In the treacherous reality TV-filled land of cable, Turner Classics Movies (better known as TCM) remains a haven for cinephiles. At any give moment, one can flip to the channel and get a film school education (directors such as Martin Scorsese have even said they have a television on dedicated to the channel while in the editing suite). With the channel launching on April 14th, 1994, they celebrate their 20th anniversary today, and just wrapped up their annual TCM Classic Film Festival.
Dedicated to theatrically showing classic films with discussion by talent from the features, as well as passionate supporters, it was yet another successful year. Today we have a treat from the event, as they’ve uploaded a wealth of introductions from a variety of presenters. Embedded below, one can watch Mel Brooks on the disastrous first screening of Blazing Saddles, Bill Hader on the first impression he ever learned, Anna Kendrick on how watching Spice World meant she also needed to watch classics, Thelma Schoonmaker on her late husband Michael Powell’s favorite film, and much more. Check out all the introductions below, and see more from the festival on their YouTube channel.
Mel Brooks – Blazing Saddles
Thelma Schoonmaker – A Matter of Life and Death
Bill Hader – The Muppet Movie
John Williams – Fiddler On The Roof
Patton Oswalt – Eraserhead
Alan Arkin – The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter
David Ladd – The Great Gatsby
Alec Baldwin and Don Was – A Hard Day’s Night
Anna Kendrick – The Women
Jerry Lewis – The Nutty Professor
Richard Sherman – Mary Poppins
Richard Dreyfuss – The Goodbye Girl
Maureen O’Hara – How Green Was My Valley
Jason Lee – City Lights
Suzanne Lloyd – Why Worry?
Quincy Jones – The Italian Job
Joe Dante – Invasion Of The Body Snatchers
Margaret O’Brien – Meet Me In St. Louis
Fraser Heston – Touch of Evil
Merrie Spaeth, Paula Prentiss – The World Of Henry Orient
Nancy Schoenberger – Stagecoach
Alex Trebek – Zulu
Lance Brisson – My Sister Eileen
Michael Schlesinger – Johnny Guitar
Greg Proops – Bachelor Mother
Shirley Jones – Oklahoma!
Charles Busch – What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?
What’s your favorite film of the ones introduced?