This winter has been brutal here in the Northeast, like Day After Tomorrow brutal. But fortunately it has been made a little warmer thanks to my television friends at TCM, with their annual 31 Days of Oscar viewing party.
Image Credit: Turner Classic Movies
In the lead up to the 86th Annual Academy Awards:
Each night’s [TCM] primetime lineup from Feb. 1 through March 3 will be devoted to showcasing all the movies nominated in a particular category in a given year. Meanwhile, daytime programming will focus on specific categories, with winners and nominees from multiple years.
So yeah we are currently a third of a way into the cinematic lovefest, but that does not mean you have to miss out on the remaining action. I personally feel about cinema the way I feel about any other topic of interest – in order to be truly literate in that area, a grasp of all leading up to the present is essential for true appreciation.
The prime time schedule (as of today, February 12) includes:
- Feb. 12: Best Supporting Actress nominees from 1963
- Feb. 13: Best Actress nominees from 1942
- Feb. 14: Best Actor nominees from 1955
- Feb. 15: Best Picture nominees from 1929-30
- Feb. 16: Best Picture nominees from 1951
- Feb. 17: Best Scoring of Music – Adaptation or Treatment nominees from 1962
- Feb. 18: Best Film Editing nominees from 1959
- Feb. 19: Best Supporting Actor nominees from 1937
- Feb. 20: Best Actress nominees from 1934
- Feb. 21: Best Actor nominees from 1944
- Feb. 22: Best Picture nominees from 1948
- Feb. 23: Best Picture nominees from 1938
- Feb. 24: Best B/W Art Direction – Set Decoration nominees from 1965
- Feb. 25: Best Cinematography, Black-and-White nominees from 1947
- Feb. 26: Best Actress nominees from 1931-32
- Feb. 27: Best Actor nominees from 1943
- March 1: Best Picture nominees from 1967
- March 2: Best Picture nominees from 1935
- March 3: Best Special Effects nominees from 1958
As if the films are not enticing enough, the interstitial “extras” are equally informative; the original TCM program, And the Oscar Goes To … airs this Saturday (February 15th) and traces the history of the ultimate in cinematic awards ceremonies, with archive clips and interviews with past and contemporary winners, it is a treat for people who love the Academy Awards.
Note, if you missed anything, you can always play catch up with the NEW Watch TCM App. And for a little more fun, if you are on Twitter, you can participate in live-tweeting events with my classic film friends using the TCMParty hashtag (#TCMParty).
