It’s that time of the week again – if it wasn’t good enough that the weekend is here, then we have five film recommendations to whet your appetite if you don’t fancy heading to the cinema.
While Michael, Mother Mary, Rose of Nevada and Exit 8 have all been released this week, there are plenty of good offerings on the small screen this weekend, ranging from an iconic ’80s gangster thriller to an acclaimed period drama from this decade.
What’s even better, is that you don’t need streamers such as Netflix or Prime Video to view any of these films as they’re all airing on terrestrial channels. So without further ado, let’s get straight into the action.
Living
Ross Ferguson / Lionsgate UK
Oliver Hermanus’s assured and quietly powerful period piece from 2022 is actually a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s classic 1952 film Ikiru, with the setting being transposed from Japan to 1950s London.
Here, the story follows Bill Nighy’s Rodney Williams, a quiet yet uninspired bureaucrat who works for the London County Council. After receiving a terminal cancer diagnosis, he takes the steps to make something of his life in his final months.
Featuring Aimee Lou Wood and Tom Burke in supporting roles, Living was acclaimed upon its release, receiving nominations for Best Actor in a Leading Role (for Nighy) and Best Adapted Screenplay at the 95th Academy Awards.
Living airs on Saturday 25 April at 9pm on Channel 4.
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Paramount
Considered one of the most important blockbusters in film history, Steven Spielberg’s classic adventure film – for which George Lucas has a story credit – is noted for reinvigorating interest in a genre that fell by the wayside in the previous decades.
Raiders of the Lost Ark is our introduction to Harrison Ford’s archaeologist Indiana Jones, who goes on a globetrotting adventure in 1936 as he embarks on a race against the Nazis to find the long-lost Ark of the Covenant.
As well as being the highest-grossing film of 1981, the electrifying action-adventure won five Oscars – as well as nods for Best Picture and Best Director – at the 54th Academy Awards, and has been followed by four sequels.
Raiders of the Lost Ark airs on Sunday 26 April at 4.25pm on ITV2.
The Devil Wears Prada
20th Century Studios
If you’re gearing up for the release of The Devil Wears Prada 2 on 1 May, then why not catch up on the story of Meryl Streep’s Miranda Priestly and Anne Hathaway’s Andy Sachs in advance?
The iconic comedy-drama is based on Lauren Weisberger’s 2003 novel of the same name, and follows Andy as she lands a job at Runway, a prestigious fashion magazine. It’s not all she hoped for, however, as editor-in-chief Miranda has a particularly sharp tongue.
Featuring Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci in supporting roles, this delightful noughties piece was a huge box office hit in 2006, with Streep winning a Golden Globe Award and getting an Oscar nomination for her performance.
The Devil Wears Prada airs on Sunday 26 April at 5pm on Channel 4.
The Untouchables
Paramount/Kobal/Shutterstock
Brian De Palma’s visceral crime thriller from 1987 is a throwback to a bygone era, with gun-toting action and baseball bats being the order of the day as Prohibition agent Elliot Ness (Kevin Costner) seeks to make 1930s Chicago a safer place.
The key figure posing a challenge to that is Al Capone (Robert De Niro), a brutal gangster who has a hold on the Windy City. Ness forms a team called the Untouchables in the hope of bringing him down, but it won’t be easy.
With a Grammy Award-winning score from legendary composer Ennio Morricone and an Oscar-winning performance from Sean Connery (don’t ask about the Irish accent), this pulpy thriller was dubbed a “classic” by the Chicago Sun-Times.
The Untouchables airs on Sunday 26 April at 10pm on BBC Two.
Shaun of the Dead
Universal
This 2004 zom-com, the first instalment of the Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy, is a loving homage to George A Romero’s Night of the Living Dead series, with a zombie apocalypse coming right to Crouch End in north London.
Simon Pegg’s titular character, a downtrodden salesman, and his best friend Ed (Nick Frost), are the saviours – of sorts – here, as they attempt to get through the day unscathed along with their friends and family.
Directed and co-written by Edgar Wright, the classic comedy has a colourful assortment of supporting stars including Dylan Moran, Martin Freeman and Peter Serafinowicz. After it’s aired, head to the Winchester and wait for it all to blow over.
Shaun of the Dead airs on Sunday 26 April at 10.15pm on ITV1.
The new edition of Living Legends, a 100-page all-colour celebration of Sir David Attenborough, is here! Buy Sir David Attenborough in newsagents or online.
Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media. His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.