"Actor: Rodney"

• John Carpenter's Ghosts Of Mars | DVD | (10/05/2004) from £5.89   |  Saving you £0.10 (1.70%)   |  RRP £5.99

  John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars attempts a productive combination of SF elements (a largely terraformed Mars with its long-lost civilisation) and horror (mass possession that turns the victims into rampaging, self-mutilating monsters that kill and burn). A police-force detachment turn up in a mining community to collect a bandit, whose last heist was uncharacteristically violent, and soon find themselves under siege from rampaging hordes who used to be solid citizens. This is a fairly simple set of variations on stock Carpenter elements--a hybrid between Assault on Precinct 13 and In the Mouth of Madness. However, there is some powerful chemistry between Nastasha Henstridge's icy, drug-abusing police lieutenant and Ice Cube's bandit, Desolation Williams, made stronger by the lack of sexual tension. Other characters, such as Pam Grier's tough commander and Clea Duvall's nervous rookie, are more or less defined by plot functions; the mobs never become more than faceless, or facially distorted, anonymous menaces. This is one for die-hard Carpenter fans only. On the DVD: Ghosts of Mars on disc comes with Dolby Digital sound and its original widescreen ratio of 2.35:1. A sparky commentary by Carpenter and Henstridge is included, which is informative, but otherwise there are uninspiring documentaries on the musical score, the special effects and the difficulties of shooting at night in the Mexican desert, as well as filmographies and the theatrical trailer. --Roz Kaveney

• Man in a Suitcase: Volume 6 | Blu Ray | (28/06/2021) from £8.07   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  A discredited ex-CIA agent reduced to working as a private investigator, McGill travels the world as a 'gun for hire'. His unorthodox approach and strong sense of personal integrity often bring him into conflict with both his employers and the authorities, making him more enemies than friends... Starring Richard Bradford in a career-defining role as McGill, MAN IN A SUITCASE has been newly remastered in HD from the original 35mm film elements for this Blu-ray edition. McGill has never scrubbed up better than this!

• Class | DVD | (06/01/2003) from £19.39   |  Saving you £-6.40 (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  As rites-of-passage films featuring a young man's sexual initiation in the arms of a beautiful woman go, Class (1983) has plenty going for it, not least its attractive cast: Andrew McCarthy as Jonathan, Rob Lowe as Gatsby-ish best friend Skip and Jacqueline Bisset as the beautiful woman who is old enough to know better and just happens to be Skip's mother. Lewis John Carlino's film has moments of insight, taking a few well-aimed shots at the vaguely sinister network of American public school life. In the first reel it neatly subverts the bullying scenario that threatens when the geekish Jonathan arrives at the school, while offering the briefly intriguing sight of Lowe in scarlet bra and pants. And there's a subplot of deceit and complicity that both strengthens and threatens the friendship that rapidly forms between Skip and Jonathan. In many ways, though, the most interesting element of the picture--Skip's relationship with his dysfunctional family--is left unexplored. Jonathan's deflowering and subsequent interludes are merely titillating. And Bisset's Ellen, a desperately sad character, becomes superfluous once the revelation that she is the "teacher" sets the boys' friendship on the path to fraternal solidarity. On the DVD: Class is presented in widescreen anamorphic format and looks as good as its leading players, although the Dolby Digital mono soundtrack has odd moments of flatness that detract from the cinematic experience. Extras are limited to the cinema trailer that now looks like a red rag to the puritanical objectors who were appalled by the graphic scenes in which Jonathan loses his virginity to the predatory Ellen. --Piers Ford

• The Likely Lads - Series 1 To 3 | DVD | (27/02/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  One of the best British sitcoms of all-time The Likely Lads focuses on the friendship between two working-class men James Bolam and Rodney Bewes living in the north east of England. Bob (Bewes) is the 'sensible' one doing his best to get on with his job and 'better' himself. Terry (Bolam) is the 'irresponsible' one intent on living life to the full. He's forever getting himself (and Terry) into trouble of one kind or another... Episodes Comprise: 1. Entent

• Man in a Suitcase: The Complete Series | Blu Ray | (14/10/2019) from £56.55   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  A discredited ex-CIA agent reduced to working as a private investigator, McGill travels the world as a 'gun for hire'. His unorthodox approach and strong sense of personal integrity often bring him into conflict with both his employers and the authorities, making him more enemies than friends... Starring Richard Bradford in a career-defining role as McGill, Man in a Suitcase has been newly remastered in High Definition from original 35mm film elements for this Blu-ray release. Featuring all thirty episodes, this critically acclaimed and highly popular action series has never looked better than this.

• Cleopatra 2525 - Vol. 2 - Season 1 : Episodes 7-13 | DVD | (20/05/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  One interesting thing about Cleopatra 2525 is that it works far better on video or DVD than as a weekly television show, because the action in the tightly packed half-hour episodes is so fast and furious that you can miss crucial developments in the admittedly simple plots just by nipping into the kitchen to put the kettle on. Furthermore, despite appearances, the scripts do allow for character development, but this has to be delivered in snippets rather than dollops. Far better, then, to settle down with a large pizza and watch the several episodes back to back like this. There's no shortage of humour in this camp post-apocalypse shoot-em-up-fest. Cleopatra is a dippy exotic dancer who suffers complications during surgery for a boob job! Placed in cryogenic suspension until such time as medical science can help her, she wakes up in the year 2525 to find a world seemingly dominated by plot ideas stolen from classic sci-fi movies such as The Terminator--humanity has been driven underground in a world ruled by machines, morphing androids are used as spies etc. etc. etc.--where she's "adopted" by a couple of firm-midriffed female resistance fighters who take their orders from a mysterious voice (called Voice). It's all great fun and the action and effects are excellent (especially the airborne robot thingies). --Roger Thomas

• Guncrazy | DVD | (26/05/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Guncrazy

• The Nightmare On Elm Street 1-6 Collection (Six Disc Box Set) | DVD | (28/06/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  A Nightmare On Elm Street Nancy (Heather Langenkamp) is having grisly nightmares. Meanwhile her high-school friends who are having the very same dreams are being slaughtered in their sleep by the hideous fiend of their shared nightmares. When the police ignore her explanation she herself must confront the killer in his shadowy realm. From modern horror master Wes Craven (Scream Scream 2) comes a timeless shocker that remains the standard bearer for terror. Featuring Jo

• Heartworn Highways | DVD | (21/07/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

• I Spit On Your Grave | Blu Ray | (07/02/2011) from £6.55   |  Saving you £13.44 (205.19%)   |  RRP £19.99

  A remake of the controversial 1979 cult classic I Spit on Your Grave retells the horrific tale of writer Jennifer Hills who takes a retreat from the city to a charming cabin in the woods to start on her next book. But Jennifer's presence in the small town attracts the attention of a few morally deprived locals who set out one night to teach this city girl a lesson. They break into her cabin to scare her. However what starts out as terrifying acts of humiliation and intimidation quickly and uncontrollably escalates into a night of physical abuse and torturous assault. But before they can kill her Jennifer sacrifices her broken and beaten body to a raging river that washes her away. As time passes the men slowly stop searching for her body and try to go back to life as usual. But that isn't about to happen. Against all odds Jennifer Hills survived her ordeal. Now with hell bent vengeance Jennifer's sole purpose is to turn the tables on these animals and to inflict upon them every horrifying and torturous moment they carried out on her... only much much worse.

• Doctor In Distress | DVD | (14/04/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  When the usually ranting and raving Sir Lancelot Spratt becomes gentle and considerate the hospital inhabitants become positively alarmed until Dr Simon Sparrow diagnoses the trouble: love!

• Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads | DVD | (22/05/2006) from £14.09   |  Saving you £1.90 (13.48%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais returned to the world of The Likely Lads with this sequel series which is generally considered to be even better than the original show. Terry Collier (James Bolam) returns from his stint in the army to find his north-east home-town and its inhabitants have changed beyond recognition. Out of contact during the intervening years his best friend Bob Ferris (Rodney Bewes) has settled into a respectable white-collar job and is engaged to his boss'

• Gaiam - Yoga Core Cross Train | DVD | (19/10/2009) from £4.96   |  Saving you £8.03 (161.90%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Gaiam Yoga Core Cross Train

• Mobsters | DVD | (18/09/2006) from £13.97   |  Saving you £-0.99 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  They didn't take orders... they took over. Based on the true story of the rise of organized crime in America during Prohibition. Four now-famous thugs from humble origins and diverse ethnic backgrounds become rich and powerful gangsters through bootlegging.

• The Likely Lads | DVD | (25/09/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Bob (Rodney Bewes) and Terry (James Bolam) find their lifelong friendship beginning to change as Terry becomes involved with a new woman and the lads' weekly drinks sessions stop. Bob is dismayed but his wife sees the opportunity to get Terry married off and put a wedge between the friends. Of course this being a spin-off from the popular BBC sitcom nothing runs smoothly as they all embark on a caravan touring holiday!

• Cleopatra 2525 - Series 1 - Vol. 1 | DVD | (28/07/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  The year is 2525 and the world has been turned upside down. Monstrous airborne machines known as Baileys have taken over the surface of the earth and driven the people underground. While most of humanity has abandoned hope of ever reclaiming the surface of the earth there are those who remain fiercely committed to the cause. Among these brave souls are the female warriors Hel and Sarge. They are joined by Cleopatra a 21st Century girl who wakes up 500 years after being cryogenically frozen. They are united in the most courageous of quests: to restore humanity to its rightful place on the planet! Episode titles: Quest For Firepower Creegan Flying Lessons Mind Games Home/Rescue Run Cleo Run Choices.

• HARRY & SNOWMAN - HARRY & SNOWMAN (1 DVD) | DVD | (31/01/2017) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro) -- Paris/Gardiner | DVD | (15/10/2001) from £14.74   |  Saving you £2.25 (15.26%)   |  RRP £16.99

  It is an oft-repeated saw, about life in the heavenly spheres, that the angels revere Bach but listen to Mozart. If they have DVD players, you can bet theyre now watching this stunning production of Le Nozze di Figaro ("The Marriage of Figaro"), which comes about as close to Mozartian perfection as one could possibly hope to get. The faultlessly cast youthful performers bubble with infectious energy. Alison Hagley is a sprightly Susanna with a voice as clear as a bell, and brilliantly matched by a 28-year-old Bryn Terfel both acting and sounding in fine form. Hillevi Martinpelto demonstrates why she is one of the worlds favourite Mozart singers with her melting tones, richly coloured voice and generous stage presence, and Rodney Gilfry gives a muscular, wonderfully controlled performance as the Count. Olivier Milles direction mixes knockabout comedy and restrained pathos with fluid inventiveness, and there are even--heavens, can this really be an opera?--quite a few belly laughs, and deliciously amusing details. (Susannas guitar playing during Cherubinos "Voi che sapete" is a comic delight, and Figaros hidden sneers at Count Almaviva are hilarious.) John Eliot Gardiner draws exquisite playing from his authentic-instrument orchestra and employs tempos that are ideal. Add to that gorgeous 18th-century costumes and effective sets--it doesnt get much better than this. On the DVD: the production is beautifully realised for home viewing, with clear sound (the sets are simple wooden panels, which continually and flatteringly push the sound to the front) and great camera direction. There are subtitles in Italian, English, French, German, Spanish and Chinese but no other special features.--Warwick Thompson

• Space - Above and Beyond - The Pilot Episode | DVD | (30/04/2012) from £6.39   |  Saving you £6.60 (50.80%)   |  RRP £12.99

  It's the year 2063. After 150 years of deep space exploration, the people of Earth feel certain they are alone in the universe. Then word comes that two Earth outposts, light-years away from home have been brutally attacked by an advanced alien civilization. Now the new young recruits of the United States Marine Corps Space Aviator Cavalry are heading for the front lines of space in the toughest battle the world has ever faced. Thrust into an intergalactic war beyond imagination, these untested fighter pilots suddenly find themselves waging a life and death struggle to protect Earth and to save mankind from total annihilation. Special Features: Audio Commentary with Series Creators Glen Morgan, James Wong and Cast and Crew.

• Billy Liar | DVD | (11/09/2006) from £14.83   |  Saving you £-1.84 (-14.20%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Tom Courtenay gives a flawlessly nuanced performance as Billy Fisher the underachieving undertaker's assistant whose constant daydreams and truth-deficient stories earn him the nickname ""Billy Liar."" Julie Christie is the handbag-swinging charmer whose free spirit just might inspire Billy to finally move out of his parents' house. Deftly veering from gritty realism to flamboyant fantasy Billy Liar is a dazzling and uproarious classic.