Black Narcissus (1947 100min.) [Film4 2.45pm &+1]
Classic drama starring Deborah Kerr as one of five Anglo-Catholic nuns who establish a school and hospital in a disused harem perched on a mountain pinnacle in the Himalayas. As the nuns struggle to cope with the sensuous atmosphere of their surroundings, the intrusive male presence of the local English agent brings further disquiet.
Nuns go mad in the Himalayas in Powell and Pressburger's ravishing adaptation of Rumer Godden's novel, and thanks to clever production design and Jack Cardiff's Oscar-winning colour cinematography you'd never guess it was filmed entirely at Pinewood Studios.
Deborah Kerr plays the young Mother Superior of a British sorority that sets up a mission in a former harem, where they gradually fall under the spell of the sensuous atmosphere and the cynical but attractive English agent (David Farrar in unfeasibly short shorts); but it's Kathleen Byron who provides the film with its most memorable moments as she cracks up and starts wearing lipstick.
Attack The Block (2010 84min.) [E4 9.00pm&+1]
Sci-fi action comedy starring Nick Frost, Jodie Whittaker and John Boyega. On the mean streets of South London five teenagers in the process of mugging a woman are disturbed by an alien invader. Soon their housing estate is overrun with beings from outer space and the hunters have become the hunted.
The debut feature film from the Joe half of Adam & Joe, who both wrote and directed, is a fairly straightforward alien-invaders-meet-locals-who-fight-back story made more interesting by the setting and Cornish's sharp script and fluid direction.
The always reliable Jodie Whittaker steals most of the acting honours as the character who starts the film as a victim but discovers herself during the course of the action and there's an amusing cameo by Nick Frost as a high-rise dope dealer.
The story itself isn't up to much but the setting, the tone and the script's neat use of language make the film what it is and Cornish's love of the genre shines through every frame.
An entertaining and (in parts) exciting film with a strong ensemble cast working hard with some interesting ideas.
Yojimbo (1961 105min.) [Film4 12.55am saturday &+1]
Period action drama starring Toshiro Mifune. Sanjuro is a laconic lone samurai who arrives in a town terrorised by bitter rivals. After an impressive demonstration of his swordsmanship in a brawl, Sanjuro is hired as a bodyguard and uses his deadly skills to destroy both gangs.
Combining moments of comedy, intrigue and sudden, shocking violence, Kurosawa manages to celebrate the samurai genre at the same time as he is subtly subverting it. Toshiro Mifune is tremendous as the wandering warrior who sells his sword skills to both sides in a feud-torn community only to dupe them both into mutual slaughter.
Directly responsible for the Spaghetti Western sub-genre.
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