The Way Back (Cert 12, 127 mins, Entertainment One UK) Starring Jim Sturgess, Colin Farrell, Ed Harris, Mark Strong, Sebastian Urzendowsky, Alexandru Potocean, Gustaf Skarsgard, Dragos Bucur, Saoirse Ronan ***

A harrowing true story of courage and endurance against the odds during the Second World War which maintains a deliberately slow pace so we are with the escapees every arduous step of the way. Sturgess, Harris and Farrell deliver strong performances, while Ronan once again demonstrates emotional depth beyond her tender years in a vivid supporting role.

The King’s Speech (Cert 12, 113 mins, Momentum Pictures Home Entertainment) Starring Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Guy Pearce, Jennifer Ehle, Claire Bloom, Michael Gambon, Eve Best *****

Feted with four Oscars earlier this year including Best Picture and Best Actor, this is an impeccably-crafted chapter from recent British history that charts a remarkable and unlikely friendship between two men from opposite sides of the class divide. Firth delivers the performance of his life, while Rush is hysterical as the linguist who refuses any concessions to his king. Their double-act is glorious, including an unforgettable barrage of expletives in the name of therapy.

Blue Valentine (Cert 15, 107 mins, Optimum Home Entertainment) Starring Ryan Gosling, Michelle Williams, Mike Vogel ****

Gosling and Williams deliver tour-de-force performances in emotional freefall in this slow-burning drama. After a couple’s fiery and passionate romance leads to marriage and a family, the giddiness and excitement of those early months together is replaced by weariness as the relationship settles into a routine. When the wife encounters her high school sweetheart (Vogel) in the supermarket, seeds of jealousy are sown that reap poisonous fruit when the couple heads to a hotel for a rare night alone.