Witness for the Prosecution — Prime Video
Billy Wilder was the Hollywood Golden Age’s greatest director of fast-paced, whip-smart comedies, but he was also, as demonstrated by this classic 1957 courtroom drama, a master director of thrilling character-driven drama. Starring Tyrone Power, a fabulously devilish Marlene Dietrich and the always-entertaining Charles Laughton, it’s an adaptation of the blockbusting stage play by Agatha Christie. Power plays nice-guy Leonard Vole who, when he’s accused of murder, must rely on the skills of Laughton’s veteran barrister, Sir Wilfrid Robarts, to clear his name even as a loophole allows the testimony of Vole’s bitter wife, Christine (Dietrich), to threaten to sink him.
Shanghai Blues — Mubi.com
Legendary Hong Kong director Tsui Hark pays homage to classic Hollywood screwball comedy in this delightfully entertaining 1984 romantic comedy, recently restored in honour of its 40th anniversary. Set in 1937 Shanghai on the eve of the invasion by Japan, it’s the story of a wannabe songwriter who decides to join the army after giving up his show business dreams. When Japanese planes arrive, he meets a vulnerable young woman, and sparks fly as the star-crossed couple swear to meet again once the war is over. Ten years later, and their fortunes have changed, but there may still be hope that they can reunite and live happily ever after.
Surviving Black Hawk Down — Netflix
Already the subject of director Ridley Scott’s jingoistic and one-sided dramatic adaptation in 2001, the events surrounding the ill-fated US special forces operation in Mogadishu in 1993 receive a more balanced treatment in this docuseries. It offers the chance for both US and Somalian participants to relive the fateful moment and offer their explanations for why things went so spectacularly wrong.
The Franchise — Showmax
The Thick of It and Veep creator Armando Iannucci takes satirical aim at the world of Hollywood superhero blockbusters in this often funny, though not always as sharp as it could be, comedy series. It follows the trials and tribulations of a film crew working to make a second-string entry in a blockbuster franchise. Starring Himesh Patel, Aya Cash, Jessica Hynes, Daniel Brühl, Richard E Grant and Billy Magnussen, it’s a high-farce affair that has proved a surprising failure for its creator. HBO cancelled the series after only one season.
The Gorge — Apple TV+
Miles Teller, Anya Taylor-Joy and Sigourney Weaver star in director Scott Derrickson’s atmospheric horror, romance, sci-fi mash-up. It tells the story of two highly trained government operatives sent to protect the opposite sides of an eerie gorge, only to find themselves growing increasingly attracted to each other as the site begins to reveal the evil that lurks within, forcing them to fight together to ensure their own and the world’s survival.
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