Best films to watch on TV today, tonight and this week

There may be plenty of movies available on streaming platforms and being released weekly in cinemas, but nothing quite beats the feeling of finding a hidden gem while flicking through the TV.

With such a raft of options – old and new – to pick from this weekend, it can often feel like a bit of an insurmountable task to find one that really tickles your fancy. But that's where we come in to do the hard work for you, picking out some of the most stellar options available to tune into.

This week boasts everything from iconic classic films like Now, Voyager to spooky season favourites such as Halloween and The Haunting. There's something for everyone but if you're wondering where to find some of the best films on the terrestrial channels this week, we've got you sorted.

Read on for an expertly compiled list of the best flicks airing across the next seven days.

Friday 17th October

The Iron Petticoat - 5pm, Film4

A female Russian pilot defects to the West due to anger at sexual discrimination in the Soviet Air Force. A US Air Force officer tries to convince the committed communist of the benefits of life in the West and romance blossoms - but the KGB are soon stalking the couple. Comedy, starring Bob Hope, Katharine Hepburn, James Robertson Justice and Robert Helpmann. Read our full review

The Black Phone - 11:20pm, Film4

Supernatural thriller starring Ethan Hawke and Mason Thames. Teenager Finney Shaw is abducted by a notorious and elusive child killer known as "the Grabber". Locked in a dark, concrete room, Mason has only one hope of rescue: an old phone, long since disconnected, that puts him on the line with the Grabber's previous victims. Read our full review

Attack the Block - 12:20am, Talking Pictures TV

Sci-fi action comedy starring Nick Frost, Jodie Whittaker and John Boyega. On the mean streets of south London, five teenagers in the process of mugging a woman are disturbed by an alien invader. Soon their housing estate is overrun with beings from outer space and the hunters have become the hunted. Read our full review

The Blair Witch Project - 12:35am, BBC One

Supernatural horror starring Heather Donahue. In 1994, three students went into the Maryland woods to make a film about the legend of the murderous "Blair Witch". They never returned, but a year later their cameras are recovered, complete with terrifying footage of their experiences. Read our full review

Saturday 18th October

Now, Voyager - 12:30pm, BBC Two

Classic romantic drama starring Bette Davis, Paul Henreid and Claude Rains. Following a nervous breakdown, dowdy and repressed Charlotte Vale undergoes psychiatric treatment and emerges transformed. However, beauty and confidence are no defence against the heartache she experiences when she falls in love with Jerry Durrance, a married man. Read our full review

Dark Victory - 2:25pm, BBC Two

Melodrama starring Bette Davis. Long Island heiress Judith Traherne has a jet-setting lifestyle revolving around her thoroughbred horses. Plagued by headaches, she is persuaded to visit eminent brain specialist Dr Frederick Steele, who advises that only an immediate operation can save her. Read our full review

Close Encounters of the Third Kind - 6:25pm, BBC Two

Science-fiction drama starring Richard Dreyfuss. While investigating an extensive power failure in Indiana, Roy Neary encounters a UFO - a phenomenon also witnessed by Jillian Guiler and her young son. When he is unable to convince anyone of his sighting, Neary's strange behaviour starts to worry his family. Read our full review

The Menu - 9pm, Channel 4

Black comedy horror starring Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Fiennes and Nicholas Hoult. Food-lover Tyler invites his date Margot to eat at an exclusive restaurant on a private island run by maverick chef Julian Slowik. As the evening progresses, the diners discover that the main ingredient in Slowik's recipes is revenge. Read our full review

Bone Tomohawk - 11:05pm, Film4

After an outlaw unknowingly leads a band of cannibalistic cave-dwellers into the peaceful town of Bright Hope, the elderly sheriff rounds up a posse to rescue townsfolk abducted by the ferocious tribesmen. Western horror, starring Kurt Russell and Patrick Wilson. Read our full review

Sunday 19th October

The Longest Day - 1pm, BBC Two

Second World War drama starring John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, Henry Fonda and Robert Ryan. Normandy, 6 June 1944: as the huge task of preparing for D-Day draws to a close, the Allied commanders await suitable weather conditions to set in motion history's greatest amphibious operation. Read our full review

Shaun the Sheep: Farmageddon - 3:30pm, BBC One

Animated comedy adventure from Aardman, featuring the voices of Justin Fletcher and John Sparkes. Life at Mossy Bottom Farm takes a surprising turn when an alien crash-lands nearby. The extraterrestrial visitor is friendly enough, but when it transpires that a government agent is on its trail, Shaun the Sheep and friends come up with a plan to help the newcomer get back home. Read our full review

And Then There Were None - 9:45pm, Talking Pictures TV

Crime mystery based on one of Agatha Christie's most famous novels, starring Barry Fitzgerald and Walter Huston. A far-off isle seems the perfect weekend location for ten assorted guests - until they discover their host mysteriously detained, and a murderer among them... Read our full review

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - 10:45pm, BBC Two

Spy thriller adapted from John le Carré's novel and based on the classic television series, starring Gary Oldman and Colin Firth. After a mission goes wrong and an agent is shot, information is received that a Soviet mole is operating at the heart of the British secret service. Veteran operative George Smiley is called out of retirement to try to uncover the spy and he soon discovers that you can trust no one - not even those closest to you. Read our full review

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly - 11:05pm, BBC Two

Classic spaghetti western starring Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach and Lee Van Cleef. Against a background of the American Civil War, a quiet drifter, a Mexican outlaw and a sadist search for hidden treasure. Read our full review

Monday 20th October

Sleepless in Seattle - 6:45pm, Film4

Romantic comedy starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. When Sam Baldwin's wife dies, he is left to bring up his eight-year-old son Jonah alone, and decides to move to Seattle to make a new start. On Christmas Eve, Jonah rings a radio phone-in with his Christmas wish to find a new wife for his dad. Meanwhile in Baltimore, journalist Annie Reed, who is having doubts about her own relationship, is listening in. Read our full review

Obsession - 10:05pm, Talking Pictures TV

Thriller starring Robert Newton as a doctor whose wife's repeated affairs impel him to plan the perfect murder. Read our full review

Manhunter - 11pm, BBC Two

Psychological thriller starring William Petersen and Brian Cox. Ex-FBI investigator Will Graham is called in to solve a series of brutal murders by a killer dubbed the "Tooth Fairy". To help him in his search, Graham uses the extraordinary talents of Dr Hannibal Lecktor, a brilliant psychotherapist with a taste for human flesh. Read our full review

Tuesday 21st October

Robin and Marian - 4:30pm, Film4

Adventure starring Sean Connery, Audrey Hepburn and Robert Shaw. After fighting in the Crusades and following the death of King Richard, Robin Hood and his long-time companion Little John return to Sherwood Forest to be reunited with Maid Marian and once again confront the evil Sheriff of Nottingham. Read our full review

Deep Impact - 6:40pm, Film4

Science-fiction drama starring Robert Duvall, Téa Leoni and Morgan Freeman. A reporter believes that she has discovered a sex scandal in the US government. As it turns out, "Ele" isn't a mistress, but something used to describe an event so cataclysmic that it could destroy the planet. Read our full review

Waves - 12am, BBC Three

Drama starring Taylor Russell and Kelvin Harrison Jr. Tyler Williams seems to have it made: he's a popular student and a keen member of his high-school wrestling team. When an injury threatens his career prospects, his life begins to spiral out of control, leaving his parents and his sister, Emily, to pick up the pieces. Read our full review

Wednesday 22nd October

We’re All Going to the World’s Fair - 6:55pm, Film4

When a teen gets drawn into an online role-playing game, the lines between truth and fiction start to blur. Coming-of-age horror. Read our full review

Point Break - 12am, BBC One

Action thriller set among California's surfing community, starring Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves. Novice FBI agent Johnny Utah is assigned with partner Angelo Pappas to track down a gang of four bank robbers, who carry out their raids wearing masks of former American presidents. In the belief that the gang are surfers, Utah goes under cover to learn surfing skills and encounters the mysterious Bodhi. Read our full review

The Haunting - 12:10am, BBC Two

Horror starring Julie Harris and Claire Bloom. The infamous Hill House attracts a group of investigators determined to uncover the terrifying truth about the place. But as soon as they arrive, strange things start to happen - something from beyond the grave prowls the panelled corridors and climbs the creaking walls. Read our full review

Thursday 23rd October

Shaun of the Dead - 10:35pm, ITV4

Comedy horror starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. On the day north London slacker Shaun decides to sort his life out, the dead rise and the city becomes overrun with zombies. Can Shaun and best mate Ed fight off the marauding hordes of the undead and win back Shaun's girlfriend? Or will they just go down the pub? Read our full review

The Dark Knight Rises - 10:50pm, ITV1

Action fantasy concluding Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy, starring Christian Bale, Tom Hardy and Anne Hathaway. There has been no sign of Batman in Gotham City since the defeat of the Joker eight years earlier. Bruce Wayne has become a recluse, but he is forced to abandon his seclusion and don cape and cowl once more when merciless terrorist Bane threatens the city with annihilation. Read our full review

Saint Maud - 1:15am, Film4

A nurse finds herself at a crossroads in both her personal life and career when a patient in her care dies after her attempts to give them CPR fail. She decides to make some wholesale changes, including becoming a devout Roman Catholic and even going so far as to change her name. She finds a job caring for a terminally ill atheist woman and resolves that her new mission in life is to not only provide palliative care her, but to also save her charge's 'godless soul' from an eternity with Satan. Horror, starring Morfydd Clark and Jennifer Ehle. Read our full review

Friday 24th October

The Wicked Lady - 2:45pm, Talking Pictures TV

A 17th-century noblewoman tires of her humdrum life and decides to seek a little excitement - turning to highway robbery and murder to spice up her life, as well as getting romantically involved with a caddish crook. Absolutely fabulous classic British costume drama, with Margaret Lockwood on brilliant form as the vampish villainess, and support from James Mason, Patricia Roc and Griffith Jones. Read our full review

Halloween - 11pm, BBC Two

Director John Carpenter's ground-breaking horror, starring Donald Pleasence and Jamie Lee Curtis. Fifteen years after murdering his sister, Michael Myers escapes from a mental institution and returns to the small town of Haddonfield. Dr Sam Loomis, a psychiatrist who has been treating Michael, races to track him down before he kills again. Read our full review

Starter for 10 - 12:35am, BBC One

Coming-of-age comedy starring James McAvoy. It's 1985 and gawky, working-class swot Brian Jackson is embarking on his fresher year at Bristol University. Given the opportunity to fulfil his lifelong dream of appearing on TV's University Challenge, he falls for his beautiful team-mate and forms a plan to win her heart through his advanced general knowledge skills. If only love - and quiz show glory - were that simple. Read our full review

The Innocents - 1:30am, Film4

Horror, based on Henry James's short story The Turn of the Screw, starring Deborah Kerr, Michael Redgrave and Peter Wyngarde. A young governess comes to believe that the angelic-seeming children in her charge are possessed by the evil spirits of two dead lovers. But is the mysterious country mansion they inhabit truly haunted or is the children's strange behaviour a fantasy of her own imagination? Read our full review

If you have Netflix, we have rounded up the best movies on Netflix and the best series on Netflix to watch now – and Disney Plus viewers can check out our best movies on Disney Plus guide. Got Prime Video? We also have the best movies on Amazon Prime.

Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.