2024 TCM Film Festival Highlights

I do my usual run through of highlights in this year’s TCM classic film festival. This focuses on possible future physical media releases, new restorations and premieres and rare film print screenings which hopefully indicate titles that will be available for repertory screenings at arthouse theaters nationwide.
00:00 Intro
04:30 Objectionable masters to avoid
12:07 Special Programs and Events
26:40 New Digital Restoration Premieres
32:08 35mm film screenings
46:16 70mm film screenings
48:53 35mm Nitrate film screenings
51:30 Final Summary

[@coyacan39]

I really enjoyed your TCM Highlights presentation and watched all of it. Thank you!

[@slc2466]

Just found your channel and subscribed. Great overview of the TCM festival. I've gone to the majority of them, using the standby lines to get in. The big one on your list I saw this year was the nitrate of "Annie Get Your Gun," which had a lot of scratches and sound blips, but the Technicolor looked fantastic. As you mention, the problem with the festival is so many screenings overlap, so you can only see some of the offerings. I also caught "In Cold Blood," "The Lavender Hill Mob" and "The Model and the Marriage Broker," but would've like to have seen several more you mention. I know post-festival "The Searchers" print has been shown at the Santa Monica Aero Theater in 70mm (I think it sold out both times), and I'd assume The Egyptian Theater, which has gone through a wonderful remodel, will show it again, as 70mm prints of "Lawrence of Arabia," "Vertigo" and others are shown there and at the Aero on a relatively frequent basis.

[@OuterGalaxyLounge]

I live in a large metro area where "a good arthouse in your area" was actually something we had in the past, but even cities that ought to have them, like mine, no longer do. Luckily I was able to screen a large number of the Warner classics on the big screen back in the late 70s through the mid '90s when that was possible.

[@daveanderson4600]

I sympathize. I live in Houston and am continually astonished that there is no rep theater. Would love to open one, but my complete ignorance of the nuts and bolts of how the business works somewhat hurts my business case for a small business loan. So, I'll just engage with my home theater - now to convince my wife that yeah, a spin of a B&W Kurosawa or The Searchers is cool on a random Tuesday...

[@_wave___]

always look forward to these TCM breakdowns you have done before. thanks for the info. great video as usual.

[@timothytyson6316]

Thanks for making this - I'm sure I'm not the only person watching this channel that attends/works at the fest. You've added to my "drop everything and go" list for this year - Mont Alto kills it every year and they are lovely folks to boot. Anyone else coming out to the fest?

[@user-en6bz9ki2d]

Awesome, thank you!

[@Geeoh19]

OMG, I would kill to get to see those Vitaphone shorts.

[@deckofcards87]

Have you been able to attend one of these screenings yourself? You're so lucky to get the TCM festival in the states. We get an occasional run of silent films in 35 at the Goma Art Gallery but nothing 'big' like The Searchers in 70mm. All of the local revival/arthouse theatres in my city have gone under since the pandemic.

[@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader]

Not yet but hopefully someday.

[@garymoviefan4294]

Thank you so much for this video Spence! I would be over the moon for a 4K of The Searchers and here's hoping the same for El Cid! Btw, Criterion just announced Pat Garret for July!!!

[@Murdersville]

The Small Back Room is being released in June in the UK, as part of Studio Canal's Vintage Classics series. States from a new 4K restoration and includes quite a lot of extras I believe taken from the Criterion DVD release.

[@thejustifier5566]

It would be great to see The Searchers in 4k. The old blu ray was alright in 2006, but is dated now and the color timing is off.

[@1dbanner]

I'd love to see any of the Universal horror films in nitrate.

[@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader]

You and me both!

[@c.d.6004]

I would love to see 1930s child actress Cora Sue Collins in person. I hope they ask her about all the famous stars she worked with, especially Powell & Loy, and someone puts a copy of the interview on KZbin.

[@davidosborn6714]

I would kill to see THE SEARCHERS in 70mm and would love to see the Vitaphone and Fleischer presentations as well... Just a correction, btw. WESTWARD THE WOMEN has had a recent Warner Archives Blu-ray release.

[@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader]

I forgot!🤦🏻‍♂️ that’s one of many wac titles I need to catch up on!

[@consumedata4544]

What Fincher has done to Seven is truly horrifying. I just read the interview he gave with IndieWire and it’s confirmed that they went back and stabilised the footage - it now has that same unnatural smoothness that’s in his new films 🙃

[@KubrickNapoleon]

I saw the IMAX presentation of Seven. We’re talking James Cameron levels of DNR and stabilization. They also added a bunch of sharpening which looks very bad. It doesn’t look like the original bleach bypass; it has a weird dark green Matrix grade.

[@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader]

That’s what I was afraid of.

[@MichaelSerrano-sk1vq]

I warned people of this on the Discord. They did not listen and they are doomed with this Master, considering what's in the box is revisionism beyond terrifying.

[@matheus5230]

If I'm not mistaken, the color space issue with The Silence Of The Lambs 4K master is only in the HDR version. I wouldn’t be surprised if the 4K DCP was unaffected. Ultimately, I hope that an Arrow 4K release can fix the issue, as it's really just a matter of choosing the correct color space in a video software program! It really is that simple, and people have fixed it for themselves.

[@Kobiedog31]

If you could eat one of these blu rays, which would it be? 🤔