"Actor: John Ho"

• Oliver Twist -- Special Edition | DVD | (26/09/2008) from £12.98   |  Saving you £3.01 (23.19%)   |  RRP £15.99

  There have been many film and TV adaptations of Oliver Twist but this 1948 production from director David Lean remains the definitive screen interpretation of the Charles Dickens classic. From the ominous symbolism of its opening storm sequence (in which Oliver's pregnant, ill-fated mother struggles to reach shelter before childbirth) to the mob-scene climax that provokes Bill Sikes's dreadful comeuppance, this breathtaking black-and-white film remains loyal to Dickens while distilling the story into its purest cinematic essence.Every detail is perfect--Lean even includes a coffin-shaped snuffbox for the cruel Mr. Sowerberry--and as young Oliver, eight-year-old John Howard Davies (who would later produce Monty Python's Flying Circus for the BBC) perfectly expresses the orphan's boyish wonderment, stern determination and waifish vulnerability. Best of all is Alec Guinness as Fagin, so devious and yet so delightfully appealing under his beak-nosed (and, at the time, highly controversial) make-up. (Many complained that Fagin's huge nose and greedy demeanour presented an anti-Semitic stereotype, even though Lean never identifies Fagin as Jewish; for this reason, the film wasn't shown in the US until three years after its British release.) Likewise, young Anthony Newley is artfully dodgy as Fagin's loyal accomplice, the Artful Dodger. Guinness's performance would later provide strong inspiration for Ron Moody's equally splendid portrayal of Fagin in the Oscar-winning Oliver! and while that 1968 musical remains wonderfully entertaining, it is Lean's film that hews closest to Dickens' vision. The authentic recreation of 19th-century London is marvellous to behold; Guy Green's cinematography is so shadowy and stylised that it almost qualifies as Dickensian film noir. Lean is surprisingly blunt in conveying Dickens's theme of cruelty but his film never loses sight of the warmth and humanity that Oliver embodies. --Jeff Shannon

• The Colditz Story | DVD | (18/04/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  During the Second World War the Germans put many of the Allied prisoners-of-war (POWs) who had proved consistent escapees together in a maximum security fortress, the very name of which became a legend. Based on the book by Colditz escapee Major Pat Reid, The Colditz Story (1957) documents the further, sometimes successful, escape attempts of these extraordinarily brave, resourceful and indomitable men. Starring John Mills, Eric Portman, Bryan Forbes and Anton Diffring, and co-written and directed by Guy Hamilton, who later made The Battle of Britain (1969), this is a sober, even-handed account, that is gripping and informative, yet not without humour. Sterling performances from the cast of stalwart actors adds up to a British cinema classic. Such is the fascination of Colditz that in 1972-3 the BBC made a very successful drama series staring Jack Hedley, Bernard Hempton, Robert Wagner and David McCallum, while in 2000 Channel 4 offered a superb three-part documentary, Escape from Colditz. In contrast to the semi-documentary feel of The Colditz Story David Lean's classic The Bridge on the River Kwai, from the same year, is an epic and powerful account of POW life in barbaric Japanese prison camps. --Gary S. Dalkin

• Car Trouble | DVD | (02/02/2004) from £16.98   |  Saving you £-13.99 (N/A%)   |  RRP £2.99

  In the throes of a midlife crisis a man buys a new Jaguar and it immediately becomes his new love. What he doesn't know is that his wife is as attracted to the Jaguar salesman as he is to the car.

• The Pajama Game | DVD | (12/07/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £4.99

  A truly joyous tale starring Doris Day as the union leader in a clothing factory. From the novel 'Seven And A Half Cents' by Richard Bissell and adapted into a successful musical which the french director Jean Luc Goddard called the first left wing operetta!

• Whoops Apocalypse | DVD | (12/05/2003) from £5.39   |  Saving you £4.60 (85.34%)   |  RRP £9.99

  What do yo get if you mix warped British humour with political intrigue Royal kidnaps hostile invasions nuclear bombs British Task Forces mad international terrorists and the SAS? Total mayhem!

• Grudge, The (2020) | DVD | (01/06/2020) from £6.87   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Producer Sam Raimi brings us a twisted new take of the horror classic .Directed by Nicolas Pesce, THE GRUDGE stars Andrea Riseborough, Demián Bichir, John Cho, Betty Gilpin with Lin Shaye and Jacki Weaver. With a screenplay by Nicolas Pesce and a story by Nicolas Pesce and Jeff Buhler, THE GRUDGE is based on the film Ju-On: The Grudge written and directed by Takashi Shimizu. THE GRUDGE is produced by Sam Raimi, Rob Tapert and Taka Ichise and is executive produced by Nathan Kahane, Erin Westerman, Brady Fujikawa, Andrew Pfeffer, Roy Lee, Doug Davison, John Powers Middleton and Schuyler Weiss.

• Lawrence of Arabia (60th Anniversary Limited Edition) | Blu Ray | (07/06/2022) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Batman: The Long Halloween Part 2 | Blu Ray | (09/08/2021) from £3.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  The reign of terror wrought by the Holiday killer continues in Gotham City. With each calculated crime, the stakes rise as tensions boil over between the Falcone and Maroni crime families. As Batman, James Gordon and Harvey Dent race to solve the deadly puzzle, a breach at Arkham Asylum brings villainous players into the game. Based on the critically acclaimed graphic novel, Batman: The Long Halloween Part Two concludes this gripping chapter in the Dark Knight's saga. Bonus Feature A Sneak Peek at the Next Animated DC Universe Movie, Injustice - Sides are chosen and battle lines are drawn as the Earth's greatest heroes go to war with each other. DC Showcase: Blue Beetle - TBD From the DC Vault: Batman The Animated Series: Two-Face Part 1 - Mobster Rupert Thorne attempts to use Harvey Dent's secret split personality to blackmail him. But when Dent meets with Thorne at a chemical plant, Big Bad Harv takes over, and the resulting confrontation leads to an explosion that horribly scars half of Dent's face and his entire body. From the DC Vault: Batman The Animated Series: Two-Face Part 2 - Harvey Dent, now calling himself Two-Face, resurfaces and starts robbing Rupert Thorne's illegal businesses, preparing for a final confrontation with the crime boss. Batman must stop his former friend before he and Thorne kill each other.

• The Libertine | DVD | (08/05/2006) from £6.75   |  Saving you £13.24 (196.15%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Johnny Depp stars as the scandalously decadent John Wilmot, the second Earl of Rochester.

• Shooting Dogs | DVD | (31/07/2006) from £6.75   |  Saving you £13.24 (196.15%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Hugh Dancy stars in this moving drama about the Rwandan genocide.

• The Frighteners: The Complete Series | DVD | (15/05/2017) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  No cops and robbers, no clanking chains, no well-worn horror themes; this rare and highly acclaimed thriller anthology features instead a range of stories in which ordinary people are threatened by situations that slide startlingly, menacingly out of control... Featuring the considerable talents of John Thaw, Ian Holm, Warren Clarke, Tom Bell, Ray Smith and Robert Urquhart, The Frighteners features thirteen haunting tales of malice and manipulation, vengeance and mounting terror. It features stories from acclaimed novelist and playwright William Trevor, Bouquet of Barbed Wire author Andrea Newman, Get Carter writer/director Mike Hodges, and Secret Army co-creator Wilfred Greatorex.

• Mary Wesley's Harnessing Peacocks | DVD | (30/06/2003) from £4.98   |  Saving you £2.01 (40.36%)   |  RRP £6.99

  She is the mistress of several eligible men; he is the lover from her past... Based on the novel by Mary Wesley.

• The Elephant Man (40th Anniversary Edition) | Blu Ray | (09/11/2020) from £19.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  A stunning new 4K restoration of THE ELEPHANT MAN, with both picture and sound overseen by revered director David Lynch, this release is the perfect celebration of the films 40th anniversary. Starring Anthony Hopkins and John Hurt, THE ELEPHANT MAN is an extraordinary and intensely moving true story of bravery and humanity. John Merrick (John Hurt) is The Elephant Man, forced into circus sideshows and spurned by society because of the disfiguring disabilities he was born with. Rescued by a well meaning surgeon (Anthony Hopkins), he tries to escape a life of prejudice and cruelty as he tries to fit into a world ruled by Victorian sensibilities. Beautifully shot in black and white by the incomparable Freddie Francis, THE ELEPHANT MAN is an unforgettable story of human dignity and survival. Extras: NEW - Interview with Frank Connor, Stills Photography NEW - BFI Q&A With Jonathan Sanger Interview With David Lynch Interview With John Hurt Mike Figgis Interviews David Lynch The Air Is On Fire: Interview With David Lynch at Cartier Foundation Joseph Merrick: The Real Elephant Man The Terrible Elephant Man Revealed

• Day Of The Dead | DVD | (09/04/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £7.99

  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

• Hellboy | DVD | (08/10/2018) from £9.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Dark Horse Comics' popular cult superhero Hellboy makes the leap from the comic book pages to the big screen in this fantasy action adventure. In the final days of World War II, the Nazis attempt to use black magic to aid their dying cause. The Allies raid the camp where the ceremony is taking place, but not before a demon - Hellboy (Ron Perlman) - has already been conjured. Joining the Allied forces, Hellboy eventually grows to adulthood under the supervision of his adopted 'father', Professor Broom (John Hurt), serving the cause of good rather than evil. When the powerful and evil Nazi wizard who unleashed Hellboy suddenly reappears in modern times, he discovers that Hellboy is now working as a paranormal investigator at a secret U.S. government agency dedicated to protecting humanity from the forces of darkness. Now, Hellboy must fight to prevent the destruction of mankind.

• Breathless | DVD | (19/03/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Breathless, Jim McBride's 1983 remake of Au Bout de Souffle rewrites Godard's existential hipster as a vain, style-obsessed hood and in the process loses some of the point. Godard's hero was a translation and productive misunderstanding of a quintessentially American sort of delinquent; because it is a retranslation, Gere's intelligent, nervy performance as Jesse Lujack suffers by comparison, however admirable it is taken in itself. McBride's direction strokes Gere's face and body lovingly--his every foxy smile, or glance at himself in a mirror, is played for passionate significance. This is also a good-looking film: the back alleys of LA and sunset over the Mojave desert have rarely looked as good. Valerie Kaprisky's Monica is inevitably given secondary importance; the decision to make the woman who goes along with Jesse's wild final ride on a whim an exchange student makes her at once more and less like her equivalent in the Godard--she has a touching exoticism that is at the same time somehow beside the point. The DVD includes the original theatrical trailer. --Roz Kaveney

• Midsomer Murders - The Killings At Badger's Drift | DVD | (19/04/2004) from £5.99   |  Saving you £11.00 (183.64%)   |  RRP £16.99

  The very first episode of Midsomer Murders is based on the award winning Inspector Barnaby novels by Caroline Graham. An old lady witnesses a shocking event but before she can tell anyone what she has seen she dies from what seems to be natural causes. Her dearest friend drags the unwilling Inspector Barnaby into the case. He soon begins to see that certain things just don't add up then a second gruesome killing confirms his suspicions.

• Licorice Pizza | Blu Ray | (06/06/2022) from £8.41   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  California's San Fernando Valley, 1973. Gary Valentine (Cooper Hoffman) is a precocious high schooler and child star who meets - and is immediately besotted with - Alana (Alana Haim), a twenty-something photographer's assistant trying desperately to find herself. The two of them form an unlikely bond, and soon begin running around the Valley together taking part in Gary's many haphazard schemes.

• The Paper Chase | Blu Ray | (13/06/2022) from £12.09   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Timothy Bottoms stars in this powerful, moving story of a first-year Harvard Law School student who comes to terms with his dreams in America's most competitive school. Serious and hard-working, Hart (Bottoms ) finds he must survive much more than the pressures, all-night cramming, and insecurities he expected. He becomes the fearful adversary of Knightsfield, the school's most imperious, witheringly sarcastic yet brilliant professor (John Houseman in an Oscar® winning). Terrorising some, inspiring others, the professor easily separates the men from the boys by the time the term is over. Hart's personal relationship with Knightsfield grows more complex when he discovers the girl he's fallen in love with is the professor's daughter (Lindsay Wagner). Product Features High-Definition Transfer UK Blu-ray Premiere Original Mono Audio Optional English SDH Subtitles for the Main Feature Audio Commentary by Producer Robert C. Thompson Trailer

• Absolute Power - Series 1 | DVD | (18/07/2005) from £7.23   |  Saving you £12.76 (176.49%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Stephen Fry and John Bird star as spin doctors Charles Prentiss and Martin McCabe bringing the popular and satirical Radio 4 comedy Absolute Power to BBC 2. Written by media commentator Mark Lawson writers Andy Rattenbury (Teachers) and Guy Andrews (Chancer) Absolute Power casts a witty and acerbic eye on the machinations of PR gurus and does for the PR industry what Drop The Dead Donkey did for the newsroom. Stephen as Prentiss and John as McCabe are a