May's Noteworthy Arrivals

Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary

Some interesting PRIME ONLY entries this month, especially for fans of cult and art films. If you like things weird, wacky, and highly original, it's tough to go wrong with anything by director Guy Maddin. He's the guy who directed 2004's hoot, The Saddest Music in the World (probably his best-known film), as well as Careful (1992) and the highly regarded ballet adaptation, Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary (2003), both of which are now streaming.

Also falling into the weird category are a handful of cult horror flicks released under the Mutant Sorority Pictures label (which for some of you should be recommendation enough):

Death Laid an Egg (1968)
Demon Seed, a.k.a, Satan's Mistress, Dark Eyes, Demon Rage (1982) - not to be confused with Donald Cammel's far superior 1977 film starring Julie Christie
Jail Bait Babysitter (1977)
Satan's School for Girls (1973)

Lollobrigida, Aulin, and friends

I've been wanting see the hard-to-find Death Laid an Egg for ages now (mainly for Candy's Ewa Aulin), so this is a welcome opportunity. Happily, this disturbing tale of poultry, adultery, and serial murder also stars French '60s stalwart Jean-Louis Trintignant and Italian bombshell Gina Lollobrigida, making it a genuine curiosity even for non-horror buffs.

Catering even more to the art film crowd are Agnes Varda's unconventional documentary The Gleaners and I (she also directed the French New Wave classic, Cleo from 5 to 7), and another doc, In the Mirror of Maya Deren (2003), a portrait of the influential avant-garde filmmaker.

One other documentary about a filmmaker, The People vs. George Lucas (2010), doesn't fall into the above categories, but it's extremely entertaining for Star Wars fans or anyone curious about the endearingly dysfunctional relationship between fans and creator. You can read a brief review posted earlier on the Netflix blog.

Also worth noting are the English drama, Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont (2011), starring Joan Plowright and Zoe Tapper (Survivors), and yet another segment from PBS's American Short Story Collection, Paul's Case (1980), which stars Eric Roberts and is based on the story by Willa Cather.

Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont

The full list of notable additions is below, including such upcoming titles as Martin Scorsese's The Aviator and Lynn Shelton's Laggies, the latter of which I'm particularly eager to see.

Earlier in May

The Big Empty (2003)
Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
Blown Away (1993)
Blue Velvet (1986)
Careful (1992) PRIME ONLY
Close Quarters (2012) PRIME ONLY
Death Laid an Egg (1968) PRIME ONLY
Defiance: Season 2 (2014) PRIME ONLY
Demon Seed (1982) PRIME ONLY
Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary (2003) PRIME ONLY
Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010)
The Gleaners and I (2000) PRIME ONLY
Grizzly Man (2005)
Harold and Maude (1971)
In the Mirror of Maya Deren (2003) PRIME ONLY
Men in Black II (2002)
Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont (2011) PRIME ONLY
Paul's Case (1980) PRIME ONLY
Payback (1999)
The People vs. George Lucas (2010) PRIME ONLY
The Professional (1994)
The Puffy Chair (2005)
Queen to Play (2009) PRIME ONLY
Ravenous (1999)
The Real Blonde (1997)
Rush (1991)
Satan's School for Girls (1973) PRIME ONLY
Santee (1973)
The Words (2012)

May 18

The Aviator (2004)

May 21

Struck by Lightning (2012)

May 27

Laggies (2014)

May 29

Low Down (2014)