Netflix Renaissance
 

A few months ago, I fell into a deep movie depression. For some reason, streaming **** just wasn't doing it for me anymore. I don't know why, but just having a DVD, and putting it in a DVD player always completed the ritual for me. Before the collapse, I worked at Blockbuster for about 8 years, so renting movies was the center of my life for almost a decade (you can read more about that here).

Streaming for me is just too instantaneous; bordering on cinematic prostitution. I know that's like someone saying today that they wish the Polio vaccine was never created because they miss the 1950's; I'm not saying this makes sense, it's just how I feel.

Anyway, one day, it suddenly hit me: Netflix by mail. I feverishly looked up to see if this still existed. It does. I instantly singed up and added movies to my queue. Most of the stuff at the top is **** I've always wanted to see, but for some reason I never watched. I'm trying to get that out of the way before I move on to movies I want to revisit.

I've had it for a few months soo far, and here's what I received:

-The American Friend (1977)
-Street Trash (1987)
-In the Mouth of Madness (1994)
-Cronos (1993)
-Witchfinder General (1968)
-Capone (1975)
-Zero Charisma (2013)
-The Element of Crime (1984)
-Cube (1997)
-Love is Colder Than Death (1969)
-All Through the Night (1942)
-Shadow of the Vampire (2000)
-The Street With No Name (1948)
-Underworld U.S.A. (1961) (My favorite out of the bunch)
-Nosferatu: Phantom Der Nacht (1979)
-Night and the City (1950) ( A close second out of the bunch)

Here is the current top ten in my queue (which changes weekly)

1.) The Driver (1978) (Long Wait)
2.) Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950) (Long Wait)
3.) The Lineup (1958)
4.) Pickup on South Street (1953) (Already seen)
5.) Sympathy for the Underdog (1971)
6.) Odd Man Out (1947)
7.) The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964)
8.) Salvatore Guliano (1961)
9.) Stray Dog (1949)
10.)Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (2000)

The Driver and Where the Sidewalk Ends both have long waits, so I expect to get Eli Wallach FALCON KICKING some d00d in a wheel chair down the stairs in The Line Up next.

I plan to make this a continuous update, hoping this will be Viagra for conversation/debate.
Also, totally open for suggestions for additions to the queue.

Re: Netflix Renaissance
 

I keep hearing "In the Mouth of Madness" is Carpenter's most underrated work. I've tried watching it twice with no luck. Maybe 3 times is a charm?

Cool list, BTW!

I definitely think it's his most alienating work. Everyone I've talked to about it either loves it or hates it. I enjoyed it, but I don't think I'll be rushing to watch it again. I still need to watch Prince of Darkness (1987). Any thoughts on that?

Appreciate it! You have any recommendations?

Re: Netflix Renaissance
 

I'm not a fan of Netflix Instant which I think gets worse every year, but yeah their DVD-by-mail service is great. I used it for over 10 years, and my first foray into classic movies is thanks to them. I can still remember getting Rear Window and Casablanca in the mail, opened up a whole new world for me.

One thing I really miss about Netflix is the old "friend" system where you could chat with other members and there were percentage meters telling you how close your tastes in movies were. I got some really great recommendations that way, and it's a shame they shut it down. Oh well

"Prince of Darkness", absolutely. It's slow but very moody. Carpenter wrote it under a pen name, Martin Quatermass.

It's not a masterpiece, but it is sleek, looks great, music is killer!

Good, solid, slow moving Carpenter film.

And if you haven't seen it already, I'd recommend "Split" from 1989, directed by Chris Shaw. It's a trip and very funny, well made B picture that has tons of funny, strange details you could miss. It's absurd. Check it out if you can. :)

Re: Netflix Renaissance
 

I didn't even know they still offered that service. I have no problem streaming Netflix. I've amassed a pretty decent queue of stuff I wouldn't have found without the service. Most of the time I watch a movie it's from DVR, On Demand, Amazon Video, or Netflix. Oh, and bittorrent. ;)

Re: Netflix Renaissance
 

I used to swear by the Netflix mail service and never used streaming, but as they kept jacking the price up, I kept scaling down my plan... Now I'm down to one disk plan to cover anything not on streaming, and use streaming daily...

Plus it would have cost more to upgrade to blu-rays, and not everything is on blu-ray so odds are a lot of the time I'd still be getting dvd's even though I was paying for a blu-ray plan just to get the best copy where available.. and the streaming is 1080.. so the disk plans just got pointless.

Re: Netflix Renaissance
 

My problem with the streaming service is its lack of library. For me, you can't beat the selection that the by mail service opens up to you.

Because of a problem with the mail, it was timed that I received The Lineup (1958) and Pickup on South Street (1953) at the same time.

The Lineup is what I sort of expected it to be; sort of a warm up movie for Siegel's remake of The Killers (1964). Eli Wallach is great as the psychotic hitmen Dancer (But Richard Widmark is better at kicking people in wheelchairs).

Currently have: Pickup on South Street (1953)

Currently Top 10 in Queue:

1.) The Driver (1978) (Long Wait)
2.) Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950) (Long Wait)
3.) Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (2000)
4.) Murder by Contract (1958)
5.) Sympathy for the Underdog (1971)
6.) Odd Man Out (1947)
7.) The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964)
8.) Salvatore Guliano (1961)
9.) Stray Dog (1949)
10.) The Brothers Rico (1957)

Finished Pickup on South Street (1953), which is a solid Samuel Fuller noir. Second time seeing it, and I enjoyed it as much as the first.

I was debating on if I should change my queue, or leave it as is. I suddenly thought about how, aside from The Elephant Man (1980) and Rabbits (2002) (Which initially creeped me the **** out, but that uneasiness soon turned to boredom since it's 42 minutes), I don't really care for any of David Lynch's filmography.

Giving it more thought, I considered giving Blue Velvet (1986) and Mulholland Drive (2001) another shot. A friend of mind recommended that I give Lost Highway (1997) another chance as well.

Along with some usual shuffling, here's the current top ten in the queue.


1.) The Driver (1978) (Long Wait)
2.) Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950) (Long Wait)
3.) Blue Velvet (1986)
4.) Mulholland Drive (2001)
5.) Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (2000)
6.) Murder by Contract (1958)
7.) Odd Man Out (1947)
8.) Sympathy for the Underdog (1971)
9.) The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964)
10.) Salvatore Guliano (1961)

I've never looked at Palmolive dishwashing liquid the same after viewing "The Prince of Darkness".

True story - I was working at a nuclear plant and the mainframe went bugnuts one afternoon and started scrolling ascii code nonstop. Upon witnessing this phenomena, I said that if a large container of Palmolive dishwashing liquid rolled into the plant, I was outta there. The project manager high fived me.

Hilarious!...

Next time that happens, stare at the screen and mumble quietly.." that's ca ca"...then wait a few beats and repeat..."...ca ca...".

Re watched Blue Velvet (1986), which I definitely enjoyed more a second time around. Being close to a decade since my last viewing, my appreciation for the movie has certainly expanded.

Though, I still think this movie is a victim of hype for me; it's definitely a good one, but I wouldn't hail it as the masterpiece that its reputation boasts.

I put Lynch's stuff on the back burner for the moment.

I remember back in like 2011/2012, I caught the end of Bully on TV. Suddenly have the urge to watch the rest of it now.


Current Top 10:

1.)The Driver (1978) (Long Wait)
2.)Where the Sidewalk Ends(1950) (Long Wait)
3.)Bully(2001)
4.)Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (2000)
5.)Murder by Contract (1958)
6.)The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964)
7.)Salvatore Guliano (1961)
8.)The Brothers Rico (1957)
9.)Odd Man Out (1947)
10.)Sympathy for the Underdog (1971)

I got Bully (2001) in, but at this point I feel bad putting a movie made past 1955 in my queue, so THE NOIR KICK CONTINUES! THAT'S MY ONE ARM MAN! THAT'S MY SERIES ARC! 97 MORE YEARS OF NOIR!

1.) The Driver (1978) (Long Wait)
2.) Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950) (Long Wait)
3.) The Garment Jungle (1957) (Short Wait)
4.) The Killers (1946)
5.) Kiss of Death (1947)
6.) Force of Evil (1948)
7.) DOA (1950)
8.) Gun Crazy (1949)
9.) The Brothers Rico (1957)
10.) The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964)

Interesting perspective, and to each their own. I think Netflix should start a show about themselves and call it The Cinematic Prostitutes.

Cool that you found a workaround with Netflix DVD, which I still use too. I love physical media and still purchase blu-rays and DVD's. But the convenience of streaming is just fantastic in my opinion, I really love it. I am subscribed to Netflix, Filmstruck, HBO Go and Shudder, and I love having such a massive supply of films ready to be watched of all different kinds. I can't even imagine what buying all these would cost. I think, overall, there is a balance I have struck with all this. I still buy movies but I am more willing to hold off if I know it's available on one of the streaming services. As someone with a past spending addiction, it's a great feeling saying no to buying something like that, and is another reason I love streaming services. Plus it makes shopping a little easier, because I can put some of those films aside in favor of films that are not streamable.

But I love the term cinematic prostitutes. I'm going to make a grindcore band that screams about movies and call it that. :D

Re: Netflix Renaissance
 

I have Netflix for a month, but I don't even see a "Classic" section.. I think I saw the few good ones. I only got it for a few recent stand-up comedy specials.

My cousin gave me Hulu, which I used to love, but of course they don't have any Criterion anymore, I couldn't find a single movie to watch.

hahaha, I'm glad you enjoyed "cinematic prostitutes."

I also have Hulu and Netflix Streaming, but their library just doesn't fulfill my needs. I still buy DVD/Blurays from time to time, but nowhere near as much as I was 5-7 years ago.

Yea, it's hard justifying to continue to subscribe to Hulu since their Criterion section was lost.

Re: Netflix Renaissance
 

Louis CK has a new special out.. It's ok. I know he's better than that, though.

I haven't seen it yet, but from the sound of things it's going to be really close to the material he performed when my wife and I saw him live a few months ago. We were pleasantly surprised that virtually all of it was new, but I'm guessing the flip side of that is that virtually all of it's going to be in the special, too.

Re: Netflix Renaissance
 

The only reason I still have Hulu is so I can follow certain shows. I can watch South Park and Agents of Shield as they air. Once those shows go bye bye so will my subscription.

Their television section has also kept me on the hook. They used to have Michael Mann's Crime Story on there, but I think they took it down. Recently started Wiseguy, and have been stuck on that for a while, so I'll still fork up the dough.

Re: Netflix Renaissance
 

I hear ya. I have Hulu, Netflix and HBO Now. Even with these three packages it cheaper than cable. But Hulu and HBO will be gone eventually. HBO will probably be first since I have only two seasons left of GoT

Would you have any complaints from the live show you saw?

No, we both liked it.

It wasn't as great as his best stuff, but that's to be expected given that he seems to be trying to put out a new hour almost every year now. Given that pace, it was quite good. A lot of it managed to feel new but still be exactly the kind of thing you'd expect him to say, which I guess is pretty easy given how well-defined his worldview (be it real or a comedic put-on, or some mix) probably is for anyone who's watched all of his specials.

Definitely laughed hard, particularly at the end, though with live comedy I'd expect to enjoy it more, too. Assuming it's close to what we saw, hard to imagine anyone who's liked his current stuff not liking this new one.

Also, we managed to score really great seats: second row!

I just did a search for all the movies that sounded interesting to me (after a quick read) and NONE are no Netflix anymore :(

Re: Netflix Renaissance
 

Quick bump on the Louis C.K. stuff: watched the special last night. Yeah, 90% similar to what we saw live. A few changes stood out, though. The email bit was new (and one of my favorite parts). The Elizabethan routine seemed a little shorter, but I'm not positive. He definitely did more than one "racist voice" (maybe three, even) during the live show, and I think he ended with the stuff about his father; he still had the "my boyfriend" bit, but I think it was before.

Re: Netflix Renaissance
 

I know it's not a film, but I highly suggest the tv show 13 reasons why I absolutely loved it.

Re-watched the 1946 version of The Killers and enjoyed it more the second time around. Soo much so, I think I prefer this one to the 1964 version with Lee Marvin. Also, scored a copy of The Garment Jungle (1957) for ridiculously cheap, so I knocked that off the queue. Next I'll get to re-watch Richard Widmark throw an old lady down the stairs in Kiss of Death.

1.) The Driver (1978) (Long Wait)
2.) Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950) (Long Wait)
3.) Kiss of Death (1947)
4.) Force of Evil (1948)
5.) DOA (1950)
6.) Gun Crazy (1949)
7.) The Brothers Rico (1957)
8.) The Phenix City Story (1955)
9.) Point Blank (1967)
10.) Criss Cross (1949)

You should check out Filmstruck. It's Criterion's new streaming service.

I've been meaning to, just haven't pulled the trigger yet.

Are you a member? How is the film catalog?

Re: Netflix Renaissance
 

It's pretty damn good. Has stuff you won't find on physical Criterion even, like Tarkovsky's Mirror.

Yea, there's no reason I shouldn't jump on that.

Re watched Kiss of Death this past weekend; this movie holds up great. Just straight up Noir all up in yo face. The parade of noir continues next with Force of Evil (1948). The rest of these I have never seen before, so should have more to say about the next ten.


1.) The Driver (1978) (Long Wait)
2.) Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950) (Long Wait)
3.) Force of Evil (1948)
4.) DOA (1950)
5.) Gun Crazy (1949)
6.) The Brothers Rico (1957)
7.) The Phenix City Story (1955)
8.) Point Blank (1967)
9.) Criss Cross (1949)
10.) Murder By Contract (1958)

I was really blown away by Force of Evil (1948). It's a movie that doesn't get as much praise as its contemporaries, but it's noir to its very bones. John Garfield carries this one. My noir kick continues with the proto Bonnie and Clyde (1967) in Gun Crazy.

1.) The Driver (1978) (Long Wait)
2.) Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950) (Long Wait)
3.) Gun Crazy (1949)
4.) DOA (1950)
5.) The Brothers Rico (1957)
6.) The Phenix City Story (1955)
7.) Point Blank (1967)
8.) Criss Cross (1949)
9.) Murder By Contract (1958)
10.) The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964)

Never subscribed to Hulu before, but it is worth it to see A Handmaid's Tale, which is great. I have Hulu free for a month & then I guess I'll continue with it until the season ends.

Mostly out of laziness I still have my Hulu account, and I've been meaning to watch A Handmaid's Tale; I've heard nothing but good things. It may be worth keeping hulu now since they signed a deal with NEON films, so we'll be seeing NEON movies, like Colossal, on hulu shortly after they get released theatrically.

Watched Gun Crazy (1950), which was a really interesting film for the time. Sort of a proto Bonnie and Clyde (1967) noir , Gun Crazy is about to a man/woman bank robbing team who resort to crime out of desperation. What's interesting about it is the female lead (Peggy Cummins) being the one who gets off on killing people (part of the sexualized nature of the film), and the man (John Dall) who is the pacifist; whose one act of murder is his ultimate undoing. While a woman manipulating a man to do her killing for her is a film noir staple, I can't think of one offhand where the a woman enjoyed getting her hands dirty as in Gun Crazy.

Dalton Trumbo, the famous blacklisted screenwriter, wrote the script.under the pseudonym of Millard Kaufman. While on the subject, since my last post I found out that Abraham Polonsky, the director of Force of Evil (1948), was also later blacklisted. Polonsky's politics are no secret in Force of Evil; the film takes place on Wall Street, the legitimate corporate world and the gangster underworld are hand in hand with hotshot lawyer Joe (John Garfield) working for gangster Ben Tucker (Roy Roberts); who wants to wipe out all of the small, independent "Mom and Pop" numbers games in one big business takeover. Force of Evil is a clear indictment of capitalism.

What I have next is one of the most norish film noirs ever noired. If Sam Spade, Mike Hammer, and Philip Marlowe all went see a movie together, they'd probably go watch D.O.A. (1950).

1.) Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950) (Long Wait)
2.) DOA (1950)
3.) The Phenix City Story (1955)
4.) The Brothers Rico (1957)
5.) Point Blank (1967)
6.) Criss Cross (1949)
7.) Murder By Contract (1958)
8.) The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964)
9.) Salvatore Guliano (1962)
10.) The Dark Corner (1946)

*The Driver (1978), which I previously had at #1 on my queue on "long wait", has been officially taken off of Netflix's DVD by mail program.

Crossed D.O.A. (1950) off of my list and is a clear example of noir style over substance. The plot itself screams of over the top noir: Frank Bigelow (Edmond O'Brien), a notary public, takes a vacation in San Francisco; someone poisons his drink with a deadly toxin, and he has to solve his own murder before he dies. Even as noirs go, D.O.A. is bleak and is one of those movies that found appreciation later on (I think not until the 80s), and is now considered a classic towards the end of the classic period of the genre. It's also public domain, so you'll have no problem finding one of the 20 something DVDs that are out there; the problem is finding a decent print of it.

Next I'm going all Southern Gothic with The Phenix City Story (1955)

1.) The Phenix City Story (1955)
2.) The Brothers Rico (1957)
3.) Point Blank (1967)
4.) Criss Cross (1949)
5.) Murder By Contract (1958)
6.) Salvatore Guliano (1962)
7.) The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964)
8.) The Dark Corner (1946)
9.) The Grissom Gang (1971)
10.) Brute Force (1947)


* Previously, I had Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950) on my queue, after about three months of waiting for it I've since found an HD copy on youtube:

It took me wayyyy too long to watch The Phenix City Story (1955), which I downloaded during my golden age of piracy at college, but never got around to watching. I loved this movie; and the violence is part of the reason why. Part gangster movie/film noir and part high principled fable of ignoring society's vices, The Phenix City Story doesn't try to conjure up any kind of empathy for the gangster; women are brutally beaten/killed, and a child is murdered and then thrown from a moving car. The gangsters aren't flashy or good looking, but ugly and brutal in appearance. The organized crime syndicate is in charge of the political machine/police in Phenix City, so acts an extension of Jim Crow era segregation. There is a scene where innocent bystanders witness a fight in an alleyway, and someone shouts "Lets get out of there, the cops are coming."

The movie is based on fact, Phenix City was a haven of crime and corruption during the 50s. When local attorney Albert Patterson ran for and won Attorney General of Alabama, on the promise that he'd clean up Phenix City, he was shot three times in the mouth in his car when leaving his law office one evening. After that, the Governor called in the National Guard and declared martial law, there is actual newsreel footage used in the film of soldiers taking slot machines to the middle of a field and lighting them on fire.

The Phenix City Story gets preachy, and sort of lionizes Albert Patterson's son and future Governor of Alabama, John Patterson (Richard Kiley). When the younger Patterson returns from Germany after the Nuremberg Trials, he says he returns to "a different form of dictatorship" with the criminal syndicate. Alot of parallels are made between fighting WWII and fighting criminals, about evil flourishing when good men do nothing, and about how democracy and the ballot box is where the fight should take place. After Patterson's father is assassinated, he takes his father's place on the ticket and wins. The film ends with Patterson being elected to Attorney General, and in reality would go on to be Governor of Alabama from 1959 - 1963. While his Governorship at the time was seen as progressive (probably reformist would be a better term) he had a staunch anti civil rights stance, which earned him the endorsement of the KKK (ooops).

I changed my queue around a bit, and am getting Francesco Rosi's Salvatore Guliano (1962) next. I really enjoyed Rosi's Lucky Luciano (1973), so I'll be checking out more of his work.


1.) Salvatore Guliano (1962)
2.) The Brothers Rico (1957)
3.) Point Blank (1967)
4.) Criss Cross (1949)
5.) Murder By Contract (1958)
6.) The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964)
7.) The Dark Corner (1946)
8.) The Grissom Gang (1971)
9.) Brute Force (1947)
10.) Odd Man Out (1947)

I don't know if its been noticed, but I've been away for a while (For a multitude of reasons: the busy season at my job coming to a crescendo, suddenly moving up my wedding six months early, helping my now wife with graduate school, etc.), but I should be back pretty regularly now. But posting here isn't the only thing that's sort of been pushed aside; I've also been neglecting by Netflix by mail movies.

But that's all going to change, I re-rented Pickup on South Street (1953), just because I was in the mood to watch it again (With the Criterion going for $20.00 I should just buy it). I'm going to finish out the month of September with my queue the way it is below, but after that I'm going to start having theme months with my queue. October I'm going to fill it with horror movies I've never seen before, November, probably going to pack it full of Criterion I've never seen before, maybe start doing director filmography and so on.

So, I'm up for suggestions (I'm pretty married to October being horror and November being Criterion) for either off the beaten path horror movies I should check out or some overlooked Criterion movies I should check out. I'm also taking suggestions for different themes for different months, so feel free to throw some of those out there as well.


1.) Chopper (2000)
2.) Something Wild (1961)
3.) The Brothers Rico (1957)
4.) Youth of the Beast (1963)
5.) They Live by Night (1948)
6.) Sympathy for the Underdog (1971)
7.) Wild at Heart (1990)
8.) The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) (Long Wait)
9.) The Dark Corner (1946)
10.) Murder by Contract (1958)

Re: Netflix Renaissance
 

Nice bump, and welcome back! :)

Thanks! I wasn't totally severed from the board; I did catch August's podcast, and was
pleasantly surprised that The Man Who Would Be King (1975) came out on top!

Chopper (2000) was awesome. I love The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) and Killing Them Softly (2012) (unfortunately for the latter, my opinion is not the popular one), so it was nice to see Dominik's cinematic roots. Eric Bana nails this role, and it was nice to see Vince Colosimo (who would go on to play one of Chopper's underworld contemporaries, Alphonse Gangitano, in Underbelly) in here as well. I love how ****ing violent this film is. Stab wounds to the neck, chest, gut, and sawed off shotguns to the face, I'm all about this movie. After watching this, Animal Kingdom (2010), and the first season of Underbelly, I need to delve deeper into Australian gangster/crime genre.

Next, I did some switching around in my queue, and apparently I can't wait until my Criterion month of November to watch Richard III (1955), because that's what I have coming next.

1.) Richard III (1955)
2.) Paths of Glory (1957) (Long Wait)
3.) Something Wild (1961)
4.) The Brothers Rico (1957)
5.) Youth of the Beast (1963)
6.) They Live by Night (1948)
7.) Sympathy for the Underdog (1971)
8.) Wild at Heart (1990)
9.) The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) (Long Wait)
10.) The Dark Corner (1946)

Though I had Richard III (1955) next on my queue, Netflix sent me Paths of Glory (1957) instead (oddly enough, which had a "long wait" time). I didn't mind, the last time I saw Paths of Glory was when I had Blockbuster by mail in like 2007-2008, so I was overdue for a rewatch. I'll just have to catch Richard III during my Criterion month of November. I don't think I can add anymore to this movie with what has already been said. You got Kurt Douglas, ****ing Ralph Meeker (I wish he would have been in more of Kubrick's stuff), and Joseph "Dr. Tyrell" Turkel. My favorite part of the movie is the first half, all those tracking shots in the trenches during artillery bombardment. And man, the framing of the execution scene at the end.

Since Oct is on Sunday, I decided to get my Halloween top ten going. I think I have a good mix of stuff. I got some classic horror I haven't seen, some bad horror movies I've never seen, and then some more modern stuff that seemed worth checking out that flew under my radar.

1.) Suspiria (1977)
2.)Zombi 3 (1988)
3.)Prince of Darkness (1987)
4.)Black Death (2011)
5.)Hellraiser (1987)
6.)Nosferatu the Vampire (1979)
7.)Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)
8.)The House of the Devil (2009)
9.)Salem's Lot (1979)
10.)Evilspeak (1982)

I was blown away by Suspiria (1977). I don't know how something this good could fly under my radar for this long. Easily the most effective thing about this movie is the soundtrack. Holy ****, this has to be one of the greatest horror soundtracks. And this film is ****ing brutal at some points. I'm just going to say one thing: razor wire scene. All around this is an amazing movie: the lighting, cinematography, and the sets are not just good for a horror movie, there are good for any movie. This is the first time in a while where a movie just totally rocketed over my expectations. The only familiarity I had with Argento before this was his cut of Dawn of the Dead (1978), but I liked Suspiria soo much that I wanted to complete his "Three Mothers" trilogy by watching Inferno (1980) next and then Mother of Tears (2007).

For those in the know, did this never get a decent US DVD release? The DVD Netflix sent me literally looked like someone just copied it from a VHS tape. Also, the whole time while watching this I was wondering how this was never gobbled up by Hollywood for an American remake, but as soon as the movie finished, I hit the internet and unfortunately, there is a remake coming out this year.

1.)Inferno (1980)
2.)Mother of Tears (2007)
3.)Zombie 3 (1988)
4.)Prince of Darkness (1987)
5.)Black Death (2011)
6.)Hellraiser (1987)
7.)Nosferatu the Vampire (1979)
8.)Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)
9.)The House of the Devil (2009)
10.)Evilspeak (1982)

Re: Netflix Renaissance
 

Hi @Gangland,

Please forgive my ignorance about the DVD service of Netflix but how does it work exactly? You create your own movies list and you receive one DVD at a time is that right? When you send them back the last DVD you received from Netflix, they send you the first queued movie in your list. Is that correct? Do they suggest you some movies based on your queue or not?

That's exactly how it works, you just make a queue of films (found out not to long ago that the max is 500), and they ship you either one or two disks depending on what plan you have. And when you mail it back, they send you the next movie on your list. I haven't gotten any personalized suggestions, but on the main page of the app there are different categories , like "Classic Gritty Movies" or "Award Winners" that have recommendations. And once you click on a movie's page, if you scroll down to the bottom there are lists of movies that you may also enjoy.

It's a great service. I've had it for a year now, and selection on there isn't perfect, but they have at least 90% of what i want to see; unlike any streaming service.

Re: Netflix Renaissance
 

The funny thing is, that was the whole business model originally. When I joined there was either no streaming, or it was new and almost nobody used it. You'd just mail DVDs back and forth--you'd pay more depending on a) whether there was a monthly limit and b) how many you could have out at one time.

I still use the one-at-a-time (but otherwise unlimited) disc plan along with the streaming option.

Re: Netflix Renaissance
 

Thanks Gangland for these details! And the price is $4.99 / mo for the cheapest plan with 1 DVD at a time? How can they be profitable with such a low price?!
@Yoda: yes I learned this recently by looking at their wikipedia page, amazing! The business may have totally shifted from DVD to streaming no? When you said "When I joined there was either no streaming..." you meant you work at Netflix?

I don't want to "pollute" this thread, feel free to tell me to go to private message if you want @Gangland!

Volume. Mailing in bulk can be pretty cheap, and it takes a couple of days there and back, so even if you watch a DVD as soon as you get it, you're probably able to get through 10 a month. And most people let them sit for at least a few days, if not weeks. I think my record is four months. :laugh:

Anyway, they make more from streaming, which is why they've been moving that way for awhile now.

All that said, people still complain a lot when they raise their prices, even though for a long time they kept the same price even after adding streaming. I think I've gotten into a couple of arguments on here about it, actually.

Oh, no, I just mean "joined" as in "became a subscriber."

There's very little back and fourth on this thread, so I'm glad to see the discussion!
Appreciate the consideration, but if you have any questions, ask away!

To echo some of the sentiments of the conversation thus far, I'm also surprised that they keep this DVD by mail option around. I don't know how long it will last, but I will sure as hell miss it when it's gone.

Re: Netflix Renaissance
 

Oh yes. Very clever. Also the mailing time may impact the number of movies you can watch each month. This "ping-pong" game between you and Netflix takes several days each time a DVD go back and forth. So you'll never be able to see 30 movies in a month. That's interesting. Thanks for your reply @Yoda!

Thanks Gangland for your answer (we posted at the same time, I didn't see it immediately).

I think they still have the DVD service up and running because it may be a way to acquire new customers for their streaming service. If they close the service people may use the streaming service instead. It seems profitable too so why not keeping it?

I know you don't like the streaming service. I hope they won't shut the DVD service down soon so you can keep enjoying your DVDs :).

Inferno (1980) was disappointingly conventional compared to Suspiria (1977), and really took longer than it needed to get started. The score of Suspiria filled me with a constant uneasiness and dread, but the score for Inferno was not done by Goblin and really didn't have the same effect. Argento's style is clearly present and the gore/murder scenes are good, but again, like everything in the film, it takes a back seat to Suspiria. Overall, it wasn't a terrible movie, but it left me really dissapointed. I can't help but feel that i'm going to feel the same way with Mother of Tears (2007), which I have coming up next.

1.) Mother of Tears (2007)
2.) Zombie 3 (1988)
3.) Prince of Darkness (1987)
4.) Black Death (2011)
5.) Hellraiser (1987)
6.) Nosferatu the Vampire (1979)
7.) Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)
8.) The House of the Devil (2009)
9.) Evilspeak (1982)
10.) Salem's Lot (1979)

Wrapped up "The Three Mothers" trilogy with Mother of Tears (2007), which I liked more than Inferno (1980), but (of course) didn't measure up to the madness that was Suspiria (1977). What I liked about Mother of Tears is that nobody but Argento could have accomplished getting a modern horror movie that made that little sense produced. Those that appreciate Argento's style will enjoy it, but it's not much use outside of that.

I'm going to stick with low budget Italian horror movies with Lucio Fulci's Zombie 3 (1988) coming up next.

1.) Zombie 3 (1988)
2.) Prince of Darkness (1987)
3.) Black Death (2011)
4.) Hellraiser (1987)
5.) Nosferatu the Vampire (1979)
6.) Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986)
7.) The House of the Devil (2009)
8.) Evilspeak (1982)
9.) Salem's Lot (1979)
10.) Hell of the Living Dead (1981)

Unfortunately, Netflix is showing that they sent me Zombi 3 (1988), but I never received it. Stuff like this is bound to happen with this type of service, but, making a year this month with Netflix by mail, this is the first time I have encountered such a problem. So, I'll have to scratch Zombie 3 off my Halloween list, and I bumped up my theme queue for November: Never before seen Criterion movies.

10.) Throne of Blood (1957)
9.) Youth of the Beast (1963)
8.) Thieves' Highway (1949)
7.) Army of Shadows (1969)
6.) Brute Force (1947)
5.) The Breaking Point (1950)
4.) They Live by Night (1948)
3.) Odd Man Out (1947)
2.) Salvatore Guliano (1961)
1.) Something Wild (1961)

Re: Netflix Renaissance
 

I've only just now subscribed to Netflix (Stranger Things did it for me) and I'm prepared to give it a go and see what I can get out of it. I know there's films and shows on there that could save me some money if I bought it in physical format.

It won't stop me getting DVDs though.

I started my netflix Criterion month a little late, but I finally knocked out Something Wild (1961) last night. This was different. After starting off with a title sequence done by the master himself, Saul Bass, Something Wild begins with the rape of college student Mary Ann (Carroll Baker). Suffering from PTSD, she alienates herself from her family and co-workers and eventually tries to commit suicide by jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge. At the last minute, she is saved by a mechanic (Ralph Meeker), who goes all proto-neckbeard on her with the reasoning since he saved her life, she should be his wife now and then keeps her captive in his basement apartment.

Something Wild was shot all on location in New York, except for the scenes in Meeker's apartment. In that respect, it makes it a great companion piece to Blast of Silence (1961), which was illegally shot, guerrilla style, on the streets of New York. Both films act as time capsules of the early 60s.

Despite Baker's great performance, Meeker is the star here. You're never quite sure what's off about his character, but obviously something is not right. A departure from his hyper masculine character of Mike Hammer in Kiss Me Deadly (1955), Meeker's character, who is also named Mike in Something Wild, is an infantile alcoholic of a man. The best scene of the movie comes out of nowhere: a dream sequence in an art museum with little girls with no faces and a dead horse whose eyes are melting on a painting.

The film is not without its problems, there are several fade transitions which make absolutely no sense, and brings to mind the phrase just because you can edit doesn't mean you should. But the film is an early indy accomplishment, even though the lack of return/criticism that the film was met with caused the director Jack Garfein to abandon filmmaking and retreat back to his comfort zone: the theater.

As per tradition at this point, I did alot of meddling with my queue. Next time I'm popping open a Guinness and watching the Belfast set noir Odd Man Out (1947).


1.) Odd Man Out (1947)
2.) Salvatore Guliano (1961)
3.) The Breaking Point (1950)
4.) Repo Men (1984)
5.) Brute Force (1947)
6.) Army of Shadows (1969)
7.) Thieves' Highway (1949)
8.) They Live by Night (1948)
9.) The Player (1992)
10.) Z (1969)

There is a case to be made for tradition, such as movie theaters and dvd's and I get the physical connection, as I own my own little collection but to me it has become one more unnecessary step towards my goal to see as many movies, when I want and when I can.
To that end, you can't beat streaming.
I did my research and have found the best streaming sites that allow me instant access directly to my 65"Samsung and Sharp Aquos , often stuff that's still in theaters.
Would not trade it for the world.

Speaking of Netflix, it's interesting to note that their streaming is not the same as their DVD's , in terms of selection.
They are two separately run departments.
I used to belong to both of them but got tired of being by passed for new releases in my queue, which was basically all I was interested to begin with.
Amazon Prime probably has the best DVD selection out there, but you got to buy them.

I'm not totally against streaming, because it's a great way to provide access to films that are difficult to get a hard copy of. I just started diving into the Italian Poliziotteschi genre, and that wouldn't be possible without Amazon streaming. My problem is that both Netflix and Hulu have a such limited selection (especially of older films) and honestly, I want to watch the movies I want to watch, not the movies that Netflix happens to have available for streaming that month. I keep Netflix streaming around for its original content, but I rarely watch movies on it.

I'm ashamed that it took three weeks for me to get to my next Netflix movie. For the future, I'm going to try to enforce a rule that if I don't watch a movie in three days, I'll send it back for another. Since I only watched one Criterion movie in November, I'll extend my criterion themed queue into December and finish out the year in style.

When it comes to European film noir, I think Carol Reed's The Third Man (1949) gets too much praise (Night and the City (1950) is probably my favorite). I'm not saying Reed's Odd Man Out (1947) is a better film, but it at least deserves as much recognition as The Third Man gets. James Mason playing a wounded IRA leader navigating the streets of a 40s Belfast is a great setting for a film noir. At best, usually noir endings are bleak, but the end to Odd Man Out is just straight up depressing.

Odd Man Out was based off a novel off the same name, and was remade in 1969 as The Lost Man with Sidney Poitier playing a revolutionary leader in the Black Power movement being wounded during a bank robbery. Looks good enough for me to check out in the future.

Next on the list I have Francesco Rosi's Salvatore Guliano, but it's on "short wait", so if I'm unable to get that I'll have the oddly named noir Ride the Pink Horse next.

1.) Salvatore Guliano (1961) (Short Wait)
2.) Ride the Pink Horse (1947)
3.) The Breaking Point (1950)
4.) Repo Men (1984)
5.) Brute Force (1947)
6.) Army of Shadows (1969)
7.) Thieves' Highway (1949)
8.) They Live by Night (1948)
9.) The Player (1992)
10.) Z (1969)

If I had to notice a theme in my movie watching over 2017, it was Italian cinema. I finally gave up on the hopes of a Region 1 DVD release of Francesco Rosi's Lucky Luciano (1974) and ordered a VHS copy. I watched Dario Argento's horror masterpiece Suspria (1977), and its sequels Inferno (1980) and The Mother of Tears (2007). I revisited Lucio Fulci's Zombi 2 (1979) just in time for Halloween, and I'm in the middle of diving into the gangster/police action Poliziotteschi film genre with Gang War in Milan (1973) and The Boss (1973).

So it's fitting that I'm closing out 2017 with the before mentioned Rosi's Salvatore Giuliano (1962). The titular character appearing as a dead body for most of the film; Salvatore Giuliano transports the viewer to the corrupt, post-WWII political landscape of Sicily, where separatist organizations and the Mafia intersect. Shot in an almost documentary style, with and some of the bandits that worked with Guliano and authentic locations in Sicily, Salvatore Giuliano is a time capsule of the period. Numerous points in Giuliano's career is mentioned, especially the Portella della Ginestra massacre, which he was blamed for, but his death is the frame for the movie. And while in reality conspiracy theories are abound in Giuliano's death, Rosi blames his partner Gaspare Pisciotta (Frank Wolff), and the Mafia, as the true killers of Giuliano.

The docu-drama style in which Salvatore Giuliano was shot makes it feel very modern, and its influence on cinema since can be seen. I would recommend Salvatore Giuliano to really anyone, it's an easy and exciting watch.

I'm closing out the year with Noir in the desert with Ride the Pink Horse (1947).

1.) Ride the Pink Horse (1947)
2.) The Breaking Point (1950)
3.) Repo Men (1984)
4.) Brute Force (1947)
5.) Army of Shadows (1969)
6.) Thieves' Highway (1949)
7.) They Live by Night (1948)
8.) The Player (1992)
9.) Z (1969)
10.) Youth of the Beast (1963)

The theme months aren't working. I thought I would be hoity toity and a criterion top 10 would kick my movie watching into high gear; I've had Ride the Pink Horse (1947) sitting on my bedside table for two months, and I haven't watched it. So, I'm no longer denying my cinematic lusting, and filling my queue full of B horror movies and forgotten noirs.

1.) I Drink Your Blood (1970)
2.) Hell of the Living Dead (1981)
3.) Murder by Contract (1958)
4.) Maniac! (1980)
5.) He Walked By Night (1948)
6.) The Dark Corner (1946)
7.) The Brothers Rico (1957)
8.) Zombie Holocaust (1980)
9.) Q: The Winged Serpent (1982)
10.) Jason Goes to Hell (1993)

In hindsight, I should have waited to watch I Drink Your Blood (1970) until I could get my hands on a copy of I Eat Your Skin (1964) and have a double feature

But I loved I Drink Your Blood in all its 70's B-movie, drive-in gross out, glory. The acting is expectedly terrible, but the gore, the soundtrack, and the expressions on George Patterson's face are amazing. I Drink Your Blood will satisfy the pallet of B horror movie connoisseur. Next I'm revisiting Italian flesh eaters with Hell of the Living Dead (1981).

1.) Hell of the Living Dead (1981)
2.) Murder by Contract (1958)
3.) Maniac! (1980)
4.) He Walked By Night (1948)
5.) The Dark Corner (1946)
6.) The Brothers Rico (1957)
7.) Zombie Holocaust (1980)
8.) Q: The Winged Serpent (1982)
9.) Jason Goes to Hell (1993)
10.) City of the Living Dead (1980)

While most Italian zombie movies of the late 70s/80s are a cash grab on the success of Dawn of the Dead (1978), Hell of the Living Dead (1980) is such a rip off, it can almost be mistaken for a remake. First off, almost the entire Goblin score from Dawn of the Dead is present in this film. The beginning S.W.A.T. sequence of the film is mirrored here and the uniforms are almost exactly the same. While this doesn't make Hell of the Living Dead any less entertaining, I would definitely recommend that those who haven't seen Lucio Fulci's superior rip off Zombi 2 (1979) give that a watch before moving on to this. When Fulci would get sick while making Zombi 3 (1988), it would be Bruno Mattei (director of Hell of the Living Dead) that would take over production.

Next, I'll be switching back over to noir with Murder by Contract (1958).

1.) Murder by Contract (1958)
2.) Maniac! (1980)
3.) He Walked By Night (1948)
4.) The Dark Corner (1946)
5.) The Brothers Rico (1957)
6.) Zombie Holocaust (1980)
7.) Q: The Winged Serpent (1982)
8.) Jason Goes to Hell (1993)
9.) City of the Living Dead (1980)
10.) Brute Force (1947)

Netflix has gotten their money out of me lately, but I'm back on track with watching Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani's Amer (2009) in preparation for their upcoming Eurocrime homage Let the Corpses Tan (2018). Amer is pure gory aesthetics and maybe one of the most beautifully shot "horror" movies I've seen in quite a while. At its bones it's a love letter to everything giallo and Argento, so this is getting me pumped up even more for Let the Corpses Tan. As per tradition, my queue looks completely different from my last post. My next movie is Turkish horror movie Baskin (2015) - which may or may not involve demonic ritual chicken ****ing.

1.) Baskin (2015)
2.) The Endless (2018)
3.) Point Blank (1967)
4.) Street Mobster (1972)
5.) Calibre 9 (1972)
6.) Two Men in Manhattan (1959)
7.) The Colossus of Rhodes (1961)
8.) Romper Stopmer (1992)
9.) The Strange Color of Your Body's Tears (2014)
10.) Wild at Heart (1990)