Drama

• Silver Linings Playbook | Blu Ray | (01/04/2013) from £6.97   |  Saving you £18.02 (258.54%)   |  RRP £24.99

  In lesser hands than director David O. Russell, Silver Linings Playbook could have been a typically cringe-inducing throwaway Hollywood rom-com. As it is, this unusual and deeply affecting story of crazy love is a bold observation about the joys and tragedy of life lived by deeply flawed characters facing triumph and adversity against a backdrop of painfully familiar family dysfunction. It's also a tremendous achievement in formal structure, with a flair for storytelling that's as moving as it is delightful. Bradley Cooper plays Pat, an until-recently undiagnosed bipolar person who's just home from a lengthy stay in a mental institution and doing his darnedest to get his head and his life back on track. His concerned parents, vividly embodied by Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver, have plenty of troubles of their own when they warily take him in and tiptoe around the eggshells of a psyche that still veers wildly from seeming self-control to scary bouts of mania. Pat has a plan to win back the unfaithful wife whose restraining order is still in force because of the violent episode that sent him away after he nearly killed her lover. Interjected into this wobbly family scenario is Tiffany, a friend of a friend who is embroiled in her own turmoil of mental instability following the recent death of her husband. Jennifer Lawrence is a charming revelation as Tiffany, flexing sensitive acting muscles that are as toned as her lithe form. She throws herself into the role of a depressed, promiscuous young woman who needs Pat in her life about as much as she needs another personal tornado to rip her apart. But the movie magically reveals that these two disturbed souls have a destiny that's never really in doubt; although the whirlwind turns the movie takes to get them there are often breathtaking. Russell liberally adapted the movie from Matthew Quick's 2008 novel, and he deftly imbues the story with a vibrant sense of place (suburban, blue-collar Philadelphia) and each character, no matter how tangential to Pat and Tiffany's journey, with quirks and nuances that brilliantly reveal their essence. The subject of mental illness has rarely been portrayed with such honesty and candid respect. Constantly keeping us off guard, Silver Linings Playbook soars from darkness to a kind of screwball comedy that is as tender and touching as it is unpredictable. There are several tour-de-force moments that Russell constructs with the surest hand of direction, dialogue, and the talents of his cast. A key scene unfolds in a small living room where eight people are crammed together, each adding important pieces to the whole, and which thrums with a masterfully rhythmic pace. Another sequence follows the buildup to one of Pat's manic outbursts with a dizzying and increasingly stressful manifestation of the madness careening around in his head. It seems hard to believe that a love story with real humour, real pain, and genuine resonance that gets from point A to point B--it begins with a lone figure mumbling to himself and ends with a jubilantly staged ballroom dance--can succeed with so few missteps. But Silver Linings Playbook turns it all into an absorbing reality wherein life stumbles heartwarmingly toward what real love is all about. --Ted Fry

• Snow Cake | DVD | (05/02/2007) from £19.95   |  Saving you £-3.96 (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Alan Rickman and Sigourney Weaver star in this movie about a two people touched by loss - one a quiet, brooding man, the other a highly functioning autistic woman.

• Ammonite | Blu Ray | (14/06/2021) from £7.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  1840s England. Acclaimed but overlooked fossil hunter Mary Anning and a young woman sent to convalesce by the sea develop an intense relationship, altering both of their lives forever. Extras: The Costumes of Ammonite The Making of Ammonite

• The Rise | DVD | (30/09/2013) from £3.49   |  Saving you £9.50 (272.21%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Released after a short prison sentence Harvey (Luke Treadaway) wants revenge on local crime boss Roper (Neil Maskell) who framed him for the crime that put him away. With the help of his loyal friends Dempsey (Iwan Rheon) Charlie (Gerard Kearns) and Dodd (Mathew Lewis) Harvey plans to settle the score with Roper by stealing his fortune from a seemingly impossible crack safe.

• Charlie Bubbles | DVD | (15/09/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £7.99

  Charlie Bubbles is a writer from working-class Manchester but he has gotten caught up in his riches and fame and has forgotten his ability to connect to people. He sets out to reconnect with the important people in his life and re-establish his roots and family.

• Flashdance | Blu Ray | (27/02/2023) from £8.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  The hit movie that became a cultural sensation, Flashdance delivers an electrifying mix of music, drama and dance that dazzles the senses as it touches the heart; now remastered from a 4K film transfer supervised by director Adrian Lyne. Jennifer Beals stars as Alex, a fiercely determined 18-year-old with one all-consuming dream: to study at the Pittsburgh Conservatory of Dance. Working during the day as a welder and at night as an exotic dancer. Alex bravely pursues her dream, undertaking an unforgettable journey that reveals the power of her convictions. Featuring the Oscar®winning* song Flashdance What a Feeling. Product Features New Feature FILMMAKER FOCUS: Director Adrian Lyne discusses Flashdance Original Special Features The Look of Flashdance Releasing the Flashdance Phenomenon Theatrical Trailer

• Tomorrow, When The War Began | DVD | (19/09/2011) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Tomorrow, When The War Began follows the journey of eight high school friends in a remote country town whose lives are suddenly and violently upended by war that no one saw coming.

• The Holly And The Ivy | DVD | (26/10/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  The Holly And The Ivy

• Cold Mountain | Blu Ray | (01/02/2021) from £7.00   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Sweeping American Civil War drama based on the novel by Charles Frazier, directed by Anthony Minghella (The English Patient, The Talented Mr Ripley). Jude Law stars as Inman, a wounded Confederate soldier who is slowly making the perilous journey back to his home town of Cold Mountain in North Carolina, meeting a string of colourful characters along the way (played by actors including Philip Seymour Hoffman, Natalie Portman, Ray Winstone and Kathy Baker). At home waits Ada Monroe (Nicole Kidman), the pre-war sweetheart to whom he has vowed to return. In his absence Ada, the shy and reserved daughter of a preacher (Donald Sutherland), has befriended the feisty Ruby (Renée Zellweger), a tough-talking young woman who can work the land as well as any man. Ruby supports Ada both emotionally and practically as she waits for Inman's return - but as the war drags on and her letters go unanswered, Ada finds it increasingly difficult to keep the faith.

• Atonement / The Age of Innocence / Pride and Prejudice / Sense and Sensibility | DVD | (13/09/2010) from £11.36   |  Saving you £13.63 (119.98%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Atonement: On the hottest day of the summer of 1935 thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis sees her older sister Cecilia (Kiera Knightley) strip off her clothes and plunge into the fountain in the garden of their country house. Watching Cecilia is their housekeeper's son Robbie Turner (James McAvoy) a childhood friend who along with Briony's sister has recently graduated from Cambridge. By the end of that day the lives of all three will have been changed forever. Robbie and Cecilia will have crossed a boundary they had never before dared to approach and will have become victims of the younger girl's scheming imagination and Briony will have committed a dreadful crime the guilt for which will colour her entire life. The Age of Innocence: Martin Scorsese one of the great directors of our time directs Oscar-winner Daniel Day-Lewis Michelle Pfeiffer and Winona Ryder in a brilliant adaptation of Edith Wharton's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. A ravishing romance about three wealthy New Yorkers caught in a tragic love triangle The Age Of Innocence chronicles the grandeur and hypocrisy of high society in the 1880's. Newland Archer (Daniel Day-Lewis) is an upstanding lawyer who secretly longs for a more passionate life. Engaged to the lovely but ordinary socialite May Welland (Winona Ryder) Newland resigns himself to a life of quiet complacency. But when May's unconventional cousin Countess Ellen Olenska (Michelle Pfeiffer) returns to New York amid social and sexual scandal Newland becomes captivated by her mysterious authority and outstanding beauty. Now he must choose between May and the world he knows and Ellen and the world he dreams of having. Pride & Prejudice: The five Bennet sisters - Elizabeth or Lizzie (Keira Knightley) Jane (Rosamund Pike) Lydia (Jena Malone) Mary (Talulah Riley) and Kitty (Carey Mulligan) - have been raised well aware of their mother's (Brenda Blethyn) fixation on finding them husbands and securing set futures. The spirited and intelligent Elizabeth however strives to live her life with a broader perspective as encouraged by her doting father (Donald Sutherland). When wealthy bachelor Mr. Bingley takes up residence in a nearby mansion the Bennets are abuzz. Amongst the man's sophisticated circle of London friends and the influx of young military officers surely there will be no shortage of suitors for the Bennet sisters. Eldest daughter Jane serene and beautiful seems poised to win Mr. Bingley's heart. For her part Lizzie meets with the handsome and it would seem snobbish Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen) and the battle of the sexes is joined. Sense & Sensibility: Sense and Sensibility is the story of two sisters; pragmatic Elinor (Emma Thompson) and passionate wilful Marianne (Kate Winslet). When their father Henry Dashwood dies by law his estate must pass to the eldest son from his first marriage. Suddenly homeless and impoverished his current wife and daughters find themselves living in a simple country cottage. The two sisters are soon accepted into their new society. Marianne becomes swept up in a passionate love affair with the dashing Willoughby (Greg Wise) while Elinor struggles to keep a tight rein on the family purse strings and to keep her feelings for Edward Ferrars (Hugh Grant) whom she left behind hidden from her family. Despite their different personalities they both experience great sorrow in their affairs but they learn to mix sense with sensibility in a society that is obsessed with both financial and social status.

• Say Anything | Blu Ray | (03/02/2014) from £59.99   |  Saving you £-47.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Seven years after he earned his first screen credit as the writer of Fast Times at Ridgemont High, former Rolling Stone writer Cameron Crowe made his directorial debut with this acclaimed romantic comedy starring John Cusack and Ione Skye as unlikely lovers on the cusp of adulthood. The casting is perfect and Crowe's rookie direction is appropriately unobtrusive, no doubt influenced by his actor-loving, Oscar-winning mentor, James L. Brooks. But the real strength of Crowe's work is his exceptional writing, his timely grasp of contemporary rhythms and language (he's frequently called "the voice of a generation"), and the rich humour and depth of his fully developed characters. In Say Anything, Cusack and Skye play recent high-school graduates enjoying one final summer before leaping into a lifetime of adult responsibilities. Lloyd (Cusack) is an aspiring kickboxer with no definite plans; Diane (Skye) is a valedictorian with plans to further her education in Europe. Together they find unlikely bliss, but there's also turbulence when Diane's father (John Mahoney)--who only wants what's best for his daughter--is charged with fraud and tax evasion. Favouring strong performances over obtrusive visual style, Crowe focuses on his unique characters and the ambitions and fears that define them; the movie's a treasure trove of quiet, often humorous revelations of personality. Lili Taylor and Eric Stoltz score high marks for memorable supporting roles, and Cusack's own sister Joan is perfect in scenes with her on- and offscreen brother. A rare romantic comedy that's as funny as it is dramatically honest, Say Anything marked the arrival of a gifted writer-director who followed up with the underrated Singles before scoring his first box-office smash with Jerry Maguire. --Jeff Shannon

• Jerry Maguire | DVD | (19/05/2008) from £4.99   |  Saving you £5.00 (100.20%)   |  RRP £9.99

  Jerry Maguire (Tom Cruise) is a man who knows the score. As a top agent at Sports Management International Jerry is unquestionably master of his universe - until that is he gets a sudden attack of morals and is unceremoniously fired! Hanging on by a thread Jerry is forced to start from scratch supported only be three very unlikely allies- single mother Dorothy Boyd (Renee Zellweger ) her cheeky young son Ray and Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.) a second rank player for the Arizona Cardinals and Jerry's sole remaining client.

• Emma / Mansfield Park | DVD | (10/10/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Emma (Dir. Douglas McGrath 1996): In the lush countryside of 19th century England there's a young woman so devoted to meddling in the affairs of others that she fails to recognise the longings of her own heart. Her name is Emma (Gwyneth Paltrow) and although she's ""never one to interfere "" Emma manages to make a mess out of every romance she sets up. But her biggest blunder may lie ahead when she discovers her own feelings for her handsome brother-in-law a man she can't d

• La Belle Et La Bete | DVD | (25/08/2008) from £12.54   |  Saving you £7.45 (59.41%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Cocteau's surrealist vision of the classic fairytale moving from the sparse settings of Belle's village home to the enchanted castle of the Beast.

• Belgravia The Next Chapter - Season 1 | DVD | (16/09/2024) from £19.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• The Oxford Murders | DVD | (01/09/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  After the mysterious death of his landlady, Martin (Elijah Wood), a young American graduate studying in Oxford, is drawn into a complex murder mystery.

• Time Out of Mind | DVD | (14/03/2016) from £4.42   |  Saving you £8.57 (193.89%)   |  RRP £12.99

  An increasingly desperate man, George (Richard Gere), finds himself homeless on the unforgiving streets of New York City. When he seeks refuge at Bellevue Hospital, Manhattan's largest intake center for homeless men, he befriends a seasoned shelter-dweller (Ben Vereen) and begins to find hope of repairing his relationship with his estranged daughter (Jena Malone). With a successful career spanning four decades, TIME OUT OF MIND sees Gere immerse himself in the role of George - navigating the bureaucratic troubles of shelters in New York City, providing additional insight into urban poverty, challenging our perception of the homeless and bringing compassion to a group of people who are often neglected by society.

• Taking Woodstock | DVD | (06/09/2010) from £5.38   |  Saving you £14.61 (73.10%)   |  RRP £19.99

  In the heady summer of 1969 the young, broke and trapped Elliot Tiber finds himself swept up in a generation-defining experience that would change his life, and popular culture, forever. "Taking Woodstock" is released 13th November.

• Jakob The Liar | DVD | (08/03/2004) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  In Nazi-occupied Poland during World War II, poor Jewish cafe owner Jakob Heym (Oscar winner Robin Williams) accidentally overhears a forbidden radio news bulletin signaling Soviet military successes against German forces.

• The New Land/ The Emigrants | Blu Ray | (10/10/2016) from £20.35   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  This monumental mid-nineteenth-century epic from JAN TROELL (Here Is Your Life) charts, over the course of two films, a poor Swedish farming family's voyage to America and their efforts to put down roots in this beautiful but forbidding new world. Movie legends MAX VON SYDOW (The Seventh Seal) and LIV ULLMANN (Persona) give remarkably authentic performances as Karl-Oskar and Kristina, a couple who meet with one physical and emotional trial after another on their arduous journey. The precise, minute detail with which Troell depicts the couple's storywhich is also the story of countless other people who sought better lives across the Atlanticis a wonder to behold. Engrossing every step of the way, the duo of The Emigrants and The New Land makes for perhaps the greatest screen drama about the settling of America. Bonus Features: New high-definition digital restorations of both films, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks New introduction by critic and Swedish-film expert John Simon New conversation between film scholar Peter Cowie and director Jan Troell New interview with actor Liv Ullmann To Paint with Pictures, a 2005 documentary on the making of the films, featuring archival footage as well as interviews with Troell, Ullmann, producer and co-screenwriter Bengt Forslund, and actor Eddie Axberg Trailers New English subtitle translations PLUS: An essay by critic Terrence Rafferty Click Images to Enlarge