In Fabric, BBC Two, 11.20pm Writer-director Peter Strickland follows the stylised weirdness of Berberian Sound Studio and The Duke Of Burgundy with an off-kilter horror comedy about a desirable red dress that hungers for the blood of any woman that dares wear it. Catalogue model Jill (Sidse Babett Knudsen, who also starred in The Duke Of Burgundy) meets a grisly fate after she slips on the red fabric. The couture becomes an object of obsession for divorcee Sheila (Marianne Jean-Baptiste), who spots the garment in a sale at her local department store. She hopes the striking red dress will empower her to face odious boss Clive (Steve Oram) and wipe the smug grin off the face of her son’s condescending girlfriend, Gwen (Gwendoline Christie). Sheila is completely unprepared for the transformation the frock will inspire or the carnage that will be left in her wake.
Red Line 7000 (1965)
Critic Nick Pinkerton recently fired out the Twitter provocation that âfor decades nearly the entire weight of the industrial American film criticism apparatus has been put into forcing people to pay attention to Sundance indies that no one will remember in a year when it should have been telling them to just chill and watch Red Line 7000.â With this yearâs Sundance titles already starting to appear on these shores, and said Howard Hawks racing-car drama showing up on Talking Pictures TV this weekend, itâs a fine time to trial his theory. Hawksâ late-period movies have long played the role of a stress test for the auteur theory. Can a fishing movie involving a shot of a bear riding a motorbike (1964âs Manâs Favorite Sport?) be an autumnal masterpiece? Indeed it can. Red Line 7000 is the picture he made just after that, a flabbier return to the speedway thrills and off-track camaraderie of his 1932 The Crowd Roars â one tha
Comedians confess
The week’s best comedy on TV and radio.
Sunday January 31
ELVIS MCGONAGALL - FULL TARTAN JACKET: The stand-up poet, comedian and armchair revolutionary performs his satirical verse in the latest of Radio 4’s stand-up specials.
Radio 4, 7.15pm
RHOD GILBERT: STAND UP TO FERTILITY: A network outing for the comedian’s entertaining yet important documentary about male fertility following its BBC One Wales outing last week. Read our review here.
Monday February 1
BRUSH STROKES: The Drama channel is showing John Esmonde and Bob Larbey s sitcom about the misadventures of a jack-the-lad painter Jacko, played by Karl Howman, from the very beginning. The show originally ran for 40 episodes on BBC One from 1986 to 1991.
Sixteen films on TV this week picked for your viewing pleasure
Reporter:
Black Death Saturday 30/1 The Horror Channel @ 9pm
England is in the grip of the first outbreak of the black death plague and in the midst of all this horror a young monk is sent out into the world to investigate reports of supernatural occurrences. A cold and bleak film but an intelligent watch filled with interesting themes, nasty violence and decent performances from an excellent cast that includes Eddie Redmayne, Carice Van Houten and Sean Bean.
22 Jump Street Saturday 30/1 RTE2 @ 9.30pm
Detectives Schmidt and Jenko are back. This time they re undercover in a college trying to bust another drugs ring. What they learned from their previous adventure in high school doesn t apply in the big leagues. Crass, brash, profane, action packed fun bolstered by some wicked chemistry between it s leads Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill but once again it s Ice Cube as the angriest police captai
TV Editor
Tonight s top TV tip include the RTÉ Sport Awards 2020, a documentary about Exorcist director William Friedkin, new series Resident Alien, and the finale of The Pembrokeshire Murders . . .
Pick of the Day
RTÉ Sport Awards 2020, 10.15pm, RTÉ
Joanne Cantwell and Darragh Maloney present the show celebrating the stellar achievements of Irish sportspeople in 2020 in the face of never-before-seen challenges.
In terms of spectators, sport was decimated in 2020 - but many sporting heroes emerged or added to their lustre during a year that saw the likes of football’s European Championship and the Tokyo Olympics postponed until this summer.
At home, managers such as Brian Dowling, Dessie Farrell and Stephen Bradley (above) enjoyed a great year, while emerging talents such as Aaron Hill, Katelynn Phelan, Keane Barry, Oisin Mullin and Oisin O’Callaghan all made an impression.