FILM PICKS

TODAY

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) (C5, 3.10pm)

Electrician Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss) spots a UFO but has a hard time convincing the authorities to believe him. As his marriage falls apart, his obsession with recreating a mysterious structure in his living room sparks an epic quest to get to the bottom of the alien encounter. He crosses paths with a single mum (Melinda Dillon) whose son has been abducted by extraterrestrials, and a French expert (Francois Truffaut) orchestrating a secret government project. One of the best offerings from writer/director Steven Spielberg, Close Encounters of the Third Kind marries stunning special effects and a compelling storyline with John Williams’s evocative score, to produce a powerhouse of a movie.

MONDAY

Rita, Sue and Bob Too (1987) (Talking Pictures TV, 9pm)

Bored, married Bob (George Costigan) puts a bit of excitement back into his life by beginning an affair with his teenage babysitters, Rita (Siobhan Finneran) and Sue (Michelle Holmes). At first, the girls seem to treat it all as a bit of a laugh, but the situation grows more complicated as gossip about their unconventional set-up threatens to get back to Bob’s wife (Lesley Sharp). Director Alan Clarke’s comedy drama won’t be to everyone’s tastes, and some people may find the sleazy love triangle and stark setting more depressing than funny. However, if you’re not too easily offended, there are laughs to be had, and it admirably refuses to simplify the complex situation

THURSDAY

The Elephant Man (1980) (BBC4, 9pm)

John Merrick is a hideously disfigured man working as a fairground freak until ambitious surgeon Frederick Treves spots him. The medic initially believes the unfortunate fellow is an idiot and wants to use him to further his own career – until he realises that beneath the ugly exterior is a beautiful, intelligent and sympathetic person. Quite simply, it’s one of the best films ever. John Hurt is superb as the title character, but it’s Anthony Hopkins who provides the movie’s heart as Treves, the man changed for ever by his meeting with Merrick.

FRIDAY

Braveheart (1995) (BBC1, 10.40pm)

“Of course, as a director, what I really want to do is act,” wise-cracked Mel Gibson at the 1996 Academy Awards, as he clutched his statuette for best director. This historical epic charting the life of legendary Scottish hero William Wallace and his efforts to defeat the tyrannical King of England, Edward I, won five Oscars in all. For Gibson, it was a triumph. This tartan tale, however, was a dead cert from the word go. It’s eye-wateringly violent, bloody and raw, although Mel’s Scottish accent leaves something to be desired. Patrick McGoohan, James Cosmo and Catherine McCormack also appear.