Saddle Up With SMC This December For A Month Of Old West Favorites Featuring Rarely Seen Spaghetti Western Classics And A 20-Film Cowboy Fest On Dec. 25 & 26

CULVER CITY, Calif., Dec. 9, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Wild West comes alive on Sony Movie Channel this December, as the network gathers up a posse of some of Hollywood's most classic Westerns, headlined by the "Christmas Westerns Marathon" on Thursday, December 25 at 6:40 a.m. ET, through Friday, December 26. The two-day, twenty-film event includes Sidney Poitier in BUCK AND THE PREACHER; Henry Fonda as an aging gunslinger in MY NAME IS NOBODY; James Stewart in THE MAN FROM LARAMIE; SILVERADO, starring Kevin Costner and Kevin Kline; all-star action epics THE QUICK AND THE DEAD, with Sharon Stone, Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio, and Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek in DESPERADO; Kiefer Sutherland and Darryl Hannah in the rodeo drama COWBOY UP; and Sally Field and James Garner in MURPHY'S ROMANCE; among others.

Also in December, SMC serves up "Spaghetti Sunday Dinner," an eight-course feast devoted to classic Spaghetti Westerns rarely seen on television, every Sunday at 7 p.m. ET. The month features a double-dose of Ringo, as the famed gunfighter goes undercover in A PISTOL FOR RINGO and THE RETURN OF RINGO (December 7); Franco Nero saves a town from a psychopath in Lucio Fulci's MASSACRE TIME, and two gunmen are out for revenge in BANDIDOS (December 14); Leonard Mann is the FORGOTTEN PISTOLERO, and a crafty gunslinger searches for treasure in LIGHT THE FUSE… SARTANA IS COMING (December 21); and Lee Van Cleef teams with a martial arts master in a quest for BLOOD MONEY, and a bounty hunter discovers his past in Lucio Fulci's SILVER SADDLE (December 28).

Spend an evening with Oscar® winner Jack Nicholson in two of his most unforgettable roles, as part of the "Back To Back Jack" two-pack on Wednesday, December 17, at 8 p.m. ET. The night begins with Nicholson as an ACLU lawyer who joins Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda's psychedelic odyssey in the 1969 masterpiece EASY RIDER. Then, Nicholson and Otis Young take teen sailor Randy Quaid on the road trip of a lifetime, one week before he begins an eight-year naval prison sentence in THE LAST DETAIL.

And SMC celebrates one of cinema's most beloved leading men on Friday, December 19, at 7:40 p.m. ET, with the "Brad Pitt Birthday" block, featuring two career-defining films. Pitt's quest to climb India's Nanga Parbat mountain becomes a journey of enlightenment, as he befriends a young Dalai Lama and embraces Buddhism in SEVEN YEARS IN TIBET. Then, Pitt and Craig Sheffer shine as polar-opposite brothers bound by a love of fly-fishing in Robert Redford's Oscar®-winning drama A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT at 10 p.m. ET.

DECEMBER PROGRAMMING PRIME TIME HIGHLIGHTS  (All Times Eastern)

Mandays (movies guys like)

Monday, December 15 – WESLEY SNIPES ACTION HERO
10 p.m. & 1:25 a.m. – THE DETONATOR (2006)
11:45 p.m. & 3:05 a.m. – THE CONTRACTOR (2007)

Monday, December 22 – SUPERSTAR ASIAN CRIME
10 p.m. & 1:50 a.m. – FULL CONTACT (1992)
11:45 p.m. & 3:35 a.m. – JACKIE CHAN IN SHINJUKU INCIDENT (2010)

Monday, December 29 – SCI-FI SWORDPLAY
10 p.m. & 1:45 a.m. – KRULL (1983)
12:10 a.m. & 3:50 a.m. – YOR, THE HUNTER FROM THE FUTURE (1983)

Take Two Tuesdays (two movies – one theme)

Tuesday, December 9 – RURAL DRAMAS
8:20 p.m. & 11:50 p.m. – ALL HAT (2007)
10 p.m. & 1:25 a.m. – MURPHY'S ROMANCE (1985)

Tuesday, December 16 – SAM JACKSON THRILLS
10 p.m. & 1:20 a.m. – CLEANER (2008)
11:35 p.m. & 2:50 a.m. – ARENA (2011)

Tuesday, December 23 – FILMS OF ROBERT BENTON
10 p.m. & 1:20 a.m. – KRAMER VS. KRAMER (1979)
11:50 p.m. & 3:10 a.m. – NADINE (1987)

Tuesday, December 30 – POLICE MYSTERIES
10 p.m. & 1:10 a.m. – THE RIVER MURDERS (2011)
11:40 p.m. & 2:50 a.m. – S.I.S. (2008)

The Recline (classics)

Wednesday, December 10 – COWBOY VENGEANCE
8 p.m. & 11:40 p.m. – THE MAN FROM LARAMIE (1955)
9:50 p.m. & 1:30 a.m. – RIDE BEYOND VENGEANCE (1966)

Wednesday, December 17 – BACK TO BACK JACK
8 p.m. & 11:35 p.m. – EASY RIDER (1969)
9:45 p.m. & 1:20 a.m. – THE LAST DETAIL (1973)

Wednesday, December 24 – CHRISTMAS EVE: BIBLICAL STORIES
8 p.m. & 1:20 a.m. – THE STORY OF JACOB AND JOSEPH (1974)
10 p.m. & 3:15 a.m. – THE STORY OF DAVID (1976)

Wednesday, December 31 – NEW YEAR'S EVE: VICE ACADEMY
8 p.m. & 12:50 a.m. – VICE ACADEMY (1989)
9:35 p.m. & 2:25 a.m. – VICE ACADEMY 2 (1990)
11:15 p.m. & 4:05 a.m. – VICE ACADEMY 3 (1991)

Killer Thursdays (horror and suspense)

Thursday, December 11 – 80s CHILLERS
10 p.m. & 1:50 a.m. – CHRISTINE (1983)
12 a.m. & 3:50 a.m. – NIGHTWING (1979)

Thursday, December 18 – BLOODTHIRSTY VAMPIRES
10 p.m. & 1:50 a.m. – BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA (1992)
12:15 a.m. & 4:05 a.m. – BLOOD: THE LAST VAMPIRE (2009)

Friday Features (popular hits)

Friday, December 12 – POLITICS IN LATIN AMERICA
10 p.m. & 2:10 a.m. – THE RUM DIARY (2011)
12:10 a.m. & 4:20 a.m. – THE TAILOR OF PANAMA (2001)

Friday, December 19 – BRAD PITT BIRTHDAY
7:40 p.m. & 12:10 a.m. – SEVEN YEARS IN TIBET (1997)
10 p.m. & 2:30 a.m. – A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT (1992)

Friday, December 26 – STRANDED AND STEAMY
8:10 p.m. & 11:40 p.m. – THE BLUE LAGOON (1980)
10 p.m. & 1:35 a.m. – SWEPT AWAY (2002)

SPAGHETTI SUNDAY DINNER

Sunday, December 14
7 p.m. & 10:15 p.m. – MASSACRE TIME (1966)
8:40 p.m. & 11:55 p.m. – BANDIDOS (1967)

Sunday, December 21
7 p.m. & 10:20 p.m. – FORGOTTEN PISTOLERO (1969)
8:35 p.m. & 11:55 p.m. – LIGHT THE FUSE… SARTANA IS COMING (1970)

Sunday, December 28
7 p.m. & 10:35 p.m. – BLOOD MONEY (1976)
8:55 p.m. & 12:30 a.m. – SILVER SADDLE (1978)

CHRISTMAS WESTERN MARATHON

Thursday, December 25
6:40 a.m. – SILVER SADDLE (1978)
8:20 a.m. – BLOOD MONEY (1976)
10:15 a.m. – BUCK AND THE PREACHER (1972)
12:05 p.m. – MY NAME IS NOBODY (1973)
2:10 p.m. – RIDE BEYOND VENGEANCE (1966)
4:05 p.m. – THE MAN FROM LARAMIE (1955)
6 p.m. – THE BALLAD OF LUCY WHIPPLE (2001)
7:40 p.m. – SILVERADO (1985)
10 p.m. – THE QUICK AND THE DEAD (1995)
11:50 p.m. – DESPERADO (1995)

Friday, December 26
1:40 a.m. – YELLOW ROCK (2011)
3:15 a.m. – LIGHT THE FUSE… SARTANA IS COMING (1970)
5 a.m. – FORGOTTEN PISTOLERO (1969)
6:35 a.m. – BANDIDOS (1967)
8:10 a.m. – MASSACRE TIME (1966)
9:50 a.m. – A PISTOL FOR RINGO (1965)
11:35 a.m. – THE RETURN OF RINGO (1965)
1:20 p.m. – THE BALLAD OF LUCY WHIPPLE (2001)
2:55 p.m. – COWBOY UP (2002)
4:45 p.m. – ALL HAT (2007)
6:20 p.m. – MURPHY'S ROMANCE (1985)

For a complete schedule of films and times, visit www.Sonymoviechannel.com/schedule.
In addition to airing these films on the dates noted above, some of the movies mentioned are scheduled for further broadcasts throughout the month. (See listings for further details.)

About Sony Movie Channel
Sony Movie Channel is the first U.S. multi-platform television network from Sony Pictures Television created specifically for the Hollywood movie fan. Offering uncut, uncensored theatrical releases in stunning high definition, Sony Movie Channel showcases titles from Sony Pictures' vast library including award-winning features, cult favorites, family comedies and gripping dramas. Sony Movie Channel is available on DISH Network, DIRECTV, AT&T U-Verse, Verizon FiOS, CenturyLink and Suddenlink. For more information, visit SonyMovieChannel.com, Facebook and/or Twitter @SonyMovieCh.

SOURCE Sony Movie Channel