"Actor: Gish"

• The X Files: Season 8 | DVD | (15/03/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £79.99

  The eighth series of The X-Files was a year of brave decisions. David Duchovny's increasing dissatisfaction with the role meant he only appeared in a few episodes. The solution: enter Agent John Doggett (Robert Patrick) who basically stole the show within his first two minutes of screen time (and watch out for several Terminator 2 in-jokes too). Scully switched roles to being the believer alongside Doggett's sceptic in a year that was more reliant on the background story arc than ever before. Her pregnancy remained at the foreground, while a more prominent Skinner joined in a hunt for the abducted Mulder that drew upon the black oil, cloning and bounty hunting aspects of the convoluted alien conspiracy story. A distinct lack of guest stars or writers indicated maturity beyond the need for ratings stunts: dedicated fans were pleased to see cameos from sinister Krycek, the reliable Lone Gunmen and the return of the show's very first abductee. The real strengths of the series came from new characters, including alternative female role model Special Agent Monica Reyes (Annabeth Gish), and some terrific standalone episodes. Investigations covered a man going backwards in time, deaths aboard an oil rig, a contagion in the Boston subway tunnels and creatures resembling bats and slugs. Agent Leyla Harrison (named after an X-Files fan who died of cancer) got to ask all the petty questions regular viewers want to know themselves. This year turned out to be a remarkable achievement so late in the show's life. On the DVD: The X-Files, Series 8 is a six-disc box set with all the episodes presented in anamorphic 16:9 format with Dolby 2.0 sound. The extras are mainly confined to the final disc, though there are selected deleted scenes and "international" clips from the dubbed German, Japanese and Italian versions of the show on the other discs. Two audio commentaries for the episodes "Alone" (from director Frank Spotnitz) and "Existence" (from director Kim Manners) are supplemented by a routine 30-minute behind-the-scenes documentary, more deleted scenes (with optional commentary), character profiles and special effects clips. --Paul Tonks

• The First Churchills - Part 1 | DVD | (09/05/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Susan Hampshire stars in this world stars in this wonderful BBC dramatisation of the lives of John and Sarah Churchill. John Churchill was the first Duke of Marlborough a military genius whose brilliance on the battlefield saved England from defeat just as his descendant Winston Churchill saved Britain 300 years later... Episodes comprise: The Chaste Nymph Bridals Plot Counter-Plot The Lion and the Unicorn Rebellion The Protestant Wind.

• Beautiful Girls | DVD | (02/05/2011) from £10.78   |  Saving you £9.21 (85.44%)   |  RRP £19.99

  An all-star cast sparks this captivating comedy about a group of old friends whose 10-year high school reunion creates some hilariously unexpected surprises. Willie Tommy and Paul may have lost a bit of their youth but they're still ready to party with Uma Thurman Rosie O'Donnell Lauren Holly and Mira Sorvino - the beautiful girls who've turned their world upside down! Also featuring a hot soundtrack 'Beautiful Girls' is a must-see comic delight!

• Mystic Pizza | DVD | (13/01/2014) from £7.79   |  Saving you £2.20 (28.24%)   |  RRP £9.99

  A sweet and sassy comedy about the bonds of sisterhood, Mystic Pizza offers the opportunity to see some solid young actresses early in their careers. Three sisters of blue-collar Portuguese descent work in a pizzeria in the coastal town of Mystic, Connecticut. Each has her own unique romantic entanglements. One is the fast girl in town (Julia Roberts) who falls for a rich kid but wonders if she'll ever be accepted; one is the lifelong local girl (Lili Taylor) in love with her fisherman boyfriend (Vincent D'Onofrio) but scared of what marriage will do to their sex lives; and the youngest sister (Annabeth Gish) dreams of going to Yale but during a summer of babysitting has an affair with a married man. Through it all each sister depends on the others regardless of the complications. It's the alluring charm of the three disparate leads that makes Mystic Pizza the delightful experience it is. --Robert Lane, Amazon.com

• Broken Blossoms | DVD | (16/10/2001) from £26.98   |  Saving you £-6.99 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  A Chinese man visits London in the hope that he can bring the message of Buddha to others. He falls in love with the daughter of a prize fighter and cares for her when she is beaten. Their friendship is to prove fateful... Silent with the original 1919 orchestral score by Louis F. Gottschalk.

• Brotherhood Season 2 | DVD | (24/01/2011) from £3.89   |  Saving you £21.10 (542.42%)   |  RRP £24.99

  The second season of the critically-adored and Peabody Award-winning series Brotherhood returns to DVD. This 3-disc set includes all 10 dramatic season two episodes where we reunite with the Caffee family for more explosive blue-collar drama violence and politics. In the tradition of Showtimes brilliant original programming this series continues to compellingly examine the perhaps not-so-different moral worlds of politicians and mobsters as shown through the dynamic Caffee brothers. Episodes Comprise: One Too Many Mornings 3:4-8 Down in the Flood 3:5-6 The Lonesome Death of... 4:7:8 Dear Landlord 1:3-4 True Love Tends to Forget 1:1-4 Only a Pawn... 1:7-8 Not Dark Yet 3:5-6 Shelter From the Storm 1:1-2 Call Letter Blues 1:2-6 Things Have Changed 1:7-8

• Revolutionary Road | DVD | (07/05/2013) from £5.04   |  Saving you £10.95 (217.26%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Academy Award nominee Leonardo DiCaprio and Academy Award winner Kate Winslet reunite for two powerful, groundbreaking performances in Revolutionary Road. Based on the bestseller by Richard Yates and directed by Academy Award winner Sam Mendes, this mesmerising and moving story follows the lives of a passionate young couple living in suburban Connecticut who decide to risk everything to pursue their dreams. They're willing to break away from the ordinary - but can they do it without breaking apart? Nominated for 3 Academy Awards and acclaimed by critics, Revolutionary Road is hailed as one of the best films of the year. (Chicago Sun-Times) Special Features: Commentary with Director Sam Mendes and Screenwriter Justin Haythe Lives of Quiet Desperation: The Making of Revolutionary Road Deleted Scenes

• Brotherhood Season 1 | DVD | (26/07/2010) from £4.49   |  Saving you £20.50 (456.57%)   |  RRP £24.99

  This riveting series puts a familial spin on Angels with Dirty Faces, the 1938 James Cagney-Pat O'Brien classic in which two childhood friends take divergent paths--one becomes a priest, and the other a hoodlum. In Brotherhood, Michael Caffee (Jason Clarke) is an idealistic and respectable Rhode Island state representative dedicated to the preservation of his close-knit lower-middle-class Irish neighbourhood, the Hill. His older brother, Michael (Jason Isaacs), is a gangster who returns home after a seven-year absence (one step ahead of a hit, two steps ahead of the Feds) to pick up where he left off. The stage is set for backroom skullduggery and mean streets thuggery, as both men pursue their visions of the American dream on opposite sides of the law. At the heart of this series is the conflict between the estranged brothers. With the exception of clueless matriarch MaryRose (Fionnula Flanagan), Michael is not exactly received with open arms. "You're a tornado," Tommy tells him early on. "You suck everything in and spit it out broken." Indeed, the man is a psychopath. When a henchman of neighbourhood mob boss Freddie Cork (Kevin Chapman) threatens a woman, Michael not only repeatedly bashes his head against a car, but for the coup de grace, cuts off his ear. In one gut-wrenching scene, he compels a woman to sell him her store by inducing her mentally challenged brother to play Russian Roulette. No wonder Tommy insists, "We're not the same in any way." But don't be too sure. Michael is a good man and devoted father and husband, but he isn't above (or beneath) using Michael's inside information to blackmail a stubborn colleague who won't vote his way on a freeway project that could destroy the Hill. As the season unfolds, he will be forced to make more ethically challenged deals with the powers behind the scenes, one of whom has a mysterious connection with his mother. Brotherhood mines the clash between personal and professional lives to flesh out its characters. "The people's business" doesn't pay well, and Tommy is forced to moonlight as a real estate developer, and perform all home repairs. Eileen (Annabeth Gish), his picture-perfect politician's wife, smokes pot and is having an affair with a man she knew in high school. Declan Gigg (Ethan Embry) is a conflicted policeman who grew up with the Caffees. Comparisons with The Sopranos are inevitable, but Brotherhood quickly establishes its own unique voice, if not accent. --Donald Liebenson

• The Birth Of A Nation | DVD | (02/10/2000) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Based on a play called 'The Clansman' this film was billed as 'the first feature film' and caused riots on its release because of its racist overtones. The film follows a family through the American Civil war. Includes 'The Making Of...' Silent. Tinted Version.

• The X Files: Season 3 | DVD | (26/11/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £34.99

  Focused lightning bolts, stigmata, possession, and ancient curses become secondary in Season 3 of The X-Files as more episodes are devoted to pursuing the increasingly complex story threads. "The Blessing Way" is an explosive start, introducing the Syndicate's well-manicured man (John Neville), while Scully's sister Melissa is shot and Mulder experiences Twin-Peaks-like prophetic visions. We learn of medical records of millions, including Scully, who have been experimented upon ("Paper Clip"): the fast-paced train-bound two-parter "Nisei" and "731" suggests the experiments are about alien hybridisation. Krycek turns out to be hosting an alien in the next double-act, "Piper Maru" and "Apocrypha", in which Skinner is shot by Melissa's killer. Two great one-offs outside the arc are "Clyde Bruckman's "Final Repose", a bittersweet tale of foreseeing death (featuring an Emmy-winning performance from Peter Boyle) and Jose Chung's " From Outer Space", a spoof of alien conspiracy theories through an author's investigations into abductees. --Paul Tonks

• Buying The Cow | DVD | (24/02/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  This is a hilarious but true-to-life look at love dating and commitment. David is informed by his girlfriend of five years that she is leaving to go to New York for two months in order for him to decide whether he is ready to marry her. Seeking advice from his wacky womanising best friends David begins to navigate the treacherous Los Angeles singles scene until fate intervenes and he falls for a mystery woman! Sarah meanwhile gets an offer from her handsome boss that she may not

• What Love Sees | DVD | (01/09/2003) from £10.59   |  Saving you £-4.60 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Jean Treadway a beautiful young girl in her twenties comes from a world of wealth and privilege. Gordon Holly is a handsome but humble rancher the pride of his small town and honest to a fault. But they share something which makes the love that blossoms between them all the more pure and intense they are both totally blind. Against all the odds they marry and head out west to Gordon's ranch. There side by side they build a fortune which includes passion responsibility and above all independence. Spanning 15 years during the turmoil of the Second World War this is an incredible and inspiring saga of two young people whose very special relationship helps them fulfil each other's dreams share each other;'s heartaches and find the courage to face life's daunting challenges. Both compassionate and highly emotional What Love Sees is truely a story which ouches the heart. Based on a true story...

• Tales Of The Unexpected - Vol. 2 | DVD | (29/03/2004) from £4.99   |  Saving you £3.00 (60.12%)   |  RRP £7.99

  Featuring Episodes: The Wrong 'Un Have A Nice Death Hit And Run and The Reconciliation

• A Wedding | DVD | (15/08/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  More than one family secret hides behind a wedding... When the Corellis and the Brenners come together for the joyous occasion of their children's wedding events get off to a shaky start with the aging Bishop struggling to remember the order of service. As the reception gets underway the wedding planner looks set to crack the over-zealous staff attack one of the guests infidelities are rife and scandalous secrets are revealed. As the chaos ensues and tension rises between t

• The X Files: Existence | DVD | (05/11/2001) from £6.55   |  Saving you £9.44 (59.00%)   |  RRP £15.99

  The pretentiously titled Existence is another two-part X-Files yarn glued together to make a feature-length episode. Here the story concerns the birth of Scully's perhaps-alien-tinged child and proves the old maxim that you should stop watching any series when the characters start having babies. By now, newbie Robert Patrick is settled into the role of Agent Doggett, Scully's new partner on the X-Files, but David Duchovny's contract negotiations have enabled Fox Mulder, no longer in the FBI, to come back and hang about the delivery, clashing and then bonding with his replacement. The action content comes from a mild-mannered alien abductee transformed into an unstoppable killing machine, ripping through everything as he tries to prevent the upcoming nativity for reasons that (as ever) don't quite become clear. Also in the support cast are semi-regular Nicholas Lea as lurking plot-explaining conspirator Alex Krycek, and the more welcome Annabeth Gish, whose interestingly spiritual Agent Monica Reyes is being worked up as a replacement for Scully when Gillian Anderson gets out of her contract. Weirdly, The X-Files is in pretty good shape for a show that's been running this long--the performances and the direction are still strong, and outside the "continuing story" shows individual episodes hold up well. But this dreary muddle of running about (plus the odd decapitation) and agonised rumination (blathery philosophical musings about the miracle of life and childbirth) does not represent the series' strengths, suggesting that the best thing that could happen would be to get shot of the long-time stars and their played-out characters to make room for a revitalised show starring Patrick and Gish. On the DVD: The full-screen print, with the extra detail of the DVD image and Dolby Digital, allow you to pick up a lot more than from the murky telecasts. "Alex Krycek Revealed" Parts 1 and 2, a couple of character profiles, turn out to be very snippet-like Fox TV promo pieces, with some interview footage and behind-the-scenes stuff amid the usual teaser clips.--Kim Newman

• The X Files: Season 9 | DVD | (07/06/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £34.99

  With so many promises to fulfil and questions left unanswered, the ninth and final series of The X-Files was inevitably going to short-change some of its audience. Mulder is missing, Scully is in and out with various baby concerns, Reyes frequently seems like she's only along for the ride and Doggett seems so right in the role that some fans wondered if he should have appeared sooner. Other cult cameos flitted across the screen in an attempt to keep viewers transfixed. Lucy Lawless, Cary Elwes and Robert Patrick's real-life wife were interesting diversions, but when Burt Reynolds appeared to be none other than God himself, it was apparent that nothing at all was sacred in this last year. Standalone episodes (for example, on Satanic possession and a Brady Bunch psycho) proved to be amongst the least interesting of the show's efforts. No doubt because everyone was focussing on the all-important arc story episodes. Was there more than one alien faction? Were they all in collusion? Who had control of the black oil virus? Who had been in charge of the abductions? More importantly, would Mulder and Scully finally get in bed together? Scattered through the 19 episodes (the fewest of any season), were answers to some of these points. Then as much as possible that remained was packed into the two-hour finale. After 200 episodes, it's just possible that The X-Files overstayed its welcome; nonetheless it will always be remembered for being the most influential TV product of the 1990s. And since this is science-fiction, don't assume it's completely dead either. --Paul Tonks

• The X-Files: The Truth | DVD | (27/01/2003) from £21.58   |  Saving you £-5.59 (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  The guest cast list for The X-Files: The Truth runs almost to the first commercial break, suggesting how many plot strands this season-and-series finale needs to make room for, with many old characters (including ghostly appearances for the dead ones) popping up. Mulder (David Duchovny), teasingly absent for the final season, is suddenly back, accused of murdering a super-soldier who isn't supposed to be able to die. He faces a military tribunal, defended by AD Skinner (Mitch Pileggi), as guest stars trot out testimony that fills the double-length episode with explanations recapping nine years of confusion as creator Chris Carter tries to spatchcock his impromptu conspiracy theories into a real plot. Last-season regulars Robert Patrick and Annabeth Gish are shunted aside as Scully (Gillian Anderson) and Mulder get to dodge a last-scene explosion and wind up in a pretty silly clinch-with-philosophy in the face of vaguely imminent apocalypse. Seriously, if the franchise is to continue on the big screen, how about ditching the embarrassing alien conspiracy mess and doing a monster story? On the DVD: The X-Files: The Truth comes to disc with a lovely widescreen transfer, a 13-minute "Reflections on the Truth" featurette that, though it hits the self-congratulation button a couple too many times, has a little more meat than the puff pieces included on previous releases, and a bonus episode ("William") that is unfortunately another of the maudlin ones, this time resolving the plotline about Scully's super-baby. --Kim Newman

• The X Files: Season 5 | DVD | (14/10/2002) from £22.98   |  Saving you £12.01 (34.30%)   |  RRP £34.99

  The fifth season of The X-Files is the one in which the ongoing alien conspiracy arc really takes over, building towards box-office glory for the inevitable cinematic leap in The X-Files Movie (1998). The series opener "Redux" begins with Mulder having been framed for everything going. Scully finally sees a UFO ("The Red and the Black") before being presented with a potential daughter (the two-part "Christmas Carol" and "Emily"). By "The End", there's an enormous tangle of threads for the big-screen adaptation to unravel (or not, as it turned out). Cigarette Smoking Man is being hunted, playing every side against the middle, as well as chasing after information on Mulder's sister. Krycek is back, too, as is an old flame for Mulder in the shape of Agent Diana Fowley. If that wasn't enough to goad viewers into the cinema, there was the Lone Gunmen's 1989-set back story ("Unusual Suspects", with Richard Belzer playing his Homicide: Life on the Streets character), a musical number in the black and white Frankenstein homage "Post Modern Prometheus", and scripts co-written by Stephen King ("Chinga"), William Gibson ("Kill Switch"), and even Darren McGavin (who had inspired the show as Kolchak: The Night Stalker) in "Travellers". On the DVD: The X-Files, Season 5 extras include Chris Carter's commentary over "Post Modern Prometheus", which reveals the decision making behind shooting in black and white as well as the problems it caused. A second commentary is from writer/coproducer John Shiban on "Pine Bluff Variant", where he openly admits the influence of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. Across the six discs (only 20 episodes because of the movie of course) you get credits for every episode, their TV promo spots, deleted and international versions of several scenes (some with commentary from Carter), and a couple of TV featurettes. The best of these is "The Truth About Season 5", talking to an excited Dean Haglund (Langly) amongst other crew members.--Paul Tonks

• Patricia Cornwell At Risk | DVD | (27/06/2011) from £5.98   |  Saving you £9.01 (60.10%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Andie MacDowell stars as a tough driven and hard-working district attorney who's planning to run for governor. As a showcase she's planning to use a new crime initiative called At Risk. Its motto is Any crime any time. In particular she's been looking for a way to employ cutting-edge DNA technology and she thinks she's found the perfect subject in an unsolved 20-year-old murder in Tennessee. Her investigator is not so sure but before he can open his mouth a shocking act of violence shakes up not only both their lives but the lives of everyone around them. It's not a random event. Is it personal? Is it professional? Whatever it is the implications are very very bad indeed... and they're about to get much worse.

• Quartet | DVD | (12/02/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  A young woman (Isabelle Adjani) in Paris in the 1920s is left penniless and without means of support. A rather strange English couple (Maggie Smith Alan Bates) offer her refuge but at the price of seduction by the husband...