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Our movie guy, James Finnegan, recommends a musical classic and an underrated Robert De Niro performance on the box tonight…
I have nothing but the fondest of memories of Oliver! (Saturday 3pm RTE1) as it was the second film I was taken to see in the cinema as a child. The first was The Sound of Music, since you ask.
However, when I grew up and read the original Charles Dickens book, I could never imagine how you could even begin to make a musical, of all genres, out of such a bleak story.
So, kudos to Lionel Bart who wrote the original stage adaptation as well as the music and lyrics, which in turn led to this colourful film that leaps out of the screen in effervescent joy and colour.
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Oliver (Mark Lester) is an orphan who is given to an undertaker who abuses him. Oliver runs away and falls in with a street gang of pickpocket thieves led by the Artful Dodger (Jack Wild) and Fagin (Ron Moody in a career defining role).
However, Fagin is also in cahoots with a violent thug Bill Sikes (Oliver Reed) who sees Oliver as a means to make more money. Only Nancy (Shani Wallis) tries to save and protect Oliver with tragic results.
Directed by Carol Reed with a screenplay by Vernon Harris, as well as the wonderful songs by Lionel Bart, this won six Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director.
Despite its subject matter, The Queen’s Corgi (Saturday 6.35pm RTE1) is a Belgian animation film.
Rex (voiced by Jack Whitehall) is Queen Elizabeth’s favourite corgi. During a state visit by US President Trump it is suggested that Rex might be a suitable mate for the Trump’s dog Mitzi.
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Rex is unimpressed and does his best to avoid Mitzi, but unfortunately this results in a diplomatic incident with Rex the wrong side of the Palace gates and without his collar.
Even allowing for the already dated nature of the characters, there are some unpleasant undercurrents in the tone of this film, and I would not recommend it for the children.
In It’s Complicated (Saturday 9.35pm RTE1) divorced couple Jane and Jake (Meryl Streep and Alec Bladwin) reconnect at their son’s college graduation after being apart for a decade.
Despite Jake being married to a younger woman and Jane’s involvement in a fledgling romance with architect Adam (Steve Martin), they embark on a clandestine affair.
Directed and written by Nancy Meyers, this is perhaps best described as an average rom-com, distinguished by a high quality cast.
Awakenings (Saturday 9.50pm TG4) is my film of the night. It is a sterling drama based on the work of real-life pioneering neurologist Oliver Sacks.
Dr Malcolm Sayer (Robin Williams) is a research doctor in a New York psychiatric hospital who discovers that by administering the drug L-DOPA, he can revive patients who have been trapped in a catatonic state for over thirty years.
These patients include Leonard Lowe (an underrated Robert De Niro performance) who have to deal with a very unfamiliar world. Enjoy!
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