In outer space, in war, at sea, things just flat-out go wrong in this week’s movies on TV.
Today
“Apollo 13,” 7 p.m., Bravo. A glitch during a moon shot provides the drama in Ron Howard’s account of the near-tragedy, one that has slight echoes in the current space shuttle flight. Tom Hanks stars. 1995.
“Hamlet,” 10 p.m., Channel 9. Laurence Olivier directed and plays the gloomy Dane in this high-polish adaptation of Shakespeare, winning Oscars for best picture and actor. 1948.
Saturday
“Bandits,” 8 p.m., Channel 4. Ever since its commercial flop, this oddball comedy has been winning over converts. At the very least, it’s got three actors enjoying their roles as partners in crime: Bruce Willis, Cate Blanchett, and a quirky Billy Bob Thornton. 2001.
“When We Were Kings,” 9 p.m., CBUT. Knockout documentary about the great Ali-Foreman boxing match in Zaire in 1974, a much better film than “Ali.” 1996.
Sunday
“Windtalkers,” 12:30 p.m., TNT. An acceptable war movie of a very interesting real-life story, about how Navajo men were recruited to use a WWII code that involved the extremely obscure Navajo language. Nicolas Cage stars. 2002.
“The Harvey Girls,” 1:15 p.m.; “Meet Me in St. Louis,” 3 p.m., Turner Classic Movies. Two musicals with Judy Garland. The first is standard stuff but has an epic, Oscar-winning production number, “On the Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe” (1946); plus the beautiful look at a family and a World’s Fair (1944).
Monday
“Dr. No,” 8 p.m., American Movie Classics. First appearance of Sean Connery as James Bond, and a leaner, tougher 007 than would subsequently show himself in the series. 1962.
Tuesday
“The Lost Weekend,” 8:30 p.m., Turner Classic Movies. Ray Milland won the best actor Oscar for his role as a drunk in Billy Wilder’s unsparing look at alcoholism. 1945.
Wednesday
“Abandon Ship,” 8 a.m., American Movie Classics. A pretty good lifeboat movie with an especially strong discussion of survival and morality, as shipwreck survivors crowd a raft with too few provisions. Tyrone Power leads the cast of castaways. 1957.
Thursday
“Paths of Glory,” 7:30 p.m., Turner Classic Movies. A WWI French general attempts to cover his own backside by condemning three soldiers to death; an advocate (Kirk Douglas) argues against it. Stanley Kubrick directed this cool, caustic look at the outrage. 1957.
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