edge

The best of the DIRECTV primetime lineup

If it had screened just an hour earlier, A Clockwork Orange BEST FILM OF THE DAY (9.58pm TCM) would certainly have been today’s number one selection.

Today’s Number One Film:

Groundhog Day 9pm Fox Classics Ch 560. Watch this if you liked The Truman Show, Forrest Gump or Hugo. Groundhog Day was the turning point in Bill Murray’s career, the first time audiences could see the stinging talent for character acting that led to his magical performances in the offbeat The Life Aquatic and the otherwise boring Lost in Translation. Groundhog Day is far, far better than either of those and easily the best American film using the premise of a man condemned to repeat the same experience over and over – in this case, Bill Murray’s spectacularly deadpan weatherman on the titular day in question – until he gains existential insight. Buddhists revere it and even Hollywood critics concede it is an intelligent, penetrating comedy with more than a little to say on the human condition; and the belly laughs are there in abundance. Murray is amazing and the rest of the cast uniformly excellent. This, their sixth collaboration, was Murray’s last film with Ramis; if neither has gone on to top it, it is because it reached so high. Unstintingly recommended. Directed by Harold Ramis/ 1993/ USA/ Comedy/ 102 mins/ Rated PG-13.





JUST NOSED OUT:

A Clockwork Orange (Sci-fi) BEST FILM OF THE DAY, 9.58pm TCM; Schindler’s List (Holocaust), 5.40pm Max; The Hours (Drama), 10pm FoxCin; We’re the Millers (Comedy), 7.05pm MaxU; Son of Saul (Foreign-Holocaust), 10.10pm Max; Dope (Comedy), 10.40pm HBO2

BEST Pay Per View BET:

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children Ch 410

Scheduled Internet times often vary on the day, particularly around month-end.

The selected content is not available.