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In the 90s, I think, there was a commercial where a sweaty and tired traveling salesman comes into the motel in the middle of nowhere and the clerk, a practically teen girl who never raises her eyes from the paperback she is reading tells him, "We have every movie ever made on all times of the day.".
At the time, when I was doing plenty of research, I was picturing it as "We have every article ever published available in every language."..............
..........but what if there were such a movie choice? Sure, there was MST3K but that was just the cheesy flicks. A grand warehouse of, for example, of all the spaghetti barbarian flicks or all the vampire flicks or all the spaghetti westerns or the like?
In the 90s, I think, there was a commercial where a sweaty and tired traveling salesman comes into the motel in the middle of nowhere and the clerk, a practically teen girl who never raises her eyes from the paperback she is reading tells him, "We have every movie ever made on all times of the day.".
At the time, when I was doing plenty of research, I was picturing it as "We have every article ever published available in every language."..............
..........but what if there were such a movie choice? Sure, there was MST3K but that was just the cheesy flicks. A grand warehouse of, for example, of all the spaghetti barbarian flicks or all the vampire flicks or all the spaghetti westerns or the like?
Is there?
No there is not such a movie choice. Several movies ("Convention City" for one - early 1930's) are forever lost for one reason or another. Others are too damaged or incomplete as to be unwatchable.
No there is not such a movie choice. Several movies ("Convention City" for one - early 1930's) are forever lost for one reason or another. Others are too damaged or incomplete as to be unwatchable.
Not just 'several' - many films are gone forever. Also, as you note, some exist only in fragments or with significant damage. The vast majority of silent films are believed to be lost. The list of films documented to be lost runs in the thousands.
..........but what if there were such a movie choice? Sure, there was MST3K but that was just the cheesy flicks. A grand warehouse of, for example, of all the spaghetti barbarian flicks or all the vampire flicks or all the spaghetti westerns or the like?
Is there?
I remember the commercial. It wasn't from the 90s--it was from the 201Xs....
And I think we're there now, or very close. I have Comcast cable, and I have a voice remote control. I can say the name of virtually any movie, and Comcast will present me an opportunity to watch that movie. It's not always free. Sometimes it is (or part of a package I already pay for, like HBO (on demand) or Netflix). Or sometimes it's available, on demand, for a fee, from the studio. But very rarely does Comcast not present me with an opportunity to watch the movie I'm thinking of.
Sure, the are movies that aren't available. Older movies, silent movies, etc...and yes, some movies are lost to time. But I think we are very close to the point where the vast majority of movies and TV shows will be instantly available.
You mentioned MST3K. I'm a huge fan. I can say "MST3K" into my remote, and all 10 seasons will pop up as available for me to watch on tubi. For free. Not all episodes are available from every season, but most are. And if I can't find the episode I want on tubi, I can sure as heck find it on YouTube.
Not just 'several' - many films are gone forever. Also, as you note, some exist only in fragments or with significant damage. The vast majority of silent films are believed to be lost. The list of films documented to be lost runs in the thousands.
What about movies that the owner REFUSE to allow to be watched? example "Cotton Candy" starring Ron Howard.
That's an old, vintage copy. The site you provided said the movie is OOP. It appears that the Ron Howard still has no interest in rereleasing it. That is if it's up to him--if he owns the rights. Interesting--I'd never even heard of that movie.
No there is not such a movie choice. Several movies ("Convention City" for one - early 1930's) are forever lost for one reason or another. Others are too damaged or incomplete as to be unwatchable.
And not just that. There are so many competing streaming services now, and subscribing to all of them is impractical. So you may not be able to see Movie X unless you sign up for Streaming Service Y, because Streaming Service Y is currently the only one that has the rights to stream that film. (This stands in stark contrast to DVDs and Blu-Rays, which allow the creation of rental libraries containing content from many different studios. Or theaters - we'd find it very odd is one movie theater played only films from Universal Studios, and the other one at the opposite end of town only films from New Line Cinemas. But more are more streaming services are operating like that.)
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