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Friday 08/03/07

1:00 AM Turner Classic Movies
Brotherly Love (1970 GB): Another Peter O'Toole obscurity arrives this morning in the shape of Brotherly Love, a not entirely successful dramatic diversion from action director J. Lee Thompson. This time, O'Toole gets to play to type: he's Sir Charles Ferguson, an alcoholic, gone-to-seed, country gentleman. Sir Charles, known as Pink to his friends, lives on a dairy farm, where he plots to keep his beloved sister (Susannah York) apart from her estranged husband (Michael Craig). The couple are still strongly attracted to each other, however, and Pink's efforts soon lead to terrible consequences that threaten to tear the Ferguson family asunder for good. A less than delicate blend of character study and pointed humor, Brotherly Love was based on a novel and play by James Kennaway, and co-stars Harry Andrews, Cyril Cusack, and a young Brian Blessed.

5:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Harriet Craig (1950 USA): TCM has a passel of Joan Crawford features today, most of which either aren't worth your time (Berserk, anyone?) or are too familiar to earn a mention in TiVoPlex. The standout offering is Harriet Craig, a feature cut from the same manipulative cloth as Crawford's great Mildred Pierce. It's certainly not the equal of that remarkable film, but it offers enough rewards to warrant a recommendation, including an over the top performance by Mommie Dearest as the titular harridan, a woman whose obsessive penchant for homemaking trumps any affection she may have for her long suffering husband (Wendell Corey). Harriet also has tremendous disregard for the feelings of her niece (K.T. Stevens), whose blossoming romance she attempts to derail in the name of female solidarity. Harriet is definitely a less nuanced character than Mildred, and marked the beginning of a transitional period for La Crawford, who would soon be portraying ice-cold monsters in films like Queen Bee.

Saturday 08/04/07

6:00 PM Starz
The Prestige (2006 USA): Mirroring last summer's release pattern, The Prestige follows its cinematic doppelganger The Illusionist onto the small screen after a suitably brief (and magic-free) interlude. As I mentioned in an earlier column, The Prestige is for my money the lesser of the pair, featuring a plotline that defies logic and credulity and, at times, insults the intelligence of its audience. That said, there are some moments here — including David Bowie's performance as Nikola Tesla, and the top hats that foreshadow his on-screen arrival — that make The Prestige worthwhile if often maddening viewing. Also airs at 9:00 PM and throughout the month.

7:00 PM Sundance
Half Nelson (2006 USA): Ryan Gosling earned a well-deserved Academy Award nomination for his performance as Dan Dunne, a teacher trying to make a difference in a suitably troubled inner city middle school. Dunne is well loved by his students, who pick up on his enthusiasm for history, but has a problem he's desperate to keep secret: an addiction to crack cocaine. When star pupil Drey (Shareeka Epps) catches him smoking in the school bathroom, it's time for Dan to come to terms with his problem — and for Drey to get some of the parenting her fatherless home hasn't provided. Superbly and delicately acted, Half Nelson is a brilliant exposition on human relationships and redemption.

Sunday 08/05/07

10:30 PM Sundance
The Rock & Roll Kid (2006 CAN): So you wanna be a rock 'n' roll star? Check out this cautionary documentary about adolescent guitar prodigy Danny Sveinson, who trod the boards of Harlem's Apollo Theatre at the tender age of 11 and earned comparisons to such guitar heroes as Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix. The film picks up as Danny enters his teenage years — and as his worried parents prepare him for a career of axe-wielding rock and roll excess. If you're keen on virtuosic playing with lots of finger twiddling, you'll enjoy the music — but if it isn't to your taste, you'll still get a kick out of watching young Danny grasping for the brass guitar pick.

Monday 08/06/07

8:10 AM Encore Dramatic Stories
Dadah Is Death (1988 USA-AUS): A made for television take on the Midnight Express meme, Dadah Is Dead stars Julie Christie as Barbara Barlow, the mother of Kevin, a foolish young Australian (John Polson) caught smuggling heroin through Malaysia with his equally dim chum Geoff (Hugo Weaving). Kevin and Geoff are facing the death penalty for their crime, and it's up to Mum to appeal to President Reagan, Prime Minister Thatcher, and the Pope to intercede with the Malaysian government and save the lives of the two losers. Whether they're worth saving isn't a question that gets asked, but Dadah Is Dead is head and shoulders above most straight to the boob tube fare, and co-stars a pre-Sex and the City Sarah Jessica Parker.

4:30 PM HBO
White Light/Black Rain: The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (2007 USA): I haven't seen this HBO original documentary yet, but this promises to be one of the most important non-fiction films of 2007. Director Steven Okazaki (Living On Tokyo Time) explores the horrors of the atomic bomb via interviews with 14 survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, most of whom have, before now, never spoken publicly of their experiences. With the inexorable passage of time, these people are probably getting their last chance to air their opinions about the shock and awe tactics embraced by President Harry S Truman and his be-knighted Secretary of State, James Byrnes, both of whom, I am advised, are still smoldering nicely in a particularly dank corner of Hell. Also airs at 7:30 PM.

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