Wow – what a finish to the Academy Awards show! After La La Land is announced as best
picture of the year to great fanfare, with the producer, director, cast, et al
already celebrating on stage, everyone is astonished to discover that Moonlight
was the actual winner! La La Land was fake news. But this was an accident.
Me – I'm happy that Moonlight took the prize. My view
was that it was pretty much a tie between that film and Manchester By The
Sea. I leaned a little in favor of Moonlight, because it was a more
socially meaningful movie, and because, to my way of thinking, it is a positive
thing for a film by black writers, with a black director and an all black cast,
about the coming-of-age of an African-American gay person to win the biggest
prize … especially following the "Oscars-so-white" controversy, and
especially now.
In other respects, I was pleased overall with the Academy
Awards results. Casey Affleck deserved
the best actor prize, even if Denzel Washington disagreed. Emma Stone was the
stand out among the five best actress nominees, although I am still
disappointed that Amy Adams was not on that list. La
La Land also got the awards for best director, song, score, and
cinematography – all deserved. Mahershala
Ali certainly merited his Best Supporting Actor for Moonlight (even if Jeff
Bridges was also deserving for his role in Hell or High Water);
similarly, Viola Davis was outstanding and her prize for Fences was warranted
(although Michelle Williams in Manchester by the Sea was also
brilliant). Moonlight and Manchester by the Sea each deservedly
received awards for their terrific screenplays.
The Salesman won the Best Foreign Language Oscar, not for
political reasons, but simply because it is an amazing movie.
Now that the event is concluded, I’m wondering how many of
the Academy Award winners and other nominees you have actually seen? Most
people are not as committed (okay, obsessed) as I am in trying to catch all or most
of the movies on the Oscars’ slate. If you watched the show or have been paying
attention to the buzz, you may be more interested and motivated now to see some
of these movies. And this is good thing
because - winners and “losers” alike – most are movies truly worth your while.
But how? Where? It’s true that a few of the most recently
released pictures still are only available in theaters – Hidden Figures,
Fences and Lion, for example. La La Land has been out since
Christmas, but Lionsgate is in no hurry to release it on DVD/Blu-ray or to
streaming services, because it continues to sell a lot of tickets. Yet a
surprising number of the Oscar nominees and winners are available for home viewing right now.
So as a public service, here is my guide (as of late
February 2017) to your home viewing options for 2016 Oscar-nominated movies.
[Note that whenever I
refer to a movie being available on "disc" or DVD, this also includes
Blu-ray.]
Let’s start with the nine Best Picture nominees.
Moonlight, the surprise winner (and the nominee that
has been seen by the fewest number of Americans so far), is now available
streaming on Amazon, Google Play, Vudu and elsewhere – but not yet streaming on
Netflix. It will be available on DVD (including
from Netflix) beginning February 28.
Manchester
by the Sea has recently become available on DVD and as a Netflix DVD.
It is also already streaming via Amazon, Google Play, Vudu, iTunes and others,
but not on Netflix (which, as will become evident, is usually late to the
streaming party on new releases).
Arrival
has been out for some time on DVD and you can get the disc from Netflix. It is
also available on several streaming services, including Amazon, Google Play,
Vudu, and iTunes – though not yet on Netflix.
Fences, released in theaters on December 25, 2016, is
not yet available on streaming services; but it is slated for DVD release on
March 14 and the DVD should be available on the same date through Netflix. I
expect most of the video streaming services, except Netflix, will also have it
on that date.
Hacksaw Ridge is available on DVD from Netflix and
elsewhere, and is currently streaming on Amazon, Google Play, Vudu, iTunes and
elsewhere, but not on Netflix.
Hell or High Water is available on DVD, including
from Netflix and is also on most streaming services excepting Netflix, but including
Amazon, Google Play, iTunes and others.
La La Land, Lion and Hidden Figures are
still in theaters, but are not yet available for home viewing, but are slated
for release later in the spring or early summer.
In the Foreign
Language category:
The
Salesman, the Oscar winner from Iran, is currently in limited release
in US theaters, and not yet available for home viewing. If you can find it – go see it; otherwise,
put it on your list and keep an eye out.
A Man Called Ove from Sweden is available on DVD,
including from Netflix. It is also widely available for streaming (except from
Netflix) from Amazon, Google Play, iTunes and others.
Tanna - from Australia and Vanuatu (a small Pacific
Island nation west of Australia), never really got released in the USA. But the film is currently available for
streaming from Amazon and Vudu. The DVD is
set for release on March 7, and the disc should also be available from Netflix
on that date.
Land of Mine, from Denmark, is slated for its US
release beginning March 3, but is not yet available for home viewing; and as
far as I can tell, a date has not been set.
Toni
Erdmann, from Germany - a huge hit in that country, on the international
film festival circuit and with a lot of
film critics - is currently in limited
release in US theaters, and not yet available for home viewing.
Do you enjoy Animated
Films?
Zootopia, the Oscar winner from Disney Animation, is
available pretty much everywhere for home viewing – even streaming on Netflix. Also on Amazon, GooglePlay, iTunes,
etc.; and it’s also on DVD.
Kubo and the Two Strings, an equally wonderful yet
more imaginative animated feature,
is also available streaming pretty much everywhere (except
Netflix), and on DVD too (including Netflix).
Moana, also from Disney, is scheduled for its DVD
release on March 7, and will be available in that format from Netflix. I
presume it will be available for streaming from most providers on that date as
well. (The law of averages suggests it may not be streaming from Netflix so
soon).
The Red Turtle, from the esteemed Studio Ghibli, Is
currently being rolled out in select theaters around the US. No DVD or streaming release dates have been
set, but the estimate is sometime in May.
My Life As A Zucchini (great title, isn’t it?) comes from
France, and also has no release date for home viewing at this time.
Documentaries:
O.J.: Made in America won the Oscar for Best
Documentary Feature. There was a controversy over whether it is really a “movie"
or a television miniseries, having originally been broadcast on ESPN; but there
is little question that it is pretty awesome. Its five episodes, taken together, add up to
nearly 8 hours of viewing. In large measure, it’s about American society from
the mid Sixties through the Nineties, viewed through the lens of the rise and
fall of O.J. Simpson. The
movie/miniseries is available to stream on Hulu, WatchESPN, Comcast/Xfinity OnDemand,
and possibly on other cable or satellite TV on demand services.
13th, by Ava Duvernay, acclaimed director
of Selma, takes its name from the 13th amendment to the U.S. Constitution (which
banned slavery) arguing that large numbers of people have been subjected to
what amounts to involuntary servitude through unjust, racially motivated manipulation
of the US justice system, particularly over the last half century. The film is
currently only available through streaming
on Netflix.
Fire at Sea, an Italian – French coproduction, about life
on an Italian island in the Mediterranean, which has become a frontline in the
European immigration crisis. The film is available on most streaming services (other
than Netflix). The DVD is set to arrive on March 21, and will be available in
that format from Netflix.
Life, Animated documents the uplifting true coming-of-age
story of an extremely autistic child who is touched by, even obsessed with, Disney
animated movies. It is available for streaming from Amazon, iTunes and most
other streaming services. Also on DVD, including from Netflix.
I Am Not Your Negro, like 13th, is
a film about America's original sin: racism, expressed through the experience
and words of the great James Baldwin. This picture has only recently arrived in
select theaters, and does not have a DVD or streaming release date.
Other Categories:
Best Actress: Emma Stone, of course, won the Best Actress award
for La La Land, which is not yet available for home viewing. But Loving
(Ruth Negga) and Florence Foster Jenkins (Meryl Steep) can be streamed
via Amazon, iTunes and other services (but not Netflix), and are also on DVD; the
latter film is available on Netflix DVD now, while Loving should be there
starting March 7. Elle (Isabelle
Huppert) should be out on DVD on March 14, including via Netflix; and is likely
to appear on streaming services at that time (although, as per usual, not likely
to stream on Netflix).
Best Actor: The
only nominee in this category that’s not in a Best Picture nominated movie is
Viggo Mortenson for his role in Captain Fantastic. That film is widely
available streaming, though not yet on Netflix, as well as on DVD (including
Netflix).
Best Supporting Actor: The only nominee in this category not in a
Best Picture nominated movie is Michael Shannon for Nocturnal Animals –
available streaming on most services not named Netflix, also on DVD, and soon
on Netflix DVD (March 21).
Screenplay: The quirky, funny, provocative movie The
Lobster, can be streamed from most services (except Netflix) and is
available on DVD, including from Netflix. 20th
Century Women is not yet available, but will be released on DVD (including
Netflix DVD) and presumably also for streaming (but not on Netflix) on March 28. The other nominees in this category have all
been from films discussed above.
So there you have it, fans. Happy viewing!
[above info is current as of 2/27/2017]
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