TCM Changing September 1 2021 > (1 Viewer)

[JPCinema]

Looks like Criterion "C" logo

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Being serious for a second, and that is all, here are the changes...

TCM, the cable-television home to countless vintage films will have a colorful new aesthetic in its on-air promotions, new openings for shows like “The Essentials” and “Noir Alley,” new sets for hosts like Ben Mankiewicz, a new logo and new branding that emphasizes the interplay between past and present-day cinema history.

To that end, TCM has already started adding programming like “Reframed,” a series that re-examines movies like “The Jazz Singer,” “Gone With the Wind” and “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” which have been criticized for their outdated treatments of race, gender and sexuality.

“You can still enjoy the film, but you’re acknowledging some of the things that, for contemporary eyes, can be difficult,” Changnon said. “We don’t want to cancel these films — we’d rather engage in conversation around them.”

The redesign introduced Wednesday features a bright palette meant to evoke the Technicolor logo. The TCM logo has a new font and, onscreen, an animated letter C that takes on various forms and sizes before resting at a shape that resembles a camera lens or film running through a projector.

A new ad campaign and a new tagline, “Where Then Meets Now,” will emphasize the connections TCM seeks to make with its programming, targeting cinephiles while extending an invitation to neophytes. Visitors to this month’s Telluride Film Festival, for example, will be greeted with banners bearing artwork that juxtaposes scenes from the George Cukor and Bradley Cooper remakes of “A Star Is Born,” or the John Wayne and Jeff Bridges incarnations of Rooster Cogburn from their versions of “True Grit.”

Tricia Melton, who is chief marketing officer of Warner Bros.’ global kids, young adults and classics division, said these changes at TCM were intended to emphasize “how the past can inform the present.”

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

It appears to be cosmetic. I would not be concerned about what they will be showing, that appears the same just with new stuff before or after a picture.

Of course, if they do a Roller Boogie marathon, I'm out.

 

[Bob Cashill]

Now if only it could get Spectrum NYC to fix whatever needs fixing to get the broadcast image to stop breaking up and pixelating every two minutes. The channel is unwatchable and has been for years; I usually just watch through the app.

 

[JPCinema]

I still don't understand why Verizon shows TCM only in SD.

 

[JPCinema]

I don't like how subjective Mankiewicz has become very subjective in his introductions.
That skewers anyone from seeing a film for the first time objectively. Their "reframed" films was for me a complete debacle. It really made me angry.

 

[Robert Crawford]

 

[Robert Crawford]

I don't like how subjective Mankiewicz has become very subjective in his introductions.
That skewers anyone from seeing a film for the first time objectively. Their "reframed" films was for me a complete debacle. It really made me angry.

I don't quite understand that sentiment.

 

[Johnny Angell]

To that end, TCM has already started adding programming like “Reframed,” a series that re-examines movies like “The Jazz Singer,” “Gone With the Wind” and “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” which have been criticized for their outdated treatments of race, gender and sexuality.

I like this. It’s important to have all films available, but also good to see them in the context of the time they were filmed.

 

[David Weicker]

I don't quite understand that sentiment.

I felt the 'Reframed' discussions were not balanced. Instead of a back and forth discussion, all the hosts were in complete agreement (something that doesn't occur in real life).

And it felt like we, the audience, were being told that although we were allowed to see the film, we weren't allowed to enjoy it.

It felt very sledge-hammerly.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I felt the 'Reframed' discussions were not balanced. Instead of a back and forth discussion, all the hosts were in complete agreement (something that doesn't occur in real life).

And it felt like we, the audience, were being told that although we were allowed to see the film, we weren't allowed to enjoy it.

It felt very sledge-hammerly.

I didn't take it that way, but that's fair if you have those sentiments.

 

[Malcolm R]

Notice that the C is now actually two C's one inside the other representing...

COLORIZED CLASSICS!

I thought maybe it would be non-stop Chevy Chase movies. What's more classic than that?

Tonight on TCcM: Caddyshack, Fletch Lives, and Funny Farm

 

[Thornhill]

So was it just a simple rebranding, change to the look? I don't get what the big deal was. Anyone care to enlighten me?

 

[Robert Crawford]

So was it just a simple rebranding, change to the look? I don't get what the big deal was. Anyone care to enlighten me?

There is no big deal except it got people to talk about the channel which probably was their real purpose.

 

[GlennF]

Now if only it could get Spectrum NYC to fix whatever needs fixing to get the broadcast image to stop breaking up and pixelating every two minutes. The channel is unwatchable and has been for years; I usually just watch through the app.

I have been having the same problem with my cable company here in Toronto.

 

[Matt Hough]

I have been having the same problem with my cable company here in Toronto.

That happens to me during some seasonal times - usually early spring or early fall. I just always thought it had to do with satellite placement/Earth's tilt.

 

[PopBodhi]

It appears to be cosmetic. I would not be concerned about what they will be showing, that appears the same just with new stuff before or after a picture.

Of course, if they do a Roller Boogie marathon, I'm out.

I prefer Skatetown, U.S.A. but that's neither here nor there.

 

[Anthonydasher]

My only major complaint is for them to consider switching to HD for their films. At least where I live in the Philadelphia, PA suburbs, we get it through Verizon FIOS and have had to live with SD forever. Additionally, a couple of years ago (2018?) they started charging more I guess as now you have to move to the highest tier payment plan to get TCM and STILL all in std. def. That sucks.

TCM is available in HD but your service has to offer it. If an HD version of a movie is available they broadcast that and it noted applicably.

 

[Rodney]

I don't even want to know how much money they spent on the new logo. I don't understand what the double C is supposed to represent.

Give me this ol' logo:

...and get off my lawn.​

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

It does appear that there is now a list of naughty films that "Reframed" is designed to discuss. I've not seen the show but here is their list of films and some have a description of why they made the list:

The Jazz Singer (1927) is a landmark film that heralded the sound era with its dialogue, songs and synchronized music. The legendary Al Jolson stars as a young man who defies the traditions of his Jewish family to become a “jazz singer.” Just as he did in real life, Jolson performs some numbers in blackface – a common practice for some entertainers of the day but is now widely recognized as racist.

Gone with the Wind (1939) is David O. Selznick’s spectacular film version of Margaret Mitchell’s sprawling novel of the Old South in the Civil War era. The movie won a record number of Oscars and has retained its status as a box-office champion over the decades. However, controversy has surrounded the film since its inception due to its pleasant view of slavery in addition to stereotypes surrounding the portrayal of Black characters in particular.

Dragon Seed (1944) is MGM’s screen treatment of the 1942 Pearl S. Buck novel about Chinese peasants during the Japanese invasion of China in 1937. The Asian characters are played by white actors in “yellowface” makeup, including Katharine Hepburn as a young Chinese villager who stands up to the invaders.

The Searchers (1956), a classic Western directed by John Ford, stars John Wayne as a Confederate veteran who devotes his life to rescuing a young niece (Natalie Wood) who has been kidnapped by Comanches. The Wayne character is overtly racist, and many argue that the label also applies to the film itself, as the characterization of Indigenous people is both stereotypical and underdeveloped.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), Blake Edwards’ film version of the Truman Capote novella, features a captivating star performance by Audrey Hepburn as heroine Holly Golightly. But many feel the film is marred by Mickey Rooney’s supporting role as a Japanese neighbor who is played for exaggerated comic effect, with exaggerated makeup and offensive dialect.

The Children’s Hour (1961), directed by William Wyler and adapted from a 1934 play by Lillian Hellman, concerns the destructive effect of gossip. In this case it is an accusation of lesbianism made by a young girl about teachers played by Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine. Even in the early ‘60s the subject of homosexuality was rarely addressed openly in films and was often, as it is here, portrayed as a source of guilt and shame.

Also screening: Swing Time (1936), Stagecoach (1939), Gunga Din (1939), The Four Feathers (1939), Woman of the Year (1942), Sinbad, the Sailor (1947), Rope (1948), Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), Tarzan, the Ape Man (1959), Psycho (1960), My Fair Lady (1964), and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967).