I really liked this service. Anybody know where else I can stream classic films now?
As a side note I tried for 3 years to get a retro film festival going in my community, but I could never find an audience and lost money every year. I enjoy watching classic movies, but most people don’t. You can watch classic movies on TCM and AMC as part of your basic cable or satellite service all day long, so I don’t know why a streaming service would be very popular. Apparently it wasn’t all that popular. FilmStruck is a niche service for a nice market, and it’s hard to make money selling niche anything these days. And to answer your question, the only classic movie streaming I am aware of is Netflix, YouTube, Hulu etc., but it’s hit and miss on what is available to stream…
Well that sucks. I was planning on signing up when I had more free time to watch.
If your local public library subscribes to Kanopy, that’s a really good alternative. And it’s free with your library card. They also carry a big chunk of the Critereon Collection.
There’s also Hoopla, which is also free with a library card, but they tend to carry just a few gems scattered among a mountain of obscure straight-to-video crud.
That’s why I liked it. It was TCM for people who don’t have cable, like me. And $10/month is a lot cheaper than paying $60+ for cable.
I get it. Perhaps someone will spin up a new streaming service. The problem is that licensing all of those films isn’t cheap, and I doubt anyone would pay $49 a month just to stream classic movies.
There is Mubi which is “curated” (they give you a smaller roating selection of films rather than a full catalog) and veers more to indie and foreign language than classic, but they do feature some older films as well.
Netflix does still rent films on DVD and Blu-Ray with a much larger selection than their streaming options.
Stranger
You can’t. And even when you can, streaming will never be reliable or have a particularly wide selection. Load up on as many Blu-rays/DVDs as possible. If you don’t want to pay for that, get used to piracy.
A surprising number of old movies are available on You Tube, if they have gone to public domain. Doesn’t hurt to look.
The part I bolded isn’t absolutely necessary for them to be on YouTube. And, well, there isn’t a whole lot that is out of copyright, really. It’s just that the copyright owners don’t care. They may even monetize them to get some money out of it.
But when I hear “I want to stream Classic Movies”, I assume that I am in the presence of a Personage of Quality. Who may want to watch said movies in higher bit rate and consistency than one would find on You Tube.
I often find classic (even Criterion) DVDs at used bookstores or thrift shops. Now that I’ve read this thread, I may start buying them, to start stockpiling Movies To Watch When I Retire. Because God knows that anything I’m waiting to watch on Netflix or Hulu will get dropped on my penultimate day at work…
And if I can’t shuffle out to the living room on my first day of retirement and start watching Goodburger, then what was all that work for?
Directv Now includes AMC plus TMC among its 65 channels-- but it’s $40/month.
So the dream of a massive online library providing every movie lover with free (or cheap) access to every classic film, B movie, independent film, horror flick, cheap detective or SF serial, is dead…because it won’t make some billionaire shithead a bunch of money?
Not surprised, but can’t help being disappointed.
Lon Chaney and Boris Karloff, I hardly knew ye. And future generations won’t know you at all.
In the late 1990s, I belonged to a classic film club here in town. As the 00s approached, we went from an old movie/2nd run art film entity to old movies only, and then the group dissolved around 2005. The man who headed it was a purist to the point where he would only screen movies on 35mm, which were becoming fewer and fewer, plus it was harder to find parts for the projector. He now does this on his own, showing movies from his own personal collection in the theater at a senior-citizens’ apartment complex that used to be a small liberal-arts college. As with the old club, he charges a suggested donation of $3; that’s because he doesn’t want anyone to not be able to attend because they can’t afford it. Only once did people not pay at the old location, once they realized it wasn’t required for admission. :rolleyes: Oh, well, at least they were enjoying some culture.
The library I volunteer at shows old movies, IIRC on Wednesday afternoons, and the room is always full. 
That it’s free and they also offer bottled water and popcorn doesn’t hurt, either.
There’s Classic Movie Vault on Roku, which has some real oldies. I’m talking the old Tarzan movies and horror movies and ancient John Wayne stuff.
You’re not within driving distance from Chicago, are you? I would love to catch an old movie…
I’ll send you a PM.
ETA: Is that function turned off? I can’t find a way to do that for you.
Huh, maybe The Internet knows how much I enjoy being out of touch…
But I checked my User Control Panel and all seems well. I’ve gotten PMs from mods (usually with the word “Warning” in the subject line).
~ ~ ~
Aha! On my third investigation, there’s a setting (as far from Private Messages as possible…:dubious:). So I unchecked “PMs from Mods and Contacts Only”. So try me again, and thanks in advance!
amc died when turner classic came in to existence because time warner owns 80 percent of everything before 1960 and Disney will own the rest once they own fox ……… breaking bad and walking dead saved them …….
I have so many millennial students who say “Ehh, it’ll be on Netflix…” [or some mythical future streaming service]. I tell them their favorite movie’ll get dropped without warning.
And their attitude seems to be “Hey, if Harvey isn’t on, I’ll just watch another Jimmy Stewart movie.” I lost it at that comment… “There is only one Harvey! “Another Jimmy Stewart movie” is not Harvey. It’s a Wonderful Life? Vertigo? The Glenn Miller Story? Great films, but notice the lack of “Harvey” in the title. There is no “As Good As Harvey.” There is only Harvey!”
I tried, and still can’t find a way to send one to you. 
Why don’t you send me one, and I’ll reply.