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Reviewing those free movie sites
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.
Permalink | Comments (7) | Post your comment | Categories: Movie Web sites
Comments
By tbill
May 26, 2009 10:33 AM | Link to this
Someone calls themself Sir Critic and needs to be told about Hulu in a newspaper article? So she didn’t mention it? 2 wrongs make a right at the DDN!By Kenny D.
May 13, 2009 10:46 PM | Link to this
I would also like to point out that while not always free, Amazon features different free selections every week.By Allie D.
May 13, 2009 5:21 PM | Link to this
Good point on Hulu. While they are mostly known for their television offerings, they have a lot of trailers and feature films as well. Some pretty bad (Speed 2: Cruise Control), but some decent like Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels.By Sir Critic
May 13, 2009 5:19 PM | Link to this
I did not mention Hulu because that was not in Jill’s original list. However, it is fair and right to point out they have a good if not spectacular selection of their own. I particularly like the “lower lights” feature that lets you dim the screen.By Dave
May 13, 2009 4:57 PM | Link to this
So why not also discuss Hulu? Last I heard, it was getting a LOT more traffic than the ones listed here.By Zack McGhee
May 13, 2009 4:48 PM | Link to this
What about Hulu?By Allie D.
May 13, 2009 4:02 PM | Link to this
Excellent! I submitted this article to Digg. :)