"Actor: Michael Pe a"

• Last Man Standing | DVD | (01/10/1999) from £7.25   |  Saving you £10.00 (166.94%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Best known for making movies about men and violence, director Walter Hill scored a misfire with this ambitious but ultimately dreary remake of Akira Kurosawa's samurai classic Yojimbo. The story's essentially the same but the setting has been switched to a dusty, almost ghostly Texas town in the 1930s, where two rival Chicago gangs are locked in an uneasy truce. Bruce Willis plays the lone drifter who allies himself with both gangs to his own advantage, working both sides against each other according to his own hidden agenda. The violence escalates to a bloody climax, of course, with Christopher Walken, David Patrick Kelly and Michael Imperioli as trigger-happy lieutenants in a lonely, desolate war. Fans of gangster movies will want to see this, and, if nothing else, Hill has brought his polished style to a vaguely mythic story. It's far from being a classic, however, and although its action is at times masterfully choreographed, the movie's humourless attitude is unexpectedly oppressive. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

• Sometimes They Come Back....Again | DVD | (02/01/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  In this terrifying sequel to Stephen King's Sometimes They Come Back Jon Porter (Michael Gross) returns to his hometown to mourn his mother's death. When sinister forces that caused his sister's death many years ago materialize Jon must stand up to his fear... or lose his beautiful teenage daughter forever.

• Village Of The Damned | DVD | (14/04/2003) from £12.99   |  Saving you £3.00 (23.09%)   |  RRP £15.99

  The original 1960 version of Village of the Damned is regarded as a classic of science fiction and horror, and it remains one of the creepiest movies of its kind. Directed with occasional flair by John Carpenter, this 1995 remake trades subtlety for more explicit chills and violence, but the basic premise remains effectively eerie. In the tiny, idyllic town of Midwich, a strange mist causes the entire population to fall asleep, and when everyone awakes the town physician (Christopher Reeve) discovers that 10 women--including his wife and a local teenage virgin--have mysteriously become pregnant. Their children are all born on the same day, with matching white hair and strange, glowing eyes, grow at an accelerated rate and thus raise Reeve's suspicion that they are not of earthly origin. These demonic brats can control minds and wreak havoc with the power of their thoughts, so of course they must be destroyed. Only Reeve knows how to get the job done, and his performance (the actor's last big-screen role before his paralysing accident in 1995) grounds this otherwise superfluous remake with enough credibility to hold the viewer's attention. But for the real chills, definitely check out the original version--it's 20 minutes shorter but twice as spooky. --Jeff Shannon

• Wind In The Willows | DVD | (08/05/2006) from £24.01   |  Saving you £-4.02 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Join the inimitable Mr Toad and his good friends Ratty Badger and Mole in their exciting and unpredictable adventures over a year at the Riverbank! Featuring 12 episodes from the award-winning 1980s ITV series previously unavailable on DVD this charming box set is a unique opportunity to re-discover the much-loved world of Toad and chums! Another fine animated show from those geniuses at Cosgrove Hall.

• One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest | DVD | (30/10/2002) from £12.43   |  Saving you £1.56 (12.55%)   |  RRP £13.99

  A big Oscar winner in 1975, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest still holds up remarkably well. Ken Kesey's novel, an allegory of repression and rebellion set in a mental hospital in the early 1960s, is cannily adapted by Czech director Milos Forman into a comedy drama with a cool, unassuming, near-documentary look. Jack Nicholson has his most jacknicholsonian role as Randle P McMurphy, a livewire troublemaker who unwisely cons his way out of prison and into a mental institution without realising he has switched from serving a sentence with a release date to being committed until adjudged sane by the same people he is winding up on a daily basis. Louise Fletcher, in a career-defining turn, is Nurse Ratched, the soft-spoken sadist who represents the worst type of matronly authoritarianism and clashes with Randle all down the line. Taking another look at the picture after all these years, it's a surprise that all the unknown actors who seemed like real mental patients have graduated to becoming prolific character actor stars: Danny DeVito, Christopher Lloyd, Vincent Schiavelli, Brad Dourif, the late Will Sampson, Sidney Lassick, Michael Berryman. Unlike many Best Picture Oscar winners, this deals with profound subject matter without seeming self-important: Forman's approach and all-round great acting make it play as a small character story as well as a Big Statement about the human condition. Full marks also for Jack Nitzsche's musical saw-based score. On the DVD: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest comes to DVD in a two-disc special edition with a great-looking anamorphic 1.85:1 print and 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack, plus tracks in French and Italian and optional subtitles in half a dozen languages. Disc 2 has the trailer, about 13 minutes of deleted scenes (mostly from the first third of the film, and all pretty good) and a making-of retrospective documentary with interesting material from producers Michael Douglas (who inherited the rights from Kirk) and Saul Zaentz, Forman, screenwriter Bo Goldman and many cast-members (though not Nicholson). There's also a commentary track by Forman, Douglas and others which repeats a few things from the documentary but also goes into more scene-specific detail about the development and shooting. --Kim Newman

• V - The Mini Series | DVD | (08/04/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £20.99

  Nowadays, the word "event" is thrown around all too often when describing television programmes, but back in 1983 the debut of V: The Mini Series was a television event in the truest sense. The appearance of gigantic flying saucers over the world's largest cities heralds the arrival of aliens from a distant galaxy who look human and act benevolently. Of course, things aren't exactly what they seem, and when some suspicious humans start to question the visitors' intentions they uncover a vast alien conspiracy, along with some unusual culinary habits. Soon, the visitors have enslaved the Earth under their fascist rule, and small groups of human rebels are forced underground to fight for the freedom of their entire species. But with the future of the planet still in question the epic story comes to an abrupt end, forcing the viewer to wait for the resolution in V: The Final Battle and the on-going series. That's not to say that the original V isn't worth the price of admission: in over three hours, it manages to capture the spirit of the great classic science fiction of the 1950s and 60s. The feeling of paranoia and insecurity that runs throughout the whole thing makes it feel, at times, like an expanded episode of The Twilight Zone, only shinier (hey, it was the 1980s). The special effects were impressive for their day, inspiring similarly themed films in the 90s (the gigantic flying saucers were seen again in Independence Day, and the storage area of the mothership turns up in The X Files Movie and The Matrix). What does irritate, however, is the utter lack of subtlety in the allegorical storyline. In fact, it could only have been made more obvious by demanding that the entire cast wear "This is how it was in 1930s' Germany" t-shirts. But if V occasionally doesn't live up to its own high standards, it's still a remarkably high-quality slice of epic television drama. On the DVD: The picture is an impressive widescreen 1.85:1 ratio and the soundtrack is adequate Dolby stereo. The DVD boasts a feature-length commentary by writer and director Kenneth Johnson, as well as a 25-minute "Behind the Scenes" documentary. --Robert Burrow

• The Man In The White Suit | DVD | (21/06/2004) from £6.99   |  Saving you £7.00 (100.14%)   |  RRP £13.99

  Ealing Comedy--cosy, gentle and whimsical, right? In this case, think again. Alexander Mackendrick was always the most politically aware of the Ealing directors, and in The Man in the White Suit he takes the studio's favourite theme of the little man up against the system and gives it a sharp satirical twist. Sidney Stratton (Alec Guinness at his most unworldly), a maverick scientist working in a Northern textile mill, invents a fabric that never gets dirty and never wears out. He's hailed as a genius--until management and unions alike realise what his brainwave implies. Mackendrick's humour is exact and pointed, and the satire turns savage as a lynch mob of bosses and workers hunt Sidney down through dark narrow streets. Mackendrick's disenchanted view of hidebound, class-ridden British society still rings horribly true, and he draws note-perfect performances from the cream of British character actors: Cecil Parker as the liberal mill-owner (based it's said, on Ealing boss Michael Balcon); Ernest Thesiger as the evil old godfather of the industry; and, wittily sensual as Sidney's confidante, the ever-wonderful Joan Greenwood. Plus, listen out for the "voice" of Sidney's bizarre apparatus, the funniest and most unforgettable sound effect ever devised. --Philip Kemp

• L.I.E. | DVD | (28/04/2003) from £18.75   |  Saving you £1.24 (6.61%)   |  RRP £19.99

  "12 and Holding" explores the complexities of children losing their innocence and adults struggling to guide them.

• The China Syndrome | DVD | (09/10/2003) from £13.97   |  Saving you £-7.98 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  In 1979 The China Syndrome was the movie everyone was talking about thanks to the enormous publicity generated by the real-life Three Mile Island accident that not only mirrored the events depicted in the film but occurred just twelve days after the movie's release. Nominated for four Academy Awards - Best Actor (Lemmon) Best Actress (Fonda) Best Original Screenplay Best Art Direction The CHina Syndrome remains ""as explosive as the metaphor of its title"" (Los Angeles Herald Exa

• XXX (Xtreme Edition) | DVD | (18/04/2005) from £3.69   |  Saving you £16.30 (441.73%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Vin Diesel stars as an extreme sports athlete called Triple X hired by a government agency who turn him into a secret agent and send him on a covert mission to destroy a dangerous terrorist cell.

• Bonanza | DVD | (27/08/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  The Great Western classic TV Series

• Butterflies - Series 1 | DVD | (07/10/2002) from £16.40   |  Saving you £3.59 (21.89%)   |  RRP £19.99

  This classic poignant BBC comedy starring Wendy Craig as the bored suburban housewife Ria looking for more from life. Ria is seemingly happy with two teenage sons but after 19 years of marriage she feels that everyone is taking her for granted and that life is passing her by. A chance encounter with a handsome businessman Leonard leaves her dreaming of being swept off her feet. But dreaming is about as close as Ria gets before her lugubrious husband - the butterfly collecting d

• Shackleton - The Complete Series (1983) | DVD | (13/03/2017) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Directed by BAFTA-nominee Martyn Friend (New Tricks) and produced by BAFTA-nominee John Harris (The Singing Detective), the series also proved popular in the US, where it was nominated for a CableACE award in 1985 for Best Movie or Mini-series. Shackleton was shot on location in Greenland and features cinematography from BAFTA-winner David Whitson (The Voyage of Charles Darwin), who is no stranger to creating atmospheric journeys of historical figures. The chilling original music score was composed by Francis Shaw. Undeterred by the dangers faced by Roald Amundsen (first to reach the South Pole) and Robert Falcon Scott and his team (who perished on their treacherous journey), Shackleton, in 1914, chooses to lead a team on their famous journey aboard the Endurance. However, when disaster strikes and the ship is trapped and crushed by pack-ice, Shackleton and five of his men must embark on a desperate 800-mile journey from Elephant Island to South Georgia with only the James Caird, a 20-foot lifeboat, to protect them against the furious Southern Ocean. Based on the true stories, recorded in Shackleton's own journals which he kept during his expeditions, this series does not shy away from the harsh realities the men faced in the Antarctic from dwindling supplies to emergency amputations and provides a gripping account of the dangers, frustrations and suffering the determined explorers endured. Unlike recent film and TV adaptations of the story, the BBC's 1983 drama delivers a widely acknowledged true account of the events as they unfolded. It opens with Shackleton planning the expedition and reveals the challenges he faced in finding sponsors. It presents the perilous journey on the James Caird and the South Georgia mountain crossing in keeping with journal records. And, unlike later versions, the BBC's Shackleton delves into his complex relationships with those around him as they all battle to succeed and survive. David Schofield stars as Ernest Shackleton in a remarkable early performance. He would later go on to star in the epic blockbusters: Gladiator, The Walking Dead and Pirates of the Caribbean. David Rodigan (A Woman called Moses) is outstanding as Shackleton's trusted deputy Frank Wild. This critically acclaimed, fact-based drama will definitely appeal to an audience interested in historical biopics and true-life adventures. Generally, fans of brilliantly cast and well-written drama with high production values will be thrilled to hear of Shackleton's long-awaited DVD release.

• City Hunter | DVD | (23/04/2001) from £24.99   |  Saving you £-5.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Jackie Chan stars as Ryu Saeba in this hilarious lightning-paced tribute to the ass-kicking girl chasing detective from the popular Manga strip ""City Hunter"".

• The Lucky Ones | DVD | (17/08/2009) from £6.63   |  Saving you £9.36 (141.18%)   |  RRP £15.99

  The Lucky Ones

• End of Watch | Blu Ray | (18/03/2013) from £7.55   |  Saving you £15.44 (204.50%)   |  RRP £22.99

  In their mission serve and protect, two Officers (Gyllenhaal & Peña) form a powerful brotherhood to ensure they both go home at the END OF WATCH. The only guarantee for these officers is that there are no guarantees when patrolling the streets of LA.

• Jordan Peele 3-Movie Collection | DVD | (14/11/2022) from £13.59   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Get OutWhen Chris (Daniel Kaluuya), a young African-American man, visits his white girlfriend's (Allison Williams) family estate, he becomes ensnared in the more sinister, real reason for the invitation. At first, Chris reads the family's overly accommodating behaviour as nervous attempts to deal with their daughter's interracial relationship, but as the weekend progresses, a series of increasingly disturbing discoveries lead him to a truth that he could have never imagined.UsAfter spending a tense beach day with their friends, the Tylers, Adelaide and her family return to their vacation home. When darkness falls, the Wilsons discover the silhouette of four figures holding hands as they stand in the driveway. Us pits an endearing American family against a terrifying and uncanny opponent: doppelgängers of themselves.NopeNope reunites Jordan Peele with Oscar® winner Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out, Judas and the Black Messiah), who is joined by Keke Palmer (Hustlers, Alice) and Oscar® nominee Steven Yeun (Minari, Okja) as residents in a lonely gulch of inland California who bear witness to an uncanny and chilling discovery.

• Dexter - Season 6 | Blu Ray | (18/06/2012) from £21.45   |  Saving you £28.54 (133.05%)   |  RRP £49.99

  To all around him, Blood splatter analyst Dexter Morgan appears to be a perfect gentleman and respected member of the police force but, behind this convincing facade, Dexter harbours a terrifying secret. He is a serial killer.Orphaned at the age of four, Dexter (Michael C. Hall) was adopted by Miami police officer Harry Morgan (James Remar), after finding him abandoned at a particularly gruesome crime scene. Discovering that Dexter had murderous urges, Harry taught the natural born killer to channel his gruesome passion in a constructive way - to kill only those who 'deserve' it! By means of satisfying his interest in blood and to erase his own crimes, Dexter now works as a forensic expert in blood patterns for the Miami Dade Police Department: the department currently investigating a spate of victims fallen at the hands of an unknown murderer branded `The Ice Truck Killer'. Discovering that the city's slayer is provocatively leaving personal messages for him to pick up, Dexter begins to wonder if `The Ice Truck Killer' is closer to him than first thought.Emmy-Award winning screenwriter James Manos Jr. (The Sopranos) delivers a dark, engrossing, yet funny adaptation of Jeff Lyndsay's crime novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter. Forefront of its shining cast is Michael C. Hall who takes complete control of Dexter and provides us not only with a clear insight into the mind of a serial killer but also forces the audience to grapple with the wonderfully twisted moral ambiguity of having a serial killer as a likeable `hero'.

• The Bleeder | Blu Ray | (21/08/2017) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Liev Schreiber co-writes and stars in this US biographical drama directed by Philippe Falardeau. The film follows New Jersey boxer Chuck Wepner (Schreiber) who shoots to fame when he takes on Muhammad Ali (Pooch Hall) for the world heavyweight title in 1975. After forging a solid career which eventually leads to becoming a world ranked contender, Wepner is suddenly thrust into the limelight when his manager Al Braverman (Ron Perlman) manages to land him a title shot against heavyweight champion Ali. Despite losing the fight in the last round, Wepner's brave performance earns him the respect of fans around the world and he quickly becomes a celebrity. However, with his everyday life now revolving around a routine of hard drinking and wild partying, it's not long before his new-found lavish lifestyle begins to catch up on him.

• Butterflies - Complete | DVD | (13/06/2005) from £39.99   |  Saving you £50.00 (125.03%)   |  RRP £89.99

  Every episode of Carla Lane's bittersweet comedy in a fantastic four double DVD boxed set. This classic poignant BBC comedy starring Wendy Craig as the bored suburban housewife Ria looking for more from life. Ria is seemingly happy with two teenage sons but after 19 years of marriage she feels that everyone is taking her for granted and that life is passing her by.