"Actor: Joanna CASSIDY"

• Ghosts of Mars | Blu Ray | (30/01/2017) from £20.00   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars attempts a productive combination of SF elements (a largely terraformed Mars with its long-lost civilisation) and horror (mass possession that turns the victims into rampaging, self-mutilating monsters that kill and burn). A police-force detachment turn up in a mining community to collect a bandit, whose last heist was uncharacteristically violent, and soon find themselves under siege from rampaging hordes who used to be solid citizens. This is a fairly simple set of variations on stock Carpenter elements--a hybrid between Assault on Precinct 13 and In the Mouth of Madness. However, there is some powerful chemistry between Nastasha Henstridge's icy, drug-abusing police lieutenant and Ice Cube's bandit, Desolation Williams, made stronger by the lack of sexual tension. Other characters, such as Pam Grier's tough commander and Clea Duvall's nervous rookie, are more or less defined by plot functions; the mobs never become more than faceless, or facially distorted, anonymous menaces. This is one for die-hard Carpenter fans only. On the DVD: Ghosts of Mars on disc comes with Dolby Digital sound and its original widescreen ratio of 2.35:1. A sparky commentary by Carpenter and Henstridge is included, which is informative, but otherwise there are uninspiring documentaries on the musical score, the special effects and the difficulties of shooting at night in the Mexican desert, as well as filmographies and the theatrical trailer. --Roz Kaveney

• Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead | DVD | (29/04/2002) from £20.00   |  Saving you £-14.01 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead aspires to be a cross between Home Alone and Risky Business, with Christina Applegate as an inadvertent scam artist who gets in over her head and somehow pulls it off. When her mother goes to Australia for two months, Sue Ellen (Applegate) thinks she's going to be in charge--until an elderly tyrant of a babysitter arrives. But on the very first night the old lady has a heart attack and keels over. Sue Ellen and her siblings leave the body at a mortuary, only to discover afterward that all the money their mother had left for the summer was in the babysitter's clothes. So Sue Ellen has to get a job. Thanks to a trumped-up resume, she ends up as an executive assistant at a clothing manufacturer. For a while she keeps her head above water by skilfully exploiting a friendly coworker, but her brothers and sisters are running amok at home and a venomous receptionist has it in for her at work. The role-reversal humour of Sue Ellen having to mother her siblings is unsurprising, but Applegate is unexpectedly appealing; her scenes with Josh Charles have a sweet chemistry. Joanna Cassidy plays Sue Ellen's boss and a young David Duchovny is a weaselly clerk. --Bret Fetzer, Amazon.com

• Blade Runner (The Director's Cut) | DVD | (01/11/1999) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  When Ridley Scott's cut of Blade Runner was finally released in 1993, one had to wonder why the studio hadn't done it right the first time--11 years earlier. This version is so much better, mostly because of what's been eliminated (the ludicrous and redundant voice-over narration and the phoney happy ending) rather than what's been added (a bit more character development and a brief unicorn dream). Star Harrison Ford originally recorded the narration under duress at the insistence of Warner Bros. executives who thought the story needed further "explanation"; he later confessed that he thought if he did it badly they wouldn't use it. (Moral: never overestimate the taste of movie executives.) The movie's spectacular futuristic vision of Los Angeles--a perpetually dark and rainy metropolis that's the nightmare antithesis of "Sunny Southern California"--is still its most seductive feature, another worldly atmosphere in which you can immerse yourself. The movie's shadowy visual style, along with its classic private-detective/murder-mystery plot line (with Ford on the trail of a murderous android, or "replicant"), makes Blade Runner one of the few science fiction pictures to legitimately claim a place in the film noir tradition. And, as in the best noir, the sleuth discovers a whole lot more (about himself and the people he encounters) than he anticipates. The cast also includes Sean Young, Edward James Olmos, Daryl Hannah Rutger Hauer and M Emmet Walsh. --Jim Emerson

• Blade Runner | Blu Ray | (25/09/2017) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  To call this cut of Blade Runner ‘long awaited’ would be a heavy, heavy understatement. It’s taken 25 years since the first release of one of the science-fiction genre’s flagship films to get this far, and understandably, Blade Runner: The Final Cut has proved to be one of the most eagerly awaited DVD releases of all time. And it’s been well worth the wait. Director Ridley Scott’s decision to head back to the edit suite and cut together one last version of his flat-out classic film has been heavily rewarded, with a genuinely definitive version of an iconic, visually stunning and downright intelligent piece of cinema. Make no mistake: this is by distance the best version of Blade Runner. And it’s never looked better, either. The core of Blade Runner, of course, remains the same, with Harrison Ford’s Deckard (the Blade Runner of the title) on the trail of four ‘replicants’, cloned humans that are now illegal. And he does so across an amazing cityscape that’s proven to be well ahead of its time, with astounding visuals that defied the supposed limits of special effects back in 1982. Backed up with a staggering extra features package that varies depending on which version of this Blade Runner release you opt for (two-, four- and five-disc versions are available), the highlight nonetheless remains the stunning film itself. Remastered and restored, it remains a testament to a number of creative people whose thinking was simply a country mile in advance of that of their contemporaries. An unmissable purchase. --Jon Foster

• No Offence | DVD | (10/08/2015) from £3.99   |  Saving you £16.00 (401.00%)   |  RRP £19.99

  AS SEEN ON CHANNEL 4 Joanna Scanlan (The Thick of It, Getting On), Elaine Cassidy (The Paradise, Harper's Island) and Alexandra Roach (The Iron Lady, Utopia) lead the unorthodox crack team of cops at the heart of Paul Abbott's NO OFFENCE, an outrageous new police procedural series from the writer of Shameless and State of Play. Will Mellor (Dates, Broadchurch), Paul Ritter (Friday Night Dinner, The Game) and Colin Salmon (Arrow, 24: Live Another Day), join them in the mix of tough but big-hearted bobbies who go above and beyond to bring down the criminal rabble in a crumbling cop-shop. Keeping these streets clean is a Herculean task, enough to demoralize even the keenest rookie but there's a reason why this hotchpotch of committed cops are on this force, on this side of town. Drug labs, arsonists, neo-Nazis and notorious murderers are all in a day's work for this close-knit team, led by the dizzyingly capable but unquestionably unhinged DI Vivienne Deering (Scanlan). But when a particularly twisted serial killer emerges it leaves even the most hardened of these seasoned coppers reeling. Flanked by her right-hand women the compassionate but impulsive DC Dinah Kowalska (Cassidy) and the recently (surprisingly) promoted DS Joy Freers (Roach) Deering and her team must crack this case by whatever unconventional means possible. Because amidst all the assorted low life; the pimps, the petty thieves, and downright nasty bastards they've dealt with, this is their most disturbing case yet, one that will touch their lives in ways they could never expect. The cast includes: Ste Johnston, Tom Varey (The Village), Neet Mohan (Fresh Meat), Saira Choudhry (Hollyoaks), Hannah Walters (This Is England), Charlie May-Clark (South Riding) and Kate O Flynn (Mr.Turner). This DVD comprises all 8 episodes of the series. NO OFFENCE is produced by AbbottVision.

• The Package | DVD | (24/07/2000) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Gene Hackman is a career officer assigned a routine mission well beneath him: deliver a prisoner (Tommy Lee Jones) from Europe to the United States. However, the simple assignment becomes a daring cat-and-mouse game played as the last flames of the Cold War are flickering. This is the first of three films that teamed Jones with director Andrew Davis. In 1989 Jones was a wild card: an actor respected but only popping up in grade B fare. After Davis' Under Siege and The Fugitive, Jones was America's favourite gruff character actor, with an Oscar on his mantel. With a weaker script, Davis still creates the same kind of magic here. Hackman is superb as the officer, an action role similar to others that the nearly 60-year-old unexpectedly excelled at (Bat 21, Narrow Margin) during this period. Tight, tense and with no letup in the third act, The Package is a good gem for a Saturday night flick. --Doug Thomas

• Under Fire | DVD | (06/05/2002) from £8.40   |  Saving you £4.59 (54.64%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Under Fire was one of a trio of notable films from the mid-1980s about journalists involved in Third World war zones. While certainly a lesser film than Salvador (1986) or The Killing Fields (1984) Roger Spottiswoode's movie is still a commendable work from a director who later brought a similarly political edge to Noriega: God's Favourite (2000). Nick Nolte plays an American photo-journalist covering the civil war in Nicaragua in 1979, finding himself caught in a dangerous and cynical web of duplicity and self-interest, as well as falling in love with fellow American, Claire (Joanna Cassidy). Nolte gradually uncovers the degree of his own government's involvement with the corrupt regime, and inevitably ends up crossing the line from neutral observer to helping the rebel cause. Under Fire is in essence a reworking of Casablanca, especially as Gene Hackman's network newsman proves to be Cassidy's ex-lover, yet thanks to an intelligent script, strong support from Ed Harris as a mercenary and some genuinely unnerving and frightening scenes of the random chaos of war, it's one which packs a powerful punch. Jerry Goldsmith's evocative score is among his best of the 1980s.On the DVD: Under Fire is presented in an anamorphic 1.77:1 transfer which is very clean and clear with minimal grain. The well-mixed Dolby Pro-logic soundtrack is highly effective, if not so startling as a 5.1 track. Beyond multi-language and subtitle options, the only extra is the original trailer, which is also anamorphically enhanced. --Gary S Dalkin

• Vampire In Brooklyn | DVD | (01/07/2002) from £8.08   |  Saving you £4.91 (37.80%)   |  RRP £12.99

  A Comic Tale Of Horror And Seduction. Eddie Murphy's got the bite stuff in this movie mix of bone-chilling horror and chill-out comedy directed by Wes Craven (A Nightmare On Elm Street). As the vampire Maximillian the popular star is the most diabolical dashing and definitely undead dude in the 'hood'. To add to the macabre fun Murphy morphs into two other must-see characters: a paunchy preacher and a fast talking thug. Angela Bassett (The Score) plays the cop whose world is

• Blade Runner Steelbook | Blu Ray | (13/11/2017) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  When Ridley Scott's cut of Blade Runner was finally released in 1993, one had to wonder why the studio hadn't done it right the first time--11 years earlier. This version is so much better, mostly because of what's been eliminated (the ludicrous and redundant voice-over narration and the phoney happy ending) rather than what's been added (a bit more character development and a brief unicorn dream). Star Harrison Ford originally recorded the narration under duress at the insistence of Warner Bros. executives who thought the story needed further "explanation"; he later confessed that he thought if he did it badly they wouldn't use it. (Moral: Never overestimate the taste of movie executives.) The movie's spectacular futuristic vision of Los Angeles--a perpetually dark and rainy metropolis that's the nightmare antithesis of "Sunny Southern California"--is still its most seductive feature, another worldly atmosphere in which you can immerse yourself. The movie's shadowy visual style, along with its classic private-detective/murder-mystery plot line (with Ford on the trail of a murderous android, or "replicant"), makes Blade Runner one of the few science fiction pictures to legitimately claim a place in the film noir tradition. And, as in the best noir, the sleuth discovers a whole lot more (about himself and the people he encounters) than he anticipates. The cast also includes Sean Young, Edward James Olmos, Daryl Hannah Rutger Hauer and M. Emmet Walsh. --Jim Emerson

• The Fourth Protocol | DVD | (25/07/2005) from £13.90   |  Saving you £-7.91 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  On July 1 1968 America Britain and Russia signed a treaty to halt the spread of nuclear weapons. The powers then added four extra clauses. The most secret of them was and remains the final. One winter the Chairman of the KGB hatches a plan to breach this Fourth Protocol and destroy NATO. He sends an agent Major Petrofsky (Pierece Brosnan) to assemble the operation. It is now up to MI6 agent John Preston (Michael Caine) who now must race against an unknown deadline to stop him and his devasting mission. Based on the novel by the best-selling author Frederick Forsyth.

• The Package (Blu-ray + DVD) | Blu Ray | (04/12/2017) from £17.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Gene Hackman is a career officer assigned a routine mission well beneath him: deliver a prisoner (Tommy Lee Jones) from Europe to the United States. However, the simple assignment becomes a daring cat-and-mouse game played as the last flames of the Cold War are flickering. This is the first of three films that teamed Jones with director Andrew Davis. In 1989 Jones was a wild card: an actor respected but only popping up in grade B fare. After Davis' Under Siege and The Fugitive, Jones was America's favourite gruff character actor, with an Oscar on his mantel. With a weaker script, Davis still creates the same kind of magic here. Hackman is superb as the officer, an action role similar to others that the nearly 60-year-old unexpectedly excelled at (Bat 21, Narrow Margin) during this period. Tight, tense and with no letup in the third act, The Package is a good gem for a Saturday night flick. --Doug Thomas

• Executive Power | DVD | (07/05/2012) from £5.23   |  Saving you £0.76 (12.70%)   |  RRP £5.99

  While protecting the U.S. President, Secret Service agent Nick Sager helps him to cover up the death of a young girl who accidentally died during an adulterous encounter. Some time later, a few weeks before the elections, the disillusioned ex-agent is approached by his former partner. After the President's former aide, one of few people who knew about the cover-up, is found dead, it quickly becomes clear that those people that knew too much are being silenced… and he’s next.

• All American Murder | DVD | (07/04/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Artie Logan (Schlatter) is about to enter a jungle of sex sleaze and murder. He's going to college! Christopher Walken stars in this suspense-filled thriller that explores the dark and twisted obsessions of a brutal killer. The killer's world is a world where the line between right and wrong is a jagged one....

• The Package | DVD | (04/12/2017) from £10.75   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Gene Hackman is a career officer assigned a routine mission well beneath him: deliver a prisoner (Tommy Lee Jones) from Europe to the United States. However, the simple assignment becomes a daring cat-and-mouse game played as the last flames of the Cold War are flickering. This is the first of three films that teamed Jones with director Andrew Davis. In 1989 Jones was a wild card: an actor respected but only popping up in grade B fare. After Davis' Under Siege and The Fugitive, Jones was America's favourite gruff character actor, with an Oscar on his mantel. With a weaker script, Davis still creates the same kind of magic here. Hackman is superb as the officer, an action role similar to others that the nearly 60-year-old unexpectedly excelled at (Bat 21, Narrow Margin) during this period. Tight, tense and with no letup in the third act, The Package is a good gem for a Saturday night flick. --Doug Thomas

• 1969 | DVD | (02/08/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Two friends Ralph and Scott live in a small minded town at the offset of the Vietnam War. While Scott's brother enlists he and Ralph are outspoken in their opposition to the war. Scott's attitude alienates him from his father and he and Ralph leave town to enjoy their 'freedom'. Events conspire to lead them back home where they learn of the death of the brother...

• Stay Hungry | DVD | (25/07/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  If you've got an appetite for life: Stay Hungry. A syndicate wants to buy a whole district to rebuild it. They've bought every house except the small gym ""Olympic"" where Mr. Austria Joe Santo prepares for the Mr. Universe championships a month ahead. The rich sunny-boy Craig Blake is brought in by the syndicate as a dummy to buy the gym. But then he starts to like the people and falls in love with Joe's friend Marie-Tate...

• Superman: The Complete Animated Series | Blu Ray | (26/10/2021) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• The Night Child | DVD | (29/10/2012) from £20.00   |  Saving you £-4.01 (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  You'll need more than an exorcist to save the night child.When a documentarian delves into the dark world of satanic art for a new film, he unearths a disturbing painting that leads him into a world of post-Exorcist Italo-Horror where cursed medallions, possessed children and the overwhelming power of the dark lord converge to create a visually stunning and wildly eccentric exploitation classic from Massimo Dallamano (Venus in Furs, What Have You Done With Solange?)With Italian cult cinema child star Nicoletta Elmi (Who Saw Her Die?, A Bay of Blood) as the motherless, demon-demented daughter and Zombie Flesh Eaters' Richard Johnson as the filmmaker searching for the evil truth, The Night Child is a perfect example of expertly shot, beautifully crafted B-cinema.See a young girl descend into the hellish pit of demonic possession in The Night Child, a textbook example of 70s euro-horror from an Italian exploitation master.

• MGM War Collection | DVD | (06/06/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £49.99

  This great DVD collection contains the following titles: 1. Attack! (dir. Robert Aldrich 1956) 2. 633 Squadron (dir. Walter Grauman 1964) 3. The Bridge At Remagen (dir. John Guillermin 1969) 4. A Bridge Too Far (dir. Richard Attenborough 1977) 5. The Great Escape (dir. John Sturges 1963) 6. Hart's War (dir. Gregory Hoblit 2002) 7. Platoon (dir. Oliver Stone 1986) 8. Windtalkers (dir. John Woo 2002) 9. The Dogs Of War (dir. John Irvin 1981) 10. Under Fire (dir. Roger Spottiswoode 1983)

• A Father's Revenge | DVD | (04/03/2002) from £9.75   |  Saving you £-5.76 (N/A%)   |  RRP £3.99

  It's a parent's worst nightmare a kidnapped child. Paul and Anne Hobart (Brian Dennehy and Joanna Cassidy) watch their television screen in disbelief as their only daughter reads a prepared statement saying that she is a prisoner of war. Karin Hobart is being used as a pawn between a terrorist group and the government that has arrested their comrades. The terrorists promise that she and her fellow captives will be executed if their demands are not met. As the terrorists' deadline approaches Paul Hobart becomes desperate to rescue Karin. When he receives word from the State Department that the United States will not interfere Paul takes matters into his own hands. Securing the information that helps him locate his daughter Paul plans his assault refusing to become a hostage of terror.