What’s All The Hulu-baloo About? [This Week In Criterion’s Hulu Channel]

In a world that is getting more and more used to streaming their TV shows, their movies and even their lives, one company is known as the king of it all, and that’s Netflix. But Hulu, being around since 2007, has started to gain some steam this past year alone. Then Hulu Plus came along officially in November 2010, and as a monthly paid subscription promised subscribers full seasons of television shows, more episodes of series that were already on the site. When Criterion announced they were partnering with Hulu to showcase their films on the site, we here at CriterionCast were a bit skeptical.

A bit might be treading lightly. As fans, we first thought it was the biggest mistake they could have made. It was from the mindset that the ‘only’ streaming sight out there was Netflix and any other choice was a poor one. Myself being one that wasn’t into the idea of another site to pay for streaming is very closed-minded and when thinking of this article in general, we believed I’d be best to jump in, eyes and ears first to see if Hulu and Criterion are a match made in heaven.

The first thing people will always point out to you is the ‘less than easy’ navigation of Hulu and I will be the first to agree with that statement. I’m not a big fan of their search bar, but it’s adequate and doesn’t take me away from finding what I’m looking for. That was a constant gripe against Hulu, and I don’t see it at all. It’s easy to find the movie if you know exactly what you’re looking for, but for a casual viewer it isn’t the most ideal way to showcase your diverse library.

Luckily Criterion has their own section on Hulu, and that is a lifesaver. This is a given, considering they put their money where their mouths are and chose the site they believed would be best suited for their streaming needs. We still have plenty of their films on Netflix streaming but by the end of the year that will be gone. So going through Hulu’s extensive Criterion library is a joy to behold. Not only do we get a nice array of Criterion classics, we also get plenty of their Eclipse films (a good way to see if one should spring for the whole set or not) and what makes someone like me excited are the films that Janus/Criterion own the rights to but aren’t in either collection.

Films like Kenji Misumi’s Hanzo The Razor: The Sword of Justice and the Zatoichi series, in very crisp prints, at your disposal for $7.99 a month? Why the hell was I complaining? The only initial complaint I have is the fact that I need to watch the films on my laptop’s screen. Don’t get me wrong, they look fine on here, but as a film fanatic I need to see it showcased on my actual widescreen TV. And I see it wasn’t too much to ask, because starting on April 29th, 2011, Hulu Plus will be available on Xbox 360, which means I will be able to watch all of these films on my TV. Like any normal red-blooded cinephile.

This week we have plenty of new films to choose from. We have two fantastic Ozu films, plenty of Eclipse stuff and some other fantastic films as well.

The two prime choices of the week are the Ozu films. The Only Son and There Was a Father, both of which were released by Criterion last year, are two fine examples of the master’s body of work with a stellar performance by frequent Ozu leading man Chishu Ryu. Right now, Adrian Tomine has joined forces with Drawn & Quarterly to sell prints of his amazing designs for the Ozu package, which will be going the Japan Society’s Earthquake Relief Fund. You can find the info here and of course it’s for a great cause.

We’re getting a couple of Chantel Akerman films, Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai Du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (which is in the collection) and Hotel Monterey (a film from her Eclipse set). Both are intriguing films, the first being a true study of space and time and the second having one of the most haunting accounts of a hotel ever (in agreement fully with our very own Joshua Brunsting). These two films already join another four of her films, so for anyone who hasn’t seen an Akerman film: no excuses anymore.

We also have gotten one of Jean-Luc Godard’s last classics (in my opinion) with 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her.

One of the Three Films of Hiroshi Teshighara with his film Woman In The Dunes, which I’m excited to finally check out.

Crisis and Thirst, which are two of Bergman’s earlier films (from the cleverly named Early Bergman Eclipse set).

A Sacha Guitry Eclipse film with Quadrille, which has a four-way affair (very risque, considering this is 1938 we’re talking about).

Japanese Summer: Double Suicide and Three Resurrected Drunkards, both directed by Nagisa Oshima and are in Oshima’s Outlaw Sixties Eclipse set (and the second wins best title of the week).

An older spine number (#102) in Masahiro Shinoda’s Double Suicide, which has an amazing score by Toru Takemitsu and is not related to the Oshima film.

An amazing Kenji Mizoguchi film, Sisters of the Gion, which is as relevant today as it was back in 1936. This is featured in the Mizoguchi’s Fallen Women Eclipse set.

And finally, a pre-200 spine number release, with Volker Schlöndorff’s Coup de grâce, a film I have to admit, has gone past my radar. A film about the aftermath of the Russian Civil War? Being a history nut, I’m already interested.

And that’s this week’s new releases within Criterion’s Hulu presence. It’s a vast array of films, in different parts of the world and all before 1980, the year I was born. No non-Criterion/Eclipse releases, which tends to excite the fans more, but to catch up on releases I haven’t seen or Eclipse films in general (which I will now feel more a kinship with David Blakeslee), you’ve already paid for yourself for the month, Hulu. If I was to attempt to buy all of these films, I wouldn’t be eating for a couple of weeks, so thankfully I can keep my stomach full and my film queue forever stacked.

Until next week, I’m just a Criterion fan wondering what the Hulu-baloo is about. If you want to help us out to keep this article up and running, please go here and sign up using our code on Hulu Plus. It will make all the difference.

From Ryan: 

Check out the new addition to the iOS application, which has added a dedicated “Criterion Collection” button to their movie channel: