For those of you who haven’t heard, Warner Media announced they are shutting down Filmstruck effective November 29th. Executives claim it’s part of their desire to eliminate ‘niche’ products and focus on more mainstream stuff like grown men dressing like rodents and Eddie Redmayne cacking up as many films as he can manage.

There’s a petition trying to prevent it (Filmstruck ending, not Eddie Redmayne films, but I’d sign that one too). I’m not getting my hopes up– they’ve let go the staff, and stepping back would bite their corporate synergized initiatives in the dollar signs. We’ll probably get a ‘FilmStruck Lite’ pasted onto some massive Warners streaming catalogue down the line, and without a doubt, it’ll be underwhelming.

RIP @FilmStruck 🕯️ 🖤 pic.twitter.com/vyK52dzzJa

— Mettie Ostrowski (@mettieostrowski) October 31, 2018

I was honestly amazed at how angry the sudden news made me. Warner Archive Instant, which had a great first year followed by several years of intense neglect, at least died ingloriously and after giving everyone an opportunity to sample its wares.

Filmstruck, by contrast, was in the prime of life. The service felt renewed by the addition of the TCM Vault back in February (just nine months ago) and was consistently programmed with verve and energy. With access to both the TCM library (composing a great number of classic Hollywood films) and the Criterion collection’s library gave it a cache of streaming material never seen before on the internet.

It would have been easy for Filmstruck to stick with prestige as its selling point as that’s how most classic film aficionados fashion themselves, but the service offered up the likes of Michael Crichton’s ambitiously goofy Looker, the incomprehensible Petulia, and my favorite, the Neil Diamond ‘who the fuck thought this was a good idea’ Jazz Singer from 1979. It was a service that catered to every level of cinephilia, granting you access to a well-curated variety of movie the world over.

The platform’s push towards gender parity in its directorial and star highlights, too, was extremely welcome and marked the platform not just as tired catalogue listings but as a service vital for cinephiles looking for something new to study and enjoy. It pushed for reshaping film history as more inclusive, more dynamic, than any service before. And it was programmed with a obvious passion, created by people who love movies and wanted to share and celebrate them.

pic.twitter.com/w45ZkuCfHl

— kristal (@kristalshay) October 26, 2018

Filmstruck was a masterful solution to a lot of problems. With TCM contractually built as a cable channel (and probably under a sword of Damocles at the moment as well), its streaming solutions are still cut off to many potential customers– including myself when I lived overseas. It’s hard for people outside metropolises to understand what something like Filmstruck meant to far-flung communities of film fans. And there was still room to grow! There was so much potential!

But it’s over.

Where do we go from here? There are a number of articles with trusted advisors reminding everyone to buy physical media– which I, as a person who watches around 40 movies a month, think is a fucking silly piece of advice. Ignoring matters of economic privilege (and there are a few), hoarding isn’t practical. Telling me I should spend $15 on a DVD to see it for the first time rather than $8 on streaming it from amongst a library is just nuts.

There are other streaming services, of course. While classic film fans can’t and don’t expect much of anything from Netlfix or Amazon, and we’ve all sought out some poor rips uploaded on YouTube, there is a lot more of an arena geared towards modern independent film than classic because of labyrinthine copyright issues and studios who don’t see value in their vaults outside exorbitant licensing fees.

https://twitter.com/keithcalder/status/1055896009505533952

This has to change. The death of Filmstruck is pushes into making classic film even more niche, more left on the sidelines by a generation that needs instant access for any sort of exposure. We can’t wait for corporations to save us, and the ludicrous current standards of copyright law means operating outside their confines may be the best solution until someone, somewhere, with some talent and imagination can try to achieve the Filmstruck ideal again.

But it may be years or longer before we see something as elegant as Filmstruck ever. Pour one out for the service on November 29th, everyone. They earned it.

To swing back to this site’s purpose before I find myself fully advocating for just burning down some goddamn office buildings, there are a number of great pre-Code movies on the service, and may I add that if you have FilmStruck and haven’t watched any of these, do it now.

• So Big (a beautiful adaptation of my favorite book)
• Safe in Hell (you’re not allowed to keep following this blog until you watch this one)
• The Most Dangerous Game (oh, man, this one is so much fun)
• Red Dust (Jean Harlow at her sexiest)
• Red-Headed Woman (one of the pre-Code-iest pre-Codes)
• Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (one of my favorite films– utterly innovative, risque to a hilt, and just marvelous to behold)
• Bombshell (Harlow’s semi-autobiographical comedy is filled with tons of great little touches)
• Midnight Mary (another fun Wellman gangster flick with Loretta Young at the top of her form)
• Sadie McKee (one of Crawford’s stronger melodramas)
• The Merry Widow (one of Lubitsch’s most sensuous films)

For anyone interested, I’m doing a thread of gifs from watching Filmstruck movies over on Twitter. Just click here to see more.

Started my #FarewellFilmstruck tour yesterday. FromLubitsch's OYSTER PRINCESS. pic.twitter.com/c1pBhr0w71

— Pre-Code.com (@PreCodeDotCom) October 28, 2018

Lastly, just a friendly a reminder: if you want to support my site, you can become a Patron over at Patreon. This month, if you’re subscribed to my Patreon and you have shared your address with me (double check!), I’ll be sending you a few Filmstruck goodies that i recently received– something for you to remember them by.

Pre-Code Movies on TCM in November

Please note:

• All times listed here are Eastern Standard. This schedule is subject to change (like if someone dies or the world ends– you know how it is).
• Plot descriptions and casts lists below come from TCM. See the full listings for the month here.
• If you subscribe to TCM via cable, you can watch TCM online via the TCM Watch site.
• If you don’t have cable, check out Sling TV, where (Americans) can watch TCM online, via an app or on their Roku for only $25/month.

Questions? Comments? Or do you just want to bug me? Leave a comment below!