Restored FUNNY GIRL to Open TCM Film Festival, 4/25

Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will open the 2013 edition of the TCM Classic Film Festival with the world premiere of a brand new restoration of the musical classic Funny Girl (1968). TCM's own Robert Osborne, who serves as official host for the festival, will introduce Funny Girl to kick off the four-day, star-studded event taking place Thursday, April 25 - Sunday, April 28, 2013, in Hollywood. In addition to Funny Girl, the TCM Classic Film Festival will feature world premiere restorations of The General (1926), Giant (1956) and The Great Escape (1962), with many additional titles to be announced later.

Passes for the 2013 TCM Classic Film Festival are set to go on sale to the public Thursday, Nov. 15, at noon (ET). Passes can be purchased exclusively through the official festival website: www.tcm.com/festival.

Also announced today, Vanity Fair will serve as official partner for the TCM Classic Film Festival for the fourth consecutive year. Vanity Fair will co-present the after-party following the gala opening-night screening of Funny Girl.

Restored in 4K from the original camera negative by Sony Pictures Colorworks in celebration of its 45th anniversary, Funny Girl stars Barbra Streisand in her Oscar®-winning performance as Ziegfeld Follies comedienne Fanny Brice. Omar Sharif co-stars as high-rolling entrepreneur Nicky Arnstein, with Hollywood veteran William Wyler in the director's chair. Adapted from the popular Broadway musical that earned Streisand a Tony nomination, Funny Girl features a score by Jule Styne and Bob Merrill. Among the many memorable songs featured are "People" and "Don't Rain on My Parade," both of which became signature Streisand hits.

Among the first films slated for the 2013 TCM Classic Film Festival are three perennial favorites to be screened for the first time ever in restored editions:

The General (1926) - World Premiere Restoration
Buster Keaton's timeless Civil War comedy returns in a newly restored edition presented with a live score written and performed by the Alloy Orchestra. For this restoration, The General was scanned from the original nitrate camera negative and restored through the collaborative efforts of the Cohen Film Collective, the Library of Congress Packard Campus for Audio-Visual Conservation and TCM.