Sorry if you missed me last night. As most of you will have experienced, supermarket delivery spots are at a premium and it took all night to find somewhere that would send us even the most basic of groceries. But goddess willing we'll be receiving some cheese, milk and bread tomorrow.
I was able to watch the restlessly edited but still utterly brilliant documentary about the first film director Alice Guy-Blaché, Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché a figure who even Geena Davis apparently didn't know about, so obscure has her legacy become. Find one of her earliest films above.
New on the streaming services.
Yesterday was of course launch day for Disney+ and one of those rare occasions when a Roku app has been available on launch day. It's a bit buggy, the menus juddering during navigation, but turning off animations and trailers in the settings seemed to fix this for the most part.
It really is an amazing selection of films. Pretty much all of Disney Animated Pictures and Pixar and Star Wars and the MCU and the X-Men films featuring the original cast (which isn't apparently included in the US selection). Within twenty minutes of firing up the app and signing in, I was watching new The Clone Wars.
There are some understandable oddities. The TV edit of Adventures in Babysitting is featured which removes a rape joke and some of the bluer swearing. Make Mine Music is also missing, with its nudity and bummer of a final segment about whale hunting.
Chalet Girl was uploaded to Amazon Prime yesterday, the stonking skiing film starring Felicity Jones, one of my favourite movies of the past decade. There's just something remarkable about how it subverts expectations about its characters and sneaks in some class commentary at the margins.
Elsewhere, Mark Hartley, the director of the superb ELECTRIC BOOGALOO - the wild, untold story of Cannon Films has made the film available to watch for free on his Vimeo channel as well has NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD - the wild, untold story of Ozploitation!, about the Australian New Wave of 1970s and '80s low-budget cinema.
Daily Dose of Doctor Who
— Doctor Who Official (@bbcdoctorwho) March 25, 2020
Bless her heart for doing this. It's also available on the BBC website, in case you want to show it to your kids without introducing them to Twitter.
But that wasn't the only surprise today. Also on the website is a new short story by Chris Chibnall, which he says is the first of a series of treats which'll be posted there once or twice a week for the duration. It's rather lovely, very Douglas Adams as so much of Doctor Who often is.
Links.
Military Wives Is The Latest Film To Head Online Early:
"With cinemas all but closed down (and those brand new social distancing regulations now in places) more and more movies are heading to our homes. Universal, Warner Bros., Disney and Sony have been proactive in moving films that have recently arrived on the big screen to video on demand and Lionsgate is following them with Military Wives."
Hottest front-room seats: the best theatre and dance to watch online:
"As the coronavirus causes venues to close their doors, an increase of live-streamed theatre is expected. Here are some of the shows online now or coming soon."
An Exceptionally Important Piece of Analysis About Blackadder Goes Forth:
"For a sitcom, Blackadder Goes Forth has inspired a great deal of scholarly debate over the years. In particular, the series’ portrayal of Field Marshal Haig as a callous murderer has become massively controversial. Is this simply devastatingly effective and truthful satire, or a fundamental misrepresentation of history which everyone has taken as fact?"
'You don’t want people judging your decor': hosting TV news at home:
"Presenters aware viewers will be scrutinising their bookshelves and wallpaper as well as their coverage."
Patrick Troughton at 100: A Television Actor:
"Patrick Troughton is perhaps best remembered for a role he played originally for just three years – Doctor Who. However, he had a successful career that lasted over four decades, encompassing radio, TV and film."
BBC entertains the nation in time of need:
"Announcing a range of programmes that will bring the nation together and provide great British entertainment during these difficult times." (folks, they're repeating Party Animals)
Some Shakespeare:
The BBC have also announced plans for their lockdown arts coverage which includes a shed load of theatre on BBC Four including RSC Shakespeare: "six recent titles from the Royal Shakespeare Company: Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo & Juliet, The Merchant of Venice, Much Ado About Nothing and Othello." If these are the most recent productions, that would include Christopher Eccleston's Macbeth. Mind blown.
Today's Album:
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