TODAY

Sony Hamlin. Michael Dukakis, Massachusetts Democratic gubernatorial candidate and his wife are guest, followed by MIT Professor Noam Chomsky, who will talk about the Arab-Israeli conflict. Ch. 4, 9 a.m. 1 hour.

The Way it Was-Sports. A look at the famous Rocky Graziano-Sugar Ray Robinson middleweight championship fight in 1952. Graziano finished his career with this fight, going in a 3-1 underdog and the brawling, sentimental favorite, but coming out a bruised and beaten fighter with a 67-10-6 final record. Robinson--who ended up with an impressive 175-19-6 record--announced his first retirement nine months after this fight. Unfortunately, Curt Gowdy is the host. Ch. 2, 8 p.m. 1/2 hour.

Citizen Kane [1941]. Produced by Orson Welles, directed by Welles, and starring Welles, this American film classic is about the rise and fall of a newspaper emperor, Charles Foster Kane, a shallow disguise for his real-life counterpart, William Randolph Hearst. Hearst was so enraged by Welles's film that he suppressed it in many areas of the country. Welles co-authored the script too, with Herman J. Mankiewicz, who later had a major altercation with Hearst when he crashed into a car belonging to a friend of the newspaper king--right outside one of Hearst's lavish estates. You have to see this film just for its visual effects, including "chiaroscuro lighting." Ch. 56, 10 p.m. B/W, 2 1/2 hours.

Wide World Special. Walter Cronkite, interviewed by Dick Cavett, will speak on his news preparation, Watergate, and possible government attempts to suppress the media. Cronkite and Cavett should make a rare duo: the straight-forward user and the witty abuser of language, the scientist and the alchemist of current events on television. Ch. 5, 12:30 a.m. 1 1/2 hours.

FRIDAY

Catch-44. Members of the World Socialist Party discuss the upcoming National Party Meeting to be held in Boston. Ch. 44, 9 p.m. 1/2 hour.

Knute Rockne, All American [1940]. The life story of college football's greatest coach, starring Pat O'Brien. A couple of years ago Patty returned to Notre Dame to give a fantastic reenactment of the inimitable half-time pep-talk in the film when Knute Rockne inspired a losing Notre Dame team to "hit one for the Gipper." (George Gipp, one of the greatest running backs in all of football died in his senior year at N.D.). This was the night before a football game, and the atmosphere was something like a cross between ancient fertility rites and classical Bacchanalia. After O'Brien's speech several thousand wine-besotted "Fighting Irishmen" stormed off in vain pursuit of fisticuffs reminiscent of the Fenian invasion of Canada. Ronald Reagan plays the part of the dying George "Gipper" Gipp wonderfully. Ch. 56, 10 p.m. B/W

SATURDAY

NBA Basketball. The Boston Celtics open their season against the Buffalo Braves at Buffalo. Ch. 4, 8 p.m. Live.

A Day at the Races [1937]. Great stuff by the Marx Brothers. Ch. 5, 11:15 p.m. B/W, 2 hours, 10 min.

SUNDAY

The Big Store [1941]. Excellent stuff by the Marx Brothers. Ch. 5, 2 p.m. B/W, 2 hours.

A Night at the Opera [1939]. The without-a-doubt-no-questions-asked-all-complex-time-bestest-of-the-most-magisterial stuff by the Marx Brothers. Ch. 5, 5 p.m. B/W, 2 hours.

MONDAY

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.