"Director: Jimmy T. Murakami"

• The Snowman | DVD | (03/11/2008) from £4.96   |  Saving you £2.84 (57.26%)   |  RRP £7.80

  Two Raymond Briggs' animated classics, The Snowman and Father Christmas are here sensibly paired for maximum yuletide delight. Based on Briggs's classic children's book and crafted in a coloured-pencils-on-paper look, like fluffy, hand-drawn illustrations, The Snowman is a gentle fable of friendship and the power of imagination. It's the story of a small boy whose lovingly constructed snowman comes to life and takes him flying over the white-blanketed landscapes, in a beautiful rotoscoped (traced) sequence based on live-action flying footage. Part of the charm of the film is the gentle, everyday quality of its fantasy adventures: the snowman is invited in to try on clothes and play with the Christmas decorations, then plays host to the boy at a party in the woods, at which his snowy relatives do country dances. --David Chute In Father Christmas, an irreverent Santa breaks from tradition in many ways. He has no Mrs, owns only four reindeer and decides to convert his sleigh into an airborne motor home for a pre-Christmas holiday. He finds France too snooty, Scotland too cold and Las Vegas just right. Tanned and rested, he returns to the North Pole in time to sort through the mail, pack up the toys and hit the skies. He also narrates his own story (splendidly voiced by Los Angeles stage actor William Dennis Hunt), but fans of the 1973 book will find the animated version far less cranky than the original. Although the book was aimed at children between the ages of 4-8, this may have a wider appeal, depending on how you feel about the children seeing Santa gambling at the casino tables, dreaming of bikini-clad babes and suffering a bout of diarrhoea. --Kimberly Heinrichs

• Christmas Carol - The Movie | DVD | (07/11/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £7.99

  A new animated version of Charles Dickens' classic tale of Scrooge and the three ghosts that visit him one Christmas Eve.

• When The Wind Blows | DVD | (26/09/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Jim and Hilda Bloggs are the typical retired couple in rural England. They drink endless cups of tea and have an unwavering faith in the wisdom of their government. They understand that a Third World War is imminent between the US and the Soviets. However they fail to grasp the concept that war will be fought by nuclear means and what consequences this will have. With the help of government issued pamphlets Jim builds a shelter to protect the couple and although they survive a n

• Heavy Metal | DVD | (13/12/1999) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  As long as there is a need for adolescent male sexual fantasy, there will be an audience for Heavy Metal. Released in 1981 and based on stories from the graphic magazine of the same name, this silly and senseless the movie is an aimless, juvenile amalgam of disjointed stories and clashing visual styles. Hundreds of animators from around the world were employed, resulting in a near-total absence of creative cohesion in the finished product. It remains, for better and worse, a midnight-movie favourite for the stoner crowd--a movie best enjoyed by randy adolescents or near-adults in an altered state of consciousness. With a framing story about a glowing green orb claiming to be the embodiment of all evil, the film shuttles through eight episodic tales of sci-fi adventure, each fuelled by some of the most wretched rock music to emerge from the late 1970s-early 80s period. The most consistent trademark is an abundance of blood-splattering violence and wet-dream sex, the latter involving a succession of huge-breasted babes who shed their clothes at the drop of a G-string. It's rampantly brainless desire to fuel the young male libido becomes rather fun, and for all its incoherence Heavy Metal impresses for the ambitious artistry of its individual segments. Produced by Ivan Reitman (who went on to direct Ghostbusters), the voice talents include several Canadian veterans of the Second City improvisation comedy troupe--including John Candy, Harold Ramis, Eugene Levy and Joe Flaherty--many of whom went on to greater fame on the US TV series Saturday Night Live. --Jeff Shannon DVD Special Features Feature-length Rough Cut with Optional Commentary by Carl MacEk, Production notes Theatrical trailer Documentary: Imagining Heavy Metal Art Galleries Deleted Scenes, Carl MacEk reading his book "Heavy Metal: The Movie" 1:85:1 widescreen anamorphic Dolby Digital 5.1

• Raymond Briggs' The Snowman / Father Christmas | DVD | (06/11/2006) from £19.44   |  Saving you £0.55 (2.83%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Two Raymond Briggs' animated classics, The Snowman and Father Christmas are here sensibly paired for maximum yuletide delight. Based on Briggs's classic children's book and crafted in a coloured-pencils-on-paper look, like fluffy, hand-drawn illustrations, The Snowman is a gentle fable of friendship and the power of imagination. It's the story of a small boy whose lovingly constructed snowman comes to life and takes him flying over the white-blanketed landscapes, in a beautiful rotoscoped (traced) sequence based on live-action flying footage. Part of the charm of the film is the gentle, everyday quality of its fantasy adventures: the snowman is invited in to try on clothes and play with the Christmas decorations, then plays host to the boy at a party in the woods, at which his snowy relatives do country dances. --David Chute In Father Christmas, an irreverent Santa breaks from tradition in many ways. He has no Mrs, owns only four reindeer and decides to convert his sleigh into an airborne motor home for a pre-Christmas holiday. He finds France too snooty, Scotland too cold and Las Vegas just right. Tanned and rested, he returns to the North Pole in time to sort through the mail, pack up the toys and hit the skies. He also narrates his own story (splendidly voiced by Los Angeles stage actor William Dennis Hunt), but fans of the 1973 book will find the animated version far less cranky than the original. Although the book was aimed at children between the ages of 4-8, this may have a wider appeal, depending on how you feel about the children seeing Santa gambling at the casino tables, dreaming of bikini-clad babes and suffering a bout of diarrhoea. --Kimberly Heinrichs