A lot of people in masks in the movies on TV this week, and we begin with a chilling political yarn.
Today
“The Manchurian Candidate,” 10 p.m., Channel 9. The remake opens today, but do check out the original first – a suspenseful and perverse story of Korean War vets Frank Sinatra and Laurence Harvey trying to figure out what’s wrong with their brains. John Frankenheimer directed this still-startling political nightmare. 1962.
Saturday
“Interiors,” 7:25 p.m., Sundance. When Woody Allen scored big with “Annie Hall,” he had the clout to make a non-comedy. This is it, and it’s one of those lessons that comedy can be more profound than serious drama. This austere black-and-white picture has some good performances in it, however. 1978.
“The Talented Mr. Ripley,” 8 p.m., Channel 5. Matt Damon plays Patricia Highsmith’s shape-shifting title character, under the juicily suspenseful direction of Anthony Minghella. With Gwyneth Paltrow. 1999.
“The Princess Diaries,” 8 p.m. and 10:10 p.m., Disney. Big hit with tweener girls, this cutesy Disney offering has its sequel coming out in a couple of weeks. 2001.
Sunday
“The Mask of Zorro,” 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., TBS. Bounding entertainment with Anthony Hopkins and Antonio Banderas trying to buckle the swash of Catherine Zeta-Jones. 1998.
“Red River,” 9 p.m., Turner Classic Movies. A batch of John Wayne movies this day includes Howard Hawks’ marvelous look at a self-made cattle baron doing battle with his adopted son (Montgomery Clift). 1948.
Monday
“The Lady Eve,” 7 p.m., Turner Classic Movies. The delicious essence of writer-director Preston Sturges is in ample evidence in this delight, which has con girl Barbara Stanwyck casting her net over a millionaire snake expert (Henry Fonda) aboard an ocean liner. 1941.
Tuesday
“Quiz Show,” 8 p.m., Encore. A fine, lively treatment of the TV quiz show scandals of the 1950s, with Robert Redford’s direction showing more oomph than usual. Ralph Fiennes stars. 1994.
Wednesday
“Thoroughly Modern Millie,” 7:30 a.m., American Movie Classics. Julie Andrews shows off her comic chops in this put-on tale of 1920s flappers, an extremely silly spoof that’s been recently revised for Broadway. 1967.
Thursday
“Mississippi Masala,” 8 p.m., Oxygen. Denzel Washington, who stars in the new “Manchurian Candidate,” gives one of his best and least appreciated performances in Mira Nair’s sweet southern romance. 1992.
“The Commitments,” 9 p.m., Fox Movies. A good time in Ireland, with a rowdy gang of musicians in a cover band; it’s based on the writing of Roddy Doyle. 1991.
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