TCMFF Top 5 So Far

Today, TCM announced nine more films for the upcoming TCM Classic Film Festival (TCMFF), April 24-27, 2025. I figured that now would be a good time to do my top five picks. Actually, I started to do this post a couple weeks ago, before this last batch of films dropped. When I do a post like this I always say, because it is always true, it's unlikely that I will see more than one or two of these. By the time the full schedule drops and I have to choose between these five and three or four others at the same time, likely most will fall by the wayside, and probably a couple of my top five will end up opposite each other.

I do have four honorable mentions:

• Spirited Away - I love Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli, but if the film chosen was Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (the first Miyazaki film I ever was in the Anime room at Comic-Con) or My Neighbor Totoro (my second favorite Miyazaki film), this would be a different conversation.
• Talk of the Town - Really great Cary Grant movie and considering how the law is currently being twisted into a pretzel, seeing a 1940s take on the law would be refreshing.
• Ben Hur and/or Apocalypse Now - I'm lumping these two together these two together, because I'm making the assumption that the version they are showing is Redux, which at 202 minutes makes it almost as long as Ben Hur. With films this long, you end up having to choose between a epic-length film and two others, always a tough sell at TCMFF. 

So without any further ado, I give you my top five: 

5. Beau Geste - I haven't seen it, and I've never seen a movie with the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra. Also, it's been a while since I've seen a silent with live accompaniment. I can't say for sure that this one is going to happen, but I do hope it will fall into place.

4. The Divorcee - Norma Shearer is so good in this. This Pre-Code is so far ahead of its time, and I really do need to hear Norma Shearer say, "the echo of my misdeeds as I thundered up and down Broadway."

3. Mothra -  There are a bunch of really great SciFi/Fantasy films. I could have just as easily put in any of the following here: Earth vs. Flying Saucers, Superman, or The Time Machine. My guess is that one of these will happen depending on what is opposite when the final schedule drops.  

2. The Lady Eve - This is one of Preston Sturgis' finest, and unless they have a nitrate print (they don't mention on the website), I'm sure this will be showing at the Chinese IMAX. Seeing this film at the Chinese with 900 people in the audience has to be a treat. 

1. Jaws - What can I say about Jaws. It's the grandaddy of both action movies and blockbusters. I saw it on the big screen when it came out. I would've been 12 going on 13 when I saw it. It is so good. Even though, it's the type of movie that shows up in theaters in the summer, even in a town like San Diego, where we don't have a super good classic film scene. At this point, Jaws is the film I want to see more than any other.

See you all in April.