Monday June 01 to Sunday June 07 is Volunteers Week – See here for a message to all our Volunteers.
During our period of closure, here’s some alternative options that you can view for free. Missing a walk in the woods? See bottom of this page….
Listed below are films and live perfomances that may be of interest to our discerning audience. They are listed in scheduled order. ON DEMAND items are listed here. Documentaries are here and miscellaneous other things are here.
WE ARE ONE – GLOBAL FILM FESTIVAL Daily Guide – 27 RKO Silver Screen Classics now on iPlayer.
Wigmore Hall BBC Radio 3 Special Broadcasts – Wednesday 03 June 2020
Wigmore Hall Live Stream at 1pm
or listen to BBC Radio 3
The recipient of a newly created Gramophone Award for ‘Concept Album’ in 2019, Sean Shibe is acclaimed internationally for his versatility. The Scottish guitarist’s recital culminates in Steve Reich’s Electric Counterpoint, first recorded by Pat Metheny in 1987.
I WALK ALONE (1947) – Wednesday 03 June 2020
Talking Pictures TV at 10.05pm
Freeview 81, Freesat 306, Sky 328, Virgin 445
Frankie Madison (Burt Lancaster) leaves prison expecting a share from his ex-partner. But Prohibition bootlegging didn’t prepare Frankie for Big Business.
Wigmore Hall BBC Radio 3 Special Broadcasts – Thursdsay 04 June 2020
Wigmore Hall Live Stream at 1pm TBC
or listen to BBC Radio 3
One of the finest oboists of his generation, Nicholas Daniel is joined by his regular recital partner Julius Drake for a programme spanning from 19th-century romantic works through to jazz standards. The recital features three works by the English composer and actress Madeleine Dring.
CORIOLANUS (2014) – Thursday 04 June 2020
NT Live at 7pm TBC
View on Smart TV, mobile device or PC browser
When an old adversary threatens Rome, the city calls once more on her hero and defender: Coriolanus. But he has enemies at home too.
As famine threatens the city, the citizens’ hunger swells to an appetite for change, and on returning from the field, Coriolanus must confront the march of realpolitik and the voice of an angry people.
Josie Rourke directs the company including Mark Gatiss, Hadley Fraser, Alfred Enoch and Deborah Findlay.
Coriolanus was filmed live on stage at the Donmar Warehouse in 2014 by National Theatre Live.
THE REBEL (1961) – Thursday 04 June 2020
Talking Pictures TV at 7.20pm
Freeview 81, Freesat 306, Sky 328, Virgin 445
Tony Hancock’s first star vehicle is no masterpiece, but it is a fascinating misfire. Written by regular collaborators Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, the film has all the touches that made Hancock’s Half-Hour so popular, although they seem a little strained over the course of a feature-length film. Happier in suburbia using landlady Irene Handl as a model for “Aphrodite by the Waterhole” than he is fooling the pretentious Parisians of the Left Bank, Hancock is his usual deluded, pompous self, while George Sanders’s suave shiftiness is as watchable as ever.
SAPPHIRE (1959) – Thursday 04 June 2020
Talking Pictures TV at 9.25pm
Freeview 81, Freesat 306, Sky 328, Virgin 445
A young woman’s murder leaves many questions unanswered in this intriguing detective tale from socially conscious director Basil Dearden (Violent Playground, Victim). The relatively innovative racial element (the victim is a young black woman who has been passing as white) adds to the historic interest, and gives the search for the murderer a wider resonance. This vividly shot movie may seem dated in its treatment of racism and bigotry, but this was challenging material at the time – it was released the year after the Notting Hill riots. Indeed, the film went on to scoop the Bafta for Best British Film and it remains one of this country’s more mature treatments of multiculturalism in Britain.
FRENCH DRESSING (1964) – Thursday 04 June 2020
Talking Pictures TV at 11.10pm
Freeview 81, Freesat 306, Sky 328, Virgin 445
After directing a series of acclaimed BBC documentaries on composers – including Elgar and Prokofiev – Ken Russell was offered the Cliff Richard musical Summer Holiday. He chose instead to break into feature films with this charming story partly inspired by Jacques Tati’s Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday. A deck-chair attendant (James Booth) at the seaside resort of Gormleigh-on-Sea (Herne Bay in disguise) aims to brighten things up by organising a film festival with a Bardot-like film star (Marisa Mell). It was panned by critics at the time – Carry On-style humour was beyond our Ken – but now it seems rather cherishable
Wigmore Hall BBC Radio 3 Special Broadcasts – Friday 05 June 2020
Wigmore Hall Live Stream at 1pm TBC
or listen to BBC Radio 3
Two exceptional young pianists, Pavel Kolesnikov and Samson Tsoy join forces for a programme of piano four hands, culminating in Schubert’s inimitable Fantasie in F minor, a piece once described by Joachim Kaiser as ‘one of the greatest works in music history.’
ERIC CLAPTON – A LIFE IN 12 BARS (2017) – Saturday 06 June 2020
BBC2 at 9.15pm
Freeview 102, Freesat 102, Sky 102, Virgin 102
Screened at the David Lean Cinema in February 2018
Director Lili Fini Zanuck takes viewers on a journey through the life of renowned 18-time Grammy award winner, Eric Clapton. The film documents Clapton’s five-decade career, his triumphs, nadirs, and all that occurred behind the scenes: tragedy, restlessness, Clapton’s idiosyncrasies and isolated pursuits. Through an archive of performances, home videos, and audio interviews from those who knew him best, a deeper sense of what inspired the legendary musician and his unforgettable work emerges. George Harrison and Steve Winwood feature.
JOY (2015) – Sunday 07 June 2020
Channel 4 at 11.15pm
Freeview 104, Freesat 104, Sky 138, Virgin 142
Screened at the David Lean Cinema during February 2016
Joy Mangano is the humble-roots woman who became an industry of household inventions (mainly the Miracle Mop, although she holds over 100 patents)—not an obvious choice for a biopic. Perhaps only director David O. Russell could see the potential in it, boosted by his fascination with Jennifer Lawrence, who plays Mangano.
“Joy” demands that the audience become emotionally invested in a mop. It’s ridiculous. “Joy” doesn’t work entirely, and the structure set up so clearly in the opening sequence is dropped early on for no apparent reason, but I’ll be damned if I didn’t get carried away at the story of a mop sweeping the nation. It’s a lunatic “Mildred Pierce,” without the murder. Sheila O’Malley, Robert Ebert.
THE SQUARE (2017) – Wednesday 10 June 2020
Film 4 at 9pm
Freeview 45, Freesat 301, Sky 314, Virgin 430
Screened at the David Lean Cinema during May 2018
A prestigious Stockholm museum’s chief art curator finds himself in times of both professional and personal crisis as he attempts to set up a controversial new exhibit
AMY (2015) – Thursday 11 June 2020
Channel 4 at 10pm
Freeview 104, Freesat 104, Sky 138, Virgin 141
Screened at the David Lean Cinema during August 2015
From BAFTA Award winning director Asif Kapadia (SENNA), AMY tells the incredible true story of six time Grammy winner Amy Winehouse – in her own words. Featuring extensive unseen archival footage and previously unheard tracks, this strikingly modern, moviong and vital film shines a light on our culture and the world we live in today.
A once-in-a-generation talent, Amy Winehouse was a musician that captured the world’s attention with here unforgettable voice and charisma. A pure jazz artist in the most authentic sense, Amy poured her heart and soul into her music, expressing personal struggles and pain through her intimate lyrics.
Asif Kapidia’s powerful documentary invites audiences to remember and celebrate Amy as a brilliant artist while asking ourselves how it was that we watched her disappear in front of our eyes.
JOHANNA UNDER THE ICE – Documentary short
Finnish freediver Johanna Nordblad holds the world record for a 50-meter dive under ice. She discovered her love for the sport through cold-water treatment while recovering from a downhill biking accident that almost took her leg. British director and photographer Ian Derry captures her taking a plunge under the Arctic ice. Dur 4 mins.
AMONG THE TREES – HAYWARD GALLERY
“One of the great joys of walking in a forest, is you give up any attempt to analyse it… you just enjoy the act of looking.”
Ralph Rugoff, Director, Hayward Gallery
