TCM Launches "Classic Film Union"

[Glenn Anders]

For those of us, like myself, who have not been keeping up with the activities of Turner Classic Movies, they have just fielded a beta version of "The TCM Classic Movie Union." The Union invites members to pick their favorite films from a library touted at over 150,000 features. One is encouraged to plunge in, select favorite movies and favorite film artists, make comments, join blogs or clubs, post videos and photos.

Of course, I was anxious to carry out "a little target practice" for Baesen, French and others here, and so I went right to the Favorite Movies. I was not terribly surprised to find Number One (so far) to be THE WIZARD OF OZ, and Number Two, CASABLANCA. I approved BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID and TO KILL A MOCKING BIRD (I guess) being Four and Five -- less so, EACH DAWN I DIE taking Number Six -- but DOUBLE INDEMNITY rounded out the first Seven.

But I bet you can't guess what is Number Three, way ahead of most of the first thousand.

Right?

Wrong!

CITIZEN KANE, it's true, IS the first film directed by Orson Welles listed, but it is way down near 60, somewhere behind THE THIRD MAN.

[THE STRANGER is the next Welles' film, down about 155. Larry French will be heartbroken to know that I had to fish, with some difficulty, FALSTAFF from where it has been thrown with FOUR other films of the same title, in order to give it a "First Fan."]

I've just spent a couple of hours becoming the "First Fan" of a surprising group of distinguished films, which means that many of them are a couple of thousand down on the list.

Now, true, it is only a popularity test, but my guess is that those tapped, or only coming across "The TCM Classic Film Union," are far ahead of the average filmgoer in terms of knowledge and understanding of film quality and history.

And people do seem to be flocking to the new Site by the dozens, maybe the hundreds. Wellesnetters better get on down, sign up, and exercise their good taste, so that more "sleepers" like Number Three on the list don't come dominate the First 100!

The Site does seem a bit . . . I guess "wonky" is the term -- but it does also appear to be quite responsive, with film titles sometimes shifting in rank as one works on the list. [Just making a final check, I notice that DOUBLE INDEMNITY has climbed back into Fifth Place, and photos of Welles have been added within the last twenty minutes.]

Here's the URL:

http://fan.tcm.com/service/searchEveryt ... s=filmpage

Good Hunting!

Glenn

[Roger Ryan]

I joined up, but it's an odd site. Checking out the "stars" of CITIZEN KANE reveals page after page of anyone who had anything to do with the movie (and possibly a few that didn't have anything to do with it); they appear, not in order of importance or in alphabetical order, but according to how many times "Union" members have clicked on their profile! I was curious who John Dilson was and my clicking on his profile moved him near the top of the cast list! Note that assistant editor Mark Robson is listed as a "star" along with uncredited screenwriter/script editor John Houseman. This doesn't seem practical at all.

All the same, I gave KANE a boost and will do so for other favorites as time permits. Thanks for the heads-up Glenn!

[Glenn Anders]

Yes, Roger, I agree. That's why I called the beta -- about a month old, I think -- "wonky." I hope that's the right term.

The techies seem to be struggling with bugs, trolls, and a greatly increased volume of interested members.

Nearly one whole 2,000 item section, I found out last night, has been filled up by trolls (I assume) with entries like "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (2008)" or "Porky Pig (2009)."

Still, a lot of the site works perfectly, such as the ability to add audio or video material for a movie or star you admire.

TCM is a powerful outfit, and they will be able to work the problems out. At least, I hope so!

Perhaps, once it's really up and running, we might form an auxiliary Wellesnet group over there.

Time will tell.

Meanwhile, thank you, as always, for your interest, expertise, and efforts, Roger.

And thanks to any others who have plunged in.

Your experience would be interesting to more cautious members, I should think.

Glenn

[Glenn Anders]

I don't intend to bore everyone with continued minutia about the Turner Classic Film Union, but just to update -- one more time -- the site continues to gather members at about 30-odd a day, cracking 1,000 sometime last night. Several Wellesnetters, besides Roger Ryan, have become my "friends" there, letting me know that they read my initial thread.

Working from the earliest adopters forward through those first thousand members, when I have time, I only succeeded reaching my own membership yesterday. I still have nearly 400 to go, and I assume that most of the Wellesnetters who have come over to the site, including Toddy and Mr. French, are still ahead of me.

I am happy to report that, due to our efforts in part, I hope, CITIZEN KANE has moved up over thirty places to about #35, and that LADY FROM SHANGHAI and THE STRANGER continue to make good showings in the first 500, along with MR. ARKADIN and F FOR FAKE (which I added for the first time), down the list away. In the last fIve days, OTHELLO has joined the new shooting star, FALSTAFF, in the Shakespeare category.

The last 200 movies in the list tend to be highly active. Some are there for a day, and then sink back into oblivion. I was pleased to see THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND in the 900's for a day or so, but I guess not enough of us were amused by its appearance to give it some support. Just as well, perhaps.

Anyway, that's my report.

It's up to you now.

Go to it -- if you have not, already!

Glenn

[Glenn Anders]

Though I promised not to, let me report that TCFU, now over 2,300 members strong, has dropped back the rank of most Welles films after a rise in the last two weeks. Several Welles' titles have been added to its Top 1000, however; of those, such as FALSTAFF, F FOR FAKE, THE TRIAL, and most surprisingly, THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND, seem to be settling in. The order is as follows: CITIZEN KANE (#36), THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI (#159), THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS (#174), TOUCH OF EVIL (#189), THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND (#323), THE STRANGER (#532), FALSTAFF (#622), F FOR FAKE (#723), JOURNEY INTO FEAR (#733), MR. ARKADIN (#933), and THE TRIAL (#940).

As a footnote, Salon's Andrew O'Herir presents today a new list of top films gleaned by Iain Stott of the One-Line Review from the judgments of 187 filmmakers and critics. Only two Welles films are represented, but as you can see, the expected one comes in first -- and something of a debut takes the #29 spot:

1. Citizen Kane (1941) Orson Welles
2. Vertigo (1958) Alfred Hitchcock
3. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) Stanley Kubrick
4. The Godfather (1972) Francis Ford Coppola
5. Casablanca (1942) Michael Curtiz
6. The Third Man (1949) Carol Reed
7. Taxi Driver (1976) Martin Scorsese
8. Seven Samurai (1954) Akira Kurosawa
9. Psycho (1960) Alfred Hitchcock
10. Dr. Strangelove, Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) Stanley Kubrick
11. The Godfather: Part II (1974) Francis Ford Coppola
12. The Searchers (1956) John Ford
13. Rear Window (1954) Alfred Hitchcock
14. Singin' in the Rain (1952) Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly
15. Persona (1966) Ingmar Bergman
16. Chinatown (1974) Roman Polanski
17. Sunset Boulevard (1950) Billy Wilder
18. Sunrise (1927) F.W. Murnau
19. Tokyo Story (1953) Yasujiro Ozu
20. Pulp Fiction (1994) Quentin Tarantino
21. La Règle du Jeu (1939) Jean Renoir
22. 8½ (1963) Federico Fellini
23. Lawrence of Arabia (1962) David Lean
24. The Night of the Hunter (1955) Charles Laughton
25. Apocalypse Now (1979) Francis Ford Coppola
26. City Lights (1931) Charles Chaplin
27. Bicycle Thieves (1948) Vittorio De Sica
28. Annie Hall (1977) Woody Allen
29. Touch of Evil (1958) Orson Welles
30. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) Carl Theodor Dreyer
31. Blade Runner (1982) Ridley Scott
32. M (1931) Fritz Lang
33. The General (1927) Clyde Bruckman & Buster Keaton
34. Some Like It Hot (1959) Billy Wilder
35. Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) Sergio Leone
36. The Four Hundred Blows (1959) François Truffaut
37. Duck Soup (1933) Leo McCarey
38. Double Indemnity (1944) Billy Wilder
39. Raging Bull (1980) Martin Scorsese
40. All About Eve (1950) Joseph L. Mankiewicz
41. A Clockwork Orange (1971) Stanley Kubrick
42. The Apartment (1960) Billy Wilder
43. La Grande Illusion (1937) Jean Renoir
44. Ikiru (1952) Akira Kurosawa
45. It's a Wonderful Life (1946) Frank Capra
46. Rashomon (1950) Akira Kurosawa
47. The Wizard of Oz (1939) Victor Fleming
48. Do the Right Thing (1989) Spike Lee
49. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966) Sergio Leone
50. L'Avventura (1960) Michelangelo Antonioni

Glenn