lzcutter

Stop whining about the movies you don't like -- nobody forces you to watch anything. Don't like what's playing? That's what they have TiVo and DVD players for. Or you could even try to see what's on FMC -- they're playing Cavalcade tomorrow morning, an Oscar winner that TCM can't play.>> I certainly didn't get the impression that Klondike was whining. He was voicing his opinion. He even took the time to talk about why he didn't like the film (as opposed to just calling it crap and walking away) and made clear that his not liking the film was just his opinion and he understood that there are those who do like the film. He did this without being rude, ragging on anyone and without denouncing TCM for running the film. He has posted about his respect for the channel and for many of the films it runs. This just happened not to be one of them. Not everyone is going to love every film TCM shows. That's what these message boards are for, so we can debate the merits of films, both pro and con. Now if you want to talk whining about films and TCM, well there are entire threads filled with that throughout the back pages of this forum and Klondike's post about Ship of Fools sounds nothing like those.

Carrie Fisher is the next guest host of THE ESSENTIALS and has their been any guest host that has picked their series of movies that DON'T routinely play on TCM? To me, The Essentials are a big yawn because I don't believe for a second that those films are their top picks. Instead, they come off as the top 4 films that the guest host prefers with a caviat that are already constantly in the TCM rotation.>> The co-host of The Essentials is different from being a guest host. Guest hosts choose four films to be shown in one evening. Essential Co-hosts talk about the reason the film is considered an essential. Essentials are usually well known classic films because the Essentials seems to be geared to people who don't know a great deal about film or film history. Carrie Fisher, as the daughter of legendary Debbie Reynolds, has always had a great love of movies. She and her mother are known for throwing pajama parties and watching classic films. I'd wager she has a good knowledge of film and probably has some antecodotes to share that she has picked up along the way from Debbie.

The best part of "Reds" for me was Jack Nicholson as Eugene O'Neill. >> Nicholson was just great in this supporting role. In real life, he had become almost a caricature of his Shining screen persona. In this role he reminded everyone of his talent and his ability. He took a lot of flack for doing a supporting role to Warren Beatty in the lead but Beatty got a performance out of him that not every director does. I have loved this film from the first time I saw it when it was originally released. I loved the witnesses who talked about the real life Jack and Louise and their friends. Message was edited by: lzcutter

Rick Lenz was Kay Lenz's brother as I recall. Wasn't he on that Richard Boone show Hec Ramsey back in the late 1960s? He played the foresenic guy, well foresenics circa the turn of the 19th Century and was always advocating finger printing and Hec was very old school. He had a brief career in film but did a great deal of work on television as I recall.

I would never advocate showing the edited version of anything. >> Strange as it sounds, I prefer the shorter version of Cinema Paradiso over the longer almost three hour version. I think the story is much better told and with more emotion in the shorter two hour and 15 version. Doesn't happen too often but every now and then.....

There are no movies about film editors, though Travolta did play a sound editor in Blow Out. Movies about movie making are mainly silents or about silent era filmmaking: Hearts of the West, And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself, Nickelodeon.

Aren't the shorts now be included with box sets when appropriate?

> You know, even though Ebert's apparently only 65, > sometimes he's appeared to me to be much older, > possibly due to his health complications. I sure wish > him a great recovery, but as anyone else facing > serious health problems, sometimes early retirement > or semi-retirement may be the best thing for one's > health. Honestly I think most of it had to do with his being overweight for the longest time. Didn't he recently get the same procedure that Star Jones and others had to reduce the weight? >> Roger Ebert has been battling thyroid cancer for quite a few years now. The disease has spread to other parts of his body and he has been in and out of remission over the years.

Back in the days of laserdiscs, MGM put out huge collections with all of the short features in their vaults... why can't WHV do the same now, with both WB shorts and MGM shorts?>> Cinemascope, The videotape masters for the laserdiscs were likely done on Betacam SP (high end, broadcast quality videotape). With the advent of the digital age and the HD revolution, films are now mastered on digital videotape (D-2) or higher. So, all those short subjects have to be remastered. WBHV may be restoring them as well. This is a much more costly endeavor than the days of Betacam SP due to the cost of digital tape and the digital Betacam decks. A Digibeta deck is almost 8x the cost of a standard Betacam SP deck. Betacam SP was the industry standard for over 20 years and the studios over those years mastered a great number of titles on that format. But now, it all has to be remastered for the digital age.

But from what I've read of Cohn, he was kind of a jerk.>> People showed up at Harry Cohn's funeral just to make sure he was dead. Capra was one of the directors who was deeply impacted by his experience in WW2 (along with George Stevens, Jack Ford and John Huston) and I don't know that he could have stayed at Columbia upon his return. I think "Wonderful Life" was his best post-war film where he found the right mix of comedy and very dark drama that showcased his own maturity as a director. But the demise of Liberty was tough on him and the changing American taste in films towards more realistic dramas and comedies compounded the problem. Like his peers, he found that the film subjects that were his favorites were falling out of favor with the American public just as he was reaching retirement age. Stevens, born in 1904, would only make a two more films after 1959, The Greatest Story Ever Told and The Only Game in Town before passing away in 1975 Ford, born in 1894, made nine films in the 1960s before passing away in 1973. Capra's last film was Pocketful of Miracles in 1961. He was born in 1897 and passed away in 1991. Huston was the youngest of the bunch, having been born in 1906. He continued working well into the early 1980s before passing away in 1987. Had Capra been able to make darker films with an edge (which he shows a real knack for in Wonderful Life ) he might have had a longer career. But I think he was very stung by the failure of Wonderful Life upon its release and perhaps that made him gun-shy to stretch his wings and helped him stay within the confines of what he knew best. He also was known to have a very large ego and his movies that were deemed failures (either critically or box office wise) probably did not sit well with him. All combined probably helped to make it easier for him to choose retirement

I think film historian Jeannie Basinger would make a good host, much more than Mary Hart or some of the other women mentioned earlier. I would hope that TCM would stay with someone who knows film history and not just be a 'reader'. One of the joys of RO is that because he is a film historian, he makes you feel like he knows what he is talking about and he enjoys sharing the information. It wouldn't be the same experience with someone who doesn't have the knowledge. RO has been there, he has known many of the people he talks about in his intros and wrap arounds, he is a critic and an author of films and film history and all that experience comes through the camera as he introduces a film.. The problem, however, is finding a good critic/historian who can talk well on camera. Molly Haskell is a very accomplished film historian and author but she is not very camera friendly. The job requires more than just being able to read a teleprompter. One of the reasons that RO and Nick Clooney work so well is that they both project not only expertise but they do so in a way that is friendly and makes people feel welcome (I think it was MrsL who pointed this out). Just because a person can write and talk knowledgeably about film isn't a guarantee that they can do it well on camera. As for Leonard Maltin, should RO ever retire, Maltin will likely be a the top of the list. But I suspect it is a very short list.

Repixa, We get the same movies as the East Coast, only three hours earlier. If you go to the Schedule tab under the Turner Classic Movies banner above, you can change the default setting of ET (eastern time) to PT (pacific time). The schedule will then refresh and the broadcast times will be correct for West Coast viewing.

How many of the black and white Wagon Trains still exist? Does anyone know if all 250 hours exist? Do all the 90 minute color episodes still exist?

Yellow Sky directed by William Wellman. I'm with the poster who said in Film and Filmmakers Forum that this is the film Anthony Mann watched before he made his westerns.

I know for Eastwood purists, that they don't like this film.>> !!!!!! RT, Which purists are you talking to? Most I know count this one as essential.

Cscope, Now that Sony and TCM have reached an agreement, I would suspect that it also means that more Columbia films will be available on DVD. I give Sony points for trying. GE owned Universal could be doing a lot more to shine some light into their vault. Only time will tell. But I am hoping this agreement bodes well for Sony Home Entertainment.

Jack, So glad that you enjoyed them! I had no idea about theremin music other than your original posts about it. Then I go to this event and there's a group that specializes in it! It must be fate. Keep an eye out for the Martini Kings. They ROCK! (well actually not but they play great early 60s jazz). Glad you enjoyed Project Pimento!

Cscope, Universal did the deal with Paramount quite awhile back. However, some films (besides the silents), seem to have been exempt from the deal. I am hoping because he knows a great deal about Paramount, that he can answer the question as to who owns the rights to Five Graves. Back in the day before VHS, television was the only ancillary market. Most contracts did not include any future technology or rights for perpituity. He has been adovocating for Five Graves for quite some time and because of that, I want to see the film. I haven't seen in almost thirty five years. Mr Cutter and I are awaiting the end of the Blu-Ray vs HD DVD battle before we buy many more DVDs. You have a PM by the way. Message was edited by: lzcutter

CineSage, TCM and Sony did a deal (not sure of all the logistics) last fall. As I understand it, TCM and Sony reached an agreement that will allow TCM to lease a number (not sure how many but from the looks of things, quite a few if not a great many) of Columbia titles which up till now, have not been aired on TCM. On a different note,if only they could get the broadcast rights to Five Graves to Cairo. Paramount produced but Universal owned, I believe, or is that one that Paramount held on to?

Cat, Not sure if you are aware, but it's TCM's annual 31 Days of Oscar salute all this month and the first three days of March. Films from all eras are highlighted if they were nominated or winners. Starting March 4th, TCM returns to its regular format.

Look at the number of people who post on this board about the dearth of good movies and how modern films are crap. This in a year that brought us The Queen, The Last King of Scotland, Dreamgirls, Little Miss Sunshine, Casino Royale, The Pursuit of Happyness, Babel, Notes on a Scandal, Freedom Writers, Flags of our Fathers, Letters From Iwo Jima, Hollywoodland, Venus, Deja Vu and more Those of us who love films know how to find the information about the films we are interested in. The average movie goer doesn't necessarily care. They will base their decision upon their local reviewer, Gene Shalit, Ebert and Roeper, or Entertainment Tonight or their reaction to the movie trailer they saw on television. Not everyone is as wrapped up in film as you and I. Not everyone lives in a city where film and Hollywood get covered the way they do in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Yes, there are a number of tools and websites handy at the point of mouse to open this world up to them. But some people just want movies for escapism and fun and some of us want much more.

I think it is important to stand up and point out when misinformation is posted about a movie. Cinemascope and Klondike did just that. Case in point: the original poster and This Film Is Not Yet Rated. I am not sure what film the original poster saw that they drew the conclusions they did but it wasn't the documentary the rest of us saw. To let the post stand with no stepping up and calling them on it, then allows others to make a decision to see the film based on wrong, inflammatory information. Not every newcomer is a troll. But there are newcomers who drive by, hurl inflammatory remarks and then never return. Is this poster a true newcomer or not? Given the inflammatory rhetoric used in the original post one has to wonder.

Who is the most memorable character for me? Boo Radley (Robert Duvall in his screen debut) in To Kill a Mockingbird. "Miss Jean Louise, Mr Arthur Radley. I believe he already knows you". "Hey Boo"

The bulk of her early sound films were released by Paramount (are they owned by Paramount or Universal now? Probably Universal? But this is might be murky given that it is the transition from silent to sound era). Craig's Wife, probably her most well-known post Paramount film was released by Columbia. Given the recent spate of Columbia films on TCM, I would say keep an eye peeled on the schedule for this one to turn up. Christopher Strong, starring Kate Hepburn, is the film known for getting Hepburn declared box office poison. However, it is a RKO film so it does show up on the schedule from time to time. The Last of Mrs Cheyney was either just on or is coming up very soon. It is an MGM release so keep an eye open as it does make the schedule from time to time. The Bride Wore Red is MGM but I don't know if it has appeared on TCM but timelessjoancrawford or mongo could probably tell you. Dance Girl Dance is a RKO release as well so it may show up on the schedule soon. Ken123 who has a penchant for Irish actresses, especially Maureen O'Hara can probably tell you if it has been on TCM lately.

Well these days it's relatively easy to find out what's going to be showing, both in TV and in theaters, thanks to the web>> Is it? If you live in a large metropolitan city like NYC, Los Angeles, SF, Chicago (cities often considered the top tier) you are more likely to hear about upcoming films and films currently in theaters plus a great deal of buzz mainly because the newspapers and the alternative weeklies cover that sort of thing. In second and third tier cities, I think the focus is less on films in general and more geared toward what is happening in your town right now. I know from being in two cities: Los Angeles and Las Vegas on a monthly basis that the film coverage in Los Angeles is leaps and bounds above anything in Las Vegas. Having traveled to Austin and other cities last year on business, I found this to be true in those cities as well. Unless you are a modern film lover and/or constantly have your ear to the ground and have the time to ferret out the good films from the hype, it is much more difficult to do that in cities that don't have the coverage of a LA, SF, NYC and that upper tier.