The Return Of The Pink Panther (Blake Edwards, 1974) 5.10pm, C4That restless Pink Panther diamond has gone missing again, and much as long-suffering chief detective Herbert Lom hates it, the only sleuth who can solve the mystery is the legendary Clouseau. Peter Sellers, in his third appearance as the bungling inspector, is as fall-about funny as ever, particularly in attempting the seduction of cool beauty Catherine Schell; but there are longueurs, with Christopher Plummer a rather bland gentleman thief.The Manchurian Candidate (Jonathan Demme, 2004) 9.30pm, C4Demme remakes John Frankenheimer’s brilliant 1960s conspiracy thriller as a far-fetched science fantasy, and seems more interested in the apparatus of mind-altering than the cynical politics behind the plot. Still, there’s Denzel Washington as one of the brainwashed platoon (the action shifting from the Korean war to the first Gulf conflict), now suffering nightmares and looking for answers.Snake Eyes (Brian De Palma, 1998) 11.40pm, BBC1The bravura opening, a single 12-minute take in which we follow Nicolas Cage’s hustler-cum-cop Santoro going about his dodgy business in an Atlantic City sports stadium before a big fight, is a homage to De Palma’s beloved Hitchcock, and sets the scene for a gripping thriller. The champ takes a dive and a political bigwig is shot: are the two events linked? Santoro starts to sift the evidence in an entertaining, just-about credible yarn, though the visual trickery grows distracting.Sun Sep 23Superman (Richard Donner, 1978) 5.25pm, FiveThere’s something for everyone here: apocalyptic special effects; larger-than-life acts like Marlon Brando as Superman’s dad; Christopher Reeve a natural man of steel; an engaging romance with Margot Kidder’s Lois Lane and a scene-stealing villain in Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman). It doesn’t have the haunting visual style of Tim Burton’s Batman, but still quite a power play, and superior to the recent Return.Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Ang Lee, 2000) 8pm, C4Ang Lee’s foray into the martial arts movie set new standards of balletic grace, furiously choreographed action and jaw-dropping beauty. In a mythic Chinese past, heroic warriors Chow Yun-Fat and Michelle Yeo fight to keep the Sword Of Destiny out of evil hands. The special effects are mesmerising - especially the extraordinary tree-top swordfight - but it’s also an evocative exploration of love, loyalty and friendship.Hellboy (Guillermo Del Toro, 2004) 8pm, FiveDel Toro, who sharpened his comic book teeth on Blade II, does a terrific job with the do-gooding demon who tackles any number of satanic bad guys. It’s a brilliantly imagined cross between traditional superhero fare and gory horror, while Ron Perlman brings an unexpected tenderness to the hulking, cigar-chomping, red-skinned imp with the filed-down horns that is Hellboy.How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days (Donald Petrie, 2003) 10.10pm, C4Contrived New York-set romcom in which Kate Hudson’s magazine journo has to attract a man then make him dump her, then write all about it. Problem is, the man she settles on is cynical Matthew McConaughey, who has just taken a bet that he can make a woman fall in love with him. Oh, and they both have 10 days to fulfil their tasks. Little romance; less comedy.Arachnophobia (Frank Marshall, 1990) 11pm, BBC1The problem for new doctor in town Jeff Daniels is the simultaneous arrival of a deadly South American spider. He gets the blame for the alarming death rate among his patients, until loopy scientist Julian Sands guesses the truth. Marshall’s comic horror is both creepy and very funny - none more so than John Goodman’s nutty bug exterminator.That’ll Be The Day (Claude Whatham, 1973) 1.40am, ITV1Depressing rock’n'roll movie with David Essex selfishly trampling over family and friends to become a pop star: Ray Connolly’s writing is not so much warts and all as pure warts. Good rock’n'rolling soundtrack, but the sleazy fairground scenes and Ringo Starr’s sidekick are dispiriting.Omkara (Vishal Bharadwaj, 2006) 1.50am, C4Bharadwaj, director of a Bollywood Macbeth called Maqbool, turns his attention to Othello here. It’s set vividly and ingeniously in modern India, where the Othello figure Omkara (Ajay Devgan) is a bandit chief who kidnaps the woman he loves (Kareena Kapoor) when he is rejected by her parents.Mon Sep 24LA Confidential (Curtis Hanson, 1997) 10.55pm, C4Superb, dense and dark thriller with Russell Crowe as a hardnut cop teaming up with colleagues Guy Pearce and Kevin Spacey to root out crime and corruption. Hanson and Brian Helgeland richly deserved their Oscars for adapting James Ellroy’s long, intricate novel. Kim Basinger is impressive, but the biggest surprise, after his kindly farmer in Babe, is James Cromwell’s calculating police captain.Perfect Friday (Peter Hall, 1970) 11.55pm, BBC1This light and sexy caper movie is a quirky addition to the distinguished career of the RSC director. It stars Stanley Baker in a worm that turns role as a dull bank clerk who hatches a daring plan to rob his own bank, with sexy Ursula Andress and her languid aristocratic hubby David Warner for accomplices. Neat, efficient and stylish, with a cool Johnny Dankworth score.Withnail And I (Bruce Robinson, 1987) 1.30am, C4This sordid, supremely funny trudge through the pathetic lives of two destitute young actors is the orginal and best slacker movie. Paul McGann and the languidly furious Richard E Grant are the pair who survive on drugs and drink in grotty Camden Town, then head for the hellish rural idyll of Uncle Monty’s (Richard Griffiths) freezing country cottage in order to rejuvenate.Tue Sep 25Leave Her To Heaven (John M Stahl, 1946) 1.30pm, C4This intense and powerful thriller is every inch a film noir, despite being shot in colour. Gene Tierney stars as the insanely jealous Ellen Berent, who marries Cornel Wilde’s writer because he reminds her of her dead father, then makes his life a misery by murdering anyone who looks at him twice.Titanic Town (Roger Michell, 1998) 11.50pm, BBC1A barnstorming Julie Walters is the focal point of this literate and engrossing drama. It’s set in Belfast in 1972, at the height of the troubles. Walters’ Bernie McPhelimy is a Catholic housewife who becomes a peace activist when the war between the British army and the IRA explodes in her Andersonstown backyard.Wed Sep 26The Children’s Hour (William Wyler, 1961) 1.30pm, C4When Wyler brought Lillian Hellman’s play about lesbianism and slander to the screen in 1936 as These Three, he was manacled by the Hays code. By the 1960s he could be more frank in his treatment of a still taboo subject, and the result is a hefty, atmospheric drama with Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine.Heist (David Mamet, 2001) 9pm, FiveAll the cliches are in place for what might have been just another tiresome retread of the one last heist movie. There’s a master thief Gene Hackman; his slightly dodgy girlfriend (Rebecca Pidgeon); a hood (Danny DeVito) hooking him into the big job - but he has to take along a troublemaking youngster (Sam Rockwell). So far so predictable, but the acting is sharp and the dialogue crackles.Escape From Alcatraz (Don Siegel, 1979) 11.45pm, BBC1The last Siegel/Eastwood collaboration, a true-ish story of convict Frank Morris, who either escaped from the infamous prison island in 1960 or died in the attempt. A tough and efficient movie, the final escape is no gung-ho leap over the top, but a laborious, single-minded chipping away at walls.Thu Sep 27The Missing (Ron Howard, 2004) 10pm, FiveLike The Searchers, this deals with the attempt to rescue a woman kidnapped by Native Americans. Cate Blanchett is the frontiers woman who sets out to find her daughter (Evan Rachel Wood) with the help of her long-lost father (Tommy Lee Jones).Fri Sep 28Magic Town (William A Wellman, 1947) 1.30pm, BBC2Set in small town USA and starring genial James Stewart, this is Capraesque to the core. Stewart plays opinion pollster Rip Smith, who finds in the small community of Grandview a miniature model of America at large; but crusading newspaper gal Jane Wyman wants to change all that in a satire on American postwar society.Stir Of Echoes (David Koepp, 1999) 11.35pm, BBC1In The Sixth Sense, a boy sees dead people; in Koepp’s less celebrated supernatural tale, a boy (Zachary David Cope’s Jake) sees just the one ghost: a girl who mysteriously disappeared from the Chicago neighbourhood some months before. But the focus here is more on his father, Kevin Bacon’s Tom, an ordinary guy dragged into his son’s scary visions. It’s not as polished as M Night Shyamalan’s tale, but sustains a heavy air of menace, with some jolting shocks.The Triple Echo (Michael Apted, 1972) 1.10am, BBC2A tale of rural gender-bending folk adapted from an HE Bates novel. It’s set on a remote Wiltshire farm in 1942, where lonely Glenda Jackson awaits news of her PoW husband, and begins a passionate relationship with young Brian Deacon. When he decides to desert, she disguises him as her sister, which is fine until beefy sergeant Oliver Reed shows up and fancies him/her. It’s uncertain in tone, and has a perfunctorily violent climax, but Jackson and Reed make it worthwhile.
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