PBS, 8:00 p.m. ET
A repeat, but an excellent one: This 2010 documentary examines John Lennon’s years in New York. It’s a story about his arrival, his legal fight to stay there, and, eventually, his happy nesting phase with Yoko Ono and his artistic resurgence. It’s also about his murder, but it’s the life, not the death, that dominates here. Check local listings.
Showtime, 8:00 p.m. ET
On stage, the titular equine was a thing of majesty – a skeletal maxi-puppet that, like the rest of this story about a horse and his trainer in WWI, left a lot to the imagination, in the very best interpretation of that phrase. This 2011 movie version, directed by Steven Spielberg, goes for the literal interpretations instead: real horses, real battlefields. The story is the same, but judge for yourself whether the same can be said of the dramatic impact. Jeremy Irvine stars.
Flix, 10:15 p.m. ET
Here’s a cinematic love story that’s far from the norm: Neil Jordan directed this 1992 character drama, which stars Stephen Rea as an IRA terrorist who finds himself sympathizing with a captive (Forest Whitaker), and being drawn to the captive’s enigmatic lover (Jaye Davidson). The movie is 20 years old now, but I still feel, in this case, saying more would be a major spoiler.
IFC, 10:15 p.m. ET
Here’s a cinematic love story that’s far from the norm: It’s a modern film noir love triangle, which isn’t unusual at all, but in this case two of the three corners of the triangle are occupied by women. This beautifully photographed and cleverly written movie was concocted by the Wachowski brothers, who now are a different type of sibling team: He’s still Andy, but his sibling is now Lana. Joe Pantoliano plays the low-level mobster, Jennifer Tilly plays his shapely moll, and Gina Gershon plays the ex-con plumber who comes between them. The seduction scene with Tilly and Gershon is so hot, you may want to keep a dishrag nearby to wipe the fog from your TV screen.
NBC, 11:29 p.m. ET
Jamie Foxx is tonight’s guest host, and Ne-Yo is the musical guest. Foxx is an old hand at sketch comedy: In addition to hosting SNL once before, he also clocked three years on Fox’s In Living Color in the early Nineties. Ne-Yo, on the other hand, is a relative Ne-Yophyte.