiosyncrasies. The film dwells at length on early jazz, particularly on its origins in New Orleans, and there's a good deal of absorbing history here. On the other hand, in suggesting that the important work of jazz was done by 1975, Burns gives us cause to question how much of his earlier research is awry too. There isn't much here to reflect the brimming vitality of post-1960s jazz, and many listeners and musicians have been enraged by Burns' neglect of such pivotal figures as Joe Zawinul, Keith Jarrett, Jan Garbarek, Pat Metheny and Michael Brecker--all players whose work responds vigorously to the question that Burns thinks nobody can answer: "Where are the modern equivalents of Armstrong, Ellington, Parker and Coltrane?" Armstrong and Ellington are the touchstones of Burns' film, providing the narrative thread around which the stories of other major figures turn, among them Bechet, Basie, Goodman, Parker, Miles Davis and Coltrane. Burns also finds populist mileage in the politicisation of jazz, making dramatic capital out of racial divides that most jazz players, black and white, have ignored. The fact is that almost all jazz players, regardless of race, have felt like outsiders. Despite such distractions, Jazz is the longest jazz documentary yet produced, and it's rich in musical examples and classic, rare and unseen footage. Even when working with simple stills, Burns uses seductive camera work and Keith David's epigrammatic narration to maximum effect. There's plenty to enjoy here, but viewers should be aware, as Joshua Redman points out in Musicians' Views in our Ken Burns' Jazz shop, that Burns' film is an often compelling perspective on jazz, not a definitive study. --Mark Gilbert

• Civil War Life - Shot to Pieces | DVD | (10/10/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas Book Pack | DVD | (09/03/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £21.99

  Adapted from John Boyne's best-selling novel, "The Boy in The Striped Pyjamas" is a moving story told through the eyes of an eight year old boy largely shielded from the reality of World War II.