Streaming Classics

[Ashenden]

Hello friends,

This will be a fork of the excellent thread started by FM @esanthosh, recommending classics, art house and independent movies. Some of these movies might be famous now, have a cult following or have been erstwhile blockbusters, but many are unknown. The best way to watch these movies will be to buy or rent DVDs/BluRay. However considering the convenience of streaming, and the potential it has, it would be a shame if some these classics don't get added to the huge catalog provided by mainstream providers like Netflix and PrimeVideo. Off late I have been noticing that Netflix India is slowly adding more of these gems to their ever growing database, with excellent remasters of the original. The choice is limited and keeps changing, but nevertheless a boon for cinephiles!

So what makes a movie a "classic"? These are the movies that have transcended time with their unique narrative structure and artistic storytelling and often defied trends. These can be watched several times over and we get something more out of them with each viewing. Like a complex piece of classical music, they capture our attention in the beginning and on repeated viewings these do end up permeating our very being. So there are no restrictions to the time they were filmed or received wide audience.

We will stick to India specific catalog from Netflix, Prime Video, YouTube movies and Hotstar for this thread so that members can explore new directors, discover unseen movies from those that they know or relive their long forgotten favorites. The unique offerings like Mubi and Criterion channel won't be included here.

To start the thread, I'll include a few from my favorite directors that are available on Netflix India (as of today). Kindly add your favorites to the thread!

Stanley Kubrick: Full Metal Jacket, 2001 A Space Odyssey, The Shining , A Clockwork Orange
Alfred Hitchcock: Rebecca, Vertigo
Orson Welles: The Stranger
James Ivory: The remains of the day
Martin Scorcese: The Age of Innocence
Ang Lee: Sense and Sensibility

Thanks for reading, have a great weekend

 

[Ashenden]

A few more from the current generation of movie makers. All are currently available on Netflix

Darren Aronofsky: Mother!
Alejandro González Iñárritu: Babel, Birdman, The revenant
Alfonso Cuaron: Roma, Gravity, A little princess
Guillermo del Toro: Pan's Labyrinth
M. Night Shyamalan: Unbreakable, The sixth sense
Jordan Peele: Get Out

 

[Ashenden]

Another selection of newer movies that share a common characteristic: artistic portrayal of human emotions and their deeply unsettling dark side.

Olivier Assayas: Personal Shopper
Derek Cianfrance: Blue Valentine
Spike Jonze: Her
Dan Gilroy: Nightcrawler, Velvet Buzzsaw
Sean Penn: Into the Wild

 

[Ashenden]

Last night I watched “Funny Girl” on Netflix. This is a musical comedy from William Wyler who is known for giving us classics like “Ben Hur”, “The Best Years of Our Lives” and “Mrs Miniver”.The first time I watched this movie was quite a while ago, but I still find Barbara Streisand just as charming and marvelous and the excellent Omar Sharif is still the “Park Avenue gentleman”, that he portrays. As with “Ben Hur” and “Lawrence of Arabia”, this movie too features an Overture and Entr’acte (which is rarely seen nowadays), so this is the movie in it's entirety, with no edits, enhanced for widescreen viewing.

Funny Girl | Netflix

Comedienne Fanny Brice rises from a New York tenement to the toast of Broadway, but fame can't keep her from falling for a self-destructive gambler.

www.netflix.com