Audiences are spoiled for choice when it comes to streaming services, but when it comes to choosing an outlet that’s highly curated with a vast catalog, suddenly those options begin to dwindle. But that changes this month with the arrival of FilmStruck.
First announced earlier this year, the service is a collaboration between Turner Classic Movies and The Criterion Collection that will offer titles from those companies along with selections from Janus Films, Flicker Alley, Icarus, Kino, Milestone and Zeitgeist to create a one stop shop for fans of arthouse, indie, foreign and cult films. It’s truly an evolution, especially for The Criterion Collection, which has spent decades servicing its fans largely with physical releases, with some titles making it to Hulu as well, but this will be Criterion’s new streaming destination.
A new featurette goes behind-the-scenes and into the offices and production facilities of The Criterion Collection as the company’s heads Peter Becker and Jonathan Turrell explain their vision for the Collection’s next step. But don’t worry, the Blu-rays and DVDs won’t be disappearing.
“It’s been thirty-three years since Criterion published its first special edition laserdisc and nearly twenty since the dawn of DVD. The launch of FilmStruck and the Criterion Channel marks another exciting beginning for us,” the pair said in a statement. “We are as committed as ever to publishing the world’s greatest films in definitive Blu-ray and DVD editions, but we think these new services are going to add a whole new dimension to the Criterion experience, and we hope you’ll give them a try.”
FilmStruck launches on October 19th, and you can sign up for a free 14-day trial starting right now.