Drama

• Storm Over Asia | DVD | (09/04/2001) from £4.98   |  Saving you £17.00 (568.56%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The last of the three great films that VI Pudovkin directed in the 1920s, Storm Over Asia (1928) is an acknowledged classic of Soviet silent cinema. Filmed largely on location in Mongolia, the film has an authentic documentary feel, though the story is a stirring melodrama, about a young fur trapper who is mistreated by the occupying forces in the civil war and becomes a leader of the partisans. Pudovkin enjoys caricaturing the foreign (British) troops and the medieval rituals of a Buddhist temple, but it's out on the steppes that he really comes into his own, with panoramic shots of the vast landscapes. Together with The Mother (1926) and The End of St Petersburg (1927), Storm Over Asia (also known as "The Heir to Genghis Khan") entitles Pudovkin to be ranked with Eisenstein and Dziga Vertov as a master of the Soviet montage style, which he expounded in his book Film Technique (1929). On the DVD: The print, though not perfect, is of fair quality and a new score by Timothy Brock complements the images nicely. However, the so-called "Introduction" turns out to be just a few lines of text scrolling down the screen, telling you less than the information appearing on the sleeve notes. --Ed Buscombe

• Au Hasard Balthazar | DVD | (22/11/2004) from £32.37   |  Saving you £-12.38 (-61.90%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Taking man's inhumanity to man as its central theme 'Au Hasard Balthazar' traces the life of a donkey christened Balthazar by a group of young children from birth to death. Balthazar's story begins on a small farm in a rural district of France. Throughout his life he is owned by many of the locals returning to some of them more than once and is set various tasks from drawing a carriage to performing in a circus turning a grindstone to acting as a smuggler's means of transport.

• Princess Raccoon | DVD | (25/09/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Chinese superstar Zhang Ziyi (Memoirs Of A Geisha) stars in the latest film from master film maker Seijun Suzuki; a magical musical adaptation of a well known Japanese folktale. Ziyi stars as Tanuki-hime a raccoon spirit princess who falls in love with Amechiyo (Jo Odagiri) a human prince banished from his father's kingdom. With numbers ranging in style from Kabuki to operetta to rock 'n' roll and designs to set the imagination on fire Suzuki's dream project is one of the year's most vibrant entertainments. An extravaganza of sight sound music and romance that will amaze the senses and delight the heart.

• The Michael Haneke Trilogy | DVD | (25/05/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  This three disc box set presents three early masterpieces 'The Seventh Continent' 'Benny's Video' and '71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance'. Provocative daring and visionary Michael Haneke has established himself as one of the world's most distinctive and intelligent contemporary filmmakers. The Seventh Continent: Based on a true story Haneke's first theatrical feature is a disturbing portrait of familial disintegration which he describes as a depiction of his native Austria's 'progressive emotional glaciation'. Set over a three year period it documents how the mundane day to day routines of a middle class family alienate them from the world and each other until suddenly and shockingly their lives self-destruct. Addressing themes that would inform much of his later work - the breakdown of society violence and the media - 'The Seventh Continent' is both intelligent and masterfully composed. Benny's Video: Acclaimed filmmaker Michael Haneke's disturbing film portrays the alienation of a young boy whose experience of the world is refracted through the lens of his video camera and his television screen. Arno Frisch later to play one of the psychopathic young men in Funny Games plays the 14 year-old Benny who brings a girl home to his parents' empty apartment where he commits a shocking act of casual violence. As with his later Funny Games Haneke poses provocative and challenging questions about voyeurism and depictions of violence. 71 Fragments Of A Chronology Of Chance: Haneke's articulate critique of the isolating effects of western society the media and television in particular is composed of an intricate series of unrelated scenes culminating in an apparently motiveless act of violence. Perfectly paced and executed Haneke's skilful weaving of these tableaux into a coherent and compelling whole is mesmerising and strangely beautiful.

• The Mayor Of Casterbridge | DVD | (19/02/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  The Mayor Of Casterbridge

• Peacock | Blu Ray | (20/01/2014) from £26.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Candy | Blu Ray | (22/03/2010) from £12.13   |  Saving you £5.86 (48.31%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Gritty Australian drama starring Heath Ledger Abbie Cornish and Geoffrey Rush. A poet Dan (Ledger) falls in love with art student Candy (Cornish) who gravitates towards his bohemian lifestyle - and his love of heroin. Hooked as much on one another as they are on the drug their relationship alternates between states of oblivion self-destruction and despair.

• A Family Divided | DVD | (30/06/2003) from £12.22   |  Saving you £-6.24 (N/A%)   |  RRP £2.99

  When Karen Billingsly's (Faye Dunaway) college-aged son Chad participates in a fraternity gang rape of a high school girl his attorney father Roger (Stephen Collins) advises Chad and his frat brothers to say nothing. But when Karen finds out she is devastated. The cover-up of the crime takes a toll on both her marriage and family as Roger plays on her motherly instincts and insists that she conceal the truth to protect their son and his future. Torn between doing what's right and safeguarding everything she holds dear Karen pleads with Chad to have the courage to face the truth accept the consequences and not be swayed by the lack of ethics in others.

• The Fabulous Baker Boys | DVD | (15/03/2004) from £9.66   |  Saving you £0.33 (3.42%)   |  RRP £9.99

  An inspired casting gimmick, a wonderful mood, a grown-up love story--all this in The Fabulous Baker Boys, but the only thing anybody ever talks about is Michelle Pfeiffer on top of a piano. Granted, it's a showstopper: clad in a slinky dress, Pfeiffer rolls around on the Steinway while she purrs out a languid version of "Makin' Whoopee". Adding to the seductive vibe is the fact that she's not singing to the audience, but to the sullen piano player (Jeff Bridges) whose fancy she has captured. Bridges and his real-life brother, Beau, play two lounge entertainers whose act has grown stale; they're not above doing "Feelings" for the tourist crowd. They've hired songbird Pfeiffer (who does her own sexy singing) to spice up the routine, a strategy that pays off in spades. The three actors are terrific, with the fabulous Bridges boys playing neatly off their own sibling rhythms. Writer-director Steve Kloves captures the feel of second-rate Seattle clubs, and Dave Grusin's jazzy score keeps propelling the film forward. The story itself might have come from a 1940s romance, yet Kloves and his actors keep it unusually modern and thoughtful. And then there's Michelle Pfeiffer rolling around on top of a piano.... --Robert Horton

• The Stickup | DVD | (14/07/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  After half a million dollars is stolen from a small-town bank the get-away car is spotted by the police as the robbers make their escape. So begins a dangerous game of cat and mouse between robber and a small-town police officer determined to catch him.

• That Was Then, This Is Now | DVD | (14/04/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £2.99

  Two friends grow up like brothers in the rough east side of Minneapolis but then there comes a time for tough life decisions as that friendship is gradually ripped apart. Friends Mark Jennings and Byron Douglas have lived like brothers growing up together in the rough neighbourhood of St Paul along with a bunch of easygoing friends. But then a budding romance between Byron and Kathy puts a strain on the friendship and when Charlie the bar owner is killed helping them in a fight against two revengeful pool players the rift widens. Byron spends more time with Kathy leaves the old life behind and takes on a regular job while Mark falls into a rollercoaster world of revenge-fuelled fights and drugs. The two boys must learn to not only come to terms with their past but also to decide on how to face the future.

• Goodbye First Love | Blu Ray | (10/09/2012) from £12.13   |  Saving you £7.86 (64.80%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Following the critically acclaimed Father if my Children, Mia Hansen-Lvereturns with the equally impressive Goodbye First Love. Loosely auto-biographical in style, the film deals with what Hansen-Lve has described as the defining and central part of her adolescence. The blooming of first love, subsequent heartbreak and renewal are portrayed with a simple directness of stye which nevertheless allow the complexity of emotions to be given full range. Lola Crton (Bluebeard), playing the central character of Camille, creates an incredibly subtle performance allowing the audience to embrace our protagonists growth into maturity and personal liberation.

• Address Unknown | DVD | (26/06/2006) from £7.72   |  Saving you £12.27 (158.94%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Innocence is a casualty of war. Romances end in blood and the frail hopes of individuals are torn apart in a vile karmic continuity of colonialism civil war and occupation. After surviving Japanese colonization Korea became the first war zone of the Cold War. The legacy of war remains today in this divided country. Three forlorn teenagers Chank-guk Jihum and Eunok are figures in the landscape of this story which highlights the global implications of a very Korean reality.

• The Wedding | DVD | (24/02/2003) from £5.47   |  Saving you £0.52 (9.51%)   |  RRP £5.99

  She should marry for love not for the family. Halle Berry features as Shelley Coles a beautiful twenty-five year old woman from a black family of privilege. Shelby is engaged to marry Meade Howell a wonderful jazz musician but as she approaches her wedding day she begins to suffer misgivings brought on by a mixed heritage. Meade's parents will not be attending the marriage of their son because they do not approve of his bi-racial union. Shelby's parents do not object to the colour of Meade's skin but wanted their beautiful eligible daughter to marry a successful professional not a jazz musician. To further cloud Shelby's decision is the arrival of Lute McNeil a very handsome black man who has made it very clear that he considers Shelby to be the woman of his dreams and seeks to have her at any cost... This saga involves family secrets and heart-wrenching questions about love and duty as it relates to the tale of an upper-class African-American family whose ancestors experienced entirely diverse histories leaving the current members of the family with painful choices to make.

• The Harmonium In My Memory | DVD | (19/03/2007) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £5.99

  Harmonium In My Memory' (translated literally as 'Organ Of My Heart' from the original Korean) is a moving and beautiful movie about first love. The year is 1963. In the village of Sanri in Kang Won Province an area very far from Seoul newly qualified teacher Kang (Lee Byeong-heon) takes a class for the very first time. Aged 21 he approaches his job with verve and sincerity taking great care of his pupils who are children from poor families. Yoon (Jeon Do-yeon) is a 6th grader but at 17 is much older than her classmates. Her backward nature though vibrant and endearing the result of her mother being left alone to raise three children. As Kang's effervescent teaching methods inspire Yoon to learn to read she gradually falls in love with him. However sophisticated new teacher Miss Yang (Lee Mi-yeon) unwittingly steals the heart of Kang who is in turn oblivious to the attentions of his student... Winner of Best Film at the 2000 Verona Film Festival. Also a winner of three awards at the 20th Chung Ryong Film Award for Best Actress (Jeon Do-yeon) Best Supporting Actress (Lee Mi-yeon) and Best New Director (Lee Yeong-jae). Trivia tip: watch for the photograph at the end of the film!

• The Lovejoy Collection - Vol. 19 | DVD | (15/08/2005) from £6.00   |  Saving you £6.99 (116.50%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Yet more antiques-related tomfoolery from Lovejoy Eric And Tinker! Episodes comprise: 1. Stones of Destiny 2. Poetic Licence 3. The Peking Gun

• Tenko - Series 1 Complete | DVD | (02/06/2003) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £49.99

  Stephanie Beacham Stephanie Cole Louise Jameson and Jean Anderson star as inmates of a gruelling Japanese prisoner-of-war camp during the second world war. It is 1941 and the terrors of war torn Europe seem a long way away for the small expatriate community living in Singapore. But their privileged lives are soon to be shattered when the Japanese Army launches a devastating surprise attack. Tenko is the powerful story of women who are thrown together by the chaos of war. Fearing fo

• Shanghai Surprise | DVD | (04/01/2010) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Shanghai Surprise

• Next Of Kin | DVD | (10/04/2006) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £9.99

  A collection of four important wartime films. Released by the famed Ealing Studios in 1942 The Next of Kin graphically illustrated the disastrous effect of careless talk on the Home Front and how it almost wrecks a daring British commando raid. Churchill personally wanted to see it banned! The New Lot follows the adventures of raw army recruits in 1943 while 1945s Read All About It was an Army Bureau of Current Affairs film dramatising a discussion withthe ex-editor of a newspaper ab

• Sex And Lucia | DVD | (28/01/2013) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £12.99

  Julio Medem's daring new film Sex and Lucia begins where his previous film The Lovers of the Arctic Circle left off. The tragic end of Lovers - with the death of Ana just at the moment when she finds love – is now reversed and Lucia's flight is not towards death but towards life. Sex and Lucia embraces vitality through luscious tropical island imagery a well-developed appreciation of the pleasures of the flesh and constant references to water and the life-giving light of the sun. Lucia (Paz Vega) is a waitress who lives and works in Madrid. After what she believes to be the loss of her boyfriend the tortured writer Lorenzo (Tristan Ulloa) she flees to a secluded island that he had often told her about. There she meets Carlos (Daniel Freyre) and Elena (Najwa Nimri who played Ana in Lovers) who have also run away to the island to escape personal tragedy.