Introduction
Alongside art, comedy, and music, cinema is one of the most subjective forms of media. However, since you have joined us here on this particular site, it’s also the most subjective. And that’s why it remains the most entertaining and inspiring!
One hotly, and affectionately debated topic is what was the best year for cinema. We are celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of one of the forerunners, 1994. Cinema Scholars continues to present a monthly retrospective, that focuses on a pick of the cinematic talking points of this truly golden trip around the sun.
Welcome to 1994 – Part Four: April – Welcome to Turner Classic Movies.
A Brief History
In 1986, eight years before the launch of Turner Classic Movies, media mogul Ted Turner acquired Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). The cost was a cool $1.5 billion. However, ongoing concerns over Turner Entertainment’s debts resulted in Turner selling the studio back to Kirk Kerkorian, from whom Turner had purchased the studio less than a year before.
Part of the deal though would lead to the creation of one of the most beloved film channels in history. One condition of the sale was Turner Entertainment Co. would retain ownership of MGM’s library of films released up to May 9, 1986.
Turner Broadcasting System was split into two companies, Turner Broadcasting System and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. They were eventually reincorporated as MGM/UA Communications Co. The new library of Turner Entertainment Co. would then provide the programming base for Turner Classic Movies when the network launched in April 1994.
Launch
The launch date and time were chosen for their historical significance as it was “the exact centennial anniversary of the first public movie showing in New York City.” The first film broadcast on TCM was the 1939 classic Gone with the Wind. This was the same film that served as the debut broadcast of its sister channel TNT six years earlier on October 3, 1988.
At the time of launch, TCM was available to approximately one million cable television subscribers. The network originally served as a competitor to AMC. At the time, ACM was known as “American Movie Classics.” It maintained a virtually identical format to Turner Classic Movies, and both networks largely focused on films released before 1970. They were aired uncut, un-colorized, and commercial-free.
TCMs Service
Since its launch in 1994, Turner Classic Movies has essentially operated as a commercial-free service. The breaks between films usually consisted of promos for its programming as well as advertising for the network’s events and merchandising. Some segments also profile classic film actors and actresses.
In addition to this, extended breaks between features are filled with theatrically released movie trailers and classic short subjects. Series such as The Passing Parade, Crime Does Not Pay, Pete Smith Specialties, and Robert Benchley are all aired under the banner name of “Extras” (formerly Reel Wonders).
In 2007, some of the short films featured on TCM were made available for streaming on the Turner Classic Movies website. Their film content has remained mostly uncut and un-colorized Natively filmed features or post-produced in the format are the only ones presented in color, depending upon the original content of movies. Particularly movies released after the 1968 implementation of the Motion Picture Association of America’s rating system.
Why TCM Remains Important
With the never-ending launches of new streaming services, Turner Classic Movies has had to move with the times. At times painfully. This includes the death of its iconic host Robert Osborne, and the dismissal of much of its leadership in 2023. However, with fans like Martin Scorsese, Paul Thomas Anderson, and Steven Spielberg, TCM has always had a vocal following who demand a go-to avenue for classic films.
In the past thirty years the TCM network’s 24/7 film-purist canon of uncut, commercial-free movies, piped into American homes is a beloved binge-watchable vault of inspiration, nostalgia, and education for the likes of Nancy Meyers and Alexander Payne.
To remain relevant, TCM has employed a small, dedicated team of film lovers who continue to design attractive programs for the network. This includes creating documentaries and short films, running a TCM podcast, and orchestrating Hollywood’s TCM Classic Film Festival, which marks its 15th anniversary this year. This group serves as the brain trust for a film brand so loved that fans pay upwards of $2,000 for TCM Classic Cruises to places like Cabo San Lucas and Disney’s Castaway Cay!
Merger
With the corporate merger of Discovery, TCM’s home, and Warner Media in 2022 came the layoff of core TCM staff, many of whom had been at the network for 26 years. After Discovery layoffs loomed. The TCM gutting became a cinematic cause celebre, inspiring longtime TCM fans Martin Scorsese, Paul Thomas Anderson, and Steven Spielberg to meet with Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav.
The directors advocated for rehiring the TCM staff while stars weighed in on social media, with Ryan Reynolds tweeting that TCM is:
“…a holy corner of film history and a living, breathing library for an entire art form. Please don’t f*ck with TCM…”
In Conclusion
“We’ve had this very clear statement to the world about how valued we are,” said host Ben Mankiewicz of the upside of the merger’s very public kerfuffle. However, that postmerger hot mess chronicled in the Hollywood Reporter, Variety, and The Wrap has in many ways overshadowed the ongoing grit of the small team of TCM film nuts working behind the scenes for decades to shape TCM into the film juggernaut it is today. And long may they continue to do so.
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