TERMS OF ENDEARMENT (1983)
Five, 7.30pm
A tear-jerking box office smash, Terms of Endearment explores the turbulent relationships between the feisty Texan matriarch Aurora Greenaway (Shirley MacLaine), her rebellious daughter Emma (Debra Winger), and Emma’s unfaithful husband Flap (Jeff Daniels). The director, James L. Brooks, was smart enough to add an extra character to Larry McMurtry’s novel, the rowdy retired astronaut Garrett Breedlove — a role written for Burt Reynolds but immortalised by Jack Nicholson. The shamelessly emotive plot worked wonders with audiences and Academy members alike, earning Oscars for Brooks, Nicholson and MacLaine, as well as for Best Picture and Best Screenplay. (132 min)
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RED ROCK WEST (1992)
Sky Movies 1, 8pm
Set in the remote desert town of Red Rock, John Dahl’s stylish modern-day film noir stars Nicolas Cage as Michael, a drifter mistaken for the hitman hired by shifty saloon bar owner Wayne (J. T. Walsh) to murder his wife, Suzanne (Lara Flynn Boyle). Michael is desperate enough to go along with the bluff, hatching a double cross with Suzanne while the real killer (Dennis Hopper) rolls into town. Shot mostly at night, Red Rock West is a compelling and atmospheric descendant of the classic Hollywood noir thrillers of James M. Cain and Jim Thompson. (98 min)
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TILL DEATH US DO PART (1968)
BBC Four, 11pm
Part of BBC Four’s 1960s season, Norman Cohen’s feature film spin-off from the long-running BBC sitcom traces the Garnett family history from wartime to the 1966 World Cup. Despite his racism, which the writer Johnny Speight undercuts at every turn, the character of Alf Garnett is a grand study in bittersweet humour from Warren Mitchell. Mitchell and Cohen strike a more melancholy tone than the TV series, presenting Alf as a relic of the Blitz who feels bewildered by Swinging Sixties London. (96 min)
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ROCKY (1976)
BBC One, 11.05pm; Wales and N. Ireland, 11.35pm
Sylvester Stallone scripted the film that launched his mainstream career in three days flat after witnessing a showdown between Muhammad Ali and the small-time boxer Chuck Wepner. Sly sold the rights only on condition that he would star, turning down a $150,000 deal to pass the role to Ryan O’Neal. The iconic tale of a blue-collar Philadelphia boxer (Stallone) punching his way to fame and fortune won three Oscars and several nominations. Rocky also earned over 100 times its $1.1 million budget, but only after the director John G. Avildsen swapped Stallone’s original downbeat ending for a happier one. (118 min)
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EVEN COWGIRLS GET THE BLUES (1993)
Channel 4, 3.55am
Before Kill Bill and even Pulp Fiction, Uma Thurman starred as a hitch-hiker with giant thumbs in Gus Van Sant’s eccentric adaptation of the cult novel by Tom Robbins. The freakish Sissy Hankshaw (Thurman) sets off across 1970s America in search of feminism, sexual freedom and personal fulfilment. Van Sant’s listless depiction of life in a lesbian cowgirl commune became a notorious box office flop, although it was clearly made with bold intentions and offbeat humour. John Hurt, Keanu Reeves and dozens more famous names drop by to savour the confusion. (101 min)