Drama

• Gemma Bovery | DVD | (08/02/2016) from £4.99   |  Saving you £13.00 (260.52%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Gemma Arterton stars in this amusing and sexy modern-day re-working of Flaubert's 19th century novel, Madame Bovary. Having moved to a rustic farm with her husband, Gemma (Gemma Arterton) soon tires of their ˜simpler' life and finds distraction in a torrid affair with a handsome young aristocrat. Meanwhile, Martin (Fabrice Luchini), a local baker and lover of literature, becomes besotted with Gemma, but also fears she may suffer the same fate as the heroine in his favourite novel. Based on the graphic novel of the same name by Posy Simmonds, and co-starring Fabrice Luchini (In the House) and Jason Flemyng (Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels) Gemma Bovery is directed by BAFTA-Nominee Anne Fontaine (Coco Before Chanel).

• Mildred Pierce | Blu Ray | (27/02/2017) from £23.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Melodrama casts noirish shadows in this portrait of maternal sacrifice from the Hollywood master Michael Curtiz. Its iconic performance by JOAN CRAWFORD (Johnny Guitar) as Mildred, a single mother hell-bent on freeing her children from the stigma of economic hardship, solidified Crawford's career comeback and gave the actor her only Oscar. But as Mildred pulls herself up by the bootstraps, first as an unflappable waitress and eventually as the well-heeled owner of a successful restaurant chain, the ingratitude of her materialistic firstborn (a diabolical ANN BLYTH) becomes a venomous serpent's tooth, setting in motion an endless cycle of desperate overtures and heartless recriminations. Recasting JAMES M. CAIN's rich psychological novel as a murder mystery, this bitter cocktail of blind parental love and all-American ambition is both unremittingly hard-boiled and sumptuously emotional. Special Features: New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack New conversation about Mildred Pierce with critics Molly Haskell and Robert Polito Excerpt from a 1970 episode of The David Frost Show featuring actor Joan Crawford Joan Crawford: The Ultimate Movie Star, a 2002 feature-length documentary on Crawford's life and career Q&A with actor Ann Blyth from 2002, conducted by film historian Eddie Muller Segment from a 1969 episode of the Today show featuring novelist James M. Cain Trailer PLUS: An essay by critic Imogen Sara Smith Click Images to Enlarge

• The Iron Lady - Double Play (Blu-ray + DVD) | Blu Ray | (30/04/2012) from £11.62   |  Saving you £16.36 (189.57%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Phyllida Lloyd, who directed Meryl Streep in Mamma Mia!, takes a less exuberant tack in this unexpectedly poignant biopic. In the script, written by Shame's Abi Morgan, Lloyd depicts the elderly Dame Thatcher (Streep in a thoroughly convincing performance) as a frail figure replaying key moments in her life while her mind still continues to function. Her trajectory begins with grocer Alfred Roberts (Downton Abbey's Iain Glen), who became the mayor of Grantham, instilling in his daughter, Margaret (Alexandra Roach), a passion for politics. After graduating from Oxford, she felt ready to enter the fray, at which point she met Denis Thatcher (Harry Lloyd), who cheered her along on the road from Parliament to 10 Downing Street, where they lived during her time as Britain's first female prime minister (Jim Broadbent portrays the grey-haired and ghostly Denis). While closing mines, dodging IRA hits, and overseeing a war, the blue-clad titan built alliances with Airey Neave (Nicholas Farrell) and Geoffrey Howe (Anthony Head), but she would lose them both. If her will was strong, she had no time for feminine niceties like conciliation and forgiveness. The film goes on to suggest that she never cultivated the kinds of female friendships that might have sustained her in retirement, though her daughter (Tyrannosaur's Olivia Colman) did what she could. Instead, Denis remained her closest confidante until his departure, after which she had nothing but fading memories. The upshot is an uneasy combination of admiration for her leadership qualities and disappointment in her interpersonal skills. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

• The Hunt | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £5.49   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  THE LIE IS SPREADING Alongside Lars Von Trier, Thomas Vinterberg (Festen, Far From the Madding Crowd) is one of Danish cinema s finest modern exports. Perhaps his greatest film, The Hunt, is a sublimely orchestrated exercise in tension which features a tour-de-force central performance from Mads Mikkelsen (Rogue One, Casino Royale), who was awarded Best Actor at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival for his performance. Mikkelsen is Lukas, a recently-divorced primary school teacher locked in an acrimonious custody battle over his teenage son but just as his fortunes begin to change with the arrival of a new love his world is torn apart by an innocent lie. Persecuted by his local community, accusations escalate and Lukas soon faces unanimous condemnation from everyone around him, including his closest friends. Featuring a stellar supporting cast from Danish Film and TV s finest including Thomas Bo Larsen (Pusher), Anne Louise Hassing (The Idiots) and Susse Wold (Unit 1), The Hunt, eschews the rules of Vinterberg and his colleagues filmmaking manifesto Dogme95 for one of the most beautifully photographed and perfectly scripted films in recent years. SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS: High Definition digital transfer Original 5.1 surround sound audio and 2.0 stereo options Optional English subtitles The Making of The Hunt - featuring director Thomas Vinterberg and star Mads Mikkelsen Deleted and extended scenes Alternate ending Outtakes Original trailer Reversible sleeve featuring two original artwork options

• Centre of my World | DVD | (16/10/2017) from £6.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  After a summer away at camp, Phil returns home to find that his mother and twin sister aren t speaking to one another. Not willing to confront his family during the last days of the summer holidays, Phil escapes to hang out with his best friend, Kat, eating ice cream and playing dress-up. As the school year begins, a new student arrives the handsome and mysterious Nicholas. Smitten, Phil watches his crush as he runs around the track after school, and is thrilled when Nicholas returns his feelings. However, when first love s volatility comes to light, Phil realises he must deal with the problems of his past, in order to deal with the issues of his present.

• Brief Encounters (Vintage World Cinema) | Blu Ray | (18/09/2023) from £9.59   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  BRIEF ENCOUNTERS (1967) was the debut feature from Kira Muratova. It was here we saw the beginnings of Muratova's impressionistic style, blending observational realism with new wave experimentation. Despite the continued censorship Muratova's work received (Brief Encounters was banned for twenty years) she still managed to emerge as one of the leading figures in Ukraine and Russian cinema, building a very successful film career from the 1960s onwards due to her boundary pushing directorial approach and aesthetics. Brief Encounters tells the story of an intricate love triangle, connecting a city planner (played by Muratova herself), her free-spirited geologist husband (legendary Soviet protest singer Vladimir Vysotsky), and the young woman from the countryside (Nina Ruslanova) whom she hires as their housekeeper. Product Features Interview with Dr. Elena Gorfinkel Isabel Jacobs on Brief Encounters Video essay by Masha Shpolberg

• Orphee | DVD | (27/10/2008) from £18.75   |  Saving you £1.24 (6.61%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Cocteau's fantastical updating of the Orpheus legend is cinematic poetry. Unforgettable and profoundly influential.

• Studio Classics Religious Collection - Francis Of Assisi/The Story Of Ruth/The Bible/The Song Of Bernadette/The Greatest St | DVD | (26/03/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £23.93

  A whole host of 20th Century Fox's most famous religious epics can be found in this here box set! Featuring: 1. Francis Of Assisi (Dir. Michael Curtiz 1961) 2. Story Of Ruth (Dir. Henry Koster 1960) 3. The Bible (Dir. John Huston 1966) 4. The Song Of Bernadette (Dir. Henry King 1943) 5. The Greatest Story Ever Told (Dir. George Stevens 1965) 6. The Passion Of The Christ (Dir. Mel Gibson 2004) 7. The Robe (Dir. Henry Koster 1953) 8. Demetrious And The Gladiators (Dir. Delmer Daves 1954

• The Prince And Me 2 - The Royal Wedding | DVD | (11/08/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  The Prince And Me 2: The Royal Wedding stars Kam Heskin as Paige and Luke Mably as Edvard in this sequel to the earlier romantic comedy The Prince And Me. The Prince And Me saw Paige a Midwestern college student meet and fall for Edvard the Prince of Denmark. In this sequel we see the couple preparing for their upcoming nuptials however their plans are sent into disarray when they are forced to confront a traditional Danish edict declaring that the Prince must marry a woman of royal blood or give up the throne. As they try to find a way around this old law hilarity ensues as the Danish royal family is sent into chaos.

• The Politician's Wife | DVD | (06/09/2004) from £9.98   |  Saving you £0.01 (0.10%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Flora appears to be the perfect politician's wife running her husband's constituency and country home with ease while he pursues his career as Minister for the Family at Westminister. Until a sex scandel involving her husband changes Flora's life forever. Political intrigue adultery and betrayal is just the beginning until Flora takes her revenge.

• Queer As Folk (Definitive Edition) | DVD | (13/09/2010) from £37.95   |  Saving you £-7.96 (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  Television has become so much a part of our lives that it rarely surprises us anymore, so when a series like Queer as Folk comes along--truly shocking and genuinely touching--it's an event to be remembered. Originally broadcast as eight half-hour episodes on Channel 4, QAF follows the lives of three men through life, love and all the travails of such in Manchester. That the protagonists are all gay--and Nathan (Charlie Hunnam) is just 15 years old--is treated as matter of course, and were it not for the fact that every character who is introduced is so vividly realised, it would be the only point. The ultimate triumph of QAF is not that the explicit, explosive subject matter is handled (mostly) tastefully, or that it made it on screen at all--it's that the characters are so intriguing that the unflinching looks at sex and relationships almost fade completely into the background. The series certainly starts with a bang: in the first episode, young Nathan is deflowered, Stuart (Aiden Gillen) becomes a father and Vince (Craig Kelly) pines away with an unrequited love that quickly establishes itself as the series' main theme. (That Vince spends half of QAF with a boyfriend complicates the situation some.) Nathan has already come to terms with his sexuality by the time the series starts, but that doens't mean that the rest of his family--or his fellow students--have; Stuart, the biggest (or, at least, busiest) stud in town, and QAF's approaches 30 and starts to re-examine his life; and Vince has to live with the rest of them. The parents, families, friends and co-workers of all involved get plenty of screen time, and occasionally steal the scenes themselves--especially Denise Black (hairdresser Denise Osbourne from Coronation Street). The DVD includes a Photo Gallery and a handful of interviews, which add little to the package. --Randy Silver

• The Yellow Rolls Royce | DVD | (28/09/2009) from £13.95   |  Saving you £-0.96 (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  The Yellow Rolls Royce

• Unforgiven | DVD | (02/02/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Unforgiven is the story of Ruth Slater (Suranne Jones) a woman released from prison on license after serving 15 years for the murder of two policemen. Ruth has spent half of her life imprisoned and now faces the daunting prospect of rebuilding her life whilst being irresistibly drawn to the place that haunts her Upper Hanging Stones Farm. In spite of trying to focus on the future and her new boyfriend Brad (Will Mellor) Ruth is unable to forget her past and the sister Katie who she was forced to leave behind. Outraged to hear that the woman who killed their father has been released Kieran (Jack Deam) and Steve Whelan (Matthew McNulty) are eager to seek revenge. Believing that life should mean life the two brothers decide to take the law into their own hands. But just how far are they capable of going? Can they really do to her what she did to their father? As the details about Ruth's past become known maintaining a job friendship and a relationship become increasingly arduous. Ruth soon realises that the ramifications of her release spread further than she could have imagined with far reaching implications for everyone involved. Unforgiven also stars Peter Davison and Siobhan Finneran as John and Izzie Ingram who now live at Upper Hanging Stones Farm; Faye McKeever as Steve's wife Hannah and Douglas Hodge and Jemma Redgrave as Michael and Rachel Belcombe the adoptive parents of Emily (Flora Spencer-Longhurst) and Ruth's sister Katie who they have renamed Lucy (Emily Beecham).

• Dog Day Afternoon | DVD | (13/02/2006) from £10.78   |  Saving you £-0.79 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  A gripping true crime yarn, a juicy slice of overheated New York atmosphere and a splendid showcase for its young actors, Dog Day Afternoon is a minor classic of the 1970s. The opening montage of New York street life (set to Elton John's lazy "Amoreena") establishes the oppressive mood of a scorching afternoon in the city with such immediacy that you can almost smell the garbage baking in the sun and the water from the hydrants evaporating from the sizzling pavement. Al Pacino plays Sonny, who, along with his rather slow-witted accomplice Sal (John Cazale, familiar as Pacino's Godfather brother Fredo), holds hostages after a botched a bank robbery. Sonny finds himself transformed into a rebel celebrity when his standoff with police (including lead negotiator Charles Durning) is covered live on local television. The movie doesn't appear to be about anything in particular, but it really conveys the feel of wild and unpredictable events unfolding before your eyes, and the whole picture is so convincing and involving that you're glued to the screen. An Oscar winner for original screenplay, Dog Day Afternoon was also nominated for best picture, actor, supporting actor (Chris Sarandon, as a surprise figure from Sonny's past), editing, and director (Sidney Lumet of Serpico, Prince of the City, The Verdict and Running on Empty). --Jim Emerson

• The Outrun | Blu Ray | (16/12/2024) from £11.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  After a decade in London, 29-year-old Rona returns home to Scotland's otherworldly Orkney Islands. Sober yet isolated, she struggles to shake off the shadows of a troubled childhood and the turbulence of her recent city life. However, as Orkney's wild landscapes and welcoming community begin to fill her inner world, Rona gradually confronts her past, embarking on a path of healing and rediscovering hope for the future. Based on Amy Liptrot's best-selling memoir, The Outrun is a raw and powerful drama that explores addiction, recovery, and mental health, revealing how nature and human connection can restore life and rekindle hope.

• Hell or High Water | DVD | (09/01/2017) from £4.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Texas brothers -- Toby (Chris Pine), and Tanner (Ben Foster), come together after years divided to rob branches of the bank threatening to foreclose on their family land. For them, the hold-ups are just part of a last-ditch scheme to take back a future that seemed to have been stolen from under them. Vengeance seems to be theirs, until they find themselves on the radar of Texas Ranger, Marcus (Jeff Bridges) looking for one last grand pursuit on the eve of his retirement, and his half-Comanche partner, Alberto (Gil Birmingham). As the brothers plot a final bank heist to complete their scheme, and with the Rangers on their heels, a showdown looms at the crossroads where the values of the Old and New West murderously collide.

• Hope Springs | DVD | (25/02/2013) from £7.05   |  Saving you £10.94 (155.18%)   |  RRP £17.99

  When Kay hears of a renowned couple's specialist in the small town of Great Hope Springs, she attempts to persuade her sceptical husband, Arnold, a steadfast man of routine, to get on a plane for a week of marriage therapy.

• Educating Rita | Blu Ray | (21/05/2018) from £5.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Gorgeous animation to be enjoyed by young and old, based on the bestselling children's book by Oliver Jeffers.

• Coupling: Complete Series 3 | DVD | (22/09/2003) from £5.82   |  Saving you £14.17 (243.47%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The third series of Coupling, first aired in 2002, takes fans of the BBC's comedy of sex, manners and modern relationships into new realms of engaging surrealism, leaving those irritating comparisons with Friends trailing in its wake. The men are constantly in pursuit of a basic grasp of the "emotional things" that make women behave the way they do. The women analyse everything to death. But thanks to Steve Moffat's scripts, tighter and quirkier than ever, these characters are living, breathing human beings rather than cynical ciphers for comedy stereotypes. The performances are as strong as you'd expect from an established team, with actors such as Jack Davenport (the ever-perplexed Steve), Ben Miles (unreconstructed chauvinist Patrick), Sally Alexander (dryly intelligent Susan) and Kate Isitt (neurotic Sally) wearing their roles like second skins. But in the surreal stakes, it's Richard Coyle as Jeff, wondering aloud what happens to jelly after women have finished wrestling in it, and Gina Bellman as Jane, musing on the importance of a first snog in identifying what men like to eat, who really raise the laughter levels. All things considered, this is superior comedy for all thirtysomethings--genuine and putative. --Piers Ford

• Inaam Dus Hazar | DVD | (18/02/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99