"Actor: John H"

• Koyaanisqatsi / Powaqqatsi | DVD | (13/01/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Godfrey Reggio's Koyaanisqatsi ("life out of balance") and Powaqqatsi ("life in transformation") are the first two parts of a trilogy of experimental documentaries whose titles derive from Hopi compound nouns (2002's Naqoyqatsi, or "life in war", is the third). Both feature indispensable musical contributions from minimalist composer Philip Glass. Made in 1983, Koyaanisqatsi was shot mostly in the desert southwest USA and New York City on a tiny budget with no script. But it then attracted the support of Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas and reached a much wider audience. Its techniques, merging cinematographer Ron Fricke's time-lapse shots (alternately peripatetic and hyperspeed) with Glass' reiterative music (from the meditative to the orgiastic)--as well as its ecology minded imagery--crept into the consciousness of popular culture. The influence of Koyaanisqatsi has by now become unmistakable in television advertisements, music videos and, of course, similar movies. Dating from 1988, Powaqqatsi finds the director somewhat more directly polemical than before, with Glass's score stretching to embrace world music. Reggio reuses techniques familiar from the previous film (slow motion, time-lapse, superposition) to dramatise the effects of the so-called First World on the Third: displacement, pollution, alienation. But he spends as much time beautifully depicting what various cultures have lost--cooperative living, a sense of joy in labour and religious values--as he does confronting viewers with trains, airliners, coal cars and loneliness. What had been a more or less peaceful, slow-moving, spiritually fulfilling rural existence for these "silent" people (all we hear is music and sound effects) becomes a crowded, suffocating, accelerating industrial urban hell, from Peru to Pakistan. Reggio frames Powaqqatsi with a telling image: the Serra Pelada gold mines, where thousands of men, their clothes and skin imbued with the earth they're moving, carry wet bags up steep slopes in a Sisyphean effort to provide wealth for their employers. While Glass juxtaposes his strangely joyful music, which includes the voices of South American children, a number of these men carry one of their exhausted comrades out of the pit, his head back and arms outstretched--one more sacrifice to Caesar. Nevertheless, Reggio, a former member of the Christian Brothers, seems to maintain hope for renewal. --Robert Burns Neveldine

• To Catch A Thief | DVD | (04/10/2004) from £7.59   |  Saving you £8.40 (110.67%)   |  RRP £15.99

  From the undisputed master of the suspense-thriller Alfred Hitchcock's (Rear Window The Birds) To Catch A thief is a stylish and witty thriller starring Cary Grant (North by Northwest) and Grace Kelly(Rear Window). The on-screen chemistry between the two protagonists enhances Hitchcock's subtle and ambiguous story of a retired jewel thief forced to uncover the identity of a copycat thief before he is framed for the crimes himself. Grant's charm and sophistication as the retired cat-burglar set opposite the sensuous character of Kelly's socialite ensure that the atmosphere of the film is sexually charged leaving the audience with no doubt that the relationship could unravel at any point...

• The Dark Half | DVD | (22/10/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Although it lacks the creepy subtleties of Stephen King's celebrated novel, George Romero's underrated adaptation of The Dark Half is among the best films based on King's fiction, with Romero taking care to honour the central theme while serving up some gruesome gore in the film's much-criticised finale. Inspired by King's own admission that he wrote several novels under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, The Dark Half explores the duality of a writer's impulse, ranging from literary respectability to the viscerally cathartic thrills of exploitative pulp fiction. Author and teacher Thad Beaumont (Timothy Hutton) finds himself torn between those extremes when he "kills" his profitable alter ego, George Stark (the bestselling dark half to Thad's light), who then assumes evil, autonomous form (again played by Hutton) to defend lethally his role in Thad's creative endeavours. Forced to wrestle with this evil manifestation of his own unformed twin, Thad must fight to protect his wife (Amy Madigan), their twin babies and himself. While Romero skilfully develops the twin/duality theme to explore the writer's dilemma, Hutton is outstanding in his dual roles, playing Stark (in subtly fiendish makeup) as a redneck rebel with a knack for slashing throats. Julie Harris adds class in a supporting role, and horror fans will relish Romero's climactic showdown, in which swarms of sparrows seal Stark's fate. It favours a pulp sensibility with clunky exposition to explain Stark's existence, but The Dark Half is a laudable effort from everyone involved. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

• Dire Straits - on the Night | DVD | (15/11/2004) from £6.90   |  Saving you £3.09 (44.78%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Tracklisting: 1. Calling Elvis 2. Walk Of Life 3. Heavy Fuel 4. Romeo And Juliet 5. The Bug 6. Private Investigations 7. Your Latest Trick 8. On Every Street 9. You And Your Friend 10. Money For Nothing 11. Brothers In Arms 12. Solid Rock 13. Local Hero - Wild Theme

• The Legend Of The Seven Golden Vampires | DVD | (28/06/2013) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Hammer Horror! Dragon Thrills! The First Kung Fu Horror Spectacular! Count Dracula journies to a remote Chinese village in the guise of a warlord to support six vampires who are dispirited after the loss of a seventh member of their cult. At the same time vampire hunter Prof. Van Helsing happens to be lecturing in the country and is persuaded by villagers to help them fight this curse of the ages... Possibly the only film to combine the traditions of a vampire story with Kung Fu!

• I Know What You Did Last Summer Trilogy | Blu Ray | (21/12/2020) from £54.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Four young friends bound by a tragic accident are reunited when they find themselves being stalked by a hook-wielding maniac in their small seaside town.

• The Somme | DVD | (03/07/2006) from £12.13   |  Saving you £0.86 (6.60%)   |  RRP £12.99

  This superb major BBC documentary provides an entirely fresh perspective on the Somme revealing that there was more to events than just senseless mass slaughter - because it was on those blood-soaked fields that the British Army learned how to defeat its German enemy. Featuring superb and highly authentic dramatic enactments and contemporary combat footage it compares the assault on Thiepval by a company of the 2nd Salford Pals on July 1st 1916 with an attack on the same objective

• Massacre In Rome | DVD | (02/04/2007) from £7.98   |  Saving you £-1.99 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Set in the Second World War when Nazi Germany occupied Italy. This film deals with the Vatican's involvement in the entire movement during the occupation of Rome.

• Longest Day Steelbook | Blu Ray | (02/06/2014) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £22.99

  The Longest Day is a vivid re-creation of the June 6 1944 allied invasion of France which marked the beginning of the end of Nazi domination in Europe. Featuring a stellar international cast and told from the perspectives of both sides this fascinating look at one of history's biggest battles ranks as one of Hollywood's truly Great War films.

• The Shadow | DVD | (06/07/2009) from £6.73   |  Saving you £3.26 (48.44%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Another masked avenger is reincarnated as a big budget movie. Idle playboy Lamont Cranston (Alec Baldwin), schooled in Tibetan mysticism, fights crime in late '30s New York while wearing a natty hat and false beak. He finds time to romance telepathic sweetie Margo Lane (Penelope Miller), whose crusty old scientist Dad (Ian McKellen) has just invented an atom bomb which is in danger of falling into the hands of Shiwan Khan (John Lone), conquest-happy last descendent of Genghis Khan.Director Russell Mulcahy turns out the regulation death traps (a locked chamber filling with water, a bomb timer which ticks away during the climax) and the Shadow breezes through via nifty "invisible" effects. It evokes the conventions and charms of 1930s' pulp fiction in rather more nostalgic mode than Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, and adds little of its own attitude, although a sly camp sensibility (notably in the extremely chi-chi Tim Curry and John Lone as the villains) goes for snickering at the expense of tension. A pleasant, eye-pleasing movie but, after the super-heroic likes of Batman, The Crow and The Mask, the merely mysterious Shadow seems somewhat grandfatherly and remote. --Kim Newman

• Monty Python's Flying Circus: The Complete Series 1-4 | Blu Ray | (05/10/2020) from £85.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  The definitive presentation of a genuinely iconic series, we present Monty Python's Flying Circus, starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin, in all its HD glory! This ground-up restoration has been produced from the best available materials, painstakingly restored and includes just the right amount of lovely spam, wonderful spam... Previously edited sketches have been returned to their original length while filmed sequences and Terry Gilliam's animations have been newly scanned in High Definition, adding unimaginable depth and clarity to classic moments. From the archive come genuine rarities including previously unseen studio outtakes and extended versions of filmed sketch material, making this the ultimate in television restoration and a must-have for every generation of Python fan!

• Oliver Twist | DVD | (15/09/2008) from £4.49   |  Saving you £8.50 (189.31%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Oliver Twist orphaned at birth and raised in the workhouse is expelled for daring to ask the Beadle for more food. Unhappily apprenticed to an Undertaker Oliver escaped to London where he meets the cheeky Artful Dodger the villainous Fagin the aggressive Bill Sykesand the kindly but doomed Nancy. Torn constantly between the forces of good and evil Oliver eventually seals his fate by picking the pocket of a rich gentleman.

• Young Winston | DVD | (21/02/2011) from £28.99   |  Saving you £-23.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Young Winston tells one of the greatest stories in English politics - the rise to power of Winston Churchill from childhood to the age of 26 when he made his first speech in the House of Commons. Directed by Richard Attenborough the film covers Churchill's time as a war correspondent in India his involvement in Kitchener's Sudan expedition and his capture and subsequent thrilling escape during the Boer War in South Africa... Based on Churchill's own book 'My Early Life'.

• Torchwood - Children of Earth | DVD | (13/07/2009) from £7.97   |  Saving you £20.01 (401.81%)   |  RRP £24.99

  An ordinary day becomes a world of terror as every single child in the world stops. A message is sent to all the governments of Earth: 'We are coming'. But as a trap closes around Captain Jack sins of the past are returning as long-forgotten events from 1965 threaten to reveal an awful truth. Torchwood are forced underground as the government takes swift and brutal action. With members of the team being hunted down Britain risks becoming a rogue state with the mysterious and powerful 456 drawing ever closer. Captain Jack Gwen and Ianto are helpless as events escalate until mankind faces the end of civilisation itself.

• Fierce Creatures | Blu Ray | (27/04/2015) from £7.99   |  Saving you £7.00 (87.61%)   |  RRP £14.99

  In an attempt to catch lightning in a bottle, John Cleese wrote Fierce Creatures with the purpose of reuniting the comedic cast of A Fish Called Wanda. Media mogul (Kevin Kline) owns a London zoo. He demands that the park raise more profit, so the new zoo director (Cleese) orders that only dangerous animals be displayed in order to maximize ticket sales. In a dual role, Kline also plays the mogul's son, who plans to run the zoo with the help of displaced employees (including Michael Palin) and zoo programmer Willa Weston (Jamie Lee Curtis). The situation lends itself to comedic confusion and split-second timing, and for a few good laughs the film is a pretty safe bet. It's not as hilarious as A Fish Called Wanda (that's a pretty tall order), but Cleese knows comedy, and his efforts are worth a look. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

• Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man | DVD | (02/08/2004) from £5.99   |  Saving you £14.00 (233.72%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The trials and tribulations of Stephen Dedalus a young man growing up in Ireland in the early part of the 20th century. He starts to feel a stranger in his own land as he starts to understand the nature of art and politics and he has to make a decision whether to accept exile in another land or stay and fight....

• Star Trek The Next Generation - Borg | DVD | (03/07/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £34.99

  All the greatest episodes from the various Star Trek shows featuring the Federation's greatest ever enemy; the Borg! Episodes Comprise: 1. Regeneration 2. Q Who? 3. The Best Of Both Worlds (Parts 1 & 2) 4. I Borg 5. Descent (Parts 1 & 2) 6. Scorpion (Parts 1 & 2) 7. Drone 8. Dark Frontier 9. Unimatrix Zero (Parts 1 & 2) 10. Endgame

• Flying Tigers (John Wayne) | DVD | (05/06/2006) from £4.95   |  Saving you £5.04 (101.82%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Jim Gordon commands a unit of the famed Flying Tigers the American Volunteer Group which fought the Japanese in China before America's entry into World War II. Gordon must send his outnumbered band of fighter pilots out against overwhelming odds while juggling the disparate personalities and problems of his fellow flyers. In particular he must handle the difficulties created by a reckless hot-shot pilot named Woody Jason who not only wants to fight a one-man war but to waltz off with Gordon's girlfriend too.

• Guns 'n' Roses - Welcome To The Videos | DVD | (22/12/2003) from £7.26   |  Saving you £2.73 (37.60%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Welcome to the Videos provides a baker's dozen of Guns 'n' Roses' most explosive and memorable music videos from 1987 to 1993, and what a lesson they provide in the early evolution of visual style on MTV. Looking back, it seems Guns n' Roses embraced almost every type of music-video setting: "Welcome to the Jungle", for instance, finds rapid images of the band's stage performance interspersed with a semi-narrative featuring Axle Rose as a newcomer to the big bad city; "Paradise City" is set against an arena sound check, while "Sweet Child O' Mine" is structured around the now-threadbare idea of a video documentary about a video production. A couple of obsessive themes emerge from this anthology, the starkest involving love and watery deaths ("Don't Cry" and "November Rain"). Most interesting are the opiate-like distortions of "The Garden" and the surreal "Since I Don't Have You", starring Gary Oldman as a grinning devil. --Tom Keogh

• Tosh | DVD | (20/06/2022) from £5.33   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A