"Actor: Philip Brown"

• Waterloo Road Series Six - Spring Term | DVD | (20/06/2011) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £25.99

  There are mixed messages all over Waterloo Road, and you don’t have to read between the lines to find them. Recently installed Head Teacher Karen Fisher has both her her daughters, Bex and Jess, back with her now, along with her son Harry; but Bex comes with some dangerous baggage in the form of a demanding ex-boyfriend, Hodge, who’ll stop at nothing to get her back, including seducing Jess. Meanwhile Grantly has fallen into a rut with his wife in a care home and needs some care himself. Ruby takes him on, but confused signals leads Grantly to feel that there may be more to her intentions. Francesca Montoya, the Spanish Teacher, finds herself heavily in demand from an eager Tom Clarkson, but she’s already crossed a very dangerous barrier and started an affair with a pupil that could send her to prison if they aren’t very careful. While Karen Fisher struggles to maintain the separation of boys and girls into different teaching groups, she must juggle the politics of a new head of pastoral care, student homosexuality, angry parents and children who are mother’s themselves. And when someone close to her hacks into her e-mail to send aggressive messages to her fellow teachers, it could lead to her downfall. In one of the tensest, most exciting terms at Waterloo Road yet seen, these mixed messages and more lead to dangerous, illegal and possibly even deadly conclusions.

• The Bounty | DVD | (04/03/2002) from £11.98   |  Saving you £-3.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  The Bounty is the third screen version of one of the best-known stories in naval history, here with Anthony Hopkins as Lieutenant William Bligh and Mel Gibson as Fletcher Christian heading an extraordinary cast including Laurence Olivier, Edward Fox, Daniel Day-Lewis, Liam Neeson, Bernard Hill and Dexter Fletcher. HMS Bounty's voyage to Tahiti of 1787-9 and its infamous consequences are recounted with far greater historical accuracy than in the 1935 or 1962 Mutiny on the Bounty. The movie is gorgeously shot on location in Tahiti, England and New Zealand as well as on a full-size recreation of the original Bounty. Roger Donaldson's film benefits from a literate screenplay by Robert Bolt, who here as in Lawrence of Arabia (1962), brings real insight into the English institutional mind in conflict. Hopkins is at his complex best and Gibson offers more depth than his usual two-dimensional hero persona; here Bligh and Christian emerge as complex men gripped by circumstances beyond their control. The haunting score by Vangelis contributes immensely to a very underrated film which deserves to be considered a modern classic. On the DVD: There is an excellent 52-minute "making of" documentary that mixes historical information with on-location interviews. A 12-minute overview of previous screen versions of the story is narrated by the film's historical consultant, Stephen Walters, who also provides a somewhat stilted but nevertheless informative audio commentary. The second audio commentary is from director Roger Donaldson, Producer Bernie Williams and Production Designer John Graysmark, who genuinely appear to enjoy reminiscing and have real enthusiasm for the movie. Also included is a fascinating 28-page booklet. This is the stuff Special Editions should always be made of, and this would be one of the finest DVDs on the market were it not for the transfer of the film itself, which appears to be a reprocessed version of the same NTSC anamorphic 2.35:1 transfer found on the bare-bones Region 1 DVD, with no sign of PAL speed-up. The picture not only shows considerable grain in some scenes, but also demonstrates marked compression artefacting and enhancement shimmer on all horizontal lines, making some scenes extremely ugly. For such a beautiful film it is a most disappointing transition to the digital format. Most unusually for a UK release, the disc is region free.--Gary S Dalkin

• Midsomer Murders - Things That Go Bump In The Night | DVD | (03/04/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £16.99

  In the Fletcher's Cross Village Hall Rosetta Price is seated with her eyes closed watched by an eager audience. She is the medium of the Spirit of Friendship group and issues a warning of impending sorrow for someone that evening. Shortly afterwards the body of renowned skinflint and local funeral director Patrick Pennyman is discovered by his wife. Is this a coincidental case of suicide? To unravel the mystery Barnaby and Scott must delve into the mystical goings on at the spiritua

• Miami Vice: Series 3 | DVD | (10/02/2014) from £70.18   |  Saving you £-20.19 (-40.40%)   |  RRP £49.99

  From director Michael Mann, comes the third season of the explosive, groundbreaking detective show that redefined the word cool. Set against the seamy and steamy Miami underworld, ride shotgun with suave cops Sonny Crockett, and Rico Tubbs as they battle a never ending gallery of criminals, drug dealers and lowlifes. Episodes Comprise: 1. When Irish Eyes Are Crying 2. Stone's War 3. Kill Shot 4. Walk-Alone 5. The Good Collar 6. Shadow in the Dark 7. El Viejo 8. Better Living Through...

• Miami Vice - Season 4 (2013 Re-issue) | DVD | (01/04/2013) from £10.00   |  Saving you £39.99 (80.00%)   |  RRP £49.99

  Hit the streets again with Don Johnson as James Sonny Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo Tubbs, two of the world's slickest undercover cops, in Season Four of Miami Vice! Oscar-nominated director Michael Mann and Primetime Emmy Award-winning producer Dick Wolf bring you all 22 heart-pounding, episodes in this must-own 6-disc set. Joining the iconic detective duo in Miami's steamy underworld is a powerful roster of guest stars, including James Brown, Julia Roberts and Chris Rock.

• Miami Vice: Series 2 Set | DVD | (11/08/2014) from £60.73   |  Saving you £-15.74 (N/A%)   |  RRP £44.99

  The groundbreaking detective series that defined a decade returns to DVD with all 22 thrilling episodes of Miami Vice: Season Two! In this electrifying Emmy - nominated and Golden Globe -winning second season Vice cops Sonny Crockett (Don Johnson) and Rico Tubbs (Philip Michael Thomas) are back in their sleek Ferrari pursuing every ruthless criminal under the relentless Miami sun. With a sizzling soundtrack of all the original hit songs remixed in 5.1 Surround Sound including music by Phil Collins U2 The Who and more it's no mystery to see why Miami Vice was the supercharged action series that People magazine hailed as 'the first show to look really new and different since colour TV was invented'.

• The Stranger | DVD | (07/03/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £3.99

  The Stranger, according to Orson Welles, "is the worst of my films. There is nothing of me in that picture. I did it to prove that I could put out a movie as well as anyone else." True, set beside Citizen Kane, Touch of Evil, or even The Trial, The Stranger is as close to production-line stuff as the great Orson ever came. But even on autopilot Welles still leaves most filmmakers standing. The shadow of the Second World War hangs heavy over the plot. A war crimes investigator, played by Edward G Robinson, tracks down a senior Nazi, Franz Kindler, to a sleepy New England town where he's living in concealment as a respected college professor. The script, credited to Anthony Veiller but with uncredited input from Welles and John Huston, is riddled with implausibilities: we're asked to believe, for a start, that there'd be no extant photos of a top Nazi leader. The casting's badly skewed, too. Welles wanted Agnes Moorehead as the investigator and Robinson as Kindler, but his producer, Sam Spiegel, wouldn't wear it. So Welles himself plays the supposedly cautious and self-effacing fugitive--and if there was one thing Welles could never play, it was unobtrusive. What's more, Spiegel chopped out most of the two opening reels set in South America, in Welles' view, "the best stuff in the picture". Still, the film's far from a write-off. Welles' eye for stunning visuals rarely deserted him and, aided by Russell Metty's skewed, shadowy photography, The Stranger builds to a doomy grand guignol climax in a clock tower that Hitchcock must surely have recalled when he made Vertigo. And Robinson, dogged in pursuit, is as quietly excellent as ever. On the DVD: not much in the way of extras, except a waffly full-length commentary from Russell Cawthorne that tells us about the history of clock-making and where Edward G was buried, but precious little about the making of the film. Print and sound are acceptable, but though remastering is claimed, there's little evidence of it. --Philip Kemp

• Borrowed Time | DVD | (23/09/2013) from £6.22   |  Saving you £9.77 (157.07%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Borrowed Time tells the story of the unlikely friendship between a hapless young burglar Kevin (Theo Barklem-Biggs - The Inbetweeners Movie BBC's Silk series 2) and his eccentric victim pensioner Philip (Phil Davis - Quadrophenia Vera Drake Brighton Rock). Desperate for cash and short on options to pay back local tyrant 'Ninja' Nigel Kevin breaks into Philip's house only to be held hostage by the old man at gunpoint. What follows is a bittersweet comedy about growing up and rediscovering youth in parallel as the burglar and victim form a bond that will help them both find a way out of their respective troubles.

• Miami Vice - Series 5 - Complete | DVD | (26/12/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £49.99

  Miami Vice the most innovative and powerful TV series of its time returns with the final season Season Five on DVD! Featuring unforgettable songs from musical legends in 5.1 Surround Sound and amazing guest stars these DVD releases are destined to be a must-own for any Miami Vice fan. Join Crockett and Tubbs as they reunite in the world of Miami Vice in the groundbreaking series that defined a decade and became a cultural icon. Episodes Comprise: 1. Hostile Takeover (3) 2. Redemption in Blood (4) 3. Heart of Night 4. Bad Timing 5. Borrasca 6 .Line of Fire 7. Asian Cut 8. Hard Knocks 9. Fruit of the Poison Tree 10. To Have and to Hold (a.k.a. Second Chance) 11. Miami Squeeze 12. Jack of All Trades 13. The Cell Within 14. The Lost Madonna 15. Over the Line 16. Victim of Circumstance 17. Freefall (1 & 2) 18. World of Trouble 19. Miracle Man 20. Leap of Faith 21. Too Much Too Late

• Miami Vice - Series 4 | DVD | (13/08/2007) from £31.03   |  Saving you £18.96 (61.10%)   |  RRP £49.99

  The complete forth season of the explosive groundbreaking detective show that redefined the word cool. Set against the seamy and steamy Miami underworld ride shotgun with suave cops Sonny Crockett and Rico Tubbs as they battle a never ending gallery of criminals drug dealers and lowlifes.

• Miami Vice - Series 1 | DVD | (02/10/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The cops. The cars. The clothes. The music. From executive producer Michael Mann (Heat Collateral) comes the first season of the explosive groundbreaking detective show that redefined the word ""cool."" Set against the seamy and steamy Miami underworld ride shotgun with suave Vice cops Sonny Crockett (Golden Globe winner Don Johnson) and Rico Tubbs (Phillip Michael Thomas) as they battle a never-ending gallery of criminals drug dealers and lowlifes. Features episodes 1-8 from Season One.

• Miami Vice - Vol. 2 | DVD | (01/10/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Crockett and Tubbs tackle Miami's crime scene in three more exciting episodes: Florence Italy Return of Calderon Part 1 and Return of Calderon Part 2.

• Bring Me The Head Of Mavis Davis | DVD | (28/07/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Marty Starr (Mayall) founder and head of Purple Starr Records and the man responsible for transforming the timid but talented Mavis Davis (Horrocks) into successful singing superstar Marla Dorland. But times have changed and Marla's stardom is beginning to fade. To make matters worse Marty is behind on alimony payments to his ex-wife his house has been repossessed his prized Jaguar car has been blown up and his life is being threatened by Mob boss Rathbone (Aiello) whose talentless son Marty is being forced to promote. Listening to an old Elvis record Marty stumbles across a macabre idea as he recalls some of the countless former pop stars whose untimely deaths resulted in posthumous success. Believing that Marla's passing could make her a legend thereby reviving her career and his fortunes Marty begins plotting her tragic demise...

• Doubt | Blu Ray | (06/07/2009) from £28.33   |  Saving you £-4.34 (N/A%)   |  RRP £23.99

  "Doubt" is a gripping story about the quest for truth, the forces of change and the devastating consequences of blind justice in an age defined by moral conviction.

• The Stranger | DVD | (18/03/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £4.99

  The Stranger, according to Orson Welles, "is the worst of my films. There is nothing of me in that picture. I did it to prove that I could put out a movie as well as anyone else." True, set beside Citizen Kane, Touch of Evil, or even The Trial, The Stranger is as close to production-line stuff as the great Orson ever came. But even on autopilot Welles still leaves most filmmakers standing. The shadow of the Second World War hangs heavy over the plot. A war crimes investigator, played by Edward G Robinson, tracks down a senior Nazi, Franz Kindler, to a sleepy New England town where he's living in concealment as a respected college professor. The script, credited to Anthony Veiller but with uncredited input from Welles and John Huston, is riddled with implausibilities: we're asked to believe, for a start, that there'd be no extant photos of a top Nazi leader. The casting's badly skewed, too. Welles wanted Agnes Moorehead as the investigator and Robinson as Kindler, but his producer, Sam Spiegel, wouldn't wear it. So Welles himself plays the supposedly cautious and self-effacing fugitive--and if there was one thing Welles could never play, it was unobtrusive. What's more, Spiegel chopped out most of the two opening reels set in South America, in Welles' view, "the best stuff in the picture". Still, the film's far from a write-off. Welles' eye for stunning visuals rarely deserted him and, aided by Russell Metty's skewed, shadowy photography, The Stranger builds to a doomy grand guignol climax in a clock tower that Hitchcock must surely have recalled when he made Vertigo. And Robinson, dogged in pursuit, is as quietly excellent as ever. On the DVD: not much in the way of extras, except a waffly full-length commentary from Russell Cawthorne that tells us about the history of clock-making and where Edward G was buried, but precious little about the making of the film. Print and sound are acceptable, but though remastering is claimed, there's little evidence of it. --Philip Kemp

• Edward G. Robinson - Scarlet Street / The Stranger | DVD | (18/03/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  In a way, Scarlet Street is a remake. It's taken from a French novel, La Chienne (literally, "The Bitch") that was first filmed by Jean Renoir in 1931. Renoir brought to the sordid tale all the colour and vitality of Montmartre; Fritz Lang's version shows us a far harsher and bleaker world. The film replays the triangle set-up from Lang's previous picture, The Woman in the Window, with the same three actors. Once again, Edward G Robinson plays a respectable middle-aged citizen snared by the charms of Joan Bennett's streetwalker, with Dan Duryea as her low-life pimp. The plot closes around the three of them like a steel trap. This is Lang at his most dispassionate. Scarlet Street is a tour de force of noir filmmaking, brilliant but ice-cold. The Stranger, according to Orson Welles, "is the worst of my films. There is nothing of me in that picture". But even on autopilot Welles still leaves most filmmakers standing. A war crimes investigator, played by Edward G Robinson, tracks down a senior Nazi to a sleepy New England town where he's living in concealment as a respected college professor. Welles wanted Agnes Moorehead as the investigator and Robinson as the Nazi Franz Kindler, but his producer, Sam Spiegel, wouldn't wear it. So Welles himself plays the supposedly cautious and self-effacing fugitive--and if there was one thing Welles could never play, it was unobtrusive. Still, the film's far from a write-off. Welles' eye for stunning visuals rarely deserted him and, aided by Russell Metty's skewed, shadowy photography, The Stranger builds to a doomy grand guignol climax in a clocktower that Hitchcock must surely have recalled when he made Vertigo. And Robinson, dogged in pursuit, is as quietly excellent as ever. On the DVD: sparse pickings. Both films have a full-length commentary by Russell Cawthorne which adds the occasional insight, but is repetitive and not always reliable. The box claims both print have been "fully restored and digitally remastered", but you'd never guess. --Philip Kemp

• Bring Me The Head Of Mavis Davis | DVD | (23/10/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Times have changed and Marla's stardom is beginning to fade. Marty is behind on alimony payments to his ex-wife his house has been repossessed his prized Jaguar car has been blown up and his life is being threatened by Mob boss Rathbone (Aiello) whose talentless son Marty is being forced to promote. Listening to an old Elvis record Marty stumbles across a macabre idea as he recalls some of the countless former pop stars whose untimely deaths resulted in posthumous success. Believing that Marla's passing could make her a legend thereby reviving her ""career"" and his fortunes Marty begins plotting her tragic demise...

• The Stranger | DVD | (18/10/1999) from £4.99   |  Saving you £8.00 (160.32%)   |  RRP £12.99

  The legendary story that hovers over Orson Welles' The Stranger is that he wanted Agnes Moorehead to star as the dogged Nazi hunter who trails a war criminal to a sleepy New England town. The part went to Edward G. Robinson, who is marvellous, but it points out how many compromises Welles made on the film in an attempt to show Hollywood he could make a film on time, on budget and on their own terms. He accomplished all three, turning out a stylish if unambitious film noir thriller, his only Hollywood film to turn a profit on its original release. Welles stars as unreformed fascist Franz Kindler, hiding as a schoolteacher in a New England prep school for boys and newly married to the headmaster's lovely if naive daughter (Loretta Young). Welles, the director, is in fine form for the opening sequences, casting a moody tension as agents shadow a twitchy low-level Nazi official skulking through South American ports and building up to dramatic crescendo as Kindler murders this little man, the lovely woods becoming a maelstrom of swirling leaves that expose the body he furiously tries to bury. The rest of the film is a well designed but conventional cat-and-mouse game featuring an eye-rolling performance by Welles and a thrilling conclusion played out in the dark clock tower that looms over the little village. --Sean Axmaker

• The Stranger | DVD | (17/11/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £2.99

  The Stranger, according to Orson Welles, "is the worst of my films. There is nothing of me in that picture. I did it to prove that I could put out a movie as well as anyone else." True, set beside Citizen Kane, Touch of Evil, or even The Trial, The Stranger is as close to production-line stuff as the great Orson ever came. But even on autopilot Welles still leaves most filmmakers standing. The shadow of the Second World War hangs heavy over the plot. A war crimes investigator, played by Edward G Robinson, tracks down a senior Nazi, Franz Kindler, to a sleepy New England town where he's living in concealment as a respected college professor. The script, credited to Anthony Veiller but with uncredited input from Welles and John Huston, is riddled with implausibilities: we're asked to believe, for a start, that there'd be no extant photos of a top Nazi leader. The casting's badly skewed, too. Welles wanted Agnes Moorehead as the investigator and Robinson as Kindler, but his producer, Sam Spiegel, wouldn't wear it. So Welles himself plays the supposedly cautious and self-effacing fugitive--and if there was one thing Welles could never play, it was unobtrusive. What's more, Spiegel chopped out most of the two opening reels set in South America, in Welles' view, "the best stuff in the picture". Still, the film's far from a write-off. Welles' eye for stunning visuals rarely deserted him and, aided by Russell Metty's skewed, shadowy photography, The Stranger builds to a doomy grand guignol climax in a clock tower that Hitchcock must surely have recalled when he made Vertigo. And Robinson, dogged in pursuit, is as quietly excellent as ever. On the DVD: not much in the way of extras, except a waffly full-length commentary from Russell Cawthorne that tells us about the history of clock-making and where Edward G was buried, but precious little about the making of the film. Print and sound are acceptable, but though remastering is claimed, there's little evidence of it. --Philip Kemp

• The Bounty | UMD | (01/01/1980) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99