"Actor: Gil Roman"

• Redwall - The Movie | DVD | (25/11/2002) from £13.98   |  Saving you £-6.99 (N/A%)   |  RRP £6.99

  Brian Jacques' has a dedicated following of young readers across the globe who are totally enthralled by his Tales of Redwall books. Fans of the series will be pleased to hear that the atmosphere of the bestselling books is captured perfectly in this stunning full-length feature, which follows the story of a young Matthias, a heroic mouse in search of his destiny, and the beautiful and brave mousemaid Cornflour. Together, they begin their quest to find the lost sword of the legendary Martin the Warrior so they can save Redwall Abbey from the evil Cluny the Scourge--a wicked one-eyed rat intent on bringing Redwall to its knees. Adapting such a popular book for the screen could so easily have detracted from the essence of the original story, with its battle of good versus evil interspersed with warmth and humour, and its ability to truly capture a child's imagination. But this team have pulled it off with aplomb: the animation is spot on, the atmosphere is highly charged, the characters are true to Jacques' originals and, although those who know the book well will spot that some detail is missing, the important, magical, elements of the story are all there. This is exciting stuff, filled with heroism and humour, and packaged into 85 minutes of pure, unadulterated pleasure for lovers of fantasy and adventure. Age range: 7 and over. --Susan Harrison.

• Seeds Of Deception | DVD | (13/03/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Based on a true story... They call him the 'baby maker'. To married couples desperate to have children but unable to conceive he seems like the answer to their prayers. Dr Cecil Jacobson is larger than life - both physically and professionally as a respected expert on fertility medicine and artificial insemination. His reputation attracts those from all levels of society including Mary Bennet whose main aim in life is to have a child. But the joy of Mary and other prospective p

• Redwall - Slagar The Slaver | DVD | (10/05/2004) from £4.98   |  Saving you £5.01 (100.60%)   |  RRP £9.99

  The story of Redwall - created by Brian Jacques - continues. A few years have passed and brave Matthias and Cornflower now have a son Mattimeo. He is young and mischievous and is quite a pawful for his parents but is well loved by all at Redwall Abbey. When cunning Slagar kidnaps the children of the abbey it is up to Matthias and his friends to chase after them. Meanwhile there are developments at the abbey where Abbot Mordalfus has a dream. Episodes Comprise: 1.Slagar Th

• Swindled | DVD | (04/12/2006) from £5.74   |  Saving you £9.25 (161.15%)   |  RRP £14.99

  There's a sucker born every minute. Director Miguel Bardem (Javier Bardem's brother) delivers a stylish Grifters-style crime thriller that would not only make David Mamet proud - it would have him second-guessing the plot twists right down to the final frame. The slick handsome Ernesto (Ernesto Alterio) has spent a lifetime in the small-racket crime world working the three-card monte on suckers on the streets of Madrid conning store owners and scouting the train stations for easy marks to rob. His pleasant but decidedly small-time lifestyle changes when he meets the elderly El Manco (Manuel Alexandre) a veteran of the trade who has close contacts to the mysterious and masterful Federico (Federico Luppi) the king of all con men. The three hook up and after ascending to the rarified world of elegant hotels and high living Federico proposes a real estate con that will net them millions. The only hitch is that they need the assistance of Federico's ex-lover Pilar (Victoria Abril). A former con artist herself Pilar (who cheated Federico on a scam years earlier) is now living in luxury with her new elderly husband. The chase is on as the team embarks on their new complicated con . . . but can everyone be trusted? Swindled is an elegant fun fast-moving film where the secrets treachery and twists will keep you on the edge of your seat until the final frame.

• Tchaikovsky - the Nutcracker (Colomer, Orchestre Colonne) | DVD | (24/11/2008) from £11.54   |  Saving you £-3.55 (-44.40%)   |  RRP £7.99

  Christmas Night. A little boy sits alone by a small feeble Christmas tree from the branches of which sadly hang garlands salvaged from Christmases past. His mother is dead. Suddenly in a dream or by magic she is there next to him and places a small gift at the foot of the tree. The enchanted night begins: the gift grows bigger and becomes a miraculous icon fiends flood in the mother appears alive followed by two Angels of Light created by Marius-Mephisto. The whole room is dancing and the child begins to laugh. Is it a dream? Reality is that which we feel to be real. Reality is the moment here and now. Freed from his fear the boy watches the Pas de Deux from The Nutcracker directed by Marius his master and danced by the Prince and Princess. ''I remember! Christmas.. .. Marseille the tree the Nativity scene the presents the thirteen desserts -among them my favourite -the NUTS! Above all I loved cracking nuts. My father had shown me that the insides were like a little human brain. I remember.. . My mother. I was seven years old. One evening she said to me 'your mother is going on a long journey. Promise me you will be good. I remember. Christmas.'' '' So wrote Maurice B''jart in his programme notes for his version of the well-loved Christmas ballet The Nutcracker (Casse-Noisette). B''jart''s magical staging transforms the piece into an enchanting and enchanted autobiography and a loving homage to the choreographer''s mother and to his creative hero Marius Petipa. The first part of the performance is punctuated by B''jart on a huge video screen telling something of his childhood. Summing up his approach to creating this ballet B''jart remarked ''You live a life and you dream a life. When you come to write your own life you tell a lie to build the truth.'' Using Tchaikovsky's score in its entirety augmented with popular waltz and accordion music performed on-stage by the legendary Yvette Homer B''jart takes the original St Petersburg story as a springboard from which to evoke the memories emotions and feelings of his own life''s journey: from a Marseille childhood dominated by the memory of his mother to the passionate commitment to dance inspired by the father of classical ballet Petipa. The stage is flooded with allusions to B''jart''s actual and imaginary history: characters both real and symbolic forests scouting bull-fighting bicycles old songs and much more create a universe of feeling reaching its apotheosis in a faithful recreation of the original Pas de Deux -a true declaration of love. The only character in his Nutcracker that relates to the original is Mephisto who replaces Drosselmeyer as the facilitator of fantastical dreams and happenings. Goethe''s Faust fascinated B''jart when he was still very young and the choreographer''s Mephisto is at the same time his creative hero Marius Petipa. Marius-Mephisto opens up a world to the boy Bim (B''jart) in which his dream life and his desire to dance are intertwined. Three performances of B''jart''s Nutcracker were recorded live fiom the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris for the purposes of this television presentation. The showman of modem dance Maurice B''jart''s work has been provocative influential and popular in equal measure. His choreography has always been physically thrilling setting up an immediate emotional combustion between audience and performer and he attracted huge new audiences for dance with the Ballet of the Twentieth Century productions he mounted in sports stadia public squares and circus tents. Since founding the B''jart Ballet Lausanne in 1987 he has been working on a more intimate scale but his style has remained just as electric vivid and direct in its appeal as ever.

• Maurice Bejart's The Nutcracker | DVD | (03/12/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  This is a Nutcracker with a difference. Tchaikovsky's most popular ballet ("Dance of the sugar plum fairy", "Waltz of the flowers" etc.) undergoes a transformation, interpreted by the French choreographer Maurice Bejart, from Christmas fairy story into a tale of a boy who dreams he loves his dead mother. The boy erects an enormous statue to her that becomes the focus of the production in Act 1 rather than the traditional Christmas tree. Maurice Bejart's memoir of his early years includes Goethe's embodiment of evil, Mephisto, recalled from his father's books and the figure of Marius Petipa, the original choreographer of The Nutcracker (both are danced by Gil Roman). For in this interpretation the boy, after failing to bring the statue to life, decides to become a dancer. In Act 2 the Spanish dance becomes a vehicle for a toreador, another of Bejart's childhood passions, but most striking is the interpolation of a French dance in this sequence of national dances to the tune of "Under Paris Skies" played on the accordion by Yvette Horner. Bejart's new concept might seem a shade self indulgent on paper, but only in the scene where the boy hugs his mother's statue in an Oedipus-like embrace does a moment of excess intrude. His imaginative choreography, the superb dancing by his Ballet Lausanne and the rhythmically lilting playing of the Orchestra Colonne under Edmon Colomer all give undiluted pleasure. On the DVD: The picture quality from the Chatelet theatre in Paris is top-notch, catching the lighting effects and colourful costumes with excellent definition. Several high angle crane shots reveal the deft ensemble work of this company. In the accompanying special feature we go behind the scenes of the production to meet Bejart and his collaborators. The long service many of them have given offers testament to the corporate spirit manifested in the dancing. Those looking for an alternative view of the traditional rendition of Tchaikovsky's ballet will not be disappointed by the artistry on display here. --Adrian Edwards

• Cinema Verite - Defining The Moment | DVD | (08/05/2006) from £10.78   |  Saving you £-0.79 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Peter Wintonick whose Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media is one of the bestselling documentaries of all time has directed this unique 'documentary of documentaries' shot with lightweight equipment in vrit style in widescreen digital video. Rich in footage from classics such as Primary (J F Kennedy) Lonely Boy (Paul Anka) Jane (Jane Fonda) Don't Look Back (Bob Dylan) Nanook of the North and the Blair Witch Project