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Honorary Oscar winner Cicely Tyson passed today at the age of 96. During a career that spanned seven decades, Tyson appeared in dozens of films, TV series, telefilms and on Broadway, winning a Tony Award for The Trip to Bountiful in 2013. She might be best known to younger audiences for her role in the hit ABC drama How to Get Away with Murder, on which she recurred as Ophelia Harkness, mother of lead character Annalise Harkness (Viola Davis).

Tyson made her silver-screen debut in 1957’s Carib Gold and went on to appear in such films as The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (1967), George Cukor’s The Blue Bird (1976) — which also featured Elizabeth Taylor, Jane Fonda and Ava Gardner — A Hero Ain’t Nothin’ But a Sandwich (1978) and 1981 Richard Pryor comedy Bustin’ Loose, Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), Tyler Perry’s Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2005) and Madea’s Family Reunion (2006) and Best Picture...

By Lai Kun-Yu

“Missing Johnny” is a story that records young people in Taipei. Filled with energy and power, this film expresses different faces of Taipei with the soul of the Taiwanese New Wave. It is an unforgettable work in this year Taipei Film Festival.

The story is about three young people who live in the same building, in different apartments. Lee is the landlady’s son who is autistic. Feng is a worker who helps the landlady to maintain her house. As for Hsu Zi Qi, she is a girl from Hong Kong who loves birds. These three main characters live their own lives and have their own troubles. Hsu Zi Qi is confused about the future between her and her boyfriend. Feng is involved in an embarrassing family argument. Lee tries to find himself in this complicated world. Their own individual storylines sometimes connect, making the film very interesting.

Los Angeles, Calif. (October 2, 2015) – In 1915 William Fox founded Fox Film Corporation and forever changed the course of cinema. Over the next century the studio would develop some of the most innovative and ground-breaking advancements in the history of cinema; the introduction of Movietone, the implementation of color in partnership with Eastman Kodak, the development of the wide format in 70mm and many more. Now in honor of the 100th anniversary of the studio, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment will celebrate by releasing some of their most iconic films that represent a decade of innovation.

Starting today, five classic films from the studio will be made available digitally for the first time ever – Sunrise (1927), Drums Along the Mohawk (1939), Man Hunt (1941), How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) and The Flight of the Phoenix (1965). Throughout the rest of the year a total of 100 digital releases will follow from Fox’s extensive catalog, including 10 films...

Hedy Lamarr: 'Invention' and inventor on Turner Classic Movies (photo: Hedy Lamarr publicity shot ca. early '40s) Two Hedy Lamarr movies released during her heyday in the early '40s — Victor Fleming's Tortilla Flat (1942), co-starring Spencer Tracy and John Garfield, and King Vidor's H.M. Pulham, Esq. (1941), co-starring Robert Young and Ruth Hussey — will be broadcast on Turner Classic Movies on Wednesday, November 12, 2014, at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. Pt, respectively. Best known as a glamorous Hollywood star (Ziegfeld Girl, White Cargo, Samson and Delilah), the Viennese-born Lamarr (née Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler), who would have turned 100 on November 9, was also an inventor: she co-developed and patented with composer George Antheil the concept of frequency hopping, currently known as spread-spectrum communications (or "spread-spectrum broadcasting"), which ultimately led to the evolution of wireless technology. (More on the George Antheil and Hedy Lamarr invention further below.) Somewhat ironically,...

Review by Sam Moffitt

I never was a fan of Shirley Temple, far from it. I do recall seeing most of her movies years ago. Back in the Sixties Channel 11, in St. Louis, used to have a Shirley Temple Theater on weekend afternoons. My sister Judy, for some reason, had to watch those Shirley Temple films. So I can recall seeing Bright Eyes, the Little Colonel, Heidi, Little Miss Marker and what have you.

To say I was not impressed would be a major understatement. Even as a young kid I realized there was a strict formula to Shirley’s movies, namely her sunny disposition and optimistic outlook would win over cranky old adults and straighten out bratty little kids, who were usually the villains, in her films, and that was about all.

I do recognize and respect Shirley Temple’s place in film history. She was the biggest star...

Cherubic child star of the 1930s who returned to public life as a Us diplomat

From 1934 to 1938, when she was at the height of her fame, Shirley Temple (later known as Shirley Temple Black), who has died aged 85, appeared in films as a bright-eyed, curly-topped, dimpled cherub, whose chirpy singing and toddler's tap dancing were perfect antidotes to the depression. "During this depression, when the spirit of the people is lower than at any other time, it is a splendid thing that, for just 15 cents, an American can go to a movie and look at the smiling face of a baby and forget his troubles," Franklin D Roosevelt stated in 1935, referring to the world's biggest and littlest star.

Temple's message was "be optimistic", the title of the song she sang in Little Miss Broadway (1938). Her biggest hit songs were On the Good Ship Lollipop, from Bright Eyes (1934), which describes a...

Shirley Temple dead at 85: Was one of the biggest domestic box office draws of the ’30s (photo: Shirley Temple in the late ’40s) Shirley Temple, one of the biggest box office draws of the 1930s in the United States, died Monday night, February 10, 2014, at her home in Woodside, near San Francisco. The cause of death wasn’t made public. Shirley Temple (born in Santa Monica on April 23, 1928) was 85. Shirley Temple became a star in 1934, following the release of Paramount’s Alexander Hall-directed comedy-tearjerker Little Miss Marker, in which Temple had the title role as a little girl who, left in the care of bookies, almost loses her childlike ways before coming around to regenerate Adolphe Menjou and his gang. That same year, Temple became a Fox contract player, and is credited with saving the studio — 20th Century Fox from 1935 on — from bankruptcy. Whether or not that’s true is a different story,...

Shirley Temple, the dimpled, curly-haired child star who sang, danced, sobbed and grinned her way into the hearts of Depression-era moviegoers, has died, according to publicist Cheryl Kagan. She was 85. Temple, known in private life as Shirley Temple Black, died at her home near San Francisco. A talented and ultra-adorable entertainer, Shirley Temple was America's top box-office draw from 1935 to 1938, a record no other child star has come near. She beat out such grown-ups as Clark Gable, Bing Crosby, Robert Taylor, Gary Cooper and Joan Crawford. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranking of the top 50 screen legends ranked Temple at No.

Martha Mendoza, Associated Press

San Francisco (AP) - Shirley Temple, the dimpled, curly-haired child star who sang, danced, sobbed and grinned her way into the hearts of Depression-era moviegoers, has died. She was 85.

Temple, known in private life as Shirley Temple Black, died Monday night at her home near San Francisco. She was surrounded by family members and caregivers, publicist Cheryl Kagan said.

"We salute her for a life of remarkable achievements as an actor, as a diplomat, and most importantly as our beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and adored wife for fifty-five years of the late and much missed Charles Alden Black," a family statement said. The family would not disclose Temple's cause of death.

A talented and ultra-adorable entertainer, Shirley Temple was America's top box-office draw from 1935 to 1938, a record no other child star has come near. She beat out such grown-ups as Clark Gable, Bing Crosby, Robert Taylor,...

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment is letting you decide what classic films they will release on Blu-ray for the first time.

That’s right, your vote counts. Fans vote for their favorite classic titles through the “Voice Your Choice” campaign.

Click Here To Vote

Here is an portion the news release:

Los Angeles (January 15, 2013) – Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment announced today its partnership with the ultimate film discussion website, Home Theater Forum, for a one-of-a-kind campaign, Voice Your Choice, allowing film enthusiasts to decide which classic films they would like to see digitally restored and transferred to Blu-ray for the very first time. The program celebrates Fox’s most notable films from the 1930’s thru the 1960’s featuring performances by famous actors such as Henry Fonda, Shirley Temple, Paul Newman, Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, John Wayne and more. Throughout the campaign, fans will also have the opportunity to write in and submit additional titles.

Fear and Desire, the 1953 debut film of a young Look magazine photographer named Stanley Kubrick, will have its world television premiere on Turner Classics Movies on Dec. 14 at 8 p.m. Starring Frank Silvera, Paul Mazursky, and Kenneth Harp, Fear and Desire is an existential anti-war drama about a lost platoon whose journey to safety is complicated by an encounter with a mysterious woman.

Kubrick, who shot the film quickly with a crew of about 15 people, was never especially proud of his maiden effort, calling it a “a bumbling amateur film exercise.” It quickly disappeared from theaters despite some critical accolades,...

South African-born child movie star viewed as a rival to Shirley Temple

From 1935 to 1938, Shirley Temple was the world's biggest and smallest movie star. During this period, Warner Bros launched their answer to Temple in the cute, dark-haired, wide-eyed, button-nosed Sybil Jason, who has died aged 83. Jason made six feature films and four Technicolor two-reelers for the studio over these years. Unfortunately, most of her films and roles shamelessly resembled those of Temple's at 20th Century-Fox, and never equalled them in popularity. However, according to Time magazine in 1936: "Among child actresses, Sybil Jason is to Shirley Temple as Jean Harlow is to Ann Harding – less wholesome but more refreshing."

She was born Sybil Jacobson in Cape Town, South Africa, where her father ran a shoe business. As her mother was in fragile health, the girl was brought up mainly by her older sister Anita, who nurtured her precocious talent,...

Former child star Sybil Jason has lost her battle with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The 1930s silver screen star passed away on Tuesday in Northridge, California, according to the Washington Post.

Jason was born Sylvia Jacobson in South Africa and performed on the British vaudeville stage before landing her big break in Hollywood.

Her film credits include 1935's The Singing Kid, in which she performed alongside Al Jolson, and Little Big Shot.

She appeared opposite fellow child star Shirley Temple in 1939's The Little Princess and The Blue Bird a year later.

Sybil Jason, Warner Bros.' answer to Shirley Temple, died Tuesday, August 23, according to film researcher and author Scott O'Brien. She was 83. Born Sybil Jacobson on November 23, 1927, in Cape Town, South Africa, while still a small child she moved to Britain with her parents. Thanks to her uncle Harry Jacobson, reportedly a London orchestra leader and pianist to highly popular entertainer Gracie Fields, by the age of five Sybil was appearing in London nightclubs, where she sang, danced, and mimicked Maurice Chevalier. In 1935, Sybil caught the eye of Irving Asher, the head of Warner Bros. London studio, who had spotted her in a supporting role in the British feature Barnacle Bill. Following a successful film test, she was brought to Hollywood, where the now renamed Sybil Jason was to become Warners' answer to 20th Century Fox's box-office goldmine Shirley Temple. Jason, however, failed to catch on despite working with some...

Cinema Retro has received the following press release from the Fox Movie Channel:

Los Angeles, December 20, 2010 – The critically acclaimed series Fox Legacy Hosted By Tom Rothman continues on Fox Movie Channel. Tom Rothman, Chairman and CEO of 20th Century Fox, offers a unique insider's perspective into how classic Fox films were made and the personalities who created them. Fox Legacy episodes explore milestone films in the cinematic history of 20th Century Fox and provide context for the corresponding movies that follow.

In “Fox Legacy: The Shirley Temple Story” Tom Rothman reveals how Shirley Temple became a box office sensation during the Great Depression with the guidance of 20th Century Fox studio chief Darryl Zanuck.

The episode premieres Saturday, December 25 throughout the day at 6:00am, 9:30am 1:00pm and 4:30pm Eastern.

“Fox Legacy: The Shirley Temple Story” is part of the Shirley Temple Holiday Marathon on December 25, 2010. In celebration of Christmas,...

The Japanese Film Festival is a once a year, 5 day event held in predominately Melbourne and Sydney, Australia (there are a few films scattered nation-wide), and is presented by the Japan Foundation.

It is currently in its 13th year of representing a dazzling diversity of themes that are unique to Japan; pop culture (Happy Family Plan), traditions (Summer Days with Coo), societal issues (The Homeless Student), period pieces (Cherry Tree in the Hills), bizarre humor (Detroit Metal City) and of course Samurai (Goemon) and Ninja (Kamui) lore.This year I have the immense pleasure of attending the festival (for the Melbourne screenings) for the first time, and plan on reviewing everything I see there, so stay posted for those around 3rd-8th December!

20 films will be showcased as well as a unique film-maker student short-film panel (Sydney only), and have been hand-picked by the foundation due to their popularity in Japan and award winning attributes.