Cutting cable isn’t as cost-effective as it used to be. New streaming platforms seem to arrive with the wind while the old ones continually raise their rates, and by the time you’re done subscribing you may realise you have spent more money than you’ll ever have time to watch all the stuff you want – or you find out there’s not that much you want to even watch in the first place.

But what if we told you there was an easily accessible website out there with a trove of legitimately awesome movies available to stream 24/7, and entirely for free? This obscure gem of a site is called… YouTube. That’s right: the site known primarily as the go-to repository for cat videos and instructions for fixing your toilet is hiding an impressive catalogue of classic public domain cinema of the sort many other streamers don’t bother with, from silent era milestones to essential deep-cuts. 

If you don’t mind sitting through a bunch of commercials, YouTube has a full channel of ad-supported modern films as well. But if you’re looking to bone up on your movie history, check out the 30 flicks below, with links included.

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