November's Notables

One very tasty Delicatessen

November may not have brought the same cornucopia of new titles as September and October, but there are still plenty of worthy additions to hit Prime in the past week. Standouts include a Who's Who of films by significant directors, including Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro's Looney Tunes-like sci-fi dystopia, Delicatessen, Jim Jarmusch's Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, Michael Mann's slick, early Hannibal Lecter tale, Manhunter, Woody Allen's surprising (and very funny) recent hit, Midnight in Paris, and the Tom Hanks (and Oscar) showcase, Jonathan Demme's Philadelphia. Also on hand is Pablo Berger's 2012 silent black-and-white retelling of Snow White, Blancanieves, which is said to be haunting and quite beautiful (it's been in my Netflix queue for ages). The full list of standouts:

Awakenings (1990)
Blancanieves (2012)
Buffalo 66 (1998)
Crash (2004)
Delicatessen (1992)
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (2000)
Gods and Monsters (1999)
The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus (2009)
Manhunter (1986)
Midnight in Paris (2011)
Philadelphia (1993)

Al Pacino in Danny Collins

New releases

Among new releases are the acclaimed Al Pacino and Annette Bening comedy, Danny Collins; the horror pic Blood Moon; and Shanghai, a period piece starring John Cusack, Gong Li and Chow Yun-Fat. Also now streaming is the latest batch of Amazon Pilots, most of which show lots of promise. There's Shane Black's western, Edge, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris' oddball comedy Highston (they directed Little Miss Sunshine and Ruby Sparks), Christina Ricci in Z, a half-hour drama focused on Zelda Fitzgerald, and Tig Notaro's comedy, One Mississippi. Spy buffs may appreciate Patriot, starring Ally McBeal's Gil Bellows, while those who miss Mad Men should definitely check out the female-centered, 1969-set drama, Good Girls Revolt. Lots of new kid show pilots are also streaming, many of them rating five stars (vote for your faves if you want to see more of them). Oh, and fans of The Man in the High Castle—of which I'm one—will be pleased to see the entire first season arriving on November 20.

Amazon's Fall 2015 Pilots
23 Minutes to Sunrise (2013)
Blood Moon (2015)
Danny Collins (2015)
Dick Cavett's Vietnam (2015)
Shanghai (2015)
Tell (2014)

Classics

For once there aren't a ton of classics debuting, but four in particular might be called heavy hitters: Mike Nichols and Jules Feiffer's scabrously funny (and very politically incorrect) look at love and sex, Carnal Knowledge; 1957's The Enemy Below, a gripping tale of submarine warfare that stars Robert Mitchum—and provided the template for the famous Star Trek episode, "Balance of Terror"; the late Katherine Hepburn/Spencer Tracy pairing, Desk Set; and Robert Benton's big 1979 Oscar-winner, Kramer vs. Kramer, with its still resonant central performances by Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep.

Carnal Knowledge (1971)
Desk Set (1957)
The Enemy Below (1957)
Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)

Perennials

A number of on-again, off-again streaming titles return this month, most of which make for a fun and entertaining watch (or rewatch) on a gloomy autumn's eve. Note that three of the most notable—Batman, Batman Returns, and A League of Their Own—are already earmarked for an 11/29 departure. So stick those on the top of your watchlist.

Air Force One (1997)
Batman (1989) - exp. 11/29
Batman Returns (1992) - exp. 11/29
Beyond the Sea (2004)
The Craft (1996)
A League of Their Own (1992) - exp. 11/29
The Mask of Zorro (1998)
The Newton Boys (1998)
Seven Years in Tibet (1997)
Something's Gotta Give (2003)

Holiday (and animated) fun

Never one to shy away from the most commercial season of the year, Amazon gets its Christmas bandwagon rolling with the Prime release of a few classic animated specials, including Frosty's Winter Wonderland, The Year Without a Santa Claus, and It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown.

Speaking of Charlie Brown, the Peanuts specials You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown and Snoopy's Reunion also join the mix. Meanwhile, for fans of classic-era The Amazing Spider-Man, I hear that 2003's Spider-Man: The New Animated Series will be well worth your time.

Frosty's Winter Wonderland (1976)
Rudolph and Frosty's Christmas in July (1979)
Spider-Man: The New Animated Series  (2003)
The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974)
It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown (1992)
Snoopy's Reunion (1991)
You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (1985)

Troma gets Toxic

"You talkin' to me?"

The monthly outpouring of more Troma titles continues, but this time the biggest of big guns joins the micro-budget flock: ol' Citizen Toxie himself, in the original The Toxic Avenger (and two of its sequels), along with that other '80s (cough) classic, Surf Nazis Must Die. Still not enough for your depraved, low-brow tastes? Then how about these:

Blood, Boobs & Beast (2007)
The Children (1980)
Mother's Day (1980)
Sgt. Kabukiman N.Y.P.D. (1990)
Surf Nazis Must Die (1987)
The Toxic Avenger (1986) / Part II (1989)  / Part III (1989)
And many, many more

And when you're done sampling the best (and worst) of Troma, there's a whole other trove of exploitation flicks now streaming, from MTI Home Video—not a single title of which (I'm proud to say) I've ever heard of.

Surprise expirations

One final order of business: A number of classic—mostly MGM and Paramount—titles expired without warning at the end of October. I had happily noted their arrival quite recently, and so was especially disappointed to discover them gone. Since none were in my watchlist last month, I can't say for sure whether they had the usual 30-day notice or if they simply disappeared. For the record, they were:

A Bridge Too Far (1977)
Day of the Locust (1975)
Down to the Bone (2004)
Dressed to Kill (1980)
Paper Moon (1973)
Until September (1984)

There may be a few others I didn't catch, but for now let's hope they find their way back to Prime soon.