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One of the best Western movies of the decade is on TV tonight

Published 11:21 30 May 2025 BST

Updated 16:50 30 May 2025 BST

Stephen Porzio
One of the best Western movies of the decade is on TV tonight

Homemovies & tv

The film has a 94% Rotten Tomatoes score.

Our TV movie pick for tonight (Friday, 30 May) is The Power of the Dog, the Oscar-winning Western that was released back in 2021.

Written and directed by two-time Oscar-winner Jane Campion (The Piano) and adapted from the novel of the same name by Thomas Savage, the revisionist Western is set in 1920s Montana.

It follows a cruel and tough rancher named Phil Burbank (Benedict Cumberbatch) who clashes with Rose Gordon (Kirsten Dunst), the new wife of his more gentle brother George (Jesse Plemons).

That said, while Phil endeavours to make Rose's life difficult, he forms an unexpected bond with her son from a former marriage, Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee).

The Power of the Dog was acclaimed by critics. This is thanks to its beautiful cinematography, its incredible performances, its fascinating exploration of masculinity and its darkly surprising story.

The film went on to earn an incredible 94% Rotten Tomatoes score and was also nominated for 11 Oscars, winning Best Director for Campion.

The Western is airing on TV tonight on BBC Two at 11pm. It is also available to stream on Netflix.

Here are the other movies on TV tonight:

The Abyss - Legend - 9pm

James Cameron’s underwater sci-fi thriller about a group of deep-sea divers who make an unexpected discovery at the bottom of the ocean.

Deadpool - Film4 - 9pm

Ryan Reynolds returns in this superhero sequel as the 'merc with a mouth'.

Little Fockers - E4 - 9pm

The third and worst entry in Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro's Fockers comedy trilogy.

Assassination Games - Legend Xtra - 9pm

In this 2011 action flick, two rival assassins (Jean-Claude Van Damme and Scott Adkins) form an uneasy alliance to take down a DEA-backed drug cartel.

The Boys in the Boat - RTÉ One - 9.35pm

Holding a 96% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, this George Clooney-directed sports drama is about the 1936 University of Washington rowing team that competed for gold at the Summer Olympics in Nazi Germany.

The MisEducation of Bindu - RTÉ2 - 9.40pm

This 2019 US indie flick revolves around a bullied Indian American teen (Megan Suri).

El Dorado - TG4 - 9.50pm

The beloved '60s Western starring John Wayne, Robert Mitchum and James Caan.

The Heat - BBC One - 10.40pm

Melissa McCarthy and Sandra Bullock's well-liked action comedy, which is not to be confused with the similarly titled '90s masterpiece crime epic Heat.

A Reason to Live, A Reason to Die - Legend Xtra - 11pm

A spaghetti Western from the '70s starring James Coburn, Bud Spencer and Telly Savalas.

Old - Film4 - 11.20pm

M. Night Shyamalan directs this great Twilight Zone-esque horror thriller about a beach that makes people old.

Runner Runner - Legend - 11.40pm

A Princeton grad student (Justin Timberlake) gets taken under the wing of a Costa Rica-based online gambling tycoon (Ben Affleck) with a dark secret in this mid, if also watchable, thriller.

28 Days - RTÉ One - 11.50pm

Sandra Bullock stars in this comedy-drama as a newspaper columnist obliged to enter rehabilitation for alcoholism.

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One of the best Western movies of the decade is on TV tonight