1 – 7 JUNE 2024

THE 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF D-DAY
In addition to the one highlighted below what other films (and TV productions) might be worth seeking out? The 1956 film D-Day the 6th of June is okay; CinemaScope and good action scenes, but is typical Hollywood with an American star (Robert Taylor) alongside Richard Todd. The well-known one is, of course, Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan with Tom Hanks. Just as good (or better - it is brilliant) is their TV miniseries Band of Brothers. The director George Stevens (Shane, Giant) made some documentaries including The Road to Berlin, but it is many years since I watched it and I can't remember if it starts with the landings. John Ford also made some docs - at one point, he was based in Portland. In 1944 he did one called Normandy Invasion - it might be on YouTube. From Britain, the 1975 film Overlord deals with events but my memory is that it isn't that good. However, Carol Reed's The True Glory, made in 1945, is excellent. I rather like the Tom Selleck TV movie Ike. Then there is the role of the French Resistance. The Burt Lancaster film The Train is very good (not directly D-Day though) and Talking Pictures has shown Bataille du Rail, a 1946 film using actual participants who did sabotage work and I was very impressed with this. The classic Resistance film is Melville's Army of Shadows although it is set in 1942-1943, and the DVD includes a 33min documentary Le Journal de la Resistance.
LIE WITH ME (2022) Saturday 1 June 9.00-10.30pm BBC 4    P             
French drama. An older Stéphane returns to where he grew up; whilst there, he befriends the son of a classmate with whom he had an affair. The film isn’t in the first rank, but the chance to see a subtitled drama, at a reasonable time, is still welcome.
THE LONGEST DAY (1962) Sunday 2 June 12.15-3.05pm BBC 2              
In many ways, this is still the best film about D-Day. Fittingly, the action scenes are on a large scale; the b/w images in CinemaScope give it a documentary feel; it balances a wide range of viewpoints – and the cast goes beyond the star-studded. On your next visit to the Radway, take a look at the poster on the stairway wall!
BONES AND ALL (2022) Sunday 2 June 10.00pm-12.05am BBC 2    P             
We’ll begin with a Certificate 18 health warning for this romantic horror offering. Maren, a teenage cannibal, falls for a fellow Eater, Lee. Director Luca Guadagnino and star Timothée Chalamet worked together on the acclaimed Call Me by Your Name; Mark Rylance is also in the cast. Clearly, it is very different from our usual fare, but give it a go – although you might want to have fish rather than roast beef for Sunday lunch!
THE BLUE CAFTAN (2022) Wednesday 5 June 1.00-3.25am Film Four    P             
Today’s subtitled film is on at an unreasonable time – and it is a great shame. The Blue Caftan was on our reserve list last season. Halim is a Moroccan tailor; married (of course) but who begins to develop feelings for his young apprentice. It is a delicate, thoughtful and quite moving drama.