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5:00 PM Sundance
The Man from London (2007 FRA-GER-HUN): Based on a novella by Georges Simenon, The Man from London tells the story of Maloin (Miroslav Krobot), a railway switchman in a remote French coastal town who sees a man throw his suitcase into the sea and then witnesses his murder at the hands of another stranger. Interest piqued, Maloin recovers the suitcase and finds it stuffed with cash, which he promptly hides without telling anyone. His secret, however, soon becomes burdensome, exerting further strains on his already difficult relationships with estranged wife Camelia (Tilda Swinton) and daughter Henriette (Erika Bok). This is not, however, a routine crime drama or murder mystery, but a lengthy study of one man’s troubled conscience. Directed by Hungarian arthouse king Bela Tarr, The Man from London clocks in at a robust 139 minutes, admittedly quite short in comparison to Tarr’s seven-hour long 2004 epic Satantango. Also airs at 11:30 PM.

Thursday 3/29/12

3:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
The Man Who Laughs (1966 FRA): Super rarity alert! Set the Drudge siren spinning! Based on the same Victor Hugo tale previously (and more famously) filmed by Paul Leni in 1928, The Man Who Laughs stars giallo veteran Jean Sorel as Angelo, a man disfigured as a child by wicked gypsies and employed as an adult as a sideshow freak with a permanent grin. For Angelo, it’s a life of misery and shame - until he’s taken under the wing of the bloody Borgias (Lisa Gastoni and Edmund Purdom), who hire him as their official court executioner. It all adds up to considerably less than Leni’s original, but still is of great interest to fans of European cinema in general and of Italian director Sergio Corbucci - whose next film was the spaghetti western classic Django - in particular.

6:30 PM Showtime 3
The Hollywood Complex (2011 USA): If you enjoyed Camp Hollywood, a 2004 doc about unemployed actors hanging around Tinsel Town in a rundown motel, you’ll get similar mileage from The Hollywood Complex. The set-up, however, is a little different and a whole lot creepier - instead of adults trying to continue (or start) their acting careers, the subjects of this film are parents bringing their underage offspring to Hollywood in search of fame, glory, and big bucks. Worse than the parents, however, are the local leeches who glom onto these hopefuls and suck ‘em dry whilst vaguely pretending to help out. You may want to take a shower after watching this one.

Friday 3/30/12

12:45 AM Turner Classic Movies
With Byrd at the South Pole (1930 USA): If you further need to cleanse your non-fiction palate after The Hollywood Complex, consider this fascinating documentary about Admiral Richard Byrd’s groundbreaking (so to speak) expedition to, and flight across, the wastes of Antarctica. Shot almost entirely on location (and without sound, due to the limitations of early recording equipment), the film follows the good Admiral’s trek from beginning (New York Harbor) to end (the South Pole, not surprisingly). But it’s not just the historical record of the Admiral’s aeronautical achievement: With Byrd at the South Pole is also an artistic and technical triumph, with Joseph T. Rucker and Willard Van der Veer’s breathtaking black and white cinematography earning each of them an Academy Award.

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