"Actor: John Hill"

• The Agatha Christie Collection | DVD | (25/09/2006) from £69.89   |  Saving you £-29.90 (N/A%)   |  RRP £39.99

  Murder On The Orient Express: The first of several lavish Christie adaptations from producers John Brabourne and Richard Goodwin introducing Albert Finney as the first screen Hercule Poirot. This 1974 production of Agatha Christie's 1934 classic is a judicious mixture of mystery murder and nostalgia. Which member of the all-star cast onboard the luxurious train perforated the no-good American tycoon with a dagger twelve times? Was it Ingrid Bergman's shy Swedish missionary; or Vanessa Redgrave's English rose; Sean Connery as an Indian Army Colonel: Michael York or Jacqueline Bisset; perhaps Lauren Bacall; Anthony Perkins or John Gielgud as the victim's impassive butler. Finney spreads unease among them with subdued wit and finesse. Arguably the most successful screen adaptation of a Christie novel in addition to Bergman's Oscar for Best Supporting Actress 'Murder On The Orient Express' achieved nominations for Best Actor Screenplay Photography Costume Design and Music Score. (Dir. Sidney Lumet 1974) Death On The Nile: Peter Ustinov makes his debut as Agatha Christie's brilliant Belgian detective Hercule Poirot in this lavish and star-studded follow-up to Murder On The Orient Express:. As Poirot enjoys a luxurious cruise down the Nile a newlywed heiress is found murdered on board and every elegant passenger becomes a prime suspect. Can Poirot identify the killer and motive before the ship of clues reaches the end of its murderous journey? Bette Davis David Niven Angela Lansbury Maggie Smith Mia Farrow George Kennedy Olivia Hussey Simon MacCorkindale Jane Birkin Jack Warden and Lois Chiles co-star in this sumptuous Oscar-winning classic adapted by Anthony Shaffer (Sleuth) and filmed on location throughout exotic Egypt. (Dir. John Guillermin 1978) The Mirror Crack'd: Mirror mirror on the wall who is the murderer among them all? The year is 1953. The small English village of St. Mary Mead home to Miss Jane Marple is delighted when a big American movie company arrives to make a movie telling of the relationship between Jane Grey and Elisabeth I starring the famous actresses Marina Rudd and Lola Brewster. Marina arrives with her husband Jason and when she discovers that Lola is going to be in the movie with her she hits the roof as Lola and Marina loathe each other on sight. Marina has been getting death threats and at a party at the manor house Heather Babcock after boring Marina with a long story drinks a cocktail made for Marina and dies from poisoning. Everybody believes that Marina is the target but the police officer investigating the case Inspector Craddock isn't sure so he asks Miss Marple his aunt to investigate... (Dir. Guy Hamilton 1980) Evil Under The Sun: Evil is everywhere. Even in paradise... Hercule Poirot is called in to investigate a case for an insurance company regarding firstly a dead woman's body found on a moor and then a important diamond sent to the company to be insured turns out to be a fake. Poirot discovers that the diamond was bought for Arlena Marshall by Sir Horace Blatt and Arlena is on her honeymoon with her husband and step-daughter on a tropical island hotel. He joins them on the island and finds that everybody else starts to hate Arlena for different reasons - refusing to do a stage show stopping a book and for having an open affair with Patrick Redfern another guest in full view of his shy wife. So it's only a matter of time before Arlena turns up dead strangled and Poirot must find out who it is.... (Dir. Guy Hamilton 1982)

• The Big Trail | DVD | (18/04/2005) from £4.20   |  Saving you £10.05 (341.84%)   |  RRP £12.99

  In this sweeping pioneer adventure a courageous young scout leads hundreds of settlers across treacherous cliffs through brutal snowstorms Indian attacks and buffalo stampedes to their destiny out west. Along the way he loses his heart to a beautiful pioneer woman and never stops trying to win her love. Tyrone Power co-stars in this visually spectacular epic from Raoul Walsh.

• Midnight Run | DVD | (24/07/2000) from £9.98   |  Saving you £10.01 (100.30%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Director Martin Brest rocketed to the top of Hollywood's A list with the blockbuster success of Beverly Hills Cop, and this 1988 follow-up is even better. Midnight Run is a genuine rarity--an action comedy that's dramatically satisfying--thanks to a sharp script by George Gallo, the superb teaming of Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin, and Brest's consummate skill in combining suspense and humour with well-developed characters. De Niro plays a maverick bounty hunter whose latest assignment is Grodin, an accountant accused of embezzling from the Mob. De Niro thinks he's in for an easy job, transporting Grodin (who's afraid to fly) from New York to Los Angeles, but soon discovers that both the FBI and the Mafia are hot on Grodin's trail. Equal parts road trip, action thriller, and a quirky character study, Midnight Run moves at a breakneck pace but still gives De Niro and Grodin time to create rich, memorable performances as two men who seem to be opposites, but gradually develop mutual respect and admiration. Mainstream entertainment at its best. --Jeff Shannon

• The West Wing - Season 1 Part 1 | DVD | (08/04/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £35.99

  Aaron Sorkin's American political drama The West Wing, set in the White House, has won innumerable awards--and rightly so. Its depiction of a well-meaning Democrat administration has warmed the hearts of countless Americans. However, The West Wing is more than mere feel-good viewing for sentimental patriots. It is among the best-written, sharpest, funny and moving American TV series of all time. In its first series, The West Wing established the cast of characters who comprise the White House staff. There's Chief of Staff Leo McGarry (John Spencer), a recovering alcoholic whose efforts to be the cornerstone of the administration contribute to the break-up of his marriage. CJ (Alison Janney) is the formidable Press Spokeswoman embroiled in a tentative on-off relationship with Timothy (Thirtysomething) Busfield's reporter. Brilliant but grumpy communications deputy Toby Ziegler, Rob Lowe's brilliant but faintly nerdy Sam Seaborn and brilliant but smart-alecky Josh Lyman make up the rest of the inner circle. Initially, the series' creators had intended to keep the President off-screen. Wisely, however, they went with Martin Sheen's Jed Bartlet, whose eccentric volatility, caution, humour and strength in a crisis make for such an impressively plausible fictional President that polls once expressed a preference for Bartlet over the genuine incumbent. The issues broached in the first series have striking, often prescient contemporary relevance. We see the President having to be talked down from a "disproportionate response" when terrorists shoot down a plane carrying his personal doctor, or acting as broker in a dangerous stand-off between India and Pakistan. Gun control laws, gays in the military, Fundamentalist pressure groups are all addressed--the latter in a most satisfying manner ("Get your fat asses out of the White House!")--while the episode "Take This Sabbath Day" is a superb dramatic meditation on Capital punishment. Handled incorrectly, The West Wing could have been turgid, didactic propaganda for The American Way. However, the writers are careful to show that, decent as this administration is, its achievements, though hard-won, are minimal. Moreover, the brisk, staccato-like, almost musical exchanges of dialogue, between Josh and his PA Donna, for instance, as they pace purposefully up and down the corridors are the show's abiding joy. This is wonderful and addictive viewing.--David Stubbs

• Inspector Morse - Disc 19 And 20 - Greeks Bearing Gifts / Promised Land | DVD | (12/08/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  When Inspector Morse first appeared on television in 1987, nobody could have predicted that it would run into the next century, maintaining throughout a quality of scripts and story lines that raised the genre of the detective series to a new level. Much of its success can be attributed to John Thaw's total immersion in the role. Morse is a prickly character and not obviously easy to like. As a detective in Oxford with unfulfilled academic propensities, he is permanently excluded from a world of which he would dearly love to be a part. He is at odds with that world--and with his colleagues in the police force--most of the time. Passionate about opera and "proper beer", he is a cultural snob for whom vulgarity causes almost physical pain. As a result, he lives from one disillusionment to another. And he is scarred--more deeply than he would ever admit--by past relationships. But he also has a naïve streak and, deep-down sensitivity, which makes him a fascinating challenge for women. At the heart of Morse's professional life is his awkward partnership with Detective Sergeant Lewis, the resolutely ordinary, worldly sidekick who manages to keep his boss in an almost permanent state of exasperation while retaining his grudging respect. It's a testament to Kevin Whateley's consistently excellent performance that from such unpromising material, Lewis becomes as indispensable to the series as Barrington Pheloung's hypnotic, classic theme music. Morse's investigations do occasionally take him abroad to more exotic locations, but throughout 14 successful years of often gruesome murders, the city of Oxford itself became a central character in these brooding two-hour dramas: creator Colin Dexter stating he finally had to kill Morse off because he was giving Oxford a bad reputation as a dangerous place! --Piers Ford

• Murder On The Orient Express | DVD | (23/10/2017) from £7.18   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Just the name "Orient Express" conjures up images of a bygone era. Add an all-star cast (including Sean Connery, Ingrid Bergman, Jacqueline Bisset and Lauren Bacall, to name a few) and Agatha Christie's delicious plot and how can you go wrong? Particularly if you add in Albert Finney as Christie's delightfully pernickety sleuth, Hercule Poirot. Someone has knocked off nasty Richard Widmark on this train trip and, to Poirot's puzzlement, everyone seems to have a motive--just the set-up for a terrific whodunit. Though it seems like an ensemble film, director Sidney Lumet gives each of his stars their own solo and each makes the most of it. Bergman went so far as to win an Oscar for her role. But the real scene-stealer is the ever-reliable Finney as the eccentric detective who never misses a trick. --Marshall Fine

• The Ice Harvest | DVD | (23/10/2006) from £9.97   |  Saving you £3.02 (30.29%)   |  RRP £12.99

  John Cusack stars in this festive comedy set in an icebound Wichita, Kansas.

• The West Wing - Complete Seasons 1 and 2 | DVD | (17/11/2003) from £79.99   |  Saving you £2.00 (2.50%)   |  RRP £81.99

  Aaron Sorkin's American political drama The West Wing is more than mere feel-good viewing for sentimental US patriots. It is among the best-written, sharpest, funny and moving American TV series of all time. In its first series, The West Wing established the cast of characters who comprise the White House staff. There's Chief of Staff Leo McGarry (John Spencer), a recovering alcoholic whose efforts to be the cornerstone of the administration contribute to the break-up of his marriage. CJ (Alison Janney) is the formidable Press Spokeswoman embroiled in a tentative on-off relationship with Timothy (Thirtysomething) Busfield's reporter. Brilliant but grumpy communications deputy Toby Ziegler, Rob Lowe's brilliant but faintly nerdy Sam Seaborn and brilliant but smart-alecky Josh Lyman makes up the rest of the inner circle. Initially, the series' creators had intended to keep the President off-screen. Wisely, however, they went with Martin Sheen's Jed Bartlet, whose eccentric volatility, caution, humour and strength in a crisis make for such an impressively plausible fictional President that polls once expressed a preference for Bartlet over the genuine incumbent. The second series of The West Wing takes up where the first one left off and, a few moments of slightly toe-curling patriotic sentimentalism apart, maintains the series' astonishingly high standards in depicting the everyday life of the White House staff of a Democratic administration. With Aaron Sorkin's dialogue ranging as ever from dry, staccato mirth to almost biblical gravitas, an ensemble of overworked (and curiously undersexed) characters and an overall depiction of the workings of government that's both gratifyingly idealised yet chasteningly realistic, The West Wing is one of the all-time great American TV dramas. --David Stubbs

• Empire Of The Sun - Special Edition | DVD | (06/03/2006) from £7.49   |  Saving you £9.50 (55.90%)   |  RRP £16.99

  Roundly dismissed as one of Steven Spielberg's least successful efforts, this very underrated film poignantly follows the World War II adventures of young Jim (a brilliant Christian Bale), caught in the throes of the fall of China. What if you once had everything and lost it all in an afternoon? What if you were only 12 years old at the time? Bale's transformation, from pampered British ruling-class child to an imprisoned, desperate, nearly feral boy, is nothing short of stunning. Also stunning are exceptional sets, cinematography and music (the last courtesy of John Williams) that enhance author J.G. Ballard's and screenwriter Tom Stoppard's depiction of another, less familiar casualty of war. In a time when competitors were releasing "comedic", derivative coming-of-age films, Empire of the Sun stands out as an epic in the classic David Lean sense--despite confusion or perceived competition with the equally excellent The Last Emperor (also released in 1987, and also a coming-of-age in a similar setting). It is also a remarkable testament to, yes, the human spirit. And despite its disappointing box-office returns, Empire of the Sun helped to further establish Spielberg as more than a commercial director and set the standard, tone and look for future efforts Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan. --N.F. Mendoza

• The Conquest Of Everest | DVD | (09/07/2007) from £8.64   |  Saving you £4.35 (50.35%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Nominated for the Oscar and winner of the BAFTA for Best Documentary Feature this is the inspiring story of man's first conquest of the world's highest mountain. Made in 1953 the film documents the breathtaking ascent of Everest by Hunt Hillary Tensing et al directed by a fellow expedition member .

• Scorpion King | Blu Ray | (22/07/2019) from £34.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Adventure rules! The spectacular Mummy series explodes into a new realm of breathtaking, nonstop action in The Scorpion King ! Unleashing Dwayne Johnson (Skyscraper) as the most fearsome warrior of the ancient world, The Scorpion King plunges you into a sweeping tale filled with stunning fight sequences, awe-inspiring battles and pulse-pounding thrills. It's the ultimate special effects-powered epic and the must-see-and-see-again adventure of the year!

• The Door In The Floor | DVD | (04/07/2005) from £8.41   |  Saving you £9.58 (113.91%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Adapted from an acclaimed novel by John Irving "The Door in the Floor" explores the complexities of love in its brightest, most mysterious, and darkest corners.

• Day Of The Dead | DVD | (06/09/1999) from £17.97   |  Saving you £-1.99 (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Day of the Dead, chapter three of George Romero's mighty zombie trilogy, has big footsteps to follow. Night of the Living Dead was a classic that revitalised a certain corner of the cinema, and Dawn of the Dead was nothing short of epic. Day of the Dead, however, has always been regarded as a comedown compared to those twin peaks--and perhaps it is. But on its own terms, this is an awfully effective horror movie, made with Romero's customary social satire and cinematic vigour--when a "retrained" zombie responds to the "Ode to Joy", the film is in genuinely haunting territory. The story is set inside a sunken military complex, where Army and medical staff, supposedly working on a solution to the zombie problem, are going crazy (strongly foreshadowing the final act of 28 Days Later). Tom Savini's make-up effects could make even hardcore gore fans tear off their own heads in amazement. --Robert Horton

• Grey Owl | DVD | (19/04/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Pierce Brosnan stars in Richard Attenborough's tale of the famous 1930s native american eco warrior who was not what he seemed to be.

• The Conquest of Everest (Vintage Classics) | Blu Ray | (29/05/2023) from £11.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  In celebration of the film's 70th anniversary, a brand new restoration of Oscar® nominated and BAFTA winner for Best Documentary Feature, THE CONQUEST OF EVEREST. This is the inspiring story of mans' first conquest of the world's highest mountain. Made in 1953, the film documents the breath-taking ascent of Everest by Hunt, Hillary, Tenzing et al, directed by fellow expedition member George Lowe. Product Features British Entertainment History Project Interview with producer John Taylor (1988) The Conquest of Everest Premiere (1953)

• Magnum PI - Complete Series 3 | DVD | (30/01/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £34.99

  Hawaii's foremost moustache-wearing private investigator returns for another season of Magnum P.I. Thomas Magnum a former Naval Officer in Vietnam lives in the guest house of - strangely absent - millionaire author Robin Masters on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. However he finds himself forever under the watchful eye of Higgins ex-British Army and estate manager. In exchange for testing the estate's security he gets plenty of perks fore his Private investigation g

• Sodbusters | DVD | (19/06/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  The American Wild West provides a rugged backdrop for this hilarious story of one community's struggle to keep its land and with it a quiet simple life. A comic tribute to all those classic westerns where a mysterious stranger arrives to save the day the tale is rich with intrigue and ripe with passion. Capturing the strength of the pioneer spirit the story takes us to the frontiers of insanity with some of the most dim-witted characters imaginable. The citizens of Marble Hat Co

• Isle Of Wight Festival 1970 - Message To Love | DVD | (07/03/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Thirty years ago half a million flower children set sail for the Isle Of Wight in search of peace love and understanding. They also witnessed one of the greatest ever rock festivals with legendary live performances from well known greats of the era. This DVD tells the story of the great event from backstage banter to the terrific live performances. Featuring performances by: The Doors - 'When The Music's Over' The Who - 'Young Man Blues' Jimi Hendrix - 'Machine Gun' Joni

• Magnum PI - The Complete Fourth Season | DVD | (26/06/2006) from £37.90   |  Saving you £-2.91 (N/A%)   |  RRP £34.99

  Hawaii's foremost moustache-wearing private investigator returns for another season of Magnum P.I.. Episode Comprise: 1. Home From The Sea 2. Luther Gillis: File #521 3. Smaller Than Life 4. Distant Relative 5. Limited Engagement 6. Letter To A Duchess 7. Squeeze Play 8. A Sense Of Debt 9. The Look 10. Operation: Still Night 11. Jororo Farewell 12. The Case Of The Red-Faced Thespian 13. No More Mr. Nice Guy 14. Rembrandt's Girl 15. Paradise Blues 16. The Retur

• Bad Company | DVD | (02/06/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  In 1972's Bad Company a genteel Northerner during the American Civil War (Barry Brown) is robbed by scallywag Jeff Bridges--and winds up teaming up with him. Together they become a criminal duo (although with one member more reluctant than the other) in this entertaining, realistic tale of what the West was really like. Bridges has a gangly, easy-going demeanour, as well as a sense of playfulness that even extends to moments of extreme jeopardy. He makes an interesting team with the stiff, proper Brown, creating comedy seemingly out of thin air. This was the directing debut of Robert Benton, who had co-written Bonnie and Clyde and who would go on to win an Oscar for Kramer vs Kramer. --Marshall Fine