TV FILMS of the week
1 THE MERCY Tonight, BBC2, 8.35pm
The Mercy is a handsome dramatisation of the fateful journey of self-discovery of amateur sailor Donald Crowhurst, who vanished in 1969 during a round the world yacht race. Crowhurst (Colin Firth) attends a 1968 trade show with his sons to sell their invention: a nautical navigation device. The family’s pitch is interrupted by a rousing speech from Sir Francis Chichester (Simon McBurney), to launch the Golden Globe Race. Donald informs his wife Clare (Rachel Weisz) he intends to take up the challenge but underestimates the challenge ahead.
2 DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER Tomorrow, ITV, 2.10pm
This outlandish and overblown affair, sees James Bond (Sean Connery, left) travel to Amsterdam and Las Vegas in an attempt to foil SPECTRE’s latest plans for world domination. Jill St John makes a feisty heroine, Charles Gray a suave super-villain and Shirley Bassey sings John Barry and Don Black’s seductive theme tune.
3 PASSENGER 57 Monday, ITV4, 9pm
Security expert John Cutter (Wesley Snipes, left) accepts a new job which involves being flown to Los Angeles, where he will be officially unveiled as new chief of security. Unfortunately, also on board is terrorist Charles Rane (Bruce Payne). His people waste no time in taking over the plane and it’s down to John to scupper the criminal’s plans.
4 THE WOMAN IN BLACK Tuesday, 5*, 11.05pm
Solicitor Arthur Kipps (Daniel Radcliffe, left) heads to a remote village to attend to the papers of the late owner of Eel Marsh House, despite locals’ warnings. He glimpses a mysterious figure (Liz White), who is blamed for the deaths of children in the village. Based on Susan Hill’s novel, the Woman in Black is a cinematic ghost train.
5 PALE RIDER Wednesday, ITV4, 9pm
A group of impoverished prospectors are being terrorised by the henchmen of a local businessman who wants to drive them out of the area. A mysterious preacher (Clint Eastwood, left) arrives out of the blue, but this is no ordinary man of the cloth. Instead, he’s a skilful fighter and gunman whose expertise prove rather handy.
6 THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH Thursday, Talking Pictures TV, 11pm
Is David Bowie (left) a starman or just a lad insane? You decide in acclaimed director Nicolas Roeg’s surreal sci-fi drama, based on Walter Tevis’s novel of the same name. It focuses on an alien who visits Earth on a rescue mission to save his dying planet, but is corrupted by the seductive temptations of human society.
7 INVICTUS Friday, BBC1, 11.25pm
Clint Eastwood directs this drama which tells the story of South Africa’s campaign to win the 1995 Rugby Union World Cup on home turf. President Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) fights to unite the still racially divided country behind the national team, led by captain Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon, pictured with Freeman).