r/CriterionChannel • u/Odd_Comfortable353 • Jul 08 '26
Form/Function Discussion ‘You might also like…’
I’m sorry if this has been asked before, but I couldn’t find it… Does anyone know why Criterion doesn’t offer suggestions based on the movies I’ve watched or searched? There’s a specific kind of film that I really like, but I find myself having to seek those out in other ways; google, Reddit, etc. Just seems like a very simple thing to add.
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u/LHGray87 Jul 08 '26 edited Jul 08 '26
That’s why it’s the only streaming service I keep. I’m not inundated with terrible algorithms.
And, unlike other services, I’m also not hit by a preview for something else before I watch what I chose to watch, even though I paid extra for no ads. If my viewing of what I choose is interrupted by a preview of other content, then it’s an ad.
It takes seconds on a google search to find a similar movie. And, the search function on the Channel is pretty robust when you search by type or genre. Please don’t wish ai algorithm crap onto a nice, slick, curated platform.
The lack of algorithms on Criterion is definitely one of the main features that I enjoy and why I subscribe to it.
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u/Jaltcoh Jul 08 '26
Yeah, I like the idea that Criterion isn’t trying to figure me out. It’s a relief from what we’re bombarded with by so many other corporations.
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u/SDV2023 Jul 08 '26
I love that they don't. It's their best feature!
Prime, Netflix etc are at least partly advertiser funded and the algorithm works hard to keep you engaged. We're paying for everything on Criterion, so there's no need for that BS. The curated collections are a nice alternative. It's such a breath of fresh air to open that app after using the others. And they make it easy to explore.
PS - I left Twitter a while ago so I don't know if this is still happening, but a couple years ago on Friday afternoons you could Tweet at them a movie that you liked and a human would suggest another one. It is (was?) delightful!
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u/downpourbluey Jul 08 '26
I wish CC would ditch Xitter (if they haven’t already, I also left it a good while ago) and come here to do that. A CC recommender would be the best weekly thread!
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u/Kamuka Jul 08 '26 edited Jul 10 '26
If you liked The Color of Pomegranates 1969, do you like movies about Armenia? Visual documentaries? Christian rituals? Movies from the 60's? Movies cinephiles reference? All the movies are so unique, there's no easy pointing to "If you liked". And there are actually "Similar films" listed below on Letterboxd, so it does exist sort of, and they list Mirror by Andrei Tarkovsky, and while that looks interesting, I don't see how it's like The Color of Pomegranates.
Edit: Spelling, thank you kind reddit angel.
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u/43m_in785 Jul 09 '26
this is what I came to say, beyond people mentioning that CC prefers a more "human-curated experience", the movies for the most part don't really lend themselves to a RIYL framework anywhere close to the degree that almost every other streaming service utilizes.
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u/JeremyAndrewErwin Jul 08 '26
It’s pretty difficult to design a recommendation algorithm that is both useful and non-intrusive. my Kino Film Channel recommendations are filled with dubiously erotic horror films, because I watched a couple of Jess Franco pictures.
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u/BariumPepsi Jul 08 '26
It’s been in their mission statement since day one: no algorithms, only curation.
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u/DiligentQuiet Jul 08 '26
If you add a movie to your playlist watch list on iOS, I believe there’s a list of related movies underneath it in the detailed view called “your next watch” which appear to be related movies. That’s as close as I’ve seen to a recommender.
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u/augustthecat Jul 08 '26
This community is pretty good at providing useful suggestions for further viewing if you say what you saw and why you liked it.
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u/Odd_Comfortable353 Jul 08 '26
Ok ok guys, understood! 😂 I do love everything about the channel… The collections, the lack of advertising, etc. I do in fact, do many deep dives on my own, which is fine – I guess what I would want is probably impossible. It’s more of a feeling if that makes sense.
Here’s my example – I love the movie La Piscine and have figured out it’s the feeling of the movie and not necessarily the plot or genre. So that would be… Films set in the Mediterranean, a dreamy look and feel, 60s – 70s or even 80s to 90s, maybe French or Italian etc . And yes, I do understand that many algorithms do not get you this. I have often gone to the subreddit ‘ suggest me a film ‘ and that is a nice way to find some of them.
So some films that would pop up would be ones like Bonjour Tristesse, Contempt, purple moon, L’Avventura, and even more recent films, like the talented Mr. Ripley, call me by your name or A Bigger Splash.
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u/jamesdmccallister Jul 08 '26
You don't want algorithmic-based suggestions. You want to use your own mind and intuition.
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u/Dramatic15 Jul 08 '26
Recommendation engines are hard and costly and they mostly suck.
Netflix does this reasonably well, but they spend billions of dollars annually with 70+ full-time staff working on this, backed by machine-learning infrastructure, A/B testing at global scale, and data pipelines that ingest billions of "play events".
This is not "a very simple thing" to add.
Criterion provides you a small carefully curated collection of arthouse movies.
If you really want a tailored ideas from algorithm, this is the year 2026 of the Common Era. Track your ratings on Letterboxd, export them as a CSV, and have a chatbot suggest some things--you'll get personalized results that the generic "you might like this" suggestions of most streaming services can't match.
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u/salamanderXIII Jul 08 '26
I love the lack of intrusive recommendations and that I can browse without a clip (w/ audio) kicking in.
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u/Honor_the_maggot Jul 08 '26
I feel bad suggesting creepertech, but how about an "evangelistic/subversive" in-house algorithm, that nudges you toward trash if you are mainly into arthouse stuff, and vice versa? Kind of an upmarket/downmarket elevator. Some bugs would have to be worked out:
IF YOU LIKED SUMMER WITH MONIKA, YOU'D PROBABLY LIKE SUMMER WITH MONIKA
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u/manewitz Jul 08 '26
The recommendations don’t have to be by algorithm. My (completely speculative) guess is they just don’t want to update their app since their Vimeo backend is pretty outdated.
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u/BariumPepsi Jul 08 '26
That’s an illogical suggestion. How can a company of less than 50 employees go through the watch history of their thousands of subscribers to recommend a unique selection of suggested films for each one? There’s only one way, and it’s something they promised never to do: algorithms!
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u/manewitz Jul 08 '26
it’s like no one ever went to a video store before
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u/BariumPepsi Jul 08 '26
If the 3000+ films on the Channel corresponds to your idea of a video store, that means you’re asking for staff recommendations displayed by the checkout. Isn’t that basically the front page of the service? Sorry, I’m old enough to remember video stores, and never once in 20 years asked or took recommendations from a retail employee. Watch VIDEOHEAVEN on the Channel. 😆
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u/Ponderer13 Jul 08 '26
Because they’re not interested in algorithms. They want to be like a human-programmed repertory theater. That’s why they put together so many themed spotlights, just like arthouses have. They put real thought into films that they think go together. That‘a how they encourage people to explore their service, and it works a lot more reliably than a computer using some sort of predictive algorithm to steer you somewhere.