"Actor: John Anderson"

• Forrest Gump (Collector's Edition) | DVD | (05/11/2001) from £7.06   |  Saving you £8.93 (126.49%)   |  RRP £15.99

  If you read the label on a box of chocolates you'll know exactly what you're gonna get. Life isn't like that in Forrest Gump, however, which is one of the reasons why this movie divided appreciative audiences from hard-hearted critics like few others before it. Audiences responded to the Frank Capra-style sentimentality of this warm-hearted tale of a good ol' American boy making his way in the world without ever losing his pure and simple innocence. Critics, however, were made uneasy by the apparently reactionary subtext to the parallel lives of Forrest and his girlfriend Jenny. Her fate, contrasted with his, suggests a triumph for plain ol' American values over dangerous freethinking hippies and liberals. Whether the movie is just unadulterated sentiment or right-wing propaganda, one thing at least was acknowledged by all: that Forrest Gump displays all the craftsmanship of one of Hollywood's most inventive directors and features a central performance from an actor renowned for his total commitment to every role. Thanks to Robert Zemeckis and Tom Hanks, even the most cynical critic will find it hard not to shed at least one tear by the end of this undeniably engrossing movie. The soundtrack is great, too. On the DVD: another good two-disc set gives fans of Gump and budding filmmakers alike plenty to enjoy. The anamorphic picture and Dolby Surround on Disc 1 do full justice to Zemeckis' vision, which is accompanied by two commentaries: one from the director, producer Steve Starkey and production designer Rick Carter, and another one from producer Wendy Finerman. Disc 2 has the usual making of documentary (30 mins), plus some neat featurettes on the production and sound design and the many special effects shots (including how they made Gary Sinise lose his legs). In addition there are some screen tests of Robin Wright and a very young Haley Joel (The Sixth Sense) Osment, plus trailers and a photo gallery. All in all this is a worthwhile package. --Mark Walker

• Deadwood The Movie | DVD | (07/10/2019) from £7.19   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  1876, the Black Hills of South Dakota. In an age of plunder and greed, the richest gold strike in American History draws a throng ofrestless misfits to an outlaw settlement where everything and everyone has a price. Welcome to Deadwood ... a hell of a place to make your fortune.Timothy Olyphant, Ian McShane, Molly Parker and Keith Carradine star in Deadwood.

• Penda's Fen (Limited Edition Blu-ray) | Blu Ray | (23/05/2016) from £14.99   |  Saving you £5.00 (33.36%)   |  RRP £19.99

  During the last summer of his boyhood, Stephen has a very clear and intense view of the world. Awakening a buried force in the landscape around his home, he finds it trying to communicate some warning, a peril he is in; some secret knowledge; some choice he must make, some mission for which he is marked down. In one young man's search for his sense of self, writer David Rudkin takes us on a magnificently ambiguous metaphysical journey quite unlike any other TV play. The cult status of Penda's Fen is no doubt due to its potent mix of mysticism, music and landscape which taps into an elemental truth about who we are and our pagan past. Directed by Alan Clarke (Scum, The Firm) Penda's Fen is widely considered to be writer David Rudkin's finest work. Remastered in HD and presented on Blu-ray for the very first time.

• Penda's Fen (DVD) | DVD | (23/05/2016) from £18.75   |  Saving you £1.24 (6.61%)   |  RRP £19.99

  During the last summer of his boyhood, Stephen has a very clear and intense view of the world. Awakening a buried force in the landscape around his home, he finds it trying to communicate some warning, a peril he is in; some secret knowledge; some choice he must make, some mission for which he is marked down. In one young man's search for his sense of self, writer David Rudkin takes us on a magnificently ambiguous metaphysical journey quite unlike any other TV play. The cult status of Penda's Fen is no doubt due to its potent mix of mysticism, music and landscape which taps into an elemental truth about who we are and our pagan past. Directed by Alan Clarke (Scum, The Firm) Penda's Fen is widely considered to be writer David Rudkin's finest work. Remastered in HD and presented on DVD for the very first time.

• Battleground | DVD | (31/05/2004) from £5.56   |  Saving you £8.43 (151.62%)   |  RRP £13.99

  Director William Wellman (The Big Heat) offered up this 1949 treatment of the Battle of the Bulge, which won Oscars for best screenplay and best cinematography. The film concentrates on the camaraderie and the divisions between the troops as they prepare for the big offensive. Told in a taut narrative, the men of the 101st, led by Van Johnson, wait out the winter in the Ardennes forest to confront the German army in what would be the last major offensive of World War II. The men are demoralised and trapped, with no hope of support from the Allies as they are forced to band together and defend their position. A classically assembled war drama that nevertheless manages to be both engrossing and entertaining, Battleground is a mainstay of the genre. --Robert Lane

• Primal Fear | DVD | (02/07/2001) from £7.05   |  Saving you £5.94 (84.26%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Clever twists and a bona fide surprise ending make Primal Fear an above-average courtroom thriller. Tapping into the post-O J scrutiny of the American legal system in the case of a hotshot Chicago defence attorney (Richard Gere) whose latest client is an altar boy (Edward Norton) accused of murdering a Catholic archbishop. The film uses its own manipulation to tell a story about manipulation and when we finally discover who's been pulling the strings, the payoff is both convincing and pertinent to the ongoing debate over what constitutes truth in the American system of justice. Making an impressive screen debut that has since led to a stellar career, Norton gives a performance that rides on a razor's edge of schizophrenic pathology--his role is an actor's showcase and without crossing over the line of credibility, Norton milks it for all it's worth. Gere is equally effective in a role that capitalises on his shifty screen persona and Laura Linney and Frances McDormand give memorable performances in their intelligently written supporting roles. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

• Please Sir!: The Complete Fenn Street Collection | DVD | (02/07/2018) from £51.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  One of television's all-time-great sitcoms, Please Sir! stars John Alderton as Bernard Hedges, a newly qualified teacher thrown in at the deep end when he is assigned to sort out an unruly class of teenagers at Fenn Street Secondary Modern School. Helped (and sometimes hindered) by his fellow teachers, he has to combat the wiles of the devious school caretaker as well as the full might of class 5C! Created by comedy giants John Esmonde and Bob Larbey, who would go on to further success with Get Some In!, The Good Life and Ever Decreasing Circles, this collection contains Features: Please Sir! all 55 episodes of the original series Please, Sir! the 1971 feature film The Fenn Street Gang all 47 episodes of the Please Sir! sequel Bowler all 13 episodes of the Fenn Street spin-off

• Hobson's Choice - 60th Anniversary Edition | Blu Ray | (05/05/2014) from £11.99   |  Saving you £11.00 (91.74%)   |  RRP £22.99

  Henry Horatio Hobson (Academy Award -Winner Charles Laughton) is the owner of a well-established boot shop in nineteenth century Salford Lancashire and the father of three daughters. The oldest Maggie (Brenda De Banzie) shoulders both home and business responsibilities while Hobson whiles the time away at the local pub. The younger sisters are both being courted by neighbours but Hobson refuses to give the couples settlements. Maggie becomes tired of his oafish behaviour and decides to take matters into her hands by seeking a husband. Much to the hilarity and consternation of her father aged spinster Maggie sets her sights on shy Will Mossop (John Mills) Hobson's master boot-maker. Mossop is at first stunned by the suggestion but eventually agrees to Maggie's authoritative persuasion and together they set up a rival boot shop. A timeless masterpiece that marked a temporary return to David Lean's period adaptations of Dickens (Great Expectations Oliver Twist). The film went on to win multiple awards. This film has been digitally restored to its former glory. Special Features: New and exclusive interviews with Prunella Scales and screenwriter Norman Spencer

• The Sons of Katie Elder (Blu-ray) | Blu Ray | (15/09/2020) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Scrooge | DVD | (23/11/2015) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Please Sir! | Blu Ray | (29/08/2022) from £14.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  John Alderton stars as a progressive teacher in charge of a classful of unruly pupils in the feature film version of one of television's all-time-great sitcoms! Created by comedy giants John Esmonde and Bob Larbey and co-starring the complete line-up of classic characters from the TV series Please Sir! is featured here as a brand-new High Definition remaster from original film elements in its original theatrical aspect ratio

• The Postman Always Rings Twice | DVD | (01/06/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £13.99

  Even under the heavy censorship of 1946 Hollywood, Lana Turner and John Garfield's libidinous desires burn up the screen in Tay Garnett's adaptation of James M. Cain's torrid crime melodrama. Platinum blond Turner is Cora, a restless sexpot stuck in a roadside diner married to mundane middle-aged fry cook Nick Smith (Cecil Kellaway) when handsome drifter Frank (Garfield) blows her way. It's lust at first sight, a rapacious desire that neither can break off, and before long they're plotting his demise--but in the wicked world of Cain nothing is that easy. Garnett's visual approach is subdued compared to the more expressionistic film noir of the period, but he's at no loss when he films the luminous Turner in her milky-white wardrobe. She radiates repressed sexuality and uncontrollable passion while Garfield's smart-talking loner Frank mixes street-smart swagger and scrappy toughness with vulnerability and sincere intensity. Co-star Hume Cronyn cuts a cold, calculating figure as their conniving lawyer, a chilly character that only increases our feelings for the murderous couple, victims of an all-consuming amour fou that drives their passions to extremes. --Sean Axmaker, Amazon.com

• Gregory's Two Girls | DVD | (27/07/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  'Gregory's 2 Girls' is part thriller, part romantic comedy and finds Gregory still dreaming his way through life and still looking for romance.

• Sons of Katie Elder | Blu Ray | (27/02/2023) from £8.00   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Katie Elder Bore Four Sons...and the day she is buried they all return home to Clearwater, Texas, to pay their last respects. John Wayne is the eldest and toughest son, the gunslinger. Tom (Dean Martin) is the gambler and good with a gun when he has to be. Matt (Earl Holliman) is the quiet one nobody ever called him yellow twice. Bud (Michael Anderson, Jr.) is the youngest. Any hope for respectability lies with him. Directed by Henry Hathaway (True Grit ), an acknowledged master of the Western, the story has a dual theme; not only is this a he-man's story, but it is also a drama of the maternal influence of Katie Elder, movingly portrayed from beginning to conclusion.

• Adulthood | Blu Ray | (13/10/2008) from £11.19   |  Saving you £13.81 (123.41%)   |  RRP £25.00

  Powerful, disturbing and moving in equal measure, 2006's acclaimed "Kidulthood" took us deep into London's unseen underbelly - now it's time to grow up.

• Soldier Blue | DVD | (21/03/2005) from £17.99   |  Saving you £-5.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Stained with the blood of the innocent. In the aftermath of a massacre by the Cheyenne only two survivors remain: Honus a private in the army dedicated to his responsibilities and Cresta a woman who had been living with the Cheyenne for two years. As they journey back to the Cavalry's base Honus finds himself torn between his growing attraction to Cresta and his revulsion towards her anti-government views. However he will soon learn the truth...

• Canadian Bacon | DVD | (02/02/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  The American President is behind in the polls and is looking to increase his popularity. His advisors launch an 'anti-Canadian' campaign which inadvertantly results in bumbling U.S. sheriff Boomer (John Candy) and his hair-trigger deputy Honey (Rhea Perlman) leading their troopers to invade Canada!

• Episodes - The Complete Collection | DVD | (21/05/2018) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Sean and Beverly Lincoln are a happily married English couple, who are also the creators of a hit British TV show. Their life seems complete. That is until a hugely powerful and charismatic US network president persuades them to move to Los Angeles to recreate their show for American television. Things begin to unravel as soon as Sean and Beverly arrive in LA. It soon becomes clear that the network president has never even seen their show. To make matters worse, he insists that they replace their brilliant lead actor, an erudite Royal Shakespeare veteran, with Matt LeBlanc!

• The Caine Mutiny | DVD | (27/09/1999) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Humphrey Bogart is heartbreaking as the tragic Captain Queeg in this 1954 film, based on a novel by Herman Wouk, about a mutiny aboard a navy ship during World War II. Stripped of his authority by two officers under his command (played by Van Johnson and Robert Francis) during a devastating storm, Queeg becomes a crucial witness at a court martial that reveals as much about the invisible injuries of war as anything. Edward Dmytryk (Murder My Sweet, Raintree County) directs the action scenes with a sure hand and nudges his all-male cast toward some of the most well-defined characters of 1950s cinema. The courtroom scenes alone have become the basis for a stage play (and a television movie in 1988), but it is a more satisfying experience to see the entire story in context. --Tom Keogh

• Soldier Blue (Cult Classics) - SteelBook | Blu Ray | (15/07/2024) from £29.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Controversial upon its release, Ralph Nelson's Soldier Blue follows Honus (Peter Strauss) and Cresta (Candice Bergen), the only remaining survivors of a Cheyenne Native American attack, as they travel across the unforgiving wilderness of the American frontier in search of refuge. Their journey reaches a tragic climax as they witness the brutal and cold-blooded slaughter of the Cheyenne tribe at the hands of the U.S. army.Reflecting the political climate of the time, Soldier Blue is uncompromising in its anti-war stance and in its extremely graphic depiction of the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre. By shedding light on America's dark history and the inhumane actions of the U.S. army, this revisionist western is one of the most radical films in American cinema's history. NEW Interview with actress Candice BergenAudio commentary by film critic Steve Mitchell and Howard S. BergerNEW Trailer