"Actor: John Ho"

• Monty Python's The Meaning of Life | DVD | (04/09/2000) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Returning to the sketch-show format of their earlier days, Monty Python' s The Meaning of Life was always going to feel less ambitious and less coherent than their cinematic masterpiece, The Life of Brian. And inevitably given the format, some sketches are better than others. But, for a movie that has been much-maligned, The Meaning of Life actually features some of the Pythons' most memorable set-pieces: the exploding Mr Creosote has to be the most wonderfully grotesque creation of a team whose speciality was the grotesque; while the sublime "Sperm Song" mixes satire and lavish visual humour in a musical skit of breathtaking audacity. Elsewhere, Eric Idle produces another musical gem with "The Universe Song" ("Pray that there's intelligent life somewhere out in space / 'Cause there's bugger all down here on earth!"), while the Grim Reaper's appearance at an achingly tedious dinner party is the Pythons doing what they do best: mocking their own middle-class origins. Best of all, perhaps, is Terry Gilliam's modest introductory feature, "The Crimson Permanent Assurance", a 20-minute epic tale of the little men rebelling against the corporate system, a theme and a visual style that foreshadows his own masterwork, Brazil. Admittedly too many sketches sacrifice subtlety for shock tactics (the organ donation scene in particular requires a strong stomach), but when this film works it's nothing less than vintage Python. --Mark Walker

• Captain Kronos - Vampire Hunter | DVD | (16/06/2003) from £22.99   |  Saving you £-7.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Master swordsman Kronos finds himself in a village where the local young women have had their youth drained from them by a vampire's kiss. He goes in search of the vampire ending up at the Durward estate and meeting a very aged and decidedly sick Lady Durward...

• Colditz Story 70th Anniversary | DVD | (10/12/2012) from £10.09   |  Saving you £5.90 (58.47%)   |  RRP £15.99

  The Colditz Story is an outstanding factual prisoner of war film directed by Guy Hamilton, starring John Mills (Ice Cold in Alex) as Officer Pat Reid and Eric Portman (The 49th Parallel) as Colonel Richmond. It is based on the book written by Pat Reid, a British army officer who was imprisoned in Oflag IV-C, Colditz Castle, in Germany during the Second World War and who was the Escape Officer for British POWs within the castle. Colditz Castle in the heart of Saxony, was the fortress to which the German High Command sent officers who had attempted to escape from conventional prison camps. They regarded it as impregnable yet they threatened the death penalty for anyone attempting to break out. British officer Pat Reid leads an escape through one of the castle's subterranean tunnels. Only three of the prisoners survive; the next step is to get out of Germany itself. Special Features: New and Exclusive Documentary - Colditz Revealed: Life Inside the Colditz Castle Restoration Comparison

• The Battle Of The River Plate | DVD | (03/12/2001) from £12.20   |  Saving you £-2.21 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  It is the early years of World War II and the Royal Navy must fight a desperate battle to stop Germany's best battleship, the Admiral Graf Spee, from sailing to the South Atlantic.

• The Terror Inside | DVD | (16/01/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  A woman bravely battles schizophrenia in this thought-provoking drama starring Heather Locklear.

• Alan Bleasdale Presents - Self-Catering - Ch4 | DVD | (04/06/2018) from £5.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Based on the play by Jim Morris. Blood on the Dole follows the lives of four teenagers, two boys and two girls, struggling to cope after being thrust into the real world for the first time after leaving school. Living in deprived Merseyside, the four youths' bright-eyed optimism for their futures and new-found freedom is soon crushed by the realities of unemployment, poverty, and the brutal reality of living and trying to find work in a city in decline. They all soon find themselves in the hopeless situation of facing complete dependence on state handouts, the dole . The four teenagers instead find themselves turning to each other to find the strength to survive. An impressively fresh social commentary and portrayal of teenage love set within a disturbingly authentic account of disenfranchised youth. With austerity still very much a part of our political climate, and recent films such as I, Daniel Blake continuing to challenge such government policy, Blood on the Dole is still a hugely relevant watch today. Produced by BAFTA-winner Alan Bleasdale as a part of the Alan Bleasdale Presents series, a Channel 4 anthology showcasing and given a platform to new, up-and-coming talent young writers. After his successes in landmark dramas including Boys from the Black Stuff, The Monocled Mutineer and GBH, in 1994 Channel 4 gave Alan Bleasdale the opportunity to find and mentor new TV writers. Four big-budget, standalone films were made as a result, with top casts and experimental storylines.

• Kavanagh Q.C. - The Complete Series 5 | DVD | (16/08/2004) from £8.97   |  Saving you £14.01 (234.28%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Coming from a working class northern background Kavanagh has risen to the top of an elite profession. However his dedication to justice has taken its toll on his private life... Episode comprise: 1. Previous Convictions 2. The More Loving One 3. Time Of Need 4. Endgames 5. The End Of Law (2 hour special episode)

• Stripes | DVD | (15/08/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  The story of a man who wanted to keep the world safe for democracy...and meet girls. When John Winger (Bill Murray) loses his job his car his apartment and his girlfriend-all in one day-he decides he only has one option: volunteer for Uncle Sam. Way over their head they eventually learn the ropes and manage to take a top-secret U.S. recreational vehicle behind the Iron Curtain on a road trip...

• A Walk In The Sun: The Definitive Restoration (2 Disc Collector's Set) | Blu Ray | (21/01/2022) from £17.22   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Midsomer Murders: Christmas Collection | DVD | (04/09/2017) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.95

  Based on Caroline Graham's novels and featuring the stolid crime-solving skills of Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby, Midsomer Murders made their television debut in 1997 and continue to keep viewers happy with that potent whodunnit ingredient: spectacularly bloody murders in the most tranquil rural settings the Shires have to offer. Midsomer is a vaguely defined area of villages and hamlets with charming names like Badger's Drift and Goodman's Land. It also has the highest number of violent deaths per capita outside the average war zone. Serial killings abound to test the nerve of Barnaby (John Nettles) and his sidekick Sergeant Troy (Daniel Casey), a dullard easily perplexed by a world which refuses to stick to his black and white view of things. Nettles is excellent; there's a hint of Bergerac still, now heavier of jowl and broader of beam, though the chasing is necessarily limited and the DCI enjoys the home comforts of an understanding wife and a spirited daughter. "Every time I go into any Midsomer village, it's always the same thing", he huffs. "Blackmail, sexual deviancy, suicide and murder." Ain't it the truth? The murders are astonishing. Family feuds, jealousy, incest, industrial espionage, all erupt at regular intervals leaving a trail of bodies with throats slashed, limbs dismembered and blood absolutely everywhere. Rivers of sheer nastiness run deep beneath the superficially pastoral perfection of Midsomer. Thank goodness there are still men like dependable Barnaby to get to the bottom of things. Eventually. Sure of Barnaby’s eventual success, Midsomer Murders make for a cosy, even comforting, couple of hours curled up in front of the television. And they make a great showcase for star turns from the great stable of British character actors, too, from Celia Imrie and Elizabeth Spriggs to Imelda Staunton and Duncan Preston, who invariably turn this whimsical stuff into the tastiest possible ham.--Piers Ford

• Lords Of Dogtown / Dogtown And Z-Boys | DVD | (16/01/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Lords Of Dogtown: Anyone who grew up in Southern California will talk with both nostalgia and frustration about the periodic summers of drought in which the oppressive heat is exacerbated by a shortage of its antidote--fresh water. In 1975 a clan of scruffy rebellious teens found a way to turn this dearth to their advantage using the sloping bowl of empty suburban swimming pools to create a new underground sport - skateboarding. The development explosion and corporate co-

• Phenomenon - The Lost Archives - Vol. 6 | DVD | (23/07/2001) from £9.99   |  Saving you £3.00 (30.03%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Governments multinational corporations and religious organisations have secretly wielded tremendous power by holding back critical data or spreading misinformation to further their own aims. This program exposes the almost inconceivable stories of deceit conspiracy sanctioned piracy and scientific knowledge hidden from the world for far too long! American Midnight: This shocking power-packed indictment brings into sharp focus the Iran/Contra conspiracy through the least likely of events: the slaying of two innocent high school students. Out for a night of fun near a local airstrip these unassuming local boys witness an airdrop of drugs by the infamous international drug smuggler and CIA operative Barry Seal. Though some of the drug smugglers are jailed and others pay with thier lives the remaining victims - the boy's parents and the American people - have yet to achieve justice. H.A.A.R.P.: Holes In Heaven?: High-Frequency Active Aural Research Project or H.A.A.R.P. is a top-secret combined effort of the Air Force and Navy designed ostensibly to influence the weather. Consisting of large fields of high-energy projectors this brainchild of the controversial inventor Nikola Tesla has been associated with everything from the breakdown of the ozone layer to particle beam weapons. H.A.A.R.P. has achieved long-range undersea communications but its clandestine applications are what make it controversial as scientists research the system's potential use as a long-range particle beam weapon with the ability to alter the electrical impulses of the human brain. Narrated by Martin Sheen.

• Inspector Morse - Disc 23 And 24 - The Death Of The Self / Absolute Conviction | DVD | (12/08/2002) from £5.38   |  Saving you £9.61 (178.62%)   |  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

• Gold | DVD | (06/08/2001) from £9.77   |  Saving you £-3.78 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Featuring a score by Elmer Bernstein unique opening credits by Bond optical effects veteran Maurice Binder and gritty performances by Roger Moore and Ray Milland 'Gold' is a superb adaptation of Wilbur Smith's acclaimed novel concerning a group of greed-driven businessmen conspiring to flood a South African gold mine... ....spectacular underground sequences and a rousing finale - Halliwell's Film And Video Guide 1999.

• Men Behaving Badly - Series 3 | DVD | (05/06/2000) from £4.75   |  Saving you £15.24 (320.84%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The ultimate small-screen representation of Loaded-era lad culture--albeit a culture constantly being undermined by its usually sharper female counterpart--there seems little argument that Men Behaving Badly was one of 1990s' definitive sitcoms. Certainly the booze-oriented, birds-obsessed antics of Martin Clunes' Gary and Neil Morrissey's Tony have become every bit as connected to Britain's collective funny bone as Basil Fawlty's inept hostelry or Ernie Wise's short, hairy legs. Yet, the series could easily have been cancelled when ITV viewers failed to respond to the original version, which featured Clunes sharing his flat with someone named Dermot, played by Harry Enfield. Indeed, it was only when the third series moved to the BBC and was then broadcast in a post-watershed slot--allowing writer Simon Nye greater freedom to explore his characters' saucier ruminations--that the show began to gain a significant audience. By then, of course, Morrissey had become firmly ensconced on the collective pizza-stained sofa, while more screen time was allocated to the boys' respective foils, Caroline Quentin and Leslie Ash. Often glibly dismissed as a lame-brained succession of gags about sex and flatulence, the later series not only featured great performances and sharp-as-nails writing but also sported a contemporary attitude that dared to go where angels, and certainly most other sitcoms, feared to tread. Or, as Gary was once moved to comment about soft-porn lesbian epic Love in a Women's Prison: "It's a serious study of repressed sexuality in a pressure-cooker environment." Series 3 includes: "Lovers" in which Gary becomes worried that he hasn't slept with enough women; "Bed" in which Dorothy and Gary experience problems in the boudoir ("What's the matter? We always have sex after I've cooked for us. That's why I do it."); "Casual Ties" in which a depressed Deborah decides to sell her flat and go travelling, while Tony fails to cheer her up by impersonating different types of Cheese; "Weekend" in which Tony gets a job at The Crown; "Cleaning Lady" in which Tony reconsiders his professional options ("I could be an escort." "What, a car?" asks Gary); "Marriage" in which Gary joins Dorothy for a candlelit dinner ("Why she couldn't find a restaurant with proper lighting I don't know"). --Clark Collis

• Danielle Steel - Daddy / Fine Things / Message From Nam | DVD | (13/03/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Danielle Steel is one of the best-selling authors of all-time and now you can enjoy this box set featuring three movie adaptations of some of her best known novels. Daddy (Dir. Michael Miller 1991): Patrick Duffy and Linda Carter star in this highly emotional story of love loss and rediscovered happiness. Oliver is a top advertising executive who seems to have it all - a beautiful wife three great children and a lovely home. But one fateful day his wife announces she i

• WWE - Hell In A Cell 2009 | DVD | (01/02/2010) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  WWE: Hell In A Cell 2009

• Fled | DVD | (08/01/2001) from £10.50   |  Saving you £2.49 (19.20%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Two dangerously mismatched convicts are thrown into a wild race to outwit outrun and outgun vicious enemies on both sides of the law in this high-impact thriller bristling with adventure mind-blowing stunts and non-stop action! After escaping from a prison chain gang Piper (Laurence Fishburne) and Dodge (Stephen Baldwin) find themselves handcuffed together - and at each other's throats! Relentlessly hunted through the Georgia wilderness the reluctant allies fight their way int

• Tycoon (John Wayne) | DVD | (05/06/2006) from £6.12   |  Saving you £3.87 (63.24%)   |  RRP £9.99

  An action-packed romantic movie about an engineer's attempt to build a railroad tunnel in the Andes Mountains. Johnny Munroe is a tough builder who along with partner Pop Mathews has been hired by tycoon Frederick Alexander to pull off the difficult task. Although Johnny and Pop think that it would be far easier to lay the train tracks on a bridge spanning a river Frederick insists on a tunnel.

• The Beyond - Uncut | DVD | (13/10/2003) from £14.98   |  Saving you £-8.99 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  A young woman inherits a decaying hotel on the edge of a Louisiana swamp unaware that more than fifty years ago it served as the gateway to hell and that its horrific evil lives on to this day. Her dream to build a new life for herself becomes a nightmarish fight for survival as horrors straight out of Lovecraft's Book of Ebion lay their own claim to her property and the souls around her...