Turner Classic Movies Salutes the Oscars

Posted on February 1, 2011 at 9:15 am

Every year, Turner Classic Movies salutes the Oscars with a month full of classics and rarely-seen gems that were nominated for or won Oscars, not just for the acting and directing awards but for costume design, cinematography, and more. Today features three films about the same character — Robert Shaw, Charles Laughton, and Richard Burton all played Henry VIII in Oscar-nominated or awarded films. The most-nominated actor gets a special tribute. (Do you know who it is? Here’s a hint: “Five Easy Pieces,” “Terms of Endearment,” and “Reds.”) There’s also a tribute to the actress who had the most nominations without ever winning, Deborah Kerr. And there are enticing categories like “Oscar Falls in Love,” “Husbands and Wives,” and one for “Love at First Site.” Every movie on the schedule is worth watching, so get our your calendars and go through the whole schedule.

Star of the Day Month on TCM

Posted on August 1, 2010 at 8:39 am

I love Turner Classic Movies. When I was invited, with a small group of film critics, to meet with Martin Scorsese, I was delighted to hear that he keeps it on a lot of the time and frequently calls out to everyone in his office to stop what they are doing and come watch some special moment. This month, a different star gets the spotlight every day, giving us a chance to enjoy some classics and neglected gems and see some of our favorites in a variety of roles over the course of their careers. Some to look out for:
Aug 2: Julie Christie (“Darling,” “Petulia,” “Shampoo,” “Dr. Zhivago”)
Aug 3: Steve McQueen (“The Great Escape,” “The Magnificent Seven,” “The Reivers”)
Aug 6: Ingrid Bergman (“Spellbound,” “Notorious,” “Casablanca,” “Gaslight”)
Aug 7: Errol Flynn (“The Adventures of Robin Hood,” “The Prince and the Pauper,” “The Sea Hawk,” “Gentleman Jim”)
Aug 10: Kathryn Grayson (“Kiss Me Kate,” “Show Boat”)
Aug 15: Margaret O’Brien (“Meet Me in St. Louis,” “The Secret Garden,” “Little Women,’ “Our Vines Have Tender Grapes”)
Aug 20: Katharine Hepburn (“Woman of the Year,” “Without Love,” “Bringing Up Baby,” “The Philadelphia Story,” “Summertime”)
Aug 21: Paul Newman (“Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” “Harper,” “The Sting,” “Cool Hand Luke”)
Aug 23: Elizabeth Taylor (“National Velvet,” “Father of the Bride,” “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” “The VIPs”)
Aug 25: Lauren Bacall (“To Have and Have Not,” “Designing Woman,” “Key Largo”)
Aug 26: Lee Remick (“A Face in the Crowd,” “The Wheeler Dealers,” “Anatomy of a Murder,” “The Days of Wine and Roses”)
Aug 28: Peter O’Toole (“Lawrence of Arabia,” “The Stunt Man,” “My Favorite Year”)
Every single day has something special. And don’t forget The Essentials Jr., the outstanding Sunday night series of family classics. Enjoy!

Jeneé Osterheldt Recommends the Classics

Posted on January 29, 2008 at 12:41 pm

The Kansas City Star’s JeneÃ© Osterheldt has a great column with the solution for television fans suffering from writers’ strike doldrums: go to Turner Classic Movies and enjoy the classics. When Martin Scorsese met with the Museum of the Moving Image film critics group last year, he told us he keeps TCM going much of the time he is in his office, often calling in the staff to see a great shot or scene. And this is the best time of year on TCM, when they salute the Oscars with a fabulous array of classics featuring films honored with nominations, not just for acting and directing but for costume design, screenplay, and score. Osterheldt has a terrific list of recommended classics, not just, to quote that most quotable of movies, “the usual suspects.” And she quotes my dad, Newton Minow, who called television a vast wasteland, as a reminder that even without the strike, it can be a challenge to find something worth watching. Let’s hope the strike is settled soon. But in the meantime, Osterheldt reminds us that we’ll always have Paris, I mean we’ll always have TCM, Netflix, and Amazon. (more…)

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