MONDAY
JANUARY 6
2014

BIANCULLI’S BEST BETS

 

Starz!, 7:15 p.m. ET

William Goldman’s screenplay is as brilliantly clever as his book, and Rob Reiner’s direction makes sure to serve the actors and the story with equal reverence. Mandy Patinkin’s swashbuckling Inigo Montoya is a particular favorite, but there are more than a handful of flawless performances in this 1987 family film – including Wallace Shawn’s scheming Vizzini, Cary Elwes’ noble Westley, Billy Crystal’s blustery Miracle Max, and Andre the Giant’s gentle Fezzik. Is there another movie made in the past 50 years that equals the timeless brilliance of The Wizard of Oz? To quote Vizzini: “Incontheivable!”

 
  
 
 

Flix, 8:00 p.m. ET

It’s now been 20 years since Robert Redford directed this 1994 examination of the quiz show scandals of the Fifties. I show portions of this movie in my TV History class at Rowan University, not only to bring that era and topic to life, but to point out that Redford, in this retelling, manipulated things for the sake of entertainment just as the producers and sponsors of the tainted games shows did. That does not, however, detract from the film’s overall effect, or from the fine performances, especially by John Turturro and Ralph Fiennes as, respectively, rival Twenty-One contestants Herb Stempel and Charles Van Buren.

 
  
 
 

TCM, 8:00 p.m. ET

It’s been 20 years now since Turner Classic Movies was launched in 1994, and the primary host of that network, then and now, is the same person: Robert Osborne. Tonight, instead of interviewing some film figure for a Private Screenings special, Osborne himself is the interview subject, with former The Essentials co-host Alec Baldwin asking the questions. And after the 90-minute profile of Osborne’s career before and on TCM, the rest of the evening is devoted to some of the TCM host’s very favorite movies – starting, at 9:30 p.m. ET, with 1949’s The Third Man.

 
  
 
 

ESPN, 8:30 p.m. ET

A year ago, when the first odds for the 2014 BCS title game were posted, Florida State was given 14-1 odds of making it that far, and Auburn was given odds of 200-1. Yet here they are: the Seminoles with a 13-0 record, and the Tigers with a record of 12-1. And while the pro playoff games this past weekend were exciting, there’s something about the pace and stature of this game that makes it something extraordinarily captivating, no matter the closeness of the contest.

 
  
 
 

TCM, 9:30 p.m. ET

Great script (by Graham Greene), brilliant direction (by Carol Reed), and superb performances (from Orson Welles and Joseph Cotton). Tonight, TCM host Robert Osborne, with his network’s entire inventory at his disposal, selects this 1949 film noir classic as the film he’d most like to show as a personal favorite. Watch it for the first time, and you’ll learn why.

 
  
 
 
 
 
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David Bianculli

Founder / Editor

David Bianculli has been a TV critic since 1975, including a 14-year stint at the New York Daily News, and sees no reason to stop now. Currently, he's TV critic for NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross, and is an occasional substitute host for that show. He's also an author and teaches TV and film history at New Jersey's Rowan University. His 2009 Dangerously Funny: The Uncensored Story of 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour', has been purchased for film rights. His latest, The Platinum Age of Television: From I Love Lucy to the Walking Dead, How TV Became Terrific, is an effusive guidebook that plots the path from the 1950s’ Golden Age to today’s era of quality TV.