"Actor: John Jones"

• Anastasia | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £2.83   |  Saving you £3.16 (111.66%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Stomping out their usual cuteness and carbon copying Disney's grand animation style to a tee, directors Don Bluth and Gary Goldman (An American Tail) create a successful musical comedy from the story of the lost Russian princess. Adapting the story of imperialism and revolution is tricky, and subsequently the film's opening is weak. Once Anya (voiced by Meg Ryan, sung by Liz Callaway) is a teenager and on her own (suffering from some degree of amnesia), Anastasia is quite pleasing though never refreshingly new. 20th Century Fox's big-money gamble to horn in on Disney's realm is worthy. The songs, especially the recurrent "Once Upon a December" by Broadway team Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, are better than Disney's recent efforts. It's worth picking up the soundtrack. The mix of cell animation and computer work is vivid. The collection of vocal talent is also strong, from John Cusack (as Dimitri, who wants to earn the reward by bringing Anya to Paris) to Hank Azaria as an amusing albino bat. Kelsey Grammer helps turn a roly-poly sidekick into a warm and strong supporting character. The biggest drawback is Bluth/Goldman's insistence on having a typical villain. Surprisingly, the story would be strong enough without one and the undead corpse of Rasputin (Christopher Lloyd) is unneeded and unoriginal. --Doug Thomas

• The Emperor's New Groove (Disney) | DVD | (05/11/2001) from £4.05   |  Saving you £2.90 (71.60%)   |  RRP £6.95

  This new Disney animated feature is set in a mythical South American land and tells of an arrogant emperor who learns a valuable lesson about life when an evil sorceress plots to take over his empire.

• Monty Python's Life Of Brian | Blu Ray | (03/12/2007) from £9.99   |  Saving you £10.00 (100.10%)   |  RRP £19.99

  You could say this is one of the greatest comedies ever but the Monty Python team said it first! Life of Brian is all about (and here's the big surprise) the life of Brian who was born in a Bethlehem manger next door to Jesus. Three wise men believe he is the messiah but it becomes apparent that he is only Brian. It's written and performed by the Monty Python lads so you know what you're in for; if you don't put this disc down and go out while it's safe!

• Monty Python's Life Of Brian | DVD | (14/04/2003) from £5.32   |  Saving you £7.67 (144.17%)   |  RRP £12.99

  There is not a single joke, sight-gag or one-liner in Monty Python's Life of Brian that will not forever burn itself into the viewer's memory as being just as funny as it is possible to be, but--extraordinarily--almost every indestructibly hilarious scene also serves a dual purpose, making this one of the most consistently sustained film satires ever made. Like all great satire, the Pythons not only attack and vilify their targets (the bigotry and hypocrisy of organised religion and politics) supremely well, they also propose an alternative: be an individual, think for yourself, don't be led by others. "You've all got to work it out for yourselves", cries Brian in a key moment. "Yes, we've all got to work it our for ourselves", the crowd reply en masse. Two thousand years later, in a world still blighted by religious zealots, Brian's is still a lone voice crying in the wilderness. Aside from being a neat spoof on the Hollywood epic, it's also almost incidentally one of the most realistic on-screen depictions of the ancient world--instead of treating their characters as posturing historical stereotypes, the Pythons realised what no sword 'n' sandal epic ever has: that people are all the same, no matter what period of history they live in. People always have and always will bicker, lie, cheat, swear, conceal cowardice with bravado (like Reg, leader of the People's Front of Judea), abuse power (like Pontius Pilate), blindly follow the latest fads and giggle at silly things ("Biggus Dickus"). In the end, Life of Brian teaches us that the only way for a despairing individual to cope in a world of idiocy and hypocrisy is to always look on the bright side of life. On the DVD: Life of Brian returns to Region 2 DVD in a decent widescreen anamorphic print with Dolby 5.1 sound--neither are exactly revelatory, but at least it's an improvement on the previous release, which was, shockingly, pan & scan. The 50-minute BBC documentary, "The Pythons", was filmed mainly on location in 1979 and isn't especially remarkable or insightful (a new retrospective would have been appreciated). There are trailers for this movie, as well as Holy Grail plus three other non-Python movies. There's no commentary track, sadly. --Mark Walker

• Sleepy Hollow | Blu Ray | (27/02/2023) from £8.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Master storyteller Tim Burton (Batman, Edward Scissorhands) weaves an eerie, enchanting version of this classic tale of horror. Johnny Depp is Ichabod Crane, an eccentric investigator determined to stop the murderous Headless Horseman. Christina Ricci (Monster) is Katrina Van Tassel, the beautiful and mysterious girl with secret ties to the supernatural terror. Product Features Sleepy Hollow behind the legend Reflections on Sleepy Hollow

• The Sting | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Winner of seven Academy Awards including Best Picture, Director, and Screenplay, this critical and box-office hit from 1973 provided a perfect reunion for director George Roy Hill and stars Paul Newman and Robert Redford, who had previously delighted audiences with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in 1969. Set in 1936, The Sting features a pair of Chicago con artists (Newman and Redford) who find themselves in a high-stakes game against the master of all cheating mobsters (Robert Shaw) when they set out to avenge the murder of a mutual friend and partner. Using a bogus bookie joint as a front for their con of all cons, the two feel the heat from the Chicago Mob on one side and encroaching police on the other. But in a plot that contains more twists than a treacherous mountain road, the ultimate scam is pulled off with consummate style and panache. It's an added bonus that Newman and Redford were box-office kings at the top of their game, and while Shaw broods intensely as the Runyon-esque villain, The Sting is further blessed by a host of great supporting players including Dana Elcar, Eileen Brennan, Ray Walston, Charles Durning, and Harold Gould. Thanks to the flavourful music score by Marvin Hamlisch, this was also the movie that sparked a nationwide revival of Scott Joplin's ragtime jazz, which is featured prominently on the soundtrack. One of the most entertaining movies of the early 1970s, The Sting is a welcome throwback to Hollywood's golden age of the 30s that hasn't lost any of its popular charm. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

• The Emperor's New Groove | Blu Ray | (03/03/2014) from £9.98   |  Saving you £-1.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £6.99

  Experience Disney's outrageously funny modern classic The Emperor's New Groove presented for the first time ever on Blu-ray with perfect picture and sound. Featuring an all-star cast and the Academy Award - nominated song 'My Funny Friend and Me' (Best Music Original Song Sting and David Hartley 2000). The young and spoiled Emperor Kuzco (voiced by David Spade) is transformed into a llama as part of a plan by his advisor Yzma and her henchman Kronk (Patrick Warburton) to overthrow Kuzco's reign on the kingdom. Unwillingly paired with a peasant named Pacha (John Goodman) the ruler must set aside his difference in order to assume his place in the kingdom once again. Special Features: Behind the Scenes: The Research Trip Character Voices Creating Computer Generated Images Deleted Scenes: Destruction of Pacha's Village Pacha's Family Original Kuzcotopia Ending My Funny Friend and Me' Music Video Performed By Sting

• Life of Brian / Monty Python and the Holy Grail - Set | DVD | (03/10/2011) from £6.99   |  Saving you £1.00 (14.31%)   |  RRP £7.99

  Monty Python and the Holy Grail:Arthur, King of the Britons (Graham Chapman) assembles his Knights of the Round Table and takes them swiflty from Camelot, after a message from God, on a quest to find the Holy Grail! As they travel to the sound of their coconut banging servants, the banner of Knights encounter a castle of heavy resistance; guards throwing cows and chickens, Knights in the forest who say 'Ni!' and a cute looking rabbit that only the 'Holy Hand Grenade' can deal with. Satirising events of that time (including witch trials and the black plague), Monty Python create an hilarious take on the well known story and deliver some unforgettable moments.Life Of Brian:The second movie from the comedy team of Monty Python takes them back to biblical times, following Brian; born just a few doors down from Jesus, growing up a jew in Roman occupied Judea. As he falls for an attractive young rebel, Brian joins the separatist movement that will lead him to confront Roman Centurions and the well-known Pontius Pilate to determine his fate! Again satirising the times, Monty Python bring laughter to spectacles that at the time would be no laughing matter. Filmed in Tunisia, and with guest appearances including George Harrison and Spike Milligan, Life Of Brian is another hit from the comedy genius that is Monty Python.

• Spitfire | DVD | (10/09/2018) from £2.73   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  SPITFIRE is a cinematic, epic, sweeping tale of determination, vision and courage. It is the story of an aeroplane that was forged in competition, shaped as the war clouds gathered, and refined in the white heat of combat going on to become the most famous fighter plane ever made. Credited with changing the course of world history, this is the story of the Spitfire told personally in the words of the last-surviving combat veterans. With breath-taking aerial footage from the world's top aviation photographer John Dibbs and rare digitally re-mastered, archive footage from the tumultuous days of the 1940's, when her power in the skies was unrivalled; all combined with an incredible soundscape of the famous Merlin engine, pierced with gunfire, makes this a striking and poignant film.

• The Black Cauldron | DVD | (30/08/2010) from £3.40   |  Saving you £1.59 (46.76%)   |  RRP £4.99

  Walt Disney's 25th full-length animated classic The Black Cauldron is a spectacular fantasy adventure to leave your whole family spellbound. In the mystical land of Prydrain a young boy named Taran undertakes a heroic task. With a magic sword at his side Taran must prevent the evil Horned King from unleashing the supernatural powers of a mysterious black cauldron! Helped by the beautiful Princess Eilonwy a funny and furry creature named Gurgi and an adorable clairvoyant pig Taran defeats his loathsome enemy and learns along the way that friendship is a powerful source! In the tradition of such timeless classics as Peter Pan and The Sword in the Stone The Black Cauldron blends unparalleled animation and unforgettable characters into an action-packed adventure that will thrill you again and again.

• Edward Scissorhands | DVD | (27/11/2000) from £5.99   |  Saving you £6.00 (50.00%)   |  RRP £11.99

  Edward Scissorhands achieves the nearly impossible feat of capturing the delicate flavour of a fable or fairy tale in a live-action movie. The story follows a young man named Edward (Johnny Depp), who was created by an inventor (Vincent Price, in one of his last roles) who died before he could give the poor creature a pair of human hands. Edward lives alone in a ruined Gothic castle that just happens to be perched above a pastel-coloured suburb inhabited by breadwinning husbands and frustrated housewives straight out of the 1950s. One day, Peg (Dianne Wiest), the local Avon lady, comes calling. Finding Edward alone, she kindly invites him to come home with her, where she hopes to help him with his pasty complexion and those nasty nicks he's given himself with his razor-sharp fingers. Soon Edward's skill with topiary sculpture and hair design make him popular in the neighbourhood--but the mood turns just as swiftly against the outsider when he starts to feel his own desires, particularly for Peg's daughter Kim (Winona Ryder). Most of director Tim Burton's movies (such as Pee Wee's Big Adventure, Beetlejuice and Batman) are visual spectacles with elements of fantasy but Edward Scissorhands is more tender and personal than the others. Edward's wild black hair is much like Burton's, suggesting that the character represents the director's own feelings of estrangement and co-option. Johnny Depp, making his first successful leap from TV to film, captures Edward's child-like vulnerability even while his physical posture evokes horror icons like the vampire in Nosferatu and the sleepwalker in The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Classic horror films, at their heart, feel a deep sympathy for the monsters they portray; simply and affectingly, Edward Scissorhands lays that heart bare. --Bret Fetzer On the DVD: Tim Burton is famed for his visual style not his ability as a raconteur, so it's no surprise to find that his directorial commentary is a little sparse. When he does open up it is to confirm that Edward Scissorhands remains his most personal and deeply felt project. The second audio commentary is by composer and regular Burton collaborator Danny Elfman, whose enchanting, balletic score gets an isolated music track all to itself with his remarks in-between cues. Again, for Elfman this movie remains one of his most cherished works, and it is a real musical treat to hear the entire score uninterrupted by dialogue and sound effects but illuminated by Elfman's lucid interstitial remarks. Also on the disc are some brief interview clips, a "making of" featurette and a gallery of conceptual artwork. The anamorphic widescreen print looks simply gorgeous. --Mark Walker

• Porterhouse Blue | DVD | (19/05/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Set in Cambridge University Porterhouse Blue centres around the fictional Porterhouse College whose genially eccentric Fellows are the proud guardians of six centuries of tradition in which oar-pulling prowess and gourmet cuisine have taken priority over academic achievement. However the arrival of a new master threatens the old established order and events take a number of unexpected not to mention explosive turns...

• Q. - The Almost Complete Q | DVD | (20/11/2017) from £29.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Comedic madness in Spike Milligan's ground-breaking, wild, subversive and nonsensical BBC sketch comedy series from 1969 1980. Simply Media are delighted to announce release of Q: The Almost Complete Collection on DVD 20th November 2017, containing all surviving episodes from Qs 5-9 in this 5-disc set, on DVD together for the very first time. Originally shown by the BBC from 1969-1980, this BAFTA-nominated series is considered a landmark in British Comedy. The fast-paced, anarchic sketch comedy will delight fans of the series and Spike Milligan's work. Written by and starring BAFTA-winner Spike Milligan in a variety of silly outfits and outlandish situations involving idiot Boy Scouts, Adolf Hitler, and the Royal Family. The original Q5 of 1969 was heralded as the inspiration behind Monty Python's Flying Circus, which debuted a few months later. It's also one of the best showcases of Spike's surreal and eccentric humour. Sketches come in thick and fast, and jump from one plot point or location to another with no explanation, and sometimes no apparent conclusion. Bizarre, yes. Funny, most definitely! Terry Jones and I adored the Q... shows , recalled Michael Palin for Spike's biography, [Milligan] was the first writer to play with the conventions of television. The BBC initially delayed re-commissioning the ground-breaking Q series until the Monty Python series ended, despite the impact Q had already had on the world of alternative comedy, and at a time when Kenny Everett and Not the Nine O'clock News were further testing the limits of TV Comedy. However, the popular Q returned over 6 years later for four further series. It is clear to see Monty Python in Spike's work, with Life of Brian's Chris Langham on the writing team and Monty Python's Flying Circus director Ian MacNaughton directing some episodes. For Q8 and Q9, direction was taken over by the talented BAFTA-winning Ray Butt (Only Fools and Horses). Spike leads a fantastic cast of co-performers including John Bluthal (The Vicar of Dibley), Bob Todd (Superman III), John D. Collins (˜Allo ˜Allo), Peter Jones (The Rag Trade), and Margaret Nolan (Goldfinger), Alan Clare (Rising Damp) and a self-parodying David Lodge in yet more surreal, outrageous and determinedly under-prepared sketches and musical interludes. Enjoy all the madness and mayhem of Spike Milligan's Q again with this landmark DVD collection.

• Monty Python and the Holy Grail -- Two-disc set | DVD | (04/03/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The second best comedy ever made, Monty Python and the Holy Grail must give precedence only to the same team's masterpiece, The Life of Brian (1979). Even though most of this film's set-pieces are now indelibly inscribed in every Python fan's psyche, as if by magic they never seem to pall. And they remain endlessly, joyfully quotable: from the Black Knight ("It's just a flesh wound"), to the constitutional peasants ("Come and see the violence inherent in the system!") and the taunting French soldier ("Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!"). Not forgetting of course the migratory habits of European and African swallows... The film's mock-Arthurian narrative provides a sturdy framework for the jokes, and the authentic-looking production design is relentlessly and gloriously dirty. The miniscule budget turns out to be one of the film's greatest assets: Can't afford horses? Use coconuts instead. No money for special effects? Let Terry Gilliam animate. And so on, from Camelot ("it's only a model") to the rampaging killer rabbit glove puppet. True it's let down a little by a rushed ending, and the jokes lack the sting of Life of Brian's sharply observed satire, but Holy Grail is still timeless comedy that's surely destined for immortality. On the DVD: Disc One contains a digitally remastered anamorphic (16:9) print of the film--which is still a little grainy, but a big improvement on previous video releases--with a splendidly remixed Dolby 5.1 soundtrack (plus an added 24 seconds of self-referential humour "absolutely free"!). There are two commentaries, one with the two Terrys, co-directors Jones and Gilliam, the other a splicing together of three separate commentaries by Michael Palin, John Cleese (in waspish, nit-picking mood) and Eric Idle. A "Follow the Killer Rabbit" feature provides access either to the Accountant's invoices or Gilliam's conceptual sketches. Subtitle options allow you to read the screenplay or watch with spookily appropriate captions from Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part II. The second disc has lots more material, much of it very silly and inconsequential (an educational film on coconuts, the Camelot song in Lego and so on), plus a long-ish documentary from 2001 in which Palin and Jones revisit Doune Castle, Glencoe and other Scottish locations. Perhaps best of all, though, are the two scenes from the Japanese version with English subtitles, in which we see the search for the Holy sake cup, and the Ni-saying Knights who want... bonsai! --Mark Walker

• Sleepy Hollow | DVD | (27/02/2023) from £6.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Master storyteller Tim Burton (Corpse Bride, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) weaves an eerie, enchanting version of this classic tale of horror. Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean 1 & 2) is Ichabod Crane, an eccentric investigator determined to stop the murderous Headless Horseman. Christina Ricci (Monster) is Katrina Van Tassel, the beautiful and mysterious girl with secret ties to the supernatural terror. Product Features Sleepy Hollow behind the legend Reflections on Sleepy Hollow

• Monty Python And The Holy Grail (Extraordinarily Deluxe Edition) | DVD | (09/10/2006) from £7.55   |  Saving you £17.44 (230.99%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Yoiks! Here be the Python's tale of good King Arthur (Graham Chapman) and his knights as they quest for the Holy Grail. Watch as they face great odds and silly sods. See them wage battle against the fierce Killer Rabbit (""Run Away! Run Away!"") and (oh horrors!) see them confront the dreaded Knights Who Say ""Ni!"". Oh these be trying times. Can these good knights pass the test of valour and cut down yon tree with herring? Or will they blow themselves to smithereens with the Holy H

• Tag | DVD | (05/11/2018) from £6.42   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  For one month every year, five highly competitive friends hit the ground running in a no-holds-barred game of tag they've been playing since the first graderisking their necks, their jobs and their relationships to take each other down with the battle cry: You're It! This year, the game coincides with the wedding of their only undefeated player, which should finally make him an easy target. But he knows they're coming and he's ready. Based on a true story, the New Line Cinema comedy Tag shows how far some guys will go to be the last man standing.

• Spitfire | Blu Ray | (10/09/2018) from £11.56   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  SPITFIRE is a cinematic, epic, sweeping tale of determination, vision and courage. It is the story of an aeroplane that was forged in competition, shaped as the war clouds gathered, and refined in the white heat of combat going on to become the most famous fighter plane ever made. Credited with changing the course of world history, this is the story of the Spitfire told personally in the words of the last-surviving combat veterans. With breath-taking aerial footage from the world's top aviation photographer John Dibbs and rare digitally re-mastered, archive footage from the tumultuous days of the 1940's, when her power in the skies was unrivalled; all combined with an incredible soundscape of the famous Merlin engine, pierced with gunfire, makes this a striking and poignant film.

• Atomic Blonde (DVD + digital download) | DVD | (04/12/2017) from £3.09   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Oscar®-winner Charlize Theron stars as elite MI6's most lethal assassin and the crown jewel of Her Majesty's Secret Intelligence Service, Lorraine Broughton. When she's sent on a covert mission into Cold War Berlin, she must use all of the spycraft, sensuality and savagery she has to stay alive in the ticking time bomb of a city simmering with revolution and double-crossing hives of traitors. Broughton must navigate her way through a deadly game of spies to recover a priceless dossier while fighting ferocious killers along the way in this breakneck action-thriller from director David Leitch (John Wick). Also includes a standard Blu-ray disc. Click Images to Enlarge

• Coming to America 1 & 2 | DVD | (07/03/2022) from £7.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Coming to America: Join EDDIE MURPHY (Norbit, Dreamgirls) on an unforgettable comic quest to the New World. As an African prince, it's time for him to find a princess... and the mission leads him and his most loyal friend (ARSENIO HALL) to Queens, New York. In disguise as an impoverished immigrant, the pampered prince relishes the chance to test his mettle in the urban wilderness. Keep an eye out for both Murphy and Hall in some unforgettable cameo roles! Coming 2 America: Akeem and Semmi are back! Set in the lush and royal country of Zamunda, newly crowned King Akeem (Eddie Murphy) and his trusted confidante Semmi (Arsenio Hall) embark on an all-new hilarious adventure that has them traversing the globe from their great African nation to the borough of Queens, New York where it all began. Returning to their original roles in this long-awaited sequel are James Earl Jones, John Amos, Louie Anderson, and Shari Headley, alongside new characters from Wesley Snipes, Tracy Morgan, and Leslie Jones.