NEW YORK (CNS) -- The following are capsule reviews of theatrical movies on network and cable television the week of Sept. 23. Please note that televised versions may or may not be edited for language, nudity, violence, and sexual situations.

Sunday, Sept. 23, 5-8 p.m. EDT (TCM) "Far From the Madding Crowd" (1967). Excellent British screen version of Thomas Hardy's romantic melodrama of early Victorian country life with Julie Christie being pursued by Peter Finch, Terence Stamp and Alan Bates. Director John Schlesinger avoids the pitfalls of the formula blockbuster and comes up with a superbly realistic, atmospheric production filmed entirely on location in Hardy's Dorset. The Catholic News Service classification of the theatrical version was A-II -- adults and adolescents. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America.

Thursday, Sept. 27, 8:15-10:30 p.m. EDT (Showtime) "Patriots Day" (2017). Effective but unsparing dramatization of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and its violent aftermath. Director and co-writer Peter Berg approaches these events from multiple perspectives, predominantly that of fictional police Sgt. Tommy Saunders (Mark Wahlberg), who is among the first responders to the chaos unleashed by brothers Tamerlan (Themo Melikidze) and Dzhokhar (Alex Wolff) Tsarnaev. Other strands of the story involve lead FBI investigator Richard DesLauriers (Kevin Bacon), his local counterpart, Ed Davis (John Goodman), and Chinese-born app designer Dun Meng (Jimmy O. Yang), whom the murderous siblings carjacked and kidnapped. Berg ratchets up the suspense as authorities scramble to identify and capture the fugitives before they can carry out further attacks. And his script, penned with Matt Cook and Joshua Zetumer, is clear about the need to oppose evil with love and decency. But the bloody carnage caused by the assault is not kept off-screen, nor are viewers shielded from a torrent of tension-induced swearing. Disturbing and sometimes gruesome images of terrorist mayhem, considerable gore, drug use, a marital bedroom scene, several uses of profanity, pervasive rough and crude language. The Catholic News Service classification of the theatrical version was L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association of America rating was R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

Thursday, Sept. 27, 9:15-11:15 p.m. EDT (TCM) "Cry, the Beloved Country" (1952). Compelling British production of Alan Paton's story about bridging South Africa's racial divide as a black Anglican minister (Canada Lee) leaves his rural parish to seek his missing son in Johannesburg, finds him condemned to death for murdering the son of a white farmer and the tragedy brings the two aged fathers together in mutual understanding and respect. Directed by Zoltan Korda, the location photography documents the oppressive conditions in the black slums bordering the city but the story's rich assortment of characters, including Sidney Poitier's pragmatic city curate, puts matters in a human context transcending racial differences. Stylized violence, sexual references and justice questions. The Catholic News Service classification of the theatrical version was A-II -- adults and adolescents. Not rated by the Motion Picture Association of America.

Saturday, Sept. 29, 8-10:10 p.m. EDT (HBO) "Phantom Thread" (2017). All silk, organza, lace and tulle in the first half and a bizarre portrayal of marriage in the second, this bumpy, bizarre trip through high fashion and passive-aggressive sniping in 1950s London sees a society dressmaker (Daniel Day-Lewis) inflicting emotional torture on his latest muse (Vicky Krieps) until she finds a disturbing way to make him dependent on her. Director-writer Paul Thomas Anderson may be trying to make a statement about necessary sacrifices to make the man-woman dynamic function properly, but despite the lush, appealing visuals, he's come up with an ugly denouement straight out of a cheap horror film. An aberrant view of marriage, frequent rough language. The Catholic News Service classification of the theatrical version was L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association of America rating was R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

Saturday, Sept. 29, 9-11:32 p.m. EDT (AMC) "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." (2015). Droll humor punctuates this breezy espionage yarn, set at the height of the Cold War in 1963. Forced to work together to retrieve revolutionary nuclear knowhow that may have fallen into the hands of the shady heir (Luca Calvani) to a fascism-tainted Italian industrial fortune and his scheming but elegant wife (Elizabeth Debicki), an art thief-turned-CIA operative (Henry Cavill) and a rage-prone KGB agent (Armie Hammer) team with the daughter (Alicia Vikander) of the missing scientist who developed the breakthrough to track the couple. In adapting the mid-1960s television series, director and co-writer Guy Ritchie diverts his audience with James Bond-style glamour while keeping the violence vague. But the substantial, if slightly strange, relationship that increasingly tethers Hammer and Vikander is offset by Cavill's carefree philandering. And the script's anti-war, pro-friendship sentiments rest, to some extent, on an implied moral equivalence between the forces of East and West wholly at variance with history. Much violence, including torture, but with little gore, brief gruesome images, off-screen casual encounters, glimpses of partial nudity, some sexual banter, a couple of crude terms. The Catholic News Service classification of the theatrical version was A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating was PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

Saturday, Sept. 29, 10:20 p.m.-12:35 a.m. EDT (Cinemax) "12 Strong" (2018). True military adventures don't come any more rousing than this. Chris Hemsworth plays a Green Beret captain leading a small Special Forces unit on horseback in rugged terrain in the early weeks of fighting in Afghanistan after 9/11. Director Nicolai Fuglsig, working from a script by Ted Tally and Peter Craig, avoids what could have become flag-waving jingoistic moments, preferring to show the Americans quietly going about their tasks. Intense, lengthy and realistic combat violence and gore, a scene of the execution of a teacher in front of three young girls. The Catholic News Service classification of the theatrical version was A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating was R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.

- - -

Mulderig is on the staff of Catholic News Service.