Filmstruck / Criterion Channel

yeah it's awful. do yall know Rite Aid sells blu rays for like $4 new? not a bad selection tbh

xxp ah didn't know Kanopy's library was regional

Kanopy is good but definitely limited compared to Filmstruck. You can only watch a certain number of things per month, for example.

there's a video store opening up here v soon & the line I've heard the most and the line that KILLS me is "can't you find every movie ever made online?" No!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

the store is also functioning as a physical media archive, registered as a nonprofit, will have a membership model instead of individual rental charges, etc. wish every city could have this - and lord knows it was hard enough here, they've been "coming soon" for months but they've finally painted the storefront & will open next week I think

is that an Alamo thing?

Alamo just took over the library of the last major video store in SF and I'm curious what their going to do with it

nah, co-owned & run by Eric Hatch, I think most of you have seen him on twitter. but here's the facade:

Our facade design is up at @BeyondVideo_!!! So pumped for them to open soon! pic.twitter.com/hvP5t1AeRb

— Post Typography (@posttypography) October 26, 2018

haha that's dope

Alamo recently took over the library of the last major video store in downtown Brooklyn. Haven't gone yet.

there was a small party a couple months ago for people in the film community in town to come check out the store and good lord it's paradise. everyone working there has great taste and are really dedicated to building an archive. whole second floor is directors shelves, so much OOP and hard to find Altman, Godard, Akerman, Denis, Fassbinder, and on and on and on... I haven't even checked out the other rooms yet. so pumped.

anyway, where is Criterion going to go once Filmstruck shutters?

a farm

that Beyond Video building facade looks great!

the selection of films available on Netflix DVD beats any streaming service imo, Kanopy and Filmstruck included

I bailed on Netflix DVD because they skipped too much for me, is this not a problem for you guys?

It has gaps, yeah, but it's still my first choice.

xp
my brother said the same thing about bad netflix discs

the selection of films available on Netflix DVD beats any streaming service imo, Kanopy and Filmstruck included

Currently they offer 63 total films from 1900-1980, and zero of them offer special features, so, no.

on streaming I mean. The discs usually have the features locked.

Currently they offer 63 total films from 1900-1980, and zero of them offer special features, so, no.

― reggae mike love (polyphonic), Friday, October 26, 2018 11:44 AM

then I'm not sure you and I have the same service. I've been working my way through filmographies by director, using the ilx directors poll list as a starting point, to give myself an education, and the number of films available on netflix dvd is astonishing. There are gaps (e.g. the 80s and 90s works of Godard) but for the most part the supply of classic/world stuff is almost endless. I keep a queue of 500 going, and I haven't worked my way even a fraction of it

as I said above though, the search function isn't great, you have to type the film's title in to find most of them

Sorry, I initially missed that you were talking about the DVD service. It's quite comprehensive but I still never use it.

I think you have to be a pretty disciplined viewer to actually remember to update your disc queue, and avoid skipping issues, AND still want to watch the same films from whenever it was that you queued them up. Especially when I can just load up Kanopy (or YouTube) and choose something that fits my mood.

I bailed on Netflix DVD because they skipped too much for me, is this not a problem for you guys?

― 5th Ward Weeaboo (Whiney G. Weingarten), Friday, October 26, 2018 2:38 PM (forty-six minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

It has gaps, yeah, but it's still my first choice.

― You like queer? I like queer. Still like queer. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, October 26, 2018 2:42 PM (forty-two minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I mean the DVDs skip

Yup, about once every three rentals for me.

More frequently than usual.

Also, perhaps they've closed local receiving plants, for it takes longer for them to process a return. Until a couple years it'd be a 24/48-hour turnaround at most (and I return DVDs at a post office).

Agree about the turnaround, it's worth getting a subscription for at least a few at a time. As far as skipping, it must be partly player-dependent. dvds skip frequently on my friend's player, almost never on mine

lol my friend designed that Beyond Video storefont and just posted it on his fb earlier

👀 small world!

Joanna Scutts: The Death of FilmStruck Is a Dark Day in the History of Movies

When the cultural playing field is restricted to behemoths like Disney and AT&T, there’s less and less chance of anything human-scaled surviving. The indiscriminate sprawl of Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon’s vast libraries is part of their allure; you get lost in the figurative stacks, and you can unearth gems and surprises. But for the most part these services are self-reinforcing, telling you what you like based on what you’ve watched before, making inferences about you as a member of a certain demographic. If the only art you see is the kind of art you’ve already heard of, then you’re missing the challenge and the thrill of true discovery.

as the NY public library system is a magnet for the mentally ill, a lot of the discs are quite intentionally scratched up. (i've also twice taken out a Criterion to find some enterprising shitbird has replaced it with a previous iteration of the film.)

While I sense that this meme is meant to make me feel smug about my significant investment in physical media, somehow it is having the opposite effect? pic.twitter.com/jrqhySKJjB

— 𝕿𝖗𝖔𝖚𝖇𝖑𝖊 𝕰𝖛𝖊𝖗𝖞 𝕯𝖆𝖞 (@NickPinkerton) October 27, 2018

yup.

Kanopy Criterion Collection looks like it is down to about two dozen titles. Okay, sorry, 50.

Okay, warming up to Fandor.

While I sense that this meme is meant to make me feel smug about my significant investment in physical media, somehow it is having the opposite effect? pic.twitter.com/jrqhySKJjB
— 𝕿𝖗𝖔𝖚𝖇𝖑𝖊 𝕰𝖛𝖊𝖗𝖞 𝕯𝖆𝖞 (@NickPinkerton) October 27, 2018

― a Mets fan who gave up on everything in the mid '80s (Dr Morbius), Sunday, October 28, 2018 2:44 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

you know the guy in that photo has like twelve different limited editions of "boondock saints" in embossed tin cases.

things to watch before Filmstruck disappears: the short nature films of Jean Painlevé. They're like 6-15 min long, span the 1920s (sea urchins, among others) to 1980s (pigeons iirc), have super sweet titles like Shrimp Stories, and are completely delightful.

i guess i should buy a copy of sans soleil if it's that important to me, but it was kinda nice having a streaming service where i could put it on whenever

oh also there is a really cool one about crystals! i am glad to have the chance to watch them before they are absorbed back into the earth or wherever nature films go to rest

I only recently learned this was going away. I would've loved to have taken advantage while it existed but, as far as I could tell, there was no convenient way for me to watch Filmstruck stuff on my actual TV. Which was a pretty serious demerit.

Things like the death of Filmstruck quell my occasional doubts re: the wisdom/sanity of having a 1000+ physical film collection. Relying on digital services is like doing all of your shopping at TJ Maxx, just kinda shrugging your shoulders and taking whatever happens to be on offer that day. There's only so much unpredictability and ephemerality I can come to terms with in this fragile world, knowhutimsayin.

Unsubstantiated gossip from the Criterion Forum message board --

Also, thought I'd add a bit of info that I found out from a friend who works in thebTurner building in Atlanta (they work for primarily with TCM, but also assisted FilmStruck at times).

I asked them when the employees working there found out about the shutdown, because it seemed to come out of nowhere — no rumors or anything. They told me that everyone was notified at work about one-hour before the customer announcement e-mails got sent out that Friday... Yikes :(

Edit: Sent my friend the Bill Hader clip and we talked more. They said that Scorsese apparently tried calling AT&T executives about it (keyphrase: "tried calling"), and other networks are currently offering to purchase the service. So that's hopeful news.

Also, FS already tried merging with Amazon (I assumed as a Prime Channel), but Amazon only wanted them to put up a bulk batch of films — no curation, weekly themes, or supplements/FS extras — so the deal didn't happen.

there was no convenient way for me to watch Filmstruck stuff on my actual TV

the roku app's been around for a while. i guess that requires buying a roku

I wonder if the ATT/Warner/TCM mega service coming next year might try to do a new Criterion deal -- cancel Filmstruck, make Criterion flail for a while, then re-sign them at better-for-ATT terms.

LL, I agree, those Painlevé films are great. A couple of "RIP Filmstruck" articles have mentioned Lubitsch's Cluny Brown and the fact that it's not available in any physical format so I watched it last night and it is terrific.

the short nature films of Jean Painlevé.

I just bought the Criterion DVD collection of these this weekend! I admit I am like the streaming skeptic big guy with the wall of discs upthread. Although I have zero copies of Boondock Saints and three different editions of the Wicker Man.

<3 my friend

maybe i should buy the dvd too. speaking of antiquated nature films, when will criterion discover ken middleham?! i want to see his stuff collected ASAP, before the filmstrips deteriorate!

Hm. Looking through Kanopy I see a bunch of good stuff that comes via the Cohen Collection as well, which collection I had been unaware of

Here we go

https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/6044-new-independent-criterion-channel-to-launch-spring-2019

https://www.criterion.com/channel

The best news and the scariest news at once.

Well, trying to sign up as a charter member didn't go well, and doesn't bode well.

Huh. Went easy for me, then again I might have snuck in before the crush.

Worked for me. It'd be nice to think they got such a deluge of signups it broke the site for a few minutes.

This is a little worrisome, though:

Our library will also be available through WarnerMedia’s new consumer platform when it launches late next year, so once both services are live, Criterion fans will have even more ways to find the films they love.

After the Warner site launches, will people leave the CChannel to maximize their dollar? Presumably the CChannel will be the only place to get supplements and curated programming and the Bordwell/Thompson/Smith stuff, but will that be enough? The exclusive content will have to be very enticing.

Guess we'll have to see. Unless Warner offers a full streaming TCM at last, can't say I'm immediately interested in what they have to offer.

Yay!