"Actor: Ron James"

• Band Of Brothers | DVD | (05/11/2002) from £34.99   |  Saving you £25.00 (71.45%)   |  RRP £59.99

  A genuinely epic achievement, the 10-part World War II drama Band of Brothers is a television series that makes big-screen Hollywood war movies look small in comparison. Based on the book by historian Stephen Ambrose, the series follows the US 101st Airborne Division's "Easy" E-Company from initial training through D-Day and across Holland, Belgium, Germany and Austria until the end of the war. Coproduced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, the series take its initial inspiration from Saving Private Ryan and borrows that film's visceral visual approach to combat scenes using hand-held camerawork and de-saturated photography. But where Band of Brothers excels is in its scrupulous attention to the realities of military life (retired US Marine Captain Dale Dye, who also co-stars, is the man to credit). After the high drama of the parachute drop on D-Day, Easy's greatest trial comes during the Battle of the Bulge, when they are besieged at Bastogne in the depths of winter. In one of the most harrowing and credible depictions of war ever committed to film we see the men enduring the repeated artillery attacks of the German forces and experience, if only vicariously, some of the sheer terror of the assault, while being humbled by the soldiers' courage and determination. Such feelings are enhanced by the series' masterstroke--bookend interviews with the surviving members of Easy Company, who talk with barely suppressed emotion of the experiences we see recreated. The endorsement of these veterans elevates Band of Brothers beyond any mere "war film"--its extraordinary achievement is that it shows the horror and savagery of war without gloss or jingoism, and yet celebrates the fraternal bonds and dogged heroism of the men who fought. On the DVD: Band of Brothers arrives handsomely packaged in a six-disc box set with two episodes on each of the first five discs. Sound (Dolby 5.1) and picture (1.78:1 widescreen) only enhance the series' epic credentials. Disc 6 contains all the extras, the meatiest of which is the marvellous 80-minute documentary "We Stand Alone Together" about the real men of Easy Company. There's also a first-rate, genuinely interesting 30-minute "making of" feature about actor boot camp, visual effects and blowing up fake trees among many other things. This is complemented by actor Ron Livingston's revealing Video Diaries of boot camp. Additionally there's a "Who's Who" section and footage of the HBO premiere at Utah Beach, plus a TV spot for car company Jeep. --Mark Walker

• This Is Personal - The Hunt For The Yorkshire Ripper | DVD | (07/01/2013) from £6.65   |  Saving you £6.34 (95.34%)   |  RRP £12.99

  David Richards directs this fact-based drama exploring the case of 'The Yorkshire Ripper'. Throughout the 1970s and early '80s, the serial killer preyed on young women and committed a total of 13 murders in the West Yorkshire area. This film shows a dramatisation of the investigation led by Detective George Oldfield (Alun Armstrong) which took its toll on both his career and personal life but which also led to the conviction of Peter Sutcliffe (Craig Cheetham) in 1981.

• The Adventures of Huck Finn | DVD | (24/05/2004) from £7.08   |  Saving you £8.91 (125.85%)   |  RRP £15.99

  The Adventures Of Huck Finn is an action-packed adaptation of Mark Twain's classic adventure. The unforgettable story of two unlikely friends a mischievous boy and a runaway slave on a wild trip down the mighty Mississippi River. On their treacherous journey to freedom they come across an entertaining assortment of diverse characters and face one incredible adventure after another. You won't want to miss this sensational telling of Twain's classic tale - a fun-filled mix of thrills and adventure!

• Black Lightning S2 | DVD | (30/12/2019) from £26.17   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Jefferson Pierce (Cress Williams) is a man with many faces. A former Olympic athlete, respected educator and a father of two, he's also Black Lightning, superpowered protector of Freeland with the ability to sense and harness electricity. Jefferson is not the only one with powers and multiple faces. His oldest daughter, Anissa Pierce (Nafessa Williams) is a medical student, part-time teacher and dedicated social activist. She is also the super hero known as Thunder who possesses the ability to drastically increase her density, giving her invulnerability and super strength for as long as she can hold her breath. Finally, Jefferson's youngest daughter, Jennifer Pierce (McClain) is a fiery teen who inherited her father's athletic gifts but not his desire to be an athlete. Jennifer also inherited super powers. Her body generates pure electrical energy and she possesses the potential to be more powerful than Anissa or Jefferson. Lynn Stewart (Adams) is Jefferson's ex-wife but they are still very much in love in addition to sharing the load as co-parents. She's also an accomplished medical researcher who is fast becoming an expert in metahuman medicine. Together, the Pierce family faces the challenges of the declined urban community that is the fictional city of Freeland, including corrupt officials and a menacing gang that calls itself The 100. Worse, Tobias Whale (Jones) an infamous gangster plagues this city and increasingly, metahumans with superpowers will prey upon the city, too. Fortunately, the family has allies in their fight, Jefferson's surrogate father and a former covert superspy, Peter Gambi (Remar) as well as Jefferson's friend and neighbor, the committed and scrupulously honest Deputy Police Chief Henderson (Gupton).

• Hellboy 2: The Golden Army (2 Disc Special Edition) | DVD | (08/12/2008) from £3.95   |  Saving you £19.04 (482.03%)   |  RRP £22.99

  The mythical world starts a rebellion against the human realm in order to rule the Earth, so Hellboy and his team must save the world from the myriad creatures.

• The Conspiracy | DVD | (14/10/2013) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  When two young filmmakers select a crazed conspiracy theorist as the subject of their new work the task seems simple enough: Befriend him gain his trust and let his theories speak for themselves. Despite his street preaching their subject proves to be an articulate and intelligent man. Listen long enough and his arguments even start to make a certain sort of sense. It s enough to make you wonder if maybe somewhere there's some basis to what he's saying. And then he simply disappears. While one of the filmmaking duo is prepared to walk away the other becomes obsessed. This should not be possible. People do not just disappear. Not unless someone wants them to. What if he was correct? What if he was on the verge of exposing some greater scheme? And what if he was taken? And so begins an obsessive effort to reconstruct his work an effort that points the duo to a high powered retreat and networking organization for the political and business elite.

• Follow Me: The Complete Series | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  From Bob Baker and Dave Martin, veteran children's television writers whose memorable credits include Sky, the Wallace and Gromit animations, and several Doctor Who adventures (along with the creation of the Doctor's legendary robot companion, K9), this nautically themed drama chronicles the heroic efforts of a boy and his father to rescue a runaway girl from a gang of kidnappers. Executive-produced by HTV kingpin Patrick Dromgoole, Follow Me stars Ronald Fraser and Ewen Solon alongside Children of the Stones' Ian Donnelly and Katharine Levy in an exciting tale of adventure and suspense. Young Tom Dawes is enthralled by the sight of a fine schooner sailing up the Avon Gorge. But before long, both he and his father have become mixed up in the mystery of a missing girl, a half-recorded message, and sinister intruders at Bristol Docks...

• Gettysburg | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £8.95   |  Saving you £5.04 (56.31%)   |  RRP £13.99

  Thanks to generous funding from media mogul Ted Turner, first-time director Ronald F Maxwell was able to make an almost word-for-word adaptation of Michael Shaara's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Killer Angels. Running over four hours, Gettysburg (1993) splits into two convenient parts for TV viewing (although a 70mm print was given limited theatrical release). This story of three bloody days of conflict in July, 1863 (an unimaginable 50,000 casualties), is divided equally between Union and Confederate forces. On the Union side, Jeff Daniels is the quietly heroic Colonel Joshua Chamberlain; Sam Elliott is utterly convincing as General Buford, the Union cavalryman who holds the Confederate army at bay on the first day. Martin Sheen plays an oddly subdued and vacillating General Lee--a controversial portrait of the legendary Confederate chief--while Tom Berenger, despite being almost hidden underneath an enormous authentically period-style beard, is strong and authoritative as General Longstreet (whose opposition to Lee's plans gave many in the Confederacy a reason to blame him for the disaster at Gettysburg). Chamberlain's last-ditch defence of Little Round Top, which prevented the Union forces from being flanked on the second day of battle, forms the climax to the first half; the heartbreaking Pickett's Charge--the Confederates' disastrous frontal assault on the entrenched Union lines on the third day--is the movie's greatest set piece and one of the most compelling reasons to endure a little too much stodgy dialogue (lifted directly from the novel) and an apparently over-reverential attitude to the subject-matter. But much of this movie was made in and around the actual battle site, so it's only to be expected that the cast and crew tread carefully, as if literally under the watchful eyes of the men whose lives they are re-enacting. And re-enactment is the key: with a cast of thousands in splendidly detailed period costumes, cannonades galore and massed ranks of musketry, the sheer scale of the military spectacle is endlessly impressive. If as a piece of filmmaking it has many faults, as an historical re-enactment Gettysburg is unsurpassed--even by the epic Waterloo (1970), which drafted in a large chunk of the Russian army as Napoleonic extras. --Mark Walker

• Flesh & Blood (Eureka Classics) Dual Format (DVD & Blu-ray) | Blu Ray | (06/08/2018) from £12.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  A deliriously violent medieval epic from genre master Paul Verhoeven (Robocop, Total Recall), Flesh + Blood sees a savage and amoral band of mercenaries take revenge on the noblemen who betrayed them. In Western Europe, 1501, a small army of mercenaries led by the charismatic and mercurial Martin (Rutger Hauer; Blade Runner, The Hitcher) reclaim a heavily fortified castle for its owner Arnolfini, who then betrays the band and ejects them from the city by force. Swearing revenge, Martin leads a violent assault on the nobleman and ends up accidentally kidnapping the beautiful Agnes (Jennifer Jason Leigh The Hateful Eight), the fiancée of Arnolfini's son Steven, who in turn pledges to wipe out the mercenary group once and for all. With its vision of a brutal and morally bereft Medieval Europe, the film shocked audiences who had become used to the highly romanticised depictions of the era commonly seen on the big screen. Originally censored in the UK due to its extreme amounts of sex and violence, Eureka Classics is proud to present Flesh + Blood fully uncut, and on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK in a special Dual Format edition. Features: Limited Edition O-Card slipcase (first print run only) 1080p presentation of the film on Blu-ray, with a progressive encode on the DVD. Uncompressed LPCM audio (on the Blu-ray) Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing Audio commentary by director Paul Verhoeven Paul Verhoeven in the Flesh (21 mins) Verhoeven Versus Verhoeven A documentary on the iconic director, covering the entirety of his career and featuring extensive interviews with the man himself (45 mins) Audio interview with actor Rutger Hauer (24 mins) Interview with screenwriter Gerard Soeteman (17 mins) Interview with composer Basil Poledoris Original theatrical trailer A collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film (first pressing only)

• New Tricks - Series 3 | DVD | (14/05/2007) from £12.83   |  Saving you £12.16 (94.78%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Amanda Redman Dennis Waterman James Bolam and Alun Armstrong star as an unlikely team of crack detectives in this the complete third series of New Tricks.

• True Grit | DVD | (06/06/2005) from £6.99   |  Saving you £6.00 (85.84%)   |  RRP £12.99

  John Wayne hams it up as a one-eyed, broken-down marshal in this 1969 adaptation of Charles Portis's bestselling novel. Kim Darby plays the formal-speaking adolescent who goes to Wayne for help tracking down her father's killer, and singer Glen Campbell straps on his guns to join the quest. Directed by old lion Henry Hathaway (Rawhide), True Grit is largely a showcase for Wayne (who finally won an Oscar), but it is also a decent Western with a particularly stirring final act. --Tom Keogh

• The Lion King Special Edition | DVD | (31/10/2003) from £7.08   |  Saving you £15.91 (224.72%)   |  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

• New Tricks Series Eight | DVD | (21/11/2011) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £25.99

  The murder of a palaeontologist at the Natural History Museum opens the new series. The team discovers the victim was a respected but outspoken scientist with a knack for rubbing people up the wrong way - and when it comes out he was strongly opposed to the museum's sponsorship deal with a large fuel company, the cops soon have plenty of suspects.

• Out Of Time | DVD | (10/05/2004) from £6.04   |  Saving you £13.95 (230.96%)   |  RRP £19.99

  When a double homicide happens in a Florida community, the chief of police finds himself in a race against time to solve the murders before he himself falls under suspicion in this modern noir thriller.

• Fat Friends - Series 2 | DVD | (18/04/2005) from £13.70   |  Saving you £11.29 (82.41%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Kay Mellor's comedy drama series following a collection of characters whose personal life struggles are relayed to each other during their weekly slimming class... Episodes comprise: 1. Full Belly 2. Peaches And Dreams 3. Forty And In-Fat-uated 4. Sweet And Sour 5. In Full Bloom 6. Hunger Pangs

• Farewell To The King | DVD | (28/07/2003) from £6.22   |  Saving you £0.77 (12.38%)   |  RRP £6.99

  During World War II a British Army officer is despatched to Borneo to train the local tribesmen to fight the Japanese and is surprised to discover the tribal king is an American. The two train the tribe and fight in a series of battles but both are sadly aware that their destruction is imminent...

• The Specialist | DVD | (25/09/1998) from £19.99   |  Saving you £-6.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £13.99

  Just awful enough to qualify as someone's guilty pleasure, this convoluted thriller was supposed to cash in on the supposedly sexy teaming of Sylvester Stallone and Sharon Stone (then hot from her ample exposure in Basic Instinct), but their naked groping in a shower provides one of the film's unintentionally funny highlights. Ray Quick (Stallone) is a former CIA bomb expert whose former colleague (James Woods) is now in cahoots with a Miami drug cartel led by kingpin Joe Leon (Rod Steiger), who chews the scenery while his son Tomas (Eric Roberts) proceeds with a greedy hidden agenda. May Munro (Stone) hires Quick to kill off Roberts. The Specialist, featuring lots of explosions and redeemed by a dandy role for James Woods, is best suited for ardent Stallone and Stone fans. --Jeff Shannon

• Casino | Blu Ray | (24/03/2025) from £19.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• The Great Escape - World Cup Special Edition | DVD | (20/05/2002) from £8.90   |  Saving you £14.09 (158.31%)   |  RRP £22.99

  A stirring example of courage and the indomitable human spirit, for many John Sturges' The Great Escape is both the definitive World War II drama and the nonpareil prison escape movie. Featuring an unequalled ensemble cast in a rivetingly authentic true-life scenario set to Elmer Bernstein's admirable music (who writes contrapuntal march themes these days?), this picture is both a template for subsequent action-adventure movies and one of the last glories of Golden Age Hollywood. Reunited with the director who made him a star in The Magnificent Seven Steve McQueen presents a career-defining performance as the laconic Hilts, the baseball-loving, motorbike-riding "Cooler King". The rest of the all-male Anglo-American cast--Dickie Attenborough, Donald Pleasance, James Garner, Charles Bronson, David McCallum, James Coburn and Gordon Jackson--make the most of their meaty roles (though you have to forgive Coburn his Australian accent). Closely based on Paul Brickhill's book, the various escape attempts, scrounging, forging and ferreting activities are authentically realised thanks also to the presence of technical advisor Wally Flood on set, one of the original tunnel-digging POWs. Sturges orchestrates the climactic mass break-out with total conviction, giving us both high action and very poignant human drama. Without trivialising the grim reality, The Great Escape thrillingly celebrates the heroism of men who never gave up the fight. On the DVD: The Great Escape World Cup Special Edition includes all the features of the two-disc special edition, plus a full-size St George's Cross England flag, a feature on England footballers' World Cup memories and World Cup-themed packaging. --Mark Walker

• The Great Escape - Special Edition | DVD | (04/12/2006) from £7.80   |  Saving you £13.45 (205.66%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The all time classic tale of a massive escape from a World War Two German Prisoner of War camp released as a two disc DVD set with a host of extra features.