Tag / amazon prime

by hutchwp

I’ve cancelled Netflix… and it’s brilliant

When my wife and I moved into our first home together, we decided to subscribe to Netflix. Not long before, I’d cancelled LoveFilm (remember that?!) and we’d set up our internet so wanted to test the waters.

At the time, picking and choosing what to watch on a TV in HD was revolutionary, and the choice was phenomenal. As time progressed, we watched some great series on the blossoming service: Breaking Bad, Orange Is The New Black, Glow, Stranger Things. All our friends were watching the same things. We had great discussions.

As time progressed, more streaming platforms appeared. Amazon Prime Video, with its confusing is-this-included-or-not interface. Now TV, which is home to most of the biggest blockbusters. Apple TV appeared with almost no content, but what it did have was excellent. BFI Player. MUBI. Paramount+. Lionsgate+. Everything was the price of a couple of pints and offered endless options.

Except, it isn’t the price of a pint if you have most or all of them. And you can’t keep up with the content. And nobody is watching anything you’re watching anymore because nobody has the same subscriptions.

So, a month ago we cancelled our Sky subscription. Tomorrow we ditch Netflix. As the cut-off time approaches, we’ve been really focusing on what we do and don’t want to watch. I’ve finally burned through Cobra Kai. I had a brilliant time watching Succession unfold. I’ve watched lovingly-created documentaries about David Beckham, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Robbie Williams.

Do I think I’ll miss any of it? Not really. What’s left is Apple TV+ on a trial, BFI Player (the one I really enjoy having) and my wife’s Amazon Prime account, which we’ve never really explored. There are a few things on each we want to watch, but I don’t think we’ll be paying for them for much longer.

Importantly, I never went as far as ditching my DVDs and Blu-Rays. Many of my friends did, only to find that their beloved series or film has vanished from their chosen streaming platform. Many DVDs are sat in charity shop bargain bins, waiting for someone to pick them up. I for one love rummaging in a charity shop, and often find a cool CD or vinyl in there.

I predict DVDs will have a resurgence in the near future. Because spending £1 on five films you keep forever has to be better than paying £150 a year just to watch those same episodes of Friends you like.

by hutchwp

Watching the AFI 100 Years with the Unspooled podcast in the UK? Here’s where to watch all the films.

In 1998, in the run-up to the end of the millennium, the American Film Institute (AFI) published a list of their top 100 films of all time. It counted down the best of English-language American cinema (including those heavily-funded by American production companies), with Citizen Kane topping the list.

In 2007, an updated poll was published, with the Orson Welles masterpiece again topping the bill.

In 2018, a new podcast called ‘Unspooled’ was started by Paul Scheer and Amy Nicholson on the Earwolf network. The brilliant podcast involves Paul and Amy doing a deep dive on each of the films, often bringing along special guests and always offering a personal take on what they’ve seen. It’s a perfect way to educate yourself on critically-acclaimed films. I myself have recently discovered The Marx Brothers thanks to the podcast covering Duck Soup, and looked at The Wizard of Oz with completely fresh eyes.

It’s available to download from all good podcast distributors by searching for “Unspooled”

Where can I watch the Top 100 films?

If, like me, you’re in the UK, it’s useful to know what films are available on each of the three most popular streaming platforms: Netflix, Amazon Prime and Sky Cinema/NOW.

So, here’s a table of what is in the list and where you can watch the films as of 26th December 2018. Note: some films may be purchased from Amazon to stream or from Sky Box Office; the table only notes those included for free in your package.

Rank 10th anniversary list (2007) Netflix Amazon Prime Sky Cinema
1 Citizen Kane No No No
2 The Godfather No No Yes
3 Casablanca No No Yes
4 Raging Bull No No Yes
5 Singin’ in the Rain No No Yes
6 Gone with the Wind No Yes Yes
7 Lawrence of Arabia No No Yes
8 Schindler’s List Yes No Yes
9 Vertigo No No Yes
10 The Wizard of Oz No Yes No
11 City Lights No No No
12 The Searchers No No No
13 Star Wars No No No
14 Psycho No No Yes
15 2001: A Space Odyssey No No Yes
16 Sunset Boulevard No No Yes
17 The Graduate No No Yes
18 The General No Yes Yes
19 On the Waterfront No No No
20 It’s a Wonderful Life No No Yes
21 Chinatown No No Yes
22 Some Like It Hot Yes No Yes
23 The Grapes of Wrath No No No
24 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial No Yes Yes
25 To Kill a Mockingbird No No Yes
26 Mr. Smith Goes to Washington No No No
27 High Noon No No Yes
28 All About Eve No No Yes
29 Double Indemnity No No Yes
30 Apocalypse Now No No Yes
31 The Maltese Falcon No No Yes
32 The Godfather Part II No No Yes
33 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest No No Yes
34 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs No No Yes
35 Annie Hall Yes No Yes
36 The Bridge on the River Kwai No No Yes
37 The Best Years of Our Lives No No No
38 The Treasure of the Sierra Madre No No No
39 Dr. Strangelove Yes No No
40 The Sound of Music No No Yes
41 King Kong No No No
42 Bonnie and Clyde No No No
43 Midnight Cowboy No No Yes
44 The Philadelphia Story No No Yes
45 Shane No No Yes
46 It Happened One Night No No No
47 A Streetcar Named Desire No Yes Yes
48 Rear Window No No Yes
49 Intolerance No No No
50 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Yes Yes No
51 West Side Story No No Yes
52 Taxi Driver Yes No Yes
53 The Deer Hunter No Yes Yes
54 MASH No No No
55 North by Northwest No No Yes
56 Jaws No No Yes
57 Rocky No No Yes
58 The Gold Rush No No No
59 Nashville Yes No Yes
60 Duck Soup No No No
61 Sullivan’s Travels No No No
62 American Graffiti No No Yes
63 Cabaret No No Yes
64 Network Yes No Yes
65 The African Queen No No No
66 Raiders of the Lost Ark No No Yes
67 Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? No No Yes
68 Unforgiven No Yes Yes
69 Tootsie No No Yes
70 A Clockwork Orange No No Yes
71 Saving Private Ryan No No Yes
72 The Shawshank Redemption No Yes No
73 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid No No Yes
74 The Silence of the Lambs No No Yes
75 In the Heat of the Night No No Yes
76 Forrest Gump No No Yes
77 All the President’s Men Yes Yes Yes
78 Modern Times No No No
79 The Wild Bunch No No Yes
80 The Apartment No No Yes
81 Spartacus No No Yes
82 Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans No No No
83 Titanic No No Yes
84 Easy Rider No No Yes
85 A Night at the Opera No No No
86 Platoon Yes No Yes
87 12 Angry Men No No No
88 Bringing Up Baby No No No
89 The Sixth Sense No No Yes
90 Swing Time No No No
91 Sophie’s Choice No No No
92 Goodfellas No Yes Yes
93 The French Connection No No Yes
94 Pulp Fiction No Yes Yes
95 The Last Picture Show No Yes Yes
96 Do the Right Thing No No Yes
97 Blade Runner No No Yes
98 Yankee Doodle Dandy No No No
99 Toy Story No No Yes
100 Ben-Hur No No Yes

The conclusion? If you want to watch all the films on a subscription-package, your best option for maximum coverage is Sky Cinema. This is a pain because it’s the only one I don’t actually have! With 70 of the top 100, buying a couple of months of Now TV Cinema to clear the ones you’re keen to see would really make an impact. Netflix has just 10 of the films and Amazon has 13. 26 films are not available on any streaming platform, so you’ll need to fork out extra to enjoy those on DVD or Blu-ray.

Note – the list above is subject to change without notice, so please be aware that this is only up-to-date as of 26th December 2018.