TCM Premieres....

Discussion of programming on TCM.
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ziggy6708a
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Re: TCM Premieres....

Post by ziggy6708a »

late FRI., 2-23
SOTM Rita Moreno....

2:00
am (ET)

Happy Birthday, Gemini (1980)
1h 47m | Adaptation

A poor Harvard student's romance with a girl hits a rough spot when he realizes, on his 21st birthday, that he's in love with her brother.

Director
Richard Benner
Cast
Madeline Kahn, Rita Moreno, Alberto Derosa

"....The fairly obscure young leads (Robert Viharo, Sarah Holcomb, David Marshall Grant) are good but not unexpectedly unable to hold their own with a master comedienne like Kahn. On the other hand the even less known actor Timothy Jenkins as Bunny's infantile son whom she alternately babies and bullies actually steals the film in an endearing performance. Sadly he appears to never had another major part. Theirs is one of the best smother-mother and child duos created on film and there's even a lovely moment when they sing "Moon River" together off key as Kahn hammers at the piano.

The direction is not particularly good and the film resembles a TV-movie programmer from the era with it's camera shots but the script still has much of the punch of the play and the seven leads are all quite good....."

see: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080837/re ... =tt_ql_urv

IMDB rates 5.4 out of 10***
:smiley_huh:
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Re: TCM Premieres....

Post by ziggy6708a »

SUN., 2-26

(times ET)


10:30
pm

In My Country (2004)
1h 44m | Adaptation
In 1996, the South African government established the Truth and Reconciliation Commission ...

Director
John Boorman
Cast
Samuel L. Jackson, Juliette Binoche, Brendan Glees...

"....It is centred around the story of Afrikaner poet Anna Malan (Binoche) and an American journalist, Langston Whitfield (Jackson), sent to South Africa to report about the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings. ...

Nelson Mandela liked the film, and provided producers with a quote for promotion of the film:

" A beautiful and important film about South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It will engage and influence not only South Africans, but people all over the world concerned with the great questions of human reconciliation, forgiveness, and tolerance.[citation needed]

While the film was thought to have its "heart and politics in the right place", the Washington Post described it as a "formula romance", in which Binoche fails at the Afrikaans accent and Jackson's character lacks credibility as a Post reporter.[2]
The film received much criticism for the inclusion of a love affair, and its depiction of black South Africans. ....."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_My_Country_(2004_film)

TCM Imports...


2:00
am

Fallen Angels (1995)
1h 35m | Crime

".... laissez-faire hitman Ming (Leon Lai Ming) has his assignments arranged by pretty agent Michele Reis, whom he never communicates with in person. His decision to duck out of the business coincides with the activities of a mute ex-con He Qiwu (same character name, same actor), whose affliction might be connected to the previous film. Serving as sort of a loose sequel, Fallen Angels is obviously a less free-spirited work given its subject matter but still brims with enough heady emotions in classic Wong Kar Wai style, all served up with the usual dollops of dazzling Doyle imagery (with a surprising emphasis on hand-held camerawork here) and judicious use of pop standards. ...."

https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/517185/ ... leId=83929

Director
Wong Kar Wai
Cast
Leon Lai, Michelle Reis, Karen Mok


4:00
am

Happy Together (1997)
1h 37m | Drama | TV-MA

A chamber drama about two male lovers from Hong Kong who start off seeking a new life but ...
Director
Wong Kar Wai
Cast
Tony Leung, Leslie Cheung, Chang Chen

"....Derek Elley for Variety gave an overall positive review despite its lack of plot, calling it Wong's "most linear and mature work for some time". Elley praised the mise-en-scène, music, and William Chang's production design. He emphasized that Christopher Doyle was the "real star" of the film for his grainy and high contrast cinematography.[12] Both Elley and Andrew Thayne for Asian Movie Pulse stated that both Leslie Cheung and Tony Leung Chiu-Wai excelled as the main characters in the film.[21]

However, Jonathan Rosenbaum gave the film a mixed review in the Chicago Reader. Rosenbaum, in a summary of the film, criticised it for having a vague plotline and chastised Wong's "lurching around".....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Happy_Tog ... 1997_film)

:smiley_huh:
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Re: TCM Premieres....

Post by ziggy6708a »

late Sun., 3-5, early Mon


12:15
am (ET)

Lost in Translation (2003)
1h 42m | Comedy

"...is a 2003 romantic comedy-drama film[note 1] written and directed by Sofia Coppola. Bill Murray stars as Bob Harris, a fading American movie star who is having a midlife crisis when he travels to Tokyo to promote Suntory whisky. There, he befriends another estranged American named Charlotte, a young woman and recent college graduate played by Scarlett Johansson. Giovanni Ribisi and Anna Faris also feature. The film explores themes of alienation and disconnection against a backdrop of cultural displacement in Japan....

Director
Sofia Coppola
Cast
Scarlett Johansson, Bill Murray, Akiko Takeshita

"....Lost in Translation premiered on August 29, 2003, at the Telluride Film Festival on September 12, 2003 to major critical and commercial success. Critics praised the performances of Murray and Johansson, as well as the writing and direction of Coppola; minor criticism was given to the film's depiction of Japan.
At the 76th Academy Awards, Lost in Translation won Coppola Best Original Screenplay, and the film was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Director (Coppola), and Best Actor (Murray). Other accolades won include three Golden Globe Awards and three British Academy Film Awards. ....

see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_in_T ... ion_(film)
:)
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Re: TCM Premieres....

Post by ziggy6708a »

late WED., 3-8


12:00
am (ET)
Gangs of New York (2002)
2h 45m | Action

"The film covers almost two decades, starting with a violent gang war pitting Bill “The Butcher” Cutting’s (Day-Lewis) Nativists against “Priest” Vallon’s (Neeson) Irish-Catholic Dead Rabbits. Bill kills Priest in battle, and years later Priest’s son (DiCaprio) returns to New York seeking revenge. He works his way into Bill’s confidence until his identity is revealed. This sets the stage for a violent confrontation against the backdrop of the 1863 Draft Riots, during which tens of thousands of armed men and women took to the streets to protest the institution of a draft that unfairly targeted the poor....

Director
Martin Scorsese
Cast
Leonardo Dicaprio, Daniel Day-lewis, Cameron Diaz

"....Variety’s Todd McCarthy called it “a richly impressive and densely realized work that bracingly opens the eye and mind to untaught aspects of American history.” The film was listed in more than 15 year-end ten-best lists, including those of Rolling Stone, Time Magazine and The New York Times.

Daniel Day-Lewis got Best Actor Awards from the New York Film Critics, the Los Angeles Society of Film Critics, the Screen Actors Guild and the British Film Academy, among others. Scorsese won Best Director at the Golden Globes.
The picture received ten Oscar® nominations, with Day-Lewis particularly favored to win. On Oscar® night, however, it came up empty handed, with Chicago (2002) dominating most of the craft awards and beating it for Best Picture.....Scorsese lost Best Director to Roman Polanski for The Pianist (2002), while Best Actor went to Adrien Brody for the same film. " :smiley_chinrub:

see: https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/439335/ ... eId=021532

:smiley_clap: :smilie_happy_thumbup:
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Re: TCM Premieres....

Post by ziggy6708a »

WED., 3-29



8:00
pm (ET)

The Fog of War (2003)
1h 56m | Biography

The story of America as seen through the eyes of Robert S. McNamara, the former Secretary of Defense. McNamara, one of the most controversial and influential figures in world politics, leads viewers on an insider's journey through many of the seminal events that shaped the 20th Century.

Director
Errol Morris
Cast
Robert S Mcnamara, Doug Abel, Julie Ahlberg

".... The title derives from the military concept of the "fog of war", which refers to the difficulty of making decisions in the midst of conflict.

The film was screened out of competition at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival[2] and won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature and the Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary Feature of 2003....
"The Fog of War" depicts McNamara's life, as seen from his perspective as an eighty-seven-year-old man. It is divided into eleven sections based upon "lessons" Morris derived from his interviews with McNamara, as well as the eleven lessons presented at the end of McNamara's 1995 book, In Retrospect: The Tragedy and Lessons of Vietnam (written with Brian VanDeMark). ....

Reviews for the film were very positive. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 96%, based on 142 reviews, and an average rating of 8.32/10; the website's critical consensus states: "The Fog of War draws on decades of bitter experience to offer a piercing perspective on the Cold War from one of its major architects".[7] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 87 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".....

see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fog_of_War
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Re: TCM Premieres....

Post by ziggy6708a »

SAT., 4-1

11:15
pm (ET)

The Invention of Cinema: Cinema Finds its Voice (2022)

"The story of how sound was paired with images in early years of cinema; offering an in-depth look at the people behind-the-scenes and the technological innovations that culminated in Warner Brothers’ ground breaking film, \”The Jazz Singer\” (1927).

=============================================

SUN., 4-2


9:45
pm (ET)

Jack L. Warner: The Last Mogul (1993)
1 hr. 44 min.

"insider's account of a founding father of the American film industry. Produced by Jack Warner's grandson, filmmaker Gregory Orr, this feature length documentary provides the rags to riches story of the man whose studio - Warner Bros - created many of Hollywood's most classic films, including "Casablanca," "Now Voyager," "Treasure or the Sierra Madre" "Yankee Doodle Dandy," "My Fair Lady," "Bonnie & Clyde" and hundreds more. Includes extensive interviews with family members and friends, film clips, rare home movies and unique location footage."

Director
Gregory Orr

Cast
Efrem Zimbalist Jr. (Narrator)Jack L. Warner (Self)Lina Basquette (Self - Mrs. Sam Warner)Rudy Behlmer (Self - Author 'Inside Warner Bros.')Fredd Wayne (Jack L. Warner)
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Re: TCM Premieres....

Post by ziggy6708a »

sorry so late.... :(

MON., 4-17

8:45
am (ET)

Treasure Island (1973)
1h 27m
animated

Enchanted by the idea of locating treasure buried by Captain Flint, Squire Trelawney, Dr. Livesey and Jim Hawkins charter a sailing voyage to a Caribbean island. Unfortunately, a large number of Flint's old pirate crew are aboard the ship, including Long John Silver.


Vioce cast:
Richard Dawson as Long John Silver
Davy Jones as Jim Hawkins
Dal McKennon as Captain Flint, Ben Gunn
Larry D. Mann as Doctor Livesey
Larry Storch as Captain Smollett

"....1973 American animated adventure film directed by Hal Sutherland, produced by Filmation, and released by Warner Bros. In this adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's 1883 novel of the same name, Jim Hawkins (voiced by Davy Jones) travels with sidekick Hiccup the Mouse. ....

Treasure Island was first broadcast as an NBC Special Treat special on April 29, 1980, with half of the film's runtime cut. The special was hosted by special guest star, Melissa Sue Anderson.[2] The movie was first released on VHS on September 30, 1997, as part of the Warner Bros. Classic Tales series.[3] It was first released on DVD on September 3, 2002, by Warner Home Video, through Warner Bros. Family Entertainment...."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treasure_ ... 1973_film)
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Re: TCM Premieres....

Post by ziggy6708a »

late Thurs., early Fri, April 21

12:15
am (ET)

Full Metal Jacket (1987)
1h 58m | Action

A group of Marines transform from rubes to fighting men. Through the eyes of a private, the men endure a merciless drill sergeant on Parris Island then the brutal Southeast Asian streets during the Vietnam War.

Director
Stanley Kubrick
Cast
Matthew Modine, Adam Baldwin, Vincent D'onofrio

".... Rotten Tomatoes retrospectively collected reviews to give the film a score of 90% based on reviews from 84 critics and an average rating of 8.30/10. The summary states; "Intense, tightly constructed, and darkly comic at times, Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket may not boast the most original of themes, but it is exceedingly effective at communicating them"....

see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full_Metal_Jacket

:smilie_happy_thumbup:

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Re: TCM Premieres....

Post by ziggy6708a »

Early FRI., 4-28

3:30
am (ET)

Rollover (1981)
1h 55m | Drama | TV-14

Lee Winters is a former movie star who inherited her husband's multi-million dollar company when he was murdered. Lee is working with her banker to find her husband's killer, and the two become lovers. The couple go to Saudi Arabia to get a loan, and to secure Lee's role as chairman of the company's board. When they arrive in the country, the find out about a Saudi company's plot to destabilize the Western economy by pulling their money out of banks all over the world.

Director
Alan J. Pakula
Cast
Jane Fonda, Kris Kristofferson, Hume Cronyn

reviews vary:
"Diverting doomsday financial-political thriller."
"A talented filmmaker made a thriller that was absolutely no better than it had to be, and indeed it is quite thrilling, when it is not forcing us to watch its cardboard characters."
"Rollover provides an intriguing escapist glimpse of the privileged world of phone-equipped limos and dinner parties."....
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rollover

"The film was nominated for a Razzie Award for Worst Actor for Kristofferson....
The movie was a box-office bomb as it lost money on its budget of $16 million. ,,,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rollover_(film)

:smiley_huh:
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Re: TCM Premieres....

Post by ziggy6708a »

SUN., 4-30

(time ET)

11:30
pm

Million Dollar Baby (2004)
2h 12m | Adaptation | TV-14

film follows Margaret "Maggie" Fitzgerald (Swank), an underdog amateur boxer who is helped by an underappreciated boxing trainer (Eastwood) to achieve her dream of becoming a professional

Director
Clint Eastwood
Cast
Clint Eastwood, Hilary Swank, Morgan Freeman

film garnered seven nominations at the 77th Academy Awards and won four: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress (for Swank), and Best Supporting Actor (for Freeman).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Million_Dollar_Baby

2:00 am

Argo (2012)

deals with the "Canadian Caper," in which Mendez led the rescue of six U.S. diplomats from Tehran, Iran, under the guise of filming a science-fiction-film during the 1979-1981 Iran hostage crisis.

directed, produced by, and starring Ben Affleck
also has Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, and John Goodman in supporting roles

received seven nominations at the 85th Academy Awards and won three, for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Film Editing.

The film also earned five Golden Globe Award nominations: it won Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Director, and Alan Arkin was nominated for Best Supporting Actor

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argo_(2012_film)
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Re: TCM Premieres....

Post by Hibi »

ziggy6708a wrote: April 26th, 2023, 3:06 pm Early FRI., 4-28

3:30
am (ET)

Rollover (1981)
1h 55m | Drama | TV-14

Lee Winters is a former movie star who inherited her husband's multi-million dollar company when he was murdered. Lee is working with her banker to find her husband's killer, and the two become lovers. The couple go to Saudi Arabia to get a loan, and to secure Lee's role as chairman of the company's board. When they arrive in the country, the find out about a Saudi company's plot to destabilize the Western economy by pulling their money out of banks all over the world.

Director
Alan J. Pakula
Cast
Jane Fonda, Kris Kristofferson, Hume Cronyn

reviews vary:
"Diverting doomsday financial-political thriller."
"A talented filmmaker made a thriller that was absolutely no better than it had to be, and indeed it is quite thrilling, when it is not forcing us to watch its cardboard characters."
"Rollover provides an intriguing escapist glimpse of the privileged world of phone-equipped limos and dinner parties."....
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rollover

"The film was nominated for a Razzie Award for Worst Actor for Kristofferson....
The movie was a box-office bomb as it lost money on its budget of $16 million. ,,,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rollover_(film)

:smiley_huh:

I missed this when it was released (it flopped and played out quickly). I think it came out the same time as On Golden Pond and that one was a huge hit. Watching it now, I can see why it didnt catch on with audiences. The financial wheelings and dealings are probably over the heads of most general audiences and the first part of the film is slow. It's not helped by a miscast Kris Kristofferson cast as a banker! Also the romance between him and Fonda (gorgeous in Ann Roth's glamorous costumes) feels contrived and "movieish". The second part where the tension and paranoia (Pakula's specialty) picks up is more effective. Didn't like the ending or Michael Small's score. A misfire, but was glad to have finally seen it. And a still timely subject for the present day.

Jane's role was a precursor to what would happen to her in real life when she retired and married Ted Turner.
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Re: TCM Premieres....

Post by laffite »

Hibi wrote: May 1st, 2023, 12:15 pm
ziggy6708a wrote: April 26th, 2023, 3:06 pm Early FRI., 4-28

3:30
am (ET)

Rollover (1981)
1h 55m | Drama | TV-14

Lee Winters is a former movie star who inherited her husband's multi-million dollar company when he was murdered. Lee is working with her banker to find her husband's killer, and the two become lovers. The couple go to Saudi Arabia to get a loan, and to secure Lee's role as chairman of the company's board. When they arrive in the country, the find out about a Saudi company's plot to destabilize the Western economy by pulling their money out of banks all over the world.

Director
Alan J. Pakula
Cast
Jane Fonda, Kris Kristofferson, Hume Cronyn

reviews vary:
"Diverting doomsday financial-political thriller."
"A talented filmmaker made a thriller that was absolutely no better than it had to be, and indeed it is quite thrilling, when it is not forcing us to watch its cardboard characters."
"Rollover provides an intriguing escapist glimpse of the privileged world of phone-equipped limos and dinner parties."....
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rollover

"The film was nominated for a Razzie Award for Worst Actor for Kristofferson....
The movie was a box-office bomb as it lost money on its budget of $16 million. ,,,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rollover_(film)

:smiley_huh:

I missed this when it was released (it flopped and played out quickly). I think it came out the same time as On Golden Pond and that one was a huge hit. Watching it now, I can see why it didnt catch on with audiences. The financial wheelings and dealings are probably over the heads of most general audiences and the first part of the film is slow. It's not helped by a miscast Kris Kristofferson cast as a banker! Also the romance between him and Fonda (gorgeous in Ann Roth's glamorous costumes) feels contrived and "movieish". The second part where the tension and paranoia (Pakula's specialty) picks up is more effective. Didn't like the ending or Michael Small's score. A misfire, but was glad to have finally seen it. And a still timely subject for the present day.

Jane's role was a precursor to what would happen to her in real life when she retired and married Ted Turner.
Nice. I wish you would write more reviews like this. I didn't see the movie but I enjoyed what you wrote. Or perhaps you do and I don't read the right threads.
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Hibi
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Re: TCM Premieres....

Post by Hibi »

I'm lazy! I do from time to time if it's something I haven't seen before. But not that often.
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Re: TCM Premieres....

Post by ziggy6708a »

late TUES., 5-2
GINA LOLLOBRIGIDA TRIBUTE

12:00 am (ET)

Fanfan la Tulipe (‘52)

Swashbuckling adventures of young army recruit Fanfan la Tulipe during the reign of King Louis

"Legendary French star Gérard Philipe swashbuckled his way into film history as the peasant soldier Fanfan in Christian-Jaque’s devil-may-care romantic action-comedy. In eighteenth-century France, Fanfan joins King Louis XV’s army to avoid a forced marriage to a local lass and gets himself into close scrapes and tight squeezes with Gina Lollobrigida’s impostor fortune-teller, Adeline, on his way to fighting in the Seven Years’ War.

Filled to the brim with dazzling stunts and randy innuendo, Fanfan la Tulipe, which won the best director prize at Cannes and was a smash hit upon its initial release, remains one of France’s all-time most beloved films."

Director:
Christian-Jaque

https://www.criterion.com/films/750-fanfan-la-tulipe
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Re: TCM Premieres....

Post by LostHorizons »

Definitely will be recording that one!

I am surprised it is a Criterion title because it looks like a cheesy swashbuckler.
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