Hi Maddy -- If you're speaking of where you can see the film on line, I can't be of much help to you, I'm afraid. I still prefer "physical media", buying the discs themselves, which of course also gives you the non-disc extras, of which Criterion includes many. I really don't like watching films on line unless there's no alternative. I know Criterion streams films on Hulu but you'll get better information visiting their website. Sorry I can't be of more help to you.
But this is a good reason why you should invest in a region-free player. I don't yet have an R0 Blu-ray player but I do have an R0 DVD player, which is how I've been able to see so many great British films not available here on Region 1 (the Ealing classics, for example, and many others). There are even quite a number of Hollywood films never released here, but that are on disc from R2 countries, mainly from Spain of all places, though some from France or the UK. I have a number of Japanese and Russian films as well. And of course, as you say, the reverse situation also holds true, about films unavailable on R2. The price of these things is very cheap, considering -- about $50 or $60 here, and while I haven't looked I would imagine the rough equivalent would hold true in Britain, maybe £40 or £50 as in my experience electronics are a bit more costly in the UK than the US. But you should check it out. An R0 Bu-ray would play virtually everything in any format in the world, including of course one's own region's discs.
One interesting thing for me is that, because the PAL system in Britain and elsewhere shows films at the equivalent of 25 frames per second (vs. the standard theatrical 24 FPS, which is how they're displayed in most other regions), a film on disc in the UK has a shorter running time than its actual running time. I remember watching The Day the Earth Stood Still with my wife's nephew in Essex a couple of years ago -- it ran 88 minutes vs. its actual 92, and I could tell the difference while watching. But you have more lines of resolution than we have, so a somewhat better picture.
As to our dating system, well, I have no idea why it's rendered differently in America than elsewhere. Even my wife, who's English, dislikes it, and insists it's illogical, apparently on the grounds that it's not what she grew up with. I guess it depends on what you're used to. Yet even in Britain almost everyone I speak with says "April the 12th", not "12 April" in conversation, despite rendering it in reverse when writing. Anyway, remember that while your family may be confused and amused by our dates, I can assure you those very feelings are reciprocated when we Yanks are in Britain!
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