Julie Andrews is perfectly cast in this 1965 movie version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, which deserves its run on ABC as a holiday family classic. But give a nod, this time around, to screenwriter Ernest Lehman, who wrestled this story, and its music, to the ground, making room for both intimate moments of song and expansive moments of sprawling nature – sometimes in the same scene. And ponder, for a moment, some of the other movies whose screenplays were written or co-written b

2016

Dec

SCROOGE By David Bianculli

Another Christmas movie, and Dickens adaptation of A Christmas Carol, worth noting, grabbing, and enjoying: Albert Finney stars as Scrooge, in a 1970 version of the classic holiday story that reimagines it as a musical, yet retains some of the best creepy and snarly flavors of the original. And Marley’s Ghost, this time around, is played by Alec Guinness.

2016

Dec

GREAT PERFORMANCES: “THE HOLLOW CROWN: THE WAR OF THE ROSES” -- HENRY VI, PART II” By David Bianculli

History marches on – and so does this excellent PBS adaptation of William Shakespeare’s history cycle, which continues tonight with Henry VI, Part II. One of the stars is Benedict Cumberbatch, who will return even more prominently in another installment of The Hollow Crown, in the title role of Richard III. Stay tuned. Check local listings.

2016

Dec

SHAMELESS By David Bianculli

SEASON FINALE: This has been a rough year for the Gallaghers, but a wonderful year for this series, which presents its season finale tonight. It involves a death in the family, and the episode is called “Requiem for a Slut” – so start worrying now. Could be almost anyone.

2016

Dec

BEN-HUR By David Bianculli

Here’s a rarity, and something to record for later viewing: The 1925 silent version of Ben-Hur, an appropriate selection for the season – as proven by its subtitle, A Tale of the Christ. Ramon Novarro stars.

2016

Dec

SORTING THROUGH THE OVERFLOWING BOWL SEASON By Gerald Jordan

Isn’t it about time that we throw in the towel on the college football bowl season?...

2016

Dec

STAR WARS MARATHON By David Bianculli

With a new chapter in the Star Wars saga invading theaters, TNT is using the occasion to repeat the first six films in the canon, now relabeled and consistently numbered episodes I through VI. (The original Star Wars movie from 1977, for example, is now known as Episode IV: A New Hope, while the 2015 Star Wars release, The Force Awakens, is considered the start of a new sequel trilogy, and is numbered Episode VII.) The first VI shows are televised today by TNT, starting at 10:48 a.m. ET with 199

2016

Dec

WHY 'RECTIFY' MATTERED By Eric Gould

Small dramas usually mean even smaller audiences, but Rectify, the little show that could, proved that there remains a market for stories where nothing explodes, a psychopath isn’t waiting around the next corner and life moves at a pace that is credible — it mirrored our own...

2016

Dec

A CHRISTMAS CAROL By David Bianculli

This 1984 version of Charles Dickens’ holiday classic is one of my favorites. I don’t know about your image of a perfect Ebenezer Scrooge, but George C. Scott, who stars in this CBS telemovie, is mine – supremely crabby in the early scenes, increasingly tender in the middle ones, and gloriously giddy at the end.

2016

Dec

MILES AHEAD By David Bianculli

Don Cheadle stars as avant garde musician Miles Davis, a trumpeter, bandleader and composer whose forays in and beyond jazz were influential, inspirational, and sometimes inscrutable. His Bitches Brew double album came out in 1970, when I was a teenager – and I was in my 30s before I began to absorb it with anything other than a mixture of awe and confusion. For this movie, Cheadle not only stars as Miles, but directs the film, and co-wrote the screenplay.

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