James R | On 22, Apr 2017

MUBI marks Shakespeare’s birthday with a double-bill of the Bard’s work on film, before going on to an equally idiosyncratic triple-bill dedicated to the films of experimental Spanish auteur Jaime Rosales.

Here’s what’s new, coming soon and leaving soon to the subscription streaming service:

 

This week on MUBI

The Tragedy of Macbeth – 22nd April

“It is a tale, told by an idiot, full of sound and fury. Signifying nothing.” Film critics love to quote Shakespeare when it comes to bashing the latest Michael Bay film, but in 1971, Roman Polanski turned Macbeth into exactly that. A brutal tale of greed, ambition and its moral undoing, the director brought a strikingly different interpretation to the text. Read our review

Romeo and Juliet – 23rd April

Far different than Polanski’s blood-stained Bard, Franco Zeffirelli’s lush late-60s take on Romeo and Juliet turns up the heat and infuses his film with enough youth and vigour to escape camp and cliche.

You Can’t Take It With You – 24th April

MUBI’s Frank Capra season continues with the film that won the Italian-American his third Oscar — and also his first collaboration with (a very young) Jimmy Stewart. This spirited, heart-warming comedy rewards us with a much-needed dose of optimism and genuine utopia.

Solitary Fragments (Jaime Rosales) – 25th April

In this Goya Awards winner, Rosales splits the screen to remarkable effect, illuminating the limits and contradictions of human communication and cinematic storytelling.

Bullet in the Head (Jaime Rosales) – 26th April

Jaime Rosales takes on the true story of two Spanish police officers killed by suspected Basque separatists in France.

Dream & Silence (Jaime Rosales) – 27th April

Oriol and Yolanda live in Paris with their two daughters. Oriol is an architect and Yolanda is a teacher. During a holiday at the Ebro River Delta they have an accident that changes their lives.

 

Other new releases on MUBI

And Now for Something Completely Different

Sometimes, it’s easy to forget that Monty Python started out as a TV sketch show. Between the naughty boy Messiahs and killer rabbits, you could almost overlook the dead parrots and cheese shops. Effectively a 90-minute highlights reel of the comic troupe’s small screen creations, And Now for Something Completely Different reminds you just how great that old Flying Circus was. Read our full review.

Juliet of the Spirits

Fellini’s first colour film made the most of every shade and tint, with a fever dream of hallucination and self-discovery that follows a betrayed wife who struggles to come to terms with reality.

Mr. Deeds Goes to Town

MUBI’s Frank Capra season continues with another of the director’s winning portrayals of the American Dream. Gary Cooper plays a young man who inherits a $20 million fortune from a deceased patron of the arts. Mr. Deeds does, indeed, goes to New York, and proves that an everyman with honesty and courage can triumph over the bigger, unjust system.

The Marriage of Maria Braun

MUBI’s Fassbinder retrospective reaches its conclusion with the director’s biggest box office success. Collaborating with the late cinematographer Michael Ballhaus, and starring Hannah Schygulla, this German Hollywood movie is study of a woman picking herself up from the ruins of her own life, and a pointed metaphor for a society determined to forget its past.

Fragment 53

Exclusive from Frames of Representation’s 2016 line-up is this dark, enthralling investigation into the living history of Liberia’s bloody internal conflict. Reminiscent of The Look of Silence, it visualises essential questions about the human capacity for war.

Contact High

Hot dogs, cars and a mysterious bag collide in Michael Glawogger’s 2009 comedy of absurd situations and misunderstandings.

Rouge

Hong Kong filmmaker Stanley Kwan directs this supernatural melodrama about a passion, romance, and lost history.

Maesta, the Passion of the Christ

MUBI begins the Easter weekend with Andy Guérif’s 2015 adaptation of the Maestà of Duccio as a tableau vivant: the tale of the Christ’s Passion in 26 successive panels, from the arrival in Jerusalem to the road to Emmaus.

Tony Conrad: Completely in the Present

MUBI celebrates the late Tony Conrad with this documentary portrait of the multi-disciplinarian genius, whose charisma and talent leap off the screen.

The Two Jakes

17 years on from Chinatown, Jack Nicholson and Roman Polanski reunite for this follow-up for detective Jake, who is still mourning the events of the original film, as he gets drawn into a web of conspiracy and deceit.

Gimme the Loot

When Malcolm and Sofia’s latest graffiti masterpiece is buffed by a rival gang, these two determined Bronx teens must hustle, steal, and scheme to get revenge and become the biggest writers in the City. Adam Leon’s energetic debut from 2012 is a portrait of the high-wire act of balancing friendship with artistic ambition.

1,000 Times Good Night

Juliette Binoche plays a war photographer in Erik Poppe’s powerful 2013 film. “As Rebecca’s calm exterior crumbles, the beautiful cinematography captures the fallout of war in a genuinely affecting way. You wish A Thousand Times Good Night managed to sustain that subtlety throughout. The uniformly excellent performances, though, mean that there are real moments of power between the overdone lines.” Read our full review

Ali: Fear Eats the Soul

MUBI’s Fassbinder retrospective hits its peak with one of the most director’s famous films – and with good reason. Taking inspiration from Douglas Sirk, this powerful drama follows an almost accidental romance between an ageing German woman and a Moroccan migrant worker more than 20 years her younger – and their bond, which crosses boundaries of race and age, sends shocking ripples through the society around them.

 
A monthly subscription to MUBI costs £5.99 a month, with a 30-day free trial.

 

Last chance to stream: Titles leaving MUBI soon

Kids Return
Available until end of: 22nd April

Henri-Georges Clouzot’s Inferno
Available until end of: 23rd April

Ma Mere
Available until end of: 24th April

Silence
Available until end of: 25th April

Ali: Fear Eats the Soul
Available until end of: 26th April

Twentieth Century
Available until end of: 27th April

Circumstance
Available until end of: 28th April

1,000 Times Good Night
Available until end of: 29th April

Gimme the Loot
Available until end of: 30th April

 

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