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• Hamburger Hill | DVD | (23/07/2001) from £4.90   |  Saving you £8.09 (165.10%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Because Hamburger Hill was released less than a year after Oliver Stone's Platoon and within months of Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket, this exceptionally well-made film about one of the bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War was largely overshadowed and overlooked. It's a pity, because in some respects this is the best of the Vietnam films of the late 1980s, at least in terms of the everyday authenticity it depicts. Stripped clean of dramatically extraneous narrative, the movie opts instead for a straightforward approach to its day-by-day account of one of the war's costliest victories--a deadly siege on Hill 937 in the Ashau Valley, where soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division engaged the enemy over the course of 11 brutal assaults between May 10 and May 20, 1969. The film specifically follows the 3rd Squad, 1st Platoon, a mixture of "new guys" and battle-weary "short-timers" who fought against terrifying odds and suffered a 70 per cent casualty rate. From first scene to last, Hamburger Hill traces the rise and fall of their battle experience, from the horror of fire-fights to the camaraderie of men who've faced death and survived. Racial tensions flare and subside, trusts are established and courage emerges from unexpected places. Through it all, writer Jim Carabatsos and director John Irvin maintain a purity of focus that pays tribute to the soldier's life without promoting false patriotism or gung-ho theatrics. In addition, the film features a cast full of talented and well-known actors in the early stages of their careers, including Dylan McDermott and Don Cheadle (Devil in a Blue Dress, Boogie Nights). Colour accuracy, image clarity and the explosive soundtrack have been remarkably preserved in a flawless DVD transfer, lending even greater immediacy to this underrated film. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

• Star Trek: The Next Generation - Complete Seasons 1-7 | Blu Ray | (15/12/2014) from £79.99   |  Saving you £-15.20 (N/A%)   |  RRP £64.79

  After Star Wars and the successful big-screen Star Trek adventures, it's perhaps not so surprising that Gene Roddenberry managed to convince purse string-wielding studio heads in the 1980s that a Next Generation would be both possible and profitable. But the political climate had changed considerably since the 1960s, the Cold War had wound down, and we were now living in the Age of Greed. To be successful a second time, Star Trek had to change too. A writer's guide was composed with which to sell and define where the Trek universe was in the 24th Century. The United Federation of Planets was a more appealing ideology to an America keen to see where the Reagan/Gorbachev faceoff was taking them. Starfleet's meritocratic philosophy had always embraced all races and species. Now Earth's utopian history, featuring the abolishment of poverty, was brandished prominently and proudly. The new Enterprise, NCC 1701-D, was no longer a ship of war but an exploration vessel carrying families. The ethical and ethnical flagship also carried a former enemy (the Klingon Worf, played by Michael Dorn), and its Chief Engineer (Geordi LaForge) was blind and black. From every politically correct viewpoint, Paramount executives thought the future looked just swell! Roddenberry's feminism now contrasted a pilot episode featuring ship's Counsellor Troi (Marina Sirtis) in a mini-skirt with her ongoing inner strengths and also those of Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden) and the short-lived Tasha Yar (Denise Crosby). The arrival of Whoopi Goldberg in season 2 as mystic barkeep Guinan is a great example of the good the original Trek did for racial groups--Goldberg has stated that she was inspired to become an actress in large part through seeing Nichelle Nichols' Uhura. Her credibility as an actress helped enormously alongside the strong central performances of Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard), Jonathan Frakes (First Officer Will Riker), and Brent Spiner (Data) in defining another wholly believable environment once again populated with well-defined characters. Star Trek, it turned out, did not depend for its success on any single group of actors. Like its predecessor in the 1960s, TNG pioneered visual effects on TV, making it an increasingly jaw-dropping show to look at. And thanks also to the enduring success of the original show, phasers, tricorders, communicators and even phase inverters were already familiar to most viewers. But while technology was a useful tool in most crises, it now frequently seemed to be the cause of them too, as the show's writers continually warned about the dangers of over-reliance on technology (the Borg were the ultimate expression of this maxim). The word "technobabble" came to describe a weakness in many TNG scripts, which sacrificed the social and political allegories of the original and relied instead upon invented technological faults and their equally fictitious resolutions to provide drama within the Enterprise's self-contained society. (The holodeck's safety protocol override seemed to be next to the light switch given the number of times crew members were trapped within.) This emphasis on scientific jargon appealed strongly to an audience who were growing up for the first time in the late 1980s with the home computer--and gave rise to the clichéd image of the nerdy Trek fan. Like in the original Trek, it was in the stories themselves that much of the show's success is to be found. That pesky Prime Directive kept moral dilemmas afloat ("Justice"/"Who Watches the Watchers?"/"First Contact"). More "what if" scenarios came out of time-travel episodes ("Cause and Effect"/"Time's Arrow"/"Yesterday's Enterprise"). And there were some episodes that touched on the political world, such as "The Arsenal of Freedom" questioning the supply of arms, "Chain of Command" decrying the torture of political prisoners and "The Defector", which was called "The Cuban Missile Crisis of The Neutral Zone" by its writer. The show ran for more than twice as many episodes as its progenitor and therefore had more time to explore wider ranging issues. But the choice of issues illustrates the change in the social climate that had occurred with the passing of a couple of decades. "Angel One" covered sexism; "The Outcast" was about homosexuality; "Symbiosis"--drug addiction; "The High Ground"--terrorism; "Ethics"--euthanasia; "Darmok"--language barriers; and "Journey's End"--displacement of Indians from their homeland. It would have been unthinkable for the original series to have tackled most of these. TNG could so easily have been a failure, but it wasn't. It survived a writer's strike in its second year, the tragic death of Roddenberry just after Trek's 25th anniversary in 1991, and plenty of competition from would-be rival franchises. Yes, its maintenance of an optimistic future was appealing, but the strong stories and readily identifiable characters ensured the viewers' continuing loyalty. --Paul Tonks

• Dad's Army | Blu Ray | (13/06/2016) from £6.29   |  Saving you £18.70 (297.30%)   |  RRP £24.99

  The cinema remake of the classic sitcom Dad's Army . The Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard platoon deal with a visiting female journalist and a German spy as World War II draws to its conclusion.

• Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge (Blu-Ray) | Blu Ray | (27/04/2020) from £4.22   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Once a generation, a tournament is held to between the champions of Outworld and Earthrealm. This tournament will determine the fate of Earth and all its citizens. Lord Raiden, protector of Earthrealm, must gather the greatest fighters of his realm to defend it from the evil Shang Tsung in the battle to end all battles - Mortal Kombat!

• Batman Begins (2 discs) | DVD | (21/10/2005) from £4.90   |  Saving you £12.09 (246.73%)   |  RRP £16.99

  Christian Bale stars in director Christopher Nolan's new take on the origin of the legendary superhero.

• Jurassic Park 3 | DVD | (28/11/2005) from £14.83   |  Saving you £1.16 (7.82%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Dr Alan Grant (Sam Neill) returns in this sequel, and after a plane crash finds himself once again leading a team of people as they try to avoid all sorts of deady new dinosaurs.

• Excess Baggage | DVD | (08/03/2004) from £6.55   |  Saving you £-0.56 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Alicia Silverstone was so hot after the success of Clueless that she formed her own production company at the age of 19, and Excess Baggage was the first movie she chose as a starring vehicle. Silverstone plays Emily, a spoiled rich girl who has everything but her father's affection, so she decides to stage her own kidnapping to see if dad will come to his senses and appreciate the daughter he so blindly disregards. But when Emily locks herself in the trunk of her own car, she's surprised when the car is stolen by Vincent (Benicio Del Toro, from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas), a professional car thief whose partner (Harry Connick Jr.) has misplaced 200,000 dollars of the Mob's money. Christopher Walken stars as Emily's "Uncle Ray," who's hot on her trail as she goes on the lam with Vincent. It's not the meandering plot that matters so much as the funny dialogue between Silverstone and Del Toro, who steals his scenes with a smoky mumble and easygoing charm. Excess Baggage is mostly for Alicia fans, but the film has got enough good laughs and low-key appeal to make it a home-video sleeper. --Jeff Shannon

• Hitch | DVD | (04/07/2005) from £3.99   |  Saving you £16.00 (401.00%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Will Smith plays a date doctor who is about to be unmasked by a glam gossip reporter in this charming romantic comedy.

• Kangaroo Jack | DVD | (10/11/2003) from £6.46   |  Saving you £8.79 (169.04%)   |  RRP £13.99

  A New York hairstylist and a would-be musician, get caught up with the mob and are forced to deliver $50,000 to Australia, but things go haywire when the money is lost to a wild kangaroo!

• A Man Called Horse | DVD | (07/06/2004) from £5.99   |  Saving you £10.00 (166.94%)   |  RRP £15.99

  American Indians were "cool" in 1970, the year A Man Called Horse made its vigorous, feverishly real, and occasionally shocking debut alongside Little Big Man and Soldier Blue. Unlike the latter two films, however, Horse is less an allegory for Vietnam-era America and more of a vision quest for historical identity. In one of his defining roles, Richard Harris plays an English aristocrat captured by Dakota Sioux in 1825. Over time, he adopts their way of life and eventually becomes tribal leader--but not before undergoing savage initiation rituals, the most famous of which involves being suspended by blades inserted beneath Harris's pectoral muscles. Horse looks clunky, quaint, and inadvertently demeaning in some respects today, but the film's Native-American milieu is at least defined on its own terms, making no concessions to familiar Western conventions. The real draw is Harris, whose performance has a soulful integrity. --Tom Keogh

• Species 4K UHD - Deluxe Collector's Edition DUAL FORMAT | Blu Ray | (23/06/2025) from £31.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  With a creature designed by H. R. Giger and cast which includes Ben Kingsley, Michael Madsen, and Natasha Henstridge in her feature debut, Species is the perfect mix of shocking sci-fi with the added bonus of a very sexy, and seductive alien. Sil (Henstridge) is creation of alien DNA which has been spliced with that of a human. She grows and develops incredibly quickly into a creature capable of killing all in her path with only one thing on her mind, to successfully reproduce and continue her extermination of the whole human race. Visually stunning with a knowing nod to the classic B-movies of the 50s, this big budget fantasy manages to balance gruesome effects with cinemas most beautiful monster.

• Michael Jackson - History- Video Greatest Hits | DVD | (15/12/2003) from £18.95   |  Saving you £-8.96 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Since age 11 as the lead singer of the Jackson 5 Michael Jackson has had a truly amazing life and has enjoyed one of the most successful and celebrated careers in popular music. With an immediate string of No.1 singles for Motown Michael quickly became a public icon and with his brothers rode high on the charts throughout the '70's. As Michael grew up his creative energies outdistanced those of his brothers and he embarked on a solo career of mythic proportions - releasing four

• Police Academy | DVD | (07/06/2004) from £5.98   |  Saving you £8.01 (133.95%)   |  RRP £13.99

  The call went out. The recruits came in. No longer would police cadets have to meet standards of height weight or other requirements. Brains were optional too. Can't spell IQ? Don't know the number 911? No matter. Police Academy grads are ready to uphold law and disorder!

• Above Us The Waves | DVD | (19/06/2007) from £6.23   |  Saving you £0.76 (12.20%)   |  RRP £6.99

  Directed by Ralph Thomas, Above Us the Waves (1955) tells of a Royal Navy mission to sink the "invincible" German battleship Tirpitz, off the Norwegian coast. John Mills is calm and confident as the mission commander, with strong support from John Gregson and Donald Sinden--all treated by the German personnel as fellow gentlemen when captured. Despite stirring music from Arthur Benjamin, the action sequences are visually no more than adequate, and the film is only a partial success.--Richard Whitehouse

• Incubus - Live At Red Rocks | Blu Ray | (07/04/2007) from £19.98   |  Saving you £-9.99 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  A gem for any Incubus fan to have this disc captures the band's unforgettable performance at the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheatre in July 2004. The set includes a bonus audio CD with extra material. Track List: 1. Megalomaniac 2. Nice To Know You 3. Idiot Box 4. Just A Phase 5. Priceless 6. Beware! Criminal 7. Wish You Were Here 8. Here In My Room 9. Drive 10. Vitamin 11. Pistola 12. Stellar 13. Made For TV Movie 14. Talk Shows On Mute 15. Sick Sad Little World 16. A Certain Shade Of Green 17. Pantomime 18. The Warmth 19. Pardon Me 20. Pantomime 21. Follow 22. Monuments and Melodies

• Stephen King's The Night Flier | DVD | (20/12/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £13.99

  For tabloid journalist Richard Dees (Miguel Ferrer) facts are always stranger than fiction. Every headline is a dead-line. Serial Killers UFO abductions tales of molestation mayhem and murder. To some the tales are unbelievable - but his faithful readers believe. And now there's a new story. The Night Flier What is it that flies by night in a dark winged Cessna lands at secluded airports and brutally murders local residents? Dees begins to follow the unknown killer in a Cessna

• Essex Boys | DVD | (02/07/2001) from £5.33   |  Saving you £7.66 (143.71%)   |  RRP £12.99

  A fictional tale of English gangsters, inspired by the actual murder of three men killed in a Range Rover in Essex.

• The Night Of | DVD | (24/10/2016) from £7.29   |  Saving you £4.53 (62.14%)   |  RRP £11.82

  Eight-part crime drama starring John Turturro and Riz Ahmed. New York student Naz (Ahmed) embarks on a wild night out with a mysterious woman after picking her up in his dad's cab. The next morning he finds her stabbed to death in his bed. With no recollection of the previous night's events, Naz flees the scene but is quickly brought in by the city's police and identified as the main suspect for the victim's murder. After he is denied a legal representative, defence lawyer John Stone (Turturro) steps in to help Naz prove his innocence. As he awaits prosecution on Rikers Island, Naz adapts to the politics of life on the inside while his legal team try to piece together what happened on the night of the crime. The episodes are: 'The Beach', 'Subtle Beast', 'A Dark Crate', 'The Art of War', 'The Season of the Witch', 'Samson and Delilah', 'Ordinary Death' and 'The Call of the Wild'.

• The Deal | DVD | (19/05/2008) from £13.98   |  Saving you £4.00 (33.36%)   |  RRP £15.99

  The Deal stars David Morrissey as Gordon Brown and Michael Sheen as Tony Blair and depicts the famed political legend that the two made a pact that Blair would step down as Prime Minister so that Brown could take his place. The Deal begins in 1983 as the two men are first elected to Parliament and concludes in 1994 at the Granita restaurant - the location of the supposed agreement - with a brief epilogue following the 1997 general election.

• Robocop | Blu Ray | (09/06/2014) from £20.98   |  Saving you £6.00 (31.60%)   |  RRP £24.99

  In RoboCop the year is 2028 and multinational conglomerate OmniCorp is at the centre of robot technology. Overseas their drones have been used by the military for years – and it’s meant billions for OmniCorp’s bottom line. Now OmniCorp wants to bring their controversial technology to the home front and they see a golden opportunity to do it. When Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) – a loving husband father and good cop doing his best to stem the tide of crime and corruption in Detroit – is critically injured in the line of duty OmniCorp sees their chance for a part-man part-robot police officer. OmniCorp envisions a RoboCop in every city and even more billions for their shareholders but they never counted on one thing: there is still a man inside the machine pursuing justice.