"Actor: Matthew D"

• The Journey Of Natty Gann | DVD | (13/04/2004) from £4.49   |  Saving you £10.50 (70.00%)   |  RRP £14.99

  America is in the depths of the Great Depression. Families drift apart when faraway jobs beckon. In this masterful atmospheric adventure a courageous young girl (Meredith Salenger) confronts overwhelming odds when she embarks on a cross-country search for her father. During her extraordinary odyssey she forms a close bond with two diverse traveling companions: a magnificent protective wolf and a hardened drifter (John Cusack). A brilliant moving tapestry woven of courage and pe

• Godzilla | DVD | (29/03/2010) from £9.93   |  Saving you £-3.94 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  As "gigantic monster reptile attacks New York" movies go, you've got to admit that Godzilla delivers the goods, although its critical drubbing and box-office disappointment were arguably deserved. It's a shameless, uninspired crowd-pleaser that's content to serve up familiar action with the advantage of really fantastic special effects, and if you expect nothing more you'll be one among millions of satisfied customers. There's really no other way to approach it--you just have to accept the fact that Independence Day creators Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin are unapologetic plagiarists, incapable of anything more than mindless spectacle that can play in any cinema in the world without dubbing or subtitles. The whole movie plays out like a series of highlights stolen from previous blockbusters of the 1990s; it's little more than a rehash of the Jurassic Park movies. The derivative script is so trivial that it's unworthy of comment, apart from a few choice laughs and the casting of Michael Lerner as New York's mayor, whose name is Ebert and who closely resembles a certain well-known movie critic. Perhaps that's a clever hint that this movie's essentially critic-proof. It's stupid but it's fun, and for most audiences that's a fitting definition of mainstream Hollywood entertainment. --Jeff Shannon

• Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip - The Complete Series | DVD | (21/01/2008) from £29.98   |  Saving you £21.01 (70.08%)   |  RRP £50.99

  Aaron Sorkin creator of The West Wing brings you Studio 60 On Sunset Strip a new comedic television show featuring Matthew Perry and Bradley Whitford. Studio 60 On Sunset Strip is a show within a show! Filled with engaging characters ear-grabbing dialogue and a Hollywood hive of insider buzz. Matthew Perry and Bradley Whitford portray the likable hotshots brought in to revive NBS-TV's sagging flagship comedy series and Amanda Peet plays their savvy boss in episodes exploring the lives and loves of and the make-or-break creative pressures on the show's staff. Panic. Chaos. Fear. Sleep deprivation. Just make sure it's funny by Friday. Because that's when a nation tunes in to Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.

• The Hot Chick | DVD | (15/03/2004) from £6.38   |  Saving you £8.61 (134.95%)   |  RRP £14.99

  An attractive and popular teenager who is mean spirited toward others, finds herself in the body of an older man, and must find a way to get back to her original body.

• The Lost Prince | DVD | (20/01/2003) from £7.39   |  Saving you £8.60 (116.37%)   |  RRP £15.99

  A marvellous reinvention of the costume epic, The Lost Prince is Stephen Poliakoff's absorbing study of the turbulent years leading up to and during the First World War, seen through the percipient eyes of a scarcely remembered royal child. Extensively researched, impeccably cast, beautifully filmed, written and directed by Poliakoff himself with masterly economy and restraint, this is a timely reminder that original, intelligent drama can work as prime time entertainment while appealing on multiple levels; and there isn't an escaped soap star in sight. Johnnie, the prince kept hidden away by his parents Queen Mary and George V for fear that his epileptic fits and idiosyncratic ways might draw unwelcome attention, is not presented as a tragic figure. His view of the great events which shatter his family and change the world forever is direct and uncluttered. Poliakoff celebrates his apartness--and that of all children who are different--as a force for good, without judging the standards, protocols and contemporary medical theories which kept him on the periphery of society. The series makes the most of its well-chosen locations, and from Johnnie's garden at Sandringham to the assassination of the Russian imperial family, it maintains a hypnotic and elegiac quality The acting is first-rate, too. Gina McKee is profoundly moving as Johnnie's devoted nurse Lalla; and Miranda Richardson's Mary is an extraordinary performance, the controlled façade of single-minded focus occasionally fracturing to reveal a flash of humanity. This production is exquisite in every respect. On the DVD: The Lost Prince is presented in its original transmission format of 16:9. The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, enhanced by Adrian Johnston's haunting score is crystal clear. Extras include Poliakoff's revealing commentary, with occasional input from Johnston and designer John-Paul Kelly, and a couple of documentary fragments which show the production in progress and place it in context with the rest of Poliakoff's work. --Piers Ford

• Howards End - TV Mini Series | DVD | (05/02/2018) from £10.35   |  Saving you £-0.36 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  The social and class divisions in early 20th century England through the intersection of three families - the wealthy Wilcoxes, the gentle and idealistic Schlegels and the lower-middle class Basts.

• Charles Dickens 200th Anniversary Collection | DVD | (23/01/2012) from £22.85   |  Saving you £22.14 (96.89%)   |  RRP £44.99

  The engaging characters, compelling action and intriguing plot twists of Charles Dickens' great novels provide the perfect material for screen adaptation. Lavishly-filmed with a galaxy of stars, but retaining all the tension, emotion and drama of the novels, these BBC series have received both critical and popular acclaim.Great ExpectationsRay Winstone, Gillian Anderson and David Suchet are among a fabulous cast bringing out the very best of Dickens' masterpiece - part thriller, part mystery, with a powerful love story at its heart.Little DorrifThis stunning TV adaptation weaves Dickens' tale of 1820's London into life with a sumptuous production and all-star cast - including Matthew Macfadyen, Tom Courtenay and Andy Serkis.Oliver TwistWith a stellar cast including Timothy Spall, Edward Fox and Rob Brydon, this gripping adaptation delivers a modern, thrilling, tragic and occasionally comic edge to Dickens' classic tale.Bleak HouseThe murder mystery, love story and tantalising scandal of Dickens' literary masterwork are transformed into fast-moving, daring and compelling television in this acclaimed adaption starring Gillian Anderson, Dennis Lawson and Charles Dance.

• Contact | DVD | (25/09/1998) from £8.95   |  Saving you £5.04 (56.31%)   |  RRP £13.99

  The opening and closing moments of Robert (Forrest Gump) Zemeckis's Contact astonish viewers with the sort of breathtaking conceptual imagery one hardly ever sees in movies these day--each is an expression of the heroine's lifelong quest (both spiritual and scientific) to explore the meaning of human existence through contact with extraterrestrial life. The movie begins by soaring far out into space, then returns dizzyingly to earth until all the stars in the heavens condense into the sparkle in one little girl's eye. It ends with that same girl as an adult (Jodie Foster)--her search having taken her to places beyond her imagination--turning her gaze inward and seeing the universe in a handful of sand. Contact traces the journey between those two visual epiphanies. Based on Carl Sagan's novel, Contact is exceptionally thoughtful and provocative for a big-budget Hollywood science fiction picture, with elements that recall everything from 2001 to The Right Stuff. Foster's solid performance (and some really incredible alien hardware) keep viewers interested, even when the story skips and meanders, or when the halo around the golden locks of rising-star-of-a-different-kind Matthew McConaughey (as the pure-Hollywood-hokum love interest)reaches Milky Way-level wattage. Ambitious, ambiguous, pretentious, unpredictable--Contact is all of these things and more. Much of it remains open to speculation and interpretation but whatever conclusions one eventually draws, Contactdeserves recognition as a rare piece of big-budget studio film making on a personal scale. --Jim Emerson

• Ripper Street - Series 4 | DVD | (10/10/2016) from £9.95   |  Saving you £15.04 (151.16%)   |  RRP £24.99

  The crime drama which has explored the mean streets of London's East End returns in the high summer of 1897, as the nation prepares to celebrate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. This fourth series once more reunites our heroes Reid, Drake, Jackson and Long Susan - and takes them to their darkest point yet.

• The Lion King 3: Hakuna Matata | DVD | (21/05/2012) from £5.86   |  Saving you £6.13 (104.61%)   |  RRP £11.99

  Hilarity reigns in the motion picture comedy-adventure that takes you waaay back to the beginning before Simba's tale began... and beyond! From their uniquely hysterical perspective, Timon and his windy pal Pumbaa - the greatest unsung heroes of the Savannah!-reveal where they came from, how they helped Simba save the Serengeti and what really happened behind the scenes of The Lion King's biggest events.This essential chapter of The Lion King trilogy features the original all-star voice cast as your favourite characters and music by Elton John and Tim Rice. You will feel the love for every outrageously funny moment!

• Scooby-Doo and the Curse of the 13th Ghost (DVD/ S) | DVD | (11/02/2019) from £7.34   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  In the classic series The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, the gang captured 12 of the most terrifying ghosts the world has ever known. But whatever happened to number 13?? With their old partner Vincent Van Ghoul in trouble, Scooby and pals suit up to finish the job, catch the last ghost and seal the Chest of Demons once and for all.

• A Discovery of Witches Season 2 | DVD | (12/04/2021) from £9.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  All the episodes from the second season of the fantasy drama starring Matthew Goode and Teresa Palmer and based on the novel by Deborah Harkness which follows a vampire and a witch as they navigate the modern world. With populations of witches, vampires and demons having greatly diminished in the 21st century, vampire Matthew Clairmont (Goode) must blend in to his surroundings while witch Diana Bishop (Palmer) tries to leave her secret world behind as she carries out her life as a historian. When she stumbles across a bewitched book in an Oxford library, however, Diana is dragged back into witchcraft and must uncover the origins of the book. As Matthew encounters Diana and informs her that he has been searching for this very book for over a century, the pair must work as a team to protect it from evil forces while crossing the boundaries of forbidden relationships amongst their kind. In this season the pair travel back in time where they hope an encounter with the all-powerful Goody Alsop (Sheila Hancock) can enlighten Diana on how to harness her magic abilities.

• Self/Less | DVD | (01/07/2017) from £6.60   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Lost - The Complete Third Series | DVD | (22/10/2007) from £6.16   |  Saving you £47.83 (776.46%)   |  RRP £53.99

  The complete third series of the groundbreaking drama Lost Jack Kate and Sawyer open the season in captivity as prisoners of ""The Others."" Just who these ""Others"" are and what they want are primary questions Season Three will explore. Michael Emerson joins the cast as a regular in his ongoing role as ""Henry Gale"". Romance looms on the horizon as Jack's interests veer towards a mysterious new woman whose motives may be questionable. Sun and Jin will continue to celebrate th

• Star Wars Clone Wars - Season 5 | DVD | (14/10/2013) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £39.99

  The fate of the galaxy rests in the hands of three daring young Jedi as a new chapter begins--Star Wars: The Clone Wars. On the front lines of the intergalactic struggle between good and evil Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker join forces in the mission that unites them as Jedi mentor and student as they battle to save the Republic from being splintered by the war between the separatist robot army and the white-armored clones which are destined to become the army of Imperial storm troopers. Young Padawan Jedi novice Ahsoka joins Anakin and Obi-Wan in their epic battle against Darth Sidious Count Dooku and General Grievous who plot to rule the galaxy.

• The Lion King Special Edition | DVD | (31/10/2003) from £8.95   |  Saving you £14.04 (156.87%)   |  RRP £22.99

  Disney's 1994 animated feature, The Lion King, was a huge smash in cinemas and continues to enjoy life in an acclaimed stage production. The story finds a lion cub, son of a king, sent into exile after his father is deposed by a jealous uncle. The little hero finds his way into the "circle of life" with some new friends and eventually comes back to reclaim his proper place. Characters are very strong, vocal performances by the likes of Jeremy Irons, Nathan Lane and Whoopi Goldberg are terrific, the jokes are aimed as much (if not more) at adults than kids, the animation is sometimes breathtaking and the songs from Tim Rice and Elton John, accompanied by a colourful score, are more palatable than in many recent Disney features. --Tom Keogh On the DVD: The Lion King Special Edition is a superb restoration: take a look at the serviceable but dull film clips incorporated in the plethora of extras and compare them to the vivid gorgeousness of the film presentation. This special edition also adds a 90-second song ("Morning Report") that originated in the lavish stage musical. To Disney's credit, the original theatrical version is also included, both restored and featuring two 5.1 soundtracks: Dolby Digital and a new Disney Enhanced Home Theater Mix, which does sound brighter. As with the Disney Platinum line, everything is thrown into the discs, except an outsider's voice (the rah-rahs of Disney grow tiresome at times). The excellent commentary from the directors and producer, originally on the laser disc, is hidden under the audio set-up menu. The second disc is organised by 20-minute-ish "journeys" tackling the elements of story, music and so on, including good background on the awkward Shakespearean origins at Disney where it was referred as "Bamlet". The most interesting journey follows the landmark stage production, and the kids should be transfixed by shots of the real African wildlife in the animal journey. Three deleted segments are real curios, including an opening lyric for "Hakuna Matata". Most set-top DVD games are usually pretty thin (DVD-ROM is where it's at), but the Safari game is an exception--the kids should love the roaring animals (in 5.1 Surround, no less). One serious demerit is the needless and complicated second navigation system that is listed by continent but just shows the same features reordered. --Doug Thomas

• Mary Poppins Returns Doublepack | DVD | (15/04/2019) from £7.94   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  In Depression-era London, a now-grown Jane and Michael Banks, along with Michael's three children, are visited by the enigmatic Mary Poppins following a personal loss. Through her unique magical skills, and with the aid of her friend Jack, she helps the family rediscover the joy and wonder missing in their lives.

• Pride and Prejudice | Blu Ray | (17/05/2010) from £7.99   |  Saving you £12.00 (150.19%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Keira Knightley and Matthew MacFadyen star in this adaptation of Jane Austen's classic novel.

• Resident Evil: The Complete Collection | DVD | (12/06/2017) from £23.39   |  Saving you £1.60 (6.84%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Given that Resident Evil is a Paul Anderson movie based on a computer game which was itself highly derivative (especially of George A Romero and James Cameron films), it's probably unfair to complain that it hasn't got an original idea or moment in its entire running time. In the early 1980s, Italian schlock films such as Zombie Flesh Eaters and Zombie Creeping Flesh tried to cram in as many moments restaged from American originals as possible, strung together by silly characters wandering between monster attacks. This is a much-improved, edited, photographed and directed version of the same gambit. As amnesiac Milla Jovovich remembers amazing kung fu skills and anti-globalist Eric Mabius mutters about evil corporations, a gang of clichéd soldiers with nary a distinguishing feature between them (except for Michelle Rodriguez as a secondary tough chick) are trapped in an underground scientific compound at the mercy of a tyrannical computer--which manifests as a smug little-girl-o-gram--fending off flesh-eating zombies (though gore fans will be disappointed by the film's need to stay within the limits of the 15 certificate) and CGI mutants, not to mention the ever-popular zombie dogs. It's tolerably action-packed, but zips past its borrowings (Aliens, Cube, Deep Blue Sea) without adding anything that future schlock pictures will want to imitate. On the DVD: Resident Evil on disc has the expected trailers, both teaser and theatrical; a half-hour making-of; zombie make-up tests; featurettes on music (with Marilyn Manson), production design and costume. A lively commentary track features Anderson, Jovovich, Rodriguez and producer/zombie Jeremy Bolt--Jovovich upbraids Anderson for talking about different gradings of film stock over her nude scene and everyone else talks about how much she hurt them by punching them out during action sequences. Anderson mentions an alternate commentary track with visual effects designer Richard Yuricich, but it isn't included. --Kim Newman

• Glory | DVD | (19/06/2000) from £5.85   |  Saving you £14.14 (241.71%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The negroes fought gallantly and were headed by as brave a Colonel as ever lived", was one Confederate soldier's eyewitness verdict on the 54th Massachusetts Volunteers immediately after 247 of their 600-man regiment had fallen in bloody swathes beneath the withering fire from Fort Wagner near Charleston, South Carolina in 1863. Glory is their story: the mustering of the first black regiment in the US Army, their battles with the Southerners as well as with the Northern military authorities, and their own moment of glory when they paid a terrible price for the opportunity to demonstrate to the world their courage. In telling this little-known story, director Ed Zwick single-handedly changed perceptions of the American Civil War: when a Grand Review of the Armies was held in Washington at the end of the war, none of the almost 180,000 coloured troops who fought for the Union were present; when that parade was restaged in 1990 a year after the movie was released, the 54th Massachusetts re-enactors were at the front of the procession. Zwick's stirring, factually accurate account is greatly enhanced by obsessive period detail and frighteningly realistic battle reconstructions (which were not to be surpassed in scale until 1993's Gettysburg). But Zwick also illuminates individual characters in the regiment with great sensitivity. As crucial as the military set-pieces are the scenes of the men together: talking in the tent or baring their souls in song. Denzel Washington, as the embittered ex-slave, gives a performance of real depth; he richly deserved his Oscar win for the heartbreaking flogging scene alone. Morgan Freeman brings great gravitas to his paternalistic role, and Matthew Broderick's idealistic Colonel Shaw is the centre around which the story revolves. With a clutch of remarkable lead performances, a sensitive and touching script, one of James Horner's finest musical scores, and a director with both the vision and heart to pull it off it's easy to agree with the backcover blurb: "Glory is one of the greatest war movies ever made". Without even a hint of hyperbole, it undoubtedly is. On the DVD: This is a superb looking (anamorphic) and sounding (Dolby 5.1) print, and the disc has some excellent additional features. Ed Zwick's commentary is insightful and extremely detailed: here's a director who obviously cares deeply about this movie. Of the three featurettes, one is a short-ish promo piece but the other two are genuinely impressive: there's a 20-minute "Making of" feature with major contributions from Zwick, Freeman and Broderick, and best of all a 45-minute "The True Story Continues" feature narrated by Freeman which tells the complete story of the 54th Massachusetts from beginning to end using footage from the movie as well as archive material and film of battle re-enactments. Also included are two deleted scenes, although a third scene which was shot for the movie but not used (the Frederick Douglass' speech) crops up in the "True Story" piece. James Horner's emotive score gets an isolated track all to itself and there are also some filmographies and trailers. All in all, this is a superb DVD. --Mark Walker