"Actor: John David"

• Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar's Revenge | Blu Ray | (02/10/2017) from £7.59   |  Saving you £0.40 (5.27%)   |  RRP £7.99

  Johnny Depp returns to the big screen as the iconic, swashbuckling anti-hero Jack Sparrow in the all-new Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar's Revenge. The rip-roaring adventure finds down-on-his-luck Captain Jack feeling the winds of ill-fortune blowing strongly his way when deadly ghost sailors, led by the terrifying Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem), escape from the Devil's Triangle bent on killing every pirate at seanotably Jack. Jack's only hope of survival lies in the legendary Trident of Poseidon, but to find it he must forge an uneasy alliance with Carina Smyth (Kaya Scodelario), a brilliant and beautiful astronomer, and Henry (Brenton Thwaites), a headstrong young sailor in the Royal Navy. At the helm of the Dying Gull, his pitifully small and shabby ship, Captain Jack seeks not only to reverse his recent spate of ill fortune, but to save his very life from the most formidable and malicious foe he has ever faced.

• The Shield - Series 1 | DVD | (21/07/2003) from £4.60   |  Saving you £30.39 (660.65%)   |  RRP £34.99

  Teeming with gang-bangers, perverts, rapists and killers, The Shield is unabashedly adult TV drama; and even liberal viewers may flinch at plots involving child pornography and serial murder. The first series of this uncompromising police drama focuses on pugnacious detective Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis), whose amoral Strike Team employs dubious tactics in the crime-ridden (and fictional) Farmington district of Los Angeles. Mackey and his maverick partners are at odds with seasoned detectives and beat cops, escalating tensions with precinct Captain Aceveda (Benito Martinez), a Latino with flexible scruples and a political agenda. The series invites viewers to form their own judgments regarding Mackey's volatile behaviour, which includes killing an undercover cop in the electrifying pilot episode. While each episode stands alone, the arc of the series incorporates Aceveda's campaign to end Mackey's career, the self-loathing of a homosexual rookie (Michael Jace) whose partner (Catherine Dent) is Mackey's occasional mistress, a straight-laced detective (Jay Karnes) yearning for respect, Mackey's compassionate attempt to rehabilitate a crack whore (Jamie Brown, giving the season's finest guest performance), the autism of Mackey's young son and the recklessness of his closest partner (Walton Goggins) and the vigilant stoicism of Det. Wyms (CCH Pounder), who's as sensibly upright as Mackey is corrupted. The Shield is excellent TV for those who can grasp its complexities; all others beware. --Jeff Shannon

• Born Yesterday | DVD | (05/08/2002) from £22.00   |  Saving you £-9.01 (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Born Yesterday was the box-office comedy hit of 1950 and won a Best Actress Oscar for the exceptional Judy Holliday, recreating her long-running Broadway triumph as Billie Dawn, the quintessential dumb blonde who finally gets herself some smarts. The film resonates with the sophisticated sparring in Garson Kanin's script and there are tightly controlled performances from William Holden as the cynical journalist hired to polish Billie up for Washington society and Broderick Crawford as Harry Brock, her rough, crooked and ambitious boyfriend. But Born Yesterday is Holliday's picture, as she runs the gamut from brassy insouciance to tentative, vulnerable enlightenment. She hasn't thought of her estranged father in five years: "It's nothing against him. I haven't thought of anything in five years." Her gradual awakening to the realisation that she is a stooge for Brock's corrupt business deals, and the way she sheds her chorus girl's intellect in the face of growing political awareness, are brilliantly traced. Holliday's dead-pan delivery makes the pathos of her self-discovery both hilarious and deeply touching; it's the hallmark of a comic genius, which makes the sparseness of her subsequent film appearances all the more regrettable. On the DVD: Born Yesterday is presented in full screen (1.33:1) ratio. Like the mono soundtrack, the black and white picture quality has triumphantly survived its more than half century. Extras include a gallery of vintage advertisements and an original theatrical trailer, plus filmographies and welcome, comprehensive booklet notes. --Piers Ford

• City Hall | DVD | (21/08/2000) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £13.99

  This complex 1996 drama directed by Harold Becker (Sea of Love) attempts to explore big-city corruption and the flexibility of what's right and wrong in the political arena. John Cusack plays the senior aide to mayor John Pappas (Al Pacino), a popular and seasoned politician whose administration is threatened when what seems to be an accidental shooting of a child reveals a nest of corruption and lifelong personal debts. This tests Cusack's loyalty to the man he thought he knew. Pacino turns in a finely textured performance as a man who has his own lofty ideals, but whose pragmatism sets in motion a series of events with tragic results. Cusack admirably captures the essence of someone polished and savvy at his job but must cope with fundamental disillusionment. This political thriller suffers at times from a lack of focus, but still offers an insightful and poignant treatise on the quagmire of politics in the modern age and the human toll it sometimes exacts. --Robert Lane

• Amsterdam Blu-ray | Blu Ray | (12/12/2022) from £11.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Written and directed by acclaimed filmmaker David O.Russell comes an original crime epic about three close friends who find themselves at the centre of one of the most shocking secret plots in American history. Based on facts that meet fiction, the film stars Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, John David Washington, with Rami Malek and Robert De Niro.

• Rank 70 Years | DVD | (18/07/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  During the 1940s the Rank Organisation was a phenomenal success in the film world boasting five studios two newsreels a great many production companies a staff of 31 000 650 cinemas and an incredible turnover of 45 million. To celebrate 70 years of Britain's most acclaimed film studio this fantastic collection encompasses some of Ranks most prestigious and successful films. The Red Shoes The tragic and romantic story of Vicky Page the brilliant young dancer who must giv

• Barbara Taylor Bradford's Voice Of The Heart | DVD | (30/06/2003) from £5.98   |  Saving you £-3.99 (N/A%)   |  RRP £1.99

  Two ambitious women have their friendship destroyed by jealousy. Based on a novel by Barbara Taylor Bradford.

• Delirious | DVD | (12/08/2002) from £14.36   |  Saving you £-1.37 (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  A 1991 comedy, Delirious stars John Candy as the head writer on a soap opera set in the fictional small town of Ashford Falls, whose naff power dressing and power wrangling is distinctly reminiscent of Dynasty. Candy has a crush on the somewhat imperious and Joan Collins-esque star of the show, played by Emma Samms, although waiting in the wings to be written into the show is the more wholesome and unaffected actress Mariel Hemingway. Delirious takes a turn when Candy is felled in an accident and awakes, supernaturally, to find himself in the very world of his own soap, with Ashford Falls a real town and its fictional characters, including Samms, now real people. Candy discovers, however, that in this world he has the power to "write" situations as they suit him--in this case, by casting himself as a dashing, wealthy and mysterious Wall Street hero, able to sweep Samms off her feet. The film is in some ways a precursor of Pleasantville (in which two teens are sucked into the world of a "Honey, I'm home" black and white 1950s sitcom). However, between them the star, writers and director (Tom Mankiewicz) make a ham fist of Delirious. The parody of soap mores is quite well done but quickly palls in its obviousness; Candy's performance is misjudged, as if trying too hard to make the best of a bad job; while overall, the film feels cheap, tacky and broad, once again raising the question why in the 1980s and 90s America produced such great sitcoms but such poor film comedies. On the DVD: Delirious is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen. It's a decent enough edition but looks its age in places, in terms of colour definition in particular. The only extra is the original trailer. --David Stubbs

• Umbrella Academy Season 1 | Blu Ray | (02/08/2021) from £14.19   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  On the same day in 1989, forty-three infants are inexplicably born to random, unconnected women who showed no signs of pregnancy the day before. Seven are adopted by a billionaire who creates The Umbrella Academy and prepares his children to save the world. Now, the six surviving members reunite upon the news of their father's passing and must work together to solve a mystery surrounding his death. But the estranged family begins to come apart due to their divergent personalities and abilities, not to mention the imminent threat of a global apocalypse. The Umbrella Academy is based on the comic book series created and written by Gerard Way, illustrated by Gabriel Bá, and published by Dark Horse Comics. Special Features: Includes Art Cards and Poster

• The Russia House | DVD | (29/04/2002) from £6.99   |  Saving you £6.00 (85.84%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Intelligent casting, strong performances and the persuasive chemistry between Sean Connery and Michelle Pfeiffer prove the virtues in director Fred Schepisi's well-intended but problematic screen realization of this John Le Carré espionage thriller. At its best, The Russia House depicts the bittersweet nuances of the pivotal affair between a weary, alcoholic London publisher (Connery) and the mysterious Russian beauty (Pfeiffer) who sends him a fateful manuscript exposing the weaknesses beneath Soviet defence technology. Connery's Barley is a gritty, all-too-human figure who's palpably revived by his awakening feelings for Pfeiffer's wan, vulnerable Katya, whose own reciprocal emotions are equally convincing. Together, they weave a poignant romantic duet. The problems, meanwhile, emanate from the story line that brings these opposites together. Le Carré's novels are absorbing but typically internal odysseys that seldom offer the level of straightforward action or simple arcs of plot that the big screen thrives on. For The Russia House, written as glasnost eclipsed the cold war's overt rivalries, Le Carré means to measure how old adversaries must calibrate their battle to a more subtle, subdued match of wits. Barley himself becomes enmeshed in the mystery of the manuscript because British intelligence chooses to use him as cat's paw rather than become directly involved. Such subtlety may be a more realistic take on the spy games of the recent past but it makes for an often tedious, talky alternative to taut heroics that Connery codified in his most celebrated early espionage role. If the suspense thus suffers, we're still left with an affecting love story, as well as some convincing sniping between British and US intelligence operatives, beautifully cast with James Fox, Roy Scheider and John Mahoney. Veteran playwright Tom Stoppard brings considerable style to the dialogue, without solving the problem of giving us more than those verbal exchanges to sustain dramatic interest. --Sam Sutherland

• Tenet | Blu Ray | (14/12/2020) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• The Big Lebowski | DVD | (03/04/2006) from £9.84   |  Saving you £6.15 (62.50%)   |  RRP £15.99

  ""Sometimes there's a man well he's the man for his time and place. He fits right in there. And that's the Dude. The Dude from Los Angeles. And even if he's a lazy man - and the Dude was most certainly that. Quite possibly the laziest in all of Los Angeles County which would place him high in the runnin' for laziest worldwide. Sometimes there's a man sometimes there's a man. Well I lost my train of thought here. But... aw hell. I've done introduced it enough."" - The Str

• Sex, Chips And Rock 'n' Roll | DVD | (08/08/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Sex, Chips and Rock 'n' Roll spins a complex web of secret loves and twisted ambitions against the backdrop of the early British music scene. It's a rock n' roll soap opera, but it's smartly written and engagingly acted, full of subtle commentary on the cultural changes cutting across British society. Manchester in 1965 seems like a dead end to two sisters, flirty Arden (Emma Cooke) and bookish Ellie Brookes (Gillian Kearney). They ache to get out from under the thumb of their domineering grandmother (Sue Johnston), and when their cousin Norman (David Threlfall) proposes to Ellie, she accepts. But just then the sisters meet a struggling band called the Ice Cubes, who grudgingly play back-up for a smarmy singer named Larry B Cool (Phil Daniels) while trying to land a record deal. Arden throws herself at the group's leader, Dallas (Joseph McFadden), but Dallas finds himself drawn more to Ellie, who's also an aspiring songwriter. From there the multi-dimensional characters take unexpected turns, and you'll quickly find yourself drawn into their lives. --Bret Fetzer, Amazon.com

• The Green Berets | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £10.35   |  Saving you £3.64 (35.17%)   |  RRP £13.99

  Anyone who fought in Vietnam can tell you that the war bore little resemblance to this propagandistic action film starring and codirected by John Wayne. But Green Berets itself is not nearly as bad as its reputation would suggest; critics roasted its gung-ho politics while ignoring its merits as an exciting (if rather conventional and idealistic) war movie. Some notorious mistakes were made--in the final shot, the sun sets in the east!--and it's an awkward attempt to graft WWII heroics onto the Vietnam experience. But as the Duke's attempt to acknowledge the men who were fighting and dying overseas, it's a rousing film in which Wayne commands a regiment on a mission to kidnap a Viet Cong general. David Janssen plays a journalist who learns to understand Wayne's commitment to battling Communism, and Jim Hutton (Timothy's dad) plays an ill-fated soldier who adopts a Vietnamese orphan. --Jeff Shannon

• Moonstruck (The Criterion Collection) | Blu Ray | (17/11/2020) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Quiz Show | DVD | (08/04/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  This vigorously entertaining film, sharply directed by Robert Redford fr om Paul Attanasio's brilliant screenplay, is based on the game-show scandals of the 1950s, when TV quiz shows were rigged to attract higher ratings and lucrative sponsorships. The fact-based story focuses on the quiz show Twenty-One and popular contestant Charles Van Doren (Ralph Fiennes), a charming, well-bred intellectual who agreed to win the game by using answers supplied by the show's producers. This unfair advantage turned Van Doren into a prototypical media darling at the expense of reigning Twenty-One champion Herbie Stempel (John Turturro, in a bravura performance), a working-class Jewish contestant who, according to the show's sponsors, had worn out his welcome in the public eye. When a congressional investigator (Rob Morrow) catches on to the scam and Stempel blows the whistle on this backstage manipulation, Quiz Show becomes a smart, political exposè about the first generation of television, the corrupting effect of celebrity and success, and the ongoing loss of innocence in American society. Bristling with superior dialogue and energized by an excellent cast including Paul Scofield as Van Doren's morally upstanding father, Quiz Show succeeds as history lesson, intelligent thriller, and morality tale, setting the stage for the countless scandals that would follow in a nation addicted to television. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

• Shock | Blu Ray | (17/01/2022) from £16.39   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  In a career spanning four decades and encompassing virtually every genre under the sun, Mario Bava inspired multiple generations of filmmakers, from Dario Argento to Martin Scorsese and Tim Burton. Best remembered for his gothic horror movies, for his final feature, Shock, he eschewed the grand guignol excesses of Black Sabbath or Blood and Black Lace for a more intimate portrait of mental breakdown in which true horror comes from within. Dora (Daria Nicolodi, Deep Red) moves back into her old family home with her husband, Bruno (John Steiner, Tenebrae), and Marco (David Colin Jr., Beyond the Door), her young son from her previous marriage. But domestic bliss proves elusive as numerous strange and disturbing occurrences transpire, while Dora is haunted by a series of nightmares and hallucinations, many of them involving her dead former husband. Is the house itself possessed? Or does Dora's increasingly fragile grip on reality originate from somewhere far closer to home? Released in the United States as a sequel to Ovidio G. Assonitis's Beyond the Door, Shock more than lives up to its name, proving that, even at this late stage in his career, Bava hadn't lost his touch for terror. Now restored in high definition for the first time, the Maestro of the Macabre's chilling swansong disturbs like never before in this feature-laden release from Arrow Video. Special Features High Definition Blu-ray™ (1080p) presentation Brand new 2K restoration from the original 35mm camera negative by Arrow Films Original Italian and English front and end titles and insert shots Restored original lossless mono Italian and English soundtracks Newly translated English subtitles for the Italian soundtrack Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing for the English soundtrack New audio commentary by Tim Lucas, author of Mario Bava: All the Colors of the Dark A Ghost in the House, a new video interview with co-director and co-writer Lamberto Bava Via Dell'Orologio 33, a new video interview with co-writer Dardano Sacchetti The Devil Pulls the Strings, a new video essay by author and critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas Shock! Horror! The Stylistic Diversity of Mario Bava, a new video appreciation by author and critic Stephen Thrower The Most Atrocious Tortur(e), a new interview with critic Alberto Farina Italian theatrical trailer 4 US Beyond the Door II TV spots Image gallery Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Christopher Shy FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Troy Howarth, author of The Haunted World of Mario Bava

• Barton Fink | DVD | (31/10/2005) from £6.38   |  Saving you £4.87 (95.12%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Between Heaven and Hell There's Always Hollywood! John Turturro shines in the lead role in Barton Fink the Coen Brothers' (Miller's Crossing Fargo) hilarious satire set in the 1940s Hollywood. Fink is a New York playwright who reluctantly relocates to Hollywood to write screenplays. Ordered to write a low budget screenplay about wrestling Fink manages to type one sentence and then...nothing! Although his chatty insurance salesman neighbour Charlie (John Goodman) helps out by teaching Fink about wrestling the clock ticks the temperature rises and Fink's life spins more and more out of control. Barton Fink received three 1991 Oscar nominations-(Best Supporting Actor-Michael Lerner Best Art Direction/Set Direction and Best Costume Design) and also won Best Actor (Turturro) and Best Director (Joel Coen) as well as the coveted Palme d'Or at Cannes.

• Appointment With Death | DVD | (20/02/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Based on the novel by Agatha Christie a posh 1937 tour of the holy land turns murderous when a malicious malevolent matriarch (Piper Laurie) is mysteriously poisoned. Each of her fellow tourists had the means and the motive to kill her and any of them would have enjoyed plunging the lethal hypodermic syringe into Mrs. Boynton's fleshy arm. It's up to nimble-witted Belgian detective Poirot (Peter Ustinov) to discover whodunit.

• 1984 | DVD | (20/09/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Winston Smith (Hurt) endures a squalid existence in totalitarian Oceania under the constant surveillance of Big Brother. But his life takes a horrifying turn when he begins a forbidden love affair and commits the crime of independent thought. Sent to the chillingly labelled ""Ministry of Love"" he is placed at the mercy of O'Brien (Burton) a coolly treacherous leader determined to control his thoughts and crush his soul...