David Farnor | On 03, Dec 2016

Not getting your arthouse fix from Netflix? Wish there were more indie films on Amazon Prime Video? Every week, we round up the new releases on MUBI, the subscription VOD service that hand-picks new and old classics from around the world.

This week, MUBI marks the start of December, and Jean-Luc Godard’s birthday, in the way that only MUBI would.

Here’s what’s new and coming soon to MUBI:

 

This week on MUBI

JLG/JLG – Self-Portrait in December – 3rd December

Director Jean-Luc Godard reflects in this movie about his place in film history, the interaction of film industry and film as art, as well as the act of creating art.

Hard to Be a God – 5th December

An Earth scientist is sent to a planet that resembles our own during the Middle Ages in Aleksei German’s epic — and he must not interfere in the planet’s political or historical development. Treated by the planet’s natives as a kind of divinity, he is both godlike and impotent in the face of chaos and brutality.

 

Other new releases on MUBI

I, Olga Hepnarova

What makes a murderer? This Berlinale opener, directed by Tomás Weinreb & Petr Kazda and snapped up by the subscription VOD service earlier this year, follows the deeply troubled Olga (Michalina Olszanska), in the build-up to a calmly-executed act of mass homicide. Unsettling and chillingly logical, this is compelling, provocative viewing. (Read our full review)

I Am Cuba

MUBI marks the passing of Fidel Castro with this four-episode chronicle of Cuba’s rise from colonialist degradation and totalitarian rule to a revolution that spreads across the country’s class and regional lines. Originally commissioned as propaganda, it fell into obscurity until Coppola and Scorsese rediscovered it.

Office Killer

Photographer Cindy Sherman turns her hand to filmmaking with this 1997 comedy horror, which sits somewhere between parody and love letter to horror, as the accidental electrocution of a copy editor turns the normally mild-mannered employer into a mass murderer.

The Station Agent

Thomas McCarthy’s heartfelt signature is all over this delightful 2003 drama about a bunch of outcasts who come together, after Peter Dinklage’s downcast recluse moves to New Jersey, where he has inherited a train depot.

London to Brighton

Paul Andrew Williams’ gripping thriller is one of the best British films of the last decade.

The Bishop’s Wife

Cary Grant as an angel? That’s reason enough for anyone to watch Henry Koster’s fantastical comedy from 1947, which sees a heavenly visitor arrive on Earth to guide a bishop trying to get a new cathedral built.

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner

MUBI’s Tony Richardson retrospective continues with his 1962 sporting drama, which follows a rebellious young boy, who, after being sent to an institution as punishment for robbery, rises through its ranks due to his running ability.

Humpday

Any film involving Lynn Shelton and Mark Duplass is worth watching, but Humpday more than most, as the director presents us with a twist on the typical bromance, following two college bad boys who find themselves locked in a dare to have sex with each other 10 years later. Winner of the Special Jury Prize in Sundance.

54

Mark Christopher’s 1998 anthology retells the story of the famous Studio 54, the hangout for the social elite of 1970s New York. With the film originally released in a cut version, MUBI presents the restored director’s cut, which is argues is “ripe to be rediscovered as a modern queer classic”.

Secrets

Frank Borzage’s silent film from 1924, based on 1992 play of the same name, was never released on DVD, making this a rare chance to see the original – which was remade by the director just nine years later.

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

 

Last chance to stream: Titles leaving MUBI soon

Betty Blue
Available until end of: 3rd December

Mean Streets
Available until end of: 4th December

City of God
Available until end of: 5th December

Funny Girl
Available until end of: 6th December

Election
Available until end of: 7th December

The Entertainer
Available until end of: 8th December

Heavenly Creatures
Available until end of: 9th December

Ghost World
Available until end of: 10th December

Fried Green Tomatoes
Available until end of: 11th December

The Runaways
Available until end of: 12th December

 

 

Add to Watchlist