criterionforum.org

domino harvey wrote:the suggestion in some of these comments that Netflix is moving towards a streaming-only platform is terrifying

Oh yeah, this is happening like a runaway train. This graph tells the whole story.

There's also the persistent rumor that Netflix will get bought by somebody who really sucks, like Microsoft.

Very curious to see if their issues with stocking the new Criterions become the rule rather than the exception.

This is what the end of the DVD era looks like: all those discs that were lying around like kudzu five years ago and that I never got around to watching, I suddenly can't lay my hands on without shelling out a fortune. I knew I should've bought one of the 140 used copies of Ringmaster that my local record store had on the shelf back in '99.

I've stopped selling DVDs of films I even dislike, because what if I need to refer to it in the future? I am genuinely scared of virtually everything going OOP within the next ten years.

Yeah, half the stuff I sold between 2000-2005 is now out of print and fetching a fortune. I could've kept all of 'em, sold five or ten now, and netted the same amount of dough. I've only kept a core hundred or two favorite films, but they're all being looked at as potential OOP cash cows now. Although I'm still swapping/selling import discs on this forum, which is probably short-sighted.

But I wonder if import discs from countries where the streaming internet option isn't as readily used as it is here could be delayed? I rarely see OOP R2 titles, but maybe that's just me and there's tons

Getting way off topic, but ... Stuff from France seems to go OOP, or at least become scarce -- hard to tell which sometimes. The Dutch Fons Rademakers DVDs are OOP and hard to find now. From R3, that Hou Hsiao-hsien box from Asia is very collectible now, and Korean Film Archive releases seem to go OOP very quickly. A lot of Village Roadshow releases from Australia are long gone now, including that great Tim Burstall/Hexagon set.

Perkins Cobb wrote:

domino harvey wrote:the suggestion in some of these comments that Netflix is moving towards a streaming-only platform is terrifying

Oh yeah, this is happening like a runaway train. This graph tells the whole story.

I think that it's worth mentioning that I think their metric is screwy. Based on the way they ask me to rate each episodes when I stream, I believe they count every streamed episode of television as an individual title whereas each disc of TV on DVD is a title. That is a 300-500% increase right there for those titles.

Matt wrote:We may see a reversion back to the VHS/laserdisc era where movie-only streaming becomes the dominant format, accompanied by a very small niche market for (expensive) physical Blu-ray discs with extra features and booklets.

This does appear to be the trend. On the plus side, virtually every movie ever made may eventually become available for instant streaming or VOD. But, conversely, it will mean fewer films being packaged and sold as DVDs. There will always be a market for physical product, particularly if worthwhile extras are included. Nevertheless, it will be a specialized niche market, as you say.

Claire Denis's 35 Shots of Rum and Lukas Moodysson's Mammoth are available on instant watch as of today.

AisleSeat wrote:On the plus side, virtually every movie ever made may eventually become available for instant streaming or VOD.

I'd like to see some kind of stats about the actual availability of titles per format: laser disc, VHS, DVD, BluRay, Streaming, etc. because I have my doubts that a greater percentage of "every movie ever made" appears with every format change.

Of course, it could just be that certain titles - certain kinds of titles, perhaps certain directors and/or film from other countries - will always be difficult to obtain.

Then there's the issue or idea of ownership. Having a rare film available via streaming or some other ephemeral media is nice in that at least the film can be seen; but can it be studied or shared? More importantly, can it be preserved?

Perkins Cobb wrote:Yeah, half the stuff I sold between 2000-2005 is now out of print and fetching a fortune. I could've kept all of 'em, sold five or ten now, and netted the same amount of dough. I've only kept a core hundred or two favorite films, but they're all being looked at as potential OOP cash cows now. Although I'm still swapping/selling import discs on this forum, which is probably short-sighted.

i'm in a similar situation - along with the fact that i've eclipsed the 750 titles mark and have run out of room. But i'm so gunshy about selling anything now I don't quite no what to do. Combined with the fact that so much is going OOP is the simple fact that it's hardly worth the effort to sell regular dvds anymore unless they ARE oop. It's a lot of work for $3 a title. I'm starting to consider just putting a hundred or so of the kind of things I'd have previously purged in a box in the back of the closet and call it good. Netflix's increasing lack of dependability and apparent desire to eliminate physical discs altogether also reinforces this idea.

I'm rather torn - as much as I love the roku box and the instant access to so much content, I'm very concerned it's growing too successful and they will forget those of us who also like, even need, the actual physical format too.

bsmit wrote:Claire Denis's 35 Shots of Rum [...] available on instant watch as of today.

No excuse for people with Netflix not to watch this now. One of the most beautiful films of last year.

It seems like most, if not all, silent films are expiring from Instant Watch on 5/1.

cysiam wrote:It seems like most, if not all, silent films are expiring from Instant Watch on 5/1.

I've been going crazy over the last fw days trying to fit as many in as possible.

They used to give you a month's notice before titles were going to expire. This is ridiculous.

In odd news, I had two titles- Hamoun and The Cow say they were to go off on last Wednesday, but they never did and the notice fell off... last minute rights extension?

Sounds like I have some instant watching to do in the next few days…

I've known these titles were going away for over a month, thanks to Instant Watcher. Great site!

bamwc2 wrote:

cysiam wrote:It seems like most, if not all, silent films are expiring from Instant Watch on 5/1.

I've been going crazy over the last fw days trying to fit as many in as possible.

Yeah, don't they realize they're getting rid of two silents (Captain Fracasse & The Parson's Widow) that I scored, and that I'm a customer?! #-o

Oh the shame!

Stagecoach is now available, but it is NOT the new Criterion transfer. Or if it is, it's the worst transfer they've ever done.

Matt wrote:Stagecoach is now available, but it is NOT the new Criterion transfer. Or if it is, it's the worst transfer they've ever done.

I watched Stagecoach with Netflix streaming fairly long time ago. I don't think Criterion already had the transfer ready back then.

I thought it was new because it was showing up as "new" (with the Criterion cover) on instantwatcher.com. And speaking of new, there's a bunch of Kino titles added today, including their Wong Kar-Wai films and Cabiria. A couple of Haneke films, too.

So the removal of several silent films from Instant Play has been softened a bit. I can only go off of what I remember, but Intolerance and Leaves from Satan's Book were both supposed to be removed on May 1st, and for a few hours last night (while I was in the middle of Leaves) they WERE removed. But now they're back, and Instant Watcher says they're to stay until November of 2011. Dreyer's "Michael" has also been added. There's certainly fewer silent films on Instant Play now, but some of the biggies are still there (plus, according to Matt, Cabiria). Silver lining I guess.

Matt wrote:Stagecoach is now available, but it is NOT the new Criterion transfer. Or if it is, it's the worst transfer they've ever done.

Not if the the Boudu Saved From Drowning transfer Netflix is using is Criterion's.

Svevan wrote:So the removal of several silent films from Instant Play has been softened a bit. I can only go off of what I remember, but Intolerance and Leaves from Satan's Book were both supposed to be removed on May 1st, and for a few hours last night (while I was in the middle of Leaves) they WERE removed. But now they're back, and Instant Watcher says they're to stay until November of 2011. Dreyer's "Michael" has also been added. There's certainly fewer silent films on Instant Play now, but some of the biggies are still there (plus, according to Matt, Cabiria). Silver lining I guess.

I had about 87 films removed, and many of them are back now. Silents that remain gone include the Chaplin Essanays and Mutuals, DW Griffith Years of Discovery, The Showoff, Regeneration/Young Romance and many many others. But Spiders, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, several Griffiths, DeMilles and Russian classics are back after being removed, so at least the entire silent catalogue hasn't been purged, as was practically the case yesterday.

More virtual disintegration:

The Wall Street Journal reports that Movie Gallery will close all its U.S. stores.

The liquidation of Movie Gallery Inc, which also operates the Hollywood Video chain, means the marquee will be taken down for a company that once thrived by serving rural customers. Its exit from the industry may leave 300 million annual rentals up for grabs, analysts estimated.

The Movie Gallery in my small town closed in September of last year. That was the last video rental place in town. Redbox, Netflix, and the libraries are all we have left.