"Actor: James Va"

• Ealing Studios Boxset 1 | DVD | (16/10/2006) from £27.99   |  Saving you £2.00 (7.15%)   |  RRP £29.99

  Kind Hearts and Coronets (Dir. Robert Hamer 1949): Sir Alec Guinness became an international star with his extraordinary performance as eight different characters in this 1949 Ealing Studios classic. Dennis Price (I'm All Right Jack Private Progress) co-stars as Edwardian gentleman Louis Mazzini who plots to avenge his mother's death by seizing the dukedom of the aristocratic d'Ascoyne family. But to gain this inheritance Mazzini must first murder the line of eccentric relatives who stand between him and the title including General d'Ascoyne Admiral d'Ascoyne The Duke of Chalfont Lady Agatha d'Ascoyne and four more all brillantly portrayed by Guinness and leading to one of the most delicious final twists in comedy history. Passport To Pimlico (Dir. Henry Cornelius 1949): An ancient document reveals that London's Pimlico district really belongs to France. And the Pimlico community eager to abandon post-War constraints quickly establish their independence as a ration-free state with hilarious results. Nicholas Nickleby (Dir. Alberto Cavalcanti 1947): The classic Charles Dicken's tale of 'Nicholas Nickleby ' a man who is deprived of his inheritance and travels to seek his fortune with a group of gypsies. Went The Day Well? (Dir. Alberto Cavalcanti 1942): The residents of a British village during WWII welcome a platoon of soldiers only to discover that they're actually Germans!

• Nowhere | DVD | (26/08/2013) from £24.99   |  Saving you £-9.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Described by director Gregg Araki as 'a Beverly Hills 90210 episode on acid' Nowhere is the last in his 'Teen Apocalypse Trilogy' following Totally F***ed Up and The Doom Generation. Dark Smith is a tormented soul infatuated with his girlfriend Mel who's too much of a free spirit to be tied down. During one day in L.A they hook up with an eccentric array of friends each with their own issues and embark on a surreal orgy of drink drunk and polysexual encounters culminating in a hedonistic party and one hell of a climax. Special Features: Audio Commentary with Director Gregg Araki James Duval Rachel True and Jordan Ladd

• The Doom Generation | DVD | (26/03/2012) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Made for a fraction of the cost of Oliver Stone's similarly themed Natural Born Killers, Gregg Araki's The Doom Generation is more persuasively outrageous in its cultural satire, scarier in its violence and more profound in its vision of a hate-fuelled, media-drunk America seemingly determined to eat its young and dwell stupidly on their vengeance. Rose McGowan (Scream), James Duval (Nowhere) and Johnathon Schaech (That Thing You Do!) star as a trio of friends (Schaech's character actually being a complete stranger who steps into their car and into their lives one club-hopping night) who end up on a sex-and-crime spree that draws the fixed stare of television coverage. Araki makes a case for their continuing innocence in a society whose anti-outsider malevolence is barely disguised in the media but is quite naked out in the heartland, where a punishing level of bigotry is not unknown. Araki's jokes and techniques are crude yet forceful, and his anger is absolutely clear where Stone's was obscured and overreaching. The climax is among the most shattering and enraged scenes of 90s cinema. The DVD includes cast information, a theatrical trailer, and French and Spanish subtitles. --Tom Keogh

• Return From Witch Mountain | DVD | (22/03/2004) from £7.94   |  Saving you £8.05 (101.39%)   |  RRP £15.99

  An entire city teeters on the brink of nuclear disaster when greedy criminals manipulate a young boy's supernatural powers for their own devious gain.

• Daphne | DVD | (22/01/2018) from £6.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Daphne is a young woman negotiating the tricky business of modern life. Caught in the daily rush of her restaurant job and a nightlife kaleidoscope of new faces, she is witty, funny, the life of the party. Too busy to realise that deep down she is not happy. When she saves the life of a shopkeeper stabbed in a failed robbery, the impenetrable armour she wears to protect herself begins to crack, and Daphne is forced to confront the inevitability of a much-needed change in her life.

• Path To War | DVD | (28/07/2003) from £15.17   |  Saving you £-9.18 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  As the successor to a martyred president Lyndon B. Johnson sought to transform America into a 'Great Society' of equal opportunity. Instead he became the symbol for the most unpopular war in U.S. history. Michael Gambon (as President Johnson) Donald Sutherland (as Clark Gifford) and Alec Baldwin (as Robert McNamara) star in a compelling drama of soaring ambition and shattered dreams set inside the LBJ White House in the volatile years leading up to and during Vietnam. This HBO production was decorated director John Frankenheimer's final film.

• A Reason To Live, A Reason To Die | Blu Ray | (07/08/2023) from £14.48   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Colonel Pembroke, having surrendered Fort Holman to the Confederacy without engaging in any combat, finds himself confronted with public humiliation and the looming threat of a court-martial. His only chance to redeem himself lies in reclaiming the fort from the tyrannical Major Ward, who currently holds its power. Desperate for assistance, Pembroke assembles an unlikely team of condemned men, offering them freedom as a reward if they manage to survive. Amidst internal conflicts and discord, the group gradually unites, preparing for the decisive assault.

• Spider-Man 2 | Blu Ray | (15/01/2018) from £20.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Two years have passed, and the mildmannered Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) faces new challenges as he struggles to balance his life as the elusive superhero Spider Man. Tormented by his secrets, Peter is in danger of losing all those that he holds dear. His love for MJ (Kirsten Dunst) becomes stronger and his friendship with Harry Osborn (James Franco) is complicated by the young Osborn's bitterness over his father's death. These relationships are now in danger of unravelling when he confronts a new nemesis, the brilliant Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina), who has been reincarnated as the multitentacled 'Doc Ock'.

• Vertigo | DVD | (04/06/2007) from £10.71   |  Saving you £-0.72 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Set in San Francisco James Stewart portrays an acrophobic detective hired to trail a friend's suicidal wife (Kim Novak). After he successfully rescues her from a leap into the bay he finds himself becoming obsessed with the beautifully troubled woman. One of cinema's most chilling romantic endeavours: its fascinating myriad of haunting camera angles shot among some of San Francisco's renowned landmarks. This film is a must for collectors: Leonard Maltin gives Vertigo four stars.

• Sling Blade | DVD | (06/07/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Billy Bob Thornton wrote, directed, and starred in Sling Blade, a mesmerizing drama with haunting overtones of To Kill a Mockingbird. Thornton plays a mentally retarded man who has spent 20 years in a psychiatric hospital for killing his mother and her lover. Released into the community from which he came, he befriends and protects a lonely boy regularly harassed and abused by his mom's boyfriend (a terrific performance by Dwight Yoakam). The story is ultimately about sacrifice, but Thornton certainly doesn't get twinkly about it. Some of the best material concerns the hero's no-big-deal efforts to integrate into a "normal" life: working, eating fast food, earning admiration for his handyman skills, and attaining a semblance of community among other damaged souls. John Ritter has a great part as a gay shopkeeper who tries to assuage his own loneliness by spilling his guts out to Thornton's uncomprehending character. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com

• The Water Babies | DVD | (01/09/2003) from £15.96   |  Saving you £-13.97 (N/A%)   |  RRP £1.99

  The Water Babies tells the story of Tom, a chimney sweep who gets framed for theft in 1850s England. Even though a young girl named Ellie knows the real thieves' identities and tries to clear Tom's name, Tom's desperate escape run lands him right in the middle of Dead Man's Pool. Assumed to have met certain death, Tom gets sucked into a magical underwater world. Tom befriends the creatures he meets beneath the sea, and they accompany him on a journey to the land of Water Babies, where he intends to ask the all-powerful Cracken to help him return to the world above the water. However, when Tom finally does manage to return to land, life is far from idyllic as he must set out clear his name and trap the real thieves. Many adults possess fond memories of seeing this 1978 movie as children. The land portions of this musical feature live-action footage, while the water sequence is fully animated. To a fresh, modern audience, the abrupt change from one format to the other is somewhat disconcerting, as is the choppy, older animation style. The story, based on the classic children's book of the same name by Charles Kingsley, is an intriguing look at both Victorian culture and the fantasy world. (Ages 4-8) --Tami Horiuchi, Amazon.com

• Dawson's Creek: Season 4 | DVD | (17/01/2005) from £13.61   |  Saving you £31.38 (230.57%)   |  RRP £44.99

  It's senior year for Dawson Joey Pacey Jen and Jack! After spending the summer together Joey and Pacey find it difficult to keep their romance going with the realities of school college applications and their strained relationship with Dawson. Dawson rediscovers his true life's dream Jen turns over a new leaf after getting a new boyfriend and Jack tries to rebuild relationships after revealing he's gay...

• Dawson's Creek: Season 2 | DVD | (05/04/2004) from £32.37   |  Saving you £12.62 (28.10%)   |  RRP £44.99

  The second series of Dawson's Creek finds Dawson (James Van Der Beek) and Joey (Katie Holmes) exploring the newest phase of their lifelong friendship, leaving Jen (Michelle Williams) and Pacey (Joshua Jackson) on the outside. The former enters a downward spiral assisted by bad girl Abby (Monica Keena), but Pacey happens into a "meet cute" with one of Capeside's new residents, the impossibly perky Andie (Meredith Monroe), who turns out to be his perfect foil. The Creek also struck gold with its second major addition, Andie's brother Jack (Kerr Smith), who shows Joey that he's more than just a clumsy waiter. With the siblings' help, Pacey and Joey show the most personal growth during the season's 22 episodes. The constant parent-child crises can be a bit much, but there were numerous other developments, including a two-part sexual whodunnit, Dawson embarking on his second movie (assisted by Rachael Leigh Cook in a sizzling guest appearance), Dawson's birthday party from hell, a vicious rumour that spreads through the high school, and the emotion-wringing finale. The only bonus feature is a commentary track on the first and last episodes just as with the first season, though executive producer Paul Stupin is by himself rather than accompanied by creator Kevin Williamson. The interplay is missed, but Stupin enthusiastically offers a lot of information about how the cast had become celebrities by the second season and had to juggle other projects and random details and trivia. Stupin mentions how carefully he selected different pieces of music, which "would become forever part of our show." That's ironic because for this DVD set Stupin himself picked a lot of new music to replace the selections that originally aired, presumably because of the cost involved in securing the rights (a problem for many television DVD releases). A couple of episodes are unaltered, but others have had almost every song replaced. Newcomers to the series probably won't notice, but serious fans may want not want to tape over their video cassettes just yet. --David Horiuchi

• Carry On Cruising | DVD | (27/08/2001) from £6.98   |  Saving you £7.01 (100.43%)   |  RRP £13.99

  Well, the gang's all here, but Carry On Cruising isn't one of the classics of the series. This may be partly due to the film's well-intentioned stab at some sort of authenticity, being set as it is on a genuine cruise liner rather than in a studio full of cheap sets. It swiftly becomes apparent that the cramped environment isn't well suited to the kind of slapstick which is usually a key ingredient in any Carry On film. Veteran couch spuds will recall that the TV series Triangle was similarly disadvantaged, except that it wasn't supposed to be funny. As ever, though, the brilliant cast-in-residence manage to make the most of the situation. The plot, such as it is, deals with the tribulations which beset a world-weary captain (James) when he realises he's been saddled with a crew of misfits and incompetents (practically everybody else) on a cruise which is of course supposed to offer its passengers every comfort and convenience. If there's a single outstanding performance it has to be that of Lance Percival's chef, whose cheeriness as he presides over his various culinary experiments is extremely funny in a menacing sort of way. On the DVD: The DVD issue has no additional features. --Roger Thomas

• The Vicar Of Dibley - The Best Of The Vicar Of Dibley | DVD | (25/11/2002) from £4.74   |  Saving you £11.25 (237.34%)   |  RRP £15.99

  If you're expecting a selection of your favourite episodes from The Vicar of Dibley, then you'll be in for a bit of a surprise. For what we have here instead is Dawn French in conversation with John Plowman, the show's producer. Together, they introduce and analyse the characters and relive key moments from the series, neatly categorised under such headings as "Chocolate", "The Nearly Wedding" and "Celebrity Appearances" (don't forget they enticed both Kylie and Darcey Bussell onto the show, as well as a host of other celebs). So, it's very much a selection for diehard fans who want to be reminded of the highlights (and there are plenty), ranging from Alice's Teletubby bridesmaids to the arrival of Geraldine's mega-freezer, packed to bursting with Haagen-Dazs. To watch this 90-minute film is to be reminded of just how brilliant--and topical--the concept was. The writing is as fresh as ever, as are the priceless group of characters who bring the scripts to life. From the very opening moments, when Geraldine turns up and jokes that they were expecting a man "beard, bible, bad breath; instead you got a babe with a bob cut and a magnificent bosom", you know you're in the presence of an enduring comic creation. On the DVD: The Best of the Vicar of Dibley offers pretty minimal extras--an entertaining feature on real-life women vicars, laconically but pertinently narrated by Jo Brand. --Harriet Smith

• Sharpe's Battle / Sharpe's Sword | DVD | (08/07/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Based on the novels by Bernard Cornwell, Sharpe (1993-7) ran to 14 full-length television films that follow the adventures of the titular soldier through the later years of the Napoleonic Wars. The programmes are an outstanding achievement for the small screen, dominated by Sean Bean's central performance as the heroic, troubled outsider who turns out to be a resourceful and loyal leader. Bolstered by a strong supporting cast, particularly Daragh O'Malley as Harper and (in later episodes) Abigail Cruttenden as Jane, Sharpe is often visually striking, the action tense and gripping. Consistency is maintained by all 14 episodes being directed by Tom Clegg. On the DVD: Sharpe on DVD's sound is full-bodied stereo while the very "sharp" (pun intended) picture has been transferred slightly letterboxed at 14:9. Though looking much better than the original TV transmissions the occasionally cropped framing makes it apparent the films were shot in 16:9 widescreen, so it is regrettable they have not been transferred to DVD in that format. Otherwise these are first-rate releases. --Gary S Dalkin

• The Rules of Attraction | DVD | (29/09/2003) from £7.48   |  Saving you £9.50 (211.58%)   |  RRP £13.99

  James Van Der Beek is Sean Bateman, the younger brother of "American Psycho's" Patrick Bateman. Against a backdrop of 'Dressed to get screwed parties', drugs, casual sex and student excess we follow Sean through the doors of a New England arts college.

• The Mighty Quinn | DVD | (19/05/2003) from £11.24   |  Saving you £1.75 (15.57%)   |  RRP £12.99

  A highly enjoyable sleeper, The Mighty Quinn is a variation on one of those 1930s studio pictures about two boyhood friends who grow up on different sides of the law. But it's 1989, and things are a bit different. Denzel Washington, smooth as Jamaican rum, plays the police chief of a Caribbean island, a place where crime isn't exactly a pressing concern. Thus the chief is put out when the clues in a murder case point to his old buddy, a dreadlocked ne'er-do-well played by a mischievous Robert Townsend. Director Carl Schenkel is much more interested in friendships and great island atmosphere than in the actual unlocking of the case, and that's just fine. Add in a bouncy soundtrack of reggae music, and The Mighty Quinn becomes one of those hard-to-resist vacation movies. --Robert Horton

• Allan Quatermain And The Lost City Of Gold | DVD | (02/02/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold had the task of bettering its hilarious predecessor, King Solomon's Mines. It failed. Looking back from the age of slick computer graphics, it's painfully distracting to spot obvious back-projection, shoddy miniatures and some of the worst wire-work ever. Instead one must concentrate on the easy chemistry between Richard Chamberlain and Sharon Stone reprising their roles, this time in a quest for Quatermain's lost brother. Together they traipse across Africa, encountering all the usual pitfalls (literally) as well as jungle animals, restless native tribes and fast-flowing rivers and so on. James Earl Jones takes the money and runs through his wooden dialogue, all the time backed by endless repetitions of Jerry Goldsmith's sub-Indiana Jones hero theme. Taken on its own it's pretty atrocious viewing, but played back-to-back with the first movie The Lost City of Gold's surreal self-contained universe of hilarious adventure movie clichés is a lot of fun. Sharon Stone's hair remains perfect throughout, of course. On the DVD: Allan Quatermain and the Lost City of Gold, like King Solomon's Mines, is presented on disc in a surprisingly pristine print, and in 2.35:1 widescreen. Also like its predecessor, the sound is in Dolby 2.0, which again reflects the limited number of spot effects layered into the soundtrack. The original trailer is the only extra feature. --Paul Tonks

• East Of Eden | DVD | (06/06/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £13.99

  The searing classic of paradise lost. The 24-year old idol-to-be James Dean plays Cal a wayward Salinas Valley youth who vies for the affection of his hardened father (Raymond Massey) with his favored brother Aron (Richard Davalos). Playing off the haunting sensitivity of Julie Harris Dean's performance earned one of the film's four Academy Award nominations. Among the movie's stellar performers Jo Van Fleet won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.