The 27 Best Movies Currently Not Streaming Anywhere: 'Short Cuts,' 'Pink Flamingos,' 'Cocoon,' and More
Clockwise from left: The Fall, Happiness, Wild at Heart, The Heartbreak Kid, and Short Cuts
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normalLast 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 would re-release "The Fall" latter that…uh, fall, that long drought finally ended. 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 absences 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 "Pump Up the Volume" can prove more than a little aggravating.
With "The Fall" finally on 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 27 great movies that you can't stream anywhere. Entries are listed in chronological order.
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"Blonde Venus" (1932)
One of many films from the powerhouse director-actress duo of Josef von Sternberg and Marlene Dietrich, the pre-code gem "Blonde Venus" stars the ever-flinty Dietrich as Helen, a wife and mother who reluctantly returns to cabaret performing when her husband, Ned (Herbert Marshall) gets sick from radiation poisoning. Desperate for the money needed to pay for treatment, she enters into a financial arrangement with a rich playboy Nick (Cary Grant, in a very early role) that threatens to destroy her marriage. Like many of Sternberg and Dietrich's collaborations, its an ahead-of-its-time, gritty look at how women economically navigated a culture often hostile to them, and serves as a tremendous showcase for what made Dietrich such a singular performer.
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"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 unnamed 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.
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"A Thousand Clowns" (1965)
One of just two theatrical films from director Fred Coe — most notable as one of the directors of the influential TV anthology "Playhouse 90" — "A Thousand Clowns" is an underrated parental dramedy that mixes laughs with potent emotion. Based on a Broadway play, it stars Jason Robards (reprising his role from the original stage production) as Murray, an unemployed TV writer living in New York City. The sole guardian of his nephew Nick (Barry Gordon), Murray is forced to grow up himself to retain custody by seeking a more stable job. A crackerjack script and cast (Martin Balsam won best supporting actor at the Oscars for his performance as Murray's agent and brother) makes "A Thousand Clowns" a sharp look at the sacrifices people make for the ones they love.
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"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 shades of reds and blues and greens 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 Malone's steely, exceptional performance is what gives "The Tarnished Angels" its emotional power.
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"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 in 2024. 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.
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"Vanishing Point" (1971)
A bit obscure at the time of its release, Richard C. Sarafian's "Vanishing Point" has picked up a cult following in the 50 years since its release, especially among filmmakers: It's one of Steven Spielberg's favorite films, and was referenced in Edgar Wright's "Baby Driver" and Quentin Tarantino's "Death Proof." Barry Newman stars as Kowalski, a Vietnam vet turned pill addict who gets hired to drive a car from Colorado to California and attempts the trip in less than 15 hours, resulting in high-speed recklessness that puts the police on his tail and turns him into a folk legend for the people. Slickly made and subversive, "Vanishing Point" is a tightly wound action film with an unexpected existential streak.
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"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.
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"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.
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"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 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.
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"Silent Movie" (1976)
"Silent Movie" is not one of Mel Brooks' better spoofests — it's a mere skit compared to the exquisite perfection of "Blazing Saddles" or "Young Frankenstein." Still, it's a Mel Brooks film, which makes it a delight if you can track it down. Made with intertitles instead of dialogue, the film combines Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin-inspired slapstick with industry satire to follow a hapless film director looking to produce a silent film throwback. Really though, it's an excuse to string together some great comedy from a great cast, which includes Dom DeLuise, Marty Feldman, Bernadette Peters, and Sid Caesar, on top of some big name stars (Liza Minnelli and Paul Newman, for two) parodying themselves.
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"Melvin and Howard" (1980)
An early gem from Jonathan Demme, "Melvin and Howard" was the start of the director's great '80s run of humanist dramedies. Based very loosely on a real-life story, the film stars Jason Robards as Melvin, a drifter who rescues a disheveled motorist in the Nevada desert, unaware that it's business magnate Howard Hughes. That part of the story is in the background for most of it — instead the Oscar-winning script by Bo Goldman invests itself in Melvin's modest life as he tries fruitlessly to pursue the American dream. It's a funny and odd film with great performances, particularly from Mary Steenburgen who steals the show as Melvin's flighty wife Lynda.
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"Pink Floyd — The Wall" (1982)
You can obviously go on Spotify or your preferred streaming service to listen to Pink Floyd's influential concept album "The Wall." But, as groundbreaking and brilliant as that work is, you'd also want to try and track down the 1982 film adaptation, a surreal work from director Alan Parker that literalizes the original album's storyline about a rock star losing his grasp on reality. Blending live-action with animated sequences, it's a trippy watch that ranks among the best musical films ever made.
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"Cocoon" (dir. Ron Howard, 1985)
One of those films that's bafflingly never been on streaming, "Cocoon" was a huge financial success upon release, received positive reviews, helped establish Ron Howard's directing career, and received two Oscars (one for Don Ameche in Best Supporting Actor and one for Best Visual Effects). And yet, it's now almost impossible to watch, with even DVD releases proving difficult to track down. The story of a Florida elder care home that's visited by aliens who unwittingly rejuvenate and strengthen the aging residents is an earnest mix of comedy and drama, rendered with a sweet touch by Howard and elevated by committed performances from the ensemble, which also includes Wilford Brimley, Hume Cronyn, Brian Dennehy, Jack Gilford, Steve Guttenberg, Maureen Stapleton, Jessica Tandy, Gwen Verdon, Herta Ware, Tahnee Welch, and Linda Harrison.
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"The Brave Little Toaster'"(dir. Jerry Rees, 1987)
A childhood favorite for many who 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.
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"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.
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"Wild at Heart" (dir. David Lynch, 1990)
One of the late, great 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.
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"Pump Up the Volume" (dir. Allan Moyle, 1990)
"Heathers" is more famous, but "Pump Up the Volume" 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 to rebel 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 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.
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"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.
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"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.
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"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.
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"Kids" (dir. Larry Clark, 1995)
Although it's directed by Larry Clark, today "Kids" is probably better remembered for serving as the launchpad for cinematic provocateur and experimenter Harmony Korine. Controversial at the time of its release for its frank depictions of teen sex and substance abuse, the film sharply divided critics and had to release unrated in theaters after the MPAA rated it NC-17. Today its day-in-the-life story of a group of hedonistic teenagers stands as a sharp portrait of Gen X malaise, and as an important starting point for several of its young stars, most notably Chloë Sevigny and Rosario Dawson.
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"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.
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"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.
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"The Portrait of a Lady" (1996)
Lushly made with a dreamy, impressionistic touch, "The Portrait of a Lady" is one of Jane Campion's most underrated films. Based on Henry James' classic novel, the film stars Nicole Kidman in the role of Isabel Archer, a strong-willed but sheltered young American woman who comes into the possession of a large inheritance, and is subsequently manipulated by a suitor (John Malkovich) and a manipulative friend (Barbara Hershey). Divisive for audiences, with a chilly touch that some see as at odds with its subject matter, "The Portrait of a Lady" is nonetheless well worth watching for Kidman's exquisite performance and the singular mood that Campion conjures.
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"Happiness" (dir. Todd Solondz, 1998)
Controversial but highly acclaimed upon release, "Happiness" has gone years without a streaming home. 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 recent physical release via the Criterion Collection portends a streaming premiere for the film in the near future.
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"Compensation" (1999)
No less a cultural critic than Richard Brody has described "Compensation" as one of the greatest American independent films ever made — which makes how impossible it is to track down so exasperating. Zeinabu irene Davis' lovely and underrated film stars Michelle A. Banks and John Earl Jelks as two Black couples — one in the 1910s and one in the modern day — who fall in love despite the barrier between deafness and hearing, and contend with the issues of their day. Beautifully shot in black and white, "Compensation" evokes cinematic history — the 1910s half is shot like a silent film — to explore the ways life for Black Americans has both changed and stayed the same. —WC
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"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.
