Drama

• Othello (1952) | Blu Ray | (10/12/2018) from £25.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  A visionary adaptation of Shakespeare's tragedy, one of Orson Welles's greatest films, presented in two versions. Gloriously cinematic despite its tiny budget, Othello, directed by Orson Welles (Citizen Kane), is a testament to the filmmaker's stubborn willingness to pursue his vision to the ends of the earth. Unmatched in his passionate identification with Shakespeare's imagination, Welles brings his inventive visual approach to this enduring tragedy of jealousy, bigotry, and rage, and also gives a towering performance as the Moor of Venice, alongside Suzanne Cloutier (Juliette, or Key of Dreams) as the innocent Desdemona, and Micháel Macliammóir (Tom Jones) as the scheming Iago. Shot over the course of three years in Italy and Morocco and plagued by many logistical problems, this fiercely independent film joins Macbeth and Chimes at Midnight in making the case for Welles as the cinema's most audacious interpreter of the Bard. SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES New, restored 4K digital transfers of two versions of the film, the 1952 European one and the 1955 U.S. and UK one, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks Audio commentary from 1995 featuring filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich and Orson Welles scholar Myron Meisel Filming Othello, Welles's last completed film, a 1979 essay-documentary Return to Glennascaul, a 1953 short film made by actors Micheál MacLiammóir and Hilton Edwards during a hiatus from shooting Othello New interview with Welles biographer Simon Callow Souvenirs d' Othello, a 1995 documentary about actor Suzanne Cloutier by François Girard New interview with Welles scholar François Thomas on the two versions New interview with Ayanna Thompson, author of Passing Strange: Shakespeare, Race and Contemporary America Interview from 2014 with scholar Joseph McBride PLUS: An essay by film critic Geoffrey O'Brien

• Happy Valley The Complete Series 1-3 | DVD | (13/02/2023) from £29.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  All 18 episodes from all three series of the BBC drama starring Sarah Lancashire as a police sergeant in a rural West Yorkshire valley. In the first series, Catherine Cawood (Lancashire) receives a visit from Kevin Weatherill (Steve Pemberton), a distressed member of the Yorkshire community she oversees, and is drawn into a ransom case in which the life of Ann Gallagher (Charlie Murphy) is at stake. Kevin employed local thug Ashley Cowgill (Joe Armstrong) to kidnap Ann in the hope of extracting a ransom from his boss, and his remorse has come too late to prevent the crime. Can Catherine get to the girl in time? In the second series, while investigating a case of sheep-stealing, Catherine discovers the decomposed body of a murdered prostitute who she later discovers is the mother of Tommy Lee Royce (James Norton). This revelation places Catherine at the centre of the investigation as a possible suspect while Royce continues to torment her from inside his cell with the help of his new accomplice Frances (Shirley Henderson). While she takes on a new case of human trafficking, Catherine deals with more complications in her personal relationships and is recommended by her bosses to undertake a course of counselling therapy. In the third series, Catherine is on the verge of retirement when the discovery of a murder victim leads her back to a still incarcerated Tommy Lee Royce. When she learns that her grandson Ryan (Rhys Connah) has been visiting him in prison, she is furious, especially when she realises her sister Clare (Siobhan Finneran) has been helping him. After Tommy escapes from prison, he only has one goal in mind... Meanwhile, pharmacist Faisal Bhatti (Amit Shah) is supplying prescription drugs illegally and trouble is closing in.

• Escape From Alcatraz | DVD | (07/05/2001) from £6.92   |  Saving you £6.07 (87.72%)   |  RRP £12.99

  One of Clint Eastwood's two most important filmmaking mentors was Don Siegel (the other was Sergio Leone), who directed Eastwood in Dirty Harry, Coogan's Bluff, Two Mules for Sister Sara and this enigmatic, 1979 drama based on a true story about an escape from the island prison of Alcatraz. Eastwood plays a new convict who enters into a kind of mind game with the chilly warden (Patrick McGoohan) and organises a break leading into the treacherous waters off San Francisco. As jailbird movies go, this isn't just a grotty, unpleasant experience but a character-driven work with some haunting twists. --Tom Keogh

• Yellowstone Season 1 | DVD | (23/11/2020) from £16.25   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  From the brilliant creative mind of Taylor Sheridan (Hell or High Water and Sicario) and starring Academy Award® Winner* Kevin Costner, Yellowstone revolves around the Dutton family, led by John Dutton (Costner), who controls the largest ranch in the U.S. that is under constant attack by those it borders: land developers, an Indian reservation and America's first National Park. This is a world where land grabs make developers billions, and politicians are bought and sold by the world's largest oil and lumber corporations. It is the best and worst of America seen through the eyes of a family that represents both. The impressive cast also includes Wes Bentley, Kelly Reilly, Luke Grimes, Cole Hauser, Kelsey Asbille, Danny Huston, Gil Birmingham, Brecken Merrill, Jefferson White, David Annable, and many more. SPECIAL FEATURES Inside Yellowstone Costner On Yellowstone Cowboy Camp Character Spots Behind The Story Working The Yellowstone: Production Design Working The Yellowstone: Special Effects ˜Yellowstone' Official Theme Music Composed By Brian Tyler Taylor Sheridan & Kevin Costner on Yellowstone

• Calamity Jane | DVD | (27/01/2020) from £10.33   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Mary Magdalene | DVD | (23/07/2018) from £9.95   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Mary Magdalene is an authentic and humanistic portrait of one of the most enigmatic and misunderstood spiritual figures in history. The biblical biopic tells the story of Mary (Rooney Mara), a young woman in search of a new way of living. Constricted by the hierarchies of the day, Mary defies her traditional family to join a new social movement led by the charismatic Jesus of Nazareth (Joaquin Phoenix). She soon finds a place for herself within the movement and at the heart of a journey that will lead to Jerusalem. Written by Helen Edmundson and Philippa Goslett, Mary Magdalene also stars Chiwetel Ejiofor and Tahar Rahim.

• Australia | DVD | (27/04/2009) from £3.74   |  Saving you £19.25 (514.71%)   |  RRP £22.99

  "Australia" is an epic and romantic action adventure, set in the land of Oz on the explosive brink of World War II.

• Nomadland DVD | DVD | (28/06/2021) from £4.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Following the closure of a gypsum mine in the Nevada town she calls home, Fern (Frances McDormand) packs her van and sets off on the road in this exquisite film (Joe Morgenstern, The Wall Street Journal). Exploring an unconventional life as a modernday nomad, Fern discovers a resilience and resourcefulness unlike any she's known before. Along the way, she meets other nomads who become mentors in the vast landscape of the American West. From Searchlight Pictures, written for the screen and directed by Chloé Zhao, based on the book by Jessica Bruder, the film also stars David Strathairn and features real-life nomads Linda May, Swankie and Bob Wells.

• Locke | DVD | (25/08/2014) from £5.92   |  Saving you £12.07 (203.89%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Tom Hardy (Inception, The Dark Knight Rises) plays Ivan Locke. LOCKE is the story of one man's life unravelling in a tension-fuelled 90-minute race against time.

• Jubilee - 40th Anniversary Edition (DVD + Blu-ray) | Blu Ray | (18/06/2018) from £14.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  The mythological past and bleak future converge on the sparse, grey streets of London in this cult classic of the punk era. Queen Elizabeth 1 and her occult aide Dr John Dee (brilliantly played by Jenny Runacre and Richard O'Brien, respectively) travel into the future, encountering the megalomania of big business as well as gangs of violent, marauding killers. Director Derek Jarman doesn't spare the shocks while electrifying punk rock numbers are delivered by Jayne County and Adam Ant Newly available as a Dual Format Edition for the very first time, the film is a 2K remaster from the original camera negatives, and comes bolstered by an extensive array of extras. Special Features: Presented in High Definition and Standard Definition A Message from the Temple (1981, 5 mins) Toyah Wilcox: Being Mad (2014, 8 mins): The singer and actress looks back on her role in Jubilee Jordan remembers Jubilee (2018): Punk icon Jordan looks back on her friendship with Derek Jarman and the making if Jubilee Lee Drysdale remembers Jubilee (2018): Derek Jarman's friend and, later collaborator Lee Drysdale recalls his unconventional involvement in the making of Jubilee Jubilee image gallery Fully illustrated booklet with writing on the film by Will Fowler, an original review and full film credits

• Ballet Shoes (BBC) | DVD | (07/01/2008) from £4.75   |  Saving you £13.24 (278.74%)   |  RRP £17.99

  ""We three Fossils vow to put our name in the history books because it is ours and ours alone and nobody can say it's because of our grandfathers"" With these words three orphans embark on an exhilarating journey through the world of show business. Set in 1930s London Ballet Shoes tells the inspiring tale of Pauline (Emma Watson) Petrova (Yasmin Paige) and Posy Fossil (Lucy Boynton) who are adopted by an eccentric explorer ""Gum"" (Richard Griffiths) and raised as sisters by his selfless niece (Emilia Fox) and her nurse (Victoria Wood). Each of the girls has a dream to fulfil; Pauline longs to be an actress Petrova yearns to be an aviator and Posy seems born to be a ballerina. But when ""Gum"" disappears the money runs out. The feisty ambitious and devoted Fossils find they must fight to survive...

• Brokeback Mountain | DVD | (24/04/2006) from £4.90   |  Saving you £15.09 (307.96%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Based on the short story by Pulitzer Prize-winning author E. Annie Proulx, 'Brokeback Mountain' is the tragic and moving story of two cowboys who unexpectedly fall in love while working together one summer in 1963.

• Our Mutual Friend | DVD | (20/08/2001) from £14.71   |  Saving you £10.28 (69.88%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Dickens was the master of Victorian social satire, ruthlessly exposing the cruelty and absurdity that supported the strictly hierarchical class-structure of the day. This superb production of Our Mutual Friend does full justice to his darkest, most complex novel, fleshing out the satirical bones of the plot with performances that eschew caricature in favour of psychological depth. Anna Friel's Bella is wonderfully complex, her innate goodness struggling with her love of money and desire for advancement. Paul McGann, as the lawyer Wrayburn, is also superb, wrestling with the implications of his feelings for Lizzie. And of course, this being Dickens and the BBC, there's a terrific supporting cast, including Timothy Spall as the melancholy articulator of skeletons, Mr Venus. As the fortunes of the characters rise and fall, the river Thames flows eternally on, the symbolic backbone of this remarkable story. At six hours, this version of Our Mutual Friend is a long production, but not a moment too long. A mystery, a love story, a critique of the pursuit of wealth and status, this is perhaps the best adaptation of Dickens ever to be committed to film. --Simon Leake, Amazon.com

• Longitude | DVD | (15/01/2007) from £7.49   |  Saving you £5.50 (73.43%)   |  RRP £12.99

  An epic adaptation of Dava Sobel's best-selling book starring Michael Gambon and Jeremy Irons. Longitude is the fascinating story of John Harrison (Gambon) who in the 18th century believed he could make a clock that would work on board a ship - and so solve the problem of finding longitude at sea. Harrison has to struggle against a bigoted establishment in order to win recognition for his achievements. This story is intertwined with that of Rupert Gould (Irons) the former naval officer who in the 1920s discovered Harrison's clocks and - at the cost of his health his reputation and his marriage began the mammoth task of restoring them.

• Fargo Special Edition | DVD | (21/04/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Leave it to the wildly inventive Coen brothers to concoct a fiendishly clever kidnap caper with Fargo that's simultaneously a comedy of errors, a Midwestern satire, a taut suspense thriller and a violent tale of criminal misfortune. It all begins when a hapless car salesman (played to perfection by William H. Macy) ineptly orchestrates the kidnapping of his own wife. The plan goes horribly awry in the hands of bumbling bad guys Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare (one of them being described by a local girl as "kinda funny lookin'" and "not circumcised"), and the pregnant sheriff of Brainerd, Minnesota, (played exquisitely by Frances McDormand in an Oscar-winning role) is suddenly faced with a case of multiple murders. Her investigation is laced with offbeat observations about life in the rural hinterland of Minnesota and North Dakota, and Fargo embraces its local yokels with affectionate humour. At times shocking and hilarious, this is utterly unique and distinctly American, bearing the unmistakable stamp of its inspired creators. --Jeff ShannonOn the DVD:Fargo, Special Edition presents the movie in anamorphic widescreen (16:9) with Dolby 5.1 available in a choice of English, French or Spanish. Extras include a rare 20-minute interview with the Coens and Frances McDormand, dating from the time of the movie's release, and the 27-minute retrospective documentary, "Minnesota Nice", which has more interviews with the principal cast and crew. There's a "Coen Brothers' Family Tree" listing actors who have collaborated with the duo, and an on-screen trivia track which, among other nuggets, provides a history of pancakes after Peter Stormare's character famously demands "Where is pancakes house?". Cinematographer Roger Deakins provides an intermittent commentary mostly concerned with technical issues. The text of an American Cinematographer article about Deakins and the Coens, trailers and a behind-the-scenes photo gallery complete the package. --Mark Walker

• The Abyss | DVD | (05/07/2004) from £8.25   |  Saving you £9.74 (118.06%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Academy Award winning director and master storyteller James Cameron journeys back to the site of his greatest inspiration -- the legendary wreck of the Titanic.

• Papillon | DVD | (04/12/2000) from £7.55   |  Saving you £5.44 (72.05%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Franklin J Schaffner's Papillon is quite possibly the definitive prison escape drama. Not as thrilling as The Great Escape, nor as emotionally cathartic as The Shawshank Redemption, its unflinching emphasis on the barbarism of "civilised" societies is nevertheless unparalleled. Significantly, the only characters to display any real kindness in this film are the social outcasts: the lepers and native Indians; everyone else has been corrupted and debased by the true villain, the penal system itself. Based on Henri Charrière' s heavily fictionalised "autobiography", the film's timeless themes of man's insatiable desire for freedom and the indomitability of the human spirit are thankfully not dependent for their impact on the source material's veracity. Dalton Trumbo's liberal-minded screenplay echoes the themes of his earlier script for Spartacus, and Schaffner's innate gift for epic cinema (this was made just two years after his great war biography Patton) is fully equal to the task of realising it on screen. The director's painterly eye for widescreen composition and his careful pacing impart a gravitas to proceedings even during the film's most squalid depictions of brutality, of which there are many emphasising the cheapness of human life among the convicts and their equally criminal prison guards in the penal colony of French Guiana. Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman form a remarkable screen pairing, with Hoffman outstanding as the pusillanimous Dega. McQueen magnificently overcomes his tough-guy persona in the extraordinary solitary confinement sequences as he is gradually reduced to a shambling, cockroach-eating wreck. Longtime collaborator Jerry Goldsmith, who had previously scored Schaffner's Planet of the Apes and Patton, attained yet another career high with his music. On the DVD: The anamorphic widescreen print of the original Panavision 2. 35:1 ratio looks fine without being as stunning as some more modern prints; the Dolby 5.1 audio does however do great service to Jerry Goldsmith's score, which can also be selected separately from the Audio Setup menu as an isolated track (note that there's no music at all in the first 20 minutes of the film). The 12-minute "Magnificent Rebel" featurette was made at the time of the film's release , and includes some fascinating footage of Henri Charrière touring the prison se t, reminiscing about his experiences and pontificating ("Society does not want free men, society wants conditioned men"). --Mark Walker

• Pretty in Pink | DVD | (14/10/2003) from £7.05   |  Saving you £8.94 (126.81%)   |  RRP £15.99

  The era of Molly Ringwald's profitable collaboration with writer-producer-director John Hughes (Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club) was at its peak with this 1986 film (directed by Howard Deutch but in every sense part of the developing Hughes empire). Ringwald plays a high-school girl on the budget side of the tracks, living with her warm and loving father (Harry Dean Stanton) and usually accompanied by her insecure best friend (Jon Cryer). When a wealthy but well-meaning boy (Andrew McCarthy) asks her out, her perspective is overturned and Cryer's character is threatened. As was the case in the mid-'80s, Hughes (who wrote the script and produced the film) brought his special feel for the cross-currents of adolescent life to this story. In its very commercial way, it is an honest, entertaining piece about growing pains. The attractive supporting cast (many of whom are much better known now) does a terrific job, and Ringwald and Cryer have excellent chemistry. --Tom Keogh

• The Railway Children | DVD | (03/05/2010) from £7.27   |  Saving you £5.72 (78.68%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Lionel Jeffries' beloved film version of ES Nesbit's THE RAILWAY CHILDREN stars Jenny Agutter and Bernard Cribbins in a tale that has inspired kids and parents alike since its release in 1970.

• Behold a Pale Horse (Limited Edition) | Blu Ray | (21/04/2025) from £14.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Gregory Peck (MacArthur), Omar Sharif (Lawrence of Arabia), and Anthony Quinn (R.P.M.) lead the cast of Behold a Pale Horse, a powerful drama from director Fred Zinnemann (The Day of the Jackal).Twenty years after the Spanish Civil War, Republican guerilla Manuel (Peck) lives in exile in France. Francoist Captain Viñolas (Quinn) is tasked with capturing him, and senses an opportunity when Manuel's mother (Mildred Dunnock) falls ill, but hasn't counted on the involvement of priest Father Francisco (Sharif), who tries to protect Manuel and guide him away from his path to violence. Adapted by J P Miller (Days of Wine and Roses) from a novel by Emeric Pressburger (The Red Shoes), Behold a Pale Horse is a riveting tale of morality, betrayal, and resistance.