Volume 043.5 - What To Stream 4/19 - 4/25
THE VOICE OF ENERGY VOL. 043.5
Back again, knocking on your door, saying, "Ay, yo, yo..." with another bunch of streaming picks for this week, focusing once again on films that are airing on TCM as part of their 31 Days of Oscar package. (All airtimes listed below are PT.)
As I mentioned on Friday, XRAY - the radio station where I do a show every week and serve as secretary for their Board of Directors - kicked off their Spring Fund Drive today. I'd love it if you'd be down to support the cause of independent media and noncommercial radio. I've set up a fundraising page, where I'm trying to hit a goal of $1,000. So I ask you, my loyal subscribers, to contribute $20 a piece. If only 30 of you heed the call, I will hit that goal and have bragging rights among the XRAY community like you wouldn't believe. Go right here and help me make a little history, baby.
And now... on with the show...
Monday April 19
On The Town (1949, dir. Stanley Donan & Gene Kelly)
A very personal choice as this isn't the greatest musical ever committed to film. But as a young lad who had decided to commit himself to loving cinema, this one of the first older films that I fell in love with. And it is the source of so many of my current interests like dance, jazz, and sailors on shore leave. Okay, maybe not the last one, but still... watching Gene Kelly at his fleet-footed best and hearing those unmistakable knee-buckling tones from Frank Sinatra as they tear through New York, New York on a weekend pass - all to the tune of some swinging, gritty ebullience by Leonard Bernstein - really sets the tone for what I'm hoping will be a great spring and summer. (airs on TCM at 7:45 pm
Tuesday April 20
Passion Fish (1992, dir. John Sayles)
The only male director that I would trust to faithfully and tastefully present a woman's story on screen is John Sayles. That has been the hallmark of his oft-overlooked career through work like Lianna, Limbo, Go for Sisters, and this brilliant film from 1992. Sayles, working from his own screenplay, takes us into the story of May-Alice (Mary McDonnell), an actress who is forced to move back to the Bayou after she's paralyzed in a car accident. She goes through the various stages of grief, taking it out on a series of nurses... until one - Chantelle (Alfre Woodard) - forces her to self-reflect and accept her fate. This isn't some Black savior narrative either as both women remain on equal footing throughout and Chantelle doesn't dole out flinty pearls of wisdom. They both grow as people naturally and honestly, as does their lovely friendship. (airing on TCM at 10:45 pm; also streaming on Kanopy and Hoopla)
Wednesday April 21
Poltergeist (1982, dir. Tobe Hooper)
Successful horror films often find their legacies diminished by cash grab sequels and poorly conceived remakes. That was the case with Poltergeist, a legitimately terrifying and visually thrilling haunted house movie that spawned two awful sequels and an equally braindead 2015 remake. (Rumors are that another "reboot" is on the horizon...ugh.) Stick with this original. Ignore the chatter about Spielberg supposedly directing this on the sly and simply enjoy the slowly building nightmare that this film creates with visual flash and chilling sound design. (airs on TCM at 11 pm; also streaming on HBO Max)
Thursday April 22
The Public Enemy (1931, dir. William Wellman)
A pre-Code gem that has influenced decades of gangster flicks. The story is a familiar one, following the rise in organized crime by young Irish-American and the many forces that rise up to snuff out his flame. The success of this one has everything to do with the dynamic directorial work of William Wellman, Devereaux Jennings' shadowy pre-noir cinematography, and a vicious lead performance by James Cagney as Tom Powers, the mama's boy thug who becomes a kingpin in turn-of-the-century Chicago. (airing on TCM at 8:45 pm; also streaming on HBO Max)
Friday April 23
Rear Window (1954, dir. Alfred Hitchcock)
Another film that helped fuel my love of cinema as a young man after my mother took the family to see it when it was re-released in the '80s. It took me years to finally see the lustful undertones happening between Grace Kelly and Jimmy Stewart's characters. There was enough going on within the voyeuristic murder mystery and the witty sass of Thelma Ritter to hook a pre-teen viewer. As well, Hitchcock and cinematographer Robert Burks made every scene feel like it was blistering and shimmering under the heat lamp of a brutal New York summer. Just thinking about it makes me perspire. (airs on TCM at 1 pm)
Saturday April 24
The Sea Wolf (1941, dir. Michael Curtiz)
One of my favorite Edward G. Robinson performances can be found in this seafaring metaphor for encroaching fascism. In it, he plays a tyrannical ship's captain who enjoys tormenting his crew. The battle of wills that ensues between he and the sailors looking to mutiny makes for a tense and at times horrifying piece of cinema. But threaded through the film are some potent and important arguments about the nature of man and how that can be influenced - and often corrupted - by the company that they keep. (airs on TCM at 10:30 am)
Sunday April 25
The Smiling Lieutenant (1931, dir. Ernst Lubitsch)
Not a huge favorite of mine as I've never been sold on Maurice Chevalier as an actor. But of the Sunday lineup, this is the best bet. If only to enjoy the acting of Claudette Colbert, playing the leader of an all-female orchestra in Austria. Pure lighthearted fare, but Colbert makes hay with it all, lending a sexual energy to film that was only possible in the pre-Code era. Keep an eye out as well for Miriam Hopkins as the woman who steals Chevalier's title character away. The butting of heads that was apparently going on between her and Colbert behind the scenes is evident in their tart, snarky interactions on screen. (airs on TCM at 5 pm)
That's the way it is. Way it's gotta be. Back on Friday with another edition of the proper newsletter, including my interview with musician Sarah Louise and some reviews. Love you all.
And seriously - please give to XRAY.