Movie News
The Movie Committee has announced that movies are now showing every Saturday evening at 7 p.m In the Auditorium and on Tuesdays twice a month.
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Saturday, June 20: Natchez
A film about the historic homes in Natchez, Mississippi, a tourist town and a center of the slave trade in the 19th century, as seen by the owners and caretakers of these homes, and by other residents, including National Park Service staff. Directed and produced by Suzannah Herbert.
2026 Documentary 1 hr 26 min (PBS: Independent Lens)
Tuesday, June 23: Don’t Look Now
After the accidental drowning of their young daughter, a couple travels to Venice, where the husband, an architect, has a commission to renovate a church. The wife encounters psychics, whom she believes can communicate with the couple’s daughter. Directed by Nicholas Roeg; with Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie.
1973 Psychological thriller R 1 hr 50 min (Kanopy, Amazon rental)
Saturday, June 27: Spotlight
The true story of how The Boston Globe uncovered the massive scandal of child molestation and cover-up in the local Catholic Archdiocese. The newspaper stories won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. Directed and co-written by Tom McCarthy. The cast includes Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, John Slattery, Stanley Tucci, Liev Schreiber, and Billy Crudup.
2015 Drama R 2 hr 9 min (Kanopy, Amazon rental)
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During July, movies will be offered weekly on both Saturday and Tuesday. Saturday movies will be American Noir introduced by Peter Lev. Tuesday movies will be from the European Cinema. Show will be in the auditorium at 7 pm except as noted.
Saturday, July 4: 1776—(Note showtime: 4:00 to 5:30 p.m.; 7:00 to 8:15 p.m.)
The film, set in Philadelphia in the summer of 1776, is a fictionalized account of the events leading up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Portions of dialogue and some lyrics were taken directly from the letters and memoirs of the participants in the Second Continental Congress. Directed by Peter H. Hunt and written by Peter Stone, with music and lyrics by Sherman Edwards. The film stars William Daniels as John Adams, Howard da Silva, Donald Madden, John Cullum, Ken Howard, and Blythe Danner.
1972 Historical musical PG 2 hr 45 min (Amazon rental)
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Tuesday, July 7: The Cranes Are Flying (Criterion Channel)
The film portrays women’s suffering during the Second World War in Russia and their hopes for the return of their husbands. Highly influential on later Soviet films and notable for its cinematography. Won the Palme d’Or in 1958. Directed by Mikhail Kalatozov
1957 Drama 1 hr 35 min
Saturday, July 11: Double Indemnity (Amazon Prime and rental)
An insurance salesman plots with a woman to kill her husband in order to claim a life insurance payment, arousing the suspicion of a claims manager. Directed by Billy Wilder; screenplay adaptation by Wilder and Raymond Chandler. With Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, Edward G. Robinson.
1944 1 hr 47 min
Tuesday, July 14: The Magician (Criterion Channel)
Directed by Ingmar Bergman, the film stars Max von Sydow as a 19th century mesmerist whose magic is put to the test by the royal medical adviser (Gunnar Björnstrand). With Ingrid Thulin.
1958 1 hr 41 min
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Saturday, July 18: Laura (Amazon rental)
A police detective falls in love with the woman whose murder he is investigating. Produced and directed by Otto Preminger. With Dana Andrews, Gene Tierney. Several Oscar nominations; won for Best Black and White Cinematography.
1944 1 hr 28 min
Tuesday, July 21: Day for Night
A filmmaker struggles to complete a melodrama, “Meet Pamela,” while coping with various crises. Directed by François Truffaut, who also plays the director, Jacqueline Bisset, Valentina Cortese, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Jean-Pierre Léaud.
1973 1 hr 56 min
Saturday, July 25: In a Lonely Place (Amazon rental)
A violence-prone screenwriter is a murder suspect until his lonely neighbor clears him, but she soon starts to have doubts. Directed by Nicholas Ray; with Humphrey Bogart, Gloria Grahame, Frank Lovejoy.
1950 1 hr 43 min
Tuesday, July 28: No Movie
Saturday, August 1: Touch of Evil (Amazon rental)
A Mexican official and his American wife are targeted in a Texas border town by the crime family he's trying to put behind bars for drug trafficking. His concern grows over the tactics of the local detective whose cooperation he needs. Written and directed by Orson Welles, recut by Universal-International, and re-edited and restored by Walter Murch in 1998. With Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, Joseph Calleia, Marlene Dietrich, and Welles.
1958 1 hr 48 min
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The Movie Committee always appreciates feedback. Thank you to all the residents who have suggested movies for future showings. These suggestions are always welcome.
Streaming Movies
Many residents prefer to watch movies at home for a variety of reasons, or they miss a particular movie because they have other plans for that night.
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Almost all the movies now shown at Broadmead are available from streaming services. (See the end of this post for the services used for this month’s movies.)
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For most services you sign up on your computer or phone. Newer TVs have the apps for Amazon and Netflix already on them and may have others as well. Of course you can also use Roku and similar devices.
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Amazon rentals are the major source of our movies. You need an Amazon account but you don’t need Prime to rent movies. The Prime service includes a number of new movies; they are available free for a limited period of time and then they move to rentals. Oppenheimer, for example, is now free on Amazon Prime, and costs $6 as a rental. At the end of January, Amazon is raising the cost of a Prime subscription if you want to see movies without ads.
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Most Amazon rentals are $4 to $6, except when the movies are brand new and popular. (They can be as much as $20 at first, but after a while the price drops.) You have 48 hours to watch a rented movie once you start to stream it.
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Kanopy is a free service sponsored by libraries and has increased the number and depth of its offerings. You sign up online using your Baltimore County library card. Kanopy has always regulated the number of movies you can watch each month. It used to be 15 movies; they have now moved to a different method. You get 45 “tickets” a month, and each movie “costs” 2 to 4 tickets. Again, once you start streaming, you have a limited time to complete the movie.
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Netflix is a subscription service with various levels: ads, no ads, etc. There are no restrictions on the number of movies you watch or a limited time in which to complete them. But Netflix doesn’t carry many older movies and its focus is shifting to series.
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An excellent source for locating movies is the website www.JustWatch.com.
JustWatch - The Streaming Guide All your streaming services in one app.
It tells you which streaming services are carrying the movie and the cost (not always accurate, but close). I use JustWatch to track movies that are still playing in theaters. I’m then notified when they become available for streaming.
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The Voice movie listings will now indicate the streaming source (if available) for each movie.
Movie Reviews
For those looking for movie reviews, most major movies are reviewed on the Roger Ebert site, which has a rotating group of reviewers. The reviews give a detailed plot summary. Four stars is the highest rating.
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Wikipedia has entries for most movies. In addition to a very detailed plot summary (including spoilers), the entries give the production history, cast, summary of critical reviews, and awards for which the movie was nominated or won.
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The Guardian, one of the few major newspapers without a pay wall, also has reviews.
If you have access to the New York Times, their reviewers are excellent, and their recommendations are noted as “Critics’ Choice.”
Movie History
For those interested in movie history, MIT, in its Open Courseware program, has a series of recorded lectures by David Thorburn, with an associated list of suggested films. The lectures include some movie clips. Thorburn has a very animated style of lecturing. His approach is particularly interesting because he places cinema in the context of society and points to connections with the other arts. His lectures are carried on YouTube, so you can view them on your TV, but you have to search for them. You can find information about the lectures at https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/21l-011-the-film-experience-fall-2013/video_galleries/lecture-videos-notes/
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