rabbi
28-01-2009, 06:40 PM
Film4 Listings for Wednesday 28th January
13:00
Conspiracy of Hearts (Film)
In 1943 in Italy, Mother Katharine and Sister Mitya are part of a group of nuns helping to smuggle orphaned Jewish children out of an internment camp. Their covert activities are initially aided by the camp commandant, a sympathetic Italian major, but when he is replaced by a Nazi colonel and a lieutenant the nuns find themselves in much more danger.
Director: Ralph L. Thomas
Starring: Lilli Palmer, Sylvia Syms, Yvonne Mitchell, Ronald Lewis, Albert Lieven, Peter Arne
(Black and White, Subtitles, 1960, U, 3 Star)
15:15
Never Love a Stranger (Film)
Robert Stevens' film, based on a Harold Robbins novel, gave Steve McQueen one of his first major roles, although his famous blue eyes are disguised behind horn-rimmed spectacles. But the lead character is Frank Kane. He plays an orphan raised in the Catholic faith but when it is discovered he is Jewish, he is expelled. Angry and disillusioned, he turns to crime and soon becomes New York's top boss but justice awaits. Edited for content.
Director: Robert Stevens
Starring: John Drew Barrymore, Lita Milan, Robert Bray, Steve McQueen, Salem Ludwig, R.G. Armstrong
(Black and White, Subtitles, 1958, 15, 2 Star)
17:10
Retreat, Hell! (Film)
Cult director Joseph H Lewis is at the helm of this major film set during the Korean war. Frank Lovejoy stars as marine battalion commander Steve Corbett. Among his men are Second World War vet Paul Hansen, and rookie Jimmy McDermid. The film follows them as they fight their way to a strategic reservoir and then, faced by overwhelming Chinese reinforcements, have to battle their way back to their own lines.
Director: Joseph H. Lewis
Starring: Frank Lovejoy, Richard Carlson, Anita Louise, Russ Tamblyn, Nedrick Young, Lamont Johnson
(Black and White, Subtitles, 1952, 12, 3 Star)
19:00
The Family Stone (Film)
Thomas Bezucha's wry, sharp comedy/drama looks at a family in upheaval during the Christmas period. Everett Stone brings his fiancee Meredith Morton to his family home for the festive season. Matriarch Sybil Stone doesn't approve of her and leads the family attack on Meredith but cracks start to appear in the family's own relationship and painful, occasionally amusing truths appear.
Director: Thomas Bezucha
Starring: Claire Danes, Diane Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Dermot Mulroney, Craig T. Nelson, Sarah Jessica Parker
(Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described, 2005, PG, 3 Star)
21:00
Out of Time (Film)
Denzel Washington plays Matt Whitlock, Chief of Police of a small Florida town in Carl Franklin's thriller. He and his wife, Detective Alex Whitlock, are divorcing and he's started an affair with high-school sweetheart Ann Merai Harrison. She's married to the violent Chris Harrison and is suffering from cancer. She has an insurance policy worth $1m, but needs half to pay for treatment now. Whitlock 'borrows' it from recovered drugs money, but then his life gets messy. Two bodies are found in the gutted Harrison household; his wife is heading up the investigation; and the DEA wants to know where the money has gone. Whitlock is now the number-one suspect and has to find the murderer and the missing money while staying one step ahead of his colleagues.
Director: Carl Franklin
Starring: Denzel Washington, Eva Mendes, Sanaa Lathan, Dean Cain, John Billingsley, Robert Baker
(Widescreen, Subtitles, 2003, 12, 3 Star)
23:05
Secrets and Lies (Film)
Mike Leigh's FilmFour-funded Palme D'Or-winning tale of love, caring and deep longings. Hortense is a young Black optometrist. Both her adoptive parents have died and she decides to find her birth mother, who turns out to be Cynthia, an unmarried woman who lives in a terraced house with her daughter Roxanne. Hortense tracks Cynthia down and, after a fraught first meeting, a warm mother-daughter relationship begins to develop. Meanwhile, Cynthia's brother Maurice and his childless wife Monica decide to throw a party for Roxanne's 21st. Cynthia asks if she can bring a friend and invites a reluctant Hortense. In a traumatic moment Cynthia reveals the truth, and all hell breaks loose.
Director: Mike Leigh
Starring: Timothy Spall, Phyllis Logan, Brenda Blethyn, Claire Rushbrook, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Elizabeth Berrington
(Widescreen, Subtitles, 1996, 15, 4 Star)
01:50
Love and *** (Film)
Urbane and witty comedy about a magazine writer who, while writing an article about ***, reminisces about her one serious - and most recent - relationship. As she traces their lives from their initial meeting to their inevitable break-up, the young woman begins dating a string of men and drives her ex-lover insane with jealousy.
Director: Valerie Brieman
Starring: Famke Janssen, Jon Favreau, Noah Emmerich, Ann Magnuson
(Widescreen, Subtitles, 2000, 15, 3 Star)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Film4 Listings for Thursday 29th January
13:00
Johnny Come Lately (Film)
James Cagney stars in this Oscar-winning smalltown drama as an ex-reporter turned drifter who arrives in a town where corruption is rife. Jailed for vagrancy, on release he meets up with Vinnie McLeod, editor of the local paper and one of the few honest citizens in town. Together, they set about exposing the corruption, thanks to the revelations of dowager Mary McGovern, a woman with a murky past but an honest heart. Cagney insisted on casting familiar character actors in the main roles and was rewarded with outstanding performances in an undeservedly ignored film.
Director: William K. Howard
Starring: James Cagney, Grace George, Marjorie Main, Marjorie Lord, Hattie McDaniel, Edward McNamara
(Black and White, Subtitles, 1943, U, 3 Star)
14:55
Malta Story (Film)
Brian Desmond Hurst's war movie pays tribute to the people and defenders of the besieged island of Malta in the Second World War, focusing on the pivotal role played by reconnaissance pilot Lt Peter Ross.
Director: Brian Desmond-Hurst
Starring: Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, Anthony Steel, Muriel Pavlow, Renée Asherson, Hugh Burden
(Black and White, Subtitles, 1953, U, 3 Star)
17:00
The Last Command (Film)
Frank Lloyd's film is one of the eight cinematic versions of the story of the Alamo, where a small group of Texians held out to the last man against the invading Spanish army. This version concentrates on Jim Bowie, who urges a policy of peaceful co-existence with the Mexicans until they become too aggressive, when he joins William B Travis, Davy Crockett and the other defenders at the mission for the fateful 13-day siege.
Director: Frank Lloyd
Starring: Sterling Hayden, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Richard Carlson, Arthur Hunnicutt, Ernest Borgnine, J. Carrol Naish
(Subtitles, 1955, U, 2 Star)
19:10
Simply Irresistible (Film)
Mark Tarlov's fantasy romcom stars Sarah Michelle Gellar as Amanda Shelton, the worst cook in the world who's stuck in the kitchen of the restaurant inherited from her mother. Until a magical crab turns her into an inspired cook. Her new-found skills catch first the business eye and stomach of restaurant entrepreneur Tom Bartlett and then, of course, his heart. There's an equally delightful subplot with Patricia Clarkson and Dylan Baker as Tom's co-worker and boss who also fall in love under the spell of Amanda's food in a film that's a wonderfully filling confection of fun. Edited for language.
Director: Mark Tarlov
Starring: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Sean Patrick Flanery, Patricia Clarkson, Dylan Baker, Larry Gilliard Jr., Christopher Durang
(Widescreen, 1999, PG, 2 Star)
21:00
Men of Honor (Film)
Based on a true story, George Tillman Jnr's drama tells the story of Carl Brashear who joins the US Navy and applies for the elite diving school. But this is America of the 50s, where racism is still rife; his white comrades refuse to share barracks with him and the martinet instructor Billy Sunday is equally prejudiced. But Brashear's commitment, courage and determination eventually win Sunday's respect and when Brashear's career comes up against military predjudice, he finds he has an unlikely ally.
Director: George Tillman Jr.
Starring: Robert de Niro, Cuba Gooding Jr., Charlize Theron, Aunjanue Ellis, Hal Holbrook, Michael Rapaport
(Subtitles, 2000, 15, 3 Star)
23:25
Rita, Sue and Bob Too (Film)
A comedy that develops into something darker, Alan Clarke's film stars Siobhan Finneran and Michelle Holmes as Sue and Rita, two teenage friends who babysit for Bob and Michelle. When Michelle goes off ***, Bob starts looking elsewhere...
Director: Alan Clarke
Starring: Michelle Holmes, Siobhan Finneran, George Costigan, Lesley Sharp, Kulvinder Ghir, Willie Ross
(Widescreen, Subtitles, 1987, 18, 4 Star)
01:15
The Puffy Chair (Film)
Jay Duplass' debut feature is co-written with brother Mark, who also stars as Josh, a failed musician. He, together with girlfriend Emily and friend Rhett undertake to transport a Lay-Z-Boy recliner from New York to Atlanta as a surprise gift for his father. The ensuing road trip is a meandering yet always charming exploration of their relationships with each other and those they meet in their journey across America.
Director: Jay Duplass
Starring: Mark Duplass, Kathryn Aselton, Rhett Wilkins, Julie Fischer, Larry Duplass, Bari Hyman
(Widescreen, 2005, 15, 3 Star)
13:00
Conspiracy of Hearts (Film)
In 1943 in Italy, Mother Katharine and Sister Mitya are part of a group of nuns helping to smuggle orphaned Jewish children out of an internment camp. Their covert activities are initially aided by the camp commandant, a sympathetic Italian major, but when he is replaced by a Nazi colonel and a lieutenant the nuns find themselves in much more danger.
Director: Ralph L. Thomas
Starring: Lilli Palmer, Sylvia Syms, Yvonne Mitchell, Ronald Lewis, Albert Lieven, Peter Arne
(Black and White, Subtitles, 1960, U, 3 Star)
15:15
Never Love a Stranger (Film)
Robert Stevens' film, based on a Harold Robbins novel, gave Steve McQueen one of his first major roles, although his famous blue eyes are disguised behind horn-rimmed spectacles. But the lead character is Frank Kane. He plays an orphan raised in the Catholic faith but when it is discovered he is Jewish, he is expelled. Angry and disillusioned, he turns to crime and soon becomes New York's top boss but justice awaits. Edited for content.
Director: Robert Stevens
Starring: John Drew Barrymore, Lita Milan, Robert Bray, Steve McQueen, Salem Ludwig, R.G. Armstrong
(Black and White, Subtitles, 1958, 15, 2 Star)
17:10
Retreat, Hell! (Film)
Cult director Joseph H Lewis is at the helm of this major film set during the Korean war. Frank Lovejoy stars as marine battalion commander Steve Corbett. Among his men are Second World War vet Paul Hansen, and rookie Jimmy McDermid. The film follows them as they fight their way to a strategic reservoir and then, faced by overwhelming Chinese reinforcements, have to battle their way back to their own lines.
Director: Joseph H. Lewis
Starring: Frank Lovejoy, Richard Carlson, Anita Louise, Russ Tamblyn, Nedrick Young, Lamont Johnson
(Black and White, Subtitles, 1952, 12, 3 Star)
19:00
The Family Stone (Film)
Thomas Bezucha's wry, sharp comedy/drama looks at a family in upheaval during the Christmas period. Everett Stone brings his fiancee Meredith Morton to his family home for the festive season. Matriarch Sybil Stone doesn't approve of her and leads the family attack on Meredith but cracks start to appear in the family's own relationship and painful, occasionally amusing truths appear.
Director: Thomas Bezucha
Starring: Claire Danes, Diane Keaton, Rachel McAdams, Dermot Mulroney, Craig T. Nelson, Sarah Jessica Parker
(Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described, 2005, PG, 3 Star)
21:00
Out of Time (Film)
Denzel Washington plays Matt Whitlock, Chief of Police of a small Florida town in Carl Franklin's thriller. He and his wife, Detective Alex Whitlock, are divorcing and he's started an affair with high-school sweetheart Ann Merai Harrison. She's married to the violent Chris Harrison and is suffering from cancer. She has an insurance policy worth $1m, but needs half to pay for treatment now. Whitlock 'borrows' it from recovered drugs money, but then his life gets messy. Two bodies are found in the gutted Harrison household; his wife is heading up the investigation; and the DEA wants to know where the money has gone. Whitlock is now the number-one suspect and has to find the murderer and the missing money while staying one step ahead of his colleagues.
Director: Carl Franklin
Starring: Denzel Washington, Eva Mendes, Sanaa Lathan, Dean Cain, John Billingsley, Robert Baker
(Widescreen, Subtitles, 2003, 12, 3 Star)
23:05
Secrets and Lies (Film)
Mike Leigh's FilmFour-funded Palme D'Or-winning tale of love, caring and deep longings. Hortense is a young Black optometrist. Both her adoptive parents have died and she decides to find her birth mother, who turns out to be Cynthia, an unmarried woman who lives in a terraced house with her daughter Roxanne. Hortense tracks Cynthia down and, after a fraught first meeting, a warm mother-daughter relationship begins to develop. Meanwhile, Cynthia's brother Maurice and his childless wife Monica decide to throw a party for Roxanne's 21st. Cynthia asks if she can bring a friend and invites a reluctant Hortense. In a traumatic moment Cynthia reveals the truth, and all hell breaks loose.
Director: Mike Leigh
Starring: Timothy Spall, Phyllis Logan, Brenda Blethyn, Claire Rushbrook, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Elizabeth Berrington
(Widescreen, Subtitles, 1996, 15, 4 Star)
01:50
Love and *** (Film)
Urbane and witty comedy about a magazine writer who, while writing an article about ***, reminisces about her one serious - and most recent - relationship. As she traces their lives from their initial meeting to their inevitable break-up, the young woman begins dating a string of men and drives her ex-lover insane with jealousy.
Director: Valerie Brieman
Starring: Famke Janssen, Jon Favreau, Noah Emmerich, Ann Magnuson
(Widescreen, Subtitles, 2000, 15, 3 Star)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Film4 Listings for Thursday 29th January
13:00
Johnny Come Lately (Film)
James Cagney stars in this Oscar-winning smalltown drama as an ex-reporter turned drifter who arrives in a town where corruption is rife. Jailed for vagrancy, on release he meets up with Vinnie McLeod, editor of the local paper and one of the few honest citizens in town. Together, they set about exposing the corruption, thanks to the revelations of dowager Mary McGovern, a woman with a murky past but an honest heart. Cagney insisted on casting familiar character actors in the main roles and was rewarded with outstanding performances in an undeservedly ignored film.
Director: William K. Howard
Starring: James Cagney, Grace George, Marjorie Main, Marjorie Lord, Hattie McDaniel, Edward McNamara
(Black and White, Subtitles, 1943, U, 3 Star)
14:55
Malta Story (Film)
Brian Desmond Hurst's war movie pays tribute to the people and defenders of the besieged island of Malta in the Second World War, focusing on the pivotal role played by reconnaissance pilot Lt Peter Ross.
Director: Brian Desmond-Hurst
Starring: Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, Anthony Steel, Muriel Pavlow, Renée Asherson, Hugh Burden
(Black and White, Subtitles, 1953, U, 3 Star)
17:00
The Last Command (Film)
Frank Lloyd's film is one of the eight cinematic versions of the story of the Alamo, where a small group of Texians held out to the last man against the invading Spanish army. This version concentrates on Jim Bowie, who urges a policy of peaceful co-existence with the Mexicans until they become too aggressive, when he joins William B Travis, Davy Crockett and the other defenders at the mission for the fateful 13-day siege.
Director: Frank Lloyd
Starring: Sterling Hayden, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Richard Carlson, Arthur Hunnicutt, Ernest Borgnine, J. Carrol Naish
(Subtitles, 1955, U, 2 Star)
19:10
Simply Irresistible (Film)
Mark Tarlov's fantasy romcom stars Sarah Michelle Gellar as Amanda Shelton, the worst cook in the world who's stuck in the kitchen of the restaurant inherited from her mother. Until a magical crab turns her into an inspired cook. Her new-found skills catch first the business eye and stomach of restaurant entrepreneur Tom Bartlett and then, of course, his heart. There's an equally delightful subplot with Patricia Clarkson and Dylan Baker as Tom's co-worker and boss who also fall in love under the spell of Amanda's food in a film that's a wonderfully filling confection of fun. Edited for language.
Director: Mark Tarlov
Starring: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Sean Patrick Flanery, Patricia Clarkson, Dylan Baker, Larry Gilliard Jr., Christopher Durang
(Widescreen, 1999, PG, 2 Star)
21:00
Men of Honor (Film)
Based on a true story, George Tillman Jnr's drama tells the story of Carl Brashear who joins the US Navy and applies for the elite diving school. But this is America of the 50s, where racism is still rife; his white comrades refuse to share barracks with him and the martinet instructor Billy Sunday is equally prejudiced. But Brashear's commitment, courage and determination eventually win Sunday's respect and when Brashear's career comes up against military predjudice, he finds he has an unlikely ally.
Director: George Tillman Jr.
Starring: Robert de Niro, Cuba Gooding Jr., Charlize Theron, Aunjanue Ellis, Hal Holbrook, Michael Rapaport
(Subtitles, 2000, 15, 3 Star)
23:25
Rita, Sue and Bob Too (Film)
A comedy that develops into something darker, Alan Clarke's film stars Siobhan Finneran and Michelle Holmes as Sue and Rita, two teenage friends who babysit for Bob and Michelle. When Michelle goes off ***, Bob starts looking elsewhere...
Director: Alan Clarke
Starring: Michelle Holmes, Siobhan Finneran, George Costigan, Lesley Sharp, Kulvinder Ghir, Willie Ross
(Widescreen, Subtitles, 1987, 18, 4 Star)
01:15
The Puffy Chair (Film)
Jay Duplass' debut feature is co-written with brother Mark, who also stars as Josh, a failed musician. He, together with girlfriend Emily and friend Rhett undertake to transport a Lay-Z-Boy recliner from New York to Atlanta as a surprise gift for his father. The ensuing road trip is a meandering yet always charming exploration of their relationships with each other and those they meet in their journey across America.
Director: Jay Duplass
Starring: Mark Duplass, Kathryn Aselton, Rhett Wilkins, Julie Fischer, Larry Duplass, Bari Hyman
(Widescreen, 2005, 15, 3 Star)