DVDs of the week

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Starter For 10

Eragon: Two-Disc Special Edition

Deep Water

The Best Of Saturday Live Series 1

Ghosts

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Brit rom-com Starter For 10, The Best Of Saturday Live, Ghosts, and the true story of an English eccentric's quest to sail round the world, are all released on DVD this week.

Starter For 10
Icon Home Entertainment, 15, £17.99
****
Music And Lyrics, The Holiday, In Her Shoes - almost all mainstream romcoms are aimed at smug, married thirtysomethings. This smashing Brit effort, like The Breakfast Club-era Brat Pack flicks of yore, harks back to a more carefree age where its younger characters' biggest crisis was which poster - CND or The Cure - to Blu Tack to the wall.
Yes, it's 1985 and working-class lad Brian (James McAvoy) is off to college with dreams of being on the winning team of TV's University Challenge. Along the way, he learns about all the usual coming-of-age drama stuff: love, heartbreak, catching your new girlfriend's parents naked. And ponders which girl he fancies more: blonde, cheerleader-type Alice Eve or spirited activist Rebecca Hall. A smart script perks up the clichÈs, and the 1980s soundtrack (The Smiths, Kate Bush) will have you humming along from the off.
Extras: Writer, director and cast interviews; quiz.
Larushka Ivan-Zadeh

Eragon: Two-Disc Special Edition
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, PG, £24.99
**
Fantasy is the one genre where being derivative isn't necessarily a curse - dwarves and dark lords pop up time and again. Even so, this dragon-riding nonsense is so woefully unoriginal that you want to impale yourself on the nearest elven blade. In his homeland of Alagaesia, an apparently humble farm boy (who bears a strange resemblance to Prince William) happens upon a dragon's egg that quivers and hatches into a disturbingly seductive-sounding dragon (voiced by Rachel Weisz). She tells him he's 'The One' who must save his world from destruction. Christopher Paolini was just 15 when he wrote the original novel - and it shows. Unlike the cross-generational Harry Potter, Star Wars and Lord Of The Rings flicks - all of which are 'referenced' here - this is unlikely to impress anyone old enough to have seen, say, more than two movies in their lives. 'I suffer without my stone. Do not prolong my suffering,' moans John Malkovich's evil King Galbatorix at the start. Sadly, no one heeds him.
Extras: A treasure trove for tiny fans: loads of insider featurettes plus interview with Christopher Paolini.
LI-Z

Deep Water
Pathe Distribution Ltd, 15, £19.99
****
The true-life story of Donald Crowhurst, an English eccentric on a mission to be the fastest person to sail single-handed, non-stop around the world, may not sound like everyone's cup of tea. But I urge you to give this a try. Sharing the same producer as climbing adventure/doc Touching The Void, this may be ostensibly about sailing but it's really a portrait of obsession. Of how, when man is truly alone, he struggles against the vastness of the universe. Beautifully edited and quirkily toned, the narrative is retold mainly through crackly, highly atmospheric news footage. Crowhurst's voyage, a thrilling boys' adventure, with an unforgettable and chilling undercurrent, utterly absorbs. It is made all the more moving by the new interviews with Crowhurst's family. Compelling is a much overused word but you'll struggle to find a film to which it better applies.
Extras: Sailors' stories.
LI-Z

The Best Of Saturday Live Series 1
Network DVD, no cert, £19.99
****
Paul Jackson, now ITV's new comedy boss, had two major TV triumphs as a producer in the 1980s. Both were revolutionary and exciting programmes of their day: the first was The Young Ones, the second was Saturday Live. This Channel 4 series essentially put the live alternative comedy scene on to the small screen and launched the careers of Ben Elton (already known for his writing), Harry Enfield (performing here as kebab shop owner Stavros), Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie to telly stardom. There are fun surprises, too - such as Craig Charles, whose latter-day career seems far removed from the dynamic talent he displays here - and US imports, including a fire and brimstone set from former preacher Sam Kinison. But this is mainly worth a punt to see the aristocracy of alternative comedy - Rik Mayall, Adrian Edmondson, Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders among them - fresh and raw in their fledgling careers.
Extras: None.
Sharon Lougher

Ghosts
Tartan Video, 15, £19.99
***
For his first feature film, documentary-maker Nick Broomfield chose a subject all too close to real life: the 2004 incident where 21 immigrant Chinese cockle pickers drowned in Morecambe Bay. It is such an obvious topic for a documentary, it's hard to see why Broomfield chose to fictionalise it instead. And from the information about illegal immigration imparted at the start, through to occasional subtitles, as well as the film's dogmatic stance, Broomfield - whose trademark is making himself part of the story - ensures we never forget he's there. The main character is Ai Qin Lin (played by an amateur actress, herself an illegal immigrant), a young woman who leaves her baby in China to make the hellish six-month journey to England. Here, she finds the wealth she dreamed of is jealously guarded by the Ghosts - a far from complimentary term for white people. The flashback framework takes much of the drama out of the proceedings. But this is worth seeing for the shots of the incoming tide alone: Broomfield has made something sinisterly human and deeply creepy out of those white-fringed waves.
Extras: Making-of documentary.
Nina Caplan

Slade In Flame
Union Square Pictures, 12, £15.99
****
Released in 1974, at the height of Slade's fame, Slade In Flame was not the loveable romp expected by fans and critics. Instead, it was a gritty story of a fictional Black Country band called Flame (played by Slade's own Noddy, Dave, Jim and Don) and their quest for success.
Beset on all sides by venal agents and manipulative management (a silky Tom Conti), they become isolated until they crack under the pressure. Part kitchen-sink drama, part morality tale, Slade In Flame was about as popular as a dose of the clap at the time. But now it is at last being recognised as one of the greatest movies about the industry of human happiness. Extras: Two-disc box that includes songs from the film and a booklet of wry notes.
Kevin McCardle

 

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