How are you spending life in lockdown? Are you finding that you have more free time than usual? Are you keen, like many of us, to spend your time a little more productively, whilst simultaneously planting yourself down in front of your laptop or television? Well, the arthouse movie streaming service MUBI, the smart, curated and slightly more chinstrokey sister of Netflix and Amazon Prime, have just launched a new feature that might make that possible.
Starting tonight, MUBI are launching their first ever library of films that their subscribers can dive into, in turn exploring a whole new world of arthouse cinema. The ‘heads’ will have the chance to revisit classics they’d struggle to find on other streaming services; those inquisitive souls who want to dive into the world of arthouse classics a little deeper can use this as their perfect starting point.
In the past, MUBI has famously premiered a film a day to their doting audience, drip-feeding masterpieces and forgotten classics before replacing them with something new a month or so later. It was akin to the experience of heading to a cinema knowing you had a certain window in which to catch something you were keen to see; the anticipation and giddiness of the curtains drawing replicated by you pressing play. Now, you don’t have to worry about the timeframe. Alongside that ‘Now Showing’ section, MUBI fans can now access a library of hundreds of new and old arthouse movies whenever they like. The collection, like most streaming services, will be added to, with some stuff being subbed out later down the line, but as a starting collection this is a pretty sweet line-up to get your teeth into. MUBI are, after all, famed for their fine curatorial skills.
The library has launched now on MUBI UK before appearing soon on mobile apps. Here are just ten of the many great things you can expect to find there:
Dario Argento’s original, and still terrifying Suspiria (1977)
The Italian Fellini classic 8 ½ (1963)
Celine Sciamma’s incendiary story of a painter, her subject, and a whirlwind love affair, Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)
The controversial fashion film Yves Saint Laurent: The Last Collections (2019)
Claire Denis’ R-Patz starring space drama, High Life (2019)
One of the original experimental short films, Meshes of the Afternoon (1943)
The debut film from Beach Rats director Eliza Hittman, It Felt Like Love (2013)
Yann Gonzalez’s deranged gay porno slasher, Knife + Heart (2018)
Groundbreaking in its country of Cuba, the 90s queer dramedy Strawberries and Chocolate (1993)
Richard Kelly’s trashy, iconic and misunderstood follow-up to Donnie Darko, Southland Tales (2006)