Rockin' to oldies but goodies
EITHER set the video, or be prepared to sit up after the midnight hour for a bit of old time rock and roll magic like your mama used to dance to.
The best entertainment of the night - with the exception of the documentary series The Kennedys - is Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll (Pearl 1.05am, Original Running Time 121 minutes), a resounding salute to legendary Chuck Berry.
The documentary centres on his 60th birthday concert at the Fox Theatre in St Louis - a venue he was not allowed to enter as a kid because of his colour - and includes interviews with Berry's contemporaries Johnnie Johnson, Little Richard and Bo Diddley.
Sadly, Berry's voice is shot but his guest stars fill the gap: including Eric Clapton, Etta James, Keith Richards and Julian Lennon.
DEFINITELY, the poorest entry in this week's Asian Movie Showcase is Shanghai 1920 (World 9.30pm), a confused and confusing tale of friendship starring John Lone (The Last Emperor) and Adrian Pasdar.
At the start, in 1920, these two are young pals playing together in Shanghai, then Pasdar drifts off round the world before returning to the now bustling city of 1935.
Lone helps his friend establish a business, before Pasdar discovers he's heavily involved with the triads. The friends unite again when the Japanese invade the city.
That's what the film's meant to be about anyway. Sadly, much of the story is too muddled to follow - even Lone and Pasdar look bored throughout.
BUT then the alternative is no better with Jean-Claude Van Damme kicking up his heels again in Lionheart (Pearl 9.30pm, ORT 105 mins). The skimpy plot - the term is used loosely - involves the French Foreign Legion, the death of Van Damme's brother and revenge - but it's really just an excuse for the kick-boxing star to take part in bare-knuckle bouts ad nauseam. Yawn.
JEAN-Claude Van Damme also crops up on Film '93 (BBC 6.35pm), where Barry Norman reviews his latest movie Hard Target directed by Hong Kong's own John Woo. He'll cast his sardonic eye over CB4, an affectionate spoof of the rap and hip hop music scene, and Benefit of the Doubt, starring Donald Sutherland and Amy Irving.
In the US, Tom Berry interviews Anjelica Huston and Raul Julia about Addams Family Values, the second movie spin-off from the old TV series.
BRAVING Alaska (World 8.30pm) looks at two American families, the Korths and the Browns, both of whom chose to give up their comforts and conveniences for a life in the remote reaches of the Alaskan interior.
The Korths live in a tiny cabin 320 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle with their infant daughters. Until now, the Browns' isolation has been similar, but they've reluctantly decided to move nearer to Fairbanks for the sake of their children.
ON the sports front, anyone who attended last week's Macau Grand Prix and was too busy enjoying themselves to watch the actual cars in motion can catch up on what they missed in a highlights round-up (Prime Sports 8pm).
There's also basketball action in NBA Game of the Week (Prime Sports 10pm) with the New York Knicks playing the San Antonio Spurs.
