Drama

• David Copperfield | DVD | (19/09/2005) from £8.99   |  Saving you £7.00 (77.86%)   |  RRP £15.99

  A superb BBC adaptation of 'David Copperfield' one of Charles Dickens' best-loved and indeed most autobiographical of novels.

• Last King of Scotland | Blu Ray | (01/02/2010) from £11.15   |  Saving you £8.84 (79.28%)   |  RRP £19.99

  A Scottish doctor on a Ugandan medical mission becomes irreversibly entangled with one of the world's most barbaric figures: Idi Amin.

• Seijun Suzuki's The Taisho Trilogy | Blu Ray | (20/04/2020) from £21.35   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  HAUNTING, HYPNOTIC, FLAMBOYANT, EROTIC, BIZARRE SUZUKI! After over a decade in the wilderness following his firing from Nikkatsu for Branded to Kill (1967), maverick director Seijun Suzuki returned with a vengeance with his critically-praised tryptic of cryptic supernatural dramas set during the liberal enlightenment of Japan's Taisho Era (1912-26). In the multiple Japanese Academy Award-winning Zigeunerweisen (1980), two intellectuals and former colleagues from military academy involve their wives in a series of dangerous sexual games. In Kageroza (1981), a playwright is drawn like a moth to a flame to a mysterious beauty who might be a ghost, while Yumeji (1991) imagines the real-life painter-poet Takehisa Yumeji's encounter with a beautiful widow with a dark past. Rarely seen outside of Japan, the films in the Taisho Trilogy are considered Suzuki's masterpieces in his homeland. Presenting a dramatic turn from more his familiar tales of cops, gangsters and unruly youth, these surrealistic psychological puzzles drip with a lush exoticism, distinctively capturing the pandemonium of a bygone age of decadence and excess, when Western ideas, fashions, technologies and art fused into everyday aspect of Japanese life. SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) transfers of all three films Original uncompressed stereo audio Optional English subtitles New introductions to each film by critic Tony Rayns Making-of featurette Vintage interview with Seijun Suzuki Tony Rayns on the Taisho Trilogy, a new appreciation of Suzuki's trilogy Trailers Reversible sleeve featuring two artwork choices

• Circle Of Friends | DVD | (16/02/2004) from £5.56   |  Saving you £0.43 (7.73%)   |  RRP £5.99

  The same year as the BBC's Pride and Prejudice (1995) writer Andrew Davies and star Colin Firth were also hard at work on Circle of Friends, an Irish romance brought to the big screen by director Pat O'Connor (Dancing at Lughnasa). It's 1957 and three small-town friends Benny (Minnie Driver), Eve (Geraldine O'Rawe) and Nan (Saffron Burrows) arrive at university in Dublin, the scene set for an entertaining obstacle course along the path to true love. Jack, an excellent Chris O'Donnell, is the object of Benny's affections, and as the still unsure young woman beginning to find her way Driver gives an extremely engaging performance. Alan Cummings has a rather stereotyped role, which involves him in an attempted rape scene, one not only out-of-character with the rest of the film, but not even in the original novel. The transfer of 1990s mores onto 1950s Catholic Ireland jars a little towards the end, but whereas the cinema usually portrays Ireland as either a backdrop to "The Troubles", or--Angela's Ashes-style--as a land of hard working-class struggle, it's appealing to see it taking a look at the adventures of decent, ordinary middle-class people. The plot never springs any serious surprises, but makes for beautifully photographed Sunday-night TV-style nostalgia. --Gary S. Dalkin

• Destricted | DVD | (25/09/2006) from £16.75   |  Saving you £3.24 (19.34%)   |  RRP £19.99

  A compilation of erotic short films illuminating the point where art meets sexuality... The most controversial and sexually explicit film ever to receive an 18 certificate from UK censors Destricted pushes straight through the boundaries that were only hinted at in 9 Songs and Battle In Heaven. A wide range of vignettes from the most acclaimed directors of our time Destricted boasts a heavyweight lineup as the distinctive and entirely uncensored films portray very different points of view to reveal diverse attitudes about how we represent ourselves sexually. The result is a collection of sexy humorous stimulating and provocative scenarios from the likes of Larry Clark (Kids) and Gaspar Noe Irreversible).

• An Inspector Calls | DVD | (01/03/2010) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  A young girl is murdered and an Inspector calls on a prosperous Yorkshire household investigating the sad circumstances behind her death. Each one of the family has a secret - and each one is partly responsible for the girl's fate. The determined Inspector must prove their collective guilt and the shattering denouncement reveals why. An adaptation of J.B. Priestley's classic play.

• Diabolique | DVD | (28/01/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £18.99

  Diabolique is Jeremiah Chechik's 1996 revamped version of the 1955 French film noir tale of two teachers at a boys school conspiring to kill the headmaster (played in the remake by Chazz Palminteri of Jade and The Usual Suspects). The three assemble an intriguing triangle of revenge and deceit as the headmaster's abused and humiliated wife and mistress team up to get even. Mia Baran is the fragile wife with a delicate heart condition, portrayed by Isabelle Adjani (Queen Margot), and Sharon Stone (Basic Instinct) is the plotting, contemptuous mistress. Together they set out to wreak an unfortunate revenge, but as the story reveals itself, miscalculations abound as hidden agendas and secret lives are unexpectedly exposed. Chechik's new look and timeless setting give film noir audiences something neoteric and seductive to play with. A welcomed change to the film's story line is the fresh addition of Kathy Bates as a daunting private detective. Fans of Stone's will not be disappointed with the latest version of her "I-could-give-a-damn smoldering broad" technique and anyone not yet familiar with Chazz Palminteri will love watching him succeed as the ultimately despicable headmaster. --Michele Goodson

• Pennies From Heaven | DVD | (31/05/2004) from £19.95   |  Saving you £10.04 (50.33%)   |  RRP £29.99

  Dennis Potter's astonishing six-part miniseries Pennies from Heaven remains one of the edgiest, most audacious things ever conceived for television. The story tells of one Arthur Parker (Bob Hoskins), a sheet-music salesman in 1930s England. Beaten down by economic hard times and the sexual indifference of his proper wife (Gemma Craven), Arthur cannot understand why his life can't be like the beautiful songs he loves. On a sales trip through the Forest of Dean, he meets a virginal rural woman (Cheryl Campbell) he suspects may be his ideal. Ruination follows. Punctuating virtually every scene is a vintage pop song--lip-synched and sometimes danced out by the characters. This startling innovation makes the contrast between Arthur's brutish life and his bourgeois dreams even more dramatic. Potter's dark vision digs into British stoicism, sexual repression, the class system and even the coming of fascism in Europe. But it is especially poignant on the subject of the divide between art and reality. Piers Haggard directs the long piece with deft transitions between songs and story. (It was shot partly on multi-camera video, partly on film.) The cast is fine, especially the extraordinary Cheryl Campbell, who imbues her character with keen intelligence and no small measure of perversity. Bob Hoskins triumphs in his star-making part, bringing a demonic energy to his small-time Cockney, nearly bursting his button-down vests with frustration and appetite. Pennies from Heaven was remade in 1981 for the big screen (with Steve Martin), in an interesting, Potter-scripted adaptation; it's one of the reasons the original has been unavailable on home video for so long. --Robert Horton

• Walkabout | DVD | (03/11/2008) from £24.34   |  Saving you £-14.35 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Very few films achieve subliminal greatness with cross-cultural impact, but Walkabout is one of those films--a visual tone poem that functions more as an allegory than a conventionally plotted adventure. Considered a cult favourite for years, Nicolas Roeg's 1971 film centres upon two British children who are rescued in the Australian outback by a young aborigine. Through exquisite cinematography and a story of subtle human complexity, the film continues to resonate on many thematic and artistic levels. Just as Roeg intended, it is a cautionary morality tale in which the limitations and restrictions of civilisation become painfully clear when the two children (played by Jenny Agutter and Roeg's young son, Lucien John) cannot survive without the aborigine's assistance. They become primitives themselves, if only temporarily, while the young aborigine proves ultimately and tragically unable to join the "family" of civilisation. With its story of two worlds colliding, Walkabout now seems like a film for the ages, hypnotic and open to several compelling levels of interpretation. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

• Mad Max Black and Chrome Edition | Blu Ray | (15/05/2017) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £10.99

  Haunted by his turbulent past, Mad Max believes the best way to survive is to wander alone. Nevertheless, he becomes swept up with a group fleeing across the Wasteland in a War Rig driven by an elite Imperator, Furiosa. They are escaping a Citadel tyrannized by the Immortan Joe, from whom something irreplaceable has been taken. Enraged, the Warlord marshals all his gangs and pursues the rebels ruthlessly in the high-octane Road War that follows.

• The Bay: Series 2 | DVD | (01/03/2021) from £13.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  From award-winning writer Daragh Carville, beautifully crafted crime drama hit The Bay returns. Series two begins with Lisa Armstrong at a low ebb, forced to do menial police work while she watches Med go from strength to strength. But a new case involving a shocking murder within a loving family brings Lisa unexpectedly back to the front line. Can she get under the skin of this new family and prove her worth - to her colleagues, to her family and to herself?

• I Could Go On Singing | DVD | (03/06/2013) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  She saved the best for last. In her final film, Oscar® winning actress Judy Garland gives the dramatic and show-stopping performance of a lifetime in the role of talented superstar Jenny Bowman. This strong-headed, absent mother turns up in the lives of her ex-lover David (Dirk Bogarde) and their son, rocking the boat in these otherwise still waters. Who can resist a showbiz mum who turns up at boarding school and charms everyone she meets; who sings her way into the heart of a nation. David knows he must, because with the best will in the world, this is a woman strong enough to build a mountain of love and bring it crashing down without looking back. Featuring the powerful title song by Oscar winner Harold Arlen (The Wizard of Oz), as well as unforgettable performances of "By Myself," "It Never Was You," and "Hello, Bluebird", I Could Go On Singing "remains a remarkable achievement...[that] captures the extraordinary excitement and magnetism of Judy Garland." - The Hollywood Reporter.

• Autumn In New York | DVD | (10/12/2007) from £10.45   |  Saving you £-0.46 (-4.60%)   |  RRP £9.99

  A New York restaurant owner falls for a young woman chef. When she reveals a dark secret about herself, their relationship takes on deeper meaning.

• Shakespeare: The Animated Tales | DVD | (28/03/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £39.99

  This Animated Shakespeare Box Set winner of 2 Emmy awards contains 12 of the bard's plays that were originally broadcast on BBC2 in 1994. The scripts for the 'Animated Tales' have been adapted from the original Shakespeare by Leon Garfield. A reknowed Shakespearean scholar Garfield worked closely with a panel of academic experts to create plays that are masterfully abridged to only 30 minutes yet are faithful to Shakespeare's language and plots. The 12 episodes are : 1.

• Gone | DVD | (13/08/2012) from £4.81   |  Saving you £15.18 (315.59%)   |  RRP £19.99

  When her sister disappears, Jill is convinced the serial killer who kidnapped her two years ago has returned, and she sets out to once again face her abductor.

• Shackles | DVD | (22/08/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Welcome to the schol of hard knocks. Ben a struggling teacher in his 30s is desperately trying to get his life back in order to win back his ex-wife. After abundant struggle and a haunting past an old friend gets him a teaching position at Riker's Island Prison. Meanwhile Gabriel a 17-year-old drug-dealer is arrested and sent to the same prison. Ben is having terrible luck with his teaching program and is given an ultimatum that he must have more students or the program w

• Bounty | DVD | (12/03/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

• Gilmore Girls - Season 1 | DVD | (02/10/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £40.99

  Welcome to the picture-perfect New England town of Stars Hollow Connecticut. Founded in 1779. Population 9 973. Home of 32 year old Lorelai and her 16 year old daughter Rory: the Gilmore Girls. Quick-witted Lorelai manager of historic Independence Inn is mother to Rory (Alexis Bledel); her daughter's best friend confidante and mentor who's determined to help her avoid the mistakes that sidetracked Lorelai when she was a teen... Episodes Comprise: 1. Pilot 2. The Lorelais'

• Mistress Of Spices | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £4.24   |  Saving you £17.01 (570.80%)   |  RRP £19.99

  One spice for passion. And one woman who knows its name. Tilo (Aishwarya Rai) an immigrant from India runs a spice shop in Oakland California. While she supplies the ingredients for curries and kormas she also helps her customers to gain a more precious commodity: whatever they most desire. However when she suddenly falls in love with a fine American man her powers begin to wane and leave her with a difficult choice.... Acclaimed director Gurinder Chadha co-wrote the screenplay of this romantic drama with her husband Paul Mayeda Berges adapting the script from the novel by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni.

• The Proposition | DVD | (04/07/2016) from £6.98   |  Saving you £9.00 (225.56%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Father Michael McKinnon (Kenneth Branagh) arrives in 1930s Boston from the UK to join the priesthood at St. Jude's, and is oddly intent on avoiding contact with his most prominent parishioners, wealthy lawyer Arthur Barret (William Hurt) and wife Eleanor (Madeleine Stowe), a racy proto-feminist writer. Arthur adores Eleanor, and is devastated when their plans to raise a family are quashed by his infertility. Rejecting adoption because she's determined to experience pregnancy, free-thinking Eleanor suggests drastic action. They will pay law student Roger Martin (Neil Patrick Harris) $25,000 in hush money if he'll agree to impregnate her, then raise the child as their own. Trouble is, during his faux-conjugal visits, Roger falls in love with her for real. The priest also has a crisis of faith and conscience as he too starts to fall for Eleanor. Set against the stunning backdrop of a New England autumn, the colourful plot is grounded by Hurt's reliable dramatic conviction as a man of dignity, reserve and intelligence who is also consumed by great passion and fiery rage.