The wide-ranging choice is so very good today, BC on TV was compelled to leave out the Western considered the progenitor of every good Western since itself (the 1939 John Ford/ John Wayne Stagecoach 8 pm Enc3) as well as an oddball former Western pick (Alvarez Kelly 4.25 pm Enc3), two kiddie flicks parents would enjoy tremendously (The Smurfs 2.05 pm HBO, Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride 2.55 pm HBOF) and a music biz bio that is as strangely watchable as it is vulgarly self-congratulatory (Who the F--- is Arthur Fogel? 1.45 pm HBOC). The week features two perennial contenders for Best Film (The French Connection 4.30 pm tomorrow TCM, Reservoir Dogs 10 pm Friday TCM), an excellent recent pick (*What Maisie Knew 9 pm tomorrow, Max) and a very good historical drama (The Other Boelyn Girl, 10pm tomorrow MaxW).
Today’s best film: Chinatown (Roman Polanski / 1974 / USA / Mystery-Thriller / 110 mins / R), 10pm Turner Classic Movies BEST FILM OF THE WEEK. Watch this if you liked LA Confidential, American Beauty or Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead. As satisfying as it is complicated—the plot starts with adultery but it all comes out in the wash—Chinatown is generally considered Roman Polanski’s best film. With a gritty lead performance from Jack Nicholson as a gumshoe and a delicate one from Faye Dunaway as the mystery girl—and John Huston as one of cinema’s most disgusting villains—this is easily the best film on tonight; or most nights: the American Film Institute rated it the 19th best American film of all time. Not for the Captain American: The Winter Soldier action flick fans, perhaps, but magnificent nonetheless—or perhaps all the more.
Today and rest of the week: Quiz Show (Robert Redford / 1994 / USA / Biography-History-Drama / 133 mins / PG-13 for some strong language) 3.30 pm today Turner Classic Movies. Watch this if you liked Argo, All the President’s Men or Good Night, and Good Luck. Probably the best of Robert Redford’s outings as director, Quiz Show features remarkable performances from John Turturro, Ralph Fiennes, Paul Scofield and Rob Morrow, and one of the best-paced, historically accurate screenplays of the modern age, telling the true story of the fixing of TV game shows in the 1950s. Rarely does history work so well as drama. Even the videogame crowd will sit still for all of its two hours-plus runtime. Hedwig and the Angry Inch (John Cameron Mitchell / 2001 / USA / Music-Drama-Comedy / 95 mins / R for sexual content and language) 9 pm Friday Max. Watch this if you liked The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Rent or The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. Hysterically funny, equally moving, the story of the German boy who has a sex change operation to marry an American GI in Germany and ends up touring the US Skid Row rock concert circuit is filled with great songs; a musical for everyone who hates musicals but perhaps not for anyone who hates gays. The titular “Angry Inch” is her backing band; too.
Best of the rest: Mon: *Seven Psychopaths 5.05 pm HBO; Tues: Groundhog Day 6.35 pm TCM; Wed: Gangster Squad 6 pm HBO and 9pm HBOC; Thurs: Underdog 9.15 pm HBOF; Fri: Batman 3.45 pm MaxW; Sat: Red Dawn 6.30 am TCM.
Starred films have been chosen in the last three months. Scheduled Internet times often vary on the day, particularly around month-end.