"Actor: Michael"

• Medieval | DVD | (30/01/2023) from £4.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• The Wings Of The Dove | DVD | (12/02/2001) from £19.74   |  Saving you £-4.75 (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Queen of the costume drama Helena Bonham Carter finally got a chance to loosen her corset a bit with this exquisitely mounted (Sandy Powell's costumes were nominated for an Academy Award) romantic drama based on Henry James's classic novel. Set in turn-of-the-century London and Venice, Wings of the Dove is a stately departure--more PBS than MTV--for Iain Softley, director of Hackers and the birth-of-the-Beatles biopic Backbeat. But there's enough romantic intrigue to perhaps fuel a week's worth of daytime TV talk shows: My Lover Seduced a Dying Heiress for Her Money. Bonham Carter, who won several critics association honours for her performance (she was nominated for a Golden Globe and Oscar as well) stars as Kate, who is engaged in a secret affair with Merton (Linus Roache), a journalist whose poor financial standing makes marriage impossible. Kate's manipulative aunt (Charlotte Rampling) threatens to disown her unless she marries the more suitable Lord Mark (Alex Jennings). Opportunity--admittedly sordid--arrives in the form of Millie (Alison Elliott), an American heiress whom Kate befriends. When Kate learns that Millie is dying, she suggests to Merton that he seduce her to make her last days happy, and ensuring that Millie will leave Merton her money when she dies. Merton reluctantly agrees, just as Kate begins to have second thoughts that threaten to sabotage the scheme. One of the most rapturously reviewed films in recent years, Wings of the Dove is a must-own video for the Merchant-Ivory crowd. But guys: don't dismiss this as a "chick flick". Beneath its Masterpiece Theatre exterior beats the wild and untamed heart of Dawson's Creek. --Donald Liebenson

• The Mechanic | DVD | (03/05/2004) from £8.43   |  Saving you £4.56 (54.09%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Arthur Bishop (Bronson) is a mob hit man who operates in a world of his own an uncompromising world where conventional rules of morality don't apply and where one wrong move could cost him his life! He's always worked alone but as age catches up with him Bishop takes on a competent and ruthless apprentice (Jan-Michael Vincent) and teaches him everything he knows. Together they become an unmatchable team of globetrotting killers until the pupil's ruthlessness puts him on a colli

• Cloverfield (2 Disc Special Edition) | DVD | (09/06/2008) from £4.49   |  Saving you £18.50 (412.03%)   |  RRP £22.99

  Five young New Yorkers throw their friend a going-away party the night that a monster the size of a skyscraper descends upon the city. Told from the point of view of their video camera the film is a document of their attempt to survive the most surreal horrifying event of their lives.

• Digimon - The Movie | DVD | (30/06/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  The hit children's TV show about a fantasy world of digital monsters comes to the big screen.

• How I Won The War | DVD | (07/02/2005) from £17.50   |  Saving you £-4.51 (-34.70%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Lieutenant Goodbody (Crawford) has absolutely no idea how to lead his British regiment in the North African battlefield of WWII. But what he lacks in experience he makes up for in enthusiasm. And when he's ordered to build a cricket playing field 100 miles behind enemy lines he's determined to succeed even if this means most of his men are killed in the process. Abandoned by his superiors betrayed by his inferiors and finally captured by Nazis it's going to take more than his unre

• Transformers - Takara | DVD | (26/08/2002) from £3.99   |  Saving you £12.00 (300.75%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Transformers' have been a favourite for children and adults alike since its launch over 17-years ago and now for the first time in the UK 'Transformers - Takara' is available to take home! Four Soldiers From The Sky: The evil Decepticons led by Galvatron decide to take control of the Sigma computer which will finally lead them to victory. To this end they launch a vicious attack on Cybertron. As the Autobots fight back a mysterious ship appears... but are those on board friend or foe? The Tale Of The Master Star: While the fighting continues on Cybertron Optimus Prime makes his way to the Sigma computer and is protected by the shadow of an old friend. Meanwhile Billy of the Autobots and Soundwave of the Deceptions engage in a deadly battle. The Birth Of A New Leader: Rodimus Prime and Optimus Prime come together to battle Galvatron and to protect the Sigma computer. But despite all efforts the Autobots suffer a severe blow and Galvatron discovers a weakness in the computer. The Resurrected Billy Against The Decepticons: The Autobots decide to rebuild Billy while the Decepticons make the same choice with Soundwave. But when new Soundwave and Blaster (formerly Billy) meet again who will be victorious this time? The Revolt On Planet Pistol: The Decepticons have invaded the peaceful planet of Pistoll and have turned its own people against each other. It's up to the Autobots to stop the Deceptions and to return Pistoll to peace but there appears to be spies everywhere. The Evil Meteor: A meteor is heading straight for the planet Sidnea and the Autobot headquarters. With Sparkle injured it is only his son Danny who can save the Autobots from destruction. But Danny is only a boy...

• Cranford: Complete BBC Series | DVD | (11/02/2008) from £4.96   |  Saving you £15.03 (303.02%)   |  RRP £19.99

  This BBC dramatisation of three of Elizabeth Gaskell's novels captures the small absurdities and tragedies in the lives of the people of Cranford a small rural Cheshire town inhabited largely by women. This is a community that runs on cooperation and gossip at the very heart of which are the daughters of the former rector: Miss Deborah Jenkyns and her sister Miss Matty. But domestic peace is constantly threatened in the form of financial disaster imagined burglaries tragic accidents and the reapparance of long-lost relatives.

• Kill Bill: Volume 1 (4K UHD Bluray Steelbook) | Blu Ray | (31/03/2025) from £41.45   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  The acclaimed fourth film from groundbreaking writer and director Quentin Tarantino, Kill Bill Volume 1 stars Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu, and Vivica A. Fox in an astonishing, action-packed thriller about brutal betrayal and an epic vendetta. Four years after taking a bullet in the head at her own wedding, The Bride (Thurman) emerges from a coma and decides it's time for payback. Having been gunned down by her former boss (David Carradine) and his deadly squad of international assassins, it's a kill-or-be-killed fight she did not start, but one she will finish. Loaded with explosive action and outrageous humour, Kill Bill Volume 1 is a must-see motion picture event.

• This Is England '90 | DVD | (23/11/2015) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Renowned director Shane Meadows' multiple BAFTA award-winning drama charts the turbulent lives of a group of friends looking for love, a laugh and a future in 1980s Britain.

• Talk To Me | Blu Ray | (23/10/2023) from £12.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  When a group of friends discover how to conjure spirits using an embalmed hand, they become hooked on the new thrill, until one of them goes too far and opens the door to the spirit world forcing them to choose who to trust: the dead or the living.

• The Dambusters | DVD | (18/04/2005) from £11.32   |  Saving you £1.67 (14.75%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Something of a cult item among British war movies (and brilliantly spoofed a few years back by a lager ad), The Dam Busters turns a minor World War II incident into a saga of heroic stiff-upper-lippery in the classic British style. A bombing raid is proposed on a strategically vital Ruhr dam, but its position is inaccessible. Enter eccentric inventor Dr Barnes Wallis (Michael Redgrave in best daffy professor mode) who comes up with a genius idea--a bomb that will bounce on water like a skimmed pebble. Naturally the top brass pooh-pooh it, but gallant Wing Commander Guy Gibson (Richard Todd) is persuaded, and between them flyer and boffin forge ahead. The touches of carefully understated emotion now verge on self-parody, but it's hard not to get caught up in the narrative sweep, especially when the bombers take off on their mission and Eric Coates' stirring march hits the soundtrack. The modelwork, state-of-the-art for its early 1950s period, still looks impressive, and the death of Gibson's beloved black Labrador (embarrassingly called Nigger) is a three-hanky moment to rival the shooting of Bambi's mum. --Philip Kemp

• Stargate - Continuum | Blu Ray | (18/08/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £25.99

  Stargate Continuum is a futuristic glimpse of time travel and parallel worlds that tell the story of an alien civilizations attempt to enslave Earth and put an end to it's existence as we know it! While SG-1 attends the execution of Ba'al the last of the Goa'uld System Lords Teal'c and Vala inexplicably disappear into thin air. Carter Daniel and Mitchell race back to a world where history has been changed: the Stargate program has been erased from the timeline. As they try to convince the authorities what's happened hundreds of Goa'uld motherships arrive in orbit led by Ba'al his queen Qetesh (Vala) and his first prime Teal'c. The remaining SG-1 members must find the Stargate and set things right before the world is enslaved by the Goa'uld.

• Stargate SG-1: Season 3 | DVD | (24/02/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £59.99

  With a well-established framework of back-story and an increasing list of adversaries, the third series of Stargate SG-1 was the place where casual viewers began to fall away. Unless you were taking notes it was becoming ever harder to stay on top of the Goa'uld history and their constant scheming. Fortunately by now a solid fanbase had appeared worldwide--with clubs, conventions and Web sites galore--so the ratings didn't slip even while ancient gods kept appearing and reappearing. Daniel Jackson could always be trusted to illuminate any relevant myth or legend (or find them in five minutes on the internet), while Carter's memory download from last year supplied the necessary ties with the rebellious Tok'ra. Away from the story arc the show's all-important stand-alone tales gave some thorny old subjects a new SF spin, including organised religion, the use of children in the passing on of knowledge, and leading an alternative life. O'Neill's sarcastic wit went into overdrive this year and Teal'c could be relied upon for a sneer or fish-out-of-water joke. Further comic relief came from Sam "Flash Gordon" Jones and Dom DeLuise, but perhaps the funniest thing of all was the wig Carter would apparently be wearing in an alternate universe. --Paul Tonks

• The Shield - Season 6 | DVD | (01/10/2012) from £5.49   |  Saving you £12.50 (227.69%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Continuing directly after Season 5, The Shield: Complete Season 6 sees Vic and the Strike Team are distraught over Lem's death. Shane has been overcome by guilt and becomes reckless and suicidal. Kavanaugh refuses to let the case die and resorts to planting evidence and coercing witnesses to lie about the Strike Team. Dutch and Claudette begin to suspect his integrity. Vic learns from Claudette that the Chief plans to force him into early retirement, and vows to wreak bloody vengeance ...

• Wives And Daughters | DVD | (20/08/2001) from £16.95   |  Saving you £8.04 (47.43%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Andrew Davies' 1999 adaptation of Mrs Gaskell's Wives and Daughters was hailed as the rediscovery of a "forgotten" classic novel and found the BBC on the crest of a wave with costume dramas--led by Pride and Prejudice. Handsome and beautifully filmed, if anything, it surpassed the quality of even that highly praised landmark production. "We should all look pretty strange under a microscope," botanist Robert Hamley tells our heroine Molly Gibson and of course Mrs Gaskell places all her characters under intense scrutiny, with affection but without judgement. Davies' screenplay peals back the layers, giving full vent to the comedy, tragedy and satire that drive this tale of provincial life to its highly satisfactory conclusion. Justine Waddell imbues Molly with an increasingly exasperated but remarkably forbearing intelligence, while Francesca Annis, as the outrageously self-absorbed step-mother Hyacinth, paints a wonderful portrait of affectation without ever totally alienating our sympathy. Michael Gambon's immensely touching Squire Hamley won him a Best Actor BAFTA, but all the performances are uniformly excellent, contributing immeasurably to five hours of television drama of the highest calibre. On the DVD: Presented in 16:9 format with a Dolby Digital stereo soundtrack, this two-disc presentation retains all the hallmarks of the original BBC viewing experience. The picture quality is lush--the production lighting is excellent--and the sound quality sharp. The only gripe is with the extras: the Omnibus documentary "Who the Dickens is Mrs Gaskell?" is brutally truncated, cutting off talking heads like novelists Fay Weldon and Margaret Drabble in their prime and giving limited insight into how the production was made. As an audio bonus, there is also 30 minutes of John Keane's music.--Piers Ford

• Danielle Steel's Once In A Lifetime | DVD | (24/02/2003) from £8.47   |  Saving you £-2.48 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  An endearing and tragic love story that follows the life of a popular American novelist Daphne Fields struggling to come to terms with bringing up her deaf son alone after the heartbreak of losing her husband and daughter in a house-fire. As the only reminder of the family she once had she devotes her life to her son's upbringing with outstanding courage forever putting his happiness before her own. She finds strength in Dr. Matt Dane who is dedicated to the care and attention of deaf children. He offers support and comfort as her writing career takes off and she is forced to make many personal sacrifices. But Daphne is scared. Scared that she will never find the happiness she once had and scared that she will never be able to love again.

• The Russia House | DVD | (29/04/2002) from £6.99   |  Saving you £6.00 (85.84%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Intelligent casting, strong performances and the persuasive chemistry between Sean Connery and Michelle Pfeiffer prove the virtues in director Fred Schepisi's well-intended but problematic screen realization of this John Le Carré espionage thriller. At its best, The Russia House depicts the bittersweet nuances of the pivotal affair between a weary, alcoholic London publisher (Connery) and the mysterious Russian beauty (Pfeiffer) who sends him a fateful manuscript exposing the weaknesses beneath Soviet defence technology. Connery's Barley is a gritty, all-too-human figure who's palpably revived by his awakening feelings for Pfeiffer's wan, vulnerable Katya, whose own reciprocal emotions are equally convincing. Together, they weave a poignant romantic duet. The problems, meanwhile, emanate from the story line that brings these opposites together. Le Carré's novels are absorbing but typically internal odysseys that seldom offer the level of straightforward action or simple arcs of plot that the big screen thrives on. For The Russia House, written as glasnost eclipsed the cold war's overt rivalries, Le Carré means to measure how old adversaries must calibrate their battle to a more subtle, subdued match of wits. Barley himself becomes enmeshed in the mystery of the manuscript because British intelligence chooses to use him as cat's paw rather than become directly involved. Such subtlety may be a more realistic take on the spy games of the recent past but it makes for an often tedious, talky alternative to taut heroics that Connery codified in his most celebrated early espionage role. If the suspense thus suffers, we're still left with an affecting love story, as well as some convincing sniping between British and US intelligence operatives, beautifully cast with James Fox, Roy Scheider and John Mahoney. Veteran playwright Tom Stoppard brings considerable style to the dialogue, without solving the problem of giving us more than those verbal exchanges to sustain dramatic interest. --Sam Sutherland

• Dawn of the Dead | DVD | (25/10/2004) from £5.06   |  Saving you £14.93 (295.06%)   |  RRP £19.99

  In this remake of George Romero's classic horror, a ragtag group of survivors take refuge in a shopping mall as bloodthirsty zombies walk the earth.

• Taken: Season 1 | DVD | (06/11/2017) from £17.93   |  Saving you £-3.94 (N/A%)   |  RRP £13.99

  All ten episodes from the first season of the action drama series starring Clive Standen and Jennifer Beals. Devastated by the murder of his sister, Bryan Mills (Standen) is recruited to a secret US intelligence agency by Deputy Director Christina Hart (Beals). Taking his first steps in the field, Mills comes up against a number of deadly terrorist threats while also looking to track down those responsible for his sister's death. The episodes are: 'Pilot', 'Ready', 'Off Side', 'Mattie G', 'A Clockwork Swiss', 'Hail Mary', 'Solo', 'Leah', 'Gone' and 'I Surrender'.