"Director: Charles Burnett"

• Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues: A Musical Journey | DVD | (12/12/2008) from £19.99   |  Saving you £3.00 (15.01%)   |  RRP £22.99

  It may have been underrated when first broadcast, but executive producer Martin Scorsese's homage to the blues is a truly significant, if imperfect, achievement. "Musical journey" is an apt description, as Scorsese and the six other directors responsible for these seven approximately 90-minute films follow the blues--the foundation of jazz, soul, R&B, and rock & roll--from its African roots to its Mississippi Delta origins, up the river to Memphis and Chicago, then to New York, the United Kingdom, and beyond. Some of the films (like Wim Wenders's The Soul of a Man and Charles Burnett's Warming by the Devil's Fire) use extensive fictional film sequences, generally to good effect. There's also plenty of documentary footage, interviews, and contemporary studio performances recorded especially for these films. The last are among the best aspects of the DVDs, as the bonus material features the set's only complete tunes. Lou Reed's "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" and the ElektriK Mud Kats' (with Chuck D. of Public Enemy) hip-hop-cum-traditional updating of Muddy Waters's "Mannish Boy" are among the best of them; on the other hand, a rendition of "Cry Me a River" by Lulu (?!) is a curious choice, even with Jeff Beck on hand. The absence of lengthier vintage clips, meanwhile, is the principal drawback. For that reason alone, Clint Eastwood's Piano Blues is the best of the lot; a musician himself, Eastwood simply lets the players play, which means we get extensive file footage of the likes of Art Tatum, Oscar Peterson, and Nat "King" Cole, as well as new performances by Ray Charles, Dr. John, and others. Overall, this is a set to savor, a worthwhile investment guaranteed to grow on you over the course of repeated viewings. --Sam Graham

• Killer Of Sheep | DVD | (20/10/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  A masterpiece of African American filmmaking and one of the finest debuts in cinema history Killer Of Sheep was chosen for the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress and named one of the 100 Essential Films by the National Society of Film Critics. In the Los Angeles community of Watts Stan a sensitive dreamer is growing detached and numb from the toll of working at a slaughterhouse. Frustrated by money problems he finds respite in moments of simple beauty: the warmth of a teacup against his cheek slow dancing with his wife holding his daughter. Combining lyrical moments with neorealist style Burnett unfolds his story with compassion and humor.

• The Glass Shield | Blu Ray | (23/01/2017) from £10.35   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  The first black recruit in his squad, rookie cop J.J. Johnson (Michael Boatman) struggles to adapt to life on the force when confronted by the inherent prejudices and corruption of his precinct. Immediately positioned as an outsider, along with fellow novice cop Deborah (Lori Petty), J.J witnesses at first hand the brutality and implicit racism of his Caucasian colleagues. When an unlawful search results in the arrest of Teddy Woods (Ice Cube) on dubious murder charges, J.J. risks his job and his life to reveal the truth. Directed by Charles Burnett (Killer of Sheep, My Brother's Wedding), this thrilling drama shines a light on the deep-rooted racial tensions of the American justice system and the toll of opposing institutionalised bigotry. Extras/Episodes: Interview with director Charles Burnett Fully illustrated booklet

• To Sleep With Anger (1990) | Blu Ray | (25/03/2019) from £14.38   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Charles Burnett's 1990 masterpiece, a family drama suffused with magical realism. A slowburning masterwork of the early 1990s, this third feature by Charles Burnett (Killer of Sheep) is a singular piece of American mythmaking. In a towering performance, Danny Glover (The Color Purple) plays the enigmatic southern drifter Harry, a devilish charmer who turns up out of the blue on the South Central Los Angeles doorstep of his old friends. In short order, Harry's presence turns a seemingly peaceful household upside down, exposing smouldering tensions between parents and children, tradition and change, virtue and temptation. Interweaving evocative strains of gospel and blues with rich, poeticrealist images, To Sleep with Anger is a sublimely stirring film from an autonomous artistic sensibility, a portrait of family resilience steeped in the traditions of black mysticism and folklore. Features: New, restored 4K digital transfer, approved by director Charles Burnett, with 2.0 surround DTSHD Master Audio soundtrack New interview programme featuring Burnett, actors Danny Glover and Sheryl Lee Ralph, and associate producer Linda Koulisis A Walk with Charles Burnett, a new hourlong conversation between Burnett and filmmaker Robert Townsend that revisits Burnett's films and shooting locations Short video tribute to Burnett produced for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Governors Awards ceremony in 2017 PLUS: An essay by critic Ashley Clark

• My Brother's Wedding | DVD | (20/10/2008) from £15.75   |  Saving you £2.24 (12.50%)   |  RRP £17.99

  A 2 disc presentation set of the original version and the new Director's Cut of Burnett's warm wry drama about a young man torn between obligations to his hard-working family aspirational brother and criminally-minded friends.

• The Wedding | DVD | (24/02/2003) from £5.47   |  Saving you £0.52 (9.51%)   |  RRP £5.99

  She should marry for love not for the family. Halle Berry features as Shelley Coles a beautiful twenty-five year old woman from a black family of privilege. Shelby is engaged to marry Meade Howell a wonderful jazz musician but as she approaches her wedding day she begins to suffer misgivings brought on by a mixed heritage. Meade's parents will not be attending the marriage of their son because they do not approve of his bi-racial union. Shelby's parents do not object to the colour of Meade's skin but wanted their beautiful eligible daughter to marry a successful professional not a jazz musician. To further cloud Shelby's decision is the arrival of Lute McNeil a very handsome black man who has made it very clear that he considers Shelby to be the woman of his dreams and seeks to have her at any cost... This saga involves family secrets and heart-wrenching questions about love and duty as it relates to the tale of an upper-class African-American family whose ancestors experienced entirely diverse histories leaving the current members of the family with painful choices to make.

• To Sleep With Anger | DVD | (24/05/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  When Harry comes to town he brings good times bad times...and a lot of trouble!

• Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues: Warming By The Devil's Fire | DVD | (29/03/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Director Charles Burnett presents a tale about a young boy's encounter with his family in Mississippi in the 1950s and intergenerational tensions between the heavenly strains of gospel and the devillish moans of the blues.

• Warming By The Devil's Fire | DVD | (27/02/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Director Charles Burnett presents a tale about a young boy's encounter with his family in Mississippi in the 1950s and intergenerational tensions between the heavenly strains of gospel and the devillish moans of the blues.