Entering the increasingly crowded arena of streaming film services is Curzon On Demand, a companion service to the Curzon Cinema chain which upholds its central tenet of throwing a spotlight on independent film.
Key to the success of these services is ease of use, competitive pricing and, crucially, a unique set of films. The films on offer “In Cinemas – On Curzon” are chosen from a growing range of the best independent fare; Alice Rohrwacher’s Corpo Celeste is the current film of the week and new titles are being added all the time. Looking through the catalogue there’s much to entice.
I counted among them Werner Herzog’s Into the Abyss, the Oscar winner A Separation, Andrea Arnold’s Wuthering Heights and Lynne Ramsay’s brilliant and chilling We Need to Talk About Kevin. Works from Takashi Miike, The Dardennes, Michael Haneke as well as the Three Colours Trilogy are all served up here and it’s a refreshing change from the mixed bag of Netflix or Lovefilm.
The aim is to offer something more than just a home cinema experience and each film comes with a gallery and trailer with more information signposted should you want to find out more before you place your order, and the front page has a handy recommendations section which highlights some of the films, new and old, that the service carries. I would like to see some of the titles grouped by director and highlighted as I’m always keen to catch up with as many films as possible from a director I discover.
Having waded knee-deep in the world of streaming movies, Curzon On Demand is a very polished service.The quality is excellent and the pricing (from £2 or £1.50 for members to £4 and £6 for the latest films) is likely to encourage film fans to buy, particularly if their local cinema isn’t playing the film in question. This is a key factor to the service’s success. I’ve lost count of the disappointed tweets I’ve read from cinema-goers lamenting the latest independent film being shunned by the local multiplex so Curzon on Demand would suit these people perfectly. It’s unlikely that you’ll find Von Trier’s stunning Melancholia on many VOD services, and certainly not heavily advertised.
Perfect for the film fan who wants more choice than the usual selection, and the realistic pricing will allow them to see this as a decent (and in some cases only) choice to enjoy the best in new independent cinema.
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