The Decay of Cinema 

Where’s my burrito!?

Past: Writers telling film companies they have a story, and asking them to help them make it. Present: Film companies telling writers they have a marketing idea, and asking writers to make a story out of it.

So beautifully said. I feel like we lost the magic that movies used have, it was an genuine experience but at present it just feels like another commodity it just doesn't have that intimacy before

Last year or whenever it was when Scorsese criticized marvel, I actually agreed with the mass saying he cant accept change. But over the last few weeks, I've been watching all of his movies and I've loved doing it. Getting to watch taxi driver and raging bull for the first time are experiences I'll remember forever. Tomorrow I'm watching casino and I'm more excited for this then I was for anything marvel ever put out. So my opinion has changed. People who say he cant accept change are missing the point of what he said I want to apologize for the war my year old comment created

I swear Scorsese puts all my feelings into words

The thing that kills me about streaming, is that it's like all the cinemas becoming members only clubs that you have to pay a monthly membership fee for whether you go to see their movies or not. And every cinema doing this. Meaning that if you want to see movies that different cinemas have, you would have to pay monthly memberships to all the movie theaters, none of which is worth it if you're not interested in all the movies that these cinemas are getting. And to make matters worse, these cinemas are greedily hoarding their movies, preventing them from being shown in the other cinemas. This is HORRIBLE for they consumer base. They claim that this causes more choice. But it's actually LESS choice, unless you pay a LOT MORE money. There's so many great movies that people could be exposed to, but aren't simply because no one is going to pay the membership fees for every damn service out there. This current streaming system is set up in the WORST way that they could possibly have set it up for the consumers.

What angers me about the response to Scorsese is that whatever his opinion on the MCU, it's not like those films are going to disappear. The concern he's expressing relates to choice, for those of us who don't want to *exclusively* watch MCU films, or similar sanitised commercial fare (and I say that as someone who by-and-large appreciates and enjoys the MCU and its ilk for what they are). As cinephiles we want art that challenges, surprises, inspires and affects us, in addition to 'content' that comforts and soothes us.

This was heartbreaking. I had no idea they released the last Orson Welles movie for example. Younger me before the age of content would be so disappointed in me now.

This is fantastic. I love how you incorporated the scene of Scorsese talking in ‘Taxi Driver’!

Media Literacy must be taught in schools. As far as I'm concerned, it is just as important as math, history, gym, penmanship, shop, and music.

Movies on Netflix is like choosing cereal. There are so many to choose from with no defining qualities that you end up with analysis paralysis. This is why the marketing push matters, it helps people build the courage to try new movies. There is also something to be said about paying for a movie in a cinema and not being to just quit to menu and select another movie. You stick it out (usually) and that often can be a good thing, even if it's just strengthening your tolerance for a bad situation. Remember when you would go to your grandparents house and they had a limited selection of movies that you wouldn't usually choose yourself? Somehow you always found something to watch, right? I think that reducing selection actually helps people find gems where they wouldn't normally look. It also builds someones personal character instead of creating a homogenised, zombified audience.

Thanks youtube *ALGORITHM* for recommending me this. Oh wait.

Solid video. It's amazing how many people (namely young people on Twitter) vilify Scorsese and view him as a grouch, when in reality he is just someone who loves film feverishly and is worried about his future. It seems every studio, as mentioned in this video, is focusing on franchises and streaming services and neglecting film as an art. I think Scorsese is worried about a potential future where the only thing you will be able to see in theaters, and the only thing studios will finance, are superhero movies and other tepid blockbusters

This is why physical media is so important because just think about the hundreds and possibly thousands of great movies that aren't on streaming services and unfortunately never will be.

Can you start putting in little blurbs at the bottom of the screen to indicate what film is on screen? It would really help trying to watch more film

Thank you for making this. As a cinephile, I think more people should understand where Marty is coming from.

Good point, but in past centuries, same thing happened with theatre, opera, music and even literature. Nothing new under the sun a well established art becomes a product of cultural consumerism.

Thank God you mentioned the word curation. When I was a child, here in SA we had only 4 channels. The only pay channel actually marketed itself as "movie magic", each Sunday night was their premiere. I watched everything from Hollywood blockbusters to Oscar winning movies in that era. I actually watched movies considered art, meaningful lifetime experiences. Even the national channels on a shoestring budget showed me City of God and Mr Hollands Opus, things I remember from decades ago. I can barely remember watching anything meaningful on Netflix for the past few years besides Lean on Pete, an independent drama. The national channels had very few movies but they were actually very good, I think simply because they weren't for profit companies. The pay channel eventually became a satellite TV service boasting over a 100channels and a streaming service but the movie magic is long gone.

Yours and Cinema Cartography's channels are doing the lord's work in this regard - thank you!

I feel you've definitely added a worthy and nuanced perspective to this ongoing discourse around the state of film. Content v Cinema is the core of the arguement, but I appreciate that at the end you flip the discussion onto us. Gatekeepers and distributors and exhibitors have always controlled a market for films (and television) and they still do; streaming companies and the general increase of content just make the market larger, noisier and more overwhelming. Yet, it is still upon us to seek out and consume film, TV, or other media with a reverence and zeal as is deserving and as was the norm in bygone days of film as an art world or people's theater (even regarding studio pictures). I dont believe things will be like they used to be, and I'm happier for it. Ultimately, there feels as if there is more out there that is more accessible than ever, but as you said it is harder to find, with algorithms and promotional junk clogging more passionate pathways to what is good. It reminds me of other industrialized parts of our world, like our food culture. Fast food and door dash hopefully won't prevent people from slowing returning to healthier and more enriching food and cooking experiences.

Counterpoint: movies have always been content, it's just the way that users consume it that has changed. I would never see A Sun in theatres but I might check it out now because it's just on netflix. It's a promotion issue

I’ve been bored with film so my wife and I started watching the classics from the 1001 list. My love for cinema is reignited

I remember when I was 14, about exactly 10 years ago in 2011 going online and searching for loads of gangster movies to watch. I watched the godfather, once upon a time in America, goodfellas, casino, mean streets and I became obsessed with De niro and Pacino. I watched loads of their movies. The good and not so good ones and then I started to appreciate good movies themselves. Not just based on the actors in them and I started to appreciate brilliant acting. I watched reservoir dogs, taxi driver, scent of a woman, I started watching the sopranos aswell but it wasn't until I started watching westerns that I really started to appreciate film directors. As a 14/15 year old having watched loads of violent movies, the John Wayne romantic style just didn't attract me and it still doesn't tbh. I watched a fistful of dollars, enjoyed it but wasn't blown away, watched for a few dollars more and enjoyed that too but when I watched the good the bad and the ugly everything changed. It's to this day my favourite movie and made me love Sergio Leone and want to become a film director. I'd say once I started watching Stanley Kubrick films, I felt something similar but Leone has to be my favourite.

I think film has always been a balancing act between art and entertainment, and the great directors of the 20th century were able to find a perfect balance of both.

"But there are drawbacks too...." Like this commercial, for example. Perfect timing.

"But when these comforts are pushed so brazenly, how are we able to discover something new?" THANK YOU. You articulated in one sentence what I've been telling people forever. I've been bemoaning cinema for the past 10 years and it's only gotten so much worse in the past 5... Great job voicing concerns of people who feel the same.

Biggest revelation to me from this video was Wachowski brothers are now sisters lol

The decay of cinema as fine art is directly tied to the number of screens and the content needed to fill them constantly

I have to say I really, really admire you for speaking your mind about Cinema, especially in this day and age. I myself never really bought the whole streaming thing. I was very lucky to be brought up on all kinds of films from every era and ever since I started earning my own money I would buy up physical copies for myself every chance I could, and still do to this day! My room is absolutely cramped right now with psysical media and I don't regret it for a second! Keep on spreading the word my friend!

Eyoooo, I just discovered your channel, I was dying to find a good RU-vid channel about actual cinema (And not the usual 3 hour long video analyzing how the avengers is the pinnacle of human geniality).

There's so much about streaming that I feel is beneficial: Many people have been priced out of the casual moviegoing experience and that started long before streaming-taking a chance on a movie only costs time now. Glowing reviews and word of mouth bringing attention to something most people can actually watch on a streamer is better than a traditional distributor's passionate promotion of a film that can hardly be seen outside a major city. Because of streaming, Americans are watching more foreign films and documentaries than ever before. We are seeing stories and creatives that never would have gotten a chance to emerge without the vastness of the streaming landscape and the increased need for "content." Also, are we pretending that the studio system wasn't cranking out "content" featuring the same stable of contracted, manufactured talent and rehashes of old hits?

discovering a24 has given a lot of excitement to me and a great sense of hope.

I saw A Sun when it came, it is a beautiful film, gorgeous cinematography but these kinds of films are now only reserved for those groups of people who experience film for its true artistic value, mostly people want to be amused by what they see.. No wonder why soo many bad movies and actors are indifferently promoted. It is a sad situation but as long as there are film makers who still make cinema such as this, there's still hope, at least for sake of my own interests and expectations.

This is a genuinely important video. Hearing the Edgar Wright/Tarantino discussion of British cinema on Empire is another good example of how personal connection and curation adds meaning to finding new media (and Scorsese himself gave Edgar many suggestions). Movies make connections, but with everyone watching a million different things, and not even taking the time to reflect or discuss (if they could even find someone in their direct circle who had seen the same niche piece of 'content') before moving on to another binge, means that it just passes the time, rather than being time well spent.

Sad that the beautiful things Scorsese wrote about Fellini weren't talked about, it made me love both of them even more, what he wrote was so powerful that less than 5 days after having read the easy, I saw And The Ship Sails On... It was fantastic, a lot of fantastic moments, especially the final 45 minutes, some of the best things Fellini made are there. Great video as usual.

I swear to God, I nearly cried because of the emotions I felt when I heard Orson's voice. I really respect that man.

Something that really struck me watching this was the way every frame of every movie shown here was a fantastic picture that made you want to see the whole movie - except for those from the Marvel movies, which were sludge.

This was a very interesting video, but I have a much more positive view on streaming. First of all, saying that Scorsese's lament on cinema today is just like how others did so in 1996 shows how empty the statement itself is. How we watch and enjoy movies is changing, that's for sure. But I think it’s all for the better, at least for those of us who just consume films. The two movies you mention are great examples. If movies like A Sun and The Other Side of the Wind came out in the 90s, chances are, general audiences wouldn't have seen them. They would have been just as obscure then as they are now. Except in the 90s, you'd have to drive to an arthouse or a film festival and pay for a ticket. Nowadays, if someone wants to watch an obscure art house or foreign film, they can pull it up on Netflix or Hulu in no time. In fact, with your second example, Netflix was actively invested in making the film. Putting the time and money into something like this might not have happened without the backing of a streaming service. And if it didn’t get a ton of attention on Netflix, it probably wouldn’t have done well in theaters either. Your next point is about how algorithms can't introduce us to new things. I think that’s a fair statement generally, but then you show that it doesn't really matter because you also discuss films with your friends and look for recommendations online. People have been doing this before streaming services and they still do it now. Scorsese's complaint about the algorithm is stupid to me because the same people who don't stray away from the popular stuff that gets recommending on streaming would not have strayed away from popular movies in theaters in the past. You then say streaming services are catering to the modern, popular and that which is in English. That is how the film industry in the US has always been. Studios have been playing it safe for decades. It’s not really fair to call that a unique problem to streaming services. Also, is interest in foreign films really on the decline? I know that interest in foreign films has never been that high in the US, but I don't really believe that it's gotten worse, to be honest. It's easier to watch foreign films now more than ever. Parasite literally won best picture in 2019. Obviously I don’t agree with the Marvel stans comment because I legitimately think Scorsese is just wrong about the dangers of streaming. To me, the fact that streaming has brought way more money into the industry and has given so many people access to films made all throughout the history of the world makes up for a lot of the shortcomings. Even Scorsese himself had to turn to Netflix to get funding for The Irishman. Traditional studios didn’t want to fund it because making an expensive gangster movie in 2018 that was over 3 hours long probably wouldn’t recoup its costs. But Netflix was willing to take that risk. Honestly, from reading some of his other statements, I kinda just think he’s upset that he couldn’t get his new movie into theaters and had to settle for streaming. Read the opinion piece he did clarifying his stance on the Marvel films if you want to see what I mean. And I suppose I can sympathize with that. But if that’s what you need to do to make exactly the movie you want, and that movie does not have wide appeal, then that’s what you have to deal with. Studios have been risk averse for decades, it's not new. Also, with large film collections being more easily available at home tied with 4K TVs and surround systems becoming cheaper, I think more and more people will have nice theater setups at home anyway. If the art films really do have to be relegated to streaming services, I honestly think filmmakers will learn to adjust as they always have in such a turbulent industry. But those are just my thoughts on the matter, anyway. Thanks for reading!

This comment is only for the algorithm. Do not perceive it. 😎

The unity of well crafted, well performed oration, and perfectly timed montage, and the transcendent shots picked have me chills watching this, even just on my phone.

Your stuff is an inspiration man. Pound for pound I am convinced that this channel is inching its way to Lindsay's long term crown for best video essayist on film RU-vid (in my own mind anyway). I'm probably also biased bc I agree with almost all your conclusions so it's nice to hear my own thoughts parroted back at me in a well edited form, but I genuinely adored this - would rank it alongside your essays on "inconvenience of theatres", The Shining, and the death of the gangster film as some of your very best work.

This was so beautifully made; thank you! Personally, one of the best ways I've discovered movies I normally wouldn't have found on my own are from looking at all the movies referenced in "The Simpsons" (especially from the golden age seasons 1-10). It's not exactly a human recommendation, but it almost feels like it's the writers' recommendations, if that makes sense? Or I guess what they were inspired by for a scene or an episode concept.

my new favorite video of yours. put into words what i (and others) been feeling for years, something needs to change!

Something else that kills cinema, the death of the video store. My mom and I would spend literally hours in the video store, pacing up and down the aisle, looking for that 'one'. Then, talking to other people in the store, whether customers or employees, it was cool just to talk film while holding the box in your hand. The back and forth was everything. "If you like that movie, then check out this" type situation. I miss that. I would even rent movies I never seen before along with ones I repeatedly saw. You had the recommendations board both new and old, tvs playing various scenes, it was grand. Now its just like you said, bots and math choosing what they want you to see and not highlighting new/old low key cult classic forgotten whatever films. Gone are the days of folks watching something for the experience. They go see marvel movies for iron man, not the actor. They watch most watched stuff because social media told them too and they dont want to "miss out" on the wave. Its sad.

After your recommendation I found “A Sun” on Netflix and watched. Very good movie! I don’t disagree with your analysis of current cinema but “A Sun” is a Taiwanese film so it’s quite possible that the Chi-Coms may had some input on its being buried.

Something to note, I think it's cool that there are a few Jean-Luc Godard and Ingmar Bergman films on HBO Max.

This earned a subscription and all my respect. Thank you for this. It's completely true and inspired me to widen my breadth of films again. The almighty algorithm, I believe, also feeds into a sense of complacency and nostalgia. The ease of having so many films available all at once means we don't need to go searching for that gold nugget in the river at our local video store or through a mail order catalog. There was something magical about how hard it was to find certain films. It demanded attention and when you found it, you took it seriously. We're never going back to that, but I think a new paradigm is possible, thanks to people like you who keep the love of cinema as an artform alive. Thank you.

Nostalgia breathes meaning into things that never had any meaning meaning in the first place. And for the same reason the present is perpetually meaningless. - some human

it's amazing to me that streaming services don't work with more curators to present content. It doesn't seem so far fetched to imagine a "Scorsese's Cinema" category on Netflix underneath the "Continue Watching" column.

If you are a fan of good cinema, just explore RU-vid properly. There are countless hidden gems on RU-vid that are crying for attention, and it's all free (other than your internet connection). You have to look for them a bit, and they will yield to you like happy surprises. RU-vid itself is a goldmine when it comes to good/great cinema that have been criminally overlooked for years, maybe because they were low budget or were never marketed properly, or never made it to festival circuits. There are films here that you might never have heard of, but when you start watching them you'll ask yourself: "Gosh! When was this masterpiece made? And how did it elude me for so long?" Agreed that some films here won't allow you to go beyond 480p, but the pleasure of watching an obscure movie in 480p (or a VHS rip copy) is divine, as the noise and occasional blurring heightens the obscurity of the hidden gem. And they are worth watching only on RU-vid because you'll find them nowhere else - not on Netflix, not on other streaming platforms, not in stores. You may find them on torrent sites, but they're all lying dead there and you can never download them.

Your channel is great! I like your videos because you are very well documented, you raise valid question about your subjects and you make effort to ideologically exit from your comfort zone. Keep up the good work!

Honestly loved this video, especially the montage of some of the best films ever made. I almost feel like your montage is a test to see how much of a cinephile people are. I'm 27 and got laid off as an engineer during the very start of the pandemic and found myself with nothing to do. I always wanted to look into "black and white" films and found myself with all the time in the World. So I dived in found this other World of true cinema that I never knew about and fell in love. I am honestly grateful for the pandemic, as it taught me a lot of lessons about myself and gave me a new passion with an endless journey of discovery.

I disagree with this critique of streaming platforms "dumping" movies on their platforms. In a world without streaming, most of these movies would be relegated to small art house cinemas. Art house movies have been and will be niche. That is not the fault of the algorithm, it was like that before as well. At least Netflix makes access to films like The Sun possible. That's far more exposure to art cinema than most people would ever get without it. Is the critique really that they didn't promote the movie enough? So it's not about cinema, movie production, or movie accessibility, but about movie marketing.

I feel like the 2000’s was the last good decade for Cinema (and you could say music as well tbh). Though there has been good films in the early 2010’s like Wolf On Wall Street, Django Unchained, Prisoners, Enemy, Drive, Shame, Her, Moneyball, Black Swan, Fitlh, Inception, Shutter Island, Gone Girl, Trance, We Need To Talk About Kevin, Predestination, Contagion, Birdman, Take Shelter, Coherence, Kiss Of The Damned, Source Code, Dread, Under The Skin, Byzantium, Limitless, Midnight In Paris, all good films that came out in the first half of the 2010’s. Something happened around 2015 where we are now seeing less good films coming out, you get the odd exception since 2015 like Arrival, Nocturnal Animals, Brawl In Cell Block 99, and Suspiria (2018), but nowhere near the amount of good films from the first half of the 2010’s. From around 2015 to 2019 we got a huge amount of Superhero films, when the MCU started in 2008 to 2014 those Superhero films were spaced out and it didn’t feel overkill, however from 2015 to 2019 so many Superhero films were just flooding everywhere to the point of it exceeding overkill. What movie studios want now is to market movies to a younger audience and those Superhero films guarantee money, that’s why Scorsese said in early 2020 that the movie studios didn’t want to touch a big budget gangster film in The Irishman, because it didn’t target a younger audience like the Superhero movies do. Back in the 90’s the big blockbuster was disaster movies like Independence Day, Volcano, Deep Impact, Twister, Armageddon, I guess because of Y2K and the beginning of the Millennium. In the 2000’s the blockbuster was the comedy movie with Bruce Almighty, Shaun Of The Dead, Dodgeball, Borat, The Hangover, people wanted to laugh in the 2000’s. But now the big blockbuster is the Superhero films and film studios wanting to market to a younger audience, but my problem with it is there are so many of these Superhero movies that it’s become overkill.

This is a great video, thanks man. It’s a shame that I feel I have to offer so many apologies and caveats to people when discussing this, since there seems to be a large chunk of people who find the notion of “valuable, artistic cinema” to be repulsive. That they seem dug in to the idea that whatever is being sold to them is “what is best”. And great point about the sharing of movies between individuals. It’s so much better (and more efficient) than an algorithm.

Thank you for this thoughtful, revealing and interesting review. I knew something was changing in what was/ is emphasized on streamers such as Netflix etc. And the change of the who view experience outside of the theater.

"Damnit! Blockbusters doesn't have Star Wars again. Oh well.... What's this? Spaceballs?" Probably wouldn't have discovered that gem if I was on Netflix

I just miss going to movie theater for no particular reason at all, and going with my friends or dad and just watching some random movie I wouldn’t have seen anyways. I miss that in these times

Your passion for film shines through. I am glad I found your channel

A really intelligent and well put together cinema essay. Thank you

Wow this is the first time I watch any of your "content" and I have to say I am very impressed. Also Scorsese was right on so many levels but sadly I don't think people can just detach themselves from the MCU because they have such a connection to it and not Cinema. But there are people who do have a connection with Cinema and the MCU and such that do agree with Scorsese so I believe that he is right to Hope that things will get better anyway keep doing the great work my dude and also you got a new sub for it

It's the same with music streaming... I almost never discover new interesting music through the countless recommendations but through live sets someone has created.

stumbled upon this video, now i cant wait to check out your other videos

Your videos are great. Really well argued, a joy to watch :)

The controversy of Scorsese vs MCU fans boils down to one person saying "stop liking what I don't like" and people responding with "start liking what I like". In the meantime, I bought the Director's Cut of Amadeus on Bluray and I'm too happy to feel strongly over the disagreement.

You know, these streaming platforms could just have two algorithms you can choose whenever: the familiar stream of content that we already get mode, and the other like a "randomize mode" meant to give new challenging content to people.

Saturday, December 10, 2022. I listened to this video this morning. I went on Netflix and typed in A Sun and The Other Side Of The Wind -- they are both still on there, available to be watched.

You just got a new subscriber! This was beautifully narrated and articulated.

My best discovery’s have been from browsing IMDB. Going to my favorite directors or actors, seeing who they’ve worked with, movies they’ve been in. The top 250 watchlist, and recommended movies based on those 250 watchlists. Just looking and moving around to see what’s there. I’d also say create a watchlist on there, since it logs everything.

What scares me most about the movie culture now is fake cinephiles or wannabe elitists. I see more people talking about Parasite from 2019 than A Sun. Parasite is not bad, but people elevated it to such a high state in cinema that other much better films were not talked about as much. It's honestly disappointing that there is a fake layer of elitism in the cinema culture since it distracts from genuine great films from this era

Hey, thank you for the video. I totally agree that it's up to us! I wanted to say that Netflix naturally tries to do what's in their best interest as a company, which means -as you mentioned- suggesting things it thinks you're more likely to watch, but I feel in this sense it's no different than posters on the street and trailers on tv, which have always been around. It's the business side of it, which I think has nothing to do with cinephilia. I feel it's always been the viewers "job" to find stuff and suggest things to others. Companies are not going to think about you as an individual and what might really be an interesting thing for your life, that would be an almost impossible task that would take way too many resources. Your friend who gave you those DVDs was a single human being who knew you personally, and that's exactly why it made sense to give you those DVDs. That's the beauty of it, the human connection side of it. This is something no company could ever do, understandably, and this is just as valid today for streaming services as for studios making silent movies 100 years ago. Also, I think what makes a movie special is you experiencing it as special. The same way you can see content and dismiss it as worthless and move on to something else. That same content can be another person's cinema & vice-versa. At the end of the day only we can navigate these things and nobody else will do it for us, because really nobody can do it for us. I suppose it's a matter of being aware of this and the immense ocean of films that are actually around, instead of watching only what say Netflix suggests, under the illusion that this is all the world of cinema has to offer.

Excellent posting and I couldn't express the situation better while I have felt it for decades, even before 1996. Content and algorithms are the bane of our culture in all its manifestations, which may be why we had 2020 and the start of 2021. Criterion has been a deep source of sustenance for me for decades and I applaud that they are not snobs in their releases (although I worry that even they may need to dumb down to stay afloat - "Tootsie," anyone?). I believe strongly that Spielberg is a primary villain in moving us in this direction - underestimating the capacity of his audience (although he may be reflecting his own limited capacity) and dumbing down our ability to experience films on our own terms. I got very emotional when I saw your brief clips for many films with which I have a deep emotional connection. And I'm not a snob - I can get deep emotional satisfaction from Smokey and the Bandit.

There is anther threat on the rise. " offensive content" being re edited or cut from classic movies entirely.

I miss Blockbuster or any other video rental stores. Talking to people who care was way better than having content forced in my face with little explanation

I love what this video brought up, both through Martin Scorsese's thoughts and your own, about films overall reminding us what it means to be human. I had never thought of it that way, but that's definitely an idea I'm glad this video has left me with.

Saw your Video in YT Notifications. Amazing work.

Amazing video, as usual. I’ve been low key agreeing with Scorsese since he first called out streaming giants and algorithms for diluting and cheapening the “industry” and turning cinema into content. There’s another problem that I don’t know if I have the vocabulary to articulate, but I’ll try anyway. So back in the day, I respected Netflix for pouring millions of dollars into niche, high-concept original productions. I found their approach of financing these very niche and focused concepts to be very smart and I truly believed that it would push the industry forward, artistically. Take House of Cards - they managed to turn a freaking political drama into water-cooler talk material. I really doubt office workers from the Noughties were yearning to get to work and talk about The West Wing with their coworkers. Oh, how naive I was. Because by building literally all of their original productions around these niche concepts and dumping them by the dozens on their platform, they soon managed to cheapen even this. Many of their movies and shows are not works of art, but gimmicks spawned from the algo gods. Want a show about a single mom of three who’s an accountant by day but a getaway driver by night? A stylish dramedy set in 70s New York, with a soundtrack filled with never-before-heard obscure disco gems that Netflix paid millions in research and music historians to uncover about a mild-mannered sports reporter who hunts serial killers in his off-time? If the algo determines there’s a market for these shows, you’ll probably get them. It’s literally SEO with high production values. Niches are no longer niches - they’re keywords. Anyway, sorry for my ramblings. I am a bit bitter about this lol. Props to giving a shout to my second favorite movie, Fargo. I know it’s a revered classic and all, but I still think it’s not getting as much credit as it deserves. Keep on doing what you’re doing!

It is so ironic that an essay on the subject of streaming services butchering the magic of cinema is interrupted by a Netflix ad.

Thank you so much for this! Just read Martin Scorsese's incredible Harper's article on _Il Maestro,_ Federico Fellini, last week. Anyone who hasn't read it definitely should... it's a true gem. Fellini is among the 2 or 3 greatest filmmakers ever. I love that you also referenced _The Other Side Of The Wind,_ and its accompanying documentary. It is "some kind of miracle"... an essential addition to the Welles canon.

Love this! Top work, your analysis is bang on 👍

Scorsese is old, yes. Scorsese doesn't get the appeal of the MCU and most franchise films of this day and age, yes. But that doesn't change the fact that Martin Scorsese has more film knowledge, passion, and experience than 99% of the human population, and to listen to someone like that on this subject can only be a benefit.

As a dude who donated to the indiegogo for Other Side of the Wind and doesn't have Netflix, I'm still wondering where my Blu-ray copy is.

I enjoy good movies, even relish a few, and watch a lot, but I don't know if I'm a cinephile. I've been making zines with movie reviews for decades---I'm 62---but I haven't watched more that three minutes total of the Academy Awards. I watch film, and read novels and short stories, for a blend of entertainment and to explore society and myself---for my own personal reasons. I'm interested in existential themes. They have a personal meaning for me. I recently learned how to download old, obscure movies to a thumb drive, which I watch on my old 1996 Magnavox. I couldn't enjoy a movie on a computer screen, couldn't get through three minutes of it, and I don't know anything about, nor do I want to hassle with, smart TV's or the like. I also get a lot of excellent VHS movies at thrift stores for 99 cents. I hauled home boxes of strange old movies from many a yard sale. A few years ago I got VHS for only 50 cents. I remember the many years of dollar DVD's at Walmart, where I found some absolute gems. I used to get Netflix discs through the postal mail, but I found their e-mail nagging a nuisance, so I cancelled my subscription. There's a very fine line between an intelligent movie, made with subtlety and nuance, and one that is contrived and pretentious. I generally don't care for "art film". Many things I like seem to be taken over by pretentiousness and pedantry. I think the phenomenon of watching movies in theaters, vs. on VHS and DVD machines, vs. streaming is very under-explored. I grew up before VHS video rental stores. VHS were rare and expensive. Good movies showed up on broadcast TV rarely and sporadically. A movie that especially younger people today with glance at with boredom, was a rare and exciting opportunity, waited for all week long, when it was found in the old TV Guide. I first saw Frankenstein, and Night of the Living Dead, this way. Going to a movie theater, especially if you were rural, was a rare and exciting event. The act of walking out into the daylight, all "drugged" with movie magic, is something that can't be explained to someone who wasn't inculturated in that time and place. Even VHS movie rentals stores, for the movie fan, took on their own aura, and will always be remembered.

Phenomenal essay. You absolutely nailed it.

Thank you for some good suggestions , it's rare to find beauty in film and writing some wheres along the ways. :)

I'm pretty sure all of the issues you describe here are not even remotely new. Studios have always generally made movies that will make them money. Theaters have always generally shown those movies more than art films. Moviegoers have always preferred them. If anything, the accessibility of good cinema today means there are more cinephiles than ever before. If you're lamenting the loss of the moviegoing experience itself, well, I guess there aren't as many arthouse theaters as there used to be. But that's been the case for a very long time, and has little to do with streaming, if anything.

This video has taught me so much that I knew in my heart but not my mind, thank you. I appreciate you.

This was so unusually thoughtful I saved it to a playlist. And then I subscribed. I thought I was the last cinema lover.

Honestly I have to give props to HBO max for being one of the best streaming services out there. Plenty of obscure and foreign language films are on there. Turner classic movies also curates a great selection that is promoted heavily on the platform. Also plenty of Criterion remasters on there if you’re interested!

I searched for "a sun" but "the sun is also a star" come up. Now I feel sad.

Well thought out. You've given me something to ponder.

The fact that it's so difficult to find films I'm interested in or end up liking anymore is why I read far more often than I used to. I've been a cinephile for my entire life, but it's just become increasingly difficult to find actually interesting films.

Very insightful, detailed and openly perspective. Great video

Excellent video well done thank you.

Thanks for making this essay. It was beautiful.

What a fantastic essay Dan!

Great video! Speaking of recommending films, I noticed that the Criterion ad you included featured a clip of faceless school girls. Which film is that from?

one additional problem is in my opinion the lack of big, trusted movie critics that straddle the line between intellectual and popular like ebert and siskel who could convince people to search out and watch some of the great movies that get buried by the algorithm. instead we now only have a bunch of youtube reviewer manchildren that film themselves in front of their toy shelf on the one side and a bunch of old, elitist snobs that think everything with a budget over 5 million and a linear narrative is consumerist garbage on the other side, with each side having a seething hatred for the other.

this is my 1st time watching your video, atleast in a way youtube finally decide to give me the content which is made by an artist, not by a youtuber... i respect whatever you said in this video and totally agree with it, but sadly it is inevitable to change people mind.. with time new people will bore who will like more of the content, but as they grew up they will know the difference between content and art. . great job, u got a sub

Thanks for introducing me to A Sun, one of the most touching and honest films I’ve seen in too long.