On The Film Programme this week:
300
Francine Stock talks to the director Zack Snyder. His action epic 300, about the Battle of Thermopylae and based on a Frank Miller graphic novel, has already enjoyed enormous commercial success in the US. As it reaches British screens, he explains how they managed to shoot a battle epic without once going outdoors, and responds to accusations that his depiction of the barbaric Persians is anti-Iranian propaganda.
300 is out now, certificate 15.
3-D cinema
Meet The Robinsons is Disney's attempt to woo the family audience during the Easter holidays. The animated adventure is also being released in a sophisticated 3-D version. And 3-D seems to be making a comeback, with major live-action films directed by James Cameron and Robert Zemeckis currently in production. Francine talks to the co-founder of the one of the companies responsible for the technology, Michael Lewis, and to Adam Dawtrey of Variety magazine about what this means for the film industry.
Meet The Robinsons (U) is out in its 3-D version this week at Vue West End in London, Odeon Wimbledon, Odeon Bath, Filmworks Manchester and Vue Cheshire Oaks.
The Gigolos
In late 2005 the British director Richard Bracewell recorded an audio diary for The Film Programme as he travelled to Los Angeles to try to find a distributor for his first feature film. He joins Francine in the studio to explain what happened next, as the film, The Gigolos, finally reaches British cinemas.
The Gigolos (12A) is on selected release now.
Catch a Fire
The director Philip Noyce, whose previous films include Rabbit Proof Fence and Clear and Present Danger, talks to Francine about his thriller, set in apartheid South Africa. The film is based on the true story of a black oil refinery worker who finds himself sucked into the ANC's struggle against the South African government. Philip Noyce tells Francine why the most unlikely elements of the story are also the most truthful.
Catch a Fire (12A) is out now.
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