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.

Sunday is the 117th anniversary of the birth of John Wayne and Great Action (Channel 42) is showing four of his films. Three are standard; the fourth (and first on) is more interesting (see below). Also this week, look out for several documentaries on D-Day and, Wednesday evening, all five episodes of the classic Boys from the Blackstuff on BBC 4.
CLOSE (2022) Saturday 25 May 9.00-10.40pm BBC 4    P             
One of last season’s successes makes its terrestrial debut. It’s a superbly judged drama about a friendship between two teenage boys that goes awry. In its quiet, very effective way, I think it could lay serious claim to being the best we showed – although the audience reaction (82%) didn’t go quite that far!
THE BIG TRAIL (1930) Sunday 26 May 11.00am-1.30pm Great Action (Channel 42)              
Such was the authentic look of this epic wagon-train saga, when glass plates from the film were found a few years ago some thought they were original to the period. And, whilst the dialogue and the sound recording now seem primitive, there are some stunning set pieces. It was filmed in the revolutionary 70mm Grandeur process, but cinemas couldn’t afford to upgrade their equipment. Consequently, it was a box-office flop and its new star – John Wayne – spent years (and 80 films) in Poverty Row, before hitching a ride on Stagecoach (1939). And how effectively did he make the transition from swing gang and bit parts to lead actor? Pretty well, actually – some of his line delivery is awkward, but the physical presence and ease of movement were already present. Note the scene where, effortlessly, he picks up Marguerite Churchill like she weighed nothing at all.
TENET (2020) Sunday 26 May 10.20pm-12.20am BBC 2    P             
Director Christopher Nolan is definitely flavour of the month after Oppenheimer and the BBC is showing several of his films this week. Tenet is a sci-fi puzzle involving an arms dealer (Kenneth Branagh) who can change time itself. Mr Nolan is one of a handful whose work can ease audiences away from streaming platforms and into a cinema and, in 2024, we need this more than ever.

It saddens me to report the death of Roger Corman, aged 98. Recognised as the King of the B-movie, he produced and directed for more than five decades, first for American International and then (in the 1970s) for his own New World Pictures. Excluding attention-grabbing titles for the youth market (Viking Women and the Sea Serpent springs to mind), his record was impressive. He gave us The Intruder (1961, an early foray into race relations) and a fine series of Edgar Allen Poe adaptations with Vincent Price. Also, he gave early starts to Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorcese, and ensured that there would be American distribution deals for European art-house movies.   
DOG (2022) Saturday 18 May 9.00-10.55pm Channel 4    P             
This would have been an apt title for new release The Fall Guy. As it is, we have a decent tale (sorry) for dog lovers. Channing Tatum (who co-directs) is a former soldier with PTSD who is asked to take Lulu across country to its handler’s funeral. Will they bond? There is a good chance, I think!
THE SYSTEM (1964) Sunday 19 May 10.05-11.55pm TP (channel 82) Also Monday at 11pm             
Photographer Oliver Reed falls in love with Jane Merrow (usually busy in 1960s TV series such as Man in a Suitcase) during the summer season. Michael Winner directs and the b/w cinematography is of a very high standard, courtesy of Nicholas Roeg. Of particular interest to members is the location shooting in Devon; it isn’t televised that often – so well done Talking Pictures!
EL CID (1961) Thursday 23 May 9.00-11.50pm BBC 4             
How can Sight & Sound interview stuntman and now director David Leitch, and neither party references the legendary Yakima Canutt? He did second unit work on this epic adventure (as well as Ivanhoe, Ben-Hur and Where Eagles Dare). It has two great stars (Charlton Heston and Sophia Loren), a fine score from Miklos Rozsa, and thousands of extras . . .  in short, proper cinema!
THREE THOUSAND YEARS OF LONGING (2022) Friday 24 May 9.00-11.10pm Film Four    P             
To finish the week, we have quite a different offering from George Miller, whose reputation has been built on the Mad Max franchise. Tilda Swinton plays a lonely divorcee who releases a genie (Idris Elba); then he regales her with his tale of (you guessed it) love and longing.