"Actor: Matt Davies"

• Saving Private Ryan | DVD | (06/11/2000) from £3.99   |  Saving you £12.00 (300.75%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Since its release in 1998, Steven Spielberg's D-Day drama Saving Private Ryan has become hugely influential: everything, from the opening sequence of Gladiator ("Saving Marcus Aurelius") to the marvellous 10-hour TV series Band of Brothers, has been made in its shadow. There have been many previous attempts to recreate the D-Day landings on screen (notably, the epic The Longest Day), but thanks to Spielberg's freewheeling hand-held camerawork, Ryan was the first time an audience really felt like they were there, storming up Omaha Beach in the face of withering enemy fire. After the indelible opening sequence, however, the film is not without problems. The story, though based on an American Civil War incident, feels like it was concocted simply to fuel Spielberg's sentimental streak. In standard Hollywood fashion the Germans remain a faceless foe (with the exception of one charmless character who turns out to be both a coward and a turncoat); and the Tom Hanks-led platoon consists of far too many stereotypes: the doughty Sergeant; the thick-necked Private; the Southern man religious sniper; the cowardly Corporal. Matt Damon seems improbably clean-cut as the titular Private in need of rescue (though that may well be the point); and why do they all run straight up that hill towards an enemy machine gun post anyway? Some non-US critics have complained that Ryan portrays only the American D-Day experience, but it is an American film made and financed by Americans after all. Accepting both its relatively narrow remit and its lachrymose inclinations, Saving Private Ryan deserves its place in the pantheon of great war pictures. On the DVD: Saving Private Ryan on disc comes in a good-quality anamorphic 1.85:1 transfer with a suitably dynamic Dolby Digital 5.1 sound mix in which bullets fly all around your living room. Extra features are pretty minimal, with a standard 30-minute "making of" piece called "Into the Breach" and two trailers. There are text notes on the cast and crew as well as the production, and a brief message from Mr Spielberg himself about why he decided to make the movie. --Mark Walker

• Saving Private Ryan (4K UHD) | 4K UHD | (04/06/2018) from £21.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  IN THE LAST GREAT INVASION, OF THE LAST GREAT WAR, THE GREATEST DANGER FOR EIGHT MEN WAS SAVING ONE. Internationally acclaimed by critics and audiences alike, Saving Private Ryan, directed by Steven Spielberg, is an unforgettable film achievement that has had a profound and lasting impact throughout the world. Winner of five Academy Awards including Best Director (Spielberg) Saving Private Ryan also garnered two Golden Globe™ Awards for Best Motion Picture (Drama) and Best Director. Seen through the eyes of a squad of American soldiers, the story begins with World War II's historic D-Day invasion, then moves beyond the beach as the men embark on a dangerous special mission. Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) must take his men behind enemy lines to find Private James Ryan (Matt Damon), whose three brothers have been killed in combat. Faced with impossible odds, the men question their orders. Why are eight men risking their lives to save just one? Surrounded by the brutal realities of war, each man searches for his own answer and the strength to triumph over an uncertain future with honour, decency, and respect. SPECIAL FEATURES: An Introduction Looking into the Past Miller and his Platoon Boot Camp Making Saving Private Ryan Re-Creating Omaha Beach Music and Sound Parting Thoughts Into the Breach: Saving Private Ryan Theatrical Trailer Re-Release Trailer Shooting War

• Mary Poppins Returns Doublepack | DVD | (15/04/2019) from £6.95   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  In Depression-era London, a now-grown Jane and Michael Banks, along with Michael's three children, are visited by the enigmatic Mary Poppins following a personal loss. Through her unique magical skills, and with the aid of her friend Jack, she helps the family rediscover the joy and wonder missing in their lives.

• Distant Shores: Series 2 | DVD | (19/01/2015) from £9.79   |  Saving you £5.20 (53.12%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Peter Davison and Samantha Bond star in this comedy drama series about a plastic surgeon who relocates his family to the remote island of Hildasay to take a new job as a small community GP. How will the modern urbanites cope with their new way of life in the middle of nowhere? Matthew Thomas Davies, Claudia Renton and Berwick Kaler also star.

• Simon Schama - A History of Britain : The Complete Series | DVD | (18/11/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £59.99

  Stretching from the Stone Age to the year 2000, Simon Schama's Complete History of Britain does not pretend to be a definitive chronicle of the turbulent events which buffeted and shaped the British Isles. What Schama does do, however, is tell the story in vivid and gripping narrative terms, free of the fustiness of traditional academe, personalising key historical events by examining the major characters at the centre of them. Not all historians would approve of the history depicted here as shaped principally by the actions of great men and women rather than by more abstract developments, but Schama's way of telling it is a good deal more enthralling as a result. Schama successfully gives lie to the idea that the history of Britain has been moderate and temperate, passing down the generations as stately as a galleon, taking on board sensible ideas but steering clear of sillier, revolutionary ones. Nonsense. Schama retells British history the way it was--as bloody, convulsive, precarious, hot-blooded and several times within an inch of haring off onto an entirely different course. Schama seems almost to delight in the goriness of history. Themes returned to repeatedly include the wars between the Scots and the Irish and the Catholic/Protestant conflicts--only the Irish question remains unresolved by the new millennium. As Britain becomes a constitutional monarchy, Schama talks less of Kings and Queens but of poets and idea-makers like Orwell. Still, with his pungent, direct manner and against an evocative visual and aural backdrop, Schama makes history seem as though it happened yesterday, the bloodstains not yet dry. On the DVD: The Complete History of Britain extras are generously packaged on a separate disc and include the original score and a Simon Schama biography. There's an interesting "promotional message" to camera in which Schama explains the role of a cab driver, Wally, in inspiring the series, along with an interview with Mark Lawson in which Schama stresses the deliberate subjectivity of these programmes and an inaugural BBC History lecture in which he defends TV's ability to transpose history to camera. --David Stubbs

• Helen Of Troy | DVD | (17/05/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  The abduction of beautiful Helen wife of Spartan King Menelaus by Paris of Troy triggers a long war faithfully recreated in this lavish TV miniseries.

• Saving Private Ryan - 60th Anniversary Commemorative Edition | DVD | (01/11/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Seen through the eyes of a squad of American soldiers the story begins with World War II's historic D-Day invasion then moves beyond the beach as the men embark on a dangerous special mission. Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) must take his men behind enemy lines to find Private James Ryan whose three brothers have been killed in combat. Faced with impossible odds the men question their orders. Why are eight men risking their lives to save just one? Surrounded by the brutal realitie

• WWII - The Long Road Home | DVD | (26/10/2020) from £7.96   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Elliott Hasler writes, directs and stars in this WWII drama. British soldier Charlie Standing (Hasler) is captured in Tunisia by enemy soldiers and sent to various POW camps throughout Italy. When he manages to escape Standing begins the arduous journey of trying to return home. Meanwhile, his wife (Alice Rogers) no longer receives letters from her husband and fears the worst as she cares for their infant son.

• Saving Private Ryan (DTS) | DVD | (01/09/2003) from £29.99   |  Saving you £-10.00 (-50.00%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Since its release in 1998, Steven Spielberg's D-Day drama Saving Private Ryan has become hugely influential: everything from the opening sequence of Gladiator ("Saving Marcus Aurelius") to the marvellous 10-hour TV series Band of Brothers has been made in its shadow. There have been many previous attempts to recreate the D-Day landings on screen (notably, the epic The Longest Day), but thanks to Spielberg's freewheeling hand-held camerawork, Ryan was the first time an audience really felt like they were there, storming up Omaha Beach in the face of withering enemy fire. After the indelible opening sequence, however, the film is not without problems. The story, though based on an American Civil War incident, feels like it was concocted simply to fuel Spielberg's sentimental streak. In standard Hollywood fashion the Germans remain a faceless foe (with the exception of one charmless character who turns out to be both a coward and a turncoat); and the platoon, led by Tom Hanks, consists of far too many stereotypes: the doughty sergeant; the thick-necked private; the southern-man religious sniper; the cowardly corporal. Matt Damon seems improbably clean cut as the titular private in need of rescue (though that may well be the point); and why do they all run straight up that hill towards an enemy machine-gun post anyway? Some non-US critics have complained that Ryan portrays only the American D-Day experience, but it is an American film made and financed by Americans after all. Accepting both its relatively narrow remit and its lachrymose inclinations, Saving Private Ryan deserves its place in the pantheon of great war pictures. On the DVD: This DTS edition of Saving Private Ryan presents the movie with astonishingly vivid surround sound that is audibly superior to the standard Dolby Digital version. With a wider dynamic range and a more spacious soundfield, the battles really do spill over into your living room. There are new animated menus but because the DTS data stream requires greater space on the disc, the 30-minute behind-the-scenes documentary included on the previous release is omitted. --Mark Walker

• Animated Adventures Collection - Laura's Star/The Magic Sword/Dr Seuss/Powerpuff Girls - The Movie | DVD | (21/09/2009) from £6.57   |  Saving you £1.42 (21.61%)   |  RRP £7.99

  Laura's Star (2004): Did you ever believe that somewhere there's a special friend just for you? That what Laura finds the day she moves with her family to the city. She misses her old friends and her old house - until she rescues a fallen star the perfect size for cuddling. The star is homesick too. And as Laura and the star share a series of enchanted adventures (stardust makes toys come to life!) she finds that friendship can turn her strange new surroundings into a wonderful new place. A place called home. Beloved by children acclaimed by critics and based on the popular book series this resplendent movie glows with charm and storybook-like animation. Sprinkle a little stardust in the life of your little one. The Magic Sword (1998): Stunning animation and sensational songs await you in the enchanted land of Camelot. A spirited teenage girl names Kayley answers the call to adventure when Ruber the evil knight steals King Arthur's legendary sword Excalibur. Aided by Garrett a handsome blind squire Kayley embarks on a thrilling quest to recover the sword and save her beloved kingdom. Along the way these two unlikely heroes meet up with one outrageously funny creature a wise-cracking two-headed dragon named Devon and Cornwell. On their magical musical journey Kayley and Garrett discover the unlimited power of friendship and courage. You'll discover dazzling fun-filled entertainment in Quest for Camelot. Powerpuff Girls - The Movie (2002): This full-length adventure features an animated epic so big so funny and so spectacular that only the Powerpuff Girls can handle it! Created by a perfectly powerful experiment Blossom Bubbles and Buttercup explode into action as the new kids in Townsville! But after one enthusiastic game of tag they nearly destroy their beloved city. Now called social freaks they turn to the mysterious Mojo Jojo for help but this sinister simian has other plans big plans like leading an army of evil monkeys to destroy the world! Join the celebration as the Powerpuff Girls save Townsville and the world - for the very first time ... before bedtime!

• Detonator Orgun | DVD | (02/06/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £22.99

  Originally released in 1991, the three-part Denotator Orgun plays like a mixture of several popular sci-fi films. Tomoru, a teenage boy in the 24th century, is haunted by weird dreams partially based on the computer games he plays with his friends. He soon discovers he's telepathically linked to the mysterious alien robot, Orgun. Meanwhile, at the Earth Defense Force Intelligence He adquarters, Dr Michi Kanzaki and supercomputer I-Zak decrypt a message from deep space that turns out to be the blueprints for Orgun's physical makeup. As they make these discoveries, an advanced race of aliens nears the Earth with plans to destroy it. Naturally only the combination of Tomoru, Kanzaki and Orgun can defeat them. Director Masami Obari (Fatal Fury) handles the action sequences, space battles, and fist fights between giant robots with his usual skill. He's less successful at presenting Hideki Kakinuma's convoluted story, a needlessly complicate d mixture of flashbacks, fantasies, quasi-religious mysticism and warnings about the dangers of tampering with human evolution that is simultaneously too complicated and too simple for its two-and-a-half-hour length. --Charles Solomon, Amazon.com

• The Fourth Musketeer | DVD | (07/03/2022) from £1.89   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  At the behest of his father, young d'Artagnan travels from rural Gascony to Paris, where he becomes embroiled in a devious plot between the King's Musketeers and the Guardsmen of Cardinal Richelieu.

• Jack And The Beanstalk - The Real Story | DVD | (13/10/2003) from £17.98   |  Saving you £-2.99 (-19.90%)   |  RRP £14.99

  For Jonathan (or Jack for short) 'Jack And The Beanstalk' has never been a fairy tale but part of his family history which has been buried for centuries. In order to destroy this curse on his family he must visit the fantastic world where fairy tales really do come true...

• Pritchard Vs Dainton | DVD | (07/08/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Before Dirty Sanchez something sinister came from the valleys: Pritchard Vs Dainton!

• Cult: Dogma, Human Traffic, Shallow Grave | DVD | (08/09/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  DogmaDogma is a comic fantasia in which angels demons apostles prophets and rubber turd monsters walk among the cynics and innocents of the earth to decide the fate of mankind. Two angels cast from the Pearly Gates discover that a loophole in church dogma means that they can get back into heaven. On the downside in doing so they'll prove God to be fallible and will undo all of Creation. On the upside they'll not have to spend the rest of eternity banished to Wisconsin... Shallow GraveJuliet David and Alex find that their new reclusive roommate has not left the bedroom for days. After kicking in the door they discover this drug overdosed corpse...and a suitcase full of cash. Fatefully choosing to keep the money they know they have to get rid of the body. But the remains won't stay buried and a careless trail from the shallow grave leads the police and - two money-hungry thugs - back to the trio. Human TrafficThe weekend has well and truly landed. Human Traffic focuses on the lives and loves of five individuals who spend their week working mundane jobs waiting for the weekend so that they can immerse themselves in a whirl of pubs clubs and parties. Revolving around a single meticulously planned and titanically drug-addled night out in Cardiff Human Traffic is the first and last word in club-culture.

• Guru In Seven | DVD | (28/07/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Shot entirely on location in London Brighton Paris and Bombay with snappy editing a blistering east/west soundtrack and prowling camerawork - Guru in Seven is sharply observed raw real and as 'un-PC as it gets. With support from Saeed Jaffrey Jacqueline Pearce and Antony Zaki the film stars a cast of hugely talented young British actors and features an astonishing debut from Nitin Chandra Ganatra as 'Sanjay' in a role reminiscent of a young Michael Caine in ALFIE. FAST FRESH AND FUNNY... A RAW SEXY TALE WITH A TWIST - LOADED FUNNY AND RUDE...UNMISSABLE - THE SUN A 200 MPH ROMP...A VERY FUNNY MOVIE - NME ***** - EMPIRE ***** - UNCUT

• Saving Private Ryan - WWII Collection | DVD | (01/11/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  Containing collectable Lobby Cards featuring key scenes from the film; two sobering World War II documentaries ""Price for Peace"" and ""Shooting War""; and a commemorative two disc copy of the film with never before seen footage and exclusive features the Saving Private Ryan WWII Collection is a must for all war enthusiasts. Presented in stunning commemorative packaging this boxset is in memory of those 60 years ago. Seen through the eyes of a squad of American soldiers the story beg

• Madagascar Skin | DVD | (31/07/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £1.99

  Harry a shy young man with a Madagascar shaped birthmark flees the city and his unhappy life there and ends up alone on a beach. In strange circumstances he bumps into Flint and hiding out in an abandoned cottage their suspicions of one another start to disappear...