"Actor: Norman Beaton"

• Playing Away | DVD | (26/10/2009) from £10.35   |  Saving you £9.64 (93.14%)   |  RRP £19.99

  From acclaimed Black British filmmaker Horace Ove (Pressure 1975) comes this comedy of manners in which a West Indian cricket team from Brixton travel to a Suffolk village to play against the local team as the culmination of the village's 'Third World Week'. Ove subtly explores and undermines white and black stereotypes and succeeds in linking two familiar but strange cultures through the simple device of a sports game.

• Pressure / Baldwin's Nigger | DVD | (26/09/2005) from £4.99   |  Saving you £15.00 (300.60%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Pressure (1976):Set in 1970s London Pressure follows the story of Tony the son of West Indian immigrants as he struggles to find a sense of belonging and social acceptance. Baldwin's Nigger (1968): James Baldwin accompanied by civil rights activist Dick Gregory discusses the issues surrounding black identity.

• Desmonds - Series 1 | DVD | (01/10/2007) from £19.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Desmond's followes the exploits of Peckham barber shop proprietor Desmond Ambrose his wife Shirley three children and an assortment of locals and regulars.

• Desmond's - Series 2 - Complete | DVD | (14/04/2008) from £9.99   |  Saving you £10.00 (100.10%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Desmond's followes the exploits of Peckham barber shop proprietor Desmond Ambrose his wife Shirley three children and an assortment of locals and regulars.

• Black Joy (Limited Edition) | Blu Ray | (24/06/2019) from £16.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Based on Jamal Ali's acclaimed stage play Dark Days and Light Nights, Black Joy tells the story of a naïve Guyanese immigrant who learns the hard way about life on the streets of Brixton. Presenting vivid characters, terrific action, and a superb soundtrack of soul, funk, dub and reggae, Anthony Simmons' gritty film is an honest and insightful comic drama, exposing the lives of unemployed black Britons and immigrants in a ghettoised London. Starring Norman Beaton (Desmond's), Trevor Thomas (Inseminoid), Floella Benjamin (Play School), and a young Oscar James (EastEnders), Black Joy comes to Blu-ray for the very first time. Limited Edition Contents: High Definition remaster, newly re-graded and approved by cinematographer Phil Méheux Original mono audio The BEHP Interview with Anthony Simmons (1997): an archival audio recording, made as part of the British Entertainment History Project, featuring the prolific director in conversation with filmmaker Rodney Giesler Interview with actor Trevor Thomas (2019) Interview with actor Floella Benjamin (2019) Interview with actor Oscar James (2019) Interview with playwright and screenwriter Jamal Ali (2019) Interview with producer Martin Campbell (2019) Interview with cinematographer Phil Méheux (2019) Featurette exploring the film's London locations (2019) Bow Bells (1954): Anthony Simmons' nostalgic short film about London's East End Original theatrical trailer Image gallery: on-set and promotional photography New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Josie Dolan, recollections by director Anthony Simmons and star Norman Beaton, Michael Brooke on Bow Bells, an overview of contemporary critical responses, archival articles, and film credits World premiere on Blu-ray Limited Edition of 3,000 copies All extras subject to change

• The Fosters - Series 1 - Complete | DVD | (05/07/2010) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  A hard-working man tries to support his family in a South London council estate.

• The Mighty Quinn | DVD | (19/05/2003) from £9.43   |  Saving you £3.56 (37.75%)   |  RRP £12.99

  A highly enjoyable sleeper, The Mighty Quinn is a variation on one of those 1930s studio pictures about two boyhood friends who grow up on different sides of the law. But it's 1989, and things are a bit different. Denzel Washington, smooth as Jamaican rum, plays the police chief of a Caribbean island, a place where crime isn't exactly a pressing concern. Thus the chief is put out when the clues in a murder case point to his old buddy, a dreadlocked ne'er-do-well played by a mischievous Robert Townsend. Director Carl Schenkel is much more interested in friendships and great island atmosphere than in the actual unlocking of the case, and that's just fine. Add in a bouncy soundtrack of reggae music, and The Mighty Quinn becomes one of those hard-to-resist vacation movies. --Robert Horton

• The Fosters - The Complete Second Series | DVD | (05/09/2011) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The first sitcom both written for and starring black actors, The Fosters showcased the early work of Lenny Henry (riding high on a recent win in talent series New Faces) as the budding artist son of easygoing family man Samuel Foster (Norman Beaton, who would go on to gain major fame in ‘90s comedy Desmond’s). The series follows the day-to-day trials of Samuel and his lively wife Pearl (both immigrants from Guyana), and their three children on a South London housing estate.This second series sees the Pearl feeling that she's being taken for granted, a twentieth wedding anniversary, a sance and Sonny breaking it to the family that he’s going to do a nude painting of a female neighbour!

• Black Joy | DVD | (08/08/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Black Joy is a lightly ironic British culture-clash comedy. Trevor Thomas heads the cast as a Guyanan youth who is under the delusion that life will be easier for him in London. No sooner does Thomas set foot in England than he gets tangled up in one disaster after another. The catalyst for most of Our Hero's travails is ""assimilated"" Caribbean Dave Beaton who delivers an antic performance as a streetwise con artist. Black Joy was adapted from Dar

• Black Joy | DVD | (04/04/2011) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Nominated for the Golden Palm award at Cannes in 1977 Anthony Simmons (Four in the Morning The Optimists) directs the insightful if seedy story of an innocent and unsophisticated Guyanan immigrant Ben (Trevor Thomas) who is exposed to the hustle of the Brixton ghetto. Ben arrives in Brixton with his cardboard suitcase and a piece of paper with the address of a relative on it. Within minutes he has lost his wallet to an artful dodger and is forced to sleep at a doss house with one eye closed and other watching his fellow dossers. Nearly penniless Ben wanders around Brixton and meets Dave (Norman Beaton) a conniving hustler who lives off the earnings of girlfriend Miriam (Floella Benjamin) and spends his days and money in gambling clubs and brothels. Dave at first sees the innocent Ben as an easy target and offers to show him the ropes meet girls and learn the ways of the big city; but ultimately the two men forge a unique friendship based on the corruption of the innocent and the survival of the underdogs.

• The Mighty Quinn | DVD | (05/06/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Life in the easygoing Carribean is hard on Police Chief Xavier Quinn (Washington). Dubbed The Mighty Quinn by sarcastic islanders and nagged by a wife who'd rather he were babysitting Quinn is suddenly thrust into action when his childhood friend Maubee (Robert Townsend) is accused of murder. Forced to search for his elusive friend Quinn meets up with a colourful array of suspects including the dead man's beautiful mistress (Rogers) who dreams of being a lounge singer an eccentric voodoo sorceress with snakes in her parlour (Esther Rolle) and a mysterious American visitor with dubious intentions...

• Playing Away | DVD | (26/05/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  The tale of a West Indian cricket team from Brixton travelling to a Suffolk village to play against the local team as the culmination of the village's 'Third World Week' and the inevitable culture clash that takes place. They get into all kinds of confrontations in the pub at the vicar's stuffy reception and over women but that is nothing compared to what happens during the big match.