FILM PICKS

TODAY

The Hurt Locker (2008) (BBC2, 10pm)

Those of a nervous disposition should opt out of a tour of duty with Kathryn Bigelow’s thrilling, Oscar-winning war drama. The Hurt Locker is a master class in sustained tension as a three-strong bomb disposal squad attached to the US Army risks life and severed limb to defuse roadside IEDs. Staff Sergeant William James is the new boy of Bravo Company, taking charge of sergeant JT Sanborn and specialist Owen Eldridge on the streets of Baghdad, but his gung-ho, fatalistic approach to his job creates friction with his subordinates. Mackie and Geraghty are compelling as the voices of experience and exuberance, and there are pivotal roles for Guy Pearce and Ralph Fiennes caught in the crossfire.

MONDAY

Anastasia (1956) (Film4, 11am)

This Oscar-winning drama was inspired by the story of Anna Anderson, a woman who claimed to be Anastasia Romanov, daughter of the ill-fated Russian Tsar. After rumours spread that the thenteenage princess was the only member of the family to survive their massacre in 1917, an opportunistic Russian businessman in 1920s Paris sees a chance to make some money by passing off a mysterious amnesiac (Ingrid Bergman) as the royal. But is there a chance he has somehow stumbled upon the genuine article? Anastasia marked the Hollywood comeback of Ingrid Bergman after her scandalous affair with Italian director Roberto Rossellini and it is obvious why she won an Oscar for the role. The impressive supporting cast includes Yul Brynner and Helen Hayes.

TUESDAY

The Post (2017) (Film4, 6.45pm)

Steven Spielberg’s drama is a handsome dramatisation of the high-profile 1971 legal showdown between President Richard Nixon and the free press, which feels uncomfortably relevant in a modern era of fake news. In 1966 Vietnam, military analyst Daniel Ellsberg (Matthew Rhys) reports back his grave concerns to Secretary of Defence Robert McNamara (Bruce Greenwood). Fearful that the administration is whitewashing the truth, Ellsberg leaks pages of the classified reports to The New York Times. Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks) encourages reporter Ben Bagdikian to chase down a copy of the report so The Washington Post can bloody its nose too.

WEDNESDAY

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) (Film4, 1.50pm)

Newly-qualified lawyer Ransom Stoddard (James Stewart) attempts to bring order to the Western town of Shinbone, but gunslinger Liberty Valance (Lee Marvin) isn’t about to be won over by his fancy, book-learned ways. Rancher Tom Doniphon (John Wayne) tells Stoddard more brutal methods are needed if he wants to bring the criminal to justice and win the respect of the locals. Director John Ford and Wayne made some of the greatest Westerns of all time, and this is one of the best.