"Actor: Helen"

• Playing Away | DVD | (26/10/2009) from £10.35   |  Saving you £9.64 (93.14%)   |  RRP £19.99

  From acclaimed Black British filmmaker Horace Ove (Pressure 1975) comes this comedy of manners in which a West Indian cricket team from Brixton travel to a Suffolk village to play against the local team as the culmination of the village's 'Third World Week'. Ove subtly explores and undermines white and black stereotypes and succeeds in linking two familiar but strange cultures through the simple device of a sports game.

• Cabaret | DVD | (04/09/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Northanger Abbey | DVD | (07/11/2005) from £7.14   |  Saving you £8.85 (123.95%)   |  RRP £15.99

  A tale of intrigue adventure and romance. This enchanting BBC dramatization captures the spirit and wit of Austen's classic novel Northanger Abbey. The setting is eighteenth-century Bath a society of decadence and deceit into which Catherine Morland arrives bursting with freshness integrity and a passion for macabre Gothic novels. In a time when materialism not love governs marriage Catherine's head is full of fantasy and fiction of maidens being abducted to sinister c

• The Snow Queen and the Snow Queen's Revenge Double Pack | DVD | (28/10/2013) from £4.99   |  Saving you £5.00 (100.20%)   |  RRP £9.99

  A festive double pack featuring timeless classics The Snow Queen and The Snow Queen's Revenge.

• White Nights | DVD | (10/07/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Nikolai 'Kolya' Rodchenko a ballet star (Mikhail Baryshnikov) who has defected from the Soviet Union to the West finds himself unexpectedly back in the Soviet Union as a result of his airplane crash-landing in Siberia. Meanwhile Raymond Greenwood (Gregory Hines) a Harlem-born and bred professional dancer disenchanted with America after his Vietnam experiences defects to the Soviet Union. The K.G.B. blackmails the American defector to spy on Baryshnikov and to persuade him to rec

• Cuckoo Series 1 | DVD | (01/09/2014) from £8.06   |  Saving you £11.93 (148.01%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Cuckoo pits Hollywood stalwart Andy Samberg (Brooklyn 99) against British comedy giant Greg Davies. What do you do when your adored daughter marries the biggest idiot you could ever imagine? When Ken (Davies) and Lorna (Helen Baxendale) collect their daughter Rachel from the airport they are horrified to learn that she's returned from her gap year with more than just a henna tattoo and braids in her hair. At the arrival gate she promptly introduces them to her new husband Cuckoo (Samberg) a slacker full of outlandish New Age ideas - every parent's worst nightmare. Ken and Lorna have no choice but to welcome Cuckoo into their nest but as he settles in do they warm to their new squared-jawed self-appointed spiritual ninja son-in-law or do they become desperate for him to fledge off?

• Alien Quadrilogy | DVD | (08/12/2003) from £20.99   |  Saving you £39.00 (185.80%)   |  RRP £59.99

  The Alien Quadrilogy is a nine-disc box set devoted to the four Alien films. Although previously available on DVD as the Alien Legacy, here the films have been repackaged with vastly more extras and with upgraded sound and vision. For anyone who hasn't been in hypersleep for the last 25 years this series needs no introduction, though for the first time each film now comes in both original and "Special Edition" form. Alien (1979) was so perfect it didn't need fixing, and Ridley Scott's 2003 Director's Cut is fiddling for the sake of it. Watch once then return to the majestic, perfectly paced original. Conversely the Special Edition of James Cameron's Aliens (1986) is the definitive version, though it's nice finally to have the theatrical cut on DVD for comparison. Most interesting is the alternative Alien3 (1992). This isn't a "director's cut"--David Fincher refused to have any involvement with this release--but a 1991 work-print that runs 29 minutes longer than the theatrical version, and has now been restored, remastered and finished-off with (unfortunately) cheap new CGI. Still, it's truly fascinating, offering a different insight into a flawed masterpiece. The expanded opening is visually breathtaking, the central firestorm is much longer, and a subplot involving Paul McGann's character adds considerable depth to the story. The ending is also subtly but significantly different. Alien Resurrection (1997) was always a mess with a handful of brilliant scenes, and the Special Edition just makes it eight minutes longer. On the DVD: Alien Quadrilogy offers all films except Alien3 with DTS soundtracks, the latter having still fine Dolby Digital 5.1 presentation. All four films sound fantastic, with much low-level detail revealed for the first time. Each is anamorphically enhanced at the correct original aspect ratio, and the prints and transfers are superlative. Every film offers a commentary that lends insight into the creative process--though the Scott-only commentary and isolated music score from the first Alien DVD release are missing here--and there are subtitles for hard of hearing both for the films and the commentaries. Each movie is complemented by a separate disc packed with hours of seriously detailed documentaries (all presented at 4:3 with clips letterboxed), thousands of photos, production stills and storyboards, giving a level of inside information for the dedicated buff only surpassed by the Lord of the Rings extended DVD sets. A ninth DVD compiles miscellaneous material, including a Channel 4 hour-long documentary and even all the extras from the old Alien laserdisc. Exhaustive hardly beings to describe the Alien Quadrilogy, a set which establishes the new DVD benchmark for retrospective releases and which looks unlikely to be surpassed for some time. --Gary S Dalkin

• Anastasia/Inn of the Sixth Happiness double pack | DVD | (02/06/2003) from £9.43   |  Saving you £5.56 (58.96%)   |  RRP £14.99

  An Ingrid Bergman double-bill comes to DVD with the classy pairing of Anastasia (1956) and The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958). In Anastasia Bergman gives one of her memorable, haunting and haunted performances as an amnesiac chosen by a White Russian general (Yul Brynner) in 1928 to play the part of the long-rumoured but missing survivor of the Bolsheviks' murderous attack on the Czar's family. The twist is that Bergman's mystery woman seems to know more about the lost Anastasia than she is told. Based on the play by Marcelle Maurette and Guy Bolton, this film--directed by Anatole Litvak (Out of the Fog)--really does get under one's skin, not least of all because of its intriguing story but more so as a result of the strong chemistry between Bergman and Brynner. --Tom Keogh The Inn of the Sixth Happiness is an epic and extraordinary true story--or, at least, an extraordinary story based on a novel (Alan Burgess's The Small Woman) based on a true story. Gladys Aylward (an improbably mesmerising Ingrid Bergman) is a British would-be missionary with an obsession about China. As she has no experience, the Missionary Society won't let her go, but she goes anyway, alone, to a remote northern province. She is hated, then loved; finally she becomes both a significant political figure and the heroine of a miraculous escape in which she shepherds 100 children to safety across the mountains just ahead of a Japanese invasion. Curt Jurgens is suitably stony as Lin Nan, the half-Dutch, half-Chinese military officer who falls in love with her, and a visibly ailing Robert Donat (who died before this, his final film, was released) is the wily local mandarin who sees and makes use of her extraordinary abilities. Directed by Mark Robson, The Inn of the Sixth Happiness is a sweeping, stirring tear-jerker, a big tale told in a big landscape with acres of orchestrated strings by Malcolm Arnold. It's a beautiful and beautifully made film that's a classic of the "everyone said I couldn't but I did it anyway" genre.--Richard Farr

• Maigret: The Complete Series | Blu Ray | (25/10/2021) from £75.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Long-awaited, much sought after, never previously released and unseen anywhere for decades, this definitive adaptation of Georges Simenon's world famous novels stars Rupert Davies as Commissaire Jules Maigret, the dogged French detective. Though Simenon's books have been adapted many times for film and television, Davies's celebrated, BAFTA-winning portrayal won the approval of Simenon himself, who stated: At last, I have found the perfect Maigret!

• Nightmare Alley (The Criterion Collection) | Blu Ray | (25/05/2021) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• The Hundred Foot Journey | Blu Ray | (09/03/2015) from £11.39   |  Saving you £11.60 (101.84%)   |  RRP £22.99

  Starring Academy Award® winner Helen Mirren*, produced by Steven Spielberg and Oprah Winfrey, and from the director of Chocolat, this uplifting story bursts with flavour, passion and heart. When the chilly chef proprietress of a Michelin starred French restaurant in southern France (Mirren) gets wind of a culinary immigrant opening an Indian restaurant just 100 feet from her own, her protests escalate to all-out war between the two establishments. It's a celebration of triumph over exile as these two worlds collide and one young man tries to find the comfort of home in every pot wherever he may be.

• Absolutely Fabulous - The Last Shout | DVD | (27/11/2000) from £5.65   |  Saving you £10.34 (183.01%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Absolutely Fabulous was first broadcast in 1992 and became an instant hit. Originally a sketch on the French and Saunders Show, Jennifer Saunders saw its potential and created one of the most ground-breaking and debauched comedies on British TV. Centred around the hip London fashion scene the series follows Edina (Saunders) and Patsy (Joanna Lumley), two women who refuse to grow up and are constantly on a mission to lose weight, gorging themselves with cocaine and/or champagne, endlessly throwing parties (or throwing up at parties), and sporting outrageous outfits which were the height of fashion at the time--honestly sweetie! The superb comic performances offered star status to Julia Sawalha as Edina's straight-laced daughter and Jane Horrocks as the sublimely dippy Bubble, and re-invented the careers of Joanna Lumley and June Whitfield. Saunders meanwhile secured her status as one of the top female comedians Britain has ever produced. Although its consciously chic clothing looks a little dated now, its mad characterisations endure and the jokes remain as hilariously slick and apt as ever. Ab Fab remains a landmark in TV since it was the first time that female comedians and writers had had the freedom and exposure to satirise problems close to their own heart, from their own perspective. With Feminist writers claiming that the ideals of feminism were dead in the 1990s and that female concerns were moving in the wrong direction--towards the "Laddette Culture"--and reports claiming that careers were taking a central role, forcing motherhood onto the back-burner, the series sought to embody and satirise these new supposedly "female" characteristics. As the show continued to grow in popularity both in Britain and the States, plans were made to transfer the formula to America. However, as with many other great British series, the content was considered too risky for American audiences due to the amount of sex and drug references. Thus domestic audiences breathed a sigh of release that their beloved Ab Fab would forever stay British to the core. --Nikki Disney

• Repulsion | DVD | (25/08/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £16.99

  Carol a young girl living in Sixties' London is repelled yet fascinated by men. Her radiant beauty attracts the opposite sex but she shrinks from their advances. Her days are spent in an intensely feminine atmosphere: working in a beauty salon and clinging to her sister Helen for love. But as she incarcerates herself in her sinister shadowy flat men begin to invade her dreams night and day mixing her terror with delight as bizarre hallucinations take hold of her mind. The

• Greenfingers | DVD | (04/03/2002) from £7.01   |  Saving you £8.98 (128.10%)   |  RRP £15.99

  ""One of the most delightful films in years!"" -Liz Smith New York Post. Greenfingers is a charming and irresistible comedy featuring internationally acclaimed actors Clive Owen Helen Mirren and David Kelly. When British convict Colin is placed in an experimental program to finish off his prison sentence all he wants is peace and quiet. But after his wise elderly roommate Fergus introduces him to gardening Colin uncovers a surprising talent and passion - for plants! Teaming u

• Cuckoo: Complete Series 4 | DVD | (11/03/2019) from £18.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Greg Davies and Helen Baxendale return as uptight parents Ken and Lorna Thompson in the complete fourth series of Cuckoo! This BAFTA-nominated comedy co-stars Taylor Lautner as Dale, the Thompson's well-meaning but socially inept lodger, Esther Smith as their flighty, self-sabotaging daughter, Esther, and Tyger Drew Honey as Dylan, their indolent liability of a son! This fourth series re-joins the Thompson family just as Ken gets nominated for Lichfield Lawyer of the Year. Unfortunately, his dastardly work nemesis Jane has also been nominated and Ken is convinced that she'll win. When Lorna employs underhand tactics to get baby Sid into an exclusive local nursery she hadn't reckoned on karma paying her back with an age-inappropriate new girlfriend for Dylan - and what's worse still is that she's one of Laura's old friends! While all this is going on Dale is thinking of taking his relationship with Rachel to the next level - much to Rachel's consternation, as she's not ready to settle down yet and is getting serious wanderlust... This DVD contains all six episodes of series four.

• Helen Mirren At The BBC | DVD | (25/02/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £39.99

  Set Comprises: 1. The Changling (1974) 2. The Apple Cart (1975) 3. Caesar & Claretta (1975) 4. The Philanthropist (1975) 5. The Little Minister (1975) 6. The Country Wife (1977) 7. Blue Remembered Hill (1979) 8. Mrd Reinhardt (1981) 9. A Midsummer Nights Dream (1981) 10. Cymbeline (1983) 11. The Hawk (1995)

• Kidnap and Ransom: Series Two | DVD | (31/07/2017) from £8.17   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  TREVOR EVE RETURNS AS HOSTAGE NEGOTIATOR DOMINIC KING IN ITV's ACCLAIMED CRIME DRAMA. Dominic King (Trevor Eve) is in Srinagar, Kashmir negotiating the release of the Mehtas, a British Asian family kidnapped while on holiday. As the handover is completed, the police arrive and a shoot-out ensues. Dominic secures the release of the family but the kidnappers get away. In their panic they board a tourist bus taking all the passengers hostage. When the tourist bus crashes in a packed market square, Dominic begins the challenge of negotiation for the safety of the stranded multi-national group of people. Trevor Eve heads a stellar cast that includes fellow original series cast members Helen Baxendale (Friends; Cold Feet), Natasha Little (Mistresses) and Amara Karan (The Darjeeling Limited) alongside guest stars Sean Gilder (Shameless), Sharon Small (Downton Abbey), Madhur Mittal (Slumdog Millionaire), Christopher Fairbank (Five Daughters), Owen Teale (Game of Thrones) and Kimberley Nixon (Cranford). Created by acclaimed scriptwriter Patrick Harbinson (24, Law & Order, ER), written by Michael Crompton (Silent Witness) and directed by David Drury (Ashes to Ashes). Exclusive bonus feature: Interview and behind the scenes featuring Trevor Eve and Helen Baxendale

• All Hallows' Eve - The Reaping | DVD | (24/10/2016) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Alone on Halloween, a young woman finds a VHS tape on her doorstep. As she watches the tape, she witnesses a collection of gruesome tales, each more unnerving than the last. However, the true danger lies in the pumpkin-faced killer that's using the tape to find his next victim and is making his way closer to her with every passing scene.

• The Night Clerk | Blu Ray | (06/04/2020) from £5.00   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Hotel night clerk Bart Bromley (Tye Sheridan - READY PLAYER ONE), a highly intelligent young man on the Autism spectrum, uses covert surveillance cameras to record guests in efforts to improve his social interaction skills. When a woman is murdered during his shift, Bart becomes the prime suspect, but he can't reveal his secret cameras have captured evidence to prove his innocence. As Detective Esapda's (John Leguizamo - CARLITO'S WAY) investigation leads him to Bart and his mother (Helen Hunt - AS GOOD AS IT GETS), Bart makes a personal connection with a beautiful new guest named Andrea (Ana de Armas - NO TIME TO DIE / BLADE RUNNER 2049), but he soon realizes he must try and stop the real murderer before he Andrea becomes the next victim.

• Charles II | DVD | (16/02/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  One of the better BBC costume dramas of recent years, 2003's Charles II: The Power and the Passion depends very strongly on its central performance. Fortunately, Rufus Sewell is admirable throughout as the saturnine, witty monarch who has retained popular fondness down the centuries in spite of his conscientious adherence to the bad and losing cause of absolute monarchy. Adrian Hodge's intelligent script dramatises the issue in quick sound bites--many politicians accepted the Restoration to avoid chaos and were determined to bring Charles to heel, whereas he was determined to defend the position for which his father had been martyred. If that meant handing the throne to his Catholic brother in default of a legitimate son of his own, so be it. The four hour-long episodes cover the Restoration, the Plague and the Fire of London, the secret treaties with France and the Popish Plot, as well as giving us a fair bit of Charles's moderately happy marriage to Catherine (Shirley Henderson in the most hideously accurate historical hairdos ever) and his affairs with various mistresses. Among a number of fine supporting performances, Rupert Graves stands out as Buckingham, the friend who betrayed Charles. This sort of costume drama only ever works if the acting is as good as it is here. On the DVD: Charles II on disc comes with a making-of documentary and a commentary on the first episode from writer Adrian Hodge and the director and producer. It also includes an extended documentary on Charles's back story--his education, his attempt to fight Cromwell's forces, his period on the run in England and his long exile--in which a number of eminent historians, including Richard Holmes and Ronald Hutton, talk about how he became the king he was. --Roz Kaveney