“Where to Watch” is a comforting phrase to cinema and TV fans. When checking around the Internet to see where a piece of media can be viewed, “Where to Watch” information will usually pop up, listing Netflix, Peacock, Tubi, Amazon Prime or other companionable, profit-making sources. Some of these sources require a choice from a variety of paid subscriptions while others may be free but are financially supported by disruptive advertising. The brief “Where to Watch” lists are an essential guide; however, they often do not include a precious, non-profit resource. Even if you have gotten that sinking feeling when the IMDb just shows the “Add to Watchlist” checkbox, indicating that your desire cannot currently be met, many vintage offerings are available for free and without ads at the Internet Archive.
The Archive is a digital library housing feature films that can be watched and downloaded, reputed by Wikipedia to number nearly 4000, including Wicked Woman which AutS showcased in Newsletter #5. (Among many other collections, it also presents an Open Library where readers can borrow from a catalogue of hundreds of thousands of modern books and, if a book was published before 1930, it can also be downloaded.)
The mention of AutS Newsletter #5 brings me to the realization that the new Newsletters archive has a few tidbits about some actors who are not talked about elsewhere on the site (at least, not yet). There is Jenny Slate, for example, who spends about as much time behind the
visuals, as a voice actor, as she spends in front of the camera in supporting roles like the one referenced in the first Newsletter.
The incomparable James Hong is also briefly spotlighted in the lead-off newsletter.
AutS’ own “Where to Watch” format touched, too, on the notable, but usually overlooked, Alvin Greenman
in Newsletter #2.
Where to watch can be determined by various factors. There is a sense of virtue in the non-profit Internet Archive’s commitment to free access. Paid streaming services, on the other hand, are proliferating, squabbling, raising subscription prices, devouring each other, or bundling like mad these days. So, watch wherever you can afford — or wherever you morally choose!
Just don’t stop watching.
~FW