All silent films taken off IW

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Permalink Reply by Lester on September 26, 2008 at 5:01pm

I guess the lack of interest in silent films among NF subscribers is amply demonstrated by the lack of interest in this thread.

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Permalink Reply by Snorii on September 26, 2008 at 6:50pm

I don't think it is lack of interest, but just that Netflix obtained the rights to show these for the same period of time. Be sure to check out the Instant Watch Treasure Hunters occasionally to see what else might expire soon.

I've been watching a lot of Chaplin this month, hoping to catch as much as I can before it is removed. (Currently watching Slapstick Masters) I don't have enough time to catch all the ones I have in my IW queue that are expiring soon, but I'll try to get in as much as I can. The Battleship Potemkin will most likely be next up.

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Permalink Reply by Lester on September 26, 2008 at 7:10pm

Thanks for responding. Those licenses could be renewed, and I can't imagine that they would cost much. It's also odd that all the silents end on October 1. I love Slapstick Masters. Laurel & Hardy's Big Business and Chaplin's Easy Street are great stuff.

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Permalink Reply by Snorii on September 26, 2008 at 7:49pm

Just finished it up, that was a great grouping of silent films I thought. Really enjoyed all four.

Also, just wanted to mention that Chaplin's Essanay Comedies are also expiring soon. (Volume 1, 2, and 3.) Great way to catch a lot of his shorts.

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Permalink Reply by Adrian on September 28, 2008 at 1:31am

Yes its mostly lack of interest, the silent movies just aren't in many people's instant queues and are not being watched. The main complaint about instant is lack of new and popular content, so Netflix is spending its pennies on the latest CBS and Disney Channel shows for instant watching, and if you really want to watch silent movies, the DVD's are still available.

If you are ever in the San Francisco Bay Area, you can visit the original Essenay site at Niles near Fremont. There is a film museum in the old theater, they have Charlie Chaplin events in the summer and the old railway train runs up and down Niles Canyon to Sunol. Well worth a trip.

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Permalink Reply by pihkal020 on September 30, 2008 at 12:23pm

Adrian: Why can't NF simply work out a royalty payment per view system for some of the more esoteric offerings, like silent films?

Then each year (or in some other time frame), NF pays the rights holders based on the number of viewings. If no one watches a given movie, then no or very little payment is made but it stays in the system. But if its watched 100 (or 1000 or whatever) times, then a proportionate payment is made. This seems pretty fair and it would allow NF to give its subscribers instant access to more diverse titles than just what is currently popular without having to break the bank on NF's part.

This way, the IW selection doesn't have to be compromised because the cost of less popular titles is proportionately less.

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Permalink Reply by Adrian on September 30, 2008 at 2:22pm

The short answer is that its much more complicated than you would think, and Netflix has a certain amount of money and a group of busy people working on content deals, so they have to pick the most effective things to spend their time and money on....

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Permalink Reply by Lester on September 30, 2008 at 5:12pm

Out of curiosity, Adrian, were there those in NF who wanted to keep the silents or at least some of them? Somehow it would be nice to know that NF has employees who recognize the importance of film history and may try to have silent films back on IW if the financial conditions become more favorable.

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Permalink Reply by Mastermindobu on September 30, 2008 at 11:20am

Thankfully, I noticed this a couple weeks ago and have been able to watch those that I had in my queue. I have to admit that I'm a bit tired of silents for this month. Those that I've watched in the last two weeks before they go away tonight: Storm Over Asia, The Phantom of the Opera, October, Orphans of the Storm, Strike, The Thief of Bagdad, Koyaannisqatsi: Life Out of Balance, Way Down West, and Vampyr

If you're looking for a good one to watch before they're gone then I suggest The Phantom of the Opera or The Thief of Bagdad

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Permalink Reply by Snorii on September 30, 2008 at 12:21pm

I really enjoyed The Battleship Potemkin.

Today I noticed Fritz Lang's Spiders (1919) was available for Watch Instantly, but expires after tonight. :/

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Permalink Reply by joeoftexas on September 30, 2008 at 5:20pm

Try to watch the first hour of Spiders, if you can ( Part 1 )

I watched it and Salome (1923) starring Alla Nazimova recently,
and I liked both of the two movies a lot.

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Permalink Reply by Lester on September 30, 2008 at 6:51pm

In the days before the final curtain of IW silent films, I re-watched The General and Nosfertu, and watched The Phantom of the Opera, Storms Over Asia, Dreyer's, The Parson's Widow, and Ernst Lubitsch's The Marriage Circle. All were well worth seeing. On the Lubitsch film, if you liked Design for Living and Trouble in Paradise, you would like that, and may be worth a DVD que slot.

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