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Friday 08/22/08

2:10 AM IFC
Diabolique (1955 FRA): There's not much I can say about Henri-Georges Clouzot's thriller that hasn't already been said, but let's leave it at this: it still has the power to shock 50 years after its initial release, and is as powerful in its own way as Hitchcock's Psycho. One thing is guaranteed: after watching Diabolique you'll look twice before stepping into your next bubble bath. If you've never seen it before, don't miss it tonight — and avoid that Sharon Stone remake like the plague!

5:30 AM Turner Classic Movies
Golden Salamander (1950 GB): A quite fine crime drama that remains steeped in undeserved obscurity, Golden Salamander stars Trevor Howard as a British Museum archaeologist who finds himself crossing swords with a criminal syndicate whilst on a dig in Tunisia. Amongst the baddies are Serafis (Wolf Rilla) and Rankl (Herbert Lom), whilst Anouk Aimee provides love interest and the comforting presence of Wilfrid Hyde-White hovers in the background. Nothing special, mind, but a thoroughly entertaining piece of old-fashioned hokum.

5:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Outcast of the Islands (1952 GB): Here's another rare British film even I haven't seen before. This one's of note thanks to talent both behind (director Carol Reed, assistant cameramen Gerry Fisher and Freddie Francis) and in front (Trevor Howard — again, Wilfrid Hyde-White — again, Ralph Richardson, Wendy Hiller, Robert Morley) of the camera. It's also based on a novel by Joseph Conrad — how have I missed it all these years?

11:00 PM Turner Classic Movies
Passionate Friends (GB): Hello, Trevor. How are you, Wilfrid? Believe it or not, they both feature in this David Lean vehicle, which isn't quite as obscure as Outcast of the Islands, but isn't exactly Doctor Zhivago, either. This time Howard plays broken-hearted Steven Stratton, a professor smitten with willowy blonde Mary (Ann Todd) since their days together in school. Mary's since taken up with less handsome and rather boring banker Howard Justin (Claude Rains), but whilst staying in a Swiss hotel room finds her next day neighbor is, you guessed it, her old flame. Passionate Friends bears similarities to Lean's Brief Encounter (which ALSO starred Trevor Howard), but isn't as effective, perhaps because unrequited love is much sadder in a British Rail caff than on the ski slopes of Switzerland.

Saturday 08/23/08

10:45 PM Sundance
Pusher III (2005 DEN-GB): Nicolas Winding Refn's gangster trilogy comes to a conclusion tonight, with aging gangster Milo (Zlatko Buric) returning to the fore. This time a shipment of heroin somehow turns into a shipment of Ecstasy, leading to more complications and further mayhem on the streets of Copenhagen. It would be a lot simpler if he just sold Danish pastries.

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