Films of the week
The Towering Inferno
Today, RTÉ One, 1.40pm
Exciting, star-studded disaster movie about the efforts to rescue assorted VIPs trapped atop the world’s tallest building on its opening night. Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, Fred Astaire, Faye Dunaway and Richard Chamberlain are among the cast.
★★★★★
Spencer
Today, Channel 4, 9pm
Kristen Stewart (above) plays Diana, Princess of Wales in this biopic written by Steven ‘Peaky Blinders’ Knight. It focuses on her decision to end her marriage during Christmas 1991.
★★★★
North by Northwest
Sunday, BBC Two, 3pm
Alfred Hitchcock’s classic thriller stars Cary Grant as a New York advertising executive who, due to a case of mistaken identity, becomes a target for foreign agents and faces a battle to clear his name – and save his own life. Eva Marie Saint, Leo G Carroll and James Mason also appear.
★★★★★
Bombshell
Monday, TG4, 9.30pm
Hard-hitting drama inspired by a true story. Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman and Margot Robbie portray Fox News employees who decide to make a stand after being subjected to sexual harassment by their boss.
★★★★
My Week with Marilyn
Monday, BBC One , 11.50pm
Acclaimed drama based on a true story. Eddie Redmayne plays a student whose job as an assistant on Laurence Olivier’s film The Prince and the Showgirl brings him into contact with a vulnerable Marilyn Monroe. Michelle Williams and Kenneth Branagh co-star.
★★★★
Hampstead
Tuesday, Channel 4,2.40am
Diane Keaton and Brendan Gleeson join forces for a charming romantic comedydrama inspired by a true story. She’s an American widow, while he’s the homeless loner who captures her heart after she discovers he’s been living close to her on Hampstead Heath in London for years.
★★★
Lost in Translation
Wednesday, Sky Cinema Drama, 2.15pm
Sofia Coppola’s wonderful comedy-drama stars Bill Murray as Bob, a washed-up actor in Japan to film a commercial. He forms a touching, life-changing friendship with Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson), a lonely young woman feeling neglected by her photographer husband.
★★★★★
On the Waterfront
Thursday, BBC Four, 9.40pm
Marlon Brando delivers an iconic performance in Elia Kazan’s Oscarwinning drama. He plays a former boxer who decides to make a stand against the gangsters he’s been working for. Eva Marie Saint and Karl Malden co-star.
★★★★★
Legally Blonde
Friday, RTÉ2, 10.35pm
Smash-hit comedy starring Reese Witherspoon as Elle, who decides to take action after her boyfriend dumps her for not being intelligent enough for him. She enrols on a law degree at Harvard, but to succeed, she must fight against the prejudices of her fellow students.
★★★★
Saturday Night Fever
Friday, RTÉ One, 11.55pm
Songs by the Bee Gees enliven this dark melodrama that turned John Travolta into a major star. He plays Tony, a streetwise Brooklyn teenager who escapes his boring life by strutting his stuff on New York’s disco dancefloors.
★★★★