Watch 1,150 movies free online. Includes classics, indies, film noir, documentaries and other films, created by some of our greatest actors, actresses and directors. The collection is divided into the following categories: Comedy & Drama; Film Noir, Horror & Hitchcock; Westerns (many with John Wayne); Martial Arts Movies; Silent Films; Documentaries, and Animation. We also have special collections of Oscar Winning Movies and Films by Andrei Tarkovsky and Charlie Chaplin.
Free Comedy & Dramas
- 125 Korean Feature Films – Free – The Korean Film Archive has put on YouTube over 100 Korean feature films, including Im Kwon-taek’s Sopyonje and Hong Sangsoo’s The Day the Pig Fell Into a Well. A bonanza for fans of Korean film.
- 70 Movies in HD from Famed Russian Studio Mosfilm – Free – Includes films by Tarkovsky, Eisenstein and Kurosawa. These all appear on Mosfilm’s official YouTube channel.
- A Farewell to Arms – Free – Gary Cooper and Helen Hayes star in a film based on famous novel by Ernest Hemingway. (1932)
- A Hunting Accident – Free – Soviet romantic drama directed by Emil Loteanu, adapted from Anton Chekhov’s “The Shooting Party.” It was entered into the 1978 Cannes Film Festival. Click “CC” for titles. (1978)
- A Matter of Life and Death – Free – Romantic fantasy film created by the British writing-directing-producing team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, and set in England during the Second World War. It stars David Niven, Roger Livesey, Kim Hunter, Marius Goring and Raymond Massey. (1946)
- A Song of Love – Free – The only film by playwright Jean Genet. The erotic film was censored. (1950)
- A Star is Born – Free – Janet Gaynor portrays Esther Blodgett, a starry-eyed small town girl with a dream of making it big in Hollywood. (1937)
- Adventures of Robinson Crusoe – Free – The classic novel by Daniel Defoe gets adapted by the great Luis Buñuel. (1954)
- Afonya – Free – Directed by Georgi Daneliya, this Soviet comedy film became an unexpected blockbuster. It’s made available by the Russian film studio Mosfilm. Click “cc” to get subtitles. (1975)
- Alexander Nevsky – Free – A historical drama film directed by the great Russian filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein. (1938)
- Angel on My Shoulder – Free – A gangster comedy starring Claude Rains and Paul Muni. (1946)
- As You Like It – Free – It’s Laurence Olivier’s earliest Shakespeare performance on film. It’s also the first feature-length British sound Shakespeare film. (1936)
- Becky Sharp – Free – The first feature film to use three-strip Technicolor film, or, put differently, the first real color film. (1935).
- Blade Runner 2049 Prequels – Free – Three short official prequels for Blade Runner 2049 have been released, advancing the Blade Runner story. One is shot by respected Japanese animator Shinichiro Watanabe. (2017)
- Breakfast at Tiffany’s – Free – A classic romantic comedy film directed by Blake Edwards, adapted from Truman Capote’s 1958 novella of the same name, and starring Audrey Hepburn. (1961)
- Cannibal! The Musical – Free – Black comedy by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the makers of South Park. Their very first feature film. (1993)
- Captain Kidd – Free – Charles Laughton and John Carradine star in film with drama on the high seas. (1945)
- Castello Cavalcanti – Free – Wes Anderson’s short film takes place in a hamlet tucked away somewhere in Italy. Features Jason Schwartzman, star of Anderson’s 1998 breakout Rushmore. (2013)
- Charade – Free – Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn star in the best Hitchcock film that Hitchcock never made. (1963)
- Charade – Free – The film consists of three short stories starring James Mason and his wife Pamela Mason. (1953)
- collective:unconscious – Free – Five indie filmmakers adapt each other’s dreams for the screen. The New Yorker’s Richard Brody called it one of his favorite films at the 2016 SXSW film festival. (2016)
- Cold Sweat – Free – Charles Bronson, Liv Ullman, James Mason, and Jill Ireland star in this action packed movie about a ruthless drug runner who holds a man’s family hostage. (1970)
- Crash: The Short Film – Free – Otherwise known as The Atrocity Exhibition, this pre-Cronenberg short film was directed by Harley Cokeliss and stars J.G. Ballard himself. (1971)
- Cyrano De Bergerac – Free – Michael Gordon’s tale based on the classic French tale. (1950)
- Darwin – Free – 53-minute exploration of the life and work of Charles Darwin by Peter Greenaway. (1993)
- Détour – Free – A short charming film shot by Michel Gondry purely on his iPhone. (2017)
- Diary – Free – Short film by Tim Hetherington (director of Restrepo) that reflects on his ten years of war reporting. (2010)
- Dinner for One – Free – A short comedy film that has become part of a New Year’s Eve tradition in Germany and many other European countries. Once held the Guinness World Record for Most Frequently Repeated TV Program. (1963)
- Doodlebug – Free – One of Christopher Nolan’s early short films. Made in 1997, released in 2003.
- Double Take – Free – Alfred Hitchcock meets Jorge Luis Borges Borges in Cold War America in a film directed by Johan Grimonprez and written by Tom McCarthy. (2009)
- Dreams That Money Can Buy – Free – A surrealist film by Man Ray, Marcel Duchamp, Alexander Calder, Fernand Léger & Hans Richter. (1947)
- Duet for Cannibals – Free – A tale of emotional cannibalism by Susan Sontag. A pair of psychological & sexual cannibals come close to devouring a younger couple. (1969)
- Eat, Sleep & Kiss – Free – Three silent anti-films by Andy Warhol. (1963-1964)
- Edgar Allan Poe’s the Raven – Free – Winner of the Best Short at the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival, this film modernizes Poe’s story, situating it in Hollywood 1959. (2011)
- End of the World – Free – After witnessing a man’s death in a bizarre accident, Father Pergado goes on a spiritual retreat, where he encounters his alien double bent on world conquest. Sci-fi film stars Christopher Lee. (1977)
- Enthusiasm – Free – Dziga Vertov’s masterpiece of early sound film, Enthusiasm deals with the Five Year Plan of the late 1920s. His goal was “to grasp the feverish reality of life in the Don Basin, to convey as true to life as possible its atmosphere of the clash of hammers, of train whistles, of the songs of workers at rest.” In Russian. (1931)
- Erotikon – Free – Directed by Czech filmmaker Gustav Machatý and starring Hedy Lamarr, the film was controversial in its time because it had nude scenes. It was the first non-pornographic movie to portray sexual intercourse and the female orgasm. (1929)
- Evidence – Free – From the maker of Koyaanisqatsi, a short film about kids watching cartoons (1995).
- Fargo – Free – A black comedy crime film written, produced and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen and starring Frances McDormand. Streaming in the US on YouTube’s Movie channel. (2006)
- Fear and Desire – Free – An uncut print of Stanley Kubrick’s “lost” early film. Kubrick didn’t like how his first film came out, so removed it from circulation. (1953)
- Fight for Your Right Revisited – Free – Adam Yauch commemorates the Beastie Boys’ legendary video for (You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!). 30 minute surreal film stars Elijah Wood, Danny McBride and Seth Rogen. (2011)
- Five Minutes to Live – Free – Amazing bank heist movie stars Johnny Cash, Vic Tayback, Ron Howard, and country music great, Merle Travis. (1961)
- Flamenco at 5:15 – Free – Oscar-winning short film about a flamenco dance class given to senior students. Made available by the National Film Board of Canada. (1983)
- Franz Kafka’s It’s a Wonderful Life – Free – Directed by Peter Capaldi, the Oscar-winning short film shows Kafka, on Christmas Eve, struggling to come up with the opening line for his most famous work, The Metamorphosis. (1993)
- Freiheit – Free – The third short film George Lucas made while a film-school student at USC and the first with a narrative. (1966)
- From the Drain – Free – David Cronenberg‘s short film made while attending the University of Toronto. (1967)
- Geometria – Free – A ghoulish short film by Guillermo del Toro. One of his earliest films that you can watch online. (1987)
- Ghost Train – Free – Classic ghostly comedy, starring Arthur Askey and based on the play by ‘Dad’s Army’ actor Arnold Ridley. (1941)
- Great Expectations – Free -The classic story of Pip the British orphan. Based on the great Charles Dickens novel available in our collection of Free eBooks. (1946)
- Hardware Wars – Free – It’s the mother of all Star Wars fan films, and also one of the most popular short films ever made. (1978)
- Häxan: The Witches or Witchcraft Through The Ages – Free – Benjamin Christensen’s 1922 silent film Häxan gets a narration by William S. Burroughs. (1968)
- Hell’s Angels – Free – American war film, directed by Howard Hughes and starring Jean Harlow, about combat pilots of World War I. Stanley Kubrick listed it as one of his 10 favorite films on his only top 10 list. (1930)
- Hell’s House – Free – With Bette Davis and Pat O’Brien. The film is set during the final days of prohibition. (1932)
- Herbert White – Free – James Franco’s short film made during film school. Stars Michael Shannon. Based on a poem by Frank Bidart. (2010)
- Hercules – Free – Italian epic fantasy feature film based upon the Hercules myths. (1958)
- Hi Diddle Diddle – Free – When the bride’s mother is supposedly swindled out of her money by a spurned suitor, the groom’s father orchestrates a scheme of his own to set things right. Quentin Tarantino named it one of the 12 best films of all time. (1943)
- His Girl Friday – Free – Directed by Howard Hawks. A classic comedy starring Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell and Ralph Bellamy. (1940)
- Hometown in My Heart – Free – Made in the early years of Korean Independence, the film is about a young monk who longs to see his mother in a new light, by suppressing his emotions. (1949)
- Human: The Movie – Free – By director, photographer, and environmental activist Yann Arthus-Bertrand, this unique film features interviews with 2,020 people from 60 countries on what it means to be human. (2015)
- I Thought I Told You to Shut Up – Free – A short film narrated by Jonathan Demme about the making of the 1970s underground comic, Reid Fleming: World’s Toughest Milkman. (2015)
- Impressions de la haute Mongolie – Free – Surrealist false documentary directed by Salvador Dalí and José Montes-Baquer, starring Salvador Dalí himself. (1976)
- Indiscreet – Free – Features superstar Gloria Swanson and directed by Leo McCarey. A comedy that’s almost Chaplinesque. (1931)
- It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time – Free – Anthony Newley plays a poor avant-garde artist who struggles with an ex-wife’s remarriage to a building contractor. (1975)
- Ivan Vasilievich Changes Profession – Free – Soviet comic sci-fi film directed by Leonid Gaidai, based on the play Ivan Vasilievich by Mikhail Bulgakov. A huge Soviet blockbuster. Click “CC” for subtitles. (1973)
- J’attendrai le suivant – Free – A French film nominated for an Academy Award for the Best Short Film in 2002.
- Jungle Book – Free – A color action-adventure film based on the Rudyard Kipling’ novel, The Jungle Book. Directed by Zoltán Korda, the film was nominated for four Academy Awards. (1942)
- Killer Drill – Free – Directed by Lewis D. Collins, Killer Drill is about the Door-to-door salesman Johnny Dill, an exact double of a notorious gangster, who finds himself struck between the forces of good and evil. (1947)
- King Lear – Free – Made for TV adaptation of Shakespeare’s King Lear starring Orson Welles. (1953)
- La Dialectique Peut-Elle Casser Des Briques? (Can Dialectics Break Bricks?) – Free – A French Situationist film produced by René Viénet which explores the development of class conflict through revolutionary agitation against a backdrop of graphic kung-fu fighting. (1973)
- La Femme 100 Tetes – Free – An adaptation of Max Ernst’s collage book “La femme 100 têtes,” originally published in 1929. Consider the film a collage in motion. (1967)
- L’Age d’or – Free – French surrealist comedy directed by Luis Buñuel about the insanities of modern life, the hypocrisy of the sexual mores of bourgeois society and the value system of the Roman Catholic Church. Salvador Dalí co-wrote the screenplay. (1930)
- Lady Blue Shanghai – Free – David Lynch’s short movie that doubles as a commercial for Dior. Stars Marion Cotillard. (2010)
- Lady Lazarus – Free – An experimental film made by Sandra Lahire using footage of Sylvia Plath reading her own work as well as an interview she gave in 1962. (1991)
- Lick the Star – Free – Sofia Coppola’s very first short film follows a 7th-grade conspiracy (1998)
- Love and Pigeons – Free – Soviet romantic comedy film by Vladimir Menshov. His previous film Moscow Does Not Believe In Tears received the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. (1984)
- Lumiere – Free – A very short film by David Lynch. 55 seconds. (1966)
- M – Free – Classic film directed by Fritz Lang, with Peter Lorre. About the search for a child murderer in Berlin, (1931)
- Meet John Doe – Free – Frank Capra’s comedy, with Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck. Voted one of the most inspiring films of all time. (1941)
- Meetin’ WA – Free – In a short film Jean-Luc Godard meets Woody Allen. (1986)
- Menthe – Free – The second film by Lars von Trier is based on the sadomasochistic novel by Dominique Aury, Story of O, and tells the story of a voluntary female subjugation. (1979)
- Metamorfosis – Free -Franz Kafka’s best-known short story gets adapted into a Tim Burtonesque Spanish short film (2004)
- Mike Leigh’s Five Minute Films – Free – The BBC commissioned him to make a series of five-minute movies in 1975. They eventually aired in 1982.
- My Best Friend’s Birthday – Free – First (incomplete) film directed by Quentin Tarantino. Some good rockabilly fun. (1987)
- Mulberry – Free – S. Korean drama film directed by Lee Doo-yong. The film became “known for its erotic subject matter, made possible by the government’s gradual relaxation of censorship and control over the film industry during the 1980s.” (1986)
- Murder in Harlem – Free – Film by Oscar Micheaux, the first African-American to produce a feature-length film (1920) and sound movie (1931). His films provide a window into American views on race. (1935)
- My Cousin Vinny – Free – “Two New Yorkers accused of murder in rural Alabama while on their way back to college call in the help of one of their cousins, a loudmouth lawyer with no trial experience.” Stars Joe Pesci, Ralph Macchio, and Marisa Tomei. Streaming free in the US on YouTube’s Movie channel. (1992)
- No Exit/Huis Close – Free – Harold Pinter interprets the lead role of Garcia in Sartre’s famous claustrophobic play of self-definition and identity. (1965)
- Our Town – Free – Film adaptation of a play of the same name by Thornton Wilder starring William Holden, Martha Scott, Fay Bainter, Beulah Bondi, Thomas Mitchell, Guy Kibbee and Frank Craven. Find Alternate version. (1940)
- Penny Serenade – Free – With Cary Grant and Irene Dunne. “Depicts the story of a couple who must overcome adversity to keep their marriage and raise a child. Grant was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance.” (1941)
- Plaisir d’amour en Iran – Free – A short, six minute film by Agnès Varda, about a love story between a handsome Iranian (Ali Raffi) and a visiting French woman (Valérie Mairesse). The film was shot in Iran. (1976)
- Plan 9 from Outer Space – Free – An Ed Wood “classic.” Considered one of the worst films ever made and yet the ultimate cult flick. (1959)
- Plastic Bag – Free – Werner Herzog narrates the touching, existential journey of a plastic bag. A short film directed by Ramin Bahrani, who Roger Ebert called the “new great American director”. (2009)
- Pygmalion – Free – Classic is based on George Bernard Shaw’s play. Won Oscar for best screenplay. (1938)
- ¡Que viva México! – Free – A film project begun in 1930 by Russian avant-garde filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein portraying Mexican culture and politics from pre-Conquest civilization to the Mexican revolution. The troubled film was eventually abandoned.
- Rakka – Free – Starring Sigourney Weaver, “Rakka” takes us inside the aftermath of an alien invasion sometime in the year 2020. (2017)
- Reefer Madness – Free – Arguably the most unintentionally hilarious “anti-drug” exploitation film. (1936)
- Rembrandt – Free – A luminous biopic of the legendary Dutch painter. Alexander Korda considered this to be his finest film. (1936)
- Romance Sentimentale – Free – Directed by Sergei Eisenstein. (1930)
- Royal Wedding – Free – Musical comedy film starring Fred Astaire and Jane Powell, with music by Burton Lane and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner. (1951)
- Ruslan and Ludmila – Free – Russian film directed by Aleksandr Ptushko. Based on poem written by Alexander Pushkin in 1820. Subtitled in English. Made available by Mosfilm. (1972)
- Scrooge – Free – The first sound version of Dickens’ classic, A Christmas Carol. Directed by Henry Edwards (1935)
- Secret Weapons – Free – David Cronenberg’s seldom seen made-for-TV movie. (1972)
- Sex Madness – Free – This is to sex what Reefer Madness is to drugs. YouTube version here. (1938)
- Shame – Free – Produced by Roger Corman and starring William Shatner. Mystery film about a man sent into a southern town to stir up race riots. Find alternate version on Youtube here. (1962)
- Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon – Free – Sherlock Holmes rescues an inventor of an new bomb site before the Nazis can get him. (1943)
- Six Men Getting Sick (Six Times) – Free – David Lynch`s very first short film. (1966)
- Slacker – Free – Richard Linklater’s Gen-X, generation defining indie film. (1991)
- Sopyonje – Free – The film directed by Kwon-taek Im surprised S. Korea by both rekindling interest in the traditional music of pansori and by breaking box-office records despite playing on only three screens. You can find more Korean feature films at Korean Film Archive. (1993)
- Spider Baby – Free – A black comedy horror film, written and directed by Jack Hill. Stars Lon Chaney Jr. (1968)
- Strike – Free – Sergei Eisenstein’s first feature film and an indicator of the brilliant films to follow. (1925)
- Terror by Night – Free – Sherlock Holmes film, the thirteenth to star Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce and was directed by Roy William Neill. The story revolves around the theft of a famous diamond aboard a train. (1946)
- Thanksgiving Prayer – Free – A short film by Gus Van Sant wherein William S. Burroughs reads a sarcastic Thanksgiving Prayer. (1988)
- The Amazing Quest of Ernest Bliss – Free – Cary Grant plays a rich socialite, who makes a bet with his therapist that he can make a living for one year using none of his current wealth. (1936)
- The Bigamist – Free – Directed by Ida Lupino, a pioneer among women filmmakers. (1953)
- The Blood of a Poet – Free – Avant-garde film directed by Jean Cocteau. The first part of the Orphic Trilogy. (1930)
- The Blue Angel – Free – The Weimar classic that made Marlene Dietrich an international star. (1930)
- The Contender – Free – Stars Buster Crabbe (best known for his role as Tarzan) in well known boxing film. (1944)
- The Cut Ups – Free – Directed by Anthony Balch, this avant-garde film brings William S. Burroughs’ cut up technique to film. (1966)
- The Day the Pig Fell Into a Well – Free – The very first picture from Hong Sangsoo, a S. Korean director acclaimed by critics worldwide as a comedic formal experimenter, in essence Korea’s Woody Allen. (1996)
- The Dentist – Free – W.C. Fields in his second talking comedy short. One of four short films Fields made with the “king of comedy,” Mack Sennett. (1932)
- The Diamond Arm – Free – Directed by Leonid Gaidai, the film has become a Russian cult film and is considered to be one of the finest comedies of its time. (1969)
- The Discipline of D.E. – Free – Gus Van Sant’s short, 16 mm, black and white adaptation of William S. Burroughs’ short story. (1978)
- The Divorce of Lady X – Free – British romantic comedy film starring Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon (1938).
- The Dove – Free – A parody of some of Ingmar Bergman’s best known films, including Wild Strawberries (Smultronstaellet) and The Seventh Seal (Det Sjunde Inseglet). Features first film appearance by Madeline Kahn. Nominated for Academy Award. (1968)
- The Fall of the House of Usher – Free – Poe’s classic tale turned into an avant garde film. It was scripted by e.e. cummings. (1928)
- The Fast And The Furious – Free – A 1950s B-action film written by Roger Corman. (1955)
- The Flying Deuces – Free – This was the first comedy that Laurel and Hardy starred in without producer Hal Roach, although they had previously been “guest stars” in four MGM movies. (1939)
- The Girls – Free – A comedy-drama directed by Yuri Chulyukin, the film became one of the most popular Soviet films of the 60s. Click “cc” for subtitles. (1961)
- The Great Saint Louis Bank Robbery – Free – Steve McQueen stars in a gritty, downbeat, and sometimes savage heist movie. (1959)
- The Hire – Free – Eight short films made by famous directors (John Frankenheimer, Guy Ritchie, Joe Carnahan, Tony Scott, Alejandro González Iñárritu, John Woo, Wong Kar-wai, Ang Lee) for BMW. Stars Clive Owens. (2001-2002)
- The Jackie Robinson Story – Free – Starring Jackie Robinson himself, the film retraces the life and times of the great baseball player and civil rights figure. (1950)
- The Jungle Book – Free – Directed by Zoltan Korda, it starred Sabu, Jospeh Calleia, John Qualen, Frank Puglia, etc. (1942)
- The Last Farm – Free – Short Icelandic film nominated for Oscar in 2006.
- The Last Man on Earth – Free – Post apocalyptic horror film starring Vincent Price and based on Richard Matheson novel I Am Legend. (1964)
- The Last Time I Saw Paris – Free – Elizabeth Taylor and Van Johnson star in romantic drama based on F. Scott Fitzgerald ‘s story “Babylon Revisited.” YouTube version here. (1953)
- The Legend of Hallowdega – Free – Black comedy mockumentary directed by Terry Gilliam. Stars David Arquette and Justin Kirk, with appearances by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Darrell Waltrip. (2010)
- The Little Shop of Horrors – Free – Directed by Roger Corman with Jack Nicholson. It’s is a farce about an inadequate florist’s assistant who cultivates a plant that feeds on human flesh and blood. (1960)
- The Living Wake – Free – Dark comedy chronicles the final day of self-proclaimed artist and genius, K. Roth Binew. Mike O’Connell, Jim Gaffigan and Jill Larson. (2007)
- The Lunch Date – Free – Adam Davidson’s commentary on race in America. The short film won an Oscar and a prize at Cannes. (1989)
- The Metamorphosis – A Study: Nabokov on Kafka – Free – A dramatization of Vladimir Nabokov’s lectures on Kafka novella, The Metamorphosis. Stars Christopher Plummer. (1989)
- The Night of Counting the Years – Free – Directed by Shadi Abdel Salam, this film is considered one of the finest Egyptian films ever made. (1969)
- The Orchid Gardener – Free – A young, mentally ill man, a visual artist in crisis Victor Marse (Lars von Trier) meets two nurses (Eliza and her girlfriend) during his stay in a sanatorium. Bizarre things happen next in an experimental film with a mysterious and symbolic plot . (1977)
- The Painted Desert –Free – Notable for being Clark Gable’s first appearance in a talkie film. (1931)
- The Parrot Sings with Her Whole Body – Free – Directed by Jung Jin-woo, this S. Korean film is meant for mature audiences. (1981)
- The Phantom Fiend – Free – The first sound remake of the 1927 Alfred Hitchcock classic, The Lodger. Stars Ivor Novello and directed by Maurice Elvey.
- The Quest – Free – Saul Bass’s trippy, kitschy short film based on a Ray Bradbury short story. (1983)
- The Road to Race Track – Free – A South Korean film directed by Jang Sun-Woo based on the controversial novel by Hailji. (1991)
- The Scarlet Letter – Free – Robert G. Vignola’s adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic. (1934)
- The Scarlet Pimpernel – Free – Adaptation of the classic adventure novel by Baroness Orczy. Stars Leslie Howard and Merle Oberon. (1934)
- The Short Films of Louis CK – Free – A collection of nine short films created by the comedian between 1993 and 1999.
- The Skin Game – Free – A 1931 Hitchcock film based on a play by John Galsworthy recounts the tragic tale of a family feud. (1931)
- The Snows of Kilimanjaro – Free – Based on Hemingway’s classic novel set in Africa. Stars Gregory Peck. (1952)
- The Stranger – Free – Directed by Orson Welles and starring Edward G. Robinson and Loretta Young. This was Orson Welles’ only major box office success. Alternative version on Archive.org. (1946)
- The Taming of the Shrew – Free – The first sound adaptation of a Shakespeare film ever. Stars Mary Pickford and her husband Douglas Fairbanks. (1929)
- The Testament of Dr. Mabuse – Free – Directed by Fritz Lang, this was the sequel to Lang’s nearly four-hour silent film Dr. Mabuse shot in 1922. (1933)
- The Wild Ride – Free – A cult classic that features Jack Nicholson playing a rebellious punk in one of his first roles. (1960)
- The Woman in Green – Free – Sherlock Holmes investigates when young women around London turn up murdered, each with a finger severed off. Scotland Yard suspects a madman, but Holmes believes the killings to be part of a diabolical plot. Stars Basil Rathbone as Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson. (1945)
- The World of Stainboy – Free – A series of flash animation shorts created by Tim Burton. The Stainboy character first appeared in two short poems in the book The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy & Other Stories, also created and illustrated by Tim Burton. (2000)
- The Young Lovers – Free – Directed by Ida Lupino, this 1950 film tells the tale of a newly engaged woman who contracts polio. Film was also titled Never Fear. Alternate version here.
- Things to Come – Free – A British sci-fi film produced by Alexander Korda and directed by William Cameron Menzies. The screenplay was written by H. G. Wells, and predicted a grim future for the world. We have background on the film here. (1934)
- Tuileries – Free – A short twisted film by Joel and Ethan Coen. Stars Steve Buscemi and takes place in Paris. (2006)
- Two Men – Free – An award-winning short film adapts Franz Kafka’s short story, “Passers-by.” Set in aboriginal Australia. (2009)
- Uncle Vanya – Free – Adaptation of the Anton Chekhov play of the same title. Directed by Andrey Konchalovskiy. Click “CC” for subtitles. (1970)
- Utopia – Free – Laurel & Hardy’s last film. (1951)
- Vinyl – Free – Andy Warhol’s loose film adaptation of Anthony Burgess’ A Clockwork Orange. (1965)
- Virus – Free – Post-apocalyptic sci-fi movie directed by Kinji Fukasaku and based on a novel written by Sakyo Komatsu. (1980)
- Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women – Free – An early film by “New Hollywood” director Peter Bogdanovich (1968).
- Waiting for Godot – Free – Performances of Waiting for Godot directed by none other than Samuel Beckett himself. (1985)
- We Are Jazzmen – Free – Directed by Mr. Karen Shakhnazarov, the film chronicles the emergence of jazz during the 1920s in Soviet Russia. It’s made available by the Russian film studio, Mosfilm. Click “cc” to get subtitles. (1983)
- White Tiger – Free – A Russian action war film directed by Karen Shakhnazarov, and based on a novel by Ilya Boyashov. The film was put online by the Russian film studio, Mosfilm. Click “cc” to get subtitles. (2012)
- Why Try to Escape from Which You Know You Can’t Escape from? Because You Are a Coward – Free – An early film by Lars von Trier. (1970)
- Zéro de Conduite (Zero for Conduct) – Free – Originally banned in France, the film was later honored by Truffaut in The 400 Blows. (1933)
Free Hitchcock, Noir, Horror & Thriller Films
- A Bucket of Blood – Free – Roger Corman’s classic comedy/horror film set in Bohemian San Francisco. Shot in 5 days for $50,000. Internet Archive version here. (1959)
- A Life at Stake – Free – Directed by Paul Guilfoyle, this American noir film stars Angela Lansbury and Keith Andes. (1954)
- And Then There Were None – Free – Film adaptation of Agatha Christie’s best-selling mystery novel directed by René Clair. (1945)
- Angel on My Shoulder – Free – A gangster comedy starring Claude Rains and Paul Muni. (1946)
- Beat the Devil – Free – Directed by John Huston and starring Humphrey Bogart, the film is something of a comic and dramatic spoof of the film noir tradition. (1953)
- Behind Green Lights – Free – Stars Carole Landis, John Ireland. Police lieutenant Sam Carson investigates a political murder after the victim is dumped at the door of police headquarters. (1946)
- Big Bluff – Free – Directed by W. Lee Wilder. When a scheming fortune hunter finds his rich wife is not going to die as expected, he and his lover make other plans to get her millions. (1955)
- Blood on the Sun – Free – A film starring James Cagney and Sylvia Sidney is based on a fictional history behind the Tanaka Memorial document. It won the Academy Award for Best Art Direction for a Black & White in 1945. In 1973, the film entered the public domain. (1945)
- Bon Voyage – Free – A French language WWII propaganda film by Alfred Hitchcock. (1944)
- Blonde Ice – Free – A society reporter keeps herself in the headlines by marrying a series of wealthy men. They all die mysteriously afterwards though. (1948)
- Bluebeard – Free – Directed by Edgar G. Ulmer and starring John Carradine, this film became a cult classic for horror fans. (1944)
- Borderline – Free – Two undercover agents infiltrate a drug-smuggling ring in Mexico, but neither is aware of the other’s identity. Stars Fred MacMurray, Claire Trevor and Raymond Burr. (1950)
- Carnival of Souls – Free – An American independent horror film directed by Herk Harvey for $33,000, the film, although not originally popular, eventually became a cult classic. The “plot follows a young woman whose life is disturbed after a car accident, finding herself drawn to the pavilion of an abandoned carnival.” (1962)
- Cause for Alarm! – Free – Ellen (Loretta Young) narrates the tale of “the most terrifying day of my life”, how she was taking care of her bedridden husband George Z. Jones (Barry Sullivan) when he suddenly dropped dead. (1951)
- Dementia – Free – Also called Daughter of Horror, this film by John Parker incorporated elements of horror film, film noir and expressionist film. About the film, Cahiers du cinema wrote “To what degree this film is a work of art, we are not certain but, in any case, it is strong stuff.” (1955)
- Dementia 13– Free – A horror film that was one of Francis Ford Coppola’s early mainstream efforts. HD widescreen version here. (1963)
- Detour – Free – Edgar Ulmer’s cult classic noir film shot in 6 days. (1945)
- Dick Tracy – Free – A 15 episode film series that brought Dick Tracy to the silver screen. (1937)
- Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome – Free – Dick Tracy film from 1947 stars Boris Karloff as Gruesome. (1947)
- D.O.A. – Free – Rudolph Maté’s classic noir film. Called “one of the most accomplished, innovative, and downright twisted entrants to the film noir genre.” You can also watch the movie here. (1950)
- Dressed to Kill – Free – The last of 14 films starring Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Bruce as Doctor Watson. (1941)
- Port of New York – Free – Two narcotics agents go after a gang of murderous drug dealers who use ships docking at the New York harbor to smuggle in their contraband. First film in which Yul Brynner appeared. (1949)
- Great Guy – Free – James Cagney plays the plucky Irish crusader, Johnny Cave, who fights against corruption. (1936)
- Guest in the House – Free – Directed by John Brahm, the noir film stars Anne Baxter, Ralph Bellamy, Aline MacMahon. (1946)
- He Walked by Night – Free – Film-noir drama, told in semi-documentary style, follows police on the hunt for a resourceful criminal. This move became the basis for “Dragnet,” and stars Jack Webb. Archive.org version here. (1948)
- Horror Express – Free – Spanish horror film starring Telly Savalas of Kojak fame.
- Impact – Free – Arthur Lubin’s well reviewed noir flic. Considered a little known classic you need to watch. (1940)
- Inner Sanctum – Free – A gripping noir film about “a murderer who is on the lam and hiding out in a small town. Unbeknownst to him, he is not only hiding in the same boarding house as the only witness to his crime, he is sharing the same room.” (1948)
- Invisible Ghost – Free – Bela Lugosi stars in film where a town’s leading citizen becomes a homocidal maniac after his wife deserts him. Alternate version here. (1941)
- Jamaica Inn – Free – A young woman discovers that she’s living near a gang of criminals who arrange shipwrecks for profit. Stars Maureen O’Hara, Robert Newton and Charles Laughton. (1939)
- Jigsaw – Free – Directed by Fletcher Markle, and starring Franchot Tone, Jean Wallace and Marc Lawrence, the film features cameo appearances by Marlene Dietrich and Henry Fonda. (1949)
- Judex – Free – Directed by French filmmaker Georges Franju, this crime film is a remake of the 1916 film serial documenting the adventures of pulp hero Judex. (1963)
- Kansas City Confidential – Free – A film noir gem that inspired Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs. (1953)
- Key Lime Pie – Free – A zany animated film in the noir tradition. (2007)
- Lady in the Death House – Free – Stars Jean Parker, Lionel Atwill and Douglas Fowley. A young woman is on death row for the murder of a man who was blackmailing her family, though she claims she was framed. And the story goes from there. (1944)
- Man in the Attic – Free – Jack Palance as Jack the Ripper! (1954)
- Night of the Living Dead – Free – George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead is the urtext of the modern zombie movie. (1968)
- Please Murder Me – Free – Lawyer Raymond Burr brilliantly defends Angela Lansbury in 1950s noir film. (1956)
- Pulgasari – Free – A North Korean Godzilla-style film produced by South Korean director Shin Sang-ok, who had been kidnapped in 1978 by North Korean intelligence on the orders of Kim Jong-il. (1985)
- Quicksand – Free – Noir film with Mickey Rooney and Peter Lorre. (1950)
- Sabotage – Free – Alfred Hitchcock directs this British thriller based on Joseph Conrad’s novel The Secret Agent. Also released as The Woman Alone. Alternative version here. (1936)
- Scarlet Street – Free – Directed by Fritz Lang with Edward G. Robinson. A film noir great. (1945)
- Secret Agent – Free – Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, this film was loosely based on stories by W. Somerset Maugham. Stars John Gielgud, Peter Lorre, Madeleine Carroll and Robert Young. (1936)
- Seven Sinners – Free – British thriller film directed by Albert de Courville and starring Edmund Lowe, Constance Cummings and Felix Aylmer. (1936)
- Shed No Tears – Free – Until recently, this film starring Wallace Ford and June Vincent was nearly impossible to find. Now it’s online thanks to Archive.org. (1948)
- Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon – Free – Sherlock Holmes rescues an inventor of an new bomb site before the Nazis can get him. (1943)
- Shock – Free –This film noir tells the story of psychiatrist Dr. Cross (Vincent Price), who is treating Janet Stewart (Anabel Shaw), a young woman who is in a catatonic state. The coma was brought on when she heard loud arguing, went to her window, and saw a man strike his wife with a candlestick and kill her. (1946)
- Silent Night, Bloody Night – Free – An under-rated horror/slasher/mystery film — starring Patrick O’Neal, Mary Woronov, and John Carradine — that has fallen into the public domain. (1974)
- Strange Illusion – Free – B-movie update of “Hamlet” has troubled teen Jimmy Lydon doubting smooth-talker Warren Williams who is wooing his mother. (1945)
- Suddenly – Free – Noir film with Frank Sinatra and James Gleason. (1954)
- Swamp Women – Free – One of Roger Corman’s first films. A crime/horror film that follows undercover police officer Lee Hampton who joins three female convicts and escapes from prison. (1955)
- The 39 Steps – Free – One of Alfred Hitchcock’s first hits. British thriller is based on novel with same name by John Buchan. (1935)
- The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes – Free – The film is adapted from the 1899 play “Sherlock Holmes” by William Gillette, and stars Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Ida Lupino, George Zucco and Alan Marshal. (1939)
- The Amazing Mr. X – Free – Noir film directed by Bernard Vorhaus with cinematography by John Alton. The film tells the story of a phony spiritualist racket. (1948).
- The Big Combo – Free – Directed by Joseph Lewis, this film is today considered a noir classic. Critics like to focus on the cinematography of John Alton, a noir icon. (1955)
- The Capture – Free – Lew Ayres is an oil man who guns down a thief who may have been innocent. (1950)
- The Chase – Free – An American noir film directed by Arthur Ripley, based on the Cornell Woolrich novel The Black Path of Fear. (1946)
- The Driller Killer – Free – Abel Ferrara’s cult classic slasher film. (1979)
- The File on Thelma Jordan – Free – This noir directed by Robert Siodmak features Barbara Stanwyck and Wendell Corey. At the time Variety said, “Thelma Jordon unfolds as an interesting, femme-slanted melodrama, told with a lot of restrained excitement.” (1950)
- The Great Flamarion – Free – Vaudeville star Erich von Stroheim entangled with married assistant. Directed by Anthony Mann. (1945)
- The Green Glove – Free – A World War II veteran in France, played by Glen Ford, gets mixed up in murder while investigating a stolen treasure. Directed by Rudolph Maté. Alternate version here. (1952)
- The Hoodlum – Free – Lawrence Tierney (“Reservoir Dogs”) plays an unreformed, hardened criminal who has just been released from prison. While working at his brother’s gas station, he becomes very interested in the armored car that makes regular stops at the bank across the street. (1951)
- The Hitch-Hiker – Free – The first noir film made by a female director, Ida Lupino. (1953)
- The House on Haunted Hill – Free – Vincent Price gives a stellar performance as the suavely malevolent host of a “haunted house party.” (1959)
- The Image – Free – A short horror film that happened to be the first film that David Bowie starred in. (1967)
- The Intruder – Free – Directed by Roger Corman, the film is based on a novel by Charles Beaumont and stars William Shatner. (1962)
- The Kennel Murder Case – Free – Notes Roger Ebert, “Film historians such as William K. Everson, who pronounced The Kennel Murder Case a “masterpiece” (in the August 1984 issue of Films in Review), consider it one of the greatest screen adaptations of a Golden Age mystery novel. (1933)
- The Limping Man – Free – Stars Lloyd Bridges and Moira Lister. A WWII veteran goes back to England after the war only to discover that his wartime sweetheart has got mixed up with a dangerous spy ring. (1953)
- The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog – Free – One of Hitchcock’s silent classics. A landlady suspects her lodger is a murderer killing women around London. It’s said that this is Hitchcock’s first “Hitchcockian” film. (1927)
- The Man Who Cheated Himself – Free – Some call it “an under-appreciated and little known gem.” Stars Lee J. Cobb, John Dall, Jane Wyatt, and Lisa Howard. YouTube version here. (1951)
- The Naked Kiss – Free – Constance Towers is a prostitute trying to start new in a small town. Directed by Sam Fuller. (1964)
- The Pearl of Death – Free – Directed by Roy William Neill, the film is based on characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It stars Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, and Dennis Hoey. (1944)
- The Pleasure Garden – Free – After several collaborative efforts, Hitchcock made his solo directorial debut in the German-British co-production based on a novel by Oliver Sandys.
- The Red House – Free – A noir psychological thriller starring Edward G. Robinson. Here’s the gist of the plot: “An old man and his sister are concealing a terrible secret from their adopted teen daughter, concerning a hidden abandon farmhouse, located deep in the woods.” (1947)
- The Second Woman – Free – Directed by James Kern and starring Betsy Drake, this lesser known noir film gets some good reviews. (1951)
- The Skin Game – Free – A 1931 Hitchcock film based on a play by John Galsworthy recounts the tragic tale of a family feud. (1931)
- The Strange Love of Martha Ivers – Free – Noir film starting Barbara Stanwyck, Van Heflin and Kirk Douglas. Entered into 1947 Cannes Film Festival. (1946)
- The Strange Woman – Free – Edgar G. Ulmer’s femme fatale film starring Hedy Lamarr. (1946)
- The Terror – Free – With Jack Nicholson & Boris Karloff, and partly shot by Francis Ford Coppola. Movie is at bottom of the linked page. (1963)
- The Time of Your Life – Free – Adapted from the 1939 William Saroyan play of the same title (the play won the Pulitzer Prize), the film stars James Cagney and William Bendix. (1948)
- The Thirteenth Guest – Free – A pre-code mystery comedy thriller film with Ginger Rogers, based on the 1929 novel by crime fiction writer Armitage Trail, also author of the novel Scarface. (1932)
- They Made Me a Criminal – Free – Boxer John Garfield flees believing he has committed a murder while he was drunk. Pursued by Claude Rains, he meets up with the Dead End Kids. (1939)
- Time Table – Free – After the theft of $500,000 in a carefully executed train robbery, an insurance investigator (Mark Stevens, who also doubled as director and producer) is forced to cancel a planned vacation with his wife to assist a railroad detective in identifying the culprits and recovering the money. Alternate version here. (1956)
- Too Late for Tears – Free – Directed by Byron Haskin and based on a novel by Roy Huggins, Too Late for Tears is pure noir. (1949)
- Topper Returns – Free – A sassy girl finds herself dead after trading bedrooms with her heiress friend. Her ghost seeks aid from banker Cosmo Topper to find out why and by whom. Joan Blondell, Roland Young, Carole Landis. (1941)
- Tormented – Free – A man lets a former flame fall to her death rather than let her interfere with his new relationship, but her ghost returns to disrupt his impending nuptials. (1960)
- Trapped – Free – Starring Lloyd Bridges and Barbara Payton, the plot of this B noir film turns around a counterfeiting ring. (1949)
- Vampyr – Free – This horror film was Carl Theodor Dreyer’s follow-up to The Passion of Joan of Arc, and his first “talkie.” (1932)
- Waltzes From Vienna – Free – Alfred Hitchcock told Francois Truffaut that this film (about the writing and performance of The Blue Danube) was the low point of his film career. (1934)
- Whistle Stop – Free – A noir flic with Ava Gardner. (1946)
- White Zombie – Free – Pre-Code horror film directed by Victor and Edward Halperin. Béla Lugosi stars as the antagonist, Murder Legendre, with Madge Bellamy appearing as his victim. (1932)
- Woman on the Run – Free – After Frank Johnson (Ross Elliott) is the sole witness to a gangland murder, he goes into hiding and is trailed by Police Inspector Ferris (Robert Keith), his wife, Eleanor (Ann Sheridan), and newspaperman, Danny Leggett (Dennis O’Keefe).
- Young and Innocent – Free – Originally released in the US as The Girl Was Young, this Alfred Hitchcock film was based on Josephine Tey’s novel A Shilling for Candles. (1937)
Find a complete collection of Film Noir movies here and Alfred Hitchcock movies here.
Free Kung Fu & Martial Arts Films
- Black Fist – Free – To make money, a Los Angeles street-fighter goes to work for gangsters. (1975)
- Blood on the Sun – Free – Starring James Cagney and Sylvia Sidney, the film is based on a fictional history behind the Tanaka Memorial document. Won the Academy Award for Best Art Direction for a Black & White film. (1945)
- Bruce Lee Fights Back From The Grave – Free – Bruceploitation movie starring Bruce Lee impersonator and tae kwon do instructor Jun Chong (using the name Bruce K.L. Lea). (1976)
- Bruce Lee the Invincible – Free – Bruce Li with his master goes to Singapore to stop a kung-fu master named Cheng. (1977)
- Four Robbers – Free – Cheap Hong Kong action film which rides the late 80s heroic bloodshed wave and, says kungfumovieguide.com “rips off (mainly) films like A Better Tomorrow and City on Fire, only without any of the same quality.” (1987)
- Guy With Secret Kung Fu – Free – Two brothers put their kung fu skills to the test and do battle with dishonest judges, powerful warlords, and giant zombies, all in the name of ending the oppression of the Ching Dynasty. (1980)
- Hands of Death – Free – A gang has been smuggling high amounts of opium throughout the world and the authorities have lost their undercover agent. (1987)
- Heroes of Shaolin – Free – Directed by William Chang. Like many kung fu movies from the late 1970s, the main theme of the film focuses on revenge.
- Heroes of Shaolin 2 – Free – The sequel to the film above.
- La Dialectique Peut-Elle Casser Des Briques? (Can Dialectics Break Bricks?) – Free – A French Situationist film produced by René Viénet which explores the development of class conflict through revolutionary agitation against a backdrop of graphic kung-fu fighting. (1973)
- Lady Whirlwind – Free – Sometimes called Deep Thrust. Here’s the plot: Tien arrives in town looking to exact revenge on Ling for abandoning her pregnant sister and thus driving the sister to commit suicide. Although Tien agrees to help Ling take down the leader of a local gambling syndicate, she nonetheless still plans to avenge her sister’s death which she holds Ling responsible for. (1973)
- Legend of the Eight Samurai – Free – A Japanese historical martial arts fantasy film starring Sonny Chiba and directed by Kinji Fukasaku. The script is adapted from a 1982 novel Shin Satomi Hakkenden by Toshio Kamata, a loose reworking of the epic serial Nansō Satomi Hakkenden by Kyokutei Bakin. (1983)
- Master of the Flying Guillotine – Free – A Taiwanese wuxia film starring Jimmy Wang Yu, who also wrote and directed the film. It is a sequel to Wang’s 1971 film One Armed Boxer, and thus the film is also known as One-Armed Boxer 2. (1976)
- Ninja Death Trilogy – Free – The entire Ninja Death Trilogy. Four hours of non stop action. (1987)
- Return of Kung Fu Dragon – Free – Sonny Chiba stars again as the deadly martial arts mercenary Takuma Tsurugi in a movie where he must battle against the Yakuza because of a deal gone bad. (1976)
- Return of the Street Fighter – Free – Takuma “Terry” Tsurugi returns. In this sequel to The Street Fighter, he sets out to bust up a phony charity put together by the Yukuza. (1974)
- Shaolin Temple – Free – Otherwise called Death Chambers, it is one of the Shaolin Temple-themed martial arts films and concerns their rebellion against the Qings. Stars David Chiang, Ti Lung, and Fu Sheng. (1976)
- Sister Streetfighter – Free – Classic grindhouse karate film starring Sue Shihomi. (1974)
- Spirits of Bruce Lee – Free – Richard Lee rescues a young Thai boxer on his way to Wansen which is a small town with strange customs.
- The Big Fight – Free – The Japanese oppress the Chinese during WW-2, until resistance breaks out. Stars Tien Peng, Yee Yuen, Cheung Ching Ching, and Blacky Ko. (1972)
- The Brave Lion – Free – During Japan’s invasion of China during WWII two disgraced Japanese soldiers who can speak Chinese are given a second chance. They face execution but are reprieved to go on a special assignment to run a Chinese labor camp the Japanese operate. They work the prisoners so hard they rise up against them. (1977)
- The Image of Bruce Lee – Free – 70s action film about Bruce Li as a special agent who teams with a Hong Kong police officer to crack a smuggling ring. Apart from the title, the only thing this film has to do with Bruce Lee is when someone tells the Bruce Li character that he resembles Lee. (1978)
- The Real Bruce Lee – Free – This martial arts documentary begins with a brief biography of Bruce Lee, and shows scenes from four of his childhood films, Bad Boy, Orphan Sam, Kid Cheung, and The Carnival, each sepia-toned and dubbed to English. (1979)
- The Street Fighter – Free – One of Quentin Tarantino’s favorite karate films, and 13# on his list of 20 great Grindhouse films. Starring Sonny Chiba, the film was the first to get an X rating for violence. (1974)
- The Street Fighter’s Last Revenge – Free – A martial arts film and the third in a series starting with The Street Fighter starring Sonny Chiba. (1974)
- TNT Jackson – Free – A young karate expert searches for her brother’s killer in Hong Kong. (1975)
Free Westerns
- Angel and the Badman – Free – A black and white Western starring John Wayne and Gail Russell. Considered a radical departure from the Western genre at the time. Find Internet Archive version here. (1947)
- Billy the Kid Wanted – Free – Billy the Kid (Buster Crabbe) and his pal Jeff (Dave O’Brien) help their friend Fuzzy Jones (Al St. John) escape from jail, and the trio heads for Paradise Valley, where they find the Paradise Land Development Company, ran by Matt Brawley (Glenn Strange) and Jack Saunders (Charles King), (1941)
- Blue Steel – Free – Western film with John Wayne playing a U.S. Marshal trying to capture the Polka Dot Bandit. Some consider it the best of the Wayne Lone Star films. Alternative version on YouTube here. (1934)
- Born to the West – Free – Can Dare Rudd prove he is responsible enough to win the heart of Judy and also outwit the crooked saloon owner? Stars John Wayne, Marsha Hunt and John Mack Brown. (1937)
- Death Rides a Horse – Free – Giulio Petroni’s top spaghetti western. (1967)
- Frontier Horizon – Free – The Three Mesqueteers attempt to prevent wholesale slaughter in this fine Republic Western starring John Wayne, Ray “Crash” Corrigan, and Raymond Hatton. (1939)
- Gone with the West – Free – James Caan, Stefanie Powers and Sammy Davis Jr. in 1975 western.
- Helltown – Free – Originally called Born to the West, this John Wayne western was based on a novel by Zane Grey. (1937)
- High Lonesome – Free – A drifter (John Drew Barrymore) is suspected of murder, when the real murderers are two men who everybody thinks are dead. This movie was filmed back to back with “The Sundowners” on the same set. (1950)
- Joshua – Free – A black soldier returns from fighting in the Civil War only to find out that his mother has been murdered by a gang of white thugs. He becomes a bounty hunter, determined to exact revenge. Directed by Larry G. Spangler, stars Larry Williamson. (1976)
- Law of the Rio Grande – Free – Directed by Forrest Sheldon, the film is about Jim and Cookie. Escaping from the Sheriff, they decide to go straight. But when they meet their old cohort, The Blanco Kid, he tells their new boss they are outlaws and they are in big trouble again. (1931)
- McLintock! – Free – Comedy Western starring John Wayne & Maureen O’Hara. Loosely based on Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. (1963)
- ‘Neath the Arizona Skies – Free – John Wayne plays a cowboy protecting an American Indian oil-land heiress. (1934)
- One Eyed Jacks – Free – The only film directed by Marlon Brando. He also plays its lead character, Rio. (1961)
- Paradise Canyon – Free – Western starring John Wayne. Features Wayne as government agent John Wyatt searching for a counterfeit ring operating on the Mexican/Arizona border. (1935)
- Rainbow Valley – Free – John Martin (John Wayne) is a government agent working under cover. Leading citizen Morgan calls in gunman Butch Galt (Buffalo Bill Jr.) who blows Martin’s cover. Find YouTube version here. (1935)
- Randy Rides Alone – Free – Jailed for murders he didn’t commit, Randy Bowers (John Wayne) escapes only to stumble into the den of the real murderers. Entertaining early Wayne film. (1934)
- Rawhide – Free – A short western implausibly starring the Yankee legend, Lou Gehrig. (1938)
- Riders of Destiny – Free – John Wayne portrays Singin’ Sandy Saunders and has a reputation as the most notorious gunman since Billy the Kid. Features Wayne in singing role. (1933)
- Sagebrush Trail – Free – John Wayne plays John Brant who escapes from jail after being wrongly accused of murder. Features great stagecoach chase. (1933)
- Santa Fe Trail – Free – Western film directed by Michael Curtiz (also directed Casablanca) and starring Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland and Ronald Reagan. (1940).
- Seven Alone – Free – A frontier family with seven children heads West on the Oregon Trail. When both of their parents die, they decide to push on alone. Stars Dewey Martin and Aldo Ray. (1974)
- Song of Arizona – Free – Stars Roy Rogers. Directed by Frank McDonald. “Gabby’s ranch for wayward boys is in financial trouble. One of his boys, Chip is hiding stolen money sent by his father the outlaw leader King Blaine. After Blaine is killed, Chip decides to pay off Gabby’s debt with this money, but trouble arises when the remaining gang members arrive looking for the loot.”
(1946) - Texas Terror – Free – A young John Wayne in a romantic western. (1935)
- The American West of John Ford – Free – A documentary encapsulating the career and Western films of director John Ford, featuring interviews with John Wayne, James Stewart and Henry Fonda. (1971)
- The Dawn Rider – Free – John Wayne plays John Mason, a man avenging his father’s murder. A western directed by Robert Bradbury. (1935)
- The Desert Trail – Free – Early Western with John Wayne. According toWesternClippings, not Wayne’s finest hour. (1935)
- The Great Train Robbery – Free – Early western film by Edwin S. Porter. A landmark in narrative filmmaking (1903)
- The Lawless Frontier – Free – B Western starring John Wayne and directed by Robert Bradbury. (1934)
- The Lucky Texan – Free – Jerry Mason (played by John Wayne) and Jake Benson become partners and strike it rich with a gold mine. (1934) They then find their lives complicated by bad guys and a woman. (1934)
- The Man From Utah – Free – The Marshal sends John Weston (John Wayne) to a rodeo to see if he can find out who is killing the rodeo riders who are about to win prize money. (1934)
- The Outlaw – Free – The American Western story of Billy the Kid, Doc Holliday, and Pat Garrett, directed by Howard Hughes, and debuting Jane Russell in her first movie role. (1943)
- The Range Feud – Free – Clint Turner is arrested for the murder of his girlfriend Judy’s father, a rival rancher who was an enemy of his own father. Stars John Wayne and Buck Jones. (1931)
- The San Antonio Kid – Free – Directed by Howard Bretherton, the film is about a geologist who has found oil on the neighboring ranches and teams up with Ace who has his gang create a reign of terror to get the ranchers to sell out.
- The Star Packer – Free – A gang working for “The Shadow” is terrorizing the town. John Travers (John Wayne) decides to take on the job of sheriff and do something about it. (1934)
- The Trail Beyond – Free – Western starring John Wayne, Noah Beery, Sr., and Noah Beery, Jr. (1934)
- The Young Land – Free – Dennis Hopper stars in a Western shot in 1959.
- Two Fisted Law – Free – After Rob Russell steals Tim Clark’s ranch, Clark starts prospecting for silver. Stars John Wayne and Tim McCoy. (1932)
- Vengeance Valley – Free – American Western film starring Burt Lancaster, based on the novel by Luke Short. (1951)
- War of the Wildcats – Free – John Wayne stars in western otherwise called In Old Oklahoma. One of Wayne’s better post-Stagecoach performances. (1943)
- West of the Divide – Free – A young John Wayne in B western. (1934)
- Winds of the Wasteland – Free – The arrival of the telegraph put Pony Express riders like John Blair (John Wayne) and his pal Smoky (Lane Chandler) out of work they try to start a stagecoach route through a ghost town. A rival stagecoach company tries to stop them. (1936)
Find a complete collection of John Wayne films here.
Free Silent Films
- 20 Buster Keaton Films – Free – An assortment of films from one of the founding fathers of visual comedy.
- 60 Free Charlie Chaplin Films – Free – An assortment of films from one of the most prolific actors and filmmakers of early cinema.
- Abraham Lincoln – Free – DW Griffith’s biography of the beloved United States president.
- A Burlesque On Carmen – Free – Original two-reel parody of Bizet’s Carmen by Charlie Chaplin. Also stars Leo White & Edna Purviance. (1915)
- A Busy Day – Free – Charlie Chaplin plays a wife jealous of her husband’s interest in another woman, played by Phyllis Allen. (1914)
- A Christmas Carol – Free – Marc McDermott stars as Ebenezer Scrooge in this 1910 version of Dickens’ classic ghost story.
- A Day’s Pleasure – Free – “Chaplin’s fourth film for First National Films. It was created at the Chaplin Studio. It was a quickly made two-reeler to help fill a gap while working on his first feature The Kid. It is about a day outing with his wife and the kids and things don’t go smoothly.” (1919)
- A Dog’s Life – Free – This endearing short Charlie Chaplin film tells the story of underdogs, human and canine, succeeding despite the odds. (1918)
- A Fair Exchange – Free – Originally released as Getting Acquainted, the film’s plot has been summarized as follows: “Charlie and his wife are walking in the park when they encounter Ambrose and his wife. The partners become fond of their counterparts and begin chasing each other around. A policeman looking for a professional Don Juan becomes involved, as does a Turk.” (1914)
- A Film Johnnie – Free – Charlie goes to the movie and falls in love with a girl on the screen. (1914)
- A Man with a Camera – Free – Dziga Vertov’s experimental film about life as it is lived. A Sight and Sound magazine poll named it the 8th best movie ever made. (1929)
- A Night in the Show – Free – Charlie Chaplin played two roles: one as Mr. Pest and one as Mr. Rowdy. The film was created from Chaplin’s stage work from a play called Mumming Birds. (1915)
- A Page of Madness (Kuretta Ippei) – Free – This film directed by Teinosuke Kinugasa and written by Nobel Prize winter Yasunari Kawabata is one of the great landmarks of Japanese silent cinema. (1926)
- A Sixth Part Of The World – Free – Using a travelogue format, Dziga Vertov’s film depicts the multitude of Soviet peoples in remote areas of the USSR. (1926)
- A Woman – Free – This Chaplin film starts with Charlie meeting Edna (Edna Purviance) and her parents in a park; the mother is played by Marta Golden and the father by Charles Insley. (1915)
- Aelita – Free – A silent film directed by Soviet filmmaker Yakov Protazanov. One of the earliest full-length films about space travel, the most notable part of the film remains its remarkable constructivist Martian sets and costumes designed by Aleksandra Ekster. (1924)
- After the Ball – Free – One of the first “adult” films in cinema history. By the pioneering director Georges Méliès.
- Alice in Wonderland – Free – The first-ever film version of Lewis Carroll’s tale. Based on Sir John Tenniel’s original illustrations. (1903)
- Alice in Wonderland – Free – Silent adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s classic, directed and written by W.W. Young. (1915)
- Anémic Cinéma – Free – Marcel Duchamp’s avant-garde film combines whirling optical illusions, known as Rotoreliefs, with spiraling puns and complex word play. (1926)
- Battleship Potemkin – Free – Directed by the great Russian director, Sergei Eisenstein. One of the most influential propaganda films of all time. Alternative version here. (1925)
- Behind the Screen – Free – A short film written and directed by Charlie Chaplin, the film is long on slapstick, but it also gets into themes dealing with gender bending and homosexuality. (1916)
- Between Showers – Free – A short Keystone film from 1914 starring Charlie Chaplin, Ford Sterling, and Emma Bell Clifton.
- Broken Blossoms – Free – Silent film directed by D.W. Griffith and starring Lillian Gish. (1919)
- Charlie Shanghaied – Free – Charlie Chaplin and his Tramp character gets shanghaied by crooks. (1915)
- Charlie’s Recreation – Free – Out of costume, Charlie is a clean-shaven dandy who, somewhat drunk, visits a dance hall. There the wardrobe girl has three rival admirers: the band leader, one of the musicians, and now Charlie. (1914)
- Cinderella – Free – This film by George Méliès is the oldest known film adaptation of the 1697 fairy tale. It was also apparently the first movie to use a “dissolve transition” between scenes. (1899)
- Das Wandernde Bild – Free – A silent, black and white film directed by Fritz Lang released in 1920.
- Der Golum – Free – Paul Wegener’s German expressionist classic, says Roger Ebert, “is a vivid piece of darkly toned fantasy that exerted a powerful influence over both European cinema and Hollywood.” (1920)
- Die Nibelungen – Free – A series of two silent fantasy films created by Fritz Lang in 1924. Runs 5 hours.
- Don Quixote – Free – Classic adaptation of the Miguel de Cervantes’ novel (find in our collection of Free eBooks), directed by Georg Wilhelm Pabst, and starring the famous operatic bass Feodor Chaliapin. (1933)
- Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde – Free – Horror film based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. (1912)
- Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde – Free – John Barrymore stars in the renowned silent adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson classic. (1920)
- Edgar Allan Poe – Free – The first biopic of Poe, shot by D.W. Griffith. Shows Poe writing The Raven. (1909)
- Earth – Free – The third installment in Alexander Dovzhenko’s “Ukraine Trilogy,” Earth is considered a masterpiece in early Soviet cinema, and one of the greatest silent films of all time. (1930)
- Easy Street – Free – Charlie Chaplin steps forward and keeps the peace. (1917)
- Easy Virtue – Free – Early silent film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Loosely based on a play by Noël Coward. (1928)
- Emak-Bakia – Free – Features filming techniques used by Man Ray, including rayographs, double exposures, soft focus and ambiguous features. (1926)
- Entr’Acte – Free – René Clair’s dadaist masterpiece. Features scenes of Marcel Duchamp and Man Ray. (1924)
- Faust – Free – German expressionist filmmaker F.W. Murnau directs film version of Goethe’s classic tale. This was Murnau’s last German movie. (1926)
- Frankenstein – Free – The first time Mary Shelley’s literary was brought to the big screen. (1910)
- Ghosts Before Breakfast (Vormittagsspuk) – Free – Silent avant-garde film by Hans Richter. The nazis destroyed the sound version of the film, deeming it “degenerate art.” (1928)
- Greed – Free – Erich von Stroheim’s silent drama originally ran 10 hours, but was eventually hacked down to two. It follows a dentist whose wife wins a lottery ticket, only to become obsessed with money. (1924)
- Harakiri – Free – Early silent film by Fritz Lang. (1919)
- Häxan – Free – Swedish/Danish silent horror film written and directed by Benjamin Christensen. (1922)
- Hell W10 – Free – The Clash stars in 1980s gangster parody. Written and directed by Joe Strummer. (1983)
- Intolerance – Free – D.W. Griffith’s most ambitious silent film is one of the landmarks in cinematic history. (1916)
- Kino Eye – Free – Dziga Vertov’s first documentary not made from found footage. Shows the joys of life in a Soviet village centers around the activities of the Young Pioneers. (1924)
- La Souriante Madame Beudet – Free – Early feminist film by Germaine Dulac. Features a woman trapped in a loveless marriage. (1922)
- L’Inferno – Free – Italy’s first feature film, and some say still the best adaptation of Dante’s classic work. (1911)
- Joyless Street – Free – Greta Garbo stars in her second major role. One of the first films of the “New Objectivity” movement. (1925)
- Kid Auto Races at Venice – Free – It’s the first film in which Charlie Chaplin’s iconic “Little Tramp” character makes his appearance. (1914)
- L’Arrivée D’un Train En Gare De La Ciotat – Free – One of the most famous early silent films shot by Auguste and Louis Lumière. (1895)
- La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc – Free – Directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer and starring Renée Jeanne Falconetti, this film is considered a masterpiece from the silent era. Find an alternate version on Archive.org here. (1928)
- Laughing Gas – Free – Film starring Chaplin is sometimes known as ”Busy Little Dentist”, “Down and Out”, “Laffing Gas”, “The Dentist”, and “Tuning His Ivories”.
- Le Ballet Mécanique – Free – Historic cinematic collaboration between Fernand Legér and George Antheil. (1924)
- Le Retour à la Raison – Free – A film from the avant-garde Cinéma Pur movement shot by Man Ray in 1923.
- Lime Club Field Day – Free – One of the earliest surviving feature films with an all black cast (1913)
- Mabel’s Strange Predicament – Free – Watch lots of lots of high jinks go down in a hotel. (1914)
- Making a Living – Free – Premiering on February 2, 1914, Making a Living marks the first film appearance by Charlie Chaplin.
- Manhatta – Free – A collaboration by photographer-painter Charles Sheeler and photographer Paul Strand, Manhatta made cinematic history as the first American avant-garde film. (1921)
- Menilmontant – Free – When Pauline Kael, longtime New Yorker film critic, was asked to name her favorite film, this was it. French silent film. (1925)
- Metropolis – Free – Fritz Lang’s fable of good and evil fighting it out in a futuristic urban dystopia. An important classic. An alternate version can be found here. (1927)
- Nerves – Free – Directed by Robert Reinert, Nerves tells of “the political disputes of an ultraconservative factory owner Herr Roloff and Teacher John, who feels a compulsive but secret love for Roloff’s sister, a left-wing radical.” (1919)
- Nosferatu – Free – German Expressionist horror film directed by F. W. Murnau. An unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. (1922)
- October: Ten Days That Shook the World – Free – Originally called Oktyabr, Sergei Eisenstein’s film documents the Russian Revolution of 1917. A masterpiece by a pioneering filmmaker. (1928)
- Old and New – Free – Also called The General Line, Sergei Eisenstein’s film has been called a “bucolic epic about the Soviet struggle to collectivize agricultural production.” (1929)
- One A.M. – Free – The first silent film Charlie Chaplin starred in alone. (1916)
- One Week – Free – The first film to be made by Buster Keaton on his own; Keaton had worked with Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle for a number of years. The film was written and directed by Keaton and Edward F. Cline, and runs for 19 minutes. Sybil Seely co-stars. Alternate version here. (1920)
- Pandora’s Box – Free – G.W. Pabst’s tragic melodrama about the fate of a carefree seductress, memorably played by Louise Brooks. (1929)
- Romance Sentimentale – Free – Directed by Sergei Eisenstein. (1930) Alternate version here.
- Safety Last – Free – Starring Harold Lloyd, the film features one of the most iconic scenes from the silent film era: Lloyd “clutching the hands of a large clock as he dangles from the outside of a skyscraper above moving traffic.” (1923)
- Sherlock Jr. – Free – A comic masterpiece from the silent era. Stars Buster Keaton. (1924)
- Sherlock Holmes Baffled – Free – Watch the very first Sherlock Holmes movie. (1900)
- Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans – Free – Made by the German expressionist director F.W. Murnau. Voted in 2012, the 5th greatest film of all time. (1927)
- The Adventurer – Free – Charlie Chaplin plays an escaped convict who falls into favor with a wealthy family after he saves a young lady. (1917)
- The Avenging Conscience – Free – Directed by D. W. Griffith, the film is based on the Edgar Allan Poe short story “The Tell-Tale Heart” and the poem “Annabel Lee.” Scroll down to the second video on the linked page. (1914)
- The Birth of a Nation – Free – Directed by DW Griffith. A landmark work in film history (1915) with racist undertones. (1915)
- The Bond – Free – A propaganda film created and funded by Charlie Chaplin for theatrical release to help sell U.S. Liberty Bonds during World War I. (1918)
- The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari – Free – This silent film directed by Robert Wiene is considered one of the most influential German Expressionist films and perhaps one of the greatest horror movies of all time. Watch the restored version. (1920)
- The Count – Free – The Count was Charlie Chaplin’s 5th film for Mutual Films. Co-starring Eric Campbell and Edna Purviance, it is a story about Charlie and his boss finding an invitation to a party from a real Count. (1916)
- The Cure – Free – Chaplin plays a drunk who checks into a health spa to dry out and comedy ensues. (1917)
- The Devilish Tenant – Free – In this Georges Méliès, a new tenant moves in and fills the room with furniture taken from his suitcase. (1909)
- The Eleventh Year – Free – Dziga Vertov’s film celebrates “the tenth anniversary of the October Revolution” which, according to the Harvard Film Archive, presents that decade of socialism “in the eyes of a left-wing artist of the twenties” as “a radical social experiment [ … ] required to be presented in a radically experimental way.” (1928)
- The Fireman – Free – Charlie Chaplin’s second short for Mutual continued his focus on gags and situations—as the title suggests, Chaplin plays the role of an inept firefighter. (1916)
- The Floorwalker – Free – Filmed for the Mutual Film Corporation, the film featured the first “running staircase” in cinema history. (1916)
- The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse – Free – Hugely popular silent film that made Rudolph Valentino a star. (1921)
- The Freshman – Free – Starring Harold Lloyd, this comedy film tells the story of a college freshman trying to become popular by joining the school football team. (1925)
- The General – Free – Orson Welles said that Buster Keaton’s The General is “the greatest comedy ever made, the greatest Civil War film ever made, and perhaps the greatest film ever made. Alternate version here (1926)
- The Gold Rush – Free – Charlie Chaplin wrote, produced, directed and starred in The Gold Rush. Chaplin repeatedly said that this is the film he most wanted to be remembered for. (1925)
- The Golem: How He Came Into the World – Free – A follow-up to Paul Wegener’s earlier film, “The Golem,” about a monstrous creature brought to life by a learned rabbi to protect the Jews from persecution in medieval Prague. Based on the classic folk tale, and co-directed by Carl Boese. (1920)
- The Golem: How He Came Into the World – Free – The same film as the one listed immediately above, but this one has a score created by Pixies frontman Black Francis. (2008)
- The Good for Nothing – Free – Made at the Keystone Studios, the film involves Chaplin taking care of a man in a wheelchair. (1914)
- The Great Train Robbery – Free – Early western film by Edwin S. Porter. A landmark in narrative filmmaking. (1903)
- The Hearts of Age – Free – The first film/short film shot by Orson Welles. It’s a play on Jean Cocteau’s movie, The Blood of a Poet. (1934)
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame – Free – With Lon Chaney. (1923)
- The Immigrant – Free – Charlie Chaplin plays an immigrant coming to the United States who gets accused of theft along the way. (1917)
- The Impossible Voyage – Free -Directed by Georges Méliès, this 1904 film, based on a Jules Verne’s play, is a satire of scientific exploration in which a group of geographers attempt a journey into the interior of the sun. (1904)
- The Lady and the Hooligan – Free – Russian silent film directed by and starring Vladimir Mayakovsky. His only surviving film. (1918)
- The Last Laugh – Free – F.W. Murnau’s classic chamber drama about a hotel doorman who falls on hard times. A masterpiece of the silent era, the story is told almost entirely in pictures. Yale has more background on the film. (1924)
- The Little Match Girl – Free – a 40-minute silent film by Jean Renoir based on a story by Hans Christian Andersen. (1928)
- The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog – Free – One of Hitchcock’s silent classics. A landlady suspects her lodger is a murderer killing women around London. (1927)
- The Lost World – Free – The “grandaddy of monster movies,” the film adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic novel about a land where prehistoric creatures still roam. (1925)
- The Manor of the Devil (Le Manoir du Diable) – Free – Created by the film pioneer George Méliès, it’s considered the first horror film ever made. (1896)
- The Pawnshop – Free – Rich in slapstick, The Pawnshop was one of Chaplin’s more popular movies for Mutual Film, the producer of some of the greatest Chaplin comedies. (1916)
- The Phantom Carriage – Free – One of the central works in the history of Swedish cinema. Notable for its influence on Ingmar Bergman. Directed by Victor Sjöström, (1921)
- The Phantom of the Opera – Free – A classic silent film featuring Lon Chaney as the Phantom. (1925)
- The Pleasure Garden – Free – After several collaborative efforts, Hitchcock made his solo directorial debut in the German-British co-production based on a novel by Oliver Sandys. (1925)
- The Rink – Free – The Rink, Chaplin’s 8th film for Mutual Films, showcases the actor’s roller skating skills. (1916)
- The Sealed Room – Free – Directed by DW Griffith, the film is based on Edgar Allan Poe’s “A Cask of Amontillado“, with appearances by Mary Pickford and Mack Sennett. (1909)
- The Seashell and the Clergyman – Free – The first surrealist film ever. Directed by Germaine Dulac. (1928)
- The Sheik – Free – Silent film with Rudolph Valentino. (1921)
- The Smiling Madame Beudet – Free – A short silent by Germaine Dulac that also happens to hold the title of the first feminist film. (1922)
- The Story of the Kelly Gang – Free – An Australian film that traces the life of the legendary infamous outlaw and bushranger Ned Kelly. It was inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register for being the world’s first full-length narrative feature film. (1906)
- The Student of Prague – Free – A classic of German expressionist film. German writer Hanns Heinz Ewers and Danish director Stellan Rye bring to life a 19th-century horror story. Some call it the first indie film. (1913)
- The Ten Commandments – Free – An epic silent film from 1923 directed by Cecil B. DeMille, and the first in DeMille’s biblical trilogy, followed by The King of Kings (1927) and The Sign of the Cross (1932).
- The Ten Commandments – Free – A version of the 1923 version with a new musical score by Steve Berlin (Los Lobos), Steven Drozd (Flaming Lips) & Scott Amendola. (2021)
- The Toll of the Sea – Free – The first general release film in technicolor. (1922)
- The Tramp – Free – The film made Chaplin’s great Tramp character famous. (1915)
- The Vagabond – Free – A silent film by Charlie Chaplin that co-starred Edna Purviance, Eric Campbell, Leo White and Lloyd Bacon, with Chaplin appearing as The Tramp. The British Film Institute calls it the “pivotal work” of his Mutual period – “and his most touching.” (1916)
- The Water Magician – Free – Japanese silent film. One of the most popular titles from the silent film work of Kenji Mizoguchi. (1933)
- The Wizard of Oz – Free – The earliest surviving film version of L. Frank Baum’s 1900 novel. (1910)
- The Wizard of Oz – Free – The first major film adaptation of the classic novel. Features Oliver Hardy as the Tin Woodsmen. (1925)
- Three Songs About Lenin – Free – Dziga Vertov’s film is based on three admiring songs sung by anonymous people in Soviet Russia about Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. (1934)
- Tillie’s Punctured Romance – Free – Among other things, the film is notable for being the last Chaplin film didn’t write or direct by himself. (1914)
- Trip to the Moon / Le Voyage dans la lune – Free – French black & white silent sci-fi film loosely based on two novels: From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne and The First Men in the Moon by H. G. Wells. (1902)
- Un Chien Andalou – Free – Salvador Dali and Louis Bunuel’s short, silent surrealist film. A restored version can be viewed here. (1929)
Free Documentaries
- 3,000 Free Films from the National Film Board of Canada – Free – The National Film Board of Canada has put online thousands of films, including a good number of documentaries.
- 400 Free Documentaries from Deutsche Welle – Free – The German public broadcaster makes available 400+ documentaries covering many areas, including arts & culture.
- 10 Years with Hayao Miyazaki – Free – A four part documentary on the unstoppable Japanese animator directed by Kaku Arakawa. (2019)
- 15 Films by Designers Charles & Ray Eames – Free – Watch a series of short films by the iconic designers.
- 50 Architecture Documentaries – Free – A collection of free documentaries directed by Richard Copans on famous architects and buildings. Topics include Bauhaus, Le Corbusier, Zaha Hadid & more.
- A is for Architecture – Free – This short documentary offers a panorama of architecture, moving from one tradition to another, illustrating how each reflects the sentiments and values of its time. (1960)
- A Brief History of John Baldessari – Free – A short film narrated by Tom Waits on the life and work of West-Coast conceptual artist John Baldessari. (2012)
- A Communications Primer – Free – An instructional film on the basics of communication, created by Charles and Ray Eames of Eames Office for IBM. (1953)
- A Land Without Bread – Free – Ostensibly a documentary about the Las Hurdes region located in a remote corner of Spain, this Luis Buñuel’s film is in fact a lacerating parody of travel documentaries. (1933)
- A Look Behind the Future – Free – Intriguing 1966 documentary takes you inside the making of Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey and the thrilling technologies then in real-life development. (1966)
- A Man Among Men: Alberto Giacometti – Free – An hour-long documentary about Giacometti, by Jean-Marie Drot. (1963)
- A Necessary Ruin: The Story of Buckminster Fuller and the Union Tank Car Dome – Free – Tells the history of the Union Tank Car Dome, the largest clear-span structure in the world, based on the engineering principles of the visionary design scientist Buckminster Fuller. (2010)
- A Story of Healing – Free – Won Academy Award for best Documentary Short Subject. Follows a team of volunteers in Vietnam. (1997)
- A World of Art: The Metropolitan Museum of Art – Free – Founded in 1870, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City is a three dimensional encyclopedia of art history. Filmed in 2004.
- Albert Einstein: How I See the World – Free – Documentary on physicist Albert Einstein which chronicles the experiences that lead him to become a great advocate for world peace. (1991)
- Aleister Crowley: The Wickedest Man in the World – Free – Takes you into the life of Aleister Crowley, an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, and mountaineer, responsible for founding the religion of Thelema.
- Albert Camus: The Madness of Sincerity – Free – About the life and work of writer Albert Camus, including interviews with his former mistresses and Camus’ daughter Catherine and her twin brother Jean. (1997)
- Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein – Free – Documentary on the two artists from 1966.
- Alfred Stieglitz: The Eloquent Eye – Free – A revealing look at the “Father of American Photography.” Appeared in the PBS American Masters series. (1999)
- Andy Warhol: The Complete Picture – Free – A documentary covering the life and work of the most enigmatic and influential artist of the late twentieth century. (2001)
- Ansel Adams, Photographer – Free – Documentary reveals the artistic and technical approach of Ansel Adams, America’s finest photographer of natural landscapes. (1958)
- Ansel Adams: The Incisive Art – Free – Explores the work of one of America’s most famous photographers, Ansel Adams as he goes beneath the surface to record nature and the quality of humanity. (1962)
- Arduino: The Documentary – Free – Revisits a project launched in the Italian town of Ivrea back in 2005. The challenge? To develop cheap, easy-to-use electronics components for design students. (2010)
- At the Museum – Free – The Museum of Modern Art (aka MoMA) creates an 8-part documentary series on what it takes to run a world-class museum. (2017)
- Atheism: A Rough History of Disbelief – Free – A mini-series created by Jonathan Miller explores the history of atheism in the world. (2004)
- Audio Ammunition – Free – A series of short documentaries on The Clash and five of their classic studio albums. Produced by Google. (2013)
- Badiou – Free – The first feature-length film on France’s most famous living philosopher. (2018)
- Bauhaus World – Free – To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Bauhaus school, this documentary explores the history and influence of Germany’s legendary art, architecture & design movement. (2019)
- Bob Marley ‘Come A Long Way’ – Free – Documentary made for NZ tv show ‘Good Day’ by Dylan Taite. (1979)
- Beat This!: A Hip-Hop History – Free – Originally part of the Arena television series, the TV doc was among the first crop of documentaries about hip-hop and hip-hop culture. (1984)
- Bed Peace – Free – 70 minute documentary revisits John and Yoko’s famous 1969 Bed-Ins, which amounted to a peaceful protest against the Vietnam War. (2011)
- Beautiful Equations – Free – Artist/writer Matt Collings takes the plunge into an alien world of equations, asking top scientists to help him understand five of the most famous equations in science. (2010)
- Benoit Mandelbrot: Father of Fractals – Free – In this final interview shot by filmmaker Erol Morris, Mandelbrot shares his love for mathematics and how it led him to his wondrous discovery of fractals. (2013)
- Black Coffee – Free – A three part look at “the world’s most widely taken legal drug,” a beverage whose intellectually intense die-hard enthusiasts give wine’s a run for their money, from historical, political, social, and economic angles. (2007)
- Blitzkrieg Bop – Free – Hour-long TV documentary takes an old school look at CBGB during the heyday. Features The Ramones, Blondie and The Dead Boys. Mixes live performance with short interview clips. (1978)
- Bob Geldof: The Moment – Free – In a short documentary by Errol Morris, Bob Geldof talks about the greatest day in his life–stepping on the stage of Live Aid and raising money to end the famine in Africa. (2014)
- Bowling for Columbine – Free – Through his YouTube channel, Michael Moore has made available his Academy Award winning documentary on guns & gun violence in America. (2002)
- Brian Eno: The Man Who Fell To Earth, 1971-1977 – Free – Explores Eno’s life, career and music between those titular years—the period that some view as his golden age, and others as just one great era in a long and very eclectic career. (2012)
- Buckminster Fuller: Thinking Out Loud – Free – Documentary on the inventor/visionary/thinker R. Buckminster Fuller, produced and directed by four time Academy Award nominees Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon. (1996)
- Brussels Express – Free – Directed by Sander Vandenbroucke, this 20 minute film explores the risks of cycling in modern Brussels, one of the most congested cities in today’s Europe. (2012)
- Caravaggio – Free – A documentary by Robert Hughes (circa 1975)
- Chick Corea: Documentary of Legendary Jazz Great, Pianist and Composer – Free – Short documentary features Sting, Bobby McFerrin, Bela Fleck, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and more.
- Churchill’s Island – Free – WWII propaganda film chronicling the defense of Great Britain. Won the very first Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject. (1941)
- City Symphonies – Free – Watch “city symphonies” filmed in the 1920s. These poetic, experimental documentaries present a portrait of the daily of cities like Berlin, Paris, Sao Paulo and New York.
- Code Rush – Free – Documentary following the lives of Netscape engineers in Silicon Valley. (1998)
- Colette – Free – 90-year-old Colette Marin-Catherine confronts her past by visiting the German concentration camp Mittelbau-Dora where her brother was killed. Prepared to re-open old wounds, Marin-Catherine offers important lessons for us all. The film won the Academy Award for best documentary short in 2021.
- Confrontation: Paris, 1968 – Free – A documentary by Seymour Drescher (Professor in the Department of History at the University of Pittsburgh & former student of George Mosse), looks at the student and worker upheaval in France in May, 1968.
- Conversations with Myself – Free – Alan Watts walks in the mountains and talks about the limitations of technology and the problem of trying to keep track of an infinite universe with a single tracked mind. (1971)
- Creative Process: Norman McLaren – Free – This feature length documentary is a journey into Norman McLaren’s process of artistic creation. (1990)
- Cry Baby: The Pedal That Rocks the World – Free – Tells the story of the wah wah effect pedal, from its invention in 1966 to the present day. (2011)
- Curious About Cuba: The Great Museums of Havana – Free – This film shows a side of the island nation that we seldom hear about: her art, history, and culture. (2008)
- Cyberpunk – Free – Documentary introduces the culture of Cyberpunk. Features vintage footage of William Gibson & Timothy Leary (1990).
- David Bowie: Sound and Vision – Free – Takes you on a journey throug Bowie’s career. Features interviews with Bowie, Iman his wife, his musical contemporaries including Iggy Pop, Moby and Trent Reznor. (2002)
- David Bowie: The Story of Ziggy Stardust – Free – Film tells the story of how Bowie arrived at one of the most iconic creations in the history of pop music. The songs, the hairstyles, the fashion, etc. (2012)
- David Lynch on the History of Surrealist Cinema – Free – Pretty much what the title said. (1987)
- Day of the Dead – Free – Designers Charles and Ray Eames short portrait of the Mexican festival, Day of the Dead. (1957)
- Death Mills – Free – Billy Wilder’s documentary in German showing what Allies found when they liberated Nazi extermination camps. (1945)
- Degenerate Art – Free – Directed by David Grubin, this documentary explores the 1937 art exhibit under the Nazi regime, which featured modern art, or what the Nazis called ‘Entartete Kunst’ or ‘Degenerate Art. (1993)
- Diane Arbus: Masters of Photography – Free – The documentary created soon after the photographer’s death is based on interviews with those who knew her best. (1972.)
- Discovering Electronic Music: Revised – Free – Directed by Bernard Wilets, the film explores this idea: “We live in an age of technology in which machines touch every part of our lives. It is not surprising that music has also been influenced by technology.” (1983)
- Dorothea Lange Part 1: Under The Trees – Free – Film explores the American documentary photographer and photojournalist, best known for her Depression-era work for the Farm Security Administration. View alternate version here. (1965)
- Dreams Are What We Wake Up From – Free – Documentary about Raymond Carver was directed by Daisy Goodwin and includes contributions from Richard Ford and Jay McInerney. (1989)
- Dream of Life – Free – Directed by Steven Sebring, the film offers an intimate portrait of poet, painter, musician and singer Patti Smith. (2008)
- Earthlings – Free – Narrated by Joaquin Phoenix, and with a soundtrack provided by Moby, Earthlings “is a feature-length documentary about our absolute economic dependence on animals raised as pets, food, clothing, entertainment and for scientific research.” (2005)
- Einstein’s Brain – Free – A strange documentary that follows Japanese scholar Kenji Sugimoto’s quest to find Einstein’s brain. (1994)
- Eric Hobsbawm: The Consolations of History – Free – Anthony Wilks traces the connections between the events of Eric Hobsbawm’s life and the history he told, from his teenage years in Germany and his communist membership, to the jazz clubs of 1950s Soho and the makings of New Labour…
- Europe After the Rain – Free – Documentary on the two great art movements, Dada & Surrealism, created by the Arts Council of Great Britain. (1978)
- Everything1017: How David Byrne and Brian Eno Make Music Together – Free – A short documentary on how David Byrne and Brian Eno make music together. By the late visual artist Hillman Curtis. (2012)
- Everything Is a Remix – Free – Kirby Ferguson’s 4-part video series explores the idea that “great art doesn’t come out of nowhere. Artists inevitably borrow from one another, drawing on past ideas and conventions, and then turn these materials into something beautiful and new.” (2010-14)
- F. Scott Fitzgerald: Winter Dreams – Free – Peabody award-winning film chronicles the life of Fitzgerald, one of America’s greatest novelists, in images and ideas as lyrical and inventive as his prose. (2002)
- Fear and Loathing on the Road to Hollywood – Free – A look at “Gonzo journalist”, Hunter S. Thompson with his collaborator, British illustrator, Ralph Steadman. (1978)
- Fellini: A Director’s Notebook – Free – Federico Fellini introduces himself to America in experimental documentary aired on TV. (1969)
- Filming ‘The Trial’ – Free – An unfinished making-of film by Orson Welles, made in 1981, which focuses on the production of his 1962 film The Trial. (1981)
- First Orbit – Free – A real time recreation of Yuri Gagarin’s pioneering first orbit, shot entirely in space from on board the International Space Station. (2011)
- Flamenco at 5:15 – Free – An Oscar winning documentary takes you inside a Flamenco dance class. The film is about dance as it is about life. (1983)
- Flâneur III – Free – An attempt at capturing the character of Paris by following the development of the city’s different forms throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, in the spirit of the German philosopher Walter Benjamin. (1998)
- For Neda – Free – An HBO documentary on the life of Neda Agha-Soltan, the young woman gunned down during the crushing of Iran’s Green Revolution. (2010)
- Founding Fathers – Free – Documentary narrated by Public Enemy’s Chuck D presents the true history of hip hop.
- Fractals: The Colors of Infinity – Free – Arthur C. Clarke brings us inside the world of fractal geometry, David Gilmour provides the soundtrack. (1995)
- Frames of Reference – Free – “Directed by the pioneering UK documentarian Richard Leacock, Frames of Reference is a slick and surreal dive into physics fundamentals and, in particular, why everything is indeed relative.” (1960)
- Frank Zappa – Free – A Dutch documentary for VPRO Television, directed by Roelof Kiers (1971).
- From One Second to the Next – Free – German director Werner Herzog presents a harrowing 35 minute film on the dangers of texting while driving. (2013)
- Future Shock – Free – A short documentary based on a book written by futurist Alvin Toffler in 1970. It’s narrated by Orson Welles. (1972)
- Gente del Po – Free – Michaelangelo Antonioni’s documentary short on the people of the Po valley. (1947)
- George Eastman House: Picture Perfect – Free – The urban estate of George Eastman, who made photographers of us all, is a treasure trove of photographs and one of the world’s premier film archives. (2003)
- Georges Bataille: À Perte de Vues – Free – Documentary on the subversive French philosopher Georges Bataille. (1997)
- Georgia O’Keeffe: A Life in Art – Free – A short documentary on the painter narrated by Gene Hackman.
- Giacometti – Free – An intimate look at Alberto Giacometti in his studio, making his iconic sculptures (1965)
- Glass – Free – Directed by Bert Haanstra, this short documentary about the glass industry won the Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject in 1959. (1958)
- Glenn Gould – Off the Record and Glenn Gould – On the Record- Free – Wolf Koenig and Roman Kroitor made a pair of gorgeously shot documentaries about the Canadian pianist, giving viewers insight into his life and music. (1959)
- Great Lakes, Bad Lines – Free – The story of two Michigan adventurers and their 500-mile, fossil-free journey across the Upper Peninsula along the route of Line 5 — a 63-year-old pipeline – that threatens our inland waters and Great Lakes. Brought to you by Patagonia, Founders, Moosejaw, and Cherry Republic. (2016)
- Haruki Murakami: In Search of this Elusive Writer – Free – Alan Yentob travels through Japan, from the midnight Tokyo of After Hours to the snowed-in Hokkaido of A Wild Sheep Chase, in a quest to find artifacts of the novelist’s imaginary world.
- Heavy Metal Parking Lot – Free – Filmed in 1986 at a Maryland concert arena parking lot before a heavy metal show, this hilarious documentary is an unvarnished anthropological study of American metalheads in their mid-’80s glory. You can also see the 2006 followup, “Heavy Metal Parking Lot Alumni: Where Are They Now.” (1986)
- Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Decisive Moment – Free – 18-minute film features a selection of Cartier-Bresson’s iconic photographs, along with rare commentary by the photographer himself. (1973)
- Henry Miller Asleep & Awake – Free – Tom Schiller’s 34 minute voyage into the world of Henry Miller (Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn). (1975)
- History of the Leica Camera – Free – The film is in German, but it’s still great to watch.
- Hofmann’s Potion – Free – A balanced look at the history of LSD by Canadian filmmaker Connie Littlefield. (2002)
- Hollywood: A Celebration of the American Silent Film – Free – Epic, 13-part documentary chronicles the early history of cinema. (1980)
- Home – Free – Yann Arthus-Bertrand’s film that will make you look at our planet in a new way. (2009)
- Homemade American Music – Free – A history of rural southeastern traditional American music, as told and played by Mike Seeger and Alice Gerrard. (1980)
- How Buildings Learn – Free – Stewart Brand (creator of the iconic Whole Earth Catalog) created a 6-part series on architecture, with Brian Eno providing the music. (1997)
- How Walt Disney Cartoons Are Made – Free – Disney’s in-house documentary walks you through the stages of Snow White‘s development. (1939)
- Human, All Too Human – Free – A three part documentary on the life & thought of Nietzsche, Heidegger and Sartre. (1999)
- I Signed the Petition – Free – A philosophical meditation on the decision to sign a petition asking Radiohead to boycott performing in Tel Aviv. Directed by Mahdi Fleifel. (2018)
- Idem – Free – A short film by David Lynch on the art of making lithographs. Shot at the Idem studio in Paris. (2013)
- If You Love This Planet – Free – Oscar-winning short film on the need for nuclear disarmament. (1982)
- Iggy Pop and the Stooges – Free – A documentary from the always good South Bank Show. (2004)
- I’ll Find a Way – Free – Oscar-winning documentary presents Nadia, a 9-year-old girl with spina bifida. (1977)
- Images of a Visionary World – Free – Avant-garde author Henri Michaux creates film trying to demonstrate the experience of taking hallucinogenic drugs. (1964)
- In a Brilliant Light: Van Gogh in Arles – Free – This documentary covers Van Gogh’s stay in Arles where he completed over two hundred paintings and one hundred drawings. (1984)
- In Search of Moebius – Free – Documentary about Frenchman Jean Giraud, one of the most influential comic strip illustrators and authors of all time.
- In The Ocean – A Film About the Classical Avant Garde – Free – A documentary look at composers Philip Glass, Julia Wolfe, John Cage, Steve Reich, Elliott Carter and their contemporaries.
- Inside: Dr. Strangelove – Free – Interviews with cast members, critics, editors, producers and others associated with the picture reveal how this Cold War worst-case-scenario developed into something so very… Kubrickian.
- Inside the Rhapsody – Free – A short documentary on the making of Queen’s classic song, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ (2002)
- Jackson Pollock 51 – Free – Short documentary by Hans Namuth features the abstract expressionist painter up close, painting on glass. (1951)
- Jacques Lacan Speaks – Free – The psychoanalyst gives a packed lecture at the Catholic University of Louvain in 1972, followed by a probing interview. One of only 2 known appearances by Lacan on film. Shot by Belgian documentarian Francoise Wolff. (1972)
- Jazz Hot – Free – Django Reinhardt, violinist Stéphane Grappelli and their band the Quintette du Hot Club de France perform together in a short film designed to promote a UK tour. (1938)
- John Peel’s Record Box – Free – British documentary explores the most prized records in John Peel’s huge record collection, which he kept stored in a special box. (2005)
- Jorge Luis Borges: The Mirror Man – Free – Documentary on Argentina’s most famous and beloved literary figure. (2000)
- Ladies and Gentlemen… Mr. Leonard Cohen – Free – This Canadian documentary captures Leonard Cohen just as he was poised to begin his singer-songwriter career. (1965)
- Last Days at the Fillmore – Free – Documents the final days of Bill Graham’s Fillmore West. (1972)
- Laughing and Not Being Normal – Free – A documentary about the feminist music producer, Grimes. (2016)
- Le dinosaure et le bébé, dialogue en huit parties entre Fritz Lang et Jean-Luc Godard – Free – A 1967 TV documentary featuring two great filmmakers (Jean-Luc Godard and Fritz Lang) in conversation. (1967)
- Le Noise – Free – Directed by Adam Vollick, this movie features a live performance of Neil Young’s album Le Noise. It was recorded at the studios of Daniel Lanois in LA. (2010)
- Life in a Day – Free – Film captures for future generations what it was like to be alive on the 24th of July, 2010. Executive produced by Ridley Scott and directed by Kevin Macdonald.
- Live at Pompeii – Free – David Gilmour makes his Live at Pompeii concert film free to watch online. (2016)
- Lost Kubrick: The Unfinished Films of Stanley Kubrick – Free – Narrated by Malcolm McDowell, this short documentary examines the films Stanley Kubrick developed but didn’t live long enough to make. Features interviews given by Kubrick’s longtime producer Jan Harlan, Jack Nicholson, Sydney Pollack etc. (2007)
- Lovecraft: Fear of the Unknown – Free – Named the Best Documentary at the 2008 Comic-Con International Independent Film Festival, the film revisits the life and writings of H.P. Lovecraft, the father of modern horror fiction. (2008)
- Manhatta – Free – A short documentary film directed by painter Charles Sheeler and photographer Paul Strand. It’s considered America’s first avant-garde film. (1921)
- M.C. Escher: Adventures in Perception – Free – The first half of the film shows a lot of M.C. Escher’s work accompanied by a dissonant score by Felix Visser. About halfway through, we see shots of Escher at work. (1971)
- Marcel Duchamp: Iconoclaste et Inoxydable – Free – Three- part, three-hour documentary with interviews about Marcel Duchamp, directed by Fabrice Maze. (2009)
- Mel Blanc: The Man of a Thousand Voices – Free – Documentary focuses on voice artist extraordinaire Mel Blanc. (2008)
- Meltdown: The Secret History of the Global Financial Collapse – Free – A 4 part look at the 2008 financial crisis by the CBC. (2011)
- Memory of the Camps – Free – An attempt to revive a World War II film meant to document the Holocaust. Hitchcock was involved with the original project. (1985)
- Metamorphose: M.C. Escher, 1898-1972 – Free – Reveals the life and work of artist M.C. Escher. (1999)
- Michel Foucault: Beyond Good and Evil – Free – Documentary explores the controversial life and work of Michel Foucault. (1993)
- Mingus – Free – A close-up of bass player and composer Charlie Mingus as he and his five-year-old daughter await eviction by the City of New York. (1968)
- Muscle Shoals– Free – “A documentary that celebrates Rick Hall, the founder of FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and the signature sound he developed in songs such as ‘I’ll Take You There’, ‘Brown Sugar’, and ‘When a Man Loves a Woman,'” according to IMDB. (2013)
- N is a Number – Free – Documentary directed by George Paul Csicsery about the life of mathematician Paul Erdős.
- Nanook of the North – Free – The first feature length documentary. Directed by Robert J. Flaherty, the film, focusing on an Inuit family living in the Arctic Circle, was one of the first films to be selected for historical preservation by the Library of Congress. (1922)
- Nazi VR – Free – A short documentary on how a virtual reality model of Auschwitz was created to successfully prosecute a German SS guard seven decades after WWII. (2017)
- Nico-Icon – Free – Focuses on Nico, renowned for her associations with artist Andy Warhol and the Velvet Underground. (1995)
- No Substitute for Victory – Free – Propaganda, Pro-Vietnam documentary hosted by John Wayne. (1970)
- No Maps for These Territories – Free – Brings you on a road trip and into the mind of cyberspace visionary William Gibson. (2000)
- November 22, 1963 – Free – In a short documentary, Errol Morris asks what we can and cannot know about the Kennedy assassination. (2013)
- One Way Street – Free – Explores the life and work of German Jewish critic and philosopher, Walter Benjamin. (1993)
- Operation Concrete (aka Opération béton) – Free – The first movie by Jean Luc Godard. It’s a short documentary about the building of the dam. (1955)
- Our Hobby is Depeche Mode – Free – Jeremy Deller’s and Nicholas Abrahams’ documentary on Depeche Mode fans. (2007)
- Paul Klee: The Silence of the Angel – Free – A visual journey into the work of a major painter of the 20th century by Michael Gaumnitz, an award-winning documentarian of artists and sculptors. (2005)
- Paul McCartney: Chaos & Creation at Abbey Road – Free – Sir Paul revisits the Beatles’ recording techniques and vintage instruments used by the band. (2005)
- Pen, Brush and Camera – Free – 50-minute documentary about the life and work of Henri Cartier-Bresson, the photographer considered to be the father of photojournalism. (1998)
- Philosophy: A Guide to Happiness – Free – With Alain de Botton. A documentary series that shows how Nietzsche, Socrates and four other philosophers can change your life. (2000)
- Philosophy and the Matrix: Return to the Source – Free – Documentary looks at how The Matrix dealt with questions about religious revelation and authority, parapsychology, free will and determinism, and the nature of personal identity. (2004)
- Pickin’ & Trimmin’ – Free – Award-winning short documentary features bluegrass musicians in a down-home North Carolina barbershop. (2008)
- Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea – Free – Cult movie legend John Waters narrates an offbeat documentary on the accidental lake created in the desert of Southern California. (2004)
- Plastic Bag – Free – Werner Herzog narrates the existential journey of a plastic bag. Directed by Ramin Bahrani. (2009)
- Poor Kids – Free – Documentary explores what poverty means to children in America through the stories of three families. (2017)
- Portrait of an Artist: Jackson Pollock – Free – Documentary of the abstract expressionist artist narrated by Melvyn Bragg. (1987)
- Portrait Werner Herzog – Free – A German production directed by Herzog himself, Portrait Werner Herzog shows the director in his homeland, in Munich. (1986)
- Powers of Ten – Free – Famous short film depicts the relative scale of the Universe in factors of ten. Made by legendary designers Ray and Charles Eames. (1977)
- Profile of a Writer: Jorge Luis Borges – Free – Arena documentary the life and writings of Argentina’s favorite son, Jorge Luis Borges. (1983)
- Queen of Code – Free – Direct by Gillian Jacobs, this short doc looks at the life and career of Grace Hopper, who worked on the first computer and headed the team that created the first compiler. (2015)
- Ray Bradbury: Story of a Writer – Free – A half-hour television documentary about Ray Bradbury. (1963)
- Red Shirley – Free – Lou Reed’s short documentary on his fascinating 100-year-old cousin. (2010)
- Report from the Aleutians – Free – John Huston, while a member of the U.S. Army Signal Corps in 1943, creates an Academy Award winning documentary about the Armed Forces’ effort to prevent the fall of the Aleutian Islands to Japanese troops. (1943)
- Requiem for the American Dream – Free – “Renowned academic and author Noam Chomsky elucidates 10 principles of concentration of wealth and power that have led to unprecedented inequality and the hollowing out of the American middle class,” write IMDB. Streams only free in the United States. (2015)
- Road to the Stars – Free – Directed by Pavel Klushantsev, this Soviet documentary combines elements of science education films and speculative science fiction. It was groundbreaking for its use of special effects to depict life in space. (1957)
- Room to Dream: David Lynch and the Independent Filmmaker – Free – David Lynch explains how he brings his unique vision to the screen with technologies that are now within reach for independent filmmakers. (2005)
- Russia’s Open Book: Writing in the Age of Putin – Free – Stephen Fry hosts a documentary exploring the vital literary scene in contemporary Russia. (2014)
- Samurai Sword: Making of a Legend – Free – This story of the Katana sword provides a unique insight into the Samurai masters and the swords they use. (2008)
- Sea of Faith – Free – In this six-part series, Don Cupitt explores the history of Christianity in the modern world, exploring the works of philosophers like Blaise Pascal, René Descartes, Kierkegaard, Jung, Freud, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Wittgenstein and more. (1984)
- Scenes from Allen’s Last Three Days on Earth as a Spirit – Free – A kind of video diary of poet Allen Ginsberg’s last days. (1997)
- Sell & Spin: A History of Advertising – Free – Dick Cavett narrates the history of advertising, from ancient times to modern. (1999)
- ¿Sería Buenos Aires? – Free – An award-winning documentary looking at Argentina’s response to modern crises. (2006)
- She’s Nobody’s Baby: A History of American Women in the 20th Century – Free – Alan Alda and Marlo Thomas trace the evolution of the roles and lives of women in the 20th century. (1982)
- Shenzhen: The Silicon Valley of Hardware – Free – From Wired comes a documentary looking at how Shenzen, the frenetic heart of China’s tech industry, is becoming a city of the future. (2016)
- Shock of the New – Free – Art critic Robert Hughes looks at the the development of modern art since the Impressionists. (1980)
- Sketches of Frank Gehry – Free – Sydney Pollack documentary explores Frank Gehry’s creative process, from sketching to making the physical and 3D models to the construction itself. (2005)
- Soft Self Portrait of Salvador Dali – Free – French director Jean-Christophe Averty traveled to Spain in 1970 and shot a surreal biographical documentary on the artist. (1970)
- Some Yo Yo Stuff – Free – A short film about Captain Beefheart by Anton Corbijn. (1993)
- Sound City – Free – A documentary directed by Dave Grohl about the history of recording studio Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, Los Angeles. (2013)
- Stravinsky – Free – This documentary is an informal portrait of the great modern composer Igor Stravinsky. Directed by Wolf Koenig & Roman Kroitor. (1966)
- Stress, Portrait of a Killer – Free – Scientific discoveries in the field and in the lab prove that stress is not just a state of mind, but something measurable and dangerous. Features Stanford neurobiologist Robert Sapolsky. (2008)
- Sun Ra: A Joyful Noise – Free – Experimental jazz visionary Sun Ra was filmed on location in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. between 1978 and 1980 by director Robert Mugge. Includes public and private performances, poetry readings, interviews and extensive improvisations with Sun Ra and his Arkestra. (1980)
- Symphony in Black: A Rhapsody of Negro Life – Free – A musical short that features Duke Ellington’s early extended piece, “A Rhapsody of Negro Life.” Stars 19-year-old Billie Holiday. (1935)
- Ten Days That Shook the World – Free – Originally called Oktyabr, Sergei Eisenstein’s film documents the Russian Revolution of 1917. A masterpiece by a pioneering filmmaker. (1928)
- That Far Corner: Frank Lloyd Wright in Los Angeles – Free – Chris Hawthorne, architecture critic for the Los Angeles Times, explores the houses Frank Lloyd Wright built in Los Angeles, during a time when he was recovering from a violent tragic episode in his life. (2018)
- The ABCs of Dada – Free – Explores the origins of and contributors to the Dada movement. (2012)
- The American West of John Ford – Free – A documentary encapsulating the career and Western films of director John Ford, featuring interviews with John Wayne, James Stewart and Henry Fonda. (1971)
- The Artist Formerly Known as Captain Beefheart – Free – Elaine Shepherd’s classic BBC documentary, introduced and narrated by John Peel. (1997)
- The Batmobile – Free – Directed by Roko Belic, this documentary explores the evolution of the Batmobile. (2012)
- The Battle of Midway – Free – Directed by John Ford. Narrated by Henry Fonda. On June 4-6, 1942, Japanese forces attempted to capture Midway Island in the North Pacific, but were defeated by U.S. forces. On hand was a crew of naval photographers directed by John Ford. (1942)
- The Battle of San Pietro – Free – John Huston’s war time documentary. (1945)
- The Charles Bukowski Tapes – Free – A collection of 52 short interviews conducted by French filmmaker Barbet Schroeder, who directed the Bukowski-penned Barfly. (1987)
- The Church Of Saint Coltrane – Free – Directed by Gayle Gilman and Jeff Swimmer, this film looks at The Church of Saint Coltrane in San Francisco, which has canonized John Coltrane as their patron saint and on Sundays holds five-hour jam sessions interspersed with liturgy and fellowship. (1996)
- The Complete Star Wars Filmumentaries – Free – Jamie Benning has created a trilogy of documentary-commentaries on the Star Wars trilogy. Features deleted scenes, alternate takes and different angles, bloopers, original on set audio recordings and a huge amount of commentary from cast and crew.
- The Confessions of Robert Crumb – Free – A portrait of the artist scripted by the underground comics legend himself (1987)
- The Crazy Never Die – Free – 30 minute shot-on-video documentary that looks into the more publicly wild and performative side of Hunter S. Thompson’s personality. (1988)
- The Cry of Jazz – Free – Controversial film by Ed Bland explores issues around African-Americans and jazz in the United States. Includes interviews with artists and intellectuals and performances by Sun Ra and John Gilmore. In 2010, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. (1958)
- The Distortion of Sound – Free – A documentary about the decline of sound quality and how technology has changed the way we listen to music. Features numerous musicians. (2014)
- The Ductumentary – Free – A short film that explores surfer Joel Tudor’s “life as a surfer, his ultimate decision to leave competitive surfing and the vision that inspired him to create the unique Duct Tape contests.” (2013)
- The Einstein Theory of Relativity – Free – Einstein’s theory of relativity explained in one of the earliest science films ever made. (1923)
- The Fighting Lady – Free – Directed by William Wyler, this film provides a portrait of life on a World War II aircraft carrier (1944)
- The Four Horsemen – Free – Directed by Ross Ashcroft, the indie documentary is a “jeremiad against the folly of Neo-classical economics and the threats it represents to all we should hold dear.” (2012)
- The Genius of Charles Darwin – Free – A three part series presented by Oxford biologist Richard Dawkins. (2008)
- The God Delusion – Free – Oxford evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins argues that the world would be better off without religion. The film accompanied a book by the same title. (2006)
- The Godmother of Rock N Roll: Sister Rosetta Tharpe – Free – The life, music & influence of African-American gospel singer and guitar virtuoso Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Directed by Mick Csaky. Find film at bottom of linked page. (2014)
- The Grateful Dead Movie – Free – The film documents “a tour-ending five night stand at the Winterland Ballroom in October 1974. These were their last shows with the Wall of Sound.” (1977)
- The Henry Miller Odyssey – Free – Robert Snyder’s documentary, almost entirely narrated by Miller, follows the author through his early years, from his childhood in Brooklyn to his blissful exile in Paris. See more in the original review by The Harvard Crimson. (1969)
- The History of the Typewriter Recited by Michael Winslow – Free – Sound effects genius Michael Winslow performs the sounds of 32 typewriters made between 1898-1983. (2010)
- The Hitch – Free – Kristoffer Seland Hellesmark created an 80-minute documentary about the iconoclastic journalist Christopher Hitchens, lovingly entitled The Hitch, which features clips from his speeches and interviews. (2014)
- The House I Live In – Free – A ten-minute short film starring Frank Sinatra made to oppose anti-Semitism and racial prejudice at the end of World War II. (1945)
- The Joy of Stats – Free – Hans Rosling says there’s nothing boring about stats, and then proves it in an one-hour long documentary. (2010)
- The Land Where the Blues Began – Free – Alan Lomax takes you into the Mississippi Delta, into to the heart of the Blues. (1978)
- The Last 48 Hours of Kurt Cobain – Free – British documentary takes a look the final days of Kurt Cobain, the Nirvana frontman who committed suicide in 1994. (2007)
- The James Dean Story – Free – Documentary on the life and times of James Dean made by the great filmmaker Robert Altman — MASH, The Player, Gosford Park, etc. (1957)
- The Japanese Sword as the Soul of the Samurai – Free – Obscure documentary on the making of Japanese swords, narrated by George Takei, offers a fascinating look at the exhaustive process of forging samurai swords. (1969)
- The Love for Wood – Free – A documentary about well known Dutch chess players, featuring Jan Timman, Hans Ree, Piet Hein Donner, Max Euwe and others. It’s a beautiful document of the period and the state of chess at that time. English subtitles. (1979)
- The Magic Sun – Free – Artist Phil Niblock captures a brief moment of an interstellar communication by Sun Ra and his Solar Arkestra in their prime. (1968)
- The Making of Almost Blue – Free – South Bank Show follows Elvis Costello to Nashville for the making of his album “Almost Blue.” (1981)
- The Making of Dark Side of the Moon – Free – A look inside the creation of a famous Pink Floyd album. (2003)
- The Making of Koyaanisqatsi – Free – Director Godfrey Reggio gives you the backstory behind his 1982 film, Koyaanisqatsi.
- The March – Free – James Blues’s “visually stunning, moving, and arresting documentary of the hope, determination, and camaraderie” embodied by The Great March on Washington. (1964)
- The Men Who Made the Movies: Hitchcock – Free – A look at Alfred Hitchcock’s films. The Master of Suspense himself, who is interviewed extensively here, shares stories about filmmaking. (1973)
- The Mystery of Picasso – Free – Pablo Picasso’s art emerges in front of our eyes in this remarkable film by the French master of suspense, Henri-Georges Clouzot. (1956)
- The New Cinema – Free – Never-aired TV documentary takes a look at the new Hollywood scene emerging in 1967. Features footage of Dustin Hoffman, Roman Polanski, Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas. (1968)
- The Nomi Song – Free – Andrew Horn’s doc about the life of singer Klaus Nomi. Debuted at the Berlin International Film Festival and won a Teddy Award for “Best Documentary Film. (2004)
- The Outsider: The Story of Harry Partch – Free – A documentary about the avant-garde composer Harry Partch. (2002)
- The Penultimate Truth About Philip K. Dick – Free – Documentary about the mystical experiences of sci-fi writer Philip K. Dick. (2007)
- The Photographer – Free – Reveals the philosophy, techniques & artistry of Edward Weston (1948)
- The Power of Nightmares – Free – A three-part history of how radical Islamism in many ways paralleled the rise of Neo-Conservatism. Though critically acclaimed, it never aired in America. (2004)
- The Real Bruce Lee – Free – This martial arts documentary begins with a brief biography of Bruce Lee, and shows scenes from four of his childhood films, Bad Boy, Orphan Sam, Kid Cheung, and The Carnival, each sepia-toned and dubbed to English. (1979)
- The Queen of Trees – Free – The remarkable story of an African fig tree and the special relationship it has with the animals who depend on it. A Peabody award-winning natural history documentary. (2005)
- The Responsive Eye – Free – Brian DePalma’s short film documenting the opening night of an OP ART exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1966.
- The Secret Life of Adolf Hitler – Free – 1950’s television documentary that includes interviews with Hitler’s sister Paula Wolf and footage from Eva Braun’s rare home movies.
- The Simulation Hypothesis – Free – Are we living in a virtual reality? And if so, could we ever tell? Features Appearances by Max Tegmark, Neil degrasse Tyson, Paul Davies and James Gates (2015).
- The Story of Fascism – Free – In an eye-opening documentary, Rick travels back a century to learn how fascism rose and then fell in Europe — taking millions of people with it. (2018)
- The Space Shuttle – Free – History of the US Space Shuttle program narrated by William Shatner. (2011)
- The Spanish Earth – Free – A Spanish Civil War propaganda film written and narrated by Ernest Hemingway. (1937)
- The Strange Case of the Cosmic Rays – Free – Puppets of Dostoevsky, Dickens and Poe star in an educational science film created by Frank Capra. (1957)
- The Story of the Guitar – Free – A three part documentary reveals how the guitar came to “dominate the soundtrack of our lives.” (2008)
- The Story of Wish You Were Here – Free – Takes you inside the making of Pink Floyd’s 1975 album. (2012)
- The Tibetan Book of the Dead – Free – Narrated by Leonard Cohen and featuring the Dalai Lama, the film explores an essential teaching in the Buddhist cultures of the Himalayas. (1994)
- The Tony Alva Story – Free – A documentary that covers the rise, fall and rise of the legendary skateboarder. (2019)
- The Unchained Goddess – Free – After winning three Oscars for best director, Frank Capra produced a science education film on the weather that made one of the first arguments for taking action against climate change. (1958)
- The World of Buckminster Fuller – Free – Directed by Robert Snyder, this documentary transports you into Fuller’s mind and soul. It’s told entirely in his own words. (1974)
- Triumph of the Will – Free – (1935) The major Nazi propaganda work by Leni Riefenstahl. With subtitles.
- The Ten-Year Lunch – Free – Oscar-winning film about the writers who sat at the Algonquin Round Table in New York during the 1920s. (1986)
- The True Glory – Free – War time propaganda documentary directed by Carol Reed, with General Dwight D. Eisenhower and General George S. Patton. (1945)
- The True History Of The Traveling Wilburys – Free – A short documentary on the making of the 1980s super group. (2007)
- The Universal Mind of Bill Evans – Free – 1966 documentary takes you inside the creative process/world of jazz pianist Bill Evans.
- The Velvet Underground: A Symphony of Sound – Free – Produced by Andy Warhol, the film shows VU performing a 67-minute instrumental improvisation. (1966)
- The Way of the Flesh – Free – Directed by Adam Curtis this documentary on Henrietta Lacks won the Best Science and Nature Documentary at the San Francisco International Film Festival. Find an alternate version on Archive.org. (1998)
- The World At War – Free – Acclaimed 26-episode WWII documentary “The World at War” was produced by Thames Television and aired in 1973-1974.
- The Wrecking Crew – Free – A documentary film directed by Denny Tedesco, son of guitarist Tommy Tedesco, covers the story of the Los Angeles–based group of session musicians known as The Wrecking Crew. (2008)
- There is No Authority But Yourself – Free – Feature documentary about seminal anarcho-punk band Crass, directed by Dutch filmmaker Alexander Oey. (2006)
- This is Marshall McLuhan: The Medium is the Message – Free – “Marshall McLuhan discusses his controversial communications theories in this experimental documentary produced by Oscar-winner Ernest Pintoff and Guy Fraumeni.” Came out the same year as his book: The Medium is the Massage. (1967)
- This is Ska – Free – Filmed on location in Kingston, Jamaica, this documentary features performances by a who’s who of up-and-coming ska artists, including Prince Buster, Jimmy Cliff and The Maytals. (1964)
- Thomas Pynchon: A Journey Into the Mind of P. – Free – A documentary, written & directed by Donatello Dubini & Fosco Dubini, on the reclusive novelist. (2008)
- To Hear Your Banjo Play – Free – 16-minute introduction to American folk music, written & narrated by Alan Lomax and featuring rare performances by Woody Guthrie, Baldwin Hawes, Sonny Terry. (1946)
- Tokyo Girls – Free – A candid journey into the world of 4 young Canadian women who work as well-paid hostesses in exclusive Japanese nightclubs. These modern-day geisha find themselves caught up in the mizu shobai – the complex “floating water world” of Tokyo clubs and bars. (2000)
- Tolstoy Remembered – Free – Documentary features Tolstoy’s daughter. Directed by Michael Rabiger. (1970)
- Tom Waits: A Day in Vienna – Free – Tom Waits sings and tells stories in film that originally aired on Austrian TV. (1979)
- Toute la mémoire du monde (All the World’s Memories) – Free – Alain Resnais’s short documentary looks at the inner workings of the Bibliothèque nationale de France in Paris. It’s “a meditative piece about the fragility of human memory and the ways in which we try to shore it up.” (1956)
- Trapped: Andy Warhol’s Amiga Experiments – Free – Short film documents how Carnegie Mellon experts recovered lost paintings that Andy Warhol made on the Commodore Amiga computer during the 1980s.
- Tunisian Victory – Free – World War II documentary directed by Frank Capra and narrated by Burgess Meredith. (1944)
- UFOs: It Has Begun – Free – Documentary narrated by Rod Serling explores the existence of UFOs and extra-terrestrial beings. (1979)
- Universe – Free – A 1960 documentary that inspired the visual Effects of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey and gave the HAL 9000 computer its voice (1960)
- Unguided Tour AKA Letter from Venice – Free – Susan Sontag adapted the Italian-language feature from her story of the same name, originally published in 1977 in the New Yorker. (1983)
- Urban Struggle: The Battle Of The Cuckoos Nest – Free – Documents the hardcore punk scene at the Cuckoo’s Nest nightclub. Features performances by T.S.O.L., Circle Jerks and Black Flag, and shows early slam dancing. (1981)
- Van Gogh: Painted with Words – Free – Written and directed by Andrew Hutton, this drama-documentary about Vincent Van Gogh features Benedict Cumberbatch in the lead role. (2010)
- Vegetarian World – Free – “William Shatner walks us through the history, benefits, and misconceptions of adhering to a vegetarian diet.” (1982)
- Vermeer: Master of Light – Free – Explores Vermeer’s compositional methods and techniques. Narrated by Meryl Streep. (2001)
- Victory at Sea – Free – Award-winning, 26 episode TV series chronicling naval warfare during WWII. (1953)
- Vietnam! Vietnam! – Free – The last film produced by the legendary John Ford was a work of propaganda commissioned by the United States government in support of the Vietnam War. (1971)
- Virginia Woolf: A Novelist – Free – Draws on old maps, contemporary drawings and paintings, portraits and other archive material to present an outline of Virginia Woolf’s life and to convey a picture of the social and historical background to her writing.
- Visit to Picasso – Free Part 1 – Free Part 2 – Belgian filmmaker Paul Haesaerts captures Picasso’s creative process. (1949)
- Viva Joe Strummer – Free – A documentary look at the great frontman of The Clash. (2005)
- Waiting for Beckett – Free – Rare feature-length documentary on the Nobel Prize-winning writer Samuel Beckett. (1993)
- Warhol’s Cinema – A Mirror for the Sixties – Free -This 64 minute documentary from 1989 examines Andy Warhol’s films from the 1960s. (You can view several of these films — Eat, Sleep, and Kiss — here.)
(1989) - Watching My Name Go By – Free – A short documentary about the early days of graffiti culture in New York City. (1976)
- Wattstax – Free – Documents the “Black Woodstock” concert held 7 years after the Watts Riots. (1973)
- Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe – Free – Herzog loses a bet to Errol Morris and eats a shoe with the help of chef Alice Waters. (1980)
- Who’s Out There? – Free – Orson Welles narrates a documentary asking whether there’s extraterrestrial life in the Universe. (1975)
- Who is Afraid of Ai Weiwei? – Free – A short PBS Frontline documentary on the dissident Chinese artist. (2011)
- Who’s Afraid Of Machiavelli – Free – This documentary asks how relevant Machiavelli’s book, The Prince, is 500 years after its publication. (2013)
- Why We Fight – Free – A seven part series of WWII propaganda films directed by Frank Capra. (1943)
- What the Future Sounded Like? –Free – From Dr Who to The Dark Side of the Moon, “the pioneering members of the Electronic Music Studios radically changed the sound-scape of the 20th Century. What the Future Sounded Like tells this fascinating story of British electronic music.” (2007)
- Will Self’s Kafka Journey: A Prague Walking Tour – Free – Will Self visits Prague for a walking tour in search of Franz Kafka’s genius loci. (2015)
- William S. Burroughs: 100 Years – Free – A short feature on the life of writer William S. Burroughs by the LA Review of Books. (2014)
- William S. Burroughs & Lawrence – Free – William S. Burroughs and his years in Lawrence, Kansas. He lived in Lawrence longer than in any other place and chose to spend the last several years of his life here. (2014)
- WikiRebels – Free – Documentary by Swedish public television chronicles history of Wikileaks. (2010)
- Wittgenstein: A Wonderful Life – Free – About the remarkable life of the Austrian philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. (1989)
- Woody Guthrie – Free – Covers the life of Woody Guthrie, America’s great travelling singer-songwriter. (1988)
- You Don’t Know Jack – Free – Morgan Spurlock’s short documentary on the 15-year-old who invented a new way to detect early stage pancreatic cancer. (2013)
Free Animated Films Online
- 66 Oscar-Nominated-and-Award-Winning Animated Shorts Online, Courtesy of the National Film Board of Canada – Free – A big collection of prize-winning animated short films.
- 6 Animations of Stories & Poems by Shel Silverstein – Free – Includes “Ickle Me, Pickle Me, Tickle Me Too” from Where the Sidewalk Ends.
- 13 Experimental Short Films by Tezuka Osamu – Free – Early animations by Tezuka Osamau, often called the Walt Disney of Japan.
- 30 Films from the 1970s by Computer Animation Pioneer Lillian F. Schwartz – Free – Watch films by one of the first women artists notable for basing almost her entire body of work on computational media.
- A Country Doctor – Free – A Franz Kaka story retold in an award-winning animation by Japanese animator Koji Yamamura. (2007)
- A Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass Double Feature – Free – A precursor to modern music videos, this Oscar-winning animated film by John & Faith Hubley is set to the music of two popular songs recorded by Herb Alpert. (1966)
- A Short Vision – Free – Animated film directed by Peter and Joan Foldes depicts the complete annihilation of the Earth and all life on it, presumably after an atomic blast. The film became a sensation after it was aired on The Ed Sullivan Show. (1956)
- Ah Pook is Here – Free – A stop motion animation based on audio recordings by William S. Burroughs, with music by John Cale. (1994)
- Allergy to Originality – Free – In the short, animated New York Times Op-Doc by Drew Christie, an official Sundance selection in 2014, “two men discuss whether anything is truly original — especially in movies and books.”
- American History – Free – An off-kilter student film from South Park creator Trey Parker. (1992)
- Anémic Cinéma – Free – Marcel Duchamp’s avant-garde film combines whirling optical illusions, known as Rotoreliefs, with spiraling puns and complex word play. (1926)
- Astro Boy: Birth of Astro Boy – Free – The first episode of the animated series, Astro Boy, created by famed Japanese animator Osamu Tezuka. (1963)
- Battle – Free – Soviet animated adaptation of Stephen King’s short story, “Battleground.” (1986)
- Breathdeath – Free – Cutout animation film that inspired Terry Gilliam and ended up on his list of The 10 Best Animated Films of All Time. (1963)
- Cinderella – Free – One of the first films by the silhouette animator Lotte Reiniger (1922).
- Cold War Pro-Capitalism Animations – Free – A series of Cold War animations that explain why American capitalism is the best way to go. Films were funded by the CEO of General Motors.
- Confidence – Free – Classic animation from the Great Depression shows how animators tried to get America through a dark time. (1933)
- Crime and Punishment – Free – Dostoevsky’s classic work wonderfully animated by Piotr Dumala (2000)
- Curious Alice – Free – In this film intended for young kids, Alice falls asleep while reading a book. She encounters cigarettes, liquor, and medicines, and realizes that they are all types of drugs. (1971)
- De Artificiali Perspectiva, or Anamorphosis – Free – In this dazzling short animation by the Brothers Quay, learn about the Renaissance illusionistic technique known as anamorphosis, in which a hidden image only becomes visible when viewed from a different angle or in a curved mirror. (1991)
- Der Erlking – Free – A visual representation of Goethe’s poem, The ErlKing, that uses sand-on-glass animation set to the music of Franz Schubert. (2002)
- Der Fuehrer’s Face – Free – Disney’s anti-Nazi propaganda movie featuring Donald Duck. Won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. (1942)
- Destino – Free – Walt Disney and Salvador Dalí began working together in 1946 on a project that was tabled, then finally revived and finished in 2003.
- Dimensions of Dialogue – Free – Jan Svankmajer, a surrealist Czech animator, influenced Tim Burton, The Brothers Quay, and Terry Gilliam himself. Gilliam puts this claymation short on his list of The Ten Best Animated Films. (1982)
- Drums West – Free – Cut-paper animation by Jim Henson. It is one of several experimental shorts inspired by the music of jazz great Chico Hamilton. (1961)
- Dumbland – Free – A series of crude, Beavis and Butthead-style animations by David Lynch (2002)
- Early Japanese Animations – Free – A collection of early Japanese animations that show where the Japanese anime tradition began. (1917 to 1931)
- Education for Death: The Making of the Nazi – Free – Disney’s WW II propaganda film looks at how the Nazi machine corrupts youth. (1943)
- Every Child – Free – Eugene Fedorenko’s animated short about an unwanted baby cared for by homeless men. 1979 Oscar-winner for Best Animated Short Film.
- Fantasmagorie – Free – The first fully animated film ever made. 700 drawings in 2 minutes by Emile Cohl. (1908)
- Father and Daughter – Free – Michaël Dudok De Wit’s heartbreaking short won the 2000 Academy Award for Animated Short Film.
- Franz Kafka – Free – Piotr Dumala’s wonderful 16 minute animated film based on Kafka’s diaries. (1992)
- Freedom River – Free – A short animated film narrated by Orson Welles. A parable about mankind getting along. Alternate version here. (1971)
- Glass Harmonica – Free – The only animated film ever banned by Soviet censors. (1968)
- Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty– Free – 6 minute animated black comedy. Shortlisted for the 2010 Oscar for Best Animated Short Film.
- Gulliver’s Travels – Free – American cel-animated Technicolor feature film, directed by Dave Fleischer. (1939)
- Gumbasia – Free – First clay animation produced by Art Clokey, who went on to create the classic series, Gumby. (1955)
- Here There be Tygers – Free – A Soviet animation of a short story by Ray Bradbury. Directed by Vladimir Samsonov (1989).
- How a Mosquito Operates – Free – One of the surviving works by famed animator Winsor McCay. (1912)
- How Animated Cartoons Are Made – Free – One of the earliest, truest looks at how cartoons were made in the earliest 20th century. Features animation pioneer Wallace Carlson. (1919)
- Humorous Phases of Funny Faces – Free – Made by James Stuart Blackton, this short film is considered the first animation ever made. (1906)
- Hunger – Free – Directed by Peter Foldes, Hunger is one of the first computer animation films. It won a Special Jury Prize at the 1974 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. (1974)
- I Touch a Red Button Man – Free – A short film by David Lynch and Interpol. Originally shown at the Coachella 2011 Festival.
- Is It Right to Be Always Right? – Free – Narrated by Orson Welles, this Oscar-winning film directed by Lee Mishkin is a parable that comments on divisions in the United States. (1970)
- Jazzmosphere – Free – An animated film on the relationship between images and sound, created by Michel Gondry and Jean-Louis Bompoint. (1988)
- King and Octopus – Free – Tim Burton’s short animation made during film school at CalArts. (1978)
- Lichtspiel Opus 1 – Free – The first avant garde animation shown in public, by German artist Walter Ruttmann. (1921)
- Logorama – Free – François Alaux and Herve de Crecy’s 17 minute film, Logorama, won the Oscar for Short Film (Animated) in 2009.
- Madame Tutli-Putli – Free – Oscar-nominated animated short film by Montreal filmmakers Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski. (2010)
- Malice in Wonderland – Free – An acid trip adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. Vince Collins did the animation with graphic design by Miwako. (1982)
- Mathmagic Land – Free – A 27-minute educational featurette by Disney was nominated for an Oscar and widely shown in American schools. “We have recently explained mathematics in a film,” said Walt Disney “and in that way excited public interest in this very important subject. (1959)
- Mickey Mouse in Vietnam – Free – An underground, anti-war animation co-created by Milton Glaser. (1968)
- Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase – Free – Joan Gratz’ 1992 Oscar-winning animation provides a chronological trip through the history of modern art, beginning with Impressionism and passing through Cubism and Surrealism en route to Pop art and hyper-realism. (1992)
- Mourir Auprès de Toi (To Die By Your Side) – Free – Spike Jonze collaborates with Olivia Le-Tan and Simon Cahn to produce stop motion film set in Shakespeare and Company in Paris (2011)
- Neighbors – Free – Norman McLaren animates live actors with techniques normally used to put drawings/puppets into motion. Oscar winner. (1952)
- Optical Poems – Free – Avant-garde short animation by Oskar Fischinger. Features handmade shapes, suspended by fishing line, moving in sync with Franz Liszt’s “2nd Hungarian Rhapsody.”
- Princess Iron Fan – Free – The first animated Chinese feature film. Made during WW II, when China was under Japanese occupation. (1941)
- Private Snafu – Free – World War II propaganda cartoons created by Dr. Seuss, Frank Capra & Mel Blanc. (1943)
- Purl – Free – Directed by Kristen Lester, this Pixar short features an earnest ball of yarn named Purl who gets a job in a fast-paced, high energy, bro-tastic start-up. (2019)
- Quasi at the Quackadero – Free – A trippy animated film by Sally Cruikshank. Voted one of the 50 Greatest Cartoons of All Time. (1975)
- Reason and Emotion – Free – Walt Disney uses some neuroscience to explain the forces behind World War II. (1943)
- Red Hot Riding Hood – Free – A rebellious version of Little Red Riding Hood created by Tex Avery. Ranked 7th on list of The 50 Greatest Cartoons. (1943)
- Ryan – Free – Oscar-winning animated short from Chris Landreth based on the life of Ryan Larkin, the influential Canadian animator. (2004)
- Seder Masochism – Free – Directed by Nina Paley, and loosely following a traditional Passover Seder, the events of Exodus are retold by Moses, Aharon, the Angel of Death, Jesus, and the director’s own father. But there’s another side to this story: that of the Goddess, humankind’s original deity. (2018)
- Sherlock Hound – Free – Hayao Miyazaki directed six episodes of the animated series that featured a corgi Sherlock Hound and terrier Doctor Watson going on adventures across a steampunk London. (1984)
- Sisyphus – Free – An Oscar-nominated Hungarian short film directed by Marcell Jankovics, based on the myth of Sisyphus. (1974)
- Sita Sings the Blues – Free – New prize-winning animated film by Nina Paley. (2008)
- Snow White – Free – Snow-White, also known as Betty Boop in Snow-White, comes from Max Fleischer’s Fleischer Studios. An innovative film that features scenes rotoscoped over footage by Cab Calloway, it was voted #19 of the 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time by members of the animation field. (1933)
- So Much for So Little – Free – Legendary animator Chuck Jones creates a cartoon touting the virtues of universal healthcare. (1949)
- Soviet Toys – Free – Dziga Vertov, best known for his landmark film A Man with a Movie Camera, also made the Soviet Union’s first ever animated movie. (1924)
- Special Delivery – Free – Hilarious story won 1978 Oscar for Best Animated Short Film.
- Stalk of the Celery Monster – Free – A short animation Tim Burton made while in film school at CalArts. (1979)
- Steamboat Willie – Free – The first Disney cartoon that introduced sound animation and Mickey Mouse to the larger world. (1928)
- Story of One Crime – Free – The directorial debut of Fyodor Khitruk, the animator of some of the greatest animation ever produced in Russia. (1962)
- Storytime – Free – The debut animation film by Monty Python legend Terry Gilliam. (1968)
- Street Musique – Free – Influential animated film by Ryan Larkin. (1972)
- Superman – Free – Max Fleischer’s short animated movie. Nominated for the 1942 Academy Award for Best Short Subject: Cartoons. Other shorts that followed can be viewed here. (1941)
- Superman: The Mechanical Monsters – Free – Film captures the era’s characteristic ambivalence in reconciling the need for progress with the fear of technology. Find more episodes in this series at Toonami Digital Arsenal. (1941)
- Thank You, Mask Man – Free – Lenny Bruce comedy routine about the Lone Ranger gets turned into an outlandish animated film. (1968)
- The Ant and the Grasshopper – Free – Early stop animation film by the great Russian animator Ladislas Starevich. (1911)
- The Cameraman’s Revenge – Free – This very early silent era stop-motion film was made by Ladislas Starevich in imperial Russia in 1912. He used real insects to create the story. (1912)
- The Cathedral – Free – “The Cathedral” is the title of a sci fi short story by Jacek Dukaj. It was turned into a short animated movie by Tomasz Bagiński and nominated in 2002 for the Academy Award for Animated Short Film. (2002)
- The Cave – Free – A short claymation film animating the famous cave allegory in Plato’s Republic. (2008)
- The Centaurs – Free – An incomplete work by Winsor McCay. (1921)
- The Critic – Free – Mel Brooks 1963 animation features an old Yiddish watching abstract animations. Hilarious film won Oscar. (1963)
- The Curious Adventures of Mr. Wonderbird – Free – A low budget release of the influential animated film The King and the Mockingbird, created by Paul Grimault and Jaques Prévert. This version was narrated by Peter Ustinov. (1952)
- The Danish Poet – Free – Animated short film written, directed, and animated by Torill Kove and narrated by Liv Ullmann, won the Academy Award in 2006.
- The Dot and the Line – Free – Chuck Jones’ animated film celebrates geometry and hard work. (1965)
- The Dream of a Ridiculous – Free – Wonderful animation of Dostoevsky’s story by Oscar-winning Russian animator Alexander Petrov. (1992)
- The Employment – Free – A prize winning commentary on why we’re disenchanted by work today. (2011)
- The Family That Dwelt Apart – Free – Based on a short story published by E.B. White in The New Yorker in 1937. (1983)
- The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore – Free – Oscar-winning film by Moonbot Studios pays homage to a bygone era when elegantly printed books inhabited our world. (2011)
- The Happy Prince – Free – A faithful rendering of an Oscar Wilde children’s story. Features the voices of Christopher Plummer and Glynis Johns. (1974)
- The Hobbit – Free – This short animation by Prague-based animator Gene Deitch was the first film adaptation of Tolkien’s classic. (1966)
- The Hole – Free – A 15-minute animated film by John Hubley and Faith Hubley that won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1962. Features the voice of Dizzy Gillespie. (1962)
- The Idea – Free – Created by Czech filmmaker Berthold Bartosch, The Idea has been called “the first animated film created as an artwork with serious, even tragic, social and philosophical themes.” (1932)
- The Giving Tree – Free – An animated adaptation of Shel Silverstein’s wonderful children’s book. (1973)
- The John Lennon Sketchbook – Free – Oscar-winning animator John Canemaker brings to life the drawings and doodles of John Lennon. (1986)
- The Junky’s Christmas – Free – Short claymation film starring (and written by) William S. Burroughs. Danny the Carwiper spends Christmas Day trying to score a fix, but finds the Christmas spirit instead. Produced by Coppola. (1993)
- The Legend of Robert Johnson – Free – Animation of the famous bluesman’s fabled deal with the devil. (2011)
- The Mascot – Free – This 1934 film by the Russian animator Wladyslaw Starewicz pioneered a number of stop animation techniques, making it a seminal film in the history of animation. (1934)
- The Metamorphosis of Mr. Samsa – Free – A wonderful sand animation of the classic Kafka story, The Metamorphosis. Made by Caroline Leaf. (1977)
- The Miracle of Flight – Free – A cutout animation by Terry Gilliam. Made in the style of (but separately from) Monty Python. (1974)
- The Nightmare Before Christmas – Free – Christopher Lee narrates a beautiful animation of Tim Burton’s poem, Nightmare Before Christmas.
- The Nose – Free – Created by Alexander Alexeieff and Claire Parker, this animation uses an amazing pinscreen technique to adapt Nikolai Gogol’s classic story. (1963)
- The Old Man and the Sea – Free – Aleksandr Petrov won the Academy Award for Short Film for this film that follows the plot of Ernest Hemingway’s classic 1952 novella. Made of 29,000 images painted on glass. (1999)
- The Rime of the Ancient Mariner – Free – Experimental film created by Larry Jordan, an independent filmmaker who tried to marry “the classic engravings of Gustave Doré to the classic poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge through a classic narrator: Orson Welles. (1977)
- The Romance of Transportation in Canada – Free – Created by influential Canadian filmmaker Colin Low, this animation won a Short Film Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. (1952)
- The Sand Castle – Free – Short animated film about the sandman and the creatures he sculpts out of sand. 1977 Oscar-winner for Best Animated Short Film.
- The Selfish Giant – Free – An Oscar-nominated animated version of Oscar Wilde’s children’s story by the same title. (1971)
- The Single Life – Free – A short Oscar nominated animation about how music–particularly vinyl records–can transport us to magical places. (2015)
- The Sinking of the Lusitania – Free – Early animator Winsor McCay documents in 12 minutes the sinking of the RMS Lusitania. (1918)
- The Skeleton Dance – Free – A Silly Symphony animated short subject produced and directed by Walt Disney and animated by Ub Iwerks. It was voted #18 of the 50 Greatest Cartoons of all time by members of the animation field. (1929)
- The Spirit of ’43 – Free – Disney propaganda film made for the American government. Features Donald Duck. (1943)
- The Star of Bethlehem – Free – Made by legendary German animator Lotte Reiniger, this short uses silhouette animation to tell the Christmas story. (1956)
- The Story Of Menstruation – Free – Walt Disney’s sex ed film was shown to millions of American students from the 1940s to the 1960s. (1946)
- The Story of Stuff – Free – Animated fact-filled look at the underside of our production and consumption patterns. (2007)
- The Tale and the Fox – Free – Ladislas Starevich’s classic animation of a German folktale adapted by Goethe. (1937)
- The Tell-Tale Heart – Free – Animated version of Edgar Allan Poe’s classic from 1953. Narrated by James Mason.
- There Will Come Soft Rain – Free – A Ray Bradbury story adapted by Uzbek director Nazim Tyuhladziev. Second video down. (1984)
- The World of Stainboy – Free – A series of flash animation shorts created by Tim Burton and animated by Flinch Studio. (2000)
- Tin Toy – Free – John Lasseter created this Oscar-winning short film in 1988 at Pixar. It was the beginning of the company’s transition into being a premier animation studio.
- Tom Waits for No One – Free – A Tom Waits music video made with pioneering animation. Made with 5,500 rotoscoped frames, the film help John Lamb win an Oscar for Scientific & Technical Achievement. (1979)
- Toot, Whistle, Plunk and Boom – Free – Disney’s music education film. First cartoon released in widescreen CinemaScope. Wins 1954 Academy Award for Best Short Subject (Cartoons). (1953)
- UCLA Silent Animation Archive – Free – Collection of the earliest animations from the silent era.
- Vincent – Free – Tim Burton’s early animated film honoring Vincent Price, actor in American horror films. (1982)
- Voyage to Next – Free – Directed by John Hubley and Faith Hubley, this short animated film features the voices of Dizzy Gillespie and Maureen Stapleton, and the characters wonder whether the world can avoid annihilation.(1974)
- Vinni-Pukh – Free – Soviet animations of Winnie the Pooh, created by the innovative animator Fyodor Khitruk. (1969-1972)
- Walking – Free – Oscar-nominated animated short film by Ryan Larkin. (1969)
- Why Man Creates – Free – Saul Bass’ Oscar-winning animation on the nature of creativity. (1963)
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