Wednesday (21/9) 23:35 Film4
12 Years a Slave (2013)
True story Best Picture winner adapted from the memoir of Solomon Northup, a free black man who fights to survive after he was abducted into slavery in 19th century Washington D.C. Steve McQueen (Widows, Hunger) directs exceedingly strongly and extracts excellently unsettling performances from an all star cast including frequent collaborator Michael Fassbender, Sarah Paulson, Paul Giamatti and Paul Dano, alongside heartbreakingly realistic work from Chiwetel Ejiofor and a show stealing oscar winning debut performance from Lupita Nyong'o.
Thursday (22/9) 21:00 BBC4
The Producers (1968)
Mel Brooks once again teams up with Gene Wilder for an outrageous, controversial tale of a theatrical producer and his agent who hatch a complex plan to make money through contributions by putting on a show so awful, they have a guaranteed failure and will avoid an audit. The result is a Broadway production of Springtime for Hitler, a love-letter to the dictator, but of course, nothing goes to plan when it becomes an unwanted success. Brooks' directorial debut won him the oscar for Best Original Screenplay.
Friday (23/9) 06:00 Talking Pictures Way Out West (1937)
Among the best known of the Laurel and Hardy films, perhaps mainly because of the now legendary dance sequence, lovingly recreated in the '2015' biopic Stan & Ollie. The mis-matched couple are sent 'way out west's to deliver the deed to a gold mine to the next in line, but become embroiled in a plot to steal the deed. To be expected, light hearted slapstick and gags abide, with the duo's trademark delivery and a genuinely interesting plot.
Saturday (17/9) 15:10 Film4
The Great Escape (1963) (also Wednesday 15:15)
This is the film which, perhaps more than any other, helped make Steve McQueen the enigmatic hero he was known as. The plot, based loosely on actual events, revolves around a group of prisoners of war in a concentration camp, who plan to escape by digging three tunnels, known as Tom, Dick and Harry. Also starring Richard Attenborough, Charles Bronson and James Garner, and featuring some of the most recognisable music in film and the famous McQueen motorcycle jump.
Saturday (17/9) 18:45 Film4 Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
After George Lucas's colossal success with Star Wars in the late '70s, came his second best known creation, Indiana Jones. Directed by the perfect man for the job, Steven Spielberg, Indy's first outing follows the death defying archaeological protagonist, played by Harrison Ford, as he hunts down the Ark of the Covenant. A fabled relic to make any army invincible, it is also a target of malevolent Nazi forces. This lighthearted yet perilous adventure formula has since become a blueprint for many sequels, and is a must see for fans of 1980s cinema.
Sunday (18/9) 21:00 Film4 Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
Indy's darker, second adventure helped to cement him into the cultural zeitgeist as one of the best loved and most iconic movie characters ever created. Once again he must track down a legendary artefact, which has been stolen. Again directed by Spielberg with music by the great John Williams, although it may not have quite reached the high watermark of the first, it is by no means a let down, and helped the franchise flourish further.
Thursday (22/9) 22:30 BBC4 Blazing Saddles (1974)
1874 Wild West. In a ploy to build a railroad for selfish means, a new sheriff is employed by the Governor of Rock Ridge. The story and comedy plays on the cowboy lore and archaic attitudes towards African Americans in the Wild West. The inimitable Gene Wilder stars alongside Cleavon Little as the mismatched team. Mel Brooks wrote alongside Richard Pryor, and brings his razor sharp wit and quickfire gags, mixing highly intelligent and referentiality with lowest common denominator, and also appears as the easily distracted governor, among other roles.
Comments