What I’ll Be Watching:
Le Donk & Scor-zay-zee (Friday 30th 12.25am Channel 4)
Shane Meadows is better known for his grim tales of northern life at the rougher end of the scale, usually set in and around Nottingham. But he also possesses a keen sense of humour and isn’t averse to the odd bit of knockabout comedy, as seen in his debut Smalltime and the unsuccessful attempt at a more commercial hit Once Upon A Time In The Midlands. This Mockumentary follows the attempts of roadie and failed rock musician Le Donk and his attempts to get his rap prodigy Scor-Zay-Zee on the support bill for an Artic Monkeys gig. Improvised and shot in just five days, this film should serve as a template to any keen young filmmakers out there.
Film of the Week:
Ordet (Wednesday 28th 1.10am Film Four)
I’ll have to be honest and admit that I haven’t actually seen this film (nor any of Danish director Dreyer’s other films), but, having been mesmerised by the stark beauty of just a few brief clips from his work in Mark Cousins’s excellent Channel Four series A Story of Film: An Odyssey, I’ve made it my mission to explore his output further. Carl Theodor Dreyer made only a handful of films but, like say Kubrick or Lynch, he seems to have arrived from another place and delivered films unlike any of his contemporaries. His style is pared to the bone which gives the stories an emotional rawness and moral clarity. Ordet, like much of his work, deals with ideas of faith and duty and our struggle to comprehend them.
Worth Another Look:
Play Misty For Me (Friday 30th 11.00 ITV4)
Clint Eastwood’s directorial debut seems, at first, like a standard Fatal Attraction-like thriller, as Eastwood plays a Radio DJ who is terrorised by an obsessed fan. But it’s more interesting for the way that Eastwood chips away at his own macho screen image and gives us a glimpse at some of the darkness that lies behind it. A theme he would return to in films like Tightrope and Unforgiven. Not the usual preening self-regard that you often get when a big Hollywood star manages to get behind the camera.
One for the slackers:
Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines (Monday 26th 12.35pm Channel 4)
Not, by any stretch of the imagination, a classic of modern cinema. But, if you find yourself at a loose end on a Monday afternoon, then put off those little jobs that you haven’t quite got round to for yet another day, put the kettle on and cosy up for some sweet nostalgia. Ronald Searle’s pitch perfect title illustrations kick the whole thing off and who can resist Terry Thomas’s gap-toothed grimace, as he shakes his fist at the sky and yelps “Blast those rotters!” one more time?
Guilty Pleasure:
The Matrix (Thursday 29th 11.15pm ITV2)
The Highlander sequels were all a bit of a damp squib after the fun of the first, and we all know of the chasm that lies between the overly digital Star Wars prequels and the carefree originals, but I think The Matrix wins my prize for the most jarring drop in quality and enjoyment between the original and the follow up. The first redefined the action movie for another decade and the story’s romp through ideas of reality and technology is every bit fleet of foot as its star’s supercharged kung fu. Ignore the dreary stodginess and cod philosophy of the rest of the trilogy and enjoy once more the superbly staged action of this sci-fi classic. Keanu Reeves found his perfect role as the Zen-like Neo who just lets the craziness wash over him with the odd perfectly timed “Whoah!”