Drama

• MADAME DUBARRY | Blu Ray | (22/09/2014) from £8.75   |  Saving you £11.24 (128.46%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Before Ernst Lubitsch created his eminently sophisticated Hollywood sex comedies he was at work in Germany perfecting his earliest entries into the genre alongside sweeping ironic dramas based on historical events and often set in exotic locales. One of his earliest successes merged elements of both modes: Madame DuBarry. A recounting-à-la-Lubitsch of the torrid affair between the title character (Pola Negri) and France's King Louis XV (Emil Jannings who would go on to portray Henry VIII in Lubitsch's Anna Boleyn of the following year – a film that neatly bookends Madame DuBarry) the picture spans scandalous intrigue at the court and the ring of the guillotine among the riotous mobs of the Revolution. Also included in this edition is Lubitsch's earliest surviving film the 1916 Als ich tot war [When I Was Dead] which stars the director himself in a lead role that involves his faked suicide and (prefiguring the later Die Puppe.) an infiltration of the domestic space whilst in disguise (not as an automaton but as a servant). The Masters of Cinema Series is proud to present Madame DuBarry and Als ich tot war in a special Dual Format (Blu-ray + DVD) edition for the first time. With Madame DuBarry Lubitsch proved himself as a director of all-around ability fluent in several genres including the historical epic. These vast films had everything – sex intrigue war violence – and all of it couched in the edifying language of History so that no one could accuse the filmmakers of merely pandering to their audience's base desires. – Kevin Hagopian Special Features: New high-definition 1080p presentation of the main feature on the Blu-ray and progressive encode on the DVD Original/French/German intertitles with newly translated optional English subtitles Lubitsch's earliest surviving film Als ich tot war [1916] 36-PAGE BOOKLET Contains Blu-Ray and DVD Versions

• Anne Of Avonlea | DVD | (09/06/2008) from £13.61   |  Saving you £6.38 (46.88%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Anne of Avonlea continues the story of Anne Shirley (Kim Braden) the heroine of Anne of Green Gables as she begins her job as a schoolteacher and faces a whole new set of challenges... The acclaimed BBC mini-series and sequel to Anne of Green Gables is based on L.M. Montgomery's classic novels Anne of Avonlea and Anne of the Island. New adventures lie in store as a bright and ambitious Anne prepares to begin teaching in the local school and joins Diana Barry Gilbert Blythe Charlie Sloan Fred Wright and their other former schoolmates on the newly formed Village Improvement Society in Avonlea. Life at Green Gables takes an unexpected turn with the arrival of two new orphans and so it seems the end of Anne's dreams of attending college. Will she have to learn what she can of life and love in Avonlea or are there yet more conflicts and changes in store as she leaves her girlhood days behind? Coinciding with the centenary of the first publication of the novel Anne of Green Gables Anne of Avonlea is released on DVD for the first from 2nd June 2008 and features all 6 delightful episodes of the mini-series.

• Down To Earth | DVD | (05/11/2001) from £5.92   |  Saving you £10.07 (63.00%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Chris Rock stars as Lance, a struggling Brooklyn comic who dies a moment too soon and is returned to earth in the body of Robert Wellington, a rich white man whose wife and lover are plotting to kill him.

• Masked And Anonymous | DVD | (10/05/2004) from £18.97   |  Saving you £0.01 (0.06%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Sometimes surprising, often baffling and occasionally entertaining, Masked and Anonymous is another in the long but not necessarily distinguished line of rock-star movie vehicles. Bob Dylan stars in this BBC Films coproduction as an alter ego of himself, ageing rocker Jack Fate, released from jail to play a benefit concert in an alternative America that is run down and ruled by a military dictator. When not singing he makes little impression, so it's fortunate that director Larry Charles surrounds him with a galaxy of excellent supporting players, including John Goodman, Jessica Lange, Penelope Cruz, Jeff Bridges, Mickey Rourke, Bruce Dern, Luke Wilson, Giovanni Ribisi and Val Kilmer--all of whom gave their services for free. The screenplay, cowritten by Dylan, is full of the kind of cryptic aphorisms familiar from his song lyrics: "What's bugging me?", remarks Jeff Bridges' character, "The absurdity of a lifetime of human labour, that's what's bugging me." "They have no ideology. They push both Jesus and Judas aside," says an anonymous bus driver, and there are plenty more didactic, speechy comments that even these veteran actors can't make sound natural or spontaneous. Better to focus on the music--both the songs Dylan performs on screen and those on the soundtrack, which consists mostly of foreign-language covers of Dylan classics. On the DVD: Masked and Anonymous on disc comes with a commentary track from director Larry Charles, who is good on the details of the shooting schedule, but vague about the movie's aspirations. There are some deleted scenes (none of which shed any more light on the plot), another Dylan performance, and a 20-minute "making of" featurette, with the many supporting stars waxing lyrical about the freewheeling shooting style and semi-theatrical staging. The anamorphic widescreen picture is unexceptional, as is the Dolby 5.1 soundtrack, which naturally enough works best with the music. --Mark Walker

• Secrets & Lies Blu-Ray | Blu Ray | (22/07/2019) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Hortense (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) is a young, black optometrist whose adoptive parents have recently died. Cynthia (Brenda Blethyn) is a sad, unmarried mother who works in a factory and lives in a shabby terraced house with her confrontational daughter Roxanna (Claire Rushbrook). Cynthia's brother Maurice (Timothy Spall) is a successful photographer who lives comfortably in suburbia with his wife Monica (Phyllis Logan). In a misplaced effort to re-unite the family, Maurice & Monica throw a small barbecue party for Roxanne's 21st birthday. When Cynthia brings along her new friend Hortense, chaos ensues and some painful truths are revealed.

• Devdas Classic Collection | DVD | (04/04/2005) from £19.99   |  Saving you £-12.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £7.99

  Devdas (Dilip Kumar) and Parvati (Vijayantimala) had been inseparable as children and as they grew older Love Blossomed.Devdas is sent away for studies by his parents - he and Parvati are separated.A chain of events lead to Parvati being married off to someone else and Devdas drowns his sorrows in alcohol. When Devdas is pronounced critical due to his drinking he remembers the promise he had made to Parvati of coming to see her before he dies.Devdas is a film about how hearts and lives are crushed under the parental and social pressures.

• Wuthering Heights | Blu Ray | (07/09/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £24.99

  A thrilling new adaptation of Emily Bront'''s haunting classic which chronicles the passionate spiritual bond between Heathcliff an abandoned Gypsy boy adopted by the Earnshaw family of Wuthering Heights and the family's daughter Cathy stars newcomer Charlotte Riley as Cathy and Tom Hardy as Heathcliff.

• Sawdust And Tinsel (1953) | Blu Ray | (21/01/2019) from £15.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Ingmar Bergman's early masterpiece, a wrenching battle of the sexes, in a new 2K restoration Ingmar Bergman (The Seventh Seal) presents the battle of the sexes as a ramshackle, grotesque carnival of humiliation in Sawdust and Tinsel, one of the master's most vivid early works and his first of many collaborations with the great cinematographer Sven Nykvist (Persona). The story of the charged relationship between a turnofthetwentieth century circus owner (A Lesson in Love's Åke Grönberg) and his younger mistress (Harriet Andersson), a horseback rider in the traveling show, the film features dreamlike detours and twisted psychosexual power plays, making for a piercingly brilliant depiction of physical and spiritual degradation. SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES: New 2K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack Audio commentary by Ingmar Bergman scholar Peter Cowie Introduction by Bergman from 2003 PLUS: An essay by critic John Simon

• Catherine Cookson - The Man Who Cried | DVD | (04/06/2007) from £3.92   |  Saving you £1.07 (27.30%)   |  RRP £4.99

  Set against the background of the Depression in the 1930s and the Second World War the story centres around Abel Mason and his desperate search for love and happiness in relationships with four women. After an affair ends in tragedy he leaves his vicious wife Lena and travels North with his ten year old son Dick. To secure a home for the boy and employment for himself he makes an illegal marriage with the widow of a wealthy garage owner. But later Abel falls hopelessly in love with her sister Florrie...

• Sword Of Xanten | DVD | (26/12/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  A fantasy-adventure story based on Nordic myths of the 'Ring Of The Nibelungs' about the son of a simple swordsmith who repeatedly saves his country not knowing that he is heir to the throne... The original mythology (a heroic saga capturing all the magic passion and adventure that have thrilled readers for over 1 500 years) inspired Richard Wagner's opera 'The Ring Cycle' as well as J.R.R. Tolkien's 'The Lord Of The Rings'.

• Betrayed (1988) | Blu Ray | (02/12/2019) from £18.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  After a Jewish radio host is murdered, BFI agent Cathy Weaver (Debra Winger) is sent undercover to infiltrate a close-knit farming community believed to be harbouring the men responsible. She soon meets and falls for local farmer Gary Simmons (Tom Berenger) a well-respected Vietnam veteran, but it's not long before her suspicions are aroused. Realising that Simmons is leading a double-life as the leader of a white supremacist group, responsible for a series of brutal crimes, Agent Weaver must decide where her loyalties lie, with the man she loves or the country she swore to protect. Directed by Costa-Gavras (Missing) and written by Joe Eszterhas (Basic Instinct, Jagged Edge), Betrayed is an edge-of-your-seat thriller with an excellent supporting cast including John Heard, John Mahoney and Betsy Blair. Special Features: Presented in High Definition Guardian Interview with Costa-Gavras (1984, 86 mins, audio only): the Oscar winning director discusses his career in this interview recorded four years before the release of Betrayed Interview with Joe Eszterhas (2013, 100 mins, audio only): recorded at The London Screenwriters Festival, the incomparable writer of Betrayed and Basic Instinct is interviewed by filmmaker and author Chris Jones and also fields questions from the audience Interview with William Bradford Huie (1968, 28 mins): the journalist, author and civil rights activist is interviewed by Bernard Braden for his never broadcast series Now and Then Original Theatrical Trailer **FIRST PRESSING ONLY** Fully illustrated booklet with new essays by screenwriter Joe Ezsterhas and film critic Jessica Kiang Other extras TBC

• Coronation Street - Romanian Holiday | DVD | (26/10/2009) from £5.46   |  Saving you £14.53 (266.12%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Coronation Street: Romanian Holiday

• Never On Sunday | DVD | (12/07/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Glasses are smashing fingers are snapping and everyone's dancing to the sultry music of the bouzoukies! It's just another glorious moment in the carefree world of Illia (Melina Mercouri) Greece's most radiant lady of the night. Sensuous Illia adores her life and every man in her seaport paradise adores her. But when Homer (Jules Dassin) a stuffy American intellectual sails into town and tries to reform her Illia shows him that she's one free spirit who's happy with her wild

• Bridget Jones 1 & 2 Double (Blu-ray + UV Copy) | Blu Ray | (22/08/2016) from £11.98   |  Saving you £5.01 (41.82%)   |  RRP £16.99

  Bridget Jones's Diary Featuring a blowzy, winningly inept size-12 heroine, Bridget Jones's Diary is a fetching adaptation of Helen Fielding's runaway bestseller, grittier than Ally McBeal but sweeter than Sex and the City. The normally sylphlike Renée Zellweger (Nurse Betty, Me, Myself and Irene) wolfed pasta to gain poundage to play "singleton" Bridget, a London-based publicist who divides her free time between binge eating in front of the TV, downing Chardonnay with her friends, and updating the diary in which she records her negligible weight fluctuations and romantic misadventures of the year. Things start off badly at Christmas when her mother tries to set her up with seemingly standoffish lawyer Mark Darcy (Colin Firth), whom Bridget accidentally overhears dissing her. Instead she embarks on a disastrous liaison with her raffish boss, Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant, infinitely more likeable when he's playing a baddie instead of his patented tongue-tied fops). Eventually, Bridget comes to wonder if she's let her pride prejudice her against the surprisingly attractive Mr. Darcy. If the plot sounds familiar, that's because Fielding's novel was itself a retelling of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, whose romantic male lead is also named Mr. Darcy. An extra ironic poke in the ribs is added by the casting of Firth, who played Austen's haughty hero in the acclaimed BBC adaptation of Austen's novel. First-time director Sharon Maguire directs with confident comic zest, while Zellweger twinkles charmingly, fearlessly baring her cellulite and pulling off a spot-on English accent. Like Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill (both of which were written by this film's coscreenwriter, Richard Curtis), Bridget Jones's stock-in-trade is a very English self-deprecating sense of humour, a mild suspicion of Americans (especially if they're thin and successful), and a subtly expressed analysis of thirtysomething fears about growing up and becoming a "smug married." The whole is, as Bridget would say, v. good. --Leslie Felperin Bridget Jones 2: The Edge Of Reason Although it's been three years since we last saw Bridget (Renée Zellweger), only a few weeks have passed in her world. She is, as you'll remember, no longer a "singleton," having snagged stuffy but gallant Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) at the end of the 2001 film. Now she's fallen deeply in love and out of her neurotic mind with paranoia: Is Mark cheating on her with that slim, bright young thing from the law office? Will the reappearance of dashing cad Daniel Cleaver (Hugh Grant) further spell the end of her self-confidence when they're shoved off to Thailand together for a TV travel story? If such questions also seem pressing to you, this sequel will be fairly painless, but you shouldn't expect anything fresh. Director Beeban Kidron and her screenwriters--all four of them!--are content to sink matters into slapstick, with chunky Zellweger (who's unflatteringly photographed) the literal butt of all jokes. Though the star still has her charms, and some of Bridget's social gaffes are amusing, the film is mired in low comedy--a sequence in a Thai women's prison is more offensive than outrageous--with only Grant's rakish mischief to pull it out of the swamp. --Steve Wiecking

• Knight of Cups | Blu Ray | (22/08/2016) from £7.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Rick is a screenwriter living in Los Angeles trying to make sense of the strange events around him. While successful in his career, his life feels empty. Haunted by the death of one brother and the dire circumstances of the other, he finds temporary solace in the decadent Hollywood excess that defines his existence. Women provide a distraction to the daily pain he must endure, and every encounter that comes his way brings him closer to finding his place in the world. From Terrence Malick, the visionary director of The Tree of Life and To The Wonder, and starring Academy Award winners* Christian Bale (The Big Short, The Fighter, The Dark Knight Rises), Cate Blanchett (Carol, Blue Jasmine) and Natalie Portman (Black Swan, Thor) comes a stunning meditation on love, fate and fame.

• Cosmopolis | DVD | (12/11/2012) from £6.06   |  Saving you £16.92 (551.14%)   |  RRP £19.99

  New York is in turmoil, the age of capitalism is drawing to a close and Eric Packer, a high finance golden boy is chauffeured across the city in his extravagant limousine to get a haircut. A visit from the President of the United States paralyses Manhattan and as the day goes by, an eruption of wild activity unfolds on the city's streets. Eric watches helplessly as his empire collapses and as his paranoia intensifies during the 24-hour period, he starts to piece together clues that lead him to a most terrifying secret: his imminent assassination.

• Casualties of War | DVD | (11/10/2004) from £6.73   |  Saving you £-0.74 (-12.40%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Hailed by critics as a masterpiece Casualties of War is based on the true story of a squad of soldiers caught in the moral quagmire of wartime Vietnam. Witness to a vile crime Private Eriksson (Michael J. Fox) is forced to stand alone against his fellow soldiers and commanding officer Sergeant Meserve (Sean Penn). A powerful and charismatic man pushed over the edge of barbarism by the terror and brutality of combat. With sweeping scope action and raw power master filmmaker Brian De Palma creates a devastating and unforgettable tale of one man's quest for sanity and justice amidst the chaos of war.

• David Lean Box Set | DVD | (20/11/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £49.99

  A collection of David Lean's finest films. Include: 1. The Sound Barrier (1952) 2. Hobsons Choice (1954) 3. Blithe Spirit (1945) 4. Brief Encounter (1945) 5. Great Expectations (1946) 6. Oliver Twist (1948) 7. Madeleine (1950) 8. The Passionate Friends (1949) 9. This Happy Breed (1944)

• Fire | DVD | (15/12/2008) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  A forest ranger must lead a group of trapped and injured tourists through a massive forest fire to safety.

• Howard's Way - Series 3 | DVD | (11/09/2006) from £15.96   |  Saving you £14.03 (87.91%)   |  RRP £29.99

  Maurice Colborne (Gangsters) stars as Tom Howard recently made redundant as an aircraft designer who decides to ply his trade in the world of boats instead; taking the reigns at a run-down local construction yard. A family of considerable wealth and prestige the Howards struggle to come to terms with Tom's decision and the changing circumstances of their lives. Featuring all the episodes from Series 3.