Saving Private Ryan

TV fills Memorial Day weekend void

For the third time, TV has fresh responsibility in a stay-near-home world.
First it was Easter without churches …. then Earth Day without being out in nature … and now Memorial Day without some of the usual parades and public events.
So TV has alternatives. It has a major concert (8 and 9:30 p.m. Sunday on PBS, see separate story) … a new mini-series (“Grant,” 9 p.m. Monday on History) … documentaries … and, of course, lots of movies, including three airings of the Spielberg/Hanks classic “Saving Private Ryan” (shown here). Read more…

D-Day on TV: Here’s a cable guide

In “Saving Private Ryan” (shown here), D-Day filled 21 minutes; in “The Longest Day,” it filled three hours.Still, these movies – separated by 36 years and huge leaps in cinema – had the same effect: They showed the horror and triumph of the day that marked the beginning of the end of Europe’s nightmare.As Thursday’s milestone — the 75th anniversary of D-Day – nears, we can see both on cable. Here’s a sampling: Read more…