In last week's article about FilmStruck alternatives, I didn't go into detail about Kanopy - the free streaming service you can access through your library card. The problem was that my card is with the Alameda Public Library, which doesn't qualify. Soon after I posted that article, I discovered that I can get a library … Continue reading Kanopy: The free FilmStruck alternative
What’s Screening: December 7 – 13
This week on Bay Area movie screens: Fritz Lang, Billy Wilder, a Peter Sellers masterpiece double bill, and some animated Shakespeare. Also, your last chance to attend a film festival in 2018. Festivals When Another Hole in the Head Film Festival closes Wednesday, it will also close Bay Area Film Festivals for 2018. Read my … Continue reading What’s Screening: December 7 – 13
Some Like It Hot: The Criterion Blu-ray
I'm not sure if Some Like It Hot really is, as the American Film Institute declared in 2000, the best American film comedy of all time. It certainly belongs in the top 10. There are comedies with a higher laugh-to-minute ratio, and others that have more to say about the human condition. But I doubt you could find … Continue reading Some Like It Hot: The Criterion Blu-ray
What to Watch Between FilmStruck and the Criterion Channel
FilmStruck is dead. It's replacement, The Criterion Channel, won't go online until spring. And when you consider the problems of developing a complex website, that may mean October. So how will you stream classic films in the coming months? Here are some alternatives to keep you going until The Criterion Channel goes live. All of … Continue reading What to Watch Between FilmStruck and the Criterion Channel
My Report on The Day of Silents
I spent more than 13 hours in the Castro Theatre Saturday, watching six programs of silent films. I discovered two great comedies (one short, one feature), revisited a romantic epic, and listened to a lot of great, live music. I noticed an interesting programming choice involving the music. The Festival hired piano players to accompany … Continue reading My Report on The Day of Silents
Movies I’ve Recently Seen: The Last of FilmStruck
Here are the last films I watched on FilmStruck - all movies I'd either never seen before or hadn't seen in years. I'm listing them, not by quality, but in the order I saw them. A- Walkabout (1971), Tuesday afternoon Nicolas Roeg takes us to Australia and the edge between civilization and the wild. As with … Continue reading Movies I’ve Recently Seen: The Last of FilmStruck
What’s Screening: November 30 – December 6
Going through FilmStruck withdrawal? Perhaps you can relieve the symptoms by watching movies where they should be seen - in a theater. Consider these mostly old movies screening in the Bay Area this week. Festivals Another Hole in the Head Film Festival continues through this week and beyond New Italian Cinema opens Friday and closes … Continue reading What’s Screening: November 30 – December 6
Roma: Alfonso Cuarón recalls his childhood
A Drama Written & directed by Alfonso Cuarón Opens Friday What an amazing film! Alfonso Cuarón, after making Children of Men and Gravity, returns to his native Mexico to create a loosely-plotted study of Mexico City, 1970-71, through the eyes of an indigenous maid who works for a comfortable middle-class family. At first, Roma seems … Continue reading Roma: Alfonso Cuarón recalls his childhood
Movies I’ve Recently Seen: More FilmStruck binge watching
With Thanksgiving finished, I had a chance to watch more movies before FilmStruck goes away. Only three more days left in the best streaming service ever. A Being There (1979), FilmStruck Peter Sellers gave the best performance of his life as Chance, the Gardener (AKA Chauncey Gardner), a mentally deficient TV addict who knows only about … Continue reading Movies I’ve Recently Seen: More FilmStruck binge watching
Chaplin Diary, Part 19: A King in New York
With his last starring film, A King in New York (1957), Charlie Chaplin finally remembered that he was first and foremost a clown. For the first time since The Great Dictator, he's made a movie that is more than sporadically funny. And yet he manages to give it a serious side as well. Which isn't … Continue reading Chaplin Diary, Part 19: A King in New York
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