Daily Mail - Daily Mail Weekend Magazine
FILMS OF THE WEEK
A UNITED KINGDOM (2016) 12 ◆ Sunday, 11pm, BBC2 ★★★ A real-life romance, with all the trappings of a fairytale. Rosamund Pike stars as an Englishwoman who falls in love with a prince. It would have been happy ever after were it not for the fact that the man she meets in London in 1947 is Seretse Khama (David Oyelowo, above with Pike), heir to the throne of Bechuanaland (now Botswana) that was, until 1966, a British colony of South Africa. Strong as their love is, representatives of both Britain and Bechuanaland oppose their marriage. Jack Davenport is the vile British official who supports Apartheid as grounds to ban their union, while Khama’s uncle acquiesces to the British. Director Amma Asante crafts an epic, defiant drama that draws racism as the enemy of love and freedom.
RAGING BULL (1980) 18 ▲ Saturday, 11pm, ITV ★★★★★ This operatic, black and white biographical drama was a passion project for Robert De Niro, who won his second Oscar for playing boxer Jake La Motta (above, with Joe Pesci) and who, over several years, persuaded his friend Martin Scorsese to direct the picture. Reluctant at first, Scorsese committed to the film after a near-fatal collapse gave him a new perspective on La Motta’s rise and fall. A controversial figure in boxing in the 1940s and 50s, La Motta was known for his scrappy style and back-room dealings. He clung to fame, post-ring and out of shape, with stints on the comedy circuit and with C-list TV appearances. Flawed, complicated, more than a bit sleazy, La Motta was a character who, in the hands of De Niro and Scorsese, became a legend.