Film Appreciation : Basic and pay cable channels are building libraries of classics for you to check out

The Z Channel lives today only as a sepia-tinted memory.

The defunct cable channel that specialized in films didn’t attract as many viewers as SportsChannel, its 13-month-old replacement, but its thousands of viewers were truly devoted.

Where else could an avid cinephile see old Ernst Lubitsch films? Devour the works of such foreign directors as Francois Truffaut, Jean Renoir and Akira Kurosawa? Relish the reconstructed versions of Sam Peckinpah’s masterpiece “The Wild Bunch” and Michael Cimino’s infamous “Heaven’s Gate”?

So where is a discerning movie buff to turn?

To Bravo and American Movie Classics. The two commercial-free cable networks have helped assuage the loss of Z. Both are owned and operated by Rainbow Program Enterprises of Woodbury, N.Y.--the same company that owns and operates The Sports Channel.

In addition to Bravo and AMC, other cable channels also specialize in showing movies. Here’s a rundown of the leaders and the pack. Viewers should note that most cable systems carry just two or three of the networks. BRAVO

Ten-year-old Bravo presents American independent and international films, performing arts specials, profiles, interview programs and comedy programs.

Last spring, Bravo offered the American cable premiere of Wim Wenders’ award-winning fantasy, “Wings of Desire,” and throughout the summer is paying tribute to such famous directors as Marcel Jean Renoir, Claude Lelouch and Luis Bunuel.

Two years ago, Bravo made the switch from a pay service (which cable subscribers pay extra to receive) to a basic cable network (included on some cable systems as part of the regular monthly charge), although a number of cable companies still carry it as a pay service, said vice president and general manager Kathy Dore.

How does Bravo, with a subscription base of 5 million, operate as a basic cable network without commercials?

Rainbow president Josh Sapan said the thinking is that Bravo is so popular that cable operators will want to carry it in order to attract new subscribers.

As a basic cable network, Bravo had to conform to the same standards as such basic services as USA, TNT and TBS. “We had to write off a number of films which we felt weren’t appropriate for basic cable,” Dore said. “But we look at it as sort of a trade-off. We were gaining such a widespread following.”

Bravo receives the American cable premiere rights to a majority of its foreign titles because of a longstanding relationship with the independent companies that release them. “They have stuck with us in our transition,” said Jonathan Sehring, vice president of programming. “I go to the Cannes, Berlin and New York film festivals. We have a close relationship with several film directors.”

The network is inundated with requests. “We just got a letter from somebody who said, ‘I didn’t tape early enough when ‘A Face in the Crowd’ was on,’ ” Sehring said. “We have aired that a number of times.” AMERICAN MOVIE CLASSICS

AMC began as a pay service in October 1984, and, like sister network Bravo, made the transition to basic cable two years ago. It’s the only national cable channel devoted to the 1930s through ‘70s.

“Our commitment is to license for the longest term possible the very best classic movies we can find,” Sapan said. “We have the right to play them over a number of years, and that gives us the opportunity to rest them. The more movies we have in inventory, the greater flexibility we have in scheduling. If it’s Valentine’s Day and we want to schedule love movies and we have 4,000 under license, we could have the best of our pick of the great classic films.”

AMC has 3,000 titles in its library. “It’s fair to say we do a better job than anyone else on TV in terms of quality control and desire to present material in the form it was made,” Sapan said. That means no colorized movies.

During the past two years, AMC has introduced original programming, as well as dusted off Ralph Edwards’ vintage series, “This Is Your Life.”

“We try to create programming which would provide sharper focus and a greater dimension for our audience in terms of their appreciation of classic movies,” said Brad Siegel, vice president of programming.

AMC receives approximately 300 letters a week from its viewers. “When we premiered ‘Wuthering Heights’ for its 50th anniversary last year,” said Siegel, “people didn’t stop calling. They wanted to see it again and again. The same with ‘Love Is a Many Splendored Thing’ and ‘Three Coins in the Fountain.’ The amount of complaints we get from repeating movies during a month you can count on your hand.”

Stars such as Omar Sharif, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Ernest Borgnine, Debbie Reynolds and Shirley Jones are featured hosts on the network, but AMC’s primary host, the relaxed Bob Dorian, appears to be the audience’s favorite.

“Bob gets lots of fan mail,” Siegel said. “He’s the Mister Rogers of classic movies.”

Dorian, an actor and film buff, has been a fixture on AMC since its inception. “I grew up with these movies, so it’s just great for me,” he said.

And just what are his favorites?

“Oh, boy,” he said with a laugh. “Have you got about a half an hour? I would have to mention ‘Gunga Din’ because Douglas Fairbanks Jr., and I have had so many conversations about that. ‘Hell’s Angels’ was exciting. It was the first time we had ever seen color footage of Jean Harlow. ‘King Kong’ is another favorite of mine.” CINEMAX

Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, the sister station of HBO airs about 140 movies a month. Getting the attention are recent hits such as “Batman” and “Ghostbusters II,” but there’s also a fair share of classics, foreign, art house and documentary movies.

Cinemax packages its films into different categories. This month, “From the Heart” featured such romantic films as “Cousins” and “A New Life.”

“I think what Cinemax is about is volume,” said Dave Baldwin, vice president of program operations. “I think more than anything else, Cinemax is a movie lover’s service, no matter what kind of movie you like.” TNT

Each month, TNT airs 220 to 240 movies, primarily from its mother lode of MGM, RKO and pre-1948 Warner Brothers’ libraries. With so many movies, the network has tried to schedule the films around a monthly theme.

“It gives us a way of hooking stuff,” said Lisa Mateas, vice president of program acquisitions and scheduling. “With our ‘All-American’ salute this month, we are doing musicals and American movies. In April we had ‘April Fools,’ where we saluted comedians, and August is ‘Beat the Heat’ month.”

Musicals, Mateas said, are extremely popular. “You always get a lot of calls about musicals, like Judy Garland musicals. They are special, and we try to treat them in a special way.”

TNT’s sister station, TBS, also airs vintage films every week--ranging from Gary Cooper and Ingrid Bergman in “For Whom the Bell Tolls” to Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart in “The African Queen.”

But TNT is Turner Broadcasting’s film-showcase network. It has premiered restored versions of several movies. Earlier this year it aired the complete version of the Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers “Top Hat” and brought back “Dixiana,” an obscure 1930 black-and-white and color musical that marked the film debut of Bill (Bojangles) Robinson. Next Sunday TNT will air the 1945 romantic fantasy “The Enchanted Cottage,” with 10 minutes restored. THE DISNEY CHANNEL

The Disney Channel is a surprisingly good source for vintage films. The network airs more than 50 pictures a month--including such Disney fare as “Mary Poppins,” “Cinderella” and “The Parent Trap.”

Most prime-time and late-night features are geared for adult audiences. Disney’s “Best of Hollywood” series, which airs Mondays at 9 p.m., has showcased the films of such stars as Burt Lancaster, Marilyn Monroe, Fred Astaire and Elvis Presley. In August, it will pay tribute to Oscar-winning director George Stevens.

Tuesday’s “Mystery Night,” at 9 p.m., presents classic suspense films, including “North by Northwest,” “The Third Man” and “The Lady From Shanghai.” NOSTALGIA TELEVISION

The 5-year-old network geared to older viewers has cut down the number of vintage films it airs monthly, opting to go for quality instead of quantity.

Historically, 80% of the network’s films were public-domain movies, which any station can air without paying a fee because the creator no longer has exclusive rights.

“Usually public-domain movies (which include such titles as Frank Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life” and the Bette Davis version of “Of Human Bondage”) are bad prints,” said Nostalgia chief executive officer Michael E. Marcovsky.

Since Marcovsky came on board earlier this year, he’s changed the name of the network from the Nostalgia Channel to Nostalgia Television and beefed up the program schedule with lifestyle series and such vintage TV shows as “The Rogues” (1964) and “Burke’s Law” (1963). “We call it TV for grown-ups,” he said.

About 25% of the programming consists of movies. Nostalgia recently purchased more than 100 films from the eclectic Janus Collection, which include such classics as “Black Narcissus,” “The Lavender Hill Mob,” “The Red Shoes” and “Great Expectations.” INDEPENDENT STATIONS

Though cable is the primary outlet for classic movies, independent stations also air their share. They are criticized, however, because films often are sliced up in order to allow for commercials.

Los Angeles stations KCOP and KTLA counter that frequently by expanding their two-hour prime-time movie slots in order to air movies unedited. KCOP also takes pride that it airs fewer commercials than other stations during the movies. Though R-rated films are often edited for language of content, KCOP did air the unedited version of “The Deer Hunter” 10 years ago.