Drama

• Leave Her To Heaven | DVD | (18/04/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Leave Her to Heaven is one of the most unblinkingly perverse movies ever offered up as a prestige picture by a major studio in the golden age of Hollywood. Gene Tierney, whose lambent eyes, porcelain features, and sweep of healthy-American-girl hair customarily made her a 20th Century Fox icon of purity, scored an Oscar nomination playing a demonically obsessive daughter of privilege with her own monstrous notion of love. By the time she crosses eyebeams with popular novelist Cornel Wilde on a New Mexico-bound train, her jealous manipulations have driven her parents apart and her father to his grave. Well, no, not grave: Wilde soon gets to watch her gallop a glorious palomino across a red-rock horizon as she metronomically sows Dad's ashes to the winds. Mere screen moments later, she's jettisoned rising-politico fiancé Vincent Price and accepted a marriage proposal the besotted/bewildered Wilde hasn't quite made. Can the wrecking of his and several other lives be far behind? Not to mention a murder or two. Fox gave Ben Ames Williams's bestselling novel (probably just the sort of book Wilde's character writes) the Class-A treatment. Alfred Newman's tympani-heavy music score signals both grandeur and pervasive psychosis, while spectacular, dust-jacket-worthy locations and Oscar-destined Technicolor cinematography by Leon Shamroy ensure our fixed gaze. Impeccably directed by the veteran John M. Stahl (who'd made the original Back Street, Imitation of Life, and Magnificent Obsession a decade earlier), the result is at once cuckoo and hieratic, and weirdly mesmerizing. Bet Luis Buñuel loved it. --Richard T. Jameson

• 20th Century Women | DVD | (26/06/2017) from £7.05   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  The story of three women who explore love and freedom in Southern California during the late 1970s.

• Vera: Series 11 (Eps 5 & 6) | DVD | (27/02/2023) from £16.79   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Final two episodes from the eleventh series of the ITV crime thriller based on the novels by Ann Cleeves, starring Brenda Blethyn as Detective Chief Inspector Vera Stanhope. Along with trusted partner Detective Sergeant Aiden Healy (Kenny Doughty), Vera and her team carry out various murder investigations in Northumberland. In these episodes, Vera investigates the murder of a popular GP and a body found on the banks of the River Tyne. The episodes are: 'Vital Signs' and 'The Way the Wind Blows'.

• Empire of the Sun (Blu-ray + UV Copy) | Blu Ray | (05/11/2012) from £11.98   |  Saving you £8.00 (80.08%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Roundly dismissed as one of Steven Spielberg's least successful efforts, this very underrated film poignantly follows the World War II adventures of young Jim (a brilliant Christian Bale), caught in the throes of the fall of China. What if you once had everything and lost it all in an afternoon? What if you were only 12 years old at the time? Bale's transformation, from pampered British ruling-class child to an imprisoned, desperate, nearly feral boy, is nothing short of stunning. Also stunning are exceptional sets, cinematography and music (the last courtesy of John Williams) that enhance author J.G. Ballard's and screenwriter Tom Stoppard's depiction of another, less familiar casualty of war. In a time when competitors were releasing "comedic", derivative coming-of-age films, Empire of the Sun stands out as an epic in the classic David Lean sense--despite confusion or perceived competition with the equally excellent The Last Emperor (also released in 1987, and also a coming-of-age in a similar setting). It is also a remarkable testament to, yes, the human spirit. And despite its disappointing box-office returns, Empire of the Sun helped to further establish Spielberg as more than a commercial director and set the standard, tone and look for future efforts Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan. --N.F. Mendoza

• M3gan | Blu Ray | (30/10/2023) from £19.97   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 4K ULTRA HIGH-DEFINITION From James Wan, the producer of Annabelle, and Blumhouse, the producer of The Black Phone, comes a fresh new face in terror. M3GAN is a marvel of artificial intelligence, a lifelike doll that's programmed to be a child's greatest companion and a parent's greatest ally. Designed by Gemma (Allison Williams, Get Out), a brilliant roboticist, M3GAN can listen, watch, and learn as it plays the role of friend, teacher, playmate, and protector. When Gemma becomes the unexpected caretaker of her 8-year-old niece, she decides to pair the girl with a M3GAN prototype, a decision that leads to unimaginable consequences. Product Features A NEW VISION OF HORROR BRINGING LIFE TO M3GAN GETTING HACKED

• The Shooting Party (Collectors Edition) | DVD | (09/10/2006) from £19.99   |  Saving you £-2.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  In October 1913 a group of aristocratic men and women gather for a shooting party at an estate in the heart of the British countryside. Assured and opulent they move through the elaborate rituals of an Edwardian England country house-party. They dine they shoot gossip flirt and are discreetly adulterous. As members of the privileged elite they practice an etiquette largely imposed by the late King Edward VII - anything goes just as long as it does not threaten the established order or offend accepted morality. But times are changing. The values that have ordered their glittering world will no longer have any meaning in the new age about to dawn.

• Joan Of Arc: The Messenger | DVD | (01/08/2005) from £9.99   |  Saving you £-4.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Over the years, many film directors have attempted to tell the story of legendary 15th-century heroine Joan of Arc, a simple country girl who claimed she was inspired by God to lead the French troops in a victorious assault on the mighty English army. Luc Besson's 1999 epic might not be the best version of her life, but it's certainly the biggest. The movie cost a reported $60 million. Even if you are terminally unimpressed by the scale of such recent blockbusters as Gladiator, your eyes will pop out at the sheer number of bodies (living and dead) that Besson has assembled for the dynamic battle scenes. The lavish sets and costumes are almost equally gobsmacking, though neither will show to maximum advantage on the small screen. That's a pity because size is the only thing Joan of Arc really has going for it--as a human drama, it falls completely flat.The historical Joan was eventually made a saint by the Catholic Church, and earlier biopics tended to treat her celestial visions as literal fact. It was probably a mistake for Besson and his co-screenwriter Andrew Birkin to take a more psychological approach and present them as figments of her hysterical imagination. It makes it hard to work up the necessary empathy when the spectacle revolves around a confused and neurotic babe who couldn't organise a Tupperware party, let alone a vast military campaign. Milla Jovovich (the star of Besson's previous The Fifth Element and formerly his wife) doesn't help matters with her shrill and amateurish performance. But a couple of the supporting players are passably amusing--John Malkovich camps it up energetically as Charles, the dispossessed French king whom Joan reinstates, while Faye Dunaway wears outlandish headgear and carries on like a science-fiction creation in the role of his scheming mother-in-law. (The less said the better about Dustin Hoffman's pompous turn as Joan's personified conscience.) Besson keeps to the same glossy visual style even when the Maid is burning at the stake, but it isn't enough to prevent this empty shell of a movie from being a colossal yawn. --Peter Matthews

• Crazy, Stupid, Love. | DVD | (30/01/2012) from £4.90   |  Saving you £15.09 (307.96%)   |  RRP £19.99

  At fortysomething, straight-laced Cal Weaver is living the dream, good job, nice house, great kids and marriage to his high school sweetheart. But when Cal learns that his wife has cheated on him and wants a divorce, his 'perfect' life quickly unravels.

• The Edge Of The World | DVD | (12/01/2004) from £16.83   |  Saving you £3.16 (18.78%)   |  RRP £19.99

  'The Edge Of The Of The World' tells the moving story of a remote island and its inhabitants whose traditions and way of life are threatened by a rapidly industrialising world. To settle an argument over whether the islanders should give up their livelihood and move to the mainland two childhood friends follow an ancient tradition and climb the islands highest cliff face. The outcome shatters the islands peace.

• Somersault | DVD | (08/08/2005) from £5.53   |  Saving you £14.46 (261.48%)   |  RRP £19.99

  A visually haunting film, set at the foot of the Australian ski fields, this is the story of a young girl's sensory journey.

• Barton Fink | DVD | (31/10/2005) from £6.38   |  Saving you £4.87 (95.12%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Between Heaven and Hell There's Always Hollywood! John Turturro shines in the lead role in Barton Fink the Coen Brothers' (Miller's Crossing Fargo) hilarious satire set in the 1940s Hollywood. Fink is a New York playwright who reluctantly relocates to Hollywood to write screenplays. Ordered to write a low budget screenplay about wrestling Fink manages to type one sentence and then...nothing! Although his chatty insurance salesman neighbour Charlie (John Goodman) helps out by teaching Fink about wrestling the clock ticks the temperature rises and Fink's life spins more and more out of control. Barton Fink received three 1991 Oscar nominations-(Best Supporting Actor-Michael Lerner Best Art Direction/Set Direction and Best Costume Design) and also won Best Actor (Turturro) and Best Director (Joel Coen) as well as the coveted Palme d'Or at Cannes.

• Skin | DVD | (05/10/2009) from £10.97   |  Saving you £2.02 (18.41%)   |  RRP £12.99

  An extraordinary true story based on the life of Sandra Laing, a black child born to white parents, and her struggle for acceptance in 1950s South Africa.

• Risen | Blu Ray | (17/04/2019) from £18.88   |  Saving you £6.11 (32.36%)   |  RRP £24.99

  RISEN is the epic Biblical story of the Resurrection, as told through the eyes of a non-believer. Clavius (Joseph Fiennes), a powerful Roman military tribune, and his aide, Lucius (Tom Felton), are tasked with solving the mystery of what happened to Jesus (Cliff Curtis) in the weeks following the crucifixion, in order to disprove the rumours of a risen Messiah and prevent an uprising in Jerusalem. Click Images to Enlarge

• Winter Guest | DVD | (01/09/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Set upon the shores of a picturesque Scottish seaside town in the icy depths of winter The Winter Guest is moving funny and tender story about life love and the need to feel wanted. Oscar winner Emma Thompson and her real life mother Phyllida Law bring extraordinary emotional depth to this sometimes comic often poignant story of four sets of odd couples each representing a different generation from childhood to old age. Frances (Emma Thompson) is trying to overcome the recent loss of her husband: while Elspeth her Mother (Phyllida Law) is attempting to rekindle the relationship between herself and her daughter. As their lives intertwine with those of two young boys (playing truant) a teenage couple (on the brink of sexual awakening) and two elderly ladies (who spend their time choosing which funeral to attend) their affections for each other begin to thaw while all around them is cold frosty and snow covered...

• Battle In Heaven | DVD | (27/03/2006) from £6.86   |  Saving you £13.13 (191.40%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Battle In Heaven is the controversial hit from Cannes by Carlos Reygadas the director of Japn. Carlos Reygadas delivers a poignant insight into the actions and thoughts of a kidnapper in Mexico. Marcus tries to live with the consequences of his actions as well as the infatuation with his employer's daughter Battle In Heaven is sexually explicit but directed with quiet realism using non-professional actors; Anapola Mushkadiz in particul

• Honey 3 | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £4.79   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  After losing her place at a prestigious academy, a struggling dancer puts friends, family and faith on the line to produce an innovative hip-hop ballet. Adrenaline fueled performances take the classic setting of Romeo and Juliet from the hot streets of Verona to urban New York.

• Three Colours Blue | DVD | (29/10/2001) from £6.99   |  Saving you £13.00 (185.98%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The first instalment of the late Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski's trilogy on Liberty, Equality and Fraternity, the three colours of the French flag. Blue is the most sombre of the three, a movie dominated by feelings of grief. As the film begins, a car accident claims the life of a well-known composer. His wife, played by Juliette Binoche (Oscar winner for The English Patient), does not so much put the pieces of her life back together as start an entirely new existence. She moves to Paris, where she dissolves into a wordless life virtually without other people. Kieslowski attaches an almost subconscious significance to the colour blue but primarily he focuses on Binoche's luminous face and the way her subtle shifts in emotion flicker and disappear. The picture may be more enigmatic than the follow-ups White and Red but Binoche's quiet, heartbreaking presence becomes spellbinding; her performance won the best actress prize at the Venice Film Festival in 1993. --Robert Horton

• The Lion In Winter | DVD | (08/09/2003) from £16.95   |  Saving you £-3.96 (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  In this 12th-century version of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Henry II of England (Peter O'Toole) and his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine (Katharine Hepburn), meet on Christmas Eve to discuss the future of the throne. These two are having slight marital problems, as she is kept in captivity most of the year for raising a rebellion against him, and he flaunts his young mistress. Then there are the problems raised by their three treacherous and traitorous sons. James Goldman won an Oscar for the brilliant screenplay, based on his Broadway play. It is a tad wordy, as the action is kept to a minimum, but those words are sharp as daggers. The humour is wicked and black and delivered with very dry, dead-on precision. Sparks fly and the screen sizzles whenever Hepburn and O'Toole tango, which is often. Both were nominated for Academy Awards for their vigorous performances. (She won, he didn't.) There is also an infamous homoerotic exchange between Philip of France (Timothy Dalton) and Richard the Lionhearted (Anthony Hopkins). Both actors were making their feature film debuts. --Rochelle O'Gorman, Amazon.com

• Wes Anderson Boxset | DVD | (26/10/2015) from £14.89   |  Saving you £-1.15 (N/A%)   |  RRP £13.74

  Wes Anderson Collection UK / Ireland DVD Slipcase

• Blackpool | DVD | (15/08/2005) from £18.94   |  Saving you £1.05 (5.54%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Written by accomplished writer Peter Bowker Blackpool is a drama a thriller and a musical all in one. This story of the bright lights and faded grandeur of Britain's famous seaside resort is at once an entertaining musical and a thrilling murder mystery. A darkly comic look at greed love and family the story follows the rise and fall of local arcade owner Ripley Holden a charismatic family man with a dark past who is now poised to make top dollar - if the city can successfully reinvent itself as the Las Vegas of the Lancashire coast. As Ripley struggles to keep his chaotic family in check he hangs on to one hope: that the good life is just around the corner. But he soon finds himself under suspicion and out of control when the a young man is found dead in his showpiece arcade. Investigating officer Carlisle is determined to get to the truth no matter what it takes...