"Actor: James Read"

• Beaches | DVD | (05/05/2003) from £8.25   |  Saving you £6.74 (81.70%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Director Garry Marshall's 1988 drama Beaches about the 30-year friendship between two women, one wealthy (Barbara Hershey) and the other (Bette Midler) seeking her fortune in show business, is well written (based on the novel by Iris Rainer Dart) and nicely textured in its contrast between the characters' separate destinies. When Hershey becomes ill with cancer, the film takes a predictably sentimental course, yet Marshall brings out the best in both actresses and catches some very fine drama. Beaches is a little too long, perhaps, but overall it is a fine experience. --Tom Keogh

• Desert Fox, The / The Desert Rats | DVD | (02/06/2003) from £14.35   |  Saving you £0.64 (4.46%)   |  RRP £14.99

  James Mason plays Field Marshal Erwin Rommel in both The Desert Fox (1951) and The Desert Rats (1953), a WWII double-bill on DVD. The Desert Fox, released six years after the end of the War, is a solemnly respectful tribute to Erwin Rommel, Germany's most celebrated military genius. James Mason's portrayal of this gallant warrior became a highlight of his career iconography. The film itself is oddly disjointed, though: a pre-credit commando raid to liquidate Rommel is followed by a flashback to the field-marshal's lightning successes commanding the Afrika Korps--a compressed account via documentary footage and copious narration (spoken by Michael Rennie, who also dubs Desmond Young, the Rommel biographer and one-time British POW appearing briefly as himself). The dramatic core is Rommel's growing disenchantment with Hitler (Luther Adler), his involvement in the plot to assassinate the Fuhrer, and his subsequent martyrdom. The Desert Rats stars Richard Burton in only his second Hollywood role (between Oscar-nominated turns in My Cousin Rachel and The Robe), as a Scottish commando put in charge of a battalion of the 9th Australian Division defending Tobruk. The Aussies don't like him, and with a year of grim North African duty already under his belt, he's not too crazy about his new responsibilities either. The outfit is charged with staving off the battering assaults of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel for two months, to give the British Army time to regroup in Cairo and prepare for a counterattack. In the end, the "desert rats" play hell with the Desert Fox for 242 days, during which time they and their commander develop some mutual respect. This is a solid, workmanlike World War II picture that, having been made in 1953 rather than 1943, can acknowledge a degree of eccentric humanity and soldierly professionalism in the enemy. Featured guest star James Mason reprises his Rommel from The Desert Fox, playing all his scenes in German except for a scene of ironical repartee with Burton. Another distinguished Brit, Robert Newton, gets costar billing as a boozy, self-confessed coward who used to be Burton's schoolmaster. However, a goodly number of Australians--including Chips Rafferty and Charles "Bud" Tingwell rate at least as much screen time. Robert Wise directed, with a trimness that reminds us he started out as an editor, and the pungent black-and-white cinematography is by Lucien Ballard. --Richard T. Jameson

• The Desert Fox | DVD | (01/08/2005) from £5.38   |  Saving you £7.61 (141.45%)   |  RRP £12.99

  James Mason delivers a strong performance in the title role of this sympathetic study of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. In the early 40's Rommel's juggernaut Afrika Korps dominated North Africa. But as the tide turned and he came to the painful realisation that his Fuhrer to whom he had sworn allegiance was destroying Germany his ingrained sense of duty pushed him into a conspiracy against Hitler. Focusing on the latter part of Rommel's career the flm portrays him as a dedicated so

• A Lot Like Love | DVD | (24/10/2005) from £5.95   |  Saving you £10.04 (168.74%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peet find romance in this 'When Harry Met Sally" style comedy.

• North and South: Book 1 | DVD | (01/11/2004) from £6.25   |  Saving you £31.00 (621.24%)   |  RRP £35.99

  One is from a Northern industrial family one from a Southern plantation family. They're West Point graduates whose tried-and-true loyalty helps them survive the Mexican-American War. But their bond faces sterner tests. The issues dividing North and South can also set friend against friend. John Jakes' bestseller about the pre-Civil War decades thunders to the screen in a lavish six-part miniseries presented by award-winning executive producer David L. Wolper. In all 140 actors num

• Remington Steele - Series 1 - Complete | DVD | (12/03/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  Private Investigator Laura Holt (Stephanie Zimbalist) has a problem: no one appears interested in hiring a female private eye. Her solution? She invents a boss named Remington Steele changes her agency name to Remington Steele Detective Agency and suddenly she has more cases than she can handle. But then something she didn't plan on ever having to deal with shows up at her door: Remington Steele in the flesh! Features the complete 22 episodes from the first season. Episodes Comprise: 1. License To Steele 2. Tempered Steele 3. Steele Waters Run Deep 4. Signed Steeled And Delivered 5. Thou Shalt Not Steele 6. Steele Belted 7. Etched In Steele 8. You're Steele The One For Me 9. In The Steele Of Night 10. Steele Trap 11. Steeling The Show 12. Steele Flying High 13. A Good Night's Steele 14. Hearts Of Steele 15. To Stop A Steele 16. Steele Crazy After All These Years 17. Steele Among The Living 18. Steele In The News 19. Vintage Steele 20. Steele's Gold 21. Sting Of Steele 22. Steele In Circulation

• The Lady In The Van/A Street Cat Named Bob | DVD | (12/02/2018) from £5.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  The Lady In The Van Based on the true story of Miss Shepherd (played by the magnificent Maggie Smith), a woman of uncertain origins temporarily parks her van in Alan Bennett's (Alex Jennings) London driveway and proceeds to live there for 15 years. What begins as a begrudged favour becomes a relationship that will change both their lives. Acclaimed director Nicholas Hytner reunites with iconic writer Alan Bennett to create this rare and touching portrait. A Street Cat Named Bob Based on the true life story and international bestselling book, A STREET CAT NAMED BOB is a moving and uplifting film that will touch the heart of everyone. When London busker and recovering drug addict James Bowen (Luke Treadaway) finds injured ginger street cat Bob in his sheltered accommodation, he has no idea just how much his life is about to change. Features: The Lady In The Van The Making of The Lady In The Van featurette The Visual Effects featurette Playing the Lady: Maggie Smith as Miss Shepherd featurette Commentary with Nicholas Hytner Deleted Scenes A Street Cat Named Bob Behind the Scenes Featurette

• The Initiation Dual Format | Blu Ray | (07/11/2016) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  HERE'S TO BEING YOUNG STAYING YOUNG AND DYING YOUNG. Marking TV star Daphne Zuniga's debut in a leading role, The Initiation ranks amongst the finest of the college-based stalk-and-slash flicks now finally restored in glorious High-Definition! Kelly's new sorority has a special initiation ritual in store for her an after-hours break-in of her father's department store. But what begins as a night of harmless college fun turns sour when, once inside the enormous mall, Kelly and her fellow pledges find themselves locked in for the night with a deadly intruder stalking the corridors. Arriving in 1984, The Initiation might have been late to the slasher party, but, alongside the likes of The House on Sorority Row and The Mutilator, it remains one of the stronger entries to emerge in the latter days of the slice-and-dice boom. SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS: Brand new restoration from original film elements High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation Original Uncompressed Mono PCM audio Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing Brand new audio commentary by The Hysteria Continues Brand new interview with actor Christopher Bradley Brand new interview with actress Joy Jones Original Theatrical Trailer Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Justin Osbourn FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by critic James Oliver

• North And South - Season 2 | DVD | (01/11/2004) from £10.37   |  Saving you £25.62 (247.06%)   |  RRP £35.99

  Season Two of the epic saga of the South Carolina Main family and the Pennsylvanian Hazards. In the fateful year 1861 began a war which was to tear America apart and which threatened to destroy the lives of the Hazard and Main clans. Friend fights friend brother stands against brother as the two families once bound by friendship and love are now on opposite sides of the bloody conflict.

• Flame Trees Of Thika | DVD | (07/11/2016) from £14.93   |  Saving you £5.06 (33.89%)   |  RRP £19.99

  When a young Edwardian family leaves the shores of England to build a home in the wilderness of East Africa what they encounter is beyond their imagination but forever remembered through the eyes of their 11-year-old daughter. Based on the beloved memoir by Elspeth Huxley The Flame Trees of Thika brings to life the color and adventure of turn-of-the-century Kenya. In 1913 Robin (David Robb) and Tilly Grant (Hayley Mills) arrive in Kenya with the dream of transforming a barren plot

• Eight Men Out | DVD | (07/06/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Director John Sayles's 'Eight Men Out' explores one of the darkest moments in the history of baseball: 1919's infamous Black Sox scandal when eight players on the heavily favored Chicago White Sox agreed to throw the World Series. Based on Eliot Asinof's 1963 book of the same name the film investigates why the players including the great 'Shoeless' Joe Jackson who many believe belongs in the Hall of Fame would purposely lose the most important game of their lives...

• Danielle Steel's Full Circle | DVD | (29/09/2003) from £5.92   |  Saving you £0.07 (1.18%)   |  RRP £5.99

  In this compelling drama from Danielle Steel a tragic event changes a young woman's life forever. For years Tana Robert's mother Jean had been the mistress of a wealthy married man Arthur. Tana determined not to end up like her mother is raped by Arthur's son Billy. With no support from her mother she buries herself in her college studies and later in her career as a powerful lawyer. When her best friend from college Harry is shot and paralysed during a robbery Tana now alone and vulnerable finds herself following in her mothers footsteps when she embarks on an affair with Harry's father. Tana ends their relationship but struggles to gain control of her life and face the emotional issues that hold the key to her happiness.

• Star Trek: The Original Series - Season 1 | DVD | (30/08/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £69.99

  Space. The final frontier. These are the voyages of the Starship Enterprise. Its' five year mission: to explore strange new worlds to seek out new life and new civilisations to boldly go where no man has gone before! Episodes Comprise: 1. The Man Trap 2. Charlie X 3. Where No Man Has Gone Before 4. The Naked Time 5. The Enemy Within 6. Mudd's Women 7. What Are Little Girls Made Of? 8. Miri 9. Dagger Of The Mind 10. The Corbomite Maneuver 11. The Menagerie (Part 1) 12. The Me

• Lord Peter Wimsey - Five Red Herrings ) | DVD | (27/12/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Based on the series of novels written by Dorothy L Sayers in the 1920s and 30s, Lord Peter Wimsey was dramatised for TV by the BBC between 1972-5. Ian Carmichael, veteran of British film comedy, played the genial, aristocratic sleuth; Glyn Houston was his manservant Bunter. The pair are similar to PG Wodehouse's Jeeves and Bertie Wooster (whom Carmichael played in an earlier TV adaptation) though here the duo are equal in intelligence, breezing about the country together in Wimsey's Bentley and stumbling with morbid regularity upon baffling murder mysteries to test their wits. Those for whom this series forms hazy memories of childhood might be surprised at its somewhat stagy, lingering interior shots, the spartan paucity of music, the miserly attitude towards locations, especially foreign ones, and the rather genteel, leisurely pace of these programmes, besides which Inspector Morse seems like Quentin Tarantino in comparison. It seems that initially the BBC was reluctant to commission the series and ventured on production with a wary eye on the budget. The Britain depicted by Sayers is, by and large, populated by either the upper classes or heavily accented, rum-do-and-no-mistake lower orders, which some might find consoling. However, the acting is generally excellent and the murder mysteries are sophisticated parlour games, the televisual equivalent of a good, absorbing jigsaw puzzle. There were five feature-length adaptations in all. "Five Red Herrings" is the last and perhaps the least of the series, involving a trout fishing holiday interrupted by the death of a local artist. --David Stubbs

• The Initiation | DVD | (05/04/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  From an early age Kelly (Zuniga) has been plagued by a recurring nightmare in which a man appears to be burnt alive. Now a young woman at college Kelly must take part in an initiation prank that will turn out to have deadly consequences...

• The Other Woman | DVD | (26/06/2006) from £2.95   |  Saving you £3.04 (103.05%)   |  RRP £5.99

  When Tessa's ex-husband Michael remarries leaving her with two children she takes an immediate dislike to Carolyn. But when Tessa finds out she is terminally ill she decides to give Carolyn another chance...

• The Other Woman | DVD | (22/04/2002) from £2.42   |  Saving you £0.57 (23.55%)   |  RRP £2.99

  When Tessa's ex-husband Michael remarries leaving her with two children she takes an immediate dislike to Carolyn. But when Tessa finds out she is terminally ill she decides to give Carolyn another chance...

• The Other Woman | DVD | (08/07/2013) from £4.98   |  Saving you £0.01 (0.20%)   |  RRP £4.99

  A mother is dying and is worried as to who will look after her two daughters after she has gone. She hates her ex-husband's new wife, for she is a young and very beautiful model and the two have nothing in common. When the mother's illness gets worse, she makes the decision that her daughters' step-mother should look after them after all and that before her death all four women should go on a journey across America. She also decrees that when she dies the others should start a new family.

• Beaches/When A Man Loves A Woman | DVD | (05/11/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Beaches: (Dir. Garry Marshall) (1988): Two very different young girls meet on a beach in a 1950s American resort. CC Bloom (Bette Midler) is a brash confident minx determined to make it in the glitzy world of show business. Hillary (Barbara Hershey) is a wealthy restrained and privileged WASP who seems destined for a life as a trophy wife. Against all odds their friendship survives through broken marriages diverging careers and the trials of life. When A Man Loves A Woman: (Dir. Luis Mandoki) (1997): Alice and Michael Green are a passionate couple who have worked hard to build a good life for themselves and their two young daughters. But a dark secret from Alice's past is about to surface - a secret that threatens to destroy them as lovers as a family and as individuals.