"Director: Douglas McGrath"

• Emma | DVD | (05/02/2001) from £6.99   |  Saving you £8.00 (114.45%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Most people didn't mind Gwyneth Paltrow's English accent in this charming, 1996 adaptation of Jane Austen's novel (which also inspired Clueless). But even if it doesn't sound quite right to you, there are plenty of authentic and wonderful Brit thespians in this film by screenwriter-turned-director Douglas McGrath (co-author of Woody Allen's Bullets Over Broadway), including Juliet Stevenson (Truly Madly Deeply), Alan Cumming (Buddy), Phyllida Law (Much Ado About Nothing), Ewan McGregor (the Scots star of Trainspotting), and Sophie Thompson, outstanding and finally heartbreaking as the chattering Miss Bates. Paltrow plays Austen's benign busybody, Emma Woodhouse--so busy trying to arrange the lives of others that she is sidestepping her own. McGrath brings a kind of pretty and light touch to the production, his best move the wise delegation of creative authority to the actors themselves. --Tom Keogh

• Emma | DVD | (02/05/2011) from £8.99   |  Saving you £13.00 (185.98%)   |  RRP £19.99

  In the lush countryside of 19th century England there's a young woman so devoted to meddling in the affairs of others that she fails to recognise the longings of her own heart. Her name is Emma (Gwyneth Paltrow) and although she's never one to interfere Emma manages to make a mess out of every romance she sets up. But her biggest blunder may lie ahead when she discovers her own feelings for her handsome brother-in-law a man she can't decide whether she loves or loathes.

• Company Man | DVD | (30/06/2003) from £8.13   |  Saving you £0.85 (16.54%)   |  RRP £5.99

  In 1960s suburbia Allen Quimp (Paul Guilfoyle) makes up a little white lie and tells his wife (Sigourney Weaver) that he is a spy The CIA soon become interested in him and send him and his wife to Cuba to overthrow Castro!

• Infamous | DVD | (30/01/2013) from £9.44   |  Saving you £6.81 (83.25%)   |  RRP £14.99

  "Infamous" is a compelling study of the complex and tortured relationship that resulted between Truman Capote and convicted murderer Perry Smith.

• I Don't Know How She Does It | DVD | (06/02/2012) from £3.59   |  Saving you £16.40 (456.83%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The archetypal single gal from Sex and the City dives into family life in I Don't Know How She Does It. Kate Reddy, played by Sarah Jessica Parker, could easily be Carrie Bradshaw's alternate life: a rising finance analyst, Kate feels guilty for short-changing her husband (Greg Kinnear) and two children. When she gets the opportunity to work with a high-powered exec (Pierce Brosnan), the already tense family relationship gets stretched to the breaking point and Kate has to make some hard choices. I Don't Know How She Does It is pure formula, but executed well. The entire cast (also including Christina Hendricks as a single-mum best friend, Kelsey Grammer as an overbearing boss, Seth Meyers as a sniping rival, and a scene-stealing Olivia Munn as Kate's assistant) play their parts with skill, while Parker's rapport with Kinnear is particularly warm and persuasive. Moreover, you have to admire the sheer chutzpah of hammering home political points about double standards in the workplace and then delivering a fairy-tale ending. Men have realised the importance of family over work in dozens upon dozens of cookie-cutter heartwarming flicks; apparently it's time that women got the opportunity to do the same. No doubt this signifies some important cultural shift; college theses are waiting to be written about it. --Bret Fetzer

• Emma / Mansfield Park | DVD | (10/10/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Emma (Dir. Douglas McGrath 1996): In the lush countryside of 19th century England there's a young woman so devoted to meddling in the affairs of others that she fails to recognise the longings of her own heart. Her name is Emma (Gwyneth Paltrow) and although she's ""never one to interfere "" Emma manages to make a mess out of every romance she sets up. But her biggest blunder may lie ahead when she discovers her own feelings for her handsome brother-in-law a man she can't d

• Nicholas Nickleby | DVD | (10/11/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  From one of Charles Dickens' most beloved novels comes some of his most unforgettable characters, vibrantly brought to life by a star-studded, award-winning cast.

• I Don't Know How She Does It | Blu Ray | (06/02/2012) from £4.75   |  Saving you £20.24 (426.11%)   |  RRP £24.99

  The archetypal single gal from Sex and the City dives into family life in I Don't Know How She Does It. Kate Reddy, played by Sarah Jessica Parker, could easily be Carrie Bradshaw's alternate life: a rising finance analyst, Kate feels guilty for short-changing her husband (Greg Kinnear) and two children. When she gets the opportunity to work with a high-powered exec (Pierce Brosnan), the already tense family relationship gets stretched to the breaking point and Kate has to make some hard choices. I Don't Know How She Does It is pure formula, but executed well. The entire cast (also including Christina Hendricks as a single-mum best friend, Kelsey Grammer as an overbearing boss, Seth Meyers as a sniping rival, and a scene-stealing Olivia Munn as Kate's assistant) play their parts with skill, while Parker's rapport with Kinnear is particularly warm and persuasive. Moreover, you have to admire the sheer chutzpah of hammering home political points about double standards in the workplace and then delivering a fairy-tale ending. Men have realised the importance of family over work in dozens upon dozens of cookie-cutter heartwarming flicks; apparently it's time that women got the opportunity to do the same. No doubt this signifies some important cultural shift; college theses are waiting to be written about it. --Bret Fetzer

• Charles Dickens Collection | DVD | (19/03/2012) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.91

  Great ExpectationsThe key ingredient in this modern-day version of Charles Dickens's classic is director Alfonso Cuarón, who made the glowing, estimable A Little Princess. If you saw that (and you should), understand that Expectations has those ingredients (great sense of time, place, and timing) but adds modern music and sex appeal; the latter personified by the long-legged Gwyneth Paltrow. Finnegan Bell (Ethan Hawke as an adult, Jeremy James Kissner at age 10) is the new version of Dickens's Pip. He's a child wise beyond his years, befriending an escaped convict (Robert De Niro) in the warm waters of Florida's Gulf Coast. Finn is also the plaything for Estella (Paltrow as an adult, Raquel Beaudene at age 10), the niece of the coast's richest and most eccentric lady, Ms. Dinsmoor (a fun and flamboyant Anne Bancroft). The prudish Estella likes Finn (catch the best first kiss scene in many a moon) but has been brought up to disdain men; she'll break hearts. As the object of Finn's desires, Estella unfortunately is a one-dimensional character, yet what a dimension! Clad in Donna Karan dresses and her long, sun-kissed hair, Paltrow is luminous. She and Hawke make a very sexy couple. Mitch Glazer's script does better by Finn. He's a blue-collar worker with a gift for drawing (artwork by Francesco Clemente). Following his Uncle Joe's (Chris Cooper) honest ways, Finn grows up as a fisherman, thoughts of Estella and art drifting away in the hard work. When a mysterious benefactor allows him to follow his dream, Finn finds himself in New York, preparing for a once-in-a-lifetime art exhibit--and in the arms of the engaged Estella. Filled with cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki's golden-drenched light, the film has an irresistible, wildly romantic look. Dinsmoor's place is certainly gothic, Estella and Finn's longing encounters glamorous. Cuarón uses an MTV-friendly soundtrack with a confident touch. Songs by Tori Amos and the band Pulp--along with Patrick Doyle's silky score--create passionate scenes. It all ends far too swiftly with a seemingly tacked-on ending (reflecting the book, as it happens) but the film is splendid storytelling. It's a stylish, sweet valentine. --Doug Thomas Oliver TwistIf Charles Dickens were alive to see Roman Polanski's faithful adaptation of Oliver Twist, he'd probably give it his stamp of approval. David Lean's celebrated 1948 version of the Dickens classic and Carol Reed's Oscar-winning 1968 musical are more entertaining in some ways, but Polanski's rendition is both painstakingly authentic (with superb cinematography and production design) and deeply rooted in the emotional context of the story. Both Polanski and Dickens had personal experiences similar to those of young Oliver (played here by Barney Clark)--Polanski in the Nazi-occupied ghettos of Poland during World War II, and Dickens during his hard-scrabble youth in Victorian London--and this spiritual kinship lends a certain gravitas to the tale of a tenacious orphan who escaped from indentured servitude in London society and is taken in by Fagin (Ben Kingsley) and his streetwise gang of pickpockets. As the evil Bill Sykes, who exploits Oliver for his own nefarious needs, Jamie Foreman is no match for Oliver Reed (in the '68 musical) in terms of frightening menace, but even here, Polanski's direction hews closer to Dickens, while the screenplay by Ronald Harwood (who also wrote Polanski's The Pianist) necessarily trims away subplots and characters for the sake of narrative economy. All in all, this Oliver Twist rises above most previous versions, and with the benefit of Kingsley's nuanced performance, Polanski arrives at a compassionate conclusion that captures the essence of Dickens' novel in a way that viewers of all ages will appreciate for many years to come.-- Jeff Shannon Nicholas NicklebyWhile it necessarily streamlines the Charles Dickens classic, this delightful adaptation of Nicholas Nickelby captures the essence of Dickens in all of its Victorian splendor and squalor. With Charlie Hunnam (the U.K. Queer as Folk) doing noble work in the title role, this quintessentially Dickensian tale begins with the death of Nicholas's father, and the subsequent scheme by his cruel uncle (Christopher Plummer, perfectly cast) to separate Nicholas from his now penniless sister and mother. Stuck in a squalid school run by the evil Mr. and Mrs. Squeers (Jim Broadbent, Juliet Stevenson), Nicholas escapes with his loyal friend Smike (Billy Elliott's Jamie Bell), whose lineage will determine the greedy uncle's fate. As he did with Jane Austen's Emma, writer-director Douglas McGrath has crafted a prestigious production that shifts effortlessly between comedy and tragedy without compromising its warm, inviting tone. His dialogue rings true throughout, inspiring a stellar cast including Nathan Lane, Alan Cumming, Edward Fox, and Timothy Spall. Dickens himself would almost certainly have approved. --Jeff Shannon

• Classics Collection - Wuthering Heights/Jane Eyre/Nicolas Nickleby | DVD | (09/04/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Wuthering Heights (Dir. Robert Fuest 1970): Haunting passionate and unforgettable this beautiful version of Emily Bronte's timeless masterpiece stars Anna Calder-Marshall and Timothy Dalton as Cathy and Heathcliff star crossed lovers destined for a doomed romance..... Jane Eyre (Dir. Franco Zeffirelli 1996): Jane Eyre is a poor orphan brought up by a wealthy Aunt who is determined she should never forget her impoverished background. Surviving the cruelty of an oppressive boarding school she becomes the governess of Thornfield Hall owned by the enigmatic and rarely seen Mr Rochester. When Jane finally meets Mr Rochester in the flesh she is consumed by an overwhelming attraction towards him that soon becomes mutual. Nicholas Nickleby (Dir. Douglas McGrath 2002): When his father dies young Nicholas Nickleby's family is left penniless and he his sister and his mother venture to London to seek help from their wealthy Uncle Ralph (Plummer). Unfortunately Ralph's intentions are less than good and the family is split apart. Nicholas is sent to teach at Dotheboys Hall a squalid school for orphan boys run by the cruel and abusive Wackford Squeers (Broadbent). Within the dark grim walls of Dotheboys Nicholas befriends a kind-hearted and mistreated boy named Smike (Bell) and together they run away setting off on an adventure to reunite the Nickleby family and build a new home of their own.

• Emma | Blu Ray | (19/09/2011) from £16.18   |  Saving you £8.81 (54.45%)   |  RRP £24.99

  In the lush countryside of 19th century England, there's a young woman so devoted to meddling in the affairs of others that she fails to recognise the longings of her own heart. Her name is Emma (Gwyneth Paltrow), and although she's never one to interfere, Emma manages to make a mess out of every romance she sets up. But her biggest blunder may lie ahead when she discovers her own feelings for her handsome brother-in-law, a man she can't decide whether she loves or loathes.