Paths of Glory, The Killing, Killer's Kiss and Fear and Desire are all back streaming free on YouTube. Fear, though, is not an official YouTube upload, and is letterboxed (it's the one of his own films that Kubrick often dismissed as inept). Barry Lyndon is also an offical YouTube streamer. Late to the news but evidently March has been Stanley Kubrick Month on The Tube.
Speaking of Kubrick... Kubrick by Kubrick (2020, Gregory Monro) IMDB 7.2 An exploration into the mind of Stanley Kubrick. Apparently, the movies are simply a departure point for looking deeper into the thoughts of director, himself. It might explain the low rating on Hoopla, where it's streaming free. Looking forward to a viewing, in any case.
I wish I could get Hoopla. The library where I live won't let you have a library card if you live outside the city limits (like me)--dumbest rule ever. Yes, let's keep our surrounding community stupid... They will let you get one if you pay monthly for it however. They do this as people in the country don't pay city taxes, however, in Texas you pay sales taxes whenever you buy something, and pay school taxes wherever you live or whether or not you have kids. Grrr! Does this need an introduction?
This sucks. Well, I’ll limit any Hoopla suggestions from here on out. Too bad. But $$ is the credo of the ole USA! Thanks.
Re: But $$ is the credo of the ole USA! It really is, but you don't have to limit your Hoopla suggestions, I may can find them elsewhere or just rent them on my Netflix or HBO account. So keep up with the suggestions and others may have that service. I watched Meteor last night and enjoyed it. It's a SF disaster film with cheesy effects, and storyline too perhaps, but the actors in it were pretty well know and did a good job.
Yes, I remember that I got a kick from Natalie Wood revisiting her Russian roots with her character and the later, fairly convincing underground scenes, especially.
The Manchurian Candidates Both versions (1962, 2004) are currently streaming on The Tube. Still about a week left before they're yanked. Always admired the ('62) Frankenheimer version but was not impressed with what Jonathan Demme did with the remake when I saw it in the cinema. Taking another look at some point this weekend.
Barfly (1987, Barbet Schroeder) Three days of poet, Charles Bukowski's life when he was 24 years old. His character is Henry, a young alcoholic writer, who falls in love with Wanda, also a barfly. One of my favorites; mostly because the two main characters actually attempt to live their lives with no illusions. Whether they're successful or not is another matter. It's often funny, too. Streaming on m4Uhd.tv, a site I normally wouldn't recommend without a good ad-blocker. But other than the ok.ru site, it's not streaming on any of other the major platforms. Interesting brief featurette on the making of Barfly above. The movie's better.
Scarlet Street (1945, Fritz Lang) A shady couple set up an older, frustrated, artist. One of Lang's best American efforts (and a personal fave). A good free version on the Tube above. The Criterion Channel currently has the best streamer, though.
more E.G. Robinson on YouTube Little Caesar (1931, Mervyn LeRoy) A small-time criminal moves to a big city to seek bigger fortune. Legendary. Put Robinson on he map (as they say). And I've never watched it til today. Watched Racketeer Rabbit about a thousand times since I was knee high, though! Robinson was one of the great character actors of the 20th Century and fun to watch in whatever he played. Nice copy on The Tube above.
One of the absolute classic 1970s wuxia (historical martial arts) films. There's so much amazing stuff here, inspiration for Street Fighter 2, Wu Tang Clan, Kill Bill, and more. An assassin of the Ching, who is blind and disguised as a Buddhist monk, vows to kill any and all one-armed men he comes across using the most awesome and hilarious weapon ever devised. Eventually, he makes his way to a martial arts tournament that has attracted fighters from all across Asia.
Gee, these ^^^ films are so good to watch at a drive-in, high on your favorite substance of choice and with fun company. Very different from the following type of thing which can probably be BEST watched alone - The Story of Film & The Story of Film: A New Generation (2012, 2022, Mark Cousins) The first is the infamous 15 part tv mini-series (originally broadcast on More4) attempting to document the evolution of the motion picture as mass entertainment. Haven't watched the latest installment released last year but both are streaming free on hoopla. Despite the breadth of its coverage many people have voiced frustration over Cousins' very hushed and rather monotone baratone narration. It can lull you to sleep if you're not especially attentive but every cinephile should watch the tv series at least once. Highly recommended. Cousins interviewed about the series -
Busloads of Film Noir movies to be found on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=film+noir&sp=EgIYAg%3D%3D
The Story of Film you can also access thru Tubi, which is free thru whatever streaming device you may have. I go thru a Roku. So thanks for the head's up Ando. Assault On Precinct 13--The title tells the story, which is about a small group of people — a police officer, a couple of prisoners and several civilians — who find themselves besieged in a precinct station on the edge of a desolate Los Angeles slum. What makes the film so effective is that the attackers seem to be as motiveless, and relentless, as the zombies who stalk through "Dawn of the Dead."If the movie is really about anything at all, it's about methods of urban warfare and defense. Mr. Carpenter is an extremely resourceful director whose ability to construct films entirely out of action and movement suggests that he may one day be a director to rank with Don Siegel. Carpenter also does the soundtrack. For me, it's a little corny and shows its age somewhat. It's still a suspenseful film, however, and worth a watch if you've not seen it. I watched it for the second time the other night.
Thanks, Morph. But, you know, I'm not crazy about either hoopla or tubi's versions. Might grab a copy from Amazon. Only $25. Worth it. With a series like this I want optimum picture quality or a lot of the thrill is gone. Assault's a classic. On tubi, too, btw.
MAKING APES: The Artists Who Changed Film (2019, William Conlin) The story of the makeup artists behind one of the most ground breaking and beloved science fiction franchise of all time, Planet of the Apes. Interesting overview on the history of the industry's makeup artists and the team on The Planet of the Apes, specifically. Free on The Tube.
Planet of the Apes 5 Film Collection The first five films in the franchise , the original (above), Beneath The Planet (1970), Escape (1971), Conquest (1972) and Battle (1973) are all currently streaming free again on YouTube for a few more days. Wish I'd caught them earlier as they're due to expire April 1st. All free on The Tube.
And another for the Sci-Fi minded. I saw this a couple of years ago recommended to me by a friend and it's pretty good although it's an older film (1951). It had some suspense, and I just liked the setting and such as well.
Threads. The best movie on nuclear war that I've ever seen. Highly recommended if you have any interest at all. Threads first aired on BBC2 on 23 September, 1984.
