Cabin Fever Guide: Social Distancing Edition
BY SCOTTIE KNOLLIN
Hopefully, you’re being mindful of your surrounding community and making plans to being practicing social distancing. Isolating yourself for hours, days, and potentially weeks may seem daunting and overwhelming. And, rightfully so.
In North Dakota, we’ve been fortunate, so far, to only see one case of coronavirus confirmed within our state borders (as of this writing), but odds are that more confirmations are on the horizon. In the past week, we’ve seen local and regional events canceled, like the much-anticipated Fargo Film Festival, along with national sports and entertainment events.
While sitting at home and watching TV while working remotely feels like the only thing we can do right now (while also finding unique ways to use all of the toilet paper we’ve hoarded over the past few days), make sure to give yourself time to be physically active, stimulate your brain by reading that book you’ve been putting off, write about your experiences as we explore the uncharted waters, and of course catch up on some of the greatest films we have at our fingertips.
Cinemas will undoubtedly be closed or experience limited viewings as studios continuing delaying film releases. Avoid catching or spreading germs by taking advantage of the sea of film delights on these major streaming services. Is there film we missed? Let us know in the comments below!
THE CRITERION CHANNEL
The seminal streaming service for cinephiles, The Criterion Channel offers a good amount of films in the Criterion Collection, along with their respective special features, plus other titles not available anywhere else. If you’ve yet to jump on the bandwagon of other film-lovers, you’re in luck. The Criterion Channel offers a free 14-day trial. That’s the perfect amount to get you through your suggested quarantine.
GILDA
1946, Dir. Charles Vidor
One of the hidden gems in American film noir, Gilda stars the electric Rita Hayworth as the ultimate femme fatale. In fact, her performance in Gilda has become Hayworth’s signature role. Gilda screened in-competition at the very first Canned Film Festival. In 2013, the film was added to the National Film Registry.
THE SEVENTH SEAL
1957, Dir. Ingmar Bergman
Starring the late Max Von Sydow, The Seventh Seal is a historical fantasy film set during the Black Death. The film is a prime example of deep drama and European absurdism, including the picturesque cinematography of the medieval knight (MAx Von Sydow) playing a game of chess with Death (Bengt Ekerot). The film established Bergman as one of the greatest directors of world cinema.
THE LAST PICTURE SHOW
1971, Dir. Peter Bogdanovich
Jeff Bridges, Timothy Bottoms, Ellen Burstyn, and Cybill Shepherd, The Last Picture Show is one of the ultimate coming-of-age tales ever put on the silver screen. Based on the semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by Larry McMurtry, the film earned eight Academy Awards nominations, including Best Picture, it was added to the National Film Registry in 1998.
SAFE
1995, Dir. Todd Haynes
The slow-burning Safe, starring Julianne Moore, is one of the most beautifully-sculpted and artistically terrorizing films of modern cinema. Moore stars as a suburban L.A. housewife who becomes sick from a mysterious environmental illness. It’s a striking reminder of how quickly everyday life can be upended. Like Soderbergh’s Contagion, Safe serves a film that feels even more relevant today than when it was first released.
NETFLIX
If you’ve yet to catch Netflix’s much-discussed reality shows “Love is Blind” or “The Circle,” now’s your chance to let your brain melt into oblivion. But, if you need something a little more elevated, here are some picks that have recently been added to the streamer.
SHE’S GOTTA HAVE IT
1986, Dir. Spike Lee
A few years before his masterpiece, Do the Right Thing, was released, Spike Lee’s first feature-length film debuted and helped usher in the wave of modern independent film culture. The film stars Tracy Camilla Johns, Tommy Redmond Hicks, JOhn Canada Terrell, and S. Epatha Merkerson in one of her first-ever roles. The film was adapted into a Netflix Original Series in 2017 and added to the National Film Registry in 2019.
PARIS IS BURNING
1990, Dir. Jennie Livingston
Filmed throughout the mid-to-late 80s, Paris Is Burning is a captivating glimpse into the ball culture of New York City. The film is the premier documentary about ball culture and one of the most-acclaimed films in the canon of LGBTQ pictures. Paris Is Burning earned accolades across the world and was included in the National Film Registry in 2016.
OUTBREAK
1995, Dir. Wolfgang Petersen
Everyone copes differently. If you’re the type to languish by overwhelming your senses with the drama at hand, watching Outbreak may be the film for these dire times. Starring a cast full of major players, including Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo, Morgan Freeman, Donald Sutherland, and Cuba Gooding Jr., Outbreak follows an Ebola-like outbreak and how the government tries to control it.
HUGO
2011, Dir. Martin Scorsese
Nominated for 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Hugo is a salute to motion picture history and film preservation disguised as a family adventure film. Scorsese does what he knows best and allows the film to percolate, giving those with patience multiple treats like recreating some of the most famous images in film history. In fact, about halfway through the film, Georges Méliès (Ben Kingsley) serves up a montage of the history of film that was beautiful on the big screen (in 3D, in fact), but still works its magic on the small screen.
HULU
There’s a lot of crossover among the most popular streaming services, but Hulu opens its doors to more ‘classics’ than Netflix. That’s partly due to Hulu’s focus on original series and documentaries, where Netflix has a large piece of the Original Film pie. If you want to spend a few hours watching something, check out the docuseries Hillary, just released in late February. Otherwise, here are some films to fill your bucket.
THE FRENCH CONNECTION
1971, Dir. William Friedkin
Based on a true story, the buddy-cop neo-noir thriller, The French Connection, stars Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider and is one of cinema’s all-time greats. The film earned a number of impressive awards after its release, including the Oscars for Best Picture, Actor, Director, Film Editing, and Adapted Screenplay. It’s been included on the American Film Institute’s list of best American films since 1998 and, in 2005, was added to the National Film Registry.
BUFFALO ‘66
1998, Dir. Vincent Gallo
Gallo not only wrote and directed Buffalo ‘66, he also stars alongside Christina Ricci, Mickey Rourke, and Rosanna Arquette. The film is a dark comedy about acceptance and identity as Gallo stars as Billy Brown, a man who kidnaps a young dancer (Ricci) and makes her pretend to be his wife to impress his parents. Over the years, the film has become an independent film classic.
28 DAYS LATER
2003, Dir. Danny Boyle
Like Outbreak, watching 28 Days Later right now is maybe not the smartest choice for those prone to panic, but there’s no ignoring the impact the blockbuster zombie film has had on modern entertainment. After its release, which also helped introduce Cillian Murphy to the masses, the zombie film and television genres boomed. It also gave us the first glimpse of fast-moving zombies, a trope that most films had ignored throughout the decades.
PRINCESS CYD
2017, Dir. Stephen Cone
Jessie Pinnick stars as Cyd Loughlin, a young student-athlete who escapes her depressive father to spend the summer with her novelist aunt in Chicago. Filmed on location in Chicago, Princess Cyd was a breakthrough film for its director and went on to find acclaim around the world after it premiered at the Maryland Film Festival in May 2017. It was placed on many end-of-year best films lists and was notable for its look at self-identity and sexual liberation.
PRIME VIDEO
Amazon’s Prime Video is a mixed bag of great films, guilty pleasures, and mostly-forgettable titles that either make for easy watching or quick-to-stop weekend viewing. The streaming service has gotten a little better over the past year at offering more interesting titles as the streaming wars continue to get bloodier, but it’s still yet to become the must-have streaming service.
THE 39 STEPS
1935, Dir. Alfred Hitchcock
Based loosely on the novel The Thirty-Nine Steps, the film version is one of Hitchcock’s greatest thrillers. In fact, the British Film Institute has consistently listed the film as one of the greatest British films of the 20th century. The film has become one of the most-beloved by other filmmakers, with Orson Welles calling it a masterpiece.
HIS GIRL FRIDAY1940, Dir. Howard Hawks
You know all of those late-80s and 90s romantic comedies you love? They wouldn’t exist without the fast-talking screwball comedy His Girl Friday. Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell star as a newspaper editor (Grant) and his ace reporter and ex-wife (Russell) who was recently engaged to another man. It’s one of the funniest and most delightful films of Hollywood’s golden era. And, if you’re unfamiliar with Russell, this is a good place to be introduced.
PI
1998, Dir. Darren Aronofsky
Before he made waves with Requiem for a Dream, Darren Aronofsky showcased his talents with his first feature, Pi, a psychological thriller that earned Aronofsky a number of directing awards, including those from the Sundance Film Festival, Independent Spirit Awards, and the Gotham Open Palm. The film is brooding and dark, covering topics like religion, mysticism, and the relationship between the universe and mathematics.
HONEY BOY
2019, Dir. Alma Har’el
This is the newest title on this list and is a completely worthy title that, surprisingly, didn’t make much of an awards season impact last year. Shia LaBeouf wrote and stars in the true-life film based on his struggles with early stardom and his relationship with his father during that time. LaBeouf stars as his father in one of his most-impressive performances in his elusive career. Lucas Hedges plays the older LaBeouf character, named Otis Lort in the film, with Noah Jupe playing the younger version. JUpe, especially, delivers a outstanding turn as a troubled-but-driven child actor.
