Films of the day What’s on the small screen this week
BLACK NARCISSUS BBC2, 12.20PM
This visually stunning 1947 adaptation of Rumer Godden’s novel tells the story of a group of nuns who face physical and spiritual challenges while living in the Himalayan region. Deborah Kerr and Kathleen Byron excel in the lead roles.
DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER ITV, 2.10PM
After George Lazenby’s earnest but ill-fated attempt to fill James Bond’s shoes, Sean Connery returned to the role that made his name. Diamonds is an outlandish and overblown affair, with everyone’s favourite spy travelling to Amsterdam and Las Vegas in an attempt to foil Spectre’s plans for world domination. (1971)
12 ANGRY MEN FILM4, 2.50PM
Henry Fonda heads the cast as Juror Number Eight, who faces the seemingly impossible task of changing the minds of the 11 other men on a hung jury. They’re convinced a teenage boy is guilty of murdering an elderly neighbour but Fonda claims there isn’t enough evidence. A masterpiece of movie-making from 1957.
SCARFACE ITV4, 11.15PM
Displaying levels of violence that left some queasy, this was one of the most controversial movies of 1983. Al Pacino’s plays Tony Montana, the Cuban villain who becomes a lieutenant for a South Florida drug lord, before aiming for the top – and the only place to go from there is down. With Michelle Pfeiffer and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio.
ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO GREAT! MOVIES, 9PM
After the tragic events of Desperado, El Mariachi (Antonio Banderas) is reluctant to fight. Sands (Johnny Depp) is a CIA agent hoping to lure him out of retirement to stop a drug cartel. Depp is on fine form as the newcomer to the Mariachi trilogy, and Banderas easily slots back into the guitar-wielding, gun-toting antics of the Mexican killer. (2003)
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY BBC4, 9PM
This labyrinthine drama centres on the deputy to the head of British intelligence who is forced to retire after an operation ends in disaster. He is later recruited to return to duty and investigate the possibility of a Soviet mole in MI6. Gary Oldman gives one of his best performances as John le Carre’s ageing hero George Smiley. (2011)
INVICTUS BBC1, 11.25PM
Clint Eastwood directs this drama based on John Carlin’s book Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Changed a Nation. It tells the story of South Africa’s bid to win the 1995 Rugby Union World Cup on home turf. (2009)