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

There are plenty of options – old and new – to pick from for Easter Weekend, from iconic family films like Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory to sci-fi classics like Aliens, so there really is something for everyone.

If you're wondering where to find some of the best films on the terrestrial channels this week, we've got you sorted with our picks for the next seven days.

With so many amazing films airing, we've compiled a list of the best flicks for you to choose from below.

Friday 18th April

The Happiest Days of Your Life - 4:40pm, Talking Pictures TV

Comedy starring Alastair Sim and Margaret Rutherford. In postwar Britain, trouble erupts when pupils from a girls' school are mistakenly evacuated to a boys' college because of damage done during the Blitz. Read our full review

Jurassic Park - 7:25pm, ITV4

Steven Spielberg's blockbuster adventure, starring Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Richard Attenborough. Billionaire tycoon John Hammond has built the ultimate theme park - an island populated by genetically engineered dinosaurs. A group of guests, including Hammond's grandchildren, are invited to preview the attraction, touring the park in remotely controlled cars. But, as a tropical storm gathers, an unscrupulous employee shuts down the elaborate security system, leaving the tour stranded - and mayhem about to break loose. Read our full review

The King’s Speech - 10pm, BBC Two

Oscar-winning historical drama starring Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Rush. As part of his royal duties, Prince Albert is required to speak at public events, a task made all the more difficult owing to his severe stammer. The death of his father and subsequent abdication of his older brother means that "Bertie" is to be crowned king. Unconventional speech therapist Lionel Logue is enlisted to help the future George VI find his voice - and despite Logue's disregard for all things stately, the two men form an unlikely bond. Read our full review

Fall - 10:30pm, BBC One

A high-rise climber plans to scatter her husband's ashes from the top of an abandoned 2000-foot tall tower. She and a thrill-seeking friend make the desperate ascent, but find their lives on the line when they discover the structure is not as sound as it appeared. Thriller, starring Grace Caroline Currey and Virginia Gardner. Read our full review

Glorious 39 - 11:50pm, BBC Two

Period thriller directed and written by Stephen Poliakoff, starring Romola Garai, Bill Nighy and Julie Christie. A life of comfort and privilege turns into a nightmare for a young woman after she discovers evidence of a bloody plot to appease Hitler, before his march on Europe. Read our full review

Saturday 19th April

About Time - 3:05pm, 5

Romantic sci-fi comedy starring Domhnall Gleeson, Rachel McAdams and Bill Nighy. When Tim turns 21, his father reveals that the men in their family have a supernatural power: they can travel through time. Tim decides to use his gift and improve his life - by finding a girlfriend. Read our full review

The Fugitive - 3:30pm, 5Star

Thriller starring Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones. Despite protesting his innocence, Richard Kimble is sentenced to death for the murder of his wife. En route to prison, he is caught up in a disastrous escape attempt, and finds himself on the run. In order to clear his name, he must find the mysterious one-armed man with whom he struggled on the night of the murder, but the law is hot on his trail. Read our full review

Green for Danger - 5:15pm, Talking Pictures TV

Comedy thriller starring Alastair Sim as an eccentric police inspector investigating a mysterious death at a British hospital during the Second World War. In a race against time, he must use all his cunning and experience to catch the murderer before a second crime is committed. Read our full review

Senna - 11pm, Channel 4

Documentary charting the career of Brazilian driver Ayrton Senna, who was killed in an accident during the San Marino Grand Prix on 1 May 1994. Senna's arrival on the Formula One stage in 1984 marked the beginning of a ten-year battle for supremacy in the motor-racing game. Read our full review

The Thing - 11:40pm, Film4

Science-fiction horror starring Kurt Russell. In the Antarctic, a team of American scientists discovers the remains of a spacecraft near an abandoned Norwegian research station. While investigating the expedition's fate, the Americans come under threat from a terrifying alien organism. Read our full review

Sunday 20th April

The Ten Commandments - 11am, Film4

Egyptian prince Moses discovers his real roots are Hebrew after being banished from the land by his jealous half-brother. He returns from exile on a quest to free his people from enslavement by the new pharaoh, and warns of terrifying consequences if the ruler fails to let his people go. Cecil B DeMille's biblical epic, starring Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, Edward G Robinson and Anne Baxter. Read our full review

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory - 3:40pm, ITV1

Fantasy based on the classic children's book by Roald Dahl, starring Gene Wilder. Most children, at one hungry time or another, dream of visiting a chocolate factory. For young Charlie Bucket the fantasy comes true when he finds a golden ticket in a candy bar: an invitation to tour the giant factory of eccentric sweet tycoon Willy Wonka. Read our full review

Oliver! - 3:40pm, Channel 4

Oscar-winning film version of Lionel Bart's musical based on the popular novel Oliver Twist, starring Ron Moody, Oliver Reed and Mark Lester. Escaping a life of workhouse servitude, Oliver tries to seek his fortune in London, but instead of gold-paved streets he finds the roguish Fagin and his crime school for boys. Read our full review

The Terminator - 9pm, ITV4

Sci-fi action thriller starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn and Linda Hamilton. In the not-too-distant future, machines rule the Earth and are locked in combat with a gallant band of freedom fighters led by John Connor. Back in present-day Los Angeles, his mother Sarah is unaware of her role in the struggles to come, until the arrival of a Terminator, a terrifying robot assassin whose only purpose is to kill her and thereby change the future. Read our full review

Priscilla - 10pm, BBC Two

Biographical drama starring Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi. In 1959 West Germany, 14-year-old American Priscilla Beaulieu meets rock 'n' roll superstar Elvis Presley, who is approaching the end of his military service. Despite her parents' concerns, the two eventually embark on a romantic relationship - but this is far from a fairy-tale ending for the naive schoolgirl. Read our full review

Monday 21st April

The Great Escape - 2:50pm, Film4

Classic Second World War adventure based on a true story, starring Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough and Charles Bronson. In an attempt to contain rebellious PoWs, the Nazis transfer the leading troublemakers to a seemingly escape-proof security camp. However, with the finest escape team in military history now under one roof, the German guards are hard pressed to prevent the Allied prisoners from breaking out. Read our full review

Accident - 9:05pm, Talking Pictures TV

Drama starring Dirk Bogarde and Stanley Baker. When Oxford student William is killed and his girlfriend Anna injured in a car crash, William's tutor takes Anna back to his home and begins to reflect on events before the tragedy. Read our full review

Nine to Five - 10pm, BBC Two

Comedy starring Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin and Dolly Parton. Judy, Violet and Doralee are three office employees who dream of taking revenge on their chauvinistic boss. But when Violet misguidedly believes that her particular fantasy has come true, they are forced into drastic action. Read our full review

Silence of the Lambs - 10:30pm, ITV4

Classic psychological thriller starring Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins. Promising FBI student Clarice Starling is assigned to help in the search for the serial killer known as "Buffalo Bill", a brutal murderer who skins the bodies of his female victims. Starling seeks the assistance of Dr Hannibal "the Cannibal" Lecter, a sociopathic former psychiatrist held in a maximum security hospital for the criminally insane. Read our full review

Tuesday 22nd April

The Lavender Hill Mob - 4:55pm, Film4

Classic Ealing crime comedy starring Alec Guinness and Stanley Holloway. Meek, respectable Henry Holland supervises gold bullion deliveries to the bank where he is a trusted employee. But behind his modest exterior lurks a criminal mind harbouring unbounded ambition. His dream of stealing one million pounds worth of gold bars starts to assume reality when he teams up with foundry owner Pendlebury and two professional crooks. Read our full review

Bullet Boy - 10pm, BBC Three

Uncompromising crime drama about gun culture in London's East End, starring former So Solid Crew member Ashley Walters. A minor street fracas leads to a downward spiral of tragedy courtesy of easy access to a handgun. Caught up in the ensuing tit-for-tat violence are a teenager fresh from youth custody and, most shockingly, his 12-year-old brother. Read our full review

Drive - 11:25pm, Film4

Crime thriller starring Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan. In Los Angeles, a mysterious garage mechanic and film stunt driver also moonlights as an ice-cool wheelman during robberies. But when he befriends his next-door neighbour and her child, he soon finds himself in a deadly situation. Read our full review

Wednesday 23rd April

They Came to Cordura - 2pm, Talking Pictures tV

Period drama starring Gary Cooper, Rita Hayworth and Van Heflin. After being accused of cowardice during an expedition into Mexico against Pancho Villa, Major Thomas Thorn is given the humiliating job of finding five men in his regiment who are worthy of receiving Medals of Honour. Read our full review

The Guns of Navarone - 3:45pm, Film4

Classic Second World War adventure, based on Alistair MacLean's bestseller, starring Gregory Peck, David Niven and Anthony Quinn. Buried deep in the solid rock of a cliff and impregnable to assault by plane or ship, the German guns on the Greek island of Navarone must be destroyed if the lives of two thousand British soldiers are to be saved. A crack team of commandos is assembled for this perilous mission, each with a special and deadly talent. Read our full review

Aliens - 9pm, Great Movies

Science-fiction thriller, a sequel to the 1979 blockbuster Alien, starring Sigourney Weaver. Having overcome a terrifying alien predator, Ripley has spent 57 years asleep, drifting through space in a life-pod. She is rescued, but discovers that the planet where the creature was originally found has been colonised. When contact with the planet is lost, Ripley and a platoon of marines are sent to investigate. Read our full review

Thursday 24th April

My Cousin Vinny - 9pm, Comedy Central

Oscar-winning comedy starring Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei. Admitting to accidental shoplifting, young New Yorkers Bill Gambini and Stan Rothenstein are shocked to find themselves imprisoned in a sleepy Alabama town, charged with murder. Gambini's one phone call summons his cousin Vinny, a lawyer who has managed to pass the bar exams after five failures and is looking forward to his first court case. Read our full review

Con Air - 9pm, Great Movies

Action thriller starring Nicolas Cage, John Cusack and John Malkovich. Finally paroled after eight years in prison for manslaughter, Cameron Poe heads home on the "Jailbird", a convict transport plane that contains some of America's most dangerous criminals. But there are nefarious plans afoot... Read our full review

The Spy Who Dumped Me - 11:40pm, Film4

Action comedy starring Mila Kunis and Kate McKinnon. When Audrey's boyfriend dumps her on her 30th birthday, she and best friend Morgan resolve to burn all of his belongings. However, it turns out that Audrey's ex is a CIA agent and, when he returns to her apartment to retrieve an important item, Audrey and Morgan are plunged into the thick of a high-stakes international incident. Read our full review

Friday 25th April

The Old Man and the Gun - 7:10pm, Film4

Forrest Tucker, a criminal since the age of 15, has escaped from most of the prisons that tried to hold him. At the end of his career, he has become a gentleman bank robber. However, cop John Hunt becomes determined to catch him. Fact-based crime drama, starring Robert Redford, Casey Affleck and Sissy Spacek. Read our full review

Scarface - 9pm, Film4

Gangster drama starring Al Pacino. Having lied his way into the US from Cuba, two-bit criminal Tony Montana murders a political agitator in order to get a green card. From then on he pursues the American Dream with violent, ruthless efficiency - no matter what the cost. Read our full review

Relic - 11pm, BBC Two

Supernatural horror mystery starring Emily Mortimer, Robyn Nevin and Bella Heathcote. When elderly Edna is reported missing, her daughter Kay and granddaughter Sam begin searching her large, rural house for clues. But then Edna emerges, confused and disoriented. Is her dementia getting worse, or is something more sinister going on? Read our full review

Amores Perros - 12:25am, Film4

The actions of three men struggling to survive become inextricably linked by two dogs and a car crash, set against the backdrop of chaotic and violent Mexico City. Controversial drama, starring Gael Garcia Bernal, Emilio Echevarria and Alvaro Guerrero. In Spanish. 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.