"Actor: John Fi"

• Gluck - Alceste (Gardiner, Monteverdi Choir) | DVD | (24/11/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £11.99

  When the historic Theatre du Chatelet in Paris re-opened after a period of extensive refurbishment the first two productions mounted in the theatre were Gluck''s Alceste and Orph''e et Eurydice. Both operas were sung in their French versions and were mounted and designed by Robert Wilson and conducted by John Eliot Gardiner. This was the first time Wilson and Gardiner had collaborated and their individual credentials combined to produce an exceptional result. American polymath Wilson was responsible for some of the most ambitious avant-garde performance projects of the 1970s and 80s.Since the mid-1980s he has increasingly brought his prodigious creativity to works fiom the standard dramatic and operatic repertoire transforming them into his own unmistakably minimalist yet grandiose visions. His styled classical interpretations of Alceste and Orph''e bear his trademarks of an uncluttered stage and the arresting use of colour and light. They are not so much timeless as in Robert Wilson''s words ''full of time''. With their minutely rehearsed gestures at once formal and poetic the singers have the grace and elegance of Balanchine or Martha Graham dancers. A key figure in the revival of Early Music John Eliot Gardiner has long been a champion of Gluck''s French operas and is a great Gluck conductor. He received enormous critical acclaim for his musical direction of both Orph''e and Alceste at the Chatelet as did his orchestras and chorus. He sought to rid the operas of any vestiges of remoteness or venerable respectability and to release the huge emotional charge that lies behind the beauty of Gluck''s classical sobriety. The stories are after all he says not only poignant and deeply moving they have an immediate and contemporary relevance: they portray two married couples striving to protect their union and their love plumbing the very depths of their emotional strength and summoning the courage to make huge personal sacrifices. ''If presented in a way that''s immediate and with tremendous intensity and truth of expression then all the dross and superficiality of the stage action falls away and you''re left with what''s actually a very visceral connection between two living people.'' Television''s top opera director Brian Large worked closely with Robert Wilson and John Eliot Gardiner to ensure that the translation of live performance to the small screen is of the highest artistic and techcal standard. John Eliot Gardiner chose Gluck''s 1776 French version of Alceste for Robert Wilson''s production conducting the piece for the first time with his period-instrument ensemble the English Baroque Soloists. The excellent Monteverdi Choir provides the chorus and unusually they sing fiom the pit with dancers taking their place on stage. They give magnificently persuasive expression to the horror and compassion demanded by the drama. The 'Greek geometric perfection of Robert Wilson''s various tableaux is beautifully realised with his eye for striking theatrical symbol creating an intriguing visual arena for one of Gluck''s most elevated and sublime works. Soprano Anne Sofie von Otter one of the finest singers of her generation takes the title role of Alceste Queen of Thessaly who offers to die at the hands of the gods in place of her husband Admete (Paul Groves) so that the people will not lose their king. To universal astonishment she is saved from the Underworld by Hercule (Dietrich Henschel) whose action is sanctioned by Apollon (Ludovic T''zier) in a dramatic deus ex machina.

• The Office - An American Workplace - Series 3 - Complete | DVD | (21/07/2008) from £4.25   |  Saving you £25.74 (605.65%)   |  RRP £29.99

  The Office: An American Workplace is back with Season 3! Ricky Gervais' critically acclaimed and multi-award winning The Office is taken across the pond. This unique comedy series offers a smart tongue-in-cheek documentary-style look at the humorous and sometimes poignant banality of the 9-to-5 white-collar work world. The Office: An American Workplace takes a painfully funny look at the interactions of the cubicle jockeys at Dunder Mifflin paper supply company in Scranton Pennsylvania. Golden Globe winner Steve Carell (The 40-Year Old Virgin) stars as unctuous regional manager Michael Scott who hosts the documentary crew on a tour of the workplace. Jenna Fischer (Walk Hard) John Krasinski (Jarhead Kinsey) Rainn Wilson (Six Feet Under) and B.J. Novak (Punk'd) star as the employees who tolerate Michael's inappropriate behavior only because he signs their paychecks.

• The Ladies Man | DVD | (14/01/2002) from £5.20   |  Saving you £4.79 (92.12%)   |  RRP £9.99

  The latest movie taken from TV's Saturday Night Live is about a politically incorrect TV show host desperately tracking down a wealthy lost love.

• Top Cat Vol.5 | DVD | (13/10/2008) from £5.59   |  Saving you £2.40 (42.93%)   |  RRP £7.99

  Top Cat remains a favourite cartoon of many for its slyly subversive yet comically light-hearted anti-authoritarian themes. Set in the trash-strewn alleyways of New York City the animated series centres around charismatic con-man Top Cat and his gang of lowlife felines as they dodge nemesis Officer Dibble in their eternal quest for get-rich schemes.

• The Fighting Seabees (John Wayne) | DVD | (05/06/2006) from £4.90   |  Saving you £5.09 (103.88%)   |  RRP £9.99

  All-American hero John Wayne takes a crew of construction workers and turns them into one of WWII's toughest fighting forces in this action-packed war classic. But first he has to convince the army brass to let his civilians bear arms and then he's got to whip them into combat shape. Now Wayne is fighting for his life on a different battlefield when he's brought up on court-martial charges for leading his troops in an all-out assault against the Japanese. It's Wayne at his best playing the kind of rough-and-tumble man of honor that made him a legend and Hollywood's biggest star. An entertaining combination of strong supporting performances by Daniel O'Keefe and ravishing about-to-be superstar Susan Hayward.

• Hidden Agenda | DVD | (28/04/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  American activists Paul Sullivan (Dourif) and his fiancee Ingrid Jessner (McDormand) journey to Belfast to probe allegations of brutal human rights abuses by British security forces. When Paul is killed under mysterious circumstances the official reports list him as an I.R.A. accomplice. But Ingrid and British policeman Paul Kerrigan (Cox) question the findings and begin to uncover a shocking high-level conspiracy. Now with their safety in jeopardy they must decide whether to risk

• The Office - An American Workplace - Season 9 | DVD | (15/09/2014) from £19.99   |  Saving you £-5.28 (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.71

  A fly-on-the-wall docu-reality parody about modern American office life The Office delves into the lives of the workers at Dunder Mifflin a paper supply company in Scranton Pennsylvania. The recent departure of regional manager Michael Scott has left many vying for the coveted position including a few internal candidates. One startling move that did transpire during the interview process was the hiring of the weirdly charming and manipulative Robert California (James Spader Boston Legal). The loyal and often times unmotivated staff include sales rep Jim Halpert (John Krasinski) who shares his working space with Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) the arrogant assistant to the regional manager whose responsibilities have expanded as the new owner of the office building. Special Features: Deleted Scenes: Promos Stairmageddon Paper Airplane A.A.R.M. Finale The Office: A Look Back Finale Table Read

• The Sons Of Katie Elder | DVD | (06/06/2005) from £4.96   |  Saving you £8.03 (161.90%)   |  RRP £12.99

  John Wayne recovered from his first bout of cancer to appear in 1965's The Sons of Katie Elder as the brother of Dean Martin, Earl Holliman and Michael Anderson Jr. All four characters are wandering souls prone to trouble, but after the funeral of their frontier mother, they set out to avenge her death. Directed by Henry Hathaway (Wayne's director on True Grit), the film moves like a conventional, latter-day Western, with good performances from Wayne and Martin, who'd already costarred with the Duke in Howard Hawks' Rio Bravo. There's also nice support from Dennis Hopper (who had a legendary conflict with Hathaway on this film), Strother Martin and George Kennedy. --Tom Keogh

• Worst Week Of My Life - Series 1 | DVD | (21/11/2005) from £5.74   |  Saving you £14.25 (248.26%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Getting married should be the best experience of your life but for publisher Howard Steel it becomes a nightmare of gargantuan proportions. Everything that possibly could go wrong does and unfortunately for Howard most of this transpires because of his utmost attempts to do the right thing. From evading Cassie - an office colleague with whom he had a one night stand at the christmas party two years ago and who is now hell bent on ruining the big day - to the charming of his in-

• Armchair Cinema Collection | DVD | (31/08/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £49.99

  Armchair Cinema: Collection (5 Discs)

• Hippies - Series 1 - Complete | DVD | (10/03/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Starring Simon Pegg and set in a Notting Hill commune at the dawn of a new decade Hippies pokes affectionate fun at the everyday lives of the editorial staff of the ambitious but laughably ineffective underground magazine Mouth.

• Red River | DVD | (12/06/2000) from £6.11   |  Saving you £6.88 (112.60%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Any short list of the all-time greatest Westerns is bound to include this 1948 Howard Hawks classic about an epic cattle drive. Red River features one of John Wayne's greatest performances. Like his Ethan Edwards in John Ford's 1956 masterpiece The Searchers, the Duke plays an isolated and unsympathetic man who is possessed by bitterness. Wayne is Texas rancher Tom Dunson, who adopts a young boy orphaned in an Indian massacre. That boy, Matthew Garth (played as an adult by Montgomery Clift in his screen debut), becomes Dunson's assistant and heir apparent--until Dunson's temper gets out of control during a long cattle drive and Matt intervenes to stop him. From that moment on, Dunson swears he will kill Matt. Red River has everything a great Western ought to have: a sweeping sense of history, spectacular landscapes, stampedes, gunfights, Indian attacks, and, of course, Walter Brennan as Dunson's crusty old cook and comic sidekick, Nadine Groot. As a special bonus, the film also features the legendary Harry Carey (upon whom Wayne would base some of his gestures in The Searchers) and his son Harry Carey Jr, who became a fixture in Ford and Hawks' Westerns. Red River is essential for anyone who loves Westerns, or movies in general. This one's a real beaut. --Jim Emerson, Amazon.com

• Texas Terror | DVD | (23/02/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Sheriff John Higgins quits and goes into prospecting after he thinks he has killed his best friend in shooting it out with robbers...

• Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens | Blu Ray | (24/08/2020) from £9.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  As Kylo Ren and the sinister First Order rise from the ashes of the Empire, Luke Skywalker is missing when the galaxy needs him most. It's up to Rey, a desert scavenger, and Finn, a defecting stormtrooper, to join forces with Han Solo and Chewbacca in a desperate search for the one hope of restoring peace to the galaxy. Special Features: Audio Commentary By Director J.J. Abrams Episode VII: The Force Awakens Bonus Disc Secrets Of The Force Awakens: A Cinematic Journey Dressing The Galaxy The Story Awakens: The Table Read Crafting Creatures Building BB-8 Blueprint Of A Battle: The Snow Fight ILM: The Visual Magic Of The Force John Williams: The Seventh Symphony Force For Change Foley: A Sonic Tale Sounds Of The Resistance Inside The Armory The Scavenger & The Stormtrooper: A Conversation With Daisy Ridley & John Boyega Leia & The Resistance Unkar Plutt at Maz's Castle Finn And The Villager Jakku Message X-Wings Prepare For Lightspeed Kylo Searches The Falcon Snow Speeder Chase Finn Will Be Fine Tunnel Standoff

• The Life And Adventures Of Nicholas Nickleby | DVD | (13/05/2002) from £39.99   |  Saving you £-20.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  This 2000 television adaptation confirms Nicholas Nickleby's place among television dramatists' favourite Dickens novels. It has all the vital ingredients: a sensitive, intelligent young hero cast by circumstances in the role of everyman whose fortitude is tested at every turn; romance; danger; one of Dickens' richest braces of characters; and a sense of humanity that is, at times, overwhelming. Condensing all this into three hours is no mean achievement. Martyn Edward Hesford's screenplay maintains an impressive balance between dramatic tension and allowing the characters the space they need to reveal their essential qualities. Only in the last 30 minutes does it become something of a gallop to the finishing post. True, the horrors of the boarding school could be more horrific; the grime of Victorian London and its toothless inhabitants could be grimier and less cosmetic. But as always with a superior production of a Dickens novel, the richness and depth of the drama outweigh such minor quibbles. As for the cast, James D'Arcy's Nicholas is pitch-perfect: part cipher for the injustices and despair he encounters, part emblem for the triumph of goodness, an innocent whose eyes are quickly forced open to the darker realities of life. These darker realities are congealed in Charles Dance's relentlessly chilling, heartless Ralph Nickleby. This is a deceptively complex performance; even as we cheer the gathering forces which finally extinguish his increasingly desperate power, the awful tragedy of his end still elicits a discomforting ounce of sympathy. Gregor Fisher as the one-eyed Squeers and Pam Ferris as his fearsomely lascivious wife are outstanding in an ensemble of fine character actors. And Lee Ingleby's Smike gives our tear ducts a good workout while steering just the right side of sentimentality. On the DVD: Nicholas Nickleby is presented in widescreen format with Dolby Digital soundtrack, and has all the technical qualities you might expect from the DVD release of a modern television production. Extras include cast filmographies, a Dickens biography and a list of his work, all of which add to the disc's merits as a literary educational tool. --Piers Ford

• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets | DVD | (20/04/2020) from £13.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Harry returns for his second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry along with his best friends Hermione and Ron. He ignores warning s not to go back to Hogwarts by a mysterious house elf named Dobby. Soon into the school year strange things start happening...

• The Filth And The Fury | DVD | (16/06/2003) from £17.18   |  Saving you £-7.19 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  The Filth and the Fury is an irreverent, shocking portrait of the most notorious rock group of all time.

• Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi | Blu Ray | (24/08/2020) from £11.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  The Skywalker saga continues as the heroes of The Force Awakens join the galactic legends in an epic adventure that unlocks new mysteries of the Force. Special Features: Score-Only Version of the Movie Audio Commentary By Writer/Director Rian Johnson Episode VIII: The Last Jedi Bonus Disc The Director and the Jedi Balance of the Force Andy Serkis Live! (One Night Only) Meet The Porgs Lighting the Spark: Creating the Space Battle Snoke and Mirrors Showdown on Crait Introduction From Rian Johnson Alternate Opening Paige's Gun Jams Luke Has A Moment Poe: Not Much of a Sewer It's Kind of Weird That You Recorded That The Caretaker Sizes Up Rey Extended Fathier Chase Mega Destroyer Incursion - Extended Version Rose Bites the Hand That Taunts Her Phasma Squealed Like a Whoop Hog Rose & Finn Go to Where They Belong Rey & Chewie in the Falcon The Costumes and Creatures of Canto Bright Caretaker Village Sequence Deleted Scenes With Optional Commentary By Writer/Director Rian Johnson

• Prime Suspect 1 | DVD | (06/11/2006) from £5.98   |  Saving you £7.01 (117.22%)   |  RRP £12.99

  When DCI Jane Tennison (Mirren) takes over the running of what appears to be an open and shut murder case her investigations lead her into a male dominated world and the hunt for a serial killer. Winner of BAFTA's Best Drama Serial in 1991 written by Lynda La Plante.

• Lonely Hearts | DVD | (29/10/2007) from £2.69   |  Saving you £17.30 (86.50%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Based on the true story two homicide detectives (Travolta and Gandolfini) track Martha Beck and Raymond Martinez Fernandez a murderous pair known as the ""Lonely Hearts Killers"" who lure their victims through the personals...