Drama

• Island at War | DVD | (10/09/2007) from £29.95   |  Saving you £-9.96 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Island at War is set in Saint Gregory a fictitious island in the Channel Islands during the Second World War. It tells the harrowing story of how three families are affected by the German occupation and how they managed to live and work alongside the enemy for five years. The three families are; the Dorrs whose son is at war but unexpectedly returns the Mahys shopkeepers recovering from both the loss of the head of their family Mr Mahy and their shop. The third family is the simple fishing famly called the Jonases who are very tight-knit and endeavour to make the best of a bad situation. Heart-stopping suspense and an unexpected romance unfold in an atmosphere steeped in the ambiguity and senselessness of war.

• The Ghost And Mrs Muir | DVD | (09/05/2005) from £6.73   |  Saving you £6.26 (48.20%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Determined to make a life for herself and her daughter Lucy Muir (Gene Tierney) a young widow moves into a cottage overlooking the windswept English coast. She soon learns that it's haunted by the ghost of its former owner a salty sea captain (Rex Harrison). But the Captain's effort to scare off his new tenant soon develops into a most unlikely love affair. When Lucy runs out of money the Captain ""ghost writes"" a book for her based on his life story. Their publishing success h

• The Blue Lagoon (1980) Dual Format (Blu-ray & DVD) edition | Blu Ray | (10/04/2017) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  In 1980, Randal Kleiser's remake of The Blue Lagoon had its critics well and truly divided. On the one hand adolescent nudity, however tasteful, was enough to give the censors the vapours. On the other, the story--essentially a reworking of Robinson Crusoe based on Stacpoole's Edwardian adventure novel with two young children as the castaways growing up on a desert island--seemed just too removed from reality. Kleiser set out to make "the ultimate South Seas film", and indeed the location shooting is a richly beautiful complement to the intimate tale of two young people coming to terms with their own adulthood. He teases out touching performances from Brooke Shields (Emmeline) and Christopher Atkins (Richard) as the marooned pair, and a nicely ambivalent cameo from Leo McKern as Paddy, the ship's cook who gets them set up on the island before rum gets the better of him. A stilted script helps none of them. But the moments of awkward self-discovery and dawning sexuality are handled with a tenderness which ultimately triumphs over some of the more implausible elements: Shields' perpetually manicured nails, for example, or the fact that she unexpectedly gives birth without breaking sweat. To say nothing of the pair's extraordinary home-building skills, which would have been beyond the remit of the average Edwardian governess to teach. Today, for all its efforts to be taken seriously as a tale of preserved innocence and discovery, it succeeds best as a good old-fashioned adventure. On the DVD: This widescreen presentation positively bulges with extras. A choice of director's commentaries means that you can hear Randal Kaiser (who had previously directed Grease) reminiscing in fine detail with writer Douglas Day Stewart, and both Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins. Some might think this overkill for a non-landmark film, but the discussions are genuinely interesting. The film was clearly a formative experience in Shields' adolescent career --she has also provided an album of personal snapshots as another extra--and it is fascinating to hear her talk about it from her current position as a star of sophisticated television sitcom. The crystal-clear digital remastering and anamorphic stereo picture and sound quality of the main film don't extend to this scratchy, sometimes inaudible documentary. --Piers Ford

• The Accused | Blu Ray | (14/03/2022) from £6.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  After a young woman suffers a brutal assault in a bar one night, a prosecutor assists in bringing the perpetrators to justice, including the ones who encouraged and cheered on the attack.

• Good Luck to You, Leo Grande Blu Ray | Blu Ray | (12/09/2022) from £7.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  In GOOD LUCK TO YOU, LEO GRANDE, two-time Academy Award® winner Emma Thompson (Love, Actually) plays Nancy Stokes, a retired school teacher yearning for some adventure, and some sex. And she has a plan, which involves hiring a young sex worker named Leo Grande (Daryl McCormack). As Nancy embarks on a post-marital sexual awakening and Leo draws on his skills and charm, together they find a surprising human connection.

• The Pete Walker Sexploitation Collection - Deluxe Edition | Blu Ray | (22/05/2023) from £41.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Years before he became revered as the 'Gentleman of British Horror', prolific filmmaker Pete Walker started his cinema career making hugely popular sexploitation movies and gangland thrillers. Walker's films didn't shy away from controversial subjects - prostitution, underage sex, pornography and the criminal underworld - and proved irresistible to audiences on both sides of the Atlantic. 'X'-rated productions like School for Sex (which played solidly in London's West End for over a year) display the exceptional early talents of Britain's most celebrated and commercially successful director of his generation. Now for the very first time, Walker's finest non-horror movies are brought together for this spectacular new box-set, starring a host of famous faces: Robin Askwith (Confessions of a Window Cleaner), Francoise Pascal (Mind Your Language), James Aubrey (Bouquet of Barbed Wire) and David Kernan (Carry On Abroad). The Pete Walker Sexploitation Collection collects For Men Only (1967), School for Sex (1968), Cool It Carol! (1970) and Home Before Midnight (1978), all presented here in brand new HD restorations, and featuring an arresting array of exclusive extras, including brand-new interviews with Walker himself. Product Features Rigid Slipcase featuring Artwork by Thomas Walker Booklet Notes by Author and Film-maker Simon Sheridan Cheeky Post Cards Cool it Carol New 2K Restoration From Original Vault Materials High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray™ presentation in 1.66:1 Aspect Ratio Lossless 2.0 English Mono Optional English Subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing Audio Commentary with Critics Kim Newman and Sean Hogan When Robin Met Janet - An Interview with Director Pete Walker Jess Conrad - The Playboy - An Interview with Actor Jess Conrad Step to Drama - Archive Interview with Director Pete Walker Cool Operator - An Interview with Cinematographer Peter Sinclair Cutting It - An Interview with 1st Assistant Editor Glenn Hyde Theatrical Trailer School For Sex High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray™ presentation in 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio Lossless 2.0 English Mono Optional English Subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing Audio Commentary with Kevin Lyons and Jonathan Rigby (UK Version) Continental Version Scenes From Continental Version Bad Education - Making School for Sex Francoise Pascal - Skool's Out School for Sex 8mm version (b/w cut-down version) Tricky Treats 8mm (Pete Walker early striptease film) Theatrical Trailer For Men Only High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray™ presentation in 1.37:1 Aspect Ratio Lossless 2.0 English Mono Optional English Subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing Select Scenes From the Continental Version Continental Version Trailer Home Before Midnight Remastered Transfer, Extensive Dust and Damage Repair and Removal High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray™ presentation in 1.66:1 Aspect Ratio Lossless 2.0 English Mono Optional English Subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing Michael Armstrong - The Midnight Man Pete Walker's A Star Is Dead: Sex Pistols '77 Working For Walker Theatrical Trailer

• The Go-Between | DVD | (22/01/2007) from £12.27   |  Saving you £3.72 (30.32%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Summer 1900: Queen Victoria's last and the summer Leo turns 13. He's the guest of Marcus a wealthy classmate at a grand home in rural Norfolk. Leo is befriended by Marian Marcus's twenty-something sister a beauty about to be engaged to Hugh a viscount and good fellow. Marian buys Leo a forest-green suit takes him on walks and asks him to carry messages to and from their neighbor Ted Burgess a bit of a rake. Leo is soon dissembling realizes he's betraying Hugh but continues as the go-between nonetheless asking adults naive questions about the attractions of men and women. Can an affair between neighbors stay secret for long? And how does innocence end?

• Hound of the Baskervilles | DVD | (17/02/2003) from £19.99   |  Saving you £-4.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  With 17 previous screen adaptations behind it, this 2002 BBC version of The Hound of the Baskervilles might have been inhibited by the sheer weight of expectation. But in this production--marking the centenary of Arthur Conan Doyle's novel--director David Attwood rings the changes subtly and strikingly, helped by Allan Cubitt's tautly argued script and Christopher Hall's vivid production: the viewer feels the "presence" of the moors as never before. Richard Roxburgh is a thoughtful, understated Sherlock Holmes--self-absorbed yet observant of life around him. There's nothing bumbling or ineffectual about Ian Hart's Dr Watson--a resourceful thinker who, often sceptical of Holmes, complements him in human awareness. Richard E Grant dons a plausibly sociopathic manner as Stapleton, and there's a touching portrayal of his put-upon sister from Neve McIntosh. John Nettles and Geraldine James contribute sterling character parts as Dr and Mrs Mortimer, and Matt Day is a suave, not too sophisticated Sir Henry Baskerville. It adds up to a convincing rethink of a hallowed tale. On the DVD: The Hound of the Baskervilles on disc comes with a 16:9 picture that reproduces the sombre atmosphere of Baskerville Hall--shot at a variety of English locations--with real immediacy, and the Dolby Digital sound has 5.1 surround enhancement. Subtitles are in 11 languages, with 10 scene selections--framed in a stylishly- presented main menu. Special Features include a 12-minute making of documentary and interviews with the cast members, as well as a running commentary from Attwood and Hall. --Richard Whitehouse

• Pinter at the BBC (5-DVD Set) | DVD | (28/01/2019) from £38.29   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Harold Pinter (1930-2008) was one of the most important and influential British playwrights of the last century. Whilst best-known for his work for the stage, this collection celebrates Pinter's significant contribution to television. His work for the screen shares many of the qualities of that for the stage, from a fascination with the private roots of power and an abiding preoccupation with memory, to a belief in the agency of women. Featuring 10 plays made for the BBC between 1965 and 1988, and previously unavailable on DVD, highlights include Tea Party (1965), Old Times (1975) and 1987's The Birthday Party which sees a rare example of Pinter acting in his own work. A dazzling array of British acting talent is on display, including Michael Gambon, Julie Walters, Leo McKern, Vivian Merchant, John Le Mesurier and Miranda Richardson. THE PLAYS: The Tea Party (Charles Jarrot, 1965) A Slight Ache (Christopher Morahan, 1967) A Night Out (Christopher Morahan, 1967) The Basement (Charles Jarrot, 1967) Monologue (Christopher Morahan, 1973) Old Times (Christopher Morahan, 1975) The Hothouse (Harold Pinter, 1982) Landscape (Kenneth Ives, 1983) The Birthday Party (Kenneth Ives, 1987) Mountain Language (Harold Pinter, 1988) Special Features: Writers in Conversation: Harold Pinter (1984, 47 mins): an ICA interview with Harold Pinter by Benedict Nightingale Pinter People (1969, 16 mins): a series of four animated films written by Harold Pinter Face to Face: Harold Pinter (1997, 39 mins): Sir Jeremy Isaacs interviews Harold Pinter, who discusses the images and events which have inspired some of his most powerful dramas Harold Pinter Guardian Interview (1996, 73 mins, audio only): an extensive interview with the legendary playwright by critic Michael Billington, recorded at the National Film Theatre Illustrated booklet with new writing by Michael Billington, John Wyver, Billy Smart, Amanda Wrigley, David Rolinson and Lez Cooke, and full film credits UK | 1965 1988 | black and white, and colour | 628 minutes | English language with optional hard-of-hearing subtitles | original aspect ratio 1.33:1 | 5 x DVD9, PAL, Dolby Digital 2.0 mono audio (192kbps) | cert 15 (strong language, moderate violence, threat, sex references | region 2

• Neverending Story - Vol. 4 | DVD | (28/07/2003) from £19.35   |  Saving you £-13.36 (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Bastian Balthazar Bux (Mark Rendall) is an average twelve year old boy whose life revolves around going to school watching TV and playing video games. That is until he discovers a magical book `The Neverending Story' in a fascinating curiosity shop owned by the mysterious Carl Coreander (John Dunn Hill). Bastian's imagination is inspired by the book's tale of an enchanted world called Fantasia; a world ruled by the Childlike Empress (Audrey Gardiner) and inhabited by an assortment o

• Shetland: Series 1 - 7 | DVD | (19/09/2022) from £62.31   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  All 38 episodes from the first seven series of the Scottish crime drama based on the novels by Ann Cleeves, starring Douglas Henshall as Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez. Set in the Shetland Islands, the programme follows Perez as he works to solve a number of murder mysteries. He is assisted by Detective Sergeant Alison 'Tosh' Macintosh (Alison O'Donnell) and Detective Constable Sandy Wilson (Steven Robertson).

• Eureka (1983) | Blu Ray | (23/03/2016) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Eureka Entertainment to release EUREKA, Nicolas Roeg's unsung masterpiece featuring Gene Hackman, Theresa Russell, Rutger Hauer, Joe Pesci and Mickey Rourke, on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK, in a Dual Format edition as part of The Masters of Cinema Series on 28 March 2016. One of the most revered figures in modern cinema; Nicolas Roeg's Eureka was barely released at the time of its making and overlooked by critics. Now, three decades later, it returns to reclaim a place among both the front ranks of Roeg's work and as one of the most extraordinary studio films of the 1980s. Twenty years after uncovering an unimaginable bounty of gold in the Klondike, prospector Jack McCann, now settled in the Caribbean, finds both his wealth and soul at stake amongst a sinister web of nefarious influences, spiritual malaise and criminal elements. A saga of almost cosmic proportions, headlined by an exceptional cast including Gene Hackman, Rutger Hauer, Theresa Russell, Mickey Rourke, Joe Pesci and Joe Spinell, Eureka is as powerfully acted, formally audacious, thematically layered and emotionally complex as any of Roeg's work. The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present the film in a Dual-Format special edition. He found his fortune but at what cost? Special Features: High-definition digital transfer English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired Isolated music & effects track Original theatrical trailer A booklet with archival interviews, new writing and archival images Click Images to Enlarge

• The Long Day Closes | DVD | (28/07/2008) from £18.75   |  Saving you £1.24 (6.61%)   |  RRP £19.99

  For the first time ever on DVD comes BFI Fellowship Awarded Terence Davies' masterpiece The Long Day Closes which acts as Davies' follow up to Distant Voices Still Lives his autobiographical memoirs of growing up in Liverpool in the 1950's. In post-war Liverpool the rain-drenched streets lice-ridden impoverishment and high unemployment makes for a wreckage of a town and growing up here was no easy feat. But for eleven-year-old Bud despite the hardships he found a warmth and bliss rarely seen. The love of his mother his sexual awakening and the rich culture springing up around him as pop music and cinema take off add to his childhood bliss. Davies sticks to his fragmented patchwork narrative to show the nature of his own personal memory interspersed with snatched songs and surreal daydreams and so the audience can emphasise with his every grin and grimace. With Liverpool's City Of Culture recognition The Long Day Closes becomes ever more important as its appreciation of the pop music and cinema which came out of Liverpool is accredited with Bud's happiness and therefore Terence Davies' and his admission into cinema himself.

• Love Jones (1997) (Criterion Collection) UK Only | Blu Ray | (25/04/2022) from £13.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Steeped in the bohemian cool of Chicago's 1990s Black creative scene, love jonesthe smart, sexy, and stylish debut feature of writer-director THEODORE WITCHERis a love story for anyone who has ever wondered: How do I know when I've found the one? LARENZ TATE (Menace II Society) and NIA LONG (The Best Man) have magnetism and chemistry to burn as the striving, artistically talented twentysomethingshe's a poet, she's a photographerwho spark over their love of literature and jazz, but whose mutual reluctance to commit to a relationship leaves them both navigating an emotional minefield of confusion, jealousy, and regrets. Velvety cinematography; an unforgettable, eclectic soundtrack; sophisticated dialogue; and refreshingly low-key, naturalistic performances by an ensemble cast that also includes ISAIAH WASHINGTON, LISA NICOLE CARSON, BILL BELLAMY, BERNADETTE SPEAKES, and LEONARD ROBERTS come together in an intoxicating, seductively moody romance that engages both the heart and the mind. Special Features New 4K digital restoration, supervised by director Theodore Witcher, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack New interview with Witcher and film scholar Racquel J. Gates New interview with music scholars Mark Anthony Neal and Shana L. Redmond on the soundtrack Panel discussion featuring Witcher and members of the cast and crew Trailer English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing PLUS: An essay by critic Danielle A. Jackson

• The Hanging Gale | DVD | (09/05/2005) from £35.23   |  Saving you £-15.24 (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  This is the first time that this BBC drama has been available on DVD It is the 1840s in Donegal Ireland. The Phelan family are struggling to save themselves from being evicted from their homestead by an English land agent during the potato famine.

• Scenes From A Marriage | DVD | (29/09/2003) from £8.99   |  Saving you £11.00 (122.36%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Ingmar Bergman's Scenes from a Marriage opens with a couple--Marianne (Liv Ullmann) and Johann (Erland Josephson)--being interviewed for a magazine. Every moment seems to teeter on the brink of some rupture; just as they start to get comfortable, the interviewer has them freeze for a photograph. After making some bland, general statements, they both start admitting intimate details, confessing that they were brought together by mutual misery, then cheerfully claiming that theirs is a model marriage. The entirety of Scenes from a Marriage--which chronicles their emotional relationship even after a divorce and marriages to other people--continues to have these contradictions, moments of honesty and self-deception, of cruelty and kindness, concern and self-obsession, all laid bare by the skilful actors and the subtle, constantly shifting screenplay. Every scene is a small movie unto itself; in fact, Scenes from a Marriage was originally a six-episode TV show, carefully edited down into a unified film. This is one of Bergman's most immediate and accessible works, concerned more with the facts of human behaviour than symbolism or abstract themes. Bergman understands how to balance what could be horrible pain and despair with the characters' earnest efforts to improve their lives. His imitators reduce everything to sheer suffering and alienation; Bergman sees the best in his characters, even when their actions are terrible. This 1973 film won numerous awards, including several acting honours for Ullmann. --Bret Fetzer

• Rosamunde Pilcher's The Other Wife | DVD | (27/10/2014) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Rebecca Kendall a beautiful ex-ballerina has it all; a stunning house; two wonderful daughters; and a handsome loving husband Richard. Richard’s time is divided between England and Canada where without Rebecca’s knowledge he has invested everything they have in a gold mine one which is yet to yield gold. When Richard is killed in a plane crash Rebecca slowly learns the full extent of her husband’s lies and deceit. Battling with her grief she discovers that not only has Richard left her family penniless but he also has a second family on the other side of the Atlantic a wife Natalie and five year old son Jared. Confused she reluctantly turns to her brother in law Martin whose help and kindness masks an ulterior motive. It is only war veteran Harry who gives the selfless support Rebecca needs and when Natalie claims part of Richard’s estate he encourages them to talk. When the two women meet they discover that they have more in common than they could have imagined and both have been equally wronged; they are both The Other Wife.

• The Rocket Post | DVD | (17/09/2007) from £5.99   |  Saving you £10.00 (166.95%)   |  RRP £15.99

  The remote Scottish island of Scarp is disrupted when A German rocket scientist arrives.

• Messiah - The First Killings / The Reckoning | DVD | (27/01/2003) from £6.68   |  Saving you £9.31 (139.37%)   |  RRP £15.99

  The on-screen infatuation with serial killers continues with Messiah, an absorbing, intelligent two-part BBC TV film that's a close cousin to David Fincher's Seven. Based on the novel by Boris Starling (who also co-wrote the screenplay), Messiah follows Detective Chief Inspector Red Metcalfe (Ken Stott) in tracking down someone with a Christ complex in a murder-case involving 12 "Apostles". A fine line is trod in presenting enough horror so as to intrigue, but not so much as to repel. Decapitations, cut out tongues and flayed skin are all masked in shadow or reflection. More attractive to the eye is a strong cast including Edward Woodward as the case's religious consultant and the keeper of Metcalfe's wayward brother and Michelle Forbes as his deaf wife (the actress learnt sign language in six days for the part). Other notables are Ron Berglas as the unemotional expositional pathologist and Gillian Taylforth as the beleaguered wife of corruptible copper Duncan (Neil Dudgeon). With fine supporting work from Frances Grey, Jamie Draven, Art Malik and 25,000 flies, you'll be racking your brains to spot the killer. Expect to jump several times along the way. On the DVD: a 30-minute behind-the-scenes documentary interviews all the key cast members on their thoughts of grisly imagery and working with one another. The producers have plenty to say on the original script and use of red herrings to distract us. Writer Boris Starling is comically talked to while in make-up as one of the victims. A few (wisely) deleted scenes, text biographies of cast and crew and a gallery of 12 photos round out the extras package. --Paul Tonks

• Race | DVD | (10/10/2016) from £12.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Based on the incredible true story of Jesse Owens, the legendary athletic superstar whose quest to become the greatest track and field athlete in history thrusts him onto the world stage of the 1936 Olympics, where he faces off against Adolf Hitler's vision of Aryan supremacy. Race is an enthralling film about courage, determination, tolerance, and friendship, and an inspiring drama about one man's fight to become an Olympic legend.