Freeview films from 3 November 2022

World Cinema

Monday (5/12)       01:25   Film4   Sauvage (2018)

Stephen’s Picks

Saturday (3/12)        22:00    5 Star    Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)  (also Friday 22:00) 

Sunday (4/12)           00:10    5 Star    Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)  (also Saturday 00:15)                                    

Wednesday (7/12)   23:05   Film4      Mulholland Drive (2001)

Thursday (8/12)       23:10   Film4       Blue Velvet (1986) 

Friday (9/12)            01:35   Film4       Loving Vincent (2017)

Saturday (10/12)     11:00   Film4       The Straight Story (1999)  

Other modern films of interest 

Saturday (3/12)     01:10   Film4             The Cabin in the Woods (2011)

                                 22:55   Film4             Death Proof (2007)  

Sunday (4/12)        18:35   Film4             The Devil Wears Prada (2006) (also Thursday 18:45)

                                 22:30    BBC2             Cow (2021)

Tuesday (6/12)       02:50    Sky Arts        There Are No Fakes (2019)

Saturday (10/12)   00:30    BBC2             A Christmas Story (1983)

Oldies

Saturday (3/12)      15:40   Film4                     It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)  (also Friday 16:00)

                                  21:05   Talking Pictures   Experiment in Terror (1962) 

A rare and intriguing psychological thriller from Blake Edwards, derived from a contemporary (1961) novel and filmed in crisp post-Psycho black & white. While in the form of a police (well, FBI) procedural, it features some midly risqué elements for the time and one startling setpiece that prefigures the later Italian Giallo style. A tense and brooding orchestral score was supplied by regular Edwards collaborator Henry Mancini.  Glenn Ford is solid as Mr FBI, while Lee Remick’s targeted bank employee is poised between passivity and empowerment. However, the striking Polish born character actor Ross Martin steals the limelight as their creepy but complex adversary.

This is a transitional Hollywood film from 1962, with “adult” themes – a sleazy nightclub, references to prostitution and drugs, and a disturbed killer/stalker targeting young women (though to involve them in crime and manipulate them, rather than immediately dismember them). It sits on the cusp of the post production code era of American Cinema,  but the po-faced procedural aspect recalls policiers of the late 1940s and early 50s and tends to detract from the edgier elements.  Ultimately, a good rather than great thriller, but a fascinating departure in the careers of both Edwards and Mancini, and still recommended. There are comedic touches too, and you should easily spot the influence on David Lynch, in an early scene. (SF)

Sunday (4/12)         14:00    BBC2                     The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943) 

                                  14:50   Film4                     Miracle on 34th Street (1947)  

                                  21:00   Sky Arts                This Gun for Hire (1942) 

Monday (5/12)       14:55   Talking Pictures   Jigsaw (1961)

Tuesday (6/12)        23:50   BBC1                     A Fish Called Wanda (1988)  (also Thursday 21:00 BBC4)

Wednesday (7/12) 10:40   Talking Pictures    I Was a Male War Bride (1949)

                                  21:00   Talking Pictures   Anatomy of a Murder (1959)

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