"Actor: David Watson"

• Winston Churchill - The Wilderness Years - Vol. 1: Down And Out / Politics Are Foul | DVD | (26/11/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  It’s easy to forget that before fronting the British war effort through most of World War II, Winston Churchill had spent the previous decade isolated in Parliament and in internal opposition to the Conservative party. Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years dramatises this period in which the growing menace of Nazism in Germany was met with indifference, even fear by governments of the day who were more concerned with their survival than in serving those who had elected them. Churchill is perceptively played by Robert Hardy, confirming the image without falling into caricature. Visionary and obstinate by turns, he galvanises his supporters and enrages his enemies with a passion borne of conviction. A seasoned British cast includes Peter Barkworth as the amiable but ineffectual Stanley Baldwin, Eric Porter as the truly "out of time" Neville Chamberlain, Edward Woodward as the scheming Samuel Hoare and Nigel Havers as the tragically flawed Randolph Churchill. Martin Gilbert has done a persuasive job transforming his novel into a TV script, the scenes in the House of Commons having a gritty reality that makes compulsive viewing. On the DVD: it’s a pity that the Southern Pictures production, first screened in 1981, has emerged so dimly in this incarnation. Has the master tape eroded so badly, or was it simply not available? However, it’s worth putting up with the technical defects to enjoy this historically informed and grippingly dramatic serial. --Richard Whitehouse

• Winston Churchill - The Wilderness Years - Vol. 4: The Long Tide Of Surrender / What Price Churchill | DVD | (26/11/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  It’s easy to forget that before fronting the British war effort through most of World War II, Winston Churchill had spent the previous decade isolated in Parliament and in internal opposition to the Conservative party. Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years dramatises this period in which the growing menace of Nazism in Germany was met with indifference, even fear by governments of the day who were more concerned with their survival than in serving those who had elected them. Churchill is perceptively played by Robert Hardy, confirming the image without falling into caricature. Visionary and obstinate by turns, he galvanises his supporters and enrages his enemies with a passion borne of conviction. A seasoned British cast includes Peter Barkworth as the amiable but ineffectual Stanley Baldwin, Eric Porter as the truly "out of time" Neville Chamberlain, Edward Woodward as the scheming Samuel Hoare and Nigel Havers as the tragically flawed Randolph Churchill. Martin Gilbert has done a persuasive job transforming his novel into a TV script, the scenes in the House of Commons having a gritty reality that makes compulsive viewing. On the DVD: it’s a pity that the Southern Pictures production, first screened in 1981, has emerged so dimly in this incarnation. Has the master tape eroded so badly, or was it simply not available? However, it’s worth putting up with the technical defects to enjoy this historically informed and grippingly dramatic serial. --Richard Whitehouse

• Winston Churchill - The Wilderness Years - Vol. 2: In High Places / A Menace In The House | DVD | (26/11/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  It’s easy to forget that before fronting the British war effort through most of World War II, Winston Churchill had spent the previous decade isolated in Parliament and in internal opposition to the Conservative party. Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years dramatises this period in which the growing menace of Nazism in Germany was met with indifference, even fear by governments of the day who were more concerned with their survival than in serving those who had elected them. Churchill is perceptively played by Robert Hardy, confirming the image without falling into caricature. Visionary and obstinate by turns, he galvanises his supporters and enrages his enemies with a passion borne of conviction. A seasoned British cast includes Peter Barkworth as the amiable but ineffectual Stanley Baldwin, Eric Porter as the truly "out of time" Neville Chamberlain, Edward Woodward as the scheming Samuel Hoare and Nigel Havers as the tragically flawed Randolph Churchill. Martin Gilbert has done a persuasive job transforming his novel into a TV script, the scenes in the House of Commons having a gritty reality that makes compulsive viewing. On the DVD: it’s a pity that the Southern Pictures production, first screened in 1981, has emerged so dimly in this incarnation. Has the master tape eroded so badly, or was it simply not available? However, it’s worth putting up with the technical defects to enjoy this historically informed and grippingly dramatic serial. --Richard Whitehouse

• Winston Churchill - The Wilderness Years - Vol. 3: The Flying Peril / His Own Funeral | DVD | (26/11/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  It’s easy to forget that before fronting the British war effort through most of World War II, Winston Churchill had spent the previous decade isolated in Parliament and in internal opposition to the Conservative party. Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years dramatises this period in which the growing menace of Nazism in Germany was met with indifference, even fear by governments of the day who were more concerned with their survival than in serving those who had elected them. Churchill is perceptively played by Robert Hardy, confirming the image without falling into caricature. Visionary and obstinate by turns, he galvanises his supporters and enrages his enemies with a passion borne of conviction. A seasoned British cast includes Peter Barkworth as the amiable but ineffectual Stanley Baldwin, Eric Porter as the truly "out of time" Neville Chamberlain, Edward Woodward as the scheming Samuel Hoare and Nigel Havers as the tragically flawed Randolph Churchill. Martin Gilbert has done a persuasive job transforming his novel into a TV script, the scenes in the House of Commons having a gritty reality that makes compulsive viewing. On the DVD: it’s a pity that the Southern Pictures production, first screened in 1981, has emerged so dimly in this incarnation. Has the master tape eroded so badly, or was it simply not available? However, it’s worth putting up with the technical defects to enjoy this historically informed and grippingly dramatic serial. --Richard Whitehouse

• War Horse DVD Play.com artcards | DVD | (07/05/2012) from £15.93   |  Saving you £2.06 (12.93%)   |  RRP £17.99

  From director Steven Spielberg comes War Horse, an epic adventure for audiences of all ages. Set against a sweeping canvas of rural England and Europe during the First World War, War Horse begins with the remarkable friendship between a horse named Joey and a young man called Albert, who tames and trains him. When they are forcefully parted, the film follows the extraordinary journey of the horse as he moves through the war, changing and inspiring the lives of all those he meet...

• Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire | Blu Ray | (08/08/2016) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  The latest entry in the Harry Potter saga could be retitled Fast Times at Hogwarts, where finding a date to the winter ball is nearly as terrifying as worrying about Lord Voldemort's return. Thus, the young wizards' entry into puberty (and discovery of the opposite sex) opens up a rich mining field to balance out the dark content in the fourth movie (and the stories are only going to get darker). Mike Newell handily takes the directing reins and eases his young cast through awkward growth spurts into true young actors. Harry (Daniel Radcliffe, more sure of himself) has his first girl crush on fellow student Cho Chang, and has his first big fight with best bud Ron. Meanwhile, Ron's underlying romantic tension with Hermione comes to a head over the winter ball, and when she makes one of those girl-into-woman Cinderella entrances, the boys' reactions indicate they've all crossed a threshold. But don't worry, there's plenty of wizardry and action in Goblet of Fire. When the deadly Tri-Wizard Tournament is hosted by Hogwarts, Harry finds his name mysteriously submitted (and chosen) to compete against wizards from two neighboring academies, as well as another Hogwarts student. The competition scenes are magnificently shot, with much-improved CGI effects (particularly the underwater challenge). And the climactic confrontation with Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes, in a brilliant bit of casting) is the most thrilling yet. Goblet, the first installment to get a PG-13 rating, contains some violence as well as disturbing images for kids and some barely shrouded references at sexual awakening (Harry's bath scene in particular). The 2 1/2-hour film, lean considering it came from a 734-page book, trims out subplots about house elves (they're not missed) and gives little screen time to the standard crew of the other Potter films, but adds in more of Britain's finest actors to the cast, such as Brendan Gleeson as Mad Eye Moody and Miranda Richardson as Rita Skeeter. Michael Gambon, in his second round as Professor Dumbledore, still hasn't brought audiences around to his interpretation of the role he took over after Richard Harris died, but it's a small smudge in an otherwise spotless adaptation.--Ellen A. Kim, Amazon.com

• Doc Watson - Rare Performances : 1982-1993 | DVD | (02/04/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £23.99

  Rare performances from Doc Watson including guests Ricky Skaggs Merle Watson and Bela Fleck.

• The Near Room | DVD | (29/03/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  The Near Room is a psychological thriller that exposes the seedy innercity world of lost children drugs pimps and prostitutes. Charlie Colquhoun is a burnt out journalist who meets Harris Hill - his ex-school friend who is now a solicitor with an unblemished reputation of justice for all. After 17 years they are reunited by one name - Tommy Stirling. Tommy is Charlie's daughter the fostered child of a teenage pregnancy who is linked to an alleged child pornography scandal with

• War Horse BD Play.com artcards | Blu Ray | (07/05/2012) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £22.99

  From director Steven Spielberg comes War Horse, an epic adventure for audiences of all ages. Set against a sweeping canvas of rural England and Europe during the First World War, War Horse begins with the remarkable friendship between a horse named Joey and a young man called Albert, who tames and trains him. When they are forcefully parted, the film follows the extraordinary journey of the horse as he moves through the war, changing and inspiring the lives of all those he meet...