American Beauty (Blu-ray) Blu-ray, 1999

The multi-Oscar winning debut by British director Sam Mendes, American Beauty, scripted by Alan Ball, is both a darkly comic examination of American surburan dysfunction and an optimistic paean to the human soul in our cynical age. Featuring an Oscar-winning performance by Kevin Spacey, this is a definite rarity - an antidote to Hollywood commercialism made within the studio system itself.

Lester Burnham (Kevin Spacey) is a man in mid-life crisis; his estate agent wife, Carolyn (Annette Bening), despises him, while teenage daughter Jane is disgusted by the obsession he develops with her attractive friend Angela (Mena Suvari). In an attempt to recapture the lost days of his youth, Lester takes a job flipping burgers, and begins working out in his garage to the strains of 'Dark Side of the Moon'. He also rediscovers the joys of recreational drugs, supplied by new neighbour Ricky Fitts - who has also started dating Jane. The film won five Oscars, including Best Director, Picture, Actor and Screenplay.