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THE MOVIE ZONE — Dozens and dozens of old movies are now floating around in the world, free from ownership.
Any movie made before 1924 is now in the public domain, according to the Pratt Library in Baltimore, Maryland.
Copyright law gets a little complicated, but essentially, the Sonny Bono Act of 1998 placed a fixed copyright period of 95 years on any work that was copyrighted between 1923 and 1977, according to The Atlantic.
That meant that on Jan. 1, movies made in 1923 entered the public domain. And each year on New Year’s Day, a new batch of movies will be rid of their ownership. Next year, movies from 1924 will enter the public domain, 2021 will see movies from 1925 in the public domain, and so on.
Movies, books and other works made from 1977 onward will enter the public domain based on when their creator died.
Movies that are in the public domain are free for anyone to release, meaning that many of them are now available for free on YouTube and other places around the internet.
Additionally, if you’re an Amazon Prime Video subscriber, you can now view dozens of old Hollywood titles on the service. The streaming company recently added a handful of movies made before 1950, including some as far back as 1916.
The website OpenFlix.com is devoted to keeping a record of movies available in the public domain.
Here are five movies that are available for free if you’re a fan of vintage film. Click the title to watch the movie on YouTube.
Here's everything coming to Amazon Prime Video in February
If you’re a fan of vintage cinema and you also happen to be an Amazon Prime Video subscriber, you’re in luck in the month of February.‘Nosferatu’ (1922)
This German silent film is based on Bram Stoker’s classic novel “Dracula.”
“Nosferatu” was one of the first movies to feature a vampire. That film genre continues today nearly a century later — vampire movies are still very popular.
Film critic Roger Ebert raved about F. W. Murnau’s horror classic, saying that the movie “seems to really believe in vampires.”
Though future iterations of vampire cinema would be riddled with cliches and caricatures, Ebert writes, “Nosferatu” avoids being cartoonish. The movie has the utmost respect for its source material, Ebert said.
‘The Ten Commandments’ (1923) =============================
No — not that one. Many people are familiar with the 1956 Charlton Heston-starring Biblical epic.
But what you probably don’t know is that director Cecil B. DeMille partially remade his own film more than 30 years later. DeMille’s original, 1923 silent version of “The Ten Commandments” is now available in the public domain.
The film is divided into two parts. The first part recreates the Biblical story of the Israelites’ exodus led by Moses.
The second part tells a modern (for 1923) story of two brothers, John and Dan, and their differing perceptions of the Ten Commandments. John follows in his devout mother’s footsteps and guides his life choices with the commandments, while Dan becomes an atheist and vows to break each of the commandments.
‘A Star Is Born’ (1937) =======================
Bradley Cooper made his directorial debut this year, starring alongside Lady Gaga in the fourth remake of “A Star Is Born.”
The original version of the entertainment industry fable is now available in the public domain. It stars Janet Gaynor as a young actress who meets a past-his-prime movie star played by Fredric March. The movie star helps the aspiring actress launch her career.
The movie was sold to Warner Brothers, but the company did not renew its copyright status in 1965 when it expired.
However, the rights to the story and screenplay for the film remain with Warner Bros., so Warner Bros. has exclusive rights to any future remakes — if anyone has the audacity to make a fifth version.
‘His Girl Friday’ (1940) ========================
Director Howard Hawks was known as the master of screwball comedies.
These movies became popular in the 1930s and '40s and often featured fast-paced dialogue and slapstick situations. Some were meant as satires of traditional romantic comedies and featured a strong female character who confounded the timid men.
Hawks’ film “His Girl Friday” features Cary Grant as Walter Burns, a newspaper editor who is desperately trying to keep his ace reporter (Rosalind Russell) from remarrying. The reporter also happens to be Burns’ ex-wife.
‘Carnival of Souls’ (1962) ==========================
This horror B-movie was actually filmed in part at the Saltair west of Salt Lake City.
It follows a woman whose life is altered after a devastating car accident. She moves to a new city but is unable to fit in with her new surroundings.
The woman eventually is drawn to an abandoned carnival pavilion (enter the Saltair).
Director Herk Harvey shot “Carnival of Souls” on a $33,000 budget. The film didn’t get much attention when it was first released, but now is thought of as a cult classic.
