FilmStruck

[mfunk9786]

They seem to be creating their own problems, giving launch dates they can't hit, then launching when it isn't ready. World's smallest violin for the folks at FilmStruck.

[bradass]

I got in, and also got it to work in Canada. The Paypal payment process didn't seem to care and I have a DNS changing service, which may or may not make the difference.

[mkozlows]

According to Filmstruck's Twitter account,the Apple TV app will not be available until December. Filmstruck is becoming mind numbingly frustrating, as they said that they would launch the Apple TV application later in the day.

You were misreading them initially. They said "Apple devices", meaning iPhones/iPads. The device support plan has, for a while, been Amazon Fire day one, AppleTV and Chromecast by the end of 2016, Roku in January, and consoles and other platforms later in 2017.

[mfunk9786]

No app is available for Apple devices, either.

[perkizitore]

I got in, and also got it to work in Canada. The Paypal payment process didn't seem to care and I have a DNS changing service, which may or may not make the difference.

I am glad to hear it, with Hulu you had to jump through hoops to set up payment if you weren't based in the US.

[Noiradelic]

In some cases, it's way more than was on Hulu (Satyajit Ray has two films on Hulu, 11 on Filmstruck, including the Apu trilogy).

There are 11 Ray films on Hulu, without the Apu Trilogy.

[Minkin]

Wow, we've quickly received some great news already from the service. I've wondered about more Eisenstein - after the Tarkovsky +other Russian former Kino title pickups and that Eisenstein is one of the main directors listed on Janus' website (you'd think they'd be more proud than just having three titles). The real question now is what will happen with Battleship Potemkin - and will it finally get a bells/whistles edition? I'd also really hope we get October (my favorite of his films).

Rest assured, I will be updating the forthcoming thread with all of these and any further discoveries that are posted.

I'd also not worry about things not on Filmstruck yet - as there are plenty of films that Janus/Criterion do indeed own the rights to, yet aren't on Filmstruck yet. Plus also remember that there's some films where Criterion don't have the streaming rights (like the Hitchcock films they picked up from MGM - Young & Innocent, etc).
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Once again a reminder: PLEASE double check that a title is actually with Criterion/Janus on Filmstruck before posting it on here. It should have a Criterion/Janus logo somewhere on the page or at the beginning of the film (one, both, or either works - but neither is a sign its probably not with Criterion). Or it might be found on the Criterion channel

So I'd ask people to please write if a title added to Filmstruck is indeed with Criterion, and if not - please state that its "With MGM/Kino/etc" or write "not with Criterion." So no empty posts like: "Hey guys, The Wicker Man was added to Filmstruck" as that post doesn't say if it is or not with Criterion - so that means that I or someone else will have to track down the film and check, thanks to your laziness! Like I know that Ribs' list of Harold Lloyd titles must be with Criterion - as they have the rights to all of his films, but if it were anything else, I/others would have to go check; and it only takes a second to say "and with Criterion logo."

I do very much appreciate all the work alot of you do -as I really don't have time to search through an entire catalog and check against whats already on the list and if its with Criterion, etc. So the more eyes doing the research, the better.

Thanks in advance

[Minkin]

My own case in point:

I'm poking around the service (yeah, its back online), and checking the Criterion Channel's page. Where they have

Silence of the Lambs

listed with a Criterion logo on the listing page. Then the actual info page has Silence of the Lambs with a wacky C (it looks like the cover to their DVD release only with modern branding). Then the film stats with the MGM logo.

So should this go on the Criterion Filmstruck forthcoming list? Or is this just an MGM film thats being streamed through Filmstruck? Is a Blu forthcoming? If no to both - then why are they treating it with so much Criterion branding? This could potentially be like Tom Jones - where MGM no longer have the rights.

This is going to be complicated going forward.

[FrauBlucher]

NYTimes on Filmstruck

[RSTooley]

This is going to be complicated going forward.

Bear in mind that there's a good chance they negotiated just to have streaming rights for some old OOP titles (like Silence of the Lambs) and the studio is maintaining the physical rights.

Keeping these things in mind, I do think it is worth noting that Chungking Express is not only on the Criterion Channel, but it also opens with the Criterion and Janus Films logo.

[phantomforce]

So am I understanding correctly that the complete criterion collection special features will only appear once a week for movie of the week title? So this technically can't replace my library correct?

update: nevermind, looks like most of the titles port everything over with the exception of Commentary. This is going to save me hundreds of dollars during B&N and Flash Sales.

[Minkin]

This is going to be complicated going forward.

Bear in mind that there's a good chance they negotiated just to have streaming rights for some old OOP titles (like Silence of the Lambs) and the studio is maintaining the physical rights.

Keeping these things in mind, I do think it is worth noting that Chungking Express is not only on the Criterion Channel, but it also opens with the Criterion and Janus Films logo.

That seems to be pretty definitive to me then. Granted, I'm FAR more inclined to think that they just picked up the rights to this title (I assume whichever Middle East bond company that now owns Miramax couldn't be bothered to renew the rights) - than a new flood of returning Studio Canal titles.. but I'd like to be wrong!

Somebody at Filmstruck was having fun with The Mirror's cover:


Also, some other additions that I've noticed:
Revenge - WCP
Law of the Border - WCP

[MongooseCmr]

How different is the site now from it's beta? It still seems very unfinished to me. The popup streaming window is hideous, there's nothing saying if a film is in HD, and it's very difficult to navigate the hundreds of films when you can't open anything in a new tab

I feel like I jumped the gun a tad starting my trial day 1 before everything is sorted, but I'm very excited with what we have so far

[RSTooley]

...there's nothing saying if a film is in HD...

This is a big one for me. I was really hoping they'd be on top of this feature by launch.

Is anyone having issues with the image quality on Amazon Fire TV? I'm watching titles that are obviously in HD but for whatever reason it's taking a couple of minutes for them to reach that standard. [I have one of the faster internet plans, so it shouldn't be any technical problems on my end]

[rrenault]

Just wondering why certain titles aren't on there yet. Is it a gradual process? For instance, Dekalog was licensed straight for Janus itself, so it should have been uploaded onto FilmStruck. Is it just too "special", like Berlin Alexanderplatz? Also, Pather Panchali only has a shoddy transfer streamable on FS. And with Journey to Italy we still only have the Italian-dubbed version.

[yunro]

According to Filmstruck's Twitter account,the Apple TV app will not be available until December. Filmstruck is becoming mind numbingly frustrating, as they said that they would launch the Apple TV application later in the day.

You were misreading them initially. They said "Apple devices", meaning iPhones/iPads. The device support plan has, for a while, been Amazon Fire day one, AppleTV and Chromecast by the end of 2016, Roku in January, and consoles and other platforms later in 2017.

The latest tweet I saw from Filmstruck said the AppleTV app should launch December 1, and they claim AirPlay should work right now. Think I will give the 2 week free trial a shot, and am liking the library of films. Won't pay anything though till the native AppleTV app launches.

[albucat]

One possible reason: their Hulu deal is still active. That doesn't end until later in the month.

[albucat]

How different is the site now from it's beta? It still seems very unfinished to me. The popup streaming window is hideous, there's nothing saying if a film is in HD, and it's very difficult to navigate the hundreds of films when you can't open anything in a new tab

I feel like I jumped the gun a tad starting my trial day 1 before everything is sorted, but I'm very excited with what we have so far

The site is FAR better than the beta. It is still a pretty bad site, but hopefully it's still being worked on.

[D50]

Stuck on this screen trying to sign up:

[jwd5275]

For what it's worth, it looks like many Criterion films released by major studios (Paths of Glory, Seconds, La Cage aux Folles) are not using the Criterion branding on Filmstruck. I suspect that the reason for the branding on Silence of the Lambs is not some impending reissue, but the fact that they have added the old Criterion commentary to it.

[rrenault]

On a random note, I would have expected Blowup to be available on FilmStruck seeing as it's a Turner release.

[Ribs]

Similarly it's pretty likely that the reason that Chungking Express does use it is that's simply attached to the master/video that they have easy access to and aren't bothering to take time remove the ident at the start.

Blowup in HD has been a staple of Warner Archive Instant, fwiw.

[Anhedionisiac]

Anybody else notice several english language films have no available subtitles or captions for the deaf or hard of hearing? The only exceptions I've bumped into are british titles like A Hard Day's Night. I asked Filmstruck about it on Twitter and they responded that "Currently, subtitles are on a film-by-film basis. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.". I don't understand, could this be a rights issue or is it just low on their list of priorities?

[AK]

I've already watched Black Girl, and there's Guy Maddin's Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary that I've been wanting to see again for a long time, but never got around to buying. I'm loving this! So much good stuff that I'm actually dying to see.

The user experience is rough around the edges, though. Has anyone else experienced the problem of the progress bar not hiding in full-screen mode? (Tried watching in both Safari and Firefox). I hope they'll have the HD tag in place for the appropriate films. And I'd like have info of the expiration date of the films leaving the curated section under TCM or others, non-Criterion Channel titles.

[dwk]

Similarly it's pretty likely that the reason that Chungking Express does use it is that's simply attached to the master/video that they have easy access to and aren't bothering to take time remove the ident at the start.

I just double checked my Chungking Express Blu-ray and it opens with the following logos/company names: Criterion - Miramax - Rolling Thunder - Jet Tone. No Janus logo (which isn't a surprise as it wasn't a Janus Films title at that time.) If the FilmStruck version has the Janus logo, as reported, then Criterion/Janus have the film.