The VCR / DVR / Streaming Alert Thread

[Mister Tee]

A little assistance for that devilishly obscure 1945 original screenplay category: one of the five, Music for Millions, will be showing on TCM, next Tuesday (January 15th) at 3:30pm ET.

[dws1982]

As Netflix has moved away from classic movies, Amazon Prime is really upping their game.

Most of the movies added are things that most here will have seen, but it's a wide array, from Ragtime to Klute to The Big Country, and tons of others, many of which haven't been released on Blu-Ray, but they'll all be in HD here.

[Mister Tee]

A gut check for the Oscar completist: this coming Saturday at 6:15PM ET, TCM is running When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth -- a Visual Effects nominee in 1971. (There were only two nominees that year, and I remember Gene Siskel writing "Tell your friends you'll bet a month's salary that Bedknobs and Broomsticks wins. Trust me.")

Back then, I didn't even consider going to see Dinosaurs. (Actually, didn't see Bedknobs, either, until years later on TV.) Today, of course, most of us would put ourselves through the damn thing for completeness. Hard call to make.

[Reza]

For completists:

A Special Day is being aired tonight on TCM at 8pm. In 1977, it was nominated for two Oscars: Best Foreign Film and Best Actor (Marcello Mastroianni).

It’s a gem of a film.

Sophia Loren should have been nominated instead of Mastroianni.

[mlrg]

For completists:

A Special Day is being aired tonight on TCM at 8pm. In 1977, it was nominated for two Oscars: Best Foreign Film and Best Actor (Marcello Mastroianni).

It’s a gem of a film.

[flipp525]

For completists:

A Special Day is being aired tonight on TCM at 8pm. In 1977, it was nominated for two Oscars: Best Foreign Film and Best Actor (Marcello Mastroianni).

[Precious Doll]

The hard to see Navajo (1952), nominated for best cinematography (black & white), is available on YouTube. It looks like it taken from a VHS tape that it is very good condition, though what little dialogue this is is out of synch. Most of the film is told in voice over.

Navajo was also nominated in the Documentary Feature category.

As well.

[Reza]

The hard to see Navajo (1952), nominated for best cinematography (black & white), is available on YouTube. It looks like it taken from a VHS tape that it is very good condition, though what little dialogue this is is out of synch. Most of the film is told in voice over.

Navajo was also nominated in the Documentary Feature category.

[Precious Doll]

The hard to see Navajo (1952), nominated for best cinematography (black & white), is available on YouTube. It looks like it taken from a VHS tape that it is very good condition, though what little dialogue this is is out of synch. Most of the film is told in voice over.

[The Original BJ]

Skyscraper (1928) nominated for 'Best Writing' is available on YouTube.

Wow, thanks for this. That one was on my list of nominees I assumed I'd never find in a million years (along with a bunch from that year.)

[Precious Doll]

Skyscraper (1928) nominated for 'Best Writing' is available on YouTube.

[dws1982]

For those of you with access to Amazon Prime, the complete miniseries version of Robert Atlman's Vincent and Theo is available on streaming.

[Mister Tee]

Alert for Oscar completists:

2AM ET Monday March 26th, TCM is showing The Walls of Malapaga, which won the then-honorary best foreign film award for 1950.

It's followed immediately by Renoir's French Cancan, which I've never seen but has a solid reputation.

A Jean Gabin fest.

[Big Magilla]

With Byrd at the South Pole was long available on VHS and DVD, but is now out of print.

It was a big box-office success in the early 1930s and in the late 1940s and early 1950s was a staple of films shown in schools. I saw it in the first or second grade at an event held in the school's auditorium in lieu of classes one Friday afternoon. It used to show up on the Late Show when the Late Show meant movies, not talk shows. It was filmed between 1928 and 1930. It deftly bridged the gap between silent films and talkies, starting out as a silent film with title cards and ending up with informative narration over the last fifteen minutes or so. It's quite riveting, and richly deserved its cinematography win.

[Mister Tee]

An early alert to one we'll need when we get to 1930's cinematography race, and which I doubt many will have seen:

Thursday, October 19th, 8AM ET: With Byrd at the South Pole

...which might even be of historical interest. Or a complete bore; who knows? But an opportunity like this, an Oscar completist can't pass up.