There’s always a wide selection of great films available on Freeview. And seeing as staying in is the new going out, TV presents the ideal opportunity to catch up on what you might have missed in the cinema. Plus, it saves you spending your student loan on DVDs and rentals. Sometimes the choice can be quite overwhelming, so here at Leeds Student we’ve decided to compile a weekly list of the best films on TV. This week, we’ve got a film about films, internet nerds arguing about Facebook, and Arnold Schwarzenegger getting very angry.
Monday – Side By Side (Film4 22:50)
A key documentary for any cinema lover, Side By Side looks into the history of film versus digital. Keanu Reeves narrates and asks the question “can these two formats ever live side by side?” The film is full of interesting conversations with filmmakers including David Fincher and Steven Soderbergh, who all give their opinions on the debate.
Tuesday – Memento (Film4 00:45)
For many people, Christopher Nolan is the best director working in the industry today. Although he is most famous for Inception and the Batman trilogy, Memento is his true masterpiece, despite it being his debut feature film. Telling the story of a man who suffers from short term memory loss who uses tattoos to find the killer of his wife, Memento is a fantastic look inside a mind. It has a great story and unique narration technique as the story is told backwards. It really is fabulous and worth a watch! If you’re a fan of Studio Ghibli then Kiki’s Delivery Service (14:45, Film4) is a must.
Wednesday – Wuthering Heights (BBC2 12:05)
Emily Brontë’s classic novel has never had an adaptation that matches its brilliance, but this 1939 film starring Laurence Olivier gets the closest in my opinion. With beautiful performances, divine cinematography and a well-adapted screenplay, it is a great tale of love and hate that everyone can enjoy.
Thursday – The Social Network (21:00)
Directed by David Fincher, this tale of how two internet college students started up a multimillion pound website is a thrilling watch. Quick paced with an intelligent script, it is true on-the-edge-of-your-seat drama complete with impeccable performances, especially from Jesse Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield.
Friday – (500) Days of Summer (Film4 19:10)
Romantic comedies are usually repetitive and boring, but not (500) Days of Summer. It is offbeat, quirky and a joy. Zooey Deschanel and Joesph Gordon-Levitt make the perfect on-screen team in a story that is funny, emotional and very true to life. But it’s not for everyone, so if you prefer more violence in your romantic stories, Natural Born Killers is showing on ITV4 at 23:10.
Saturday – Terminator 2: Judgement Day (Channel 4 21:00)
Arguably the best Terminator film, Arnold Schwarzenegger is as good as he gets in this exciting dystopian sci-fi romp that is packed full of guns, explosions and destruction. Just perfect for a Saturday night in. To be honest, it is worth seeing just for the line “Hasta la vista, baby”.
Sunday – Frost/Nixon (BBC2 22:30)
With his upcoming film Rush being released soon, now is the perfect time to see Ron Howard’s other based on a true story drama, Frost/Nixon. Focusing in on the interview between David Frost and Richard Nixon after the Watergate scandal, it documents an interesting piece of history with pitch perfect performances from Frank Langella and Michael Sheen. Howard has great command behind the camera and makes a good film translation of Peter Morgan’s sharp script. Make sure to also record Stanley Kubrick’s underrated gem Paths of Glory (ITV4, 16:00).
Emily Murray