Tuesday, January 11, 2005

Arthouse in your home

via CTNow.com: "Recently, with the well-publicized success of Netflix, there's been a proliferation of online rental services trying to create niche markets out of gaps in Netflix's catalog. Greencine.com claims a bigger selection of 'esoteric fare' than anyone else, while Cinflix.com, Nicheflix.com and eHit.com all specialize in foreign films, especially Asian horror movies and thrillers."

The rise of the DVD and online rental services has made it possible for anyone to be a serious film buff. It has revolutionized my own viewing of movies. Via Netflix and others, I have seen hundreds of significant films I would otherwise have never seen. You no longer have to live in Los Angeles, New York, or Chicago to see critically-acclaimed movies. You can have a film festival in your own home.

I've used Greencine and Nicheflix. They do have a good alternative selection to Netflix, but you have to be willing to wait. They each have only one distribution center, and only a handful of copies of each title.

If you don't mind buying them, Film Movement "will send you DVDs of films that are still playing, or have yet to open, in art houses."

1 comment:

  1. a niche here and a niche here and eventually you could be talking about serious numbers of members

    (apologies to Dirkson)

    i think netflix should carry um all

    how much could it cost?

    ReplyDelete