MUBI Subscription
Arthouse pictures come in all shapes and sizes and while Criterion and Filmstruck make a lot of North American noise, the top global arthouse streaming service, the only one of its kind, really, is undoubtedly MUBI.Known as an “online cinematheque” that’s available in 200 territories around the world, MUBI is eclectic, showcasing contemporary international works of cinema like Egyptian auteur Yousry Nasrallah (“After the Battle”) Dutch/Palestinian helmer Hany Abu-Assad (“Paradise Now“) or a whole section devoted to new Argentine cinema with filmmakers like Alejo Moguillansky and Laura Citarella. But the diverse programming will offer a cool John Carpenter tribute and remind you of the cracks and corners of auteurs like Lars Von Trier, Paul Schrader, Nicolas Winding Refn and more. Refn actually teamed up with MUBI earlier this year for his “byNWR,” series of newly restored cult films, hand-picked by the “Drive” director himself (obscure exploitation sex thrillers, like “The Nest Of The Cuckoo Birds” [1965] and “Hot Thrills and Warm Chills” [1967]).The company’s gottem into the distribution game recently too, releasing Paul Thomas Anderson’s excellent music documentary “Junun” shot in Rajasthan, India and this year and the critically acclaimed “The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki” by Finnish director Juho Kuosmanen that played at the Cannes Film Festival where it won the Prize Un Certain Regard. MUBI’s also the place where someone like Edgar Wright goes to post his top 1,000 films of all time. Yes, MUBI are tastemakers and while still bubbling up in North America now, you can impress the hell out of your arthouse-appreciating movie lover with a very reasonably priced and very worthwhile MUBI subscription.
A FilmStruck Account
In case you don’t know what FilmStruck is and you really should, it’s a new-ish boutique film-streaming service that’s a collaboration between the Criterion Collection and TCM, two titans of classic cinema all in the same place. And TCM is wonderful, but it’s appointment viewing is hard, so what better way to dial up those classics when you want on your own schedule. Criterion is the same. The entire collection there in one place, but also loaded with extras and exclusives you can only find on the channel. Plus, much like when the Criterion Collection was on Hulu, you can dig around and find titles that will eventually be available on Blu-Ray and DVD through the company like Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Hard Eight” which you can already find on the channel. Wanna know what’s coming to Criterion in 2018 or beyond? Just peruse the collection and you should be able to find at least a half dozen titles not on DVD yet (at one point, for example, Roberto Rossellini’s underseen imp-ish comedy, “The Machine That Kills Bad People” was up there, so perhaps we’ll finally get a disc soon). Perhaps the ultimate gift here considering the hundreds of films that would be available to you here?
2017 Criterion Releases
The Criterion Collection is obviously a must for cineastes, so here’s the gift highlights from 2017 that we recommend. Feel free to buy us some.
“Barry Lyndon”
Stanley Kubrick‘s sprawling period piece drama, “Barry Lyndon,” was once thought of as a rare misstep in his oeuvre, but the film has rightly been reevaluated as painterly masterpiece that’s epic and beautiful.
“Fire Walk With Me”
The misunderstood film that made the recent TV series a possibility, David Lynch’s oddball whodunnit about the murder of Laura Palmer is still divisive to this day, but give it a rewatch and you might unearth some its imperfect shades of brilliance. Don’t forget the perfect companion piece, the doc “David Lynch: The Art Life” from filmmakers Olivia Neergaard-Holm, Rick Barnes and Jon Nguyen.
“Stalker”
Andrei Tarkovsky’s enigmatic, quasi sci-fi might also be his best, His slow-burning style has a guide leading two men to an ambiguous area known as “the zone,” where any wish can be granted. A haunting movie filled with inescapable images.
“L’Argent”
Robert Bresson’s final film might also be his most relevant, as a counterfeit bill leads to a host of problems for a number of characters. This morality tale of human evil examines the flaws of capitalism through the eyes of an unlucky French boy.
The Before Trilogy
Richard Linklater’s masterful trilogy has Ethan Hawke’s Jesse and Julie Delpy’s Celine evolving from lovestruck teenagers to bitter, compromised married couple. It’s all done in the span of 18 years of thoughtful and thorough re-examinations of what it means to give oneself to another person, all in the name of love.