Crime Thriller

• Crash Limited Edition | Blu Ray | (14/12/2020) from £14.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Technology and sexuality meet in a head-on collision in Crash director David Cronenberg's controversial adaptation of writer J.G. Ballard's hugely transgressive 1973 novel starring James Spader and Holly Hunter. Spader stars as James Ballard, an advertising executive whose deviant sexual desires are awakened by a near fatal automobile accident with Dr Helen Remington (Hunter). Soon the pair, alongside Ballard's wife Catherine (Deborah Kara Unger), are drawn into an underground world of car crash fetishism presided over by renegade scientist Vaughan (Elias Koteas). Danger, sex and death become entwined as eroticism and technology join together in a disturbing, deadly union. Awarded the Special Jury Prize at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival for originality, daring and audacity, Crash remains an incredibly subversive and confrontational piece of cinema Cronenberg himself describes it as a dangerous film now newly refurbished in a stunning 4K restoration. BLU-RAY LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS Brand new 4K restoration of the uncut NC-17 version from the original 35mm camera negative, supervised by writer-director David Cronenberg and director of photography Peter Suschitzky High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo DTS-HD Master Audio Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing Brand new audio commentary with film scholar Adrian Martin Cronenberg Challenge new interview with director of photography Peter Suschitzky Mechanical Animals new interview with executive producer Jeremy Thomas The Shore Thing new interview with composer Howard Shore License to Drive new interview with casting director Deirdre Bowen Archival Behind the Scenes featurette Archival interviews with David Cronenberg, J.G. Ballard and actors James Spader, Holly Hunter, Deborah Kara Unger and Elias Koteas Cronenberg: Concrete Cowboy brand new video essay by Caelum Vatnsdal on Cronenberg's use of Toronto as a filming location Original Trailers Fully illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Vanessa Morgan and Araceli Molina, alongside a reprinted excerpt from Cronenberg on Cronenberg Fold-out double-sided poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork Limited edition packaging with reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx

• Crash Limited Edition | Blu Ray | (14/12/2020) from £32.19   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Technology and sexuality meet in a head-on collision in Crash director David Cronenberg's controversial adaptation of writer J.G. Ballard's hugely transgressive 1973 novel starring James Spader and Holly Hunter. Spader stars as James Ballard, an advertising executive whose deviant sexual desires are awakened by a near fatal automobile accident with Dr Helen Remington (Hunter). Soon the pair, alongside Ballard's wife Catherine (Deborah Kara Unger), are drawn into an underground world of car crash fetishism presided over by renegade scientist Vaughan (Elias Koteas). Danger, sex and death become entwined as eroticism and technology join together in a disturbing, deadly union. Awarded the Special Jury Prize at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival for originality, daring and audacity, Crash remains an incredibly subversive and confrontational piece of cinema Cronenberg himself describes it as a dangerous film now newly refurbished in a stunning 4K restoration. ULTRA HD 4K BLU-RAY LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS Brand new 4K restoration of the uncut NC-17 version from the original 35mm camera negative, supervised by writer-director David Cronenberg and director of photography Peter Suschitzky 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in High Dynamic Range 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo DTS-HD Master Audio Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing Brand new audio commentary with film scholar Adrian Martin Cronenberg Challenge new interview with director of photography Peter Suschitzky Mechanical Animals new interview with executive producer Jeremy Thomas The Shore Thing new interview with composer Howard Shore License to Drive new interview with casting director Deirdre Bowen Archival Behind the Scenes featurette Archival interviews with David Cronenberg, J.G. Ballard and actors James Spader, Holly Hunter, Deborah Kara Unger and Elias Koteas Cronenberg: Concrete Cowboy brand new video essay by Caelum Vatnsdal on Cronenberg's use of Toronto as a filming location Original Trailers Fully illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Vanessa Morgan and Araceli Molina, alongside a reprinted excerpt from Cronenberg on Cronenberg Fold-out double-sided poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork Limited edition packaging with reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx

• The Night of the Following Day (Limited Edition) | Blu Ray | (27/02/2023) from £17.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Marlon Brando (The Wild One), Richard Boone (Winter Kills), Rita Moreno (Carnal Knowledge), and Pamela Franklin (The Third Secret) head the all-star cast of The Night of the Following Day, a thrilling tale of kidnap, and cross and double-cross. An ingenious criminal gang captures an heiress as she disembarks a plane in Paris. However, whilst holed up in a seaside resort, the criminals become increasingly suspicious of one another, and their fool-proof plan soons begin to unravel... Based on a novel by Lionel White (The Killing, Pierrot le fou) and directed by Hubert Cornfield (Pressure Point), The Night of the Following Day is an eccentric and stylish crime drama, shot on location in France by cinematographer Willy Kurant (Masculin féminin) and featuring an evocative score by Stanley Myers (Otley, The Deer Hunter). Product Features High Definition remaster Original mono audio Audio commentary with director Hubert Cornfield (2004) Rita Moreno in Conversation (2013): archival video interview with the actor and singer, recorded at BFI Southbank, London Neil Sinyard on 'The Night of the Following Day' (2023): appreciation by the film historian Original theatrical trailer Joe Dante trailer commentary (2013): short critical appreciation Image gallery: promotional and publicity material New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing Limited edition booklet featuring a new essay by Jeff Billington, archival interviews with director Hubert Cornfield, and stars Marlon Brando and Rita Moreno, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and full film credits UK premiere on Blu-ray Limited edition of 3,000 copies for the UK Extras subject to change

• Body Of Lies | Blu Ray | (30/03/2009) from £13.02   |  Saving you £13.97 (107.30%)   |  RRP £26.99

  "Body of Lies" is based on Washington Post columnist David Ignatius' 2007 novel about a CIA operative, Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio), who uncovers a lead on a major terrorist leader suspected to be operating out of Jordan.

• Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker | Blu Ray | (13/05/2024) from £14.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  It remains the most joltingly violent, psychosexual grindhouse shocker of the '80s, directed by a veteran of I Love Lucy and starring a frequently shirtless former teen idol with an epically demented performance by an Oscar® nominee: Jimmy McNichol stars as an orphaned high-school student raised by his strangely overprotective aunt (Susan Tyrrell of FAT CITY fame) who becomes implicated in a grisly murder investigated by a psychotic police detective (an equally unhinged Bo Svenson of INGLORIOUS BASTARDS). 7x Emmy® nominee Julia Duffy (Newhart) and Bill Paxton (in one of his first film roles) co-star in this jaw-dropping hunk of genre insanity (Pop Culture Beast) and former DPP 39 Video Nasty - also known as NIGHT WARNING - now scanned in 4K from the original camera negative with 6 hours of new and archival Special Features.Special Features: Audio Commentary With Star Jimmy McNicholAudio Commentary With Co-Writer/Producer Steve Breimer And Co-Writer Alan Jay Glueckman, Moderated By Mondo Digital's Nathaniel ThompsonAudio Commentary With Co-Producer And Unit Production Manager Eugene MazzolaExtreme Prejudice - Interview With Actor Bo SvensonPoint And Shoot - Interview With Director Of Photography Robbie GreenbergFamily Dynamics - Interview With Editor Ted NicolaouCast And Crew Interviews With Actors Jimmy McNichol, Susan Tyrrell And Steve Eastin, Make-Up Artist Allan A. Apone And Producer Steve BreimerTrailerTV Spot

• The American | Blu Ray | (04/04/2011) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Alone among assassins, Jack is a master craftsman. When a job in Sweden ends more harshly than expected for this American abroad, he vows to his contact Larry that his next assignment will be his last.

• So Sweet... So Perverse - DELUXE COLLECTOR'S EDITION | Blu Ray | (28/06/2021) from £19.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  So Sweet So Perverse (1969): Following the international success of Orgasmo, the second Umberto Lenzi/Carroll Baker collaboration is a kinky retelling of Diabolique featuring lush Paris locations, trippy flashbacks, a swinging score by Riz Ortolani (Cannibal Holocaust) and an all-star EuroCult cast that includes Jean-Louis Trintignant (The Great Silence,), Erika Blanc (Kill, Baby Kill!), Horst Frank (The Cat O' Nine Tails) and Helga Liné (Nightmare Castle). Executive produced by Sergio Martino (The Violent Professionals) from a screenplay by Ernesto Gastaldi (2019 After The Fall Of New York), this full-blown classic giallo and one of Lenzi's best (B-Mania) is now fully restored in a new 2k scan from the original negative. Special Features New 2K Master from the Original 35mm Camera Negative High Definition (1080p) Presentation in 2.35:1 Aspect Ratio LPCM English Soundtrack LPCM Italian Soundtrack with optional English Subtitles Audio Commentary By Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson Alternate Title Sequences Original Trailer Reversible Sleeve

• Light Sleeper (Limited Edition) | Blu Ray | (25/01/2021) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  An impressive neo-noir, which sees writer/director Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver, Hardcore, Blue Collar) revisit rainswept New York, Light Sleeper tells of John LeTour (Willem Dafoe, Auto Focus), a drug dealer servicing a high-society clientele of Manhattan professionals. When his boss (Susan Sarandon, The Hunger) announces she is going straight and John encounters an old flame he still loves, his life is thrown into crisis. As he becomes involved in a police investigation surrounding a mysterious drug death, John prowls the night-time streets in search of redemption. Extras High Definition remaster Original mono audio Selected scene commentary by actors Susan Sarandon and Willem Dafoe (2002) New interview with director Paul Schrader (2021) The BAM Interview with Paul Schrader and Edward Lachman (2008): The director and cinematographer in conversation on-stage at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, after a screening of Light Sleeper Dear Paul Schrader, Thank You for ˜Light Sleeper' (2021): a personal reflection on Schrader's film from the critic and filmmaker Mark Cousins Original theatrical trailer Image gallery: promotional and publicity materials New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Christina Newland, an archival on-set report by Kevin Jackson, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and film credits UK premiere on Blu-ray Limited edition of 3,000 copies EXTRAS SUBJECT TO CHANGE

• The Protégé - Made for Revenge BD | Blu Ray | (22/10/2021) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• The Silence of the Lambs Blu-ray | Blu Ray | (20/01/2025) from £21.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Following an early career directing low-budget exploitation movies for producer Roger Corman, by the 1990s, Jonathan Demme was known best for making quirky comedies (Something Wild, Married to the Mob) and music documentaries (Stop Making Sense) that is, until he signed on to adapt Thomas Harris' best-selling thriller The Silence of the Lambs. The resulting film a sombre, enthralling nightmare vision of psychopathology became a five-time Academy Award winner* and made cannibal mastermind Hannibal Lecter a household name. FBI agent Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster, The Accused) races against time to stop a serial killer, nicknamed Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine, Heat), before he kills again. To solve the case, she risks her own sanity by consulting with malevolent psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins, Nixon). A master manipulator, the sinister Dr Lecter offers crucial information that may be key to unlocking the killer's identity but at a price. Clarice must open primal events from her past to Lecter's menacing curiosity and confront the trauma that fuels her search for justice. A deeply disturbing examination of human evil, The Silence of the Lambs changed the face of the serial killer genre and remains a highly influential, landmark classic of mystery, suspense and psychological horror. SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS ¢ High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentation ¢ Newly restored original lossless 2.0 stereo soundtrack ¢ Optional lossless 5.1 soundtrack ¢ Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing ¢ Audio commentary by critics Elizabeth Purchell & Caden Mark Gardner ¢ Audio commentary by critic Tim Lucas ¢ Through Her Eyes, visual essay on the theme of transformation by critic Justine Peres Smith ¢ Healing Humanity, visual essay exploring point of view and personalisation by critic Willow Catelyn Maclay ¢ Breaking the Silence, archival picture-in-picture interviews and trivia track ¢ 2002 episode of the Bravo television series Page to Screen focusing on The Silence of the Lambs ¢ Scoring the Silence, 2004 archival interview with composer Howard Shore ¢ Jonathan Demme & Jodie Foster, three-part archival 2005 documentary by Laurent Bouzereau ¢ Understanding the Madness, 2008 archival featurette featuring various FBI alumni discussing the profiling of serial killers ¢ 1991 Making Of Featurette ¢ 22 deleted scenes ¢ 7 additional deleted scenes, sourced from a VHS workprint ¢ Outtakes ¢ Anthony Hopkins phone message ¢ Theatrical trailer ¢ Teaser trailer ¢ 11 TV spots ¢ Image gallery ¢ Reversible sleeve featuring two choices of original artwork

• 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.

• Something In The Water | Blu Ray | (09/09/2024) from £11.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Meg attends an old friend Lizzie's dream destination wedding in the Caribbean with her ex-partner Kayla and friends Ruth and Cam. However, when a boat trip goes horribly wrong, the five friends soon find themselves fighting for their lives as well their relationships as they brave the shark-infested waters.

• Possessor (Limited Edition) | Blu Ray | (18/03/2024) from £42.05   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  An elite corporate assassin takes control of other people's bodies using brain-implant technology to execute high-profile targets. With each hit comes a stronger lust for blood, throwing the whole operation into jeopardy. Product Features Dual format edition including both UHD and Blu-ray with main feature and bonus features on both discs UHD presented in Dolby Vision HDR approved by Director Brandon Cronenberg and Cinematographer Karim Hussain New audio commentary with Brandon Cronenberg, Producer Rob Cotterill, Karim Hussain and Special Effects Artist Dan Martin This Unfamiliar Life: a new interview with Brandon Cronenberg Inside the Machine: a new interview with Karim Hussain Feel the Real: a new interview with Rob Cotterill Disassociating from Mind and Body: Zoë Rose Smith on Possessor Camera Test Footage FX Show and Tell with Dan Martin Archive featurette: A Heightened World - A Look at Possessor Archive featurette: Identity Crisis - Bringing Possessor to Life Archive featurette: The Joy of Practical - The Effects of Possessor Deleted Scenes Short Film: Please Speak Continuously and Describe Your Experiences as They Come to You Trailer Limited Edition Contents Rigid slipcase with new artwork by Marko Manev 120-page book featuring extensive behind the scenes gallery, script-to-screen comparisons, new essays by Stacey Abbott, Anton Bitel, Jon Towlson and Heather Wixson 6 collectors' art cards

• Force Of Evil | Blu Ray | (11/06/2018) from £15.09   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  In this classic Film Noir, an ambitious but unscrupulous lawyer (John Garfield, The Postman Always Rings Twice) works for the mob, and scents the prospect of a personal fortune when he helps concoct a plan that will merge all of New York City's numbers rackets into a single powerful and unbreakable operation. But one of them is run by his own brother (Thomas Gomez, Key Largo), who is much happier as an independent, mainly because it allows him to apply his own ethical standards to prevent innocent people from being corrupted by his shady activities. And it's the Cain-and-Abel clash between them that gives the film its tragic dimension. After a brilliant writing career (Body and Soul), Abraham Polonsky was given a shot at directing, and he turned out one of the most original thrillers of its era, combining poetic dialogue worthy of Clifford Odets (Sweet Smell of Success) with a forensically Marxist critique of the capitalist system (the force of evil that underpins everything in American society). Martin Scorsese frequently cited it as one of the most influential films in his life, and it's easy to see why. SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS: High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation transferred from original film elements Uncompressed mono 1.0 PCM audio soundtrack Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing Introduction by Martin Scorsese Commentary by critics Glenn Kenny and Farran Smith Nehme An Autopsy on Capitalism, a visual essay on the production and reception of Force of Evil by Frank Krutnik, author of In a Lonely Street: Film noir, genre, masculinity Commentary on selected themes by Krutnik Two radio plays: Hollywood Fights Back (1947), 35 Hollywood stars protest the blacklist and Body and Soul (1948), a radio version of Abraham Polonsky's breakthrough script starring John Garfield International poster gallery Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Scott Saslow

• Witness in the City | Blu Ray | (23/09/2024) from £12.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  A wealthy industrialist murders his lover, throwing her from a train to look like suicide. Her husband, Ancelin (Lino Ventura, The Valachi Papers) seeks revenge but his endeavours leave a witness putting him in a cat-and-mouse game, thrillingly shot on the streets of Paris. This early work from Édouard Molinaro (La cage aux folles) adapts the novel by celebrated writers Boileau and Narcejac (Vertigo, Les diaboliques) with minimal dialogue and wrings every ounce of tension from the narrative, focusing on evocative shadows and Parisian nightlife shot by Henri Decae (Le Samourai).A wealthy industrialist murders his lover, throwing her from a train to look like suicide. Her husband, Ancelin (Lino Ventura, The Valachi Papers) seeks revenge but his endeavours leave a witness putting him in a cat-and-mouse game, thrillingly shot on the streets of Paris. This early work from Édouard Molinaro (La cage aux folles) adapts the novel by celebrated writers Boileau and Narcejac (Vertigo, Les diaboliques) with minimal dialogue and wrings every ounce of tension from the narrative, focusing on evocative shadows and Parisian nightlife shot by Henri Decae (Le Samourai).

• The Way Of The Gun | DVD | (17/03/2003) from £6.55   |  Saving you £6.44 (98.32%)   |  RRP £12.99

  The writer of The Usual Suspects makes his directorial debut with this violent and bleak tale of the kidnapping of a pregnant young woman.

• Kiss The Girls/Along Came A Spider/The Sum Of All Fears | DVD | (06/10/2008) from £19.99   |  Saving you £-7.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Set Comprises Kiss the Girls (1997): North Carolina police detective Dr. Alex Cross (Morgan Freeman) tracks an elusive psychopath whose modus operandi is not necessarily killing the young women he abducts but collecting them as trophies. Unfortunately his quarry includes the detective's own law-student niece so his race against time with the help of a no-nonsense medical intern Dr. Kate McTiernan (Ashley Judd) who escaped the collection is all the more desperate. Based on the series of novels by James Patterson. Along Came a Spider (2001): A congressman's daughter under Secret Service protection is kidnapped from a private school by an insider who calls Det. Alex Cross (Morgan Freeman) drawing him into the case even though he's recovering from the loss of his partner... The Sum of All Fears: When the president of Russia suddenly dies and is succeeded by a man about whom little is known tension increases as old fears ignite new paranoia. Director of Central Intelligence Bill Cabot (Morgan Freeman) recruits a young analyst from the Russia desk Jack Ryan (Ben Affleck) to supply insight and advice. A group of terrorists is trying to provoke a war between the two nations by manufacturing and escalating the conflict. When they successfully detonate a second bomb outside Baltimore during the Super Bowl the world is pushed inexorably towards war... unless Ryan can supply the needed proof to stem the tide of disaster in time.

• Pusher | DVD | (11/02/2013) from £4.90   |  Saving you £11.09 (226.33%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Frank is a big time drug dealer in London who lives a life of freedom and excess. However, Frank's rollercoaster lifestyle soon derails when he amounts a massive debt with the most dangerous drug lord in the city.

• The Da Vinci Code & Angels and Demons | Blu Ray | (14/09/2009) from £8.01   |  Saving you £36.98 (461.67%)   |  RRP £44.99

  The Da Vinci Code: Critics and controversy aside, The Da Vinci Code is a verifiable blockbuster. Combine the film's huge worldwide box-office take with over 100 million copies of Dan Brown's book sold, and The Da Vinci Code has clearly made the leap from pop-culture hit to a certifiable franchise (games and action figures are sure to follow). The leap for any story making the move from book to big screen, however, is always more perilous. In the case of The Da Vinci Code, the story is concocted of such a preposterous formula of elements that you wouldn't envy Akiva Goldsman, the screenwriter who was handed a potentially unfilmable book and asked to make a filmable script out of it. Goldsman's solution was to have the screenplay follow the book as closely as possible, with a few needed changes, including a better ending. The result is a film that actually makes slightly better entertainment than the book. So if you're like most of the world, by now you've read the book and know that it starts out as a murder mystery. While lecturing in Paris, noted Harvard Professor of Symbology Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) is summoned to the Louvre by French police help decipher a bizarre series of clues left at the scene of the murder of the chief curator, Jacques Sauniere. Enter Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tautou), gifted cryptologist and Sauniere's granddaughter. Neveu and Langdon are forced to team up to solve the mystery, and from there the story is propelled across Europe as it balloons into a modern-day mini-quest for the Holy Grail, complete with alternative theories about the life of Christ, ancient secret societies headed by historical figures like Leonardo Da Vinci, secret codes, conniving bishops, daring escapes, car chases, and, of course, a murderous albino monk controlled by a secret master who calls himself "The Teacher." Taken solely as a mystery thriller, the movie almost works--despite some gaping holes--mostly just because it keeps moving forward at the breakneck pace set in the book. Brown's greatest trick might have been to have the entire story take place in a day so that the action is forced to keep going, despite some necessary pauses for exposition. Hanks and Tautou are just fine together but not exactly a memorable screen pair; meanwhile, Sir Ian McKellen's scenery-chewing as pivotal character Sir Leigh Teabing is just what the film needs to keep it from taking itself too seriously. In the end, this hit movie is just like a good roller-coaster ride: try not to think too much about it--just sit back and enjoy the trip. --Daniel Vancini, Amazon.com Angels & Demons: If the devil is in the details, there's a lot of wicked fun in Angels & Demons, the sequel (originally a prequel) to The Da Vinci Code. Director Ron Howard delivers edge-of-your-pew thrills all over the Vatican, the City of Rome, and the deepest, dankest catacombs. Tom Hanks is dependably watchable in his reprised role as Professor Robert Langdon, summoned urgently to Rome on a matter of utmost urgency--which happens to coincide with the death of the Pope, meaning the Vatican is teeming with cardinals and Rome is teeming with the faithful. A religious offshoot group, calling themselves the Illuminati, which protested the Catholic Church's prosecution of scientists 400 years ago, has resurfaced and is making extreme, and gruesome, terrorist demands. The film zooms around the city, as Langdon follows clues embedded in art, architecture, and the very bone structure of the Vatican. The cast is terrific, including Ewan McGregor, who is memorable as a young protégé of the late pontiff, and who seems to challenge the common wisdom of the Conclave just by being 40 years younger than his fellows when he lectures for church reform. Stellan Skarsgard is excellent as a gruff commander of the Swiss Guard, who may or may not have thrown in with the Illuminati. But the real star of the film is Rome, and its High Church gorgeousness, with lush cinematography by Salvatore Totino, who renders the real sky above the Vatican, in a cataclysmic event, with the detail and majesty of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. --A.T. Hurley, Amazon.com

• The Jack in the Box Rises | DVD | (15/04/2024) from £9.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A