News From the Lake: TCM, DVDs, and a Whole Lotta News

Wow, there’s a lot of news this week.  Guess I jumped the gun on my last News From the Lake post.  In today’s edition, we’ll look at a whole mess of DVD releases coming up, and a brief foray into what’s going on at the TCM Classic Film Festival.  Let’s not waste any time!

It’s the outlier of the group so let’s look at what’s continuing to make me jealous about not going to the TCM Classic Film Festival this year.  A wealth of guest appearances has been announced, alongside a few screenings and a new theater venue.  In terms of added star power, Max Von Sydow, Ann Blyth, Mitzi Gaynor, and the Zucker brothers are a few of the stars who will be making appearances during the festival.  Von Sydow and Blyth will actually be getting tributes to their work with screenings of their most-well known films The Exorcist and Mildred Pierce, respectively, being shown.  Other screenings announced include a new restoration of On the Waterfront with guest Eva Marie Saint, and Airplane with guests the Zucker Brothers.  The fest has also announced they’ve teamed up with the Academy Film Archive to present new 35mm prints of Tarzan Finds a Son, On the Town, and The Narrow Margin.  Since I just finished a book on noir, I’m doubly jealous of that screening of The Narrow Margin!  The El Capitan Theater has also been announced as a venue for fest events which is great as the El Capitan is normally known for Disney movies.  You can read the full schedule of events for the TCM Classic Film Festival at TCM.com/Festival and the festival runs April 25-28th.

In the world of DVD release, a lot is being released from 20th Century Fox.  First off, they’ve just announced their first manufactured-on-demand titles for 2013.  The Fox Cinema Archive is a MOD service first launched in 2012.  Last year, they released 140+ movies on demand; many of which were for the first time.  Several of the movies released this year star Loretta Young (Clive of India, Wife, Husband, and Friend) and Betty Grable (Coney Island, The Shocking Miss Pilgrim).  Other stars in their latest crop of releases include William Holden (Apartment for Peggy), Barbara Stanwyck (A Message to Garcia) and Ginger Rogers (Oh Men! Oh Women!).  You can look at the full slate of releases, and order your copies at FoxConnect.com.

Also announced at Fox is the Blu-Ray release of 1969’s Hello, Dolly.  This Barbra Streisand musical, directed by Gene Kelly, is set for release on April 2nd.  Special features will include a Gene Kelly tribute and 1969 featurette.  I’m not a fan of this musical, but I know a heap of people who will love to know that this will be released in glorious Blu.  The production numbers and costumes will definitely be enhanced by the resolution.  You can pick up your copies of Hello, Dolly on Blu-Ray on April 2nd, 2013.

Let’s go back to TCM to see what DVDs they have on the horizon.  TCM’s just announced a new box set entitled The Glenn Ford: Undercover Crimes Collection.  Set for release March 18th, this set will include five of Ford’s hard-boiled film noirs.  They are The Lady in Question (Ford’s first pairing with Rita Hayworth), Framed, The Undercover Man (opposite Nina Foch), Mr. Soft Touch, and Convicted (paired with Dorothy Malone).  Bonus content includes production stills, behind-the-scenes photos, lobby cards, and movie posters.  I haven’t seen any of the movies in this collection previously, but I’d be interested in seeing The Lady in Question and Convicted for the femme fatales.  You can purchase The Glenn Ford: Undercover Crimes Collection at shop.tcm.com.

That’s all from the Lake for now!  See you next time!