"Director: Michael Winterbottom"

• In This World | DVD | (29/09/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Torn straight from the headlines Michael Winterbottom's compelling and prescient In This World follows young Afghan Jamal (impressive newcomer Jamal Udin Torabi)and his older cousin Enayat (Enayatullah)as they embark on a hazardous overland trip from their refugee camp at Peshawar north-west Pakistan. Entering Turkey on foot through a snowy Kurdish controlled pass the pair again take their lives into their hands and face suffocation when they are locked in a freight container on

• With Or Without You | DVD | (03/12/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  With or Without You works as an above-average television drama; but that's about the height of its ambition. It's strange that Michael Winterbottom, director of the hard-edged, bitter Welcome to Sarajevo (1997) and the grandiose snowy western The Claim (2000) should have bothered with anything as routine and undemanding. Perhaps its greatest distinction is that it's set in present-day Belfast without so much as a mention of the Troubles. The plot is a bog-standard romantic triangle. Rosie and Vincent, who have been married five years or so, want a baby, but nothing's happening. It doesn't help that Rosie's older sister has sprogs burgeoning like mushrooms wherever you look. Then up pops a figure from Rosie's past--Benoît, her pen-pal from before she met Vincent. And being French, he's naturally charming, witty, romantic and everything poor old Vincent isn't. Think you can guess what's coming? Well, most likely you can--right down to the all-too-pat happy ending. Still, the actors (Christopher Ecclestone, Dervla Kirwan and Yvan Attal are the leads) are accomplished and watchable, the dialogue stays the right side of banal and it's refreshing to see Belfast shown as a civilised, cultured place to live. With or Without You passes an hour and a half pleasantly enough and may even raise the odd chuckle, but it covers well-trodden territory without much new to say. On the DVD: aptly routine stuff--the theatrical trailer, a bland "making of" featurette and some interviews with the three principal players. Widescreen (16:9 anamorphic) and Dolby Surround Sound give the material the best possible showcase. --Philip Kemp

• The Face Of An Angel | Blu Ray | (20/07/2015) from £11.35   |  Saving you £10.64 (93.74%)   |  RRP £21.99

  Thomas Lang is a film director who is offered the chance to adapt a book by American journalist Simone Ford which recounts the controversial trial of American student Jessica Fuller for the murder of her flatmate Elizabeth Pryce. To help with his research Simone takes Thomas to Siena where he is disturbed by the media frenzy that has developed around the case. Inspired by the killing of British student Meredith Kercher in Italy Michael Winterbottom's film looks beyond the salacious headlines to explore both the media and the public's obsession with violent stories whether fictional or real.

• Genova | DVD | (13/07/2009) from £7.48   |  Saving you £13.77 (221.38%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Colin Firth stars as Joe, a father and a recent widow, who decides to make a fresh start with his two daughters by moving to the Italian town of Genova.

• Everyday | DVD | (25/03/2013) from £10.78   |  Saving you £5.21 (48.33%)   |  RRP £15.99

  This potent film from Michael Winterbottom (The Trip, 24 Hour Party People, A Cock and Bull Story) is a story of survival and love, a celebration of the small pleasures of everyday life. The father Ian (John Simm - Life On Mars, Doctor Who) is in prison. The mother Karen (Shirley Henderson - The Gruffalo, Meek's Cutoff) has to bring up a family of four children by herself. Filmed over a period of five years, Everyday uses the repetitions and rhythms of everyday life to explore how a family can survive a prolonged period apart. The story unfolds in a series of visits: first the family visiting the father in prison, later the father visiting the family at home. With each visit the distance between the children and their father becomes harder to bridge. By avoiding the normal cinematic conventions of time passing, Everyday focuses on the small subtle changes as people grow up and grow old whilst being apart.

• Cracker - the Mad Woman in the Attic | DVD | (16/10/2006) from £5.37   |  Saving you £7.62 (141.90%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Fitz's two worlds collide when one of his students is brutally murdered on a moving train and the girl's grieving parents enlist him to help crack the case. The frenzied nature of the attack convinces the police that this is the work of the notorious 'Sweeney'. When an unconscious blood-soaked man is discovered close to the scene he becomes the prime suspect. Kelly (Adrian Dunbar) claims to be suffering from amnesia and Fitz is given the task of unlocking the dark recesses of his soul in a bid to find the truth.

• With Or Without You | DVD | (10/12/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  With or Without You works as an above-average television drama; but that's about the height of its ambition. It's strange that Michael Winterbottom, director of the hard-edged, bitter Welcome to Sarajevo (1997) and the grandiose snowy western The Claim (2000) should have bothered with anything as routine and undemanding. Perhaps its greatest distinction is that it's set in present-day Belfast without so much as a mention of the Troubles. The plot is a bog-standard romantic triangle. Rosie and Vincent, who have been married five years or so, want a baby, but nothing's happening. It doesn't help that Rosie's older sister has sprogs burgeoning like mushrooms wherever you look. Then up pops a figure from Rosie's past--Benoît, her pen-pal from before she met Vincent. And being French, he's naturally charming, witty, romantic and everything poor old Vincent isn't. Think you can guess what's coming? Well, most likely you can--right down to the all-too-pat happy ending. Still, the actors (Christopher Ecclestone, Dervla Kirwan and Yvan Attal are the leads) are accomplished and watchable, the dialogue stays the right side of banal and it's refreshing to see Belfast shown as a civilised, cultured place to live. With or Without You passes an hour and a half pleasantly enough and may even raise the odd chuckle, but it covers well-trodden territory without much new to say. On the DVD: aptly routine stuff--the theatrical trailer, a bland "making of" featurette and some interviews with the three principal players. Widescreen (16:9 anamorphic) and Dolby Surround Sound give the material the best possible showcase. --Philip Kemp

• Trishna | Blu Ray | (09/07/2012) from £12.13   |  Saving you £7.86 (64.80%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Based on Thomas Hardy's classic novel Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Trishna is a beautifully shot, classic tale of love and tragedy set across modern day rural Rajasthan and the thriving metropolis of Mumbai.Trishna (Freida Pinto) meets a wealthy young British businessman, Jay Singh (Riz Ahmed), who has come to India to work in his father's hotel business. After an accident destroys her father's Jeep, Trishna goes to work for Jay, and they fall in love. But despite their feelings for each other, their relationship must remain a secret due to the conflicting pressures of a rural society which is changing rapidly through industrialisation, urbanisation and, above all, education.Their problems seem to be solved when Jay takes Trishna to an exciting new world of dance, vibrant life and possibilities - Mumbai. But Trishna harbours a dark secret that threatens the very heart of their love affair, and inequalities remain at the centre of their relationship that will lead her to question Jay's intentions towards her.

• Butterfly Kiss | DVD | (07/09/2009) from £5.38   |  Saving you £10.61 (197.21%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Butterfly Kiss

• Code 46 | DVD | (15/05/2006) from £20.98   |  Saving you £-10.99 (-110.00%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Tim Robbins and Samantha Morton star as a pair of doomed lovers in a strictly controlled society in the near future.

• A Mighty Heart | Blu Ray | (10/08/2009) from £24.28   |  Saving you £-4.29 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Angelina Jolie stars in this true story of one woman's struggle to cope with the murder of her journalist husband by Islamic extremists.

• 24 Hour Party People (Special Edition) | DVD | (08/02/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The story of the Manchester music scene from 70s punk through to the early nineties, as seen from the perspective of Tony Wilson, musical entrepenuer who signed countless bands from Joy Division to the Happy Mondays to his legendary Factory Records label.

• 9 Songs | UMD | (26/12/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

• Cracker - The Mad Woman In The Attic | DVD | (12/05/2003) from £11.84   |  Saving you £1.14 (12.88%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Fitz's two worlds collide when one of his students is brutally murdered on a moving train and the girl's grieving parents enlist him to help crack the case. The frenzied nature of the attack convinces the police that this is the work of the notorious 'Sweeney'. When an unconscious blood-soaked man is discovered close to the scene he becomes the prime suspect. Kelly (Adrian Dunbar) claims to be suffering from amnesia and Fitz is given the task of unlocking the dark recesses of his soul in a bid to find the truth.

• A Cock and Bull Story/It's All Gone Pete Tong/Grand Theft Parsons | DVD | (01/10/2007) from £26.98   |  Saving you £-6.99 (-35.00%)   |  RRP £19.99

  A Cock And Bull Story (2005): Director Michael Winterbottom is out to film the unfilmable novel: an adaptation of Laurence Sterne's sprawling 18th Century masterpiece of digression The Life And Opinions Of Tristram Shandy Gentleman. What begins as a seemingly straightforward attempt to recreate the frenetic novel - starring Steve Coogan as the title figure and Rob Brydon as his Uncle Toby - quickly derails into a behind-the-scenes document of the film's actual production. Working triple time (for he also plays Tristram's father) Coogan is hilarious as the insecure ""Steve Coogan"" a shallow actor who is more interested in his cute assistant (Naomie Harris) than the mother of his newborn child (the always delightful Kelly Macdonald). Meanwhile ""Rob Brydon"" is trying desperately to convince ""Steve Coogan"" that his role is a co-lead not merely a supporting one. As the production threatens to spin out of control the filmmakers hire Gillian Anderson (playing herself of course) to fill a much-needed role.... It's All Gone Pete Tong (2004): Frankie Wilde (Paul Kaye) is the hearing-impaired DJ who delights the clubbers on the island of Ibiza by coupling his larger-than-life drug and alcohol-fuelled persona with undeniable skills behind the turntables. But as Frankie's hearing rapidly disintegrates and his former manager wife friends and record label slowly fade away the distraught DJ plunges into the depths of despair... Grand Theft Parsons (2004): There are times when it's right and proper to simply bury the dead. This is not one of those times. Gram Parsons was one of the most influential musicians of his time; a genius who knew Elvis and the Stones and led the Byrds. As fame and fortune came within his grasp he died unexpectedly in 1973. When Gram's best friend and road manager Phil Kaufman (Johnny Knoxville) hears the news he gets busy to fulfil an old promise - to cremate his buddy in the majestic desert wilderness of Joshua Tree. The plan looks great but there are snags - he has to steal the body from under the noses of the authorities then evade the police Gram's father and an avenging ex-girlfriend with only a stoned hippy for company and driving a psychedelic hearse!

• Cracker - To Say I Love You | DVD | (12/05/2003) from £10.95   |  Saving you £2.03 (25.50%)   |  RRP £9.99

  When a young man with a chronic speech impediment is caught by the police for joyriding Fitz is brought onto the case and recommends a psychological evaluation. However D.S. Beck releases the young man contrary to Fitz's advice and the violent murder of a loan shark in a dark alley marks the beginning of what Fitz considers to be a Bonnie & Clyde style killing spree. A volatile male personality with enough strength to murder a man with his bare hands and a female with the sexual chemistry to lure potential victims to their death. Fitz's success on the professional front contrasts with his own personal failings as the drink and gambling take their toll.

• A Mighty Heart | HD DVD | (28/01/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Based on Mariane Pearl's memoir detailing the terrifying and unforgettable story of her husband Wall Street Journal reporter Danny Pearl's life and death. The story covers Danny's (Futterman) reasons for being in Karachi Pakistan the complete story of his abduction the intense effort of his wife Mariane Pearl (Jolie) to find him during the weeks following his disappearance and his eventual murder.

• 24 Hour Party People | DVD | (31/10/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  The story of the Manchester music scene from 70s punk through to the early nineties, as seen from the perspective of Tony Wilson, musical entrepenuer who signed countless bands from Joy Division to the Happy Mondays to his legendary Factory Records label.