20 - 26 MAY 2023

It is always pleasing when there is a new film on Freeview or one which is little known and seems to have escaped you over the years – and there are good examples of both this week. Having said that, there are favourites that I try and watch at least once a year, so I am likely to be looking for my discs of the 1953 War of the Worlds and The Shootist (1976) sometime soon. I shall not be posting next week as I’ll be in Aberystwyth – which reminds me, the latter film still holds my record for ‘longest trip to see a film’ since I saw it at the Commodore in 1979. Those were the days! 
GREAT EXPECTATIONS (1946) Saturday 20 May 1.00-2.55pm BBC 2         
Forget the irritating, and ridiculous, BBC adaptation shown recently; David Lean’s version is the classic and continues to set the standard that all others are judged by. 
TOMORROW (1972) Saturday 20 May 9.30-11.35pm TP (Channel 82)        
I have followed Robert Duvall’s career pretty closely over the years (great actor who just seems to get better and better), but I confess this one was unknown to me. He plays a handyman who falls in love with an abandoned woman (played by Olga Bellin) who is pregnant. If Leonard Maltin says it is the best ever adaptation of a William Faulkner story that is good enough for me.
SUPERNOVA (2020) Sunday 21 May 10.00-11.30pm BBC 2    P         
Members: please do not turn off the TV because you think Supernova is science-fiction! Rather, it is a sensitive character piece co-starring Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci, set in the most gorgeous English countryside. 
INSIDE KABUL (2023) Tuesday 23 May 10.00-10.30pm BBC 4    P           
Do try and set aside 30 minutes to watch this special presentation from the Storyville team. It is simple in concept and in its style of animation, yet is both timely and revelatory in the telling of its story. Marwa and Raha are two young friends; one is trapped after the fall of Kabul, but the other manages to escape. The film uses their audio diaries to give us an insight into their experiences.