If you have a Netflix account, that’s great. It’s good to have it. But if you love movies and want to expand your cinematic horizons, you’re going to need to sign up for The Criterion Channel. Ever since Filmstruck disappeared, cinephiles have been eager for the release of Criterion Channel, and it looks like it won’t disappoint.

Criterion has announced that the service, which launches April 8th, will have “more than 1,000 feature films, 350 shorts, and 3,500 supplementary features including trailers, introductions, behind-the-scenes documentaries, interviews, video essays, commentary tracks, and rare archival footage. It will also feature a constantly refreshed selection of films from a wide array of studio and independent licensors including Sony Pictures, Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, Metro Goldwyn Mayer (MGM), Lionsgate, IFC Films, Kino Lorber, Cohen Media, Milestone Film and Video, Oscilloscope, Cinema Guild, Strand Releasing, Shout Factory, Film Movement, and Grasshopper Films. Additional licensors will be added in the coming months.”

If you want just a taste of the movies that will be featured in the first month (and keep in mind, this is just what’s being featured, not the totality of what’s available on the service), check this out: The Big Heat, Mildred Pierce, Bicycle Thieves, Eraserhead, Ace in the Hole, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Rashomon, In a Better World, The Kid, To Be or Not to Be, Paths of Glory, The Wages of Fear, Diabolique, and many more.

I get that we’re reaching the point where we’re going to be inundated with streaming services and we’re going to have make some tough choices so we’re not spending $500 a month on an amount of entertainment we don’t possibly have time to consume, but if you’re serious about movies and want to be a better film fan, you’ve got to sign up for Criterion Channel.

The Criterion Channel will launch in the U.S. and Canada on April 8th and “will be available on desktop browsers as well as through apps for Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku, iOS, and Android and Android TV devices.” If you sign up by April 7th, you’ll get an extended, 30-day free trial and reduced fees for as long as you remain subscribed.

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Image via Universal Pictures
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Image via Daiei Film

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