Finding films on the Internet is relatively easy; there are many platforms offering free viewing, and new public domain films are added every year.
You'll find films of all genres: feature-length fiction, documentaries, animated features, experimental films, newsreels, etc. As for film classics that have fallen into the public domain, all you have to do is choose the platform that suits you best in terms of visuals and search options.
The language of film is constantly evolving, and while the pace of filmmaking is much faster today, you can still learn from the best classics.
Filming a story without the use of words was an exercise that required prowess in both scripting and directing; having only black and white to convey an atmosphere was a challenge, being allowed only one or two takes per scene forced actors to be very rigorous, not being able to change much after shooting forced prodigies in editing, and so on.
Here are just a few of the sites where you can watch your favorite movies online.
- Black and White Movies - Public domain black and white classics
- Cinetimes - Classics and cartoons
- Crackle - On this Sony Pictures Entertainment site, films are available for a limited time only.
- EMOL - A whole catalog of free public domain films on the Entertainment Magazine Online site.
- Arte Cinema- Every week, you'll find the most beautiful and unusual films from Europe's cinematheques online.
- iMovies - Public domain films
- Internet Archive - Archives of the moving image, tens of thousands of films and videos: animation, filmed shows, fiction films, documentaries, etc.
- Mosfilm - Youtube channel of the Soviet studio, some films with English subtitles
- National Film Board of Canada - NFB productions
- OpenCulture - Over 1000 public domain films
- Public Domain Comedy - YouTube channel
- Public Domain Torrent - B-movie classics
- TV5 Unis - Dozens of French-language films from around the world for free viewing
- Ubuweb - Avant-garde films
- Éléphant - Memory of Quebec cinema
If you know of others, we'd be happy to add them - [email protected]
See also directory of free educational video channels
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