DVR Alerts for the Weekend

Some MAJOR DVR Alerts for the next four days.  All are on Turner Classic Movies.  All times Eastern.

Thursday

8:00 PM: "Double Indemnity" (1944)  Simply put, one of my personal all-time favorites.  Film noir thriller starring Barbara Stanwyck, Fred McMurray, and Edward G. Robinson.  Billy Wilder directed and co-wrote the script with Raymond Chandler.  Movies don't get any better than this one, folks.  Here's a sample of what you'll see:



2:15 AM (Friday morning): "Seven Days in May" (1964)  Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, and Fredric March in a story about a military plot to stage a coup and overthrow the President of the United States.  Lancaster was never better playing the megalomaniac general who heads up the plot.  Douglas is his loyal aide and March is the President.  No more spoilers here, but as political thrillers go, this is one of the best.

Saturday

8:00 PM: "On the Waterfront" (1954)  Story about union corruption on the Hoboken, NJ  docks won eight Oscars including Picture, Actor, Actress, Director, and Screenplay, plus, three nominations for Best Supporting Actor.  If you only know Marlon Brando as Don Vito Corleone in The Godfather, then you must see this one.  Brando was amazing in this absolutely terrific movie. 

Sunday

9:30 AM: "Bridge On the River Kwai" (1957)  One of the great war movies ever, this one won seven Oscars, including Best Picture, Director, David Lean, and Actor, Alec Guinness.  It also stars another of my all time favorites, William Holden.  This is a long movie, 2 hours and 40 minutes, but it is totally enthralling.  The climactic scene is absolutely spectacular.

Another movie that will be shown on TCM this weekend is 1969's "Easy Rider" which stars Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and in his breakout role, a very, very young Jack Nicholson.  I can remember seeing this movie in Slippery Rock, PA when I was a freshman in college, and I can remember being so moved and so taken with the message that this story was telling.  Then, about five years ago, I rented it anxiously watch it once again.  I couldn't get through 30 minutes of it.  Moral of the story:  Some movies are perfect for their time, but not all of them hold up with the passage of time.  This was one of those. It is on Saturday night/Sunday morning at 2;30 AM if you want to give it a try.  I'm going to pass on it.