Miramax, Part Four: The English Patient and Oscar Prestige

This fourth and last installment of our survey of Miramax films now streaming on Netflix Watch Instantly focuses on the last stage of Miramax's transition from a specialty film distributor to a mini-major studio.  While Oscar prestige was important in earlier stages (Daniel Day Lewis' performance in My Left Foot, for example), at the end of its days it was important for Miramax to have a significant presence at the Oscars each year.  It's most amazing Oscar night was the jaw-dropping moment that Shakespeare in Love beat out Saving Private Ryan for Best Picture when Spielberg and company seemed to be steamrolling through the ceremony.  It's last hurrah was No Country for Old Men, on a night when the writing was already on the wall for the company's future with Disney.  While neither of those two films are currently streaming on Netflix Watch Instantly, Miramax's other two Best Picture Oscar winners are: The English Patient and Chicago.  The rest of the entry is rounded out by significant winners and nominees from over the years.



The Piano (Jane Campion, New Zealand/US, 1993, 120 minutes)
Netflix: Holly Hunter stars as Ada McGrath, a mute but strong-willed 19th-century Scottish expatriate who arrives in New Zealand with her daughter (Anna Paquin) and her beloved piano in tow. Although betrothed to a landowner (Sam Neill), she's pulled into an affair with a laborer (Harvey Keitel). Hunter and Paquin both won Oscars for their performances in this haunting drama from writer-director Jane Campion. Netflix link.

The English Patient (Anthony Minghella, UK, 1996, 162 minutes)
Netflix: Adapted from Michael Ondaatje's acclaimed novel set against the backdrop of World War II, Anthony Mingehlla's Oscar-winning drama stars Ralph Fiennes as a horribly burned pilot who recounts a tale of doomed romance to the nurse tending him (Juliette Binoche). As his story is revealed via flashback, so too are secrets about his identity and the depth of his passion for the woman he loved (Kristin Scott Thomas). Willem Dafoe co-stars.  Netflix link.

Sling Blade (Billy Bob Thornton, US, 1996, 134 minutes)
Netflix: In an Oscar-winning tour de force, writer-director Billy Bob Thornton stars as Karl Childers, a man who returns home after being released from a psychiatric hospital, where he'd been confined since age 12 for murdering his mother and her lover. On the outside, the simpleminded Karl lands a job at a garage fixing motors and befriends a young boy -- but can Karl outrun his past? Thornton's co-stars include Dwight Yoakam and John Ritter.  Netflix link.

Mrs. Brown (John Madden, UK, 1997, 105 minutes)
Netflix: Grieving widow Queen Victoria (Oscar nominee Judi Dench) withdraws into sadness for years until plainspoken manservant John Brown (Billy Connolly) disrupts her mourning. But as their friendship grows, it results in personal and political ramifications for both of them. Exquisitely filmed and fueled by sparkling performances, director John Madden's period drama brilliantly portrays the woman behind an empire and the man who helped her live again. Netflix link.

Good Will Hunting (Gus Van Sant, US, 1997, 126 minutes)
Netflix: Will Hunting (Matt Damon) spends his days as a janitor at MIT, but the aimless young man is also a mathematical genius. So when his talents are discovered, a therapist (Robin Williams) helps Will confront the demons that have been holding him back. Damon and co-star Ben Affleck -- who appears in a small role as Will's best friend -- won an Oscar for their screenplay about friendship and risk in this uplifting drama from director Gus Van Sant. Netflix link.

Chicago (Rob Marshall, US, 2002, 113 minutes)
Netflix: Roxie Hart (Renée Zellweger) hungers for stardom but ends up in the slammer, where superstar Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is doing time for shooting her cheating husband, in this Best Picture winner based on the hit Broadway musical of the same name. When Velma's lawyer, notorious Billy Flynn (Richard Gere), makes Roxie a tabloid sensation, he sets up a singing, dancing catfight between the all-too-willing rivals  Netflix link.

Miramax, Part Three: Dimension Films and Genre Franchises

In addition to the prestige and specialty films mentioned in the earlier posts, Miramax also made quite a bit of money with various genre franchises with its Dimension Films subsidiary.  The bread and butter here of course was the Scream franchise, but Robert Rodriguez also provided a range of genre films as well (Spy Kids is scheduled for Netflix Instant View on July 1).  With the exception of the Scream and Jackie Chan sequels, I don't necessarily recommend the sequels listed here, but I included them as a reminder that Miramax was always just as interested in making money the old fashioned way as any other studio.

Scream (Wes Craven, USA, 1996, 111 minutes)
Netflix: Horror maven Wes Craven -- paying homage to teen horror classics such as Halloween and Prom Night -- turns the genre on its head with this tale of a murderer who terrorizes hapless high schooler Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) by offing everyone she knows. Not your average slasher flick, Scream distinguishes itself with a self-parodying sense of humor. Courteney Cox and David Arquette co-star as a local news reporter and a small-town deputy.  Netflix link.




Scream 2 (1997) is also available on Netflix Watch Instantly.  Dimension Films also distributed the Scary Movie parody franchise, and Scary Movie 2 (2001) is currently streaming as well.

From Dusk Till Dawn (Robert Rodriguez, USA, 1996, 107 minutes)
Netflix: Robbers-on-the-lam Seth (George Clooney) and Richard Gecko (Quentin Tarantino) take an ex-preacher (Harvey Keitel) and his kids hostage. On a race to the Mexican border, they rendezvous at a cantina, not knowing the owners and clientele are bloodthirsty vampires. That's when director Robert Rodriguez (Desperado) abruptly switches from hostage drama to tongue-in-cheek, vampiric melee, creating a blood-stained ode to 1960s Mexican horror movies. Netflix link.



The so-called sequel From Dusk To Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money (1999) is also available on Netflix Watch Instantly.

Mimic (Guillermo del Toro, USA, 1997, 105 minutes)
Netflix: In this cinematic kissing cousin to the giant-radioactive-ant flick Them, etymologist Mira Sorvino eradicates disease-carrying cockroaches only to create a new breed of lethal, man-sized insect in the sewer systems of New York City. Co-starring Charles S. Dutton, Jeremy Northam and a nest of creepy, computer-generated bugs, Mimic will send you running for the Raid. Netflix link.





This early Guillermo del Toro is pretty good and worth checking out.  Of course as part of the package deal Netflix Watch Instantly is also streaming Mimic 2: Hardshell (2001).

Operation Condor (Jackie Chan, Hong Kong, 1991, 90 minutes)
Netflix: In what many consider to be one of Jackie Chan's best roles, he plays a secret agent embarking on his biggest mission yet: To find the fortune in gold that the Nazis buried in the Sahara Desert during World War II. This recut American version of Chan's 1991 hit (also known as Armour of God II) features stunning locations from Spain, Morocco and the Philippines as well as some of Chan's greatest set pieces, including the famous wind tunnel climax. Netflix link.




Dimension Films re-cut Chan's 1991 film Armour of God II and released it as Operation Condor in 1997.  To make things even more confusing, they re-cut the original Armour of God (1987) and released it on DVD as Operation Condor II: Armour of the Gods. Both are available on Netflix Instant View, which gives you the strange option of starting with II, which is actually the first film in the series.  In addition to the Armour of God confusion, Dimension also released Chan's Police Story 3 as Supercop,  In each case, I'd recommend finding DVDs of the original Hong Kong editions, but these certainly do the trick if you're looking for instant gratification.

The Crow (Alex Proyas, US, 1994, 101 minutes)
Netflix: Exactly one year after young rock guitarist Eric Draven (Brandon Lee, son of martial arts icon Bruce Lee) and his fiancée are brutally killed by a ruthless gang of criminals, Draven -- watched over by a hypnotic crow -- returns from the grave to exact revenge. Based on a graphic novel of the same name, this Gothic action thriller features Lee's last performance before his untimely death. Ernie Hudson and Ling Bai co-star  Netflix link.





To end on a sad note, who knows what could have happened to The Crow as a potential franchise if it were not for the death of Brandon Lee.  There was still an attempt at a franchise, and the sequel / re-boot The Crow: City of Angels is also available on Netflix Watch Instantly.

Miramax, Part Two: Pulp Fiction and Transitional Indies

Part Two of our brief tour of the Miramax collection on Netflix Instant View will focus on the mid-1990s, as several American independent filmmakers found crossover success on their way to later careers in Hollywood.  Of the filmmakers mentioned below, only Jim Jarmusch has arguably maintained a staunch maverick stance with his filmmaking.  Tarantino, Smith, Liman, Payne, and Schnabel have each found degrees of success working within the Hollywood system.

Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, USA, 1994, 149 minutes)
Netflix: A burger-loving hit man (John Travolta), his philosophical partner (Samuel L. Jackson), a drug-addled gangster's moll (Uma Thurman) and a washed-up boxer (Bruce Willis) converge in this sprawling, comedic crime caper fueled by director and co-writer Quentin Tarantino's whip-smart dialogue. Their adventures unfurl in three stories that ingeniously trip back and forth in time, resulting in one of the most audacious and imitated films of the 1990s.  Netflix link. Netflix is also streaming Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs (1992) and Jackie Brown (1997)

Clerks (Kevin Smith, 1994, USA, 91 minutes)
Netflix: Convenience and video store clerks Dante (Brian O'Halloran) and Randal (Jeff Anderson) are sharp-witted, potty-mouthed … and bored out of their minds. So in between needling customers, the counter jockeys play hockey on the roof, visit a funeral home and deal with their love lives. Produced on a shoestring budget by director Kevin Smith, this classic indie comedy won awards at both the Sundance and Cannes film festivals. Netflix link. Netflix is also streaming Chasing Amy (1997) and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)

Dead Man (Jim Jarmush, USA, 1995, 121 minutes)
Netflix: Only Jim Jarmusch could direct a Western like this: a poetry-loving American Indian mistakes accountant William Blake (Johnny Depp) for the English writer by the same name, while bounty hunters take Blake for a murderer. Jarmusch packs his independent-minded film with an unlikely collection of castmates, including Iggy Pop, Gabriel Byrne, John Hurt -- and Robert Mitchum, in one of his final big-screen roles.  Netflix link. Although it was not a Miramax film (Jarmusch was not pleased with the distribution of Dead Man) Netflix Watch Instantly is also streaming Broken Flowers (2005)

Swingers (Doug Liman, USA, 1996, 96 minutes)
Netflix: Director Doug Liman's career-making look into the psyche of 20-something males stars Jon Favreau as struggling comedian Mike, whose pathetic love life prompts his Hollywood wannabe pals to pump up his nightlife and immerse him in cocktail culture. Vince Vaughn turns in a scene-stealing performance as Mike's smooth-talking friend Trent, a would-be actor who purports to be an expert in all matters of the opposite sex. Heather Graham co-stars.  Netflix link.  Netflix Watch Instantly is also streaming Liman's Go (1999) and The Bourne Identity (2002)

Citizen Ruth (Alexander Payne, USA, 1996, 105 minutes)
Netflix: In this satirical look at a controversial issue, unfit mother of four Ruth Stoops (Laura Dern) discovers while in jail that she's pregnant again. The judge charges her with endangering the fetus, but tells her he'll reduce the charges if she has an abortion. When word of this gets out, Ruth's caught in the middle of a tug-of-war between anti-abortion and abortion rights activists who want to use Ruth to get their messages across.  Netflix link.

Basquiat (Julien Schnabel, USA, 1996, 106 minutes)
Netflix: Director Julian Schnabel's biopic won an Independent Spirit Award for its depiction of Jean-Michel Basquiat's meteoric rise in New York's art world, his anguish over his family, and his hatred of a society that both courted and exploited him. In 1981, Basquiat (Jeffrey Wright) was a 19-year-old graffiti artist living on the streets. Eight years later, he was a world-renowned painter -- and the tragic victim of his own addiction  Netflix link.

Miramax, Part One: The Specialty Distributor

A month ago I had prepared a whole week's worth of entries celebrating what was supposed to be a massive release of Miramax films on Netflix Watch Instantly.  That initial release date passed without the films being available.  But Miramax and Netflix subsequently finalized their deal, and many of those titles are now available this week.

Today we'll focus on a few of the international films in the late 1980s and early 1990s that helped establish the prestige and reputation of Miramax as a top-shelf specialty distributor of art house fare.

My Left Foot (Jim Sheridan, Ireland/UK, 1989, 98 minutes)
Netflix: Daniel Day-Lewis won an Oscar for his emotionally and physically complex portrayal of Irish writer Christy Brown, who was born with cerebral palsy and misdiagnosed as mentally disabled for the first 10 years of his life. The story unfolds in a series of flashbacks with Hugh O'Conor starring as the young Christy, who eventually learned to write using the only body part he could control: his left foot.  Netflix link.

The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover (Peter Greenaway, 1989, 124 minutes)
Netflix: Tired of her husband's boorish lifestyle and difficult attitude, the wife (Helen Mirren) of a barbaric crime boss (Michael Gambon) engages in a secret romance with a bookish patron (Alan Howard) between meals at her husband's restaurant, sneaking in liaisons while he and his thugs dine. Food, sex, murder, torture and cannibalism are the exotic fare in this beautifully filmed but brutally uncompromising modern fable. Netflix link.
(Note: this is rated NC-17.)

Like Water for Chocolate (Alfonso Arau, Mexico, 1992, 105 minutes)
Netflix: Passionate Tita (Lumi Cavazos) is in love with Pedro (Marco Leonardi), but her controlling mother (Regina Torné) forbids her from marrying him. So when Pedro marries her sister, Tita throws herself into her cooking -- and discovers she can transfer her emotions through the food she prepares. A feast for the senses, this magical romance from director Alfonso Arau was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award and a Golden Globe.  Netflix link.

Enchanted April (Mike Newell, UK, 1992, 92 minutes)
Netflix: Stifled British wives Lottie (Josie Lawrence) and Rose (Miranda Richardson) rent an Italian villa for a husbandless vacation. Sharing the retreat are acerbic widow Mrs. Fisher (Oscar nominee Joan Plowright) and socialite Caroline (Polly Walker). The four spend a month savoring newfound freedom and the opportunity for self-discovery. Alfred Molina co-stars in this tale of 1920s English manners, based on Elizabeth von Arnim's novel. Netflix link.



Edit 6/6/11: I originally had The Crying Game on my list from last month, but somehow I missed that it had indeed been added the other day (perhaps because the streaming title is a "Collector's Edition").  In a sense, it is the perfect example of how Miramax used very clever marketing devices and word of mouth to transform a small specialty film into a significant crossover hit.

The Crying Game (Neil Jordan, UK, 1992, 111 minutes)
Netflix: To free their jailed comrade, Irish Republican Army terrorists Fergus (Stephen Rea) and Jude (Miranda Richardson) abduct British soldier Jody (Forest Whitaker), hoping to make a swap. Fergus and Jody bond, and, sensing death in the offing, the prisoner asks his captor to look up Dil (Jaye Davidson), Jody's London paramour. When the IRA's plan backfires, Fergus takes flight, locates Dil, falls into a romance and ... gets the shock of his life. Netflix link.