"Actor: Lewis Rae"

• The Forsyte Saga - Complete First & Second Series | DVD | (12/07/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  The Forsyte Saga is an immense drama of sex power and money. It chronicles the lives of three generations of a powerful Victorian family. Superior arrogant and confident on the surface beneath the imposing veneer lies a festering core of unhappy and brutal relationships riddled with jealousies and tensions. At the heart of the Saga is Soames Forsyte (Damian Lewis) a rich and successful partner in the family law firm and a staunch upholder of the old moral code. But his fiery tormented relationship with his beautiful wife Irene (Gina McKee) upsets his complacency and as Irene embarks on a passionate affair the Forsyte Family is cruelly ripped apart in a bitter feud. A classic of English literature The Forsyte Saga paints a fascinating picture of early twentieth century London life charting the progress of a great dynasty from the height of the Victorian era through the turbulent transition into the modern age. The Forsyte Saga is a compelling drama of love adultery obsession and deceit providing an enticing glimpse into a passionate and flamboyant existence.

• Romeo Is Bleeding | DVD | (19/05/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Romeo Is Bleeding is the flawed black comedy from director Peter Medak (The Krays) about a bad cop who slowly gets his due. Gary Oldman plays yet another quirky character, this time a New York detective on the take. His life goes haywire as he squares off with a Russian hit woman. Despite an intriguing cast and great dialogue, the movie becomes a bit too eccentric for its own good as several actors have nothing to do. The high point is Lena Olin, who finally has a role she can sink her teeth into: her zesty, monstrous assassin, Mona Demarkov, is one of the great movie villains. --Doug Thomas

• Robin Of Sherwood - The Complete Series 2 | DVD | (01/07/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  The second series of Robin of Sherwood sets up both a sense of melancholy for the impending departure of Michael Praed and excitement for his imminent replacement by Jason Connery. These seven episodes are the very best of Praed and co, building upon their established camaraderie and making forest-frolicking seem like TV's best ever gig. "The Prophecy" has a running thread of back plot that will explain Praed's Doctor Who-like transformation to Connery (and all so he could cameo in Dynasty). Mystical Herne predicts the death of a great king, but the merry men are more interested in the introduction of new semi-regular Prince John (Philip Davis). The series becomes braver as it continues by delving deeper into the black arts and exploring such matters as anti-Semitism and pagan beliefs. Gisburne's schemes to capture the bandits grow more desperate, while Herne's advice grows more cryptic and Marion's love for Robin grows stronger. All of which builds to the excellent two-part "The Swords of Wayland" and its coda "The Greatest Enemy". Now prepare yourself for something completely different. On the DVD: Robin of Sherwood's first box set was going to take some beating, but this second series set is as good as anyone has managed for a TV show on DVD. The digital transfers and new Dolby soundtracks (with optional original mono and music-only tracks) are fantastic. The commentary on "The Swords of Wayland" from the director and producer is insightful and endearing. The third part of the behind-the-scenes documentary, still interviewing everyone involved, is consistently fascinating and runs 42 minutes. Add to that two galleries of stills with 156 pictures, seven minutes of outtakes and, for curiosity value, the French and American versions of the Main Title sequence. You can tell some real heart has gone into this release. --Paul Tonks

• The Forsyte Saga | DVD | (13/05/2002) from £6.32   |  Saving you £13.67 (216.30%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Granada Television's adaptation of The Forsyte Saga achieved the seemingly impossible in Spring 2002, matching the BBC's 35-year-old black-and-white classic version with a richly cast and superbly directed take on John Galsworthy's first two novels. The success of these six 90-minute episodes proved that despite the current emphasis on mini-series and dramas developed around the "hot" actor of the moment, our appetite--and attention span--still craves ensemble pieces which are given the space and time to develop in today’s focus-group-led scheduling. It also demonstrates that nothing generates television gold like a compelling family drama crammed with lust, rape, class conflict and the insuperable power of money. The Forsyte Saga is nothing if not superior soap opera. It could all have gone horribly wrong, haunted by the spectre of its BBC predecessor--a television legend for anyone over 40. Instead, it succeeds entirely on its own merits with scarcely a weak link; from Stephen Mallatratt's taut and fluid script to David Moore's carefully measured, seamess direction. Risks were taken to banish the old ghosts, particularly in the casting. In the event, Damian Lewis' repressed Soames and Gina McKee as his ill-matched bride, the enigmatic Irene, are inspired choices delivering complex portraits of unhappy, damaged human beings who deserve our sympathy. In a sea of marvellous cameos and splendid acting, the top honours go to Corin Redgrave and Rupert Graves for their hauntingly sensitive interpretations of Old and Young Jolyon, as well as to Amanda Root's increasingly exasperated Winifred; and Gillian Kearney's sharply intelligent and worldly June. All rounded characters without a weakly written cipher in sight. --Piers Ford

• The Forsyte Saga - Series 2 - To Let | DVD | (30/06/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The second series of The Forsyte Saga, based on John Galsworthy's To Let, moves the story of the sprawling, fractious and aristocratic Forsyte family into the 1920s. The drama shifts to a new generation shouldering the burdensome legacies of an aging Soames (Damian Lewis) and his failed marriage to free-spirited Irene (Gina McKee). The lovely Fleur (Emma Griffiths Malin), Soames' daughter by second wife Annette (Beatriz Batarda), and strapping Jon (Lee Williams), son of Irene and Soames' bohemian cousin, Jolyon (Rupert Graves), develop a romance much to the dismay of their feuding parents. But the long reach of the elder Forsytes' sins--and the tenderness with which they seek redemption through their children--ultimately undercuts the young lovers' happiness. Meanwhile, sundry characters move in and out of the Forsytes' orbit, including a French businessman (Michael Maloney) stirring more troubles for Soames, and an art dealer (Oliver Milburn) with designs on Fleur. As with Series 1, all this will feel familiar to anyone who has seen the 26-part, 1967 version; yet this updated effort renews and redefines the Forsytes' overlapping tragedies, with a more interior feel and a first-rate contemporary cast. As with its legendary predecessor, this Forsyte Saga depends heavily on the seemingly soulless Soames' slow evolution to humanity; Damian Lewis carries the load brilliantly. --Tom Keogh

• 1746 - The Last Highland Charge | DVD | (02/10/2000) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  A nation is divided as Scotland is at war...This is the epic story of a family torn apart by one man's quest for a lost throne. A tale of passion duty courage and love set against the violent backdrop of the last Jacobite rising and the death of the Highland Clans.