Cinema snobs rejoice: Criterion Collection goes Web 2.0

(Credit: Criterion.com)

Highbrow film company The Criterion Collection has launched Criterion.com, an "online cinematheque" for people who want to watch movies, delve into some editorial content, and socialize with other fans.

Perhaps the most notable aspect of the new site is the fact that you can rent many Criterion films (a melange of old and newish, domestic and foreign) for $5 per stream, and that $5 will be deducted if you then choose to purchase the flick on DVD. Kind of a cool model that nobody seems to be using yet.

Criterion has also teamed up with a new film-centric social site, The Auteurs, to host a monthly "film festival" that makes a handful of Criterion films available for temporary free streaming and discussion. November's picks, sponsored by IFC, follow a "cruel stories of youth" theme and feature the World War II drama Au revoir les enfants as well as the quintessential nasty-kids story, Lord of the Flies, among others. No, there's no Mean Girls.

I know, I know, it's all a bit pretentious. Now go put on a scarf and down a few macchiatos and think about something deep.

[pomade7]

Isn't this site like Jaman?? but with lot less films??? Good luck :)

[FKipple]

Great post Caroline! A classic example of inverted snobbery.

Thanks for the tip! Criterion actually have a lot of fantastic films, and they have great restorations of old films.

[MSSlayer]

No such thing as Web 2.0

[GasAlley]

Criterion is pretentious? Do you think anything could be more pretentious than the current slob-culture of know-it all, do-it-all pimps and hos? Or, for that matter, could it be more pretentious than CNN, The Daily Show, or Al Franken? Please.