LAND OF THE PHARAOHS (1955)
Channel 4, 1pm
Howard Hawks directed this creaky swords-and-sandals epic that revolves around the building of the Pyramids. Jack Hawkins leads a Brit-heavy cast as a warmongering pharaoh who craves a monumental tomb. In her first major role, Joan Collins co-stars as a scheming princess. Co-written by the literary giant William Faulkner and shot in Egypt with a cast of thousands, Land of the Pharaohs was later disowned by Hawks, who objected to its lack of sympathetic characters. (144 min)
IT’S ALL GONE PETE TONG (2004)
Sky Movies 1, 10pm
Paul Kaye stars as a hedonistic club DJ in a modestly amusing mock documentary by the writer-director Michael Dowse. Most of the action takes place on Ibiza, where Frankie Wilde (Kaye) discovers he is going deaf, then falls for the local sign language teacher (Beatriz Batarda). Although low on subtlety or wit, It’s All Gone Pete Tong is undemanding fun featuring cameos by many real-life DJs, including Tong himself. (90 min)
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SIMON MAGUS (1999)
Channel 4, 3.25am
The feature debut of the British writer-director Ben Hopkins is an atmospheric and determinedly grim fairytale set in the pagan backwoods of 19th-century Poland. Noah Taylor plays the eponymous Simon, a village outcast who becomes entangled in a murky land battle between a poor Jewish boy (Stuart Townsend) and a wealthy gentile (Sean McGinley). Co-starring Ian Holm and Rutger Hauer, Simon Magus is rich in Gothic ambience, but thin on actual plot. (101 min)