Watch List Weekly Recap 1/21/22
An online encyclopedia of African American cinema, ten great movies you can't stream, a new book about an old master, and a new film from a new master.
This is the Friday recap of Ty Burr’s Watch List postings for the week. If you’d like to receive this weekly email ONLY, please go to your account page and under “Email notifications” uncheck every box except “Weekly Digest.” If you’d prefer to not receive it at all, uncheck just “Weekly Digest.”
Monday was MLK Jr. Day, and to honor him and over a century of Black contributions to American cinema, I wrote about Maya Cade’s Black Film Archive, an invaluable resource, learning tool, and starting point for anyone wanting to stream a hidden history of film. Also: The pleasures of going down a Nicholas Brothers rabbit hole.
Wednesday was You Can’t Get That On Television day, with shout-outs to movies that remain frustratingly unavailable on Video on Demand. (Where are you, “Truly Madly Deeply”?)
For New Release Friday, a look at “A Hero,” below, a rich new moral tale on Amazon Prime from “A Separation” director Asghar Farhadi, plus an appreciation of Buster Keaton and Dana Stevens’ excellent new biography of him.
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