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Guillermo del Toro is not just one of our greatest living filmmakers. He is one of our greatest cinephiles, sharing his favorite movies all the time to introduce fans of his work to the larger film history context that inspired many of them. The “Pan’s Labyrinth” and “The Devil’s Backbone” filmmaker has previously made his TCM Picks as a filmmaker advisor to Turner Classic Movies. IndieWire praised his selection of Alfred Hitchcock’s “Suspicion” then, as a film by the Master of Suspense that feels oddly underrated today, despite being as masterful an exploration of subjectivity as anything in Hitchcock’s filmography.

For his March 2025 TCM Picks, del Toro returns to Hitchcock, and this time for a truly “canonical” selection from the Master, and gives some brilliant remarks about why it’s so everlasting — with even a shout-out to Hitchcock’s love of “overbearing mother figures.” It’s “North by Northwest.

The Searchers is considered to be one of the greatest Westerns of all time, and the iconic movie starring John Wayne as Ethan Edwards is set to receive a major upgrade. Warner Archive has meticulously restored and remastered The Searchers from its original VistaVision camera negative and will release the film on 4K Ultra HD on December 17th. Always grateful for another VistaVision transfer on 4K.

Directed by John Ford, the 1956 film stars Wayne as “an ex-Confederate soldier searching for his niece (Natalie Wood), captured by the Comanches who massacred his family. He won’t surrender to hunger, thirst, the elements or loneliness. And in his five-year search, he encounters something unexpected: his own humanity.”

The Searchers underwent an extensive restoration earlier this year and premiered at the 15th annual TCM Film Festival. The movie was “filmed using the 8-perf 35mm VistaVision process, where the negative went through the camera...

When someone makes the misguided assertion that John Wayne had no range or, worse, was actually a bad actor, you can be sure they've never seen "The Searchers," "Red River" or "True Grit." They most certainly haven't seen "She Wore a Red Ribbon," the conclusion to John Ford's "Cavalry Trilogy" which boasts what might very well be the finest performance of The Duke's career.

To be fair, Ford, Wayne's most trusted collaborator, wasn't entirely sold on Wayne's potential beyond his star power until he saw Howard Hawks' "Red River" in 1948. Upon seeing Hawks' Western, Ford reportedly exclaimed, "I didn't know the big son of a b**** could act." While it's worth noting that Ford had a penchant for razzing his frequent leading man, Wayne's portrayal of rancher Thomas Dunson is surprisingly shaded. Dunson is a hard, unyielding man at the outset, but an arduous cattle drive compounded by...

Michael Curtiz’s flashy and splashy wartime morale booster began as a pre-Pearl Harbor show of support of our Canadian friends’ contribution to the war effort. A vehicle for James Cagney, its script is a trifle about bush pilots competing for a woman and then showing The Right Stuff when it comes time to join up to fight. Cagney’s ‘bad boy’ act is always good, but what slays us now are the stunning Technicolor images filmed in and over the vast Canadian forest country with its endless crystal clear lakes. The aerial work in 3-Strip Technicolor is breathtaking, especially in this full new digital restoration.

Captains of the Clouds

Blu-ray

Warner Archive Collection

1942 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 113 min. / Available at Amazon.com / Street Date March 22, 2022 / 21.99

Starring: James Cagney, Dennis Morgan, Brenda Marshall, Alan Hale, George Tobias, Reginald Gardiner, Air Marshal W.A. Bishop, Reginald Denny, Russell Arms, Paul Cavanagh, Clem Bevans,...

Paul Greengrass’ western drama “New of the World” starring Tom Hanks and Helena Zengel is gaining traction during this pandemic awards season despite the fact that sagebrush sagas often get short shrift at the Oscars. Only three traditional Westerns — 1931’s “Cimarron,” 1990’s “Dances with Wolves” and 1992’s “Unforgiven” — and one contemporary Western (2007’s “No Country for Old Men”) have won the Best Picture Oscar.

Among the oaters to be nominated for the top prize at the Academy Awards: John Ford’s 1939 “Stagecoach,” William A. Wellman’s 1943 “The Ox-Bow Incident,” Fred Zinnemann’s 1952’s “High Noon” (Gary Cooper won the Oscar for Best Actor), George Stevens’ 1953 “Shane”; 1960’s “The Alamo;” 1962’s “How the West Was Won”; and George Roy Hill’s 1969’s “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.”

But some of the most acclaimed, treasure and influential Westerns have been all but ignored. Here’s a look at some of the...

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“Male Egos On A Boat”

By Raymond Benson

The extremely popular 1955 movie Mister Roberts began as a 1946 novel by Thomas Heggen. It was then a Broadway play written by Heggen and Joshua Logan, directed by Logan, and produced by Leland Hayward. Henry Fonda played the title role of Lieutenant Doug Roberts on Broadway and won a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performance. It then made sense for Fonda to reprise the role in the motion picture, which was also produced by Hayward and co-scripted by Logan and Frank S. Nugent. Sounds like a Hollywood no-brainer in the making, right?

The direction of the film is where things got dicey. John Ford was hired to direct, but according to Hollywood scuttlebutt accounts, Ford and James Cagney did not get along. Then, during filming Ford and his old friend Henry Fonda got into a fight.

It may be a little creaky, but Dr. Cyclops is a genuine classic of the imagination, from a time long before pulp fantasy dominated Hollywood filmmaking. For 1940 audiences this must have felt like a strange dream. Five humans are miniaturized and terrorized by Albert Dekker’s Dr. Thorkel, a card-carrying mad scientist. Held firm by a giant rubber hand, ‘Mr. Crabby’ Charles Halton keeps an unfortunate appointment with a horrifying fate. Who will survive, and how big will they be? Did Thorkel change his name to Soberin, move to California, and steal The Great Whatzit? Kino’s new HD transfer of this oddball gem is a wonderment — the Technicolor is outstanding, better than Paramount’s old nitrate studio print.

Dr. Cyclops

Blu-ray

Kino Lorber Kino Classics

1940 / Color / 1:37 Academy / 77 min. / Street Date January 7, 2019 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring: Albert Dekker, Thomas Coley, Janice Logan, Charles Halton, Victor Kilian, Frank Yaconelli,...

John Wayne! Janet Leigh! Nifty jet-age flying sequences! Goofy, bad-taste sex jokes! Hans Conreid as a chortling Russian army officer! Howard Hughes’ personal fun project took seven years to make while he played games with the aerial footage. It’s a highly-polished absurd joke, but it’s certainly entertaining. See Hughes try to do for Janet Leigh what he did for Jane Russell — I assume Ms. Leigh was too shrewd to sign any long-term contracts! This German disc has excellent widescreen image and audio.

Jet Pilot

Blu-ray

Explosive Media GmbH

1957 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 113 min. / Düsenjäger / Street Date June 14 2018, 2019 / 12.99 euros

Starring: John Wayne, Janet Leigh, Jay C. Flippen, Paul Fix, Richard Rober, Roland Winters, Hans Conried, Ivan Triesault, Hall Bartlett, Gregg Barton, Gene Evans, Paul Frees, Harry Lauter, Nelson Leigh, Denver Pyle, Gene Roth, Kenneth Tobey, Mamie Van Doren, Carleton Young.

Cinematography: Winton C. Hoch

Aerial Stunts: Chuck Yeager

Original Music:...

This past weekend, the American Society of Cinematographers awarded Greig Fraser for his contribution to Lion as last year’s greatest accomplishment in the field. Of course, his achievement was just a small sampling of the fantastic work from directors of photography, but it did give us a stronger hint at what may be the winner on Oscar night. Ahead of the ceremony, we have a new video compilation that honors all the past winners in the category at the Academy Awards

Created by Burger Fiction, it spans the stunning silent landmark Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans all the way up to the end of Emmanuel Lubezki‘s three-peat win for The Revenant. Aside from the advancements in color and aspect ration, it’s a thrill to see some of cinema’s most iconic shots side-by-side. However, the best way to experience the evolution of the craft is by...

John Ford puts a Technicolor sheen on Monument Valley in this second cavalry picture with John Wayne, who does some of his most professional acting work. Joanne Dru plays coy, while the real star is rodeo wizard Ben Johnson and the dazzling cinematography of Winton C. Hoch. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon Blu-ray Warner Archive Collection 1949 / Color / 1:37 flat Academy / 103 min. / Street Date June 7, 2016 / available through the WBshop / 21.99 Starring John Wayne, Joanne Dru, John Agar, Ben Johnson, Harry Carey Jr., Victor McLaglen, Mildred Natwick, George O'Brien, Chief John Big Tree. Cinematography Winton Hoch Art Direction James Basevi Film Editor Jack Murray Original Music Richard Hageman Written by Frank Nugent, Laurence Stallings from the stories War Party and The Big Hunt by James Warner Bellah Produced by Merian C. Cooper, John Ford Directed by John Ford

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

Have you never seen real 3-Strip Technicolor used for terrific outdoor photography?...

Cinematographer Emmanuel ("Chivo") Lubezki continued his remarkable roll Sunday night. After taking BAFTA honors for "The Revenant," he became the first Asc member to win five awards with the metaphysical wilderness adventure (surpassing the late Conrad Hall), and three consecutively. He previously won for "Birdman," "Gravity," "Tree of Life," and "Children of Men." Read More: "Inside the BAFTA Awards" Lubezki's now poised to become the first in his craft to do the consecutive Oscar hat-trick (he's currently tied with Leon Shamroy, Winton Hoch, and John Toll, who received the Asc's Lifetime Achievement Award). He thanked director Alejandro G. Iñárritu (who made history last weekend by snatching his second consecutive DGA award) for his passion and energy. Lubezki recently told me that making "The Revenant" changed his life and is the most immersive movie he's...

As we launch the Best Cinematography category in our Oscars predictions center, several people have a chance to make history at this year's ceremony. For instance, Emmanuel Lubezki has won the award for the last two years ("Gravity" in 2013, "Birdman" in 2014), and as the cinematographer for "The Revenant" this year he has a chance to go three-for-three, which would make him the first in Oscar history to win in three consecutive years. -Break- Experts' Oscar predictions update: 'Spotlight' pulls further ahead of 'Joy' with 'The Martian' rising fast As it stands, Lubezki is one of only four to have won back-to-back. The others were Leon Shamroy ("Wilson" in 1944, "Leave Her to Heaven" in 1945), Winton Hoch ("Joan of Arc" in 1948, "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" in 1949) and John Toll ("Legends of the Fall" in 1994, "Braveheart" in 1995). It...

Maureen O'Hara: Queen of Technicolor. Maureen O'Hara movies: TCM tribute Veteran actress and Honorary Oscar recipient Maureen O'Hara, who died at age 95 on Oct. 24, '15, in Boise, Idaho, will be remembered by Turner Classic Movies with a 24-hour film tribute on Friday, Nov. 20. At one point known as “The Queen of Technicolor” – alongside “Eastern” star Maria Montez – the red-headed O'Hara (born Maureen FitzSimons on Aug. 17, 1920, in Ranelagh, County Dublin) was featured in more than 50 movies from 1938 to 1971 – in addition to one brief 1991 comeback (Chris Columbus' Only the Lonely). Maureen O'Hara and John Wayne Setting any hint of modesty aside, Maureen O'Hara wrote in her 2004 autobiography (with John Nicoletti), 'Tis Herself, that “I was the only leading lady big enough and tough enough for John Wayne.” Wayne, for his part, once said (as quoted in 'Tis Herself): There's only one woman who has been my friend over the...

Burbank, Calif. May 19, 2015 – On June 2, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment (Wbhe) will release The John Wayne Westerns Film Collection – featuring five classic films on Blu-ray™ from the larger-than-life American hero – just in time for Father’s Day. The Collection features two new-to-Blu-ray titles, The Train Robbers and Cahill U.S. Marshal plus fan favorites Fort Apache, The Searchers and a long-awaited re-release of Rio Bravo. The pocketbook box set will sell for $54.96 Srp; individual films $14.98 Srp.

Born Marion Robert Morrison in Winterset, Iowa, John Wayne first worked in the film business as a laborer on the Fox lot during summer vacations from University of Southern California, which he attended on a football scholarship. He met and was befriended by John Ford, a young director who was beginning to make a name for himself in action films, comedies and dramas. It was Ford who recommended Wayne to director Raoul Walsh for the male lead in the 1930 epic Western,...

By winning the Best Cinematography Oscar for a second year in a row, "Birdman" director of photography Emmanuel Lubezki has joined a truly elite club whose ranks haven't been breached in nearly two decades. Only four other cinematographers have won the prize in two consecutive years. The last time it happened was in 1994 and 1995, when John Toll won for Edward Zwick's "Legends of the Fall" and Mel Gibson's "Braveheart" respectively. Before that you have to go all the way back to the late '40s, when Winton Hoch won in 1948 (Victor Fleming's "Joan of Arc" with Ingrid Bergman) and 1949 (John Ford's western "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon"). Both victories came in the color category, as the Academy awarded prizes separately for black-and-white and color photography from 1939 to 1956. Leon Shamroy also won back-to-back color cinematography Oscars, for Henry King's 1944 Woodrow Wilson biopic "Wilson" and John M. Stahl...

The American Society of Cinematographers (Asc) has awarded "Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)" top honors for cinematography. Emmanuel Lubezki also won the award last year, making him the first back-to-back recipient to date. This is his fourth Asc award after "Children of Men," "The Tree of Life" and "Gravity," all of them in the last eight years. At the upcoming 87th annual Academy Awards, Lubezki may well join a still exclusive club of individuals who have won the Best Cinematography Oscar in two consecutive years. Howard Greene, Leon Shamroy, Winton Hoch and John Toll did it previously. Check out the full list of Asc winners below, nominees here and the rest of the season's offerings at The Circuit. Theatrical Release "Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)" (Emmanuel Lubezki) Episode of a Regular Series "Boardwalk Empire" - "Golden Days for Boys and Girls" (Jonathan Freeman) Television Movie, Miniseries...