Stupid question: how does one watch old movies?

Have you tried your local library?

For Kurosawa specifically, you can find many of his films on the internet archive as others have mentioned

sail the seven seas with a peg leg and parrot named Polly

If some streaming network picked it up than you could try that, sometimes it isn't available anywhere so you need to resort to piracy.

FWIW, The Criterion Channel is worth every penny. They have not enshittified one bit, and they do amazing work in curating, restoring and preserving older films. Not just classics like Kurosawa but more rare and obscure films too. They have themed collections that rotate every month. It's like visiting an independent video store staffed by film scholars.

https://lemmy.ca/post/31782306

Yarrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Internet Archive is how I do it, but like...idk if that's what I am supposed to say.

Also, if you do own any old movies on physical media that are hard to find, plead help others my uploading them to archive.org and pirate bay

Private trackers

internet archive + local library, for sure!

Others have already made good suggestions for older movies (libraries, Kanopy, Hoopla, Tubi, Archive.org etc). Also try buying second-hand physical media (DVDs, BDs).

Specifically re an old Kurosawa movie, there are a couple of channels on Peertube with old movies they say are in the public domain (I am not a lawyer).

A couple of such channels

• ClassX https://peertube.wtf/c/classx@blurt.media/videos
• Achives https://peertube.wtf/c/archives@vod.newellijay.tv/videos

And ClassX has Kurosawa's Seven Samurai

• https://peertube.wtf/w/u6DzMDxEhMa8d1HrnucEYV

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There are also YouTube channels that claim to have public domain or licensed movies. I recently found an "all-in-one" site that collates movies from many such channels.

• Cinetimes https://cinetimes.org/

If you don't want to go via a third-party site like Cinetimes, you can try some supposedly-legally-free channels directly on YouTube:

• DDF: Reel Films https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTjxrujNCF9JSQzXE3th21A
• Filmix https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0igugFRsUPMvGLrv86DIog
• The Archive (nothing to do with The Internet Archive) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCunMgh6zlbhjYLOoU5zKTAA (also you can watch on their own website https://www.thearchive.tv/ )

Warning: the movies on the channels are free, but not necessarily any good :) A lot of dross and only a few gems, unless you love trashy B-movies.

A couple of possibly decent films (in my watchlist, haven't seen them yet)

• Sorcerer https://youtu.be/LXwfcdkhmE8
• Eight Million Ways to Die https://youtu.be/2G6hJJFzKxo

All the ones I've given above are for video on demand (VOD), i.e. you pick what you want, press play and it starts.

There are also linear channels, i.e. like old fashioned TV where things are shown according to a schedule and you see whatever's on when you tune in. Nowadays sometimes called "live TV", even when watching stuff made years ago. ( TheArchive.tv does both: VOD and one linear channel.)

A lot of free linear channels (including some with old movies and TV shows) are available through different ways:

• channels / apps on streaming devices like Roku, Firestick, Smart TVs etc
• an app on your phone (currently, I use Televizo on Android)
• an app on your computer (currently, I use Hypnotix on Linux)
• websites

For apps on your phone or computer, you might need to add a "playlist": a big list of channels that you can pick from to watch. Currently, I use the English language playlist from iptv-org (over 2,000 channels from around the world).

• https://github.com/iptv-org/iptv
• https://iptv-org.github.io/iptv/languages/eng.m3u

There is also the IOTV app for Roku, which I think uses the all languages playlist from iptv-org.

Warning: using these playlists can mean a bunch of the included channels won't work for you, e.g. because they are geoblocked to a specific country.

Some example channels with older stuff:

• Pluto TV has some channels with older stuff
• TVS https://watchyour.tv/
• Cinevault
• FilmRise Classic

Generally, you'd want to check if it's on a streaming service you already have access to. That's the fastest way.

Then, check your library.

If both of those fail, you run into choosing to hunt a copy down, or sail the seven seas.

Stuff like Kurosawa has a big enough fan base that you're very likely to be able to find used copies fairly cheap. The more obscure the movie, the harder it will be to find, and prices can vary depending on how much of a cult fan base it has. Sadly, eBay really is the best option in that regard. So you don't always have to pony up for the more expensive editions.

Since you don't like accumulating plastic, you can always resell, or donate to your library, depending on how willing you are to lose money on the swap.

You can check local message boards too. Sometimes folks will give stuff like that away. Pawn shops still occasionally have DVDs around. If you can find film buffs in your area and make friends with them, you may be able to borrow stuff, or have a movie night. Those of us with big collections do tend to like hosting movie nights to share the fun, though you have to rely on making connections with people that happen to have stuff you're interested in.

And, yeah, there's file sharing options as well.

Your local library may have a free login available to you through Kanopy. They carry a rotating selection of Criterion films and other classic movies. My library offers 10 films a month.

You could try one of the free ad-supported streaming services like Tubi or Plex. I've seen Kurosawa films available on Plex before but it's likely country dependent.