Rachel River (Showtime Sunday at 11:50 a.m.)...

Rachel River (Showtime Sunday at 11:50 a.m.) One of the most underserved releases of 1989, this fine film, directed by Sandy Smolan reveals the resiliency of a group of people living in a small Midwestern town. Judith Guest’s adaptation of some stories by Minnesota writer Carol Bly features Pamela Reed, Viveca Lindfors, Craig T. Nelson and others at their considerable best.

The Search for Intelligent Life in the Universe (Showtime Monday at 6 p.m.) The urge to improve upon Lily Tomlin’s one-woman, on-the-money social satire doesn’t totally ruin this superior effort in its transition from stage to screen, but it does needlessly get in the way.

Desert Bloom (Cinemax Tuesday at 2:45 p.m.) An exceptionally accurate piece of Cold War Americana from debuting writer-director Eugene Corr in which the lovely Annabeth Gish comes of age just at the dawning of the nuclear age in the ‘50s. Released in 1986.

Peeping Tom (Bravo Saturday at 6 p.m., next Sunday at 1 a.m.) Michael Powell’s unsettling 1960 tour de force thriller forces the audience to identify with a psychopathic, voyeuristic killer (Carl Boehm). Although disastrous for Powell’s career at the time of its release, it is now regarded as a classic, its inherent morbidity saved by Powell’s insight and expressive style.