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 weeks selection includes everything from classic espionage thriller The Spy Who Came in from the Cold to modern gems like Past Lives. There's something for everyone and 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 13th February

The Comancheros - 4:35pm, Film4

Western starring John Wayne. Texas Ranger Jake Cutter finds an unlikely ally in a tough gambler as he sets out on the trail of a gang of ruthless outlaws who are supplying arms and liquor to the Comanches. Read our full review

Moulin Rouge - 11pm, BBC Two

Musical romantic drama directed by Baz Luhrmann, starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor. Montmartre, 1899: Christian, a young Englishman, arrives in Paris with ambitions to become a writer. Befriended by a group of bohemian actors, he comes into contact with Zidler, the unscrupulous manager of the Moulin Rouge, and the beautiful Satine, who immediately captures his heart. But as Christian celebrates his new-found love, tragedy waits in the wings. Read our full review

Babylon - 11:45pm, BBC Two

Period comedy drama starring Margot Robbie, Brad Pitt and Diego Calva. In 1920s Hollywood, against the backdrop of the coming of sound film-making, Mexican immigrant Manny Torres experiences the highs, lows and sheer excess of this new industry. His fate intertwines with those of two actors: vivacious ingenue Nellie LaRoy and silent star Jack Conrad, whose career is on the wane. Amid all this glitz and glamour, disaster is never far away. Read our full review

I Give It a Year - 12:45am, BBC One

Comedy starring Rose Byrne and Rafe Spall. After a seven-month courtship Nat and Josh decide to tie the knot. But the couple's close friends have doubts about the longevity of the relationship because of their very different personalities. So as the first anniversary approaches, who will be proved right? Read our full review

Saturday 14th February

Shaun the Sheep: Farmageddon - 1pm, BBC Two

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

10 Things I Hate About You - 5:05pm, Film4

Romantic comedy, based on Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, starring Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles. Bianca Stratford is banned by her parents from going on a date until her older sister Katarina has a boyfriend, but unfortunately big sister has an excessively aggressive personality and only manages to send most boys running for cover. However, when a new guy arrives in town, Bianca's suitor Joey hits on a plan that could be the answer to their problem. Read our full review

Dirty Dancing - 7:50pm, ITV2

Romantic drama starring Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze. Teenager Frances "Baby" Houseman arrives at a mountain resort hotel with her family in the summer of 1963. Bored by family games and unimpressed by the attentions of the hotel owner's grandson, she meets dance instructor Johnny Castle, who teaches her the art of "dirty dancing". Read our full review

Sleepless in Seattle - 9pm, 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

The Taste of Things - 9:35pm, Film4

Period romantic drama starring Benoît Magimel and Juliette Binoche. On a beautiful estate in late 19th-century France, renowned gourmet Dodin works alongside his lover, the talented cook Eugénie. But despite the harmony of their unconventional relationship, all he really wants is her hand in marriage. Read our full review

Sunday 15th February

The Left Handed Gun - 6:50pm, 5 Action

Western starring Paul Newman. Young desperado Billy the Kid embarks on a relentless quest for revenge when the benevolent rancher to whom he is devoted is murdered by a corrupt lawman. Read our full review

Cape Fear - 9pm, Legend

Thriller starring Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte and Jessica Lange. After 14 years behind bars, brutal rapist Max Cady is free to exact revenge on the man who could have kept him out of jail, lawyer Sam Bowden. Too clever to attack his victim directly, the devious ex-convict begins a reign of terror that threatens Bowden's wife and teenage daughter. Determined to crush the family, Cady's sadistic campaign causes underlying tensions to explode with devastating results. Read our full review

Beetlejuice - 10:30pm, BBC Two

Horror comedy starring Michael Keaton, Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin. After Barbara and Adam Maitland are killed in a car crash, they find themselves trapped as ghosts in their beautiful home. When their peace is shattered by the arrival of a disagreeable yuppie family, the Maitlands enlist the help of a spiritual "bio-exorcist" known as Betelgeuse. Read our full review

Crimes of the Future - 11:55pm, BBC Two

Futuristic sci-fi drama starring Viggo Mortensen and Léa Seydoux. In a near-future where humans are evolving in strange ways, Saul Tenser has turned his ability to grow extra internal organs into a grisly performance art. But he begins to question the direction humanity is taking after he is contacted by a sinister radical group. Read our full review

American Woman - 12am, Channel 4

Drama starring Sienna Miller and Christina Hendricks. Single mother Debra lives with her teenage daughter, Bridget, and Bridget's young son. When Bridget fails to return home after a date with her boyfriend, Debra's world begins to collapse, and she struggles to accept that she may never see her daughter again. Read our full review

Monday 16th February

Carry On Screaming - 2:15pm, Talking Pictures TV

Comedy starring Kenneth Williams, Harry H Corbett and Fenella Fielding. Detective Sergeant Bung investigates the mysterious Dr Watt and his sister, Valeria, who are carrying out sinister experiments in their spooky mansion. Read our full review

M3GAN - 9pm, Film4

Sci-fi horror starring Allison Williams and featuring the voice of Jenna Davis. Robotics scientist Gemma develops an AI-powered, child-sized doll she dubs the Model 3 Generative Android, or M3GAN. The prototype bonds with Gemma's orphaned niece, but soon grows a little too protective of her human charge. Read our full review

Late Night with the Devil - 11:05pm, Film4

A talk show broadcast in the 70s goes horribly wrong after an exorcism is performed live. Horror, starring David Dastmalchian, Laura Gordon, Ian Bliss and Fayssal Bazzi. Read our full review

Tuesday 17th February

The Sting - 2:30pm, Legend

Paul Newman and Robert Redford star in this Oscar-winning period crime caper as conmen Henry Gondorff and Johnny Hooker, who plan an elaborate racing scam at the expense of powerful racket boss Doyle Lonnegan (Robert Shaw). Read our full review

Notorious- 4:30pm, Talking Pictures TV

Alfred Hitchcock's classic romantic thriller starring Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant. Willing to go to any lengths to prove her loyalty to the US government after her father is convicted of treason, Alicia Huberman agrees to travel to South America and risk her life by becoming involved with a ruthless Nazi spy ring. Read our full review

Bonnie & Clyde - 11pm, BBC Two

Classic period crime drama starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway. Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker achieve growing notoriety as they carry out a series of robberies with their gang in 1930s America. Read our full review

Wednesday 18th February

Shadow of a Doubt - 11am, Film4

Classic Hitchcock thriller starring Joseph Cotten and Teresa Wright. When Uncle Charlie arrives in the small Californian town of Santa Rosa, he is welcomed with open arms by his family. However, his admiring niece soon begins to harbour doubts about her favourite uncle. Read our full review

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service - 9pm, ITV4

Spy adventure starring George Lazenby, Diana Rigg and Telly Savalas. James Bond resigns from the Secret Service in order to continue his relentless quest to track down arch villain Blofeld. A liaison with a beautiful but wilful playgirl leads Bond to a notorious criminal who helps him track his quarry to a mountain hideaway in Switzerland. Read our full review

The Rescue - 11:30pm, BBC Two

Documentary. In June 2018, 12 schoolboys and their football coach become trapped in a flooded Thai cave. With rainy season imminent and the military's initial efforts stymied by the waterlogged tunnel system, the situation looks grave. But then a small group of amateur explorers emerge as unlikely potential heroes. Read our full review

Thursday 19th February

Hot Fuzz - 9pm, ITV4

Action comedy starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. London policeman Nicholas Angel is reassigned to a sleepy rural village, but soon finds that the big city doesn't have a monopoly on crime. Read our full review

The Beguiled - 9pm, Legend

Western drama starring Clint Eastwood and Geraldine Page. In the American South during the final desperate days of the Civil War, a wounded Union soldier seeks refuge in a seminary for young ladies. At first it seems like a safe haven, but it soon becomes a cauldron of jealousy and sexual frustrations. Read our full review

Long Shot - 11pm, BBC Two

Romantic comedy starring Charlize Theron and Seth Rogen. Political journalist Fred Flarsky quits his job in protest at a corporate takeover and is hired as a speechwriter by his childhood babysitter Charlotte Field. She has grown up to become the US Secretary of State and is now planning a presidential run. As the two grow closer on the campaign trail, their burgeoning romance is threatened by their differing approach to politics. Read our full review

Friday 20th February

Drums Along the Mohawk - 2:50pm, Film4

Western adventure starring Claudette Colbert and Henry Fonda. In pre-Revolutionary America, a newly married couple join other settlers on the frontier of the Mohawk Valley. After repeated attacks by native American tribes, they are forced to take shelter in a nearby fort. Read our full review

Speed - 9pm, Great Action

Action thriller starring Keanu Reeves, Dennis Hopper and Sandra Bullock. A demented extortionist's plan to collect a huge ransom by planting a bomb in an LA skyscraper is thwarted by the reckless bravery of SWAT daredevil Jack Traven. Undeterred, the unhinged bomber sets Traven a sterner test - an even more deadly device on board a commuter-filled bus that will explode if the bus's speed drops below 50mph. Read our full review

The Damned United - 11pm, BBC Two

Football drama starring Michael Sheen and Timothy Spall. After guiding Leeds United to the First Division title in 1974, Don Revie leaves Elland Road to become manager of England. In a surprise move, the Leeds board turns to outspoken coach Brian Clough as his replacement. But it proves to be a short-lived and bitter experience for all involved. Read our full review

The Inspection - 12:25am, BBC One

Military drama based on a true story, starring Jeremy Pope. After a period spent living on the streets, Ellis French enlists in the US Marines, and is sent to a gruelling boot camp for training. But French's life takes a dangerous turn when his instructors and fellow recruits discover he is gay. 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.