
Share
27th September 2025
11:32am BST

Our TV movie pick for tonight (Saturday, 27 September) is The Shooting, the cult classic '60s Western starring future Oscar-winner Jack Nicholson (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest).
Written by Carole Eastman (Five Easy Pieces) and directed by Monte Hellman (Two-Lane Blacktop), the film is set in the American West. Its story sees Willet Gashade (Warren Oates, Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia), a former bounty hunter, and Coley Boyard (Will Hutchins, Sugarfoot), his dimwitted partner, approached by a secretive young woman (Millie Perkins, The Diary of Anne Frank).
She offers them money to guide her through the desert, but refuses to discuss why she is travelling. The group embarks on the journey and is eventually joined by Billy Spear (Nicholson), a volatile gunslinger whom the woman has also hired.
"The only question is why," the plot synopsis adds.
The Shooting did not get a big release, perhaps because of its low budget or because distributors didn't know what to make of the movie, which subverts many of the expectations of the Western genre and actively avoids clear resolution in its storytelling.
That said, its reputation has improved massively over time, with the film currently holding a perfect 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Shooting is now credited as being the first "acid Western", a sub-genre that blends classic Western tropes with elements of 1960s counterculture.
BFI [British Film Institute] has compared the movie to the work of Samuel Beckett, while Criterion describes it as "eerie and existential".
The latter also wrote: "Hellman’s singular odyssey is a vision of the weird old West unlike any other, a spare and challenging work leading to a provocative ending."
The Shooting is airing on TV this evening on the channel Legend at 6.25pm. It's also available to rent on Apple.

Kingsman: The Secret Service - Channel 4 - 9pm
Taron Egerton and Colin Firth kick ass in this very fun and violent send-up of Bond flicks.
Plane - Film4 - 9pm
A very solid action thriller in which Gerard Butler plays a commercial pilot who must save his passengers when his plane is struck by lightning and he is forced to land on a war-torn island.
R.I.P.D. - Comedy Central - 9pm
Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds are undead detectives in this 2013 comic book adaptation.
Sex and the City 2 - RTÉ2 - 9pm
In this big-screen spin-off of the hit comedy series, Sarah Jessica Parker and co take a vacation to Abu Dhabi.
Conan the Barbarian / Red Sonja - Legend Xtra - 9pm / 11.15pm
Two Arnold Schwarzenegger '80s sword-and-sorcery movies back to back.
Chaos - Legend Xtra - 9pm
A forgettable 2005 crime thriller with Jason Statham, Ryan Phillippe and Wesley Snipes.
Luther: Never Too Much - Sky Arts - 9pm
The acclaimed recent music documentary about American soul and R&B singer Luther Vandross.
Bridget Jones's Baby - Sky Showcase - 9.25pm
The third entry in the hit rom-com series of films.
Bridge of Spies - TG4 - 10pm
Steven Spielberg's Oscar-winning historical thriller about a New York lawyer (Tom Hanks) who is sent to East Germany during the Cold War to arrange a high-stakes prisoner exchange between the US and the USSR.
Evil Does Not Exist - BBC Four - 10.05pm
From the Oscar-nominated director of Drive My Car, this 2023 Japanese drama is about a rural alpine hamlet near Tokyo that is disrupted by a real estate project.
The Taking of Pelham 123 - ITV4 - 10.15pm
John Travolta takes a NYC subway car hostage, and Denzel Washington is the train dispatcher who must negotiate with him. A tense and underrated thriller remake.
The Predator - Film4 - 11.10pm
The fourth standalone Predator film, directed by Shane Black (The Nice Guys). While it earned pretty mixed reviews, we'd argue it has some merit.
Oasis: Supersonic - Channel 4 - 11.35pm
The pretty fun documentary about Britpop legend Oasis.
Love Affair - RTÉ2 - 11.35pm
A '90s romantic drama starring real-life couple Annette Bening and Warren Beatty.
Circle of Friends - Virgin Media Three - 12am
Chris O’Donnell and Minnie Driver star in this hit 1995 adaptation of a Maeve Binchy novel.
Do you love movies? Have you ever dreamt of turning your home into your own cinema?
If so, then you may be interested in a home theatre projector we spotted on sale on Amazon with “impressive quality”.
The 4K projector has the likes of YouTube, Netflix and Prime Video built-in, so you can access thousands of films and shows without an additional TV stick, and you can also connect it to Bluetooth on your phone and laptop.
It’s currently priced at €53.52 in a limited-time deal on the Amazon website.
This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission on any sales generated from it.
Explore more on these topics:

The JOE Film Club Quiz: Week 84
movies tv