TV films of the week

Published on Friday 3 July 2009 16:24

GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING Tuesday, BBC Two, 9pm

A beautiful, painterly piece of cinema, this may be Scarlett Johansson's best yet. She takes a post as the domestic help in the artist Vermeer's household. He is played by Colin Firth, so I guess we all know what happens next... (2003)

BLACK NARCISSUS

Tuesday, Channel Four, 1.35pm

A Powell-Pressburger masterpiece of form, colour and lighting, this is as mesmerising as cinema gets. Funny to think, watching a bunch of nuns attempting to establish colonial order in the foothills of the Himalayas, that it was shot entirely on set at Pinewood Studios. (1947)

CHINATOWN

Tuesday, Film4, 10.50pm

Arguably the greatest film of the Seventies, this is noir, style, high emotion, plot, character and searing tragedy combined in Roman Polanski's masterpiece. Jack Nicholson turns in the performance of a lifetime as a private eye tortured by his sense of justice. (1974)

THE WICKER MAN

Wednesday, STV, 10.35pm

The ultimate Scottish cult horror, this has no gore but plenty of skin-crawling fear. Edward Woodward's Sergeant Howie is the naive cop sent from the mainland to remote Summerisle to investigate the disappearance of a girl. Enter Christopher Lee's Laird, minus Hammer Horror fangs, but still creepy as hell. (1973)

HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN

Saturday, STV, 4.25pm

Before the next Potter instalment hits multiplexes, check out the best of the franchise yet, and not just because our trio of heroes are finally learning to say their lines and act at the same time. This one is directed by Alfonso Cuarn. (2004)

CHARIOTS OF FIRE

Saturday, Five, 2.40pm

That Vangelis soundtrack may be the most memorable thing about it, but as we can't get enough of Eighties schlock, remind yourself of just how cheesy things used to be with this tale of two British athletes going for Olympic gold. (1981)