TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET
More Oscar-winning movies and performances from TCM. This one, from 1954, won Best Picture, and Marlon Brando and Eva Marie Saint won for Best Actor and Supporting Actress, respectively. Brando’s performance also won the adoration, and emulation, of the next half-century of actors. Watch it tonight, and see why.
Discovery, 9:00 p.m. ET
As a pre-Oscars treat, Discovery Channel has shuffled its lineup tonight to repeat two documentaries tied to this year’s Best Picture nominees. The first is this one, which gives a nonfiction retracing of the same steps presented in
Zero Dark Thirty, about the search for Osama Bin Laden. And then there's
the second...
Discovery, 10:00 p.m. ET
And here’s part two of Discovery Channel’s special
pre-Oscars doubleheader: A one-hour special in which the CIA’s Tony Mendez, among others, recounts the real-life events leading to the daring escape of six Americans during the 1978 Iran hostage crisis. This version is a repeat of the little-remembered, now-topical special, but with new narration, provided by
Argo co-star Bryan Cranston.
MGM HD, 10:00 p.m. ET
Here’s a rare chance, on TV, to see Stanley Kubrick’s 1957 anti-war masterpiece, a story of three soldiers court-martialed for cowardice during WWI, and the colonel (Kirk Douglas) who defends them against the unfair, unwarranted charges. Stanley Kubrick was a great director, even at the start of his career, and this gripping drama, with its brutal battle scenes and cold courtroom ones, proves it.
NBC, 11:29 p.m. ET
This is a repeat of the most recent strong installment this show has mounted – from last December, when Martin Short was hosted, and Paul McCartney was musical guest. The best part? Unexpectedly, when McCartney appeared with Short in a comedy sketch, playing a musician who wasn't performing to Short's expectations.