"Actor: Hoffman"

• Dante's Peak | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £7.98   |  Saving you £5.01 (62.78%)   |  RRP £12.99

  The first of 1997's volcano disaster movies (the second being Volcano) was arguably the better of the two but both of them made for passable entertainment with some spectacular special effects to serve as icing on the stale cake. After all, Dante's Peak doesn't pretend to be anything more than an updated variation on a whole catalogue of disaster movie clichés. Despite all that, it's reasonably enjoyable. It's an added bonus that the script is just smart enough to allow Pierce Brosnan and Linda Hamilton to play their roles with straight faces, never condescending to the audience of the formulaic story. He's a volcano expert from the US Geological Survey, and she's the mayor of a cosy Washington State town perched beneath a volcano that's about to blow. Tell-tale signs are everywhere, so evacuation must be carried out immediately. Of course, not everybody's eager to leave and even some of Brosnan's colleagues think his alarm is premature. This sets the stage for massive ash clouds, rivers of raging mud and molten rock, flattened forests and death-defying escapes by Brosnan, Hamilton and some (but not all) of her family, friends and townsfolk. So what if it's all pretty flaky ... and can a four-wheel-drive vehicle travel over fire and molten lava without bursting its tires? Don't ask too many questions and you'll find Dante's Peak to be (if you'll pardon the pun) a total blast. --Jeff Shannon

• Tootsie | Blu Ray | (18/04/2016) from £17.99   |  Saving you £10.00 (55.59%)   |  RRP £27.99

  Tootsie inevitably looks dated in some respects now, but it's still fabulous in others--the sexual politics look distinctly faded in their sniggering approach to sexual ambiguities, while the sardonic portrayal of a showbiz that loathes perfectionism is still both timely and hysterically funny. Dustin Hoffman's portrayal of Michael Dorsey is a memorable self-caricature--the man is so obsessed with the craft of acting that he refuses to sit down when playing a tomato in a commercial, and so producers run away rather than work with him. By playing Dorothy Michaels playing her soap character, Dorsey gives himself the freedom to be a bad and popular actor. He is so busy with the surface of being a woman--the voice, the hair, the frocks--and with all the bad faith of his and Dorothy's emotional lives, that he learns to relax into the pleasure of performance. This aspect of the film is far more interesting, ironic and funny than the corny New Man moralising about sexual roles that goes with it. Jessica Lange got, and earned, an Oscar for her sensitive straight woman performance as the colleague Michael falls for, and Bill Murray, Teri Garr, Geena Davis (momentarily) and Charles Durning all turn in reliable supporting roles. Sydney Pollack directs efficiently rather than inspiredly--oddly, he earns almost more credit for his well-observed performance as Michael's world-weary agent. On the DVD: The DVD is presented in crisp Dolby Digital sound and with the original theatrical visual ratio of 2.35:1; enhanced for 16:9 widescreen televisions. It is dubbed into French, German, Italian and Spanish and has subtitles in most European languages as well as Arabic, Hindi and Hebrew. The only special features are the theatrical trailer and filmographies for the leading performers and director. --Roz Kaveney

• Straw Dogs | DVD | (07/10/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £7.99

  According to critic Pauline Kael Straw Dogs was "the first American film that is a fascist work of art". Sam Peckinpah's only film shot in Britain is adapted from a novel by Gordon M Williams called The Siege of Trencher's Farm which Peckinpah described as a "lousy book with one good action-adventure sequence". The setting is Cornwall, where mild-mannered US academic David Sumner (Dustin Hoffman) has bought a house with his young English wife Amy (Susan George) in the village where she grew up. David is mocked by the locals (one of whom is Amy's ex-boyfriend) and treated with growing contempt by his frustrated wife, but when his house comes under violent siege he finds unexpected reserves of resourcefulness and aggression. The movie, Peckinpah noted, was much influenced by Robert Ardrey's macho-anthropological tract, The Territorial Imperative. Its take on Cornish village life is fairly bizarre--this is a Western in all but name--and many critics balked at the transposition of Peckinpah's trademark blood-and-guts to the supposed peace of the British countryside. A scene where Amy is raped caused particular outrage, not least since it's hinted she consents to it. Not for the first time in Peckinpah's movies there are disquieting elements of misogyny, and it doesn't help that the chemistry between Hoffman and George is non-existent. (Impossible to believe these two would ever have clicked, let alone married.) But taken as a vision of irrational violence irrupting into a civilised way of life Straw Dogs is powerful and unsettling, and the action sequences are executed with all Peckinpah's unfailing flair and venom. Oh, and that title? A quote from Chinese sage Lao-Tze, it seems, "The wise man is ruthless and treats the people as straw dogs." The film was long withheld from home viewing in Britain by nervous censors, but this release presents it complete and uncut. --Philip KempOn the DVD: Straw Dogs is as jam-packed a disc as is possible for a film made before the days of obligatory "making of" features. Both the sound and visuals have transferred well, and, like the script, have aged well. There's a bumbling original interview in the style of Harry Enfield's Mr. Cholmondley-Warner, along with stills and original trailers. The new material includes a feature on the history of the film's censorship and commentaries by Peckinpah's biographers musing over interesting fan-facts (though none of the speakers have any first-hand experience of the making of the film). However, Katy Haber's commentary, and interviews with Susan George and Dan Melnick, offer a much more in-depth and intimate portrayal of the man and the making of the film. --Nikki Disney

• Charlie Wilson's War | DVD | (07/06/2010) from £4.96   |  Saving you £15.03 (303.02%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Drama based on Texas congressman Charlie Wilson's covert dealings in Afghanistan, where his efforts to assist rebels in their war with the Soviets have some unforeseen and long-reaching effects.

• Patch Adams | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £4.99   |  Saving you £5.00 (100.20%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Patch Adams raises two schools of thought: there are those who are inspired by the true story of a troubled man who finds happiness in helping others--a man set on changing the world and who may well accomplish the task. And then there are those who feel manipulated by this feel-good story, who want to smack the young medical student every time he begins his silly antics. Staving off suicidal thoughts, Hunter Adams commits himself into a psychiatric ward, where he not only garners the nickname "Patch" but learns the joy in helping others. To this end, he decides to go to medical school, where he clashes with the staid conventions of the establishment as he attempts to inject humour and humanity into his treatment of the patients ("We need to start treating the patient as well as the disease", he declares throughout the film). Robin Williams, in the title role, is as charming as ever, although someone should tell him to broaden his range--the ever-cheerful, do-gooder à la Good Will Hunting and Dead Poets Society is getting a little old. His sidekick Truman (Daniel London) steals the show with his gawky allure and eyebrows that threaten to overtake his lean face--he seems more real, which is odd considering that Patch Adams does exist and this film is based on his life. Monica Potter is the coolly reluctant love interest and she makes the most of her one-dimensional part. While moments of true heartfelt emotion do come through, the major flaw of this film is that the good guys are just so gosh-darn good and the bad ones are just big meanies with no character development. Patch Adams, though, does provide the tears, the giggles and the kooky folks who will keep you smiling at the end. --Jenny Brown

• Brush Strokes - The Complete Boxed Set | DVD | (07/10/2013) from £19.93   |  Saving you £-2.49 (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.44

  Now available for the first time complete all six series of the much-loved comedy series Brush Strokes starring Karl Howman are now available in one DVD collection. From John Esmonde and Bob Larbey the creators of hit series Please Sir! And The Good Life Karl Howman stars as Jacko painter decorator and all-round charmer never happier than when he is in the company of the opposite sex. Somewhat naughty always good-natured Jacko lives with his married sister Jean and hangs out with the eccentric publican and wine bar owner Elmo Putney while working for Bainbridge Decorators with his side-kick Eric under the watchful and distrustful eye of his boss Lionel. Working and flirting with Lionel's secretary Sandra his daughter Lesley his wife Veronica and just about anyone else he comes into contact with from policewomen to nuns and a very persuasive italian daughter with a very protective family it's a recipe for a little love lot of laughter and forty episodes of great comedy television that feels as fresh and funny today as when it first hit the screen.

• Born On The Fourth Of July | DVD | (04/07/2005) from £5.98   |  Saving you £10.01 (167.39%)   |  RRP £15.99

  A story of innocence lost and courage found. Tom Cruise delivers a riveting and unforgettable portrayal of Vietnam veteran Ron Kovic in Oliver Stone's Academy Award winning masterpiece. Based on a true story the acclaimed film follows the young Kovic from a zealous teen who eagerly volunteers for the Vietnam War to an embittered veteran paralysed from the mid-chest down. Deeply in love with his country Kovic returned to an environment vastly different from the one he le

• The Talented Mr Ripley | DVD | (08/01/2001) from £7.39   |  Saving you £10.60 (143.44%)   |  RRP £17.99

  To be young and carefree amid the blue waters and idyllic landscape of sun-drenched Italy in the late 1950s; that’s la dolce vita Tom Ripley (Matt Damon) craves - and Dickie Greenleaf (Jude Law) leads.

• Suits: Seasons 1-5 | DVD | (06/06/2016) from £25.52   |  Saving you £40.47 (158.58%)   |  RRP £65.99

  Suits 1-5 contains all 5 season of Suits Bonus Features Deleted Scenes Behind the Scenes Gag Reel Trailers of Upcoming TV Show

• Midnight Cowboy | Blu Ray | (28/05/2018) from £19.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  John Schlesinger's trailblazing Oscar winner, a touchstone of the New American Cinema explosion, in a new 4K restoration. One of the British New Wave's most versatile directors, JOHN SCHLESINGER (Billy Liar) came to New York in the late1960s to make Midnight Cowboy, a picaresque story of friendship that captured a city in crisis and sparked a new era of Hollywood movies. JON VOIGHT (Coming Home) delivers a careermaking performance as Joe Buck, a wideeyed hustler from Texas hoping to score big with wealthy city women; he finds a companion in Enrico Ratso Rizzo, an ailing swindler with a bum leg and a quixotic fantasy of escaping to Florida, played by DUSTIN HOFFMAN in a radical departure from his breakthrough in The Graduate. A critical and commercial success despite controversy over what the MPAA termed its homosexual frame of reference, Midnight Cowboy became the first Xrated film to receive the best picture Oscar, and decades on, its influence still reverberates through cinema. Features: New 4K digital restoration, with an uncompressed monaural soundtrack Alternate 5.1 surround soundtrack, presented in DTSHD Master Audio Audio commentary from 1991 featuring director John Schlesinger and producer Jerome Hellman New selectedscene commentary by cinematographer Adam Holender The Crowd Around the Cowboy, a 1969 short film made on location for Midnight Cowboy  Waldo Salt: A Screenwriter's Journey, an Academy Award-nominated documentary from 1990 by Eugene Corr and Robert Hillmann Two short 2004 documentaries on the making and release of Midnight Cowboy Interview with actor Jon Voight on The David Frost Show from 1970 Interview from 2000 with Schlesinger for BAFTA Los Angeles Excerpts from the 2002 BAFTA LA Tribute to Schlesinger, featuring Voight and actor Dustin Hoffman Trailer PLUS: An essay by critic Mark Harris

• Happiness (Criterion Collection) - UK Only | Blu Ray | (30/09/2024) from £26.05   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  As disturbingly funny as it is audaciously empathetic, auteur of unease Todd Solondz's portrait of damaged souls reaching out for connection reveals the existential void underneath middle-class suburban normalcy. An extraordinary ensemble cast-including Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jane Adams, Lara Flynn Boyle, Ben Gazzara, and Dylan Baker-embodies an array of loosely connected New Jersey deviants, depressives, and misfits, among them a frustrated phone-sex pest, an all-American dad concealing his paedophilic urges, and a lonely woman with a grisly secret, all of whom want just one thing: to be loved. One of the most controversial films of the 1990s, the unflinching Happiness unnerves precisely because it dares to see the humanity in those most often denied it. FILM INFO- United States- 1998- 140 minutes- Colour- 1.85:1- English DIRECTOR-APPROVED BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES- New 4K digital restoration, supervised by director of photography Maryse Alberti, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack- New conversation between director Todd Solondz and filmmaker Charlotte Wells- New interview with actor Dylan Baker- Trailer- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing- PLUS: An essay by novelist and screenwriter Bruce Wagner- New cover based on original poster art by Daniel Clowes

• Hook | Blu Ray | (12/10/2015) from £11.99   |  Saving you £-2.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Hook is Steven Spielberg's most spectacular film of the 90s. It is also seriously underrated, arguably the equal of ET, (1982) and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, (1977). An unofficial sequel to J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan, Hook adopts the startling premise of what happened after "the boy who never grew up", grew up. Robin Williams, in his career best performance, is the corporate suit forced to remember he once was "The Pan", returning to Neverland to battle nefarious Captain Hook (a splendid Dustin Hoffman), for his children's love. This is a ravishingly beautiful, stunningly designed film, at once highly imaginative and with a genuinely magical atmosphere which ranges from exquisite, delicate fantasy to slapstick tomfoolery. There is fine support from Maggie Smith, Julia Roberts and Bob Hoskins, and John Williams' rapturously romantic score is yet another career high. Slated upon release, and dubbed a flop though it grossed $200 million, Hook reacted against the "greed is good" 80s by upholding family values and responsibility while evoking a genuine sense of wonder. Only the somewhat pantomime final showdown disappoints, but alongside Legend, (1985)and Labyrinth, (1986), Hook is ripe for reassessment as a fantasy classic. The DVD transfer is superb and the disc, though not packed with additional features, has some interesting extras. --Gary S. Dalkin

• Hook | DVD | (12/10/2015) from £7.05   |  Saving you £-0.06 (N/A%)   |  RRP £6.99

  Hook is Steven Spielberg's most spectacular film of the 90s. It is also seriously underrated, arguably the equal of ET, (1982) and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, (1977). An unofficial sequel to J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan, Hook adopts the startling premise of what happened after "the boy who never grew up", grew up. Robin Williams, in his career best performance, is the corporate suit forced to remember he once was "The Pan", returning to Neverland to battle nefarious Captain Hook (a splendid Dustin Hoffman), for his children's love. This is a ravishingly beautiful, stunningly designed film, at once highly imaginative and with a genuinely magical atmosphere which ranges from exquisite, delicate fantasy to slapstick tomfoolery. There is fine support from Maggie Smith, Julia Roberts and Bob Hoskins, and John Williams' rapturously romantic score is yet another career high. Slated upon release, and dubbed a flop though it grossed $200 million, Hook reacted against the "greed is good" 80s by upholding family values and responsibility while evoking a genuine sense of wonder. Only the somewhat pantomime final showdown disappoints, but alongside Legend, (1985)and Labyrinth, (1986), Hook is ripe for reassessment as a fantasy classic. The DVD transfer is superb and the disc, though not packed with additional features, has some interesting extras. --Gary S. Dalkin

• Happiness | Blu Ray | (30/09/2024) from £29.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  As disturbingly funny as it is audaciously empathetic, auteur of unease Todd Solondz's portrait of damaged souls reaching out for connection reveals the existential void underneath middle-class suburban normalcy. An extraordinary ensemble cast-including Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jane Adams, Lara Flynn Boyle, Ben Gazzara, and Dylan Baker-embodies an array of loosely connected New Jersey deviants, depressives, and misfits, among them a frustrated phone-sex pest, an all-American dad concealing his paedophilic urges, and a lonely woman with a grisly secret, all of whom want just one thing: to be loved. One of the most controversial films of the 1990s, the unflinching Happiness unnerves precisely because it dares to see the humanity in those most often denied it. FILM INFO- United States- 1998- 140 minutes- Colour- 1.85:1- English DIRECTOR-APPROVED 4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES- New 4K digital restoration, supervised by director of photography Maryse Alberti, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack- One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features- New conversation between director Todd Solondz and filmmaker Charlotte Wells- New interview with actor Dylan Baker- Trailer- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing- PLUS: An essay by novelist and screenwriter Bruce Wagner- New cover based on original poster art by Daniel Clowes

• Papillon (1973) | Blu Ray | (17/09/2018) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £7.00

  Henri 'Papillon' Charriere's account of life in the infamous and reputedly inescapable Devil's Island prison, brought to the screen with Steve McQueen as its eponymous hero. Refusing to surrender to the cruelty of the prison regime, Papillon protects the bespectacled Louis Dega (Dustin Hoffman) from an abusive guard, makes a bid for freedom, and ends up spending a long spell in solitary confinement. When he is finally released back into the main prison, he again refuses to surrender and, along with Dega, makes another escape attempt.

• Kung Fu Panda 4 | Blu Ray | (01/07/2024) from £10.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  After chopping $1.8B around the world, the fan-adored animated franchise returns for a fourth installment as the charismatic panda Po becomes the new Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace. The new quest brings back Jack Black as the voice of the wide-eyed panda, joined by cast members James Hong, Dustin Hoffman and newcomers Awkwafina, Viola Davis and Ke Huy Quan.

• The Graduate 50th Anniversary Edition | DVD | (14/08/2017) from £6.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Few films have defined a generation as much as The Graduate did. The alienation, the nonconformity, the intergenerational romance, the blissful Simon and Garfunkel soundtrack--they all served to lob a cultural grenade smack into the middle of 1967 America, ultimately making the film the third most profitable up to that time. Seen from a later perspective, its radical chic has dimmed a bit, yet it's still a joy to see Dustin Hoffman's bemused Benjamin and Anne Bancroft's deliciously decadent, sardonic Mrs Robinson. The script by Buck Henry and Calder Willingham is still offbeat and dryly funny and Mike Nichols, who won an Oscar for his direction, has just the right, light touch. --Anne Hurley, Amazon.com

• Roald Dahl's Esio Trot | DVD | (30/03/2015) from £9.21   |  Saving you £10.78 (117.05%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Please note this is a region 2 DVD and will require a region 2 or region free DVD player in order to play.  Mr Hoppy (Dustin Hoffman) lives a quiet retiree's life, tending to his balcony garden, pottering to the shops and back and secretly being passionately, hopelessly in love with his downstairs neighbour, Mrs Silver (Judi Dench). From their first meeting in a cramped lift he is utterly captivated by her sparkle and warmth, but he regularly fails to tell her this during their neighbourly chats over the balcony. When he finds she is distraught that her beloved tortoise, Alfie, doesn’t appear to be growing, Mr Hoppy spots a chance to make his true love happy, and maybe even get closer to her in the process. When Mr Pringle (Richard Cordery), another neighbour, sets his more lascivious sights on Mrs Silver, Mr Hoppy’s world crumbles. Stoically, he continues with his cunning plan to make Alfie miraculously grow and finally wins his way into Mrs Silver’s heart – only to find he had been there all the while.

• Scent Of A Woman | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Hoo-ah! After seven Oscar nominations for his outstanding work in films such as The Godfather, Serpico and Dog Day Afternoon, it's ironic that Al Pacino finally won the Oscar for his grandstanding lead performance in this 1992 crowd pleaser. As the blind, blunt, and ultimately benevolent retired Lieutenant Colonel Frank Slade, Pacino is both hammy and compelling, simultaneously subtle and grandly over-the-top when defending his new assistant and prep school student Charlie (Chris O'Donnell) at a disciplinary hearing. While the subplot involving Charlie's prep-school crisis plays like a sequel to Dead Poets Society, Pacino's adventurous escapades in New York City provide comic relief, rich character development, and a memorable supporting role for Gabrielle Anwar as the young woman who accepts the colonel's invitation to dance the tango. Scent of a Woman is a remake of the 1972 Italian film Profumo di donna. In addition to Pacino's award, Scent of Woman garnered Oscar nominations for director Martin Brest and for screenwriter Bo Goldman. --Jeff Shannon

• The Midnight Gang | DVD | (04/11/2019) from £3.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  The Midnight Gang is an adaptation of the book by David Walliams.When Tom gets hit on the head by a cricket ball, he finds himself on the miserable children's ward of St Hugo's Hospital, where he is greeted by a terrifying-looking porter and wicked matron. But things aren't as bad as they seem and Tom is soon to embark on the most thrilling journey of a lifetime!The Midnight Gang tells the extraordinarily heartwarming and funny story of five children on their quest for adventure! It is a story of friendship, magic and most importantly... making dreams and wishes come true.