"Actor: Jo Allen"

• Richard III | DVD | (17/09/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  The third and final entry in Laurence Olivier's Shakespeare triptych, Richard III is an audacious portrait of a man determined to prove himself a villain. A pure master of the political stage, Richard deploys a barrage of odious, unscrupulous traps in an attempt to exercise complete control over his rivals. As the personification of evil impudence, Olivier portrays the Duke of Gloucester with such aplomb that he even lures the audience on to his side. This is true even as Richard engineers plots to murder his brother Clarence (John Gielgud), betray his cousin Buckingham (Ralph Richardson) and seduce his niece Lady Anne (Claire Bloom). From the play's famous opening lines ("Now is the winter of our discontent"), Olivier delivers every speech with truly Machiavellian splendour. As usual, his voice is a force of nature--a full-bodied coloratura at one moment, an earthy baritone cello a few beats later. As a director, Olivier fully realises but underplays the corners of the script that most directors would hinge their dramatisation on. But he can also play it large: Olivier's superb staging of the climactic battle rivals his work on Henry V. Though Richard is finally brought down by the whispered curses of Queen Margaret, the audience exits feeling that the journey has been both entertaining and complete. Regrettably, this would be Olivier's last Shakespeare film, as a planned adaptation of Macbeth was abandoned for financial reasons. Olivier justly received an Oscar nomination for his performance; and believe it or not, this film was the inspiration for the original Blackadder! --Kevin Mulhall

• Anger Management / As Good As It Gets | DVD | (17/11/2003) from £13.56   |  Saving you £11.43 (84.29%)   |  RRP £24.99

  The irresistible pairing of Jack Nicholson and Adam Sandler is the best reason to see Anger Management, a comedy that might have been subtitled "The Funny and the Furious". Nicholson and especially Sandler have screen personas that partially rely on pent-up anxieties, so there's definite potential in teaming them as a mild-mannered designer of pet clothing for chubby cats (Sandler) who's been ordered to undergo anger management therapy with a zany counsellor (Nicholson) prone to occasional tantrums and devious manipulation. Surely this meandering comedy looked better on the page; director Peter Segal scores a few lucky scenes (particularly Sandler's encounter with a Buddhist monk, played by John C Reilly), but a flood of cameos (Heather Graham, Woody Harrelson, Rudolph Giuliani, and others) can't match the number of laughs that fall flat. As Sandler's understanding girlfriend, Marisa Tomei plays a pivotal role in a happy ending that leaves everyone smiling, with the possible exception of the audience. --Jeff Shannon

• Shark Week | Blu Ray | (07/01/2013) from £8.99   |  Saving you £4.00 (44.49%)   |  RRP £12.99

  It's Jaws meets Saw! A wealthy sadist traps a group of complete strangers on his secluded island compound... The group are forced into a horrifying gauntlet where they must fight for their lives against a relentless onslaught of man-eating sharks - each species more vicious than the last. Who will survive...?

• Death Race Steelbook With Digital Copy | DVD | (02/02/2009) from £18.88   |  Saving you £4.11 (21.77%)   |  RRP £22.99

  Jason Statham leads the cast of an action-thriller set in the post-industrial wasteland of tomorrow, with the world's most brutal sporting event as its backdrop - The famed Death Race!

• Crime Triple - Bad Karma/The Entitled/Officer Down | DVD | (07/10/2013) from £5.39   |  Saving you £2.60 (48.24%)   |  RRP £7.99

  Bad KarmaRay Liotta stars as Jack Malloy a hardcore career criminal until a near-death experience causes him to turn his world around. But when his former partner Yates (Dominic Purcell of Prison Break and Straw Dogs is released from prison he tracks Jack down to blackmail him into one last job. For one of them coming to terms with the past will be bloody murder... Officer DownOne year ago dirty cop Detective Callahan (Stephen Dorff) was shot in a drug bust gone wrong and saved by an anonymous stranger who gave him a second chance to clean up his life. But when the stranger finally comes forward seeking revenge against the men responsible for a string of assaults on young women at a local strip club Callahan must go rogue to find the attacker in an effort to hide how his past played a part in these crimes. His desperation to find the attacker and cover his tracks takes him down a violent road of deception cover-ups and fraud. Can he play the 'good cop' and track down the assailant while still keeping his reputation clean? The EntitledWithout the security of the job he wants or the future he dreamed of Paul Dynan (Kevin Zegers) plans the perfect crime to help his struggling family - extort a fortune from three wealthy men (Ray Liotta Victor Garber Stephen McHattie). The plan: to abduct their socialite children (Laura Vandervoort Dustin Milligan and John Bregar) and collect a healthy ransom of $3-million dollars. Over the course of one long night Paul and his accomplices hold the rich kids hostage awaiting the ransom with little idea of the secrets that will surface between the fathers when they are forced to choose between their children and their money. Once blood is shed and things go horribly wrong Paul must fight to stay one step ahead of his own twisted game.

• Let It Ride | DVD | (16/02/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Jay Trotter has waited a lifetime for this day. He's got a hot tip on a horse everyone thinks is ready for the glue factory. But as track aficionados say ""Even when you know you never know"". One thing you can be sure of is that with Richard Dreyfuss David Johansen Teri Garr and more this is a winning comedy. Robbie Coltrane gives an hilarious performance as the pestered bookie always sceptical of Trotter's run of luck. Its characters give new meaning to ""the odds"". And its h

• The Sword In The Stone | DVD | (03/06/2002) from £20.13   |  Saving you £-0.14 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  As far as Disney is concerned, The Sword in the Stone was a portent of things to come, with slapstick upstaging storytelling, and cultural in-jokes substituting for wonder. Based on TH White's beloved novel The Once and Future King, this Disney version chronicles King Arthur's boyish adventures. There's much to enjoy here as coach Merlin the magician shows the young Arthur, nicknamed Wart, the skills that will help him become the future ruler of the Britons. The transformation sequences, where the boy is turned into a fish, a bird and a squirrel are vintage Disney. The oft-repeated scene of Merlin battling it out with mean old Madame Mim still is worth a few chuckles, but it underlines the problem with most of the film--most of its scenes are only played for laughs. References by Merlin to television and other items of modern life also mar the generally innocuous landscape. Younger children will like it, while older kids will find it slower compared with recent Disney films. --Keith Simanton, Amazon.com

• Eraserhead | DVD | (20/10/2008) from £22.93   |  Saving you £-2.94 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Eraserhead is David Lynch's first full length feature film and was completed over a 5 year period between 1972 and 1976. His post-apocalyptic dystopian nightmare vision has amazed and disturbed audiences for over 30 years. In 2000 Lynch underwent the painstaking process of cleaning restoring and remastered the film frame by frame in order to obtain the best image and sound quality possible. The result brings a brand new dimension to a 'cult classic' that will continue to astonish audiences and dumbfound critics.

• Quantum Leap - Series 1 Vols 1-3 | DVD | (01/10/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  ""Theorising that one could time travel within his own lifetime Dr. Sam Beckett stepped into the Quantum Leap accelerator and vanished... He woke to find himself trapped in the past facing mirror images that were not his own and driven by an unknown force to change history for the better. His only guide on this journey is Al an observer from his own time who appears in the form of a hologram that only Sam can see and hear. And so Dr. Beckett finds himself leaping from life to life striving to put right what once went wrong and hoping each time that his next leap will be the leap home."" The very first season of the fan favourite time travelling TV sci-fi adventures featuring Scott Bakula as Sam and Dean Stockwell as Al finally has come to DVD. Oh boy! Episodes Comprise: 1. Genesis (Part 1) - September 13 1956 2. Genesis (Part 2) - September 13 1956 3. Star-Crossed - June 15 1972 4. The Right Hand of God - October 24 1974 5. How the Tess Was Won - August 5 1956 6. Double Identity - November 8 1965 7. The Color of Truth - August 8 1955 8. Camikazi Kid - June 6 1961 9. Play It Again Seymour - April 14 1953

• Dog Day Afternoon (2 Disc Special Edition) | DVD | (07/08/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £8.99

  The robbery should have taken ten minutes. Eight hours later it was the hottest thing on live TV. And it's all true. On a hot Brooklyn afternoon two optimistic losers set out to rob a bank. Sonny (Al Pacino) is the mastermind Sal (John Cazale) is the follower and disaster is the result. Because the cops crowds TV cameras and even the pizza man have arrived. The ""well-planned"" heist is now a circus. Based on a true incident this thriller earned six Academy Award nominations.

• Futureworld | DVD | (12/04/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Sequel to Westworld where the robots have rebuilt the theme park. Not content with the simple aims of capitalism the robots led by the indomitable Duffy (Hill) are bent on complete global domination. When powerful leaders are invited to the park they uncover a sinister cloning plan to carry out the mission.

• The 4400 - Series 2 - Complete | DVD | (23/03/2009) from £11.98   |  Saving you £30.00 (300.30%)   |  RRP £39.99

  The complete second season of The 4400 a complex and consistently challenging exploration of the lives of some of the 4400 abductees inexplicably returned to earth... Episodes Comprise: 1. Wake Up Call (Part 1) 2. Wake Up Call (Part 2) 3. Voices Carry 4. Weight Of The World 5. Suffer The Children 6. As Fate Would Have It 7. Life Interrupted 8. Carrier 9. Rebirth 10. Hidden 11. Lockdown 12. The Fifth Page 13. Mommy's Bosses

• The Rape of Europa | DVD | (08/09/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £26.99

  As seen on National Geographic Channel with the name Nazi Art Theft. World War II was not just the most destructive conflict in humanity, it was also the greatest theft in history: lives, families, communities, property, culture and heritage were all stolen. The Emmy Award-nominated documentary film, The Rape of Europa, narrated by Academy Award-nominee Joan Allen, is the epic story of the systematic theft, deliberate destruction and miraculous survival of many of Europe s art treasures durin...

• Sweeney, The - Vol. 1 - Bank Jobs | DVD | (06/10/2000) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  If you were watching TV in the mid-1970s chances are The Sweeney was one of the weekly highlights and these re-mastered collections will have you pining for a time when the only choice was brown or beige, and a monkey would buy you a lot more than a nice whistle. If, however, these episodes are your first taste of Detective Inspector Jack Regan (John Thaw) and Detective Sergeant George Carter (Dennis Waterman) of the Flying Squad, be warned that you will soon be telling friends to "Shut it!" and scouring the pages of Exchange and Mart for a mint-condition Ford Granada in Tawny Metallic (ironically the choice ride for slags in the show was the Jaguar MK2, later to become so closely associated with Thaw's more cerebral take on policework, Inspector Morse).First aired as 1974's pilot Regan, the show was produced by Thames Television subsidiary Euston Films and ran over four series and 53 episodes. Despite being given strict guidelines on speaking parts, locations and structure, writers were expected to produce scripts very quickly and individual episodes were filmed within 10 working days. Based on this frenetic schedule, the result was a choice parade of slags, blags and assorted lowlife, played out across fantastic London locations with a gritty humour that set the agenda for many of the small-screen cop shows to follow. Regan and Carter manage to fit up a few collars between pints, and even occasionally shed their nylon shirts and flares for a distinctly unromantic interlude between the sheets--brown of course.This first volume of Sweeney highlights starts in relatively sedate style with "Contact Breaker", written by Robert-Banks Stewart and featuring Warren Clarke (when he only had one chin) as wire-specialist Danny Keever. When parolee Keever seems bang-to-rights for a bank job Regan smells a rat and decides to have a closer look at other possibilities, including the ex-con's missus, Brenda (Coral Atkins). The second episode, "Night Out", is a much more feisty affair, despite nearly all the action being confined to the pub inhabited by Iris (Mitzi Rogers), an old flame of Regan's under suspicion for aiding and abetting the break-in going on in the bank next door. Troy Kennedy Martin's script throws in an Old West-style saloon fight, backstreet beatings and even one for old time's sake when Regan and Iris are forced play the waiting game together. "Well", as one character observes, "it is Saturday night"! --Steve Napleton

• The 4400 - Series 1 - Complete | DVD | (23/03/2009) from £13.48   |  Saving you £13.50 (117.49%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Over the past fifty years thousands of people disappeared. On July 11 they're back... Suddenly and inexplicably 4400 missing people are returned all at once exactly as they were on the day they vanished. Unnerved and unsure of the implications of this event the government investigates the 4400 to uncover where they've been and why they've been returned. It becomes apparent that the individuals have not aged or been harmed in any way and have assumed paranormal skills that they did not previously possess. The 4400 is a thought provoking and superbly constructed series of stories following the 'returnees' as they attempt to resume normal life once more. The dramatic content of each beautifully filmed plotline is enhanced as the discovery of abnormal powers in some of the people begin to generate widespread and unwanted interest resulting in further alienation and trauma. A young man has the power to restore life or bring about the onset of death in people ; a young girl has the ability to see in to the future and a pregnant woman carries an unborn child that may unlock the secret to the universe...

• The 4400 - Series 3 - Complete | DVD | (23/03/2009) from £11.98   |  Saving you £30.00 (300.30%)   |  RRP £39.99

  These are the stories of 4400 abductees after they are returned to Earth. People dealing with traumatic changes driven by the mystery of what happened and why. Some of them have been affected in mysterious ways and some will have certain abilities both good and bad. The pilot has a ball of light sailing towards Earth. But rather than the expected catastrophic event thousands of returned abductees are left with no memory of their otherworldly experiences. Each has been gone anywhere from a few months to several decades but hasn't aged a day. Episodes Comprise: 1. The New World: Part 1 2. The New World: Part 2 3. Being Tom Baldwin 4. Gone: Part 1 5. Gone: Part 2 6. Graduation Day 7. The Home Front 8. Blink 9. The Ballad of Kevin and Tess 10. The Starzl Mutation 11. The Gospel According to Collier 12. Terrible Swift Sword 13. Fifty-Fifty

• The President's Book of Secrets | DVD | (08/10/2012) from £4.50   |  Saving you £5.49 (122.00%)   |  RRP £9.99

  What secrets have been passed down to each United States president? History uncovers the fascinating truths behind some of the most confidential secrets in American history in The President's Book of Secrets. Interviews with former intelligence operatives, renowned historians and archivists show how classified information is treated in the highest circles of political power, how it's preserved throughout history, and who ensures continuity when a new leader is elected.

• Next Friday | UMD | (17/04/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

• Stephen King's Children Of The Corn 2 - The Final Sacrifice | DVD | (25/10/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  In 'Children Of the Corn' a young couple uncovered the horrors that lay hidden in the small community of Gatlin Nebraska. Three years earlier all the adults suffered a terrible fate at the hands of their own sons and daughters - victims of a bloody cult of human sacrifice. Now the bodies have been discovered and the neighbouring townsfolk of Hemingford agree to shelter the traumatised children unaware that they are opening their doors to an awesome force that will threaten their

• Manhunter | DVD | (01/10/2001) from £14.96   |  Saving you £5.03 (33.62%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Released to box-office indifference in 1986, Manhunter introduced Hannibal Lecter and established the rules of the modern race-to-find-the-serial-killer thriller five years before The Silence of the Lambs packed cinemas everywhere. This was Michael Mann's third feature, reuniting William L Petersen and Dennis Farina from his debut Thief (1981) as FBI agents hunting the killer dubbed "The Tooth Fairy". Petersen's Will Graham is the man who put "Lecktor" (as it is spelt here) behind bars, and, as in Silence of the Lambs, he is forced to consult the Doctor, played here with understated malevolence by Brian Cox. Manhunter is an exceptionally well-photographed film: Mann's regular cinematographer Dante Spinotti creates sparse, elegantly framed, often monochromatically lit compositions essential to the shifting psychological moods. The performances are very good, and the typically 1980s, Vangelis-esque electronic score effectively sustains tension. Once the killer is introduced the scenes with Joan Allen have a genuinely unsettling, almost surreal quality, although there is at least one serious plot flaw--how does "The Red Dragon" get his letter to Lecter? Manhunter never packs the sheer excitement of Silence of the Lambs, nevertheless, it is a powerful and compelling thriller that remains far superior to the Anthony Hopkins-starring Hannibal (2001) and Red Dragon (2002). On the DVD: Manhunter on disc has a revealing 10-minute conversation with Dante Spinotti in which he explains how he created the film's distinctive look. Also included is a more general 17-minute making-of documentary. The anamorphically enhanced 2.35:1 image is generally very good, being just a little soft in one or two early scenes. The sound is listed as Dolby Digital 5.1, but appears to replicate the main stereo signal in the rear channels. Audio is nonetheless powerful and clear, though lacks the sheer edge and atmospherics of some more recent thrillers. --Gary S Dalkin