Classic Cinema Zone

Another month, another wave of classic movies making their way onto Blu-ray . Several great films are being released in May, including the first of three on-screen collaborations between Doris Day and Rock Hudson, Fritz Lang’s masterpiece film noir, and one of the greatest movies of all time. … Read Full Post

As part of their 100th anniversary celebration, Universal Studios will release Pillow Talk (1959) onto Blu-ray, one of many films that will make the transfer to the format this year. Starring Doris Day and Rock Hudson in their first of three movies together, Pillow Talk was a startlingly successful romantic comedy that featured Day as a successful interior designer who shares a party line with a suave playboy (Hudson) during a line shortage. She soon comes to despise him while listening to him woo a different woman every night, only to fall in love after finally they finally meet in person. Pillow Talk became one of the biggest box office hits of the year and earned five Academy Award nominations, including Day’s only nod for Best Actress. The two-disc set will contain a number of bonus features, including two behind-the-scenes featurettes, Back in Bed with Pillow Talk and Chemistry 101: The Film Duo of Doris Day and Rock Hudson , as well as three 100 Years of Universal documentaries. … Read Full Post

While her exact age remains unknown – some say she was born in 1923, others in 1924 – there is no doubt that today April 3rd is Doris Day’s birthday. She had a remarkable life and career that had its share of ups and downs. Day started as a big band singer who branched out as a solo artist at the same time she became an actress. During the 1950s and the first half of the 1960s, Day was one of the biggest stars Hollywood, and was known for her all-American looks, pristine voice and virginal image. … Read Full Post

On Saturday March 17th, Turner Classic Movies will celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with a number of Irish-themed classics. The Festival of Patrick kicks off early with the Michael Curtiz -directed drama, The Key , which stars William Powell as a womanizing British solider stationed in 1920s Dublin. The morning continues with 1947′s My Wild Irish Rose , a musical biography of songwriter Chauncey Olcott, and 1950′s The Daughter of Rosie O’Grady , which stars Debbie Reynolds and Gordon MacRae. … Read Full Post

Hot on the heels of DreamWorks’ plans to remake Rebecca comes the news that Paramount Pictures is mounting a remake of Alfred Hitchcock ‘s 1941 classic, Suspicion , which also starred Joan Fontaine . Fontaine, who won the Oscar for Best Actress, was the only Hitchcock performer to ever take home an Academy Award. … Read Full Post

He was born on Feb. 8, 1931 and died just 24 years later. His career was all too brief, but his legend has been one of Hollywood’s most enduring. James Dean was a promising young actor who rose to stardom off the strength of his first leading performance in Elia Kazan’s adaptation of John Steinbeck’s East of Eden . He starred in two more films, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant , but never saw either one released during his lifetime. … Read Full Post

Hard to believe that it has been 50 years since Gregory Peck delivered the most iconic performance of his career, playing small town lawyer, Atticus Finch, who defends an innocent black man (Brock Peters) against charges of rape while protecting his two children (Mary Badham and Phillip Alford) from the specter of racism in To Kill a Mockingbird . … Read Full Post

Start your New Year off right by checking out the offerings from Turner Classic Movies this January. Every Wednesday this month, TCM will put the spotlight on Angela Lansbury with airings of classics like 1944′s Gaslight and National Velvet , which featured Elizabeth Taylor in her breakthrough performance, 1945′s The Picture of Dorian Gray , 1948′s State of the Union , and 1962′s excellent espionage thriller, The Manchurian Candidate , with Frank Sinatra and Laurence Harvey. … Read Full Post

Start your New Year off right by checking out the offerings from Turner Classic Movies this January. Every Wednesday this month, TCM will put the spotlight on Angela Lansbury with airings of classics like 1944′s Gaslight and National Velvet , which featured Elizabeth Taylor in her breakthrough performance, 1945′s The Picture of Dorian Gray , 1948′s State of the Union , and 1962′s excellent espionage thriller, The Manchurian Candidate , with Frank Sinatra and Laurence Harvey. … Read Full Post

Two of Alfred Hitchcock ‘s classic thrillers, Rebecca (1940) and Notorious (1946), are tentatively scheduled to be released on Blu-ray by MGM on January 24, 2012. Both movies featured two of Hitch’s most notable leading ladies . Rebecca starred fellow Brit Joan Fontaine as the blushing new bride of an aristocratic widower, Maxim de Winter (Laurence Olivier). After meeting de Winter in Monte Carlo, she rushes into marriage and goes back to live at his country estate, where his rather unpleasant housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers (Judith Anderson), grows increasingly hostile to her presence. As the second Mrs. de Winter grows more fearful for her life, she starts to uncover what really happened to the first. … Read Full Post