"Actor: Diana Kent"

• The Wings Of The Dove | DVD | (12/02/2001) from £13.39   |  Saving you £4.59 (44.13%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Queen of the costume drama Helena Bonham Carter finally got a chance to loosen her corset a bit with this exquisitely mounted (Sandy Powell's costumes were nominated for an Academy Award) romantic drama based on Henry James's classic novel. Set in turn-of-the-century London and Venice, Wings of the Dove is a stately departure--more PBS than MTV--for Iain Softley, director of Hackers and the birth-of-the-Beatles biopic Backbeat. But there's enough romantic intrigue to perhaps fuel a week's worth of daytime TV talk shows: My Lover Seduced a Dying Heiress for Her Money. Bonham Carter, who won several critics association honours for her performance (she was nominated for a Golden Globe and Oscar as well) stars as Kate, who is engaged in a secret affair with Merton (Linus Roache), a journalist whose poor financial standing makes marriage impossible. Kate's manipulative aunt (Charlotte Rampling) threatens to disown her unless she marries the more suitable Lord Mark (Alex Jennings). Opportunity--admittedly sordid--arrives in the form of Millie (Alison Elliott), an American heiress whom Kate befriends. When Kate learns that Millie is dying, she suggests to Merton that he seduce her to make her last days happy, and ensuring that Millie will leave Merton her money when she dies. Merton reluctantly agrees, just as Kate begins to have second thoughts that threaten to sabotage the scheme. One of the most rapturously reviewed films in recent years, Wings of the Dove is a must-own video for the Merchant-Ivory crowd. But guys: don't dismiss this as a "chick flick". Beneath its Masterpiece Theatre exterior beats the wild and untamed heart of Dawson's Creek. --Donald Liebenson

• The Life And Adventures Of Nicholas Nickleby | DVD | (13/05/2002) from £39.99   |  Saving you £-20.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  This 2000 television adaptation confirms Nicholas Nickleby's place among television dramatists' favourite Dickens novels. It has all the vital ingredients: a sensitive, intelligent young hero cast by circumstances in the role of everyman whose fortitude is tested at every turn; romance; danger; one of Dickens' richest braces of characters; and a sense of humanity that is, at times, overwhelming. Condensing all this into three hours is no mean achievement. Martyn Edward Hesford's screenplay maintains an impressive balance between dramatic tension and allowing the characters the space they need to reveal their essential qualities. Only in the last 30 minutes does it become something of a gallop to the finishing post. True, the horrors of the boarding school could be more horrific; the grime of Victorian London and its toothless inhabitants could be grimier and less cosmetic. But as always with a superior production of a Dickens novel, the richness and depth of the drama outweigh such minor quibbles. As for the cast, James D'Arcy's Nicholas is pitch-perfect: part cipher for the injustices and despair he encounters, part emblem for the triumph of goodness, an innocent whose eyes are quickly forced open to the darker realities of life. These darker realities are congealed in Charles Dance's relentlessly chilling, heartless Ralph Nickleby. This is a deceptively complex performance; even as we cheer the gathering forces which finally extinguish his increasingly desperate power, the awful tragedy of his end still elicits a discomforting ounce of sympathy. Gregor Fisher as the one-eyed Squeers and Pam Ferris as his fearsomely lascivious wife are outstanding in an ensemble of fine character actors. And Lee Ingleby's Smike gives our tear ducts a good workout while steering just the right side of sentimentality. On the DVD: Nicholas Nickleby is presented in widescreen format with Dolby Digital soundtrack, and has all the technical qualities you might expect from the DVD release of a modern television production. Extras include cast filmographies, a Dickens biography and a list of his work, all of which add to the disc's merits as a literary educational tool. --Piers Ford

• Goodnight Sweetheart - Series 3 | DVD | (23/01/2006) from £8.25   |  Saving you £11.74 (142.30%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Starring Nicholas Lyndhurst Goodnight Sweetheart became an instant hit with TV viewers of all ages as it charts the life of Gary Sparrow a dealer in memorabilia and antiques of WW2 who has miraculously discovered a portal in time which allows him to travel between the present and wartime Britain. This handy little trick obviously adds to the success of his business but the complications that it adds to Gary's love life are a different matter! Includes all ten episodes from the sitc

• Extremities | DVD | (04/08/2003) from £6.73   |  Saving you £6.26 (93.02%)   |  RRP £12.99

  After narrowly escaping an attempted rape Marjorie is haunted by the fact that her attacker knows where she lives. But when he appears on her doorstep and subjects her to a non-stop barrage of physical and mental assaults Marjorie manages to disarm and capture him. Filled with fear and hostility she conspires with her roommates to take the law into their own hands. But as her rage consumes her Marjorie shocks her friends with a proposal that challenges the perilously thin line bet