SOUTH PACIFIC (TVM, 2001)
BBC Two, 1.05pm
Made for the small screen, this respectful remake of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic Broadway musical makes a brave but ultimately doomed attempt to compete with its much-loved cinematic blueprint from 1958. Glenn Close shines as a plucky American ensign who falls for Rade Serbedzija’s plantation owner while the Second World War looms over the tropical paradise of the Solomon Islands. Only Harry Connick Jr’s dashing lieutenant sings with any real class, but classic tunes such as Some Enchanted Evening and I’m Gonna Wash that Man Right Outta My Hair remain evergreen show-stoppers. (151 min)
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BATTLE FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES (1973)
Channel 4, 1.50pm
The fourth instalment in the simian sci-fi saga shows a marked decline in budget and ideas, revisiting an apocalyptic future already mapped out in previous films. But it still contains flashes of monkey magic, including Roddy McDowall as a liberal ape leader fighting against a radioactive human religious cult and hardline forces in his own ranks. With its dystopian 1970s mood and nods to blaxploitation chic, thelast in the big-screen series is certainly more of a trashytreat than Tim Burton’s botched 2001 remake. (93 min)
MultiChannel
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ANGELA’S ASHES (1999)
Film4, 9pm
Alan Parker’s stirring adaptationof Frank McCourt’s Pulitzer prize-winning memoir strikesan uneasy balance between sentimental excess and wry, self-deprecating humour. Evenso, it still features show-stopping performances from Emily Watson and Robert Carlyle as the troubled McCourt parents. Set among squalor and deprivation in the small-minded, church-dominated Limerick of the 1930s, McCourt’s earlylife story offers a heady mix of wrenching tragedy and life-affirming humanity. Joe Breen is excellent as the young Frank, while Pauline McLynn, Mrs Doyle in Father Ted, also stars as the boy’s aunt, Aggie (145 min)