The Oscar winner was a huge influence on Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, as well as the Suicide Squad films.
Netflix have added one of the best revenge movies and the final season of one of the best crime drama shows of recent years to its library.
However, if these aren’t for you for whatever reason, here are the films airing on TV this warm Thursday (7 September) night:
Forrest Gump – Sky Showcase – 9pm
“Life is like a box of chocolates” in this Oscar Best Picture winner.
Children of Men – BBC Three – 9pm
Clive Owen stars in this incredible post-apocalyptic action thriller. He plays a man in a near future where women have become infertile who accepts a dangerous mission to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary.
Couples Retreat – Comedy Central – 9pm
Vince Vaughn leads the cast of this critically-panned comedy about four couples who go on a retreat together.
The Fence – Film4 – 9pm
This British comedy-drama from last year follows a teenager who sets out to settle a score with some local thieves on the streets of ’80s Bristol.
The Possession – Sky Sci-Fi – 9pm
The Walking Dead’s Jeffrey Dean Morgan stars in this supernatural horror about a family afflicted by evil spirits.
The Hatton Garden Job – Legend – 9pm
A UK crime film dramatising the Hatton Garden safe deposit burglary in London in April 2015.
The Dirty Dozen – ITV4 – 10pm
Our pick for tonight is this ’60s war movie about 12 convicts recruited by a US army major (a tough-as-nails Lee Marvin) to take part in a secret and highly dangerous mission to strike a blow against the Nazis during World War II.
The Dirty Dozen was directed by Hollywood legend Robert Aldrich (Attack, Kiss Me Deadly, Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?) and features a stellar ensemble cast including Charles Bronson, Donald Sutherland, Ernest Borgnine, George Kennedy, Jim Brown, John Cassavetes and Telly Savalas – some of whom were actually WWII veterans.
Controversial at the time of its release due to its high levels of violence – particularly during its extremely tense and explosive finale – the movie was nevertheless a commercial and critical hit and even went on to win an Oscar for Best Sound Editing.
Plus, its story of hardened criminals getting a chance at redemption by embarking on a dangerous mission, as well as its depiction of a ragtag group of US soldiers embarking on a secret mission against the Nazis, inspired both the Suicide Squad films and Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds.
You can also rent The Dirty Dozen on Apple TV, Google Play and the Sky Store.
The Dirty Dozen: One of the best war films of all time is among the movies on TV tonight.
The Flock – Legend – 10.50pm
Claire Danes and Richard Gere star in this thriller as department of public safety agents on the hunt for a missing girl.
The Hitman’s Bodyguard – Film4 – 10.55pm
Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson do their thing in this watchable if forgettable action comedy.
Trumbo – Film4 – 11.15pm
Bryan Cranston was Oscar nominated for his performance as Hollywood screenwriter Dalton Trumbo in this biopic.
Spike Island – BBC Four – 11.15pm
Five teenage friends stop at nothing to attend a concert by their favourite band, The Stone Roses, in this British comedy.
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- You will 100% not guess the direction this thriller series’ trailer goes
- Barry Keoghan’s new Oscar hopeful looks brilliantly twisted
- New sports drama from the director of Heat gets pulse racing first look
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