rabbi
19-12-2008, 10:45 AM
Film4 Listings for Friday 19th December
13:00
The Iron Petticoat (Film)
Katharine Hepburn plays a humourless Russian, Captain Vinka Kovelenko, who defects from her home country. Major Chuck Lockwood is assigned to show her the bright lights of London while she tries to convince him of the superiority of communism. Naturally, the two opposites fall in love but then must contend with the KGB, who are not happy with the idea of one of their officers running around free in London.
Director: Ralph L. Thomas
Starring: Bob Hope, Katharine Hepburn, Noelle Middleton, James Robertson-Justice, Robert Helpmann, David Kossoff
(Subtitles, 1956, PG, 3 Star)
14:50
Moulin Rouge (Film)
Jose Ferrer stars in John Huston's visually exquisite biopic of Toulouse-Lautrec as the crippled painter whose work perfectly captured the spirit of bohemian Paris in the naughty 1890s. The film overdoses on artistic licence in its romanticised portrayal of the artist as embittered loner, tormented by his doomed relationships with prostitute Marie Charlet and sympathetic model Myriamme. But it also evokes the period's lusty, can-can hedonism and absinthe-sodden despair with exuberant, painterly beauty.
Director: John Huston
Starring: José Ferrer, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Suzanne Flon, Claude Nollier
(Subtitles, 1952, PG, 3 Star)
17:10
Girls! Girls! Girls! (Film)
Elvis Presley stars in Norman Taurog's musical as Ross Carpenter, a tuna boat fisherman in Hawaii who has two girls after him, ***y singer Robin Gantner and heiress Laurel Dodge, who pretends to be poor to avoid embarrassing him. The plot device - can Ross raise enough money to buy his boat outright? - carries the King through 14 songs, including the now classic Return to Sender.
Director: Norman Taurog
Starring: Elvis Presley, Stella Stevens, Jeremy Slate, Laurel Goodwin, Benson Fong, Robert Strauss
(1962, PG, 3 Star)
19:05
Jingle All The Way (Film)
Harassed businessman Howard tells his little boy he'll buy him a Turboman for Christmas, only to find that every store has sold out. Racing round the shops in search of the last toy, he realises that postman Myron is doing exactly the same thing.
Director: Brian Levant
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sinbad, Phil Hartman, Rita Wilson, Robert Conrad, Martin Mull
(Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described, 1996, PG, 3 Star)
21:00
Romeo and Juliet (Film)
Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes star in Baz Luhrmann's Oscar-nominated, BAFTA-winning version of Shakespeare's tale of 'star cross'd' lovers. Updated in setting to Verona Beach, where the gangs of the corporate dynasties, the Capulets and Montagues, battle with guns as much as knives, Luhrmann retains the dialogue but imposes his own stunning visual stamp on the film, making a classic play into a classic film.
Director: Baz Luhrmann
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Claire Danes, Edwina Moore, Zak Orth, Jamie Kennedy, Dash Mihok
(Subtitles, 1996, 12, 4 Star)
23:20
Birth (Film)
Nicole Kidman plays Anna, a widow for ten years who has finally found new happiness with Joseph. At a party thrown by her mother Eleanor to celebrate their engagement, a ten-year-old boy Sean walks in unannounced and declares he is the reincarnation of her dead husband. Jonathan Glazer's taut, chilling thriller sees Anna become convinced, because of the knowledge he has, that Sean is telling the truth while all around her remain sceptical, certain that something is terribly wrong.
Director: Jonathan Glazer
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Cameron Bright, Danny Huston, Lauren Bacall, Alison Elliott, Arliss Howard
(Widescreen, Subtitles, 2004, 15, 3 Star)
01:15
The Eye (Film)
The Pang brothers' film is firmly set in the modern Asian horror frame, with Lee Sin-Je as Mun, a violinist, blind from infancy, who is offered a corneal transplant that will enable her to see. But as she adjusts to her new found sight, she realises her new eyes have a terrifying power - she can see not only the dead but more terribly, those about to die. As she and her doctor Wah try to track down the eye's donor and learn their story, a terrible tragedy looms...
Director: Danny Pang, Oxide Pang Chun
Starring: Angelica Lee, Lawrence Chou, Chutcha Rujinanon, Yut Lai So, Candy Lo, Yin Ping Ko
(In Cantonese/Thai/Mandarin With Subtitles, Widescreen, 2002, 15, 4 Star)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FilmFour & Film Four +1 20.12.08
Astra 2D at 28.2E 10729 V SYM:22000 FEC 5/6
Film Four SID8335 VPID2312 APID2313 Eng
Film Four +1 SID8330 VPID2332 APID2333 Eng
13:00
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)
15:05
Australia Special (Entertainment)
Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman and Baz Luhrmann talk about the making of their epic romantic drama.
15:10
River of No Return (Film)
Otto Preminger's only western stars Robert Mitchum as Matt Calder, a farmer recently released from prison after serving a sentence for killing a man. He picks up his son Mark from saloon singer Kay, and father and son return to the farm. But later, he sees Kay and her fiancée Harry Weston in peril on a collapsing raft. He saves them but his thanks is to be slugged senseless and have his horse stolen as Weston races to stake a gold claim. Marooned in dangerous Indian territory, Matt, Mark and Kay's only chance is to take to the river and head for the nearest town. As they travel, Mark learns the truth about his father's crime while Kay falls for Matt, but all three know that they must still face Weston. Preminger insisted that the actors perform their own stunts on the river and, on one occasion, Monroe almost drowned when her boots filled up with water. On another, the two main stars had to be rescued when the raft almost overturned after it jammed against a rock.
Director: Otto Preminger
Starring: Robert Mitchum, Marilyn Monroe, Rory Calhoun, Tommy Rettig, Murvyn Vye, Douglas Spencer
(Subtitles, 1954, PG, 3 Star)
16:55
My Big Fat Greek Wedding (Film)
In the hugely popular film based on her stage-play, Nia Vardalos stars as Toula Portokalos, a Greek woman who's approaching a certain age, as her family are more than happy to remind her. And when she falls for Ian Miller, who's definitely not Greek, her family are in uproar, but Toula is determined to find happiness in Joel Zwick's Oscar-nominated comedy. Edited for language.
Director: Joel Zwick
Starring: Nia Vardalos, Michael Constantine, John Corbett, Christina Eleusiniotis, Kaylee Vieira, John Kalangis
(Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described, 2002, PG, 3 Star)
18:45
Australia Special (Entertainment)
Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman and Baz Luhrmann talk about the making of their epic romantic drama.
18:55
The African Queen (Film)
John Huston's classic Oscar-winning tough comedy adventure set in First World War Africa. Humphrey Bogart plays Charlie Allnut, the hard-drinking, woman-hating owner of The African Queen, a decrepit steamer that trades up and down the river, and Katharine Hepburn plays Rose Sayer, the strait-laced spinster sister of missionary Rev. Samuel Sayer whom he has agreed to take back to civilisation. But when the Reverend dies after the mission is attacked by German troops, Charlie and Rose set off on a journey of escape that turns into one of revenge as the disparate couple reach a touching accord.
Director: John Huston
Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn, Robert Morley, Peter Bull, Theodore Bikel, Walter Gotell
(Subtitles, Audio Described, 1951, U, 5 Star)
21:00
Failure To Launch (Film)
Tom Dey's romcom stars Matthew McConaughey as Trip, a 35-year-old professional layabout happy to stay at home where he's waited on hand and foot by his mum Sue. But she and her husband Al have had enough and decide that to get him to leave, they have to use subtle methods. So they hire Paula to use her feminine wiles to lever him out of the family home. There's just two problems: Trip is just too stuck in his ways and Paula breaches her first rule of operation and falls in love with him.
Director: Tom Dey
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Sarah Jessica Parker, Zooey Deschanel, Justin Bartha, Bradley Cooper, Terry Bradshaw
(Premiere, Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described, 2006, 12, 3 Star)
22:50
A History Of Violence (Film)
Viggo Mortensen stars in David Cronenberg's thriller as Tom Stall, the owner of a small diner in a small town in Indiana. One day, two guys come in, produce guns and threaten the customers. Stall takes them out, becoming a local hero, but the publicity is seen by someone from his past, a past he's kept secret from his wife Edie. Carl Fogarty turns up with some muscle and suggests he returns with them to Philadelphia, where Richie Cusack, a name from Stall's past, awaits...
Director: David Cronenberg
Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello, Ed Harris, William Hurt, Ashton Holmes, Peter MacNeill
(Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described, 2005, 18, 4 Star)
00:40
Offside (Film)
Jafar Panahi directs this charming, witty film that follows the fortunes of an unnamed teenage Iranian football fan, played by Ayda Sadeqi. She tries to sneak into Iran's World Cup qualifier against Bahrain but women are banned from watching football and her disguise is penetrated. Placed in a corral with other women who tried to sneak in where they are guarded by young conscript soldiers, the films plays out during the duration of the match, as the women taunt the soldiers about the rules that exclude them while trying to follow the game by the crowd's noise. Shot on digital video cameras with a non-professional cast, the film is both challenging and uplifting, with one sequence, where one of the women must be escorted to the men's toilet, wonderfully absurd.
Director: Jafar Pahani
Starring: Sima Mobarak-Shahi, Shayesteh Irani, Ayda Sadeqi, Golnaz Farmani, Mahnaz Zabihi, Nazanin Sediq-zadeh
(In Persian With English Subtitles, 2006, PG, 4 Star)
02:25
Old Joy (Film)
Director/writer Kelly Reichardt's film is a deceptively gentle drama about a friendship renewed. Kurt and Mark, two friends who have lost touch, decide to re-kindle their relationship with a weekend trek through Oregon's mountains. They talk, with Mark concerned about imminent fatherhood while Kurt is more meditative, but will their bond be re-forged by the end of the journey?
Director: Kelly Reichardt
Starring: Daniel London, Will Oldham, Tanya Smith, Robin Rosenberg, Keri Moran, Autumn Campbell
(Widescreen, 2006, 15, 3 Star)
13:00
The Iron Petticoat (Film)
Katharine Hepburn plays a humourless Russian, Captain Vinka Kovelenko, who defects from her home country. Major Chuck Lockwood is assigned to show her the bright lights of London while she tries to convince him of the superiority of communism. Naturally, the two opposites fall in love but then must contend with the KGB, who are not happy with the idea of one of their officers running around free in London.
Director: Ralph L. Thomas
Starring: Bob Hope, Katharine Hepburn, Noelle Middleton, James Robertson-Justice, Robert Helpmann, David Kossoff
(Subtitles, 1956, PG, 3 Star)
14:50
Moulin Rouge (Film)
Jose Ferrer stars in John Huston's visually exquisite biopic of Toulouse-Lautrec as the crippled painter whose work perfectly captured the spirit of bohemian Paris in the naughty 1890s. The film overdoses on artistic licence in its romanticised portrayal of the artist as embittered loner, tormented by his doomed relationships with prostitute Marie Charlet and sympathetic model Myriamme. But it also evokes the period's lusty, can-can hedonism and absinthe-sodden despair with exuberant, painterly beauty.
Director: John Huston
Starring: José Ferrer, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Suzanne Flon, Claude Nollier
(Subtitles, 1952, PG, 3 Star)
17:10
Girls! Girls! Girls! (Film)
Elvis Presley stars in Norman Taurog's musical as Ross Carpenter, a tuna boat fisherman in Hawaii who has two girls after him, ***y singer Robin Gantner and heiress Laurel Dodge, who pretends to be poor to avoid embarrassing him. The plot device - can Ross raise enough money to buy his boat outright? - carries the King through 14 songs, including the now classic Return to Sender.
Director: Norman Taurog
Starring: Elvis Presley, Stella Stevens, Jeremy Slate, Laurel Goodwin, Benson Fong, Robert Strauss
(1962, PG, 3 Star)
19:05
Jingle All The Way (Film)
Harassed businessman Howard tells his little boy he'll buy him a Turboman for Christmas, only to find that every store has sold out. Racing round the shops in search of the last toy, he realises that postman Myron is doing exactly the same thing.
Director: Brian Levant
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sinbad, Phil Hartman, Rita Wilson, Robert Conrad, Martin Mull
(Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described, 1996, PG, 3 Star)
21:00
Romeo and Juliet (Film)
Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes star in Baz Luhrmann's Oscar-nominated, BAFTA-winning version of Shakespeare's tale of 'star cross'd' lovers. Updated in setting to Verona Beach, where the gangs of the corporate dynasties, the Capulets and Montagues, battle with guns as much as knives, Luhrmann retains the dialogue but imposes his own stunning visual stamp on the film, making a classic play into a classic film.
Director: Baz Luhrmann
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Claire Danes, Edwina Moore, Zak Orth, Jamie Kennedy, Dash Mihok
(Subtitles, 1996, 12, 4 Star)
23:20
Birth (Film)
Nicole Kidman plays Anna, a widow for ten years who has finally found new happiness with Joseph. At a party thrown by her mother Eleanor to celebrate their engagement, a ten-year-old boy Sean walks in unannounced and declares he is the reincarnation of her dead husband. Jonathan Glazer's taut, chilling thriller sees Anna become convinced, because of the knowledge he has, that Sean is telling the truth while all around her remain sceptical, certain that something is terribly wrong.
Director: Jonathan Glazer
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Cameron Bright, Danny Huston, Lauren Bacall, Alison Elliott, Arliss Howard
(Widescreen, Subtitles, 2004, 15, 3 Star)
01:15
The Eye (Film)
The Pang brothers' film is firmly set in the modern Asian horror frame, with Lee Sin-Je as Mun, a violinist, blind from infancy, who is offered a corneal transplant that will enable her to see. But as she adjusts to her new found sight, she realises her new eyes have a terrifying power - she can see not only the dead but more terribly, those about to die. As she and her doctor Wah try to track down the eye's donor and learn their story, a terrible tragedy looms...
Director: Danny Pang, Oxide Pang Chun
Starring: Angelica Lee, Lawrence Chou, Chutcha Rujinanon, Yut Lai So, Candy Lo, Yin Ping Ko
(In Cantonese/Thai/Mandarin With Subtitles, Widescreen, 2002, 15, 4 Star)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FilmFour & Film Four +1 20.12.08
Astra 2D at 28.2E 10729 V SYM:22000 FEC 5/6
Film Four SID8335 VPID2312 APID2313 Eng
Film Four +1 SID8330 VPID2332 APID2333 Eng
13:00
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)
15:05
Australia Special (Entertainment)
Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman and Baz Luhrmann talk about the making of their epic romantic drama.
15:10
River of No Return (Film)
Otto Preminger's only western stars Robert Mitchum as Matt Calder, a farmer recently released from prison after serving a sentence for killing a man. He picks up his son Mark from saloon singer Kay, and father and son return to the farm. But later, he sees Kay and her fiancée Harry Weston in peril on a collapsing raft. He saves them but his thanks is to be slugged senseless and have his horse stolen as Weston races to stake a gold claim. Marooned in dangerous Indian territory, Matt, Mark and Kay's only chance is to take to the river and head for the nearest town. As they travel, Mark learns the truth about his father's crime while Kay falls for Matt, but all three know that they must still face Weston. Preminger insisted that the actors perform their own stunts on the river and, on one occasion, Monroe almost drowned when her boots filled up with water. On another, the two main stars had to be rescued when the raft almost overturned after it jammed against a rock.
Director: Otto Preminger
Starring: Robert Mitchum, Marilyn Monroe, Rory Calhoun, Tommy Rettig, Murvyn Vye, Douglas Spencer
(Subtitles, 1954, PG, 3 Star)
16:55
My Big Fat Greek Wedding (Film)
In the hugely popular film based on her stage-play, Nia Vardalos stars as Toula Portokalos, a Greek woman who's approaching a certain age, as her family are more than happy to remind her. And when she falls for Ian Miller, who's definitely not Greek, her family are in uproar, but Toula is determined to find happiness in Joel Zwick's Oscar-nominated comedy. Edited for language.
Director: Joel Zwick
Starring: Nia Vardalos, Michael Constantine, John Corbett, Christina Eleusiniotis, Kaylee Vieira, John Kalangis
(Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described, 2002, PG, 3 Star)
18:45
Australia Special (Entertainment)
Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman and Baz Luhrmann talk about the making of their epic romantic drama.
18:55
The African Queen (Film)
John Huston's classic Oscar-winning tough comedy adventure set in First World War Africa. Humphrey Bogart plays Charlie Allnut, the hard-drinking, woman-hating owner of The African Queen, a decrepit steamer that trades up and down the river, and Katharine Hepburn plays Rose Sayer, the strait-laced spinster sister of missionary Rev. Samuel Sayer whom he has agreed to take back to civilisation. But when the Reverend dies after the mission is attacked by German troops, Charlie and Rose set off on a journey of escape that turns into one of revenge as the disparate couple reach a touching accord.
Director: John Huston
Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn, Robert Morley, Peter Bull, Theodore Bikel, Walter Gotell
(Subtitles, Audio Described, 1951, U, 5 Star)
21:00
Failure To Launch (Film)
Tom Dey's romcom stars Matthew McConaughey as Trip, a 35-year-old professional layabout happy to stay at home where he's waited on hand and foot by his mum Sue. But she and her husband Al have had enough and decide that to get him to leave, they have to use subtle methods. So they hire Paula to use her feminine wiles to lever him out of the family home. There's just two problems: Trip is just too stuck in his ways and Paula breaches her first rule of operation and falls in love with him.
Director: Tom Dey
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Sarah Jessica Parker, Zooey Deschanel, Justin Bartha, Bradley Cooper, Terry Bradshaw
(Premiere, Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described, 2006, 12, 3 Star)
22:50
A History Of Violence (Film)
Viggo Mortensen stars in David Cronenberg's thriller as Tom Stall, the owner of a small diner in a small town in Indiana. One day, two guys come in, produce guns and threaten the customers. Stall takes them out, becoming a local hero, but the publicity is seen by someone from his past, a past he's kept secret from his wife Edie. Carl Fogarty turns up with some muscle and suggests he returns with them to Philadelphia, where Richie Cusack, a name from Stall's past, awaits...
Director: David Cronenberg
Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello, Ed Harris, William Hurt, Ashton Holmes, Peter MacNeill
(Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described, 2005, 18, 4 Star)
00:40
Offside (Film)
Jafar Panahi directs this charming, witty film that follows the fortunes of an unnamed teenage Iranian football fan, played by Ayda Sadeqi. She tries to sneak into Iran's World Cup qualifier against Bahrain but women are banned from watching football and her disguise is penetrated. Placed in a corral with other women who tried to sneak in where they are guarded by young conscript soldiers, the films plays out during the duration of the match, as the women taunt the soldiers about the rules that exclude them while trying to follow the game by the crowd's noise. Shot on digital video cameras with a non-professional cast, the film is both challenging and uplifting, with one sequence, where one of the women must be escorted to the men's toilet, wonderfully absurd.
Director: Jafar Pahani
Starring: Sima Mobarak-Shahi, Shayesteh Irani, Ayda Sadeqi, Golnaz Farmani, Mahnaz Zabihi, Nazanin Sediq-zadeh
(In Persian With English Subtitles, 2006, PG, 4 Star)
02:25
Old Joy (Film)
Director/writer Kelly Reichardt's film is a deceptively gentle drama about a friendship renewed. Kurt and Mark, two friends who have lost touch, decide to re-kindle their relationship with a weekend trek through Oregon's mountains. They talk, with Mark concerned about imminent fatherhood while Kurt is more meditative, but will their bond be re-forged by the end of the journey?
Director: Kelly Reichardt
Starring: Daniel London, Will Oldham, Tanya Smith, Robin Rosenberg, Keri Moran, Autumn Campbell
(Widescreen, 2006, 15, 3 Star)