"Director: Ron Howard"

• Tangled (Blu-ray + DVD) | Blu Ray | (23/05/2011) from £9.90   |  Saving you £14.09 (142.32%)   |  RRP £23.99

  Disney's 50th full-length animated feature film, Tangled is a visually appealing, music-filled adventure full of romance and humor. The film focuses on Rapunzel, a girl with long magical hair who's lived her entire life imprisoned in a tower by her greedy mother. Naturally optimistic and acquiescent, Rapunzel (Mandy Moore) rarely complains about her circumstances, but for her 18th birthday she longs to leave the tower to see the floating lights that appear every year on her birthday. Her mother (Donna Murphy) refuses her request, but when thief Flynn Ryder (Zachary Levi) climbs the tower to escape his pursuers, Rapunzel (once she's conked him on the head with a frying pan multiple times) impulsively decides to trust the young man and convinces him to help her escape to see the floating lights. Thus begins a journey that alternates quite schizophrenically between optimistic excitement and guilty remorse that will ultimately change Rapunzel's and Flynn's lives forever. Tangled is a masterful blend of humour, adventure, passion and drama combined with a great musical score and top-notch animation. The 3-D effects add to the experience but probably won't be missed in other formats. Best of all, Disney presents a princess who matures from a meek and compliant girl into a spunky young woman who's not afraid to pursue her dreams and risk it all for love--now that's a Disney princess worth emulating. (Ages 6 and older) --Tami Horiuchi

• Ransom | DVD | (09/08/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  A passenger plane has been hijacked in Scandinavia at the same time as the British Ambassador has been taken hostage. It is the job of police chief Nils Tahlvik to take control of the situation and help save the victims but he soon discovers all is not what it seems.

• Far And Away | DVD | (08/09/2003) from £5.01   |  Saving you £0.98 (19.56%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Filmed in the widescreen splendour of "Panavision Super 70" and blessed with the finest production values that Hollywood clout can buy, this tale of spunky Irish immigrants forgot one crucial ingredient: a decent screenplay. The film is entertaining enough, and director Ron Howard brings his technical proficiency to the simple plot, culminating in a dynamic, breathtaking depiction of the Oklahoma land rush of 1893. But the movie is really just a vacuous vehicle for married stars Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman as (respectively) the poor tenant farmer and rich landlord's daughter who flee Ireland to be American pioneers. The scenery and the stars are never less than stunning, but Howard falls short of the mark in his attempt to match the epic sweep of films by David Lean. On the other hand, this movie is certainly never boring even if it rarely makes sense, and Lean's own Irish epic, Ryan's Daughter, is a snoozer by comparison. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

• Frost/Nixon | DVD | (18/05/2009) from £3.93   |  Saving you £16.06 (408.65%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Oscar-winning director Ron Howard brings to the screen writer Peter Morgan's electrifying battle between Richard Nixon, the disgraced president with a legacy to save, and David Frost, a jet-setting television personality with a name to make.

• Grand Theft Auto | DVD | (06/01/2003) from £6.17   |  Saving you £-3.18 (N/A%)   |  RRP £2.99

  Cross 'Romeo & Juliet' with the Demolition Derby and you have 'Grand Theft Auto' Ron Howard's directorial debut produced by Roger Corman. Can a young runaway couple get hitched in Vegas before two sets of parents a jealous boyfriend a private dick and a mob of bounty hunters catch them?

• Angels and Demons | Blu Ray | (14/09/2009) from £21.98   |  Saving you £5.00 (25.01%)   |  RRP £24.99

  If the devil is in the details, there's a lot of wicked fun in Angels & Demons, the sequel (originally a prequel) to The Da Vinci Code. Director Ron Howard delivers edge-of-your-pew thrills all over the Vatican, the City of Rome, and the deepest, dankest catacombs. Tom Hanks is dependably watchable in his reprised role as Professor Robert Langdon, summoned urgently to Rome on a matter of utmost urgency--which happens to coincide with the death of the Pope, meaning the Vatican is teeming with cardinals and Rome is teeming with the faithful. A religious offshoot group, calling themselves the Illuminati, which protested the Catholic Church's prosecution of scientists 400 years ago, has resurfaced and is making extreme, and gruesome, terrorist demands. The film zooms around the city, as Langdon follows clues embedded in art, architecture, and the very bone structure of the Vatican. The cast is terrific, including Ewan McGregor, who is memorable as a young protégé of the late pontiff, and who seems to challenge the common wisdom of the Conclave just by being 40 years younger than his fellows when he lectures for church reform. Stellan Skarsgard is excellent as a gruff commander of the Swiss Guard, who may or may not have thrown in with the Illuminati. But the real star of the film is Rome, and its High Church gorgeousness, with lush cinematography by Salvatore Totino, who renders the real sky above the Vatican, in a cataclysmic event, with the detail and majesty of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. --A.T. Hurley, Amazon.comStills from Angels & Demons (click for larger image)

• The Da Vinci Code & Angels and Demons | Blu Ray | (14/09/2009) from £6.22   |  Saving you £38.77 (623.31%)   |  RRP £44.99

  The Da Vinci Code: Critics and controversy aside, The Da Vinci Code is a verifiable blockbuster. Combine the film's huge worldwide box-office take with over 100 million copies of Dan Brown's book sold, and The Da Vinci Code has clearly made the leap from pop-culture hit to a certifiable franchise (games and action figures are sure to follow). The leap for any story making the move from book to big screen, however, is always more perilous. In the case of The Da Vinci Code, the story is concocted of such a preposterous formula of elements that you wouldn't envy Akiva Goldsman, the screenwriter who was handed a potentially unfilmable book and asked to make a filmable script out of it. Goldsman's solution was to have the screenplay follow the book as closely as possible, with a few needed changes, including a better ending. The result is a film that actually makes slightly better entertainment than the book. So if you're like most of the world, by now you've read the book and know that it starts out as a murder mystery. While lecturing in Paris, noted Harvard Professor of Symbology Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) is summoned to the Louvre by French police help decipher a bizarre series of clues left at the scene of the murder of the chief curator, Jacques Sauniere. Enter Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tautou), gifted cryptologist and Sauniere's granddaughter. Neveu and Langdon are forced to team up to solve the mystery, and from there the story is propelled across Europe as it balloons into a modern-day mini-quest for the Holy Grail, complete with alternative theories about the life of Christ, ancient secret societies headed by historical figures like Leonardo Da Vinci, secret codes, conniving bishops, daring escapes, car chases, and, of course, a murderous albino monk controlled by a secret master who calls himself "The Teacher." Taken solely as a mystery thriller, the movie almost works--despite some gaping holes--mostly just because it keeps moving forward at the breakneck pace set in the book. Brown's greatest trick might have been to have the entire story take place in a day so that the action is forced to keep going, despite some necessary pauses for exposition. Hanks and Tautou are just fine together but not exactly a memorable screen pair; meanwhile, Sir Ian McKellen's scenery-chewing as pivotal character Sir Leigh Teabing is just what the film needs to keep it from taking itself too seriously. In the end, this hit movie is just like a good roller-coaster ride: try not to think too much about it--just sit back and enjoy the trip. --Daniel Vancini, Amazon.com Angels & Demons: If the devil is in the details, there's a lot of wicked fun in Angels & Demons, the sequel (originally a prequel) to The Da Vinci Code. Director Ron Howard delivers edge-of-your-pew thrills all over the Vatican, the City of Rome, and the deepest, dankest catacombs. Tom Hanks is dependably watchable in his reprised role as Professor Robert Langdon, summoned urgently to Rome on a matter of utmost urgency--which happens to coincide with the death of the Pope, meaning the Vatican is teeming with cardinals and Rome is teeming with the faithful. A religious offshoot group, calling themselves the Illuminati, which protested the Catholic Church's prosecution of scientists 400 years ago, has resurfaced and is making extreme, and gruesome, terrorist demands. The film zooms around the city, as Langdon follows clues embedded in art, architecture, and the very bone structure of the Vatican. The cast is terrific, including Ewan McGregor, who is memorable as a young protégé of the late pontiff, and who seems to challenge the common wisdom of the Conclave just by being 40 years younger than his fellows when he lectures for church reform. Stellan Skarsgard is excellent as a gruff commander of the Swiss Guard, who may or may not have thrown in with the Illuminati. But the real star of the film is Rome, and its High Church gorgeousness, with lush cinematography by Salvatore Totino, who renders the real sky above the Vatican, in a cataclysmic event, with the detail and majesty of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. --A.T. Hurley, Amazon.com

• Ransom | DVD | (25/09/1998) from £10.16   |  Saving you £2.83 (27.85%)   |  RRP £12.99

  When it comes to ramping up to vein-bursting levels of tormented anxiety , Mel Gibson has a kind of mainstream intensity that makes him perfect for his heroic-father role in director Ron Howard's child-kidnapping thriller. When you think of Ransom, you automatically think of the scene in which Mel reaches his boiling point and yells, "Give me back my son!" to the kidnapper on the other end of a phone. Trapped in the middle of any parent's nightmare, Mel plays a self-made airline mogul whose son (played by Brawley Nolte, son of actor Nick Nolte) is abducted by a close-knit group of uptight kidnappers. But when a king's ransom is demanded for the child's safe return, Mel turns the tables and offers the ransom as reward money for anyone who provides information leading to the kidnappers' arrest. Thus begins a nerve-racking battle of wills and a test of the father's conviction to carry out a plan that could cost his son's life. The boy's mother (played by Rene Russo, reunited with Gibson after Lethal Weapon 3) disapproves of her husband's life-threatening gamble, and a seasoned FBI negotiator (Delroy Lindo) is equally fearful of disaster as the search for the kidnappers intensifies. Through it all, Howard maintains a level of nail-biting tension to match Gibson's desperate ploy, and the plot twists are just clever enough to cancel out the overwrought performances and manipulative screenplay. Ransom may not be as sophisticated as its glossy production design would suggest, but it's a thriller with above-average intelligence and an emotion-driven plot that couldn't be more urgent. Adding to the intensity is a superior supporting cast including Gary Sinise, Lili Taylor and Liev Schreiber as the kidnappers, who demonstrate that even the tightest scheme can unravel under unexpected stress. Remade from a 1956 film starring Glenn Ford, Ransom is diluted by a few too many subplots, but as a high-stakes game of cat and mouse, it's a slick and satisfying example of Hollywood entertainment. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

• Parenthood | Blu Ray | (20/06/2016) from £5.99   |  Saving you £14.00 (233.72%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Ron Howard's 1989 hit, written by fellow family men Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel (Splash, A League of Their Own), is an original comedy about contemporary life and the eternal responsibilities of raising children. Steve Martin has never been better than as a dedicated husband and father trying (and inevitably failing, as do most of us) to balance the demands of his kids and his job. The actor, like his character, throws himself into the part quite touchingly, particularly in a scene where a hired clown fails to show up at a children's party and Martin's character unabashedly provides the entertainment. Good as Martin is, this is actually an ensemble piece with numerous actors playing members of the same family, with cross-generational joys and disappointments in the air--and parents in conflict, children in love and so on. Jason Robards is very good as a patriarch who finally accepts the reality that the son he adores (Tom Hulce) is a major screw-up. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com

• In the Heart of the Sea | Blu Ray | (02/05/2016) from £7.99   |  Saving you £19.00 (237.80%)   |  RRP £26.99

  Oscar winner Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind) directs the action adventure In the Heart of the Sea, based on Nathaniel Philbrick's best-selling book about the dramatic true journey of the Essex. In the winter of 1820, the New England whaling ship Essex was assaulted by something no one could believe: a whale of mammoth size and will, and an almost human sense of vengeance. The real-life maritime disaster would inspire Herman Melville's Moby-Dick. But that told only half the story. In the Heart of the Sea reveals the encounter's harrowing aftermath, as the ship's surviving crew is pushed to their limits and forced to do the unthinkable to stay alive. Braving storms, starvation, panic and despair, the men will call into question their deepest beliefs, from the value of their lives to the morality of their trade, as their captain searches for direction on the open sea and his first mate still seeks to bring the great whale down. Click Images to Enlarge

• Disney Classics Complete Collection (57 Disc Collection) - DVD | DVD | (16/11/2020) from £11.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  In 1937, the Walt Disney Studios released its first fully animated feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and pioneered a new form of family entertainment. More than seven decades later, Walt Disney Animation Studios continues to honour its heritage through animated films that combine beautiful artistry, masterful storytelling and ground-breaking technology. Relive & own forever 57 Disney Classics from 1937-2019 with this special collection celebrating the output of the Walt Disney Animation Studios. The boxset contains an 80-page book ˜A Celebration Of The Walt Disney Animated Studios', alongside the layflat book containing the 57 discs. Collectable poster art for each Disney classic is featured alongside the discs 1 Snow White 1937 2 Pinocchio 1940 3 Fantasia 1940 4 Dumbo 1941 5 Bambi 1942 6 Saludos Amigos* 1942 7 The Three Caballeros* 1944 8 Make Mine Music* 1946 9 Fun & Fancy Free 1947 10 Melody Time* 1948 11 Ichabod & Mr Toad 1949 12 Cinderella 1950 13 Alice In Wonderland 1951 14 Peter Pan 1953 15 Lady & The Tramp 1955 16 Sleeping Beauty 1959 17 101 Dalmatians 1961 18 The Sword in the Stone 1963 19 The Jungle Book 1967 20 The Aristocats 1970 21 Robin Hood 1973 22 The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh 1977 23 The Rescuers 1977 24 The Fox & The Hound 1981 25 The Black Cauldron* 1985 *DVD disc 26 Basil The Great Mouse Detective 1986 27 Oliver & Company 1988 28 The Little Mermaid 1989 29 Rescuers Down Under 1990 30 Beauty & the Beast 1991 31 Aladdin 1992 32 The Lion King 1994 Signature edition disc (previously available) 33 Pocahontas 1995 34 The Hunchback of Notre Dame 1996 35 Hercules 1997 36 Mulan 1998 37 Tarzan 1999 38 Fantasia 2000 1999 39 The Emperor's New Groove 2000 40 Atlantis 2001 41 Lilo & Stitch 2002 42 Treasure Planet 2002 43 Brother Bear 2003 44 Home On The Range 2004 45 Chicken Little 2005 46 The Wild 2006 47 Meet The Robinsons 2007 48 Bolt 2008 49 The Princess & the Frog 2009 50 Tangled 2010 51 Wreck-It Ralph 2012 52 Frozen 2013 53 Big Hero 6 2014 54 Zootropolis 2016 55 Moana 2016 56 Wreck-It Ralph 2 2018 57 Frozen 2 2019

• The Da Vinci Code | Blu Ray | (10/10/2016) from £9.99   |  Saving you £6.00 (60.06%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Critics and controversy aside, The Da Vinci Code is a verifiable blockbuster. Combine the film's huge worldwide box-office take with over 100 million copies of Dan Brown's book sold, and The Da Vinci Code has clearly made the leap from pop-culture hit to a certifiable franchise (games and action figures are sure to follow). The leap for any story making the move from book to big screen, however, is always more perilous. In the case of The Da Vinci Code, the story is concocted of such a preposterous formula of elements that you wouldn't envy Akiva Goldsman, the screenwriter who was handed a potentially unfilmable book and asked to make a filmable script out of it. Goldsman's solution was to have the screenplay follow the book as closely as possible, with a few needed changes, including a better ending. The result is a film that actually makes slightly better entertainment than the book. So if you're like most of the world, by now you've read the book and know that it starts out as a murder mystery. While lecturing in Paris, noted Harvard Professor of Symbology Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) is summoned to the Louvre by French police help decipher a bizarre series of clues left at the scene of the murder of the chief curator, Jacques Sauniere. Enter Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tautou), gifted cryptologist and Sauniere's granddaughter. Neveu and Langdon are forced to team up to solve the mystery, and from there the story is propelled across Europe as it balloons into a modern-day mini-quest for the Holy Grail, complete with alternative theories about the life of Christ, ancient secret societies headed by historical figures like Leonardo Da Vinci, secret codes, conniving bishops, daring escapes, car chases, and, of course, a murderous albino monk controlled by a secret master who calls himself "The Teacher." Taken solely as a mystery thriller, the movie almost works--despite some gaping holes--mostly just because it keeps moving forward at the breakneck pace set in the book. Brown's greatest trick might have been to have the entire story take place in a day so that the action is forced to keep going, despite some necessary pauses for exposition. Hanks and Tautou are just fine together but not exactly a memorable screen pair; meanwhile, Sir Ian McKellen's scenery-chewing as pivotal character Sir Leigh Teabing is just what the film needs to keep it from taking itself too seriously. In the end, this hit movie is just like a good roller-coaster ride: try not to think too much about it--just sit back and enjoy the trip. --Daniel Vancini, Amazon.com

• A Beautiful Mind | DVD | (03/07/2006) from £4.98   |  Saving you £20.01 (401.81%)   |  RRP £24.99

  A Beautiful Mind is an award-winning movie if ever there was one. This biopic of mathematician John Forbes Nash is two parts Shine to one part Good Will Hunting. Scripted by Akiva Goldsman (Lost in Space) and directed by Ron Howard (The Grinch)--both trying to get sincere and serious after previous movies--it showcases a big, compelling performance from Russell Crowe as a genius whose eccentricities turn out to be down to a genuine mental illness. Though his early work as a student offered a breakthrough that eventually won him the 1994 Nobel Prize, Nash goes off the deep end in later life. The film works better in the early paranoid stretches--which include a wonderful 1950s spy movie parody as Nash is sucked into an imagined world of fighting commie atom spies--than it does with the inspirational ending, where Nash’s handicaps are overcome so he can triumph at the end. Crowe's genuinely fine work still seems a bit Shine/Rain Man/Forrest Gump-ish in mannerism, yet experience shows this can be a powerful career move. Crowe gains sterling support from Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris, Paul Bettany and Christopher Plummer--some playing a mere character in Nash’s world. --Kim Newman

• Parenthood | DVD | (28/03/2016) from £4.99   |  Saving you £10.00 (200.40%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Ron Howard's 1989 hit, written by fellow family men Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel (Splash, A League of Their Own), is an original comedy about contemporary life and the eternal responsibilities of raising children. Steve Martin has never been better than as a dedicated husband and father trying (and inevitably failing, as do most of us) to balance the demands of his kids and his job. The actor, like his character, throws himself into the part quite touchingly, particularly in a scene where a hired clown fails to show up at a children's party and Martin's character unabashedly provides the entertainment. Good as Martin is, this is actually an ensemble piece with numerous actors playing members of the same family, with cross-generational joys and disappointments in the air--and parents in conflict, children in love and so on. Jason Robards is very good as a patriarch who finally accepts the reality that the son he adores (Tom Hulce) is a major screw-up. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com

• The Grinch | Blu Ray | (30/09/2013) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Story of the creature with a heart two sizes too small who attempts to spoil Christmas in Whoville by dressing as Santa and stealing all 'The Who's' gifts trees and holiday foods. Special Features: Feature Commentary with Director Ron Howard Spotlight On Location Deleted Scenes Outtakes Who School Makeup Application and Design Seussiam Set Design Visual Effects Faith Hill Music Video Where are you Christmas The Grinch Theatrical Trailer Special Announcement Wendy's PSA

• A Beautiful Mind | Blu Ray | (28/05/2012) from £5.99   |  Saving you £14.00 (233.72%)   |  RRP £19.99

  A Beautiful Mind manages to twist enough pathos out of John Nash's incredible life story to redeem an at-times goofy portrayal of schizophrenia. Russell Crowe tackles the role with characteristic fervor, playing the Nobel prize-winning mathematician from his days at Princeton, where he developed a groundbreaking economic theory, to his meteoric rise to the cover of Forbes magazine and an MIT professorship, and on through to his eventual dismissal due to schizophrenic delusions. Of course, it is the delusions that fascinate director Ron Howard and, predictably, go astray. Nash's other world, populated as it is by a maniacal Department of Defense agent (Ed Harris), an imagined college roommate who seems straight out of Dead Poets Society, and an orphaned girl, is so fluid and scriptlike as to make the viewer wonder if schizophrenia is really as slick as depicted. Crowe's physical intensity drags us along as he works admirably to carry the film on his considerable shoulders. No doubt the story of Nash's amazing will to recover his life without the aid of medication is a worthy one, his eventual triumph heartening. Unfortunately, Howard's flashy style is unable to convey much of it. --Fionn Meade

• 3 Film Box Set: Hop / Despicable Me / The Grinch | DVD | (26/09/2011) from £12.98   |  Saving you £12.01 (92.53%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Titles Comprise:Hop: Blending state of the art animation with live action, Hop is a comedy about E.B. (voiced by Russell Brand), the teenage son of the Easter Bunny. On the eve of taking over the family business, E.B. leaves for Hollywood in pursuit of his dream of becoming a drummer. He encounters Fred (James Marsden), an out-of-work slacker with his own lofty goals, who accidentally hits E.B. with his car. Feigning injury, E.B. manipulates Fred into providing him shelter, and Fred finds himself with the world's worst houseguest.Despicable Me: In a happy suburban neighbourhood surrounded by white picket fences with flowering rose bushes, sits a black house with a dead lawn. Unbeknownst to the neighbours, hidden deep beneath this home is a vast secret hideout. Surrounded by an army of tireless, little yellow minions, we discover Gru (Steve Carell), planning the biggest heist in the history of the world. He is going to steal the moon (Yes, the moon!) to prove to his Mum (Julie Andrews) that he is better than the other super-villains, especially the new kid on the block, Vector (Jason Segal).Gru delights in all things wicked. Armed with his arsenal of shrink rays, freeze guns and battle-ready vehicles for land and air, he vanquishes all who stand in his way. Until the day he encounters the immense will of three little orphaned girls who look at him and see something that no one else has ever seen: a potential Dad.One of the world's greatest super-villains has just met his greatest challenge: three little girls named Margo, Edith and Agnes in the box office hit Despicable Me.The Grinch: A foul-tempered green and hairy creature who lives on Mount Crumpit, the Grinch hates Christmas almost as much as the residents of Whoville, the town at the bottom of his mountain. One night he decides to steal Christmas away from the Whos by taking all their decorations, presents and Christmassy things. However he soon learns a valuable lesson about the true spirit of the festive season!

• Far and Away | Blu Ray | (17/06/2019) from £9.69   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman star in this sweeping saga of romance and adventure directed by Ron Howard. A young man s battle to change his destiny and make his fortune. A privileged young woman's struggle for independence and freedom. Their passion and spirit must see them through countless hardships and adversity as they battle to keep their dreams alive.

• Frost/Nixon | Blu Ray | (18/05/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Oscar-winning director Ron Howard brings to the screen writer Peter Morgan's electrifying battle between Richard Nixon, the disgraced president with a legacy to save, and David Frost, a jet-setting television personality with a name to make.

• Inferno (4K Ultra HD Blu-ray + Blu-ray + Blu-ray Bonus Disc) | 4K UHD | (20/02/2017) from £8.75   |  Saving you £11.24 (128.46%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Academy Award® winner Ron Howard returns to direct the latest thriller in Dan Brown's (Da Vinci Code) billion-dollar Robert Langdon series, Inferno, which finds the famous symbologist (again played by Tom Hanks) on a trail of clues tied to the great Dante himself. When Langdon wakes up in an Italian hospital with amnesia, he teams up with Sienna Brooks (Felicity Jones), a doctor he hopes will help him recover his memories. Together, they race across Europe and against the clock to stop the unleashing a global virus that would wipe out half of the world's population. Click Images to Enlarge