Amazon Prime Video has a new series set during the 1970s rock ‘n roll scene, plus dozens of classic films in March. Here are some of the more promising Amazon series and films that will interest seniors.
Daisy Jones and The Six – March 3
Daisy Jones and The Six is a 10-episode series coming to Amazon Prime Video that follows a fictional rock band – Daisy Jones and The Six – in their rise and fall in the 1970s. The series is based on the best-selling novel of the same name. The fictional band is said to be inspired by Fleetwood Mac.
The series stars Riley Keough in the title role with Billy Dunne, Elvis Presley’s granddaughter Keough, and Enola Holmes star Claflin, Camila Morrone, Will Harrison (Madam Secretary), Sebastian Chacon (Narcos), Josh Whitehouse (Valley Girl), Nabiyah Be (Black Panther), Timothy Olyphant (Santa Clarita Diet), Jacqueline Obradors (Unstoppable), and Tom Wright (Troop Beverly Hills).
IMDB Rating – There are no IMDB ratings yet for Daisy Jones and The Six.
Daisy Jones and The Six starts March 3 on Amazon. The official Amazon site for the film is: https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/amzn1.dv.gti.b445ce8e-324d-4b7d-82e2-714d0fe0f004 Below is a preview.
Classic Movies on Amazon March 1
Amazon Prime Video starts showing a new set of classic films every month. New to Amazon starting March 1, 2023 are many greats including 12 Angry Men, Once Upon a Time in the West, and The Apartment. Here are the most notable movies coming to Amazon Prime Video on March 1.
- 12 Angry Men (1957) – 12 Angry Men is a 1957 American courtroom drama film directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Ed Begley, E. G. Marshall, and Jack Warde The film tells the story of a jury of 12 men as they deliberate the conviction or acquittal of a teenager charged with murder on the basis of reasonable doubt; disagreement and conflict among them force the jurors to question their morals and values. It has a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The site’s consensus reads: “Sidney Lumet’s feature debut is a superbly written, dramatically effective courtroom thriller that rightfully stands as a modern classic”. 12 Angry Men has a 9.0 rating on IMDB.
- A Fish Called Wanda (1988) – A Fish Called Wanda is a 1988 heist comedy film directed by Charles Crichton and written by Crichton and John Cleese. It stars Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, and Michael Palin. The film follows a gang of diamond thieves who double-cross one another to find stolen diamonds hidden by the gang leader. A barrister becomes a central figure as femme fatale Wanda uses him to locate the loot. In 2016, Empire magazine ranked A Fish Called Wanda 35th on their list of the 100 best British films. A Fish Called Wanda has a 7.5 rating on IMDB.
- Barefoot in the Park (1967) – Barefoot in the Parkis a 1967 American romantic comedy film written by Neil Simon and starring Robert Redford and Jane Fonda as a young newlywed couple. Paul, a conservative lawyer, marries the vivacious Corie, but their highly passionate relationship descends into comical discord in a five-flight New York City walk-up apartment. The supporting cast features Charles Boyer, Mildred Natwick, Herbert Edelman, and Mabel Albertson. Barefoot in the Park has a 7.0 rating on IMDB.
- Being John Malkovich (1999) – Being John Malkovich is a 1999 American surrealist fantasy comedy film[5] directed by Spike Jonze and written by Charlie Kaufman, both making their feature film debut. The film stars John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, and Catherine Keener, with John Malkovich as a satirical version of himself. Cusack plays a puppeteer who finds a portal that leads into Malkovich’s mind. The film received widespread acclaim for its writing and direction and was nominated in three categories at the 72nd Academy Awards: Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actress for Keener. Being John Malkovich has a 7.8 rating on IMDB.
- Capote (2006) – Capote is a 2005 biographical drama film about American novelist Truman Capote starring Philip Seymour Hoffman in the title role. The film primarily follows the events during the writing of Capote’s 1965 nonfiction book In Cold Blood. The film became a box office success and received acclaim from critics for Hoffman’s lead performance. It was nominated for 5 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actress for Catherine Keener, and Best Adapted Screenplay, with Hoffman winning the Academy Award for Best Actor. Capote has a 7.3 rating on IMDB.
- Duck Soup (1933) – Duck Soup is a 1933 musical black comedy film starring the Marx Brothers (Groucho, Harpo, Chico, and Zeppo in his final Marx Brothers’ movie). It was the last of five Marx Brothers movies released by Paramount Pictures. In the film, Groucho portrays the newly installed president of the mythical country of Freedonia. Zeppo is his secretary, while Chico and Harpo are spies for the neighboring country of Sylvania. Film critic Roger Ebert wrote that “The Marx Brothers created a body of work in which individual films are like slices from the whole, but Duck Soup is probably the best.” Duck Soup has a 7.3 rating on IMDB.
- Elizabeth (1998) – I is a 1998 British biographical period drama starring Cate Blanchett in the title role of Elizabeth I of England, with Geoffrey Rush, Christopher Eccleston, Joseph Fiennes, John Gielgud, and Richard Attenborough in supporting roles. The film is based on the early years of Elizabeth’s reign, where she faces plots and threats to take her down. Elizabeth has a 7.4 rating on IMDB.
- Good Will Hunting (1998) – Good Will Hunting is a 1997 American psychological drama film directed by Gus Van Sant, and written by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. It stars Robin Williams, Damon, Affleck, Stellan Skarsgård and Minnie Driver. The film received positive reviews from critics and received Oscar nominations in nine categories, including Best Picture and Best Director, and won in two: Best Supporting Actor for Williams and Best Original Screenplay for Affleck and Damon. In 2014, it was ranked at number 53 in The Hollywood Reporter’s “100 Favorite Films” list. Good Will Hunting has an 8.3 rating on IMDB.
- Midnight Cowboy (1969) –Midnight Cowboy is a 1969 American drama directed by John Schlesinger, and starring Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight, with notable smaller roles being filled by Sylvia Miles, John McGiver and Brenda Vaccaro. Set in New York City, Midnight Cowboy depicts the unlikely friendship between two hustlers: naïve sex worker Joe Buck (Voight), and ailing con man Enrico “Rico” Rizzo (Hoffman), referred to as “Ratso”. The film won three Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. Midnight Cowboy is the only X-rated film ever to win Best Picture. It has since been placed 36th on the American Film Institute’s list of the 100 greatest American films of all time, and 43rd on its 2007 updated version. Midnight Cowboy has a 7.8 rating on IMDB.
- Once Upon a Time in the West (1969) – Once Upon a Time in the West is a 1968 epic Spaghetti Western film directed by Sergio Leone, who co-wrote it with Sergio Donati based on a story by Dario Argento, Bernardo Bertolucci, and Leone. It stars Henry Fonda, cast against type as the villain, Charles Bronson as his nemesis, Jason Robards as a bandit, and Claudia Cardinale as a newly widowed homesteader. Directors such as Martin Scorsese, George Lucas, Quentin Tarantino, and Vince Gilligan have cited the film as an influence on their work. It has also appeared on prominent all-time critics lists, including Time’s 100 greatest films of the 20th century and Empire’s 500 greatest movies of all time, where it was the list’s highest-ranking Western at number 14. Popular culture scholar Christopher Frayling regarded it as “one of the greatest films ever made”. Once Upon a Time in the West has an 8.5 rating on IMDB.
- Ordinary People (1980) – Ordinary People is a 1980 American drama film directed by Robert Redford in his directorial debut. The film follows the disintegration of an upper-middle class family following the accidental death of one of their two sons and the attempted suicide of the other. It stars Donald Sutherland, Mary Tyler Moore, Judd Hirsch, and Timothy Hutton. Ordinary People received critical acclaim. Roger Ebert gave it a full four stars and praised how the film’s setting “is seen with an understated matter-of-factness. There are no cheap shots against suburban lifestyles or affluence or mannerisms: The problems of the people in this movie aren’t caused by their milieu, but grow out of themselves. … That’s what sets the film apart from the sophisticated suburban soap opera it could easily have become.” He later named it the fifth best film of the year 1980. Ordinary People has a 7.7 rating on IMDB.
- Paths of Glory (1957) – Paths of Glory is a 1957 American anti-war film co-written and directed by Stanley Kubrick and starring Kirk Douglas as Colonel Dax, the commanding officer of French soldiers who refuse to continue a suicidal attack. Dax attempts to defend them against charges of cowardice in a court-martial. Roger Ebert added the film to his “Great Movies” list in 2005. Ebert-s colleague Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune declared Paths of Glory to be “a near perfect film”, one that in his opinion was surpassed in overall quality only by Kubrick’s dark comedy Dr. Strangelove. Paths of Glory has an 8.4 rating on IMDB.
- Pulp Fiction (1994) – Pulp Fiction is a 1994 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It stars John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth, Ving Rhames, and Uma Thurman. Pulp Fiction tells several stories of crime in Los Angeles. The title refers to the pulp magazines and hardboiled crime novels popular during the mid-20th century, known for their graphic violence and punchy dialogue. Pulp Fiction has an 8.9 rating on IMDB.
- Red River (1948) – Red River is a 1948 American Western film, directed and produced by Howard Hawks and starring John Wayne and Montgomery Clift. It gives a fictional account of the first cattle drive from Texas to Kansas along the Chisholm Trail. The dramatic tension stems from a growing feud over the management of the drive between the Texas rancher who initiated it (Wayne) and his adopted adult son (Clift). The film’s supporting cast features Walter Brennan, Joanne Dru, Coleen Gray, Harry Carey, John Ireland, Hank Worden, Noah Beery Jr., Harry Carey Jr. and Paul Fix. Red River was nominated for two Academy Awards and was selected by the American Film Institute as the fifth-greatest Western of all time in the AFI’s 10 Top 10 list in 2008. Red River has an 7.8 rating on IMDB.
- Rocky (1976) (and other Rocky sequels) – Rocky is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It also stars Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, and Burgess Meredith. In the film, Rocky Balboa (Stallone), living in the slums of Philadelphia, is a poor, working-class, Italian-American small-time club fighter and debt collector for a Mafia loanshark and gets an unlikely shot at the world heavyweight championship held by Apollo Creed (Weathers). Rocky has an 8.1 rating on IMDB. Amazon is also showing other films in the Rocky series.
- Scent of a Woman (1993) – Scent of a Woman is a 1992 American drama film that tells the story of a preparatory school student who takes a job as an assistant to an irritable, blind, medically retired Army lieutenant colonel. The film stars Al Pacino and Chris O’Donnell, with James Rebhorn, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Gabrielle Anwar in supporting roles.The film was shot primarily around New York state, and also on location at Princeton University, at the Emma Willard School, an all-girls school in Troy, New York, and at the Ethical Culture Fieldston School in New York City. Pacino won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance and the film was nominated for Best Director, Best Picture and Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published. The film won three major awards at the Golden Globe Awards: Best Screenplay, Best Actor and Best Motion Picture – Drama. Scent of a Woman has an 8.0 rating on IMDB.
- The Apartment (1960) – The Apartment is a 1960 American romantic comedy-drama film directed and produced by Billy Wilder from a screenplay he co-wrote with I. A. L. Diamond. It stars Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray, Ray Walston, Jack Kruschen, David Lewis, Willard Waterman, David White, Hope Holiday and Edie Adams. The film follows an insurance clerk (Lemmon) who, in the hope of climbing the corporate ladder, lets more senior coworkers use his Upper West Side apartment to conduct extramarital affairs. He is attracted to an elevator operator (MacLaine) in his office building, unaware that she is having an affair with his immediate boss (MacMurray). The Apartment was nominated for ten Academy Awards, and won five, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay. Lemmon, MacLaine and Kruschen were Oscar-nominated. Lemmon and MacLaine won Golden Globe Awards for their performances. Since its release, The Apartment has come to be regarded as one of the greatest films ever made, appearing in lists by the American Film Institute and Sight and Sound magazine. The Apartment has an 8.3 rating on IMDB.
- The Defiant Ones (1958) – The Defiant Ones is a 1958 American adventure drama film which tells the story of two escaped prisoners, one white and one black, who are shackled together and who must co-operate in order to survive. It stars Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier. The film was highly regarded at the time of its release; it won Academy Awards for Cinematography (Black-and-White) and Original Screenplay and was nominated for seven others, including Best Picture and Best Actor for both Poitier and Curtis. The Defiant Ones has a 7.6 rating on IMDB.
- The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) – The Last Temptation of Christ is a 1988 epic religious drama film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is an adaptation of Nikos Kazantzakis’ controversial 1955 novel of the same name. The film stars Willem Dafoe, Harvey Keitel, Barbara Hershey, Andre Gregory, Harry Dean Stanton and David Bowie. It depicts the life of Jesus Christ and his struggle with various forms of temptation including fear, doubt, depression, reluctance and lust. The book and the film depict Christ being tempted by imagining himself engaged in sexual activities, which caused outrage from some Christians. It includes a disclaimer stating “This film is not based on the Gospels, but upon the fictional exploration of the eternal spiritual conflict.” Gene Siskel from the Chicago Tribune said “Dafoe manages to draw us into the mystery, anguish and joy of the holy life. This is anything but another one of those boring biblical costume epics. There is genuine challenge and hope in this movie.” The Last Temptation of Christ has a 7.5 rating on IMDB.
- Witness For the Prosecution (1958) – Witness for the Prosecution is a 1957 American legal mystery thriller film directed by Billy Wilder and starring Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich, Charles Laughton and Elsa Lanchester. The film, which has elements of bleak black comedy and film noir, is a courtroom drama set in the Old Bailey in London and is based on the 1953 play of the same name by Agatha Christie. The film received positive reviews and six Academy Award nominations. The American Film Institute included the film in AFI’s 10 Top 10 at #6 in the courtroom-drama category. Witness for the Prosecution has an 8.4 rating on IMDB.
Top Gun: Maverick Starts March 24 on Amazon
Another notable release by Amazon is Top Gun: Maverick (2022), available for streaming on March 24.
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Best Netflix Shows for Seniors in March
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