"Actor: David Westhead"

• The Lost Prince | DVD | (20/01/2003) from £6.12   |  Saving you £9.87 (161.27%)   |  RRP £15.99

  A marvellous reinvention of the costume epic, The Lost Prince is Stephen Poliakoff's absorbing study of the turbulent years leading up to and during the First World War, seen through the percipient eyes of a scarcely remembered royal child. Extensively researched, impeccably cast, beautifully filmed, written and directed by Poliakoff himself with masterly economy and restraint, this is a timely reminder that original, intelligent drama can work as prime time entertainment while appealing on multiple levels; and there isn't an escaped soap star in sight. Johnnie, the prince kept hidden away by his parents Queen Mary and George V for fear that his epileptic fits and idiosyncratic ways might draw unwelcome attention, is not presented as a tragic figure. His view of the great events which shatter his family and change the world forever is direct and uncluttered. Poliakoff celebrates his apartness--and that of all children who are different--as a force for good, without judging the standards, protocols and contemporary medical theories which kept him on the periphery of society. The series makes the most of its well-chosen locations, and from Johnnie's garden at Sandringham to the assassination of the Russian imperial family, it maintains a hypnotic and elegiac quality The acting is first-rate, too. Gina McKee is profoundly moving as Johnnie's devoted nurse Lalla; and Miranda Richardson's Mary is an extraordinary performance, the controlled façade of single-minded focus occasionally fracturing to reveal a flash of humanity. This production is exquisite in every respect. On the DVD: The Lost Prince is presented in its original transmission format of 16:9. The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, enhanced by Adrian Johnston's haunting score is crystal clear. Extras include Poliakoff's revealing commentary, with occasional input from Johnston and designer John-Paul Kelly, and a couple of documentary fragments which show the production in progress and place it in context with the rest of Poliakoff's work. --Piers Ford

• Wallis And Edward | DVD | (09/01/2006) from £8.08   |  Saving you £8.91 (110.27%)   |  RRP £16.99

  When Wallis Simpson meets Edward Prince of Wales he is charmed by her flirtatious and straight-talking manner and begs her to divorce her husband Ernest. George V dies and Edward becomes King but he has no desire to give up Wallis for a life of Royal duty. As a constitutional crisis grips the nation Edward and the British Government lock horns. The Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin insists that Wallis cannot become Queen. Despite Wallis's pleas for him to remain King Edward feel

• Wilde | DVD | (01/10/1999) from £16.66   |  Saving you £-6.67 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Wilde could easily have been nothing more than another well-dressed literary film from the British costume drama stable, but thanks to a richly textured performance from Stephen Fry in the title role, it becomes something deeper--a moving study of how the conflict between individual desires and social expectations can ruin lives. Oscar Wilde's writing may be justifiably legendary for its sly, barbed wit, but Wilde the film is far from a comedy, even though Fry relishes delivering the great man's famous quips. It takes on tragic dimensions as soon as Wilde meets Lord Alfred Douglas, known as Bosie, the strikingly beautiful but viciously selfish young aristocrat who wins Oscar's heart but loses him his reputation, marriage and freedom. Fry is brilliant at capturing how the intensity of Wilde's love for Bosie threw him off balance, becoming an all-consuming force he was unable to resist. Jude Law expertly depicts both Bosie's allure and his spitefully destructive side, there are subtle supporting performances from Vanessa Redgrave, Jennifer Ehle and Zoe Wanamaker, and the period trappings are lavishly trowelled on. But this is Fry's show all the way: from Oscar the darling of theatrical London to Wilde the prisoner broken on the wheel of Victorian moralism, he doesn't put a foot wrong. It feels like the role he was born to play. --Andy Medhurst

• Her Majesty Mrs Brown | DVD | (05/02/2001) from £7.74   |  Saving you £8.25 (106.59%)   |  RRP £15.99

  A romantic drama, this John Madden film looks at the relationship between Queen Victoria and John Brown, a commoner who, though a servant, becomes her closest friend and confidant. As such, he proves the catalyst to bring her back into public life and out of her private mourning for the late Prince Albert. But the closeness of their friendship sets tongues wagging about the impropriety of what appears to be an affair between queen and commoner (an issue the film never directly addresses). Mrs Brown's charm lies in the flinty give-and-take between the wonderfully starchy Judi Dench as Victoria and the robust Scottish comedian Billy Connolly, here playing it straight as a strong-willed Scotsman who comes to enjoy the power he wields by virtue of having the queen's ear. Antony Sher is also striking as Prime Minister Disraeli, in a performance that all but shimmers with unspoken malice. --Marshall Fine

• Stage Beauty | DVD | (27/12/2004) from £12.93   |  Saving you £5.06 (39.13%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Billy Cudrup and Claire Danes step into period costume for a drama about the arrival of women on the English stage from acclaimed director Richard Eyre.

• Queen's Messenger | DVD | (08/03/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  By order of Her Majesty's Secret Service Captain Strong a senior officer of the elite Queen's Messenger Corps is given the dangerous assignment of delivering a delicate communication to the British Ambassador of a troubled eastern European state.If intercepted the document will compromise secret agreements made by the various heads of state for control of the region's lucrative oil resources.Captain Strong is sworn to protect his cargo with his life. Now his commitment will be put to the test.In this age of high technology and the Internet some messages are still too important and can only be delivered by hand and at great risk by 'The Queens Messenger'.

• Queen's Messenger | DVD | (16/06/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  By order of Her Majesty's Secret Service Captain Strong (Gary Daniels) a senior officer of the elite Queen's Messenger Corps is given the dangerous assignment of delivering a delicate communication to the British Ambassador of a troubled eastern European state. If intercepted the document will compromise secret agreements made by the various heads of state for control of the region's lucrative oil resources. Captain Strong is sworn to protect his cargo with his life. Now his comm

• Wallis And Edward | DVD | (09/01/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  When Wallis Simpson meets Edward Prince of Wales he is charmed by her flirtatious and straight-talking manner and begs her to divorce her husband Ernest. George V dies and Edward becomes King but he has no desire to give up Wallis for a life of Royal duty. As a constitutional crisis grips the nation Edward and the British Government lock horns. The Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin insists that Wallis cannot become Queen. Despite Wallis's pleas for him to remain King Edward feels forced to choose between his royal destiny and the woman he loves...