Criterion's great leap forward.
The Criterion Collection has made the jump into streaming video with their new Online Cinematheque, and they've provided an adorably low-tech video to explain their new high-techiness here. Basically, 19 of the films in their library are now up for week-long streaming rentals for $5, the cost of which you can apply toward buying the DVD in their store, should you feel the burning need to then own a physical copy -- and they're working on releasing more. Among the films you can rent on demand at the moment: "Clean, Shaven"; "The Spirit of the Beehive"; "Sweetie"; and "General Idi Amin Dada." The site's also now joined at the hip with The Auteurs, which is still in beta, but which will be showing select Criterion films for free in ad-supported "online festivals." How this ambitiousness will pan out remains to be seen. Honestly, I do feel more inclined to impulse-buy...
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