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An old episode of The Twilight Zone
Rod Serling’s classic sci-fi series was comprised of standalone episodes designed to examine how people react when paranoia rears its head.
This particular instalment – titled “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street” – serves as a public service announcement on how people should not react in coronavirus quarantine.
Broadcast in March 1960, the episode explores what happens when an invisible threat manifests in a suburban neighbourhood.
The most striking aspect of the outing, which was written by Serling himself, is how fast things get out of hand. Certain plot twists see the neighbours – who were friendly with one another just hours before – showing extremely different sides to themselves in the face of mass uncertainty.
It’s CNN that highlighted the episode, as well as the words of Nicholas Parsi from his book on Rod Serling, His Life, Work and Imagination : “One of the themes of the show was disorientation, the idea that the ground beneath our feet may not be as firm as we once thought.”
Many countries across the world are currently in a form of lockdown as the illness’s death toll continues to rise.
Several world leaders have urged citizens of their countries to remain indoors with parks being forced to close their gates after hundreds ignored pleas to remain indoors over the weekend.
Those who are staying in seem to be turning to pandemic-themed material, with 2011 film Contagion ranking as one of the most-streamed films of last month.
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Try for free Netflix series Pandemic was one of the streaming service’s most popular titles in March, also.
Others are pointing out the things they believe predicted the coronavirus outbreak, one of which is Korean show My Secret Terrius The Simpsons
Show all 23 1 /2323 films set outside to help you through self-isolation 23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation Arctic (2018) Tracking a plane crash survivor (Mads Mikkelsen) as he waits for rescue, this Icelandic survival film holds your attention as he’s shown using his wits to navigate his way through dangerous, snowy terrain. Arctic will make you happy you’re sat on your sofa. Blanket optional.
XYZ Films
23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation Beau Travail (1999) A modern masterpiece from French auteur Claire Denis, Beau Travail is an electric re-working of the classic Hermann Melville story Billy Budd. Following the homo-erotic tensions of a French Foreign Legion unit stationed in Djibouti, the film brings to life its sweltering African setting with verve and tactility.
Pyramide Distribution
23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation The Birds (1963) If you look past the crazed avian attacks, there are a lot of very pretty wide-open spaces throughout Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds. Tippi Hedren is the Los Angeles socialite venturing to Bodega Bay to run a bird-related errand and take in some sight-seeing, only to be set upon by winged monsters pecking like they’ve never pecked before. Come for the bloodshed, stay for the lovely views!
Universal Pictures
23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation Calibre (2018) This underrated Netflix original is the kind of film that makes you wish the characters had just stayed indoors. It follows two pals on a weekend hunting trip in the Scottish Highlands who, for reasons we won’t spoil here, get themselves into a murky situation with the disapproving locals.
Netflix
23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation Cliffhanger (1993) Far better than its slower, red-headed cousin Vertical Limit, Cliffhanger is peak early-Nineties action – high-concept and boasting scenery-chewing villains, all anchored by a muscly leading man more adept at hitting things than emoting. Sylvester Stallone is the climber working in the Colorado rockies who finds himself caught up in an elaborate mountain heist. A lot more exciting than it has any right to be, Cliffhanger is basically Die Hard with shoes on, or Speed without the bus but with lots and lots of snow.
TriStar Pictures
23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation Easy Rider (1969) Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper helped revolutionise American cinema with Easy Rider, perhaps the quintessential road movie. Drugs, music and violence all feature prominently in the tale of two hippies drifting across the US, but it’s the beautiful, enormous landscapes that make Easy Rider awe-inspiring to this day.
Columbia Pictures
23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation Free Solo (2018) Free Solo is a documentary about ace climber Alex Honnold, who scales one of the world’s most formidable rock faces without a harness. You get a sense of the sheer exhilaration of the outdoor life, but also a mesmerising look into the mindset of a man who seems completely oblivious to deathly peril.
National Geographic Documentary Films
23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016) This big-hearted buddy comedy follows troubled orphan Ricky (Julian Dennison), grumpy widower Hec (Sam Neill) and their dog Tupac as they trek across the outback in an attempt to escape their demons. Those feeling claustrophobic will enjoy the numerous sweeping helicopter shots of luscious green New Zealand forests.
Piki Films
23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation Into the Wild (2007) Because no list of films set outdoors is complete without it. Sean Penn’s Into the Wild, which tells the story of a man who hiked across North America in the Alaskan wilderness, is both moving and empowering – not to mention beautifully soundtracked by Eddie Vedder, whose haunting “Society” springs hairs on end.
Paramount Vantage
23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation Jaws (1975) Steven Spielberg’s ultimate popcorn movie, Jaws reinvented the cinematic wheel with some help from a trio of everyman actors (Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw) and a mechanical shark. The blueprint for all summer blockbusters that followed, Jaws remains richly terrifying more than 40 years after its release. The beach parties and hang-outs, at least before the jaws of the title begin chomping, look mighty fun from the safety of your living room sofa, too.
Universal Pictures
23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation Lawrence of Arabia (1962) The vast locations used by David Lean in his almost four hour-long epic (Jordan, Morocco and Spanish province Almería) will provide a lengthy dose of sunshine to your day. When Peter O’Toole’s real-life archaeologist and army officer TE Lawrence request two large glasses of lemonade” after crossing the desert, you’ll be glad you can quench your thirst in the kitchen.
Columbia Pictures
23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation Leave No Trace (2018) Leave No Trace begins in the lush forests of an Oregon park, as PTSD-struck war vet Will (Ben Foster) lives in the wild with his teenage daughter Tom (Thomasin MacKenzie). With stunning performances from its two leads, the film is a vibrant, moving exploration of a life lived off the grid.
Bleecker Street
23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation The Lord of the Rings (2001-03) OK, so Peter Jackson’s trilogy might have many breathless sequences set indoors, but the expansive Middle Earth locations – famously filmed in New Zealand – will no doubt help with any claustrophobia.
New Line Cinema
23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation Moana (2016) There’s no doubt about it: Moana is visually one of Disney’s most accomplished films. If you arrive for the story (a young girl’s chosen by the ocean to reunite a mystical relic with a goddess) you’ll stay for the dazzling visuals as the characters set sail on their odyssey.
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation The Princess Bride (1987) Rob Reiner’s fantasy film quite literally steps insdie the pages of a book, and in doing so, provides viewers with unrivalled escapism. The story in question follows a farmhand (Cary Elwes) attempting to rescue his one true love (Robin Wright) from an odious prince (Chris Sarandon).
Interaccess Film Distribution
23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation Princess Mononoke (1997) Most of Hayao Miyazaki’s wonderful animated films would fit right in on this list; none more so than Princess Mononoke, the 1997 fantasy about a war between forest gods and humans. The beauty and power of nature has rarely been so effectively portrayed as in this lyrical, thrilling anime.
Studio Ghibli
23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation Rat Race (2001) This madcap comedy from the makers of Airplane! is an inventive, often hilarious watch following a group of people who raceform Las Vegas to El Paso in a bid to win millions of dollars. As John Cleese’s casino owner puts it so brilliantly at the beginning of the film: “There is only one rule – there are no rules.”
Paramount Pictures
23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation The Revenant (2015) Watching Leonardo DiCaprio crawl on his hands and knees through the icy peaks of a harsh winter will make you grateful you can’t leave your front door. This western sees bear-attacked frontiersman Hugo (DiCaprio) embarking on a mystical journey of survival and brutal revenge.
20th Century Fox
23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation The River Wild (1994) The River Wild was made during Meryl Streep’s mid-Nineties fallow period, where the hits stopped coming and even Oscar wasn’t too interested anymore. There’s an argument to be made, if likely only by fans of The River Wild, that this was in fact Streep’s greatest era, however. She’s a stressed mother on holiday with her family on a whitewater rafting trip – who is set upon by sadistic criminals Kevin Bacon and John C Reilly! The River Wild is therefore two for the price of one: amazing nature photography and crazy Kevin Bacon – what more could you ask for?
Universal Pictures
23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation Silence (2016) Martin Scorsese’s adaptation of Shūsaku Endō’s acclaimed novel didn’t win everyone over; it’s nearly three hours long, slow-moving, and densely religious. But no-one could deny that the epic, set in feudal Japan and filmed in Taiwan, features brilliantly atmospheric environments.
StudioCanal UK
23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation Stand by Me (1986) Four best friends – Gordie, Chris, Teddy and Vern – set out on a journey to find the corpse of Ray Brower, a local teenager who was hit by a train while plucking blueberries in the wild. From grief-stricken parents to local bullies, along the way, these formally innocent kids learn that the world can be unkind.
Columbia Pictures
23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation Walkabout (1971) Nicolas Roeg's survival film, adapted from James Vance Marshall's novel, may not put the Australian outback high up on the list of must-visit destinations, but it certainly provides a good location for its tense plot involving a schoolgirl and her brother who find themselves stranded after a tragic incident. One of the first films in the Australian New Wave cinema movement, but no less accessible for the more casual film watcher.
20th Century Fox
23 films set outside to help you through self-isolation Wild (2014) Reese Witherspoon earned an Oscar nomination for this career-resuscitating drama about the emotional power of the wilderness. Playing a recovering addict with a distant mother (a wonderfully soulful Laura Dern), Witherspoon’s journey from disarray to salvation via a hike across the Pacific Crest Trail will make you desperately excited to leave your house once this is all over. Or you could merely imagine it as the first chapter in the “wealthy, fraying white women” entertainment universe Witherspoon and Dern would embark upon soon after its release – via Big Little Lies, Marriage Story and Little Fires Everywhere. Either one.
Fox Searchlight Pictures
Two books seemingly called the pandemic too: Dean Koontz’s Eyes of Darkness spike in sales in the wake of the outbreak.
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