There are a number of great movies streaming for free with ads on YouTube right now. The platform’s November options include two of the greatest romance films of the 1990s, as well as one of the best horror movies made by a master of the genre. On top of those films, YouTube’s free section has a Best Picture-winning thriller that is rightly still revered and the most underrated and unfairly oft-forgotten movie Denzel Washington has ever starred in.
Here are the seven best movies you can stream for free on YouTube in November.
“Sleepless in Seattle” (1993)
There’s an ongoing discussion among cinephiles about which of writer-director Nora Ephron’s romantic comedies is best. When you’re talking about the films she actually directed, the conversation usually comes down to 1998’s “You’ve Got Mail” or 1993’s “Sleepless in Seattle.” The good news is that both are great.
There is, however, something magical about “Sleepless in Seattle.” The film, about a journalist (Meg Ryan) who decides to track down the widowed man (Tom Hanks) she heard on a talk radio program one night, is cozy and classically, almost achingly romantic. It is a film that firmly believes in romantic fate, and it knows how to make you believe in it, too.
“Before Sunrise” (1995)
1995’s “Before Sunrise” is, in many ways, a kind of inverse of “Sleepless in Seattle.” Where the latter keeps its leads apart for much of its runtime, “Before Sunrise” is about the day and night its characters spend together. It is, like many of director Richard Linklater‘s best films, a portrait of an extremely specific moment in time — namely, when you are young and curious and impulsive and true love feels like it may be lurking around every corner.
The film, which follows an American man (Ethan Hawke) and French woman (Julie Delpy) who meet on a train and decide to spend one night together in Vienna, is both a celebration of young love and an exploration of a spontaneous, once-in-a-lifetime connection. It is the first installment in one of cinema’s greatest film trilogies, and to watch “Before Sunrise” is to start the kind of conversation you wish would never end.
“Peter Pan” (2003)
Both wildly underrated and a touchstone for an entire generation of young moviegoers, 2003’s “Peter Pan” is the best film adaptation of its source material that Hollywood has yet produced. Director P.J. Hogan’s take on J.M. Barrie’s enduring story about The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up presents its story in as straightforward and uncynical a fashion as possible.
In doing so, it colorfully and memorably captures the magic of Neverland, the ache of its young hero’s (Jeremy Sumpter) romance with Wendy Darling (Rachel Hurd-Wood) and the bittersweet nature of his arrested-development existence. It strikes the balance of whimsy, adventure and melancholy that few other “Peter Pan” adaptations ever successfully have, and it is likely to make a lasting impression, no matter how old you are when you watch it.
“Devil in a Blue Dress” (1995)
Speaking of underrated movies, director Carl Franklin’s “Devil in a Blue Dress” is one of star Denzel Washington’s best and yet little-known films. Based on Walter Mosley’s 1990 novel of the same name, the film follows disillusioned World War II veteran Easy Rawlins (Washington) as he takes a job out of desperation and ends up investigating the many, twisty mysteries surrounding the disappearance of a beautiful woman (Jennifer Beals) in 1948 Los Angeles.
Featuring an early, star-making supporting performance from Don Cheadle, “Devil In a Blue Dress” is an addictive, masterfully made noir that keeps you on your toes for nearly all of its 102 minutes. It’s the type of film you’ll watch and wish had spawned an entire, decades-spanning franchise (or, at the very least, one sequel).
“The Thing” (1982)
1982’s “The Thing” is widely regarded as one of the greatest American horror films ever made — and for good reason. Featuring an ensemble cast headlined by the likes of Kurt Russell, Keith David, Wilford Brimley and T.K. Carter, the film follows a group of American researchers whose base in Antarctica is infiltrated by a shape-shifting extraterrestrial life-form that has the ability to perfectly imitate other living organisms.
As director John Carpenter gradually ups the tension, death and gore, paranoia begins to tear the film’s core group of characters apart. Horror movies just do not get much better than “The Thing.” It is a film that will make you scream, cover your eyes and then look over your shoulder — just to check, of course.
“No Country for Old Men” (2007)
2007’s “No Country for Old Men” is the rare Best Picture winner that is still just as widely regarded as it was when it took home the Oscars’ highest award. Based on a Cormac McCarthy novel of the same name, Joel and Ethan Coen’s neo-noir epic about the deadly cat-and-mouse game that ensues between a merciless hitman (Javier Bardem), a desperate Vietnam War veteran (Josh Brolin) and a jaded Texas sheriff (Tommy Lee Jones) is so perfectly crafted that it is difficult to find a fault in its presentation.
Punctuated by multiple, brilliantly staged shootouts, chase scenes and nerve-wracking close calls, “No Country for Old Men” is an uncompromising thriller that works as both a gripping piece of genre storytelling and a thought-provoking drama about greed and the world’s seemingly ever-growing tolerance for evil and cruelty.
“The Untouchables” (1987)
Director Brian De Palma’s “The Untouchables” is a piece of pure popcorn entertainment with a delightful mean streak. Set in 1930 Chicago in the midst of prohibition, the crime thriller follows a daring federal law enforcement officer (Kevin Costner) who puts together a team of local cops — headlined by Sean Connery’s grizzled Jimmy Malone — to take down the unafraid and unmerciful Al Capone (Robert De Niro).
Violent and frequently nerve-wracking, “The Untouchables” grabs your attention from its opening scene and holds it right up until its triumphant, tongue-in-cheek final moments. Perhaps even more impressively, “The Untouchables” is a movie with significant mainstream appeal that still manages to hold onto its auteur director’s singular vision and taste.
