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| Shaun Of The Dead |
Given the sheer volume of zombie films out there, it's not easy to make your walking dead stand out from the crowd. But Edgar Wright showed no fear with this comedy horror debut, which finds its strength in the normality of its characters – something that became a calling card in Wright's early films. Shaun (Simon Pegg) is just your average Joe, bumbling along with his mates and girlfriend and, for a considerable while, blissfully unaware of the zombie danger that is unfolding. Wright gleefully takes a leaf out of George A Romero's book to show, through satire, how close human activities and reactions can come to the braindead at the best of times. Once Shaun realises he's in trouble, he repairs, in most British fashion, to the pub, with his mates, leading to an innovative series of showdowns, that serve up not just gore and laughs but a surprising amount of emotion.
The Producers, 11pm, BBC2, Monday, June 22 and 10pm, BBC4, Thursday, June 25
As Mel Brooks celebrates his 100th birthday on June 28, this is surely the perfect week to watch this stone cold classic.He hit the ground running with this debut, originally slated to have the name Springtime For Hitler. The always larger than life Zero Mostel teams up with Gene Wilder, who Brooks had met while the young star was in a stage production of Mother Courage with the director's future wife Anne Bancroft. Mostel plays producer Max Bialystock, while Wilder, in only his second screen appearance, plays accountant Leopold Bloom. The pair plan to make millions - providing their show is a complete flop. Brooks cleverly builds on the yawning gap between Wilder's mousy Bloom and Mostel's rambunctious Bialystock, while the sight gags and one-liners keep coming. Brooks' imagination knows no bounds, racing from tiny asides to big band numbers while barely pausing for breath - all while taking a sideswipe at Broadway and the Nazis.
Bird, MUBI, streaming now
Andrea Arnold has always been known for her gritty portrayal of lives at the margins and she does so again with this coming-of-age drama – only this time she adds a brush of magic realism. Bailey (Nykiya Adams, making a memorable debut), lives with her young single dad Bug (Barry Keoghan) and brother Hunter (Jason Edward Buda) in a squat. Rebelling against her dad’s upcoming marriage to a girl he met three months ago (Frankie Box), Bailey encounters and befriends the eccentric Bird (Frank Rogowski). As she tries to help him find his parents he, in turn, is the catalyst for change in her own life. Bristling with energy, this is an engaging fairy tale with its roots in reality.
Escape From Pretoria, 9pm, Film4, Thursday, June 25
Tension thrums through virtually every moment of this slowburn prison break thriller from Francis Annan, which is having its network premiere this week. Based on the book by Tim Jenkin (played by Daniel Radcliffe), it shows how a trio of political prisoners in Apartheid South Africa planned a breakout, not by the backdoor, but through the front. Annan really succeeds in making the details sing, keys in doors and the McGyver-style use of bubble gum. Although the set-up is certainly economical, it's a shame a little more back story wasn't given to Jenkin's fellow jailbirds, particularly Frenchman Leonard (Mark Leonard Fontaine), whose character feels every bit as fictional as it is and who is used largely just to underline the casual sadism of the regime. Still, when door push comes to prison-break shove, this delivers the edge-of-your-seat goods and though some of the ideas may be well-worn – stagger forward the classic overweight guard – they're still employed to good effect. A little more political meat on its bones and a little less reliance on voiceover might have improved things but this is still a solid thriller. Read our interview with Annan.
Mr Malcolm's List, 10.10am, BBC2, Saturday
This might not be the most memorable film you’ll see this week, but it has plenty of charm and appeal, especially if you happen to be a Jane Austen Fan. The list is a rundown of what Sope Dirisu’s eligible bachelor is looking for in a potential bride. But when Julia Thistlethwaite (Zawe Ashton) fails to meet his standards, she becomes the talk of the town in disparaging fashion, leading her to hatch a plot to give Mr M a taste of his own medicine. The scheme involves enlisting old school friend Selina Dalton (Freida Pinto), to capture his heart then break it. Naturally, things do not go to plan. While this might not have the wit of Whit Stillman’s Love & Friendship, the romantic elements have plenty of spark.
Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, 4pm, BBC2, Saturday, June 27
As Steven Spielberg has returned to alien adventures with his latest Disclosure Day, there’s a chance to catch this earlier, and superior, consideration of the subject. Richard Dreyfus plays Roy Neary, a man whose sighting of a UFO acts as a sort of epiphany – the irony being that he can communicate with aliens more easily than his family – and who encounters Jillian Guiller (Melinda Dillon), who is searching for her son. Somehow, Spielberg manages to retain Dreyfus’ everyman quality despite his character’s obvious flaws, while also touching on one of the director's favourite themes, suburban anxiety in Middle America, fuelled by everything from family breakdown to job loss. The visuals have stood the test of time and hover at the sweet spot between awe and horror, while John Williams’ five-note sequence has long passed into collective memory as a short-hand for spookiness.
Two Way Stretch, 4.35pm, Talking Pictures TV, Saturday, June 27
Peter Sellers plays likely lad Dodger Lane in this prison comedy that was surely an influence on Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais’ later hit comedy Porridge. He's king of the cells and when his old mate Soapy Stevens (Wilfrid Hyde-White) – posing as a visiting vicar – suggests committing a jewellery heist with a perfect alibi, it seems easy. That is, until he finds out his soft-touch warden is being replaced by disciplinarian “Sour” Crout (Lionel Jeffries, just about stealing the film out from under Sellers, which caused the Goon Show star to briefly leave the set). A joy to watch for the entire ensemble, particularly Bernard Cribbins in an early role as Dodger’s cellmate Lennie Price and Irene Handl as Lennie’s overbearing mum. John Warren and Len Heath’s script has some great lines and director Roger Day also knows how to craft a sight gag.
Today’s short selection is Astronauts, by Matthew Walker. You can pop over to the Cargo Collective website to watch this quirky animation, which was the director’s graduation film. His most recent work is kids’ TV series Lloyd Of The Flies, which you can catch up with on ITVX.
