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Not many Rose-themed films today, but if you are looking for a change of pace and tone, there is a number of gripping real life dramas on offer says our movie guy, James Finnegan…
Loosely based on an actual event, and filmed in Ireland, The First Great Train Robbery (Saturday 3.40pm RTE1) tells of an audacious plot to steal gold bullion to be used by the British Army during the Crimean War.
Edward Pierce (Sean Connery) and his master safecracker accomplice Robert Agar (Donald Sutherland) hatch a plan to steal the gold while in transit.
Connery performed a particularly spectacular stunt running across the top of the train carnages, which turned out to be far more dangerous than expected, as the speed of the train had been miscalculated.
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In another animated version of The Addams Family (Saturday 6.35pm RTE1), Gomez and Morticia (voiced by Oscar Issac and Charlize Theron) move the family to a typical suburban area.
Their daughter Wednesday (Chloe Grace Moretz) becomes friends with the daughter of a local reality radio host, sparking conflict between the two families.
Murder on the Orient Express (Saturday 9.40 RTE1) is the Kenneth Branagh directed version of the classic Agatha Christie whodunit.
Famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, also played by Branagh, turns down the offer to be bodyguard to an American businessman who has received a number of death threats.
So when said businessman is found stabbed to death while the train is caught up in heavy snow, Poirot ends up on the case, and there is no shortage of suspects among the passengers played by an all star cast including Judi Dench, Penelope Cruz, Johnny Depp, Daisy Ridley and Derek Jacobi among others.
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The Bleeder (Saturday 9.45pm TG4) is that rare film that is based on a true story that becomes the inspiration for two films, including this one.
Chuck Wepner (Liev Schreiber) is a heavyweight boxer working towards getting a title shot fight with champion George Foreman. However, Foreman loses the ‘Thriller in Manila’ to Muhammad Ali, and Chuck ends up facing Ali instead.
Despite all the prediction of an early defeat, Wepner lasts most of the fight, and in fact becomes the inspiration for Sylvester Stallone’s screenplay and character in “Rocky”. However, fame goes to Wepner’s head, and his life changes for the worst.
Clint Eastwood directs American Sniper (Saturday 9.30pm RTE2) but it is Bradley Cooper who takes the lead role in another biopic.
Navy Seal Chris Kyle (Cooper) becomes a legend to his colleagues thanks to his prowess as a deadly sniper. However, when he returns home after four tours of duty in Iraq, the transition to domestic life as a husband and father is far more difficult to deal with than the demands of modern warfare.
Mike Leigh’s historical drama Peterloo (Saturday 11.50pm RTE2) examines a peaceful protest for workers rights in Manchester in 1819.
Unfortunately, this protest was met by extreme and violent military retribution. Maxine Peake and Rory Kinnear head the cast. Enjoy!
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