TV FILMS of the week TV Highlights
1 DIRTY DANCING Tonight, Channel 5, 8pm
Can it really be 35 years since
Patrick Swayze’s hip-swivelling hero first uttered the immortal line,
“Nobody puts Baby in a corner”? Time flies but the charm and simmering sensuality of Dirty Dancing endures. Jennifer Grey plays the idealistic teenager Frances ‘Baby’ Houseman, who goes to a summer camp with her well-heeled parents (Jerry Orbach, Kelly Bishop). When resident dance instructor Johnny (Swayze) needs someone to fill in for his partner, Baby steps in. The great soundtrack includes the Oscar-winning (I’ve Had) The Time of My Life.
2 SULLY – MIRACLE ON THE HUDSON Tomorrow, BBC1, 10.30pm
A US Airways Flight takes off with 155 passengers and crew on board. Three minutes into take-off, a flock of Canadian geese impacts the aircraft, causing multiple strikes to both engines. Captain Chesley Sullenberger (Tom Hanks, left) glides the plane onto the Hudson river. However, the investigation casts doubt on Sully’s version of events. This is a masterclass in sustained tension.
3 SILENCE Monday, BBC2, 11.15pm
In 1640 Macao, Father Valignano (Ciaran Hinds) receives a letter, which suggests Father Ferreira (Liam Neeson) has denounced God. Priests Sebastiao (Andrew Garfield, left) and Francisco (Adam Driver), persuade Fr Valignano to allow them to seek out their mentor and disprove the rumours. Martin Scorsese’s passion project is a sermon on
faith and the endurance of the human spirit.
4 THE GREATEST SHOWMAN Tuesday, Film4, 7pm
Hugh Jackman, left, is the legendary PT Barnum, a tailor’s son who falls under the spell of the privileged Charity (Michelle Williams). They live modestly until PT blags a bank loan for a museum of living curiosities. Critic James Gordon Bennett (Paul Sparks) denounces the enterprise, but the public disagrees, as does investor Phillip Carlyle (Zac Efron). This is a joy-infused blast of pure pleasure.
5 ROAD HOUSE Wednesday, Channel 5, 11.05pm
Patrick Swayze (him again) plays Dalton, a kung-fu expert in this endearingly daft action thriller. His mix of brain and brawns have made him a top bouncer and brings him to attention of the owner of a violent, small-town bar who wants someone who can break up fights without making them worse. However, Dalton could be the one in need of protection when he falls foul of the local villain.
6 THE COLOR PURPLE Thursday, BBC4, 9pm
Steven Spielberg’s film gave Whoopi Goldberg, left, an extraordinary breakthrough role as Celie, a young woman in early 20th-century Georgia, who is abused by her father (Leonard Jackson) and then married off to a man (Danny Glover) who also mistreats her. There’s strong support from Margaret Avery and Oprah Winfrey, who were both Oscarnominated along with Goldberg.
7 TITANIC Friday, Film4, 9pm
James Cameron’s love story sailed away with a record 11 Academy Awards. The film begins deep underwater with Brock (Bill Paxton) and his team scouring the submerged wreck. The search comes to naught until Brock meets 101-year-old survivor Rose (Gloria Stuart). Staring at a sketch of her younger self (Kate Winslet), Rose recalls her romance with Jack (Leonardo Dicaprio).