Now in its seventh year, TCM (Turner Classic Movies) presents the annual Big Screen Classics series of 2021. The classic cinema station collaborates with Fathom Events to bring some of the most beloved old movies back to theatres. For one or two nights per title, these famous films play at select venues all around the country, providing an opportunity to see all-time favorite films the way you remember it, see ones you only knew as bad prints on TV, and introduce a youngfer generation to the experience of seeing a great movie the way it was mean to be presented; on the silver screen!
Film aficionados and new comers alike will enjoy the yearlong journey which spans nine decades of cinema history via a dozen of some of the movie industry’s most acclaimed productions released between 1941 and 1996 (which doesn't seem all that long ago, but it is more than twenty years ago!). The curated program includes legendary dramas, iconic musicals, beloved comedies, a thrilling adventure, a stylish film noir, a stirring epic, a crackling mystery, and a suspenseful horror. The series has something for just about everyone in the coming new year.
Naturally, each film is presented with pristine digital projection, movie-theater-quality sound, and in its original aspect ratio. You wont have an any visual manipulation in order to fit a square peg into an oblong box. And no pan and scan or squished images either! The theaters have been selected to assure that the films can be properly displayed as they were intended by the filmmakers
The TCM Big Screen Classics series is further enhanced with fascinating pre- and post-feature insights presented by TCM hosts, including the Primetime man himself: Ben Mankiewicz. These pre-show spots provide context to each film without exposing any SPOILERS. Sometimes they include information about the stars, and other times about the behind scenes machinations that went into crafting such memorable titles. Either way, there's usually a a lucious tid bit of information revealed that you never knew before, which enhances the experience all the more.
I can say that I've enjoyed the past screenings I've gone to. And in my case, they are films I have seen before (sometimes many, many times). I find that it's a lot more fun to take someone along who doesn't know the film. It's a great feeling knowing that you are the one who introduced to them to a movie they really ought to know. They will remember that experience the reat of their lives. And you gave it to them. How cool is that?
The lineup for the 2021 TCM Big Screen Classics series is as follows:
The Maltese Falcon 80th Anniversary -- Sun., Jan 24 & Wed., Jan 27
Boyz n the Hood 30th Anniversary -- Sun., Feb 28 & Wed., Mar 3
The Ten Commandments 65th Anniversary -- Sun., Mar 28 & Wed., Mar 31
La Bamba -- Sun., April 18 & Wed., April 21
Fried Green Tomatoes 30th Anniversary -- Sun., May 9 & Wed., May 12
The Birdcage 25th Anniversary -- June
The African Queen 70th Anniversary -- July
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory 50th Anniversary -- August
Citizen Kane 80th Anniversary -- September
The Silence of the Lambs 30th Anniversary -- October
West Side Story 60th Anniversary -- November
On Golden Pond 40th Anniversary -- December
You can learn more and buy tickets on this link.