Drama

• Blonde Fist | DVD | (13/03/2017) from £11.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Drama starring Margi Clarke and Caroll Baker. Ronnie (Clarke), daughter of a bareknuckle fighter, is not averse to using her fists. When she is put in jail for assault, she escapes and goes to find her father, now an alcoholic dishwasher in New York. She resolves to bring him home to Liverpool and enters a female prizefight to raise the fare.

• The Blue Lagoon | DVD | (27/08/2001) from £21.99   |  Saving you £-2.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  In 1980, Randal Kleiser's remake of The Blue Lagoon had its critics well and truly divided. On the one hand adolescent nudity, however tasteful, was enough to give the censors the vapours. On the other, the story--essentially a reworking of Robinson Crusoe based on Stacpoole's Edwardian adventure novel with two young children as the castaways growing up on a desert island--seemed just too removed from reality. Kleiser set out to make "the ultimate South Seas film", and indeed the location shooting is a richly beautiful complement to the intimate tale of two young people coming to terms with their own adulthood. He teases out touching performances from Brooke Shields (Emmeline) and Christopher Atkins (Richard) as the marooned pair, and a nicely ambivalent cameo from Leo McKern as Paddy, the ship's cook who gets them set up on the island before rum gets the better of him. A stilted script helps none of them. But the moments of awkward self-discovery and dawning sexuality are handled with a tenderness which ultimately triumphs over some of the more implausible elements: Shields' perpetually manicured nails, for example, or the fact that she unexpectedly gives birth without breaking sweat. To say nothing of the pair's extraordinary home-building skills, which would have been beyond the remit of the average Edwardian governess to teach. Today, for all its efforts to be taken seriously as a tale of preserved innocence and discovery, it succeeds best as a good old-fashioned adventure. On the DVD: This widescreen presentation positively bulges with extras. A choice of director's commentaries means that you can hear Randal Kaiser (who had previously directed Grease) reminiscing in fine detail with writer Douglas Day Stewart, and both Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins. Some might think this overkill for a non-landmark film, but the discussions are genuinely interesting. The film was clearly a formative experience in Shields' adolescent career --she has also provided an album of personal snapshots as another extra--and it is fascinating to hear her talk about it from her current position as a star of sophisticated television sitcom. The crystal-clear digital remastering and anamorphic stereo picture and sound quality of the main film don't extend to this scratchy, sometimes inaudible documentary. --Piers Ford

• Columbia Classics Collection Vol. 2 UHD (14 Discs - UHD & BD) | Blu Ray | (13/09/2021) from £34.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Six classic films from six iconic directors including Anatomy Of A Murder, Oliver!, Taxi Driver, Stripes, Sense And Sensibility (1995), and The Social Network. Experience these essential films from Columbia Pictures like never before, now fully remastered and debuting on 4K Ultra HD. With films driven by bold and impassioned characters and with stories deftly told by master filmmakers and with hours of special features and an exclusive 80-page book with unique insights and production detail about each of the included films this second volume of the Columbia Classics 4K Ultra HD Collection is truly the best way to watch these treasured cinematic favourites! Includes filmmaker & historian commentaries, anniversary reunions, documentaries, deleted scenes, archival featurettes and much more! Also includes an exclusive Blu-ray™ bonus disc featuring a curated collection of 20 short films from the Columbia Pictures library.

• Shergar | DVD | (21/10/2002) from £12.99   |  Saving you £-9.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £3.99

  Kevin Doherty (Tom Walsh) the orphaned son of a jockey dreams of racing horses like his father but instead finds himself in the middle of a terrorist plot to kidnap Shergar Ireland's greatest racehorse. Terrorist Gavin O'Rourke (Mickey Rourke) and his second-in-command Dermot Concannon steal Shergar away to a remote farm owned by Eamonn Garrity (David Warner). Unknown to the kidnappers teenage runaway Kevin lies in the hayloft of the Garrity farm and is aware of Shergar's identity. Though initially elated at being charged with the horse's keep Kevin is horrified when he hears of Shergar's impending execution and resolved to ride the horse to freedom. Staying only steps ahead of the kidnappers and the authorities Kevin alters the appearance of the instantly recognisable horse...

• Pandora And The Flying Dutchman | DVD | (25/05/2015) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Albert Lewin's adaptation of the 'Flying Dutchman' legend transposes the story into an upper-class English-speaking community in a small port in 1930s Spain. James Mason stars as Hendrick van der Zee, a man cursed to travel the seven seas until he can find a woman willing to die for his love. He certainly does not think he has discovered her when he meets beautiful, spoiled, nightclub singer and femme fatale Pandora Reynolds (Ava Gardner), who is engaged to be married to racing driver Stephen Cameron (Nigel Patrick) but is also being courted by hotheaded bullfighter Juan Montalvo (Mario Cabre). However, the pair soon discover that love can blossom in the unlikeliest of places.

• The Cat And The Canary | DVD | (01/03/2004) from £12.85   |  Saving you £3.14 (24.44%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Ten years have passed since the death of millionaire Cyrus Norman. Relatives gather at midnight in a creepy old house for the reading of his will whereupon the local prison guard arrives to warn all assembled that a homicidal maniac known as 'The Cat' has escaped and could be heading for the house...

• Patagonia | DVD | (11/07/2011) from £7.55   |  Saving you £8.44 (111.79%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Patagonia narrates the journeys of two women - one looking for her past the other for her future. The film inter-cuts between their stories in which one of them travels south to north through the Welsh springtime and the other east to west through the Argentine autumn. Directed by Marc Evans (My Little Eye) Patagonia stars Matthew Rhys (The Edge of Love and Brothers and Sisters) and Nia Roberts (Solomon and Gaenor) alongside Grammy Award winning singer Duffy in her acting debut. A road movie for romantics Patagonia is a film of intimate moments that play out against the sweeping panoramic landscapes complemented by a hauntingly beautiful soundtrack.

• Monsieur Hire | DVD | (15/05/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Adapted from the George Simenon novel 'Les Fiancailles De M. Hire' it tells the story of old Monsieur Hire who lives a lonely existence in an apartment block. He spies on a woman called Alice who also lives there and he knows everything about her until one evening he sees something he shouldn't and his life changes for ever.

• Albert Nobbs | DVD | (03/09/2012) from £6.96   |  Saving you £13.03 (187.21%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The Morrison's Hotel hides many secrets and the unassuming and dedicated butler, Albert (Glenn Close), is just one of them. In 19th Century Ireland, with employment for women scarce, a young impoverished girl made a radical decision to masquerade as a man to ensure her survival. Many years later, her four walls come crashing down as secrets are uncovered leading to tension, drama, heartache and tragedy.

• Suddenly, Last Summer | DVD | (11/11/2002) from £11.36   |  Saving you £1.63 (14.35%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Elizabeth Taylor and Katharine Hepburn each received Oscar nominations for best actress in this gripping adaptation of the Tennessee Williams play filmed at Shepperton Studios by director Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Beautiful Catherine Holly (Taylor) is committed to a mental institution after witnessing the strange and horrible death of her cousin. Catherine's aunt Violet Venable (Hepburn) tries to influence Dr Cukrowicz (Montgomery Clift) a young neurosurgeon to surgically end Cather

• Class Act - The Complete Series | DVD | (02/08/2010) from £24.72   |  Saving you £5.27 (21.32%)   |  RRP £29.99

  Joanna Lumley stars in this pacy racy comedy drama penned by BAFTA winner Michael Aitkins and produced by Verity Lambert; Ian McNeice Dennis Waterman Elizabeth Spriggs Keith Allen and Celia Imrie are among a host of guest stars. Attracting over ten million viewers Class Act ran for two hit seasons in 1994 and 1995 and the complete series is available here for the very first time on DVD. The aristocratic Kate Swift has been left in trouble and in debt by her wide-boy husband Duncan; having vanished while under investigation for fraud he has also left Kate to carry the can. When journalist and key witness Jack Booker implicates her in the crime Kate is imprisoned for six months. On her release she is broke angry and determined to find her husband. Ready for anything she forms an unlikely alliance with Booker an alcoholic card-carrying coward and former inmate Gloria O'Grady a young Australian woman with a special talent for burglary. Wit instinct theft and sex become the dubious tools of their trade as they try to stay out of the red... and out of jail.

• Shadows (The John Cassavetes Collection) (DVD & Blu-ray) | Blu Ray | (23/04/2012) from £15.99   |  Saving you £4.00 (25.02%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Dual Format Edition containing the DVD and world premiere Blu-ray release of John Cassavetes’ groundbreaking debut feature, Shadows (1959), a film which gave birth to a radical new film language that has influenced the work of filmmakers for decades since its release. Shadows revolves around the inter-racial romance between a black woman and white man, and their relationship with her jazz singer brother. Its depiction of themes of inter-racial relationships and non-conformist lifestyles were way ahead of its time.Shot on location in 1950s New York, with a cast and crew made up primarily of amateurs, this radical, ground-breaking film is as devastatingly powerful now as ever. The film’s score features jazz legend Charlie Mingus. Extra features: Presented in both High Definition and Standard Definition Audio commentary Seymour Cassell and Tom Charity Silent rehearsal footage (DVD only) Peter Falk on Cassavetes (Paul Joyce, DVD only) Original trailer

• A Beautiful Mind | DVD | (03/07/2006) from £5.31   |  Saving you £19.68 (370.62%)   |  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

• Third Star | DVD | (12/09/2011) from £4.96   |  Saving you £8.03 (161.90%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Join James Miles Davy and Bill on a raucous roadtrip with a serious purpose: giving James the time of his life - however little time that may be. Third Star wrestles with camping nightmares surreal moments and rocking good times building up to an emotionally ravaging revelation. By BAFTA award-winning director Hattie Dalton (The Banker) Third Star stars Benedict Cumberbatch (BBC's Sherlock Amazing Grace Atonement) JJ Feild (Captain America: The First Avenger Centurion) Tom Burke (Donkey Punch) and Adam Robertson (Wire In The Blood). A road movie with a heart Third Star will take you one step further from the past and toward a brave new world of courage dignity and beauty.

• Belle | Blu Ray | (20/10/2014) from £7.41   |  Saving you £17.58 (237.25%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Belle is inspired by the true story of Dido Elizabeth Belle (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) the illegitimate mixed race daughter of a Royal Navy Admiral. Raised by her aristocratic great-uncle Lord Mansfield (Tom Wilkinson) and his wife (Emily Watson) Belle's lineage affords her certain privileges yet the colour of her skin prevents her from fully participating in the traditions of her social standing. Left to wonder if she will ever find love Belle falls for an idealistic young vicar's son bent on change who with her help shapes Lord Mansfield's role as Lord Chief Justice to end slavery in England.

• 3 Classic Wartime Dramas - A Town Like Alice / Carve Her Name With Pride / This Happy Breed | DVD | (20/10/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  A Town Like Alice - Virginia McKenna and Peter Finch star in this moving story about a party of women compelled to trek through the Malayan jungle during World War II as no Japanese office will take responsibility for their care. Based on Nevil Shute's best selling novel the film tells how the women come to terms with their hardships and how they are befriended by a tough Australian prisoner of war who dreams of returning to his home town of Alice Springs... Carve Her Name With Pride - The moving and dramatic story of Violette Szabo (McKenna) a courageous WW2 secret agent who was captured in northern France... Carve Her Name With Pride is the inspiring true life story of Violette Szabo. During World War II Violette (Virgina McKenna) volunteers to parachute into France as a secret agent to aid a Resistance group. Her mission successful she joins the Resistance where she stays until captured by the Germans. Tortured by the Gestapo for information she refuses to betray her comrades... Directed by Lewis Gilbert Carve Her Name With Pride is a moving tale about the endurance of the human spirit in even the most adverse circumstances. This Happy Breed - 'This Happy Breed' is a splendidly acted classic portraying how an ordinary British family lived between the wars. Just after WWI the Gibbons family moves to a nice house in the suburbs. The inhabitants of 17 Sycamore Road are ordinary people with their irritable in-laws their just-plain-folks camaraderie and their unshakeable belief that no matter how hard the times are Mother England is forged of good stock and common sense will somehow prevail. This is a wonderful adaptation of Noel Coward's play written by Anthony Havelock-Allan and directed by David Lean who brought us the critically acclaimed classic 'Brief Encounter'.

• Bobby (2007) | DVD | (04/06/2007) from £5.89   |  Saving you £12.10 (205.43%)   |  RRP £17.99

  The story of the assassination of U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy, on June 6th, 1968, which centres around 22 people who were at the Ambassador Hotel where he was killed.

• Bohemian Rhapsody | Blu Ray | (14/03/2019) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Shoot The Pianist | DVD | (28/07/2014) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Francois Truffaut portrays a film noir world of gangsters and intrigue with Charles Aznavour as a famous concert pianist who leaves his former life behind to play in a sleazy Parisian bar. He gradually becomes involved in the criminal activities of the big-city underworld.

• You Me and Marley | DVD | (05/09/2011) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  This darkly humorous drama set in Northern Ireland centre's around the Troubles, taking as its focus five Catholic youths whose lives are shaped by the violence that surrounds them.Wart, his girlfriend Frances and their friend Marley are joy riders. The nights are filled with car thefts, insane car rides in the stolen vehicles, fights and wild parties. Their lives are self-destructive and full of violence. The only things that mean anything to them are the solidarity with the group and the next crazy exploit they can come up with.After a meeting in which the Church and the IRA try to find a solution to the joyride epidemic, a devastating conflict flares up between the IRA representatives and the youths.The dark nature of the film is lifted only by the youngsters' slightly macabre sense of humour.