The 12 best movies on YouTube
YouTube has been a one stop shop for cute animal videos and Byzantine video essays since 2005. But in recent years, this gargantuan media hub has more to offer than snack-sized bites of digital entertainment. In fact, you can now watch entire films on the platform for free (with ads, of course), making for a great way to dabble in streaming without paying subscription fees.
There are plenty of options to choose from, but which ones are worth your time? To help you out, EW has rounded up the 12 best movies on YouTube right now.
<i>All Dogs Go to Heaven</i> (1989)
Decades ago, Don Bluth's All Dogs Go to Heaven went up against Disney's The Little Mermaid in theaters and got flounced (or should we say floundered?). However, in the coming years, his unconventional animated film has developed a cult following thanks to its wild plot (wherein a dog is murdered and then comes back from the pearly gates for revenge before finding an orphan girl to polish his tarnished heart). To top it off, there's also killer voicework by actors like Burt Reynolds and Dom DeLuise. EW's writer once declared this as "the most disturbing kids' movie ever." And we still think you shouldn't show it to young children, but their parents will probably love a touching talking animals cartoon that successfully zigs whenever its Disney-fed audience expects it to zag.
Where to watch All Dogs Go to Heaven: YouTube
Director: Don Bluth
Cast: Loni Anderson, Judith Barsi, Dom DeLuise, Melba Moore, Charles Nelson Reilly, Burt Reynolds, Vic Tayback
Related content: Why All Dogs Go to Heaven is the most disturbing kids' movie ever
<i>The Bad News Bears</i> (1976)
What if there was a sports movie for everyone who hates the usual cloying, sweet stories? Good news: The Bad News Bears sees Walter Matthau play an alcoholic former MLB pitcher who begins brutally coaching a local youth team (the titular Bears). While the film can't help but add a pinch of sugar to its finale, most of the charm comes from contrasting Matthau's cynical drunk with the vulgar youngsters he's attempting to mentor. EW deemed this one of the best baseball movies of all time for being "as hilariously rough around the edges as its foulmouthed, Chico's Bail Bonds-sponsored Little League team," and for defiantly raising "a prepubescent middle finger to every sappily uplifting coming-of-age sports movie ever made."
Where to watch The Bad News Bears: YouTube
Director: Michael Ritchie
Cast: Walter Matthau, Tatum O'Neal, Vic Morrow, Joyce Van Patten, Ben Piazza, Jackie Earle Haley, Alfred W. Lutter
Related content: Richard Linklater and the Bad News Bears
<i>Bye Bye Birdie</i> (1963)
Of all the stage productions that have permeated through pop culture, few are as charming as Bye Bye Birdie. While Elvis doesn't star in the movie version, the premise was inspired by The King getting drafted at the height of his fame. Our fictional singing heartthrob also gets scouted by the Army, but his real battle is closer to home as he deals with everything from adoring teenage fans to a bizarre scheme by Dick Van Dyke's character (an aspiring songwriter who sees the singer as his own personal meal ticket). Ultimately, this musical is full of catchy tunes, great 1960s flashbacks, and a standout performance from Van Dyke in his very first film role.
Where to watch Bye Bye Birdie: Youtube
Director: George Sidney
Cast: Janet Leigh, Dick Van Dyke, Ann-Margret, Maureen Stapleton, Bobby Rydell, Jesse Pearson, Ed Sullivan
Related content: The 50 best teen movies of all time
<i>Crazy Stupid Love<i> (2011)
Crazy Stupid Love has so many moving parts that you might expect its immensely talented cast to get ground up in them. However, an impeccable script helps make the most out of actors such as Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, and Emma Stone, providing us with many delightfully modern (and undeniably messy) love stories. The narrative is rooted in Carell as a divorcee learning to be a ladies' man from Gosling — but the two end up learning much from each other about being better lovers and better men. EW's critic praised the two leads for going in surprisingly unexpected directions: Playing against type, Carell "nails the heartachy drama" while the (then) oft-serious Gosling finds "the sly comedy" in the writing.
Where to watch Crazy Stupid Love: YouTube
Director: Glenn Ficarra, John Requa
Cast: Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, Emma Stone, Marisa Tomei, Kevin Bacon
Related content: Crazy Stupid Love: Before They Were Stars
<i>Dances With Wolves</i> (1990)
If you're a fan of Kevin Costner, then you owe it to yourself to watch Dances With Wolves on YouTube ASAP. This is the actor's passion project: He starred in, produced, and directed this tale of a Union soldier who walks away from the Civil War in order to join a tribe of Native Americans and learn a simpler, better way of life. Costner is as good as ever here, and supporting actors such as Mary McDonnell add notes of grace to a narrative that would otherwise be consumed with gravitas. And if you don't mind a story told through a decidedly "New Age" lens, this is a film you will most likely never forget.
Where to watch Dances With Wolves: YouTube
Director: Kevin Costner
Cast: Kevin Costner, Mary McDonnell, Graham Greene, Rodney Grant
Related content: Overlooked yet notable films about Native Americans
<i>Good Burger</i> (1997)
Unlike your favorite fast food joint, Good Burger is a movie that has only gotten better with age. It's a late-'90s throwback that sees two boneheaded buddies (Nickelodeon staples Kenan and Kel) try to save their beloved burger joint from an encroaching megacorporation competitor. Sure, it's the classic "snobs vs. slobs" formula that powered classic movies such as Caddyshack, but the comedic duo at the center adds enough heart to the humor to make the narrative feel endear and and earnest. The movie has picked up more steam than a fresh-baked pattie, and you can make it a double with the upcoming 2023 sequel, Good Burger 2.
Where to watch Good Burger: YouTube
Director: Brian Robbins
Cast: Kenan Thompson, Kel Mitchell, Abe Vigoda
Related content: Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell stage Good Burger reunion at 2022 Emmys
<i>The Faculty</i> (1998)
Every student knows that high school can be hellish, and The Faculty takes that notion literally with a tale of plucky students who clash with teachers infected by aliens. The premise is simplistic, but as EW's critic noted, the film is "slickly written" by Scream scribe Kevin Williamson "and directed from way over the top by Robert Rodriguez," the visionary behind horror classes like From Dusk Till Dawn. If the creative pedigree doesn't whet your appetite, it's still worth watching this movie for its killer cast, as Elijah Wood, Famke Janssen, and Josh Hartnett battle it out against the likes of Robert Patrick and Jon Stewart. (Oh, and you'll never look at a paper cutter the same way again.)
Where to watch The Faculty: YouTube
Director: Robert Rodriguez
Cast: Jordana Brewster, Clea DuVall, Laura Harris, Josh Hartnett, Shawn Hatosy, Famke Janssen, Piper Laurie, Bebe Neuwirth, Robert Patrick, Usher Raymond, Jon Stewart, Elijah Wood
Related content: The Faculty cast: Where are they now?
<i>Hoop Dreams</i> (1994)
Hoop Dreams is among the most celebrated sports documentaries — and documentaries in general. The film was filmed over five years and captures the profoundly human story of two Black high schoolers with ambitions to one day join the NBA. Even if you think a story of human achievement overcoming adversity is overdone, that's arguably because this 1994 masterpiece was a slam-dunk decades prior. To quote EW's critic, this "epic" movie is "a discursive, almost novelistic tapestry of cinema verite and talking-head interviews." Even if you've never so much as picked up a basketball, it's impossible to watch this film and not get drawn into the player's hopes, even as the bleak reality keeps threatening to claw their chances away.
Where to watch Hoop Dreams: YouTube
EW grade: A (read the review)
Director: Steve James
Cast: William Gates, Arthur Agee
Related content: Hoop Dream' causes change at the Oscars
<i>Killer Klowns From Outer Space</i> (1988)
When it comes to horror films, there are guilty pleasures, and then there's Killer Klowns From Outer Space, a movie whose gonzo premise is built directly into the title. It stars Grant Cramer, Suzanne Snyder, and John Allen Nelson as horndog youngsters destined to tangle with the titular space baddies. But the real star of the show is John Vernon, turning in his most memorable performance this side of Animal House.
Ultimately, how much you enjoy this movie hinges on what flavor of horror you like. As EW's writer pointed out, it boasts an "anemic plot" that nonetheless provides "winking violence" and "bona fide creep-outs" via "fanged clowns, deadly shadow puppets, and bloody greasepaint that recalls Dr. Seuss by way of The Evil Dead." In other words, it's vintage shlock of the highest fashion — and a perfect film to stream when you're craving something camp.
Where to watch Killer Klowns From Outer Space: YouTube
Director: Stephen Chiodo
Cast: Grant Cramer, Suzanne Snyder, John Allen Nelson, Royal Dano, John Vernon
Related content: Killer Klowns From Outer Space return in bloody short film for Halloween Horror Nights
<i>Pi</i> (1998)
Pi is a mind-boggling study in contrasts: It's a math movie for people who hate math, and we'd argue it's a Darren Aronofsky movie (his debut!) for people who can't stomach the director's later works (see: Requiem For a Dream, Mother, et al.). Even if picking up a calculator makes you nervous, this tale of a mathematician trying to figure out what makes the world tick through the power of numbers is wildly captivating. The cast does a serviceable job, but the real strengths of this film are its big swings to connect calculations with the central mysteries of religion, the universe, and everything in between. It's simultaneously abstract and concretely effective, with EW's critic highlighting how, "the film has been shot and edited with hallucinatory finesse, and its freakazoid intensity gets to you."
EW grade: B (read the review)
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Cast: Sean Gullette, Mark Margolis, Ben Shenkman, Samia Shoaib, Pamela Hart, Ajay Naidu, Joanne Gordon, Stephen Pearlman
Related content: Happy Pi Day! 3.14 reasons to celebrate
<i>Pumping Iron</i> (1977)
If you've ever enjoyed an Arnold Schwarzenegger action film, then you ought to watch the documentary that effectively kick-started his career. While Pumping Iron is about bodybuilders in general, our eyes are drawn to the soon-to-be star in his physical prime, reminding us why he was perfectly cast as Conan the Barbarian back in the '80s. As EW's writer pointed out in a retrospective on the actor, "Schwarzenegger's charm and wit were immediately apparent," and it's hard not to laugh at his hilarious and even vulgar descriptions of the sport (likening it to sexual intercourse, among other things).
Where to watch Pumping Iron: YouTube
Director: George Butler, Robert Fiore
Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lou Ferrigno, Mike Katz, Franco Columbu, Ed Corney, Ken Waller, Serge Nubret
Related content: Arnold Schwarzenegger says Terminator films have 'become a reality' with A.I. developments
<i>Stargate</i> (1994)
For sci-fi fans, it's almost quaint to remember a time when the Stargate franchise was limited to this single film. Still, it's worth rewatching the movie that eventually spawned a television empire led by Stargate SG-1. This early narrative of Earthlings traveling through a gate to the other side of the universe and discovering the extent to which our planet was manipulated by aliens still feels remarkably fresh. Much of that is due to the strong performances: Kurt Russell is all lantern-jawed heroism, while James Spader plays against type as a nerdy scientist who just might be out of his depth. As EW's critic pointed out, the film has interesting "notions about the dawn of civilization" as well as "flashes of psychedelic visual energy." Big ideas combined with a killer aesthetic… what's not to love?
Where to watch Stargate: YouTube
Director: Roland Emmerich
Cast: Kurt Russell, James Spader, Jaye Davidson, Viveca Lindfors
Related content: Future Imperfect: Stargate SG-1
