"Actor: John Bates"

• Coming To America | DVD | (07/05/2001) from £4.95   |  Saving you £11.04 (223.03%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Eddie Murphy's 1988 vehicle Coming to America was probably the point at which his status as a mainstream big-screen comedian finally gelled, following the highly successful 48 Hours pairing with Nick Nolte. Never mind the hackneyed storyline: under John Landis's tight direction, he turns in a star performance (and several brilliant cameos) that is disciplined and extremely funny. Murphy plays an African prince who comes to New York officially to sow his wild oats. Privately, he is seeking a bride he can marry for love rather than one chosen by his parents. With his companion (Arsenio Hall, who pushes Murphy all the way in the comedy stakes), he settles in the borough of Queens and takes a job in a hamburger joint. A succession of hilarious satire-barbed adventures ensue, plus the required romantic conclusion. The script is crammed with ripe one-liners , but "Freeze, you diseased rhinoceros pizzle" has to be the most devastating hold-up line of all time. Film buffs will appreciate a brief appearance by Don Ameche as a down-and-out, but this is Murphy's film and he generates warmth enough to convert the most ambivalent viewer. On the DVD: The only--rather pointless--extra on offer is the original theatrical trailer which adds nothing apart from a rapid recap of the story. But the 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen presentation (the picture quality is diamond sharp) and Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack recreate the original authentic cinematic experience. The choreography of 1980s pop diva Paula Abdul in the lavish wedding scenes and Nile Rodgers' pounding musical score are the main beneficiaries. --Piers Ford

• Taste The Blood Of Dracula | DVD | (28/06/2013) from £4.99   |  Saving you £13.00 (260.52%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Taste the Blood of Dracula is one of the best of Christopher Lee's Dracula series for Hammer. A group of businessmen who, out of sight of their families, like nothing more than to frequent brothels and generally behave in sensation-seeking ways, are persuaded by Dracula's servant (a splendidly manic Ralph Bates) that summoning up the orthodontically-challenged aristocrat would be the ultimate thrill. They warily agree, purchasing relics for the necessary ritual from a shifty dealer (Roy Kinnear--who else?), but panic halfway through the proceedings and decide to kick their initiator to death instead. Unfortunately, it's too late, and Dracula materialises as they make good their escape, swearing to avenge the murder of his servant. While the subsequent descent into paranoia by the three villains-Dracula himself hardly counts in comparison with this odious bunch--isn't exactly the stuff of Rosemary's Baby, it still infuses the plot with an element of psychodrama that is unusual for a Hammer fang-fest. There are strong performances pretty much all round, but Peter "Clegg" Sallis quakes exceptionally nicely as one of the trio of miscreants. The sets, props and costumes are of an unusually high order, too. --Roger Thomas

• Instinct | DVD | (22/01/2001) from £5.68   |  Saving you £9.31 (163.91%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Within the brilliant mind of primatologist Ethan Powell (Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins) lies an ominous secret

• Eraserhead (1977) (Criterion Collection) UK Only | Blu Ray | (19/10/2020) from £32.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  David Lynch's 1977 debut feature, Eraserhead, is both a lasting cult sensation and a work of extraordinary craft and beauty. With its mesmerizing black-and-white photography by Frederick Elmes, evocative sound design, and unforgettably enigmatic performance by Jack Nance, this visionary nocturnal odyssey remains one of American cinema's darkest dreams. Special Features: New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed stereo soundtrack Eraserhead Stories, a 2001 documentary by David Lynch on the making of the film New high-definition restorations of six short films by Lynch: Six Figures Getting Sick (1966), The Alphabet (1968), The Grandmother (1970), The Amputee, Part 1 and Part 2 (1974), and Premonitions Following an Evil Deed (1996), all with vide o introductions by Lynch New and archival interviews with cast and crew Trailer

• Jennifer 8 | DVD | (18/03/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Written and directed by Bruce Robinson (Withnail and I), this fast-moving potboiler finds its creator getting about as far from Withnail's fine wines and London and Lake District settings as it's possible to get, and into the world of bloody homicides, narrative red herrings and emotionally damaged policemen. John Berlin (Andy Garcia) is a big-city cop and, yes, that means he drinks a lot of coffee and has a terrible personal life (in this case, signified by a wife who just can't stop cheating on him). Leaving town to visit his understanding brother-in law and fellow detective Freddy Ross (Lance Henriksen), he promptly finds himself embroiled in the hunt for a serial killer with a grisly modus operandi for murdering blind women. As you might expect, it's not long before he's bumbling his way into a number of confrontations with the hick cops around him and an affair with Helena (Uma Thurman), the blind room-mate of one of the killer's victims. Slick and pacey, Jennifer 8 throws out so many plot that it eventually winds up falling over them in its haste to get to the overblown climax. Nothing here makes a great deal of sense and yet, despite its inherent cosmic silliness, Robinson handles the suspense-and-relief routine with a flashy aplomb, and the cast do well in the face of the material's shortcomings. (John Malkovich's brief appearance is a redemptive highlight, even if you do have to wait almost 90 minutes for it). --Danny Leigh

• Eraserhead (OmU). Digital Remastered | DVD | (19/07/2018) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Xanadu | DVD | (28/06/2004) from £10.12   |  Saving you £-0.13 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  A wimpy remake of an already anaemic movie (the 1947 Rita Hayworth vehicle Down to Earth), this glitzy musical from 1980 improbably stars Olivia Newton-John as a heavenly muse sent here to help open a roller-derby disco. Gene Kelly is mixed up in this well-meaning but goofy effort to fuse nostalgia with late-70s glitter-ball trendiness, and he looks just plain silly. Directed by Robert Greenwald, the film doesn't even work as decent kitsch. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com

• Barnaby Rudge - Charles Dickens Classics | DVD | (22/08/2017) from £22.48   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  The acclaimed BBC adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic, Barnaby Rudge (1960) is now available to own on DVD for the first time. Starring John Wood (War Games) , Barbara Hicks (Brazil), Timothy Bateson (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix) and BAFTA-nominee Joan Hickson. On a stormy night in 1775 a ragged stranger (Nigel Arkwright) wanders into the Maypole Inn. Edward Chester (Bernard Brown), whose horse is lame, leaves the inn on foot to meet his beloved Emma Haredale (Eira Heath) at a masked ball. Joe Willet (Alan Hayward), quarrels with his father, Maypole landlord John (Arthur Brough), and joins the army, only saying goodbye to Dolly (Jennifer Daniel), the pretty daughter of locksmith Gabriel Varden (Newton Blick). Varden s household includes his formidable wife (Joan Hickson) and dithering maid Miss Miggs (Barbara Hicks). Simple-minded Barnaby Rudge (John Wood) wanders in and out of the story, chattering with his pet raven Grip. Barnaby s mother Mary (Isabel Dean) is visited by the stranger, and feels compelled to protect him. As the stories interweave, Barnaby is caught up in the Gordon Riots, a violent demonstration against Catholics. Jailed with the ringleaders, will he hang for their actions? Michael Voyseys 1960 BBC adaptation remains the only TV portrayal of Dickens tantalizing gothic drama.

• Primary Colors | DVD | (03/08/2009) from £5.38   |  Saving you £10.61 (197.21%)   |  RRP £15.99

  John Travolta stars as Jack Stanton a presidential hopeful whose campaign is challenged by dual dilemmas: how to squelch a scandal involving the candidate's alleged sex with an underage girl and how to handle information that could potentially ruin Stanton's opponent (superbly played by Larry Hagman). Stanton's wife (Emma Thompson) stands by her man despite awareness of his infidelities but his loyal campaign planners (played by Billy Bob Thornton Maura Tierney and promising newc

• Town on Trial (Standard Edition) | Blu Ray | (29/05/2023) from £9.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Investigating the murder of a young woman in a small English town, a brusque Superintendent (John Mills - Hobson's Choice, Ice Cold in Alex, Young Winston) discovers that virtually everybody he encounters has something to hide. Setting the template for British crime thrillers for decades to come, director John Guillermin's audacious, often salacious, drama is untypical of mainstream British cinema of its time, and can be seen as both a direct antecedent of the Italian giallo and a blueprint for David Lynch's Twin Peaks. Town on Trial is a rare treat which is ripe for rediscovery. Product Features High Definition remaster Original mono audio The John Player Lecture with John Mills (1972, 96 mins): archival audio recording of an interview conducted by Margaret Hinxman at London's National Film Theatre Barry Forshaw on 'Town on Trial' (2018, 20 mins): appreciation by the author of British Crime Film: Subverting the Social Order and Brit Noir Adventure in the Hopfields (1954, 59 mins): director John Guillermin's Children's Film Foundation drama starring Mandy Miller (The Snorkel) Shooting Hops (2018, 7 mins): focus puller Alec Burridge discusses working with John Guillermin and the production of Adventure in the Hopfields Original theatrical trailer Image gallery: original promotional material New English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

• Tess | DVD | (27/09/2004) from £8.82   |  Saving you £4.17 (47.28%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Roman Polanski adapted Thomas Hardy's novel Tess of the D'Urbervilles and came up with this moody, haunting film starring Nastassia Kinski as the farm girl who is misused by the aristocrat for whom she works and who is then caught in a marriage where her initial happiness soon turns to grief. Fans of the novel may feel unpersuaded by Polanski's effort to marry Hardy's Dorset vision with his own fascination with psychosexual impulses toward survival, but the film is an often stunning thing to see, and Kinski's sensitive, intelligent performance lingers in the memory. --Tom Keogh

• The Knack And How To Get It | DVD | (02/08/2004) from £17.95   |  Saving you £-1.96 (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Cool and sophisticated Tolen has a monopoly on womanising - with a long line of conquests to prove it - while the naive and awkward Colin desperately wants a piece of it. But when Colin falls for an innocent country girl it's not long before the self assured Tolen moves in for the kill. Is all fair in love and war or can Colin get the knack and beat Tolen at his own game?

• Eddie Murphy Box Set - Trading Places / Coming To America | DVD | (20/10/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Eddie Murphy's 1988 vehicle Coming to America was probably the point at which his status as a mainstream big-screen comedian finally gelled, following the highly successful 48 Hours pairing with Nick Nolte. Never mind the hackneyed storyline: under John Landis's tight direction, he turns in a star performance (and several brilliant cameos) that is disciplined and extremely funny. Murphy plays an African prince who comes to New York officially to sow his wild oats. Privately, he is seeking a bride he can marry for love rather than one chosen by his parents. With his companion (Arsenio Hall, who pushes Murphy all the way in the comedy stakes), he settles in the borough of Queens and takes a job in a hamburger joint. A succession of hilarious satire-barbed adventures ensue, plus the required romantic conclusion. The script is crammed with ripe one-liners , but "Freeze, you diseased rhinoceros pizzle" has to be the most devastating hold-up line of all time. Film buffs will appreciate a brief appearance by Don Ameche as a down-and-out, but this is Murphy's film and he generates warmth enough to convert the most ambivalent viewer. On the DVD: The only--rather pointless--extra on offer is the original theatrical trailer which adds nothing apart from a rapid recap of the story. But the 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen presentation (the picture quality is diamond sharp) and Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack recreate the original authentic cinematic experience. The choreography of 1980s pop diva Paula Abdul in the lavish wedding scenes and Nile Rodgers' pounding musical score are the main beneficiaries. --Piers Ford

• Kavanagh Q.C. - The Complete Series 3 - Episodes 1 To 6 | DVD | (14/06/2004) from £11.48   |  Saving you £8.51 (42.60%)   |  RRP £19.99

  From a northern working-class background James Kavanagh has climbed to the top of an elite profession through hard work and a love of the law. But his dedication to work the long hours and difficult cases have taken their toll on lfe at home with his wife and two teenage children. Episodes comprise: Mute Of Malice Blood Money Ancient History Diplomatic Baggage The Ties We Bind In God We Trust.

• Viz Boxset | DVD | (09/10/2006) from £44.00   |  Saving you £-24.01 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Sid the Sexist: Sidney Smutt is a smooth talking sex machine a lady killing hard man who can drink anyone under the table... or so he thinks. Meet Sid Baz Bob and Joe on their adventures as they paint Newcastle red and jet off to sunny Spain in search of love excitement and a truly satisfying takeaway. Oh Lordy! It's The Fat Slags - 3 Saucy Adventures: Here it is. Raunchier than a Swedish rabbit and bluer than a baboon's arse. The two and only Fat Slags burst on

• Kavanagh Q.C. - The Complete Series 5 | DVD | (16/08/2004) from £8.97   |  Saving you £14.01 (234.28%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Coming from a working class northern background Kavanagh has risen to the top of an elite profession. However his dedication to justice has taken its toll on his private life... Episode comprise: 1. Previous Convictions 2. The More Loving One 3. Time Of Need 4. Endgames 5. The End Of Law (2 hour special episode)

• Kavanagh Q.C. - The Complete Series 4 | DVD | (19/07/2004) from £12.99   |  Saving you £7.00 (53.89%)   |  RRP £19.99

  John Thaw is Kavanagh Q.C. one of the most respected criminal advocates in London. From a northern working-class background James Kavanagh has climbed to the top of an elite profession through hard work and a love of the law. But his dedication to work the long hours and difficult cases have taken their toll on life at home with his wife and two teenage children. This double DVD release features Series Four of Kavanagh Q.C.. Episode titles: 1. Memento Mori 2. Care In The Com

• Hot Pursuit | DVD | (24/09/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  John Cusack stars as Danny an all round nice guy who plans to spend some quality time in the Caribbean with his girlfriend Lori (Wendy Gazelle). But although they've been planning their trip for months it only takes a few minutes for it all to go wrong! To start Danny misses his plane. Then for all his attempts to catch up with Lori he finds himself in ever more bizarre situations. From jailbreaks and jungles to hurricanes and hijacking his only companion is roguish old sea dog Captain MacLaren (Robert Loggia). She promised him ten days together in paradise. He never dreamed how far he'd have to go!

• The Persuaders - Vol. 5 - Episodes 15-18 | DVD | (18/02/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Further action-fuelled adventures with those cool crimefighters Lord Brett Sinclair (Moore) and Danny Wilde (Curtis). Epsisodes include: The Man In The Middle: A double agent is discovered working in British Intelligence... Element of Risk: A known criminal arrives in London and gets mixed up with Danny... A Home of One's Own: Danny buys himself a cottage and gets involved with the illegal activities of the local squire... Nuisance Value: A fake kidnapping threatens to test the sleuthing skills of Brett and Danny...

• Hot Pursuit | DVD | (14/06/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  The one film in John Cusack's filmography he'd probably like us all to forget, this 80s-style preppy-in-peril film (compare and contrast with After Hours and Something Wild) casts him as a college student who gets mixed up with pirates and drug runners around the Caribbean. The wannabe screwball comedy falls flatter with each gag but Cusack's hang-dog sweetness and knack with one-liners carries it through and at the very least it's worth catching if only for a glimpse of Ben Stiller in his pre-There's Something About Mary fame days, in a double act here with his real-life father Jerry Stiller. --Leslie Felperin