"Director: Robert Altman"

• The Gingerbread Man | DVD | (11/10/1999) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  When released in 1997, The Gingerbread Man was the only John Grisham movie that did not use one of the popular novelist's bestsellers as its inspiration. Rather, it's based on an original screenplay by Grisham that displays the author's familiar flair for Southern characters and settings within a labyrinthine plot propelled by his trademark narrative twists and turns. Sporting a spot-on Georgian accent, Kenneth Branagh plays a Savannah attorney who comes to the assistance of a troubled woman (Embeth Davidtz) and finds himself enmeshed in a scenario involving the woman's father (Robert Duvall) that grows increasingly complex and dangerous, where nothing, of course, is really as it seems. It's a totally absorbing movie made in the modern film noir tradition; what's most interesting here (and most underrated by critics at the time) is the combination of Grisham's mainstream mystery and the offbeat style of maverick director Robert Altman. Despite a battle with executives that nearly caused Altman to disown the film, The Gingerbread Man demonstrates the director's skill in bringing a fresh, characteristically offbeat approach to conventional material, especially in the use of a threatening hurricane to hold the plot in a state of dangerous urgency. Unfortunately overlooked during its theatrical release, this intelligent thriller provides a fine double bill with Francis Coppola's film of Grisham's The Rainmaker. --Jeff Shannon

• The Company | DVD | (11/10/2004) from £20.74   |  Saving you £-0.75 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Ensemble drama from acclaimed director Robert Altman centered around a group of ballet dancers, with a focus on one young dancer (Neve Campbell) who's poised to become a principal performer.

• Robert Altman's Images | Blu Ray | (19/03/2018) from £54.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  The early seventies were a period of remarkable activity for Robert Altman, producing masterpiece after masterpiece. At the time he came to make Images, MASH and McCabe & Mrs. Miller were behind him, with The Long Goodbye, California Split and Nashville still to come. Originally conceived in the mid-sixties, Images concerns a pregnant children's author (Susannah York, who won the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival) whose husband (Rene Auberjonois) may or may not be having an affair. While holidaying in Ireland, her mental state becomes increasingly unstable resulting in paranoia, hallucinations and visions of a doppelgänger. Scored by an Oscar-nominated John Williams, with sounds by Stomu Yamash'ta (The Man Who Fell to Earth), Images also boasts the remarkable cinematography of Vilmos Zsigmond (Close Encounters of the Third Kind). Features: Brand-new 4K restoration from the original negative, produced by Arrow Films exclusively for this release High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation Original English mono audio (uncompressed LPCM) soundtracks Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing Audio commentary by Samm Deighan and Kat Ellinger Scene-select commentary by writer-director Robert Altman Interview with Robert Altman Brand new interview with actor Cathryn Harrison An appreciation by musician and author Stephen Thrower Theatrical trailer Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by the Twins of Evil FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Carmen Gray and an extract from Altman on Altman

• Cookie's Fortune | DVD | (25/03/2002) from £5.38   |  Saving you £10.61 (66.40%)   |  RRP £15.99

  COOKIE'S FORTUNE mischievously uncovers the legacy of JEWEL MAE

• Aria | DVD | (15/06/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Conceived developed and produced by Don Boyd Aria is a completely unique film both structurally and also in the sheer scale of the production itself. Ten of the world's most creative and celebrated directors were each given the same brief; to choose a piece of opera music and then present a visual interpretation of that music. The result is by turns erotic violent funny and poignant. The stills photographers assigned to each were equally celebrated among them David Bailey Annie Leibovitz Lord Snowdon Terry O'Neill and John Swannell. The impressive cast list includes John Hurt Tilda Swinton Bridget Fonda and Elizabeth Hurley Teresa Russell. A remarkable collective achievement Aria is a cinematic experience like no other.

• Robert Altman Collection - Fool For Love/The Long Goodbye/M.A.S.H./O.C. And Stiggs/Thieves Like Us | DVD | (09/07/2007) from £32.38   |  Saving you £-8.10 (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.28

  Titles Comprise: Fool For Love:Cowboy drifter Eddie reconnects with May the love of his life in a seedy desert motel even though she's taken up with a new boyfriend. But that's not the only threat to their rekindled passion. A mysterious old man also harbours a secret so dark and forbidden it could destroy Eddie and May's love forever... The Long Goodbye:Not content with repeating the standard movie Marlowe director Robert Altman with screenpaly by Leigh Brackett neatly reinvents him in this daring version - an unromanticized snoop for hire in an unromanticized L.A. The case involves what police dismiss as a murder/suicide. Fifty bucks a day plus expenses buys a lot of intrigue. And there are folks who have something to hide. Of course Marlowe's never been in the business for the money. He's doing what he does best. And doing it like never before. M*A*S*H:One of the world's most acclaimed comedies M*A*S*H focuses on three Korean War Army surgeons brilliantly brought to life by Donald Sutherland Tom Skerritt and Elliott Gould. Though highly skilled and deeply dedicated they adopt a hilarious lunatic lifestyle as an antidote to the tragedies of their Mobile Army Surgical Hospital and in the process infuriate Army bureaucrats. Robert Duvall Gary Burghoff and Sally Kellerman co-star as a sanctimonious Major an other-worldly Corporal and a self-righteous yet lusty nurse... O.C And Stiggs:O.C. and Stiggs are two Arizona teenagers who are intent on making life miserable for their nerdy neighbours the Schwabs - Randall Elinore Randall Jr and Lenora. The pair idolize musician King Sunny Ade and when they find out he's playing a show in mexico they travel to see him with their dimwitted friend Barney. As the summer progresses O.C. and Stiggs continue to torment the Schwabs - at Lenora's wedding and the opening night of the local theatre group's play to which they invite King Sunny Ade and his African Beats to perform. Thieves Like Us:Classic romantic drama about three convicted killers Bowie Chicamaw and T-Dub who escape from prison in 1937 rural Mississippi. Bowie the youngest of the fugitives meets and falls for an ingenious farm girl Keechie. The gang quickly turns to the only thing they know bank robbery. The press closely follows the desperados notorious exploits which include a serious car accident another jail break and several killings.

• The Long Goodbye | DVD | (02/02/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Raymond Chandler's cynically idealistic hero of The Long Goodbye, Philip Marlowe, has been played by everyone from Humphrey Bogart to James Garner--but no one gives him the kind of weirdly affect-less spin that Elliott Gould does in this terrific Robert Altman reimagining of Chandler's penultimate novel. Altman recasts Marlowe as an early 70s Los Angeles habitué, who gets involved in a couple of cases at once. The most interesting involves a suicidal writer (Sterling Hayden in a larger-than-life performance) whom Marlowe is supposed to keep away from malevolent New-Ageish guru Henry Gibson. A variety of wonderfully odd characters pop up, played by everyone from model Nina Van Pallandt to director Mark Rydell to ex-baseballer Jim Bouton. And yes, that is Arnold Schwarzenegger (in only his second movie) popping up as (what else?) a muscleman. Listen for the title song: it shows up in the strangest places. --Marshall Fine

• The Player | DVD | (04/02/2008) from £20.00   |  Saving you £-10.01 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  When callous movie studio executive Griffin Mill (Tim Robbins) starts receiving anonymous death threats from a rejected screenwriter his already shaky career begins to crumble. Finally his desperation drives him to kill...but did he rub out the wrong writer? Relentlessly hounded by a street-wise detective (Whoopi Goldberg) Griffin falls in love with the dead man's girlfriend (Greta Scacchi). Then the mysterious threats begin again - and Griffin is plunged into a plot more outrageous than any movie.

• The Player | DVD | (30/04/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Robert Altman's a biting satire on the Hollywood industry, The Player, has always been acknowledged by insiders as too close to the truth for comfort. Opening with a self-referential nine-minute tracking shot around the studio lot where producer Griffin Mill (Tim Robbins) works, the story's intrigue begins with the first of several postcard death threats from a writer he's angered. After accidentally killing the wrong man, Mill moves from one star-studded lunch table to another. All the while he's hounded by the real writer and an obsession with "Ice Queen" artist June Gudmundsdotter (Greta Scacchi) who'd been the deceased's girlfriend. Altman's tradition of improvised dialogue makes each of the dozens of cameos a fascinating treat for movie fans. Blink and you'll miss Angelica Houston, John Cusack, Rod Steiger, or Bruce Willis and Julia Roberts who appear in the hilarious movie-within-a-movie finale. There's an endless list of terrific support from the likes of dry-witted Fred Ward, fly-swatting Lyle Lovett, or tampon-twirling Whoopi Goldberg. Aside from the star-spotting and a script that crackles with sharp dialogue, this also warrants acknowledgement for being the movie to set off an explosion of independent film in the Nineties. On the DVD: there's a commentary track (which leaves the film's soundtrack playing a little too loud) from director Altman who talks at length about the poor state of today's industry, and writer Michael Tolkin who contributes about ten minutes of veiled displeasure about the treatment of a writer's work. There are five grainy deleted scenes featuring lost cameos from Tim Curry, Jeff Daniels, and Patrick Swayze. Then in a 16-minute featurette a lot of the deleted footage is repeated around an interview with Altman. A trailer rounds out the package. --Paul Tonks

• Pret a Porter | DVD | (16/05/2011) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  At the world's hottest fashion show there's been a murder. Now everybody's a suspect including two guests (Julia Roberts and Tim Robbins) who end up sharing more than a hotel room! Sizzling Kim Basinger also stars as s hilariously inept TV reporter on the trail of her hottest interview yet. They're all caught up in the year's biggest see-and-be-seen event - where scintillating scandals and spectacular supermodels turn up the heat in a riotous show of high-fashion hilarity!

• Beyond Therapy | DVD | (11/08/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Neurotic New Yorker Bruce (Jeff Goldblum) is a manic bisexual who enjoys a good cry. Equally insecure Prudence (Julie Hagerty of Airplane!) is the uptight writer he meets through the personal ads. Bob Christopher (Christopher Guest of This Is Spinal Tap A Mighty Wind) is Bruce's roommate and former lover who is insanely jealous of Prudence. Prudence is also sleeping with her lecherous therapist Stuart (Tom Conti of Reuben Reuben) while Bruce's therapist Charlotte (Oscar''-winner Glenda Jackson of A Touch Of Class and Women In Love) may be crazier than any of her patients. Add an xtremely overprotective mother and a very odd French restaurant and you have a one-of-a-kind comedy about life love and the happy endings that lay Beyond Therapy.

• Pret-a-Porter | DVD | (13/02/2001) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  Robert Altman's much-anticipated broadside at the world of fashion, Pret A Porter is a disappointment. The film's crazy-quilt Nashville-like narrative structure and ensemble casting (Julia Roberts, Tim Robbins, Lauren Bacall, Marcello Mastroianni, Sophia Loren) are a thing to behold, but the story's many interlocking pieces lack overall depth and resonating emotion. There is a grand, satiric statement about fashion and society at the end of the film, and there are hints of an aging, nostalgic filmmaker's scepticism about our post-modern world of short-lived attachments and meanings. But watching this film is a long, long uphill climb, with a lot of thin air to endure before arriving at a destination. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com

• The Gingerbread Man | DVD | (12/04/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Exciting adventures for the Gingerbread Man and friends: The Old Bag Salt And Pepper and Sleek. Featuring the voices of Andrew Sachs and David Wood.

• A Prairie Home Companion | DVD | (04/04/2011) from £15.97   |  Saving you £-2.99 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Director Robert Altman's final film looks at what goes on backstage during the last broadcast of America's most celebrated radio show.

• A Prairie Home Companion | DVD | (25/06/2007) from £9.49   |  Saving you £6.50 (68.49%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Director Robert Altman's final film looks at what goes on backstage during the last broadcast of America's most celebrated radio show.

• Doctor T. And The Women | DVD | (07/01/2002) from £11.95   |  Saving you £8.04 (40.20%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Dr. Sullivan Travis is the envy of his buddies at the Dallas country club. As they freely and frequently point out, he's the luckiest kind of doctor.

• Fool For Love | DVD | (02/08/2004) from £4.99   |  Saving you £8.00 (61.60%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Cowboy drifter Eddie reconnects with May the love of his life in a seedy desert motel even though she's taken up with a new boyfriend. But that's not the only threat to their rekindled passion. A mysterious old man also harbours a secret so dark and forbidden it could destroy Eddie and May's love forever...

• Thieves Like Us | DVD | (20/06/2005) from £46.86   |  Saving you £-33.87 (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Robbing 36 banks was easy. It's the 37th that you need to watch.... Classic romantic drama about three convicted killers Bowie Chicamaw and T-Dub who escape from prison in 1937 rural Mississippi. Bowie the youngest of the fugitives meets and falls for an ingenious farm girl Keechie. The gang quickly turns to the only thing they know bank robbery. The press closely follows the desperados notorious exploits which include a serious car accident another jail break and several killings. The acclaimed Louis Fletcher made her film debut playing Remsen's sister in law.

• Doctor T. And The Women | DVD | (10/12/2007) from £6.73   |  Saving you £3.26 (48.44%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Richard Gere is a frantically overworked socially-in-demand gynecologist whose life is coming apart at the seams. His wife (Farrah Fawcett) has regressed into a child-like state while one daughter (Tara Reid) is raising suspicions about the relationship between his soon-to-be-married other daughter (Kate Hudson) and her maid of honor (Liv Tyler). Meanwhile just as his champagne-loving sister-in-law (Laura Dern) arrives with three nieces in tow the doctor falls for the sexy new golf pro (Helen Hunt). As complications mount the good doctor's life rapidly approaches the force of a Texas tornado!

• The Game/The Gingerbread Man | DVD | (26/02/2007) from £14.83   |  Saving you £-1.84 (-14.20%)   |  RRP £12.99

  The Game (Dir. David Fincher 1997): Nicholas Van Orton (Michael Douglas) is a shrewdly successful businessman who is accustomed to being in control of each facet of his investments and relationships. His well-ordered life undergoes a profound change however when his brother Conrad (Sean Penn) gives him an unexpected birthday gift that soon has devastating consequences. There are no rules in The Game. The Gingerbread Man (Dir. Robert Altman 1997): Successful Savannah lawyer Rick Magruder (Kenneth Branagh) becomes obsessed with a mysterious seductive waitress Mallory Doss (Embeth Davidtz) who is being stalked by her fundamentalist father Dixon Doss (Robert Duvall). When Magruder tries to protect Mallory he is drawn into a web of deceit and danger his life falling apart as he peels away the layers of intrigue and mystery that surround her.