"Actor: John S"

• Footloose | DVD | (07/10/2002) from £3.95   |  Saving you £12.04 (304.81%)   |  RRP £15.99

  First released in 1984, Footloose now enjoys the same sort of semi-ironic nostalgic cachet as John Hughes' contemporary schlock-fests about angst-ridden teens with silly hair. This is partly due to the fact that, as breathtakingly predictable kids-against-the-squares romps go, it's really pretty tolerable, but it's mostly because of the soundtrack. The songs that appear in the film--notably Kenny Loggins' infectiously vapid title track, and gale-force screecher Bonnie Tyler's excruciating "Holding Out for a Hero"--are possessed of an awfulness so monolithic that they have transcended their era and become reliable floor-fillers at 80s nostalgia discos all over the western world. The plot, such as it is, sees the eerily androidal Kevin Bacon playing a hip rock & roll youth from the big city rebelling against the strictures of the conservative small town in which he finds himself living. Inevitably, he falls for the daughter of his nemesis, the local preacher (the latter, it has to be said, is played with some aplomb by John Lithgow, who very nearly wrings depth from a character otherwise straight out of the colour-by-numbers guide to movie-making). Inevitably, there are some dance sequences. Inevitably, the kids win out, and the grown-ups realise that maybe they aren't so bad after all. On the DVD: Footloose can be watched on disc, should you so desire, dubbed in German, Spanish, French or Italian. There also subtitles available in pretty well every European language, as well as Arabic, Hebrew, Russian and Turkish. Other than that there are no extras. --Andrew Mueller

• Columbo - Season 1-11 Complete (2011 Repackage) | DVD | (07/11/2011) from £84.99   |  Saving you £-45.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £39.99

  All ten seasons of the American detective drama featuring Peter Falk's now-classic depiction of the trenchcoat-clad detective Columbo. Columbo uses his humble ways and disingenuous demeanour to winkle out even the most well-concealed of crimes.

• The Thirty Nine Steps | DVD | (15/01/2001) from £4.99   |  Saving you £5.00 (100.20%)   |  RRP £9.99

  It's not the 1935 Hitchcock classic, but this sturdy 1978 adaptation of John Buchan's The Thirty Nine Steps is still a rollicking good adventure. In keeping with the Boys' Own derring-do of the story (set in Edwardian London and the Scottish Highlands), the movie maintains a brisk pace that's interrupted only for tea or cocktails. Robert Powell is Richard Hannay, the man who unwittingly becomes embroiled in a dastardly Prussian plot to assassinate the Greek Prime Minister. Framed for murder, Hannay must flee to Scotland and attempt to clear his name whilst outwitting the prune-faced Prussian agents. Among all the deftly choreographed action sequences and careful period settings there's a strong vein of humour in the film, and if it wasn't for the numerous murders there would be little reason for PG certification. The grand dénouement comes with the realisation that the predicted time for the assassination is linked to Big Ben; unlike the earlier movie this version climaxes memorably with Powell hanging from the clock's minute hand. It might not be Hitchcock behind the lens, but it's still jolly good fun. --Joan Byrne

• Blue Hawaii | DVD | (18/03/2002) from £5.99   |  Saving you £7.00 (116.86%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Elvis Presley's seventh film was the first of his "Hawaii trilogy" (a group completed by Girls! Girls! Girls! and Paradise, Hawaiian Style). While its story is daft--the King has just been released from his army-posting in Italy and returned to the islands, where he's trying to avoid working in his father's fruit business--the music, including "Blue Hawaii," "Almost Always True" and the beautiful "Can't Help Falling in Love", is not. Angela Lansbury plays Elvis's mother, who can't seem to get through to him. The film is directed by Elvis's frequent collaborator, Norman Taurog. --Tom Keogh

• The Hand That Rocks The Cradle | DVD | (05/02/2001) from £6.99   |  Saving you £8.00 (114.45%)   |  RRP £14.99

  A potboiler featuring a demented caretaker and a seemingly hapless suburban family, this is The Nanny of the 1990s. However, it is much more predictable than that 1965 Bette Davis psychodrama, and more graphic. It works only because Rebecca De Mornay makes us intensely uncomfortable as the disturbed au pair who wants to take care of much more than her employer's well-being. Annabella Sciorra plays the perfect mother of a flawless family. Her obstetrician, however, is less than wonderful, having enjoyed her examination much more than he should have. When she files sexual harassment charges against the repugnant doctor, he loses face--literally--after shooting himself in the head. Several months later, an ideal nanny shows up at her home. You guessed it--she's the doc's widow. The movie follows a tried and trusted formula, with the audience in on everything. However, the story does surprise us in intense and intimate ways. The visit to the obstetrician is one of the creepiest moments in the film. You definitely hear the voice of writer Amanda Silver in a plot concerned with the vulnerabilities of a family, a newborn, a marriage. Since we know so much up front, there is an overall lack of inventiveness in the plot machinations. It may not jolt us, but De Mornay does. It's unsettling to watch someone who appears so attractive and who behaves so kindly suddenly reveal hideous psychopathic tendencies. Restraining herself from going over the top, she instead oozes such malevolence you'll want to shudder. --Rochelle O'Gorman

• The 39 Steps | DVD | (19/06/2007) from £4.45   |  Saving you £11.54 (259.33%)   |  RRP £15.99

  A high point of Hitchcock's pre-Hollywood career, 1935's The Thirty-Nine Steps is the first and best of three film versions of John Buchan's rather stiff novel. Robert Donat plays Richard Hannay, who becomes embroiled in a plot to steal military secrets. He finds himself on the run; falsely accused of murder, while also pursuing the dastardly web of spies alluded to in the title. With a plot whose twists and turns match the hilly Scottish terrain in which much of the film is set, The Thirty-Nine Steps combines a breezy suavity with a palpable psychological tension. Hitchcock was already a master at conveying such tension through his cinematic methods, rather than relying just on situation or dialogue. Sometimes his ways of bringing the best out of his actors brought the worst out in himself. If the scene in which Donat is handcuffed to co-star Madeline Carroll has a certain edge, for instance, that's perhaps because the director mischievously cuffed them together in a rehearsal, then left them attached for a whole afternoon, pretending to have lost the key. The movie also introduces Hitchcock's favoured plot device, the "McGuffin" (here, the military secret), the unexplained device or "non-point" on which the movie turns. --David Stubbs

• The Blues Brothers, The / Blues Brothers 2000 | DVD | (26/03/2001) from £4.83   |  Saving you £8.16 (168.94%)   |  RRP £12.99

  The Blues Brothers: John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd--as "legendary" Chicago brothers Jake and Elwood Blues--brought their "Saturday Night Live" act to the big screen in this action-packed hit from 1980. As Jake and Elwood struggle to reunite their old band and save the Chicago orphanage where they were raised, they wreak enough good-natured havoc to attract the entire Cook County police force. The result is a big-budget stunt-fest on a scale rarely attempted before or since, including extended car chases that result in the wanton destruction of shopping malls and more police cars than you can count. Along the way there's plenty of music to punctuate the action, including performances by Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Cab Calloway and James Brown that are guaranteed to knock you out. Keep an eye out for Steven Spielberg as the city clerk who stamps some crucial paperwork near the end of the film. The Blues Brothers 2000: It's hard to ignore the sad and conspicuous absence of the late John Belushi, but this long-delayed sequel still has Dan Aykroyd to keep the music alive. Once again, Elwood's trying to reunite the original Blues Brothers Band, and this time he's got a strip-joint bartender (John Goodman) and a 10-year-old orphan named Buster (J Evan Bonifant) joining him at centre stage. It's a shameless clone of the first film, and nobody--especially not Aykroyd or director John Landis--seems to care that the story's not nearly as fun as the music. Of course there's a seemingly endless parade of stunts, including a non-stop pileup of police cars that's hilariously absurd, but what really matters here--indeed, the movie's only saving grace--is the great line-up of legendary blues musicians. Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Junior Wells, Eric Clapton, BB King, Jonny Lang, Eddie Floyd and Blues Traveler are among the many special guests assembled for the film, and their stellar presence makes you wonder if the revived Blues Brothers shouldn't remain an obscure opening act. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

• Beverly Hills Cop | DVD | (13/05/2002) from £5.80   |  Saving you £10.19 (175.69%)   |  RRP £15.99

  While its sequels were formulaic and safe, the first Beverly Hills Cop set out to explore some uncharted territory and succeeded. A blend of violent action picture and sharp comedy, the film has an excellent director, Martin Brest (Scent of a Woman), who finds some original perspectives on stock scenes (highway chases, police rousts) and hits a gleeful note with Murphy while skewering LA culture. Good support from Judge Reinhold and John Ashton as local cops not used to doing things the Detroit way (Murphy's character hails from the Motor City). Paul Reiser has a funny, brief moment at the beginning and Bronson Pinchot makes an hilarious impression in a great, never-to-be-duplicated scene with the star. --Tom Keogh

• A Clockwork Orange | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £4.24   |  Saving you £9.75 (229.95%)   |  RRP £13.99

  The controversy that surrounded Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of Anthony Burgess's dystopian novel A Clockwork Orange while the film was out of circulation suggested that it was like Romper Stomper: a glamorisation of the violent, virile lifestyle of its teenage protagonist, with a hypocritical gloss of condemnation to mask delight in rape and ultra-violence. Actually, it is as fable-like and abstract as The Pilgrim's Progress, with characters deliberately played as goonish sitcom creations. The anarchic rampage of Alex (Malcolm McDowell), a bowler-hatted juvenile delinquent of the future, is all over at the end of the first act. Apprehended by equally brutal authorities, he changes from defiant thug to cringing bootlicker, volunteering for a behaviourist experiment that removes his capacity to do evil.It's all stylised: from Burgess' invented pidgin Russian (snarled unforgettably by McDowell) to 2001-style slow tracks through sculpturally perfect sets (as with many Kubrick movies, the story could be told through decor alone) and exaggerated, grotesque performances on a par with those of Dr Strangelove (especially from Patrick Magee and Aubrey Morris). Made in 1971, based on a novel from 1962, A Clockwork Orange resonates across the years. Its future is now quaint, with Magee pecking out "subversive literature" on a giant IBM typewriter and "lovely, lovely Ludwig Van" on mini-cassette tapes. However, the world of "Municipal Flat Block 18A, Linear North" is very much with us: a housing estate where classical murals are obscenely vandalised, passers-by are rare and yobs loll about with nothing better to do than hurt people. On the DVD: The extras are skimpy, with just an impressionist trailer in the style of the film used to brainwash Alex and a list of awards for which Clockwork Orange was nominated and awarded. The box promises soundtracks in English, French and Italian and subtitles in ten languages, but the disc just has two English soundtracks (mono and Dolby Surround 5.1) and two sets of English subtitles. The terrific-looking "digitally restored and remastered" print is letterboxed at 1.66:1 and on a widescreen TV plays best at 14:9. The film looks as good as it ever has, with rich stable colours (especially and appropriately the orangey-red of the credits and the blood) and a clarity that highlights previously unnoticed details such as Alex's gouged eyeball cufflinks and enables you to read the newspaper articles which flash by. The 5.1 soundtrack option is amazingly rich, benefiting the nuances of performance as much as the classical/electronic music score and the subtly unsettling sound effects. --Kim Newman

• The Longest Day | Blu Ray | (01/01/2009) from £7.99   |  Saving you £15.00 (187.73%)   |  RRP £22.99

  On June 6 1944 the Allied Invasion of France marked the beginning of the end of Nazi domination over Europe. The attack involved 3 000 000 men 11 000 planes and 4 000 ships comprising the largest armada the world has ever seen. Presented in its original black & white version The Longest Day is a vivid hour-by-hour re-creation of this historic event. Featuring a stellar international cast and told from the perspectives of both sides it is a fascinating look at the massive preparations mistakes and random events that determined the outcome of one of the biggest battles in history. Winner of two Oscars (Special Effects and Cinematography) The Longest Day ranks as one of Hollywood's truly great war films.

• Ice Cold In Alex 60th Anniversary Edition | Blu Ray | (19/02/2018) from £10.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  1942: The Libyan war zone, North Africa. After a German invasion a British ambulance crew are forced to evacuate their base but become separated from the rest of their unit. Somehow they must make it to Alexandria, but how? Their only hope is a dilapidated ambulance named Katy and an irrational, alcoholic soldier known as Captain Anson. Facing landmines, Nazi troops, spies and the merciless, scorching, brutal environment of the desert, can Captain Anson face his demons and make the road to hell a journey to freedom? Features: NEW Steve Chibnall on J. Lee Thompson NEW Interview with Melanie Williams Senior Lecturer in Film Studies, University of East Anglia Interview with Sylvia Syms John Mills Home Video Footage Original Trailer Behind The Scenes Stills Gallery Extended Clip from A Very British War Movie Documentary

• Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit | DVD | (20/02/2006) from £11.43   |  Saving you £11.56 (101.14%)   |  RRP £22.99

  It's 'vege-mania' in Wallace and Gromit's first feature adventure.

• 2012 (2 Discs - UHD & BD) | Blu Ray | (18/01/2021) from £19.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  From Roland Emmerich, director of THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW and INDEPENDENCE DAY, comes the ultimate action-adventure movie, exploding with groundbreaking special effects. As the world faces a catastrophe of apocalyptic proportions, cities collapse and continents crumble. 2012 brings an end to the world and tells of the heroic struggle of the survivors. Starring John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet, Danny Glover and Woody Harrelson. Extras: Discovery Channel's 2012 Apocalypse Theatrical Trailers Picture-in-Picture: Roland's Vision Commentary with Writer/Director Roland Emmerich and Co-Writer Harald Kloser Alternate Ending

• The Green Green Grass - Series 1-4 Box Set | DVD | (10/03/2014) from £19.99   |  Saving you £10.00 (50.03%)   |  RRP £29.99

  When Peckham’s finest second-hand car trader Boycie learns that the dreaded Driscoll Brothers have ‘Somehow’ got it into their heads that he grassed them up to the police he has little choice but to go on the run. Fancying himself in the role of country squire he drags long suffering wife Marlene and teenage son Tyler to the wilds of Shropshire and their new home Winterdown Farm.;But any notion of their new life being all country fairs and fox hunts quickly evaporates when they realise that they have also taken on the local yokels that are the farm’s staff: Elgin “farm manager” Sparrowhawk unlucky- in-love herdsman Bryan simple minded crops man Jed and housekeeper and village gossip Mrs Cakeworthy. On top of this things get off to a less than perfect start with their new neighbour patriotic Welshman Llewellyn. Will Boycie ever fit in with the landed gentry? Will Marlene ever get used to the ‘unnaturally’ quiet country nights? Will the Driscoll Brothers ever catch up with them? And will Mrs Cakeworthy ever actually do any housework?

• The Adventures of Tintin | DVD | (10/10/2011) from £12.32   |  Saving you £4.67 (37.91%)   |  RRP £16.99

  Tintin is the world's most famous boy reporter. With his faithful dog Snowy at his side the intrepid pair travel the globe to investigate exciting cases. Along the way they encounter a colourful cast of characters who have become familiar to generations of children and adults: Captain Haddock Thompson and Thomson Professor Calculus and Oliveira da Figueira among many others.

• Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi | DVD | (24/08/2020) from £3.88   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  The Skywalker saga continues as the heroes of The Force Awakens join the galactic legends in an epic adventure that unlocks new mysteries of the Force.

• Red Dwarf X | Blu Ray | (19/11/2012) from £12.05   |  Saving you £12.94 (107.39%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Space battles, quantum entanglement, and love triangles with snack dispensers are just some of the problems facing the Dwarfers. The posse also stumble across the mysteriously abandoned SS Trojan while Lister grapples with the problem of being his own father and Kryten and Cat become quantum entangled, forcing them to do everything in unison. The series finale finds the boys surrounded by a simulant war cruiser and its fleet of attack ships. Armed with only two forks and a pencil sharpener, the Dwarfers begin to wonder whether this is the beginning of the end. Special Features: We're Smegged - Exclusive Feature-Length Documentary Deleted Scenes - With Optional Writer Commentary Smeg Ups - The Unseen Outtakes

• Genevieve -- Special Edition | DVD | (11/06/2007) from £4.47   |  Saving you £11.52 (257.72%)   |  RRP £15.99

  The 1953 fast paced comedy finally makes it to DVD in a Special Collectors' edition.

• Soldier Blue | DVD | (08/09/2008) from £7.99   |  Saving you £5.00 (62.58%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Sometimes the truth is lost in battle. Honus Gent a U.S. soldier devoted to his duty and Cresta a white woman who had lived with the Cheyenne for two years are the only two survivors of a slaughter committed by the Cheyennes on a cavalry group. Together they are hoping to stay alive until they reach the cavalry's base camp. As they travel Honus feels a growing affection for Cresta but he is disgusted with her anti-American beliefs as she has more sympathy for Indians than for the U.S. government. They arrive at the cavalry outpost on the eve of an attack on a Cheyenne village where Honus will learn who has been telling him the truth.

• The Nanny Diaries | DVD | (18/02/2008) from £5.50   |  Saving you £10.49 (190.73%)   |  RRP £15.99

  A college student goes to work as a nanny for a rich New York family. Ensconced in their home, she has to juggle their dysfunction, her studies, a new romance, and the spoiled brat in her charge.