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    • Quality classic movies streaming services?

    • It has been a while since I had decided Netflix really doesn't cut it for finding and watching quality content.. to my recent delight I discovered a new to me service which I now enjoy.

      The Criterion ChannelBecome a Criterion Channel Subscriber! A movie lover's dream, the Criterion Channel offers classics and discoveries from around the world, thematically programmed with special features, on a streaming service brought to you by the Criterion Collection.www.criterionchannel.com

      Just posting this out here but also am interested in opinions of others who may have been already using this service, or if there are similar ones out there, with emphasis on good, classic old and not so old, timeless quality masterpiece movies. Not shows.
      I really enjoy classics like Fellini's 8 1/2 and many others I haven't had the opportunity to have watched.

      cinemontage.org

      What about you?

    • What's it cost?

      I share your lack of enthusiasm for a lot of what Neflix offers, seems pretty consistently bad TV shows. Although some of the police dramas from the Scandinavian countries are interesting - the Norweigian ones can get pretty dark at time, and the Icelandic ones too.

      We have been pleased with "Acorn" which offers mostly UK program material and is not too expensive at 6 or 7 bucks a month if you pay once annually.

      My spouse and I watch a lot of UK programming these days - either we can't understand what they are saying or we think they are more literate..😄

      We're about to finish "Keeping Faith" - we remark how much nicer the homes in the program look than the homes we actually saw while we were in Wales a couple years ago. Very nice dwellings!

      Martin Clune's "Manhunt" was pretty good, and interesting to see DocMartin in a different role.

      Acorn TV | The Best British TV Streaming Online, On-Demand, Commercial Free.Acorn TV streams world-class mysteries, dramas, and comedies from Britain and beyond. Binge-watch a classic series or discover your new favorite show among dozens of programs available exclusively on Acorn TV.acorn.tv

      The Criterion channel looks intersting.

    • What's it cost?

      It's around $10 USD a month but a year subscription paid in advance was $99 and they have a 14 day free trial.. It wasn't really the price that attracts or deters me, but the content! I still have Netflix subscription too, as long as it's not breaking my bank so to speak. I consider it money better used than signing up for cable channels.

    • $99 bucks - that's a pretty good deal.

      When/If I go to a local movie with a spouse, and order a little popcorn and something to drink, I've already squandered a $50 dollar bill.

      I may have to sign up for Criterion.

      These $10/amonth charges are starting to add up, I suspect 👀

    • Yeah, they may be a bit behind mastodons like Netflix in terms of sophistication and funding infrastructure - but seems to be performing adequate, and actually I do like a simpler web site rather than Netflix or Amazon dizzying potpourri of selections of everything mixed in there together, where I have no idea what each of movies are... take someone else's word for ratings, only to come back dissapointed in wasted time.

    • Yes, we did watch it. There are others we thought better, like Luther with Idris Elba

      We originally started watching an older series on BBC somewhere, “MI5”, intending to ignore the storyline and just watch the scenery backgrounds as it was all shot in London, but we got pulled into the story along the way.

      Britbox looks interesting too, but I can’t really justify having both it and Acorn, and we started with Acorn for “Manhunt”

      Between Acorn and Netflix and Amazon we have watched UK police dramas in London, Wales, Edinburgh, Cornwall, the Hebrides, and the Shetland Islands 😊 and more that I’ve forgotten.

      We watched the whole “Foyle’s War” series - I liked the story lines, and the settings in each scene seemed perfect for 1940’s Britain. One of the best of the lot, in my opinion. Were all TV that well wrought.

    • I think the excessive cost for mediocre shows is the biggest drawback now. It’s like £11.99 for using it on multi devices. The kids love it and I do watch a few shows. The American Netflix is of course much better than the UK one

    • The American Netflix is of course much better than the UK one

      They shouldn't segregate audience like that, what's the purpose? My perception is they went down with quality and upped quantity of content. They dumped most great movies in favor of newfangled fantasy shows. How is that for quality? Perhaps the audience taste has declined too.. I haven't changed nor am I able to keep pace with or aquire a taste for the new stuff they pump out, even when everyone applauds it. I just find it all too shallow and meaningless.

    • Mind providing an update on the Streaming services you’re currently using/have left since September? I find that I can always justify adding a service, but ending one always seems like a FOMO bit of regret.

    • We're still enjoying Acorn for UK programming, mostly English, but also some Welsh, and some Scottish, and even some Aussie and New Zelander programming. It is interesting to watch the backgrounds as we watch the story line, to see how folks live in other nations. In some of their programming, the voice tracks are over stepped by the music which makes their accents difficut to understand at times - not often, but some program seem to do it consistently. Even if I have Voice clarification on my Sonos app playing.

      We still have Amazon Prime and Netflix also. Both have extensive lists of material, but much of it is either old, or not very compelling. or both. There are several older travelogues of the British Ilses, which we have enjoyed a great deal, as we have travelled a modest amount in the UK. One on the Islands of Scotland was very interesting, Another is of a fellow who walks the trails all over Britain. It might not be to a lot of folks interest, but it is an interesting way to see precisely where British history actually occurred.

      We did just finish the 6th Season ( current ) of Bosch on Amazon Prime . Both my spouse and I really enjoyed it. They are fleshing out many of the lesser characters and giving them space to grow and be of interest which is kind of cool. Just a very well done cop show with great story line and photography. Now I have to wait another year for another season.

      We have Apple TV for a year for free, since I purchased a pair of AirPod Pros - and we did watch "See" Great production values, good filming, good sets, good costumes, but the basic plotline was less than plausible to me, at least, perhaps due to my previous profession. I have hoped for great material on Apple TV, but so far, really haven't found a great deal of interest to me. They do offer several cartoon shows that are well done, but not my taste. Probably much better for a younger audience with kids, maybe. Lots of programs for younger folks, and hipper folks, and I am neither these days.

      I will have to go check out Criterion - it had slipped my mind, only so many hours in a day - but good quality movies never really go out of style. And Hollywood is pretty good at making sure their diction is discernable over the sound tracks, too.

    • One other suggestion - despite my comments about Apple TVs limited offerings, last night we found "Belgravia" there, written by Julian Fellowes the author of Downton Abbey, and it is splendid.

      It begins just before the battle of Waterloo in 1815 with a young lady who thinks she was married to a young soldier just before the battle. But it turns out, the priest was a fellow cavalry man in the young officers unit, and the marriage ceremony was a sham. But she did not find this out until after the wedding was consumated, and she promptly became pregnant, and the young officers died a few days later at Waterloo. The young mother dies in childbirht, of ocourse.

      Move ahead, 26 years, to London, and the grandmother of the young infant which was put up for adoption, learns who and where he is -AND - that his maternal grandmother is a very wealthy heirless duchess. So now, let the games begin, as the two grandmothers square off with each other, desperate to place the blame on the other parties child, and claim the handsome 26 year old man for their grand son. Lots of clever bon mots, and repartie.

      Kind of like Downton Abbey with a bit more pungence and bite. Really great fun to watch. Fantastic opulent sets in Europe before the battle, and in London 26 years later. Belgravia is a very high end real estate area in London, built by the grandfather of the child.

      Very enjoyable and hilarious period piece, if historical novels are your thing...

      Also a fair amount of Upstairs/Downstairs as we watch the aristocrats and their house servants spar linguistically, and steal from each other as well.

      Great fun. I will watch a couple more episodes this evening.

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