The best films on the box this week
FRIDAY THE REMAINS OF THE DAY (1993) (Sony Movie Channel, 4pm)
A BUTLER in a 1930s mansion devotes himself to his master and the smooth running of the household. He puts the demands of the job above his own emotional needs, rebuffing the advances of a spirited housekeeper – and is so obedient, he fails to question his employer’s pro-Nazi politics. Based on the bestseller by Kazuo Ishiguro, this intelligent and at times very moving tale features excellent performances from Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson.
SATURDAY DUNKIRK (2017) (Sky Cinema Premiere, 12.50pm & 8pm)
CHRISTOPHER Nolan’s stunning drama depicts personal stories of triumph and agonising defeat against the backdrop of the largest evacuation of Allied forces during World War II. Young British soldier Tommy (Fionn Whitehead) races to the beaches of Dunkirk. On the other side of the Channel, sailor Mr Dawson (Mark Rylance) answers Churchill’s call for civilian boats to rescue the stranded troops. At sea, he rescues a shellshocked soldier (Cillian Murphy) and witnesses a dogfight between German fighter planes and RAF Spitfires piloted by Farrier (Tom Hardy) and Collins (Jack Lowden).
SUNDAY THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING (2003) (ITV2, 6.10pm)
THE final instalment of Peter Jackson’s imaginative and thrilling adaptation of JRR Tolkien’s The Lord Of The Rings trilogy. Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) draw near to Mount Doom, guided by Gollum (voiced by Andy Serkis). Pippin’s (Billy Boyd) curiosity puts him in mortal danger and Gandalf (Ian McKellen) spirits him away to the stronghold of Minas Tirith. Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen), Legolas (Orlando Bloom), Gimli (John Rhys-Davies) and Merry (Dominic Monaghan) offer their service to King Theoden (Bernard Hill) in the coming battle.
MONDAY THE PRINCESS BRIDE (1987) (C4, 12.20pm)
UPROARIOUSLY funny and touchingly sweet, Rob Reiner’s irreverent fairy-tale fantasy unfolds as a bedtime story told by an old man (Peter Falk) to his poorly grandson (Fred Savage), in which valiant farmhand Wesley (Cary Elwes) battles outlaws atop the Cliffs of Insanity and evades the Rats of Unusual Size in order to declare his love to the beautiful Princess Buttercup (Robin Wright).
TUESDAY HOT FUZZ (2007) (ITV2, 9pm)
TRANSFERRED from the Met to the sleepy West Country backwater of Sandford, PC Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) meets the locals and soon discovers the village harbours at least one psychopath. Hot Fuzz is a hugely enjoyable romp that handcuffs the loopy plotting of Midsomer Murders to the hysterically overblown action of Lethal Weapon.
WEDNESDAY HERCULES (2014) (ITV2, 9pm)
HERCULES (Dwayne Johnson) roams the land as a mercenary, accompanied by a band of fellow travellers. Ailing King of Thrace Cotys (John Hurt) promises them their weight in gold if they can train his farmhands to become an army and end a bitter civil war with rebel leader Rhesus (Tobias Santelmann). This swaggering sword-and-sandals romp gives Greek mythology a campy, testosteronepumped rewrite.
THURSDAY PIMPERNEL SMITH (1941) (Film4, 4.15pm)
LESLIE Howard directs and stars in this stirring adventure, which updates classic French Revolution yarn The Scarlet Pimpernel to World War II Europe. Cambridge archaeologist Professor Horatio Smith (Howard) arrives in Germany in 1939 with a band of students, supposedly to work on a dig. However, he’s secretly using the expedition to help enemies of the Nazis escape the country.