"Director: Pedr James"

• Our Friends In The North | DVD | (27/09/2010) from £12.99   |  Saving you £17.00 (130.87%)   |  RRP £29.99

  An epic saga stretching from 1964 to 1995, Our Friends in the North follows the lives of four young people in North-East England. Nicky Hutchinson (Christopher Eccleston) is initially courting Mary Soulsby (Gina McKee) but the relationship cools when it takes second place to his campaigning for Harold Wilson's Labour Party. She weds Tory Tosker Cox instead, but their marriage is a miserable one, living in a rot-infested high rise block built following a dubious new housing scheme. Meanwhile, "Geordie" Peacock, finally tiring of his drunken, abusive father, headbutts him and hitches down to London, where he ends up working for a surrogate "family" led by Malcolm McDowell's flash Soho sex club baron. Over the years, the paths of these characters intertwine, diverge then cross again, albeit occasionally stretching the bounds of plausible coincidence. The drama takes place against the backdrop of local authority and police corruption in the 60s, the radical far-left militancy of the early 70s, Thatcher's election, the 1984 miner's strike and the subsequent "murder" of Northern communities. What's brilliant about Our Friends is its melding of the personal and the political, with the soap opera of family estrangement played out against a backdrop of social decline. Peter Vaughn, playing Nicky's Dad as a former Jarrow marcher stricken by Alzheimer's, is especially poignant. If you didn't see this the first time, do so now. On the DVD: Our Friends in the North has a bonus disc featuring a discussion with writer Peter Flannery and the producers and directors in which the making of the programme is revealed to have been as epic and protracted a saga as the drama itself. There are interviews also with stars Christopher Eccleston and Gina McKee. --David Stubbs

• Charles Dickens Collection (Repackaged) | DVD | (23/01/2012) from £22.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £22.99

  Titles Comprise:Martin Chuzzlewit: Martin Chuzzlewit is a wealthy old man. But who will inherit his riches? He has disinherited his grandson, young Martin, suspecting the motives of the young man's love for Mary, Chuzzlewit's nurse and companion. With such a prize to play for, the rest of his family - including the snivelling hypocrite Pecksniff and the fabulously evil Jonas - bring forth all of their cunning, greed and selfishness. With his grandson floundering in America, these increasingly desperate relatives close in on the vulnerable old manOliver Twist: One of the most faithful productions of Dickens' favourite tale - with an authentic and compulsive twist to an old and classic tale. A Christmas Carol: First broadcast in 1977, repeated in 1993 with a stunning cast, the perennial favourite morality tale is vividly brought to life by Michael Hordern as Scrooge, with John le Mesurier and Bernard Lee.A Tale of Two Cities: Two cities intertwined during the French revolution by tyranny and love in this absorbing and heart-rending production. It tells the story of Syney Carton, a man of no consequence, who gives up his life to save Charles Darnay.Great Expectations: Pip is a young orphan who is taken under the protection of a kindly family. He is also brought into contact with Miss Havisham and the aloof Estella who he loves from afar. Miss Havisham becomes his benefactor and he is allowed to grow into a young gentleman, but is haunted by his past, in particular an encounter with Magwitch on the marshes when he was young. He is besotted with Estella but she shows no affection towards him to begin with and teases him by flirting with a number of eligible suitors. The story climaxes with a fire at Miss Havisham's house where old secrets are revealed and Pip and Estella finally realise their love for each other.David Copperfield: Bob Hoskins leads an all-star cast in an adaptation of one of Charles Dickens' most famous novels. Drawing on his own life Dickens tells the tale of David from birth and idyllic upbringing through hardship and adventure leadingto the eventual discovery of his vocation as a successful novelist. On his journey David encounters a gallery of Dickens's most memorable characters. Mr Micawber, Uriah Heep & Steerforth are among those who share his development. Pickwick Papers: Nigel Stock stars as Mr. Pickwick in this colourful BBC adaptation of Charles Dickens' first and much-loved best-seller about the chaotic and amusing adventures of the Pickwick Club, consisting of Mr. Pickwick and his companions.Our Mutual Friend: From the dark waters of Victorian London, Charles Dickens weaves a tale of crime and compassion. Poor Lizzie and her father eke out a living on the banks of the Thames until one day they recover a body that links them with another world - the world of dinner parties and the household of the Wilfers. As their lives intertwine a complex story of money and love emerges.

• Play for Today: Volume One (4-disc Blu-ray Boxset) | Blu Ray | (16/11/2020) from £40.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  50 years on from its first transmission, the BBC's Play for Today anthology series remains one of British television's most influential and celebrated achievements. Between 1970 and 1984, plays which combined some of the era's finest writing, acting and directing talents were broadcast direct to living rooms, regularly challenging viewers and pushing the boundaries of TV drama. Featuring plays by the likes of Ingmar Bergman, Julia Jones and Colin Welland and featuring a roster of eminent British actors, Play for Today: Volume One brings together seven iconic dramas on Bluray for the very first time, in a collection that exemplifies the breadth and brilliance of this groundbreaking series. The set includes five plays which have been restored from the original negatives held in the BBC archive. The Plays: The Lie (Written by Ingmar Bergman | Dir. Alan Bridges, 1970) Shakespeare or Bust (Written by Peter Terson | Dir. Brian Parker, 1973) Back of Beyond (Written by Julia Jones | Dir. Desmond Davis, 1974) Passage to England (Written by Leon Griffiths | Dir. John Mackenzie, 1975) Our Flesh and Blood (Written by Mike Stott | Dir. Pedr James, 1977) A Photograph (Written by John Bowen | Dir. John Glenister, 1977) Your Man from Six Counties (Written by Colin Welland | Dir. Barry Davis, 1976)

• Our Friends In The North (4 Disc Set) | DVD | (19/08/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £49.99

  An epic saga stretching from 1964 to 1995, Our Friends in the North follows the lives of four young people in North-East England. Nicky Hutchinson (Christopher Eccleston) is initially courting Mary Soulsby (Gina McKee) but the relationship cools when it takes second place to his campaigning for Harold Wilson's Labour Party. She weds Tory Tosker Cox instead, but their marriage is a miserable one, living in a rot-infested high rise block built following a dubious new housing scheme. Meanwhile, "Geordie" Peacock, finally tiring of his drunken, abusive father, headbutts him and hitches down to London, where he ends up working for a surrogate "family" led by Malcolm McDowell's flash Soho sex club baron. Over the years, the paths of these characters intertwine, diverge then cross again, albeit occasionally stretching the bounds of plausible coincidence. The drama takes place against the backdrop of local authority and police corruption in the 60s, the radical far-left militancy of the early 70s, Thatcher's election, the 1984 miner's strike and the subsequent "murder" of Northern communities. What's brilliant about Our Friends is its melding of the personal and the political, with the soap opera of family estrangement played out against a backdrop of social decline. Peter Vaughn, playing Nicky's Dad as a former Jarrow marcher stricken by Alzheimer's, is especially poignant. If you didn't see this the first time, do so now. On the DVD: Our Friends in the North has a bonus disc featuring a discussion with writer Peter Flannery and the producers and directors in which the making of the programme is revealed to have been as epic and protracted a saga as the drama itself. There are interviews also with stars Christopher Eccleston and Gina McKee. --David Stubbs