How to Watch Movies for Free

Last Updated: October 17, 2022

Movies have been a part of our modern culture for over 100 years. One of the best parts of being an avid movie fan today is that one can enjoy the cinematic arts for free. This article will explain some simple ways to enjoy many movies without having to directly spend money on the film.

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Watching Movies Legally Via the Internet

1
Look for movies out of copyright. Search online for movies whose copyrights have expired. Many classic old films are now available to watch for free simply because they are out of date. Try going to the internet public access archives at http://www.archive.org to look for your favorites.^{[1]
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2
Search for documentaries. Because the makers of many documentaries are more concerned about their information coming to light, they offer free viewing of them online.

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3
Try a video streaming site. There are many popular video streaming sites on the web that offer not only short clips of shows, but full length films. The movies may be broken into two or three parts in order to allow for the video to meet the space requirements, but the entirety of many films is available this way.
- Youtube.com is great for watching many movies or videos for free. Look here for films that may be broken into parts.
- Hulu.com is known for its excellent quality archives of many popular TV shows and movies. If you want, you can choose to pay a low monthly fee to receive access to their complete library of films.^{[2]
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Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Watching Movies Using Torrents

1
Download a torrent. A torrent is a program that takes bits of video and information from all over the internet and compiles them on your computer for you.
- Using torrents is illegal because it violates the copyright laws in place for films and videos.
- Try using www.utorrent.com, deluge-torrent.org, or vuze.com for free torrent downloads.
2
Use a pirating website. These sites pirate complete films and videos from all over the internet and allow you to stream them for free. The aptly named PirateBay is a good site to search for your favorite movies.

Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Watching Movies without the Internet

1
Check out movies at your public library. That’s right, your local house of books is actually the home to movies as well. Many libraries offer movies for loan in both the educational and entertaining genres. If you aren’t sure what yours has, call ahead and ask the nearest librarian what’s up for grabs.
2
Look on your television. Many free TV channels offer popular movies, both at scheduled times and on a 24 hour run basis. Look at your local listings to find what movies are playing on the channels you already have access to.
3
See what’s playing in your neighborhood. Many cities offer free movie showings at local theaters for weekend festivals and summer nights. Contact your local city center or parks and recreation office to find out if there are any films showing near you.

Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Watching Movies at a Low Cost

1
Go garage-saling or thrifting. You can find many popular movies for sale in their DVD form at yard sales and thrift stores. Often these movies are being sold for a dollar or less - a definite deal!
2
Join a monthly video provider. In the last few years, many new companies have started offering a monthly subscription of around $10 or less to watch unlimited free movies. They often offer free online streaming in addition to being mailed the hard DVD version of your films.
3
Look for on-demand movies on your television. Multiple cable providers offer an on-demand film option where you can order from a selection of hundreds of movies and watch them instantly. If you’re a movie buff, this option might be a great low-price choice for you.

Community Q&A

Question

How do I know websites like the Pirate Bay are reliable and won't give me a virus?

NerdyBookworm12

Community Answer

One way to check is to see if you have a secure connection. Look and make sure there is a lock before the web address. It is probably much safer to just purchase the movie you wish to see. Many of these sites are unreliable. If you choose to download anyway, make sure you have good antivirus software installed.

Warnings

Many sites may claim to offer many free movies for download, but upon further investigation, they will ask for a monthly fee. This, obviously, means that it is not free. Sites like these may also be scam sites, and may not give you anything that you couldn't get anyway without the membership.

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Respect the people who made the movie possible! It takes lots of creative energy to make a movie. If you're watching it for free because someone disrespected the copyright owner's intellectual property rights, that's as bad as stealing.

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