"Actor: Rodney P"

• Dances With Wolves | DVD | (23/04/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Dances with Wolves is the film that sent director-producer-actor Kevin Costner on his hubristic way; yet it is such a resonant and powerful film that we can almost forgive him for inflicting upon us his later "epic" The Postman. Here Costner plays a Union solder stationed at the far edges of the West, and left there to rot at his post. He finally sees the wisdom of the Lakota Sioux and finds peace within their community. But his decision to "go native" is greatly frowned upon by his military commanders, and the subsequent culture clash forms the backbone of the narrative. The story is told simply, and wastes not one word of dialogue, while the South Dakota locations provide a magnificent backdrop. Costner is sympathetic and accessible as an American Everyman who awakens to himself and the world around him... --Rochelle O'Gorman, Amazon.com

• Early Doors - Series 1 And 2 | DVD | (26/09/2005) from £5.94   |  Saving you £2.05 (34.51%)   |  RRP £7.99

  This box set features both series 1 and 2 of Early Doors. Series 1: A gentle yet compelling story of life love loneliness and blocked urinals. Each evening the regulars bring their particular foibles and characteristics up to the bar. Overhearing their conversations and reliving the events in each of their lives is both moving and amusing. Series 2: The welcome return of the critically acclaimed comedy set entirely in The Grapes a small pub in the Nor

• Space - Above and Beyond - Collector's Edition | DVD | (30/04/2012) from £27.25   |  Saving you £12.74 (46.75%)   |  RRP £39.99

  In this cult fan favourite, it's the year 2063 and after 150 years of deep space exploration, the people of Earth feel certain they are alone in the universe. Then word comes that two Earth outposts, light-years away from home have been brutally attacked by an advanced alien civilization. Now the new young recruits of the United States Marine Corps Space Aviator Calvary head for the front lines of space in the toughest battle the world has ever faced.

• Dances with Wolves (Three Disc Special Edition) | DVD | (11/10/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Kevin Costner's 1990 epic won a bundle of Oscars for a moving, engrossing story of a white soldier (Costner) who singlehandedly mans a post in the 1870 Dakotas, and becomes a part of the Lakota Sioux community who live nearby. The film may not be a masterpiece, but it is far more than the sum of good intentions. The characters are strong, the development of relationships is both ambitious and careful, the love story between Costner and Mary McDonnell's character is captivating. Only the third-act portrait of white intruders as morons feels overbearing, but even that leads to a terribly moving conclusion. Costner's direction is assured, the balance of action and intimacy is perfect--what more could anyone want outside of an unqualified masterpiece? --Tom Keogh

• The Likely Lads Complete Collection (60th Anniversary Edition) | DVD | (25/11/2024) from £39.96   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• DER MIT DEM WOLF TANZT-EX - MO | Blu Ray | (12/04/2019) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Showdown In Little Tokyo | DVD | (30/01/2013) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Showdown in Little Tokyo is a 1991 martial arts action comedy which, in pitting Dolph Lundgren and Brandon Lee as LA cops against Japanese drug dealers, plays like a B-movie Tango and Cash or Lethal Weapon 2 (both released just two years before). Between career highs in Rocky IV (1985) and Universal Soldier (1992) it looked as if Lundgren might make it big at the box-office, and clearly wanting to be the new Schwarzenegger he is here directed by Mark L Lester, who had earlier helmed Arnie's Commando (1985). In the event both actor and director headed for straight-to-video territory. The 75-minute running time suggests the studio lost confidence and seriously cut the movie though, as the space between the action is filled with nothing but cringe-inducing dialogue, thriller clichés and Lundgren "romancing" Tia Carrere, it still makes sense. Basing its title on John Carpenter's 1986 fantasy-comedy Big Trouble in Little China and anticipating Rush Hour (1998), Showdown in Little Tokyo alternates between crude tongue-in-cheek moments and action so ludicrous it's unintentionally hilarious . A camp disaster which simply defies belief, this is stupidly entertaining so-bad-its-good six-pack entertainment. On the DVD: There are no extras other than the trailer. The anamorphically enhanced 1.77:1 image offers a good transfer of a grainy print. The stereo sound is clear but for a modern action film seriously lacks impact: gunshots sound like a paper bag popping. --Gary S Dalkin

• Little Nicky | DVD | (14/05/2001) from £5.94   |  Saving you £14.05 (236.53%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Adam Sandler stars as Nicky, the youngest son of the devil, who is sent to earth to restore the balance of good & evil disrupted by his satanic brothers.

• Stargate SG-1: Season 2 | DVD | (27/01/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £59.99

  The success of the first year meant that Stargate SG-1's second series could afford to spread its wings. In only the second episode, Carter is temporarily possessed by a good Goa'uld. This immediately allowed for both any amount of quick fix inside knowledge as well as story off-shoots, now that the show was bent on franchise longevity. There appeared to be information overload (splinter group Tok'ra, Earth's second Gate, Machello, endless Apophis encounters), as the finely interwoven threads of alien histories and inter-relationships were developed. But thankfully, SG-1 never lost sight of the need for great individual stories. There was a planet of Native American Indians; a planet on the edge of a Black Hole; a planet of aliens sensitive to sound. Even a planet run by Dwight Schultz! Better still, they found time to have fun with their universe, too. "1969" remains one of the best comic romps the series has enjoyed, and is a near-perfect self-contained time-travel story to boot. The team of actors had obviously bonded early on in the first year. It may be a bit of a military faux pas that there is only ever four of them leading every major explorative expedition, but the limited number of principals is actually something else the show has always had in its favour, allowing quality screen time to be spent on each of them from the outset (although Richard Dean Anderson would probably rather not have spent an entire episode impaled by a spike). --Paul Tonks

• A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors | DVD | (25/06/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Wes Craven was tempted back to the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise, in partnership with writers Bruce Wagner (Wild Palms) and Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption), to script this fun, action-oriented sequel directed by Chuck Russell (The Mask). Langenkamp (as the world's only teenage psychiatrist) and Saxon return, but the heroine is debuting Patricia Arquette, who has the power to pull her friends into her dreams and thus assemble an army to take on Freddy, who begins here to spout those post-death witticisms that became a trademark. A nun reveals the villain's backstory as "the bastard son of a hundred maniacs". It's full of wild images and effects, such as the sleepwalker turned into a puppet strung on his ripped-out veins, and pays homage to Ray Harryhausen with not only an animated Freddy puppet but also his evil, walking skeleton. --Kim Newman

• Natural Born Killers - Director's Cut | DVD | (12/05/2003) from £5.61   |  Saving you £4.38 (78.07%)   |  RRP £9.99

  America has become a society steeped in violence and most decent ordinary people are sick of it. Or are they? From two of the world's most controversial filmmakers Quentin Tarantino and Oliver Stone comes one of the most controversial films ever made. Meet Mickey (Woody Harrelson) and Mallory (Juliette Lewis) - the most terrifying and relentless cold-blooded killers imaginable. Rejected by society these two lost souls embark on a murderous rampage. But as the body count soars so too does their notoriety and before long the greedy tabloid press has made them into cult heroes. In the media circus of life Mickey and Mallory have just become the main attraction... .

• Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads - The Very Best Of Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads | DVD | (30/09/2002) from £4.95   |  Saving you £8.04 (162.42%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads was actually a revival, in 1973, of the successful Dick Clements/Ian La Frenais 1960s comedy The Likely Lads, so notable for its fibrous but sympathetic treatment of life for two young men coming of age in North East England. This "Very Best of" collection brings together classic episodes from the 1973 series. Although tinged with nostalgia--the décor and styles of the early 1970s are almost pungently evocative--the quality of the writing defies the passage of time. Seven years on from their initial adventures, Rodney Bewes (upwardly mobile, self-improving Bob) and James Bolam (feckless, chippy Terry) meet by accident on the train. Bob is about to marry Thelma and move into modern semi-detached heaven, while Terry is just out of the army and drifting back home without a great deal of purpose. The relationship between the two men, basically sound but frequently compromised by their very different aspirations, is very cleverly drawn and played so that your sympathies never stay on one side for very long. Best of all, Brigit Forsyth's Thelma, a dragon in the making, adds an astringent dynamic. She is, says Terry, "so stuck up she thinks her backside's a perfume factory". The insecurity he generates in her is responsible for much of the comedy. On the DVD: The Very Best of Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads comes to disc with no extras, simply standard 4:3 picture format video production and episode selection. But it's still fresh as a daisy all the same. --Piers Ford

• Wagons East! | DVD | (05/04/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  They came they saw they changed their minds! A group of disillusioned townsfolk living in the West renounce their settlemen and decide to return to their homes in the East. Hiring a grizzled and eccentric wagonmaster (Candy) they set off on the trail...

• Class | DVD | (06/01/2003) from £19.39   |  Saving you £-6.40 (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  As rites-of-passage films featuring a young man's sexual initiation in the arms of a beautiful woman go, Class (1983) has plenty going for it, not least its attractive cast: Andrew McCarthy as Jonathan, Rob Lowe as Gatsby-ish best friend Skip and Jacqueline Bisset as the beautiful woman who is old enough to know better and just happens to be Skip's mother. Lewis John Carlino's film has moments of insight, taking a few well-aimed shots at the vaguely sinister network of American public school life. In the first reel it neatly subverts the bullying scenario that threatens when the geekish Jonathan arrives at the school, while offering the briefly intriguing sight of Lowe in scarlet bra and pants. And there's a subplot of deceit and complicity that both strengthens and threatens the friendship that rapidly forms between Skip and Jonathan. In many ways, though, the most interesting element of the picture--Skip's relationship with his dysfunctional family--is left unexplored. Jonathan's deflowering and subsequent interludes are merely titillating. And Bisset's Ellen, a desperately sad character, becomes superfluous once the revelation that she is the "teacher" sets the boys' friendship on the path to fraternal solidarity. On the DVD: Class is presented in widescreen anamorphic format and looks as good as its leading players, although the Dolby Digital mono soundtrack has odd moments of flatness that detract from the cinematic experience. Extras are limited to the cinema trailer that now looks like a red rag to the puritanical objectors who were appalled by the graphic scenes in which Jonathan loses his virginity to the predatory Ellen. --Piers Ford

• Doctor In Distress | DVD | (14/04/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  When the usually ranting and raving Sir Lancelot Spratt becomes gentle and considerate the hospital inhabitants become positively alarmed until Dr Simon Sparrow diagnoses the trouble: love!

• The Likely Lads | DVD | (25/09/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Bob (Rodney Bewes) and Terry (James Bolam) find their lifelong friendship beginning to change as Terry becomes involved with a new woman and the lads' weekly drinks sessions stop. Bob is dismayed but his wife sees the opportunity to get Terry married off and put a wedge between the friends. Of course this being a spin-off from the popular BBC sitcom nothing runs smoothly as they all embark on a caravan touring holiday!

• Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro) -- Paris/Gardiner | DVD | (15/10/2001) from £14.74   |  Saving you £2.25 (15.26%)   |  RRP £16.99

  It is an oft-repeated saw, about life in the heavenly spheres, that the angels revere Bach but listen to Mozart. If they have DVD players, you can bet theyre now watching this stunning production of Le Nozze di Figaro ("The Marriage of Figaro"), which comes about as close to Mozartian perfection as one could possibly hope to get. The faultlessly cast youthful performers bubble with infectious energy. Alison Hagley is a sprightly Susanna with a voice as clear as a bell, and brilliantly matched by a 28-year-old Bryn Terfel both acting and sounding in fine form. Hillevi Martinpelto demonstrates why she is one of the worlds favourite Mozart singers with her melting tones, richly coloured voice and generous stage presence, and Rodney Gilfry gives a muscular, wonderfully controlled performance as the Count. Olivier Milles direction mixes knockabout comedy and restrained pathos with fluid inventiveness, and there are even--heavens, can this really be an opera?--quite a few belly laughs, and deliciously amusing details. (Susannas guitar playing during Cherubinos "Voi che sapete" is a comic delight, and Figaros hidden sneers at Count Almaviva are hilarious.) John Eliot Gardiner draws exquisite playing from his authentic-instrument orchestra and employs tempos that are ideal. Add to that gorgeous 18th-century costumes and effective sets--it doesnt get much better than this. On the DVD: the production is beautifully realised for home viewing, with clear sound (the sets are simple wooden panels, which continually and flatteringly push the sound to the front) and great camera direction. There are subtitles in Italian, English, French, German, Spanish and Chinese but no other special features.--Warwick Thompson

• Space - Above and Beyond - The Pilot Episode | DVD | (30/04/2012) from £6.39   |  Saving you £6.60 (50.80%)   |  RRP £12.99

  It's the year 2063. After 150 years of deep space exploration, the people of Earth feel certain they are alone in the universe. Then word comes that two Earth outposts, light-years away from home have been brutally attacked by an advanced alien civilization. Now the new young recruits of the United States Marine Corps Space Aviator Cavalry are heading for the front lines of space in the toughest battle the world has ever faced. Thrust into an intergalactic war beyond imagination, these untested fighter pilots suddenly find themselves waging a life and death struggle to protect Earth and to save mankind from total annihilation. Special Features: Audio Commentary with Series Creators Glen Morgan, James Wong and Cast and Crew.

• A Prize Of Arms | DVD | (21/05/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Never in the history of crime was so much taken from so many by so few A gang of criminals acquire an old army truck and try to pass themselves off as military policemen. Their plan is to steal a 250 000 payroll intended for soldiers in the Middle East. Turpin recruits Fenner and Swavek to make up a crack assault team. As the duty guard at the camp raises the barrier Turpin knows there can be no turning back. His desperate gamble for riches will now be played out to its shat

• Die Lustige Witwe - Lehar | DVD | (30/05/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Recorded Live from the Zurich Opera House 2004Based on the comedy L'Attache d'ambassade by Henri Meilhac.