About how you watch movies that you want to see

[MovieFan1988]

When you see movies that you want to watch but it's locked behind a streaming service that you don't have,

Do you either:

1. Just rent the movies without subscribing.

2. Subscribe to the streaming service and just watch the movies.

3. Wait until it shows up on the streaming service that you are subscribed to.

I mostly do #3, but that seems to take forever. I remember renting the movie Pearl a couple of months ago while it was on Paramount which I'm not subscribed to, like a month later it shows up on Netflix which I am subscribed to. I should have waited but oh well it's the price you pay when you don't wait I guess.

[Allaby]

Depends on the movie, the streaming service, the price to rent it and how bad I want to see it. If there are multiple movies I want to see on one streaming service, then I would subscribe. If it is just one, I would rent it, unless the cost of renting is more than the cost of subscribing. If I am only mildly interested in the movie, I would wait for it to show up on streaming service that I have.

[Citizen Rules]

I do choice #4:cool:

[FilmBuff]

I go to the library and check out the blu-ray. :p

[gbgoodies]

I wait until I find the DVD at a garage sale or flea market for $1 or less.

[John-Connor]

https://i.imgur.com/ZNfGFd4.gif



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[ActionRocks]

Choice #4: Ask someone who has a legal copy of the movie to rip it for me.
Choice #5: Check my library.
Choice #6: Look if a different version is available.
Choice #7: Consider seeing it at the cinemas for a birthday or occasion.

Choice #8:


https://media1.tenor.com/m/0mR950eBlzEAAAAd/pirate-piracy.gif

[I_Wear_Pants]

I buy a copy, or I let it hit a streaming service, or get it from the library, or download it on Archive.org, or possibly rent it on Amazon if it's my last resort.

[LeBoyWondeur]

Is it possible to rent from streaming services I'm not subscribing to? I didn't know that.

[Captain Quint]

I'm a retiree on a fixed income, so I wander - build up a watchlist, then one month Netflix, clear out the watchlist - next, Hulu, clear out the watchlist, Prime, MUBI, and on and on and on.... build it up, clear it out, end subscription, move on to the next - and cycle through them year after year.

I use Letterboxd, they'll tell me when something on my watch list has shown up, they have filters, so I can go in and see how much I have at a given service, that helps me decide where I should sign up next. You can follow services, so if I look up a movie, I can see where it's at.

I keep an eye open for sales - MUBI just offered me 3 months for a buck... my watchlist isn't very large there, but for a buck... take it and see what pops up over the months.

Library - I still use that a lot. I go into the website and see what's coming and put in holds after holds - see if they have Hoopla and/or Kanopy, build up another watchlist and stream to the monthly limit.

That's the most economical way of doing it, and you cast a wide net so that you get to see what you want to see.

[Stirchley]

I'm a retiree on a fixed income, so I wander - build up a watchlist, then one month Netflix, clear out the watchlist - next, Hulu, clear out the watchlist, Prime, MUBI, and on and on and on.... build it up, clear it out, end subscription, move on to the next - and cycle through them year after year.

I use Letterboxd, they'll tell me when something on my watch list has shown up, they have filters, so I can go in and see how much I have at a given service, that helps me decide where I should sign up next. You can follow services, so if I look up a movie, I can see where it's at.

I keep an eye open for sales - MUBI just offered me 3 months for a buck... my watchlist isn't very large there, but for a buck... take it and see what pops up over the months.

Library - I still use that a lot. I go into the website and see what's coming and put in holds after holds - see if they have Hoopla and/or Kanopy, build up another watchlist and stream to the monthly limit.

That's the most economical way of doing it, and you cast a wide net so that you get to see what you want to see.

I pretty much do the same thing. I need to go downtown & get Kanopy sorted at the main library.

[Zotis]

It's a magical feeling when you order a movie online, forget about it, and then one day it shows up in a box at your door. I came home from work one day, "Oh, what's this?" Opened up the package, The Human Condition from Criterion!



Although, I did have one bad experience when I ordered Et au Pire, On Se Mariera off Amazon, and the book showed up instead of the movie. I didn't check the listing carefully enough, but they used the picture of the movie instead of the picture of the book.


I often look for a free stream, rather than use a streaming service. But I would like to rent movies more. I found a video rental store that's still open in my city, going to go check it out with a friend soon. I've always loved the atmosphere of going into a shop and browsing their films. I like chatting up the staff if they're knowledgeable about great cinema. That's how I discover some great gems, from the staff.

[I_Wear_Pants]

Is it possible to rent from streaming services I'm not subscribing to? I didn't know that.

Yeah on Prime, for example, you can choose to Rent a movie for a small fee, even if you don't have Prime. Apple TV does the same thing. I don't know how any others work, although I believe stuff like Netflix and Hulu don't Rent movies and are just strictly streaming. I've rented on Prime a few times. The Rental lasts like a month or something, and then 48 hours after you start the movie.

[Stirchley]

Yeah on Prime, for example, you can choose to Rent a movie for a small fee, even if you don't have Prime. Apple TV does the same thing. I don't know how any others work, although I believe stuff like Netflix and Hulu don't Rent movies and are just strictly streaming. I've rented on Prime a few times. The Rental lasts like a month or something, and then 48 hours after you start the movie.

Depends on the movie how much would one pay. Thought I would stream Warfare last night & pay the streaming fee on Prime. That is until I saw the fee of $20. Will wait until that decreases.

[I_Wear_Pants]

Depends on the movie how much would one pay. Thought I would stream Warfare last night & pay the streaming fee on Prime. That is until I saw the fee of $20. Will wait until that decreases.

Yeah there's that too. I usually do the older films, so it's usually like $3 or $4 to rent. I normally get new stuff from the library. As you say; it depends on how much you want to pay.

[Stirchley]

Yeah there's that too. I usually do the older films, so it's usually like $3 or $4 to rent. I normally get new stuff from the library. As you say; it depends on how much you want to pay.

It’s crazy to pay that much, but I admit I have done it if I badly want to see something now rather than wait for a decrease.

[I_Wear_Pants]

It’s crazy to pay that much, but I admit I have done it if I badly want to see something now rather than wait for a decrease.

Yeah it's a lot to watch a movie once. Of course so is going to the cinema so I guess it depends on your cost versus return.

[John McClane]

i tell myself to not want it. problem solved.

[Little Ash]

It’s crazy to pay that much, but I admit I have done it if I badly want to see something now rather than wait for a decrease.


Those prices usually feel like it's basically for people who want to watch movies in a theater but don't actually want to go out to a theater (and the price seems to work on the presumption more than one person is watching it, so it numerically is less than two typical theater tickets).


I feel like this became much more of a thing during the pandemic when a lot of people explicitly didn't want to go out to the theater for a very specific reason.

[Little Ash]

So, the phrasing of the question, "locked behind a streaming service you don't have," usually sounds more like a subscription service specific movie, like the Netflix original movies/series, that you usually can't rent on iTunes/Amazon. In those cases, I keep a dedicated, private list on letterboxd for each subscription service I might sign up for that will have stuff specific to them (mainly Netflix and Apple TV+, but I never saw Prey, so I guess I should have a Hulu one). Every couple of years one of those services gets a movie that I really particularly want to see, then I subscribe and then work through that pre-existing watchlist and cancel a month or so later.


If it's a movie I can rent, and there's a specific reason why I want to be watching it, then I usually just rent it.


The two main reasons for me are usually for following along with a film podcast I'm listening to or I'm working through a director's filmography or some other list, and I'm expecting I'll have to rent some of them to get a greater breadth of what I can watch.

[Miss Vicky]

When possible I try a variation of #2: Try to find it on a streaming service that is offering a free trial, especially if I can sign up for it as an Amazon Prime channel, and subscribe. Then I immediately cancel my subscription and watch whatever I want until the trial is over.

If that fails, then I usually just "rent" it. Or if it's something I'm pretty confident that I'll want to own, I'll put the bluray on my wishlist and hope someone else buys it for me.

[skizzerflake]

When you see movies that you want to watch but it's locked behind a streaming service that you don't have,

Do you either:

1. Just rent the movies without subscribing.

2. Subscribe to the streaming service and just watch the movies.

3. Wait until it shows up on the streaming service that you are subscribed to.



1.) All of those, and if they don't work, decide that I really do NOT want to see that movie.

2.) If it won't leave my brain, check Amazon for a DVD.

3.) If that doesn't work buy a box set of 1940's horror movies.

[Stirchley]

When possible I try a variation of #2: Try to find it on a streaming service that is offering a free trial, especially if I can sign up for it as an Amazon Prime channel, and subscribe. Then I immediately cancel my subscription and watch whatever I want until the trial is over.


That’s what I do. I’m about to cancel Netflix as I appear to have watched all the good content they have right now. When it picks up again I will join again.

[Hotel Security]

>I go to the library and check out the blu-ray.

This. Many forget libraries still exist and mine lets you have them for a week for free. Plus, it's part of a network of like 20 libraries so, if they don't have something, they can just transfer it and it's available within a day or two.

And, I don't know the rules on this board about promoting certain activities but, if I really want to see a movie, then there are some free means out there that I don't have qualms using. A good example was Anatomy of a Fall which really interested me and just was not available for months on ANY service...it frustrated me to the point where I just grabbed it online.

[Citizen Rules]

>I go to the library and check out the blu-ray.

This. Many forget libraries still exist and mine lets you have them for a week for free. Plus, it's part of a network of like 20 libraries so, if they don't have something, they can just transfer it and it's available within a day or two.Libraries are a great idea for borrowing DVD/bluray movies, TV series and documentaries. Some library systems allow you to watch a number of movies via streaming on Kanopy. Unfortunately my library system got rid of alot of their older and classic DVD movies and no Kanopy service.

And, I don't know the rules on this board about promoting certain activities but, if I really want to see a movie, then there are some free means out there that I don't have qualms using. A good example was Anatomy of a Fall which really interested me and just was not available for months on ANY service...it frustrated me to the point where I just grabbed it online.We're allowed to mention by name legal & legit movie watching sites, but not those other type of sites...
https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=http%3A%2F%2Fchouky39.c.h.pic.centerblog.net%2F96c7c4c3.gif&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=d13e701557d039490833ab361993169a7ee22cd10493f1fddd3903f696fcfe92