December's New Titles

A nice batch of movies debuted on Amazon Prime in the last week, mixing new releases with classics, silents, foreign, and titles by some of cinema's top directors. There are horror films, musicals, blaxpoitation flicks, and even a lone James Bond movie (but catch it quick—it expires at the end of the month).

Nick Cave broods in 20,000 Days on Earth

Recent releases

Among new and recent releases are the acclaimed Nick Cave documentary, 20,000 Days on Earth, Chris Rock's autobiographical comedy, Top Five, a new-ish film from Swimming Pool director Francois Ozon, In the House, plus a brand-new one starring Catherine Deneuve, In the Courtyard.

20,000 Days on Earth (2014)
Casual Encounters (2015)
The Details (2012)
In the Courtyard (2015)
In the House (2012)
Top Five (2014)

The Auteurs

John Travolta listens in Blow Out

If, like me, you often choose a film based on who made it, you'll be pleased to see that a number of titles by brand-name directors are now available to stream. Standouts include Brian DePalma's homage to Blow-Up, the 1981 paranoid thriller Blow Out, showcasing an excellent John Travolta performance; Ridley Scott's moody, near-forgotten cop thriller, Black Rain (1989), starring Michael Douglas and Andy Garcia; Todd Haynes' unconventional Bob Dylan biopic, I'm Not There; and Vittoria de Sica's Indiscretion of an American Wife, with Jennifer Jones and Montgomery Clift. Also on hand are films by Monte Hellman (Cockfighter), James Toback (Exposed), Jean Renoir (The Southerner), and Wim Wenders (Hammett), along with EPIX's rotating batch of Francis Ford Coppola titles, which include the epic Apocalypse Now (and its lesser Redux version), the beautiful strangeness that is One from the Heart, and the poetic, highly personal Tetro.

Apocalypse Now (1979) / Apocalypse Now Redux (2001)
Black Rain (1989)
Blow Out (1981)
Cockfighter (1974)
Exposed (1983)
Hammett (1982)
I'm Not There (2007)
Indiscretion of an American Wife (1953)
One from the Heart (1982)
The Southerner (1945)
Tetro (2009)

Julie Newmar stupefies in Li'l Abner

Classics

Do classic films have to be good, or just old? Given the paucity of truly great pre-1982 films on most streaming services (Hulu's Criterion collection being a major exception), lovers of older cinema are often forced to settle for what's obscure or potentially interesting. Aside from a couple of titles mentioned above, Amazon's classic Prime entries this month may not include the truly great. But along with recognizable titles such as Father's Little Dividend, The Jackie Robinson Story, and the Marilyn Monroe-Robert Mitchum starrer, River of No Return, there are genuine curiosities like the Mickey Rooney race car flick The Big Wheel, the daffy 1959 musical version of Li'l Abner, a Bob Hope-Bing Crosby road picture, Road to Bali, and Jack Palance (and his big gun) dominating 1975's The Four Deuces. There's also James Caan in something called Gone in the West (also from 1975), and Edward Dmytrk's Broken Lance, with Spencer Tracy.

The Big Wheel (1949)
Broken Lance (1954)
The Carson City Kid (1940)
Father's Little Dividend (1951)
The Four Deuces (1975)
Glorifying the American Girl (1929)
Gone in the West, a.k.a. Little Moon & Jud McGraw (1975)
The Jackie Robinson Story (1950)
Li'l Abner (1959)
Outpost in Morocco (1949)
River of No Return (1953)
Road to Bali (1952)

Silents

A handful of silent films are now available, including an HD version of 1925's The Eagle, which features forgotten heartthrob Rudolph Valentino; The Love Light, with Mary Pickford; and two by D.W. Griffith: Way Down East, starring Lillian Gish, and an HD version of undisputed classic Intolerance.

The Eagle (1925)
Intolerance (1916)
The Love Light (1921)
Way Down East (1920)

Horror

This month's horror offerings fall distinctly into the low-rent category, but they should provide a bit of fun for true horror buffs. They include the Roger Corman-directed Creature from the Haunted Sea, and 1941's Spooks Run Wild—featuring the unlikely combo of Bela Lugosi and the East Side Kids. But whatever you do, Don't Look in the Basement!

William Marshall sucks (blood) in Blacula

Attack of the Giant Leeches (1959)
Creature from the Haunted Sea (1961)
Don't Look in the Basement (1973)
Friday the 13th (1980) + sequels
The Giant Gila Monster (1959)
Spooks Run Wild (1941)

Blaxpoitation

Speaking of entertaining low-rent releases, why not add some blaxpoitation to your watchlist? Prime's now got Pam Grier in 1972's Black Mama, White Mama, not one but two Blacula flicks, and three Vietnam vets fighting the KKK in Brotherhood of Death. Ka-boom, sucker.

Black Mama, White Mama (1972)
Blacula (1972) / Scream Blacula Scream (1973)
Brotherhood of Death (1976)
12/8: Get Christie Love (1974)

Also now playing

The remaining December releases don't fall into any particular category, but those that may be of special interest include Leonie, a 2010 film starring Emily Mortimer and Mad Men's Christina Hendricks; Lulu on the Bridge, written and directed by novelist Paul Auster, starring Harvey Keitel; an hour-long doc on the Pacific War, Appointment in Tokyo; and one of Katie Holmes' better roles in the 2003 indie charmer, Pieces of April. There's also Pierce Brosnan in the aforementioned 007 flick, Tomorrow Never Dies, which has for some reason appeared, all on its own, for one month only—so completists and hardcore fans should check it out while they can.

AntiTrust (2001)
Appointment in Tokyo (1996)
De-Lovely (2004)
Hoffa (1992)
Leonie (2010)
Love Is a Gun (1994) - expires 12/29
Lulu on the Bridge (1998)
Pieces of April (2003)
Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) - expires 12/30
Young Sherlock Holmes (1985)

Katie Holmes stresses in Pieces of April