Beloved blockbusters trotted out this week

  • By Robert Horton / Herald Movie Critic
  • Thursday, November 18, 2004 9:00pm
  • LifeGo-See-Do

Thanksgiving brings a cornucopia of family movies on TV this week, plus a documentary that will have you hanging by your fingernails.

Today

“The Wizard of Oz,” 8 p.m., TBS. A Kansas girl runs away from home, ignoring the severe weather alert on her local TV news, and suffers a head injury. With Judy Garland. (Repeats other weekend evenings, same channel.) 1939.

Saturday

“El Dorado,” 5:15 p.m., American Movie Classics. A good one from John Wayne and director Howard Hawks, about a gunfighter and a drunken sheriff (Robert Mitchum) caught up in western crossfire. 1967.

“Erin Brockovich,” 8 p.m., Channel 5. Julia Roberts won an Oscar for playing a woman who becomes radicalized by an environmental outrage. Steven Soderbergh (who re-teams with Roberts on the upcoming “Ocean’s Twelve”) directs. 2000.

Sunday

“Touching the Void,” 9 p.m., Channel 9. You will be digging into the arms of your Laz-y-Boy during this riveting re-creation of a mountain-climbing trip, in which two climbers find themselves sandbagged by a vicious storm in the Andes. 2003.

“Swingers,” 9 p.m., Sundance. The hilarious indie hit about men killing time by chasing “babies” and spouting lingo. It’s money. With Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau. 1996.

Monday

“Best in Show,” 7:30 p.m., Comedy Central. A blissful improvisational comedy from Christopher Guest and his crew of comedians, all about an annual dog show and the eccentric dog owners who mark their territory. 2000.

Tuesday

“Since You Went Away,” 9 p.m., Turner Classic Movies. Heart-tugging drama from “Gone With the Wind” producer David O. Selznick, surveying a family holding down the homefront during World War II. Claudette Colbert leads the cast. 1944.

Wednesday

“The Misfits,” 8:15 p.m., Turner Classic Movies. John Huston’s sad, beautiful film about a group of outsiders in Nevada, with Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe and Montgomery Clift doing fine work. Written by Arthur Miller, Monroe’s husband at the time. 1961.

Thursday

“E.T.,” noon, USA. Steven Spielberg’s lovely tale of a boy and his alien friend (outer space, not illegal). 1982.

“The Prince of Egypt,” 5 p.m., Cartoon Network. Animated Bible stories, done in a lavish fashion, concentrating on the story of Moses. Lots of celebrity voices. 1998.

“Spider-Man,” 8 p.m., Channel 13. Tobey Maguire is bitten by a spider, and finds himself quite the swinger. Pretty fun take on the comic book. 2001.

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