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Last July, cinephiles and lovers of cult films were given a blessing from the movie gods: an honest to god rerelease of “The Fall,” Tarsem Singh’s singular 2006 fantasy adventure epic. The movie, which stars Lee Pace in a dual role as an injured 1915 Hollywood stuntman and the hero of an epic tale he spins for a hospitalized little girl, was greeted with mixed reviews but love from its biggest fans upon its 2006 Toronto Film Festival premiere. In the years since its premiere, the film has developed a passionate little fandom, but actually tracking it down has proven more difficult than it should be — it’s been completely unavailable on streaming for years.
With the July 15 news that Mubi will re-release “The Fall” this… uh, fall, that long drought is about to finally end. The arthouse streamer and distributer premiered the 4K restoration of Singh’s film at the 2024 Locarno Film Festival this August, followed by a September 27 streaming release. The news marked the end of one of the longest droughts a film has experienced in terms of streaming availability — and gives hope for other films stuck in that particularly brutal purgatory.
Generally speaking, people often discuss the streaming age as a landscape that offers nigh-unlimited access of film history to anybody — or, at least, anybody who can pony up money to the right services. And it’s true that streaming has its benefits, allowing for quick and easy availability of thousands of classics films, as long as you know where to look and how to find them. But, as American audiences have almost completely abandoned physical media for online access, that transition has left a lot of great, underrated works in the dust.
Whether it’s because of rights issues or sheer negligence, you don’t need to look too deeply to find plenty of iconic and worthwhile films that just can’t be accessed on streaming. Some of these films do occasionally pop up on streamers for a month or two before vanishing; others have had prolonged absences. While the answer to how to watch these movies is simple — invest in physical media — if you don’t have the ability to do so, the inability to throw on a banger like “To Live and Die in L.A.” or “Pump Up the Volume” can prove more than a little aggravating.
With “The Fall” finally heading to streaming, IndieWire is taking a look at some of the other streaming victims that deserve a new lease on life via streaming. To qualify for this list, the movie cannot be available on any legal commercial streaming service or via VOD platforms like YouTube, Apple TV, and Amazon. Read on to find 21 great movies that you can’t stream anywhere. Entries are listed in chronological order.
‘Love Me Tonight’ (dir. Rouben Mamoulian, 1932)
A foundational musical romantic comedy, ‘Love Me Tonight’ occasionally floats on and off the Criterion Channel, but currently can not be watched nor rented on any major streaming platform. Rouben Mamoulian’s comedy of errors stars Maurice Chevalier as a humble French tailor who poses as a noble baron to woo the gorgeous Princess Jeanette (Jeanette MacDonald). Featuring several classics songs like ‘Isn’t it Romantic?’ and the title track, ‘Love Me Tonight’ is a wistful, uplifting treasure.
‘Rebecca’ (dir. Alfred Hitchcock, 1940)
It seems absurd that Alfred Hitchcock’s only Best Picture-winning film is one of his few films to go undistributed on streaming, but such is the fate that has befouled ‘Rebecca.’ Hitchcock’s first American production, his adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s gothic novel is a perfectly atmospheric and tortured rendition of the love affair between the second Mrs. de Winter (Joan Fontaine) and the Byronic Maxim de Winter (Laurence Olivier), with Judith Anderson stealing the show as the vampiric Mrs. Danvers. Unfortunately, if you want to experience du Maurier’s story on streaming, your only option is the panned 2020 Ben Wheatley version, which you’re better off ignoring entirely.
‘The Tarnished Angels’ (dir. Douglas Sirk, 1957)
Douglas Sirk is best known for making melodramas in glorious Technicolor. ‘The Tarnished Angels’ subs out his use of stunning color for black-and-white CinemaScope, but his adaptation of the William Faulkner novel ‘Python’ has plenty of melodrama all the same. Sirk’s regular leading man Rock Hudson plays journalist Burke Devlin, who takes on a story about former World War I pilot Roger Shumann (Robert Stack) and his current work as an air show stuntman. In doing so, he falls madly in love with Shumann’s abused wife LaVerne (Dorothy Malone). Hudson and Stack are great, but it’s Malone’s steely, exceptional performance that gives ‘The Tarnished Angels’ its emotional power.
‘The Devils’ (dir. Ken Russell, 1971)
Ken Russell’s controversial religious drama ‘The Devils’ is famously difficult to track down both on DVD and streaming, and has been completely absent from platforms since a brief stint on the Criterion Channel earlier this year. Banned in several countries for its gore and sexual content, the film tells a heavily fictionalized account of how 17th-century French priest Father Grandier (Oliver Reed) was persecuted and accused of witchcraft by his rivals and a nun Sister Jeanne (a diabolical Vanessa Redgrave) that’s obsessed with him. The brilliant performances and go for broke filmmaking make ‘The Devils’ a cinematic experience like no other.
‘Sleuth’ (dir. Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1972)
Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s final film before retirement, 1972’s ‘Sleuth’ sees the ‘All About Eve’ director take on a twisted, shocking two-hander. Laurence Olivier plays Andrew Wyke, a detective fiction writer who invites his wife’s lover (Michael Caine) to his mansion, where a fierce and surprising game of one-upmanship commences. Consistently shocking and genuinely unpredictable, the wild ‘Sleuth’ is a film best watched blind.
‘The Heartbreak Kid’ (dir. Elaine May, 1972)
If you want, you can go ahead and stream the 2007 remake of ‘The Heartbreak Kid’ starring Ben Stiller on Paramount+. But why would you want to do that? The poorly reviewed bomb can’t hold a candle to Elaine May’s fiercely funny 1972 original film, which is less easily available but well worth seeking out. Starring a career-best Charles Grodin as a self-absorbed salesman who heads to Miami Beach to honeymoon with his wife and soon finds himself taken with another woman, May’s film is a skewering of masculine selfishness and deluded romantics that practically perfects the art of cringe comedy.
‘Pink Flamingos’ (dir. John Waters, 1972)
In some respects, it’s fitting that a film as proudly underground as ‘Pink Flamingos’ is so intensely difficult to track down. Still, more squeamish viewers would probably appreciate the opportunity to watch John Waters’ defining work more easily at home. Starring the legendary Divine as a criminal whose rivalry with a couple leads her to engage in wildly depraved acts, such as exhibitionism, vomiting, incest, murder, cannibalism, and, of course, shit eating: This brilliant work of abject art has it all.
‘To Live and Die In L.A.’ (dir. William Friedkin, 1985)
One of the late William Friedkin’s most exhilarating films, ‘To Live and Die in L.A.’ presents the audience with a bleak, near-dystopian look at life in its titular city. Following the cat-and-mouse games between two Secret Service Agents and a counterfeit ring, the film operates as both a brilliant and stylish cop thriller — complete with an unforgettable original score by New Wave band Wang Chung — and a deconstruction of the genre, questioning the morals of the reckless and rule-breaking officers that serve as the supposed heroes. And, in an early career performance, Willem Dafoe steals the show as the mincing, reptilian main villain.
‘The Brave Little Toaster’ (dir. Jerry Rees, 1987)
A childhood favorite for many that grew up in the ’80s and ’90s thanks to VHS releases, ‘The Brave Little Toaster’ is frustratingly difficult to track down now: You’ll need to nab a DVD on Amazon or eBay to properly watch it. The film from Jerry Rees is notable as the first animated movie to debut at the Sundance Film Festival, and tells the story of five household appliances searching for their master. Its mix of weighty character development and snappy songs makes it an animated film that can be enjoyed by adults and kids alike.
‘Hotel Terminus’ (dir. Marcel Ophuls, 1988)
A nearly 4-and-a-half-hour documentary about the rise and fall of a Nazi war criminal isn’t exactly the type of movie people just throw on streaming on a random night. Still, Marcel Ophuls’ ‘Hotel Terminus’ is well worth seeking out and experiencing. The winner of the Academy Award for Best Documentary Film in 1988, the movie uses its story of the life of Klaus Barbie — a German SS officer so notorious for his misdeeds he became known as the ‘Butcher of Lyon’ — as a window into arresting and terrifying questions about the nature of evil and how responsibility for misdeeds can be deflected by bureaucracy and hierarchies.
‘Wild at Heart’ (dir. David Lynch, 1990)
One of David Lynch’s most polarizing films, ‘Wild at Heart’ is nonetheless one of the director’s more accessible (low bar, we know) and purely fun efforts — a Bonnie and Clyde story that sizzles with the heat between leads Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern. They play young lovers Sailor and Lulu, who head on a road trip to escape the shadow of Lulu’s domineering mother Marietta (Diane Ladd), only to be trailed by Marietta’s hired detective and hitman. Stylish and packed with gore, grotesquerie, and tributes to Lynch’s favorite film, ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ ‘Wild at Heart’ picked up a well-deserved Palme d’Or upon its 1990 release.
‘Pump Up the Volume’ (dir. Allan Moyle, 1990)
‘Heathers’ is more famous, but it’s ‘Pump Up the Volume’ that contains the essential performance from early ’90s heartthrob Christian Slater. He plays introverted and unpopular high schooler Mark Hunter, who starts an anonymous shortwave radio show in which he rebels against the injustices and hypocrisies of his high school and small Arizona town. Slater is fiery, dreamy, and unforgettable in the role, and his chemistry with Samantha Mathis as Mark’s love interest makes Allan Moyle’s teen film a deeply delightful watch. Unfortunately, on streaming, the closest thing to ‘Pump Up the Volume’ you can find is Disney Channel’s 2012 so-bad-it’s-good ‘Radio Rebel,’ which does basically the same premise to considerably less potent effect.
‘Flirting’ (dir. John Duigan, 1991)
A sensitive and smart indie teen film from Australia, ‘Flirting’ marked the breakout roles for both Thandiwe Newton and Nicole Kidman, who look young and fresh-faced as teen girls at a boarding school. The film is actually in the middle of a series of semi-autobiographical films Duigan made featuring Noah Taylor as the main character Danny, but the hearttrending main story — about the teen’s fumbling first relationship with Newton’s Ugandan immigrant — stands on its own.
‘Short Cuts’ (dir. Robert Altman, 1993)
One of the most successful films from Robert Altman’s ’90s renaissance, ‘Short Cuts’ is frustratingly difficult to track down. Based on 10 different short stories from the master of minimalism Raymond Carver, Altman’s dramedy turns these separate stories into an interlocking narrative that unfolds across Long Angeles. Featuring an enviable ensemble of stars (including Lily Tomlin, Julianne Moore, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jack Lemmon, Frances McDormand, Robert Downey Jr., and Tom Waits), ‘Short Cuts’ is an indelible portrait of the City of Angels.
‘Heavenly Creatures’ (dir. Peter Jackson, 1994)
Peter Jackson’s ‘mature’ breakthrough after releasing several cult classic (and brilliant) splatter horror movies, ‘Heavenly Creatures’ is still one of the director’s best. A vivid mix of psychological drama and fantasy, the film tells the story of Pauline Parker and Juliet Holme, two teen girls who in 1954 murdered Parker’s mother. Melanie Lynskey and Kate Winslet star as the two girls, and their performances as young virtual unknowns remain some of the stars’ most indelible and heartbreaking work to this day.
‘Strange Days’ (dir. Kathryn Bigelow, 1995)
Possibly director Kathryn Bigelow’s best film, ‘Strange Days’ can be purchased on Blu-ray but is usually impossible to track down on streaming. A commercial failure upon release that has since developed a massive cult following, the cyberpunk thriller stars Ralph Fiennes and Angela Bassett as a former police officer and a bodyguard who get drawn into a police conspiracy involving a murder and a device that allows people to experience the memories of others. Bigelow was heavily inspired by the 1992 Los Angeles riots, creating an anti-police film that leans heavily into critiques of systemic corruption and racism that still feels radical today. But even without its stirring political context, ‘Strange Days’ is a wildly compelling thriller that features fantastic performances from Fiennes and Bassett, and some of Bigelow’s most accomplished filmmaking.
‘Crash’ (dir. David Cronenberg, 1996)
It’s a crime that the only ‘Crash’ you can watch easily on streaming is the infamous 2004 Oscar winner. Not when David Cronenberg’s ‘Crash’ is quite possibly the Canadian auteur’s masterpiece, a slick and unforgettable look at sexuality and connection that wraps its probing questions behind a lurid premise. Deborah Kara Unger and James Spader star as the central couple, whose passionless sex life is reignited when they become involved with a cult-like group that derives sexual pleasure from car crashes. Featuring memorable performances from its entire ensemble and scenes that are both disturbing and unquestionably hot, Cronenberg’s film is a fascinating look at the relationship between pleasure and pain.
‘Happiness’ (dir. Todd Solondz, 1998)
Controversial but highly acclaimed upon release, ‘Happiness’ has gone years without a streaming home. This is a shame, because more should be familiar with Todd Solondz’s acidic comedy, one of the best indie films of its decade. Loosely following the lives of three adult sisters and their loved ones living in New Jersey, the film features a game cast — including Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Dylan Baker, Jarred Harris, Lara Flynn Boyle, and Jane Adams — playing troubled souls, from pedophilic fathers to perverted creeps. Solondz’s film doesn’t just push buttons for buttons sake, instead offering surprising empathy for these screwed-up freaks and their quest to find love. Hopefully, the movie’s upcoming physical release via the Criterion Collection portends a streaming premiere for the film in the near future.
‘Drop Dead Gorgeous’ (dir. Michael Patrick Jann, 1999)
One of the funniest, most quotable teen films of its decade, ‘Drop Dead Gorgeous’ is a cult favorite that’s frustratingly hard to track down online. Set in the world of small-town beauty pageants, the mockumentary focuses on the efforts of the competitors to get the crown, which go from cutthroat to legitimately deadly. Lona Williams’ script for the film is fresh, hilarious, and skewering in its look at the pageant world, and the cast is loaded with iconic actresses doing hilarious work: Kirsten Dunst, Ellen Barkin, Brittany Murphy, Allison Janney, Denise Richards, Kirstie Alley, and even a young Amy Adams in her first onscreen role.
’28 Days Later’ (dir. Danny Boyle, 2002)
With a sequel set to come out next year, don’t be surprised if ’28 Days Later’ gets back to streaming sooner or later. But for now, it’s impossible to watch the defining zombie movie of the 21st century without looking for a DVD. Directed by Danny Boyle from Alex Garland’s Hollywood breakthrough script, ’28 Days Later’ revolutionized zombie apocalypse cinema through its action-packed script, fast and deadly depiction of the walking dead, and smart character-driven drama. Add in a career-making performance from Cillian Murphy, and you have a classic.
‘The Intruder’ (2004)
Even by Claire Denis’ standards, ‘The Intruder’ is an elliptical, withholding journey, one that keeps you at a distance before suddenly coming in for the kill. Michel Subor, in a nearly wordless performance, plays an ex-mercenary suffering from a heart condition who abandons everything to spend his last few days on a trip to Tahiti to track down a son he never knew. It’s a difficult but rewarding story of morality and connection that ranks among Denis’ best.