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| The Lady Vanishes |
Alfred Hitchcock neatly balances the thriller elements of this tale of a mysterious disappearance with a comedic tone as young socialite Iris (Margaret Lockwood) boards a train with a kindly old lady (Dame May Witty). When the older woman vanishes, Iris begins to doubt her own sanity after finding virtually everyone else aboard refuses to even acknowledge she existed but enlists the help of sparky academic Gilbert (Michael Redgrave) in the hunt. Hitchcock, as always, makes great use of his confined setting, which is stuffed to the carriage doors with fine character performances from the likes of Naunton Wayne and Basil Radford as a pair of cricketers to Philip Leaver as Italian magician Signor Doppo, somehow managing to seed in a darker mood with the lightest of touches. Read our full review
Airplane!, 11pm, Tuesday, August 16, ITV4
There's something infinitely rewatchable about Jim Abrahams and David Zucker's joke-packed parody of a disaster movie and even if you've seen it multiple times before the gags only seem to fly higher on rewatching, with anticipation of the silliness adding to the fun. Leslie Nielsen always knew how to pitch a sight gag perfectly and Lloyd Bridges, though better known for his more serious roles, deadpans along with aplomb. I know you're thinking, it's 40 years old and I've seen it 40 times, surely you can't be serious? Yes, yes I am... and don't call me Shirley. Read our full review.
Steve McQueen: The Man And Le Mans, 10.30pm, BBC4, Tuesday, August 17
Proof that being famous is no barrier to making bad choices, this documentary considers the racing car vanity project of Steve McQueen - who at the height of his screen powers attempted to make a film about Le Mans. The problems piled up - from the lack of a script to McQueen's over-fed ego and a bust budget - and Gabriel Clarke and John McKenna's film is given added depth by audio tapes in which McQueen reflects on his life at a later date. The film Le Mans is also currently available to watch on BBC iPlayer. Read our full review
Midnight Special, 11.15pm, BBC2, Wednesday, August 18
2016 was the year of Michael Shannon at the cinema, with the American actor notching up a whopping 10 films - so many it makes you wonder when he slept - from indies like Frank & Lola through to franchise film Batman V Superman: The Dawn Of Justice. One of the best was this sci-fi thriller, which saw him reteam with Take Shelter director Jeff Nichols. Shannon plays Roy, a dad who goes on the run with his son (Jaeden Lieberher), who isn't quite like other kids. Nichols plays his cards close to his chest, gradually revealing his film's unexpected secrets as he takes us on a road trip with surprising stop-offs and a destination you won't see coming. Read what Shannon told us about the film and our chat with him and other members of the cast, plus our full review
The Lego Movie: The Second Part, Netflix
If you're looking for a film with cross-generational appeal, then you could do a lot worse than catch this animated sequel, which though perhaps not quite as awesome as the first, is still a lot of fun. The action returns to Bricksburg, where five years after the first film and thanks to warring siblings Bianca (Brooklynn Prince) and Finn (Jadon Sand), master builder Emmet (Chris Pratt) finds himself on a rescue mission. The story might be a bit too convoluted for its own good but the laugh ratio remains high and the energy is pretty much unstoppable. Read our full review.
Searching, 11.20pm, Film4, Tuesday, August 17
Plenty of directors have tried to incorporate modern technology in films with varying amounts of success but Aneesh Chaganty succeeds where many others have failed, presenting this gripping thriller about a man's hunt for his missing daughter as we look out at his world from his computer screen. As dad David (John Cho) begins to learn more about his daughter (Michelle La) as he roots around her hard drive, Chaganty and co-writer Sev Ohanian zero in on the way that adults can appear to be hyper-connected to their children and yet still know only a small fraction of what they are actually getting up to when they connect to the internet. Read our full review.
Cold War, 1am, Film4, Thursday, August 19
Polish director Pawel Pawlikowski followed up on his Oscar-winning Ida with this beautifully crafted tale of doomed romance. Though the film lost out in its own Oscar race to the equally exquisitely shot Roma, it would have been just as worthy a winner. Inspired by his own parents' relationship, Pawlikowski charts the relationship between music director Wiktor (Tomasz Kot) and free-spirited singer Zula (Joanna Kulig, outstanding) as they find themselves on different sides of the Iron Curtain. Shot with such immersive verve you feel as though you could melt into the Sixties, this is a masterpiece in a minor key.Read our full review.
This week's short selection is Sam Firth's The Worm Inside, which sees a woman consider her diagnosis of Grave's disease
The Worm Inside from Sam Firth on Vimeo.
