47 votes

Netflix, but for public domain movies

7 comments

  1. [2]
    patience_limited
    Link
    I had no idea Sita Sings the Blues was public domain - it's an adept and charming animated movie that summarizes the Ramayana and the mythology of Sita, the Hindu goddess of beauty and devotion....

    I had no idea Sita Sings the Blues was public domain - it's an adept and charming animated movie that summarizes the Ramayana and the mythology of Sita, the Hindu goddess of beauty and devotion.

    I'll give fair warning that the illustrator and writer, Nina Paley, is a self-avowed TERF.

    12 votes
    1. DefinitelyNotAFae
      Link Parent
      Aw damn. But public domain at least means she doesn't get money. It looks like it was a deal to make under 5k DVDs and then release for free. Interesting model

      Aw damn. But public domain at least means she doesn't get money.

      It looks like it was a deal to make under 5k DVDs and then release for free. Interesting model

      8 votes
  2. [2]
    DefinitelyNotAFae
    Link
    Can I recommend Sex Madness? It's the sort of thing that was scandalous in the 30s but is a hilarious watch today if you're in the right mood. Burlesque, "wild parties," lesbianism are all themes...

    Can I recommend Sex Madness? It's the sort of thing that was scandalous in the 30s but is a hilarious watch today if you're in the right mood.

    Burlesque, "wild parties," lesbianism are all themes as you eventually learn about the evils of syphilis because under the Hays Code it had to be "educational" and bad things had to happen to immoral people. (We did our own little MST3K/RiffTrax as we went.)

    10 votes
    1. sparksbet
      Link Parent
      ooh I'm gonna suggest this for a group movie night in one of my discord servers

      ooh I'm gonna suggest this for a group movie night in one of my discord servers

      3 votes
  3. bushbear
    Link
    Yo this is actually really cool. After some browsing I saw Romero's Night of the Living Dead which I had no idea was public domain. Also since I am watching Fulci's zombi films I might throw this...

    Yo this is actually really cool. After some browsing I saw Romero's Night of the Living Dead which I had no idea was public domain. Also since I am watching Fulci's zombi films I might throw this one onto the list because I haven't seen it in ages.

    6 votes
  4. [2]
    moocow1452
    Link
    I was under the impression that Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (1964) was in the public domain due to the incorrect copyright notice, but after reading up, it appears that the song, the character...

    I was under the impression that Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (1964) was in the public domain due to the incorrect copyright notice, but after reading up, it appears that the song, the character and story beats are still under copyright due to prior work, so the novel bits of the film are free and clear, but the core elements are not, so that’s interesting.

    6 votes
    1. Hollow
      Link Parent
      There's a fairly short and interesting article on the origin of the story and its copyright here! https://creativelawcenter.com/copyright-rudolph-reindeer/

      There's a fairly short and interesting article on the origin of the story and its copyright here!
      https://creativelawcenter.com/copyright-rudolph-reindeer/

      The copyright in the 1939 version of Rudolph expires in 2034 at which point it enters the public domain. The children's TV show was created in 1964 and, most likely, is protected by a new copyright and a series of licenses.

      Robert L. May died in 1976. But before he did, he established The Rudolph Company that holds the rights to Rudolph. Licenses are managed by a professional agency all to the benefit of Mr. May's children and grandchildren.

      What makes this a holly-jolly Christmas story for me is knowing that the heirs of someone who would have been an unknown author are still benefiting from copyright protection, properly registered and renewed, that was returned to him by an employer who couldn't have been less Scrooge-like.

      6 votes