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Pick of the day
The Killers (Robert Siodmak, 1946) 8am, The Studio
Classic noir based on a short Hemingway story, the film that got former trapeze artist Burt Lancaster's film career off to a flying start. He plays the Swede, bumped off in the first reel by hitmen; insurance man Edmond O'Brien's investigations prompt detailed flashbacks into the Swede's past. We see how the young boxer got caught up with crimelord Albert Dekker and was seduced by Ava Gardner's gorgeously cheap moll into carrying out a heist for their happy-ever-after cash, poor sucker. Harsh light and deep shadows: this is thriller-supremo Siodmak at his best. Remade, famously, by Don Siegel with Lee Marvin in 1964.
The Faculty (Robert Rodriguez, 1998) 9.30pm, Sky MovieMax
A sharp and witty sci-fi thriller, written by Kevin "Scream" Williamson and directed by the man who brought us the bloody, marvellous vampire-gangster movie From Dusk till Dawn. This is more in the style of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, with the teachers at an Ohio high school taken over by aliens: the fate of the town and maybe the world rests in the hands of a bunch of bickering students - luckily, as snappy a gang of teens as you're ever likely to meet.
End of Days (Peter Hyams, 1999) 10pm, Sky Premier
On the cusp of the new millennium, Apocalyptic Arnie goes head-to-head with Satan himself. Schwarzenegger's washed-up, suicidal cop Jericho Cane is more prone to self-doubt than most of his heroes, though if you're watching this for the acting, stick to Gabriel Byrne's laid-back, devil-may-care prince of darkness. The bottom line is that the evil one wants orphan Christine (Robin Tunney) for his bride, and Arnie is the man to save her. Atmospherically shot by Hyams, it builds rather unsteadily to a devilish finale.
Nadja (Michael Almereyda, 1994) 1.50am, FilmFour
A vampire movie that injects fresh blood into the genre. Elina Lowensohn stars as Nadja, Dracula's delectable daughter, on the prowl in New York as in Europe "it's hard to find food after 10 o'clock". She's trying to lead Lucy (Galaxy Craze) into a girly thing, away from hubby Martin Donovan; dad's cross with her and Peter Fonda's bike-riding Van Helsing wants her dead - or at least, un-undead. Wacky use of pixelated camcorder images adds to the eery ambience.
Sports: Live cycling 9.30am & 12noon, British Eurosport
Just two weeks after the World Track Championships, the world's top cyclists are at it again with the Road World Championships. Britain aren't quite as good on the open road (blame it on the weather - it's just so much nicer to train indoors), but today there's a chance to witness our teenage sensation Nicole Cooke, world cross-country mountain bike and junior time-trial champion, defend her road race title. The treble she currently holds is unrivalled in the sport; hanging on to it might be a greater challenge.