Turner Classic Movies

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dekadetia
was Born Innocent
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 11:57 pm
Location: Pennsylvania, USA

Re: Turner Classic Movies

#576 Post by dekadetia » Wed Sep 01, 2021 3:14 pm

swo17 wrote:
Wed Sep 01, 2021 11:39 am
Where Then Meets Now
The whole "24 frames a second" thing seems like a weird rhetorical hook, especially since the first time it's said, the Muybridge sequence running over it is decidedly not. Like saying "1.33 to one: suddenly the world was different..."

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Fred Holywell
Joined: Thu Jun 10, 2010 11:45 pm

Re: Turner Classic Movies

#577 Post by Fred Holywell » Sun Sep 05, 2021 3:39 pm

Loved the old Noir Alley opening, but this new one is pretty flat and unimaginative.

Image

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FrauBlucher
Joined: Mon Jul 15, 2013 8:28 pm
Location: Greenwich Village

Re: Turner Classic Movies

#578 Post by FrauBlucher » Sun Sep 05, 2021 4:23 pm

I was going to post the exact same thing.

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fdm
Joined: Fri Apr 21, 2006 1:25 pm

Re: Turner Classic Movies

#579 Post by fdm » Sun Sep 05, 2021 8:22 pm

All I've seen so far has been flat and unimaginative.

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Feego
Joined: Thu Aug 16, 2007 7:30 pm
Location: Texas

Re: Turner Classic Movies

#580 Post by Feego » Sun Sep 05, 2021 9:17 pm

The new primetime intro for Ben Mankiewicz looks like a news show. All in all, this entire change has been an aesthetic downgrade. I don’t really care so much as long as they don’t make drastic changes to the programming. My biggest complaint is that the new TCM watermark is bright white and opaque and draws more attention to itself during films than the old one.

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Fred Holywell
Joined: Thu Jun 10, 2010 11:45 pm

Re: Turner Classic Movies

#581 Post by Fred Holywell » Mon Sep 06, 2021 6:20 pm

The late, great Jean-Paul Belmondo made a rare visit to Hollywood for the first TCM film festival back in 2010. Before a screening of Breathless, they presented a nice video tribute to him, which you can see on YouTube. You can also watch the interview he did there with Robert Osborne. (The sound is lousy, but it's certainly worth a look.)

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fdm
Joined: Fri Apr 21, 2006 1:25 pm

Re: Turner Classic Movies

#582 Post by fdm » Mon Sep 06, 2021 11:31 pm

Ugh, anybody else get seasick while trying to watch the intro/outro (in this case it was Ben Mankowicz (who's never made me feel nauseous before, by the way) in their nifty new (and too big apparently) set). The camera doesn't stand still, just moves back and forth, back and forth. Guess I won't be watching any more of those any time soon.

Also that TCM watermark is pretty distracting, sort of wanted to watch a short after the film, but the watermark was on during most of it and besides being distracting, having a plasma set I don't really appreciated them trying to sear their logo into the corner of my screen. Guess I may have to give up on those too.

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Matt
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 12:58 pm

Re: Turner Classic Movies

#583 Post by Matt » Tue Sep 07, 2021 10:51 am

fdm wrote:
Mon Sep 06, 2021 11:31 pm
Ugh, anybody else get seasick while trying to watch the intro/outro (in this case it was Ben Mankiewicz (who's never made me feel nauseous before, by the way) in their nifty new (and too big apparently) set). The camera doesn't stand still, just moves back and forth, back and forth. Guess I won't be watching any more of those any time soon.
Yes, that was the first thing I noticed in the new intros. I've recently seen that relentlessly panning camera on some news programs as well. It's maddening and, indeed, nauseating. I hope it's a short-lived trend in television (like that inane trend of cutting between different angles of an individual speaking or sudden sharp zooms in or out). I wouldn't mind so much a slow zoom or dolly in on the speaker, but just rolling back and forth in that cavernous set like we're below decks on a freighter is just ludicrous.

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colinr0380
Joined: Mon Nov 08, 2004 4:30 pm
Location: Chapel-en-le-Frith, Derbyshire, UK

Re: Turner Classic Movies

#584 Post by colinr0380 » Thu Sep 09, 2021 9:36 am

That was one of the death knells for the BBC's Moviedrome series back in the day, when somebody obviously got a memo to 'funky up' the intros in Mark Cousins' final season and instead of having him talk to camera in one location had him in an all white void with lots of jumping edits to him looking straight at camera to sideways on, etc. Seemingly this stuff is meant to hold an audience's attention but it often causes just the opposite issue of being so distracted by the smothering stylistics that it is hard to follow what the person is saying!

(Although this kind of forcing the presenter to move around whilst trying to hold a conversation always conjures up an image in my mind of something akin to David Desser trying to do a commentary for an Ozu film whilst on a treadmill, with Tony Rayns sidling up and slowly, cheekily turning up the speed on the machine to maximum!)

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fdm
Joined: Fri Apr 21, 2006 1:25 pm

Re: Turner Classic Movies

#585 Post by fdm » Sun Sep 12, 2021 9:10 pm

Looks like torch mode for the tcm logo in the corner during movies and extras seems to be gone, though the logo still does appear for maybe 30 seconds periodically. And at least the Dave Karger intro I watched part of today seems to be just be a slow zoom in (rather than the back and forth thing they did with Mankiewicz a week prior). So guess I'll live.

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Fred Holywell
Joined: Thu Jun 10, 2010 11:45 pm

Re: Turner Classic Movies

#586 Post by Fred Holywell » Tue Sep 28, 2021 8:43 pm

TCM Celebrates National Silent Movie Day with a Full-Day Program


WED, SEPTEMBER 29
6:15 AM (ET)
Flesh and the Devil (1926)

8:15 AM
The Wind (1928)

9:45 AM
The Battleship Potemkin (1925)

11:00 AM
City Lights (1931)

12:30 PM
Within Our Gates (1920)

2:00 PM
The Passion of Joan of Arc (1927)

4:00 PM
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921)

6:30 PM
The Freshman (1925)

8:00 PM
The Melies Mystery (2021)

9:15 PM
A Trip to the Moon (1902)

9:45 PM
Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché (2018)

11:30 PM
The Great Buster: A Celebration (2018)

THU, SEPTEMBER 30
1:15 AM
Sherlock, Jr. (1924)

2:15 AM
Sparrows (1926)

4:00 AM
Piccadilly (1929)

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soundchaser
Leave Her to Beaver
Joined: Sun Aug 28, 2016 12:32 am

Re: Turner Classic Movies

#587 Post by soundchaser » Tue Sep 28, 2021 11:17 pm

I’m surprised they’re not touting that new restoration of So This is Paris more.

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therewillbeblus
Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2015 3:40 pm

Re: Turner Classic Movies

#588 Post by therewillbeblus » Tue Sep 28, 2021 11:30 pm

soundchaser wrote:
Tue Sep 28, 2021 11:17 pm
I’m surprised they’re not touting that new restoration of So This is Paris more.
Especially since it's one of Lubitsch's greatest silents, if not his best

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FrauBlucher
Joined: Mon Jul 15, 2013 8:28 pm
Location: Greenwich Village

Re: Turner Classic Movies

#589 Post by FrauBlucher » Fri Oct 01, 2021 4:35 pm

Matt wrote:
Mon Mar 22, 2021 10:27 pm
FrauBlucher wrote:
Mon Mar 22, 2021 7:34 pm
You gotta love TCM. They go from Something Wild (1961) to Pillow Talk
The shift from the daytime programming to primetime often results in some grinding of the gears. On Friday, we get King Kong (1933) followed by Places in the Heart (1984)—though I suppose you could say they both take place in the 1930s.
Another programming non sequitur brought to you by TCM. This evening, Freaks followed by The Bad News Bears. I get a kick out of these transitions

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Matt
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 12:58 pm

Re: Turner Classic Movies

#590 Post by Matt » Fri Oct 01, 2021 4:45 pm

A plucky gang of misfits and outcasts unexpectedly find community in each other and learn together that “success” is not all it’s cracked up to be.

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FrauBlucher
Joined: Mon Jul 15, 2013 8:28 pm
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Re: Turner Classic Movies

#591 Post by FrauBlucher » Fri Oct 01, 2021 5:09 pm

...says Ben Mankiewicz :lol:

TCM Fan
Joined: Wed Oct 06, 2021 10:40 pm

Re: Turner Classic Movies

#592 Post by TCM Fan » Wed Oct 06, 2021 10:58 pm

fdm wrote:
Mon Sep 06, 2021 11:31 pm
Ugh, anybody else get seasick while trying to watch the intro/outro (in this case it was Ben Mankowicz (who's never made me feel nauseous before, by the way) in their nifty new (and too big apparently) set). The camera doesn't stand still, just moves back and forth, back and forth. Guess I won't be watching any more of those any time soon.

Also that TCM watermark is pretty distracting, sort of wanted to watch a short after the film, but the watermark was on during most of it and besides being distracting, having a plasma set I don't really appreciated them trying to sear their logo into the corner of my screen. Guess I may have to give up on those too.
YES - (This is my first post BTW - my kids are into Criterion and told me about it and I was delighted to find a forum to discuss old movies!) I was just googling to see if I was the only one who was made dizzy by the new TCM Mankiewicz spot panning motion - and I found this forum! I got so sick from it I actually contacted TCM about it! Here is what I sent and the reply from TCM:

To TCM:

"Request - please consider: please discontinue the new slow panning back and forth camera motion when filming Ben Mankiewicz after movies. I know my request being answered is slim to none, but I think the back and forth panning camera moves are distracting and appear unprofessional as trying too hard to break the talking head thing... :) Oh well, thanks for letting me vent! I love your channel so much that I pay extra for TCM! BTW - My mom worked at the film lab at Technicolor during the 40's as well as with Bette Davis at the Hollywood Canteen - so TCM is my link with her younger life! :) thanks for letting me share! :) "

TCM REPLY:

Hi there,

Thanks for reaching out to TCM and sharing some of your memories and your mom's fascinating "claim to fame"!! 😉​ We're delighted that you enjoy TCM...thanks for letting us know! And we appreciate your feedback regarding the camera motion; we've forwarded it to the team. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with us.

Best,
Kathy at TCM Help Center

....

Of course, these spots are filmed in advance, so even if they do discontinue the filming style, I would imagine it will be awhile before it stops airing - and there are the reruns of course. Happy to find this forum! :)

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FrauBlucher
Joined: Mon Jul 15, 2013 8:28 pm
Location: Greenwich Village

Re: Turner Classic Movies

#593 Post by FrauBlucher » Fri Nov 19, 2021 8:23 am

Tonight at 8PM a new documentary… Dean Martin: King of Cool

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fdm
Joined: Fri Apr 21, 2006 1:25 pm

Re: Turner Classic Movies

#594 Post by fdm » Fri Nov 19, 2021 8:30 am

I've noticed that the slow panning back and forth has spread to most of the other tcm personalities, so seems like it's sticking around. Eyes closed seems to help when I'm in the mood to listen or even fast forward through it.

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Feego
Joined: Thu Aug 16, 2007 7:30 pm
Location: Texas

Re: Turner Classic Movies

#595 Post by Feego » Wed Dec 01, 2021 10:50 am

On Monday December 6, Guillermo Del Toro and Kim Morgan will be hosting an evening of films that influenced their current Nightmare Alley. The films will be Too Late for Tears, Where the Sidewalk Ends, and (naturally) the original Nightmare Alley.

On a related note, Del Toro's own Cronos will be airing at 2:45 am eastern earlier that morning (Sunday night).

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FrauBlucher
Joined: Mon Jul 15, 2013 8:28 pm
Location: Greenwich Village

Re: Turner Classic Movies

#596 Post by FrauBlucher » Sat Dec 18, 2021 9:56 pm

Blast of Silence is on Noir Alley tonight at midnight and repeated tomorrow morning at 10AM. Hopefully it will be the HD upgrade version

JakeStewart
Joined: Tue Jan 22, 2019 10:44 pm

Re: Turner Classic Movies

#597 Post by JakeStewart » Sun Dec 19, 2021 4:06 am

FrauBlucher wrote:
Sat Dec 18, 2021 9:56 pm
Blast of Silence is on Noir Alley tonight at midnight and repeated tomorrow morning at 10AM. Hopefully it will be the HD upgrade version
It isn’t.

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Lemmy Caution
Joined: Wed Mar 29, 2006 3:26 am
Location: East of Shanghai

Re: Turner Classic Movies

#598 Post by Lemmy Caution » Wed Dec 22, 2021 12:54 am

My family almost never went to the movies. I don't think I ever saw a film in a theater with my father. Just a very few times with my mother. At home, for the last 45 years my father owned the Tv remote control and is an inveterate channel surfer. He favors sports and nature shows, antique appraisals, ancient British comedies, and might catch a scene or two of a movie here and there, but never watches a whole movie. Bottom line: my mother has seen few films in her life.

But the last year or so, my 85 year old father has started going up to bed (to read or sleep) relatively early, circa 10 or 11:PM, instead of his previous half century routine of staying up to 1:AM or later and dozing in front of the TV. And so my 82 year old mother has discovered late night TCM and old films. And being a bit obsessive, mom tends to watch 2 or 2.5 films a night. And she's really enjoying the Ben Mankiewicz intros and all the historic and personal details.

So I've been scanning the TCM schedule the past 6 months and giving Mom a heads up on films she might like, and stone cold classics she hasn't seen. She seems to enjoy noirs, probably since she's read thousands of of crime/detective novels. I think one of the things that got my mother interested in watching old films was during a Euro-vacation we somehow managed in late Feb 2020, we saw see Pulp Fiction in a film/brewhouse in Malta. And the film really impressed my mother and stuck in her mind for months.

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Matt
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 12:58 pm

Turner Classic Movies

#599 Post by Matt » Wed Dec 22, 2021 1:09 am

Good for her! How lovely to have a whole world like that open up for you at 82. May we all be so fortunate.

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FrauBlucher
Joined: Mon Jul 15, 2013 8:28 pm
Location: Greenwich Village

Re: Turner Classic Movies

#600 Post by FrauBlucher » Sun Dec 26, 2021 1:11 pm

Their latest promo for "Where Then Meets Now" uses the Peter Allen song Everything Old is New Again. Does anyone have any idea who is singing the song? I've done a search but haven't found anything

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