THE WEEK’S BEST FILMS

SATURDAY The Red Shoes (1948) (BBC2, 2.50pm) I, Robot (2004) (Channel 4, 10.15pm)

Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s 1948 classic is inspired by a Hans Christian Andersen fairytale and was nominated for five Academy Awards including best picture. Talented dancer Victoria Page (Moira Shearer) catches the eye of brilliant, ruthless ballet impresario Boris Lermontov (Anton Walbrook), who takes her under his wing. Vicky blossoms and Lermontov considers her as a potential prima ballerina. To test this promise, he casts Vicky as the lead in a new ballet called The Red Shoes and asks Julian Craster (Marius Goring) to compose the score. At first, Vicky and Julian clash but they eventually fall in love, which creates friction with Lermontov. He demands absolute devotion from his dancers and Vicky is forced to choose between two dreams.

Inspired by a book of short stories written by science-fiction icon Isaac Asimov, I, Robot imagines a future in which robots are engrained in our everyday lives. They are our friends and confidants, but there are strict laws governing their behaviour. As decreed in The Three Laws, all automata must obey orders and may not injure a human being or allow a human to come to harm. When a robot named Sonny is accused of murdering his creator, the legendary Dr Alfred Lanning, maverick Chicago detective Spooner is called in to investigate.

SUNDAY Madagascar (2005) (Channel 4, 5.25pm)

Alex the lion (voiced by Ben Stiller), Marty the zebra (Chris Rock), Melman the hypochondriac giraffe (David Schwimmer) and Gloria the hippopotamus (Jada Pinkett Smith) have lived in captivity since birth, in the plush surroundings of New York’s Central Park Zoo. After a disastrous brush with the penguins, the quartet are shipped off to Africa but end up stranded on the exotic island of Madagascar, where they befriend ring-tailed lemur King Julien the 13th (Sacha Baron Cohen) and his second-in-command Maurice (Cedric the Entertainer).

Testament of Youth (2014) (BBC2, 11.05pm)

Vera Brittain (Alicia Vikander) is poised to head to Oxford University in the shadow of the First World War. Her brother Edward (Taron Egerton) and his friends Roland (Kit Harington) and Victor (Colin Morgan) enlist, despite resistance from Vera’s parents (Dominic West and Emily Watson). Romance blossoms between Vera and Roland, and Aunt Belle (Joanna Scanlan) acts as a chaperone for the young couple. Against the advice of her mother and father, Vera postpones her education to volunteer as a nurse and treat the soldiers, who have been physically and emotionally scarred by their experiences.

MONDAY Heal the Living (2016) (Film4, 11.25pm)

Adapted from Maylis de Kerangal’s novel, Heal the Living is a tender and contemplative French drama about a teenager and a middle-aged woman who are unexpectedly linked by tragedy. When their son is involved in a car crash, Marianne (Emmanuelle