"Actor: James Ho"

• Carry On Cruising | DVD | (27/08/2001) from £6.98   |  Saving you £7.01 (100.43%)   |  RRP £13.99

  Well, the gang's all here, but Carry On Cruising isn't one of the classics of the series. This may be partly due to the film's well-intentioned stab at some sort of authenticity, being set as it is on a genuine cruise liner rather than in a studio full of cheap sets. It swiftly becomes apparent that the cramped environment isn't well suited to the kind of slapstick which is usually a key ingredient in any Carry On film. Veteran couch spuds will recall that the TV series Triangle was similarly disadvantaged, except that it wasn't supposed to be funny. As ever, though, the brilliant cast-in-residence manage to make the most of the situation. The plot, such as it is, deals with the tribulations which beset a world-weary captain (James) when he realises he's been saddled with a crew of misfits and incompetents (practically everybody else) on a cruise which is of course supposed to offer its passengers every comfort and convenience. If there's a single outstanding performance it has to be that of Lance Percival's chef, whose cheeriness as he presides over his various culinary experiments is extremely funny in a menacing sort of way. On the DVD: The DVD issue has no additional features. --Roger Thomas

• The Vicar Of Dibley - The Best Of The Vicar Of Dibley | DVD | (25/11/2002) from £4.74   |  Saving you £11.25 (237.34%)   |  RRP £15.99

  If you're expecting a selection of your favourite episodes from The Vicar of Dibley, then you'll be in for a bit of a surprise. For what we have here instead is Dawn French in conversation with John Plowman, the show's producer. Together, they introduce and analyse the characters and relive key moments from the series, neatly categorised under such headings as "Chocolate", "The Nearly Wedding" and "Celebrity Appearances" (don't forget they enticed both Kylie and Darcey Bussell onto the show, as well as a host of other celebs). So, it's very much a selection for diehard fans who want to be reminded of the highlights (and there are plenty), ranging from Alice's Teletubby bridesmaids to the arrival of Geraldine's mega-freezer, packed to bursting with Haagen-Dazs. To watch this 90-minute film is to be reminded of just how brilliant--and topical--the concept was. The writing is as fresh as ever, as are the priceless group of characters who bring the scripts to life. From the very opening moments, when Geraldine turns up and jokes that they were expecting a man "beard, bible, bad breath; instead you got a babe with a bob cut and a magnificent bosom", you know you're in the presence of an enduring comic creation. On the DVD: The Best of the Vicar of Dibley offers pretty minimal extras--an entertaining feature on real-life women vicars, laconically but pertinently narrated by Jo Brand. --Harriet Smith

• Field Of Dreams | DVD | (24/09/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Field of Dreams is, in the words of its makers, a baseball film that "isn't about baseball". Rather, it's a magical film that works its spell on all but the most hard-boiled of viewers, an altogether superior slice of apple-pie sentimentality. Kevin Costner plays a young Iowa farmer who finds himself pestered by a whispering voice urging him, "If you build it, he will come". With the consent of an uncharacteristically supportive Hollywood wife (Amy Madigan) he sets about building a baseball diamond in the middle of his land. This action invites the prospect of bankruptcy--however, it also invites the spirit of "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, a baseball superstar disgraced following his role in the 1919 World Series scandal. The supernatural voices continue to urge Costner to "go the distance"--and he seeks out reclusive writer Thomas Mann (James Earl Jones) and "Doc" Graham (Burt Lancaster), impelled by purposes he is as yet unable to divine. Field of Dreams works because it touches so endearingly on themes of redemption, inner peace and the possibility of second chances--the "dreams" which elude most of us. It also cites baseball as an idyllic metaphor for all that is decent and constant about America. Costner gives immense plausibility to an utterly, deliberately implausible scenario. On the DVD: Presented in anamorphic 1.78:1, the vivid, almost unnaturally natural Iowa colours are depicted to vivid effect (much of the diamond grass had to be painted green when it died). Generous extras include a making-of feature, an interview with WP Kinsella, author of the novel on which the book is based, and Costner. Director/writer Phil Alden Robinson also provides a director's commentary in which he describes the logistical difficulties of assembling 1500 automobiles for the memorable final scene. --David Stubbs

• Mapp And Lucia Collection - The Complete 1st & 2nd Series | DVD | (13/10/2003) from £69.95   |  Saving you £-39.96 (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  Miss Emmeline Lucas (Geraldine McEwan) known universally to her friends as Lucia is a dreadful snob but in Miss Elizabeth Mapp (Prunella Scales) of Mallards Lucia meets her match. On the surface they are the most genteel of society ladies but beneath the veneer of politeness and etiquette lies a bitter and seething malice. There is no plan too devious no plot too cunning no depths to which they would not sink in order to win the battle for social supremacy. Using their deadly weapons of garden parties bridge evenings and charming teas the two combatants strive to outcharm each other as they vie for the position of toast of the town... This release features all ten episodes from both series of Mapp & Lucia adapted from the celebrated books by E.F. Benson. Episode titles: The Village Fete Battle Stations The Italian Connection Lobster Pots The Owl And The Pussycat Winner Takes All Change and Change About Lady Bountiful Worship Au Reservoir.

• The Return of the Living Dead | Blu Ray | (06/11/2013) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Return of the Living Dead is a parody-cum-sequel spin-off from George Romero's superior Night of the Living Dead films. A corpse-containing canister gets breached and releases an oily, loose-limbed, brain-eating zombie tatterdemalion and a gas that revives anything dead in the vicinity, even a bisected dog preserved as a vet's teaching specimen and a case of pinned butterflies. The dim-bulb leading characters--earnest Clu Gulager, goofy James Karen and Thom Matthews--burn up a mess of surplus living body parts, but the rains wash the ashes into the earth of a nearby cemetery and a whole crowd of brain-eating zombies claw their way out to terrorise a group of teens who sport the kind of 1985 fashions, hairdos, slang preferences and musical tastes that will never feature in a TV nostalgia programme. There are plenty of in-jokes at the expense of the Living Dead films (learning that shooting 'em in the brain doesn't work, the appalled Matthews gasps, "You mean the movie lied?"), and director Dan O'Bannon, the writer of Dark Star and Alien, hurries things along through some gruesome action and terror-by-zombie bits until the surprisingly cynical anti-government conclusion. It's not as wittily outrageous as Re-Animator or Braindead, but it has an amiable, drive-in-cum-home video grunge about it. Frequently naked exploitation regular Linnea Quigley makes an impression as the punkette zombie who goes on the rampage wearing nothing but leg-warmers and body make-up. The frill-free DVD is full-screen (boo hiss!) except for the titles, offers only the trailer and inadequate cast and crew notes as extras, but it looks okay. --Kim Newman

• Beverly Hills 90210 - Season 1 | DVD | (13/11/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £49.99

  Brandon Walsh (Jason Priestley) and his sister Brenda (Shannen Doherty) survive the first day of school at West Beverly High but will they endure the drama that awaits? The complete first season of the teen favourite which followed the Walsh family as they relocated from Minnesota to the richer pastures of West Beverly Hills. Episodes Comprise: 1. Class Of Beverly Hills 2. The Green Room 3. Every Dream Has Its Price (Tag) 4. The First Time 5. One On One 6. High Education 7. Perfect Mom 8. The 17 Year Itch 9. The Gentle Art Of Listening 10. Isn't It Romantic 11. B.Y.O.B 12. One Man And A Baby 13. Slumber Party 14. East Side Story 15. A Fling In Palm Springs 16. Fame Is Where You Find It 17. Stand (Up) And Deliver 18. It's Only A Test 19. April Is The Cutest Month 20. Spring Training 21. Spring Dance 22. Home Again

• Frances | DVD | (09/08/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  The violent tragic but true story of a rebellious female star of the 1930s who fought the Hollywood system... and lost.

• The Rules of Attraction | DVD | (29/09/2003) from £7.48   |  Saving you £9.50 (211.58%)   |  RRP £13.99

  James Van Der Beek is Sean Bateman, the younger brother of "American Psycho's" Patrick Bateman. Against a backdrop of 'Dressed to get screwed parties', drugs, casual sex and student excess we follow Sean through the doors of a New England arts college.

• John Carpenter's Vampires / John Carpenter's Vampires: Los Muertos / Vampires: The Turning | DVD | (27/06/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £22.99

  Vampires: ""Forget everything you've ever heard about vampires"" warns Jack Crow (James Woods) the leader of Team Crow a relentless group of mercenary vampire slayers. When master Vampire Valek (Thomas Ian Griffith) decimates Jack's entire team Crow and the sole team survivor Montoya (Daniel Baldwin) set out in pursuit. Breaking all the rules Crow and Montoya take one of Valek's victims hostage. The beautiful prostitute (Sheryl Lee) is their sole psychic link to Valek a

• Against All Flags/The Rare Breed | DVD | (26/12/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Against All Flags (Dir. George Sherman 1952): In 1700 the pirates of Madagascar menace the India trade; British officer Brian Hawke has himself cashiered flogged and set adrift to infiltrate the pirate ""republic."" There Hawke meets lovely Spitfire Stevens a pirate captain in her own right and the sparks begin to fly; but wooing a pirate poses unique problems. Especially after he rescues adoring young Princess Patma from a captured ship. Meanwhile Hawke's secret mission proceeds to an action-packed climax. The Rare Breed (Dir. Andrew V. McLaglen 1966): In the 1880s Englishwoman Martha Price (Maureen O'Hara) and her daughter Hilary (Juliet Mills) come to America to sell their prize Hereford bull at an auction. When he is purchased by Bowen a wild Scotsman (Brian Keith) the women hire a footloose cowhand named Burnett (James Stewart) to help them transport the animal to its new owner. So begins an adventure that tests the mettle of all involved as they battle killers cattle stampedes and each other. But when they reach Bowen's ranch even greater obstacles force them to summon up extraordinary courage if they and the prize bull are to survive...

• Murphy's Law - Series 3 | DVD | (28/08/2006) from £10.40   |  Saving you £9.59 (48.00%)   |  RRP £19.99

  James Nesbitt plays Detective Sergeant Tommy Murphy a maverick cop with a dark past. After failing a psychiatric assessment he is given one last chance by his boss and given a dangerous undercover assignment. Murphy is a loner with little to lose and deals with everything on his own terms... Episodes Comprise: 1. The Goodbye Look 2. Disorganised Crime 3. Strongbox 4. Extra Mile 5. Boys Night Out 6. Hard Boiled Eggs And Nuts

• T.J.Hooker - Series 1 And 2 | DVD | (26/09/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £34.99

  The classic 80's cop show available on DVD for the first time! William Shatner stars as Sgt. T.J. Hooker a veteran cop who rejected a detective's badge to return to the streets and train young recruits in ""T. J. Hooker "" an hour-long contemporary police drama series produced by Spelling/Goldberg Productions in association with Columbia Pictures Television. Also starring in the series are Adrian Zmed as Vince Romano; a young Vietnam veteran who finds a new home on the force as Hook

• McBain | DVD | (17/07/2006) from £4.03   |  Saving you £-0.04 (N/A%)   |  RRP £3.99

  When a group of U.S. Rangers save McBain from execution during the Vietnam War he vows to repay them. Years later when his saviour Santos is killed on a mission to reclaim Colombia for its people he finds himself called into action and regroups his army platoon to lead Santos rebel army...

• Head Over Heels | DVD | (21/01/2002) from £6.86   |  Saving you £3.13 (45.63%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Take Hollywood romantic comedy at its fluffiest, stir in a few Farrelly Brothers-style bodily-function jokes, season with pratfalls, add a soupcon of Hitchcock and you've got Head Over Heels, the perfect way to while away 85 minutes without putting the least strain on your brain cells. Our heroine, Amanda, is a shy retiring young lady with a dusty museum job and a non-existent love-life. (She's played by the dishy blonde Monica Potter, which gives you a fair idea of this movie's grip on reality). Having moved into a palatial Manhattan apartment (yeah, right) shared with four wannabe supermodels she meets--via a randy Great Dane--the handsome guy from across the courtyard. But it seems he has a deep, dark secret in his life. Mark Waters' film gets a lot of mileage out of poking fun at the bubble-headed attitudes of the model girls, which might well provoke mutterings about pots and kettles in more censorious quarters. But the whole confection's so innocuous and eager to please that it's hard to stay as irritated with it as it deserves. Potter (or occasionally her body double) executes her pratfalls gamely, her flatmates pose elegantly, and Mr Maybe-Right Freddie Prinze Jr grins boyishly--even if his subsequent metamorphosis into an action hero takes a bit of swallowing. Waters' direction keeps things moving briskly enough to prevent us musing on the idiocy of the whole enterprise. The insert inside the box suggests that "if you enjoyed this title" you should try Taxi Driver or Being John Malkovich. Could someone at Columbia TriStar be having a little joke? On the DVD: not much to mention. There's a trailer, brief cast and director biogs, production notes and a 12-minute shooting-of featurette in which, as usual, everybody was just wonderful and they all adored each other from the get-go. Anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) and Dolby Digital 5.1 sound ensure a suitably glossy presentation. --Philip Kemp

• When Hope Calls: Season 1 | DVD | (03/11/2020) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Anne With an 'E': Season 2 | DVD | (09/11/2020) from £8.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Anne's beloved world of Green Gables becomes a much bigger place, with new faces and heartfelt lessons about love, loss and growing up.

• Hiroshima | DVD | (06/01/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £2.99

  Beginning in the frenzied final months of World War II Hiroshima rockets backand forth between Truman Churchill and Hirohito to reach behind the headlines and tell the story of men and women both public and private whose lives and careers would be forever changed by this event creating a balanced portrait of the political moral and above all human cost of this historical decision. 'Hiroshima' weaves an unforgettable tapestry of those events which led to the decision which would indelibly change the course of human destiny.

• Verdi: Un Ballo in Maschera -- Metropolitan Opera/Levine | DVD | (09/09/2002) from £15.79   |  Saving you £1.20 (7.60%)   |  RRP £16.99

  A performance of Verdi's opera 'Un Ballo In Maschera' by the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra And Chorus; conducted by James Levine. Singers include: Luciano Pavarotti and Aprile Millo. Directed by Brian Large.

• Kevin And Perry Go Large (2000) | DVD | (13/11/2000) from £19.99   |  Saving you £-6.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £13.99

  Kevin & Perry go Large follows our two hormonally challenged lads on their quest to lose their virginity and become the worlds top DJ mixmasters.

• Britannia High - Series 1 - Complete | DVD | (27/04/2009) from £26.98   |  Saving you £-6.99 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Britannia High is a vibrant exciting contemporary Fame for the noughties and has a host of talent on board. As well as an exceptional cast the show is choreographed by Arlene Philips with the score written by Take That's Gary Barlow and award-winning song writer Guy Chambers.