"Director: Tim Robbins"

• Dead Man Walking | DVD | (17/09/2001) from £7.73   |  Saving you £8.26 (106.86%)   |  RRP £15.99

  A serious film on a serious subject, Dead Man Walking (1995) is enriched by two excellent performances: Sean Penn as a murderer and rapist facing execution on Death Row, and Susan Sarandon as a nun who visits and befriends him. Tim Robbins, the writer and director of the film (and Sarandon's husband), based the film on a true story, and there's not much narrative tension since it's obvious Penn will not escape his fate. But the film is a clear-eyed look at the realities of capital punishment and its grisly rituals, which at the same time never sentimentalises the people or the issues. There is no shying away from the evil of the murderer's acts and their effects on the victims' families, but this is balanced against the heartlessness and cynicism of those in the prison system and their political masters. It's hard to say whether the film is ultimately against capital punishment; it certainly encourages you to think for yourself. On the DVD: The image and sound quality is excellent, in widescreen ratio 16:9. There's a theatrical trailer and a TV commercial for the film, which also has language tracks in English, French and Spanish and subtitles in English, French, Spanish, Dutch and Hungarian. There's also an audio commentary on the film by director Tim Robbins which gives valuable insights into the political background of the film and the shooting process. --Ed Buscombe

• Dead Man Walking | Blu Ray | (28/01/2013) from £7.29   |  Saving you £5.70 (78.19%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Inspired by a true story, this provocative tale of crime and redemption earned Susan Sarandon a 1995 Oscar for Best Actress and Sean Penn an Oscar Nomination for Best Actor. Sister Helen Prejean (Sarandon) becomes the spiritual advisor to Matthew Poncelet (Penn), a vicious and complex killer awaiting execution. As she attempts to save Matthew's dark soul, she uncovers shocking truths that will rock the very foundation of her faith.

• Bob Roberts | DVD | (02/11/2015) from £20.00   |  Saving you £-10.01 (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Written and directed by actor Tim Robbins (who also plays the title role), this 1992 mock documentary about an upstart candidate for the U.S. Senate is smart, funny, and scarily prescient in its foreshadowing of the Republican revolution of 1994. Bob Roberts is a folksinger with a difference: He offers tunes that protest welfare chiselers, liberal whining, and the like. As the filmmakers follow his campaign, Robbins gives needle-sharp insight into the way candidates manipulate the media. While the film follows Roberts's campaign, it also covers a fringe journalist (Giancarlo Esposito), who may have dug up the kind of dirt to push Roberts's campaign off the rails. Robbins captures the chilly insincerity of this right-wing populist and fills his cast with terrific supporting players, including Alan Rickman as the campaign's shadowy financier and Susan Sarandon and Peter Gallagher as a pair of airhead TV news anchors. --Marshall Fine

• Sean Penn Collection - 21 Grams/T.A.P.S./Dead Man Walking/Colors/State Of Grace | DVD | (12/03/2007) from £28.33   |  Saving you £6.66 (23.51%)   |  RRP £34.99

  21 Grams: A freak accident brings together a terminally ill mathematician (Penn) a grieving mother (Watts) and a born-again ex-con (Del Toro) in Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's fantastic multi-layered follow up to his debut 'Amores Perros' a gripping story that takes them to the heights of passion the depths of obsession and sees the promise of revenge... Taps: this compelling drama a cadet major (Timothy Hutton) leads his fellow military students in an armed revolt to prevent authorities from turning their school into a condominium complex. His surrogate father who is also the academy's commander (George C. Scott) vows to fight the closing as well. But when an unexpected accident leads to the school's demise military discipline goes haywire and tragedy results. Sean Penn Tom Cruise and Ronny Cox co-star in this thought-provoking film that questions the values and morals of today's society. Dead Man Walking: Inspired by the true story of a nun's relationship with a condemned man this provocative examination of crime punishment and redemption earned Susan Sarandon the 1995 Oscar for Best Actress and Sean Penn an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. Sister Helen Prejean (Sarandon) a compassionate New Orleans nun is the spiritual advisor to Mathew Poncelet (Penn) a vicious angry and complex murderer awaiting execution. Her dedication is to help others like Mathew find salvation. But as she attempt to navigate Mathew's dark soul she encounters a depth of evil that makes her question how far redemption can really go. Can she stave off the fateful day of execution long enough to save Mathew or will she discover a truth that will rock the very foundations by which she lives? Colors: In the `hood all that matters are your colors... Academy Award winner Robert Duvall and Sean Penn sink their teeth into grimy hard-edged heart-thumping action in a film that captures the vivid mark that gang life has left upon Los Angeles. Bob Hodges (Duvall) is a seasoned street cop who has learned a lot from long experience while his young partner Danny McGavin (Penn) has learned nothing - and knows it well. Forced to work together in the LAPD's renowned CRASH anti-gang unit they set out to investigate a brutal gang murder. Hated and hunted by both sides the cops soon find themselves trapped in the middle of a turf war. With nowhere to turn they are ambushed double-crossed and shot at in a take-no-prisoners street battle. As the violence escalates these two diametrically opposed men must come to terms with one important fact - to stay alive they must come together! State Of Grace: Having been away for several years Terry Noonan (Sean Penn) is reunited with his gangland friends the ruthless Jackie Flannery (Gary Oldman) and his brother Frankie (Ed Harris) - the Kitchen's most powerful racketeer. Terry grew up in Hell's Kitchen he's streetwise and knows the rules. But returning as an undercover cop to the squalor of his childhood haunts leads him deep into a dark underworld of deceit corruption betrayal and murder. He's been assigned to put Frankie Flannery out of business forever and if he makes one false move he won't even live to regret it...

• Bob Roberts | DVD | (02/01/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Vote first. Ask questions later. Tim Robbins stars in his directorial debut as right-wing folksinger Bob Roberts in this satirical mockumentary. Bob Roberts is joined on his Pennsylvania senatorial campaign trail by a British documentary filmmaker who offers insight into Roberts his staff and his supporters. Roberts is the anti-Bob Dylan wowing his supporters with tunes such as ""Times Are Changin' Back"" and ""Wall Street Rap."" With his clean-cut good looks and squeaky-clean

• Cradle Will Rock | DVD | (07/08/2006) from £5.38   |  Saving you £12.61 (234.39%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Powerful and sweeping the critically acclaimed Cradle Will Rock starring John Cusack Bill Murray Susan Sarandon Hank Azaria and Joan Cusack takes a kaleidoscopic look at the extraordinary events of 1930s America. From high society to life on the streets director Tim Robbins (Dead Man Walking) brings Depression-era New York City to vivid life. A time when da Vincis are given to millionaires who help fund the Mussolini war effort. And Nelson Rockefeller commissions Mexican artis

• Dead Man Walking | DVD | (01/10/1999) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  A serious film on a serious subject, Dead Man Walking (1995) is enriched by two excellent performances: Sean Penn as a murderer and rapist facing execution on Death Row, and Susan Sarandon as a nun who visits and befriends him. Tim Robbins, the writer and director of the film (and Sarandon's husband), based the film on a true story, and there's not much narrative tension since it's obvious Penn will not escape his fate. But the film is a clear-eyed look at the realities of capital punishment and its grisly rituals, which at the same time never sentimentalises the people or the issues. There is no shying away from the evil of the murderer's acts and their effects on the victims' families, but this is balanced against the heartlessness and cynicism of those in the prison system and their political masters. It's hard to say whether the film is ultimately against capital punishment; it certainly encourages you to think for yourself. On the DVD: The image and sound quality is excellent, in widescreen ratio 16:9. There's a theatrical trailer and a TV commercial for the film, which also has language tracks in English, French and Spanish and subtitles in English, French, Spanish, Dutch and Hungarian. There's also an audio commentary on the film by director Tim Robbins which gives valuable insights into the political background of the film and the shooting process. --Ed Buscombe