Film Planner
Saturday November 6 Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) 8.50pm RTÉ2
Mark Hamill wasn’t impressed but there’s plenty to admire in Episode VIII of the space opera. Adam Driver channels his inner Vader; the late Carrie Fisher rallies the Resistance; and Rey (Daisy Ridley) encourages Luke to guide her in the ways of the Force.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) 9.00pm BBC Four
Set in Brittany in 1770, Céline Sciamma’s lush period drama chronicles the growing relationship between the young daughter (Adèle Haenel) of a French countess and the female artist (Noémie Merlant) commissioned to paint her portrait. It’s all beautifully shot by Claire Mathon.
Dance With A Stranger (1985) 11.55pm RTÉ One
This is a powerful biopic of Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be hanged in Britain (in 1955). A peroxided Miranda Richardson toplines as the society hostess whose life turned upside down when she encountered a handsome rogue, played with deceptive charm by Rupert Everett.
Sunday November 7 The Guns of Navarone (1961) 2.35pm RTÉ2
Based on Alistair Maclean’s best-selling WWII adventure, this one finds Gregory Peck in terrific form as the leader of a crack squad sent to Greece to silence the German guns of the title. On hand are explosives expert David Niven and rugged Anthony Quinn.
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing,
Missouri (2017) 9.00pm Film 4
Martin Mcdonagh’s dark drama stars Oscar-winner Frances Mcdormand as a stubborn Southern woman, unhappy that the local police force has failed to track down the man who killed her daughter. Sam Rockwell co-stars.
St Vincent (2013) 11.20pm Film 4
Bill Murray delivers one of the finest performances of his career (and that’s saying something) in this bittersweet drama about a cantankerous Vietnam veteran (guess who?), whose life takes an immediate turn when single mum Melissa Mccarthy and her young son move in next door.
Monday November 8
His Girl Friday (1940) 12.35pm Film 4
In Howard Hawks’ superb screwball yarn, Rosalind Russell is the ace reporter who wants to hang up her typewriter and get married (to dull Ralph Bellamy), much to the chagrin of her editor, Cary Grant, who plans to do all in his power to retain the services of his finest hack.
Doubt (2008) 9.30pm TG4
Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams and Viola Davis were all Oscar nominated for their performances in John Patrick Shanley’s powerful drama about a priest (Hoffman) suspected of inappropriate conduct with one of his young charges.
Strangers on a Train (1951) 11.40pm TCM
Patricia Highsmith’s clever storyline (total strangers exchanging murders thus eliminating an obvious motive) is perfectly suited to Alfred Hitchcock and also to the actors chosen to play the strangers in question, Farley Granger and Robert Walker.
Tuesday November 9
Where Eagles Dare (1969) 1.30pm TCM
Quentin Tarantino’s favourite men-on-amission movie features Clint Eastwood and Richard Burton as leaders of a crack paratroop team assigned to rescue an American general from a seemingly impregnable German fort. It’s not often you see Clint in a Nazi uniform.
Valerian and the City of a
Thousand Planets (2017)
6.05pm Film 4
As a fourteen-year-old boy, Luc Besson was a huge fan of the groundbreaking French comic series, Valerian and Laureline. He used some of his own money to deliver a $200 million cinematic adaptation of the cult sci-fi story.
Superbad (2007) 10.50pm Comedy Central
This low-budget but hugely popular comedy helped make nerdy guys (somewhat) cool again. Written by Seth Rogen, it’s the story of three hapless high school students (Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Christopher Mintz-plasse) as they attempt to make an impression on the opposite sex.
Wednesday November 10 Gravity (2013) 8.00pm Sky Cinema Sci-fi
Alfonso Cuarón takes a simple premise – a pair of astronauts nd themselves
oating in space following an accident – and fashions a taut, moving, Oscarwinning tale. Having Sandra Bullock and George Clooney (him again) in the lead roles certainly helps.
Mary Magdalene (2018) 11.15pm Sky Cinema Drama
Billed as ‘’the untold story’’, Garth Davis’ beautifully shot drama portrays Mary Magdalene (Rooney Mara) as a smart, independent young woman who leaves behind her life as a second-class citizen after she encounters the charismatic Jesus of Nazareth (Joaquin Phoenix).
Journeys End (2017)
11.15pm BBC Two
RC Sheri ’s powerful WWI play has been adapted a number of times for the big screen. Saul Dibb’s latest version con nes the drama to a muddy, rat-infested trench in northern France. Asa Butter eld, Sam Cla n and Tom Sturridge co-star.
Thursday November 11 Winchester 73 (1950) 1.10pm Film 4
Anthony Mann and James Stewart collaborated on some terri c westerns over the years. Winchester 73 was the rst and arguably the best of their o erings with Jimmy in classic form on the trail of Stephen Mcnally who has stolen the prized ri e of the title.
Eye in the Sky (2015) 7.00pm Film 4
Gavin Hood’s race-against-time drama tackles the controversial topic of drone warfare. The focus is on a Somali terror cell in Nairobi and US drone pilot Aaron Paul who is monitoring events from Nevada. Unfortunately, a little local girl has set up a bread stall nearby . . .
The Pianist (2002) 12.05am TG4
Clearly one of director Roman Polanski’s most personal project, this powerful drama chronicles the fortunes of a Jewish musician as he struggles to survive in the Warsaw ghetto under Nazi occupation. Adrien Brody deservedly scoped an Oscar for his poignant performance in the lead role.
Friday November 12
Carry On Spying (1964) 4.55pm Film 4
An early outing for the Carry On crew as Kenneth Williams and his crew of bumbling British spies head o to Algeria on the trail of terrorists. Casablanca is a key in uence here for an entertaining romp that marks the franchise debut of future stalwart, Barbara Windsor.
Meet Me in St Louis (1944) 4.55pm TCM
Vincente Minnelli’s delightful musical focuses on a family in turn-of-the-century America coming to terms with a changing way of life. It features marvellous turns from Judy Garland (who would marry the director after the lm wrapped), Margaret O’brien, Leon Ames and Mary Astor.
The Butcher Boy (1998) 10.00pm RTÉ2
Neil Jordan was the perfect director to adapt Patrick Mccabe’s surreal comic tale of a young boy growing up in Clones in the early 1960s. Eamonn Owens plays the boy in question and the superb cast includes Stephen Rea, Aisling O’sullivan and Fiona Shaw.