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Programming Notice – TCM Presents the Work of Merchant-Ivory Productions

September 15, 2011 By 2 Comments

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Merchant-Ivory productions, Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is holding a month-long tribute, airing movies every Thursday night for the month of September. Unfortunately I was unable to watch the first night of movies (9/8) because I was attending a wedding but I am determined to go all in starting tonight.

The lineup for this evening’s programming is:

  • Remains of the Day, The (1993) – currently on
  • Howards End (1992)
  • A Room With a View (1985)
  • Maurice (1987)

The directing/producing team of James Ivory and Ismail Merchant. Their trademark is a collection of films that are understated adaptations of novels. Often these films were written for the screen by long time collaborator Ruth Prawer Jhabvala.

Easily my favorite of the bunch is A Room With a View with Howards End and Remains of the Day. I do however easily concede that these films are not for everyone. For some, the pacing and restraint shown in several of their films can leave one feeling a bit overanxious for something more active to appear on screen. For me the strength of the performances more than makes up

Consult the TCM Program Guide for a full layout of the schedule.

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A Shout Out to Movie Morlocks and SUTS!

August 9, 2010 By 1 Comment

On my blog I often highlight features, programming information, etc. that comes from the one-stop source of all things classic in cinema – Turner Classic Movies. On occasion I have also mentioned (and bookmarked) their blog, Movie Morlocks.

For those of you who are not familiar with what is going on this month on TCM, they are having their annual 31-day Summer Under the Stars (SUTS) in which they run a 24 hour marathon of a particular performer. It is a wonderful opportunity to catch a series of films from a single performer. In fact you will get the chance to even see a performance that you may have overlooked.

You may now be wondering how this relates to the blog I mentioned in the first paragraph. Well as a complementary piece to the television programming for the month, TCM’s Movie Morlocks has dedicated a week’s worth of blog posts to the life and work of often overlooked actors. This year it is Woody Strode’s turn.

For my part, what I knew about Woody Strode, I learned in passing from my father. But for years, I did not think of him too much within the context of the history of American cinema nor did I fully appreciate the impact he had during his time and the trail that he blazed for those stars who came after him. I thank the Morlocks for shining a light on a performer who nowadays might be often overlooked but should never be forgotten.

So my recommendation is for you to take a gander over to the Movie Morlocks site and read more about Woody Strode.

*Oh and look out August 13th (Friday) for 24 hours dedicated to Robert Ryan; other marathons of note include:

  • 8/14 Gene Tierney
  • 8/21 Paul Newman
  • 8/27 Olivia deHavilland
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TCM Classic Film Festival

November 4, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Where else? but Hollywood!

Movie camera and film
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Programming Notice: East of Eden next Tuesday at 8PM EST

October 30, 2009 By Leave a Comment
John Steinbeck

It was just this past week when I mentioned my affinity for the literary works of John Steinbeck and how those efforts translated to the screen. Well you will have an opportunity to view it for yourself next week. On TCM (where else), they are showing East of Eden Tuesday night (November 3, 2009) at 8:00PM Eastern Standard Time.

In fact – Tuesday night’s theme in primetime is called Based on John Steinbeck and features the classic films The Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men, The Red Pony, and Tortilla Flat.

 

 

 

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TCM Star of the Month Alert

October 24, 2009 By Leave a Comment

GraceKellySet your DVRs. During the month of November, TCM’s Star of the Month is none other than Grace Kelly. Although her film career was remarkably short:

Year Title
1951 Fourteen Hours
1952 High Noon
1953 Mogambo
1954 Dial M for Murder
Rear Window
The Country Girl
Green Fire
The Bridges at Toko-Riki
1955 To Catch a Thief
1956 The Swan
High Society

Almost all of her performances are memorable. Her collaboration with Hitchcock in three of films put her in select company for actors who had repeat performances in his film (Grant, Stewart, Bergman, Fontaine, Peck to name a few).

Of course a great part of hear legacy has to do with her leaving Hollywood to marry Prince Rainier and preside over the principality of Monaco until her untimely death in 1982.

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I feel so ignorant

October 20, 2009 By Leave a Comment

I cannot believe I call myself a classic movie fan and did not realize how celebrated the career of Leslie Caron was. I had heard of her in films like Gigi and Father Goose. I also knew that she was a former ballet dancer, but that was about it. Thank goodness for TCM’s month long tribute to her. Tonight I am DVR-ing The L Shaped Room. I will post my reaction here when I watch it in its entirety. Stay Tuned …..

Leslie Caron
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Just finished The Walking Dead

October 18, 2009 By 1 Comment

walking deadIn the spirit of Halloween, there seems to be a proliferation of horror films that come out in the month of October. In the realm of classic cinema, I have a new entry to my library – The Walking Dead, a 1936 feature starring Boris Karloff, Edmund Gwenn (jolly ole Saint Nick himself) and directed by Michael Curtiz.

This film was clearly exploiting the popularity of Karloff’s performance as Frankenstein another more recognizable tale of a man being brought back to life. In the case of The Walking Dead, I think I have my earliest cinematic experience with the revenge thriller of a man avenging the frame-up that has sent him to the electric chair.

This film also touches on the subject of “crossing over” and what is on the other side after our terrestrial lives cease to be. Of course, that is left unanswered and unfulfilled in some respects but it is rather tantalizing in that you are hoping for some explanation even if you do not go along with it.

For enthusiasts of films from this era, I think the film merits a look-see. Yes you know how the events will eventually unfold but the beauty and enjoyment is in the bearing witness to it.

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Programming Alert: James Stewart Birthday Tribute on TCM (5/20)

May 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment

bday cakeSet your DVRs! Wednesday’s programming will be dedicated to some of the best work of James Stewart. Here they are!

While I like most of his work, I have marked my personal favorite films with an asterisk (*).  Enjoy!

6:30am  Anatomy Of A Murder (1959)
A small-town lawyer gets the case of a lifetime when a military man avenges an attack on his wife.
Cast: James Stewart, Lee Remick, Ben Gazzara, Arthur O’Connell Dir: Otto Preminger

* 9:30am You Can’t Take It With You (1938)
A girl from a family of freethinkers falls for the son of a conservative banker.
Cast: Jean Arthur, Lionel Barrymore, James Stewart, Edward Arnold Dir: Frank Capra

11:45am  Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
An idealistic Senate replacement takes on political corruption.
Cast: Jean Arthur, James Stewart, Claude Rains, Edward Arnold Dir: Frank Capra

* 2:00pm  Rear Window (1954)
A photographer with a broken leg uncovers a murder while spying on the neighbors in a nearby apartment building.
Cast: James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey, Thelma Ritter Dir: Alfred Hitchcock

* 4:00pm  Vertigo (1958)
A detective falls for the mysterious woman he’s been hired to tail.
Cast: James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes, Tom Helmore Dir: Alfred Hitchcock

6:15pm  Bell, Book and Candle (1959)
A beautiful witch puts a love spell on an unknowing publisher.
Cast: James Stewart, Kim Novak, Jack Lemmon, Ernie Kovacs Dir: Richard Quine

For a complete James Stewart filmography, visit the Internet Movie Database.  One film not featured in the birthday tribute but worth noting in Call Northside 777 (1948).

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Shoutout to the TCM Underground!

May 8, 2009 By Leave a Comment

tcm underground

Over the past several months, I have found myself watching several movies from the TCM Underground that I have recorded due to their late airings.  From what I can gather, the goal of the Underground is to showcase cult films.  Previously I reviewed Two Thousand Maniacs on this blog – it was also shown on the Underground.  These films cover the gambit from your Plan Nine from Outer Space, which by all accounts is just bad on all levels, to Night of the Living Dead, a quintessential well-made cult classic.  Therefore, you can see that all the films do not necessarily have to be bad.  I am just making it a goal of mine to see a few of the really awful ones.  The way I figure, you really do not know how good a movie is until you have sat through a poorly made movie.

An innocent girl! A life destroyed!

An innocent girl! A life destroyed!

It is in that spirit that I viewed 1934′s Road to Ruin.  Reading the movie synopsis on my guide I was certain that it was in the same vein as Reefer Madness and other exploitation cautionary tales made at this time.  Over the course of the next 60 minutes, I knew I was not watching high art but I would be lying if I said the film’s concluding scenes did not a little sadden me.  It just goes to show that any movie, even a turkey, can elicit a visceral response from your audience.

Visit the TCM Underground for more information, including schedules, video clips, wallpapers and more fun stuff!

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To read more about cult cinema, there is a great series of articles in the December 2008 issue of Cineaste magazine.  These articles cover a wide range of topics related to cult films.

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2000 Maniacs

April 18, 2009 By Leave a Comment

2000maniacs

I was intending to write about this movie and describing it as one of the worst films I have ever seen. Some time has passed since I first wrote the review I was hoping to transcribe today. However as a week has passed my feelings about this film have softened – especially when I did a little more digging into the origins and backstory of the film.

These facts stand out: the film was shot in 15 days; the movie is loosely based off of the musical Brigadoon; the extras included the townspeople; and the director is none other than Herschell Gordon Lewis, who in horror circles is a godfather (of sorts) of “splatter” films – a subgenre of horror.

I was not armed with this information however when I was doing my requisite flipping through the television listings for Turner Classic Movies and stumbled upon this description:

2000 Maniacs (1 star)(1964) The Southern mayor (Jeffrey Allen) and citizens of a Civil War ghost town greet tourists.

I was naturally intrigued by this description and decided to record it (it was on at an obscure time).

Yes the movie is bad but in an unconventional way. Normally with a movie that I find totally unbearable to sit through I will simply turn the channel, stop the DVD player – anything that will remove me from the train wreck I am witnessing on screen. To this film’s credit, I did not want to turn away from what I was witnessing. The plot synopsis tells the audience all we would ever want to know about where the movie is taking us. And trust me as you are watching movie you have a good sense of where everything is going and how it is we arrive there. But still I watched with fascination.

The acting was what one could expect from a standard issue B-movie. The cinematography, editing, etc. were also from the low budget school of filmmaking.

One thing I found extremely impressive was the actual quality of print. The movie easily looked like it could have been made in the 1970’s or 1980’s. In fact there are some films that have “more cultural/historical significance” that are not in as good of shape as this film.

While it may not go down in history as a cinematic masterwork, 2000 Maniacs goes to show that you do not have to be Citizen Kane to keep your audience engaged.

For more background information:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_Maniacs

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