"Actor: Nancy Locke"

• 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

• Dead And Buried | DVD | (26/07/2004) from £27.99   |  Saving you £-11.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £16.99

  Something very strange is happening in the quiet coastal village of Potters Bluff where tourists and transients are warmly welcomed then brutally murdered! Even more shocking is when these slain strangers suddenly reappear as normal friendly citizens around town... Now the local sheriff and an eccentric mortician must uncover the horrific secret of a community where some terrifying traditions are alive and well: no one is ever truly dead and buried!

• Dead And Buried | DVD | (13/07/2015) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

• Dead & Buried | Blu Ray | (27/01/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Dead And Buried | DVD | (22/09/2008) from £10.78   |  Saving you £2.21 (20.50%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Something very strange is happening in the quiet coastal village of Potters Bluff where tourists and transients are warmly welcomed then brutally murdered! Even more shocking is when these slain strangers suddenly reappear as normal friendly citizens around town... Now the local sheriff and an eccentric mortician must uncover the horrific secret of a community where some terrifying traditions are alive and well: no one is ever truly dead and buried!

• Cutting Class | DVD | (13/10/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Welcome to Wurleigh High School, where the pressures of student life can be seriously crushing. The night janitor hates teenagers, the students are turning to drink. Brian's just returned from a mental hospital, and everyone else is losing their mind. Somebody is cutting classes at Wurleigh High, and the bodycount's rising.

• Coldfire | DVD | (12/04/2005) from £12.99   |  Saving you £-7.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  New cops...a new drug...and a new way to die...

• Cutting Class | DVD | (08/10/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99