This week’s movies on TV bring us the end of the political season, and then a complete retreat into fantasy.
Today
“Primary Colors,” 9 p.m., Bravo. Remember the Clinton years? This funny political comedy brings them back, thinly disguised. John Travolta and Emma Thompson play an ambitious campaign couple. 1998.
“Tarzan and His Mate,” 9:15 p.m., Turner Classic Movies. The MGM Tarzan movies are often delirious excursions into pure movie craziness, and this sequel has the added bonus of a truly sexy approach. With Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O’Sullivan-him Tarzan, her Jane. 1934.
“Casablanca,” 10 p.m., Channel 9. The problems of three little people, amounting to a hill of beans in a wonderful classic. 1942.
Saturday
“The Rookie,” 8 p.m., Channel 4. The poky pace and Hollywood complications are somewhat redeemed by Dennis Quaid’s hard-bitten performance, and the simple fact that this story of a washed-up pitcher making his major league debut at an advanced age is based on fact. 2002.
Sunday
“The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,” 8 p.m., KTWB. Part one of Peter Jackson’s marvel-filled adaptation of the Tolkien saga, as the Hobbits begin traipsing off on their long journey. (Shown in two parts, concluding Monday night.) 2001.
“Miller’s Crossing,” 9 p.m., Fox Movies. The Coen brothers made perhaps their finest film with this handsome, quirky gangster yarn. Great dialogue, and great roles for Gabriel Byrne, Albert Finney and Marcia Gay Harden. 1990.
Monday
“Love Me Tonight,” 7 p.m., Turner Classic Movies. Delightful and ingenious early-sound musical, with a rich score of songs by the unbeatable team of Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart. Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald star. 1932.
Tuesday
“Dig!” 8 p.m., Sundance. For fans of rock documentaries that invariably trace the wretched excess of the music lifestyle, this is a must: the competing trajectories of indie heroes The Brian Jonestown Massacre and the Dandy Warhols, filmed over the course of seven years. 2004.
Wednesday
“Notorious,” 3 p.m., Turner Classic Movies. Tip-top Hitchcock, with Ingrid Bergman a good-time girl recruited by Cary Grant to join an espionage operation in South America. If you can find something wrong with this movie, please let me know. 1946.
Thursday
“Saving Private Ryan,” 8 p.m., Channel 4. Superbly directed (by Steven Spielberg) look at a WWII platoon sent out to pluck an obscure soldier from harm’s way. Tom Hanks admirably leads the cast. 1998.
“Bridget Jones’s Diary,” 9 p.m., TBS. In anticipation of the sequel, a refresher on the dodgy singleton life of Ms. Jones, charmingly played by a plump Renee Zellweger. Colin Firth and Hugh Grant support her; all return in the sequel. 2001.
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