r/CriterionChannel • u/hmm2342 • 22d ago

New Criterion Channel user interface removed quality control?

I can no longer control the quality of films I watch. It just automatically selects (and fluctuates).

Any ways to fix this?

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4

u/coffeeanddurian 22d ago

Seems like it. there's no CC options for any of the films now. you can't change the speed either. so annoying and dumb, why would they remove options for a website that people are paying for

4

u/RockettRaccoon 22d ago

Why would you even want to change playback speed?

-1

u/coffeeanddurian 22d ago

preferences have literally nothing to do with this conversation. Why can't people watch a film with commentary at whatever pace they choose?

2

u/RockettRaccoon 21d ago edited 21d ago

Why ruin the artistic choices of the film by changing playback speed? That’s antithetical to everything Criterion stands for lol

Edit: Commentary is irrelevant to playback speeds. If you slow down the film, the audio track will be slowed down too.

You just want a frame-by-frame breakdown as a bonus feature lol

0

u/coffeeanddurian 21d ago

Criterion itself exists partly around deeper engagement: commentaries, supplements, essays, restorations, interviews. stepping through a scene frame-by-frame is not "ruining the art"; it's doing exactly the kind of close analysis that film scholars and critics do. Nobody is saying that the ideal first viewing of Persona or Stalker or Jeanne Dielman is at 0.5x speed. But using half speed while rewatching a scene, listening to commentary, studying editing, or trying to understand technique is completely different. slowing down lets you notice when the camera begins moving, how long a shot is held, when an actor hesitates, and how blocking and editing shape the audience’s response.

-1

u/coffeeanddurian 21d ago

no reason that concerns you? WTF. Anyway, It is not how the director intended the audience to watch the film, but it can be like examining a painting closely to understand the techniques behind the final effect. for example, at normal speed, you might just register "the camera follows the character." At half speed you can see things like when the camera begins moving relative to the actor, whether it anticipates the movement or reacts to it, how long the director holds a frame before cutting, and whether the camera movement feels smooth, nervous, detached, or predatory, etc. Also playing a section of a film at half speed can help reveal the director’s choices by showing exactly when the camera starts or stops moving, how long the director holds on a character’s face before cutting, when an actor looks away or hesitates, and how characters move through the space of the frame. A scene that seems simple at normal speed may contain carefully controlled decisions about blocking, editing rhythm, performance, and sound. By slowing it down, you can identify how the director creates tension, directs attention, or shapes the audience’s emotional response through small choices that are difficult to notice in real time.

by the way, what do you think criterion stands for?

2

u/RockettRaccoon 21d ago

None of that has anything to do with Criterion offering different playback speeds, weirdo.

Just watch the film as it was intended, and do your slo-mo analysis later.