Francine Stock and star guests on the latest cinema releases, DVDs and films on TV. Friday 4.30pm - 5pm
This week
04 January 2008
Wim Wenders on one of his early films Alice in the Cities; and Mike Nichols on Charlie Wilson's War...
In The Film Programme This Week:
Wim Wenders The director behind Paris, Texas discusses some of the films that are being shown as part of a new retrospective - in particular, one of his earlier films, Alice in the Cities.
Alice in the Cities is in cinemas now, certificate U. The Wim Wenders retrospective is at the BFi Southbank until 31st January, with Alice in the Cities being screened there until 17th January.
Charlie Wilson's War Director Mike Nichols (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Graduate, Closer) talks about his latest film - starring Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and Philip Seymour Hoffman - about a Texas congressman’s covert dealings in Afghanistan, where his efforts to assist rebels in their war with the Soviets have some unforeseen and long-reaching effects. The film is adapted from George Crile’s 2003 book Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History.
Charlie Wilson’s War is released on Friday 11th January, certificate 15.
Cristian Mungiu Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu on his Palme d’Or winning film 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, which tells the story of two students who try to arrange an illegal abortion for one of them during the communist regime of the late 1980s.
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days is released in key cities on Friday 11th January, certificate 15.
La Bête humaine Film critic Adrian Wootton on the 1938 film La Bête humaine. Directed by Jean Renoir - and based on an Emile Zola novel by the same name – the film tells the story of a train engineer who witnesses the murder of the stationmaster by the husband of a woman with whom the stationmaster has been sleeping with. After the train engineer develops a fixation with said woman himself, sex and violence - and trains - are the order of the day.
La Bête humaine is released on DVD, certificate PG.
