This week’s pick is the 1969 Guy Hamilton (Goldfinger, Force 10 From Navarone) directed classic Battle of Britain, which depicts the valiant struggle of Great Britain’s Royal Air Force against the onslaught of the numerically superior German Luftwaffe during the summer of 1940. The film opens as France falls in May 1940, and the British and their allies avoid capture with the massive evacuation at the coastal city of Dunkirk. With time to regroup and strengthen their home defenses, the British lie and wait for Hitler’s forces to eventually invade England.

The film is told through a collection of fighter squadron groups (English and German) who are veterans in the skies over France and the low countries during early 1940. Like many films of the mid to late 1960’s, Battle of Britain has its fare share of brilliant English and German actors. Screen legend Sir Laurence Olivier leads the cast as Chief Air Marshal H.C. Dowding who helped to coordinate British forces to total victory in the battle.

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Fans of Fritz Lang’s 1927 silent masterpiece Metropolis will be delighted to hear that a new cut of the film will premiere tomorrow, February 12, at the Brandenburg Gate in Germany. Streaming video will be shown here at 11:40 am PST today.

The new cut includes nearly 30 minutes of restored, never-before-seen footage discovered in 2008 in Buenos Aires. Not long after the discovery, the BBC reported that representatives of the FW Murnau Foundation, rights holders to the film, confirmed that the recovered footage was indeed part of the original film, which was extensively cut for distribution following its premiere.

The excised scenes purportedly explore several characters in greater depth as well as introduce additional plot elements. In an interview last year with Deustche Welle, film restorer Anke Wilkening mentioned that the missing half-hour will “completely change the film as we know it.” Nevertheless several minutes are still missing.

Premiering in 1927, Metropolis was notable for being among the first films to combine contemporary politics issues with science fiction—in addition to creating an astonishing visual atmosphere heavily influenced by German expressionism and Art Deco. Wilkening, among others, cite its impact on latter-day films such as Blade Runner and its character of inventor CA Rotwang as an archetype of the 1930s-cinema’s mad scientist.

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While you’re already getting your big Academy Awards party ready in time for the telecast on March 7th, we’ve got something for even bigger movie fans to enjoy. Of course, we’re talking about a movie marathon!

All month long, Turner Classic Movies will be running over 360 Academy Award nominated and winning films, back to back, with an interesting twist. In the vain of the game “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon,” each film will have a common actor or actress from the previous film.

For example, tomorrow night’s schedule consists of The Graduate with Anne Bancroft and William Daniels, which goes into Reds which stars Daniels and Jack Nicholson, into Chinatown with Nicholson and John Huston. Though we’re already about two weeks into the marathon, there are still plenty of great films to look forward to, including some TCM firsts like Gladiator, Titanic, Alien, and Trading Places.

We’re also going to be helping you celebrate the upcoming 82nd Annual Academy Awards on March 7th with a great prize pack, so be sure to keep an eye on our Twitter for details on how to win.

In the meantime, check out the schedule for this weekend’s films on TCM, and be sure to download the full schedule in PDF format. If not, you could always watch them blind and try to figure out the common actor/actress. Have fun!

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Much like vampires, zombies are having quite the resurgence these days. Not that they ever really went anywhere, but it seems after the success of Zombieland (and video games like Left 4 Dead) everyone in Hollywood wants a piece of the zombie pie (which, while popular, probably wouldn’t taste very good).

Recently, AMC announced they were adapting Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead for the network with Frank Darabont in charge and now, not to be left out, MTV is apparently turning George Romero’s classic Dawn of the Dead into a TV series.  Yes, one more non-music program on a channel named Music Television.  Don’t worry, it’s doubtful they’ll make the zombies dance.  At least in that MTV will preserve the greatness that is Michael Jackson’s Thriller video.

So far MTV has not made any details about the project available:

“They haven’t given away much in terms of details surrounding the show, how it will link to the original film or even when it might hit the air. They have noted the show will feature a mix of the classic, slow moving zombies and the latest fad of turning the undead into Olympic sprinters. It’s good to see so much diversity on television.”

A television series based on zombies may seem unconventional, but one only has to look to shows like HBO’s True Blood to understand the supernatural appeal. Moreover, I can’t help but wonder if some, if not all, of MTV’s motivation is driven by Zombieland itself.  While made into a movie, Zombieland was originally pitched to CBS as a television series.  Coincidence? Perhaps not.

No matter how the project started, is anyone really going to complain about more zombies to watch?  I didn’t think so.

When you write a feature titled Western Wednesday, you’d think you could actually make the deadline, wouldn’t you?  But this is the Wild Wild West and there are a lot of dangers between my keyboard and Monument Valley. Sometimes you don’t make it — but I promise you by my imaginary spurs that I’ll return to my titular day next week.

Given my tardiness, I thought this week’s selection ought to be about the necessity of speed and keeping to a schedule.  As I have managed to go through my 20-odd years without having seen John Ford’s Stagecoach, what better pick could there be?

But even if you haven’t seen Stagecoach, you know it. At its center is a classic Western image — the howling Indians shooting at a racing stagecoach, exchanging shots with frantic passengers — and its plotline has been used a thousand times over. A motley group of people are thrown together, and eventually become fast friends because their lives could end at any moment. Through the lens of the eternally optimistic Ford it becomes a miniature version of the American promise, a magical West where even an outlaw and a prostitute can find redemption and a better life.

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While many of us were less than impressed with the first trailer for Clash of the Titans when it hit the web. It looked pretty, but mostly the line “TITANS WILL CLASH” left many people a little worried about how the studio would handle the Desmond Davis classic.

Recently, the Internets got their collective hands on the first posters from the film, showing off Sam Worthington taking down Medusa, riding Pegasus, and a cool new tri-fold poster. Warner Bros. immediately got wind and forced those on the web featuring the posters to take them down. Now it looks like the studio has “officially” released the images in high quality for our enjoyment, and they do look pretty cool.

Alongside Worthington as Perseus, the film stars Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Danny Huston (X-Men Origins: Wolverine), and Gemma Arterton (Quantum of Solace). Check out the full-sized posters after the jump for Clash of the Titans, hitting theaters everywhere on March 26th.

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This is only the second installment of Western Wednesday, and I believe I have already seen the messiest and strangest film that ever boasted a horse, a pistol, and a sunset: Mad Dog Morgan. It was a toss-up between Morgan and The Ox-Bow Incident, but I had a thirst for some Ozploitation, and Morgan is a pretty legendary piece of Australian filmmaking.

It also seemed like a good idea to expand the cinematic frontier early on in this feature, and visit a place that has a remarkably similar history. Americans tend to think that the myth of the Wild Wild West is theirs, and theirs alone – and it certainly is, but Australia enjoyed a settlement experience that was just as violent and lawless as our own. They just had kangaroos instead of buffalo, and convicts instead of hardy pioneers.

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I used to hate Westerns.  I live in the wide and rugged expanse of Colorado, grew up in the shadow of the Rockies, and see cowboy boots on a daily basis. Heck, I even did a volunteer stint at a western museum. I couldn’t stand watching films that were basically set in my own backyard, even if the days of gunslingers and posses were long gone.

Later, I finally came around. I can’t say when this shift happened — probably upon my first adult viewing of Lonesome Dove, or maybe even as recent as James Mangold’s remake of 3:10 to Yuma. But I suddenly found Westerns to be a lot of fun, and I’ve enjoyed going back and watching all John Wayne and John Ford offerings that I’ve missed due to my snobbery.

Because I’m the type of girl who overshares everything, I thought it would be fun to chronicle this obsession, and encourage others to ride along with me. Thus, Wednesday Westerns was born. Every Wednesday, I’m going to explore this dusty and acrid genre, finding the good, the bad, and the ugly examples along the way. I hope you’ll watch and discuss along with me — and I’m going to try and make as many selections from online streaming options to prevent you from putting off the ride.

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Hard to believe it has been over 2 years since Family Guy aired it’s first Star Wars special, “Blue Harvest.” And now, we’re less than a month away from the highly anticipated follow-up special, “Something Something Something Dark Side.” The specials were originally set to air consecutively each year, but due to the popularity of the first, FOX decided to milk this cow for all it was worth and delay the release until now.

Last we left our heroes, Chris had destroyed the Death Star with the help of Han, thwarting Stewie’s plan to take out the rebel alliance, all while Lois and Chris grew closer together, not knowing their true relationship. Strange how this plot seems familiar.

In the next special, we of course get a direct parody of The Empire Strikes Back, with Hoth, Jon Benjamin as Yoda, and even the evil chicken as Boba Fett. Check out the full trailer after the jump. Keep your eye on the DVD shelves, as Something Something Something Dark Side is set to hit stores on December 22nd.

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To celebrate its 85 year history of films and filmmakers, MGM has teemed with Warner Bros. to make it even easier to watch many of its classics without even having to head to your local video store or get the titles via a service such as Netflix. Instead, they will begin offering 100 of their classic films online for On Demand and Digital Download.

Some of these classic titles include The Wizard of OZ, Singin’ In The Rain, Gone With The Wind, and other favorites such as Poltergeist, North By Northwest, 2001: A Space Odyssey and more. If you’ve never seen these classic films this is yet another way to get a chance to experience them.

Many of these are essential viewing for anyone who wants to understand the magic and power of movies. Plus, its a great way to get some entertainment without having to do much except click your mouse a few times. Then, just sit back, relax and enjoy some great movies.

For more, check out all the info and the official site or visit the MGM 85 store on iTunes. Finally, be sure take a look at what the pros call a “sizzle reel” highlighting this event and the films after the jump.

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