rabbi
06-12-2008, 08:45 AM
Film4 Listings for Saturday 6th December
13:00
Family Man (Film)
Wall Street Banker Jack Campbell has it all: more cash than he can shake a stick at, oodles of power and, above all, his freedom. But on Christmas Eve he challenges an armed robber, then on Christmas Day he wakes up to the life he would have had if he'd stayed with his college girlfriend: two noisy kids, a dead-end job selling tyres, and a people carrier instead of his Ferrari. At first he's horrified... Directed by Brett Ratner. Edited for language/content.
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Don Cheadle, Téa Leoni
(Widescreen, Subtitles, 2000, PG)
15:20
Comanche (Film)
Action-packed western starring Dana Andrews as Jim Read, a frontier scout in 1870s America who's sent on a peace-seeking mission with Native Americans. He finds his task threatened by hard-line groups on each side, who both refuse to live in harmony with their neighbours. Kent Smith co-stars as the Indian chief also fighting for peace.
Director: George Sherman
Starring: Dana Andrews, Kent Smith, Nestor Paiva, Henry Brandon, Stacy Harris, John Litel
(Premiere, Subtitles, 1956, U, 3 Star)
17:05
The Wrong Arm of the Law (Film)
Peter Sellers stars as Pearly Gates, the manager of a West End fashion boutique: a cover for his real job as boss of a gang of inefficient villains. Angered by the arrival of a crew of Australian crooks, they join forces with Scotland Yard in an attempt to undermine the men from down under in Cliff Owen's caper comedy.
Director: Cliff Owen
Starring: Peter Sellers, Lionel Jeffries, Bernard Cribbins, Davy Kaye, Nanette Newman, Bill Kerr
(Black and White, Subtitles, 1963, U, 4 Star)
18:55
In Good Company (Film)
Not only does Dennis Quaid have a boss who's half his age, but the hotshot is dating his daughter (Scarlett Johansson). Smart comedy drama from the maker of About A Boy.
Director: Paul Weitz
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Topher Grace, Scarlett Johansson, Marg Helgenberger, David Paymer, Clark Gregg
(Widescreen, 2004, 15, 4 Star)
21:00
The Mean Machine (Film)
Vinnie Jones plays a footballer banged up for throwing a crucial game. Inside, the football-loving warden sets him the task of coaching a team of prisoners to take on the all-conquering warders side. Can Jones form a disparate bunch of lags into a winning team? Barry Skolnik's film, based on the Aldrich's The Longest Yard, is fast, fun and furious with, of course, the climax a suitably bruising encounter.
Director: Barry Skolnick
Starring: Vinnie Jones, David Keeley, David Hemmings, Ralph Brown, Vas Blackwood, Robbie Gee
(Subtitles, 2001, 15, 3 Star)
22:55
The Hills Have Eyes (Film)
Alexandre Aja's re-make of Wes Craven's 1977 cult horror stars Ted Levine as Bob Carter and Kathleen Quinlan as his wife Ethel who, with five other members of the family, are heading for San Diego with their camper vans. An accident strands them in the desert and while two of the men go for help, the others are forced to wait. But they're unaware they're stranded near the site where, decades earlier, nuclear tests gave rise to a group of mutant monsters who have developed a taste for human flesh...
Director: Alexandre Aja
Starring: Maxime Giffard, Michael Bailey Smith, Tom Bower, Ted Levine, Kathleen Quinlan, Dan Byrd
(Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described, 2006, 18, 3 Star)
01:00
Bamako (Film)
UK NETWORK PREMIERE Abderrahmane Sissako's political drama is seen through the eyes and experiences of Malian bar singer Melé and her unemployed husband Chaka whose rocky marriage is an analogy for the suffering caused to Africa by the First World. A court is set up in the courtyard of their home to try the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund for their roles in impoverishing the continent.
Director: Abderrahmane Sissako
Starring: Aïssa Maïga, Tiécoura Traoré, Maimouna Hélène Diarra, Balla Habib Dembélé, Djénéba Koné, Hamadoun Kassogué
(Premiere, Subtitles, In French and Bambara With English Subtitles, 2006, PG, 3 Star)
Film4 Listings for Sunday 7th December
13:00
Bogus (Film)
Haley Joel Osment plays Albert Franklin, a seven-year-old boy growing up in Las Vegas where his mother works as part of a stage circus act. But when she is killed in a car accident, he finds she's provided for him to be cared for by her half-sister Harriet Franklin. She's a businesswoman who has neither knowledge nor time for the boy but reluctantly takes him on. To help him through his bereavement and new life, Albert invents an invisible friend, Bogus, a character from one of his books. But is Bogus just a figment of his imagination or a real entity? Norman Jewison, who directed Moonstruck and Only You, directs a winsome film with a genuine feel-good factor that never grates thanks to the three leads.
Director: Norman Jewison
Starring: Whoopi Goldberg, Gérard Depardieu, Haley Joel Osment, Andrea Martin, Nancy Travis, Denis Mercier
(Widescreen, 1996, PG, 3 Star)
15:10
Special Inspector (Film)
Leon Barsha's Quota-Quickie is set in Canada where US Customs agent Tom Evans is assigned to track down a gang of murderous ******ers who are stealing fur-shipper's trucks. Going undercover in the trucking firm, he's soon on the gang's trail but when his cover's blown, his life is endangered. Rita Hayworth stars in one of her early roles as Patricia Lane, avenging sister of a murdered trucker.
Director: Leon Barsha
Starring: Charles Quigley, Rita Hayworth, George McKay, Edgar Edwards, John Graham Spacey, Eddie Laughton
(Black and White, 1938, U, 5 Star)
16:20
Escape to Athena (Film)
George P Cosmatos' wartime thriller is set on an unnamed Greek island where German officer Otto Hecht runs a slack PoW camp where prisoners include Stefanie Powers, David Niven, Richard Roundtree, Sonny Bono and Elliott Gould. The prisoners are charged with identifying and gathering the island's antique treasures for shipment to Germany, but when they come across an invaluable collection, there's a chance to line their own pockets if they can involve Hecht in their scheme and avoid the attentions of the local upright SS officer. An enjoyable caper movie, very much like Kelly's Heroes but with better weather, the film also stars Telly Savalas as a partisan who offers to help the group, and Claudia Cardinale as a local brothel owner who gets caught up in the plan. Edited for violence and language.
Director: George P. Cosmatos
Starring: Roger Moore, Telly Savalas, David Niven, Stefanie Powers, Claudia Cardinale, Richard Roundtree
(Widescreen, Subtitles, 1979, PG, 3 Star)
18:40
Corrina, Corrina (Film)
Jessie Nelson's romantic drama, which she also wrote and produced, stars Ray Liotta as Manny Singer, a widower whose young daughter Molly has become almost catatonically withdrawn following her mother's death. Realising he needs help, Manny advertises for a housekeeper and selects Corrina Washington since Molly reacted positively to her. As Corrina draws Molly out of her shell, so Manny falls in love with her, but in 50s America, inter-racial relationships are still frowned on and the pair face prejudice from all sides as their relationship blossoms.
Director: Jessie Nelson
Starring: Whoopi Goldberg, Ray Liotta, Noreen Hennessey
(Widescreen, 1994, PG, 3 Star)
21:00
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (Film)
Peter Weir's Oscar and BAFTA-winning maritime epic, based on Patrick O'Brian's novels, stars Russell Crowe as Captain Jack Aubrey, captain of HMS Surprise. But Aubrey is the one surprised by the attack of French ship Acheron, off the coast of Brazil. Barely surviving, Aubrey repairs the Surprise and sets off in pursuit of the Acheron for the decisive battle. Paul Bettany co-stars as Dr Stephen Maturin, the ship's doctor/scientist and Aubrey's closest friend, but the real stars are the two ships and the stunning special effects.
Director: Peter Weir
Starring: Russell Crowe, Paul Bettany, James D'Arcy, Edward Woodall, Chris Larkin, Max Pirkis
(Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described, 2003, 12, 4 Star)
23:35
Lights in the Dusk (Film)
UK TV NETWORK PREMIERE In Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki's thriller, Janne Hyytiäinen plays Koistinen, a security guard at a shopping centre whose dreams of a better life are continually crushed. Things seem to be looking up when Mirja shows an amorous interest in him but what he doesn't realise is that he's being set up as the fall guy by a gang of jewel thieves. Observing his plight is Aila, who runs a fast food stall and carries a torch for him but is overlooked in favour of Mirja.
Director: Aki Kaurismäki
Starring: Janne Hyytiäinen, Maria Järvenhelmi, Maria Heiskanen, Ilkka Koivula, Sergei Doudko, Andrei Gennadiev
(Premiere, In Finnish With English Subtitles, 2006, PG, 3 Star)
01:10
Love Story (Film)
Oscar-nominees Ryan O'Neal plays Oliver Bartlett IV and Ali MacGraw Jennifer Cavalleri, two Harvard students who fall in love. Sadly, Cavalleri has a fatal disease and the two, knowing they only have a short time together, live life to the full in Oscar-nominee Arthur Hiller's heart-breaking romantic film. With signing for the deaf and hard of hearing.
Director: Arthur Hiller
Starring: Ali MacGraw, Ryan O'Neal, John Marley, Ray Milland, Tommy Lee Jones, Russell Nype
(Widescreen, Subtitles, Signed, 1970, PG, 3 Star)
13:00
Family Man (Film)
Wall Street Banker Jack Campbell has it all: more cash than he can shake a stick at, oodles of power and, above all, his freedom. But on Christmas Eve he challenges an armed robber, then on Christmas Day he wakes up to the life he would have had if he'd stayed with his college girlfriend: two noisy kids, a dead-end job selling tyres, and a people carrier instead of his Ferrari. At first he's horrified... Directed by Brett Ratner. Edited for language/content.
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Don Cheadle, Téa Leoni
(Widescreen, Subtitles, 2000, PG)
15:20
Comanche (Film)
Action-packed western starring Dana Andrews as Jim Read, a frontier scout in 1870s America who's sent on a peace-seeking mission with Native Americans. He finds his task threatened by hard-line groups on each side, who both refuse to live in harmony with their neighbours. Kent Smith co-stars as the Indian chief also fighting for peace.
Director: George Sherman
Starring: Dana Andrews, Kent Smith, Nestor Paiva, Henry Brandon, Stacy Harris, John Litel
(Premiere, Subtitles, 1956, U, 3 Star)
17:05
The Wrong Arm of the Law (Film)
Peter Sellers stars as Pearly Gates, the manager of a West End fashion boutique: a cover for his real job as boss of a gang of inefficient villains. Angered by the arrival of a crew of Australian crooks, they join forces with Scotland Yard in an attempt to undermine the men from down under in Cliff Owen's caper comedy.
Director: Cliff Owen
Starring: Peter Sellers, Lionel Jeffries, Bernard Cribbins, Davy Kaye, Nanette Newman, Bill Kerr
(Black and White, Subtitles, 1963, U, 4 Star)
18:55
In Good Company (Film)
Not only does Dennis Quaid have a boss who's half his age, but the hotshot is dating his daughter (Scarlett Johansson). Smart comedy drama from the maker of About A Boy.
Director: Paul Weitz
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Topher Grace, Scarlett Johansson, Marg Helgenberger, David Paymer, Clark Gregg
(Widescreen, 2004, 15, 4 Star)
21:00
The Mean Machine (Film)
Vinnie Jones plays a footballer banged up for throwing a crucial game. Inside, the football-loving warden sets him the task of coaching a team of prisoners to take on the all-conquering warders side. Can Jones form a disparate bunch of lags into a winning team? Barry Skolnik's film, based on the Aldrich's The Longest Yard, is fast, fun and furious with, of course, the climax a suitably bruising encounter.
Director: Barry Skolnick
Starring: Vinnie Jones, David Keeley, David Hemmings, Ralph Brown, Vas Blackwood, Robbie Gee
(Subtitles, 2001, 15, 3 Star)
22:55
The Hills Have Eyes (Film)
Alexandre Aja's re-make of Wes Craven's 1977 cult horror stars Ted Levine as Bob Carter and Kathleen Quinlan as his wife Ethel who, with five other members of the family, are heading for San Diego with their camper vans. An accident strands them in the desert and while two of the men go for help, the others are forced to wait. But they're unaware they're stranded near the site where, decades earlier, nuclear tests gave rise to a group of mutant monsters who have developed a taste for human flesh...
Director: Alexandre Aja
Starring: Maxime Giffard, Michael Bailey Smith, Tom Bower, Ted Levine, Kathleen Quinlan, Dan Byrd
(Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described, 2006, 18, 3 Star)
01:00
Bamako (Film)
UK NETWORK PREMIERE Abderrahmane Sissako's political drama is seen through the eyes and experiences of Malian bar singer Melé and her unemployed husband Chaka whose rocky marriage is an analogy for the suffering caused to Africa by the First World. A court is set up in the courtyard of their home to try the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund for their roles in impoverishing the continent.
Director: Abderrahmane Sissako
Starring: Aïssa Maïga, Tiécoura Traoré, Maimouna Hélène Diarra, Balla Habib Dembélé, Djénéba Koné, Hamadoun Kassogué
(Premiere, Subtitles, In French and Bambara With English Subtitles, 2006, PG, 3 Star)
Film4 Listings for Sunday 7th December
13:00
Bogus (Film)
Haley Joel Osment plays Albert Franklin, a seven-year-old boy growing up in Las Vegas where his mother works as part of a stage circus act. But when she is killed in a car accident, he finds she's provided for him to be cared for by her half-sister Harriet Franklin. She's a businesswoman who has neither knowledge nor time for the boy but reluctantly takes him on. To help him through his bereavement and new life, Albert invents an invisible friend, Bogus, a character from one of his books. But is Bogus just a figment of his imagination or a real entity? Norman Jewison, who directed Moonstruck and Only You, directs a winsome film with a genuine feel-good factor that never grates thanks to the three leads.
Director: Norman Jewison
Starring: Whoopi Goldberg, Gérard Depardieu, Haley Joel Osment, Andrea Martin, Nancy Travis, Denis Mercier
(Widescreen, 1996, PG, 3 Star)
15:10
Special Inspector (Film)
Leon Barsha's Quota-Quickie is set in Canada where US Customs agent Tom Evans is assigned to track down a gang of murderous ******ers who are stealing fur-shipper's trucks. Going undercover in the trucking firm, he's soon on the gang's trail but when his cover's blown, his life is endangered. Rita Hayworth stars in one of her early roles as Patricia Lane, avenging sister of a murdered trucker.
Director: Leon Barsha
Starring: Charles Quigley, Rita Hayworth, George McKay, Edgar Edwards, John Graham Spacey, Eddie Laughton
(Black and White, 1938, U, 5 Star)
16:20
Escape to Athena (Film)
George P Cosmatos' wartime thriller is set on an unnamed Greek island where German officer Otto Hecht runs a slack PoW camp where prisoners include Stefanie Powers, David Niven, Richard Roundtree, Sonny Bono and Elliott Gould. The prisoners are charged with identifying and gathering the island's antique treasures for shipment to Germany, but when they come across an invaluable collection, there's a chance to line their own pockets if they can involve Hecht in their scheme and avoid the attentions of the local upright SS officer. An enjoyable caper movie, very much like Kelly's Heroes but with better weather, the film also stars Telly Savalas as a partisan who offers to help the group, and Claudia Cardinale as a local brothel owner who gets caught up in the plan. Edited for violence and language.
Director: George P. Cosmatos
Starring: Roger Moore, Telly Savalas, David Niven, Stefanie Powers, Claudia Cardinale, Richard Roundtree
(Widescreen, Subtitles, 1979, PG, 3 Star)
18:40
Corrina, Corrina (Film)
Jessie Nelson's romantic drama, which she also wrote and produced, stars Ray Liotta as Manny Singer, a widower whose young daughter Molly has become almost catatonically withdrawn following her mother's death. Realising he needs help, Manny advertises for a housekeeper and selects Corrina Washington since Molly reacted positively to her. As Corrina draws Molly out of her shell, so Manny falls in love with her, but in 50s America, inter-racial relationships are still frowned on and the pair face prejudice from all sides as their relationship blossoms.
Director: Jessie Nelson
Starring: Whoopi Goldberg, Ray Liotta, Noreen Hennessey
(Widescreen, 1994, PG, 3 Star)
21:00
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (Film)
Peter Weir's Oscar and BAFTA-winning maritime epic, based on Patrick O'Brian's novels, stars Russell Crowe as Captain Jack Aubrey, captain of HMS Surprise. But Aubrey is the one surprised by the attack of French ship Acheron, off the coast of Brazil. Barely surviving, Aubrey repairs the Surprise and sets off in pursuit of the Acheron for the decisive battle. Paul Bettany co-stars as Dr Stephen Maturin, the ship's doctor/scientist and Aubrey's closest friend, but the real stars are the two ships and the stunning special effects.
Director: Peter Weir
Starring: Russell Crowe, Paul Bettany, James D'Arcy, Edward Woodall, Chris Larkin, Max Pirkis
(Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described, 2003, 12, 4 Star)
23:35
Lights in the Dusk (Film)
UK TV NETWORK PREMIERE In Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki's thriller, Janne Hyytiäinen plays Koistinen, a security guard at a shopping centre whose dreams of a better life are continually crushed. Things seem to be looking up when Mirja shows an amorous interest in him but what he doesn't realise is that he's being set up as the fall guy by a gang of jewel thieves. Observing his plight is Aila, who runs a fast food stall and carries a torch for him but is overlooked in favour of Mirja.
Director: Aki Kaurismäki
Starring: Janne Hyytiäinen, Maria Järvenhelmi, Maria Heiskanen, Ilkka Koivula, Sergei Doudko, Andrei Gennadiev
(Premiere, In Finnish With English Subtitles, 2006, PG, 3 Star)
01:10
Love Story (Film)
Oscar-nominees Ryan O'Neal plays Oliver Bartlett IV and Ali MacGraw Jennifer Cavalleri, two Harvard students who fall in love. Sadly, Cavalleri has a fatal disease and the two, knowing they only have a short time together, live life to the full in Oscar-nominee Arthur Hiller's heart-breaking romantic film. With signing for the deaf and hard of hearing.
Director: Arthur Hiller
Starring: Ali MacGraw, Ryan O'Neal, John Marley, Ray Milland, Tommy Lee Jones, Russell Nype
(Widescreen, Subtitles, Signed, 1970, PG, 3 Star)