If you like classic films, it's great. It definitely leans art house, but the library goes way beyond the Criterion films they offer on DVD. They are also really good at highlighting female filmmakers. They are not so great in certain genres, for example, westerns, but films are getting added all the time.

More importantly, they put together fantastic collections. Beyond director (Godard, Tarkovsky, Sirk) or star-specific (Jean Arthur, Rita Hayworth, Catherine Deneuve) ones, right now in my queue I have collections based on Saul Bass title sequences, Frances Marion scripts, German Expressionism, film noir, and foreign-language Oscar winners. Often these collections have 15 or so films so you could spend a whole month just going through 1 or 2 of those.

Of course, those are often the films that end up in the "expiring this month" list, which is frustrating since then I feel I have to prioritize them, but that is my issue, and at least their interface makes it really easy to see what will be expiring at the end of the month and planning accordingly. In some collections, the films don't have too much cohesion (the Scores of Quincy Jones comes to mind, and I expect Saul Bass will be similar), but they result in great discoveries.

I have a yearly charter subcription which means it is $7.50/month plus I seem to get random $10-off certificates for the Criterion store from time to time. I currently have 2, one of which is a charter member thing but I don't think the other is. I believe there is a two-week free trial period if you want to check it out.

If HBO Max hits Roku I may give it a go. The interface seems less clunky than Hulu or Prime, to me.

Of course, those are often the films that end up in the "expiring this month" list, which is frustrating since then I feel I have to prioritize them, but that is my issue, and at least their interface makes it really easy to see what will be expiring at the end of the month and planning accordingly.

This section of CC is such a mixed blessing. On one hand, I get super stressed out as we near the end of each month about all the movies in that section I haven't gotten around to watching. On the other hand, it often forces my hand into FINALLY watching a film I've been meaning to for ages.

I watched a bunch of musicals this past week since I wasn't in a mood for anything heavy. Ridiculous plots aside, those Fred Astaire/Rita Hayworth flicks made for fun distractions. You Were Never Lovelier in particular had some fabulous numbers. And for reasons unclear to me, I had never watched Only Angels Have Wings before, which has Cary Grant/Jean Arthur/Howard Hawks trifecta, with bonus Rita Hayworth. A surprisingly dark film (I would not qualify that ending as necessarily happy) with some tremendous aerial photography, especially for the time.

Jean Arthur is probably my favourite Golden Age Hollywood actress (neck and neck with Barbara Stanwyck) and I am psyched that Criterion is spotlighting her right now. Of the 15 (!) Jean Arthur movies available on the channel right now (not counting Only Angels, which expired yesterday), I've seen around half, and excited to check out the rest. Of the ones I've seen, I'd particularly recommend History Is Made At Night (a lush Frank Borzage romantic extravaganza with a bonkers plot) and The More The Merrier, which is probably my favourite film of hers. Mr. Deeds and Mr. Smith are better known, but I like the other 2 better. A little bummed they don't have A Foreign Affair, which I adore, and Easy Living, which I've been meaning to check out for a while.

Oh! And on the topic of "expiring this month" section: Last night, I was scrolling through the list on CC to knock out another expiring film before the clock hit midnight (it's like cramming for finals!), and went with Leos Carax's Mauvais Sang. I'd watched his latest, Holy Motors, when it came out in theaters several years back, so I sort of knew to expect offbeat nonsense plot. What I did not realize was that this had the SAME leading man (Denis Lavant) as Holy Motors, with that same perpetually scowly face and compact acrobat's body (clearly the director stand-in), only 25 years younger! It had a nominal plot about a heist, which didn't really matter much, as it was just an excuse for various digressions. The film is a paean to romanticism, and MY GOSH, was young Juliette Binoche (the object of our protagonist's affection) ever so beautiful. Accordingly to Wikipedia, she was dating the director at the time, and I have rarely seen a camera more in love with its subject. Plus, baby Julie Delpy! The music! That whole "Modern Love" sequence! ♥ ♥ ♥ I kinda feel like I should have watched this in my 20's though. Ah well. Better late than never.

Carax has a musical coming out with Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard (it was supposed to have debuted at the Cannes this year, but who knows when it will come out now), which is apparently almost sung through. Can't wait.

Vonnie, do you know the song "Jean Arthur" by Robbie Fulks?

A perfect little Valentine to her: [link]

I love Only Angels Have Wings - core to the Howard Hawks thesis of Rugged Men With Rugged Jobs And the Sassy Gals Who Love Them.

The More the Merrier is one of my favorite Screwball comedies and less well known than the Preston Sturges and Hawks classics.

Lucille Ball said she learned everything she knew about comedy from Jean Arthur. That was her comic idol.

Oh! And on the topic of "expiring this month" section: Last night, I was scrolling through the list on CC to knock out another expiring film before the clock hit midnight (it's like cramming for finals!), and went with Leos Carax's Mauvais Sang.

Hah. We started this last night and after about 5 minutes I realized I had no interest in continuing with it, so we switched over to Kanopy to finish watching Foolish Wives.

Otherwise, I got to most of the expiring films I had on my CC list at the beginning of the month. Not as many "great" films as the previous month, but a few lovely discoveries, namely, the two early Goldie Hawn pics, Strawberry Blonde (I particularly liked Olivia de Havilland in this one), and The Whole Town's Talking, which has Edward G. Robinson playing the dual role of an average working stiff and his dead-ringer, an escaped gangster.

I also started going through their limited western collection, starting with an early John Ford silent western, Bucking Broadway, which has some gorgeous visuals and an amazing horse galloping scene on the streets of NY at the end.

Overall, the movies I watched (or rewatched) rank roughly as follows:
Cactus Flower (1969)
Paper Moon (1973)
The Whole Town's Talking (1935)
Strawberry Blonde (1941)
3:10 to Yuma (1957)
Meek's Cutoff (2011)
Tomboy (2011)
$ (1971)
Only Angels Have Wings (1939)
The Last Picture Show (1971)
Targets (1968)
Bucking Broadway (1917)
You Were Never Lovelier (1942)
Murder on the Orient Express (1974)
Fail Safe (1964)
Shampoo (1975)
Safe (1995)
Repulsion (1965)
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
The Pawnbroker (1964)

Of the bottom ones, I really didn't like The Pawnbroker. and I think the Math Greek is almost annoyed he had to watch it again given my eventual reaction. Safe and Repulsion fall into the "glad I watched it but wouldn't recommend it" (or watch it again) category. I didn't like Dr. Strangelove any more than I did the last time I saw it, about 30 years ago. It was especially uninteresting as the second part of a double feature with Fail Safe, which has a very similar plot but is somewhat more more cohesive. All of these were rather depressing and not what I really wanted right now. There are even more films expiring this month but I think I am going to limit the ones that fall more into the "homework" category for me.

Jean Arthur is probably my favourite Golden Age Hollywood actress (neck and neck with Barbara Stanwyck) and I am psyched that Criterion is spotlighting her right now. Of the 15 (!) Jean Arthur movies available on the channel right now (not counting Only Angels, which expired yesterday), I've seen around half, and excited to check out the rest. Of the ones I've seen, I'd particularly recommend History Is Made At Night (a lush Frank Borzage romantic extravaganza with a bonkers plot) and The More The Merrier, which is probably my favourite film of hers. Mr. Deeds and Mr. Smith are better known, but I like the other 2 better. A little bummed they don't have A Foreign Affair, which I adore, and Easy Living, which I've been meaning to check out for a while.

As an FYI, most of the Jean Arthur collection is leaving June 30. I've seen a lot of them. Of the ones I haven't seen, I'm most interested in The Devil and Miss Jones and The Impatient Years. I highly recommend If You Could Only Cook, You Can't Take It With You and the other Capras, and The More the Merrier.

the song "Jean Arthur" by Robbie Fulks

Aww, that is darling. Thanks for the link! The boy had it bad, not that I blame him. :)

The More the Merrier is one of my favorite Screwball comedies and less well known than the Preston Sturges and Hawks classics.

I love it so much, and I totally consider it a top tier screwball comedy on par with classics like The Lady Eve and The Philadelphia Story. It's a bit of a head-scratcher as to why George Stevens isn't better known to the modern audience. He directed some bangers, like Astaire/Rogers Swing Time (for my money, the best movie they made together), the Hepburn/Tracy classic Woman of the Year, two great Jean Arthur screwball comedies back to back (The More the Merrier and The Talk of the Town), and some splendid movies in the 50's like Shane and A Place in the Sun. I guess he didn't quite have a distinctive stylistic stamp on his films like Sturges and Hawks, but his body of work is impressive indeed.

Hah. We started this last night and after about 5 minutes I realized I had no interest in continuing with it

Heh. Mauvais Sang was only my second Leos Carax, but the dude is just so aggressively idiosyncratic and weird that you either go with the madness or get off the bus. I watched Holy Motors in a local rep theater, and thought seriously about walking out after the first 10-15 minutes before it sucked me in, after which it cast a strange spell. His films are fanciful and incoherent, but I find them nonetheless cohesive in their vision. At some point, I'll have to track down Les Amants du Pont-Neuf, which I think is his best known film.

Youtube has the part I referred to, set to Bowie's Modern Love: [link] I've watched it like 5 times today. :) Exhilarating stuff, even without context. The movie Mauvais Sang reminds me the most of is Wong Kar Wai's Chungking Express. Apparently they are both heavily influenced by the French New Wave, which I don't know a whole a lot about. I guess that means I finally have to check out some Godard, but waahhhh, I feel oddly resistant.

I didn't like Dr. Strangelove any more than I did the last time I saw it, about 30 years ago. It was especially uninteresting as the second part of a double feature with Fail Safe, which has a very similar plot but is somewhat more more cohesive.

I thought about watching that double feature and just could not face it. :p I'm sure I'll get around to watching Strangelove at some point, but ehhhh, I'm rather indifferent to Kubrick, to be honest. I did love 2001: A Space Odyssey a whole a lot more than the first time around when I watched the restored version in the theater last year, so maybe I should give the man more chances.

Apparently they are both heavily influenced by the French New Wave, which I don't know a whole a lot about. I guess that means I finally have to check out some Goddard, but waahhhh, I feel oddly resistant.

FWIW, Godard is my least favorite New Waver, as both critic and filmmaker. Though, admittedly, I'm not a huge fan of the NW in general. It's very hit or miss for me. It always makes me sad that people get sent to those films first and then think they hate French movies.

I agree about feeling mostly indifferent to Kubrick, but I do like The Shining and Barry Lyndon a whole lot.

My June "Get Them Before They're Gone" Criterion list:

Jean Arthur: The Devil and Miss Jones, The Impatient Years
Columbia Noir: Blind Alley, The Dark Past, The Mob
Saul Bass: Anatomy of a Murder
70s Style Icons: Foxy Brown
Westerns: The Winning of Barbara Worth, The Cowboy and the Lady, Arizona, The Hanging Tree, Red Sun

And then there are a few rewatches I want to get to, but I'm trying to be modest in my ambitions because I really want to get through some of the library films I have out for my Century+ project (silents from the 1910s and 20s). They are not due until 8/1 but it's ridiculous I've watched so few of them at this point.