Digital, Cable and Satellite Television: Pick of the Day

JOUR DE FETE (6pm FilmFour) made in 1948, was Jacques Tati's first feature. In this sublime comedy, Tati plays a postman who attempts to streamline his service according to an American model. His brilliant performance dominates a picture in which the plot is almost entirely subservient to his comic whims.

North by Northwest (9pm TNT) showcases the talent of another cinematic genius, Alfred Hitchcock, with his compelling study of contemporary paranoia. Cary Grant plays an advertising executive who is forced to flee New York when he is mistaken for a US intelligence agent by a pack of foreign spies, headed by James Mason. Extraordinary set pieces (such as the crop-dusting scene and flight from Mount Rushmore) plus fine performances (from Grant and Eva Marie Saint as the femme fatale), show Hitchcock at his teasing best.