Couldn’t agree more. I still buy heaps of DVDs (and even videotapes, when necessary) and always try to support labels like Criterion, Arrow, Second Run, Re:Voir and others that put so much effort into their releases. Nevertheless, the film distribution market as a whole, whether it be streaming or physical, is simply unable or (simply due to existing in a capitalist system) unwilling to cope with the extent of quality cinema that’s out there, and that’s a situation that won’t be changing any time in the foreseeable future.TMDaines wrote:As always, the backchannels provide an invaluable service for helping ensure the widest array of content will remain available to a wide-ranging auidence. The commerical, legal streaming sites do not have that purpose.
Further limitations, such as region (and lately geoblocking) restrictions only make the situation harder for those of us living outside the US. Region-free players are easy to get here, mercifully, but bypassing streaming site location settings is a great deal more challenging – and that means that not only do we miss out on Fandor, Filmstruck and a range of other good services, but that our version of Netflix is even smaller and less adventurous than its overseas counterparts. It’s a situation that necessitates some form of engagement outside the market; surely only the most pious cinephile doesn’t in some way or other.
I don’t see the work of backchannels as merely justifiable; I see their work as absolutely essential, and would argue that they are among the most erstwhile defenders of public engagement with cinema.