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 war film The Bridge on the River Kwai to recent European gems like Benedetta and La Chimera. 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 20th March

The Longest Day - 5:25pm, Film4

Fact-based Second World War drama chronicling the planning and execution of the Allied landings in Normandy on June 6, 1944, from the differing perspectives of the British, German, French and American forces. Starring Richard Burton, Richard Todd, Kenneth More, Sean Connery, John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, Henry Fonda, Curt Jurgens, Roddy McDowall and Rod Steiger. Read our full review

Cold in July - 10:50pm, Legend Xtra

Thriller starring Michael C Hall, Sam Shepard and Don Johnson. Texas family man Richard Dane is awoken in the night by a noise in his house but while investigating, he accidentally shoots the unarmed intruder dead. It's deemed an act of self-defence but when Richard discovers the deceased is the son of notorious ex-con Ben Russell, he's forced to take extreme steps to protect his wife and son. Read our full review

In Camera - 11:10pm, BBC Two

Satirical drama starring Nabhaan Rizwan and Amir El-Masry. Struggling London actor Aden is trapped in an absurd cycle of minor roles and failed auditions, pigeonholed and typecast because of his Pakistani heritage. When he takes on a new flatmate, the charismatic, self-promoting fashion guru Conrad, Aden attempts to regain some confidence - with variable results. Read our full review

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie - 1:05am, Channel 4

Musical based on a true story, starring Max Harwood. Sheffield teenager Jamie longs to go to his school prom in drag. While he faces opposition from his disapproving teacher and mocking schoolmates, Jamie is backed by his supportive mum Margaret, his best friend Pritti and his mentor Hugo, a veteran drag artiste. Read our full review

Saturday 21 March

The Third Man - 1pm, BBC One

Classic film noir written by Graham Greene, starring Joseph Cotten and Alida Valli and featuring Orson Welles. Holly Martins, a writer of western stories, arrives in Vienna after the end of the Second World War where he has been promised work by his old friend, Harry Lime. However, on his arrival, Martins is told that Lime is dead and was involved in racketeering. Martins resolves to clear his friend's name but his investigations uncover some disturbing truths. Read our full review

The Incredible Shrinking Man - 1:05pm, Film4

Science-fiction classic starring Grant Williams. Scott Carey and his wife Louise are holidaying on a boat when he is momentarily enveloped in a strange mist. Soon after, Carey finds that his body is beginning to shrink. Read our full review

La Chimera - 9:20pm, BBC Four

Period comedy drama starring Josh O'Connor. In 1980s Italy, archaeologist and thief Arthur is released from prison and reunites with his gang of fellow graverobbers. The friends resume their activities, illegally digging up ancient artefacts to sell on the black market, but Arthur's brooding over a lost love threatens a dark turn for him and his cronies. Read our full review

Aftersun - 11:45pm, BBC Two

Drama starring Paul Mescal and Frankie Corio. Now an adult, Sophie reminisces about a holiday she took to Turkey as a girl with her father, Calum. As she revisits her home video footage of the trip, Sophie reflects on her dad and the struggles with his mental health that she could only barely grasp as a child. Read our full review

Hearts of Darkness: a Film-Maker’s Apocalypse - 1:50am, Film4

Documentary charting the making of Francis Coppola's movie Apocalypse Now. Coppola's extraordinary odyssey survived appalling trials and tribulations thanks to his amazing vision. Beset by typhoons, wars, heart attacks, nervous breakdowns and drugs, he emerged with a masterpiece. The documentary includes interviews with the major protagonists, the observations of Eleanor Coppola and some of her own revealing film footage. Read our full review

Sunday 22 March

Oklahoma! - 4pm, Sky Arts

Rodgers and Hammerstein's ground-breaking musical, starring Gordon MacRae, Shirley Jones and Rod Steiger. When cowboy Curly fails to invite his girlfriend Laurey to a social dance she agrees to accompany shady hired hand Jud Fry instead. But when his advances are rejected and Laurey is reunited with Curly, Jud is consumed by jealousy. Read our full review

Toy Story - 6:05pm, Film4

Animated comedy adventure featuring the voices of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen. Woody the cowboy is young Andy's favourite toy. But when Andy receives Buzz Lightyear - a brash state-of-the-art space ranger - for his birthday, Woody's position is undermined and the two toys become bitter rivals. Read our full review

Stardust - 6:35pm, ITV2

Fantasy adventure based on the graphic novel by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess, starring Charlie Cox, Claire Danes, Michelle Pfeiffer and Robert De Niro. In Victorian England, young Tristan Thorne goes in search of a fallen star to prove his love to the village beauty. His quest takes him to a magical parallel world, where he faces competition from cunning witch Lamia and an assortment of dastardly princes - some living, some dead. Read our full review

Training Day - 10pm, BBC Two

Police drama starring Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke. Idealistic rookie cop Jake Hoyt is given the opportunity of trying out with an elite Los Angeles undercover narcotics squad. Hoyt joins Detective Sergeant Alonzo Harris for a day working the streets, but quickly realises that his superior's approach to law enforcement is not strictly by the book. Read our full review

The French Dispatch - 12:05am, Channel 4

Portmanteau comedy drama from director Wes Anderson. Following the death of its editor, a respected American magazine publishes one final issue, featuring a selection of classic articles from the town of Ennui-sur-Blasé: a cycling tour of Ennui; a profile of an artist serving time for murder; a report on the student-led "Chessboard Revolution"; and an anecdote about the dining habits of the local police commissioner. Read our full review

Monday 23 March

The Northman - 9pm, Film4

Historical action adventure starring Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman and Claes Bang. Viking nobleman Amleth spends years in exile, bent on pursuing revenge against his uncle Fjölnir, who murdered Amleth's father and married his mother, Gudrún. When he hears of Fjölnir's own exile into the Icelandic wilderness, Amleth spies his chance... Read our full review

American Psycho - 10pm, ITV4

Satirical black comedy, based on the controversial bestseller by Bret Easton Ellis, starring Christian Bale. 1980s America: corporate executive Patrick Bateman is wealthy, handsome and narcissistic. He has the latest designer clothes, a pristine apartment and the obligatory perfect girlfriend. However, he also likes to kill... Read our full review

Night of the Living Dead - 11:45pm, Rewind TV

Classic horror directed by George A Romero and starring Judith O'Dea and Duane Jones. A young woman takes refuge in a farmhouse after she and her brother are attacked in a graveyard by a zombie-like creature. To her horror, she learns that the dead have been resurrected and are preying on human flesh. Read our full review

Tuesday 24 March

The Ghost and Mrs Muir - 4:40pm, Film4

Romantic fantasy starring Gene Tierney as a widow who befriends the mischievous ghost of a sea captain (Rex Harrison) when she moves into the isolated coastal house where he used to live. Read our full review

Theater Camp - 9pm, Film4

Joan Rubinsky, doyenne of the Adirond ACTS theatre camp for children in upstate New York, suffers a near-fatal reaction to a student production of Bye Bye Birdie and slips into a coma. Her vlogger son Troy assumes control of camp and applies his 'entrepreneurial' spirit. Comedy about the creative process starring Ben Platt and Molly Gordon. Read our full review

Khartoum - 10pm, BBC Four

Documentary. In 2022, a group of Sudanese film-makers began recording the lives of five people living in their country's capital. A year later, civil war erupted, forcing the directors and their participants to flee. Having reconvened in a Kenya studio, the team now completes the film with new interviews and inventive animation, re-creating the homeland they have left behind. Read our full review

Wednesday 25 March

In Harm’s Way - 1:35pm, Film4

Second World War action drama starring John Wayne and Kirk Douglas as two US Navy officers whose fortunes fluctuate after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Read our full review

About a Boy - 9pm, 5 Star

Romantic comedy drama based on the novel by Nick Hornby, starring Hugh Grant as womanising 30-something Will. In search of easy conquests, Will poses as a father at a picnic for single parents where he meets the emotionally troubled Fiona and her 12-year-old son, Marcus. Read our full review

Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody – 10:40pm, BBC One

Biographical drama starring Naomi Ackie and Stanley Tucci. In the early 1980s, aspiring singer Whitney Houston is discovered by Arista Records executive Clive Davis, who immediately signs her. Soon, Houston is one of the biggest pop stars in the world, but the next three decades of her life and career bring terrible lows as well as starry highs. Read our full review

Thursday 26 March

The Bridge on the River Kwai - 1:30pm, Film4

Second World War epic starring Alec Guinness, William Holden and Jack Hawkins. Despite being held in a Japanese PoW camp in Burma, Colonel Nicholson still runs his regiment by the military textbook. However, Nicholson meets his match in the equally stubborn prison commander Colonel Saito, and the two find themselves on a collision course when Saito gets orders to build a strategically important railway bridge. Read our full review

See How They Run - 7:05pm, Film4

Period murder mystery starring Sam Rockwell and Saoirse Ronan. In London's West End, 1953, The Mousetrap has reached its landmark 100th performance. Yet, when a Hollywood director arrives with plans to shoot an adaptation of the play, his grisly demise puts the celebrations on hold. It's up to the world-weary Inspector Stoppard and eager Constable Stalker to deduce the killer among the many suspects backstage. Read our full review

Licorice Pizza - 12am, BBC Two

Coming-of-age comedy drama starring Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman. In Los Angeles in 1973, teen actor and entrepreneur Gary Valentine asks out twenty-something Alana Kane, who reluctantly accepts. So begins an unlikely friendship as the aimless Alana struggles to figure out what to do with her life while participating in Gary's bizarre schemes. Read our full review

Friday 27 March

Journey to the Center of the Earth - 4:25pm, Film4

Science-fiction adventure based on Jules Verne's classic story, starring James Mason and Pat Boone. A geology professor and a young student travel to Iceland where they plan to descend to the centre of the Earth through a volcano. On their perilous expedition they encounter magnetic storms, prehistoric monsters and underground seas. Read our full review

Femme - 11pm, BBC Two

Thriller starring George MacKay and Nathan Stewart-Jarrett. Young drag performer Jules is brutally assaulted in a homophobic attack by a man named Preston. Months later, while out of drag, Jules runs into an unsuspecting Preston at a gay sauna and the two begin a sexual relationship - one that offers Jules the opportunity for revenge. Read our full review

Bad Lieutenant - 11:05pm, Legend Xtra

Crime drama starring Harvey Keitel. Drugs, alcohol, spiralling debt and religious visitations are sending an NYPD cop off the rails. Placing a huge bet on a baseball game, and hunting the thugs who have raped a nun, the cop hopes for a final chance of redemption. Read our full review

Benedetta - 1am, Channel 4

Historical drama starring Virginie Efira and Charlotte Rampling. In 17th-century Italy, a young nun experiences disturbing religious visions, causing upheaval in her convent, and her growing sexual relationship with a fellow nun only complicates matters. 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.