The debt I owe to TCM (Turner Classic Movies) for encouraging and really helping to spark my interest in cinema is immeasurable. I am also extremely thankful that I had access to the channel both at my parents' house and at work. The TV network single-handedly inspired my love of classic cinema, and the specific films, directors, actors and genres that are a part of that. Of everything introduced to me by TCM, I would say the most notable were The Philadelphia Story, Bette Davis, Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, Greta Garbo, Woody Allen, Alfred Hitchcock, classic musicals and film noir.Musicals are probably the main reason why I started watching TCM; the brilliance of 2001's Moulin Rouge had inspired me to want to go back and see as many of the classic musicals as I could. One night, I was scrolling through the channels, and I happened to notice that Singin' in the Rain was about to come on, so I watched it. That night, I fell in love with the musical and Gene Kelly.
In the summer before my freshman year of high school, I fell in love with Bette Davis and Cary Grant. Davis, even in her more subtle roles, gave a fierce determination and raw emotionalism in all of her films. The first film of hers that I saw was Now, Voyager, about a woman heading towards spinsterhood who decides to change her ways and start living life. While Davis' performance alone was enough for me to love it, I also really liked it because it wasn't your typical romance, and it proved that, even in the past, not everyone always wanted the perfect ending in films. And then came Cary Grant. He's suave, he's got great comedic timing, he's easy on the eyes, and he's just an overall great actor. Davis and Grant are still my favorite actress and actor, and I have "glamour shots" of both of them hanging proudly on my wall.
TCM is also to blame for Woody Allen and Alfred Hitchcock becoming two of my favorite directors. The network exposed me to a lot of Allen's films, most notably the first one I saw, Stardust Memories, and Annie Hall, which are both in my top five of his films. I also saw a good chunk of Hitchcock's oeuvre, from Rebecca and Notorious to The Birds and Marnie. Notorious was both the first Hitchcock and first Cary Grant film I saw, and is to blame for my appreciation for both men. Grant was a debonair hero, and the film as a whole was so intense and complex that I instantly knew why Hitchcock was considered such a legend in filmmaking. You can only imagine my excitement upon discovering that the college I attended offered courses that focused on both men's work.
On June 29, 2003, the film world suffered a major loss when Katharine Hepburn died. Up to that point, I hadn't seen any of her movies, so I took TCM's decision to air a 24-hour marathon of her films as my chance to get a hefty dose. So at about five or six on a summer morning, I woke up, turned on TCM and just kept watching. The only part I missed were the 10-minute periods when I went to and from work, but luckily, one of them happened to fall within the breaks between films. I was an instant fan, especially of The Philadelphia Story, which I consider to have a safe place at the top of a list of my favorite films of all time. She went toe-to-toe with Cary Grant and pulled it off wonderfully.
There are others I could delve into (Paul Newman, Peter Lorre, Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Audrey Hepburn, Joan Crawford, Sydney Pollack, Akira Kurosawa and Ingmar Bergman, as a short list), but I'll move on to IFC.
My parents had (and still have) Dish Network, so right next to TCM on the channel listings, you could find IFC (the Independent Film Channel). So when I wasn't particularly interested in what was on TCM (or if I'd already seen what was on), I would watch IFC instead. I owe IFC for a lot of cinema loves as well, but the most notable of those are probably the filmmaker Wong Kar-Wai and the film Amélie.
I saw In the Mood for Love on IFC sometime in the middle of high school. It combined a film noir-like sensibility and story with one of the best uses of color I had ever seen. As far as cinematic style goes, that's something Wong Kar-Wai has in spades, and that's why I continually seek out his films.
There are others I could delve into (Paul Newman, Peter Lorre, Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Audrey Hepburn, Joan Crawford, Sydney Pollack, Akira Kurosawa and Ingmar Bergman, as a short list), but I'll move on to IFC.
My parents had (and still have) Dish Network, so right next to TCM on the channel listings, you could find IFC (the Independent Film Channel). So when I wasn't particularly interested in what was on TCM (or if I'd already seen what was on), I would watch IFC instead. I owe IFC for a lot of cinema loves as well, but the most notable of those are probably the filmmaker Wong Kar-Wai and the film Amélie.
I saw In the Mood for Love on IFC sometime in the middle of high school. It combined a film noir-like sensibility and story with one of the best uses of color I had ever seen. As far as cinematic style goes, that's something Wong Kar-Wai has in spades, and that's why I continually seek out his films.
The summer between my last year of high school and my first year of college, I saw 2001's Amélie for the first time, thanks to IFC. As with In the Mood for Love, I was also taken by the terrific use of color, but the story of Amélie and her little adventures was the main driving point for me. But I'll go into that more when I roll out my list of the top 10 films of the decade.
Aside from those two networks, I also was a regular watcher of "Ebert & Roeper" and "Inside the Actors Studio." Roger Ebert was something of a hero to me (and still is to a lesser degree) - his career was the one that I wanted to have, but I'll go into that more in Part Five, when I talk about reading about film. If Ebert had my number one dream career, and Robert Osbourne (host of TCM's featured films) claimed the number two spot, then James Lipton (host of "Inside the Actors Studio") definitely had number three. While those stacks of blue cards have become somewhat of a joke, I still think that it would be awesome to do all that research about actors and the roles they've taken on throughout their careers.
Those moments I spent sitting in front of the TV, especially in my high school years, did a large part in shaping who I am both as a person and a lover of film.
Aside from those two networks, I also was a regular watcher of "Ebert & Roeper" and "Inside the Actors Studio." Roger Ebert was something of a hero to me (and still is to a lesser degree) - his career was the one that I wanted to have, but I'll go into that more in Part Five, when I talk about reading about film. If Ebert had my number one dream career, and Robert Osbourne (host of TCM's featured films) claimed the number two spot, then James Lipton (host of "Inside the Actors Studio") definitely had number three. While those stacks of blue cards have become somewhat of a joke, I still think that it would be awesome to do all that research about actors and the roles they've taken on throughout their careers.
Those moments I spent sitting in front of the TV, especially in my high school years, did a large part in shaping who I am both as a person and a lover of film.
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