Hulu Classics Expanded

[moira finnie]

Thanks to Professional Tourist's alert, I've discovered that after a February, 2011 announcement, Hulu has now added several classics with good prints as part of the company's partnership with Criterion for free and for a price. The online streaming channel that is still free (registration may be needed and there is a premium level as well) includes some films that are not currently on DVD and are also available with captions. Here are some of the free movies now online (no word on when these movies will cease to be available). Criterion's Forum has a thread devoted to the discussion of this partnership:

History is Made at Night (1937)
Knight Without Armour (1937)
The Spirit of the Beehive (1973)
The Spy in Black (1939)
The 400 Blows (1959)
Things to Come (1936)
The Four Feathers (1939)
The Three Penny Opera (1931)

Chaplin films online:
The Gold Rush (1942 version)
City Lights (1931)
Modern Times (1936)
The Great Dictator (1941)
Monsieur Verdoux (1946)

[Rita Hayworth]

Moira,

Thanks for taking the time putting this post together. I watch old television shows on Hulu once in a while - I will be defiantly watching some of these with great interest.

[MissGoddess]

Right now they also have Stagecoach, And God Created Woman, The Ruling Class, To Be or Not to Be, Woman Under the Influence and Paisan.

[knitwit45]

I am watching History is Made at Night and love it! Thanks so much for the list, Moira, some movies I have wanted to see for years on it!

[moira finnie]

I'm glad that you guys are enjoying this feature on hulu too.

I am especially happy that you have a chance to see it and are enjoying the, Knitty. It's a far better print of History is Made at Night than the one I have. I just love the rapport between Boyer and Leo Carillo as much as I do the romance with Jean Arthur.

Looking over all the classics featured on hulu's Criterion collection, here, I found that those with the small h+ in a green square are the movies you have to pay for. Hey, at least most of the Zaitochi films are free--not to mention The Long Voyage Home, which may be my favorite Ford film, next to How Green Was My Valley.

Hey, Miss G.! Nice picture of you and a singapura kitten as an avatar. That is you, right?

[moira finnie]

Google is reportedly in talks with Hulu to purchase the service, enabling the 800 lb. gorilla of search engines to acquire what could be a foot hold in Hollywood. Hulu is currently owned jointly by Walt Disney Co., News Corp. and Comcast Corp.'s NBCUniversal. These corporations have reportedly been uneasy with the competition their own company could be giving their mainstream products, with television programs being posted online, possibly cutting into their viewership on the "old" media of broadcast television. Who knows how this will affect viewers, especially classic film fans such as us who are just glad to see some rarely screened films available?

More about this possible development can be found here at The Los Angeles Times.

[MissGoddess]

Goodness sake, these corporate maneuverings are more complicated than the old time court shennanigans, me thinks. I have a secret theory (well, not anymore) that the same two or three people own EVERYTHING. It makes it simpler for me to think about it that way.

I was disappointed that so many titles seem to have the dreaded green h+...I didn't read over the entire article but I wonder if they will rotate which movies will be free and which will be charged...I guess not, that wouldn't make sense for the people who pay. Does anyone actually pay? I always have a huge problem paying for anything online...I don't mean products, but viewing things. For instance, I never would pay Netflix anything extra for their "instant viewing" perk. It comes with the service so I'm happy but I'd stay with just DVDs if they started charging a fee. I am also old fashioned; I like to hold in my little hands the movie I'm watching (though I'm glad to watch online if there's no other option). The only exception is I do love watching movies "live" on TV, even if I have them on DVD. Someone told me they never watch TCM live, they only watch DVDs or movies they recorded from TCM and couldn't understand why I enjoy watching movies "live" when I already own them. I just like the idea I'm part of an "audience", even one that's "out there". I'm kind of "out there" today, too. Sorry for my ramblings.

Hey, Miss G.! Nice picture of you and a singapura kitten as an avatar. That is you, right?

Oh, yes. That made my day, thank you.

[MichiganJ]

There are quite a lot of Criterion titles on Hulu that are not available as Criterion titles on physical DVDs (Godzilla, History Is Made At Night, Long Voyage Home, just to name a few on the first page). Considering each title on DVD would probably retail for between $30 and $40, eight bucks a month doesn't seem too bad.

I have no problem for paying for content on the web and find it hard to understand why "internet" means "free", particularly in regards to news. With the physical newspaper dying its slow, painful death, is it realistic that we demand that on-line news be free? Real journalism (as opposed to punditry), was never a lucrative occupation, but I'm happy to pay my part to those folks who are brave enough to cover Afganistan and the local school board meeting.

[MissGoddess]

Good point MichiganJ, at least where the sources are trustworthy. However, when it comes to movies, I'm still reluctant to pay extra, probably because in my case it's unjustified. I have too many DVDs as it is, plus cable, and I need to learn restraint in that area as it is.