A film we don't talk about, a film TCM will never be able to air?

[TopBilled]

The December schedule will be available online in two or three weeks. And one film will definitely not be among the holiday offerings:

 

 

I think it's a shame that TCM isn't allowed to air this classic at least once. I'd even take a colorized version, as part of a Christmas in July theme. Wouldn't you?

 

[hamradio]

The December schedule will be available online in two or three weeks. And one film will definitely not be among the holiday offerings:

 

 

I think it's a shame that TCM isn't allowed to air this classic at least once. I'd even take a colorized version, as part of a Christmas in July theme. Wouldn't you?

 

 

 

 

TCM simply cannot air it.

 

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/1999/12/why_wonderful_life_comes_but_once_a_year.html

 

Excerpt...

In 1994, Republic * signed a "long-term" deal granting NBC exclusive rights to broadcast the movie, and the network typically does so between one and three times a year.

[TopBilled]

TCM simply can not air it.

 

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/1999/12/why_wonderful_life_comes_but_once_a_year.html

 

Excerpt...

In 1994, Republic * signed a "long-term" deal granting NBC exclusive rights to broadcast the movie, and the network typically does so between one and three times a year.

 

Yes. I wonder how long that deal runs for...any idea? You'd think they could reach a compromise, with TCM being allowed to air the movie at other times of the year, not in December, so NBC can maintain a monopoly on that. The first half of the film is not Christmasy at all. Plus it would be nice to see it on TCM when they make Stewart a Star of the Month again.

[sewhite2000]

I've found it ironic that a number of spotlighted pictures at the TCM Film Festivals have been films TCM will Never Be Able to Air, including It's a Wonderful Life, The Ten Commandments, The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins. Maybe that's their way of "airing" those films.

[TopBilled]

I've found it ironic that a number of spotlighted pictures at the TCM Film Festivals have been films TCM will Never Be Able to Air, including It's a Wonderful Life, The Ten Commandments, The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins. Maybe that's their way of "airing" those films.

 

When did they show IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE at a festival? I don't remember that.

[sewhite2000]

Hmm, I could be hallucinating that one! Thought they had. 

[sewhite2000]

No wait, I know what I'm talking about after all!

 

http://filmfestival.tcm.com/programs/films/its-a-wonderful-life/

[TopBilled]

Hmm, I could be hallucinating that one! Thought they had. 

 

Maybe you're not hallucinating...if it happened, I just don't remember when. 

 

It seems unfair NBC would be able to secure the rights for a whole year, when it only broadcasts the film a few weeks in December.

[TopBilled]

No wait, I know what I'm talking about after all!

 

http://filmfestival.tcm.com/programs/films/its-a-wonderful-life/

 

Okay. So it was earlier this year. Did a lot of people go see it? That was in April, which reinforces my point TCM should be able to air it "off-season."

 

[slaytonf]

I don't miss it.

[EricJ]

TCM simply cannot air it.

 

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/1999/12/why_wonderful_life_comes_but_once_a_year.html

 

Excerpt...

In 1994, Republic * signed a "long-term" deal granting NBC exclusive rights to broadcast the movie, and the network typically does so between one and three times a year.

 

 

Yep--The big cliche' up to 1994 (and oh, were we up to our eyeballs in gags about it) was that prior to Republic asserting copyright on a piece of the music and re-owning it, IAWL was free public domain, and everywhere at Christmas.  EVERY.  WHERE.  You could click channels during December, and see it showing on three or four different stations....At the same time.

(That may be one of the reasons it stuck in our heads so immediately like Oz as a pop-culture staple--Until the Marlo Thomas remake in '77, also because it was free, few people even remembered the movie, until starving local 70's PBS stations showed public-domain material wherever they could.)

Nowadays, if you see a sitcom gag about characters sitting around watching "Christmas movies" on TV, you'll probably hear them watching the Alastair Sim "Scrooge" instead, which is still free.

 

As noted, NBC doesn't show it once a year, they show their Christmas money-maker two or three times during December, because that's one of the last TV holiday staples that television (which now fears and shuns specials they don't want to make room for) still markets.

Point is, it's Paramount owned, and it's NBC, and they ain't letting go of it any time soon.

 

Btw, folks also hold a big annual festival to the movie (and have a local "museum" to it) in my old hometown of Seneca Falls, NY, which legend has it, Frank Capra reportedly stopped by while he was researching upstate-NY small-town scenery.

http://TheRealBedfordFalls.com

Every year now, they light up the big iron bridge on Bridge St.  

[laffite]

,

[TopBilled]

Yep--The big cliche' up to 1994 (and oh, were we up to our eyeballs in gags about it) was that prior to Republic asserting copyright on a piece of the music and re-owning it, IAWL was free public domain, and everywhere at Christmas.  EVERY.  WHERE.  You could click channels during December, and see it showing on three or four different stations....At the same time.

 

I guess that's true. I wasn't paying attention to those things back then, and I do remember the TV airwaves being saturated with it in the 80s...but it was something we expected and looked forward to each holiday season. It still seems weird that it has never aired on TCM and probably never will, unless TCM is somehow able to finagle the rights.

[Emily Dean]

I know another film we will never see again...SONG OF THE SOUTH...that's for certain...we'll never see it anywhere.

[Princess of Tap]

I know another film we will never see again...SONG OF THE SOUTH...that's for certain...we'll never see it anywhere.

 

 

I saw Song of the South on TV when it was on Disneyland. It was okay, enjoyable with some songs, but it's nothing to get that excited about.

 

The reason I remember it was because I don't think I'd seen animation with live action before.

[TopBilled]

The reason I remember it was because I don't think I'd seen animation with live action before.

 

It's possible TCM may air SONG OF THE SOUTH as part of a future Disney Treasures segment with Leonard Martin. Guess we'll have to see.

 

But IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE and THE GODFATHER appear to be leased to rival channels.

 

Another one I wonder about is the original STAR WARS. TCM has never aired it either.

[sewhite2000]

With so many avenues available for seeing most films (except the ones that are locked away for rights issues or controversial subject matter), I guess it doesn't really matter if a film airs on TCM or not. But as a longtime fan and advocate of the network, I feel it helps cement a film's "classic" status when it finally airs on TCM. I remember the sheer joy in Robert Osborne's delivery when he finally got to introduce All About Eve for the very first time, and it was neat that TCM did manage to sneak in a single airing each of the first two Godfathers.

 

This post won't please the crowd that hates all post-1960 movies, but on a number of occasions I've noted the lack of material to ever air on TCM from Steven Spielberg, the most commercially and arguably critically successful director of the last 45 years. The only Spielberg films I know for sure have aired on TCM are Duel, Sugarland Express, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Color Purple and Amistad. That's certainly leaving out a large body of his most celebrated films - you know, like the one about the big-headed alien with the glowing finger and the one about the archaeologist with the bullwhip. I'm sure TCM would love to show a number of his films during 31 Days of Oscar. Schindler's List just seems to be begging for a February airing. And how about Saving Private Ryan to inject some fresh blood into the annual Memorial Day weekend marathon? A large number of Spielberg's films have been made for Universal, which is probably part of the problem, though Jaws is a Universal film that seems to make it on TCM at least once a year.

 

Also a lot of his films were released through DreamWorks SKG, which has a complicated history. I did just enough reading on its Wikipedia page to make my head spin. From what I could gather, a good chunk of its library is presently controlled by Vicacom/Paramount, and its more recent fare is controlled by Disney/Touchstone, although that contract expires this month. Wikipedia is a little murky about what happens to the studio after that.

[TopBilled]

With so many avenues available for seeing most films (except the ones that are locked away for rights issues or controversial subject matter), I guess it doesn't really matter if a film airs on TCM or not. But as a longtime fan and advocate of the network, I feel it helps cement a film's "classic" status when it finally airs on TCM. I remember the sheer joy in Robert Osborne's delivery when he finally got to introduce All About Eve for the very first time, and it was neat that TCM did manage to sneak in a single airing each of the first two Godfathers.

 

This post won't please the crowd that hates all post-1960 movies, but on a number of occasions I've noted the lack of material to ever air on TCM from Steven Spielberg, the most commercially and arguably critically successful director of the last 45 years. The only Spielberg films I know for sure have aired on TCM are Duel, Sugarland Express, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Color Purple and Amistad. That's certainly leaving out a large body of his most celebrated films - you know, like the one about the big-headed alien with the glowing finger and the one about the archaeologist with the bullwhip. I'm sure TCM would love to show a number of his films during 31 Days of Oscar. Schindler's List just seems to be begging for a February airing. And how about Saving Private Ryan to inject some fresh blood into the annual Memorial Day weekend marathon? A large number of Spielberg's films have been made for Universal, which is probably part of the problem, though Jaws is a Universal film that seems to make it on TCM at least once a year.

 

Also a lot of his films were released through DreamWorks SKG, which has a complicated history. I did just enough reading on its Wikipedia page to make my head spin. From what I could gather, a good chunk of its library is presently controlled by Vicacom/Paramount, and its more recent fare is controlled by Disney/Touchstone, although that contract expires this month. Wikipedia is a little murky about what happens to the studio after that.

 

Excellent post. I believe SAVING PRIVATE RYAN has aired (I will need to look at MovieCollector's website to verify it)...but yes, SCHINDLER'S LIST is an obvious omission, and as you indicated, it would work perfectly during 31 Days of Oscar.

 

The first two GODFATHER films aired on TCM many years ago, before the broadcast rights to those titles had been locked up by AMC.

[TopBilled]

Just checked MovieCollector's webpage. SAVING PRIVATE RYAN has actually aired twice on TCM-- first, in June 2009; then again in November 2011.

 

My guess is these broadcasts coincided with D-Day and Veterans' Day.

[EricJ]

Another one I wonder about is the original STAR WARS. TCM has never aired it either.

 

 

Fox owns the original, not Disney.  Either way, we're stuck.

[TopBilled]

Fox owns the original, not Disney.  Either way, we're stuck.

 

I'm not even sure if STAR WARS has ever aired on the FXM channel. It's definitely one of that studio's most prestigious titles.

[GGGGerald]

Fox owns the original, not Disney.  Either way, we're stuck.

 

Are you sure ? I thought when Lucas sold out to Disney, he sold everything. Or is it he never owned total rights to Star Wars in the first place ?

 

With so many avenues available for seeing most films (except the ones that are locked away for rights issues or controversial subject matter), I guess it doesn't really matter if a film airs on TCM or not. But as a longtime fan and advocate of the network, I feel it helps cement a film's "classic" status when it finally airs on TCM.

( Also, the cost of digitization is keeping many films from being seen ).

 

While I do consider TCM the king when it comes to presenting classic film (they were the first to devote a full channel to it. And they do with the class that these treasures deserve), I prefer we have multiple outlets to show them. Its too much like a monopoly to have only one channels show films. When there is no competition, there is no motivation to keep standards high. 

 

I like that there are more and more channels. TCM can't feature every single star every month. And frankly, there are more films than one channel could ever show by itself. And other channels might have a different perspective on a film or actor. I like the variety.

[LawrenceA]

I like that there are more and more channels. TCM can't feature every single star every month. And frankly, there are more films than one channel could ever show by itself. And other channels might have a different perspective on a film or actor. I like the variety.

 

TCM is still pretty much uncontested in the quality of their presentations though. There are other channels showing classic films, but most are commercial channels, with films edited to fit constrained running times, as well as for content. Other channels don't show the films in the proper aspect, and some, like FXM, have a small library that gets repeated indefinitely. 

 

There still isn't any other channels that I'm aware off, and certainly not available in my area, that show unedited, uninterrupted movies in the proper aspect (most of the time).

[EricJ]

Are you sure ? I thought when Lucas sold out to Disney, he sold everything. Or is it he never owned total rights to Star Wars in the first place

 

Alan Ladd Jr. bought the rights for the '77 Star Wars from Lucas.  Lucas insisted on having independence for his sequels and marketing, and the studio humored him since they didn't think it would get a sequel.

Lucasfilm owns Eps. 1-3, 5-6, Force Awakens, and the Indy films, and Disney owns Lucasfilm, but Fox still owns Ep. IV - A New Hope.

[TopBilled]

Alan Ladd Jr. bought the rights for the '77 Star Wars from Lucas.  Lucas insisted on having independence for his sequels and marketing, and the studio humored him since they didn't think it would get a sequel.

Lucasfilm owns Eps. 1-3, 5-6, Force Awakens, and the Indy films, and Disney owns Lucasfilm, but Fox still owns Ep. IV - A New Hope.

 

Thanks for explaining all of it, but it still sounds confusing. When you say Alan Ladd Jr. bought the rights to the 1977 film, are you saying he bought the rights for Fox or for his own company?