Disco Stu 15,495 Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 I'm probably the only person here who uses it, but FilmStruck has secretly been the best streaming service for a couple of years now. It was a joint venture between Turner Classic Movies and The Criterion Collection and it was a vast, wonderful treasure trove of classic Hollywood and foreign films. I just watched Hammer's first Dracula film on there the other night! Anyway, it's shutting down next month and I am sad about that. https://variety.com/2018/digital/news/filmstruck-shutdown-warnermedia-turner-1202998364/ With this and The Dissolve shutting down a few years ago, it seems that nothing gold can stay when it comes to media aimed at classic movie fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrbellamy 6,272 Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 Aw nuts. I haven't had an ongoing subscription in awhile but I would sign up for a month every now and then when I had time to indulge. Hopefully the Criterion stuff will find a new home. Maybe they'll go back to Hulu. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Stu 15,495 Posted October 26, 2018 Author Share Posted October 26, 2018 4 minutes ago, mrbellamy said: Aw nuts. I haven't had an ongoing subscription in awhile but I would sign up for a month every now and then when I had time to indulge. Hopefully the Criterion stuff will find a new home. Maybe they'll go back to Hulu. Do you know about Kanopy? https://www.kanopy.com It's FREE to most people with a library card! It has a great selection of Criterion films! I have access through my local library and it's where I turn to now as the alternative, it even has Apple TV and Roku apps. They don't sadly have the selection of classic Hollywood that FilmStruck had, which was my main reason for subscribing in the first place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrbellamy 6,272 Posted October 26, 2018 Share Posted October 26, 2018 I seem to remember trying awhile ago and my library wasn't a participant Might have to request they get on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Stu 15,495 Posted October 26, 2018 Author Share Posted October 26, 2018 2 minutes ago, mrbellamy said: I seem to remember trying awhile ago and my library wasn't a participant Might have to request they get on that. Give them this link https://www.kanopy.com/about-us/libraries mrbellamy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koray Savas 2,251 Posted October 27, 2018 Share Posted October 27, 2018 FilmStruck looked great on paper, but I never subscribed. I guess most cinephiles prefer physical discs over streaming. But it could just be Warner dumping all side products to focus on their inevitable streaming service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John 2,032 Posted October 27, 2018 Share Posted October 27, 2018 6 hours ago, Disco Stu said: Do you know about Kanopy? https://www.kanopy.com It's FREE to most people with a library card! It has a great selection of Criterion films! I have access through my local library and it's where I turn to now as the alternative, it even has Apple TV and Roku apps. They don't sadly have the selection of classic Hollywood that FilmStruck had, which was my main reason for subscribing in the first place. Interesting! Now I need to see if my local library offers this... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Stu 15,495 Posted October 27, 2018 Author Share Posted October 27, 2018 43 minutes ago, John said: Interesting! Now I need to see if my local library offers this... I can’t remember, are you still at university? Lots of universities offer it through their libraries Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted October 27, 2018 Share Posted October 27, 2018 Geoblocked in Australia anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crumbs 14,303 Posted October 27, 2018 Share Posted October 27, 2018 4 hours ago, Norma's Corpse said: Geoblocked in Australia anyway. Get a VPN. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted October 27, 2018 Share Posted October 27, 2018 5 minutes ago, crumbs said: Get a VPN. Yeah I have no idea where to start or what to do on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crumbs 14,303 Posted October 27, 2018 Share Posted October 27, 2018 It seems overwhelming but it's pretty straightforward. Just choose one of the providers that have fast and reliable servers in Australia and sign up. You'll get login details for a downloadable app which you can install and connect to. Once connected, it routes all your internet traffic through their server in encrypted form. If you connect to an overseas server, any websites you visit will assume you're located in the same location as said server. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted October 27, 2018 Share Posted October 27, 2018 Why do studios and distributors bother with geoblocking if people can just do this anyway? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manakin Skywalker 4,891 Posted October 27, 2018 Share Posted October 27, 2018 1 hour ago, Norma's Corpse said: Yeah I have no idea where to start or what to do on that. Get ExpressVPN (voted the best VPN, although it's a little pricier than most, it has the most features), turn on the app, and boom. There's a dropdown menu on the main screen where you can select a location (country, city, etc.) I downloaded it for something a few months ago thinking it would be impossible for me to figure out. Turns out it's the simplest program in the world, and I instantly extended my subscription. NordVPN is another one I've heard good things about; the main difference is that it's a little cheaper than ExpressVPN. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crumbs 14,303 Posted October 27, 2018 Share Posted October 27, 2018 3 hours ago, Norma's Corpse said: Why do studios and distributors bother with geoblocking if people can just do this anyway? Lots of shows are sold internationally to various distributors on the condition of that content being geolocked. For example, Foxtel would demand geoblocking for any content they've licensed for exclusive rights in Australia, as a way of forcing Australians to pay for Foxtel to access such material. If it's freely accessible on the internet, that content has less value for a subscription company. Ultimately VPNs can get around some of these issues but most people simply don't bother. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unlucky Bastard 7,782 Posted October 27, 2018 Share Posted October 27, 2018 Yeah that doesn't make sense for Filmstruck as Foxtel dropped TCM in 2016. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John 2,032 Posted October 27, 2018 Share Posted October 27, 2018 17 hours ago, Disco Stu said: I can’t remember, are you still at university? Lots of universities offer it through their libraries I’ll be graduating next year and then enrolling in my local community college. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disco Stu 15,495 Posted November 15, 2018 Author Share Posted November 15, 2018 It won't amount to anything in the face of cold corporate calculation, but a letter has been signed by many notable filmmakers, in addition to the already reported support of Spielberg and Scorsese, adding to the petition to "Save FilmStruck." The letter is officially "signed" by: Paul Thomas Anderson, Ana Lily Amirpour, James Brolin, Damien Chazelle, Alfonso Cuarón, Guillermo Del Toro, Leonardo DiCaprio, James Gray, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Bill Hader, Karyn Kusama, Barry Jenkins, Rian Johnson, Christopher McQuarrie, Reed Morano, Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Barbara Streisand, and Edgar Wright The letter itself: Quote I know that Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese have been in touch with you and Warners Media Group about the demise of FilmStruck and have urged you guys to keep it going. While it was not your decision, we would like to loudly echo their sentiments. The FilmStruck service was (IS) the best streaming service for fans of cinema of all kinds: classic studio movies, independent cinema, international treasures. Without it, the landscape for film fans and students of cinema is especially bleak. There’s a reason there was a huge outpouring from artists and fans over it being shuttered, they were doing the Movie God’s work. We know one of the reasons that it has been shut down is because of an upcoming Warners streaming service, but really FilmStruck shouldn’t be a conflict of interest. In this day and age where there are dozens of platforms, curation of content is really important and FilmStruck was providing a service to both satisfy older fans of cinema and a younger generation of cineastes that will be making amazing movies long after we’re dead. In an era of huge corporate acquisitions of cinema by communication companies- in a business that may render billions of dollars off a medium like cinema, we believe this is a gesture that is needed- a minuscule show of goodwill towards the preservation and accesibility of a tradition and a rich history that would benefit the public. So we want to add our names to the petition started by Marty and Steven and want you (and Warners) to know that we feel equally strongly and would do anything to support the service being saved. https://www.indiewire.com/2018/11/paul-thomas-anderson-christopher-nolan-letter-filmstruck-1202020846/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Demondm810 399 Posted November 15, 2018 Share Posted November 15, 2018 24 minutes ago, Disco Stu said: It won't amount to anything in the face of cold corporate calculation, but a letter has been signed by many notable filmmakers, in addition to the already reported support of Spielberg and Scorsese, adding to the petition to "Save FilmStruck." The letter is officially "signed" by: Paul Thomas Anderson, Ana Lily Amirpour, James Brolin, Damien Chazelle, Alfonso Cuarón, Guillermo Del Toro, Leonardo DiCaprio, James Gray, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Bill Hader, Karyn Kusama, Barry Jenkins, Rian Johnson, Christopher McQuarrie, Reed Morano, Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas, Gina Prince-Bythewood, Barbara Streisand, and Edgar Wright The letter itself: https://www.indiewire.com/2018/11/paul-thomas-anderson-christopher-nolan-letter-filmstruck-1202020846/ Some other directors were adding themselves to the list this morning on twitter too. Judd Apatow, Peyton Reed, etc. I hope it helps, but i'm not holding my breath. Filmstruck is incredible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John 2,032 Posted November 15, 2018 Share Posted November 15, 2018 Christopher Nolan's name alone would make Warner Bros. rethink their decision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fargo 297 Posted November 16, 2018 Share Posted November 16, 2018 Quickly read the thread title, thought it was about Filmtracks. Now that's a place I haven't visited in a few years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John 2,032 Posted November 16, 2018 Share Posted November 16, 2018 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holko 9,499 Posted November 16, 2018 Share Posted November 16, 2018 Not bad! US only, I presume, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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