Film students, movie buffs, and people who are simply budget-minded now have more reason than ever to join Hulu Plus.  A new deal will see hundreds of Criterion Collection movies become available through the service without commercial interruption and at no extra charge.

The Criterion Collection is legendary in some circles.  Since 1984, it’s specialized in high-quality editions of rare, critically acclaimed films.  Prices can top $100 per movie, and sometimes just hundreds of copies are sold.

It’s quite significant, then, that Peter Becker, the CEO of Criterion, wrote on the Hulu Blog this morning, "Starting today, there are more than 150 of our most important films online on the Hulu Plus subscription service."

Becker next continued, "Over the coming months, that number will swell to more than 800 films.  For the true cinephile, this should be a dream come true.  On Hulu Plus, you’ll find everything in our library, from Academy Award winners to many of the most famous films by art-house superstars like Ingmar Bergman, Akira Kurosawa, and Federico Fellini to films so rare that they have never been seen in the U.S. in any medium." 

A few Criterion Collection movies will rotate through the regular Hulu site (with ad interruptions), too, by the way.