What's Noteworthy in August? A Lot.

Michael Douglas gets glittery

August has turned into an exceptional month for Amazon Prime. And while I don't want to keep harping on comparisons with Netflix (who's currently in my digital doghouse), the fact is, the quality of this month's new arrivals puts Netflix's spotty August list to shame. Whereas there were too few notable titles on that service to even bother listing, here on Prime it's all I can do to track everything. (Funnily enough, last month I had a similar urge to throw up my hands at Netflix—but it was over all the expiring titles.) At the same time, so many of Prime's new arrivals are exclusives, I've broken with my usual practice of labeling them PRIME ONLY and am noting instead those few exceptions that aren't exclusive.

HBO

So, where to begin? The most obvious headliners are the newly available HBO series, Aaron Sorkin's The Newsroom: Seasons 1-2, which arrived towards the end of July, and today's debut of all eight seasons of Larry David's cringingly funny Curb Your Enthusiasm. These two high-profile shows will likely get plenty of visibility on the Amazon site, so I don't need to spend much time on them here except to say what a great coup the service's HBO deal continues to be.

If further proof were needed, there was also the late-July arrival of Steven Soderbergh's Behind the Candelabra, a 2013 production meant to be the director's final theatrical film but, due to the skittishness of Hollywood's bean counters, was financed and released by HBO. Starring Michael Douglas and Matt Damon, this biopic of Liberace boasts not only a ridiculously high 95% score on Rotten Tomatoes, but a passel of industry awards including Emmys for Outstanding Movie, Actor (Douglas), and Director. In other words, a prestige production if there ever was one—TV or otherwise.

Prestige pics

Leo and Kate get serious

Speaking of movies with built-in luster, Prime's high-end theatrical offerings include two Mel Gibson flicks (Hamlet and The Patriot), a double shot of Clint Eastwood (In the Line of Fire and the Oscar-winning Unforgiven), Jack and Meryl boozing it up in Ironweed, Al Pacino hamming it up in Scent of a Woman, and Kate and Leo throwing it down in Sam Mendes' Revolutionary Road. Note that several of these and other (mostly Paramount) titles are inexplicably scheduled to expire at month's end, so you'll want to stream them sooner rather than later.

The Accused (1988)
Hamlet (1990) - EXPIRES 8/30
In the Line of Fire (1993)
Ironweed (1987) - EXPIRES 8/30
The Patriot (2000)
Portrait of a Lady (1997) - EXPIRES 8/30
Quills (2000) ALSO ON NETFLIX
Revolutionary Road (2009) - EXPIRES 8/30
Scent of a Woman (1992)
Unforgiven (1992)

Recent releases

Aside from the already mentioned Behind the Candelabra, the recent release with the most marquee value would have to be 2014's The Skeleton Twins, a drama that (surprisingly) stars Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader, who are said to acquit themselves well as estranged siblings. Also of potential interest is the weird-looking sci-fi/ horror flick, Closer to God, and the potentially terrible but possibly funny horror comedy, Silent But Deadly, starring Jason Mewes of Clerks fame (and not to be confused with the 2014 horror comedy of the same name, set in a retirement home).

Closer to God (2015)
Erased (2013)
Silent But Deadly (2011)
The Skeleton Twins (2014) ALSO ON NETFLIX

Foreign films

The most noteworthy recent releases can be found in the Foreign category and include the quirky, low-key thriller Nobody Else But You, resembling a cross between Twin Peaks and Fargo, only in French. Also new among the subtitled are films starring Isabelle Huppert (Special Treatment), Lea Seydoux and Diane Kruger (Farewell My Queen), and Hanna Schygulla (Sheer Madness)—making for a strong showing of female star power (something American movies generally fall short on). And in late July yet another Pasolini film appeared, 1966's The Gospel According to St. Matthew, joining two other recent entries by the Italian auteur.

Farewell My Queen (2012)
The German Doctor (2014)
The Gospel According to St. Matthew (1966)
Listen, Let's Make Love (1968)
Nobody Else But You (2012)
Sheer Madness (1985)
Special Treatment (2010)

Classics

Offering yet more proof that it can simultaneously respect movie history while producing original content, Prime delivers an interesting batch of classic titles this month, including a pair of Netflix castoffs (Brian DePalma's sublime Dressed to Kill, and Peter Bogdanovich's perfectly realized Paper Moon); two returning titles—one of which, John Schlesinger's gloomy but fascinating Day of the Locust, remains an exclusive; a couple of all-star WWII epics in The Longest Day and A Bridge Too Far (along with the scrappier Go for Broke! and Von Ryan's Express); and two rarely seen curiosities, 1972's Raquel Welch-Robert Culp starrer, Hannie Caulder, and Peter Hall's 1968 production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, featuring a drool-worthy cast that includes Diana Rigg, Helen Mirren, David Warner, Judi Dench, and Ian Holm—all so pink-cheeked they'll bring many an old-timer to tears. Again, a few of these will be leaving on the 30th, so catch them while you can.

A Bridge Too Far (1977)
Burnt Offerings (1976)
Day of the Locust (1975) - Returned
Dressed to Kill (1980)
Go for Broke! (1951)
Hannie Caulder (1972) - EXPIRES 8/30
Johnny Guitar (1954) - EXPIRES 8/30
The Longest Day (1962) ALSO ON NETFLIX
Malibu High (1979)
A Midsummer Night's Dream (1968)
Paper Moon (1973) - Review
Santee (1973) - Returned ALSO ON NETFLIX
Von Ryan's Express (1965) ALSO ON NETFLIX
Walking Tall (1973) - EXPIRES 8/30
Windwalker (1980) ALSO ON NETFLIX

Dramas

Less heralded but worth a mention are a number of dramas that include Oliver Stone's Salvador, Steve Klove's underrated Flesh and Bone (reviewed when it was on Netflix), and Bruno Barreto's star-filled docudrama, A Show of Force.

Flesh and Bone (1993) - Review
Little Odessa (1995)
Peacock (2010)
Salvador (1986)
A Show of Force (1990) - EXPIRES 8/30
Urbania (2000)

Family and kids

Amazon makes a strong showing in family films this month, including two genuine kids classics, Babe and the original Charlotte's Web; an acclaimed (and faithfully rendered) TV production of Alice Through the Looking Glass, starring Kate Beckinsale and a host of British character actors; the Peanuts movie Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown; and last year's Oscar-nominated Song of the Sea. Also animated is Road To Independence, which offers an entertaining and informative look at early American history for those wanting to delve beyond the typically spare and whitewashed lessons taught in high school.

Across the Great Divide (1976)
Alice Through the Looking Glass (1998)
Babe (1995)
Charlotte's Web (1973) - EXPIRES 8/30
Cold River (1982)
Dream a Little Dream (1989)
Problem Child (1990)
Race for Your Life, Charlie Brown (1977) - EXPIRES 8/30
Road To Independence (2011)
Song of the Sea (2014)

The rest

The remaining notable titles fall into a few different categories, with a decided emphasis on '80s and '90s cheese (think 10 to Midnight, Hot Pursuit, Some Kind of Wonderful, and Cutthroat Island), including that overripe Brie of cheesy movies, John and Bo Derek's "erotic" "comedy," Bolero. Among more interesting standouts, partly for their scarcity, are Cousins—a remake of the French Cousine, Cousine; the unlikely pairing of Dennis Hopper and Kiefer Sutherland in Flashback; and Kamikaze Hearts, a 1986 documentary focusing on 1970s porn star Sharon Mitchell.

Yep, Bo is smokin'

10 to Midnight (1983) - EXPIRES 8/30
Bolero (1984) - EXPIRES 8/30
Cheech & Chong's Still Smokin' (1983) - EXPIRES 8/30
Cousins (1989)
Cutthroat Island (1995)
Dead Again (1991)
Eulogy (2004)
Flashback (1990) - EXPIRES 8/30
Forever Mine (2001) - Returned
Hot Pursuit (1987) - EXPIRES 8/30
I Went Down (1997)
The Importance of Being Earnest (2002)
Kamikaze Hearts (1986)
The Monster Squad (1987) - EXPIRES 8/30
My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997) ALSO ON NETFLIX
My Bloody Valentine (1981) ALSO ON NETFLIX - EXPIRES 8/30
Some Kind of Wonderful (1987) - EXPIRES 8/30
Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
Top Secret! (1984) ALSO ON NETFLIX

And if all those aren't enough to keep you staring at your screen throughout the month, there are sure to be more arrivals in the weeks ahead, including the already announced list below. So, kudos to Amazon Prime for stepping up their game. Let's hope this continues to be the norm.

COMING SOON
8/7:   A Most Violent Year
8/15: If I Stay
8/16: Misery Loves Comedy
8/20: The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lava Girl
8/22: Timbuktu
8/23: Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter
8/28: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
TBD: The Legend of Longwood, Tarzan