FILMS OF THE WEEK

THE BIG MOVIE

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015) PG Sunday, 9pm, Ch4 The first film, adapted from the novel These Foolish Things by Deborah Moggach, was such a winning formula that it inspired not just this sequel, but also a factual television series (Monday, 9pm, BBC1). Returning to Jaipur and the retirement hotel run by Dev Patel’s adorably eager Sonny Kapoor, the established residents – made up of British acting royalty including Judi Dench (above), Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy and Celia Imrie – are joined by new guests, notably Richard Gere’s dashing American. The cosy ensemble drama is busy with multiple storylines and romantic dilemmas, and builds to a suitably colourful all-singing, all-dancing climax. As before, it’s the cast who are the true charmers, and they are anything but second best.

CLASSIC FILM CHOICE

Ben-Hur (1959) PG Sunday, 2.45pm, ITV3 William Wyler’s biblical epic has weathered remarkably well in the nearly 60 years since it first rocked the box office and won 11 Oscars. An adaptation of an 1880 novel by Lew Wallace, it’s the story of Christ, told from the point of view of Judah BenHur (Charlton Heston, above), a Jewish prince who is enslaved by the Romans, and whose life runs parallel to that of Jesus. Only last year, a further – fifth – movie adaptation of Wallace’s novel was released. It was mauled by critics, and audiences stayed away, too; the appetite to replace the 1959 film with another live-action spectacle simply wasn’t there. There are many good reasons for this, but it’s mainly to do with scale: if you’re going to attempt to replicate the vastness of this production – from 10,000 extras to a nine-minute chariot race – you’d better do it magnificently, or not at all.