British Film Institute brings impressive wares to TCM Fest 2025

Film
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Ben Roberts, Chief Executive of the British Film Institute, attends 2025 TCM Classic Film Festival. photo: Jesse Grant/Getty Images for TCM One of the highlights of this year’s TCM Classic Film Festival was a tribute to the British Film Institute’s remarkable preservation program, now celebrating its 90th year. The tribute included 6 movies, all presented ...

All hail Alan Johnson! 2

Dance · Film
This montage of career-choreography by three-time Emmy Award winner Alan Johnson, created for his Lifetime Achievement recognition at the American Choreography Awards, features snippets from Mel Brooks movies, Johnson’s television appearances and stage and commercial work. The clips give evidence of the choreographer’s clean, classic jazz style, his smooth elegance and strong sense of line. ...

Merry Christmas, Adolf! ~ love, TCM 3

Dance · Film
Achtung, baby! Righteous programming, this Christmas night, from Turner Classic Movies: choreographer/director Alan Johnson’s TO BE OR NOT TO BE (1984), a remake of the Lubitsch political satire, well selected on this day of off-the-grid distribution of North Korea spoof, “The Interview.” Johnson and the great Mel Brooks collaborated on this promotional video for the ...

Wicked comedy by Lubitsch at LACMA 1

Film
It was pure pleasure, in the waning days of the LACMA weekend classic film series, as curator Ian Birnie trotted out yet another sublime film pairing, this time a comedy duo: the first film, Preston Sturges’ social commentary/classic, “Sullivan’s Travels,” topped by Ernst Lubitsch’s insane, zany, perfectly scripted, outrageous and brilliant “To Be or Not ...