"Actor: Jim Norton"

• Boy In The Striped Pyjamas | DVD | (18/04/2011) from £5.80   |  Saving you £14.19 (244.66%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Based on the best selling novel by John Boyne. Berlin 1942 - Eight-year-old Bruno knows nothing of the Final Solution and the Holocaust. He is oblivious to the appalling cruelties being inflicted on the people of Europe by his country. All he knows is that his father was promoted and he has been moved from a comfortable home in Berlin to a house in a desolate area where there is nothing to do and no-one to play with. Until he meets Shmuel a boy who lives a strange parallel existence on the other side of the adjoining wire fence and who like the other people there wears a uniform of striped pajamas Bruno's friendship with Shmuel will take him from innocence to revelation as their secret meetings result in a friendship that has startling and devastating consequences.

• Straw Dogs | DVD | (07/10/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £7.99

  According to critic Pauline Kael Straw Dogs was "the first American film that is a fascist work of art". Sam Peckinpah's only film shot in Britain is adapted from a novel by Gordon M Williams called The Siege of Trencher's Farm which Peckinpah described as a "lousy book with one good action-adventure sequence". The setting is Cornwall, where mild-mannered US academic David Sumner (Dustin Hoffman) has bought a house with his young English wife Amy (Susan George) in the village where she grew up. David is mocked by the locals (one of whom is Amy's ex-boyfriend) and treated with growing contempt by his frustrated wife, but when his house comes under violent siege he finds unexpected reserves of resourcefulness and aggression. The movie, Peckinpah noted, was much influenced by Robert Ardrey's macho-anthropological tract, The Territorial Imperative. Its take on Cornish village life is fairly bizarre--this is a Western in all but name--and many critics balked at the transposition of Peckinpah's trademark blood-and-guts to the supposed peace of the British countryside. A scene where Amy is raped caused particular outrage, not least since it's hinted she consents to it. Not for the first time in Peckinpah's movies there are disquieting elements of misogyny, and it doesn't help that the chemistry between Hoffman and George is non-existent. (Impossible to believe these two would ever have clicked, let alone married.) But taken as a vision of irrational violence irrupting into a civilised way of life Straw Dogs is powerful and unsettling, and the action sequences are executed with all Peckinpah's unfailing flair and venom. Oh, and that title? A quote from Chinese sage Lao-Tze, it seems, "The wise man is ruthless and treats the people as straw dogs." The film was long withheld from home viewing in Britain by nervous censors, but this release presents it complete and uncut. --Philip KempOn the DVD: Straw Dogs is as jam-packed a disc as is possible for a film made before the days of obligatory "making of" features. Both the sound and visuals have transferred well, and, like the script, have aged well. There's a bumbling original interview in the style of Harry Enfield's Mr. Cholmondley-Warner, along with stills and original trailers. The new material includes a feature on the history of the film's censorship and commentaries by Peckinpah's biographers musing over interesting fan-facts (though none of the speakers have any first-hand experience of the making of the film). However, Katy Haber's commentary, and interviews with Susan George and Dan Melnick, offer a much more in-depth and intimate portrayal of the man and the making of the film. --Nikki Disney

• Father Ted : Complete Box Set | DVD | (04/11/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £49.99

  Father Ted is one of those rare sitcoms that defies categorisation--it owes as much to Flann O'Brien and Samuel Beckett as it does to Monty Python--and its blend of satire, character comedy and anarchic surrealism has made it a cult favourite around the world. Exiled to remote Craggy Island, Father Ted shares a house with the breathtakingly stupid Father Dougal Maguire and the constantly inebriated Father Jack, who has a small vocabulary and a taste for furniture polish. Their housekeeper, Mrs Doyle, takes care of them with a never-ending supply of tea and sandwiches: "Go on now, Father, won't you try one? They're diagonal." Together they fight boredom by dressing up as Elvis, startling ducks at the fair and provoking nuns. This set compiles the entire three-year series. --Simon Leake

• The Boy | DVD | (11/07/2016) from £8.75   |  Saving you £11.24 (128.46%)   |  RRP £19.99

  An American nanny is shocked that her new English family's boy is actually a life-sized doll. After she violates a list of strict rules, disturbing events make her believe that the doll is really alive.

• Memoirs of an Invisible Man | Blu Ray | (01/10/2018) from £7.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Just a quick nap and weary stock analyst Nick Halloway is sure he'll emerge good as new. Instead he wakes up good as gone. Vanished. Poof. Thin air. A nuclear accident has made Nick invisible. The laughs and visual effects are out of sight when Chevy Chase headlines Memoirs of an Invisible Man. Invisibility makes it easier to spy on agents (particularly chief adversary Sam Neill) who've put him in his predicament. And can he romance a lovely documentary producer (Daryl Hannah) in a way she's never seen before. John Carpenter (Halloween, Starman) directs and Industrial Light and Magic dream weavers conjure up eye-opening effects as Nick embarks on his manic quest. Seeing is believing. And enjoying.

• The Count Of Monte Cristo | DVD | (03/02/2003) from £8.25   |  Saving you £7.74 (93.82%)   |  RRP £15.99

  In this new version of the classic tale A young man, falsely imprisoned by his jealous "friend," escapes from a terrible prison years later and uses a hidden treasure to exact his revenge.

• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Single Disc Edition) | DVD | (24/10/2005) from £4.98   |  Saving you £6.01 (120.68%)   |  RRP £10.99

  The latest instalment in the Harry Potter series finds young wizard Harry and his friends Ron and Hermoine facing new challenges during their second year at Hogwarts as they try to uncover a dark force that is terrorising the school.

• Father Ted : The Very Best Of Father Ted | DVD | (18/11/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Is it a sitcom? Is it a serious documentary about the Catholic priesthood? No, it's The Very Best of Father Ted, a choice collection of episodes from Graham Linehan and Arthur Matthews' affably surreal sitcom. Ted's the normal one, as evidenced by his moving Song for Europe entry, "My Lovely Horse"--a modern classic if ever there wasn't one. Gasp as "poor idiot boy" Father Dougal becomes a rollerblading fiend in "Cigarettes and Alcohol and Rollerblading"; be amazed as super Ted saves Craggy Island from a deadly milk-float in the stunning blockbuster sequel "Speed 3" (well, it's faster and more fun than Speed 2); fall off the window-sill as devoted housekeeper Mrs Doyle utters the line that's almost Shakespearean in its sublimity, "Cup of tea, Father?". Graham Norton pops up to annoy everyone in "The Mainland", there's a whole host of Elvis impersonators in "Competition Time", and meanwhile Father Jack doesn't need an excuse to hit the bottle (or to smash one over someone's head) in any episode. Not saying Mass has probably never been so much fun. On the DVD: The Very Best of Father Ted on disc has six episodes as opposed to five on the video release: the extra one is the Christmas special, "A Christmassy Ted". Extra features are selected commentaries by Graham Linehan and Ardal O'Hanlan, a clip compilation of each character, and a rather poor photo gallery. Picture is 4:3 and sound basic stereo. --Gary S Dalkin

• The Boy | Blu Ray | (11/07/2016) from £7.86   |  Saving you £17.13 (217.94%)   |  RRP £24.99

  An American nanny is shocked that her new English family's boy is actually a life-sized doll. After she violates a list of strict rules, disturbing events make her believe that the doll is really alive.

• Father Ted - The Complete 1st Series | DVD | (20/08/2001) from £13.54   |  Saving you £6.45 (32.30%)   |  RRP £19.99

  From its very beginning in 1995, Graham Linehan and Arthur Matthews' affable sitcom Father Ted occupied a previously undiscovered niche in TV comedy: by turns endearing and surreal, it was always effortlessly hilarious. Ted's the almost normal one, fighting the good fight to keep his sanity amid the chaos of his own household, where he lives with "poor idiot boy" Father Dougal, psychotically devoted housekeeper Mrs Doyle and foul-mouthed Father Jack, who doesn't need an excuse to hit the bottle (or smash one over someone's head) in any episode and whose vocabulary consists of just three immortal words: "Drink, Feck, Girls!"The first series opens with "Good Luck, Father Ted" as we learn just how dreary life on Craggy Island really is when Funland arrives (which boasts such attractions as Freak Pointing and the Spinning Cat!). Everyone's patience is tested further when "Entertaining Father Stone"--quite possibly the most boring man on Earth--in the second episode. Proving bad publicity can be good publicity, Ted and Dougal then accidentally manage to attract audiences to the blasphemous film "The Passion of St Tibulus". Their ingenuity is tested to the limit in "Competition Time" as they become "The Three Ages of Elvis". Dermot Morgan's Ted is at his most sympathetic in "And God Created Women" when he gets the wrong end of the stick about the intentions of romantic novelist Polly Clarke. Then, lastly, in " Grant Unto Him Eternal Rest", everyone rallies round at Father Jack's "funeral" to reminisce about what a fine priest and good-natured fellow he was! These six episodes made for a wonderful series debut; catchphrases were born ("Drink!"), as were regular characters (Jim Norton's sinister Bishop Brennan); and like Mrs Doyle's ever-wandering facial mole, audiences wanted it to "go on go on go on".On the DVD: the only extra is an exceedingly self-deprecatory commentary from co-writer Graham Linehan, who explains the origins of the characters and how he wrote in collaboration with Arthur Matthews. He frequently and hilariously compares himself with others (chiefly Mel Brooks on Young Frankensteinand The Producers). Fans will be delighted to hear many jokes that nearly made it into the show, but will undoubtedly end up somewhere else! --Paul Tonks

• Jimmy's Hall | DVD | (29/09/2014) from £4.99   |  Saving you £15.00 (300.60%)   |  RRP £19.99

  In the 1920s political activist and free-thinker Jimmy Gralton built a dance hall in rural Ireland as a place for young people dance play music and learn. As the hall grew in popularity its socialist and free-spirited reputation brought it to the attention of the church and politicians who forced Jimmy to flee and the hall to close. A decade later at the height of the Depression Jimmy returns to Co. Leitrim from the US and vows to live the quiet life. The hall stands abandoned but as Jimmy sees the poverty and growing cultural oppression within the community the leader and activist within him is stirred. He makes the decision to reopen the hall and in doing makes himself an enemy of the establishment.

• Rebus: Dead Souls | DVD | (23/03/2009) from £7.25   |  Saving you £0.74 (10.21%)   |  RRP £7.99

  Rebus: John Hannah (Four Weddings and a Funeral Sliding Doors The Mummy McCallum) stars as Detective Inspector Rebus in these four primetime two hour film dramas for SMG Television from Clerkenwell Films. Adapted from the novels by acclaimed writer Ian Rankin the Rebus stories have been applauded for their intricate plots keen characterisation and flawless sense of place. Rebus himself is an enigma fighting his own weaknesses while dealing with the sad consequences of human frailty. He has seen it all before but his cynicism is redeemed by an unexpected humanity that reveals he is more disillusioned with himself than others. Dead Souls: Rebus is working with a colleague when they catch site of a known convicted paedophile taking photographs at the zoo. It transpires that he has been released early from prison is under police protection and is to be the key witness in the trial of two suspected abusers. The next day Rebus' colleague is found dead in the centre of Edinburgh. Rebus is devastated

• Rebus: The Hanging Garden | DVD | (23/03/2009) from £3.98   |  Saving you £4.01 (100.75%)   |  RRP £7.99

  Rebus: John Hannah (Four Weddings and a Funeral Sliding Doors The Mummy McCallum) stars as Detective Inspector Rebus in these four primetime two hour film dramas for SMG Television from Clerkenwell Films. Adapted from the novels by acclaimed writer Ian Rankin the Rebus stories have been applauded for their intricate plots keen characterisation and flawless sense of place. Rebus himself is an enigma fighting his own weaknesses while dealing with the sad consequences of human frailty. He has seen it all before but his cynicism is redeemed by an unexpected humanity that reveals he is more disillusioned with himself than others. The Hanging Garden: Rebus pieces together the trail of a war criminal who may have gone to ground in a very respectable part of town. But then he becomes drawn into a vicious running battle between two rival gangs after rescuing a young Chechen girl from a local gangster. Rebus takes his work personally. But when his daughter is deliberately run down in the street it's plain that he will stop at nothing to find the man responsible even if it kills him.

• Father Ted - Series 3 | DVD | (20/05/2002) from £9.20   |  Saving you £10.79 (117.28%)   |  RRP £19.99

  This set contains the final series of Father Ted, which ended abruptly in 1998 with the death of its talented comic star, Dermot Morgan. The eight episodes here are a little uneven, but the best stuff is classic, laugh-out-loud satire, including "Are You Right There, Father Ted", in which Morgan's titular Catholic priest is re-banished to Ireland's Craggy Island, a green rock replete with paranoid sheep, randy milkmen, Nazi memorabilia collectors and an inexplicably large community of Chinese immigrants. Outstanding, too, is "Speed 3", in which Ted discovers that a number of babies recently born on Craggy all look like a self-made swinger named Pat Mustard. "Kicking Bishop Brennan Up the Arse" speaks for itself, and "The Mainland" gives supporting actor Ardal O'Hanlon (as idiotic fellow cleric Dougal) a great showcase. --Tom Keogh

• Memoirs of an Invisible Man | DVD | (01/10/2018) from £5.89   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Just a quick nap and weary stock analyst Nick Halloway is sure he'll emerge good as new. Instead he wakes up good as gone. Vanished. Poof. Thin air. A nuclear accident has made Nick invisible. The laughs and visual effects are out of sight when Chevy Chase headlines Memoirs of an Invisible Man. Invisibility makes it easier to spy on agents (particularly chief adversary Sam Neill) who've put him in his predicament. And can he romance a lovely documentary producer (Daryl Hannah) in a way she's never seen before. John Carpenter (Halloween, Starman) directs and Industrial Light and Magic dream weavers conjure up eye-opening effects as Nick embarks on his manic quest. Seeing is believing. And enjoying.

• Stan - The acclaimed BBC drama telling the story of one of the greatest comedy duos of all time.... Laurel & Hardy | DVD | (07/01/2019) from £4.49   |  Saving you £10.50 (233.85%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Based on the Neil Brand's critically acclaimed radio play of the same name, this BBC drama tells the story of the world's greatest comedy double act, Laurel and Hardy - how they met, worked together and remained close friends. Jim Norton (Father Ted) stars as the Stan Laurel, who somewhat reluctantly goes to visit his friend and long-time collaborator Oliver Hardy (Mike Goodenough) on his death bed in 1957. The story reflects the lives and work of Stan and Ollie in a series of flashbacks, and portrays the conversation between the two men as they bid their final farewells after a lifetime of sharing the world's spotlight. Making over 100 films together Laurel - Hardy remain one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comedy double acts of all time. This fascinating drama from the BBC is a must for all their fans.

• Adolf Hitler - My Part In His Downfall | DVD | (07/02/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  London 1940: aspiring jazz musician and future comedy legend Terence ""Spike"" Milligan reluctantly obeys his call-up papers and sets out on an Army career filled with adventures that'll bring a smile to the face and a tear to the eye! Based on Spikie Milligan's own best-selling book.

• Father Ted - Series 2 - Part 2 | DVD | (25/02/2002) from £9.21   |  Saving you £10.78 (53.90%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Among the five episodes collected here are two of Father Ted's finest half-hours. "Rock-A-Hula Ted" was one of the few episodes in which the writers of the show abandoned any concern for their largely British audience and stacked the script with explicitly Irish references: Craggy Island's "Lovely Girls" festival is a burlesque of the all-too-genuine "Rose Of Tralee" pageant, and fire-breathing pop singer Niamh Connolly--played with aplomb by Clare Grogan--an obvious enough Sinead O'Connor manqué. "New Jack City", meanwhile is the classic episode in which the choleric Father Jack is finally despatched to an old folks' loony bin only to be replaced by the mesmerisingly appalling ragga-fixated chain-smoker Father Fintan Stack. As one of the high points of the Father Ted series this episode is also one of the high points of television comedy. There isn't much wrong with the other three episodes here, either. On the DVD: an interactive menu allows the selection of individual episodes, and segments within those episodes. The only extra feature is the option of watching the episodes with the dialogue replaced with a commentary by co-writer Graham Linehan and actor Ardal O'Hanlon, who plays Father Dougal Maguire. Occasionally interesting and revealing though this is, it gets rapidly wearing in this form, and would have worked much better if transcribed in an accompanying booklet. The disc is presented in 4:3 aspect ratio with English subtitles available.--Andrew Mueller

• Blame It On The Bellboy | DVD | (22/03/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  In the wildly entertaining spirit of A Fish Called Wanda BLAME IT ON THE BELLBOY delivers the year's craziest laughs! Featuring an all-star cast the hilarity kicks off when a daffy bellboy (Bronson Pinchot) accidentally switches the itinerary envelopes for three guests (Dudley Moore Bryan Brown and Richard Griffiths). His actions cause a hilarious case of mistaken identities sending the trio down a road of comic non-stop adventures! Check in today for a zany time where mix-ups

• Jimmy's Hall | Blu Ray | (29/09/2014) from £9.61   |  Saving you £13.38 (139.23%)   |  RRP £22.99

  In the 1920s political activist and free-thinker Jimmy Gralton built a dance hall in rural Ireland as a place for young people dance play music and learn. As the hall grew in popularity its socialist and free-spirited reputation brought it to the attention of the church and politicians who forced Jimmy to flee and the hall to close. A decade later at the height of the Depression Jimmy returns to Co. Leitrim from the US and vows to live the quiet life. The hall stands abandoned but as Jimmy sees the poverty and growing cultural oppression within the community the leader and activist within him is stirred. He makes the decision to reopen the hall and in doing makes himself an enemy of the establishment.