"Actor: Glyn Baker"

• The Box of Delights | DVD | (01/11/2004) from £19.89   |  Saving you £-4.90 (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Based on the classic children's novel by John Masefield this tale follows the adventures of Kay Harker a young boy who finds himself lured into a world of fantasy and danger after a chance encounter with an old Punch and Judy man. A magical mix of animation and live-action this spectacular production is guaranteed to thrill the fantasies of children and adults alike. Seldom is a story so sophisticated as to draw its audience spellbound into a series of such enchanting advent

• Janacek: Jenufa -- Glyndebourne | DVD | (22/06/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Janacek's masterpiece Jenufa, captured in this 1989 Glyndebourne Festival Opera production, is among the most revived modernist works. Compared with much grand opera, the story of one woman's struggle to rise free from social constraints at a terrible cost is remarkably poignant, credible and accessible. Scenes are short and intense. The music shimmers with Janacek's characteristic blend of sweetness and sharp dissonance. His men are damaged and angry; his women kick against the expectations of convention. Tragedy is inevitable, but here, unusually, hope triumphs. In the title role, Roberta Alexander is utterly convincing as the stepdaughter of the Kostelnicka Buryja, placing her love and trust in the wrong man with dire consequences. As the Kostelnicka, Anja Silja turns in an equally towering performance, unravelling with the awful consequences of her pragmatism. Alexander's fluid soprano reveals the extraordinary beauty of some of Janacek's finest arias: the moment when she becomes supernaturally aware of her baby's fate--it's "as if death was peering into the house!"--and is actually singing prayers for its soul is quite overwhelming. This Jenufa is sung splendidly; a revelation of the essential humanity which lurks at the heart of the greatest operas. On the DVD: This production was filmed for Channel 4 and has all the hallmarks of a 1980s television broadcast: standard 4:3 picture format which limits the impact of Tobias Hoheisel's magnificent expressionistic set; PCM stereo which somewhat dulls Andrew Davis' sterling, powerful work at the helm of the London Philharmonic Orchestra (although the principal singers shine through); poor subtitles; and static freeze-frame links between scenes. As a record of an important production, though, it suffices. --Piers Ford

• New Best Friend | DVD | (03/02/2003) from £6.73   |  Saving you £13.26 (197.03%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Alicia a plain unpopular college student is paired with Hadley a beautiful privileged coed to work on a sociology project titled ""Lead Follow or Get Out of the Way."" At first rejected Alicia is finally accepted into Hadley's clique where she is introduced to a world of privilege recreational drugs and dangerous thrills. But Alicia's attempts to fit in ultimately land her in the hospital. As the local sheriff (Diggs) tries to determine the chain of events that led to Alicia's