Streaming Roulette, March: Drive my car by the west side, Peggy Sue
Wednesday, March 2, 2022 at 11:06AM
NATHANIEL R in Best Picture, Drive My Car, Kathleen Turner, West Side Story, streaming

by Nathaniel R

Before we begin we should note that between HBOMax (Dune, King Richard, Drive My Car, West Side Story), Netflix (Power of the Dog, Don't Look Up), Hulu (Nightmare Alley), AppleTV+ (CODA) and VOD (Belfast, Licorice Pizza) all of the Best Picture nominees are or will be available to watch at home this month before the Oscars (March 27th). 

Okay, time for this month's streaming roulette. You know the rules. We highlight new-to-streaming titles by freezing them on the scroll bar at entirely random places and just sharing what pops up. No cheating*!

You must endure your sorrow.

DRIVE MY CAR (2021) - HBOMax
This image is from an audition sequence shortly after the opening credits (which arrive almost around 45 minutes into the movie!). A deaf actress is auditioning to be part of a lauded director's (Hidetoshi Nishijima) production of Uncle Vanya, his famous style being to combine multiple languages in each production. Amazing to have landed on this moment with a line that encapsulates so much of the theme...

 

Chris, do you know what 'carpe diem' is?

ROXANNE (1987) - Hulu
With Cyrano FINALLY in theaters, chase it with the most clever screen version of Cyrano de Bergerac, Steve Martin's Roxanne. He's pictured above with hunky Rick Rossovich (do my fellow 80s peeps remember him?) as the man he's helping to woo the beautiful Roxanne (Daryl Hannah) because he's too scared to go for it himself. "Carpe diem" sure did get a verbal work out in 80s films. Wonder when that phrase became such a popular culture thing since this film pre-dates Dead Poet's Society which made the phrase even more ubiquitous?

Sharks & Jets: We're gonna stop them once and for all
Sharks: The Sharks are gonna have their day
Maria & Tony: Oh moon grow bright
Sharks: The Sharks are gonna have their way
Maria & Tony: And make this endless day endless night
Sharks & Jets: We're gonna rock it tonight
Maria & Tony, Sharks & Jets, Anita: TONIIIIIIIIIGHT

WEST SIDE STORY (2021) - Disney+ / HBOMax
We landed on the end of "Tonight (Quintet)"  which is, via the 1961 version, is one of the greatest musical sequences of all time. It's one of the few numbers that Steven Spielberg's 2021 remake doesn't really attempt to rework (can't beat perfection) but just uses the same everybody-getting-ready or aggressively-walking in dynamic cross-cut fashion as the different parts of the song collide. DP Janusz Kaminski does love a lens flare, huh? Reminder that we're doing this film for Hit Me With Your Best Shot on Thursday March 10th so please consider joining us if you're watching it this week. Choose your own shot and let us know and we'll link up wherever you'd posted or discussed it. 

If I'd turned it down, they'd have given it to someone else.

THE SHOP ON MAIN STREET (1965) - Criterion Channel
From their new "Foreign Language Oscar Winners" collection. 31 Oscar winners. We haven't yet seen all of these but can hardily recommend so many including Bicycle Thieves, Rashomon, Black Orpheus, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, Amour, and many many more. Featuring The Shop on Main Street in this roundup since we're still obsessed after our screening for the "One Inch Barrier" podcast in the fall. It was nominated for Best Actress and won Best Foreign Language Film but it should have been up for lots more Oscars. Just a riveting profound and entertaining motion picture about a clueless man assigned as the "Aryan Controller" of a Jewish widow's button store. 

I thought I heard you say you loved me. Did you?

BEACHES (1988) - Hulu
Isn't it amazing that Bette Midler, who is so self-possessed as a performer, is so good at showing emotional neediness and codependency? Love this movie... it has never gotten a fair shake being a "women's picture". Time for a rewatch? Daniel Walber did a popular episode of "The Furniture" on this film years ago.

[dance music playing]

KNIFE + HEART (2019) - Shudder
Have never seen this homage to 70s horror though it's been divisive. It's a film about actors being brutally murdered on the set of a gay porn film in Paris. It's part of the "New French Terror" collection which includes extremely violent films like High Tension, Irreversible, and  Martyrs, Claire Denis two most disturbing movies (Trouble Every Day and Bastards), and erotic thrillers like François Ozon's Double Lover.

[no dialogue]

FRENCH DISPATCH (2021) - HBOMax
Why is Tilda Swinton so perfect for Wes Anderson? It's hard to put a finger on but she is. In this sequence she's giving a lecture but in the moment of this freeze frame she's gone silent for dramatic effect or applause (which is, of course, comic in context). She's not saying anything at all but just does a self-conscious self-satisfied elbow pose... and look at that Milena Canonero designed costume! Tilda Swinton is perfect and this movie is such a pleasure. Zero Oscar nominations... not even Production Design or Score? Argh.

[no dialogue]

FREE GUY (2021) - Disney+
Surprisingly enough Free Guy is not the only movie this past year to feature a key sequence in which the lead is still moving while the world around them is frozen (the other is ...). This movie is a walking visual fx reel which led to a Best Visual Effects nomination at the Oscars. 

Ohhhh my baby sister!

PEGGY SUE GOT MARRIED (1986) - Hulu
Love this movie so much and was heartbroken when Kathleen Turner lost the Oscar. But I'll be honest. I had totally forgotten that Sofia Coppola plays Turner's baby sister in the 1960 set portion of the film (when Peggy Sue travels back in time). We did this for an episode of Hit Me With Your Best Shot years ago. Coppola's movies are often fascinating to rewatch so join us for a "Best Shot" episode about The Conversation tomorrow night. 

 

 

So what (else) is streaming in March? You know the drill by now. We pick a handful of titles and freeze them on the scroll bar at a random place (no cheating) and share what came up. Let's go...

MORE STREAMING TITLES FOLLOW... ANY REQUESTS FOR COVERAGE?

 

also streaming on Netflix

Later this Month (a sampling)

 

 

★  COLLECTIONS streaming on Criterion Channel

★  Later this Month a Sampling

 

 

 

 

also streaming 

later this month -a  sampling

 

also streaming on Prime...

later this month - a  ★ sampling

 

also streaming on Disney+

later this month - a sampling

also streaming on Apple TV+

later this month - a sampling

 

also streaming

later this month - a sampling

 

also streaming 

later this month - a sampling

* People never believe this but it's (mostly) true. The only exceptions are when the image is too fast to look good in still frame (we usually use a gif in those cases) or if it's too transitional (dissolves, fadeouts, etcetera) or an establishing shot of a building or something... the other secret to why the images are often good is that we just dont use that particular film if we land on something that's too dull. 

WHICH STREAMING TITLES WILL YOU BE WATCHING THIS MONTH? WHICH WOULD YOU LOVE TO SEE A POST ON?

Article originally appeared on The Film Experience (http://thefilmexperience.net/).
See website for complete article licensing information.