MEDIA LIST
downbeat later scenes are appallingly moving in Milos Forman's briiliantly executed tragi-comedy. (1975).
I M (C4) ll.5()pm-l .50am. Fritz [.ang Season Lang‘s last German film is a relentless melodrama that sees Peter Lorre's frightening psychotic child murderer brought to justice ofa kind by the rest ofthe Berlin underworld when the proper authorities are powerless to track him down. Still impresses with its fluid cinematic skill. and the effortless ease with which the masterful director cranks up the tension to unbearable levels. ( 1931 ).
I Only Angels Have Wings ( BBC!) midnight—1.55am. Movie (.‘Iassics Another in Barry Norman's selection of oldies-but-goodies has Cary Grant and Richard Bathelmess among daring mail pilots in South America dangerously stretching the capabilities of their planes to make it over the mountains. Great action setpieces. tart dialogue. one to savour. ( 1939).
I National Lampoon's Class Reunion (Scottish) 12.20—2am. Despite (or perhaps because of the John Hughes script) this is an atrocious attempt to create a funny psycho-slasher pic around a class get-together. If you went to school with these people maybe you'd turn homicidal too. (1982).
FRIDAY 30
I To Paris With Love (313(2) 1 1 .45am— 1 pm. British ( 'onwdics So-so Eating production has rich dad Alec Guinness taking his sprog to gay Parce so he can pick up the facts of life. Some guys have all the luck. huh'.’ Er. maybe not. (1955). I The Lady Eve (C4) 12.55—24npm. Barabara Stanwyck plays a scheming gold—digger out to lay her hands on stuffy academic Henry Fonda (‘snakes are my life‘) in this zesty comedy from the maestro Preston Sturges' best period. (1941 ). I Candleshoe (Scottish) l.3()—3.25pm. Not-bad Disney live action job. filmed in England with an unscrupulous Leo McKern attempting to pass offorphan Jodie Foster as an heiress in order toclaim an inheritance. but thwarted in his skullduggery by trusty butler David Niven. (1977). I Flying Leathernecks ( BBCI) 2.1(l—3.5()pm. With such a surreal title it would be good if this was some drug-crazed Salvador Dali outpouring. But it‘s not. Instead it's a Nicholas Ray World War Two aerial actioner with John Wayne and Robert Ryan as feuding marine pilots. Solid stuff. ofcourse. but the other idea still sounds more interesting. (1951). I Casablanca (BB(‘2 ) c.tx)—7.4()pm. Bogart You must remember this. Bogey. . . Bergman. . . llenreid. .. Claude Rains. . . Lorre andGreenstreet . and that song. If this is your firsttime. it could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. The Hollywood studio system at its absolute zenith. (1942) I Blue Thunder(BB(‘l )‘).3()—l 1.30pm. Helicopter pilot Roy Scheider is an aerial cop in LA. (man). who comes upagainst the unscrupulous military develoment of an airborne superweapon. Great flying sequences in this juvenile adventure. and Malcolm McDowell certainly enjoys himself as the baddie. (1983). I Stop Making Sense ( BBCZ) 10.20—1 l .4()pm. Talking Heads in the perfect concert movie bar none. I'll have three of those suits. by the way. (1984). I Pauline At The Beach ( BB(‘2) 11.45pm—l .leam. Third of Eric Rohmer‘.s Comedies And Proverbs series is a subtle exploration of human relationships that contrasts the straightforwardness of an adolescent girl with the hang-upsofher older cousin during along summer vacation. (1983). I Stalag 17 (BBCl) l l .55pm—l.55am.
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FRITZ LANG SEASON
One of the sustained highlights of 1988‘s festive television is a fine season on Channel 4 which brings together many highlights from the prolific careerof masterdirector Fritz Lang. from the early days in the German silent cinema tothrough to the decades spent working in Hollywood, after the rise of Nazism had forced him to flee his homeland in the mid-Thirties.
A painter and designer before his involvement in movies, pieces like ‘Metropolis’. ‘Dr Mabuse‘, and ‘M' from the German period show a film-maker whose complete control over every aspect of his work showed in the commanding expressionist compositions he splashed across the screen. In America, he was continually in conflict with studios and producers who forced him to compromise his vision. but from the 1935—56 period some fine films emerged. ‘Fury‘ (1936). for instance, The Return of FrankJames (1940), and The Big Heat (1953) (NB not in the Christmas season) allowed him to explore his interest in the criminal side of life, and examine the destructive influence of an indifferent fate in everyday human experience. The Lang canon is one that suggests a seething underworld of barely contained malfeasance just below society‘s calm surface.
.llot‘it' ( filSSlt‘S Billy \Vildet ispt'obably better known for his mordant comic flair. but this World War 'l‘wo P( )W drama manages to sustain the interest while suggesting the monotony of confinement. William J lolden won an ( )scar asthe American suspected of being a ( iernian spy. while film-maker ()tto Premmger does a great acting turn as the camp commandant. ( l‘)53)
I You Only Live Once ((4)
1 1.55pm» 1.30am. l-‘rir: [.angSmsmr [.oosely‘ based on the Bonnie and ( ‘ly dc story. this impressive crime drama has Henry Fonda as an ex-con try ing to go straight but finding circumstances weighing heavily against him. ( IDS"). IAirplane ll: The Sequel ( Scottish)
12.35 2.10am. Rehash reprise of the first movie involves the first passenger space shuttle. Pew laughs. though William "l'he Rug‘ Shatner has a good cameo, Watch something else if you're still up. ( 1%: ).
HOGMANAY
I Northwest Passage ((4) Want 12.20pm. King \"idor picture has the always dignified Spencer Tracy as the stoic leader of a band of pioneers making inroadsinto the colonisation of rural America. Solidly entertaining. this was intended as the first part of a diptych. but the second film w as never made. (1940).
I I Was A Male War Bride ((4)) 3pm. Howard Hawks in comic mood as l"rcnchy- army officer ('ary' (irant accompanies WAC wife Ann Sheridan back to the states. and ends up in drag to conceal his identity. Grant in women‘s clothing isa hoot. Watch this one. ( 1945 ).
I Lost In America ( 1313(‘2 ) 9.45 ll.l5pm. Albert Brooks. the putz from [from/ms! .N'cws. wrote. directed and starred in this endearing satire. which co-stars Airplun " Julie Haggerty in the misadventures ofa yuppie couple who take to the road. Wry' entertainment for those who remember the Road Movies. TV prcttticrc. (1985) I Dr Mabuse The Gamblerit‘4) 12.3ll—2.25am. Fritz [.ang Season Ring in
the New Year with this early [.ang masterpiece in the finest ( ierman expressionist manner. The narrative concerns a criminal mastermind's hunger for world domination by any means necessary . and remains a prototype for many similaroutings (103‘
NEW YEAR’S DAY
I Krakatoa: East Of Java ( BM ‘2)
12.35 2.40pm. (‘lunisy epic with stellar cast searching for sunken treasure and (heh heh) getting wiped out by avolcanic explosion and tidal wave. lime in for the climactic mayhem if'you‘re really bored. And yes. Krakatoa is actually li'eslof Java. (19M).
I Ben Hurtt‘J) 3 4.45pm. .\'ot ('harlton and the w heelies. but the original silent version with Ramon \ayarro and l‘rancis X. Bushman in the leading roles. Holdsuj‘ pretty well against the remake though. with chariot race and exciting sea battle both remarkably spectacular. The X. is for Xavier. ( 1025).
I Herbie Goes To Monte Carlo ( Scottish) 3.5” ppm. And the rest of us go and make a long. long cup of'tea. lixcruciating automotive antics from the Disney garage Your kids don’t have to watch this. ( 1977). I Raise The Titannic ( Scottish)
7.45 lllpm. 'I‘here's more fun to be had in your average bathtub than in this tedious bestseller adaptation which nearly bankrupted the few (iradc organisation. A real plod until the final action sequence. which is admittedly impressive. And damn well should be for all the money they purportedly spent on it. ( Wh'll). IAmadeustBBt‘l)7.45 lt).2opm. Arrogant. dislikeable film from an arrogant. dislikeable play has l-fl Murray Abraham's tncdiocre composer Salieri tussling with Mozart‘s genius in the unlikelyshape of"l‘om llulce. Lotsot ()scars because this is every rniddlcbrow 's idea of a cultural experience. ( 1984 ).
I The Shooting Party ( 13m ‘2) ltl.Ztiprn—midnight. Isabel(‘olgates's novel examining class tensions on a weekend shooting jaunt just before the
(‘iccione play ing herself to perfection. Srnartly handled by director Susan
outbreak of World War I is brought tothe screen with taste and tact in the sort of movie We British Do Well. James Mason. Dorothy Train. and lidward Fox head a quality cast. ( 1984).
I Countrytt‘J) ltllflpm Illilam. Jessica [.ange and Sam Shepherd are at the heart of this engrossing contemporary rural drama as a farming couple facing a government loan foreclosure that threatens to take their land away. Gritty". w ell-acted piece directed by Richard Pearce. ( IVS-l ).
I AsphaltJungle ( BB(‘l)
ll.lllpm 13.55am. .lloi'n’ ( fussicy Another excellent l luston movie introduced by Barry Norman. Sterling
l laden and Sam .laf'fe head the cast in this detailed account of the plottingand execution of a robbery. Seminal in its time. although now beset by a plethoraof subsequentimitations. (195”).
I Convoy (Scottish) ll. l5 3.3(lam. liilmol the Song. l.ots of trucks and cop ears get trashed. Kris Kristof’f'erson is Rubber Duck. l.ow brow s—a-go-go fare. Sam l’eckinpah should be ashamed (1978).
I Hangmen Also Die ((‘-t) I2.2o 2.51)...” I-‘m: [.ang Season (iruelling propaganda tract directed by lang in America from a screenplay by Bertolt Brecht. but set in (‘Iechoslovakia as the Nazis slaughter bray c patriots. Deeply left. but the sets zlt's‘ all phoney. Brian l)onlcyy stars. (IV-l3).
MONDAY 2
I Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House (BB('2).\'oon 1.30pm.('ity'f‘olks(‘ary (irant and Myrna l.oy try to build anew house in the country . with predictably hilarious results. Assured clasic
l lolly wood comedy . directed by l l.( '. Potter. l lenry ('odman toyou (ill-Ls)
I Carry On Cruising ( BB( ‘1 )3. 35 -l.5Hpin. Sid and Hattie and Kenneth cl al gel upto their usual routines on a Mediterranean cruise. l'iirst of the series in colotlt'.( 19“”). I The Black Hole (Scottish l 4.5“ hfyflpm. Megabudget Disney entry into the Slur Wars stakes that falls flat on )tshi-tech face. Anthony Perkinsand Maximilian) Schell play mad scientists ithtitll to explore a black hole in deep space.(1t)"f))
IAnnie ( BB(‘l ) " 9.05pm. That man John l luston again with a passable adaptation of the hit musical. (‘urly-haired Aileen ()uinn plays the little mite. shavcn-headcd Albert l'inncy the incredibly wealthy Daddy Warbucks. But ('at‘ol Burnett steals it as a corrupt orphanage mistress with a fine line in bathtub gin. ( NH: ).
I Raiders of the Lost Ark ( .s‘eonish)
‘) 1 1.35pm. Marvellous Spielberg
adv enture has buccanecr ing archaeologist Indiana Jones. as played by l larr ison l-'ord. on the trail of the Art of the
(‘oy enant in Nan-infested World War It ligypt. ( l‘lSll
I Desperately Seeking Susan ( lslst ‘2) 9.05 liHSpm. Winning feminist role reversal comedy . with bored housewife Rosanna A rquette and hip floo/ie Madonna in mistaken identity mix-up. lindearingly fix/y humoursustains momentum right up until the end. with La
Seidelman. 'l‘\' Premiere. ( WSS).
IThe Man Who Came To Dinnertlmt‘l) t
I 1.35pm 1.15am. .Urn'ir' ( firsts/(is Pompous theatre critic drives Bette Davis
and her folks crazy w hen he is laid upwith
them one winter. Hilarious comedy tailor-made for an actor who rarely got the right material. (Null ). I Hellzapoppin' ((4) 12.25 2am. Knockout looney‘ lull-riot has incompetent burlesque comic ()le ( )lsen and (‘hic Johnson let loose in a movie studio. [any sight gags and snappy l‘orties
dialogue galore make this a memorable exercise in manic American humour that still holds up well. Directed by ll.( ‘. I
Potter. His friends called him 'I iank‘ ( 1943)]
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