Turner set to launch FilmStruck streaming service

Lovers of movie classics, foreign films and arthouse movies may need to make some room in their streaming budget for FilmStruck.

The new subscription Net-delivered service, due to launch Oct. 19, is developed by Turner Classic Movies with an assist from the Criterion Collection.

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Viewers can subscribe to one of two tiers: $6.99 monthly for FilmStruck's hundreds of movies or $10.99 monthly (or $99 annually) for FilmStruck plus the Criterion Channel, which adds 1,000 or so films from its library including the work of Michelangelo Antonioni, Ingmar Bergman, Federico Fellini and Akira Kurosawa. (Note: You can test-drive the service with a 14-day free trial.)

Among the hundreds of movies that will be available on the service: Babette's Feast, Blow-Up, Breaker Morant, A Hard Day's Night, Mad Max, Metropolis, Moulin Rouge, The Player, A Room with a View, Seven Samurai, The Seventh Seal, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Stardust Memories, The Trip to Bountiful, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and Woodstock.

"FilmStruck is a departure from the timeless Hollywood classics that we offer at TCM and a genuinely distinct offering for the streaming marketplace, focusing on a thoughtfully curated experience around hard-to-find, critically acclaimed, independent films from the most celebrated libraries in the world," said Jennifer Dorian, general manager of TCM and FilmStruck, in a statement announcing the service.

"By combining the expertise at TCM and the Criterion Collection – two of the leading authorities in film preservation and history – we have created something really special that is a must-have for passionate film lovers."

Initially, FilmStruck will be available only on Amazon Fire TV, web, iOS and Android devices at launch. The service will land on other platforms and devices including Apple TV in the coming months.

FilmStruck will feature movies and additional content -- introductions, interviews, rare footage and originally produced video programs -- in regularly refreshed programming themes. Among those planned: The Beauty of Italy (Italian films), Food for Thought (movies featuring food), and Neo Noir (film noir classics).

Criterion films will be available when FilmStruck launches, but on Nov. 11 -- when the service becomes the exclusive home of the The Criterion -- the Collection Channel goes live. The channel will include live events and thematic retrospectives, too.

"FilmStruck is the first streaming platform to give movies the kind of deep, rich treatment that viewers have come to expect from The Criterion Collection, and The Criterion Channel opens up thrilling new ways for us to connect our passionate audience with the films and filmmakers they love," said Peter Becker, president of The Criterion Collection.

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