Drama

• Macbeth | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £6.99   |  Saving you £13.00 (185.98%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Roman Polanski's adaptation of the Shakespearean tragedy Macbeth remains one of the most infamous for a number of reasons: the copious amounts of bloody gore, its expert use of location settings (filmed in North Wales) and Lady Macbeth's nude sleepwalking scene. Despite its notoriety, though, this does remain one of the more compelling film adaptations of the Scottish tragedy, if one of the more pessimistic takes on the story of Macbeth and his overreaching ambition. If you think the play is normally a bit of a downer, you haven't seen Polanski's bleak version of it, made in reaction to the murder of his wife, Sharon Tate, by the Manson "family". Jon Finch (Hitchcock's Frenzy) is a forceful Macbeth, bringing out the Scot's warrior instincts, and Francesca Annis is a memorable Lady Macbeth but the main thrust of the film belongs to Polanski's and noted British playwright and critic Kenneth Tynan's take on the play: extremely violent, nihilistic and visceral; this is down-in-the-dirt, no-holds-barred Shakespeare, not fussy costume drama. Pay close attention to the end, a silent coda that puts a chilling twist on all the action that has come beforehand and foreshadows more tragedy to come. --Mark Englehart

• O Brother Where Art Thou? | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £3.84   |  Saving you £6.15 (160.16%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Only Joel and Ethan Coen, masters of quirky and ultra-stylish genre subversion, would dare nick the plotline of Homer's Odyssey for O Brother, Where Art Thou?, their comic picaresque saga about three cons on the run in 1930s Mississippi. Our wandering hero in this case is one Ulysses Everett McGill, a slick-tongued wise guy with a thing for hair pomade (George Clooney, blithely sending up his own dapper image) who talks his chain-gang buddies (Coen-movie regular John Turturro and newcomer Tim Blake Nelson) to light out after some buried loot he claims to know of. En route they come up against a prophetic blind man on a railroad truck, a burly one-eyed baddie (the ever-magnificent John Goodman), a trio of sexy singing ladies, a blues guitarist who's sold his soul to the devil, a brace of crooked politicos on the stump, a manic-depressive bank robber, and--well, you get the idea. Into this, their most relaxed film yet, the Coens have tossed a beguiling ragbag of inconsequential situations, a wealth of looping, left-field dialogue and a whole stash of gags both verbal and visual. O Brother (the title's lifted from Preston Sturges' classic 1941 comedy Sullivan's Travels) is furthermore graced with glowing, burnished photography from Roger Deakins and a masterly soundtrack from T-Bone Burnett that pays loving homage to American 30s folk-styles: blues, gospel, bluegrass, jazz and more. And just to prove that the brothers haven't lost their knack for bad-taste humour, we get a Ku Klux Klan rally choreographed like something between a Nuremberg rally and a Busby Berkeley musical. --Philip KempOn the DVD: This two-disc set duplicates the original single-disc release of the film which included a handful of cast and crew interviews, and adds an additional disc with more interviews, two brief behind-the-scenes featurettes about the production design and the post-production digital colouring of the film, a couple of storyboard-to-scene comparisons and a music video of "Man of Constant Sorrow". There's also a 16-minute documentary to promote the companion Down from the Mountain concert. Frankly there's not a lot here to justify spreading it across two discs: a more pleasing not to say generous offering would have been to cram all these extras onto Disc 1 and give us Down from the Mountain as the second disc. --Mark Walker

• The West Wing - Complete Season 1 | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £12.85   |  Saving you £49.14 (382.41%)   |  RRP £61.99

  Aaron Sorkin's American political drama The West Wing is more than mere feel-good viewing for sentimental US patriots. It is among the best-written, sharpest, funniest and most moving American TV series of all time. In its first series, The West Wing established the cast of characters comprising the White House staff. There's Chief of Staff Leo McGarry (John Spencer), a recovering alcoholic whose efforts to be the cornerstone of the administration contribute to the break-up of his marriage. CJ (Alison Janney) is the formidable Press Spokeswoman embroiled in a tentative on-off relationship with Timothy (Thirtysomething) Busfield's reporter. Brilliant but grumpy communications deputy Toby Ziegler, Rob Lowe's brilliant but faintly nerdy Sam Seaborn and brilliant but smart-alecky Josh Lyman make up the rest of the inner circle. Initially, the series' creators had intended to keep the President off-screen. Wisely, however, they went with Martin Sheen's Jed Bartlet, whose eccentric volatility, caution, humour and strength in a crisis make for such an impressively plausible fictional President that polls once expressed a preference for Bartlet over the genuine incumbent. The issues broached in the first series have striking, often prescient contemporary relevance. We see the President having to be talked down from a "disproportionate response" when terrorists shoot down a plane carrying his personal doctor, or acting as broker in a dangerous stand-off between India and Pakistan. Gun control laws, gays in the military and fundamentalist pressure groups are all addressed--the latter in a most satisfying manner ("Get your fat asses out of the White House!")--while the episode "Take This Sabbath Day" is a superb dramatic meditation on capital punishment. Handled incorrectly, The West Wing could have been turgid, didactic propaganda for The American Way. However, the writers are careful to show that, decent as this administration is, its achievements, though hard-won, are minimal. Moreover, the brisk, staccato-like, almost musical exchanges of dialogue, between Josh and his PA Donna, for instance, as they pace purposefully up and down the corridors are the show's abiding joy. This is wonderful and addictive viewing. --David Stubbs

• Small Island | DVD | (07/06/2010) from £6.99   |  Saving you £13.00 (185.98%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Adapted from Andrea Levy's best-selling award-winning novel and shown on BBC One this two-part drama Small Island is an epic love story about the determined pursuit of dreams in the face of seemingly insurmountable barriers. Set against the backdrop of the Second World War in a time when landlords would put up signs that read No Irish no coloureds no dogs Small Island follows the interlocking lives of Londoner Queenie (Ruth Wilson) the young Jamaican couple who become her lodgers Gilbert and Hortense (David Oyelowo and Naomie Harris) Queenie's husband Bernard (Benedict Cumberbatch) and the mysterious and handsome Michael (Ashley Walters). From the heat and hustle of life in Forties Jamaica through to the devastation of London in the Blitz Small Island is an ambitious yet personal tale which deftly touches on the weighty themes of empire prejudice and war with a gentle touch and a warm uplifting generosity of spirit.

• Tolkien Dvd | DVD | (09/09/2019) from £4.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Tolkien explores the formative years of the orphaned author as he finds friendship, love and artistic inspiration among a group of fellow outcasts at school. This takes him into the outbreak of WW1, which threatens to tear their fellowship apart. All of these experiences go on to inspire Tolkien to write his famous Middle Earth novels

• Le Samourai (1967) (Criterion Collection) UK Only | Blu Ray | (06/12/2021) from £23.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  In a career-defining performance, Alain Delon (Purple Noon) plays Jef Costello, a contract killer with samurai instincts. After carrying out a flawlessly planned hit, Jef finds himself caught between a persistent police investigator and a ruthless employer, and not even his armour of fedora and trench coat can protect him. An elegantly stylized masterpiece of cool by maverick director Jean-Pierre Melville (Army of Shadows), Le samouraï is a razor-sharp cocktail of 1940s American gangster cinema and 1960s French pop culture with a liberal dose of Japanese lonewarrior mythology.

• Trainspotting | DVD | (01/06/2009) from £3.40   |  Saving you £12.59 (370.29%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Choose life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family... This is the story of Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor) and his so-called friends - a bunch of losers liars psychos thieves and junkies. Hilarious but harrowing the film charts the disintegration of their friendship as they proceed seemingly towards self-destruction. Mark alone has the insight and opportunity to escape his fate - but then again does he really want to ""choose life""?

• War Horse | DVD | (07/05/2012) from £8.25   |  Saving you £9.74 (118.06%)   |  RRP £17.99

  From director Steven Spielberg comes War Horse, an epic adventure for audiences of all ages. Set against a sweeping canvas of rural England and Europe during the First World War, War Horse begins with the remarkable friendship between a horse named Joey and a young man called Albert, who tames and trains him. When they are forcefully parted, the film follows Joey’s the extraordinary journey as he moves through the war, changing and inspiring the lives of all those he meets – British cavalry, German soldiers and a French farmer and his granddaughter – before the story reaches its emotional climax in the heart of No Man’s Land. The First World War is experienced through the journey of this horse – an odyssey of joy and sorrow, passionate friendship and high adventure. War Horse is one of the great stories of friendship and war – a best-selling book by author Michael Morpurgo, it was turned into an award-winning stage production and now comes to screen in an epic adaptation by one of the great directors in film history.

• Hotel Rwanda | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £6.20   |  Saving you £13.79 (222.42%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Don Cheadle stars in this real life account of one man's heroics during the genocide in 1990's Rwanda.

• The Tree of Life | Blu Ray | (19/11/2018) from £32.75   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Terrence Malick's magnum opus, a visionary hymn to nature and grace, in an edition featuring a new extended cut. Four decades into an already legendary career, TERRENCE MALICK (Days of Heaven) realized his most rapturous vision to date, tracing a story of childhood, wonder, and grief to the outer limits of time and space. Reaching back to the dawn of creation, Malick sets a story of boyhood memories on a universal scale, charting the coming of age of an awestruck child (newcomer HUNTER MCCRACKEN) in Texas in the 1950s, as he learns to navigate the extremes of nature and grace represented by his bitter, often tyrannical father (Fight Club's BRAD PITT) and his ethereal, nurturing mother (JESSICA CHASTAIN, in her breakout role). Shot with nimble attention to life's most fleeting moments by EMMANUEL LUBEZKI (Gravity), the Palme d'Orwinning The Tree of Life marks the intimately personal, cosmically ambitious culmination of Malick's singular approach to filmmaking. Features: New 4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by director Terrence Malick and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, with 5.1 surround DTSHD Master Audio soundtrack New extended version of the film featuring an additional fifty minutes of footage Exploring The Tree of Life, a 2011 documentary featuring collaborators and admirers of Malick's, including filmmakers David Fincher and Christopher Nolan New interviews with actor Jessica Chastain and visualeffects supervisor Dan Glass Interview from 2011 with composer Alexandre Desplat about the film, and a new interview with music critic Alex Ross about Malick's approach to music Video essay from 2011 by critic Matt Zoller Seitz Trailer PLUS: An essay by critic Kent Jones and a 2011 piece on the film by critic Roger Ebert

• G.I. Jane | DVD | (26/03/2001) from £5.99   |  Saving you £7.00 (116.86%)   |  RRP £12.99

  It seemed like a pretty good career move, and for the most part it was. Demi Moore will never top any rational list of great actresses, but as her career stalled in the mid-1990s she had enough internal fire and external physicality to be just right for her title role in G.I. Jane. Her character's name isn't Jane--it's Jordan O'Neil--but the fact that she lacks a penis makes her an immediate standout in her elite training squad of Navy SEALs. She's been recruited as the first female SEAL trainee through a series of backroom political manoeuvres and must prove her military staying power against formidable odds--not the least of which is the abuse of a tyrannical master chief (Viggo Mortensen) who puts her through hell to improve her chances of success. Within the limitations of a glossy star vehicle, director Ridley Scott manages to incorporate the women-in-military issue with considerable impact, and Moore--along with her conspicuous breast enhancements and that memorable head-shaving scene--jumps into the role with everything she's got. Not a great movie by any means, but definitely a rousing crowd pleaser and it's worth watching just to hear Demi shout the words "Suck my ----!!" (rhymes with "chick"). --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com

• Erin Brockovich | DVD | (09/10/2000) from £10.98   |  Saving you £11.00 (122.36%)   |  RRP £19.99

  In a world where heroes are often in short supply, the story of Erin Brockovich is an inspirational reminder of the power of the human spirit.

• Endeavour S9: Collector's Edition | DVD | (06/11/2023) from £14.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Little Women (2019) | DVD | (25/05/2020) from £7.05   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Writer-director Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird) has crafted a Little Women that draws on both the classic novel and the writings of Louisa May Alcott, and unfolds as the author's alter ego, Jo March, reflects back and forth on her fictional life. In Gerwig's take, the beloved story of the March sisters four young women each determined to live life on their own terms is both timeless and timely.

• Boy In The Striped Pyjamas | DVD | (18/04/2011) from £5.80   |  Saving you £14.19 (244.66%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Based on the best selling novel by John Boyne. Berlin 1942 - Eight-year-old Bruno knows nothing of the Final Solution and the Holocaust. He is oblivious to the appalling cruelties being inflicted on the people of Europe by his country. All he knows is that his father was promoted and he has been moved from a comfortable home in Berlin to a house in a desolate area where there is nothing to do and no-one to play with. Until he meets Shmuel a boy who lives a strange parallel existence on the other side of the adjoining wire fence and who like the other people there wears a uniform of striped pajamas Bruno's friendship with Shmuel will take him from innocence to revelation as their secret meetings result in a friendship that has startling and devastating consequences.

• Suffragette | DVD | (29/02/2016) from £4.22   |  Saving you £17.03 (575.34%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The foot soldiers of the early feminist movement, women who were forced underground to pursue a dangerous game of cat and mouse with an increasingly brutal State.

• Quadrophenia | DVD | (20/09/1999) from £7.86   |  Saving you £8.13 (103.44%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Franc Roddam's terrifically energetic movie, set to music from the Who's Quadrophenia, is--at the very least, the best film ever based on a rock album (and, yes, that includes Tommy, Pink Floyd: The Wall, and Jesus Christ Superstar). Actually, this tale of the battle between two early 1960s youth subcultures--Mods and Rockers--in the seaside teenage wasteland of Brighton, isn't so much a cinematic "version" of the Who's 1979 double-record rock opera as it is a story based on the sequence of songs on the album. Quadrophenia is about that crucial time in teenhood when the lion's share of your sense of identity is tied up in the music you listen to, the clothes you wear, and the groups you hang out with. Jimmy (Phil Daniels) identifies himself with the sharp-dressing, scooter-riding Mods, who listen to American soul and British pop-rock. The Rockers, on the other hand, are leather-jacketed, black-booted, motorcycle-riding tough guys who listen primarily to classic American rock & roll. The film captures this minor pop-culture revolution perfectly. Look for Sting as a club-hopping slickster, who's shameful secret is that he's a hotel bellboy by day. --Jim Emerson

• Sweet Home Alabama | DVD | (06/10/2003) from £4.95   |  Saving you £13.04 (263.43%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Reese Witherspoon stars in this romantic comedy as a New York fashion designer with a past that holds many secrets, including Jake, the redneck husband she married in high school, who refuses to divorce her.

• Phoenix Nights 2 | DVD | (06/10/2003) from £10.08   |  Saving you £9.91 (98.31%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The beginning of the second series of Phoenix Nights sees Brian Potter's beloved Phoenix Club lying in ashes and the staff scattered to the four winds. Even club compere Jerry St Clair is reduced to singing "Come get your black bin bags" to the tune of Men in Black in the local supermarket. But not even being barred from having a licence for the rest of his natural life can deter the northern Svengali from reopening the club and making it bigger and better than before--even if that means making Jerry the licensee and offering up-market Chinese nosh. This second instalment of Peter Kay's cult sit-com is more upbeat than the first, with some genuine success coming to the characters and club, but it still has its hilariously subversive undertones: a botched hit job; an inflatable castle with an extra appendage; and Brian stuck on his stair lift for a day after a power cut, to take just three examples. The script remains brilliantly surreal and incredibly funny. All the favourite characters remain, with club bouncers Paddy and Max featuring in a couple of the meatier storylines (perhaps setting them up for their own spin-off series?) and Jerry continuing to wow the crowds with his original vocal stylings, the highlight being the grand Stars in Their Eyes final in which he offers his own unique clubland take on Eminem. It's brilliantly original stuff: roll on Series 3. --Kristen Bowditch

• La La Land | DVD | (15/05/2017) from £7.05   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  In this modern take on the Hollywood musical from Damien Chazelle, the Academy Award-nominated writer and director of 'Whiplash', Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) and Mia (Emma Stone) are drawn together by their common desire to do what they love.