"Actor: Madeleine Hinde"

• The Last Valley | DVD | (02/04/2001) from £14.24   |  Saving you £-8.25 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  James Clavell's The Last Valley is a heartfelt film of paradise found and lost in the midst of the bloody Thirty Years War, a senseless religious conflict long since degenerated into a rabble of looters preying on peasants. It's also a triumph of passion over style. Michael Caine stars as the Captain, a happily tolerant leader whose army of mercenaries--a mix of Protestants and Catholics--murders, pillages and rapes side by side for whichever faction is paying more at the time. Omar Sharif is Vogel, a lone refugee whose flight from the marauding band leads them all to a beautiful village in the mountains. The Captain and Vogel make an unlikely pair: the shrewd mercenary with the dream of peace, and the philosopher-peasant hanging on to his own life in the face of certain death--and their alliance to preserve this Eden and her people stands in contrast to the soldiers who soon become splintered by greed, lust and religious zealotry. Clavell isn't exactly subtle, but his sense of irony is biting: one Christian soldier is ready to lead a mob in righteous battle after a perceived blaspheme, and in the next scene attacks and rapes an innocent Christian maiden he's sworn to protect. The film falters in clumsy battle scenes and awkward dramatic staging, but Caine's complex characterisation of the guarded Captain and Sharif's haunted performance keep the story alive, and the beautiful photography fixes the film like a jewel into its setting. --Sean Axmaker, Amazon.com

• Girls of Shame (aka - The Smashing Bird I Used to Know) | DVD | (21/03/2016) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  A star-studded, who's who of British cinema features in this delightful tale of a young street urchin, Tom (Tommy Pender) who unwittingly helps petty crooks (James Mason and Bernard Cribbins) rob a rich country house. As Tom escapes the police by jumping into a lake, he is transported to an underwater cartoon-world where he has to help others fi nd safety in order to redeem himself and return home. Also features Billie Whitelaw, Joan Greenwood, David Tomlinson and the voices of Jon Pertwee, Lance Percival and David Jason.

• School for Unclaimed Girls | DVD | (11/02/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Richard struggles to reach his nine year old daughter Nicki (Madeline Hinde) screaming on a merry-go-round and in the process he gets crushed. Nicki sees her father die. Seven years later beautiful teenager Nicki still bears the scars of her father's death. She believes she killed him. Nicki's mother gets into an affair with Harry (Patrick Mower) who is only after her for her money. Nicki detests Harry and gets into a horrific argument with him. In the struggle Nicki stabs him. Nicki is sent to a remand home where she is persecuted by the other inmates. Eventually she manages to escape and heads to Oxford to stay with her boyfriend Peter (Dennis Waterman). She soon learns that even he cannot be trusted. Nicki realises that she must turn and face up to her past. Even then tragedy is close to hand...

• Brief Encounter | DVD | (24/07/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £3.99

  Sophia Loren (Mrs. Ponti) stars as a bored married woman who embarks upon a brief romantic fling with equally married Richard Burton. Throughout their relationship Loren and Burton are plagued by guilt; ultimately they sacrifice their potential happiness in favor of ""the right thing."" Based on the 1936 Noel Coward playlet Still Life.