The bad news: Janet Maslin of the New York Times didn’t much like Ghostbusters. The legendary critic sniped, “Its jokes, characters and story line are as wispy as the ghosts themselves, and a good deal less substantial.” All quite true. The good news? Everyone else loved it. Who you gonna believe? Check it out, free of charge, by clicking here.
© 2010-2025 grouchyeditor.com (text only)
Peter Bogdanovich was the up-and-coming director of the 1970s, with movies including Paper Moon and this adaptation of a Larry McMurtry novel on his youthful resume. And then Bogdanovich’s career up and left. What the hell happened to him? Watch The Last Picture Show, starring baby-faced Jeff Bridges and Cybill Shepherd, free of charge by clicking here.
© 2010-2025 grouchyeditor.com (text only)
THE KISS
Most people don’t realize that Thomas Edison was the 19th century’s version of Hugh Hefner. Yes indeed, the famous inventor was the man behind The Kiss, an 1896 short featuring the first kiss in cinematic history. Buxom May Irwin and frisky John C. Rice – the Brad and Angelina of their day – share a brazen smooch in this 30-second film. Predictably, this outrageous public display of sex prompted another cinematic first – angry calls for censorship. Watch it for free by clicking here … and then be prepared to take a cold shower.
© 2010-2025 grouchyeditor.com (text only)
Hollywood scuttlebutt (I love that word, let me say it again … scuttlebutt) has it that the Coen brothers have written the screenplay for a remake of the 1966 comic caper, Gambit. I am ashamed to admit that I have not seen the original, which starred Shirley MacLaine and Michael Caine. But Leonard Maltin calls it “great fun,” and he’s never wrong, is he? If the new version gets made, it won’t open until next year, so in the meantime, watch the original for free by clicking here.
© 2010-2025 grouchyeditor.com (text only)
I don’t know who “they” are, but when they say Hollywood doesn’t make ’em like it used to, they are usually referring to movies like Bringing Up Baby, a classic screwball comedy starring Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn. Evidently, “they” don’t make YouTube videos like they used to, either, because this version seems to be missing the opening credits. Watch it (most of it, anyway) free by clicking here.
© 2010-2025 grouchyeditor.com (text only)
There’s a good reason most vampire movies bear little resemblance to their primary inspiration, the 1897 novel, Dracula. Bram Stoker’s classic story is elegant, atmospheric, and creepy, for sure. But it’s no longer very “scary.” Ditto for this 1992 adaptation from arguably America’s greatest living director, Francis Ford Coppola. The movie is overlong and rarely frightening, but it is gorgeous to look at, and on the eeriness scale it ranks high. Watch it for free by clicking here.
© 2010-2025 grouchyeditor.com (text only)
Here’s a real oddity from 1975, a science-fiction flick about a punk (Don Johnson) and his telepathic dog struggling for survival in a post-holocaust world. Don’t be fooled by the title; this is no kiddie film. You can read my review of the movie, then watch it for free by clicking here.
© 2010-2025 grouchyeditor.com (text only)
Tod Browning’s Freaks has come a long way since its disastrous premiere in 1932. The drama, in which Browning (Dracula) cast people with real deformities to play circus sideshow “freaks,” opened to horrified audiences and critics alike. It was banned in Britain for 30 years and effectively put an end to Browning’s directing career. How times have changed: In 1994, the movie was selected for preservation by the United States National Film Registry. Watch what remains of it (extensive cuts were made and are now lost) free of charge by clicking here.
© 2010-2025 grouchyeditor.com (text only)
A Spanish television crew decides to film a routine shift at the local fire department. When a call comes in from a nearby apartment complex, the TV-types and the firefighters get more than they bargained for – a night in hell. This 2007 low-budget horror movie came out of nowhere and has since inspired an American remake (Quarantine), a sequel, and more to come. Crackle is showing it free, but unfortunately the movie is dubbed into English, and there are some annoying commercials. Watch it free by clicking here.
© 2010-2025 grouchyeditor.com (text only)
I’ll admit it: Lately, I’ve been scraping the bottom of the barrel with these free flicks. H.O.T.S. and One More Saturday Night are not exactly film-preservation candidates. It’s becoming more difficult to ferret out quality movies that can be watched free of charge on the Internet. All of that changes this week, because Crackle is showcasing a dynamite drama from 1964. Check out Fail-Safe, starring Henry Fonda and Walter Matthau, free of charge by clicking here.
© 2010-2025 grouchyeditor.com (text only)
