The end of April brought yet another long weekend of pure film celebration back to the bustling heart of Hollywood with the 4th annual TCM Classic Film Festival, a distillation of some of the greatest motion pictures produced for the big screen. With approximately eighty films screened between Thursday and Sunday, predictably the biggest challenge was charting out the best course of action for maximum viewing pleasure. The movies on display offer an embarrassment of riches, and with so many of the film’s creators present to speak on their work, a memorable cinematic experience is almost guaranteed. Hollywood royalty was on hand as well, when ageless Jane Fonda took to the fabled Grauman’s Chinese courtyard to cement her hand and footprints in history. True to her strong activist roots, Miss Fonda used the occasion to become the first ever to imprint the Peace sign in the fresh cement slab, which fittingly will be placed right next to her father Henry’s in this famous locale.
The festival got off to a roaring musical start with a 45th anniversary gala screening of Funny Girl, the film that launched Barbra Streisand’s career, winning her the Best Actress Oscar for her film debut. Although Streisand was unable to attend the restoration’s opening at the Chinese, substitute diva Cher sat down with respected TCM host Robert Osborne beforehand to help kick off the festival.