It’s from the director of The Hand That Rocks the Cradle and L.A. Confidential.

Our TV movie pick for tonight (Thursday, 6 February) is The River Wild, the 1994 star-studded action thriller.

The film centres around a young family (led by Meryl Streep and David Strathairn) whose white-water rafting holiday is endangered when they are taken hostage by a pair of armed fugitives (Kevin Bacon and John C. Reilly).

Boasting a brilliant cast, a cool setting and taut direction from the great Curtis Hanson (L.A. Confidential, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle), The River Wild was a hit with audiences upon release.

It was such a success in fact that it even got a 2023 reboot starring Adam Brody and Leighton Meester.

The original is airing on TV tonight on the channel Legend at 9pm. It’s also available to rent on Apple TV+, Google Play and Microsoft.

Here are the other movies airing on TV tonight:

Some Like It Hot – BBC Four – 8.20pm

One of the very best rom-coms ever made, starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon.

Pitch Black – ITV4 – 9pm

Vin Diesel stars in this quite good sci-fi horror as a criminal in the distant future who crash-lands on an empty desert planet and finds himself terrorised by predatory creatures.

As Good As It Gets – Comedy Central – 9pm

In this classic romantic comedy, a grumpy and reclusive author with OCD (Jack Nicholson) becomes drawn into the lives of his injured neighbour (Greg Kinnear) and a stressed-out single mother (Helen Hunt).

Venom: Let There Be Carnage – Film4 – 9pm

The second entry in Tom Hardy’s strangely compelling superhero trilogy.

The Deer Hunter – Sky Arts – 10pm

Christopher Walken and Robert De Niro headline this powerful ’70s drama about the impact the Vietnam War has on a trio of friends from Pennsylvania.

Belfast – BBC Four – 10.20pm

Writer-director Kenneth Branagh’s Oscar-winning coming-of-age drama from 2021 following a young boy’s childhood in the titular Northern Irish city at the beginning of The Troubles in 1969.

Hard Target – Legend Xtra – 10.50pm

Jean-Claude Van Damme uncovers a sinister group of wealthy men who hunt the homeless for sport in this action film that was Face/Off director John Woo’s first English-language movie.

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom – Film4 – 10.55pm

Harrison Ford’s second outing as archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones.

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