Our YouView movie picks for October (for those who hate horror)

‎05-10-2016

October’s mainly a month for braving ‘things that go bump in the night’. But for those of you who’d rather not give horror a high five, we’ve pulled together some of the best movies airing over the next few weeks on the Turner Classic Movie channel, which is available through YouView TV from Plusnet.

Unforgiven

If you’ve never seen Unforgiven, it’s a must watch 1992 western directed by and starring Clint Eastwood. It was added to the United States National Film Registry in 2004, which means it’s deemed culturally significant. Even the most unwilling watcher of westerns should find something worth taking from this thought provoking film.

Without giving too much away, the story centres around Eastwood being hired to exact revenge on two cowboys who’ve disfigured a woman in a vicious attack. To say anymore would spoil it for you, but with near universal acclaim since its release, Unforgiven is one of those movies everyone should devote two hours to watching.

Showing 9pm Sunday 2^nd October on TCM - Running time 131 mins.

The Maltese Falcon

Based on the novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett, the Maltese Falcon is the 1941 film noir classic from Oscar winner John Huston, who also went on to direct Oscar winning performances from his own daughter, Anjelica Huston and Father, Walter.

Starring Humphrey Bogart as San Francisco private detective Sam Spade, and Mary Astor as the femme fatale client who’s not everything she seems, the plot centres on a race to find the whereabouts of a priceless jewel encrusted falcon statuette. The people involved won’t even stop at murder to get their hands on what they want.

Nominated for three Academy Awards and rightly considered a classic, the Maltese Falcon is essential viewing for any detective film fan.

Showing 4.40pm Monday 10^th October on TCM - Running time 101 mins.

The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex

Bette Davis was only 31 when she took on the role of an elderly Queen Elizabeth I, opposite the dashing (but lacking in the acting department for this type of historical epic) Errol Flynn as the Earl of Essex.

That said, Davis is amazing as Britain’s arguably most memorable monarch and famously shaved her own hairline back to achieve the look of the Virgin Queen’s older age baldness for certain scenes.

The plot centres around the Earl of Essex’s ambition that flies in the face of the queen’s authority – coupled with the fact that they are caught up in a romantic affair that’s just as doomed (albeit for different reasons) as Jack Dawson and Rose DeWitt Bukater’s maritime adventure on the Titanic.

Filmed in 1939, the movie was nominated for five academy awards including cinematography for Sol Polito and his use of Technicolor.

Showing 4.50pm Friday 14^th October on TCM - Running time 106 mins.

Mars Attacks

Cute (if somewhat large brained) aliens land on earth and everyone is hopeful for a peaceful encounter – until they pull out stun guns and start blasting humans into dust.

For certain people, Mars Attacks is a bit of an overlooked comedy classic, in the sense that a lot of people never really got the joke that it’s a tongue in cheek take on 1950s science fiction B movies that isn’t trying to take itself too seriously.

With an A list cast including Annette Bening, Jack Nicholson and Glenn Close, this Tim Burton vehicle is probably best remembered as the film that showcases Sarah Jessica Parker’s character getting her head transplanted onto the body of her pet Chihuahua as part of the aliens’ superbly silly experiments.

A great alternative to horror – this film is more black humour than black magic and has some truly memorable laugh out loud moments.

Showing 7pm Friday 14^th October on TCM - Running time 106 mins.

Remember – all these films and many more are available through YouView TV from Plusnet.