TV FILMS OF THE WEEK
THE SOUND OF MUSIC Sunday, BBC1, 3.45pm
Some films just gladden the heart, and the story of the Von Trapp family is certainly one of them, thanks to the musical magic of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s songs and the fabulous screen chemistry between Julie Andrews, as nun-turned-governess Maria, and Christopher Plummer as the conveniently widowed Captain Von Trapp.
THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL Monday, Channel 5, 8pm
A superb ensemble cast led by Judi Dench and Bill Nighy play the seven senior Brits who travel to India not just in search of cheap retirement accommodation but love and friendship too. The hotel, however, run by young and optimistic Sonny (Dev Patel), is not quite what they’re expecting.
MARIANNE AND LEONARD: WORDS OF LOVE
Monday, BBC4, 11.50pm
If you’ve ever liked the songs of Leonard Cohen, Nick Broomfield’s beautifully assembled documentary – the story of how Cohen met the young Norwegian woman who would become his lover and muse on the Greek island of Hydra – is one of the great Christmas treats. You’ll need tissues.
WONDER WOMAN Tuesday, ITV, 7.30pm
It’s 1918 and the peace of the Amazon warriors’ idyllic, magically hidden homeisland is shattered as a badly damaged plane crashes into the sea. Diana Prince – Gal Gadot – is about to meet American air ace Steve Trevor (Chris Pine), and we’re off.
NORTH BY NORTHWEST Wednesday, BBC2, 2.50pm
Twenty-five years after The 39 Steps, Alfred Hitchcock returned to similar territory, this time with Cary Grant as an innocent New York advertising agent mistaken for a spy by dangerous enemy agents. The inevitable pursuit involves trains, planes and the beautiful Eva Marie Saint.
WITHNAIL AND I
New Year’s Eve, Film 4, 11.15pm
There’s no denying the iconic importance Bruce Robinson’s cult comedy has acquired, as two impoverished actors (Paul McGann and Richard E. Grant, above) head for an undeserved break in a ramshackle Lakeland cottage. Best washed down with ‘the finest wines available to humanity’.
MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS New Year’s Day, Film 4, 9pm
Kenneth Branagh not only takes the iconic role of detective Hercule Poirot but also directs this star-studded and immensely good-looking adaptation of the Agatha Christie classic. Worth catching for his General Kitchener-style moustache alone.
NOTTING HILL
Saturday, ITV, 10.20pm
A bit of top-class Richard Curtis. Yes, it’s Four Weddings And A Funeral all over again but Julia Roberts is delightful as the American film star in London, and Hugh Grant at his romantic-lead best as a slightly improbable Notting Hill bookshop owner.