"Actor: Ann Firbank"

• Hotel Du Lac | DVD | (26/05/2003) from £12.81   |  Saving you £3.18 (24.82%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Hotel du Lac is an impeccably produced BBC television adaptation of Anita Brookner's Booker Prize-winning novel. Middle-aged writer Edith Hope has fled London and romantic disappointment to find sanctuary at a luxury hotel on a Swiss Lake, but finding no escape from her loneliness must eventually face her past. Edith is played with compassion by Anna Massey, her intellect and wit acting as a defence against her own failings, and support comes from a superb cast including Denholm Elliott, Googie Withers, Julia McKenzie, Patricia Hodge, Irene Handl and Barry Foster. Brookner's apparently slight but multi-layered tale is skilfully crafted by writer Christopher Hampton, who has with such films as Dangerous Liaisons (1988) and The Quiet American (2002) become a master of literary adaptation. Giles Foster's direction focuses on bringing the best from his cast, rather than attempting any sort of cinematic sweep, and Carl Davis' eloquent theme music makes the introspection all the more touching. Ultimately, though, it is Anna Massey's insightful central performance which makes Hotel du Lac such a memorable slice of television. On the DVD: Hotel du Lac is presented in the original TV broadcast 4:3 ratio with a very poor, extremely grainy and soft picture. The sound is reasonable mono, clear and free from distortion though lacking in dynamic range. The only extra, though one well worth having, is a serious and highly informative commentary from Giles, Hampton and producer Sue Birtwistle. --Gary S Dalkin

• The Scarlet Pimpernel | DVD | (18/09/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  It's tough trying to beat the 1934 version of the popular adventure-romance story, starring Leslie Howard as the 18th-century British hero who poses as a fop in London society but runs a secret mission to rescue the doomed in Robespierre's Paris. But this 1982 television version, starring Anthony Andrews (Sebastian Flyte in Brideshead Revisited) as the Pimpernel and Jane Seymour as his beloved but estranged wife, is quite a treat. Andrews and Seymour expertly capture the essence of a relationship suffering from misunderstandings and elusive passion, and there is plenty of crackle to the action sequences. Clive Donner (What's New, Pussycat?) brings some strong cinematic qualities to this television presentation. --Tom Keogh

• A Passage to India | DVD | (06/05/2013) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  From the acclaimed director of Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago and The Bridge on the River Kwai, A Passage To India was Sir David Lean's last ever feature film and a winner of two Oscars®.

• The Scarlet Pimpernel | DVD | (25/09/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Paris 1792. Each day scores of the French nobility feed the guillotine. They are trapped in the capital: there is no escape. But rumours whisper of a league of young English gentlemen of unparalleled daring who risk their lives to spirit aristocrats across the Channel. They leave no trace behind them except a note from the ""Scarlett Pimpernel"" (Anthony Andrews). The ruthless spy master Chauvelin (Ian McKellen) is determined to stop the rescuers by fair means or foul - and desperately outnumbered the Scarlet Pimpernel and his men must use all their wits to evade capture and stay alive. With a dazzling all-British cast this glorious production of Baroness Orczy's classic adventure novel is one of the largest single television productions ever made - winning critical acclaim on its release and wowing generations of viewers for over two decades. Nominated for three Academy awards and winner of an Emmy award for Outstanding Costume Design.

• Nothing Barred | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £6.89   |  Saving you £3.10 (44.99%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Master farceur Brian Rix joins fellow Whitehall Theatre stalwart Leo Franklyn and a host of famed character comedians - including Naunton Wayne Charles Heslop Irene Handl and Bernard Cribbins - for this hugely entertaining quintessentially English romp. Released in 1961 Nothing Barred (aka The Night We Sprang a Leak) is presented here in a brand-new transfer from the original film elements in its as-exhibited theatrical aspect ratio. Penniless Lord Whitebait's plan to save his sinking fortunes is to open stately Whitebait Manor to the public. But the public ignores his gesture and his fortunes fade even further with a stream of debts threatening to run into a deluge when his daughter's fiancé demands a plush and costly wedding. Where is the cash to come from? Whitebait and his servant Spankforth's answer is a scam involving the theft of a valuable painting from the Manor. How could such a cunningly original ruse fail?

• Brief Encounter | DVD | (22/06/2009) from £17.95   |  Saving you £-7.96 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  When unhappily married doctor Alec Harvey (Burton) removes a piece of grit from the eye of fellow train-traveller Anna Jesson (Loren) little do they suspect that this chance encounter will turn into a passionate relationship. Alec relentlessly pursues Anna but she is tormented by guilt as the fantasy dream becomes a nightmare of deceit and she realises she is betraying both her husband and children. Based on the 1936 Noel Coward playlet Still Life.

• A Passage To India | Blu Ray | (26/09/2022) from £11.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Enter a world where cultures clash so violently that an entire country could split at any moment. Nominated for eleven Academy Awards® and winner of two, A Passage to India is a wonderfully provocative tale, full of vivid characters, all played to near perfection. With a fabulous cast that include Peggy Ashcroft, Judy Davis, James Fox, Sir Alec Guinness, and Nigel Havers, this hauntingly beautiful film is a daring triumph. When liberal-minded English ladies Mrs. Moore (Ashcroft) and Adela Quested (Davis) arrive in India, they're shocked by the extreme racial prejudice that exists here. Fortunately, kind Dr. Aziz (Victor Banerjee) rises above the intolerance and guides the women on a splendid tour of the mysterious Marabar caves. But the outing turns tragic when Adela suddenly comes running from one of the caves-scratched, bleeding and terribly frightened. News of the incident quickly spreads across the whole of India...igniting a powder keg of tension just waiting to explode. A rich tapestry woven of the clash between cultures, A Passage to India is supreme entertainment, and a visual wonder that is truly spellbinding!

• The Nearly Man:The Complete Series | DVD | (11/09/2017) from £12.15   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Tony Britton won a BAFTA nomination for his central performance in this finely observed drama about a veteran Labour back-bencher who risks the remains of his career when he re-engages in the grass-roots politics of his northern working-class constituency. Starting life as a single ITV Playhouse drama which won the Broadcasting Press Guild's award for Best Single Play in 1975, The Nearly Man follows the events of seven months in a critical year for Christopher Collinson a public-school MP with the perfect credentials for a candidate in the forthcoming general election. The series charts his uneasy relationship with party activists, the intrigues and aggression of politics and the impact of Collinson's renewed ambition upon his marriage. This set features all seven episodes of the series along with the single play, devised and written by BAFTA winner Arthur Hopcraft.

• Accident / The Family Way | DVD | (23/06/2003) from £14.98   |  Saving you £2.01 (13.42%)   |  RRP £16.99

  Accident: (WS 1.66:1) Following their destructive foray into English class hatreds in 'The Servant' director Joseph Losey and screen writer Harold Pinter turn their attention to the Dons of Oxford. Pinter examines the motivations of several men in a brusque study of love and jealousy centred around one woman. The 'Accidental' death of one of them springs a trap of guilt remorse and thwarted sexual ambition on all concerned. Each scene brings more prickly revelations in a complex and thought provoking masterpiece. The Family Way: (FS 4:3) Based on Bill Naughton's warm hearted play 'The Family Way' is a thought-provoking exploration of the emotional impact of the 1960s sexual revolution. Hayley Mills stars in her first 'X' rated film with Hywel Bennett as two sensitive youngsters who fail to consummate their marriage following the vulgar ribaldry of their typically working class Lancashire wedding.

• The Servant | DVD | (25/02/2002) from £12.00   |  Saving you £1.99 (16.58%)   |  RRP £13.99

  For anyone interested in voyeurism, role playing, class envy and sexual humiliation, The Servant is an essential buy. Directed by Joseph Losey, scripted by Harold Pinter, it probes away remorselessly at areas other British film-makers would not go near. Dirk Bogarde, the golden boy of 50s British cinema, is transformed into a scheming, unctuous butler, Barrett. Hired by dapper young toff Tony (James Fox), he proceeds gradually to take over his master's life. In one scene, he seduces Tony's fiancée (Wendy Craig). Tony is soon slavering over the voluptuous but vaguely sinister Vera (Sarah Miles), whom he has been told is his butler's sister (in fact, she's Barrett's mistress). Gradually, the lines between master and servant are blurred. Tony becomes beholden to his butler's every whim.Nobody does queasy quite as well as Losey. The American-born director relishes the chance to disrupt the smooth workings of what seems a typical upper-class household. Compared to the bland comedies made at Pinewood in the late 50s, The Servant couldn't help but seem groundbreaking. Thanks to his performance, Bogarde, who'd starred in so many of those comedies, was at last taken seriously as more than a matinee idol. The critics adored the film, which was first released at around the time of the Profumo crisis. "Even if I make 10 better pictures in my lifetime", Losey observed, "I don't suppose one could expect to have such unanimous appreciation and approval again". --Geoffrey Macnab

• Brief Encounter | Blu Ray | (09/08/2021) from £19.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Film legends Sophia Loren and Richard Burton star in this moody adaptation of Noel Coward's emotional tale about a chance meeting that progresses from friendship into an unexpected but impossible love. Directed by BAFTA-winning Alan Bridges and scripted by John Bowen (both of whom had worked to great acclaim on TV's Play for Today), Brief Encounter is featured here as a brand-new High Definition remaster from original film elements in its original widescreen theatrical aspect ratio as well as a legacy transfer of the as-filmed full-frame version. When a tiny piece of grit in Anna's eye leads to an unexpected meeting with Alec at the local railway station, neither of them could guess that what begins as a casual friendship could turn so easily into a tormenting relationship.

• Stories from a Flying Trunk | DVD | (18/01/2016) from £4.48   |  Saving you £6.77 (210.25%)   |  RRP £9.99

  A magical blend of choreography, stop-motion and live action, Stories from a Flying Trunk captures the enchantment of three classic stories from Hans Christian Andersen. Conceived, written and directed by Oscarnominated Christine Edzard and featuring the dancers of the Royal Ballet, choreographed by Frederick Ashton it is presented here in a brand-new transfer from the original film elements, in its as-exhibited theatrical aspect ratio.The Kitchen contains household objects which come to life and hold an animated conversation.Little Ida is an inspired celebration of dance featuring members of the Royal Ballet.SPECIAL FEATURESImage galleryOriginal theatrical trailerOriginal pressbook PDF

• Lillie - The Complete Collection | DVD | (05/01/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  The story follows Lillie from her modest beginnings in Jersey to her marriage rise in London's high society and her affair with the Prince of Wales. The life of the Dean of Jersey's daughter continues when she meets the Prince of Wales' nephew with whom she has a brief affair. She then embarks on a career as an actress which we follow through to her retirement in the South of France where she is surrounded by pictures of her many friends and lovers.

• Asylum | DVD | (06/10/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  One of the patients in an institution for the incurably insane was once its director, and a young psychiatrist (Robert Powell) has to figure out which one as they all tell him their stories. What better setting for a horror anthology? It's an inspired framing device, making this one of the better examples of the genre, even if screenwriter Robert Bloch at times resorts to gimmicks rather than invention. The first two stories are less than brilliant (the first is highlighted by dismembered body parts neatly wrapped in butcher paper wriggling back to life for revenge), but Charlotte Rampling and Britt Ekland are marvellous in the third tale, about a mentally unbalanced young woman and her dangerous best friend. Herbert Lom is also excellent in the final story as a scientist who carves an army of dolls he claims he can bring to life by sheer willpower. Director Roy Ward Baker (Quatermas and the Pit) builds momentum with each story until the dark and deliciously bloody climax. This Amicus Studios production looks visually dull compared to Hammer's gothic gloss, but it features a great British cast (including Patrick Magee and Hammer stalwart Peter Cushing), and ultimately Baker makes that gloomy look work for his increasingly creepy production. Amicus produced a series of horror anthologies, including the original 1972 Tales from the Crypt and The Torture Garden (also scripted by Bloch). --Sean Axmaker, Amazon.com

• The Plane Makers - Volume 3 | DVD | (08/04/2013) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £39.99

  The prequel to ATV's celebrated boardroom drama The Power Game, The Plane Makers follows the fortunes of a leading airplane development company and its managing director, the ruthlessly ambitious John Wilder (Patrick Wymark). This series features guest appearances by, among others, Garfield Morgan, Geoffrey Chater, Anthony Newlands and Malcolm Tierney. Scott Furlong Ltd. is about to launch into the fiercely competitive world of government-backed military contracts, with the prototype develop...

• The Power Game - Series 1 | DVD | (14/02/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £39.99

  ITV's famous boardroom drama from the 1960's starring Patrick Wymark Barbara Murray Clifford Evans Rosemary Leach Peter Barkworth Ian Holm and George Sewell. A spin-off from the earlier 'The Plane Makers' 'The Power Game' made a star of Patrick Wymark as the now knighted Sir John Wilder the ruthless and power hungry executive who everybody loved to hate. The series captivated the viewing public in 1965 when first aired (one of the five most watched programme of 1966 when this f

• Flesh And Blood - Series 1 | DVD | (11/07/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £49.99

  BAFTA award winner the late Thora Hird and Bill Fraser star in this BBC drama written by John Finch (A Family At War). Flesh And Blood follows the fortunes of a powerful northern family the Brassingtons who Ledston Cement. Like all families were money is God conflict of opinion strategic alliances divided loyalties love affairs and shattered marriages are rife.

• Brief Encounter | DVD | (24/07/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £3.99

  Sophia Loren (Mrs. Ponti) stars as a bored married woman who embarks upon a brief romantic fling with equally married Richard Burton. Throughout their relationship Loren and Burton are plagued by guilt; ultimately they sacrifice their potential happiness in favor of ""the right thing."" Based on the 1936 Noel Coward playlet Still Life.

• The Power Game - Series 2 | DVD | (02/07/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £39.99

  ATV'S famous boardroom drama from the 1960's starring Patrick Wymark Barbara Murray Clifford Evans Rosemary Leach Peter Barkworth Ian Holm and George Sewell. A spin-off from the earlier 'The Plane Makers' 'The Power Game' made a star of Patrick Wymark as the now-knighted Sir John Wilder the ruthless and power hungry executive who everybody loved to hate. Episodes comprise: 1. Nothing's For Free 2. Ambassador Status 3. Grounds For Decision 4. The Front Men 5. A Matter

• Anna And The King / Ever After | DVD | (31/01/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Anna And The King: Academy Award winner Jodie Foster and international sensation Chow Yun-Fat star in this epic retelling of a classic true-life story. When English schoolteacher Anna Leonowens arrives in the exotic land of Siam to teach the children of King Mongkut her Western sensibilities clash with the ruler's Eastern ways. The tension builds as Mongkut learns that outside forces are conspiring against his regime. With the political intrigue set to explode Anna and th