"Actor: John James"

• Zulu Dawn | DVD | (05/01/2004) from £9.99   |  Saving you £4.00 (40.04%)   |  RRP £13.99

  Cy Endfield cowrote the epic prequel Zulu Dawn 15 years after his enormously popular Zulu. Set in 1879, this film depicts the catastrophic Battle of Isandhlwana, which remains the worst defeat of the British army by natives--the British contingent was outnumbered 16-to-1 by the Zulu tribesmen. The film's opinion of events is made immediately clear in its title sequence: ebullient African village life presided over by King Cetshwayo is contrasted with aristocratic artifice under the arrogant eye of General Lord Chelmsford (Peter O'Toole). Chelmsford is at the heart of all that goes wrong, initiating the catastrophic battle with an ultimatum made seemingly for the sake of giving his troops something to do. His detached manner leads to one mistake after another and this is wryly illustrated in a moment when neither he nor his officers can be bothered to pronounce the name of the land they're in. That it's a beautiful land none the less is made clear by the superb cinematography, which drinks in the massive open spaces that shrink the British army to a line of red ants. Splendidly stiff-upper-lipped support comes from a heroic Burt Lancaster and a fluffy, yet gruff, Bob Hoskins. Although the story is less focused and inevitably more diffuse than the concentrated events of Rorke's Drift that followed soon after, Zulu Dawn is an unflinchingly honest depiction of British Imperial diplomacy. --Paul Tonks

• Point Break | DVD | (31/01/2000) from £6.97   |  Saving you £13.02 (186.80%)   |  RRP £19.99

  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 studly crime-busting fed 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, very guru-type guy played by Patrick Swayze, who has some muddled philosophies when it comes to materialism. If you can buy all that, this efficiently directed (by Kathryn Bigelow) action flick has some diverting moments (credit it, for example, for anticipating the extreme-sports fad). But Reeves' intelligent-sounding lines don't make him seem remotely intelligent and that plot makes him look positively brilliant. --David Kronke

• Northern Exposure - Series 4 | DVD | (31/07/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £34.99

  Welcome back to the slightly bizarre yet charming little logging town in Alaska. Reunite with the endearing quirky citizens of Cicely Alaska in the complete fourth season of the multi-Emmy award-winning series Northern Exposure. Episodes Comprise: 1. Northwest Passages 2. Midnight Sun 3. Nothing's Perfect 4. Heroes 5. Blowing Bubbles 6. On Your Own 7. The Bad Seed 8. Thanksgiving 9. Do the Right Thing 10. Crime and Punishment 11. Survival of the Species 12. Revela

• The BBC Sherlock Holmes Collection | DVD | (05/06/2006) from £34.88   |  Saving you £5.11 (14.65%)   |  RRP £39.99

  A collection of BBC adaptations featuring Arthur Conan Doyle's celebrated super-sleuth. A Study In Scarlet: Peter Cushing stars as the intrepid private eye Sherlock Holmes and has to perform a little forensic investigation. The Boscombe Valley Mystery: Peter Cushing stars as Sherlock Holmes in another unfathomable mystery story with Nigel Stock as his faithful sidekick. The Hound Of The Baskervilles: Classic two-part story starring Peter Cushing and Nigel Sto

• Drive | DVD | (02/06/2003) from £8.67   |  Saving you £-2.68 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Drive takes the standard American mismatched-buddies action comedy formula and turbo-charges it with furious Hong Kong wirework and martial arts. The result is a three-and-a-half million dollar "B" picture which looks like it cost 10 times more. The perfunctory story crosses Universal Solider (1992) with Rush Hour (1997) as a biologically enhanced Mark Dacascos flees a small army of Hong Kong assassins through California, teaming up with comedian Kadeem Hardison and delivering an almost unbelievable amount of bang per buck. Director Steve Wang stages the action with flair and clarity, the stunts, wirework and fights being exceptionally well-choreographed and shot. With Hardison's patter, two offbeat redneck assassins and a TV show about a frog with Einstein's brain there's abundant surprisingly genial humour, aided by Brittany Murphy's ditzy performance as a Twin Peaks-like teenager with hormones in overdrive. The cyborg aspect simply justifies the superhuman combat, but nevertheless a huge showdown in a retro-space age club is clearly styled after the "Tech Noir" bar sequence in The Terminator (1984), adding motorcycle killersstraight out of Rollerball (1975). Drive captures the rush of Hong Kong action movies yet almost has the feel of a musical, the mayhem replacing song and dance and offering more popcorn entertainment than many a bloated summer blockbuster.On the DVD: For such a low budget movie the 2.35:1 anamorphically enhanced image puts many far bigger features to shame, being pin-sharp throughout, with strong and accurate colours and minimal grain. The Dolby Digital 5.1 sound is equally strong, with sound-effects and music both having considerable impact, explosions ripping thorough the room like the latest Arnie shoot 'em up. There is a 47-minute retrospective documentary which is particularly interesting on the way the film was cut and restored for American release--this DVD presenting the director's cut which runs over 16 minutes longer than the US version. Six deleted/extended scenes are presented in a variety of formats, and it's easy to see why they were deleted. Also included are the original theatrical trailer, three photo galleries, cast and crew biographies and interview galleries with director Steve Wang and four of the main stars totalling about 20 minutes of material. The informative commentary track has Wang, Dacascos, Hardison and stunt co-ordinator Koichi Sakamoto revelling in their sheer enthusiasm for the movie and for Hong Kong action in general. --Gary S Dalkin

• Repulsion | Blu Ray | (24/03/2017) from £11.19   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Roman Polanski's psychological drama was his first English-language feature. A young Belgian woman (Catherine Deneuve) is left alone in a Kensington apartment when her sister goes away. She becomes increasingly unstable, experiencing hallucinations which have their roots in her fear of male sexuality. When two aggressive men turn up, her tortured nightmares spill into real life violence.

• Dynasty - Season 6 | DVD | (24/01/2011) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  The legend that is Dynasty reaches a spectacular new plateau in the monumental sixth season. Television immortal Aaron Spelling and creators Richard and Esther Shapiro bring all the trademark glamour stunning plot twists and masterful storytelling to soaring new heights. John Forsythe Joan Collins and Linda Evans headline the glittering cast along with the always-surprising lineup of superstar guests. These 30 compelling episodes dramatically raise the stakes of the raging war between the Carringtons and Colbys - with a gripping climax for the ages. Episodes Comprise: 1. The Aftermath 2. The Homecoming 3. The Californians 4. The Man 5. The Gown 6. The Titans 7. The Decision 8. The Proposal 9. The Close Call 10. The Quarrels 11. The Roadhouse 12. The Solution 13. Suspicions 14. The Alarm 15. The Vigil 16. The Accident 17. Souvenirs 18. The Divorce 19. The Dismissal 20. Ben 21. Masquerade 22. The Subpoenas 23. The Trial. Part 1 24. The Trial. Part 2 25. The Vote 26. The Warning 27. The Cry 28. The Rescue 29. The Triple-Cross 30. The Vendetta

• Bergerac - Series 6 | DVD | (30/01/2008) from £17.18   |  Saving you £10.80 (76.11%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Jersey's Finest returns for Series 6 of the popular series set in the channel Islands.

• Cats - Ultimate Edition | DVD | (13/10/2000) from £20.49   |  Saving you £-14.50 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Cats is a pop-cultural phenomenon that has been performed on stage for more than 50 million patrons in 26 countries for almost 18 years, resulting in more than two billion dollars in ticket sales. Now that Cats has finally made it to the small screen, attention must be paid not just by fans of this critic-proof show, but also by those entertainment mavens who have somehow avoided it until now. This video version has been restaged but, alas, not really reconceived for its new medium. Most of the cast--assembled from London, Amsterdam and New York productions--are competent. Ken Page as Old Deuteronomy, Jacob Brent as Mr Mistoffelees and Elaine Paige--the original London Grizabella, the Glamour Cat well past her prime--are a great deal more than that. Paige has toned down her theatrical belting of her big number, "Memory", and allowed the faded ruin of her character's soul to prevail in close-up. For all the covers of her signature song, Paige's version remains definitive. The video is, by definition, more intimate, which is not always a good thing: costumes are even more Halloweeny in garish close-up, the cats less cuddly without that all-important interaction, the stage's appropriately midnight lighting transmuted to a Las Vegas neon. And the chorus of cats in production numbers is even clunkier and more amorphous in two- and three-shots. The one complete newcomer to the cast is the 90-year-old icon among English actors, John Mills, a delight as Gus the Theatrical Cat. Sir John and his character show the youngsters how it's done in close-up, largely behind the eyes, abetted by a heart-tugging delivery of his one song. Yet virtually all of the songs are lip-synched, further robbing the video Cats of its onstage spontaneity. It's clearer than ever that Lloyd Webber's music is mostly twaddle, with the important exception of "Memory", which instantly and rightly became one of the genuine theatre standards not dependent on context, in the vein of Stephen Sondheim's "Send in the Clowns". On the plus side, most of the characters and lyrics, from TS Eliot's 14-poem Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, are far better defined and understood from the video version. --Robert Windeler, Amazon.com

• Dynasty - Series 3 | DVD | (18/05/2009) from £10.99   |  Saving you £14.00 (56.00%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Greed. Seduction. Betrayal. Revenge. Dynasty has it all and more! The formidable Alexis descends on the Carringtons like a force of nature while the devious Sammy Jo wreaks her own brand of havoc on her new family. Radiant stars Joan Collins and Heather Locklear join the award-winning ensemble cast which includes John Forsythe and Linda Evans. From television-producing icon Aaron Spelling and show creators Richard and Esther Shapiro this season skyrocketed Dynasty into the series that defined a decade and captured the imagination of viewers worldwide.

• A Night To Remember | DVD | (19/06/2007) from £5.49   |  Saving you £14.50 (264.12%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Two years after 20th Century Fox released its melodramatic disaster film Titanic in 1953, Walter Lord's meticulously researched book A Night to Remember surprised its publishers by becoming a phenomenal bestseller. Lord had an intuition that readers craved the reality of the Titanic disaster and not the romantically mythologised translations (like Fox's film, starring Barbara Stanwyck), which relied on fictional characters to "enhance" the world's worst maritime disaster. Lord's book proved that the truth was far more compelling than fiction, outlining the many "if onlys" (if only the iceberg had been spotted a few minutes earlier, etc.) that lent sombre irony to the loss of 1,500 Titanic passengers. Three years after Lord's book appeared, it was brought to the screen with the kind of riveting authenticity that Lord had insisted upon in his own research. The 1958 British production of A Night to Remember remains a definitive dramatization of the disaster, adhering to the known facts of the time and achieving a documentary-like immediacy that matches (and in some ways surpasses) the James Cameron epic released 39 years later. The film erroneously perpetuates the once-common belief that the Titanic sunk in one piece (instead of breaking in half as its bow began to plunge), but many other misconceptions are accurately corrected, and the intelligent screenplay by thriller master Eric Ambler is a model of factual suspense. By making Titanic the star of the film, director Roy Baker emphasises the excessive confidence of the booming industrial age and creates an intense you-are-there realism that pays tribute to Walter Lord's tenacious quest for truth. --Jeff Shannon

• Merlin | DVD | (15/07/2002) from £8.77   |  Saving you £1.22 (13.91%)   |  RRP £9.99

  What kind of guy was the wizard Merlin, anyway? He lives a long time, raises a boy to be a king, props up a Utopian empire with his magic and wisdom, and then watches as it all crumbles under such banal forces as vengeance and betrayal. This four-hour mini-series re-tells the story of Camelot and King Arthur from the perspective of the magic man who sacrifices a great deal to guide mortals toward a better destiny. Sam Neill plays Merlin as an accessible, flesh-and-blood fellow of real passion, powerless to undo the spell of a rival (Rutger Hauer) who has virtually imprisoned Merlin's great love, Nimue (Isabella Rossellini), but gifted enough to counter the treachery of Morgan Le Fey (Helena Bonham Carter) and the wicked Queen Mab (Miranda Richardson). The battle sequences and special effects are striking and original, and it is great fun to see such art-house movie actors as Richardson, Carter, Neill, etc., in fantasy entertainment the whole family can enjoy. (An unrecognizable Martin Short must be singled out, however, for a wonderful, largely dramatic performance as Mab's sidekick, Frik.) Directed by Steve Barron (The Adventures of Pinocchio), Merlin is a nice bit of glossy revisionism of a beloved legend. --Tom Keogh

• The Lakes | DVD | (06/10/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  The Lakes brought writer Jimmy McGovern and actor John Simm a great deal of critical praise in 1997. Following a particularly dry period for British TV drama, the show's realistic characterisations and their painfully honest decisions hit audiences hard. Simm is a twentysomething trapped in a life of compulsive gambling, theft and being on the dole in Liverpool. On a whim he heads north to the Lake District. He expects to find the countryside quietude where his hidden poetical leanings might find a home, but instead gets caught up in a community like any other. Lies, temptation and tragedy beset every household just as much as the big city. The focus of Series 1 is Danny's relationship with Emma (Emma Cunniffe) and the consequences of having a child. As time races by, his link to the Lakes becomes an exercise in torment when the eyes of blame fall easily upon him after the accidental deaths of four schoolgirls. Stoking the flames of a series of secondary explosions in waiting are a pair of affairs, one adulterous, the other complicated by religion. On the DVD: The Lakes Series 1 comes with two separate commentary tracks for the very first episode. In interviews, John Simm fondly recalls how cold the lake water was and director David Blair recalls putting him in it. It's a shame the two weren't recorded together. It's also a shame that's all there is in this package. Even a few cast biographies would have been welcome. Picture is 4:3 and stereo sound is as you'd expect from 1990s UK TV. --Paul Tonks

• Bride Of Chucky | Blu Ray | (23/10/2017) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Brace yourself: this is a clever, consistently entertaining and even inspired continuation of the mean-spirited slasher series. For those not in the know, Chucky is a mop-top kid's doll come to life with the soul of a serial killer and the voice of Brad Dourif (doing his best Jack Nicholson). Revived by his former paramour Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly, looking every inch a life-size Barbie in stiletto heels and skintight black leather), Chucky proceeds to turn his human sweetie into a pint-sized Talking Tina doll with attitude, and together they hit the road for a magic amulet and young new bodies to inhabit. They hitch a ride with sweet young runaways Katherine Heigl and Nick Stabile and leave a trail of corpses bloodied, burned and cut to ribbons. The kids are cute, but the real heat is generated by the latex lovers who use murder as foreplay and consummate their renewed romance in a night of passionate sex ("Shouldn't you wear a rubber?" "I'm all rubber!"). Hong Kong director Ronny Yu (The Bride with White Hair) directs with a light touch and against all odds transforms walking dolls Chucky and Tiffany into funny, energetic, full-blooded characters: l'amour fou has never been more crazy. John Ritter costars as Heigl's overprotective uncle (another obstacle on the road to dolly freedom) and Alexis Arquette is hilarious as a lanky goth nerd. The wild conclusion leaves room for another high-concept sequel. The DVD features two commentary tracks, a behind-the-scenes documentary, and "Jennifer Tilly's Diary." --Sean Axmaker, Amazon.com

• Concert For Diana | DVD | (05/11/2007) from £26.98   |  Saving you £-6.99 (-35.00%)   |  RRP £19.99

  31st August 2007 marked 10 years since the passing of Princess Diana. To mark this special occasion Princes William and Harry wanted to celebrate the life of their mother by putting together a moving and inspirational concert the 'Concert for Diana'. More than 60 000 people joined Prince William and Prince Harry at Wembley Stadium on 1st July 2007 to celebrate the life of their mother Diana Princess of Wales. Around 15 million people from across the UK watched Concert for Diana at home and it was broadcast to over 500 million homes in 140 countries. At the end of the concert Prince William and Prince Harry said a huge thank you to everyone involved in making the evening such a success. Prince William said: ""For us this has been the most perfect way of remembering her. And this is how she would want to be remembered."" Tracklist: 1. Elton John: Your Song 2. Prince William And Prince Harry: Welcome 3. Duran Duran: Sunrise Wild Boys Rio 4. James Morrison - You Give Me Something Wonderful World 5. 'Diana & Me': Professor Sir Magdi And Lisa Yacoub 6. Sienna Miller And Dennis Hopper 7. Lily Allen: Ldn Smile 8. Diana & Me: Doug Smith 9. Fergie: Glamorous Big Girls Don't Cry 10. 'Diana & Me': Clark Denmark 11. Kiefer Sutherland 12. The Feeling: Fill My Little World I Love It When You Call 13. 'Diana & Me': Gemma Quinn 14. Pharrell Williams: Drop It Like It's Hot She Wants To Move 15. Tribute: Bill Clinton 16. 'Diana & Me': Mike Whitlam And Sandra Tigica 17. Simon Cowell Ryan Seacrest And Randy Jackson 18. Nelly Furtado: Say It Right I'm Like A Bird Maneater 19. ""Diana And Ballet"" 20. Natasha Kaplinsky 21. English National Ballet: Swan Lake 22. Introduction: Live Aid 23. Status Quo: Rocking All Over The World 24. 'Diana & Me': Colin Dawson 25. Dennis Hopper 26. Joss Stone: You Had Me Under Pressure 27. Roger Hodgson: Dreamer The Logical Song Breakfast In America Give A Little Bit 28. 'Diana & Me': Audrey Watson 29. Fearne Cotton 30. Orson: Happiness No Tomorrow 31. 'Diana & Me': Ruth Sims And Jonathan Grimshaw 32. Gillian Anderson 33. Tom Jones With Joe Perry: Kiss I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor 34. Tom Jones With Joe Perry And Joss Stone: Ain't That A Lot Of Love 35. Will Young: Switch It On 36. Natasha Bedingfield: Unwritten 37. Diana & Me: Chris Anderson And Anne Grindrod 38. Boris Becker And John Mcenroe 39. Bryan Ferry: Slave To Love Make You Feel My Love Let's Stick Together 40. Tribute: Tony Blair 41. Cat Deeley 42. Diana And Musicals 43. Andrew Lloyd Webber 44. Anastacia: Jesus Christ Superstar 45. Connie Fisher And Andrea Ross: Memory 46. Overture: Phantom Of The Opera 47. Andrea Bocelli: Music Of The Night 48. Sarah Brightman And Josh Groban: All I Ask Of You 49. Donny Osmond Jason Donovan And Lee Mead: Any Dream Will Do 50. Kiefer Sutherland 51. Rod Stewart: Maggie May Baby Jane Sailing 52. Diana And Photographers 53. Patsy Kensit 54. Kanye West: Gold Digger Touch The Sky Stronger

• The First Great Train Robbery | DVD | (24/04/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  All aboard for runaway action and suspense in this riveting masterpiece from writer/director Michael Crichton! Starring Sean Connery Donald Sutherland and Lesley-Anne Down it's a spine-tingling and suavely performed adventure based on history's first great train robbery. This ingenious and wonderful crime caper delivers mile-a-minute thrills and breathtaking excitement. Connery is Edward Pierce a master thief who conceives a brilliant plan to steal a fortune in gold bars from a railway payroll car. But to pull off the most daring heist in history Pierce must join forces with a safecracker (Sutherland) and his own beautiful girlfriend (Down) in a series of intricately-plotted thefts that will test all of their nerve camaraderie and larcenous skill.

• Steel Dawn | DVD | (22/06/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £7.99

  Patrick Swayze stars in this post-apocalyptic science-fiction adventure set in a future that hearkens back to the wild and lawless old West. Nomad (Swayze) is a cowboy of sorts. A martial arts expert he's recently been hired to be the Peacemaker for the town of Meridian. The biggest peace that needs keeping is the one that doesn't exist between the rich Damnil who owns the land-rights to local water sources and a feisty widow. Will he be able to end their problems?

• Soldier Blue | Blu Ray | (18/08/2020) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• When The Boat Comes In - Series 2 | DVD | (19/04/2004) from £24.98   |  Saving you £37.00 (160.94%)   |  RRP £59.99

  James Bolam stars as the lovable rogue Jack Ford in this classic series set in Tyneside at the end of the First World War.

• Turtle's Progress - The Complete Series | DVD | (13/08/2012) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £39.99

  Its seedy London setting and sharp humour prefiguring Minder, which launched just six months later, this light-hearted ATV drama series centred on the exploits of the eponymous small-time crook first encountered in the 1975 thriller The Hanged Man. The series finds Turtle and his accomplice, retired hooligan Razor Eddie, in accidental possession of a van containing eighty safe deposit boxes - the proceeds of a major bank raid. From top-secret documents to mysterious chemical formulae, the highly valuable contents are soon being sought by their former owners, with a new adventure unfolding as each box is opened. The lovable petty thieves may have a new source of income, but they also find themselves dodging the law, in the form of the relentless but continually thwarted Superintendent Rafferty, their fellow lawbreakers, and some altogether more sinister characters. Devised and written by Edmund Ward (The Main Chance) with guest appearances from Antony Sher, Joss Ackland and Peter Bowles, among many others, its no surprise that this fresh, witty and original series has garnered a considerable cult following.