"Actor: John Locke"

• Alan Bennett At The BBC | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £13.13   |  Saving you £16.86 (128.41%)   |  RRP £29.99

  Alan Bennett At The BBC

• Robocop Trilogy | DVD | (04/02/2002) from £39.99   |  Saving you £-7.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £32.99

  Paul Verhoeven was almost unknown in Hollywood prior to the release of RoboCop in 1987. But after this ultra-violent yet strangely subversive and satirical sci-fi picture became a huge hit his reputation for extravagant and excessive, yet superbly well-crafted filmmaking was assured. Controversial as ever, Verhoeven saw the blue-collar cop (Peter Weller) who is transformed into an invincible cyborg as "an American Jesus with a gun", and so the film dabbles with death and resurrection imagery as well as mercilessly satirising Reagan-era America. No targets escape Verhoeven's unflinching camera eye, from yuppie excess and corporate backstabbing to rampant consumerism and vacuous media personalities. As with his later sci-fi satire Starship Troopers the extremely bloody violence resolutely remains on the same level as a Tom and Jerry cartoon. The inevitable sequel, competently directed by Irvin Kershner, thankfully continues to mine the dark vein of anti-consumerist satire while being reflexively aware that it is itself a shining example of that which it is lampooning. Sadly the third instalment in the series, now without Peter Weller in the title role, is exactly the kind of dumbed-down production-line flick that the corporate suits of OCP might have dreamed up at a marketing meeting. Its only virtue is a decent music score from regular Verhoeven collaborator Basil Poledouris, whose splendid march theme returned from the original score. On the DVD: Packaged in a fold-out slipcase these three discs make a very collectable set. All are presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic prints, although only the first movie has any extra material worth mentioning. Here the Director's Cut option allows the viewer to see Paul Verhoeven's more explicitly violent versions of Murphy's "assassination", ED-209's bloody malfunction and the shootout finale. These extended sequences are handily signposted in the scene selection menu, and the filming of them can be seen in a sequence of Director's Cut footage. Deleted scenes include "Topless Pizza" ("I'll buy that for a dollar!") and there are two contemporary "making of" featurettes plus a good, new half-hour retrospective. Both the latter and the director's commentary make abundantly clear the Reagan-era satire and are chock full of quotable lines from Verhoeven--"I wanted to show Satan killing Jesus"--and his producer--"Fascism for liberals". Stop-motion animator Phil Tippett gives a commentary on the storyboard-to-film comparisons, and there are the usual trailers and photos. Showing just how much the sequels are rated in comparison, the second and third discs have nothing but theatrical trailers and their sound is just Dolby 2.0 whereas the original movie has been remastered into Dolby 5.1.--Mark Walker

• Clint Eastwood Westerns Collection (3 Discs) | Blu Ray | (17/04/2019) from £16.15   |  Saving you £23.84 (147.62%)   |  RRP £39.99

  Classic westerns collection of 3 Blu-ray discs starring Clint Eastwood in 1080p High Definition.

• The Favourite | Blu Ray | (13/05/2019) from £7.51   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Early 18th century. England is at war with the French. Nevertheless, duck racing and pineapple eating are thriving. A frail Queen Anne (Olivia Colman) occupies the throne and her close friend Lady Sarah (Rachel Weisz) governs the country while tending to Anne's ill health and mercurial temper. When a new servant Abigail (Emma Stone) arrives, her charm endears her to Sarah. Sarah takes Abigail under her wing and Abigail sees a chance at a return to her aristocratic roots.

• The Dirty Harry Collection -- five-disc box set | DVD | (21/01/2002) from £40.99   |  Saving you £5.00 (12.20%)   |  RRP £45.99

  Dirty" Harry Callahan was one of the first screen characters to embody contemporary fears about crime--and the uncompromising response to it that much of the audience would liked to have seen. Clint Eastwood's laconic rogue cop became an instant screen icon; his catchphrases ("Do you feel lucky?", "Make my day") were and still are endlessly quoted, and he even inspired a futuristic comic-strip counterpart in the person of Judge Dredd. Made at the time when the real "Zodiac" serial killer was terrorising San Francisco, the original Dirty Harry struck a frighteningly realistic note in 1971: aside from Eastwood, director Don Siegel's taught, pacey direction, Lalo Schifrin's nervy jazz score and Andrew Robinson's cackling psycopath "Scorpio" all make a strong impact. Such was the film's success that it gave rise to no less than four sequels, none of which are its equal but all of which get by on the charisma of Eastwood's anti-hero, even when he's increasingly trapped by the character's one-dimensional persona. This five-disc box set contains all the "Harry" movies: Dirty Harry (1971); Magnum Force (1973, with David Soul as a vigilante bike cop); The Enforcer (1976, with Tyne "Lacey" Daly as Harry's new and reluctant partner); Sudden Impact (1983, the weakest of the lot costarring Eastwood's then-partner Sondra Locke) and The Dead Pool (1988, a surprisingly upbeat end to the series). --Mark Walker

• Arabesque | DVD | (05/05/2008) from £12.65   |  Saving you £-2.66 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Gregory Peck stars as hieroglyphics expert Professor David Pollock in this hugely enjoyable tongue-in-cheek espionage-thriller. Sophia Loren stars alongside as the beautiful but suspect Yasmin Asir the lover of Pollock's employer. David Pollock's routine is turned upside down when he's hired to translate an ancient message written in an obscure mysterious text. Soon everyone from a wealthy oil magnate to a foreign government pursue Pollock for his knowledge desperate to uncover the meaning behind the message. Featuring a score by Henri Mancini and a stylish colourful interpretation of London and the culture of the time Arabesque is never less than a hugely enjoyable witty thriller.

• The Hills Have Eyes | DVD | (29/09/2003) from £7.93   |  Saving you £-1.94 (-32.40%)   |  RRP £5.99

  A classic of shock cinema, Wes Craven's tale follows a family vacation which turns into a holiday from hell.

• Millionenraub in San Francisco / Preisgekrönter Gangsterfilm mit Starbesetzung (Pidax Film-Klassiker) | DVD | (06/05/2022) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Starman | DVD | (08/04/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Starman is easily director John Carpenter's warmest and most beguiling film, and the only one that ever earned him an Oscar nomination. While most movie buffs are likely to call Halloween the best movie from Carpenter, die-hard romantics and anyone who cried while watching E.T. will vote in favour of the director's 1984 hit. Jeff Bridges is the alien visitor to Earth who is knocked off course and must take an interstate road trip to rendezvous with a mothership from his home planet. To complete this journey he assumes the physical form of the dead husband of a Wisconsin widow (Karen Allen) who responds first with fear, then sympathy, and finally love. Carpenter's graceful strategy is to switch the focus of this E.T.-like film from science fiction to a gentle road-movie love story, made believable by the memorable performances of Bridges and Allen. It's a bit heavy-handed with tenacious government agents who view the Starman as an alien threat (don't they always?), but Carpenter handles the action with intelligent flair, sensitivity and lighthearted humour. If you're not choked up during the final scene, well, you just might not be human. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com On the DVD: Starman on disc is presented in anamorphic widescreen transferred from NTSC and letterboxed at 2.35.1. The picture is clear and sharp with very little grain. The soundtrack is crisp, perfectly complementing the romantic nature of this film. The overriding reason to shell out on this special edition is the commentary from John Carpenter and Jeff Bridges, in which director and actor show a genuine affection for the film. Other extras are a featurette filmed around the original release in 1884, a music video starring Bridges and costar Karen Allen covering The Everly Brothers classic "All I Have to Do is Dream", and a trailer for Close Encounters of the Third Kind. --Kristen Bowditch

• The Plague Dogs | DVD | (09/09/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £2.99

  An animated adventure from the artistic team behind 'Watership Down'. A pair of dogs Rowf (Christopher Benjamin) and Snitter (John Hurt) escape from an animal research facility situated in a remote part of the English countryside. Rowf is cynical and mistrusting of humans having only known the tortured existence of being a laboratory animal. Snitter on the other hand had previously enjoyed life as a domestic pet and longs to be loved and cared for by a human master once again. Unprepared for life in the wild the pair befriend a fox The Tod (James Bolam) who helps them learn to survive in the bleak environment by feeding on the area's livestock. As the authorities attempt to track down the escapees things take a turn for the worse when a deliberately leaked story suggests the dogs may be infected with the bubonic plague...

• Nazareth - Hair Of The Dog - Live | DVD | (30/03/2009) from £17.53   |  Saving you £-4.54 (-34.90%)   |  RRP £12.99

• Trouble In Mind | DVD | (15/05/2000) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  An ex-cop (Kristofferson) just released from jail returns home to see his old flame Wanda (Bujold). She runs a steamy caf'' and it is here that he befriends a beautiful young woman and her creepy punk boyfriend (Carradine). In a futuristic urban setting we watch their relationships develop as they move in their hazy world brushing against the criminal fraternity.

• Legendary Ladies of Hollywood | DVD | (08/12/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  Legendary Ladies Of Hollywood includes performances from Lucille Ball Cher Raquel Welch Jill St. John Brooke Shields Cybill Shephard Gladys Knight Tom Jones Tina Turner Ella Fitzgerald Sondra Locke Dusty Springfield Marisa Berenson Dionne Warwick Linda Ronstadt Chaka Khan Rita Coolidge Freda Payne and many more.