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Netflix Films Streaming and DVD By Mail

Posted: December 15th, 2010, 11:29 am
by moira finnie
As many subscribers to Netflix already know, the company is shifting from mailed DVDs to more online streaming and direct to your television movies. This morning I discovered that many movies that have never before been on DVD in the United States, but are available on Region 2 DVDs, are now streaming on the Netflix site. They are not all great movies, but there are some interesting films.

As unearthed by Laura's Miscellaneous Musings here, many rare American films, such as Douglas Sirk's Sleep, My Love (1948), Max Ophuls' Caught (1949), Moonrise (1948) with Dane Clark and Gail Russell, Hostile Witness (1968) with Ray Milland, Joel McCrea in The Lone Hand (1953) and Cattle Drive (1951), Alan Ladd in Botany Bay (1953), Man in the Net (1959), Captain Carey, USA (1950) [though I'd like to see more of his noir titles!] are among the gems there. The British movies online are incredible: Hungry Hill (1947) with Margaret Lockwood & Jean Simmons (based on a Daphne du Maurier book), London Belongs to Me (1948) aka Dulcimer Street with Alastair Sim, Cottage to Let (1941) aka Bombsight Stolen with John Mills, Bulldog Jack (1935) Alias Bulldog Drummond with Ralph Richardson, Highly Dangerous (1950) with Margaret Lockwood and Dane Clark, There are also many of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's films that are on DVD but their inclusion makes it possible to see good prints online as well on home video.

Re: Netflix Streaming Films

Posted: December 15th, 2010, 11:40 am
by movieman1957
I knew they were getting more toward streaming. My bill went up a $1. I like the streaming but most of what I like is only available on DVD but any additions are welcome.

Re: Netflix Streaming Films

Posted: December 15th, 2010, 1:25 pm
by klondike
Huzzah! :o
London Belongs To Me is my gem of choice here - Alastair Sim is one of the happiest discoveries of Brit cinema for me . . I'm trying to be a fan (Green is for Danger coming out on DVD helped), but his stuff continues being hard to nail down!
Maybe this will be enough to topple me off the Netflix fence . . :roll:

Re: Netflix Streaming Films

Posted: December 15th, 2010, 2:05 pm
by JackFavell
I can tell you that for me anyway, Bulldog Jack was a big disappointment. Starting out with a great deal of charm,a good cast, and a good premise, this opus starring the "antic" Jack Hulbert very nearly made me pull my fingernails out one by one. That occupation would have been more pleasurable than what I did do, which was to dully sit through to the end with my mouth open, stunned.

The NY Times critic from 1935, Andre Seinwald, called Hulbert the "Wheeler and Woolsey of British comedy", and I would say that is a fair assessment. Unfortunately, the Hulbert succeeded in annoying me in a way that W and W never have come close to doing. He tries waaay too hard, probably because the script hinders rather than helps him. What might have been a light, airy, Bertie Wooster-style escapade, becomes a tedious drawn out affair with no charm at all, thanks to a script (or a director) that insisted on following our hero through the most boring actions of the story - whenever he is trapped or gets himself into a scrape, we are forced to watch as hours seem to go by - while he flounders his way out of the situation. Nothing is resolved charmingly, or even interestingly. The plot points are great, but the stuff in between them is just blather - filler meant to get us from point A to point B and boring as all get out It's a shame, the idea was so good.

Ralph Richardson spends his precious little screen time fooling about in a messy fright wig, playing Moriarty. The movie is probably worth watching as a curiosity, but I am surprised that audiences in 1935 didn't take an idea from the film and burn the place down in order to get out of the theatre. 72 minutes seemed like 72 hours.

I am really glad I got to watch it, though, thanks to Netflix streaming, because finding a film like this nowadays is rare. It's too bad it wasn't the gem it could have been.

Re: Netflix Streaming Films that Are Only on R2 DVDs

Posted: December 15th, 2010, 3:04 pm
by movieman1957
I just realized I watched "Cattle Drive" several weeks ago and didn't realize it fit in this way. A few others are going on the list.

Re: Netflix Streaming Films that Are Only on R2 DVDs

Posted: December 15th, 2010, 3:18 pm
by JackFavell
How was Cattle Drive, Chris? I love the cast, I am a big Dean Stockwell fan as well as Joel McCrea, Chill Wills and Leon Ames. The story sounds great.

I guess I should have said that I am looking forward to the other region 2 and rare films available for streaming, instead of posting my ungracious thoughts on one movie. :oops:

Re: Netflix Streaming Films that Are Only on R2 DVDs

Posted: December 15th, 2010, 5:06 pm
by movieman1957
"Cattle Drive" was okay. Someone suggested it was a reworking of "Captains Courageous." Stockwell plays a bratty kid who flashes nice guy qualities with stupid brat side still intact. Nice enough way to spend 80 minutes but little more than pleasant entertainment. Beautiful scenery and some fine horseback scenes help.

Re: Netflix Streaming Films that Are Only on R2 DVDs

Posted: December 15th, 2010, 5:41 pm
by JackFavell
Thanks, I think I'll watch it anyway, the question is when.... :)

Re: Netflix Streaming Films that Are Only on R2 DVDs

Posted: December 16th, 2010, 12:26 am
by pvitari
I tried Netflix streaming on my husband's iPad while we were on Thanksgiving vacation and if that's how streaming looks, you can keep it. Everything looked like an old blurry videotape (with pixillation added in) plus it kept pausing while it loaded up the next bunch of data.

Re: Netflix Streaming Films that Are Only on R2 DVDs

Posted: December 16th, 2010, 7:33 am
by JackFavell
Paula,

the first time I tried it, I had the same problem with the picture stopping and starting. I didn't try it again for a long time, but the next time I did, I encountered none of the problems I had the first time.... I have had virtually no trouble at all since then, and I find the picture quality is much, much better than any youtube movies I've watched so I am happy with it. I imagine that many of these movies listed are not in the best condition, since no one has really given them a brush and scrub up and are not likely to in the near future, but I am glad for the opportunity to see them anyway.

Some of the movies I've watched were pristine looking, like the D.W. Griffith Early Years set which is unfortunately no longer available for streaming. They do go through and occasionally change the movies available, so I would recommend that people watch the movies listed here while they can.

Re: Netflix Streaming Films that Are Only on R2 DVDs

Posted: December 16th, 2010, 9:21 am
by movieman1957
Works great for me. My daughter and I watch a good deal of it on her Wii system to out TV.

Re: Netflix Streaming Films that Are Only on R2 DVDs

Posted: January 14th, 2011, 7:05 pm
by SSO Admins
Courtney got me a Roku for Christmas. It's a box that allows me to stream internet video from Netflix, Amazon movies, YouTube and other online sources to my TV. It supports a wide variety of channels, most of which are either free or cheap -- I have Drive-In Classics, Cowboy Classics, and Pub-D-TV (all public domain cartoons and movies). Frankly, with my $10 a month Netflix bill and the $2 or $3 my channels cost me, this is a much better deal than cable, which has absolutely nothing that interests me except TCM.

I really think that streaming video is the wave of the future -- if TCM would start a streaming channel, I would give up cable forever.

Re: Netflix Streaming Films that Are Only on R2 DVDs

Posted: January 14th, 2011, 11:56 pm
by movieman1957
I'm almost there with you. If so much of what I want from Netflix wasn't available for streaming it would let the DVDs go. There isn't much new that I want. I watch through my kids' Wii system. Works like a charm and the picture is pretty good too.

Re: Netflix Streaming Films

Posted: February 9th, 2011, 9:46 am
by moira finnie
Instantwatcher, a service that describes itself as helping "you find good streaming titles from Netflix" is updated regularly with new info about the burgeoning streaming films now found on the site of the changing DVD company. There are two levels of membership, though if, like me, you just want to know when new (meaning old and rare for me) stuff appears there, the basic membership seems sufficient. See more here:

http://instantwatcher.com/

Re: Netflix Streaming Films

Posted: February 9th, 2011, 12:52 pm
by JackFavell
We finally figured out how to hook up our Netflix to the Wii game system last night. And by "we" I mean Andrew. :D

This is SOOOOOO much better than watching on the computer, although the Wii remote will take some getting used to- you have to have very steady hands to use it. Anyway, I think this is going to increase our use of Netflix by 100%. Now I have to find out if I can watch a movie on the computer while my family is hogging Netflix on the Wii..... I may never get the TV back again! :shock: :shock: