lzcutter

Just, Be sure that you are using the correct DVDs when recording. Check the manual to see if you should be using DVD+R or DVD-R. There is a difference between the two. If you are using incompatible DVDs while it looks like they are recording properly, they won't finalize properly.

Turner Classic Movies Acquires More Than 100 Paramount Pictures Titles The Stepford Wives, Shane, Breakfast at Tiffany?s and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Among Titles Obtained by TCM>> I'm confused. How did Paramount acquire the rights from 20th Century Fox for Butch Cassidy?

Kaplan, I wonder if TCM can then rent the more modern films to other Turner channels such as TNT and TBS as well as othr movie channels? Lynn in Sherman Oaks

Fred, We have Direct as well. We occasionally have the problem indicated though not on every channel. It is usually a problem with the satellight signal. Last winter when we were deluged with rain we had the occasional problem much like you have with the snow. As with satellite when the problem occurs with folks with cable, it is generally a problem with the cable providers signal and not coming from TCM.

Fred, I don't think there are too many people here arguing for TCM to show more modern films (which I consider to be 1980s-today for what it's worth). While I wouldn't have a problem with "O, Brother" being shown in a night of films and their inspiration or a night of chain gang films through the years. But "O, Brother" is the exception to the norm of films being made today that have its roots in films of the bygone era. I would hope that those of us who appreciate the films from the 1960s and 1970s want TCM to keep showing us films from the 1910s-1950s. I personally love the older films and love the chance to see them every day. Like you, when I was a kid the only way to see them was on the Million Dollar Movie or late at night. Those films appeal to film lovers of all ages (maybe with the exception of silents and Leo who would be happy if TCM never ran a silent film again but I like to think he is in the minority on that) and those films are what make TCM so special. I think part of the problem is the whole 31 Days of Oscar where films from all decades are programmed and this year especially seems heavily weighted towards to more recent films. Perhaps its time they give some thought to retiring the Oscar salute. When the smoke clears, the direction TCM is taken will only be revealed when we can look back at the end of the year and analysis the programming and see if this month's programming was the exception or became the norm. We don't know what gems the programmers have in store for us later this year. It might be centered around hard to see films, precodes, silents, film noir, musicals or it could be the greatest films of the 1990s. I don't want to see TCM abandon its core audience to chase the demographic that destroyed AMC. But then, I don't see them sliding charging headlong down that slippery slope the way others do. I agree 100% with you that writing a letter addressing your concerns is much more effective than debating what should be shown here. A hand written letter will carry more weight than all the debating we do on the issue. It should be an interesting year and I am looking forward to it.

Allie, I think it may actually be the opposite. The gen-Xers being the ones who are most vocal in their dislike of movies post 1960. Those of us who grew up with films of the 1960s and 1970s are more likely to be supportive of those films and consider many of them, rightly or wrongly, classics. Some of the films of those eras broke new ground in many different ways. As for the debate about this thread, noone's opinion is going to be swayed one way or another about what should or shouldn't be shown on TCM. All we seem to do on this thread is find different words to use to keep the debate going without really saying anything new or really persuading anyone on the opposite side of our arguments. Call me a cheerleader, but when you read this thread and others of similar vein, it truly shows what a tough job programming is for this channel as it is next to impossible to keep all the viewers happy even some of the time with the choices to be made. No matter what is programmed in any given month someone will be vocal in their dislike of the choices of the films selected. As for the "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" movies of the 1970s, at the time they were reflecting the conflict many women felt over the role of women in society. Not that long before the 1970s, a woman couldn't have a bank account in her name, couldn't own property, was only identified through her role as wife and mother and not thought of as her own person. Many women wanted to be thought of for who they were and not for who they were married to. Those movies, while they may seem quaint or maddening now, depict a time and place when society and American culture were very different from today and the choices to be made had rippling effects that were felt throughout their lives.

Coffeedan, Were Bond and Wayne on the USC football team at the same time?

Kyle, Here in the Southland, Army may have been on the Channel 5 telecast. Would be worth a call to the station to see if they know. The other thing might be to google Army Archerd and Oscar telecast. Would probably bring up hits from his previous years and what station he was part of.

FredCDobbs: I think That 30 minutes would be including the commercials. I have on several occasions tried to watch all the way to the end, without success, the Harry Potter movies. Is it just me because I found them to be quite boring. And they gave one of those the Best Picture Oscar and turned down "Star Wars". Brother!! >> Albatros, I don't think any of the Harry Potter films have won the Best Picture Oscar.

Differences in watching films over the years: 1910s -1950s: maybe a crap shoot but I will learn something about film making, film history or acting that I may not have considered. Are they all classics? No. Many bad films were made. There are films I readily admit I would never watch again. But there are films I am thankful for being exposed to. Films from the 60s and 70s: Incredibly interesting because of the history. The end of the studio system, the inflated budgets, the egos, the missteps. The unexpected surprises from filmmakers and actors. The exhiliration of discovery that the filmmakers and the actors of Hollywood's Golden Age can still take your breath away or take a role so against type that you sit up and take notice. The final nails in the coffin of the Code and how that new freedom played out. I love watching the changing morals of America through the films being made from the beginning to the 70s. The movies highlight that conflict every step of the way. Films from the 80s and 90s: Still great metaphors for who we are and what we hold important. Still important as social history as we watch Hollywood abandon an audience that grew up with films and want to see films in a theatre setting. We are replaced by the all ruling demographic: teenagers. The problem: teenagers typically don't love film and given a choice on a weekend night will choose another option. Films from the 2000s: Some are still worth seeing. Others get rated on how many hours of my life I won't be getting back. Bottom line: It's all a crapshoot and I still love it.

from coffedan's post a few days ago and now three pages back: At times, TCM has had more modern films in the schedule than it does now. It has also had fewer of those films. But as much as the numbers go up and down, the programmers do maintain some basic proportions. The modern films have always been part of the programming mix, right from the very beginning, but they have never overwhelmed the rest of the schedule. There are a few exceptions, but TCM has kept to showing modern films that are at least 10 years old (the most recent film in this month's schedule is from 1996), which I think is distance enough for determining a "classic.">> from rickspade: My own feeling is that while TCM seems to have morphed lately into something less than a ?classic? classic movie channel, it?s still so far superior to any alternative, how can anyone really complain.>> The whole point is that TCM has not recently morphed, changed or abandoned it's original intent. It is actually holding the line, not sliding down any slippery slope. While some viewers and posters maintain that TCM has changed the evidence says differently. The evidence shows TCM has tried to be incredibly consistent in the movies it schedules. As I said earlier in this thread, the ever changing face of technology may be playing a bigger role than we realize in what is actually available in the digital form that TCM can broadcast in, from the teens, twenties and 30s. But they are out there, every day, swinging for the fences. Is every day a home run in classic films? No, but they are consistently trying to make everyone in the bleachers happy. And no matter how you phrase it, that is not an easy job to do. But they keep trying and they keep swinging. And at the end of the day, that really is what matters most.

Also, I found the closest thing to a TCM "mission statement" on a 1999 webpage of TCM's history, short as it was then. It begins with this statement: "Turner Classic Movies presents the greatest films of all time, from the '20s through the '80s (emphasis mine) -- featuring the silent screen, international pictures, as well as all of Hollywood's genres -- commercial-free, uninterrupted, 24 hours a day.">> I think Coffeedan's research says it all. No one has been able to find a better "mission statement" IN WRITING in all these pages of doom and glooom. Who among us are the fortune tellers? Only time will tell. Till then all this talk of TCM becoming ACM, Bravo or fill in the blank, is just that, speculation. Will the doom and gloomers prevail or will the TCM lover prevail? Who knows? Obviously none of us. TCM has NOT become ACM. Despite various posts to the contrary, the evidence shows that TCM has not sold out. Could TCM show some films less frequently? Yes. But one thing to keep in mind in all of this is the changing face of technology (much faster than when TCM started out ten years ago) and the ability of studios, their home entertainment divisions, their libraries, and everyone else to try to stay current with broadcast quality. It's one thing to sit at home on your computer and imagine the perfect movie channel. The delivery of that idea is a horse of different color. I give TCM high marks for trying to market to a variety of needs and tastes 24/7. You can call me a loyalist, but until you show me station doing it 24/7 (which FMC is not doing). uncut, unedited and in the original format, good luck.

Regarding Richard Widmark, Saw him two years ago dining in the patio section of "El Coyote", a popular Mexican restaurant here in Los Angeles. He was still looking good.

"Without a schedule for Pacific Time, I rarely watch the channel anymore.">> The schedule does have times for PST. Has had since the changeover. Am I missing something?

The Moon is Blue is usually the one film cited for applying nails in the Code. Otto Preminger directed William Holden and David Niven in this somewhat frank look at relationships in 1953. Released without the Code's Approval, it opened the door for filmmakers and screenwriters to explore mature adult themes. The initial response to the film was long lines and paying customers. Everyone took notice.

The Back to the Future series was produced by Universal so TCM would have to rent those movies. Both "Clockwork" and "Blazing Saddles" are Warner movies. Those movies are not in the TCM Library of films so they would have to be rented as well.

The Dead End Kids were in "Dead End" with Joel McCrea, Sylvia Sydney and Bogie. They also appear with Cagney in "Angels with Dirty Faces"

River, Yes the feature is still here. When doing a search, you have to be sure to click on site. The default is setting is for the database but you can change that with a click of your mouse.

They were originally released by Columbia Studios. Columbia's library is now owned by Sony. The movies in the database include films from all studios not just what is available in the TCM library. The studio that released the film is credited about half way down the page when you do a search for a film title. TCM would have to rent them if they want to show them.

I guess you've been in hog heaven lately watching the trash that TCM decided we need to see. >> Sweetbaby, All Iloveperth said was that she was looking forward to Roger Rabbit because it held a special memory related to her family. You attacked her on that choice and then became angry because it did not fit your defiinition of a TCM classic. Feburary is TCM Salutes the Oscars and Roger Rabbit fits that definition. On a broader scale , to attack someone because a film in the schedule holds a deep memory or is important because of something outside your definitition of classic is just plain rude. Classic Films have different meanings for different people. What is classic to you, what is classic to me may vary. Many people define classic by the moments they share with family or a loved one. It may not be your watching pleasure but give the poster credit for appreciating that the film was an homage to an era that has passed into history.

As far as I know, Mississippi Gambler still hasn't been released. I bought a copy of it on ebay and it was fine for me. Unfortunately, it wasn't a 20th Century Fox film - Power was one of the producers, I believe, so it won't be in the Tyrone Power collection that Fox is putting out in April. I wish TCM would put MORE of an effort to get some of his films on.>> If Powers was the producer on the film then it may be tied up because of righs issues. On anothe note, aren't the majority of his films from 20th Century Fox? If so, since they have their own movie channel, FMC, that probably puts a major crimp in TCM being able to rent movies from their library.

Huntress, Robert Ryan would be terrific. He can be evil, he can be good, he can be old and doing the job because he needs the money. Any role, he was great.

Six years old and bio-dad took me to see "To Kill a Mockingbird". The ending stayed with me. Didn't realize it until I saw the movie again when I was twelve. "Dumbo" is the second movie I remember seeing because of the mad elephant sequence. "Old Yeller", too.

I would wager you take Walter Brennan and Ward Bond and count up the movies the two of them have been in (not together but over their careers) and they would be in the top ten of most movies ever made. As for favorite movies: Walter Brennan: Rio Bravo Gary Cooper: Really love him in Wings and The Winning of Barbara Worth (two that rarely get mentioned)

There are also those that say John Ford may have been the one to alter Duke's walk. Just remember when doing your research that when legend becomes fact, print the legend!