TV picks for Feb. 5: 'Winnie,' 'Vanity Fair Confidential,' 'Woodstock'

February 2, 2018 at 10:14PM
May 04, 1970 Sly Stone Sings with The Family Stone for half a million young people in “Woodstock," the Michael Wadleigh Film for Warner Bros. that captures the remarkable celebration of love, peace and music at the Woodstock Festival. Bob Maurice produced the Wadleigh-Maurice Production in color.
Sly Stone onstage in “Woodstock.” (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Going to the fair

Those hoping "Vanity Fair Confidential" would focus on why Reese Witherspoon has three legs on the magazine's Hollywood issue are bound to be disappointed by the Season 4 premiere. Viewers interested in learning more about a University of Virginia graduate's search for justice following a campus assault will be satisfied, however.

8 p.m., Investigation Discovery

Her too

Twin Cities Public Television's decision to finally give "Independent Lens" a decent time slot is a win for lovers of diverse, stylized documentaries like "Winnie," a profile of the often-misunderstood Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, who became a leader in her own right while her husband, Nelson Mandela, spent 27 years in jail. Director Pascale Lamche also made the 2004 film "Accused No 1: Nelson Mandela."

10 p.m., TPT, Ch. 2

We are stardust

If the music from Super Bowl week isn't still ringing in your ears, bear down for all four hours of "Woodstock: The Director's Cut," which captures the sound and spirit of the 1969 three-day concert. Director Mike Wadleigh's passionate approach most likely influenced a young Martin Scorsese, who served as one of the documentary's editors.

10:30 p.m., TCM

Neal Justin

A young Winnie Mandela.
Mandela (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
about the writer

about the writer