Passing the Torch

In all probability, this is my last post for What's On PRIME Now? The reason is simple: after 2-1/2 years running the Netflix blog and ten months overseeing this one, I'm feeling a bit blogged out. I also recently found myself experiencing an acute case of media overload, compelling me to cut back on my streaming options—first by canceling Netflix in November, then Amazon Prime earlier this month. The latter decision had nothing to do with any disenchantment with Prime, whose catalog and creative choices remain impressive, but simply because my subscription was up and I found that Hulu fulfills most of my entertainment cravings (which was highly unlikely only a few months ago).

So, as of February 1, I will no longer be the point man for all things Prime. I'll be over at Hulu, watching old episodes of Route 66 and The Dick Cavett Show.

Thank you, everyone, for your contributions and feedback over the past year, and for making this still very exclusive corner of the web one of your regular stops. I hope you'll continue to check in, add to the lists and conversation, and treat your new Master of Ceremonies with the same enthusiasm and respect you did me. There are still very few places to find the type of crowd-sourced info that What's On PRIME Now? specializes in, so I hope this site will continue to grow and be a singular voice in the Prime-watching community.

Until we meet again, happy streaming!

David

New in September: Movie Overload

Up In the Air

I've been trying to finish this post since last week, but there have been so many new additions to Amazon Prime since then, it's taken me much longer than expected. While Netflix is busy shedding older catalog titles left and right in favor of exclusive content, Prime continues to bulk up its film library with an enormous assortment of new arrivals. A number of them (such as The Captains, The Blair Witch Project, and Up In the Air) also just showed up on Netflix, but unlike Netflix—who's letting its licensing agreement with Epix expire on September 30—Prime won't be losing those titles at the end of the month. Amazon also seems to have picked up a major chunk of the hundreds of 2nd- and 3rd-tier older titles Netflix began shedding without warning back in July.

Here for one month only

That doesn't mean Amazon is entirely off the hook, however. Once again Prime picked up a number of older films that already come with an expiration date. Those include notables like Street Smart, The Gambler, Racing with the Moon, and West Side Story. Why this behavior, which also occurred last month, is being repeated is a mystery (to those of us on the outside, anyway), but we can only hope it doesn't become the new normal. In the meantime, here are the new titles marked to expire on 9/29. If their status changes or you find any others, please let me know in the comments.

The Bellboy (1960)
The Gambler (1974)
Ghoulies (1984) / Ghoulies II (1988)
Invasion U.S.A. (1985)
Nobody's Fool (1995)
Racing with the Moon (1984)
Sliver (1993)
Some Kind of Hero (1982)
Street Smart (1987)
West Side Story (1961)

More July Newbies

Robey and Co.

Another crop of interesting additions found their way to Prime Instant Video this week, including a few unexpected TV shows and a number of new-ish foreign and indie titles.

TV Series

All of the new TV offerings, except for Star Trek: The Animated Series—which I wrote up elsewhere a while back—are exclusive to Prime (i.e., not on Netflix), while Beauty and the Beast, like a number of previously mentioned arrivals, was another Netflix casualty earlier this month. Does this mean Prime will soon be acquiring some of the classic series currently scheduled to leave Netflix, like Adam-12, Magnum P.I., and Quincy, M.E.? One can only hope. Meanwhile, fans of cult '80s shows (and anyone old enough to remember Robey) will be thrilled to fill their watchlists with three seasons' worth of Friday the 13th: The Series. Brrr—scary, boys and girls!

Beauty and the Beast (1987-1990)
Belfast Zoo (2006-2007)
The Cleaner (2008-2009)
Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman (1993-1998)
Friday the 13th: The Series (1987-1990)
Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973-1974)

For June: Coppola & Kubrick In, PBS Out

[6/19 NOTE: It appears most of the PBS shows have now been renewed.]

In a month that saw the arrival of Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979), Stanley Kubrick's The Shining (1980), and a handful of classics that include People Will Talk (1951), Roman Holiday (1953), and The Paper Chase (1973), you would think there would be cause for celebration among subscribers to Amazon Prime (especially considering the ongoing scarcity of Kubrick films on streaming services).

Unfortunately, if you're a PBS fan, the more significant story is the scheduled June 13 June 20 departure of a large number of programs, including such stalwarts as Nova, Frontline, American Experience, and the many acclaimed documentaries from Ken and Ric Burns. Given the recent loss of nearly all things Comedy Central—plus a large swath of BBC content earlier this year—that leaves some sizable gaps in Prime's TV catalog. Sure, HBO and original Amazon series continue to grow, and there's still a decent mix of FOX, USA, and other network content, but that will be of little consolation to diehard comedy and public television fans.

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)

New Arrivals: Let's Get Literary

Here are the latest titles to hit Amazon Prime, most of which aren't available on Netflix (although a couple of them, The Polar Express and Sherrybaby, used to be).

9 Full Moons (2014) PRIME ONLY
Belle Epine (2010) PRIME ONLY
Hitler's Children (2011)
Personal Effects (2009) PRIME ONLY
The Polar Express (2004) PRIME ONLY
Sherrybaby (2006) PRIME ONLY
Sieze the Day (1986)* PRIME ONLY
Winnebago Man (2010)
Who Am I This Time? (1982) PRIME ONLY
With Friends Like These (1998) PRIME ONLY

Women In Trouble (2009) PRIME ONLY

I've long been an admirer of the short film, Who Am I This Time?. A charming slice of Americana directed by Jonathan Demme for PBS's American Playhouse in 1982, it stars Christopher Walken and Susan Sarandon as small-town actors who learn to see each other through their roles in an amateur production of A Streetcar Named Desire. Walken is especially effective as a shy introvert who transforms into a god-like Stanley Kowalski when he hits the stage.

Welcome to What's On PRIME Now!

Similar to What's On NETFLIX Now?, this blog will focus on what's new, notable, and expiring on Amazon Prime. Since there don't seem to be a lot of sites dedicated to tracking Amazon's comings and goings, it seemed like a good idea to gather all this info in one place. The basic setup is the same as on sister site WoNN, but for now the emphasis will be less on critical commentary and more on providing simple lists of titles (which is what most visitors seem interested in anyway).

If you've used both services, you know that Amazon and Netflix stream a lot of the same content. Between the two, the consensus is that Netflix holds the edge in terms of exclusives and overall back catalog, while Amazon gives you the handy option to buy any titles not included with Prime.

But Amazon—beyond its much-heralded HBO contract (see: The Wire, The Sopranos), BBC America shows (e.g., Orphan Black) and growing stable of original series (the award-winning Transparent)—also offers desirable titles of its own. These include new releases like Listen Up Phillip and Michel Gondry's Mood Indigo, interesting indie fare (Monte Hellman's Road to Nowhere), obscure foreign cinema (some admittedly not so great), a surprising number of old exploitation films (Claudia Jennings in Unholy Rollers!), and a catalog of classics that nicely complements Netflix's rapidly shrinking pre-1980 list—for example, noirs like Dark Passage and westerns like Broken Arrow Red River and The Magnificent Seven.

The blog's priority will be noting these types of titles as they appear (or are discovered), then adding the best of them to the exclusive Only On Prime page.

Speaking of which, here are April's PRIME ONLY debuts:

Adaptation (2002)
The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland (1999)
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)
Bits and Pieces (1996)
Delicacy (2012)
Dick Cavett's Watergate (2014)
Forever's End (2014)
Ken Burns: The Roosevelts - An Intimate History (2014)
Lay the Favorite (2012)
Little Women (1994)
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997)
My Old Lady (2014)
Road to Nowhere (2011)
Submarine (2011)
Time Scanners: Season 1 (2014)
Troy: Director's Cut (2004)
When Harry Met Sally (1989)

Note that PRIME ONLY in this case simply means "not on Netflix." Some of these titles may show up on Hulu or other sites, but for now that's not within my capacity to track. For a complete list of new arrivals, be sure to check out the New This Month page. And of course titles scheduled to leave within the next 30 days should be listed on Expiring Soon.

As with its companion site, What's On PRIME Now? will be as thorough (and current) as possible. But since I only have one set of eyes—and so many hours in a day—a bit of help is always welcome. If any of you stumble upon titles you deem list-worthy, please don't hesitate to let me know via the comments section on the appropriate page. Not only will I be grateful, but so will everyone who comes here to see what's what. Thanks!

To readers old and new, I hope you enjoy your visit. If you do, please spread the word to other Prime users (the URL www.whatsonprimenow.com will take them here). You may also want to take a moment to subscribe—using the little box up top or via an RSS feed—so you can be alerted to new posts as they're published. I did consider porting over all my WoNN subscribers, but of course not everyone has both Netflix and Prime, so the choice is up to you.

As always, happy streaming!

David