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I am a wee bit of a movie nerd.
I rather enjoy going to the cinema.
But since the decline of the arthouse theater, more and more stuff has become hard to see, especially foreign films and older films.
I also have an eclectic taste in films and quite a lot of stuff ain't available to stream.
Thus, I actually still subscribe to Netflix's DVD mail subscription.
I have to guess that I am not the only one.
Post up your physical Netflix DVD recs (or what to avoid renting) here.
What's a DVD?
Netflix's DVD.com service had already started to go downhill around the time that I stopped subscribing, and I just read that its former catalog of 100000 available titles is now less than 4000. Which is rather poor (for those of us with some interest in the obscure), certainly less than what I have available to me from my county's library system.
Between Redbox for popular recent movies, and Prime rentals (typically $3 for the kinds of back-catalog movies that you'd otherwise be inclined to get on DVD.com for about the same cost or more) for everything else that doesn't happen to be featured for free on a streaming service that one subscribes to, I don't see much point any more of using the DVD service. And more so if you have a decent library system.
I did just watch Bill and Ted Face the Music, while lying in a winter bag parked at Lassen during a snowstorm last Thursday night; the only streaming happening up there involved yellow snow, so DVDs (from library in that case, though I am speculating that Netflix DVD does carry it) do still have their place. And how was the latest Bill and Ted? Let's start by making clear that the original B&T is a classic, and this new one is not a classic, and that there's some pretty cringy stuff particularly in the first half. But, like the original, B&TFtM totally owns its cringe without a hint of apology, and it ends up working; if you aren't smiling at the end of this fun, ridiculous flick there's something wrong with you.
That is a very interesting article and pretty much underscores a comment I made awhile back in the Prime thread about the overall shrinking of content offerings (including on Prime) due to the proliferation of streaming services and every media company gathering up their content for their own service. It sucks to see it happen. Hopefully it will be recognized as a business opportunity by somebody and the lost collection of indy and obscure films will one day be offered again.
I stopped subscribing to Netflix DVD a couple years ago but had actually considered resubscribing due to the costly and scattered streaming environment, but probably won't now.
^
Beat me to it. I was just about to post that as it just showed up in my news feed this AM. :D
I personally still find the service viable.
I average 3 films a week, so the cost per film is approx $1.50, which is 30cents cheaper than Redbox, whose back catalog is weak. Quite a number of the films in my queue cost between $2.99 and upwards of $9.99 to rent via Prime.
Plus I dig getting mail and if I don't rearrange my queue, it is kinda cool to be surprised by what shows up.
Back in a former life, when I lived in a major metropolitan area, there was an amazing video store, Le Video, (https://hoodline.com/2016/07/what-s-...-film-archive/) that seemed to have everything.
I also used a great mailing service called Greencine (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/GreenCine), which specialized in foreign and cult films.
Sadly they both disappeared (went out of business), presumably because of NF and the eventual streaming blitz.
PS:
B&T3 was horrible.
Postscript:
When I first moved to Tahoe 12 years ago there were NF distribution centers in Reno and Sacramento. I would regularly get movies turned around in a day or two. Those are gone. The closest center now is San Jose, so turnaround is usually a week now. I routinely get films from Santa Ana (SoCal) and sometimes Washington state, which take a bit longer.
we need a weird-ass movie threadQuote:
Originally Posted by dookey67
two of my favorite south american films (please don't judge me)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEc3R3Pn0FA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31pfdpYLaCw
the second one might be my favorite film of all time. watch it if you like 2001 or Apocalypse Now.
First has been on my radar for more than a year (sadly not yet avail via NF DVD).Quote:
Originally Posted by tgapp
Have seen the second. I think I liked it okay. I know I watched it cuz Belgian actor Jan Bijovet, whom I really dig
Check out the films of Alex van Warmerdam and Alex de la Iglesia, if you get the chance.
And on the South American tip, Bacarau is gonzo good.
ONE MILLION YEARS B.C.
This camp classic ain't streaming anywhere legit that I could find, so I enjoyed it OG DVD stylee.
It's a remake of a 40s film (which, sadly, is neither streaming nor available via NF DVD).
Dunno bout the historical accuracy, but Ms Welch runs around in a skimpy loin cloth bikini whilst being chased by dinosaurs and brutish cavemen. It's like one of those 50s beach blanket bingo flix without the beach or the snappy songs...
Pretty sure this was a heavy influence on Quest For Fire...
NEVER LET GO
This 1960 British B-movie is a multi-genre mash-up borrowing from noir, youth gone wild, and gangster motifs, with a heavy dose of the sad sack/wimpy guy standing up to the bullies theme tossed in for good measure. Lottsa melodrama and Peter Sellers playing against type and chewing the scenery like a rabid dog make this worth a watch.
A SOMEWHAT GENTLE MAN
I watched this Stellan Skarsgard vehicle last night.
It is a droll and wry crime story teeming with Nordic deadpan humor.
It messes with the redeemable convict/absentee father tropes.
Directed by Hans Petter Moland, who is perhaps best known for his more recent film In Order of Disappearance, which he remade in English as Cold Pursuit.
THE BAND WAGON
Fantastic early 1950's musical starring Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse, plus a stellar supporting cast consisting of the bubbly Nanette Fabray, the schlubby Oscar Levant, and the regal Jack Buchanan.
Catchy songs, wonderful choreography (Michael Jackson bit a lot of it for a number of his videos), and just an overall enjoyable experience.
THE AGE OF SHADOWS
This is an epic political thriller directed by Kim Jee-woon (The Good, The Bad, The Weird) and featuring some familiar faces, particularly if you have watched a few South Korean films or series--Song Kang-ho, Lee Byung-hun, Gong Yoo.
The film takes place during Japan's occupation of Korea and centers around a group of resistance fighters. Lots of espionage double-crosses and well choreographed action scenes combined with stellar acting make this an engaging effort.
DREADNAUGHT (1981)
This classic post-Shaw Brothers era kung fu joint was directed by the legendary Yuen Woo-ping (perhaps best known to Western audiences for his wire work and fight choreography in The Matrix and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon).
The film is an early vehicle for Yuen Biao, who grew up with Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung.
The story is a bit loose (it could have used a some more exposition) and the comedy a bit broad (it was scripted by Wong Jing and both of those traits are kind of his signature), but the martial arts fight scenes and the two Lion/Dragon dance sequences are worth the price of admission.
I have a friend who's still all in on music CDs and refuses to go streaming or even iPod MP3s.
Anyway though I laugh at that, I went laggard last month. Wife and I stopped on one of those PBS fundraisers where they were showing Pink Floyd concert footage between like 10 minute commercials and begging for contributions...
I said, surely that's gotta be available elsewhere for free or cheap. I went digging through our streaming services, Prime Video Hulu, Peacock, HBO+, etd.. Ya there's SOME there but not nearly as much as I was expecting..
So, hit every thrift store in and around town past several weekends digging through the thousands and thousands of DVDs they have shelved in no partoiular order LOL!! I found TWO good ones in three weekends of searching
I guess people are hanging on to them.. so, off to eBay and Amazon I went. Plenty there in the $5-$25 range so bought a bunch..
Chicago, Earth Wind, and Fire_Live at the Greek Theater
Dixie Chicks_Live from the Kodak Theater
The Eagles_Hell Freezes Over
Eurythmics_Sweet Dreams
Fleetwood Mac_Rumors
Peter Gabriel_Growing Up
Jimi Hendrix_Live at Woodstock
Led Zeppelin_Song Remains the Same
Los Lobos, Lyle Lovett, Paul Rodriguez_Remember the Alamo
Michael Jackson_This Is It
The Moody Blues_Best of DVD Collection
The Moody Blues_Live at the Isle of Right
Pink Floyd_Pulse
The Police_Synchronicty Concert
REO Speedwagon_The Essential REO Speeddwagon
The Rolling Stones_Xome Girls Live in Texas 1978
Rush_In Rio
Styx_The Grand Illusion, Pieces of Eight
U2_Raggle and Hum
U2_360 at The Rose Bowl
WrestlmeMania 28_WrestlmeMania 28
Wrestlong TNA_Sting, Return of the Icon
WWE Over the Limit_WWE Over the Limit 2012-Took my kid to this live event..
Neil Young_Heart of Gold
CINEMA PARADISO
Considering this won an Academy Award, It's surprising that it's not available on any of the myriad streaming services.
Equally surprising is that it took me 34 years to finally get around to seeing it.
NF only has the 3 hour Director's Cut (51-minutes longer than the theatrical version) and it felt a tad long in the tooth (I have not seen the shorter version, but would love to track down a copy to watch now).
Anyway, this is an interesting combo of cinematic love letter, coming-of-age drama, and epic romance. Lottsa visual nods to both the Spaghetti Western and Giallo genres that Italy is famous for, as well as nods to the silent era.
If you are a film lover, this is highly recommended.
It also carries an ineresting weight in regards to the movie going experience of today, what with streaming now being so prevalent ; it really showcases how important cinema and the act of going to the movies were back in the day and how much of a social and communal act it was.
THE BOTHERSOME MAN
Kinda strange that this award winning Norwegian gem is nowhere to be found in regards to streaming (can't find any of the director's other films, either). Doubly strange is that the dvd sent to me was from Film Movement, yet they don't have the title on their streaming service...
Limited availability aside, this is a droll and detached dark comedy about not being content with a perfect life. It's also a wicked commentary on consumerism and the day-to-day office grind.
Imagine an Orwellian and Dicksyian (Phillip K., that is) future filtered through wry Scandinavian humor.
RIYL
Brazil; Vivarium; A Pigeon Sat On A Branch Reflecting On Existence;
Viva John Woo!!!
I am surprised and dismayed that John Woo's seminal HK work isn't available for streaming.
• THE KILLER
Arguably the film that brought Woo international recognition.
When I was in college as a sophomore I drove 4 hours to see it after watching Siskel&Ebert rave about it on their classic PBS show. Some of the sentimentality hasn't aged well and the look of the filmstock is washed out (which looking back seems to have been the case with many HK films from the 1980s and 1990s), but the gun fights are still bonkers.
We wouldn't have John Wick without John Woo.
Also, about to be remade for Peacock.
• ONCE A THIEF
Woo's next film was a lighthearted caper yarn. When I saw it in the early 1990s at an art-house theater which ran HK action films every Thursday, it quickly became my favorite Woo flick. Sadly, the comedy angle hasn't aged well, imho, but it's still a charming flick if only for the gun ballets and Chow Yun-fat's unyielding charisma.
• HARD BOILED
Holy shit.
This may, without a doubt, be Woo's masterpiece. It is so gonzo off-the-nuts and literally puts any Hollywood action film of the time to shame. The opening gun battle in the tea shop is wild and the blood-and-bullet soaked finale at the hospital? Crazy.
If you are an action film junkie, all 3 of these are essential viewing and worth the NF DVD fee.
HE DIED WITH A FELAFEL IN HIS HAND
I am not sure how this gem from Down Under flew past my radar when it dropped in 2001. I am also confused as to why it's not available on any streaming services tjat I could find.
But it's on DVD, so hooray for that.
Starring Noah Taylor (perhaps best known as Angelina Jolie's sidekick in her Tomb Raider films), it follows his character Daniel as he moves from house to house over 9 months and encounters a wide range of wacked-out roommates.
There's frog golf, fish sticks. Pagan rituals, sex, drugs, and skinheads causing havoc.
Ribald and raunchy, yet with an undercurrent of heartfelt romance.
RIYL
Trainspotting; Fandango; PCU; Animal House
UNCONSCIOUS
This Spanish period piece is a richly textured comedy/mystery yarn teeming with Freudian slips, sex, violence, twists, turns, and sly humor.
It's wacky, perverted, intelligent, and charming.
Man, I’m really gonna miss this service…
I watched two great quasi-musicals this month, neither of which are available for streaming.
ALL THAT JAZZ
Director/choreographer Bob Fosse’s meta faux biography is a dizzying trip into the mind and life of a womanizing, creatively driven workaholic. Featuring dizzying and mildly hallucinogenic-styled dance numbers, some great music, and a mesmerizing turn from Roy Scheider, this film is utterly captivating.
The final song and dance number, which sees Scheider and Ben Vereen re-imagining the Everyly Bros. “Bye Bye Love” as a quasi Prog rock jam is worth the price of admission alone.
(While King of Comedy was blatantly an influence on Todd Phillips’ Joker, I feel this movie was equally influential as there are a lot of similarities in the story and lead characters mindset…)
HEAD (aka The Monkees Movie)
Another meta-before-meta was cool and hip and the go-to for movies aimed at millennials.
Ironic, since The Monkees were a prefab ideology aimed at youth.
Co-written by Jack Nicholson, the film is a semi-surreal romp wherein The Monkees themselves peel back the curtain on their plastic personas. Recurring themes of being trapped in a box along with gonzo dance numbers, anti-war sentiments, and Old Hollywood schtick, not to mention a great score, make this a wonderful watch.
Thought of you when i saw the announcement earlier today. RIP red envelopes
SameQuote:
Originally Posted by mcski
And that's a wrap!
As of NF DVD's last day, Friday, September 29, 2023, I still had 297 films in my queue.
My stats, according to NF were as follows:
Joined in July 2013.
In the 122 months since then I watched 697 films (which averages out to approx 6 films a month).
I rated 3390 films.
I never wrote a review on their site (in fact, their review section kinda bugged me because of the poor writing and general obliviousness of many of the reviews. Case in point: a common complaint in a negative NF DVD review was that the film was in a foreign language and had subtitles!).
Anyway, I'm gonna miss getting those red envelopes.
I would say about 1/3 of my remaining queue I can watch via various streaming services, another 1/3 I can pay $3.99 a pop to rent, and the rest ain't currently available on any streaming services.
I am waiting to see if I made the cut for the "secret mailing" list; NF announced they would randomly send out extra discs after 9/29 to selected members.
Im confused. A film nerd like you didnt sign up for NF until 2013? Pls explain
Prior to 2013 I used Greencine, which was the hipper, more cinephile-oriented “competitor”/alternative to NF DVD.Quote:
Originally Posted by mcski
I was also living in SF full-time up til 2009 and then part-time from 2009-2012, so I frequented the Blockbuster on Church, Tower on Market in the Castro, and Le Video and didn’t have much need for a mailing service like NF til I moved full-time to Tahoe. :cool:
The Wikipedia entry says Greencine shuttered in 2015, as does their dormant FB page, but I’m certain they stopped mailing DVDs in 2013 or even earlier…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GreenCine