Online Streaming Cinema from Criterion
I have a new obsession that any movie-lover should already be signed up for, or surely sign up for once they read this post. Hosted by Criterion (of Criterion Collection fame), TheAuteurs.com is an online repertoire of high-quality streaming films at a very low cost. It’s a mixture of community, magazine and cinema on one clean and easy-to-navigate website.
First thing’s first: sign up for free and create a profile. You can then browse a selection of films. Most are available for $1.00 to $3.00, and there’s a selection of Criterion films as well as unreleased international films. The goal of the website is to be a repertoire for cinema that has yet to find its way to North America on disk or in theaters. Every month a select few films are available to watch for free. This is in the Cinematheque section. These are selections curated by either Criterion or famous filmmakers (such as Martin Scorsese, who this month has chosen cinematic experiences from Turkey, Morocco and South Korea for free streaming).
After watching movies and critiquing them, if you so wish, you can join in on the forums or read the notebook section. The community aspect is twofold, its passive and active. The notebook section are writers from around the world who cover specific aspects of film, or are attending a film festival. In the discussion forums, you’ll also find a selection of people who are smarter than your average online message board.
The service launched in November of 2008, and only recently have Canadians been granted access to some of the streaming videos. Even though it has quite a ways to go in acquiring Canadian rights to its repertoire of films, it’s a nice start, and comes in around the same time as the NFB’s free online service. Check it out yourself at theauteurs.com.
This month’s free online streaming films include Burden of Dreams, Harlan County U.S.A. and Salesman, among others.
andrescanella 