What's streaming from 1938 and which films should we write about?

We'll be celebrating 1938 in between regular programming for the next few weeks as we approach the next Supporting Actress Smackdown (September 14th). But before you do your own '38 movie explorations, hit the Smackdown titles first so you can vote on the big event! They are: 

• The Great Waltz - just $1.99 to rent 
This nutso musical bio received 3 Oscar noms, winning for cinematography
• Jezebel - just $1.99 to rent 
This problematic Southern Belle drama is the one that lifted Bette Davis from exciting new talent to superstar (and won her her second Oscar). 5 Oscar noms, winning both Actress categories
• Merrily We Live - free (with ads) on Tubi 
Screwball comedy about a wealthy family taking in hobos. 5 Oscar noms
• Of Human Hearts - $2.99 to rent 
Drama about a preacher's family. Supporting Actress was the only nomination
• You Can't Take It With You - $3.99 to rent 
Frank Capra comedy. 7 Oscar nominations, winning Picture / Director

And you know what to do after you've screened them VOTE before the morning of Sunday, September 13th.

As you undoubtedly know if you're reading TFE, streaming services aren't particularly kind to films that are more than 20 years old. What's available is utterly random and it disappears suddenly and without warning -- for instance Hulu just decimated their once pretty ok "classics" section (which included our very favourite 1938 film, Bringing Up Baby) between when we began drafting this post a month or so ago and now. Now that section includes only 19 films, half of which are now from the 1980s or later. (They did this just when we had gotten used to telling people that they are way better than Netflix for anything pre 2000s and turned us into liars. AAARRRRRGH.)  Anyway, we've done the legwork for you and prepared a list of titles that are currently streaming for free (provided you have certain subscriptions of course) from this particular cinematic year. Let us know in the comments which you're most interested in discussing. This will come as a shocker but we're actually way ahead of the curve this month and have already finished screening all 5 Smackdown titles and most of the 10 Best Picture nominees, too... WUT?

TEN 1938 MOVIES THAT ARE FREE TO STREAM

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Emmy Review: Lead Actor in a Drama

By Abe Friedtanzer

Will Succession produce a Best Actor winner? There are two options.

This was going to be the year that Bob Odenkirk finally took home an Emmy for Better Call Saul on his fifth try with a slam dunk episode submission of “Bagman.” But, like Richard Madden for Bodyguard last year, the expected frontrunner got snubbed altogether, leaving the field totally open. There are six great choices for the win. Half this field is new, and this is actually one of the first times that Golden Globe winner Brian Cox and Critics Choice winner Jeremy Strong are nominated against each other, which sets up a major showdown not unlike the one that happens between their characters on Succession. 

I’ll try to avoid major plot details in my analysis – but if you'd like more spoiler-filled descriptions, click on the episode titles. Let’s consider each nominee…

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Bad Education / Great Movie

by Nathaniel R

Gael García Bernal as "Juan & Ignacio & Angel & Zahara" simultaneously.

Heads up that I had the beautiful opportunity to talk Pedro Almodóvar as the guest on this week's Water Cooler podcast over at Awards Daily. It was a true pleasure to revisit his twisty provocative melodrama Bad Education (2004). Almodóvar movies nearly always improve on revisits (and they're great the first time so that's quite a feat). My theory is that it's because they're often so novelistic and twisty with plot and layered with meaning. That's true of this trans noir in particular as it's a movie (period drama - but are they flashbacks or the fictional movie?) within a movie (scripted/filming) within a movie. Multiple actors play the same roles... only not exactly. The head spins. The pulse races (Gael García Bernal looks ...um... good... in wet underwear) Longtime readers may recall that Bernal was nominated at TFE for Best Actor that year. He's playing multiple characters in a way that's both intentionally performative and cleverly obfuscated. It's a pretty remarkable star turn and it's tragic that Pedro and Gael never worked together again! Give it a listen. 

Emmy Review: Guest Actress in a Drama

By Juan Carlos Ojano

For the last three years, The Handmaid’s Tale has dominated this category with wins for Alexis Bledel (2017), Samira Wiley (2018), and Cherry Jones (2019). This year, Bledel is poised for a victory lap in this category after competing in Supporting last season. Last year’s winner Jones is also back, but for a different show. She even pulled off a surprise win last year over Phylicia Rashad, who reappears in this category. Aside from Jones, Succession gets another nomination for Harriet Walter. Meanwhile, category mainstays Cox and Tyson are in for the fourth and fifth time, respectively, for their characters in their final seasons (though neither has won for these roles).

Let’s consider each nominee...

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The beauty of Emmanuel Lubezki's cinema

by Cláudio Alves

Before saying goodbye to our celebration of 2005, we must finish our look back at that year's Best Cinematography nominees. First up, we talked about the chromatic madness of Dion Beebe. Then, there were Rodrigo Prieto's cinematic elegance, the steely coldness of Wally Pfister's movies, and Robert Elswit's wide-angled wonders. Finally, we arrive at Emmanuel Lubezki, one of the past decades' most influential directors of photography. His free-flying camera movements, the masterful of natural lighting, and control of color are beyond description, so great is their beauty. No wonder AMPAS has fallen in love with the cinema of Emmanuel Lubezki, giving him eight nominations overall and three consecutive wins…

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