TCM Classic Film Festival To Open With Bob Fosse’s CABARET

Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will open the 2012 edition of the TCM Classic Film Festival with the world premiere of a new 40th anniversary restoration of Bob Fosse’s Cabaret (1972). TCM’s own Robert Osborne, who serves as official host for the festival, will introduce Cabaret to kick off the four-day, star-studded event, which will take pace Thursday, April 12 – Sunday, April 15, 2012, in Hollywood. Passes are set to go on sale Wednesday, Nov. 9, at 10 a.m. (ET) through the official festival website: http://www.tcm.com/festival.

One of the most acclaimed films of its era, Cabaret stars Oscar®-winner Liza Minnelli as an American singer looking for love and success in pre-World War II Berlin. Michael York and Academy Award® winner Joel Grey co-star in the film, which earned Fosse an Oscar for Best Director and serves as a perfect showcase for his unique choreography and imaginative visual style.

Cabaret will kick off an extensive roster of screenings for the 2012 TCM Classic Film Festival. As part of TCM’s ongoing commitment to supporting film preservation, the festival will showcase several new restorations, including three Best Picture Oscar winners, one of the greatest movie musicals of all time and a nearly forgotten gem ready to be rediscovered:

Wings (1927) – 85th Anniversary Restoration
Charles “Buddy” Rogers, Richard Arlen and Clara Bow star in William A. Wellman’s high-flying World War I melodrama, the first movie ever to take home Oscar for Best Picture. Wings set the gold standard for Hollywood when it comes to shooting aerial dogfights.

All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) – World Premiere of New Restoration
Topping many lists as the greatest war movie of all time, All Quiet on the Western Front is director Lewis Milestone’s groundbreaking masterpiece based on the World War I novel by Erich Maria Remarque. Lew Ayres heads the cast in this Oscar-winning Best Picture.

Call Her Savage (1932) – World Premiere of 80th Anniversary Restoration
Clara Bow stars as a sexy Texas gal in this saucy pre-Code drama, one of only 11 talkies made by the actress who had previously personified the Roaring Twenties as Hollywood’s leading sex symbol.

Casablanca (1942) – 70th Anniversary Restoration
Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman star in Michael Curtiz’s Oscar-winning drama, widely regarded to be one of Hollywood’s crowning achievements. The impeccable cast includes Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, S.Z. Sakall and Dooley Wilson.

Singin’ in the Rain (1952) – World Premiere of 60th Anniversary Restoration
Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly’s delightful musical about Hollywood’s transition to talkies features Kelly, Debbie Reynolds and Donald O’Connor, along with the scene-stealing Jean Hagen and the sensuous Cyd Charisse. This movie will be presented in celebration of the 100th anniversary of Gene Kelly’s birth.

The central theme of the 2012 festival will be Style in the Movies. From fashion to architecture to production design, the theme will touch on both the influence that movies have on popular styles and the impact that current trends have on the movies. As part of the festival’s multi-faceted celebration of style, TCM has added two films that epitomize the fashion and décor of the 1930s:

Swing Time (1936)
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, who defined style, grace and even humor for Depression-era audiences, dance their way through glorious art deco sets while singing such memorable Jerome Kern-Dorothy Fields songs as “A Fine Romance” and the Oscar-winning “The Way You Look Tonight” – plus Astaire’s show-stopping “Bojangles of Harlem” production number.

The Women (1939) – New Print
Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell and Paulette Godard lead an all-female case in George Cukor’s hilarious film version of the popular Clare Boothe Luce play. The Women is a treasure trove of Hollywood style, from its sleek art deco sets to its glamorous gowns (including a full-color fashion show in the middle of the movie).

Additional screenings, events and talent appearances for the 2012 TCM Classic Film Festival will be announced over the coming months.

About the 2012 TCM Classic Film Festival
Taking place Thursday, April 12 – Sunday, April 15, 2012, in Hollywood, the third-annual TCM Classic Film Festival is produced by TCM and sponsored by Vanity Fair, host of the exclusive, opening-night party. Since launching in spring 2010, the TCM Classic Film Festival has quickly established itself as a destination event for film lovers, drawing more than 25,000 attendees from around the country and around the globe in 2011.

The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, which has a longstanding role in movie history and was the site of the first Oscars® ceremony, will serve as the official hotel for the festival, as well as home to Club TCM, a central gathering point for passholders. Screenings and events will be held at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, Chinese 6 Theatres, the Egyptian Theatre and The Music Box Theatre.

Festival Passes
Passes for the TCM Classic Film Festival will be available at four price levels. The number of passes will be limited, especially for top-level “Spotlight” passes.

The “Matinee” Festival Pass: $299 – Includes access to all film programs starting prior to 6 p.m. (PT) at all festival venues Friday, April 13 – Sunday, April 15; admission to Club TCM events and panels at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel until 6 p.m. daily, Friday, April 13 – Sunday, April 15; and a commemorative festival program.

The “Classic” Festival Pass: $499 – Includes access to all film programs at festival venues Thursday, April 12 – Sunday, April 15 (does not include admittance to the opening-night red-carpet gala screening at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre or the Vanity Fair opening-night party); access to all Club TCM events, panels and poolside screenings at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel; an opening-night welcome reception at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel; Friday and Saturday evening passholder gatherings; the closing-night event; and a commemorative festival program.

The “Essential” Festival Pass: $599 – Includes all privileges available to “Classic” passholders, plus entry to the opening-night red-carpet gala screening of Cabaret (1972) at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre and official TCM Classic Film Festival collectibles.

The “Spotlight” Festival Pass: $1,199 – Includes all privileges available to “Classic” and “Essential” passholders, plus entry to an exclusive Vanity Fair opening-night party following the red-carpet gala screening of Cabaret (1972) at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre; priority entry to all events; meet-and-greet events with TCM friends hosted by Robert Osborne; and an official TCM Classic Film Festival poster signed by Osborne

Additional information about the 2012 TCM Classic Film Festival is available online at http://www.tcm.com/festival.

About TCM
Turner Classic Movies is a Peabody Award winning network that presents great films, uncut and commercial free, from the largest film libraries in the world. Currently seen in more than 86 million homes, TCM features the insights of veteran primetime host Robert Osborne and weekend daytime host Ben Mankiewicz, plus interviews with a wide range of special guests. As the foremost authority in classic films, TCM offers critically acclaimed original documentaries and specials, along with regular programming events that include The Essentials, 31 Days of Oscar® and Summer Under the Stars. TCM also stages special events and screenings, such as the TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood and the TCM Classic Cruise; produces a wide range of media about classic film, including books and DVDs; and hosts a wealth of materials on its website, http://www.tcm.com. TCM is part of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company.