"Actor: Janet McTeer"

• Velvet Goldmine | DVD | (07/06/2004) from £19.99   |  Saving you £-14.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Somewhat misleadingly described by many as a mock-biopic based on the life of David Bowie, Velvet Goldmine is so much more than that. Journalist Arthur Stuart (Christian Bale) who sets out to discover whatever happened to Ziggy Stardust-like Brian Slade (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers), the famous bisexual glam star who crashed and burned spectacularly, but in the process helped Arthur awaken his own sexuality. It's an insane homage to 1970s glam rock in the UK as only American, who knew the movement from a distance, would make; it's a tribute to film director Nicolas Roeg's best work, particularly Performance and the Bowie-vehicle The Man Who Fell to Earth; it's a sci-fi movie about an alternative reality (the film's "present" is a 1984 that never existed and frustratingly never clearly explained); it's a queer Citizen Kane with lashings of eye-glitter, a complete mess, an absolute delight and a chance to see Ewan McGregor naked in case you didn't catch him in The Pillow Book as the Iggy Pop-like Curt Wild, Slade's lover/protégé.Director Todd Haynes, who made the incredibly spare Safe and a biopic about Karen Carpenter with Barbie dolls, crams in everything--including the kitchen sink, all the washing-up and half the larder--as if terrified he'll never get another chance to shoot even a commercial again. The pacing drags like catwalk-queen's glittery taffeta train at times, but then glorious swooping musical numbers and clever bits of allusive business arrive that will brighten the day of many a pop-fan and film-buff. Never anything less than ruthlessly inventive and demanding of patience and an open mind, it's one for connoisseurs. Viewers who prefer easy-viewing eye candy are well advised to stick with fluff like Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. --Leslie Felperin

• The Governor - The Complete First Series | DVD | (28/03/2011) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Oscar nominee Janet McTeer (Tumbleweeds) stars as Helen Hewitt the youngest woman ever to be placed in charge of an all-male maximum security prison in this hard-hitting drama series written and produced by the multi-award-winning Lynda La Plante (Prime Suspect Widows). The series traces Hewitt's progress following her high-profile appointment as governor of the troubled Barfield Prison which has been partially destroyed by recent rioting. As Barfield is rebuilt Hewitt must fight for the respect of suspicious antagonistic officers counter the threat of renewed violence from a volatile and ever-growing prison population and finally demand the right to implement a more effective new regime. Helen Hewitt has a formidable task and few allies...

• Cat Run | DVD | (23/04/2012) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  This hilariously violent action comedy caper stars Paz Vega (Spanglish) as a sexy, high-end call girl on the run for her life with key evidence to a scandalous government cover-up of a shockingly horrific crime. When two bumbling private detectives become her unlikely protectors (Scott Mechlowicz, Alphonso McAuley) they too find themselves from a deadly combination of the Mob, a corrupt US Senator and a ruthlessly sadistic female assassin (Janet McTeer - Tideland). By turns stylish, sexy, fast moving and action packed, Cat Run is directed by John Stockwell (Crazy Beautiful).

• The Black Velvet Gown | DVD | (14/04/2003) from £9.94   |  Saving you £0.05 (0.50%)   |  RRP £9.99

  The story is set in rural Northumberland amidst the prejudices of the 1830s. The widowed Riah has become housekeeper at Moor House to a scholarly recluse Mr Miller. Her three children already able to read and write are given further tuition by Miller. But his devotion for one of them becomes more than academic...

• Waking The Dead | DVD | (04/04/2005) from £12.45   |  Saving you £-6.46 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Waking the Dead, like director-writer Keith Gordon's earlier films (The Chocolate War, A Midnight Clear, Mother Night), is based on a well-regarded modern novel (by Scott Spencer) and has a great many quiet virtues: a genuine engagement with near-contemporary America, complicated characters well-played by a cast of perfectly selected not-quite-star performers and a questioning approach that sits ill with the too-easy answers of most contemporary films. The complex story opens in 1974 with the death in a car bomb explosion of Sarah Williams (Jennifer Connelly), a radical working with a faction of left-wing Catholics to rescue dissidents from Chile. This has a devastating effect on her straighter boyfriend, Fielding Pierce (Billy Crudup), who is working within the system with an eye on rising in the Democratic Party through the patronage of a senior figure (Hal Holbrook), the man who is eventually to become the President. We flash back to 1972 and Fielding's intense relationship with Sarah, marked by romantic and political differences that feel far more real than the contrived oppositional arguments in most political movies. Then skip 10 years forward to find a sleeker, hollow-faced Fielding running for Congress, tormented not only by memories of Sarah but her actual or phantasmal appearances. Another film might play this as a paranoid mystery thriller, but this goes for psychology, and Crudup delivers an intense portrait of a man cracking up by the loss of his ideals as much as his life's love--climaxing in a terrific restaurant outburst to his needy, congratulatory family. Unreleased theatrically in the UK, this outstanding film has award-quality performances from Crudup and Connelly, both doing their best screen work to date. On the DVD: The picture is presented in 1.85.1 anamorphic widescreen, with Dolby Digital sound. You get the usual trailer, filmographies and puff piece featurette, but also three superb extras: a commentary from Gordon that passionately and intelligently addresses the thematic material and production circumstances of the film; a package of deleted scenes that goes well beyond the usual irrelevant snippets--everything here offers additional insights into the plot and character; tracks from the composers Tomandandy which play over the menus--a rare feature that's liable to become more common. --Kim Newman

• The Governor - Series 1 | DVD | (11/07/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The Governor was written by Lynda La Plante and tells the story of a female governor who is put in charge of a high-security male prison. Facing various problems including hostage situations and escape attempts the new Governor is challenged not only to overcome the difficulties with in the prison but also the attitude of her fellow male prison guards. Is she up to the task? Features all 6 episodes of Series 1.

• Tideland | Blu Ray | (12/05/2014) from £13.48   |  Saving you £2.51 (18.62%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Because of the actions of her irresponsible parents a young girl is left alone on a decrepit country estate and survives inside her fantastic imagination. Special Features: Getting Gilliam Documentary Bonus and Extended Scenes

• Tideland | DVD | (12/05/2014) from £3.99   |  Saving you £9.00 (69.30%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Because of the actions of her irresponsible parents a young girl is left alone on a decrepit country estate and survives inside her fantastic imagination. Special Features: Getting Gilliam Documentary Bonus and Extended Scenes