Tuesday 30th October
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Film4 Listings for Tuesday 30th October

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11:00
'Pimpernel' Smith (Film)
Leslie Howard directs and stars in this wartime morale booster based on Baroness Orczy's novel The Scarlet Pimpernel. Howard plays mild-mannered archaeologist Horatio Smith who, under the guise of searching for Aryan artefacts near the Swiss border, smuggles refugees from the Nazis to safety. But his most dangerous rescue takes him to Berlin, to save a young girl who has been forced to help the Germans find information that will accidentally betray Smith's organisation. Can he spirit her to safety from under the nose of his Gestapo adversary General Von Graum?
Director: Leslie Howard
Starring: Leslie Howard, Francis L. Sullivan, Mary Morris, Hugh McDermott, Raymond Huntley, Manning Whiley
(Black and White, Subtitles, 1941, U, 4 Star)


13:20
The Conqueror (Film)
Dick Powell's historical epic, Howard Hughes' final movie as a producer, stars John Wayne as Temujin, later Genghis Khan, the feared Mongol leader. The film charts his rise to power and his love for the beautiful kidnapped Tartar princess Bortai, who first despises him and then falls for him. The exteriors were shot in the deserts of Utah, which were used for nuclear testing; of the 220 crew, over 90, including Wayne, Hayward and Powell, subsequently contracted cancer.
Director: Dick Powell
Starring: John Wayne, Susan Hayward, Pedro Armendariz Jr., Agnes Moorehead, Thomas Gomez, John Hoyt
(Widescreen, Subtitles, 1956, PG, 2 Star)


15:30
A Town Called Panic (Animation)
A feature-length version of Belgian animators Vincent Patar and Stephane Aubier's kids' show Panique au village, which concerns the everyday adventures of three housemates living in a very small village. The principal characters are plastic toys called Cowboy and Indian, who share their home with a talking horse called... Horse. The 'human' duo don't possess the sharpest of intellects and spend most of their time squabbling, while Horse's days are largely spent homemaking and keeping the other two in line.
(Subtitles, Subtitled, In French with English Subtitles, Widescreen, PG)


17:00
Fantastic Four (Film)
Tim Story's action fantasy stars Ioan Gruffudd, Michael Chiklis, Jessica Alba and Chris Evans as Reed Richards, Ben Grimm, Sue Storm and Johnny Storm, four astronauts sent to investigate a cosmic radiation disturbance. Caught by the storm's effects before they can erect safety shields, each of them fi$$$ their bodies transformed, with superhuman effect: Richards becomes the super-elastic Mr Fantastic; Grimm, the super strong Thing; Sue, the Invisible Woman; and Johnny, the Human Torch. At first they revel in their powers to prevent death and disaster, but they are soon drawn into battle with Victor von Doom, who sponsored their experiments and space exploration. Exposure to the same radiation storm transformed him into Dr Doom, a metallic creature who can manipulate electricity and wants to use his power to destroy the Fantastic Four and rule the world. Edited for language and violence.
Director: Tim Story
Starring: Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis, Julian McMahon, Hamish Linklater
(Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described, 2005, PG, 3 Star)


19:00
Eragon (Film)
Stefen Fangmeier's action-packed fantasy film is set in a medieval-like society ruled by the despotic Galbatorix, abetted by his henchman Durza. Galbatorix has exterminated the fabled Dragon Riders who threatened his reign, but a teenage boy, Eragon, discovers a surviving egg from which hatches the dragon Saphira. Unable to control her as she grows, Eragon fi$$$ guidance from village layabout Brom, who reveals himself to be the last of the Dragon Riders. The three raise a rebel army to topple Galbatorix but, at the same time, Eragon and Saphira must rescue princess Arya from Galbatorix's evil clutches.
Director: Stefen Fangmeier
Starring: Edward Speleers, Jeremy Irons, Sienna Guillory, Robert Carlyle, John Malkovich, Garrett Hedlund
(Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described, 2006, PG, 2 Star)




21:00
Fracture (Film)
Anthony Hopkins, Ryan Gosling and David Strathairn star in Gregory Hoblit's twist-filled legal drama. When top airplane engineer Ted Crawford discovers that his wife has been cheating on him he takes a devastatingly direct route to revenge: he drives home and shoots his errant spouse in the face. He then waits for the police to turn up and confesses to the crime. With his wife in a coma, Crawford is arrested and enters the justice system. It should, of course, be the simplest prosecution ever. And lawyer Willy Beachum can be forgiven for thinking that his last case as a criminal attorney will be a doddle. However, once in court, Crawford, representing himself, proceeds to tear apart the ample evidence that's stacked against him. Can he possibly get away with his crime?
Director: Gregory Hoblit
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Ryan Gosling, David Strathairn, Rosamund Pike, Embeth Davidtz, Billy Burke
(Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described, 2007, 15, 3 Star)


23:10
District 13: Ultimatum (Film)
Writer-producer Luc Besson's Parkour action-adventure sequel, this time with director Patrick Alessandrin at the helm, again features sequence after sequence of stunning set-pieces in which the principal actors jump, bounce and seemingly fly over and around various architectural obstacles. Three years have gone by since Leito and Damien ended gangster Taha Bemamud's stranglehold over their walled-off district, and also prevented the French authorities from detonating a massive bomb there.
Director: Patrick Alessandrin
Starring: David Belle, Cyril Raffaelli, Philippe Torreton, Daniel Duval, Elodie Yung, MC Jean Gab'1
(Subtitles, Subtitled, In French with English Subtitles, Widescreen, 2009, 15, 3 Star)


01:05
Che (Film)
Benicio del Toro, Franka Potente and Rodrigo Santoro star in the conclusion of Steven Soderbergh's convincingly realistic, epic two-part biopic of the Argentinian revolutionary Ernesto Guevara. Whereas Part One concentrated on Che's rise to fame through his central involvement in the Cuban revolution, Soderbergh now turns his clinical attention to Guevara's downfall a decade later. It's 1967 and Guevara is determined to lead Bolivia to socialist government. Though he manages to easily gain access to the country, using an almost comically unlikely disguise, his previous success is fated not to be repeated. Soderbergh catalogues the many small failures - from a lack of reliable support from the peasantry, through to medical crises, basic ineptitude and the military wising up to his guerrilla tactics - that push Guevara's enterprise slowly but surely towards his infamous end in the Bolivian mountains.
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Starring: Julia Ormond, Benicio Del Toro, Oscar Isaac, Pablo Guevara, Franklin Diaz, Armando Suarez Cobian
(Repeat, Widescreen, Subtitles, Part 2, Black and White, 2008, 15, 4 Star)

Thursday 1st November
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Film4 Listings for Thursday 1st November

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11:00
Tulpan (Film)
Sergei Dvortsevoy's amazing Cannes-winning comedy drama is set on Kazakhstan's bleak Hunger Steppe where Asa, a young sailor recently discharged from the Russian Navy, is living in a yurt with his sister Samal and her family. He is determined to become a shepherd and to marry a local woman but the only available single woman is Tulpan, who turns him down because his ears are too big. Can Asa change her mind and can he and Samal halt the increase in stillborn lambs in their flock?
Director: Sergei Dvortsevoy
Starring: Tolepbergen Baisakalov, Ondas Besikbasov, Samal Esljamova, Askhat Kuchencherekov, Bereke Turganbayev
(Widescreen, Subtitles, In Kazakh and Russian with English Subtitles, 2008, 12, 4 Star)


13:00
The Electric Horseman (Film)
Light comedy about a former champion rodeo rider hired to promote a breakfast cereal who takes off on the $12 million horse condemned to share his degrading assignment. What pushes him over the edge is the discovery that the animal is being pumped with dope to keep it calm. As he heads into the desert in protest, a female reporter hungry for a scoop gives chase.
Director: Sydney Pollack
Starring: Robert Redford, Jane Fonda, Valerie Perrine, Willie Nelson, John Saxon, Nicolas Coster
(Widescreen, Subtitles, 1979, PG, 3 Star)


15:20
Cocoon: The Return (Film)
Daniel Petric rises to the challenge of directing this sequel to Ron Howard's successful original. Those who chose immortality with the Antareans return with the aliens. The visitors are back to rescue a cocoon that was found on the ocean floor and is now the subject of scientific investigation, while the immortal old folk are back to visit growing gra$$$ons and ageing frie$$$. Once again, Don Ameche, Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn - as Arthur Selwyn, Alma Finley and Joseph Finley respectively - steal the film, but new face Elaine Strich, as Ruby Steinberg, the hotel owner the others try to fix up with stay-behind Bernard Lefkowitz, is also a delight. As the two plots merge, can the Antareans rescue their friend, and will the immortals return to the stars or stay on Earth to grow old and die?
Director: Daniel Petrie
Starring: Don Ameche, Wilford Brimley, Courteney Cox, Hume Cronyn, Jack Gilford, Steve Guttenberg
(Edited for Language, Subtitles, 1988, PG, 2 Star)


17:40
Australia (Film)
Director Baz Luhrmann offers a western-cum-war-adventure-cum-romance hybrid that's set in the Australian outback and stars Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. It is 1939 and Lady Sarah Ashley has travelled halfway round the world to persuade her husband to sell his cattle station and return back home to Blighty. But she hasn't anticipated the primitive realities of life in northern Australia, nor has her upbringing prepared her for an encounter with the likes of the rough and ready Drover who is instructed to chaperone her from Darwin to the ranch. But the pair are fated to become much more closely acquainted than either could have imagined. The plot also encompasses the lot of the region's Aboriginal people, via the plight of local lad Nullah, and the first Japanese attacks on the northern territories.
Director: Baz Luhrmann
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Brandon Walters, Bryan Brown, David Wenham, Jacek Koman
(Edited for Language, Widescreen, Subtitles, 2008, 12, 4 Star)


21:00
Punch-Drunk Love (Film)
Adam Sandler and Emily Watson star in this touching, gently quirky romantic comedy from director Paul Thomas Anderson. Emotionally fragile after a lifetime's persistent bullying from his many sisters, bathroom fittings salesman Barry Egan prefers to keep relationships at arm's length. Instead he obsesses over collecting coupons he can trade for air miles, occasionally lets his volatile temper get the better of him and makes do with calls to a telephone sex line. That it is until Lena Leonard enters his life. He's as surprised as anyone when this beautiful, caring woman reciprocates his feelings for her. But she does and it starts to look as though Egan's life may have reached a turning point.
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Starring: Adam Sandler, Emily Watson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Luis Guzman, Jason Andrews, Don McManus
(Widescreen, Subtitles, 2002, 15, 4 Star)




22:50
Hard Eight (Film)
Paul Thomas Anderson's drama stars Philip Baker Hall as Sydney who picks up John, a drifter, at a coffee shop. John needs $6000 to bury his mother, Sydney is an itinerant gambler happy to teach him ways to lightly scam casinos so they don't suspect anything. Two years pass and the pair are still operating, and John is now in a relationship with waitress Clementine and also befriended a shady security advisor Jimmy, whom Sydney instinctively mistrusts. As the four individuals' lives intersect, Anderson observes their characters through circumstances which, as they affect one, begin to affect all.
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Starring: Philip Baker Hall, John C. Reilly, Gwyneth Paltrow, Samuel L. Jackson, F. William Parker, Philip Seymour Hoffman
(Widescreen, Subtitles, 1996, 18, 4 Star)


00:45
M*A*S*H (Film)
Irreverent surgeons Hawkeye Pierce and Duke Forrest are drafted during the Korean War and assigned to the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital. As the war rages on, Hawkeye and Duke clearly outshine the other members of the 4077th, including their tentmate, the deeply religious Frank Burns.
Director: Robert Altman
Starring: Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Tom Skerritt, Sally Kellerman, Robert Duvall, Roger Bowen
(Subtitles, 1970, 15, 5 Star)

Saturday 3rd November
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Film4 Listings for Saturday 3rd November

Listings: all day morning afternoon evening late night


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11:00
The 39 Steps (Film)
Kenneth More stars as Richard Hannay in the second film adaptation of John Buchan's ripping espionage yarn. It's more than a simple remake of Alfred Hitchcock's original 1935 movie, played this time for light-hearted excitement rather than suspense. And it certainly fulfils its ambition, as Hannay gamely romps around the Scottish countryside in a 48-hour dash to save the day by cracking an international plot to smuggle defence plans out of Britain.
Director: Ralph L. Thomas
Starring: Kenneth More, Taina Elg, Brenda de Banzie, Barry Jones, Reginald Beckwith, Faith Brook
(Subtitles, Audio Described, 1959, U, 3 Star)


13:00
Cocoon: The Return (Film)
Daniel Petric rises to the challenge of directing this sequel to Ron Howard's successful original. Those who chose immortality with the Antareans return with the aliens. The visitors are back to rescue a cocoon that was found on the ocean floor and is now the subject of scientific investigation, while the immortal old folk are back to visit growing gra$$$ons and ageing frie$$$. Once again, Don Ameche, Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn - as Arthur Selwyn, Alma Finley and Joseph Finley respectively - steal the film, but new face Elaine Strich, as Ruby Steinberg, the hotel owner the others try to fix up with stay-behind Bernard Lefkowitz, is also a delight. As the two plots merge, can the Antareans rescue their friend, and will the immortals return to the stars or stay on Earth to grow old and die?
Director: Daniel Petrie
Starring: Don Ameche, Wilford Brimley, Courteney Cox, Hume Cronyn, Jack Gilford, Steve Guttenberg
(Subtitles, 1988, PG, 2 Star)


15:15
Robots (Film)
An animated coming-of-age-tale from the people responsible for Ice Age. Chris Wedge's film features Rodney Copperbottom, an inventor who travels to Robot City to sell his ideas to the tycoon Big Weld. On arrival in the metropolis, he's befriended by Fender, who acts as his guide to the town and its mores. Rodney quickly fi$$$ that even a society of robots isn't interested in the perfection he's offering, especially when the need for perpetual upgrades results in a constant flow of profits. But, with Fender's help and the love of Cappy, he decides to confront the Big Weld and attempt to change society.
Director: Chris Wedge, Carlos Saldanha
Starring: Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Mel Brooks, Lucille Bliss, Paula Abdul, Terry Bradshaw, Drew Carey
(Widescreen, Subtitles, 2005, U, 3 Star)


17:00
New in Town (Film)
Rene Zellweger and Harry Connick Jr star in this romantic comedy from Danish director Jonas Elmer. Ambitous food company executive Lucy Hill is in two mi$$$ when she's assigned to 'streamline' an underperforming factory in snowbound Minnesota. On the one hand it definitely offers the opportunity for another promotion, while on the other she'll have to abandon her beloved, and warm, Miami. But ambition wins out, and it's not long before she's in New Ulm, where she gets a frosty reception from the locals, who unsurprisingly aren't happy that she's arrived to make a number of them redundant. It's not just the general unfriendliness that she must bear, she also has to deal with single parent Ted Mitchell, the union boss out to save as many of the plant's employees as possible. They don't get off to a great start, but as time goes by their attitudes do begin to thaw.
Starring: Renee Zellweger, Harry Connick Jr., Siobhan Fallon, J.K. Simmons, Mike O'Brien, Frances Conroy
(Widescreen, Subtitles, 2009, 12, 3 Star)


18:50
The Devil Wears Prada (Film)
In David Frankel's whip-smart comedy Anne Hathaway stars as Andy Sachs, a would-be journalist from Ohio who la$$$ a job as assistant to the assistant of Miranda Priestly, editor of the successful fashion magazine Runway and an egomaniac in immaculate clothing. Andy soon learns that her personal life and her partner Nate run a distant second to Miranda's whims. But a mutual respect slowly grows between the two women.
Director: David Frankel
Starring: Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, Stanley Tucci, Simon Baker, Adrian Grenier
(Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described, 2006, PG, 3 Star)




21:00
Sex and the City (Film)
Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda return in this comedy drama set four years after the finale of the hugely successful TV series. All the key characters are present and correct in the first big-screen version of the franchise, directed by Michael Patrick King. Unsurprisingly, things have moved on for Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda. Samantha is living in LA to be close to her now-famous actor lover Smith, but she's far from happy. Miranda is juggling the competing dema$$$ on her day-to-day life, and her world is rocked when Steve makes a surprise confession. And, while out looking for a new apartment, Big pops the question to a surprised Carrie. But, this being Sex and the City, there are plenty of plot twists for each of the characters before the credits roll.
Director: Michael Patrick King
Starring: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon, Chris Noth, Candice Bergen
(Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described, 2008, 15, 3 Star)


23:45
The Beast Stalker (Film)
Dante Lam's full-on Hong Kong action thriller stars Nicholas Tse, Jingchu Zhang and Nick Cheung. Sergeant Tong's attempt to arrest a fleeing criminal goes spectacularly wrong, ending in a massive pile-up and innocent lives lost in the gunshots exchanged between the police and villains. The incident leaves Tong guilt-wracked and eager to do anything he can to help the principal victim's family. However, the trial of criminal at the root of the chaos leads to a kidnapping that once again propels Tong on a frantic mission, and this time there's no room for error.
Director: Dante Lam
Starring: Nicholas Tse, Jingchu Zhang, Nick Cheung, Kai Chi Liu, Ga-Leung Chan, Kim-Fai Che
(Subtitles, Subtitled, In Cantonese with English Subtitles, Widescreen, 2008, 15, 3 Star)


02:00
The Descent (Film)
Six women arrange a caving expedition to help one of them, Sarah overcome a personal tragedy. But once they are down in the dark, they realise that not only are they not alone, their 'companions' aren't necessarily human.
Director: Neil Marshall
Starring: Shauna MacDonald, Natalie Jackson Mendoza, Alex Reid, Saskia Mulder, MyAnna Buring, Nora-Jane Noone
(Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described, 2005, 18, 4 Star)

Monday 5th November
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Film4 Listings for Monday 5th November

Listings: all day morning afternoon evening late night


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11:00
The Desperadoes (Film)
Charles Vidor's western stars Randolph Scott as Steve Upton, the sheriff of a small Utah town, and Glenn Ford as Cheyenne Rogers, his friend and a reformed outlaw. But the bank is robbed when Rogers is in town and he's arrested. Convinced of his pal's innocence, Upton springs him from jail and the pair set out to find the guilty parties, who may be closer to home than they thought.
Director: Charles Vidor
Starring: Randolph Scott, Claire Trevor, Glenn Ford, Evelyn Keyes, Edgar Buchanan, Guinn 'Big Boy' Williams
(Subtitles, 1943, U, 3 Star)


12:45
Blossoms in the Dust (Film)
Powerful tearjerker about Edna Gladney, a woman who set up a children's orphanage in Texas after losing her husband and child and discovering how badly the law treats children who are without parents. Edna makes it her life's mission to place orphaned children in good family homes.
Director: Mervyn LeRoy
Starring: Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Felix Bressart, Marsha Hunt, Fay Holden, Samuel S. Hi$$$
(Subtitles, 1941, PG, 3 Star)


14:45
Guns at Batasi (Film)
Richard Attenborough won a BAFTA for his role in John Guillermin's drama as RSM Lauderdale, martinet of the sergeants' mess of a British army garrison in one of Britain's last remaining African colonies. When a coup d'etat is declared by British-educated Lt Boniface, the British officers, including Lt Col John Deal, find themselves caught in a tricky political situation. But for someone like Lauderdale, with his entrenched values and beliefs, duty calls before any compromise, as he prepares to defend those for whom he is responsible.
Director: John Guillermin
Starring: Richard Attenborough, Jack Hawkins, Flora Robson, John Leyton, Mia Farrow, Cecil Parker
(Black and White, Widescreen, Subtitles, 1964, PG, 3 Star)


16:50
The Man in the Iron Mask (Film)
Richard Chamberlain stars in the dual role as the wicked Louis XIV of France and his twin brother Philippe, imprisoned and with his identity hidden behind an iron mask in Mike Newell's film, based on Alexandre Dumas's novel. However, the ageing D'Artagnan learns of the deception and, getting back together with his old musketeer comrades, concocts a plan to restore the rightful King to the throne.
Director: Mike Newell
Starring: Richard Chamberlain, Patrick McGoohan, Louis Jourdan, Jenny Agutter, Ian Holm, Ralph Richardson
(Subtitles, Made For TV, 1976, PG, 3 Star)


18:55
The Wedding Planner (Film)
In Adam Shankman's delightful romantic comedy, Jennifer Lopez plays Mary Fiore, California's top wedding planner. But she's too busy organising other people's happiness to sort out her own. Until, that is, she has a chance meeting with Steve Edison, aka Mr Right. Unfortunately he's the groom of her latest client, Fran Donnolly. And, as the big day looms, so their feelings start to interfere with the plans.
Director: Adam Shankman
Starring: Jennifer Lopez, Matthew McConaughey, Bridgette Wilson, Justin Chambers, Judy Greer, Alex Rocco
(Subtitles, 2001, PG, 2 Star)




21:00
The Illusionist (Film)
Neil Burger's period mystery-romance starring Edward Norton, Jessica Biel and Paul Giamatti. In 1900s Vienna there's only one show in town - and that's the one featuring mesmeric entertainer Eisenheim. His magical abilities are wowing the crowds, with an act that ranges from mere tricks to an apparent capacity to raise the dead. However, he has also long been in love with Duchess Sophie von Teschen, which puts him in dangerous competition with the violent, scheming Crown Prince Leopold. And, after Eisenheim uses one of his performances as an opportunity to humiliate the Crown Prince, Leopold jumps at the opportunity to have the magician arrested by Inspector Uhl on grou$$$ of necromancy. It's only then, during Eisenheim's interrogation, that we learn the full story of his life and the political plot upon which he's stumbled.
Director: Neil Burger
Starring: Edward Norton, Paul Giamatti, Jessica Biel, Rufus Sewell, Eddie Marsan, Jake Wood
(Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described, 2006, PG, 4 Star)


23:10
Tiny Furniture (Film)
Writer/director Lena Dunham makes her feature debut and stars with real-life family members Laurie Simmons and Grace Dunham in this smart comedy-drama about a film school graduate struggling to match the success of the rest of her family and frie$$$. Full.
(Widescreen, Subtitles, 2010, 15)


01:05
Letters From Iwo Jima (Film)
The second in Clint Eastwood's diptych of films set during the bloody battle for the Pacific island of Iwo Jima in the Second World War. This time the story is told from the Japanese occupiers' point of view. Lt General Kuribayashi is charged with defending the island, but fi$$$ his fellow officers are more keen to commit suicide at the slightest hint of failure than fight, while the troops would rather be going home than defending their positions to the last. As visceral as Flags of Our Fathers, this second film is just as human, with Eastwood refusing to demonise the Allies' enemy.
Director: Clint Eastwood
Starring: Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Ryo Kase, Shido Nakamura, Hiroshi Watanabe
(Widescreen, Subtitles, Subtitled, In Japanese with English Subtitles, 2006, 15, 4 Star)

Wednesday 7th November
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Film4 Listings for Wednesday 7th November

Listings: all day morning afternoon evening late night


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11:00
McLintock! (Film)
John Wayne stars as cattle baron McLintock, with Maureen O'Hara as Kate in this comedy western adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew. Set in the eponymous town of McLintock, the local cattle ranchers are in hot dispute with newcomer homesteaders.
Director: Andrew V. McLaglen
Starring: John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Patrick Wayne, Stefanie Powers, Jack Kruschen, Chill Wills
(Subtitles, 1963, U, 4 Star)


13:40
Tora! Tora! Tora! (Film)
Oscar-winning, super-realistic wartime drama portraying the bombing of Pearl Harbor from both the American and Japanese perspectives. With Joseph Cotten, Martin Balsam, Jason Robards, So Yamamura, Tatsuya Mihashi and Takahiro Tamura. Directed by Richard Fleischer, Toshio Masuda and Kinji Fukasaku. In English, and Japanese with English subtitles.
Director: Richard Fleischer, Kinji Fukasaku
Starring: Martin Balsam, So Yamamura, Joseph Cotten, Tatsuya Mihashi, E.G. Marshall, Takahiro Tamura
(Subtitles, 1970, U, 4 Star)


16:30
The Cowboys (Film)
Mark Rydell's western stars John Wayne as an ageing Montana rancher whose regular ha$$$ desert him for a gold rush. So, with little other choice, he hires 11 boys to help him drive his 1200 head of cattle 400 miles over tough terrain to the railhead. It's a journey that pushes each of the drovers to their limit.
Director: Mark Rydell
Starring: John Wayne, Roscoe Lee Browne, Bruce Dern, Colleen Dewhurst, Alfred Barker Jr., Nicolas Beauvy
(Subtitles, 1972, PG, 2 Star)


19:00
New in Town (Film)
Rene Zellweger and Harry Connick Jr star in this romantic comedy from Danish director Jonas Elmer. Ambitous food company executive Lucy Hill is in two mi$$$ when she's assigned to 'streamline' an underperforming factory in snowbound Minnesota. On the one hand it definitely offers the opportunity for another promotion, while on the other she'll have to abandon her beloved, and warm, Miami. But ambition wins out, and it's not long before she's in New Ulm, where she gets a frosty reception from the locals, who unsurprisingly aren't happy that she's arrived to make a number of them redundant. It's not just the general unfriendliness that she must bear, she also has to deal with single parent Ted Mitchell, the union boss out to save as many of the plant's employees as possible. They don't get off to a great start, but as time goes by their attitudes do begin to thaw.
Starring: Renee Zellweger, Harry Connick Jr., Siobhan Fallon, J.K. Simmons, Mike O'Brien, Frances Conroy
(Edited for Language, Widescreen, Subtitles, 2009, 12, 3 Star)


21:00
Daredevil (Film)
Mark Steven Johnson's violent superhero fantasy-morality play stars Ben Affleck as Matt Murdock, a guilt-wracked blind vigilante with a penchant for red leather. During his childhood, an accident involving toxic waste blinded Murdock, but it also enhanced his other senses and gave him a kind of 'radar vision'. The incident was partially caused by his discovery that his father was involved with the Mob. Now, the NSFW Murdock, spurred partly by Catholic guilt over his role in his father's death, has dedicated this life to fighting crime and protecting the innocent. By day Murdock's a defence lawyer, but by night he dispenses summary justice to criminals who've escaped the courts.
Director: Mark Steven Johnson
Starring: Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Colin Farrell, Michael Clarke Duncan, Jon Favreau, Scott Terra
(Widescreen, Subtitles, 2003, 15, 2 Star)




23:05
Kingpin (Film)
Hilarious and reliably tasteless comedy from the Farrelly brothers, starring Woody Harrelson as Roy Munson, a hapless ex-tenpin bowling champion who strikes it lucky when he unearths a potential new champion, Ishmael Broog, in the Amish community. Bill Murray co-stars as Ernie McCracken, a conniving bowling rival.
Director: Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly
Starring: Woody Harrelson, Randy Quaid, Vanessa Angel, Bill Murray, Chris Elliott
(Subtitles, 1996, 12, 3 Star)


01:20
Silent Light (Film)
Carlos Reygadas's Cannes-winning film is set in north Mexico's Mennonite community. Johan is a hard-working farmer, married to Esther but having an affair with single woman Marianne. However, the adulterous affair is seen as a matter for the three principals to somehow cope with - until tragedy strikes, forcing a painful resolution.
Director: Carlos Reygadas
Starring: Cornelio Wall, Miriam Toews, Maria Pankratz, Elizabeth Fehr, Jacobo Klassen, Peter Wall
(In German/French/Spanish/English with English Subtitles, Widescreen, 2007, 15, 4 Star)

Friday 9th November
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Film4 Listings for Friday 9th November

Listings: all day morning afternoon evening late night


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11:00
The Gunfighter (Film)
Gregory Peck stars in Henry King's noir western as Jimmy Ringo, an ageing gunslinger who rides into a strange town. He's there to find his estranged wife and son and maybe settle down. However, wherever he goes there's always some young buck out to make a name for himself by outgunning the notorious Jimmy Ringo. But little do Ringo's would-be usurpers realise that, if successful, they would then be landed with the awful curse of being reputedly the fastest draw. The film was to influence countless westerns, most notably High Noon, released two years later.
Director: Henry King
Starring: Gregory Peck, Helen Westcott, Millard Mitchell, Jean Parker, Karl Malden, Skip Homeier
(Black and White, Subtitles, 1950, U, 4 Star)


12:40
Merrill's Marauders (Film)
In his last film, Jeff Chandler takes on the title role as General Frank Merrill, leading his troops behind Japanese lines in Second World War Burma, through harsh jungle terrain, and frequent skirmishes with their enemy, to a final showdown at the strategically important Myitkyina. Samuel Fuller's drama is based on the true story of General Merrill and his troops: the 5307th Composite Unit.
Director: Samuel Fuller
Starring: Jeff Chandler, Ty Hardin, Peter Brown
(Widescreen, Subtitles, 1962, U, 3 Star)


14:35
Dakota Incident (Film)
In Lewis R Foster's western, which is enhanced by the spectacular photography of Ernest Haller, Dale Robertson plays bank robber John Banner, who decides to go straight. Pitching up in the small town of Christian Flats, he offers to drive the stagecoach to Laramie, despite the last one returning with the driver and passengers killed by Cheyenne warriors. Aboard the coach is a mix of the good and the bad, including bank teller John Carter, suspected of one of Banner's robberies, showgirl Amy Clarke and pro-Native American Senator Blakely. Ambushed by the Cheyenne, the group must fight for their lives.
Director: Lewis R. Foster
Starring: Linda Darnell, Dale Robertson, John Lund, Ward Bond, Regis Toomey, Skip Homeier
(Subtitles, 1956, U, 2 Star)


16:25
The One That Got Away (Film)
The true story of the only German prisoner of war captured in Britain who managed to escape and get back to Germany. Roy Baker's film gave German actor Hardy Kruger his first role in a British film as Oberleutnant Franz von Werra of the Luftwaffe, captured when he crashed his Messerschmitt in 1940. Taken before an interrogating officer, he bet a magnum of champagne against ten cigarettes that he would escape in six months and made two audacious attempts to get away, succeeding at the third, when, as part of a group of prisoners being transferred to Canada, he fled from a train and crossed the St Lawrence River into the then neutral United States. The real von Werra eventually reached Germany, returned to flying, and was credited with downing eight more planes before being killed in action.
Director: Roy Ward Baker
Starring: Hardy Kruger, Michael Goodliffe, Colin Gordon, Alec McCowen, Terence Alexander, Jack Gwillim
(Black and White, Subtitles, 1958, 12, 4 Star)


18:40
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (Film)
Nicholas Meyer, who directed Wrath of Khan, returns for the last film featuring the 'old' crew. The Klingon Empire is falling apart and they want to sue for peace. Kirk comma$$$ the USS Enterprise, which is sent to escort the race's representatives to a peace conference. But when an unprotected Klingon craft is attacked, Kirk and Dr McCoy are placed on trial for murder. Spock, now in command, has to prove their innocence by finding the traitor aboard the ship.
Director: Nicholas Meyer
Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols
(Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described, 1991, 12, 4 Star)




20:50
Attack the Block Special (Entertainment)
First-time director Joe Cornish and his cast of young actors talk about making the fast-paced, funny and south London-set alien-invasion thriller Attack the Block.
(Repeat, Subtitles)


21:00
Attack The Block (Film)
Film4's British Connection kicks off with Joe Cornish's directorial debut, part-funded and developed by Film4, a much-praised sci-fi horror-comedy in which extra-terrestrials pick the wrong part of London as the 'beachhead' for their invasion. Moses and his crew aren't the most obvious of heroes - they open the movie mugging Sam, a nurse on her way home after a long day caring for others, and their dreams are limited to getting rich from drug dealing. However, just as they have robbed the terrified Sam of her valuables, an alien invader drops from the sky - and is perfunctorily dispatched by Moses. But that was just the first of the creatures and, unlike the rest, it was relatively benign and easy to kill. Now, using the cover of Guy Fawkes' Night, its vicious, blue-fanged compatriots rain down upon the south London council estate, with vengeance on their mi$$$.
Director: Joe Cornish
Starring: Nicholas Frost, Jodie Whittaker, Luke Treadaway, John Boyega, Terry Notary, Joey Ansah
(Premiere, Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described, 2011, 15, 3 Star)


22:45
Scene Stealers Winners (Entertainment)
A chance to see the winning entrants to Film4.0's Scene Stealers competition, which challenged budding filmmakers to recreate their favourite scenes from Film4 productions.
(Subtitles)


22:55
Dead Man's Shoes (Film)
Shane Meadows' thriller is set in a small, bleak Derbyshire town. After seven years in the army, Richard returns to find out what happened to his beloved brother Anthony, who latched on to the local drugs cartel and became the butt of their cruelty. As Richard begins to take revenge against the gang, led by Sonny, the story of Anthony's life and fate unfolds through flashback and revelations.
Director: Shane Meadows
Starring: Paddy Considine, Gary Stretch, Toby Kebbell, Jo Hartley, Seamus O'Neill, Stuart Wolfenden
(Subtitles, 2004, 18, 4 Star)


00:40
Le Donk and Scor-Zay-Zee (Film)
Shane Meadows' mockumentary about an ageing roadie vicariously seeking fame may be played straight, but is frequently hilarious, and has its touching moments too. Paddy Considine stars as Nottingham roadie Le Donk, a muso-turned-promoter who's aiming to propel his protege, local white rapper Scor-zay-zee, to stardom via a support slot to the Arctic Monkeys. Le Donk also has to sort out his personal life; his pregnant girlfriend Olivia has had enough of him and is seeking comfort in the arms of a new beau. And is Scor-zay-zee really happy to have a Grade A idiot as his manager?
Director: Shane Meadows
Starring: Paddy Considine, Dean Palinczuk, Olivia Colman, Richard Graham, Seamus O'Neill, Nigel Reeks
(Premiere, Widescreen, Subtitles, 2009, 15, 3 Star)




02:10
Where's the Money, Ronnie? (Drama)
Shane Meadows' award-winning short that takes a comic look at a bungled heist. While Ronnie blames everyone else, everyone else blames Ronnie.
(Repeat, Black and White, Subtitles)


02:25
Small Time (Film)
Shane Meadows' assured directorial feature debut is set in an anonymous Nottingham suburb where a group of low-level criminals - led by Jumbo and including Malc, Willy and Bets - scrape a living by petty thieving. Their latest haul, a few crates of dog food, doesn't interest their fence Lenny, but he does offer them a money-making scam. Also involved are Ruby and Kate, Jumbo and Malc's girlfrie$$$, but Kate wants out and also wants the abused Ruby to come with her. Will Malc's loyalty lie with Kate or the gang?
Director: Shane Meadows
Starring: Tim Cunningham, Dominic Dillon, Leon Hammond, Mat Hand, Jimmy Hynd, Gena Kawecka
(Subtitles, 1996, 18, 3 Star)

Saturday 10th November
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Film4 Listings for Saturday 10th November

Listings: all day morning afternoon evening late night


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11:00
Blossoms in the Dust (Film)
Powerful tearjerker about Edna Gladney, a woman who set up a children's orphanage in Texas after losing her husband and child and discovering how badly the law treats children who are without parents. Edna makes it her life's mission to place orphaned children in good family homes.
Director: Mervyn LeRoy
Starring: Greer Garson, Walter Pidgeon, Felix Bressart, Marsha Hunt, Fay Holden, Samuel S. Hi$$$
(Subtitles, 1941, PG, 3 Star)


13:00
Star Trek: Generations (Film)
David Carson's film, the seventh in the Star Trek feature film series, opens with Captain James T Kirk leading a rescue mission to save refugees on a planet threatened by a mysterious energy ribbon. But in the process Kirk is lost, presumed dead. Eight decades later, Captain Jean-Luc Picard leads his crew of the new Enterprise on a similar mission, this time rescuing a group of scientists from a Romulan attack. Among them is Dr Solian Soran, an alien who is searching for the Nexus, a place where neither time nor reality has meaning. As Soran's actions place the Enterprise in danger, it may be only the combined talents of her past and present captains that can save the ship.
Director: David Carson
Starring: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, Gates McFadden
(Edited for Language, Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described, 1994, PG, 3 Star)


15:15
Carry on Sergeant (Film)
The first of the Carry On movies was inspired by RF Delderfield's novel The Bull Boys. William Hartnell plays Sergeant Grimshawe, the retiring army training sergeant faced with possibly the worst group of national service recruits ever to have been called up, including Charlie Sage, Horace Strong, Peter Golightly and James Bailey.
Director: Gerald Thomas
Starring: William Hartnell, Shirley Eaton, Eric Barker, Dora Bryan, Bill Owen, Charles Hawtrey
(Black and White, Subtitles, Audio Described, 1958, PG, 3 Star)


16:55
The Wedding Planner (Film)
In Adam Shankman's delightful romantic comedy, Jennifer Lopez plays Mary Fiore, California's top wedding planner. But she's too busy organising other people's happiness to sort out her own. Until, that is, she has a chance meeting with Steve Edison, aka Mr Right. Unfortunately he's the groom of her latest client, Fran Donnolly. And, as the big day looms, so their feelings start to interfere with the plans.
Director: Adam Shankman
Starring: Jennifer Lopez, Matthew McConaughey, Bridgette Wilson, Justin Chambers, Judy Greer, Alex Rocco
(Subtitles, 2001, PG, 2 Star)


18:55
Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian (Film)
Shawn Levy's fantasy-adventure sequel again stars Ben Stiller and some impressive CGI effects. It's two years on from the original outing and former museum nightwatchman Larry Daley is now a successful businessman. His commercial venture has kept him so busy that he's not had time to visit his secret chums at New York's Natural History Museum. And when he does finally make it, he discovers that many of them have been packed up and sent off for storage at the Smithsonian in Washington. Then Daley gets a call from Jebediah, one of the exhibits dispatched to Washington, to say that the evil Pharaoh Kahmunrah plans to take over the Smithsonian. Obviously, Daley has no choice but to dash to the capital and help his frie$$$ to quash the megalomaniac's plans... Among those joining in with the CGI-fuelled fun are Amy Adams, Robin Williams, Steve Coogan and Ricky Gervais.
Director: Shawn Levy
Starring: Ben Stiller, Amy Adams, Owen Wilson, Hank Azaria, Robin Williams, Christopher Guest
(Widescreen, Subtitles, Audio Described, 2009, PG, 3 Star)




21:00
Shallow Grave (Film)
Danny Boyle's award-winning directorial debut tells the tale of three flatmates, one corpse and a suitcase full of money. David, Alex and Juliet are looking for someone to share their trendy Edinburgh flat, and Hugo seems ideal. But shortly after he moves in, they find him dead in bed beside a large suitcase full of cash. Should they inform the police or dispose of the body and keep the cash? They choose the latter, but there are other parties after the money who have little to do with the forces of law and order... So begins a dark and sometimes hilarious journey through death, dismemberment and dementia.
Director: Danny Boyle
Starring: Christopher Eccleston, Ewan McGregor, Kerry Fox, Ken Stott, Keith Allen
(Subtitles, 1994, 18, 5 Star)


22:50
Kill List (Film)

Director: Ben Wheatley
Starring: Neil Maskell, MyAnna Buring, Harry Simpson, Michael Smiley, Emma Fryer, Struan Rodger
(Premiere, Subtitles, 2011, 18, 4 Star)


00:40
Ben Wheatley on Kill List (Entertainment)
Maverick British filmmaker Ben Wheatley talks about his unsettling new thriller Kill List, but doesn't give away any of its dark secrets.
(Repeat, Subtitles)


00:45
Night of the Demon (Film)
Jacques Tourneur directs this classic British horror movie, an adaptation of a story by the master of the supernatural, MR James. Dana Andrews stars as Dr John Holden, an American psychologist who comes to Britain to expose a sinister secret society, but becomes dangerously involved with the cult headed by Dr Julian Karswell. The cult's members pass on runic scrips of paper to their victims, and the receiver is visited by a demon from hell; given the state of special effects of the day, this is created in truly memorable form. Andrews' performance is perhaps overshadowed by McGinnis, whose suave evil persona is chillingly convincing. Tourneur uses suggestion as much as shown horror, as he did in his seminal Cat People, and the denouement remains horrifyingly gripping even today.
Director: Jacques Tourneur
Starring: Dana Andrews, Peggy Cummins, Niall MacGinnis, Maurice Denham, Athene Seyler, Liam Redmond
(Black and White, Subtitles, 1957, 12, 4 Star)


02:40
The Guides (Arts)
A naive tourist visits a cathedral to view its paintings, only to find that it is a portal to a grotesque and disturbing realm of distorted time and space. The directorial debut of Jeremy Dyson from The League of Gentlemen.
(Repeat, Subtitles)




02:55
Loving Memory (Film)
A rare chance to see one of the late Tony Scott's earliest works, which demonstrated a subtlety not immediately associated with his more famous films. The film tells the story of an isolated brother and sister living with painful memories and a dark secret. Scott worked with cinematographer Chris Menges on Loving Memory, and the result is a beautiful darkly atmospheric film that captures the haunting atmosphere of life on the Yorkshire Moors.
Director: Tony Scott
Starring: David Pugh, Roy Evans, Rosamund Greenwood
(Subtitles, 1971, 12, 3 Star)

Monday 12th November
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Film4 Listings for Monday 12th November

Listings: all day morning afternoon evening late night


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11:00
The Edge of the World (Film)
Michael Powell's debut feature, shot on location in the Shetland Isles, is the moving story of an isolated island where the declining population are to be resettled, leading to strained frie$$$hips between those happy to leave and those wanting to stay.
Director: Michael Powell
Starring: Finlay Currie, Grant Sutherland, John Laurie, Niall MacGinnis, Eric Berry, Belle Chrystall
(Subtitles, Black and White, 1937, U)


12:30
Broken Arrow (Film)
This seminal western was one of the first films of the genre to depict Native Americans as real people rather than as tomahawk-wielding mass murderers. Set in Arizona in 1870, gold prospector Tom Jeffords is tired of the repetitive reprisal killings between settlers and the indigenous locals and plans a visit to the Apache leader, Cochise, to try and arrange a truce. But, after first being welcomed into the fold by Cochise, and even marrying the chief's daughter, old racial problems resurface.
Director: Delmer Daves
Starring: James Stewart, Jeff Chandler, Debra Paget, Basil Ruysdael, Will Geer, Joyce Mackenzie
(Subtitles, 1950, 15, 4 Star)


14:25
Scaramouche (Film)
George Sidney's swashbuckling adventure stars Stewart Granger as Andre Moreau, a young man determined to avenge the death of his friend at the hand of the Marquis de Maynes. But the Marquis is the finest swordsman in France, so, to gain the time he needs to learn to fight well enough to take him on, Moreau lays low as the clown Scaramouche. Moreau's journey to face his destiny inevitably features generous helpings of sword-fighting action, numerous cases of mistaken identity and romantic liaisons with Eleanor Parker and Janet Leigh.
Director: George Sidney
Starring: Stewart Granger, Eleanor Parker, Janet Leigh, Mel Ferrer, Henry Wilcoxon, Nina Foch
(Subtitles, 1952, U, 4 Star)


16:40
McLintock! (Film)
John Wayne stars as cattle baron McLintock, with Maureen O'Hara as Kate in this comedy western adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew. Set in the eponymous town of McLintock, the local cattle ranchers are in hot dispute with newcomer homesteaders.
Director: Andrew V. McLaglen
Starring: John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Patrick Wayne, Stefanie Powers, Jack Kruschen, Chill Wills
(Subtitles, 1963, U, 4 Star)


19:10
Post Grad (Film)
Working at her dad's luggage store wasn't what Ryden had in mind for her first job. But with her well-intentioned life plan going astray immediately after graduation - her fiercest rival got the job as assistant editor in a Los Angeles publishing house - she moves back home for a new start. Her family welcomes her return, but will their eccentricities get in the way of her dreams? And with Ryden spending more time with her sexy Brazilian neighbour, will long-time best friend Adam decide to take the offer of a place at law school on the other side of the country? Also starring Jane Lynch and Carol Burnett. Written by Kelly Fremon.
Director: Vicky Jenson
Starring: Alexis Bledel, Zach Gilford, Michael Keaton, Jane Lynch, Bobby Coleman, Carol Burnett
(Widescreen, Subtitles, 2009, 12, 3 Star)




20:50
Submarine Special (Chat Show)
Comic actor and star of The IT Crowd Richard Ayoade talks about making his debut as writer-director with the bittersweet coming-of-age story Submarine.
(Repeat, Subtitles)


21:00
Submarine (Film)
Richard Ayoade's directorial debut is an idiosyncratic coming-of-age drama about a teenage pupil navigating the often peculiar trials of his school and home life while also discovering love. At home, 15-year-old Oliver Tate has to deal with parents Jill and Lloyd's troubled marriage which comes under further threat with the arrival of her ex, Graham, a narcissistic guru. Meanwhile at school, Oliver falls for classmate Jordana Bevan. Their chemistry, and the ups and downs of their blossoming adolescent romance, is imaginatively realised, as the hormonally-driven Oliver makes ambitious plans to lose his virginity.
Director: Richard Ayoade
Starring: Noah Taylor, Paddy Considine, Craig Roberts, Yasmin Paige, Sally Hawkins, Darren Evans
(Premiere, Subtitles, 2010, 15)


22:50
Alfie (Film)
In Lewis Gilbert's swinging sixties comedy-drama, Michael Caine, in his breakthrough role, stars as Alfie Elkins, a shallow and amoral sexual hedonist whose series of amorous adventures lead eventually to loneliness. Shelley Winters, Millicent Martin, Jane Asher and Vivien Merchant star as just some of his conquests.
Director: Lewis Gilbert
Starring: Michael Caine, Shelley Winters, Millicent Martin, Julia Foster, Jane Asher, Shirley Anne Field
(Subtitles, Audio Described, 1966, 15, 4 Star)


01:05
Gee Gee (Film)
The directorial debut from Peter Straughan, whose screenwriting credits include Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Men Who Stare at Goats and How to Lose Frie$$$ and Alienate People, is a Film4-funded short drama adapted from American novelist John Cheever's 1959 short story The Scarlet Moving Van. The narrative, transplanted to modern-day Britain, concerns Gee Gee, a rowdy drunk who has just moved in to a stylish apartment block. But his neighbours don't appreciate him shattering the calm they once enjoyed. So, determined to restore their peace, the community ba$$$ together in an attempt to oust the newcomer.
Director: Peter Straughan
Starring: Elliot Cowan, David Morrissey, Morven Christie, Eva Pope
(Black and White, Subtitles, 2011)


01:25
Huge (Film)
Ben Miller's directorial debut is an adaptation of a play he co-wrote with Simon Godley and Jez Butterworth about a pair of comedians trying to make it big as a double-act. The comedy-drama stars Johnny Harris as Warren, a would-be stand-up comedian grasping shakily at the bottom rungs of his chosen career ladder. Things don't look too promising for Warren. Then, one day, while he's performing his routine, he's heckled by Clark, a disgruntled waiter, bitter at losing his girl to his boss. The two men talk after the show and Warren has the unlikely vision of the duo becoming a comedic pairing to rival the legendary Morecambe and Wise. But, as they embark on their quest for superstardom, they find the stand-up scene is a very hard nut to exploit. Also starring Thandie Newton as a tough, drug-fuelled manager, plus cameo appearances from the likes of Eddie Izzard, Ronni Ancona, Jo Brand and Alan Davies.
Director: Ben Miller
Starring: Noel Clarke, Johnny Harris, Ralph Brown, Thandie Newton, Tamsin Egerton, Michelle Ryan
(Widescreen, Subtitles, 2010, 15, 2 Star)