The best movies leaving Netflix, Hulu, and Prime at the end of April 2024

polygon.com:

May is fast approaching, and with it comes a fresh new slate of exciting movies and TV to watch. As we while away the last days of April, let’s take stock of the best movies on streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, Prime, and more that are leaving services this month.

This month’s best movies leaving streaming are a collection of classic and contemporary favorites. Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s 1946 fantasy-romance A Matter of Life and Death,our editor’s pick for April, stars David Niven in a career-best performance as a British aviator who miraculously cheats death and finds love all at the same time. Damien Chazelle’s brilliant psychological drama Whiplash starring J.K. Simmons and Miles Teller also makes this month’s list, as does Robert Altman’s 1973 classic The Long Goodbye.

Here are the best movies you should watch before they leave streaming this April.

Directors: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Cast: David Niven, Roger Livesey, Raymond Massey
Leaving Criterion Channel: April 30

Even if you’ve never seen Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s 1946 fantasy before, you’ve no doubt come across a cartoon or TV series or movie inspired by it. From Tom & Jerry and the Looney Tunes to Pixar’s Soul and more, A Matter of Life and Death is well known for introducing a visual trope that remains popular to this day: an escalator extending into the clouds of the afterlife. Originating from the film’s climactic finale, the image is a pure distillation of the film’s sense of fantastical humor and thematic gravity.

Set in the waning days of World War II, the film stars David Niven as Peter Carter, a Royal Air Force pilot whose plane is minutes away from crashing into the English Channel. Anticipating his demise, Peter hails June, an American radio operator, who he promptly falls in love with. Despite all odds, he manages to survive the crash and meets June again, hoping to court her. Unfortunately, his survival defies the laws of the afterlife, resulting in a