FILM PICKS

TODAY

Jason and the Argonauts (1963) (Film4, 12.50pm)

This 1963 movie is one of the best-loved fantasy adventures of all time - and it’s nearly all down to Ray Harryhausen’s animated special effects, which include a seven-headed monster and a horde of sword-wielding skeletons. The story is pretty great too, drawing on Greek mythology to tell the tale of Jason, the son of an overthrown king who must embark on an epic sea voyage in a bid to find a golden fleece and regain his kingdom. Leads Todd Armstrong and Nancy Kovack are a bit on the bland side – both had their voices dubbed – but Patrick Troughton and Honor Blackman manage to hold their own against the stop-motion villains.

TUESDAY Whiplash (2014) (GREAT! movies, 9pm)

Nineteen-year-old drummer Andrew Neiman (Miles Teller) is determined to excel at his Manhattan music conservatory, so he practises night and day and catches the eye of the school’s most revered teacher, Terence Fletcher (JK Simmons). The hard work pays off and Andrew transfers to Fletcher’s class, but the game of one-upmanship between teacher and pupil spirals out of control as Andrew sweats blood and tears to meet the lofty expectations of his maniacal mentor. Inspired by writerdirector Damien Chazelle’s experiences in a high-school jazz band, Whiplash is an electrifying thriller that delivers one emotional wallop after another.

THURSDAY Empire of the Sun (1987) (BBC4, 9pm)

This lavish adaptation of JG Ballard’s autobiographical novel is one of director Steven Spielberg’s most underrated films. Christian Bale plays Jim, a young English boy in war-torn Shanghai. His life is turned upside down when the Japanese take over and he becomes separated from his parents. He is eventually captured and forced to survive the terrors of internment alone. The previously spoiled young lad learns a few harsh life lessons, but displays a remarkable determination to survive which rubs off on those around him. What’s more, the top-drawer cast includes John Malkovich, Nigel Havers and Miranda Richardson.

FRIDAY

Dead of Night (1945) (Talking Pictures TV, 6pm)

A hearse with “room for one more inside”, a ghostly Christmas encounter inspired by a true story, a haunted mirror, a spectre who can’t remember how to make himself invisible, and a ventriloquist’s dummy with a mind of its own – these are the haunting stories awaiting those brave enough to tune into Dead of Night. It might be 77 years old, but this classic still has the power to give you nightmares. Intriguingly, the overarching plot inspired astronomer Fred Hoyle’s steady state model of the universe.