"Actor: James Bate"

• Coming To America | DVD | (07/05/2001) from £4.95   |  Saving you £11.04 (223.03%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Eddie Murphy's 1988 vehicle Coming to America was probably the point at which his status as a mainstream big-screen comedian finally gelled, following the highly successful 48 Hours pairing with Nick Nolte. Never mind the hackneyed storyline: under John Landis's tight direction, he turns in a star performance (and several brilliant cameos) that is disciplined and extremely funny. Murphy plays an African prince who comes to New York officially to sow his wild oats. Privately, he is seeking a bride he can marry for love rather than one chosen by his parents. With his companion (Arsenio Hall, who pushes Murphy all the way in the comedy stakes), he settles in the borough of Queens and takes a job in a hamburger joint. A succession of hilarious satire-barbed adventures ensue, plus the required romantic conclusion. The script is crammed with ripe one-liners , but "Freeze, you diseased rhinoceros pizzle" has to be the most devastating hold-up line of all time. Film buffs will appreciate a brief appearance by Don Ameche as a down-and-out, but this is Murphy's film and he generates warmth enough to convert the most ambivalent viewer. On the DVD: The only--rather pointless--extra on offer is the original theatrical trailer which adds nothing apart from a rapid recap of the story. But the 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen presentation (the picture quality is diamond sharp) and Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack recreate the original authentic cinematic experience. The choreography of 1980s pop diva Paula Abdul in the lavish wedding scenes and Nile Rodgers' pounding musical score are the main beneficiaries. --Piers Ford

• Misery | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £5.99   |  Saving you £14.00 (233.72%)   |  RRP £19.99

  When author Paul Sheldon suffers a car accident in a blizzard he thanks his lucky stars that nurse Annie Wilkes was on hand. That is until he discovers that she's his number one fan and has no intention of ever letting him go...

• Autobiography of a Princess (Merchant Ivory Collection) | DVD | (12/02/2007) from £12.45   |  Saving you £-2.46 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  A thoughtful character study and fascinating look at a nearly obselete Indian lifestyle.

• Bertie and Elizabeth | DVD | (18/04/2011) from £10.98   |  Saving you £4.00 (44.49%)   |  RRP £12.99

  An affectionate and enchanting portrayal of the life of Queen Elizabeth focusing on her courtship by the shy and retiring future King George VI (known as Bertie) and the love story that followed This fascinating adaptation also covers the abdication crisis of Edward VIII the Coronation of George VI as British King and the strong relationship forged between them and Churchill during the War.

• To Be The Best - Barbara Taylor Bradford | DVD | (24/02/2003) from £5.00   |  Saving you £0.99 (19.80%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Anthony Hopkins heads the star-studded cast of the trilogies gripping conclusion. As the powerful and beautiful Paula O'Neill finds her empire under attack it seems that only one man has the expertise and connections to save her.

• White Palace | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Glenn Savan's depressing and self-loathing novel about a 27-year-old upper-class Jewish widower mired in self-pity after his beloved wife dies, and who finds love and sexual rebirth with a trailer-trash older woman, was brought to the big screen by the competent director Luis Mandoki (When a Man Loves a Woman, Message in a Bottle). But the savage irony in Savan's book has been face-lifted by screenwriters Ted Tally (The Silence of the Lambs) and Alvin Sargent (Ordinary People) into something else entirely: what passes for low-rent "slumming" in Hollywood means hiring sexy Susan Sarandon to play Nora Baker, the poor, uneducated 43-year-old waitress in a White Palace burger joint who strikes up an unlikely relationship with sad Max Baron (James Spader). Widower Max attends a bachelor party for best pal Neil (Jason Alexander) and discovers that the local White Palace has stiffed the boys a whopping six burgers. Max barges into the joint, bent on getting his money back, and meets a testy Nora, who is bemused at the young man's insolence. While driving home, Max stops abruptly at a bar for a drink. Inside, Nora is nursing a vodka and takes a shine to the tuxedo-clad, handsome, and morose younger man. He gives her a lift, she seduces him, and the rest of the movie examines how two such opposites in manners and morals can find happiness. The only common bond they have is great sex and a private tragedy. White Palace nudges at the dark journey and the smashing of illusion that was at the heart of the novel, but there is still a fairy-tale element to the film that negates the earthy essence that distinguished the book. In Mandoki's vision, White Palace is about overcoming class, family, and outside opinion to find true love. In Savan's book, Max wastes into decline while Nora ultimately thrives in the quest for truth, redemption, and self-forgiveness. She becomes his salvation only after he stops hating himself. But mainstream Hollywood shuns making "protagonists" so mad, bad, or sad, and as such, too much glitter is tossed on Spader, while Sarandon, as usual, is the only one who seems to embody and understand her character's angst. She deserved her Oscar for Nora, not the nun in Dead Man Walking. --Paula Nechak

• Xanadu | DVD | (28/06/2004) from £10.12   |  Saving you £-0.13 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  A wimpy remake of an already anaemic movie (the 1947 Rita Hayworth vehicle Down to Earth), this glitzy musical from 1980 improbably stars Olivia Newton-John as a heavenly muse sent here to help open a roller-derby disco. Gene Kelly is mixed up in this well-meaning but goofy effort to fuse nostalgia with late-70s glitter-ball trendiness, and he looks just plain silly. Directed by Robert Greenwald, the film doesn't even work as decent kitsch. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com

• Father Came Too! | DVD | (15/08/2005) from £6.99   |  Saving you £3.00 (42.92%)   |  RRP £9.99

  The Fast Lady team rides again! The newlywed Munroes purchase a rundown ramshackle cottage and plan to fix it up themselves primarily to escape their meddling father. However they haven't appreciated the scope of the work required to get the place up to scratch.. They have no choice but to seek outside help. When Builder Josh Wicks arrives on the scene the bills start going through the roof... Written by Henry Blyth (The Bulldog Breed) and Jack Davi

• Misery | Blu Ray | (12/10/2021) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Georgy Girl | DVD | (02/05/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Available for the first time on DVD! The wildest thing to hit the world since the mini-skirt! Lynn Redgrave stars as the homely girl who takes on the role of mother to her beautiful roommate's unwanted baby. With her father's employer trying to take her on as a mistress and her roommate's husband taking her on as an easy lover Redgrave's Georgy navigates the narrows between prostitution and purity as she tries to hang on to the baby she has grown to love...

• Georgy Girl (Standard Edition) | Blu Ray | (27/07/2020) from £9.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  One of the defining films of the 1960s, Silvio Narizzano's adaptation of Margaret Foster's 1965 novel stars Lynn Redgrave in an Oscar-nominated role as the put-upon teenager Georgy Parkin. Awkward and full of self-doubt, Georgy finds herself forever just outside of the ˜Swinging Sixties' London life she craves. Marked by a wonderfully warm and appealing central performance from Redgrave, and with its superb supporting cast including Charlotte Rampling (Death in Venice, The Night Porter), Alan Bates (A Kind of Loving, Women in Love) and the great James Mason (The Reckless Moment, Age of Consent, The Deadly Affair), Georgy Girl captures the spirit of the era and boasts one of the all-time great film theme tunes. Extras: High Definition remaster Original mono audio Audio commentary with Diabolique magazine's editor-in-chief Kat Ellinger The Guardian Interview with Charlotte Rampling (2001, 59 mins): an archival audio recording of a career-spanning interview conducted by Christopher Cook at London's National Film Theatre The Tempo of the Time (2018, 8 mins): a new interview with author, playwright and co-screenwriter Peter Nichols A Wonderful Sense of Freedom (2018, 29 mins): editor John Bloom discusses his work on the film Georgy's Geography (2018, 4 mins): a new interview with art director Tony Woollard Going for a Song (2018, 5 mins): lyricist Jim Dale and editor John Bloom reveal the origins of Georgy Girl's famous theme song Original radio spot Original theatrical trailer Image gallery: promotional photography and publicity material New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing

• Eddie Murphy Box Set - Trading Places / Coming To America | DVD | (20/10/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Eddie Murphy's 1988 vehicle Coming to America was probably the point at which his status as a mainstream big-screen comedian finally gelled, following the highly successful 48 Hours pairing with Nick Nolte. Never mind the hackneyed storyline: under John Landis's tight direction, he turns in a star performance (and several brilliant cameos) that is disciplined and extremely funny. Murphy plays an African prince who comes to New York officially to sow his wild oats. Privately, he is seeking a bride he can marry for love rather than one chosen by his parents. With his companion (Arsenio Hall, who pushes Murphy all the way in the comedy stakes), he settles in the borough of Queens and takes a job in a hamburger joint. A succession of hilarious satire-barbed adventures ensue, plus the required romantic conclusion. The script is crammed with ripe one-liners , but "Freeze, you diseased rhinoceros pizzle" has to be the most devastating hold-up line of all time. Film buffs will appreciate a brief appearance by Don Ameche as a down-and-out, but this is Murphy's film and he generates warmth enough to convert the most ambivalent viewer. On the DVD: The only--rather pointless--extra on offer is the original theatrical trailer which adds nothing apart from a rapid recap of the story. But the 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen presentation (the picture quality is diamond sharp) and Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack recreate the original authentic cinematic experience. The choreography of 1980s pop diva Paula Abdul in the lavish wedding scenes and Nile Rodgers' pounding musical score are the main beneficiaries. --Piers Ford

• White Palace | Blu Ray | (30/10/2017) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Still getting over the death of his wife, a young advertising executive meets an older waitress, a woman that might set him free.

• Stanley Kubrick | DVD | (10/09/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £99.99

  This superb nine-disc Stanley Kubrick Box Set contains all the late director's work from 1962's Lolita to Kubrick's final film, the highly controversial Eyes Wide Shut (1999). There's also the excellent and highly informative two-hour documentary: Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures, narrated (a little drably) by Tom Cruise. It isn't exactly a warts-and-all portrait of Stan the Man, which is not surprising, really, given that it's directed and produced by Kubrick's brother-in-law Jan Harlan, and that Kubrick's widow Christine was closely involved in the making of it. But it does give a detailed and revealing portrait of a brilliant, demanding and often infuriating man, airing rare footage that goes right back to his earliest years as a brash youngster in the Bronx, already playing to camera with a frightening degree of self-awareness. Six of the eight movies (all but Dr Strangelove and Eyes Wide Shut) have been digitally restored and remastered, and almost all (barring Strangelove again and Lolita) now boast Dolby Digital 5.1 stereo sound remixes. For some bizarre reason, Kubrick insisted on mono sound for the 1999 set, which he approved shortly before his death. Visually the improvement over the often grainy, scratchy prints previously on offer--The Shining (1980) was notoriously messy--is immense. All the features are presented in their original ratios, which in the case of Strangelove means the changing ratios in which it was originally shot, and for 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) the full glorious 2.21:1 expanse of the Cinerama screen.So what don't you get? Essentially, the early Kubrick--the work of the young, hungry director before he moved to England and started to gather all the controlling strings into his own hand: most notably the tough, taut thriller The Killing (1956) and the icily furious war film Paths of Glory (1957). Too bad Warners couldn't have negotiated the rights for those too. But what we have here is the culminating phase of Kubrick's filmmaking career--the final 27 years of one of the great masters of cinema. On the DVDs: Besides the visual and sonic improvements mentioned above, each of the eight features includes the original theatrical trailer and multiple-language subtitles. The DVD of Dr Strangelove also gives us filmographies of the principal players, plus theatrical posters and a photo gallery, while Eyes Wide Shut includes interviews (taped after Kubrick's death) with Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman and Steven Spielberg, plus a couple of 30-second TV spots. And with The Shining we get a fascinating 34-minute documentary made by Kubrick's then 17-year-old daughter Vivian, plus--just to add a further layer--Vivian's present-day voice-over commentary on her film. --Philip Kemp

• Merchant-Ivory Connoisseur Collection | DVD | (25/10/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £49.99

  Maurice Maurice Hall and Clive Durham find themselves falling in love at Cambridge. In a time when homosexuality was punishable by imprisonment, the two must keep their feelings for one another a complete secret. After a friend is arrested and disgraced for 'the unspeakable vice of the Greeks', Clive abandons his forbidden love and marries a young woman. Maurice however, struggles with questions of his identity and self-confidence, seeking the help of a hypnotist to rid himself of his ...

• Georgy Girl - Limited Edition | Blu Ray | (26/11/2018) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  One of the defining films of the 1960s, Silvio Narizzano's adaptation of Margaret Foster's 1965 novel stars Lynn Redgrave in an Oscar-nominated role as the put-upon teenager Georgy Parkin. Awkward and full of self-doubt, Georgy finds herself forever just outside of the ˜Swinging Sixties' London life she craves. Marked by a wonderfully warm and appealing central performance from Redgrave, and with its superb supporting cast including Charlotte Rampling (Death in Venice, The Night Porter), Alan Bates (A Kind of Loving, Women in Love) and the great James Mason (The Reckless Moment, Age of Consent, The Deadly Affair), Georgy Girl captures the spirit of the era and boasts one of the all-time great film theme tunes. INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES: High Definition remaster Original mono audio New and exclusive audio commentary with Diabolique magazine's editor-in-chief Kat Ellinger Interview with Charlotte Rampling One of the defining films of the 1960s, Silvio Narizzano's adaptation of Margaret Foster's 1965 novel stars Lynn Redgrave in an Oscar-nominated role as the put-upon teenager Georgy Parkin. Awkward and full of self-doubt, Georgy finds herself forever just outside of the ˜Swinging Sixties' London life she craves. Marked by a wonderfully warm and appealing central performance from Redgrave, and with its superb supporting cast including Charlotte Rampling (Death in Venice, The Night Porter), Alan Bates (A Kind of Loving, Women in Love) and the great James Mason (The Reckless Moment, Age of Consent, The Deadly Affair), Georgy Girl captures the spirit of the era and boasts one of the all-time great film theme tunes. INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES: High Definition remaster Original mono audio New and exclusive audio commentary with Diabolique magazine's editor-in-chief Kat Ellinger Interview with Charlotte Rampling (2018) Jim Dale on ˜Georgy Girl' (2018): a new audio interview with the beloved actor and award-winning songwriter Interview with Peter Nichols (2018): new and exclusive interview with the author, playwright and co-screenwriter of the film Interview with editor John Bloom (2018) Interview with art director Tony Woollard (2018) Original theatrical trailer Image gallery: promotional photography and publicity material New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Leanne Weston, an overview of contemporary critical responses and historic articles on the film World premiere on Blu-ray Limited Edition of 3,000 copies (2018) Jim Dale on ˜Georgy Girl' (2018): a new audio interview with the beloved actor and award-winning songwriter Interview with Peter Nichols (2018): new and exclusive interview with the author, playwright and co-screenwriter of the film Interview with editor John Bloom (2018) Interview with art director Tony Woollard (2018) Original theatrical trailer Image gallery: promotional photography and publicity material New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Leanne Weston, an overview of contemporary critical responses and historic articles on the film World premiere on Blu-ray Limited Edition of 3,000 copies

• Bertie And Elizabeth | DVD | (10/06/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  A portrayal of the life of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother focusing on her courtship with the future King George VI the birth of their daughters Elizabeth and Margaret and the war years finally leading to Bertie's early death in 1952.

• Spoils Of War - Series 2 | DVD | (06/04/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  England 1948 to 1950. The nation as a whole is picking itself up dusting itself off and starting all over again rebuilding businesses relationships and the political make-up of the country as a whole. Labour is in power with plans to nationalise key industries including the ironworks belonging to the wealthy Warrington family. For the working-class Haywards old class barriers are slowly disintegrating as they try to find their place in the new order of things. For Ros Warrington there's the question of her Catholicism and love for a man who cannot share her faith. That man Blake Hayward faces challenges of his own with the arrival from Berlin of his illegitimate child. Keir Hayward a steely-hearted communist finds that heart melting in the hands of a married woman. And what dark and dislocating plan does the newly arrived Richard Warrington have that will affect them all? One country two families finding their way in a post-war world. What awaits them is simply the spoils of war.

• Spoils of War | DVD | (04/02/2008) from £9.95   |  Saving you £10.04 (100.90%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Originally broadcast on ITV in 1980 The Spoils of War follows the fortunes of two north country families the Haywards and the Warringtons in post war Britain starring Alan Hunter (Dangerfield) James Bate (Auf Wiedersehen Pet) Ian Hastings (Prime Suspect) Malcolm Tierney (Dalziel and Pascoe) and Madeleine Newton (When the Boat Comes In)

• All Or Nothing | DVD | (28/04/2003) from £6.85   |  Saving you £13.14 (191.82%)   |  RRP £19.99

  A 2002 Mike Leigh drama, All or Nothing is at times almost unbearably bleak and poignant, yet funny, truthful and richly rewarding. The film's revolves around Timothy Spall's mini-cab driver, his family and the various characters and acquaintances on the South-east London estate where he lives. It's perhaps even better than Secrets and Lies, in which Spall also starred, which was marred a little by some of the tearful excesses of Brenda Blethyn's bravura performance. It's evidence that Leigh has matured and improved with age, rather than mellowed and softened. He's developed into a highly distinctive but rounded and humane filmmaker. Spall's cabbie is too gentle and thoughtful to be described as a slob, but his lack of even the most basic ambition and stoic non-resistance to life has created an unspoken rift between him and wife Penny (Lesley Manville). Working on a supermarket checkout, she must cook dinner and fend off insults from her fat, frustrated, obnoxious 18-year-old son Rory. She receives only passive sympathy from her older daughter Rachel. Only when Rory is taken ill is Phil snapped out of his torpor as the family pull together. A host of minor characters also feature; fatuous cabbie Ron (Paul Jesson) his alcoholic wife and sluttish daughter, as well as the wonderfully good-humoured and resilient Maureen, Penny's best friend, concerned at her daughter's relationship with a violent boyfriend. Once accused of caricaturing his "lower class" characters, here Leigh (with the collaborative assistance of his actors) exhibits them in all their authentic complexity, neither idealising nor sentimentalising them. On the DVD: All or Nothing's extras include the original trailer, as well as interviews with several members of the cast. Timothy Spall is interesting on the unnerving process of collaboration favoured by Leigh, whereby characters are "built from zero" by the actors. The smart and rather posh Lesley Manville strikes quite a contrast in real life with her mousey, put-upon character. There's also a meticulous and absorbing commentary from Mike Leigh, who talks about filming in Greenwich and how he has moved away from some of the more dogmatic ideas about filmmaking of his earlier, avant-garde days. --David Stubbs