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May 13, 2009 | Sir Critic on Cinema
 

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Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Reviewing those free movie sites

By Eric Robinette | Wednesday, May 13, 2009, 03:32 PM

My blogging colleague Jill Kelley pointed you to various Web sites where you can watch movies for free. Being the resident movie maven around here, I thought I’d take a look at the sites and offer my perspective on their selection.

SnagFilms: Known as a site for documentaries, this site doesn’t feature a whole lot of A-list titles, although there are some well-known movies like Super Size Me and The Times of Harvey Milk. Still, there’s a wide range of material here that seems fascinating, ranging from a piece on Charlie Chaplin’s “forgotten” years to Girl 27, a fascinating film about about a little known MGM starlet who comes out of hiding to discuss a long-buried scandal.

The Auteurs: You have to go through a sign-up process, and not all films are free, but the selection here is quite impressive. It seems to lean heavily toward documentaries too. Any site that lets you watch movies like Salesman, Harlan County USA, and a film on Idi Amin by Barbet Schroeder (Reversal of Fortune) for nothing is OK by me.

Babelgum: A site focusing on international fare. Not a lot of familiar material, but that’s the idea - to give exposure to the less familiar. A fascinating place to explore.

Joost: The site as a whole is very YouTube-ish, but the film section has a lot of great finds, like silent Laurel and Hardy shorts, Hitchcock’s Jamaica Inn, and the immortal Attack of the Giant Leeches.

Reel 13: This PBS site looks like it has a thin but choice selection, including the likes of Inherit the Wind and Pat and Mike, but I can’t access the full films there. Maybe I’m missing something?

Crackle: A very decent library of Sony-related movies ranging from Spider-Man 2 to Casualties of War. HOWEVER - like Netflix’s Instant Viewing service, this site shows some titles in the wrong aspect ratio. Casualties of War, for instance, is supposed to be shown at 2.35:1; instead it’s shown at 1.85:1, so it cuts off image on the sides. Unacceptable.

YouTube: The ubiquitous video site has a pretty skimpy selection, but there are good finds like Animal Farm and Fitzcarraldo and the unforgettable Hercules in New York, starring a certain California governor.

Jill also points to the handy search sites Surf the Channel and Jinni.

Check these sites out and tell me what you think.

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