Wednesday, March 15, 2023

TCM Classic Film Festival Announces Opening Night Movie

Today the TCM Classic Film Festival announced the festival's opening night film will be Howard Hawks' RIO BRAVO (1959). The film's leading lady, Angie Dickinson, will be in attendance.

The movie will be screened at the Chinese Theater on the evening of April 13th. Turner Classic Movies host Ben Mankiewicz will interview Dickinson before the screening.

RIO BRAVO was previously announced for the festival in November, but today marks the first time it's been shared that it will be the opening night film, the world premiere of a new 4K restoration.

As a Warner Bros. film, the screening also ties into the studio's centennial celebration.

Directors Steven Spielberg and Paul Thomas Anderson, both Film Foundation board members, will present the film. The Film Foundation was a partner in the film's restoration.

I'm thrilled to learn of the restoration and especially happy that a Western will be in the opening night spotlight at the festival.

Although I've seen a number of Westerns at the festival over the years, percentagewise there are relatively few shown at the festival, so having one of the all-time best Westerns as the "red carpet movie" is wonderful. I'm also glad to see a film starring one of the all-time greats, John Wayne, accorded this honor.

That said, on a personal level I'm also disappointed, simply because I was really looking forward to seeing RIO BRAVO on a big screen for the first time in decades, and my pass does not cover the opening night screening! I wrote about how much I love this film for my Classic Movie Hub Western RoundUp column a couple of years ago.

However, I'm guessing there's a reasonably good chance that the restored print will be shown in Los Angeles again after the festival, perhaps somewhere like the Hollywood Legion Theater, so I'll hope for that!

The film at the top of my list to see at the festival is probably now SHADOW OF A DOUBT (1943), a Hitchcock favorite I have never seen on a big screen.

The TCM Classic Film Festival will take place in Hollywood from April 13th to 16th, 2023.

The complete list of announced films to date has a page on the festival website. Club TCM events may be found listed here.

Previously
: TCM Announces 2023 Festival Dates and Theme (October 18, 2022); 2023 TCM Classic Film Festival Announcements (November 11, 2022); Latest 2023 TCM Classic Film Festival Announcements (January 25, 2023); New TCM Classic Film Festival Announcements (February 16, 2023); Latest TCM Classic Film Festival Announcements (March 4, 2023).

An additional brief festival update regarding Russ Tamblyn attending the festival is included in my January 14th "Around the Blogosphere This Week" column.


3 Comments:

Blogger Hamlette (Rachel) said...

Oh my goodness! What a dream it would be to see this on the big screen! I hope you do get a chance at it later on.

1:23 PM  
Blogger Rick said...

As much as I love John Wayne, and as much as I love westerns, and though I was a big fan of Ricky Nelson back in the day, RIO BRAVO has never quite won me over.

It's obvious that most western fans absolutely love it and that I should love it too, but it's always seemed kind of silly to me. Frankly, I read the comic book before I saw the movie and I loved that. So maybe it's still and always disappointing for me that the comic was so much more exciting.

I must have watched RIO BRAVO a dozen times, and before each viewing, I think that this will be the one. This will be the time the movie wins me over. Just hasn't happened yet.

But I will try again. It's so clear that I SHOULD love it. Maybe tomorrow.

7:52 PM  
Blogger Laura said...

I agree, Rachel, and thanks for the good wishes for me to see it elsewhere!

Rick, I hope next time might be the proverbial charm for you! It's a film which has brought me great joy.

That said, not every movie works for every person. There are certainly popular classics I don't care for myself, THE APARTMENT (1960) being just one example.

Best wishes,
Laura

9:51 AM  

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