Is Mubi>Netflix?

Are there any Mubi-users that subscribe to Netflix? What is the difference between them?

Netflix is just a place to rent movies.

Mubi is a community of cinephiles, from casual moviegoers to actual filmmakers. Mubi is a place that fosters young filmmakers and gives them a place to share their work, to collaborate and discuss.

For me, Mubi has been film school, a place for the open-minded to question, seek, and learn. There’s something of a family here—dysfunctional, yes, but a family nonetheless, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Of course it’s also a place to watch movies, some damn fine ones at that, but it’s a whole lot more.

I love netflix

Me and mubi are friends tho

ditto house of leaves

A lovely way of putting it. Thanks Leaves!

Netflix? That’s some American thing, isn’t it?

For lots of us Mubi=Mubi. There’s no other choice for watching decent films with English subtitles.

I totally agree. I, too, like the social aspect of Mubi and that us film aficionados can discuss ANY type of film. Thanks House of Leaves. I love how responsive Mubi-users are! Much appreciated

I totally agree. I, too, like the social aspect of Mubi and that us film aficionados can discuss ANY type of film. Thanks House of Leaves. I love how responsive Mubi-users are! Much appreciated

Mubi and Netflix are like two individuals set up on a blind date. The third friend knows that both of them like “movies”, so the third friend thinks they’d get along great. They sit down to have dinner, and Mubi questions Netflix: “What type of films do you like? Who’s your favourite director?” Netflix starts blabbering on about the latest blockbusters, and how it’s hard to find a DVD in fullscreen lately so they tend to watch less then they did before. Mubi is understanding, and tries again: “What did you think Bergman’s The Virgin Spring?”, noting that this is one film that is easy to find in the 4:3 aspect ratio. Netflix questions; “I think I’ve seen that… what’s it about?” After an explanation on MUBI’s end, Netflix pipes up: “Oooh, you got it wrong! That’s Last House on the Left. I saw that in theatres last year. :) So original, you don’t see many movies like that nowadays.”

Actually, I think Mubi is more the stuffy but lovable film professor and netflix is the fanboy who loves (and even appreciates) EVERYTHING.

@Boomstick: Netflix is more likely to say “Oh, if you liked that you’ll like Hour of the Wolf, Rashomon and The Burning Plain.”

^Make: lots of money through lucrative deals with Sony…

I don’t think it’s fair to call Netflix only for blockbusters. You can’t find Sarunas Bartas on Netflix, but you can find 70% of Godards. A rule of thumb is, if it made it into art houses in the US, it’ll probably appear on Netflix. And they’ve got pretty much all criterions.

Netflix is a service where you pay a monthly fee, and they will ship a DVD you want to your house. You watch it when you want, and when you mail it back they mail you another. Also, a lot of films stream instantly on the website. It’s a very useful service and a huge improvement over rental stores, and relatively cheap. It just doesn’t have those super-obscure titles from all over the world like Mubi does.

^ Agreed. I pay for the 5-disc plan, myself.

I’m getting the 2 disc plan in a week, that’s about all I have time for. I’m doing it for the potential double features, and those pesky 2-disc movies ><

Though I do love this site, I love netflix more :(

I’m with Sunny! here. Let us imagine that you live in Deadwood, SD, and they don’t have much of a public library and they don’t have too many high paying jobs; you can’t afford to buy movies like some trust fund baby and you sure can’t find them for free. The nearest art house theatre is maybe an hour away in Rapid City, or possibly much further. In 1999, you were fucked…BIG TIME. But in 2010, Netflix saves the mothafuckin’ day! You can live anywhere in the U.S. you damn well please, and you still have access to a dozen Satyajit Ray films, all the latest independent American films, Sunrise, and most anything else you can think of. Of course, you can torrent or youtube a number of movies, but the picture quality will suck. I’m an avid filmgoer who lives in Chicago, and I still have almost 500 movies in my queue. Netflix has literally opened the doors for movie lovers across the nation. This site is, in part, an outgrowth of the type of film access that Netflix has given us.

So…Netflix is better. But MUBI’s doin’ alright.

Applauds House of Leaves

I like what Hou said.

I would also like to add that without Netflix I would have never gotten my hands ona A LOT of stuff.

Netflix is a company which provides both online streaming services as well as DVD and blu ray delivery by mail for a variable fee depending on services. MUBI is a company who provides a smaller catalogue of only online streaming services, some free and some for a fee, and has an accompanying community aspect that is entirely free.

Thus (whichever benefits you best) > (whichever benefits you less), although they are not mutually exclusive.

That’s the definitive position, right there.

Both are great services to have on PS3, alongside Hulu Plus. They are all different and provide different content.

I like the comparison of ‘dysfunctional family’ and ‘MUBI’ – well done.

EDIT: And Boomstick’s banter between Mubi and Netflix on a blind date just confused the hell out of me.

The community vs. service aspect of MUBI has already been detailed perfectly by House of Leaves, BoomstickPlease, and Leaves (man, talk about a poetic buncha names!), but I would also like to mention that as “community” goes, Netflix is much more like a recommendation engine. Even the user reviews and such pretty much show a focus on “This is your next choice” or “avoid it” without real discussion. I also to date have not yet figured out how to contact Netflix service representatives, and yet talk to MUBI administrators often.

Nevertheless, Netflix would be where I’d go to see if many of the movies I want to see are available, and MUBI is where I’d go after I watched them and wanted to talk about them. The fact that MUBI offers streaming video of its own is a major bonus.

—PolarisDiB

PolarisDIB: I’m with you DIB. I have really gotten involved in Mubi community recently and after seeing the selection of films that they offer to stream, I think I want to support the site buy getting a subscription plan. They offer a decent amount of stuff you can’t get anywhere and they just added some stuff from a new festival Cinema B. Don’t get me wrong I love Netflix and will continue to use them as my main movie getting source. Mubi has earned my vote as the best place to read and talk about movies. The streaming is an added bonus.

I’m perfectly happy with netflix as long as they keep the DVD by mail option. I rarely stream feature films. I don’t really care about their member reviews but if people have an opinion about a movie and feel the need to post a review that’s their business.

i’d love to be able to synchronize my netflix and mubi ratings, also, be able to add movie I found on mubi to netflix queue

Why even compare the two?