"Actor: Paul"

• The Thirty Nine Steps | DVD | (15/01/2001) from £6.49   |  Saving you £3.50 (53.93%)   |  RRP £9.99

  It's not the 1935 Hitchcock classic, but this sturdy 1978 adaptation of John Buchan's The Thirty Nine Steps is still a rollicking good adventure. In keeping with the Boys' Own derring-do of the story (set in Edwardian London and the Scottish Highlands), the movie maintains a brisk pace that's interrupted only for tea or cocktails. Robert Powell is Richard Hannay, the man who unwittingly becomes embroiled in a dastardly Prussian plot to assassinate the Greek Prime Minister. Framed for murder, Hannay must flee to Scotland and attempt to clear his name whilst outwitting the prune-faced Prussian agents. Among all the deftly choreographed action sequences and careful period settings there's a strong vein of humour in the film, and if it wasn't for the numerous murders there would be little reason for PG certification. The grand dénouement comes with the realisation that the predicted time for the assassination is linked to Big Ben; unlike the earlier movie this version climaxes memorably with Powell hanging from the clock's minute hand. It might not be Hitchcock behind the lens, but it's still jolly good fun. --Joan Byrne

• Blake's 7: Series 1-4 | DVD | (18/09/2023) from £49.33   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• A Clockwork Orange | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £10.35   |  Saving you £3.64 (35.17%)   |  RRP £13.99

  The controversy that surrounded Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of Anthony Burgess's dystopian novel A Clockwork Orange while the film was out of circulation suggested that it was like Romper Stomper: a glamorisation of the violent, virile lifestyle of its teenage protagonist, with a hypocritical gloss of condemnation to mask delight in rape and ultra-violence. Actually, it is as fable-like and abstract as The Pilgrim's Progress, with characters deliberately played as goonish sitcom creations. The anarchic rampage of Alex (Malcolm McDowell), a bowler-hatted juvenile delinquent of the future, is all over at the end of the first act. Apprehended by equally brutal authorities, he changes from defiant thug to cringing bootlicker, volunteering for a behaviourist experiment that removes his capacity to do evil.It's all stylised: from Burgess' invented pidgin Russian (snarled unforgettably by McDowell) to 2001-style slow tracks through sculpturally perfect sets (as with many Kubrick movies, the story could be told through decor alone) and exaggerated, grotesque performances on a par with those of Dr Strangelove (especially from Patrick Magee and Aubrey Morris). Made in 1971, based on a novel from 1962, A Clockwork Orange resonates across the years. Its future is now quaint, with Magee pecking out "subversive literature" on a giant IBM typewriter and "lovely, lovely Ludwig Van" on mini-cassette tapes. However, the world of "Municipal Flat Block 18A, Linear North" is very much with us: a housing estate where classical murals are obscenely vandalised, passers-by are rare and yobs loll about with nothing better to do than hurt people. On the DVD: The extras are skimpy, with just an impressionist trailer in the style of the film used to brainwash Alex and a list of awards for which Clockwork Orange was nominated and awarded. The box promises soundtracks in English, French and Italian and subtitles in ten languages, but the disc just has two English soundtracks (mono and Dolby Surround 5.1) and two sets of English subtitles. The terrific-looking "digitally restored and remastered" print is letterboxed at 1.66:1 and on a widescreen TV plays best at 14:9. The film looks as good as it ever has, with rich stable colours (especially and appropriately the orangey-red of the credits and the blood) and a clarity that highlights previously unnoticed details such as Alex's gouged eyeball cufflinks and enables you to read the newspaper articles which flash by. The 5.1 soundtrack option is amazingly rich, benefiting the nuances of performance as much as the classical/electronic music score and the subtly unsettling sound effects. --Kim Newman

• James And The Giant Peach | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £7.05   |  Saving you £5.94 (84.26%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Roald Dahl's modern classic for children becomes a delightful combination of live action and stop-motion animation by the team that made The Nightmare Before Christmas: director Henry Selick and producers Tim Burton (Batman) and Denise Di Novi. The story concerns young James (played for real and through voice-overs by Paul Terry), who is orphaned and left in the charge of two cruel aunts (Miriam Margolyes, Joanna Lumley). Rescued by a mysterious fellow (Pete Postlethwaite), James ends up inside a giant peach, drifting over the Atlantic Ocean in the company of a gentleman grasshopper (voiced by Simon Callow), a fast-talking centipede (Richard Dreyfuss), an anxious earthworm (David Thewlis), a matronly ladybug (Jane Leeves), and a sexy spider (Susan Sarandon). The collection of actors and their creepy-crawly alter egos are a delight, especially when some of the song-and-dance numbers (tunes are written by Randy Newman) get everyone going. --Tom Keogh

• Avengers Endgame | Blu Ray | (02/09/2019) from £11.97   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  The grave course of events set in motion by Thanos that wiped out half the universe and fractured the Avengers ranks compels the remaining Avengers to take one final stand in Marvel Studios' grand conclusion to twenty-two films, Avengers: Endgame.

• Scarface | DVD | (06/09/2004) from £4.48   |  Saving you £7.51 (167.63%)   |  RRP £11.99

  In the spring of 1980 the port at Mariel Harbour was opened and thousands set sail for the United States. They came in search of the American Dream. One of them found it on the sun-washed avenues of Miami... wealth power and passion beyond his wildest dreams. He was Tony Montana. The world will remember him by another name - Scarface! Al Pacino gives an unforgettable performance as Tony Montana one of the most ruthless gangsters ever depicted on film in this gripping crime epi

• DVD Guide to British Bird Songs | DVD | (15/12/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £27.99

  Specially filmed footage of 43 species of our commoner birds. It begins with an introduction to bird songs and then features close-up footage of the birds. The bird songs are superb viewing in their own right but the commentary provides a wealth of hints and tips on the diagnostic features of each species and how to recognise them. Includes: Collared Dove Wood Pigeon Cuckoo Swallow Skylark Meadow Pipit Tree Pipit Wren Dunnock Robin Nightingale Thrushes: Blackbird Mistle Thrush Song Thrush Warblers: Common Whitethroat Lesser Whitethroat Blackcap Garden Warbler Sedge Warbler Reed Warbler Chiffchaff Willow Warbler Wood Warbler Goldcrest Tits: Blue Tit Great Tit Coal Tit Willow Tit Marsh Tit Long-tailed Tit Nuthatch Treecreeper Starling House Sparrow Tree Sparrow Finches: Chaffinch Greenfinch Goldfinch Linnet Buntings: Yellowhammer Reed Bunting Corn Bunting Dawn Chorus.

• The Adventures of Tintin | DVD | (10/10/2011) from £12.36   |  Saving you £4.63 (37.46%)   |  RRP £16.99

  Tintin is the world's most famous boy reporter. With his faithful dog Snowy at his side the intrepid pair travel the globe to investigate exciting cases. Along the way they encounter a colourful cast of characters who have become familiar to generations of children and adults: Captain Haddock Thompson and Thomson Professor Calculus and Oliveira da Figueira among many others.

• Howard The Duck | DVD | (20/10/2008) from £6.39   |  Saving you £-0.40 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  George Lucas presents this comedy adventure spectacular about a cigar chewin' beer swillin' fast talkin' duck from a parallel universe who is mysteriously sucked from his existence through space and winds up in Cleveland. The incredible fantasy sees Howard become the object of everyone's desire fall in love with feisty rock chick Beverly Switzler and finally do fearsome battle with the Dark Overlord as he frantically attempts to return to his own planet. Never in the history of cinema has there been a hero quite like this!

• Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (Double Disc Edition) | DVD | (05/04/2004) from £5.99   |  Saving you £17.00 (283.81%)   |  RRP £22.99

  Russell Crowe stars as "Lucky" Jack Aubrey, who pits his crew of the HMS Surprise against a much better armed and ruthless enemy in a chase that takes him all the way to the far side of the world.

• PAW Patrol: Dino Rescue: Roar To The Rescue | DVD | (29/03/2021) from £4.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  The PAW Patrol returns to the Dino Wilds for a roaring rescue! Mayor Humdinger is stuck on a runaway Brachiosaurus and a T-Rex is chomping everything in sight! Then, a Turbot family sightseeing expedition turns into a wild ride and more!

• Superman: Red Son | DVD | (16/03/2020) from £7.19   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  What if baby Kal-El's rocket landed, not in Kansas, but in the Soviet Union? That is the premise of this Elseworld's tale from DC Comics.

• Amazing Spider-Man 1-2 | DVD | (01/09/2014) from £14.90   |  Saving you £8.09 (54.30%)   |  RRP £22.99

  The Amazing Spider-ManThe story of Peter Parker (Garfield) an outcast high schooler who was abandoned by his parents as a boy leaving him to be raised by his Uncle Ben (Sheen) and Aunt May (Field). Like most teenagers Peter is trying to figure out who he is and how he got to be the person he is today. When Peter discovers a mysterious briefcase that belonged to his father he begins a quest to understand his parents' disappearance - leading him directly to Oscorp and the lab of Dr. Curt Connors (Ifans) his father's former partner. As Spider-Man is set on a collision course with Connors' alter-ego The Lizard Peter will make life-altering choices to use his powers and shape his destiny to become a hero. The Amazing Spider-Man 2It's great to be Spider-Man (Andrew Garfield). For Peter Parker there's no feeling quite like swinging between skyscrapers embracing being the hero and spending time with Gwen (Emma Stone). But being Spider-Man comes at a price: only Spider-Man can protect his fellow New Yorkers from the formidable villains that threaten the city. With the emergence of Electro (Jamie Foxx) Peter must confront a foe far more powerful than he. And as his old friend Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan) returns Peter comes to realize that all of his enemies have one thing in common: Oscorp.

• Love & Mercy | DVD | (04/01/2016) from £7.05   |  Saving you £12.94 (183.55%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The life of reclusive Beach Boys songwriter and musician Brian Wilson, from his successes with highly-influential orchestral pop albums to his nervous breakdown and subsequent encounter with controversial therapist Dr. Eugene Landy.

• Chewin' The Fat | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £6.65   |  Saving you £13.34 (200.60%)   |  RRP £19.99

  All your favourites from the smash-hit sketch show together on one disc for the first time ever. Classic antics featuring Ronald Villiers Scotland's best-loved but worst actor steamy recollections from Betty (the OAP with the XXX love life) and a glimpse of Jack and Victor when they were young(er) and still game for a sing-song. Plus don't forget the Big Man the Banter Boys News for Neds Ballistic Bob Bish and Bosh the painter n' decorators the Lonely Shopkeeper and the Invi

• The Bette Davis Collection (Now Voyager / The Letter / Dark Victory / Mr Skeffington) | DVD | (22/08/2005) from £23.99   |  Saving you £11.00 (45.85%)   |  RRP £34.99

  The Letter (Dir. William Wyler 1940): While her husband inspects his rubber planatation Leslie Crosbie murders Geoffrey Hammond. His widow has a letter written by Leslie asking him to meet her as her lover the night of the murder. Leslie can buy the letter but must come for it herself. Learning that he is broke from paying for the letter Leslie's husband next learns its contents. He forgives her. Leslie walks into the garden where the widow appears with a dagger. Now V

• Iron Man 2 | DVD | (25/10/2010) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Robert Downey Jr. returns as billionaire industrialist Tony Stark - otherwise known as chrome-plated superhero Iron Man. And this time he's facing-off against Russian baddie Whiplash, megalomaniac Justin Hammer and...War Machine!!

• The Da Vinci Code (1 Disc Edition) | DVD | (15/01/2007) from £4.90   |  Saving you £15.09 (307.96%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Tom Hanks headlines this big screen adaptation of Dan Brown's global hit novel.

• The Planet of the Apes Collection (six disc box set) | DVD | (08/10/2001) from £29.99   |  Saving you £-16.50 (N/A%)   |  RRP £13.49

  The five films in the Planet of the Apes series are enjoyable as pure entertainment and yet substantial enough to have inspired academic studies about the film's broader political themes. Loosely adapted from the novel by French author Pierre Boulle, Planet of the Apes was released at the height of racial and political unrest in America, adding resonance to its story of a NASA astronaut (Charlton Heston) stranded on a planet where superior apes dominate inferior human slaves. The film's final image--in which a horrified Heston realises the fate of humankind--remains one of the most indelible in all of science-fiction cinema. Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) continues the original's distant future scenario, pitting militant apes against mutant humans dwelling in the subterranean ruins of New York City. Its phenomenal success spawned Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971), in which simian scientists Cornelius and Zira (Roddy McDowall and Kim Hunter, reprising their roles from Planet) travel backward in time, setting the stage for the ape supremacy of the first two films. McDowall returned in Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972) as Caesar, the son of Cornelius, leading an ape revolution that bridges the historical gap of the previous films. Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973) ended the five-film cycle with McDowall again playing the chimpanzee leader Caesar, defeating gorillas and human mutants to establish the hierarchy introduced in the original film. The Apes films present a classic what-if scenario that hasn't lost a bit of its potency. As if to prove its cultural endurance, the cycle returned to its origins with director Tim Burton's remake of Planet of the Apes in 2001. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com On the DVD: A glorious indulgence for diehard fans of the series, this handsomely packaged six-disc set contains all five original" Apes" movies, from the wonderful 1967 original to 1973's low-budget Battle. It all look as good as possible in widescreen anamorphic transfers, the first movie's starkly wonderful cinematography in particular is a treat to see on DVD. Planet has been remixed in vivid Dolby 5.1, highlighting the bold sound design and JerryGoldsmith's masterful avant-garde score. The others are good Dolby stereo, with the odd exception of Escape, which is mono. There are trailers on each disc, but no commentaries sadly. The sixth bonus disc consists of a relatively new two-hour documentary hosted by Roddy McDowall which takes us through the entire saga in detail, pointing out the series' daring social commentary and the increasing difficulties of working with progressively smaller budgets. Sensibly, the documentary spends about an hour on the first movie and then an hour discussing all the rest. Overall, this is a very attractive package. --Mark Walker

• The Third Man | DVD | (25/09/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  This classic noir mystery from the team of Carol Reed and Graham Greene is regarded to be the best filmwork of both of these extreme talents. The Third Man features Joseph Cotten as Holly Martins a pulp novelist who has come to post-WWII Vienna with the promise of work from his friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles). When he finds that Lime has just been killed in a questionable car accident he decides to remain in the city to investigate his friend's mysterious death. The Third Man is a masterpiece of melancholia featuring extraordinary writing acting and directing as well as a classic zither score by Anton Karas.