More movies to watch at home: I’ve amped up my streaming recommendations as we shelter in place. And we start with a new film, The Whistlers.
ON VIDEO
In the absorbing crime thriller The Whistlers, a shady cop and a mysterious woman are walking a tightrope of treachery. The Whistlers, was a hit at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, but COVID-19 impaired its 2020 theatrical release in the US. You can stream it from Amazon, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.
My tribute to the San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM), which would have been underway but for COVID-19, is Rojo. Set just before Argentina’s bloody coup in the 1970s, this moody, atmospheric film works as a slow-burn thriller. Rojo made my list of 10 Overlooked Movies of 2019. Stream it from Amazon, iTunes and Vudu.
Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blache is a biodoc of a female cinema pioneer – one of the first directors, producers and studio heads – in both France and the US. You don’t know the whole story of the beginnings of cinema if you don’t know about Alice Guy. It’s currently free on WATCH TCM and can be streamed from Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play. You can watch Guy’s comic 1906 critique of male behavior, The Consequences of Feminism, on my blog post.
And is it too soon for Pandemic Noir? My post highlights Panic in the Streets and The Killer that Stalked New York. The Killer That Stalked New York has played on Turner Classic Movies; it’s not currently available to stream, but the DVD is available to purchase. The better movie, Panic in the Streets, plays frequently on Turner Classic Movies and can be streamed from iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.
Other recent streaming recommendations:
- The Wild Goose Lake
- Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project
- Buck
- A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
- Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
- Gone Girl
- The Commitments
- Short Term 12
ON TV
On April 11 and 12, Turner Classic Movies brings us Beyond a Reasonable Doubt, another film noir from the great Fritz Lang. Seeking to discredit capital punishment, a novelist (Dana Andrews) gets himself charged with and CONVICTED of a murder – but then the evidence of his innocence suddenly disappears! Crackerjack (and deeply noir) surprise ending. Film noir historian Eddie Muller will introduce the film.
REMEMBRANCE
Character actor Allen Garfield contributed to many fine films, especially in the 1970s heyday of American auteurs, including The Candidate, The Brink’s Job, Nashville and The Stunt Man. My favorite Garfield performance was as the sleazy Bernie in the 1974 masterpiece The Conversation.
