TCM starts 50 new channel idents

Turner Classic Movies (TCM), channel 137 on the DStv pay-TV platform, will launch an On Air Channel Refresh in Africa in November. The refresh involves a series of 50 new idents, which are based on iconic US movie locations.

An ident is a short visual image used between television programmes as a logo to locate the viewer to the channel. Simon Goodrick, Creative Director at Turner Broadcasting, said: “This captivating new on-air look is based on an original in-house concept that showcases TCM as an undisputed destination for iconic, contemporary, movie classics. The refresh captures the spirit of great American cinema.”

The idents were filmed this year in over 30 locations including New York, LA, Route 66, Monument Valley and Arizona.

In celebration of renowned director Martin Scorsese’s 70th birthday, TCM will also be screening two of his most iconic films: Casino and Cape Fear, on a special edition of TCM Select in November.

Martin Charles Scorsese is a film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. He is widely regarded across the world as one of the greatest directors of all time, and has received awards such as the AFI Life Achievement Award for his contributions to the cinema, an Academy Award, a Palme d’Or, a Grammy Award, Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs, and DGA Awards.

Casino and Cape Fear are just two of the films on which Scorsese and Robert De Niro collaborated during their respective distinguished careers, which saw them create a grand total of eight movies together since 1973.

Casino (1995) is a gripping crime drama which follows Sam “Ace” Rothstein, a Las Vegas casino owner who has it all, and will be screened on Saturday 17 November at 8pm WAT. Cape Fear (1991) stars Robert De Niro as Max Cady, a psychopathic ex-convict who takes revenge on the lawyer he thinks helped put him away, and will be screened on TCM Select at 8pm WAT on Sunday 18 November.