RC

I agree with you, filmlover. Let it end now. I promise I won't even look at this thread again, so the fredcdobbs can continue without my input. (Oh, God, now they'll be after everything I write in here.) Oh, well. LET'S MOVE ON.

I agree with you, decotodd. I always cut the channel some slack during their Oscar marathon, as well as the Summer Under the Stars month. Most of the titles they show are either not to my taste or films that I've seen (in some cases, again and again). So go ahead and show the loathsome Sleepless in Seattle and The Karate Kid, TCM (though I wish you wouldn't ruin so many Saturday nights with this Drek). I won't be there.

Wuntvor, I couldn't agree with you more in much of what you say. I danced around the kitchen, too, when I saw that TCM was showing so many of the great Studio Ghibili films last January. I especially enjoyed seeing them in the original Japanese, and several, such as Pom Poko, were a revelation. I've been watching Turner Classic Movies for many years now. I'm no great fan of musicals, and on the nights when TCM focuses on the great MGM musicals, for example, I either find something else to watch or don't watch anything at all. If you've been watching TCM for a while, I'm sure you'll recognize that there are many nights when my tv remains off. For my money, the old old (pre-Code) flicks are the ones to watch for and to highlight when I get my monthly schedule. However, many times I'll try something that hasn't bounced off my radar screen, and I'll be pulled in. That happened most recently with Executive Suite. And tonight I'll be tuning in The Spy That Came In From the Cold. I'll also be tuning in on March 26th when TCM will be showing Spirited Away again. A great (CLASSIC) film. And despite the repeated showings of such drek (for me) as Sleepless in Seattle and The Karate Kid, I'll continue homing in on TCM when I settle down in front of the tv. And perhaps someday (someday soon|!) we can both sit down to enjoy Howl's Moving Castle on TCM, uncut and uninterrupted, and in its original aspect ratio.

I read somewhere that John Wayne had really tiny feet, was very embarassed about them. That's where the weird swagger he had when he walked came from. Is this a myth?

TCM has shown GIANT a number of times. Ditto WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE, which for a while they were showing weekly. I look forward to the end of the 31 days of Oscar marathon, when they go back to a somewhat regular schedule. There are any number of foreign films I'd like to see, especially Kurosawa, which they have shown, and Ozu, which they have not. My one choice: TOKYO STORY.

I dunno. Now that it's novelty has worn off, I think ROGER RABBIT is kinda boring. Could only sit through about fifteen minutes of it before I went surfing for something else. Luckily, Encore was showing UNFORGIVEN, which is a real classic.

The end is near? On Saturday TBS was showing "Back to the Future" (ugh) pan and scanned with lots of commercials. Turn to Turner Classic Movies and you'd find the same damn movie. Now that's something to be concerned about.

Tom D'Andrea driving Humphrey Bogart in his cab in Dark Passage, coincidentally one of my favorite films.

As a matter of fact . . . I saw PSYCHO in its initial release in Lowell, Massachusetts. The theatre was mostly empty, though there were two little old ladies sitting behind me. I thought, at the tender age of 13, that even Hitchcock couldn't scare me because I'd already read the Robert Block novel the movie was based on. I already knew the "secrets" in the story. I was wrong. The shower scene threw me for a loop. Meanwhile, behind me, the two little old ladies remainded unperturbed until one of them quietly said to her companion, "It's the son." Meanwhile, for my money, you should always hit the eject button when Michael Douglas shows up. Or Jimbo Carrey.

Seems to me TCM devoted a full month to Film Noir a few years ago. Anybody around remember that? I'd love to see them do it again. RC

Sullivan's Travels (or anything Preston Sturges wrote) Nashville Dark Passage Days of Being Wild Goodbye Dragon Inn And that's just the tip of the iceburg. Will stop whatever else I'm doing and just watch to the very end. Never disappointed, never feel like I'm wasting my time.

Yikes indeed! I'm currently pushing 60 and think the choice of Jon Stewart is fine, thanks. In fact, I'm far more likely to watch the show because of Jon Stewart, who may not have a star on the Walk of Fame but, by God, he's funny. TCM is fine, too, despite the nay sayers who haven't paid attention to anything since 1960; I like anime and have seen a few recent films (like Good Night and Good Luck) that will be (already are) as classic as anything from MGM of the 40's or Warner Brothers of the 30's. When I'm 70, I expect to tune in TCM and see Brokeback Mountain uncut and uninterupted and in its proper aspect ratio.

Horray! They're repeating SPIRITED AWAY on Saturday (recognizingit as the Classic Oscar winner that it is). The End may not be so Near after all.

I would have no problem with a Jack Webb night. (By the way, how many movies did he make? I can think of a few, none very distinguished or classic.) I can't see how a series of nine films from a great Japanese animator threatens the status of our favorite movie station. At all!

How about "Titanic" and all the oscars that went to that gigantic turkey? And, while I'm in a bloated mood, do you know anyone who has sat through all of those Tolkein movies? The DVD release of "The Return of the King" runs six hours. And that won Best Picture as well. Peter Jackson has now come up with a three hour remake of "King Kong", nearly doubling the length of a great movie that never needed to be remade. Talk about excess! My question is: does the man have a bladder or does he also have to take bathroom breaks while watching his own bloated CGI-infested pix? I agree with the poster who cited Elizabeth Taylor for "BUtterfield 8" as one of the more dubious winners. It was a gift to a well-regarded actress who was, at that time, just back from the hospital and death's door. And I certainly agree that "The Greatest Show On Earth" isn't, despite its Best Picture win.

There seems to be a lot of infighting going on here, and the point has been lost. A few years ago, TCM devoted a month of Thursday nights to Bollywood films, a genre which I didn't particularly like, and which, for the most part, I avoided. Aside from the occasional Bollywood clinker on the "Imports" feature, we haven't seen much more Bollywood cinema. Similarly, a few years back, we got treated to a feast of Kurosawa films and again, aside from the occasional Friday night"import", Kurosawa has also gone away. I personally enjoy the anime films, and as I said before, I look forward to Thursday night's conclusion. Then, they'll go away, and those who don't appreciate them can settle back into the bi-weekly showings of Casasblanca and Viva Las Vegas. I can watch Casablanca again and again, and undoubtedly will. But there's more to movies (and, dare I say, classic movies) than Bogart and Bergman. I appreciate the opportunity to see a film like Spirited Away given the full TCM treatment; that's all folks. I don't think the station is compromised by giving its viewers something different every once in a while.

I personally enjoy the Thursday night Miyazaki films, a real treat after the bazillionth showing of Casablanca or Meet Me in Saint Louis. I especially loved Spirited Away and Castle in the Sky, and I look forward to next Thursday's conclusory films. My only complaint is that the Disney dubbed versions were shown in prime time. The films seem much better to me in their Japanese language originals. For those who complain that these films aren't classic, please get off of it! I suppose all those horrible Elvis Presley musicals that seem to pop up every month on TCM are more classic. To my mind, they're the junk, and should be relegated to some sub-TNT commercial choked larder. Give me Miyazaki any day compared to the 70th screening of Viva Las Vegas.