27 JAN – 2 FEB 2024

The 2024 Oscar nominations were announced last Tuesday. Oppenheimer leads the way (13 nominations) and Killers of the Flower Moon has also been given the nod in the Best Film category. Anything for LRFS, I hear you ask? Quite possibly – American Fiction and Past Lives are two interesting titles that could well appear on the questionnaire. Assuming they are not ring-fenced by streaming platforms, of course.
BATMAN (1966) Saturday 27 January 3.35-5.45pm TP (Ch 82)             
‘Holy trip to the Odeon Batman!’ – I just had to bid a warm welcome to what was one of my earliest visits to the cinema. The comic book character and the various franchises have become very serious, and dark, since this camp classic appeared. The 1966 vintage is much more fun (so, too, was the TV series) and Adam West and Burt Ward will always get my vote. Zap! Pow! Thwack!
BEYOND UTOPIA: ESCAPE FROM NORTH KOREA (2023) Tues 30 January 10.00-11.50pm BBC 4    P             
A Storyville documentary that was good enough to warrant a cinema release. It follows several people desperate to flee the dictatorship – including a family of five whose circuitous route takes them through China, Vietnam and Laos.
A PASSAGE TO INDIA (1965) Wednesday 31 January 10.20pm-12.10am BBC 4                 
This is not David Lean’s epic adaptation (released in 1984). As it is a quiet week, we are breaking with convention and recommending a BBC Play of the Month (in b/w).  A very good cast is headed by Sybil Thorndike and Virginia McKenna and the director, Waris Hussein, has filmed a special introduction that is on at 10pm. Thank you, BBC – and keep these treasures coming!
RELIC (2020) Friday 2 February 11.05pm-12.30am BBC 2             
Relic tries very hard to bring something a little different to the horror genre and it helped earn it a good critical response. Emily Mortimer’s mother, who has dementia, goes missing. After her return, things seem a little odd – could there be an unexplained presence?