60 Best Classic Movies You Can Stream Right Now
Exactly what makes a film a “classic” varies greatly depending on the viewer, as does the relevant time frame. For some, a movie from ten years ago may be appropriate (I call these movie buffs “kids”). For others, you’ll have to go back much further. Today I’m going to do the latter by taking a look at some of the great (or at least very interesting) films that were released no later than the late 1970s. (Even if I personally hate calling films younger than me “classics.”) Semantics quibbles aside, these sentences prove how useful it can be to delve into the back catalog of film history from time to time.
In the Heat of the Night (1967)
Virgil Tibbs’ (Sidney Poitier) entrance into Sparta, Mississippi, at the start of this intense, socially conscious police thriller plays out like a scene from a horror movie, making clear the dangers of being a black man in a Southern city after dark. This is, of course, before the sheriff realizes that Mr. Tibbs is the only one who can solve the murder. Although its politics are dated, this Oscar-winning film directed by Norman Jewison remains a landmark film of the civil rights movement.
Where to watch: Prime Video, Tubi, Hoopla.
Rocky (1976)
The long-running franchise has had its ups ( the Creed films ) and downs (that robot butler in Rocky IV ), but the original remains one of the best sports films, with a huge heart, supported by characters that feel like real people. (It beat out Network and Taxi Driver for Best Picture, and it’s hard to be mad about that.)
Where to stream: Max
All About Eve (1950)
I’m not sure Hollywood has ever produced a more edgy and funnier script than this one. If Bette Davis had only starred in All About Eve , she would still be a legend. Is this one of the best black and white films ever made? Yes.
Where to watch: digital rental.
Sounder (1972)
Cicily Tyson and Paul Winfield are phenomenal in this drama about a family of Depression-era sharecroppers living in the Deep South and trying to survive and stay together.
Where to watch: Prime Video, Peacock, Tubi, Freevee
Casablanca (1940)
Everyone’s favorite golden age Hollywood film has earned its reputation: Bogart and Bergman have amazing chemistry, and the film combines an atmosphere of doomed romance with real tension and a sense of humor that keeps the wartime atmosphere from becoming too heavy.
Where to stream: Max
Jeanne Dielman, Quai des Commerce, 32 (1975)
Chantal Akerman’s three-hour epic, recently named the best film ever made in a stupidly controversial Sight & Sound critics poll , shows us three days in the life of a Brussels single mother; it’s gripping and tragic in its depiction of everyday drudgery, even if the antics of part-time sex worker Jeanne prove to be the least interesting part of her day.
Where to watch: Max, The Criterion Channel
Black Girl (1966)
The film that brought international attention to sub-Saharan African cinema. In Black Girl, Mbissine Thérèse Diop plays Diouane, who is isolated and treated like a human being by her French employers as she reflects on her former life in Senegal.
Where to watch: Max, The Criterion Channel
Metropolis (1927)
Fritz Lang’s story of a future city sharply divided between the haves and have-nots remains visually stunning, and its themes are no less relevant today than they were almost a century ago.
Where to watch: Tubi, Crackle, Kanopy, Redbox, Pluto TV, Plex.
Only Angels Have Wings (1939)
With snappy dialogue, interesting, believable characters, and women who are at least as cool and interesting as the men, Howard Hawks’s romantic adventure is mostly about pilots just hanging out in a South American city where every takeoff and landing can become potential tragedy.
Where to watch: digital rental.
Some Like It Hot (1959)
Two musicians disguise themselves to escape mobsters in this classic Billy Wilder vehicle for Marilyn Monroe, here at the peak of her powers. Nobody is perfect, but this movie comes close.
Where to stream: Max
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Stanley Kubrick and company’s deliberately fast-paced film takes us from the origins of violence to a hypnotically fascinating and highly detailed mid-century modern future where we come face to face with our own evolution.
Where to stream: Max
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
A very interesting and completely modest crime thriller in which four men hijack a New York subway train, demanding money in exchange for the release of the hostages and the car itself. The high tension and New York City setting are highlights, as is the cast: Walter Matthau as the leading police lieutenant is believably human while also adding a touch of humor. Hector Elizondo, Martin Balsam, Robert Shaw, Jerry Stiller and Doris Roberts also gave excellent performances.
Where to watch: Prime Video, Tubi, MGM+.
American Graffiti (1973)
Nostalgia is nothing new. George Lucas’s American Graffiti takes us back to a group of teenagers’ last day of high school in the 1960s, as the director makes it clear that some aspects of growing up are quite universal and that he has something to say about more than just galactic events. space battles.
Where to watch: Tubi
The Last Picture Show (1971)
Another flashback to a bygone era, set in a dying small town in Texas. One of the best films of the 1970s, Peter Bogdanovich’s breakthrough film thankfully lacks the rosy glow that 70s high school movies relied on.
Where to watch: digital rental.
Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
A cinematic slice of pure joy, with lots of truly great musical numbers interspersed with some truly hilarious performances. For my money, the best musical of the era (and a lot weirder than you probably imagine).
Where to stream: Max
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)
A towering, candy-colored musical about young lovers (Catherine Deneuve and Nino Castelnuovo) separated by circumstances in the titular city. Almost every word is sung. In French. Check it out anyway!
Where to watch: Max, The Criterion Channel, Kanopy.
Stormy Weather (1943)
There isn’t much of a plot here, instead the film serves as a showcase for the talents of some of Hollywood’s greatest black talent of the era. And that’s enough. Starring Bill Robinson, better known as Mr. Bojangles, the film is presented as a retrospective of his life, and features Lena Horne delivering an unforgettable, haunting performance of the title song. Cab Calloway and Fats Waller also appear and perform, as does Casablanca ‘s Paul Dooley.
Where to watch: digital rental.
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Gloria Swanson was only 50 when she was cast as the horribly outdated silent film star at the center of this very dark comedy/film noir. It doesn’t matter, she kills him.
Where to watch: Paramount+
Sunrise (1927)
Featuring some of the most dazzling cinematography and cinematography of the silent era, F.W. Murnau tells a tale of romance (and attempted murder) that feels epic, even if the stakes are ultimately no higher than a troubled marriage couples from the film. .
Where to watch: Tubi, The Roku Channel, Hoopla.
Song Baadasssss Sweet Sweetback (1971)
The brilliant Melvin Van Peebles wrote, directed, produced and scored this film, which launched the Blaxploitation genre and surpassed all of its imitators by playing like a hyper-stylized slice of life. Made for $150,000, it grossed more than $15 million.
Where to watch: Criterion Channel.
Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
Just an old-fashioned love story about the romance between a young engaged couple, a genderfluid scientist, and a lab experiment gone wrong. The cult classic is now too famous to be called a cult classic, and for good reason.
Where to watch: digital rental.
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
A seemingly sweet girl from Kansas travels to the magical Land of Oz, announcing her arrival by killing a woman and stealing her shoes. In fact, at this moment there is only one thing left to do: kill her sister too.
Where to stream: Max
Psycho (1960)
Towards the end of his career, Alfred Hitchcock reinvented American horror cinema and introduced a true screen slasher: Norman Bates’ mother and best friend, Norma.
Where to watch: digital rental.
It Happened One Night (1934)
Frank Capra’s risque romantic comedy won an Oscar in its year, and leads Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert made a brilliant pairing in a film that defined the rom-com and remains one of the best of its kind.
Where to watch: digital rental.
Cooley High (1974)
Cochise (Lawrence-Hylton Jacobs), a basketball star, and Preach (Glynn Turman), an aspiring playwright, plan to play hooky during the final weeks of their senior year. Their plan leads to a series of adventures and misadventures that read very much like a typical teen comedy, before the comedy gradually gives way to more serious introspection. The film had a profound influence on directors from John Singleton to Spike Lee.
Where to stream: Tubi, Freevee
Boys in the Band (1970)
William Friedkin’s adaptation of the off-Broadway play about several gay friends gathered at a birthday party, with funny, bitchy and dramatic results. Gay audiences found it a bit dated back in 1970, but it serves as a very effective (and entertaining) time capsule and one of the first major American films to focus on queer characters.
Where to watch: digital rental.
Bambi (1942)
Even though it’s not as technically innovative as some of Disney’s earlier films, Bambi is still absolutely gorgeous, and its simple, down-to-earth story is emotional, gripping, and poignant in a way that the animator’s fantasy films aren’t. can compare.
Where to watch: Disney+.
From Here to Eternity (1953)
Fred Zinnemann’s Pearl Harbor drama is remembered for its stellar cast (Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Frank Sinatra, etc.) and giddy romance, but it is also a powerful and harrowing recreation of the 1941 terrorist attacks and their aftermath. on the Americans at their center.
Where to watch: digital rental.
Kwaidan (1964)
This Japanese anthology of horror-tinged stories isn’t necessarily scary, but it’s one of the most stunningly beautiful and gorgeously designed films you’re likely to find this side of Japanese folklore. A very influential film, it begins with the story of a terribly wronged woman and her very long, very black hair.
Where to watch: Max, The Criterion Channel
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
This historical drama brings medieval Europe to life, depicting Arthur, King of the Britons (Graham Chapman), scouring the English countryside for people brave enough to join his Knights of the Round Table, desperate to find out if swallows can, in fact, carry coconuts. Everything is very serious. (Cough cough.)
Where to watch: Netflix
Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
With Lew Ayres at the helm, the original All Quiet remains a harrowing experience – a recreation of the events of World War I so realistic that it is considered one of the true, greatest anti-war films of all time.
Where to watch: Tubi
The Godfather (1972)
Many people say that the second film is better… and they are not wrong, although the first is an equally brilliant example of filmmaking and is definitely worth starting with when watching or re-watching Francis Ford Coppola’s saga.
Where to watch: Paramount+
M (1931)
Peter Lorre is terrifying as the child killer in Fritz Lang’s thriller. Besides being a masterful film in its own right, M influenced every crime drama, serial killer movie and police procedural that has come since.
Where to watch: Max, The Criterion Channel, Kanopy.
Gilda (1946)
One of the greatest and most interesting film noirs of its era also highlights one of the hottest bisexual love triangles you’re likely to see in film.
Where to watch: Tubi
Mildred Pierce (1945)
Joan Crawford is at her dramatic best in this story of a mother dealing with a hyper-snotty daughter. Joan and director Michael Curtiz took all the great trappings of noir of the era (including murder) and put a single mother at the center. Now central to her filmography, it was Joan’s comeback at the time and proved that she could still pack theaters as a middle-aged woman.
Where to watch: digital rental.
Superman (1978)
In our highly dystopian present, every third movie is a superhero brawl… but that wasn’t the case in 1978, when Richard Donner made the original (more or less) and best (more or less) movie. Christopher Reeve remains a consistent blend of believable sincerity and goofy charm, creating genuine chemistry with Margot Kidder’s Lois Lane.
Where to stream: Max
The Seventh Seal (1957)
Max von Sydow plays a medieval knight in Ingmar Bergman’s very dark fantasy of finding human connection in the absence of faith. The film tells its story using some of the most unforgettable imagery in film history – anyone fancy a game of chess? With death?
Where to watch: Max, The Criterion Channel
Citizen Kane (1941)
A pretentious film student’s answer to the question: “What is the greatest film of all time?” it turns out to be a really great movie; A rather dark and extremely innovative commentary on the corrupting power of money and American-style capitalism. In this regard, he has not aged a day.
Where to stream: Max
Battleship Potemkin (1925)
Sergei Eisenstein’s film, set during the early Russian Revolution of 1905, is so uplifting that you’ll find yourself cheering for the uprising that led to the birth of the Soviet Union (where the film caused as much controversy as anywhere else). Among the film’s many brilliantly shot moments is the iconic “Odessa Steps” sequence, referenced by everyone from Laurel and Hardy to Denis Villeneuve.
Where to watch: Max, Tuby, The Criterion Channel
It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)
This star-studded road racing film is silly, sure, but it also has a mean streak a mile wide – and I absolutely mean that as a compliment. The cast is all competing to cross the state of California and collect a ton of money that they find out is buried in a state park. It’s cute to watch Milton Berle, Ethel Merman, Mickey Rooney, Jonathan Winters, Eddie Anderson, Sid Caesar and others team up to get the money… but it’s even better when they bicker and start fighting tooth and nail with the crooked cop. Spencer Tracy.
Where to watch: Tubi
Nuremberg verdict (1961)
The star-studded cast may be a little distracting, but Stanley Kramer’s courtroom drama remains powerful and depressingly relevant in its depiction of normal, everyday people forced to commit atrocities with minimal encouragement.
Where to watch: Prime Video, Tubi, MGM+.
12 Angry Men (1957)
Sidney Lumet’s central courtroom drama plays out a little differently in our era of rampant judicial mistrust, but there is still something to be said about the danger, power and virtue of resisting the mob. A definitive refutation of the McCarthy-era Red Scare, it speaks to the ease with which we get along with fearful crowds.
Where to watch: Prime Video, Tubi, MGM+, Freevee.
The Feast of Monsieur Hulot (1953)
The first in a series of charming and increasingly inventive comedies from the great director (and star) Jacques Tati. M. Hulot feels like a silent film character in a world of sound, and indeed, the focus here is less on the dialogue and more on the unintentional actions with which our hero wreaks absolute havoc wherever he goes. Comedy also has its own method: Tati finds satisfaction in seeing the thin veneer of comfortable, snobbish and wealthy vacationers erase.
Where to watch: Max, The Criterion Channel
Carnival of Souls (1962)
This deeply engrossing low-budget independent film predates George Romero ‘s Night of the Living Dead by about five years, following a young woman (Candace Hilligoss) through a very dark night. Absolutely creepy, this film will stay with you whether you like it or not.
Where to watch: Prime Video, Max, Tubi, The Criterion Channel, Crackle, Shudder, Freevee, Shout Factory TV.
The Sound of Music (1965)
The hills come alive, etc., when an adorably goofy nun-in-training takes a job in the home of an Austrian aristocrat. What starts out as a very humble sing-along takes a dark turn as the shadow of Nazi Germany looms – this very real threat turns Julie Andrews’ breakthrough into something as meaningful as it is hilarious.
Where to watch: Disney+, Hulu.
It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
It has a reputation as a beloved holiday classic, but few Christmas movies before or since have been as deep and dark, chronicling the very long, very dark night of George Bailey’s soul.
Where to watch: Prime Video, The Roku Channel, Plex.
Pather Panchali (1955)
India’s answer to the French New Wave, Satyajit Ray’s gorgeous yet down-to-earth drama finds universal truths in the complex relationships between desperately poor Apu, his sister Durga and their mother Sarbajaya. (The next two films in what became known as the Apu Trilogy are equally great.)
Where to watch: Max, The Criterion Collection, Kanopy.
Sherlock Jr. (1924)
The General is often seen as Buster Keaton’s masterpiece, but I prefer Sherlock Jr. , in which an ordinary dunce is literally sucked into the movies. It’s an acrobatic and often hilarious journey through film history.
Where to stream: Tubi, Kanopy, Plex
Funny Girl (1968)
Barbra Streisand scores big with this funny (naturally), touching and ultimately epic tale of the rise of real-life comic actress Fanny Brice and her troubled romance with Nicky Arnstein (Omar Sharif). It’s like butta.
Where to watch: Prime Video
His Girl Friday (1940)
One of the genre-defining films is the edgy, fast-talking screwball comedy, starring Rosalind Russell and Cary Grant as a former reporter couple trying to uncover the truth about a convicted murderer’s story.
Where to watch: Prime Video, Tubi, Crackle, Pluto TV, Shout Factory TV, Freevee
Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
Otto Preminger’s gripping courtroom drama is less a crime procedural than an exploration of the fallibility of memory and the dangers of relying too much on any one person’s ability to accurately reproduce our own narratives.
Where to watch: digital rental.
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
On the eve of his wedding, Dr. Frankenstein is tempted when his old mentor appears in town. The two run away together with the intention of giving birth to a new life.
Where to watch: digital rental.
Modern Times (1936)
Have you ever felt like you’re just a cog in the capitalist machine of life? Charlie Chaplin’s masterpiece is the perfect movie for anyone who’s ever been stuck at work.
Where to watch: Max, The Criterion Channel, Tubi, Kanopy.
Grease (1978)
It may not be a stellar piece of filmmaking, but Grease is the enjoyable, silly cinematic fare we all need from time to time.
Where to stream: Max
Rashomon (1950)
Akira Kurosawa’s Samurai Story not only has a huge impact, but is the film’s ultimate statement about the unreliability of memory and the ease with which we tell stories for our own benefit. The Killing of a Warrior is told by a number of characters, each with a similar story, but with details that differ significantly.
Where to watch: Max, The Criterion Channel
Jaws (1975)
Steven Spielberg created a thrilling and gut-wrenching summer blockbuster to top them all back in 1975, shaping the cinematic landscape we still live in, for better or for worse.
Where to watch: digital rental.
High Noon (1952)
Decades later, it’s hard to believe that this simple story of a sheriff abandoned by a frightened town was one of the most controversial films of its era. There’s a lot going on just below the surface here, including a determined dismissal of the Red Scare and its accompanying Hollywood blacklist.
Where to watch: Prime Video, Paramount+, MGM+.
Carrie (1976)
One of Stephen King’s earliest works, this is an unforgettably bloody coming-of-age tale about a shy young woman (Sissy Spacek) with growing telekinetic powers, caught between her overbearing mother at home and her cruel classmates at school.
Where to stream: Max
Night of the Hunter (1955)
Actor Charles Laughton’s only directorial effort is extremely impressive: Serial killer preacher Harry Powell (Robert Mitchum) charms and then terrorizes a rural West Virginia family during the Great Depression. Audiences at the time found it incredibly strange and artistic, and were often underwhelmed by Laughton’s take on religious hypocrisy. Time has shown it as an intense, original masterpiece.
Where to stream: Tubi, Freevee
A Raisin in the Sun (1961)
Sidney Poitier, Ruby Dee, Claudia McNeil, Diana Sands, Roy Glenn and Louis Gossett Jr. star in this family drama about a Black family about to receive a small windfall, and the intergenerational conflict and trauma that affects on how family participants want to spend it, and even express their ideas about a better life.
Where to watch: digital rental.