"Director: Warren Beatty"

• Dick Tracy | DVD | (12/02/2001) from £8.25   |  Saving you £6.74 (81.70%)   |  RRP £14.99

  A flawed but stylish adaptation of the Chester Gould comic strip by director Warren Beatty, who also stars in the title role. The minimalist plot involves a battalion of baddies who confront the intrepid detective in a series of strung-together vignettes. Al Pacino is a comedic if overblown standout as Big Boy Caprice and Madonna simply smoulders as aggressive blonde bombshell Breathless Mahoney. It matters not that the plot is Spartan, as this dazzling eye candy is much enhanced by Stephen Sondheim's songs, including the Academy Award-winning ditty, "Sooner or Later (I Always Get My Man)". Beatty took his cue from the source material and concentrated on the relationships between these people, whether strained, romantic or hateful. The performances are subtle and more amusing than you would expect from such a visually bold picture. Shot in bright, primary colours, this also won Oscars for Best Art/Set Direction and Makeup (for those inventively hideous criminals). Watch for well-known names, such as Dustin Hoffman and Dick Van Dyke, in cameo appearances and supporting roles. --Rochelle O'Gorman

• Warren Beatty Collection | DVD | (09/03/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Warren Beatty Collection

• Reds | DVD | (09/04/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  'Reds' tells the story of the love affair between early 20th century activists Loise Bryant and John Reed. Beatty's award winning epic mixes drama and interviews with major social radicals of the period. Set against the backdrop of the tumultuous start of the twentieth century the two journalists' on-again-off-again romance is punctuated by the outbreak of WWi and the Bolshevik Revolution. Louise's assignment in France at the outbreak of the war puts an end to their affair. John Reed's subsequent trip to Russia and his involvement with the communist party rekindles their relationship. When Louise arrives in Petrograd she finds herself swept up in the euphoria of the Revolution. Reed however eventually becomes disillusioned with communism when he sees his words and intentions augmented and controlled by the growing Soviet propaganda machine.

• Heaven Can Wait | DVD | (24/12/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  The whimsical comedy-romance Heaven Can Wait is a delightful example of the small sub-genre of afterlife comedies. The film, which teams then lovers Warren Beatty and Julie Christie for a third time following McCabe and Mrs Miller (1971) and Shampoo (1975), is not a remake of the 1943 supernatural film of the same name, but of the Robert Montgomery classic Here Comes Mr Jordan (1941). Here Beatty is American football player Joe Pendleton, who accidentally dies, decades too early, and is incarnated in a new body which, until recently, was occupied by a ruthless multi-millionaire. James Mason is superb as a most authoritative angel (Mr Jordan), heading a fine cast including Charles Grodin, Buck Henry and Jack Warden. In a sub-plot paralleling The Shop Around the Corner (1940) and revisited in You've Got Mail (1998), Julie Christie plays an English woman outraged that one of the former millionaire's companies is destroying her village, while simultaneously falling in love with the man now occupying the hated millionaire's mortal coil. Much comic and romantic misunderstanding follows, as well as some appealing slapstick, courtesy of Dyan Cannon. Aided by a lovely musical score by Dave Grusin, this is a beautifully played and thoroughly charming bittersweet fantasy about the transcendent power of love. It is a joy for romantics everywhere. On the DVD: Heaven Can Wait comes to DVD in a good 1.77:1 ratio transfer which exhibits just a little grain in some darker scenes. The print shows some very minor, occasional damage, but nothing to complain about in a film of this vintage. The sound is the original mono mix, which is perfectly serviceable. The only extra is the theatrical trailer. --Gary S Dalkin

• Bulworth | DVD | (30/06/2003) from £8.22   |  Saving you £-2.23 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Jay Bulworth is your typical senator going through a nervous breakdown. The empty speeches, lies, money and pressure have led him to plan his own assassination on a weekend trip home to California just before the election. However, a cord snaps in him and like Jim Carrey's rambling lawyer in Liar, Liar, Bulworth can only tell the truth. This new freedom turns Bulworth on and he spews the ugly truth about politics: he tells mass media they are as corrupt as insurance companies; lambastes a black church for not having leaders; and riles the Jewish power elite of Hollywood. He enters South Central running away from advisors (including a bemused Oliver Platt) and mixing it up with a potential new girlfriend (Halle Berry) and a local boss (Don Cheadle). He offends across the board, even developing an inherent knack to rap his speeches. And the public loves it. The weekend becomes a clarifying point for Bulworth: he finds a reason to live.Beatty's rude and relevant comedy is a one-joke movie but the joke is pretty good. It's a courageous film that is always sharp even though it loses narrative focus. Beatty's hilarious raps are so inspired they deserve repeated viewings. As usual, Beatty surrounds himself with a great crew, Ennio Morricone's music and Vittorio Storaro's cinematography being especially noteworthy. Beatty and Storaro even have the audacity to imitate two very famous photographs in the film's final seconds. The script by Beatty and Jeremy Pikser won the LA Film Critics award and was nominated for an Oscar. --Doug Thomas

• Reds | HD DVD | (02/06/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

• Reds | Blu Ray | (08/09/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99