THE CONQUEST OF EVEREST. (StudioCanal). 70th anniversary. The conquest of the highest (29,028ft) and most difficult mountain in the world on 29th May 1953 coincided with the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. The assault, a tremendous strain on lungs, was a breathtaking feat for John Hunt, Edmund Hillary, Tenzing Norgay and also the Sherpa porters carrying 50 pounds of equipment on their backs. A fascinating documentary. Tom Stobart’s photographic images are amazing. Why do men want to climb Everest? Because it’s there.
THE LAST VERMEER (YouTube). During World War II, Han van Meegeran, a Dutch artist and art dealer sold a painting by Vermeer to Goering for a huge sum of money. He was put on trial for collaborating with the Nazis, a treasonable act, and faced execution by firing squad. When it emerged that the painting was a forgery, he became a national hero. He is considered today the world’s greatest forger. Guy Pearce is excellent in the role
GOOD LUCK TO YOU, LEO GRANDE (YouTube). Should sex work be legalised? A middle-aged widow, a retired teacher, hires an expensive young sex worker, a handsome, compassionate charmer, to give her the sexual pleasure she never had from her late husband. This intimate, frank, serious and comic, stagey two-hander conversation piece, set in a hotel bedroom, directed by Sophie Hyde and written by Katty Brand, is deftly acted by Emma Thompson and Daryl McCormack. Thompson bravely appears totally nude.
VICTIM (ITVX). This blackmailing thriller, directed by Basil Dearden, was a landmark 1961 British film, openly supporting the recently released Wolfenden Report which stated that homosexual behaviour between consenting adults in private should no longer be considered a criminal offence. Dirk Bogarde took a big risk with his career by playing the lead role, a closet homosexual barrister who is determined to bring the blackmailers to court. The film proved to be a major turning point in his career.
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