It might have started out as a small, rather arty divorce drama but Kramer vs Kramer was the biggest cinema hit of 1979. It confirmed Dustin Hoffman's status as a major star in a performance that combined his trademark twitchy intensity with deep sensitivity. And it provided Meryl Streep with a pivotal role in her rise to big-screen greatness. Both won Oscars, as did director Robert Benton and the film itself scooped the Best Picture award. Kramer vs Kramer has worn well into the 21st century. Although clearly of its time--by the late 1970s, microscopic relationship analysis had become the theme of commercial cinema--it stands on the strength of its central performances.

Hoffman's Ted Kramer is a vision of the Graduate grown up: serious, focused and thrown by anything that threatens his upwardly mobile professional trajectory. The news that his wife, who he has failed to notice teetering on the edge of a breakdown, is leaving him and their son sends him into a tailspin. The film is as much about his resilience and fulfilment as it is the story of a divorce and custody battle. Justin Henry is extraordinary as Billy, the boy caught in the middle, and turns in a remarkably complex, thoughtful performance, which is light years from the archetypal all-American kid you might anticipate. And in just a handful of scenes, Streep is mesmerising as Joanna, the deserting wife and mother who you just can't bring yourself to hate. Yes, this is soap opera. But it belongs up there with all the finest cinematic human dramas.

On the DVD: The widescreen presentation ensures a theatrically authentic experience, with some fantastic shots of New York city coming into their own. The mono sound is adequate for the relative intimacy of most of the dialogue. But the real bonus is the retrospective documentary in which director and writer Benton, producer Stanley Jaffe and the cast look back with touching satisfaction at a piece which clearly meant a great deal to them all. Hoffman's initial reluctance (he was going through a real-life divorce) to get involved, the process of working with a gifted child actor and Streep's desire to make Joanna understood are all recalled in fascinating detail. --Piers Ford

There's a neat irony in the title of The Krays: The Final Word, a comprehensive documentary about the iconic East End gangsters first shown on television in 2001. By interviewing Reggie Kray on his deathbed, and through extensive interviews with former criminal associates, detectives and lawyers, the producers might reasonably claim to have come up with the definitive version of the story.

But we're a long way from hearing the last word on the subject. If anything, the legend of the Kray twins just keeps on growing. Thirty years since they were convicted and with both brothers now dead (Ronnie died in 1995, Reggie 12 days after this interview was filmed in 2000), they continue to fascinate an equally divided public. For all the depth of its content, the documentary hardly touches on the prison years, during which there is plenty of evidence to suggest that they continued to exert real influence, their life sentences putting no end to their financial "business".

This is a rich and compelling documentary, which makes a good stab at analysing the twins' relationship and background. The first-hand observations are invaluable. The circumstances of the Kray murders clearly still ring with genuine emotional resonance for those who were either involved or responsible for the subsequent judicial process. The black and white archive footage is imbued with a strong resonance of nostalgia. And while there's a certain level of voyeurism in watching the wasted Reggie give his final interview, a lack of repentance makes it difficult to feel any real sympathy. This might be Reggie's final word, but there are enough holes in his deathbed "confession" to guarantee the long-term future of the twins' status in criminal folklore.

On the DVD: With its 16:9 picture format and Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo soundtrack, The Krays: the Final Word offers the high quality you'd expect from a modern television documentary. The extra features are for die-hard Kray fanatics only. The biographies of the main participants are certainly useful and the interactive East End map takes you step by step through the high points of the twins' domestic and criminal activities. The Order of Service from Reggie's funeral is just a little over the top.--Piers Ford

There's something inescapably appealing about Krull, a camp Star Wars-meets-The Lord of the Rings knock-off, that encourages the viewer to overlook it's very many silly shortcomings and simply enjoy the fun. James Horner's rollicking music score--written soon after his similarly memorable contribution to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan--certainly helps, as does the epic-scale CinemaScope photography of the breathtaking Italian landscapes. The costumes and extravagant production design are also great to look at, and much of Derek Meddings' visual effects work still looks striking if not exactly state-of-the-art.

Of the cast, Freddie Jones stands head and shoulders above all others as the Obi Wan Kenobi-meets-Gandalf character Ynyr: his trip to the centre of the spider's web is both genuinely scary and genuinely touching. The two romantic leads, Ken Marshall as the Luke Skywalker-meets-King Arthur clone Prince Colwyn and Lysette Anthony (with an overdubbed American voice) as his Leia-Guinevere Princess Lyssa, are mere formalities on which to hang the plot. Ironic fun can be had with the all-British supporting cast, which includes Todd Carty of Eastenders fame and Carry On's Bernard Bresslaw, as well as Robbie Coltrane, Liam Neeson and the gorgeous Francesca Annis.

On the DVD: Krull comes to DVD in an anamorphic widescreen print, preserving the luscious CinemaScope look of the theatrical release. The Dolby 5.1 sound lives up to the picture. There are two commentary tracks: on the first, director Peter Yates talks through the movie, with contributions from other crew members and leads Ken Marshall and Lysette Anthony. Oddly, the second audio track is just a reading of an article that originally appeared in the November 1982 issue of Cinefantastique magazine. There's also a half-hour "making-of" featurette originally produced to promote the movie at the time, the usual trailer, stills gallery and three talent profiles. --Mark Walker