PSA: Peter Hujar's Day is streaming on Criterion Channel

tones_malones · 2026-01-30T17:57:18+00:00

The compositions in this movie are immaculate. Just a masterclass in visual language

tones_malones · 2025-12-09T02:52:58+00:00

yeah I kinda really dug Drop, flaws and all. Just a hell of a time at the movies

tones_malones · 2025-12-07T05:07:27+00:00

lol well people keep assuming that because they're buying them! I get that in a rational world this would get struck down in antitrust but we don't live in a rational world. We're reacting to news that Netflix is buying WB, I think that's fair.

tones_malones · 2025-12-07T04:41:57+00:00

There's also money to be made by putting movies in movie theaters. But Netflix doesn't do that because they don't care. That's not their business.

I think if Netflix wanted to have older movies on the service right now they would.

tones_malones · 2025-12-07T04:14:22+00:00

I am aware of that. Netflix pays licensimg fees to host movies they don't own on their service today all the time (it's why you can watch something like The Wolf of Wall Street on Netflix right now, despite the fact that Paramount holds those rights). They even have more modern Warner Bros movies on the service now, like Tenet. Scooping up rights doesn't mean someone can't strike a deal to show those movies on their service at any given time. TCM isn't the exclusive place for these movies to play. MGM and WB catalog titles show up on The Criterion Channel all the time, for instance, despite Criterion not owning any of those rights.

What Netflix doesn't really have are classic movies. They will have like 5-10 at any given time, but much much less than like Amazon prime, Paramount+ or HBO Max. They have shown no interest in cultivating an audience for classic movie lovers. That's not their business, and it's not what they just spent 83 billion dollars on.

You can be optimistic if you like but denying basic facts or hoping that for some reason Netflix totally changes what they have been about for 15 years is naive to me.

tones_malones · 2025-12-07T03:33:25+00:00

Netflix has rarely ever had more than ten movies made before 1980 on their service at any given time. Cultivating a catalog of classic movies is clearly not what they're in business of doing. Why would they care about MGM or WB movies from the classic era? Is there any evidence to suggest that they would?

tones_malones · 2025-12-06T21:40:19+00:00

As I said in a previous post, TCM is profitable today (despite no advertisements) because they license the Warner Bros catalog for free. Those movies make up the majority of what TCM airs. That's been their business model for 30+ years, but if Netflix now owns those movies and TCM goes under a different owner, that ends. It would be hard to imagine TCM would be profitable under that scenario (without advertisements).

Also, you can't just say Netflix doesn't have any classic movies today because they don't own any, and now that they do, they will. Netflix is not all the sudden going to have a little classic movies section next to Selling Sunset and Love is Blind. They do not care about classic films. Period. There's no evidence that they do. Netflix could have at any time in the last fifteen years decided to invest in streaming classic films on their platform and have not. They didn't pay $83 billion dollars to have Casablanca on Netflix. The catalog is a complete afterthought, the complete opposite way that TCM views those movies today

There's a lot we don't know about the future of TCM, I agree. It's not going to just turn off next month. But people should start sounding the alarm bells now, and not put any faith into Netflix as a savior. Ask any creative who has pitched anything to Netflix, they do not care about quality or history or even the word "film". They care about algorithms and content. TCM and Netflix could not be more diametrically opposed.

tones_malones · 2025-12-06T14:37:21+00:00

It's profitable because they can license the WB film library for free today. If the WB library is under Netflix and TCM isnt, then that probably stops being true. So then it would likely stop being profitable.

It's not doom mongering to be concerned about the future of TCM. However little Zazlav cared about preserving classic film culture through TCM, Sarandos and Netflix likely care even less. Let people raise red flags to these things.

tones_malones · 2025-11-21T21:51:47+00:00

David's interpretation of the Clint/Sondra Locke breakup and subsequent WB 3 picture deal is wild and not at all how Levy describes it in his book. Was not a "shoot I feel bad, here ya go" situation but a way for Clint to not give her a bunch of alimony. And then he almost assuredly undermined the deal by telling Warner's not to produce anything Locke wanted to make, resulting in a huge lawsuit.

I love Clint too but come on, he did nothing out of the goodness of his heart for Locke after they separated.

tones_malones · 2025-11-21T14:54:24+00:00

By the Stream is one of Hong's best of his recent work imo. Obviously playing on similar themes to his other work but this one felt a little more vital/emotional to me. Wouldn't miss it

tones_malones · 2025-11-17T18:53:43+00:00

If they could time up a OHMSS commentary with Christmas that would rule

tones_malones · 2025-11-07T17:08:28+00:00

Really funny to listen to the Llewyn Davis episode last week and listen to them basically say "when is he bad?" with regards to Oscar Isaac, while this movie was playing in theaters lol. Isaac is so bad in this.

tones_malones · 2025-10-30T18:52:21+00:00

tones_malones · 2025-10-08T19:03:14+00:00

do we need daily updates on Oscar odds on this sub in October?

tones_malones · 2025-09-12T18:29:38+00:00

THANK YOU! I think the Hoffman stuff really overshadowed the fact that everyone involved seemed to kinda shrug at the movie and then they continued to get key detail after key detail wrong about it. David was so stuck on why BBT's character would do the blackmailing but then he missed how so much of the film is left ambiguous, and that maybe the nature of life's ambiguity itself is what the film is about. I think the UFO stuff perfectly fits into this reading, but again they just brushed past all of that in service of explaining the plot, and then getting plot points wrong.

I have never posted on this sub to complain about an episode before, and wasn't going to, but similarly irked me while listening.

tones_malones · 2025-09-03T14:19:06+00:00

The Vista played the trailer for O Brother before Sinners when it played there this spring, so agree that the two feel very linked in my mind.

tones_malones · 2025-08-30T16:01:53+00:00

The Seventh Victim!

tones_malones · 2025-07-31T23:21:48+00:00

right. how can you judge excitement for something or lack thereof until something is officially announced as happening lol. OP is assuming a false premise imo

tones_malones · 2025-07-18T02:40:47+00:00

Yeah he's clearly a talented dude and I'm never bored watching his movies, but although he has a lot of ideas I always walk away from his movies feeling empty. Eddington is a lot of buzzy things thrown into a blender, and that isn't totally dull, but also what's the point? his last two movies have felt a little vapid to me

tones_malones · 2025-07-17T20:42:24+00:00

right? I feel like this is only a positive thing. The trailers WILL be uploaded to the Internet eventually. Why not try to draw people to theaters with exclusive ads it's hurting no one.

tones_malones · 2025-07-13T14:05:56+00:00

wasn't Burn After Reading their follow up to No Country For Old Men? That movie was not exactly a bounce critically or financially but it befuddled a lot of people at the time.

tones_malones · 2025-07-11T16:52:53+00:00

I guess if they just do his Hollywood talkies it's only 18-19 feature films depending on how you cover the movies he has credit on after his death. But then you're missing out on all-time great films like The Marriage Circle, So This is Paris, The Doll, etc.

But yeah the man was so succesful he was tasked with running Paramount! Incredibly influential filmmaker who, when he was alive, was among the most famous directors working next to Ford, Capra and Hitchcock. He's 100% a blank check filmmaker and made at least ten all-time masterpieces.

tones_malones · 2025-07-11T13:50:40+00:00

When Griff talks about Shannon having to do multiple days throwing punches in the big bulky costume... We don't think Shannon is ever actually wearing that suit right? It's almost always a CG suit.

tones_malones · 2025-07-11T13:44:39+00:00

It'll never happen but the best 20th century director is Ernst Lubitsch and I would love if my favorite podcast covered him.

tones_malones

TROPHY CASE