Criterion Channel (streaming service)

The Criterion Collection launched their own streaming service last month. There are a lot of good films on here so far. So far, I have watched The Brood and Scanners. I plan on watching the Andrei Tarkovsky and Ingrid Bergman films I haven’t seen yet. I am also getting my cool membership card in the mail for being a charter subscriber, so I’m happy about that.
Anyone else subscribe? What would you recommend?

 

I’m liking it so far, wish it had Chromecast support but hopefully that comes in the future

 

We watched Blood Simple and that movie FUCKS

 

Same. I ended up buying a Roku just for this.

 

yeah, the UI for this kinda sucks which is unfortunate, because the content is kinda unparalleled

 

I watched Person by Bergman. Great film.

 

I cannot express how much I love that movie. The first time I saw it I could not believe what I was seeing, and no matter how many times I go back to it I’m still hit so hard on every level.

 

Got on for the first time in a while and I see they took my suggestion to heart:

And damn yeah just being able to scroll through all the movies made it much more clear just how much stuff is on it.

 

I canceled the membership until I have the means to watch movies on something other than my phone. Service is great mind you, although the interface could use some improvements, but the lack of Chromecast support was a deal breaker.

 

get a cord to hook your phone to HDMI?

 

Can you do that on an iPhone?

 

I’m gonna resub once I get a Roku Box or something like that.

 

I don't know. Personally, I have my laptop hooked up to the TV via HDMI and I use a wireless mouse/keyboard from the couch.

 

Just got an email with this listed,

“Tech Notes

Chromecast is now supported in the latest builds of our iOS (version 4.941) and Android (version 4.941.1) apps, both available now for download!”

 

Goddamnit lmao

 

I saw that and laughed out loud at the timing after reading this thread.

 

So apparently the Chromecast support is rather ass. I tried to connect to my Chromecast via the iOS app and not only did it not connect, it popped up as Vimeo for some reason. I also cannot find anything about this on Google.

 

Bump. Been on a huge criterion kick while this lockdown is going on.

currently watching Stalker.

 

Excellent film

 

There are 2 issues I have with Criterion. Maybe 3.

1. It can sometimes be difficult to navigate imo

2. No smart tv app still. I have a roku but only one, and I have to move it to whatever room I want to watch a flick in.

3. Not exactly a critique, because it’s really a good problem to have. But there is so much great content that it can be extremely daunting. I’ve tried to find some guides online on where to start and what to check out. But it really seems the only answer is dive in. Obviously the big names are a great place to start like Kurosawa, Fellini, Godard, etc but sometimes I watch a Bergman or Godard film and feel like I’m not really READY to appreciate them. Any one got any suggestions?

 

watched near dark the other night, might do adaptation next since that’s going after this month

 

For Bergman, something like Fanny and Alexander is a lot easier. It is long, originally shown as a miniseries, but the themes aren't as heavy. The Seventh Seal has bled over into pop culture that it is easier to appreciate. Don't jump into something like Persona right away.

For Godard, you want to stick with his early 60's work. Contempt, Breathless, Pierrot Le Fou, Band of Outsiders, A Woman is a Woman. After that, Masculin feminin is fantastic, and then you can get into his more polemical work like Week-end.

Probably the best thing to do is work through greatest films of all time lists. They are going to feature more of the accessible art films at the topic and then you can branch off from there.

 

When it comes to art cinema from the golden age (50's to 70's), I would put them in three categories of accessible.

Easy to watch filmmakers: Kurosawa, Fellini, Truffaut, Ray

Intermediate filmmakers: Ozu, Dreyer, Bresson, Mizoguchi

Hard mode: Godard, Bergman, Tarkovsky, Antonioni, Resnais

The last list is what the average person things every foreign film is. You have to build a large appreciation for the art form or risk being turned off by how radical they are.

 

Here’s what I’ve watched so far...I started by rewatching 2 Kurosawa films

1. Seven Samurai
2. Rashomon
3. Ace in the Hole
4. The Seventh Seal
5. Wild Strawberries
6. 8 1/2
7. A Man Escaped
8. Breathless
9. Through a Glass Darkly
10. Aguirre, The Wrath of God
11. Picnic at Hanging Rock
12. The Lady Vanishes
13. The Brood
14. Stalker

I have read that Breathless is one of the easier Godard films to watch but still was not ready for how loose it was and it took me a good part of the film to grasp that, I think I would appreciate it far more on a rewatch. And I knew there were quick cuts but those even threw me a little as well. I much preferred Wild Strawberries to Seventh Seal. I loved Aguirre and Picnic at Hanging Rock.

Through a Glass Darkly was probably my biggest struggle. Gorgeous film, maybe the best looking film of everything I’ve watched so far. But I felt like I really had to try and get through that one.

 

Contempt is the easiest Godard. It is essentially a straight love triangle romance. A big portion of it is in English.