There are some interesting premieres this week one of which (with Tom Hanks) was on a recent questionnaire . . . .
A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD (2019) Mon 12 Sept 9.00-11.10pm Film Four P American TV icon Fred Rogers never caught on outside North America, but that should not spoil your enjoyment. Tom Hanks is very good and, in a positive way, it is a ‘nice’ film that doesn’t harm anyone or anything! A HIDDEN LIFE (2019) Tuesday 13 September 11.15pm-2.55am Film Four P Alas, A Hidden Life was too long for us to consider here in Lyme. The story of an Austrian farmer who refuses to support Hitler, this great Terrence Malik drama only just falls short of being a masterpiece. MOFFIE (2019) Thursday 15 September 1.45-4.00am Film Four P The third Film Four premiere of the week and, unless you are an insomniac, you might prefer to record it! Moffie, in Afrikaans, is slang for a gay man and the film concerns an 18-year-old army recruit during the 1980s. NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968) Friday 16 September 9.05-11.05pm TP (Channel 82) One of the most important horror films in the history of cinema and, with a couple of earlier exceptions, entirely responsible for the hundreds of zombie films (and TV episodes) made in the last 50 years. It first caught my attention at Llanbadarn Film Society, probably late 1976, as it sits at no. 9 in my list. In case you are wondering, no. 8 was Fahrenheit 451 and nos. 10 and 11 a double bill of The Sell Out and Black Emanuelle (sic). Happy days!
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I am recommending three from Talking Pictures this week – and the good news is that, from 1 September, its catch-up service can be accessed, via your red button, on Freeview, rather than having to switch on the computer. The bad news is that you might need a relatively new model – it hasn’t worked on my ‘oldie’ so far!
THE MYSTERIOUS MR SHEFFIELD (1935) Wednesday 7 September 4.50-6.05pm TP (Ch 82) P Selected here for its rarity value – apparently, it hasn’t been on any UK network before. Don’t expect too much, though – this is bargain basement, even for a B-western. Its American title was Law of the 45’s; it stars Guinn ‘Big Boy’ Williams and the plot tries hard to be inventive within its 57 minutes. MANIAC (1962) Friday 9 September 9.05-10.55pm TP (Ch 82) TP’s Cellar Club double bills, introduced by Caroline Munro, has been the best curated season of films since Alex Cox’s Moviedrome on BBC 2 – and that was some years ago now. Maniac was one of Hammer’s brief flirtations with psychological thrillers. Less well-known than most of the studio’s output, it is worth a look and, back then, was deemed scary enough for the publicity to declare: “Warning! No woman will be admitted unless accompanied!” Ouch . . . . THE FACE BEHIND THE MASK (1941) Friday 9 September 10.55pm-12.15am TP (Ch 82) I haven’t seen this, probably, for 50 years – and I still remember the impression director Robert Florey and star Peter Lorre left on me. It is a classic B-thriller, made with skill and imagination, in which a disfigured immigrant turns to a life of crime. |
By David JohnsonChairman of Lyme Regis Film Society Archives
March 2024
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Updated 27.3.2024
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