"Actor: John James"

• Taken | DVD | (21/04/2003) from £63.99   |  Saving you £-44.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Steven Spielberg's alien abduction opus Taken is what happens when you cross-breed Close Encounters of the Third Kind with The Waltons. Obviously flushed with the success of the TV mini-series Band of Brothers, Spielberg's Dreamworks studio has created an equally epic 10-part story chronicling 50 years of habitual abduction over several generations of three American families. Beginning with the most notorious alien cover-up in US history, the 1947 "crash" at Roswell, New Mexico, Taken introduces the "Greys" and the families they routinely abduct, probe and, in a couple of cases, impregnate over the course of the ten hour-and-a-half-long episodes. The three families are: the Keys, from which first Russell, then his son Jessie, then grandson Danny, are all abducted; the Clarkes, who are descended from a liaison between lonely put-upon housewife Sally Clarke and one of the Roswell crash survivors; and the Crawfords, the ruthless G-men who are committed to uncovering the purpose behind the alien visitations at any cost. But even though the Greys' actions are at best ambiguous and at worst hostile, Taken is basically a soap opera, lacking the sinister undercurrent of either Dark Skies or The X-Files despite its science-fiction trappings. Nevertheless, this is an engaging series which has decent performances--most notably Joel Gretsch as psychotic Owen Crawford--special effects and an engaging enough storyline to make it entertaining, if somewhat disposable, TV. --Kristen Bowditch

• I, Claudius | DVD | (20/09/1976) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• King Kong - The Eighth Wonder Of The World | DVD | (15/01/2001) from £7.25   |  Saving you £2.74 (37.79%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Now you see it. You're amazed. You can't believe it. Your eyes open wider. It's horrible, but you can't look away. There's no chance for you. No escape. You're helpless, helpless. There's just one chance, if you can scream. Throw your arms across your eyes and scream, scream for your life!" And scream Fay Wray does most famously in this monster classic, one of the greatest adventure films of all time, which even in an era of computer-generated wizardry remains a marvel of stop-motion animation. Robert Armstrong stars as famed adventurer Carl Denham, who is leading a "crazy voyage" to a mysterious, uncharted island to photograph "something monstrous ... neither beast nor man". Also aboard is waif Ann Darrow (Fay Wray) and Bruce Cabot as big lug John Driscoll, the ship's first mate. King Kong's first half-hour is steady going, with engagingly corny dialogue ("Some big, hard-boiled egg gets a look at a pretty face and bang, he cracks up and goes sappy") and ominous portent that sets the stage for the horror to come. Once our heroes reach Skull Island, the movie comes to roaring, chest-thumping, T-rex-slamming, snake-throttling, pterodactyl-tearing, native-stomping life. King Kong was ranked by the American Film Institute as among the 50 best films of the century. Kong making his last stand atop the Empire State Building is one of the film's most indelible and iconic images. --Donald Liebenson, Amazon.comOn the DVD: Although a little light on extras, this is happily the Director's Cut, restoring scenes that were censored after the film's original 1933 run, including Kong peeling off Fay Wray's clothes like a banana, and our hirsute hero using unfortunate natives as dental floss. The ratio of 4:3 is correct for a film of this age; the picture and (mono) sound are perfectly acceptable without being revelatory. The 25-minute "making of" documentary from 1992 is a 60th anniversary tribute to the film, which details all of Kong's many ground-breaking contributions to cinema, from Willis O'Brien's use of stop-motion and rear projection effects to Max Steiner's music score. There are contributions from film historians, modern admirers of the film including composer Jerry Goldsmith--who admits that Steiner created a template that Hollywood composers are still following--and a few surviving participants such as sound effects man Murray Spivak. Apparently, director Merian C. Cooper's original idea was to capture live gorillas, transport them to the island of Komodo and film them fighting the giant lizards! Thanks to Willis O'Brien's pioneering effects work good sense prevailed and a cinema classic was born. --Mark Walker

• Wild Bill | DVD | (01/03/2004) from £9.33   |  Saving you £3.66 (39.23%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Audiences overlooked Wild Bill at the cinema, but it's one of the better Westerns of the 1990s, featuring yet another terrific performance by Jeff Bridges, America's most underrated movie actor. As James Butler Hickock, he captures the sense of a man at the end of his career, one of the first media superstars who discovers that his legend is more burden than blessing. As he heads toward his final hand of poker in Deadwood, South Dakota, he flashes back to his younger days and the events that built his reputation, even as he copes with encroaching blindness caused by syphilis. Walter Hill blends action and elegy, utilising a screenplay based both on Pete Dexter's novel Deadwood and Thomas Babe's play Fathers and Sons. Wild Bill features strong supporting performances by John Hurt (as a Hickock sidekick) and Ellen Barkin (as the tough, lusty Calamity Jane)--but the centrepiece is the sad, manly performance by Bridges, who more than measures up to the part. --Marshall Fine

• Dad's Army - Series 6 | DVD | (08/05/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Vintage comedy by Jimmy Perry and David Croft. As Walmington-on-Sea trembles at the thought of a mighty Nazi invasion the indefatigable Captain Mainwaring and his eager Home Guard are ready and waiting - regardless that some of them are so old they can hardly stand up... Starring Arthur Lowe John Le Mesurier and Clive Dunn. Winner of 3 Writers Guild awards and a BAFTA. Episodes Comprise: 1. The Deadly Attachment 2. My British Buddy 3. The Royal Train 4. We Knows Our Onions

• The Longest Yard | Blu Ray | (16/05/2023) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Point Break | DVD | (30/06/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Efficiently directed by Kathryn Bigelow and featuring some diverting action scenes, 1991's Point Break can be credited with anticipating the extreme-sports fad. A rash of daring bank robberies erupt in which the bad guys all wear the masks of worse guys--former presidents (nice touch). Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves), an impossibly named former football star who blew out his knee and became a crime-busting federal agent instead, figures out that none of the heists occur during surfing season and all of them occur when, so to speak, surf's down. So obviously, he reasons, we're dealing with some surfer-dude bank robbers. He goes undercover with just such a group, led by a very spiritual guru-type Patrick Swayze, who has some muddled philosophies when it comes to materialism. Reeves' intelligent-sounding lines don't make him seem remotely intelligent, but the plot makes him look positively brilliant. --David Kronke

• Catherine Cookson - The Tide Of Life | DVD | (23/07/2007) from £6.73   |  Saving you £-1.74 (-34.90%)   |  RRP £4.99

  Catherine Cookson's heart-rending tale of Emily Kennedy and her relationship with three different men.

• Dad's Army - Series 4 | DVD | (08/08/2005) from £6.24   |  Saving you £9.75 (156.25%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Who do you think you are kidding Mr. Hitler If you think we're on the run. We are the boys who will stop your little game We are the boys who will make you think again. So who do you think you are kidding Mr. Hitler If you think old England's done. Mr. Brown goes off to town on the 8:21. But he comes home each evening and he's ready with his gun. So who do you think you are kidding Mr. Hitler If you think old England's done. The hapless homeguard of Walmington-On-Sea

• Lost Horizon | DVD | (06/10/2011) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• The Blues Brothers | DVD | (05/06/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  For a limited time only, Universal Pictures are re-releasing some of their most beloved Cinema Classics in cinemas around the UK, including "The Blues Brothers".

• Hairspray Special Edition | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £5.94   |  Saving you £19.05 (320.71%)   |  RRP £24.99

  It's 1962 and change is in the air in Baltimore. Tracy Turnblad a girl with big hair and big dreams has only one passion in life - to dance on The Corny Collins Show. When her chance arrives she grooves her way into instant stardom and the eyes of teen dream Link Larkin (Zac Efron). But with the program's scheming stage manager (Michelle Pfeiffer) against her trend-setting Tracy will need the help of her best friend Penny (Amanda Bynes) her big-hearted mother (John Travolta) and sassy co-host Motormouth Maybelle (Queen Latifah) to show the world that all it takes to make a dream come true is a toe-tappin' beat and a little Hairspray!

• Bergerac - Series 7 - Complete | DVD | (14/07/2008) from £18.09   |  Saving you £6.90 (38.14%)   |  RRP £24.99

  The tough talking no-nonsense Jim Bergerac works for Jersey police's Bureau des ''‰trangers. Powering along in his signature red Triumph Roadster Bergerac hits the trail of villains murderers spies and smugglers with the island scenery as a glorious backdrop. Series Seven finds Bergerac troubled in his work and love life. With Barney Crozier moving up the promotional ladder yet again the future of the Bureau is in jeopardy - although of course Charlie Hungerford is still around to keep the detective busy! Meanwhile Bergerac's relationship with Susan Young is heading straight for the rocks. Episodes Comprise: 1. Sea Changes 2. Natural Enemies 3. Tangos In The Night 4. The Other Woman 5. Weekend Off 6. When Did You Last See Your Father? 7. Old Aquaintance 8. Trenchard's Last Case 9. Second Time Around

• A Touch of Frost: Series 3 | DVD | (01/06/2009) from £13.50   |  Saving you £11.49 (85.11%)   |  RRP £24.99

  The complete third series of investigations by Detective Frost... Episodes comprise: 'Appropriate Adults' 'Quarry' 'Dead Male One' and 'No Refuge'.

• El Dorado | Blu Ray | (04/12/2017) from £5.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Legendary producer-director Howard Hawks teams with two equally legendary stars, John Wayne and Robert Mitchum, in this classic Western drama. Mitchum plays to perfection an alcoholic but gutsy sheriff who relentlessly battles the dark side of the wild West, ruthless cattle barons and crooked businessmen. The Duke gives an equally adept performance as the sheriff's old friend who knows his way around a gunfight. Filled with brawling action and humor, El Dorado delivers the goods. James Caan and Ed Asner co-star.

• Hellboy II: The Golden Army | Blu Ray | (06/05/2019) from £21.85   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  The fate of mankind hangs in the balance in Hellboy II: The Golden Army when a ruthless prince awakens an unstoppable army of creatures and wages war with the human world. It's up to Hellboy (Ron Perlman) and his team of paranormal outcasts to face off with the forces of darkness in the ultimate battle of good versus evil! Prepare to be taken by the visionary director of The Shape of Water (Guillermo del Toro) into a fantastical world with imaginative creatures and thrilling fight sequences unlike anything you've ever seen before! Disc 1: FOR THE ULTIMATE MOVIE WATCHING EXPERIENCE, THIS DISC FEATURES: ¢ 4X sharper picture than HD ¢ HDR (HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE) for brilliant brights and deepest darks ¢ IMMERSIVE AUDIO for a multi-dimensional sound experience ¢ COMMENTARIES Disc 2: Blu-ray Movie + Bonus Features: ¢ FEATURE COMMENTARY WITH DIRECTOR GUILLERMO DEL TORO (PLUS PROLOGUE) ¢ FEATURE WITH CAST COMMENTARY ¢ SCENE EXPLORER: SCHUFFTEN GOGGLE VIEW ¢ DIRECTORS NOTEBOOK ¢ SET VISITS ¢ CONCEPT ART GALLERY

• Mountains Of The Moon | DVD | (08/09/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Bob Rafelson's Mountains Of The Moon based on William Harrison's biographical novel 'Burton and Speke' tells the story of 19th century explorers Captain R.F. Burton (Patrick Bergin) and Lt. John Hanning Speke's (Iain Glen) 1854 expedition to Africa to find the source of the river Nile. Shot in the actual locations where the events unfolded the protagonists sustain injuries and illness and encounter animosity from tribes as they struggle with the uncompromising African wilderness. T

• Dragonslayer | Blu Ray | (21/03/2023) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Scorpio | DVD | (02/02/2004) from £15.23   |  Saving you £-2.24 (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Though not quite a classic, director Michael Winner's Scorpio is still an underrated espionage thriller that was well attuned to the political cynicism of its time. Burt Lancaster plays Cross, a CIA operative who dates back to the agency's earliest days as the OSS. Scorpio (Alain Delon) is a protégé of Cross, and one of Cross's best friends in a netherworld where everyone's allegiances, personal and political, are in question. Higher-ups within the intelligence agency decide that Cross knows too much and is better off eliminated; at first, Scorpio refuses the job until the CIA frames him on a phoney narcotics bust and coerces him into the assignment. The two men play a game of global cat-and-mouse as Cross consorts with his Russian counterparts--fellow ageing dinosaurs in a young man's game. Cross's links with the Russians go back to the days of the Spanish Civil War and the time when Cross was given the ironic label of "premature anti-Fascist" by the House Unamerican Activities Committee. The incredibly convoluted plot is rife with double-crosses and reverse double-crosses, in an environment in which nothing is quite as it seems and no one is to be trusted. Winner infuses enough energy and excitement into the film's many action segments to make Scorpio worthy of comparison to John Frankenheimer's best political thrillers. The director also throws in several curveballs, such as the zither music during a meeting in a Vienna café (shades of The Third Man) and the preposterous device of disguising Lancaster as an African-American priest. The best line must be "I want Cross, and I want him burned!" --Jerry Renshaw

• Kalifornia | DVD | (22/05/2000) from £12.98   |  Saving you £7.01 (54.01%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Directed with a cool remove by Dominic Sena, Kalifornia falls somewhere between Badlands and Natural Born Killers. David Duchovny is a blocked author with a fascination for outlaw killers who hatches a plan to road trip through America's mass-murder landmarks to finish his book. He enlists the help of his frustrated photographer girlfriend Michelle Forbes, who desperately wants to leave the East Coast for LA, and they advertise for riding partners. Luckily for them, they wind up with a veteran killer, the greasy trailer-park ex-con Brad Pitt, who decides to skip parole with his cowering child-woman girlfriend Juliette Lewis. Duchovny is enamoured by gun-toting Pitt's recklessness and lawless disregard for, well, everything--simultaneously terrified and thrilled by Pitt's brutal beating of a barfly. Meanwhile, Pitt's leaving a trail of corpses in their wake. Pitt brings a ferocious magnetism to his part, but it's still hard to buy genial Duchovny's odd attraction; Juliette Lewis conveys a terrifying sense of victimization with her poor dumb creature. Despite the film's best efforts, it never really plumbs the psyche of Pitt's simmering psycho--he's just plain bad, you know--but it does fashion an effective little thriller out of the tensions brewing in the restless quartet. --Sean Axmaker, Amazon.com