COPYCENSE

“Between The Godfather and The Godfather: Part II, Francis Ford Coppola made a movie called The Conversation. It stars Gene Hackman as a paranoid wiretapper in Watergate-era San Francisco, and the cast includes Robert Duvall, and a young Harrison Ford. The movie was nominated for best picture in 1975, and Mr. Coppola has actually called it the finest film he has ever made.

“Yet The Conversation was on its way to the movie graveyard just a few years ago. Since video stores have room for only a few thousands titles, some didn’t carry it.

“Then came Netflix. The Internet company stocks just about all of the 60,000 movies, television shows and how-to videos that are available on DVD (and that aren’t pornography). Just as important, Netflix lets users rate movies and make online recommendations to their friends. The result is a vast movie meritocracy that gives a film a second or third life simply because — get this — it’s good.”

David Leonhardt. What Netflix Could Teach Hollywood. The New York Times. June 7, 2006.

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