Top films to watch on TV this week

WEDNESDAY The Remains of the Day (1993) Film4, 6.20p.m.

Anthony Hopkins gives one of his best performances as Stevens, a butler in a 1930s mansion who devotes himself to his master and the smooth running of the household. In fact, he’s so dedicated, he puts the demands of the job above his own emotional needs, rebuffing the advances of the spirited housekeeper Miss Kenton (Emma Thompson) – and so obedient, he fails to question his employer’s (James Fox) increasingly pro-Nazi politics.

Made at the height of period-drama specialists Merchant Ivory’s powers, this sensitive adaptation transforms Kazuo Ishiguro’s acclaimed novel into a deeply moving drama. The impressive supporting cast includes Hugh Grant, Christopher Reeve, Peter Vaughan and Tim Pigott-Smith.

THURSDAY

Hellboy (2004) ITV4, 10.05p.m.

Demon Hellboy (Ron Perlman), raised by the Nazis in the final days of the Second World War but weaned from the dark side by paranormal expert John Hurt, joins a team fighting present-day fascist sorcery. Aided by a motley bunch of misfits, the hero has to juggle the demands of his role with his attempts to woo fragile friend Liz (Selma Blair), a conflict of interests that only adds fuel to his fiery temper.

Acclaimed director Guillermo del Toro manages to remain fairly faithful to the comic-book while firmly attaching his own signature to the film, and strikes a careful balance between effects-laden action and character-driven scenes.

FRIDAY

Step Brothers (2008) Channel 4, 11.05p.m.

Brennan ( Will Ferrell) is 40 going on 14. He still lives at home with his mother Nancy (Mary Steenburgen) and openly nurtures resentment towards his boorish younger brother Derek (Adam Scott), who has a career, a family and a home of his own. During a medical convention, Nancy meets Robert (Richard Jenkins), who has his own adult son at home – Dale (John C Reilly) – and the lonely parents embark on a whirlwind romance.

Wedding bells peal and Nancy moves in with her new husband with disgruntled Brennan in tow. Step-sibling resentment quickly boils over, but Dale and Brennan unexpectedly discover common ground: favourite dinosaurs and their shared hatred of Derek. The humour won’t be to everyone’s tastes, but the rapport between Ferrell and Reilly powers the film.

SATURDAY

The Last of the Mohicans (1992) Channel 4, 11.10p.m.

Director Michael Mann’s take on James Fenimore Cooper’s classic historical adventure features a gutsy performance by unlikely action hero Daniel Day-Lewis. The tale follows the life of an orphaned settler in North America who is adopted by the last member of a native tribe following the death of his family.

As the child grows to maturity, he becomes a frontiersman whose reputation spreads far and wide – but when he rescues and falls in love with a British officer’s daughter (Madeleine Stowe) during the Anglo-French War, he angers a Huron war chief, who vows to take revenge against her father by hunting her down and killing her.

SUNDAY

Senna (2010) Channel 4, 11.20p.m.

On Sunday May 1, 1994, at the San Marino Grand Prix, three-time champion Ayrton Senna’s car left the track after the Tamburello corner, colliding with a concrete wall. The Brazilian driver died soon after.

Made with the blessing of Senna’s family and the co-operation of Bernie Ecclestone, this documentary from Asif Kapadia (who would go on to make the Oscar-winning Amy) pays glowing tribute to this handsome and charismatic sportsman.

Painstakingly constructed from hours of race footage, photographs, interviews and archive material, Senna celebrates the life of the iconic Formula 1 driver, whose death sparked a radical overhaul of safety procedures.

MONDAY

Rush (2013) BBC2, 10p.m.

During the 1970s, rubber burnt and tempers frayed between two very different Formula 1 drivers: charismatic ladies’ man James Hunt and incredibly ambitious Austrian speed fiend Niki Lauda. Their daredevil duels reached a horrifying crescendo at the 1976 German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring when Lauda’s Ferrari burst into flames, trapping him in the inferno. Just six weeks later, Lauda emerged from hospital with extensive scarring, determined to prevent Hunt from claiming the chequered flag at Monza.

This incredible story of courage and resilience is dramatised in Rush, Ron Howard’s superb biopic that charts the rivalry between Hunt (Chris Hemsworth) and Lauda (Daniel Bruhl) from their early days through to the glamour of the Formula 1 circuit.

TUESDAY All the Money in the World (2017) GREAT! movies, 9p.m.

Christopher Plummer delivers one of the finest performances from the latter part of his career in director Ridley Scott’s take on an infamous real-life event. But it might have been so different – Kevin Spacey originally took the role of miserly billionaire Jean Paul Getty, but following the actor’s fall from grace, Scott reshot his scenes with Plummer.

The result is a fine insight into what happened in 1973, when Getty’s teenage grandson was kidnapped and held for ransom. Michelle Williams is also impressive as the boy’s mother, who begs her former father-in-law to pay off the criminals before they kill her son. Mark Wahlberg, Timothy Hutton and Charlie Plummer (no relation to Christopher) also appear.