Classic movie fans take notice. Alan J. Pakula’s Oscar-winning 1976 hallmark All the President’s Men has been slated to open the upcoming TCM Classic Film Festival. The film festival- which this year will be celebrating its seventh year- is hosted by Turner Classic Movies and showcases classic cinema on the big screen in some of Hollywood’s most cherished palaces including the TCL Chinese Theater (formerly Grauman’s Chinese Theater), the Egyptian Theater and the Cinerama Dome. The Hollywood Reporter broke the news.
The selection of All the President’s Men– a biographical drama that followed the influential Watergate investigation by journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein (portrayed by Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman)- is certainly a timely one. Not only is the film celebrating its fortieth anniversary this but the upcoming screening follows the recent Best Picture win of Spotlight, a celebrated film made in the same vein of All the President’s Men. “It just felt timely and relevant,” stated TCM programmer Charlie Tabesh. “Additionally, we’ve opened with a musical every year since we launched. That wasn’t ever our intention, it just worked out that way. So I’m happy to just change the tone a bit.”
The TCM Classic Film Festival showcases older and modern film classics as well as buried treasures and offers an opportunity for these films to be seen where they belong: the big screen. Other films included in the 2016 line-up include: Jean-Luc Godard’s Band of Outsiders, John Singleton’s Boyz N the Hood (this year celebrating its 25th anniversary), Children of a Lesser God (which won actress Marlee Matlin an Academy Award), John Huston’s Fat City, Robert Altman’s M*A*S*H* and The Russians Are Coming The Russians Are Coming. TCM will also provide the North American premiere of the 1960 film Holiday in Spain, presented in “Smell-O-Vision” at the Cinerama Dome.
The full line-up has yet to be announced. The 2016 TCM Classic Film Festival runs in Hollywood from April 28th-May 1st.