700 Free Movies Online: Great Classics, Indies, Noir, Westerns, etc.

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)
• 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 – A low budget B film that became a cult classic. (1962)
• 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)
• Downhill – Free – In this silent Hitchcock film, a public schoolboy “takes the blame for a friend’s theft and his life falls apart in a series of misadventures.” Also released under the title, When Boys Leave Home. (1927)
• 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 – Brings Sherlock Holmes to screen. (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)
• Freaks - Free – Tod Browning’s famous pre-code horror film about sideshow performers. Cast mostly composed of actual carnival performers. (1932)
• 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)
• 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)
• Juno and the Paycock - Free – Early sound film by Hitchcock also released under the name The Shame of Mary Boyle. (1930)
• 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)
• Man in the Attic – Free – Jack Palance as Jack the Ripper! (1954) 
• Murder! - Free – Hitchcock’s third talkie film based on a novel and play called Enter Sir John by Clemence Dane and Helen Simpson. (1930)
• Night of the Living Dead – Free – George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead is the urtext of the modern zombie movie. (1968)
• Number 17 – Free – A gang of thieves gather at a safe house following a robbery, but a detective is on their trail. (1932)
• 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 – Film noir classic starring Vincent Price. (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. Alternate film here. (1950)
• The Chase – Free – An American noir film directed by Arthur Ripley, based on the Cornell Woolrich novel The Black Path of Fear.
• 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 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 Lady Vanishes – Free – British thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Stars Margaret Lockwood and Michael Redgrave. (1938)
• 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 Man Who Knew Too Much – Free – A man and his wife receive a clue to an imminent assassination attempt, only to learn that their daughter has been kidnapped to keep them quiet. (1934)
• The Manxman – Free – This was Hitchcock’s last silent film.
• 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 – Old house deep in the woods holds fearful secret for E.G. Robinson. (1947)
• The Ring – Free – This silent film focuses on a love triangle between two men and a woman. One of Hitchcock’s minor works. (1927)
• 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 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 White Shadow – Free – The earliest surviving feature credited to Hitchcock. It was lost for decades but found in 2011.  (1923)
• 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)
• 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)

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)
• 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.
• 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)
• 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. Alternate here. (1940).
• 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 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 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 – Western film stars John Wayne and Phyllis Fraser. (1936)

Free Silent Films

• 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 Christmas Carol - Free – Marc McDermott stars as Ebenezer Scrooge in this 1910 version of Dickens’ classic ghost story.
• A Dog’s Life – Free – This endearing short film tells the story of underdogs, hunan 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 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 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)
• 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)
• Champagne - Free – A silent comedy film based on an original story by English writer and critic Walter C. Mycroft. (1928)
• 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.
• Downhill – Free – In this silent Hitchcock film, a public schoolboy takes the blame for a friend’s theft and his life falls apart in a series of misadventures. Also released under the title, When Boys Leave Home. (1927)
• 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)
• 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)
• 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. (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.
• 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.
• 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.” Find alternate version at the Internet Archive here. (1929)
• One A.M. – Free – The first silent film Charlie Chaplin starred in alone. (1916)
• 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.
• Sherlock Jr. – Free – A comic masterpiece from the silent era. Stars Buster Keaton (1924)
• Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon – Free – Sherlock Holmes rescues an inventor of an new bomb site before the Nazis can get him. (1943)
• 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 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 Farmer’s Wife - Free – Early Hitchcock silent film based on a play by British novelist Eden Phillpotts. (1928)
• 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 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 Kid – Free – This was Charlie Chaplin’s first full-length film as a director, and it is still considered one of his best. (1921)
• The Lady and the Hooligan – Free – Russian silent film directed by Vladimir Mayakovsky and Yevgeni Slavinsky. (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. (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 first film adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic novel about a land where prehistoric creatures still roam. (1925)
• The Manxman – Free – This was Hitchcock’s last silent film.
• 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.
• The Ring – Free – This silent film focuses on a love triangle between two men and a woman. One of Hitchcock’s minor works. (1927)
• 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 based upon Edgar Allan Poe’s “A Cask of Amontillado”, with appearances by Mary Pickford and Mack Sennett.
• 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 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 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. Chaplin appears as The Tramp. (1916)
• 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

• 1959: The Year that Changed Jazz – Free – Documentary looks at the transformative albums released by Miles, Brubeck, Coleman & Mingus in 1959.
• A To Zeppelin: The Story Of Led Zeppelin - Free (US audiences only) –  Chronicles the band’s history, from their 1968 formation to their reign as 1970s hard-rock giants, with rare photographs, archival footage, and interviews. (2004)
• A Brief History of Time - Free – Errol Morris’ documentary on Stephen Hawking. He called it “one of the most beautiful films I ever shot.” (1992)
• 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 Message from Akira Kurosawa: For Beautiful Movies – Free – A 10-part documentary built around a series of interviews with the filmmaker where he offers thoughts on the mechanics of making beautiful movies. (2000)
• A Night with Lou Reed – Free – An intimate visual record of Reed’s sold out performance at The Bottom Line in New York City in 1983. (1991)
• A Poet in Cinema: Andrei Tarkovsky – Free – A rare look at Andrei Tarkovsky’s thoughts on life and filmmaking. Directed by Donatella Baglivo. (1983)
• 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.
• 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)
• Andrei Tarkovsky – Free – A comprehensive analysis of the director’s life outside of the cinema and the struggles he endured to create lasting personal works. An Arena documentary from the British Broadcasting System. (1987)
• 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)
• 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)
• 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)
• 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)
• Behind Jim Jarmusch – Free – In 2009, Jim Jarmusch released, The Limits of Control. A behind-the-scenes documentary, Behind Jim Jarmusch, was filmed over three days on the set of the film in Seville by director Léa Rinaldi. (2009)
• Billie Holiday: The Life and Artistry of Lady Day – Free – What makes this low-budget documentary worthwhile is the music. The film features some of the best surviving footage of Holiday performing. (2004)
• 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)
• Bob Marley: The Legend Live – Free – Shot at the Santa Barbara County Bowl in California on November 25, 1979, just 16 months before Marley’s untimely death at the age of 36. (2003)
• 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)
• Bukowski: Born Into This – Free – The definitive documentary on the hard-living poet. “Valuable because it provides a face and a voice to go with the work,” wrote Roger Ebert. (2003)
• Bullfight at Malaga - Free – Photographed by Richard Leacock, this short film records what happened when the two greatest matadors tried to outdo each other in what became known as “The Bullfight of the Century.” (2010)
• CBGB’s: The Roots of Punk Lets You – Free – A carnival of vintage performances from New York’s seminal punk bands. The film was produced for Hilly Kristal, creator and owner of CBGBs.
• Chasing Sound – Free – At 90, Les Paul tells his rags-to-riches story in a documentary featuring a soundtrack of hits by B.B. King, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Paul McCartney and others. (2007)
• Churchill’s Island - Free – WWII propaganda film chronicling the defense of Great Britain. Won the very first Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject. (1941)
• Code Rush – Free – Documentary following the lives of Netscape engineers in Silicon Valley. 1998
• 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)
• Cream’s Farewell Concert - Free – Tony Palmer captured Cream’s final show (starring, of course, Eric Clapton) at the Royal Albert Hall in London, November 21, 1968.
• 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).
• Dark Side of the Moon - Free – William Karel satirizes the notion that Stanley Kubrick was behind the great moon landing hoax. (2002)
• 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)
• Day of the Fight – Free – The first film shot by Stanley Kubrick, focusing on the middleweight boxer Walter Cartier. (1950)
• Days of Our Lives – Free – Documentary explores the life and times of the rock band Queen.
• Death Mills – Free – Billy Wilder’s documentary in German showing what Allies found when they liberated Nazi extermination camps. (1945)
• Derrida - Free – A 2002 documentary on the abstract philosopher and the everyday man. (2002)
• Dial H for Hitchcock – Free – Made to celebrate the centenary of Hitchcock’s birth, this documentary concentrates on his major US films. Surviving collaborators, colleagues, and directors are interviewed. (1999)
• Do Communists Have a Better Sex? – Free – Documentary explores sexual habits behind the Iron Curtain. (2007)
• Dream of Life – Free – Directed by Steven Sebring, the film offers an intimate portrait of poet, painter, musician and singer Patti Smith. (2008)
• Einstein’s Brain – Free – A strange documentary that follows Japanese scholar Kenji Sugimoto’s quest to find Einstein’s brain. (1994)
• End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones – Free – Documentary film about highly influential New York punk rock band the Ramones. (2003)
• Eraserhead Stories – Free – Offer as much information as you’ll find anywhere on the making of David Lynch’s first feature film. (2001)
• 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.)
• Down from the Mountain – Free – Documentary/concert film about the making of the Grammy-winning soundtrack recording for the Joel and Ethan Coen film, O Brother, Where Art Thou?
• Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: Man Of Peace In A Time Of War - Free – Documentary examining the life of MLK Jr. includes rarely seen footage.
• Examined Life – Free – Features 8 contemporary philosophers discussing the practical application of their ideas in modern culture. Includes Cornel West, Peter Singer, Martha Nussbaum, Slavoj Žižek, and Judith Butler. (2008)
• 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)
• Fellini: A Director’s Notebook - Free – Federico Fellini introduces himself to America in experimental documentary aired on TV. (1969)
• Fellini, I’m a Born Liar – Free – A look at Fellini’s creative process. In extensive interviews, Fellini talks about his background and then discusses how he works and how he creates. (2002)
• 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)
• 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)
• Flying Padre - Free – The second film shot by Stanley Kubrick focuses on a priest in New Mexico who got around his vast parish in a Piper Cub airplane. (1951)
• 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)
• Fractals: The Colors of Infinity - Free – Arthur C. Clarke brings us inside the world of fractal geometry, David Gilmour provides the soundtrack. (1995)
• Freddie Mercury: The Untold Story – Free – Documentary retraces the singer’s journey from Zanzibar to Stardom. (2000)
• 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)
• Game Over: Kasparov and the Machine - Free –  About the famous match between chess legend Garry Kasparov and Deep Blue, a chess-playing computer created by IBM. (2003)
• Genesis: A History – Free – Tells the story of Genesis from Charterhouse in the late sixties to the then present times at Knebworth festival in 1990.
  Features interviews with Tony Banks, Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Steve Hackett, Jonathan King, Anthony Phillips & Michael Rutherford. (1991)
• 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)
• 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)
• 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.
• 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)
• 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 Long is a Piece of String – Free – Alan Davies attempts to answer the proverbial question. But it turns out to be much harder than he thought. (2009)
• 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)
• 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)
• 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)
• Imaginary Landscapes - Free – Rare documentary features legendary producer Brian Eno offering insights on making music. (1989)
• In Search of Moebius – Free – Documentary about Frenchman Jean Giraud, one of the most influential comic strip illustrators and authors of all time.
• 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.
• 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)
• Jammin’ the Blues – Free – Directed by Life magazine photographer Gjon Mili, the film features Lester Young and other jazz/blues legends. (1944)
• 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)
• Jeff Buckley – Everybody Here Wants You – Free – Documentary about the life of Jeff Buckley. Featuring contributions from his family, friends, band members and admirers including Brad Pitt, Elizabeth Fraser, Jimmy Page.
• John Huston and the Dubliners – Free – Documentary focuses on John Huston as he directs his last film The Dead based on the story by James Joyce. (1988)
• Johnny Cash: The Last Great American - Free – Documentary profiling the life of legendary country music star, who died in 2003. (2004)
• Joni Mitchell: Woman of Heart and Mind – Free – Detailed documentary on Joni Mitchell’s life and her music, written and directed by Susan Lacy and produced for broadcast as a TV special. (2003)
• 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)
• 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)
• Le silence du fleuve - Free – Documentary by Agnès Denis and Mehdi Lallaoui investigates the violent repression of Algerian demonstrators in Paris on October 17, 1961 (1991)
• Lenny Bruce in “Lenny Bruce” - Free – In a “performance film,” Lenny Bruce appears at San Francisco’s Basin Street West in what was his next-to-last live appearance. (1967)
• Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man - Free (Limited to US audience) - A retrospective of Cohen’s life and work. Features tribute performances of his songs by Beth Orton, Nick Cave, Martha and Rufus Wainwright, and U2. (2005)
• Let’s Get Lost - Free – Bruce Weber’s sad film of jazz legend Chet Baker. (1988)
• Life in a Day – Video – 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 in Rome – Free – Documentary captures the Talking Heads playing live in Rome. Features the group’s full “Afro-Funk Orchestra” lineup, plus Adrian Belew on guitar. (1980)
• Lost in La Mancha - Free – Documentary about Terry Gilliam’s failed attempt to make a film adaptation of the novel Don Quixote. (2002)
• Mae Day: The Crumbling of a Documentary – Free – When actor/director Kevin Smith attended Vancouver Film School, he and producer Scott Mosier attempted to create a documentary project on a transsexual entertainer. However, in the middle of production the documentary fell apart. The two director/producers had to come up with another documentary. The Crumbling of a Documentary. (1992)
• Making the Shining – Free – Stanley Kubrick’s daughter Vivian shot a film that looks behind the scenes at the great horror film based on Stephen King’s novel. (1980)
• Man Among Men: Alberto Giacometti – Free – Film features the sculptor shedding light on his own work. (1963)
• Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media – Free – Explores the political and intellectual life of Noam Chomsky and expands on ideas in Chomsky’s earlier book, Manufacturing Consent. Alternative version on YouTube here. (1992)
• Marcel Duchamp: Iconoclaste et Inoxydable – Free – Three- part, three-hour documentary with interviews about Marcel Duchamp, directed by Fabrice Maze. (2009)
• Martin Scorsese Directs – Free – PBS documentary features interviews with  Scorsese, Steven Spielberg , George Lucas and Robert DeNiro among others, as well as classic scenes from Scorsese’s films and behind the scenes footage of Scorsese directing. (1990)
• Matter of Heart - Free – Documentary on the great Swiss psychoanalyst Carl Jung. Features archival footage. (1986)
• 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)
• My Dinner with Abbie – Free – An ex flower child sits down for dinner with a revolutionary icon of the 60s and 70s, Abbie Hoffman. (1990)
• N is a Number - Free – Documentary directed by George Paul Csicsery about the life of mathematician Paul Erdős.
• 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)
• Creative Process: Norman McLaren – Free – This feature length documentary is a journey into Norman McLaren’s process of artistic creation. (1990)
• November 22, 1963 – Free – In a short documentary, Errol Morris asks what we can and cannot know about the Kennedy assassination. (2013)
• Nuremberg Trials – Free – Riveting Russian documentary takes you inside the trials of the notorious German war criminals. (1947)
• 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)
• Orwell Rolls in His Grave – Free – America’s leading intellectuals discuss & examine the mix of businesses, politics & ideology that is the mainstream media. (2003)
• Paul McCartney: Chaos & Creation at Abbey Road – Free – Sir Paul revisits the Beatles’ recording techniques and vintage instruments used by the band. (2005)
• Philosophy: A Guide to Happiness - Free – With Alain de Botton. A self-help guide which applies the teachings of philosophers to dealing with life’s everyday problems. (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)
  
• Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii - Free – Director’s cut. Features Pink Floyd performing six songs in the ancient Roman amphitheatre in Pompeii, Italy. (1972)
• 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)
• Portrait of an Artist: Jackson Pollock – Free – Documentary of the abstract expressionist artist narrated by Melvyn Bragg. (1987)
• Portrait of a Bookstore as an Old Man – Free -Documentary revisits Shakespeare and Company, the most famous bookstore in Paris. (2005)
• 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)
• Punk: the Early Years – Free – An early documentary on the musical movement that stormed Britain during the 1970s. Features important footage of early concerts. (1978)
• 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)
• Rock and Roll Heart - Free – American Masters documentary retraces the remarkable career of Lou Reed. (1998)
• Room 666 - Free – Wim Wenders interviews 16 directors (including Steven Spielberg, Jean-Luc Godard, and Rainer Werner Fassbinder) at the ’82 Cannes Film Festival and talks about the state of cinema. (1982)
• 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)
• 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)
• ¿Sería Buenos Aires? – Free – An award-winning documentary looking at Argentina’s response to modern crises. (2006)
• 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)
• Staircases to Nowhere: Making Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining – Free – An in-depth oral history of the production of Stanley Kubrick’s film, The Shining.
• SuperSize Me – Free – Morgan Spurlock’s documentary on fast food in America. (2004)
• Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story – Free – Controversial film tells the life story of Karen Carpenter with Barbie dolls. (1987)
• Syd Barrett: Under Review – Free – features  rare live and studio performances from the early member of Pink Floyd. (2006)
• 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)
• 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 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 Clash: Westway to the World – Free –  The Grammy-winning 2000 film is a fascinating look at the rise and fall of one of history’s greatest rock bands. (2000)
• The Complete Citizen Kane – Free – (Second video on the page) Arena documentary looks at Welles’ masterpiece from every possible angle, even bringing in New Yorker critic Pauline Kael. (1991)
• The Confessions of Robert Crumb – Free – A portrait of the artist scripted by the underground comics legend himself (1987)
• 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 Fighting Lady – Free – Directed by William Wyler, this film provides a portrait of life on a World War II aircraft carrier (1944)
• 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 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 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 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 Last Journey of a Genius - Free – Richard Feynman describes during his last days his longtime desire to travel to the remote country of Tannu Tuva. (1989)
• 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 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 Making of Raiders of the Lost Ark – Free –  Directed by Phillip David Schuman, the film features candid on set scenes featuring Steven Spielberg directing and other behind the scenes footage with stars Harrison Ford and Karen Allen and producer George Lucas. (1981)
• 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 Miles Davis Story – Free – The definitive biography of a jazz legend. (2001)
• 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 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 Owl’s Legacy (L’Héritage de la chouette) – Free – Created by French director Chris Marker, this 13 episode program examines the roots of western culture in Ancient Greece. It was never broadcast. (1989)
• 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 Pleasure of Finding Things Out – Free – Features Richard Feynman, the charismatic, Nobel prize-winning physicist, talking in a very personal way about the joys of scientific discovery. (1981)
• 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 Seafarers – Free – It was Stanley Kubrick’s third film, and his first in color. Otherwise, not of great note. (1953)  
  
• The Search for Robert Johnson – Free – UK television documentary about the legendary Delta blues musician Robert Johnson, hosted by John Hammond. (1991)
• 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 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 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 Times of Harvey Milk – Free – Rob Epstein’s Oscar winning documentary. (1984)
• 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 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)
• They Were There – Free – 30-minute film by Errol Morris, commissioned by IBM to celebrate the company’s centennial. Music by Philip Glass.
• The World According to John Coltrane – Free – Produced with his widow Alice Coltrane, the documentary focuses on the later period of Coltrane’s work where he explored themes of Eastern spirituality. (1990)
• There is No Authority But Yourself – Free – Feature documentary about seminal anarcho-punk band Crass, directed by Dutch filmmaker Alexander Oey. (2006)
• 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)
• 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)
• TPB AFK: The Pirate Bay Away From Keyboard – Free –  Documentary based around the interpersonal triumphs and defeats of the three main figures running the file sharing web site, Pirate Bay. (2013)
• 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. (1976)
• Underground – Free – Directed by Emile de Antonio, Haskell Wexler and Mary Lampson, Underground revisits the radical activists the Weathermen. (1976)
• 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)
• 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)
• Visit to Picasso - Free – 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)
• 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)
• Whoever Says the Truth Shall Die - Free – Film about the life, death, and philosophy of Pier Paolo Pasolini. (1981)
• 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 is Reality? – Free – Physicists give us a taste of reality in a world where nothing is as it appears. (2011)
• William S. Burroughs: Commissioner of Sewers – Free – Klaus Maeck’s in-depth interview with Burroughs. Includes a series of his readings, a collection of his appearances in other movies, and even images of his paintings. (1991)
• WikiRebels – Free – Documentary by Swedish public television chronicles history of Wikileaks. (2010)
• 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)
• Young At Heart – Free – An Oscar winning documentary about two widowed artists in their mid-80’s who meet on a painting tour to England and fall madly in love. (2007)
• Žižek! – Free – A study of philosopher and psychoanalyst Slavoj Zizek, “Academic Rock Star” and “Monster” of a Man. (2005)

Free Animated Films Online