Once upon a time, Hollywood made movies like Lifetime's Coco Chanel all the time. They were called women's pictures and gave the biggest stars of the times amazing roles, Bette Davis in Now, Voyager, Greer Garson in Mrs. Miniver, Rosiland Russell in Sister Kenny. Watching this excellent TV movie starring Shirley MacLaine as the older Coco and newcomer Barbora Bobulova as young Coco, I was enthralled and entertained.

You won't find a better TV movie on HBO or CBS or Hallmark Channel or anywhere else on the dial -- Lifetime set the bar high with this expansive biopic and then delivered the goods. Forget your idea of what a Lifetime movie is -- Coco Chanel is no victim of the week. If the intent was re-branding Lifetime movies with this effort, the cable net has hit it out of the park.

Oscar winner MacLaine is the name draw, and she manages to give a very nuanced performance as the independent, strong and irascible designer who was a self-made success and remains one of the iconic names in fashion. She keeps her performance very much in check, not chewing up the scenery as she has on occasion. MacLaine can convey more with a look or a shrug than many actors can with a four-page monologue.

The movie begins with Chanel is in a severe career slump and on the verge of becoming "out of fashion," the film goes back in time to tell her story. Fortunately, the classic set up doesn't become mired in the past. The picture joggles back and forth seamlessly, and much of the strength of the movie is in Bobulova's star-making performance.

The life of Chanel is a success story, but it's not of the American variety. This is a French woman who goes from convent orphanage to working girl seamstress to fashion success with the help of a couple of lovers and never a marriage. But her spirit and drive and innate genius are admirable. From making hats to making comfortable clothing for World War I women to choosing the fifth bottle of perfume and dubbing it Chanel No. 5, this is some kind of character.

Director Christian Duguay shows a deft touch here, including a really nice Scorsese-like opening as the camera follows Malcolm McDowell from the street into the Chanel fashion house and up the grand stairs to meet with Coco -- and give Shirley the star entrance. That shot is then repeated for the triumphant final act. Aiding Duguay is a very rich production design, including re-creating the Chanel clothes.

My only qualm is one that you often hear when talking about women's pictures -- the men are serviceable, not dynamic. McDowell does the best of the bunch, but he had more to do as a villain on Heroes.

If you like Project Runway, Coco Chanel is for you. It's a primer on how a fashion genius did her thing. Without being obvious, the classic little black dress is born. Her use of the double C's as a logo and the Chanel suit and the hats and pearls. Tim Gunn will be watching and so should you! Saturday, September 13, 8 p.m. ET. DVR it.