A Journey to the Center of the Earth (from Jules Verne's novel) follows James Mason as he descends into an extinct volcano in Iceland, spends almost a year underground with such companions as Plucky Youth Pat Boone and Beautiful Widow Arlene Dahl, is coughed back up through the crater of Mount Stromboli. A grandly entertaining spoof.

Ikiru (Japanese) is perhaps the finest achievement of Director Akira (Rashomon) Kurosawa, a masterwork of burning social conscience and hard-eyed psychological realism. The central figure is dying of cancer; his final months lead through the discovery of goodness to one of the crudest pieces of sustained misanthropy the screen has ever shown.

Our Man in Havana. Ably abetted by Alec Guinness and Noel Coward, Director Carol Reed has turned out a screen version of Graham Greene's bestseller that starts as a wonderfully silly spoof of a spy thriller and winds up tickling the ribs with the stiletto of political satire.

Rosemary (German). The true-life story of Rosie Nitribitt, a shabby little prostitute who eventually became one of the highest-priced women in West Germany. Bubbly champagne farce turns into solemn social comment.

The Bridal Path. This bucolic bit of Scottish dialogue has to be heard to be misunderstood, but Bill Travers' romp through the heather is a high jink an' diddle.

Ivan the Terrible: Part 2--The Revolt of the Boyars. The second installment of the late Sergei Eisenstein's lugubrious but magnificent film chronicle of the reign of the Russian Czar bears little resemblance to the historical figure, is frankly and cunningly intended to represent Stalin.

Black Orpheus (French). An astonishing adaptation of the old legend, excitingly played by a Negro cast and impressively directed by Marcel Camus.

The 400 Blows (French). A stunning metaphorical story of a small boy's flight toward freedom and away from the uncaring, desperate world of his parents.

Ben-Hur. One of the biggest bestsellers in U.S. history turned into the most expensive ($15 million) movie ever made--and worth every penny of it.

The Magician (Swedish). Something of a magician himself, brilliant Writer-Director Ingmar Bergman unfolds an eerie tale of a mid-19th century Mesmer.

TELEVISION

Wed., Feb. 17

Armstrong Circle Theater (CBS, 10-11 p.m.).-- The story of a misguided 14-year-old in possession of a pistol gives Iron City Justice a chance to tell a larger tale: Pittsburgh's successful approach to the problem of juvenile delinquency.

Thurs., Feb. 18

The Winter Olympics (CBS, 7:30-8:30 p.m.). The opening ceremonies at Squaw Valley. The network will stay on hand, taping the competition and transmitting shows at appropriate times until the games end on Feb. 28.

Du Pont Show of the Month (CBS, 9:30-11 p.m.). Sailor Sterling Hayden, home from the South Seas to straighten out his own marital tangle, stars in Ethan Frame, Edith Wharton's story of marital and extramarital troubles in 19th century New England. Costars: Julie Harris and Clarice Blackburn.

Fri., Feb. 19

Not So Long Ago (NBC, 8:30-9:30 p.m.). For no particular reason, Bob Hope looks back beyond the '50s to the last half of the '40s. Film clips, music and fancy comment.

The Citadel (ABC, 8:30-10 p.m.). Dr. A. J. Cronin's highly successful novel about the highly successful, coal-mines-to-Mayfair career of a young Scottish doctor gets one more working over from Ann Blyth, James Donald and Louis Hayward.

Sat., Feb. 20

World Wide 60 (NBC, 9:30-10:30 p.m.). Requiem for Mary Jo recounts the story behind a religious service entirely in jazz, created by Methodist Ed Summer-lin, after the death of his infant daughter.

Sun., Feb. 21

Johns Hopkins File 7 (ABC, 12 noon-12:30 p.m.). An unusual opportunity for esoteric music buffs. "The Baltimore Woodwinds" present A Quintet Concert, with flute, oboe, bassoon, clarinet and French horn, playing Vivaldi, Vincent Persichetti and Jacques Ibert.

Conquest (CBS, 5-5:30 p.m.). Host Charles Collingwood conducts a tour of the Naval Air Development Center at Johnsville, Pa., where a naval medical officer simulates space travel.

Twentieth Century (CBS, 6:30-7 p.m.).

A report on the country's largest shooting gallery, the missile tracking setup that stretches across the Atlantic from Cape Canaveral to Ascension Island.

Our American Heritage (NBC, 8-9 p.m.). Shadow of a Soldier describes the last days in the life of Ulysses S. Grant (played by James Whitmore). With Melvyn Douglas, as Mark Twain, who talked Grant into writing his memoirs, and John Baragrey as Robert E. Lee.

THEATER

On Broadway

The Andersonville Trial. With overtones of Nuremberg, the play re-creates the post-Civil War trial of the Confederate officer who ran the camp for Union prisoners at Andersonville, Ga. Playwright Saul Levitt ultimately fails to search out the moral issue he raises; but the courtroom battle, theatrically charged by Director Jose Ferrer, makes a better-than-average evening of theater.

Five Finger Exercise. An underground fire, fed by the mutual antagonisms in a pointedly average family, finally breaks out on the surface and nearly kills a young tutor. A deft effort by British Playwright Peter Shaffer.

Fiorello! In a light and unpretentious musical, Actor Tom Bosley makes the most of his Little Flower pot, startlingly returns to New York City the effervescent personality of Mayor La Guardia. The Miracle Worker. Superb performances by Actresses Anne Bancroft and 13-year-old Patty Duke, in a moving though far from perfect play, make extremely effective theater of Helen Keller's early life.

BOOKS

Best Reading

Grant Moves South, by Bruce Catton. The Civil War now takes longer to read about than it took to fight, but the latest book is a good one: a description of Grant's two-year metamorphosis from hesitant commander to superb tactician.

A Heritage and Its History, by Ivy Compton-Burnett. In impeccably stylized dialogue, the author writes her 16th ostensibly comic novel, brimful of the vanity of human wishes and the tragic fatality of ancient Greek drama.

The Wayward Wife, by Alberto Moravia. Sex is more a scourge than an urge in this collection of sourly skilled short stories.

Brazen Chariots, by Robert Crisp. For the men of the tank corps, the baptism of fire was often a requiem. They have at last received a literary citation from a gallant South African major.

Boswell for the Defence: 1769-1774, edited by William K. Wimsatt Jr. and Frederick A. Pottle. Bozzy gives a spirited account of his early, tumultuous years as husband and Edinburgh attorney. Volume VII of the Yale series.

The Last Valley, by J. B. Pick. An existential parable of men caught in the senseless violence of the waning Thirty Years' War.

The Sage of Sex, by Arthur Calder-Marshall. A slyly barbed and engrossing biography of that eminent Victorian, Sexologist Havelock Ellis.

The Good Light, by Karl Bjarnhof. Finding words for the things that are too terrible for words, this author writes a moving, fictionalized chronicle of his descent into blindness.

The Longest Day, by Cornelius Ryan. A fascinating look at the invasion of Normandy.

Best Sellers

FICTION 1. Advise and Consent, Drury (2)* 2. Hawaii, Michener (1) 3. Dear and Glorious Physician, Caldwell (4) 4. The Devil's Advocate, West (3) 5. Poor No More, Ruark (5) 6. The Darkness and the Dawn, Costain (7) 7. Exodus, Uris (6) 8. The War Lover, Hersey (9) 9. Two Weeks in Another Town, Shaw 10. The Ugly American, Lederer and Burdick (8)

NONFICTION 1. Folk Medicine, Jarvis (2) 2. Act One, Hart (1) 3. May This House Be Safe from Tigers, King (3) 4. My Wicked, Wicked Ways, Flynn (6) 5. The Longest Day, Ryan (4) 6. The Joy of Music, Bernstein (8) 7. The Status Seekers, Packard (9) 8. This Is My God, Wouk (7) 9. The Armada, Mattingly (5) 10. The Elements of Style, Strunk and White (10)

* All times E.S.T.

-- Position on last week's list.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.