The Criterion Channel: A Movie Lovers Heaven
Do you like movies? Actually, let me rephrase that: Do you like good movies? If so, than the Criterion Channel might be your long needed oasis. “A movie lovers dream” says the slogan. They weren’t kidding. Instead of spending hours browsing through schlock on Netflix, Amazon and Hulu, the only problem you will have here is spending hours deciding which masterpiece to spend the evening with.
With over a thousand titles to choose from, picking a film is as hard as choosing a favorite child. This is by design, of course. The algorithms here are more concerned with being in-tune with popularities. Recently Game of Thrones got a theme, as well as Agnes Varda.
I Know Where I’m Going!
Fans and members of FilmStruck will be familiar with the channels unswerving devotion to please. Following FilmStruck’s demise in October, Criterion decided it would go independent. Backed by names like Leonardo DiCaprio, Christopher Nolan, Bill Hader, Guillermo Del Toro and Steven Spielberg, the channel’s reboot was literally written in the stars (over 50 movie stars, including the ones above, signed a petition to keep this thing going). And thank God they did. Where else are you going to get your fix of Fellini, Kubrick, Hitchc*ck, Godard, Tarkovsky, Powell and Pressburger? Certainly not Netflix.
If browsing through Netflix has become as vociferous as Lina Lamont’s voice, then try a site that actually cares about what it’s selling. Owner Peter Becker is less concerned with selling what’s popular and more concerned with “showing things we think are important.” “It’s something where the whole film community was going to have to come together and contribute” he added. They have held up their end of the bargain. Supplying unparalleled restorations, unseen gems, access to interviews with directors and actors, and as William Friedkin referred to it in an episode of The Criterion Closet, “The entire history of world cinema!”.
To The Criterion Channel!
For the annual 100 bucks, or the 10.99 month, this is a bargain that cannot be ignored. If this sounds like a paid advertisement, it isn’t. I don’t get a percentage of riches, only the priceless experience of getting lost in the movies. The Criterion Channel, filled with mouthwatering titles from Chaplin, Wilder, Kurosowa, Bergman and Wes Anderson, is Norma Desmond’s worst nightmare. No matter what size screen you watch these classics on, the pictures are never small.
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