The Candidate [1972]. Probably the best contemporary statement on modernday politics. The film explores the moral implications of campaigns so vast and complex that they're beyond the candidate's control. Robert Redford is just a little better than adequate as the young, idealistic lawyer turned by the political process into a non-committal pol. Peter Boyle (Joe) is a very good as the mercenary professional campaign manager who knows how to get his boy elected. Redford's confused question to Boyle at the very end is a question we will all have to consider. Must seeing. Ch. 4, 9 p.m., 2 hours.

TUESDAY

The Law. A newly released television movie dramatizing the practice of law in an overburdened judicial system. A spectacular torture-murder case provides the usual violent background as a public defender gropes his way through a corrupt legal system--characterized by deals, plea-bargaining, and a labyriathine bureaucracy--in the pursuit of justice for a person he truly believes is innocent. Ch. 4, 8:30 p.m. 2 1/2 hours.

WEDNESDAY

Men Who Made the Movies. An interesting probe into Alfred Hitchcock with clips of: gruesome murders in Psycho (1960) and Torn Curtain (1966); psychopaths in Shadow of a Doubt (1943) and Frenzy (1972); and suspense in North by Northwest (1959), Saboteur (1942) and The Birds (1963). Hitchcock is the only film director who has consistently sent pulses through film viewers' nervous systems that feel like 1000 kilowatt bursts of electricity--most critics call that "fear" for lack of a better word. Ch. 2, 8 p.m., 1 hour. Repeat.

The Longest Day [1962]. Account of the Normandy Invasion starring John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, Henry Fonda, Richard Burton, and Rod Steiger. Interesting cast, adapted from a strong novel. Ch. 4, 8 p.m. B/W, 3 hours.