The ARTHAUS label has been bringing together very special films for the home cinema market for more than 25 years. The portfolio of accompanying films put together by distributor StudioCanal is of a correspondingly high caliber Streaming platform ARTHAUS+, which is now available as a standalone app for smart TVs, smartphones, tablets or directly on the Internet. You can stream there for 3.99 euros per month, and the app can initially be tested completely free for seven days.
Reason enough to take a closer look at the 400 titles and the constantly growing range of films and series. With a colorful bouquet of film gems from a wide variety of genres and decades, there really is something for every film lover – from cult films like ‘Pulp Fiction’, ‘Léon – The Professional’ and ‘Mulholland Drive’ to classics like ‘The Great Dictator’ and ‘ Apocalypse Now” to indie favorites like “Coffee And Cigarettes” and “The Place Beyond The Pines” (just to name a small sample).
below arthausplus.de you can browse through the catalog yourself. Below we have selected some personal tips from the editors of FILMSTARTS that we would like to recommend to you.
“From Sunset to Sunrise”
“From Dusk Till Dawn” is and remains an absolute cult! The buddies Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino (whose masterpieces ‘Sin City’ and ‘Pulp Fiction’ can also be found on ARTHAUS+) join their greatest forces as directors and screenwriters (and leading actors!) to create a beautiful genre mix, as you can imagine. would do that. rarely expected to see this.
The film starts as a casual gangster story, which is clearly recognizable in every dialogue as the child of the ‘Pulp Fiction’ maker. The two brothers Seth (George Clooney) and Richie (Quentin Tarantino), who are on the run from the law, want to find shelter in Mexico. It’s just stupid that they’re meeting with an underworld boss at the Titty Twister.
Because the bar turns out to be a haven for bloodthirsty vampires, so that after the first third part ‘From Dusk Till Dawn’ suddenly turns into a crazy (and extremely brutal) splash orgy – and thus not only the main characters, but also the audience are pulled to the ground. away from under your feet.
Hardly any other duo would have pulled off this blatant twist as masterfully as Rodriguez and Tarantino, who, even amid the unleashed fountains of blood, did not lack their usual, very individual sense of humor. Even 27 years after the release of the long-indexed genre classic in Germany, it’s still as incredibly entertaining as ever.
“Seven Minutes After Midnight”
Unfortunately, “Seven Minutes After Midnight” stayed a bit under the radar in Germany. It’s all the better that it’s now available on ARTHAUS+, because we consider the fairy tale novel adaptation to be one of the best fantasy films of all time. “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” director JA Bayona tells the story of 12-year-old Conor O’Malley (Lewis MacDougall), whose seriously ill mother Elizabeth (Felicity Jones) is dying. As if that weren’t enough, he is also haunted by dreams and visions in which a gnarled tree monster (voice in the original: Liam Neeson) visits him.
However, the fantasy aspect by no means comes across as a horror fairytale, but rather serves as an original reflection of the sad reality and emotional world of the young protagonist – and at a certain point there is no stopping this metaphorical rollercoaster ride of emotions. . The playfully and imaginatively constructed relationship between Conor and his mother serves as a strong emotional foundation, making the fear of losing a loved one even more heartbreaking.
This is incredibly moving, without being heavy-handed or pressing on the tear duct. And the fact that you are still left with a warm and optimistic feeling at the end when the credits roll makes ‘Seven Minutes After Midnight’ an unforgettable movie experience.
“Good Will Hunting”
‘Good Will Hunting’ is all about Will (Matt Damon), who is gifted but socially difficult to control. Due to his intelligence, all doors are actually open to him, but his aggression increasingly blocks his glorious future. Psychologist Sean Maguire (Robin Williams) must now face Will’s fears so he doesn’t end up in prison.
With “Good Will Hunting,” “My Private Idaho” director Gus Van Sant has once again entered the social fringes, telling the deeply moving story of an extraordinary outsider who must finally learn to come to terms with his past. Even though the film doesn’t seem particularly subtle psychologically, Van Sant has managed to create an incredibly authentic drama.
This is not only due to the atmospheric local color in Van Sant’s production and the well-deserved Oscar-winning script by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, which covers many facets of the unique city between the Harvard-educated elite and the rough working class, but especially for the actors. Particularly heartwarming is the captivating, emotionally charged interplay between Matt Damon and Robin Williams. The scene in which Williams delivers his monologue alone by the lake is undoubtedly one of the most powerful of the 1990s.
“Serpico”
Not only because of ‘The Godfather’ but because of many other roles, Al Pacino is considered one of the greatest gangster actors of all time. However, the fact that he is also a brilliant figure on the other side of the law is sometimes wrongly forgotten. If you want to convince yourself of this, you should see “Serpico”. In fact, it’s one of the best films and one of the best performances in the impressive career of the character actor of sheer unbridled skill.
In the thriller drama based on a true case, Al Pacino plays police officer Frank Serpico, who starts the job with high ambitions, but realizes that almost all his colleagues and superiors are corrupt. In Sidney Lumet’s dark and pessimistic masterpiece we see how Serpico refuses to look away and increasingly becomes an outsider within the police force.
This results in an incredibly exciting and complex thriller – also because Lumet and Pacino do not bring their main character to life as a shining hero, but as a real person with weaknesses. His excellent performance earned Pacino the first Oscar nomination for a leading role of his career in 1974 (after he had already taken home the golden boy award for Best Supporting Actor for ‘The Godfather’ a year earlier).
“The Lullaby of Manslaughter”
Based on the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864, ‘The Lullaby of Manslaughter’ tells the disturbing story of a genocide against the indigenous Cheyenne people – carried out by the US military. Director Ralph Nelson has undoubtedly delivered one of the harshest and most depressing films of the early 1970s – and completely deconstructs the Western in the process.
Not only does Ralph Nelson rely on explicit violence in his production, especially for the period in which it was made. He highlights the double standards of a country built on blood and corruption. ‘The Lullaby of Manslaughter’ not only functions as a brutal, grueling and dark Western swan song, but is also a gloomy allegory of current events in Vietnam at the time. Yes, this film gets under your skin.
“La La Land”
Although director Damien Chazelle (“Whiplash”) could look forward to a real Oscar win in 2017, “La La Land” burned into the memories of many viewers of the world’s largest awards show as the film that was named best picture – or only for a brief moment before the golden boy finally went to “Moonlight.” Either way, for music fans, the Hollywood romance instantly became a modern cult classic.
In ‘La La Land’, director Chazelle tells the story of actress Mia (Emma Stone) and musician Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) as they hold on to their dream of a big career while doing odd jobs to make ends meet. When their paths cross, they fall in love – and from then on they give each other the strength to achieve their goals. But then these actually become tangible, and the two are confronted with the most important question of all: is their love even compatible with their life path?
Chazelle’s love for music and the Hollywood cinema of a bygone era makes “La La Land” a unique, vibrant declaration of love for the work of Fred Astaire and Co. – and is particularly memorable for its brilliantly choreographed and excitingly staged musical numbers. The icing on the cake is a love story that is both overly romanticized and refreshingly honest, carried by two of today’s most talented actors – who ultimately make the film one of the few exceptional works that you can’t just watch again and again. make you laugh, but also make you cry.