SMALL TIME CROOKS (2000)
Film4, 7.10pm
The first fruit of a short-lived deal between Woody Allen and the Hollywood studio DreamWorks, Small Time Crooks stars Allen and Tracey Ullman as blue-collar criminals whose botched bank-robbing scheme brings untold wealth through an unexpected, accidental sideline. But all their new money — surprise surprise — does not bring happiness. Co-starring Hugh Grant as a snobby English caricature, Allen’s featherlight feelgood farce lacks the substance of his best work, but still contains smart one-liners and hilariously awful clothes. (94 min)
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SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (1998)
Five, 9pm
A stirring salute to American heroism in the Second World War, Steven Spielberg’s heavy- handed but brilliant military epic manages to balance cynicism about battlefield glory with unqualified respect for the soldiers who earn it. In occupied France, a hard-bitten captain (Tom Hanks) and a unit of grudging dog soldiers set off to locate a missing paratrooper (Matt Damon) behind enemy lines. Opening with an intense and harrowing re-creation of the D-Day landings in Normandy, Spielberg’s sentimental blockbuster won five Oscars, including one for Janusz Kaminski’s grainy, colour-drained cinematography. (170 min)
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A NIGHT ON THE TOWN (1987)
BBC One, 11.05pm
Elisabeth Shue plays a Chicago babysitter who becomes entangled in a series of nocturnal scrapes in this feelgood debut feature by the future Harry Potter director Chris Columbus, which was released in cinemas as Adventures in Babysitting. Responding to a friend’s distress call, Shue’s hapless heroine sets off into the city with a young girl and her pimpled teenage brothers in tow. The thin story is full of strained Brat Pack humour, although the club scene starring the blues veteran Albert Collins is worth the wait. (102 min)