TCM Expands Partnership with The Film Foundation
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will be expanding their partnership with The Film Foundation with a multi-year financial commitment to fund education and restoration of classic movies. As part of this partnership the world premiere of the newly restored George Stevens production GIANT from Warner Bros. will be featured at the TCM Classic Film Festival. Prior to the screening at the TCL Chinese Theatre, TCM host Ben Mankiewicz will host a conversation with The Film Foundation board member Steven Spielberg, executive director Margaret Bodde, and George Stevens Jr.
“Working with The Film Foundation allows us to preserve these important films for future generations to experience across multiple platforms,” said Pola Changnon, general manager of TCM. “There is so much to learn from classic movies and we are honored to host the world premiere screening of the 4K restoration of GIANT.”
Since its founding by Martin Scorsese more than 30 years ago, The Film Foundation has restored more than 900 classic movies. Scorsese and fellow board member Spielberg hand-picked this title as one of the group’s latest restoration projects, working with the Warner Bros. archives team for a year to complete the process.
“Anything that presumes to call itself GIANT better have the goods to keep such a lofty promise,” said Steven Spielberg. “Both Edna Ferber and George Stevens far exceeded the title to bring such an epic American story to the big screen and I’m proud to have been a small part of the restoration team of this classic motion picture.”
George Stevens, Sr. won his second Oscar® for directing the sweeping family saga set in Texas during the days of the oil boom. GIANT stars Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson and James Dean. Based on Edna Ferber’s controversial novel, the movie’s release in 1956 was a massive box office hit and garnered 10 ACADEMY AWARD® nominations.
“I was with my father during the writing of the GIANT screenplay and he measured films by how they stood ‘the test of time’,” said George Stevens, Jr. “GIANT has more than met that test and he would be grateful that Steven, Marty, The Film Foundation and Warner Bros. have achieved this brilliant restoration, so a new generation can see GIANT on the big screen, streaming and Blu-ray.”
Considered by critics as ahead of its time, GIANT is admired today for the breadth of its humanity more than its epic scale with its grand themes of generational conflict, racial tolerance and social change. It exposed the marginalization and segregation of Mexican Americans for the first time on the big screen. At the center of the film, Elizabeth Taylor, as Leslie Benedict, portrays a strong and progressive woman who acts to stem the patterns of injustice.
The new 4K restoration was completed sourcing both the original camera negatives and protection RGB separation master positives for the best possible image, and color corrected in high dynamic range for the latest picture display technology. The audio was sourced primarily from a 1995 protection copy of the Original Magnetic Mono soundtrack. The picture and audio restoration was completed by Warner Bros. Post Production Creative Services: Motion Picture Imaging and Post Production Sound.
Festival passes, which include admission to GIANT, and the full schedule of all festival events can be found on tcm.com. Individual tickets will be sold as standby only at the event. This 4K restoration of GIANT will also be available on HBO Max later this year.
GIANT (1956)
Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson and James Dean star in a sweeping saga of jealousy, racism and the clash of cultures set in the vast Texas oilfields. Wealthy rancher Bick Benedict (Hudson) and dirt-poor cowboy Jett Rink (Dean) both woo Leslie Lynnton (Taylor) a beautiful young woman from Maryland who is new to Texas. She marries Benedict, but she is shocked by the racial bigotry of the White Texans against the local people of Mexican descent. Rink discovers oil on a small plot of land, and while he uses his vast, new wealth to buy all the land surrounding the Benedict ranch, the Benedict’s disagreement over prejudice fuels conflict that runs across generations.
About Turner Classic Movies (TCM)
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is a two-time Peabody Award-winning network that presents classic films, uncut and commercial-free, from the largest film libraries in the world highlighting “where then meets now.” TCM features the insights from Primetime host Ben Mankiewicz along with hosts Alicia Malone, Dave Karger, Jacqueline Stewart and Eddie Muller, plus interviews with a wide range of special guests and serves as the ultimate movie lover destination. With more than two decades as a leading authority in classic film, TCM offers critically acclaimed series like The Essentials, along with annual programming events like 31 Days of Oscar® and Summer Under the Stars. TCM also directly connects with movie fans through popular events such as the annual TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood, the TCM Big Screen Classics screening series, and the TCM Classic Cruise. In addition, TCM produces the wildly successful podcast “The Plot Thickens,” which has had more than 4 million downloads to date. TCM hosts a wealth of material online at tcm.com and through the Watch TCM mobile app. Fans can also enjoy a classic movie experience on the Classics Curated by TCM hub on HBO Max.
About The Film Foundation
The Film Foundation is a nonprofit organization created by Martin Scorsese in 1990 to protect and preserve motion picture history. By working in partnership with archives and studios, the foundation has helped to restore over 925 films, which are made accessible to the public through programming at festivals, museums, and educational institutions world-wide. The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project has restored 47 films from 27 countries to date, representing the rich diversity of cinema from around the globe. The foundation’s free educational curriculum, The Story of Movies, teaches young people – over 10 million to date – about film language and history.
