It’s a little difficult to get your head around. Eight years ago when I suggested going to your video rental store to watch the ultimate Fourth of July movie–Jaws–we still had several video rental stores in every town. It’s very different now with streaming services (have you finished Season 3 of Stranger Things yet on Netflix?) and any Blu-ray you want available overnight for purchase from retailers like Amazon. To be fair, you can still rent movies, the plastic disc kind, at localRedbox machines, and Family Video still has a good footprint across the nation and a broad video selection (pretty much Blu-rays prevail, so sorry to people still with only VHS and plain ol’ DVDs). Back in 2011 when I listed some recommended viewing material for Independence Dayhere at borg, I mentioned some films including my pick for today.
Every audience, every moviegoer, is after something different. If you’re looking for action try on Captain America: The First Avenger, or even binge the entire Captain America series of films. The first Independence Day movie from 1996 has your dose of sci-fi, and it’s an easy choice to go to especially if you’re too young to have watched it before. Even Independence Day–the day, not the movie–means different things to different people. I would recommend to anyone films like Dave, The American President, The Post, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, All the President’s Men, Sergeant York, Far and Away,The Last of the Mohicans,Lincoln, Glory, and Dances with Wolves–each covers some aspect of what America stands for. Actually Frank Capra has more in the category, too, including Meet John Doe and State of the Union.
Four of my favorites are playing on Turner Classic Movies/TCM today. At 8:30 a.m. Central is John Ford′s She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, followed at 10:30 a.m. Central by Ford’s Fort Apache. These are some of the famed director’s finest works, and high points for both Henry Fonda, John Wayne, and Maureen O’Hara, plus the stories tell other tales of the American experience (and both rate high on my all-time best Westerns list here). A recent anthology film fits the bill for today well–that’s the Coen Brothers’ The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, which we reviewed here at borg last year. It tells several stories of the pain, struggle, and sacrifice of peoples from throughout the world coming together to build a nation. But what’s that sure-fire Fourth of July movie that should appeal to everyone?
Of course the big highlight of October will not be a film at all, but the premiere of the entire second season of Stranger Things on Netflix, coming October 27. But Netflix is also finally adding the time travel/horror/coming of age Donnie Darko to its streaming service, coming October 11. Lifetime will premiere its remake of Disney’s The Watcher in the Woods, starring Anjelica Huston, on October 21. Fans of the classic Universal Monsters will get their fix this month from Turner Classic Movies (TCM) throughout the month. And Freeform (formerly ABC Family) has the modern classics and “family” viewing horror films including animated and mainstream films like Monsters, Inc.,Frankenweenie, The Addams Family, and Sleepy Hollow. You’ll find a run of Boris Karloff movies today on TCM, a Stephen King marathon on AMC on October 14, and a Tim Burton marathon on Freeform on October 23.
AMC does not post its television schedule more than two weeks in advance, so you’ll need to check your local listings for the annual AMC FearFest, but we do know it runs from October 23-31, and usually features a marathon each day, so you can probably expect a day each of films from Halloween, Freddy and Jason, Chucky, and Leprechaun films. This year’s FearFest includes the following horror films: Halloween (1978), Halloween 4, Halloween 5, Halloween 6, Halloween H2O, Halloween II (2009), A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010), Freddy vs. Jason, Friday the 13th Part IX: Jason Goes to Hell, Jason X, Wes Craven’s New Nightmare, Child’s Play, Curse of Chucky, Cult of Chucky, Annabelle, Thinner, Dreamcatcher, Dawn of the Dead (2004), Land of the Dead (2005), House of the Dead 1&2, House on Haunted Hill (1999), Return to House on Haunted Hill, House of Wax (2005), Hellbound: Hellraiser II, Army of Darkness, Van Helsing, Lake Placid, Slither, and the Leprechaun franchise (last year’s Fest included Leprechaun 1-4).Syfy Channel and Spike listings are posted below through October 17–listings are not yet available beyond that. Chiller–the year-round horror network, carries its standard slasher fare, plus some better modern horror classics this month. Chiller’s listings are reported only about two weeks out, so listings below are through October 14. Spike begins some good Halloween classics on October 13. Syfy is hosting its 31 Days of Halloweenevent again this year.
Other Netflix films coming this month related to the horror genre include Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Ghost Patrol, 13 Demons, and Cult of Chucky, now available, Stephen King’s The Mist season one (October 24), and the bloody Quentin Tarantino Western The Hateful Eight (October 25). TCM is highlighting horror on Tuesdays this month. Freeform’s annual 13 Nights of Halloween kicks off October 19. Starz Encore Suspense is another way to stream Halloween films this month. Their inventory includes Pride & Prejudice and Zombies, Death Proof, Don’t Breathe, Rosemary’s Baby, The Funhouse, John Carpenter’s Prince of Darkness, and entries from Final Destination, Friday the 13th, Halloween, Children of the Corn, Hellraiser, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and The Grudge franchises–and horror and suspense films are part of the channel’s daily schedule here.
Definitely cable channels and Netflix will have plenty for every taste and all ages this month, and this is before all the channels have published their end of month schedules. So start with today, browse the selections and set your DVR now. All times listed below are Central Time.
Tuesday, October 3
1:00A Island of Lost Souls (1932) TCM – Charles Laughton, Bela Legosi
2:30 The Black Cat (1934) TCM – Boris Karloff, Bela Legosi (Edgar Allan Poe adaptation)
3:45 The Invisible Man (1933) TCM – Claude Rains
10:00 The Creature from the Black Lagoon – Starz Suspense
11:00 The Hollow – Syfy
12:00P Pulp Fiction – AMC
1:00 Hollow Man 2 – Syfy
3:00 Hollow Man – Syfy
4:00 Old 37 – Chiller
5:30 Exorcism of Emily Rose – Syfy
6:00 All Cheerleaders Die – Chiller
7:00 Frankenstein (1931) TCM – Boris Karloff
8:00 Apartment 143 – Chiller
8:30 Bride of Frankenstein (1935) TCM – Boris Karloff, Elsa Lanchester
9:00 Drag Me to Hell – Syfy
10:00 The Mummy (1932) TCM – Boris Karloff
10:00 Old 37 – Chiller
11:00 The Mothman Prophesies – Syfy
11:30 The Wolfman (1941) TCM – Lon Chaney, Jr.
Wednesday, October 4
12:00A All Cheerleaders Die – Chiller
1:30 Scream of the Banshee – Syfy
2:00 Apartment 143 – Chiller
5:30 Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein – Syfy
8:00 The Mothman Prophesies – Syfy
10:30 Dead Still – Syfy
12:30 The Exorcism of Emily Rose – Syfy
3:00P Drag Me to Hell – Syfy
4:00 Fender Bender – Chiller
5:00 Resident Evil: Afterlife – Syfy
6:00 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre – El Rey
6:00 The Boy – Chiller
7:00 Insidious: Chapter 3 – Syfy
8:00 Wrath – Chiller
10:00 Fender Bender – Chiller
11:00 Dead Still – Syfy
Thursday, October 5
12:00A The Boy – Chiller
1:00 Ghost Storm – Syfy
2:00 Wrath – Chiller
3:30 Silence of the Lambs – El Rey
6:00 Bram Stoker’s Dracula – Syfy
8:30 Holes – AMC
9:00 Ghost Storm – Syfy
11:00 Silent Hill – Syfy
11:30P Total Recall – AMC
1:30 Resident Evil: Afterlife – Syfy
3:30 Insidious: Chapter 3 – Syfy
4:00 ATM – Chiller
5:30 Blade Runner – Syfy
6:00 Indigenous – Chiller
8:00 John Dies at the End – Chiller
10:00 Blade Runner – Syfy
10:00 ATM – Chiller
It’s the second time TCM and auction house Bonhams have teamed up to offer screen-used and production-made costumes, props, and other relics from the Golden Age of Hollywood. A November auction, TCM Presents: There’s No Place Like Hollywood, will feature a large private collection of rare items from Casablanca, including the piano featured prominently in the film where Sam plays “As Time Goes By.” A lesser seen piano from another scene in the film sold in 2012 for more than $600,000.
One lot features a mannequin display with costume components worn by Bert Lahr as the Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz, said to have been used in several scenes in the film. Many of the costumes and props appear to be the same lots that have been featured in other auctions in the last few years, including various dresses from the Debbie Reynolds collection of items offered by auction house Profiles in History.
Costumes from several classic films are on the auction block, including a Clark Gable jacket from Gone With the Wind, Marilyn Monroe’s saloon gown from River of No Return, Jimmy Stewart’s Charles Lindbergh flight suit from The Spirit of St. Louis, Faye Dunaway’s dress from The Towering Inferno, a Jane Russell costume from The Outlaw, and a John Wayne Union Army coat from Rio Lobo and The Undefeated. Sci-fi and fantasy fans aren’t forgotten in the TCM auction, as there will be costumes worn by Charlton Heston and Roddy McDowall in Planet of the Apes, a background crewmember astronaut jumpsuit from Close Encounters of the Third Kind, a test dress for Judy Garland as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, and a Saruman staff and Aragorn sword from The Lord of the Rings films, both from Sir Christopher Lee’s personal collection.
It’s no secret that here at borg.com, we’re big fans of Halloween. And there’s nothing I like better than a great ghost story. But if creepy and gory aren’t really your thing, TCM is offering up some of the best in lighter-hearted classic haunts tonight as part of its Ghost Story Thursdays month-long series.
Included in our epic round-up of this year’s Halloween movies on TV, tonight’s two classics feature some of our favorite performers in roles you might have missed–but should be sure to catch as they air back-to-back. And if tonight happens to be Date Night at your house, you might choose to stay in and snuggle up on the couch, because these two films also feature some of our favorite on-screen romances.
First up at 7:00 p.m. Central is 1948’s Portrait of Jennie, starring Joseph Cotten (Citizen Kane, Shadow of a Doubt) and Jennifer Jones (Song of Bernadette, Duel in the Sun), with a masterful performance by Ethel Barrymore. Cotten and Jones play star-crossed lovers whose sweet romance bridges time, death, and logic. Cotten plays Eben Adams, a down-on-his-luck artist in the Depression, whose life is changed forever when he meets a young girl in Central Park. The mysterious and beguiling Jennie becomes his muse, infusing his artwork with passion and talent. But who is she? Jennie has a secret, and her haunting story will consume Eben, until both lovers are driven to extremes in their quest to be together.
If you’re already a fan of the film, you’ll enjoy TCM’s write-up about it here–but it’s full of spoilers, so wait until you’ve seen it. Based on the novel by Robert Nathan, Portrait of Jennie, with its haunting heroine and epic romance, could easily have been dark and gothic, but it’s actually anything but. There’s just enough ghostly mystery to keep the Halloween thrill alive, but the overall tone is more sweet than scary. In fact, this supernatural romance even made our Best Fantasy list. It’s a must-see.
Here is the original trailer for Portrait of Jennie:
