Today, the tech blogs are excitedly spreading the word about The Auteurs, a film buff's online paradise, complete with select free Criterion Collection movies streamed right back at ya...
The Auteurs is "1. an online movie theater where you watch, discover, and discuss auteur cinema" and "2. a new social experience." More importantly, you can watch Lord of the Flies, Spirit of the Beehive, Fat Girl, and a Buster Keaton comedy for free. (You can also check out The General and Les Bonnes Femmes for $5 each, which is much more reasonable than the $30+ you'd spend to buy them from Criterion.)
According to the site's FAQ:
The Auteurs is where film viewing, culture, and discussion finally meet in a single venue. At its core, The Auteurs is a web site making great films from prominent festivals around the world accessible to anyone through high-definition video streaming. Together with online film viewing, we bring together the most original coverage of festivals, filmmaking, and cinema culture in the form of an online film magazine. Finally, we unite film watching and film criticism with film discussion by allowing users to rate and review films, as well as discuss cinema in our forums.
What kind of films do you show?
We show the best of international cinema. This means a wide-ranging, but carefully selected group of films that fall into any number of categories, from foreign language, art-house, documentary, and independent, to short films, experimental, and animated works.
How do I watch films on The Auteurs?
Simple! Most of the films on our site can be watched for free. Just sign up, login, and they are yours for the watching. For the chance to watch our newest acquisitions and additions to our library first, we do charge a small fee per film.
What more could one ask for? Well, we are holding out hope for at least two dozen more Criterion films-- including anything Cassavetes. In the meantime, you have some catching up to do-- start watching here.
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