TCM WATCH: NEW MONTH — HAPPY BIRTHDAY MICHAEL POWELL

I don’t have a lot of time as I’m on my way out to Newport, RI for a wedding this weekend. Don’t you love weddings planned on holiday weekends? I sure as hell do. You know, people often say they schedule their weddings on a holiday weekend in order to be considerate of their guests, particularly the ones who have to travel. You know, because they have an extra day off and they don’t have to miss work. Of course, I’ve always been of the mind that if you care enough about the person getting married, you won’t mind taking a day off work if necessary to be there. Meanwhile, holiday weekends are the most annoying, crowded and expensive on which to travel, and personally I’d like to have my own say over how I use that free time off from work (uhm, when I’m regularly working). But you know, it’s the soon-to-be-married couple being considerate to their guests. Whatever. The fact is that my friends are important enough to me that I will give up my holiday weekend to be at their wedding. That’s tougher than taking a day off of work in my mind.

But I digress because I am not here to criticize the several holiday weekend weddings I’ve had to go to over the past few years — and in fact, I almost had two this weekend: my now ex-girlfriend and I were going to have to attend a Saturday night wedding in Albany and then drive either late-night or early the next morning to make this 11:30 AM wedding in Newport. Obviously, Albany is her friend.

And I digress again. It’s something I do. But really, this whole post is supposed to be about TCM and just a quick notice to you all about one of the most important programmed series they’ve ever aired, namely a nine-film tribute to the genius of British filmmaker Michael Powell in celebration of what would have been his 100th birthday on Sept. 30. TCM will screen Powell’s films every Sunday night through the month, starting this weekend with two of his earlier films, The Edge of the World and The Thief of Baghdad as well as his 1978 follow-up to the former, Return to the Edge of the World.

Powell, who died 15 years ago, is one of the most important, yet often overlooked, filmmakers in history. The rest of the month includes other notable Powell classics, but the most interesting night that nobody should miss would have to be on Sunday Sept. 25 when they’ll show the absolutely brilliant The Red Shoes (of which I have written on more than one occasion — it’s one of my all-time favorites) paired with his spooky, psychologically disturbing yet utterly compelling Peeping Tom, which was so resoundly despised in England upon its release that it basically destroyed his career. The film is a fascinating character study, though, and Powell’s mastery of cinematic techniques truly brings the audience right into the mind of the main character who is, in case you haven’t guessed, a bit of a peeping tom.

There’s a ton of great stuff on TCM this month, actually, and I’ll try to preview some of it — such as 21 Greta Garbo movies including a brand-new TCM Original documentary about the woman who was one of early cinema’s greatest stars, if not the top of them all. But that doesn’t start until way off on Tuesday. For now, focus on Powell — he’s Sundays, and he’s worth it.