Desk 02 · sorted by subgenre
The deep shelf: Chinese and Korean classics plus a few Hollywood features you can open today. Every card has a play link. This desk does not pad the list with films that are only free in some other country this month.
1 title
Der blaue Engel
Cabaret drama · Station 8.3
A respected teacher walks into a nightclub and does not walk back out as the same man. It is still the model for this kind of downfall story.
Internet Archive (German) · SD · ads: None
1 title
小城之春
Chamber drama · Station 9.4
A wife, an ill husband, and an old friend share a ruined house after the war. Almost nothing “happens”, and the film is still the one Chinese directors name.
Chinese Film Classics on YouTube · SD · ads: YouTube ads
1 title
장남
Family drama · Station 7.4
The duty of the first son, filmed without gloss. Easy to miss if your Korean shelf starts at Parasite.
Korean Classic Film on YouTube · SD · ads: YouTube ads
1 title
Hollywood drama · Station 7.8
A rising actor and a falling star share a marriage the town will not leave alone. The remakes are famous. This is the tough first version.
Internet Archive (1937) · HD · ads: None
3 titles
神女
Melodrama · Station 8.8
A mother in Shanghai is pushed into street work and then punished for it. The camera takes her side, which was not the habit of the censors.
Chinese Film Classics on YouTube · SD · ads: YouTube ads
戀愛與義務
Melodrama · Station 7.7
A woman is pulled apart by the title’s two words. At two and a half hours it is a full evening, and the unreleased print is the one the project could clear.
Chinese Film Classics on YouTube · SD · ads: YouTube ads
별들의 고향
Melodrama · Station 7.5
A woman is worn down by the men who say they love her. Hosts outside Korea rarely programme it. The archive upload is the way in.
Korean Classic Film on YouTube · HD restoration · ads: YouTube ads
1 title
서편제
Music drama · Station 8.5
A father, a daughter, and a dying folk art. It is the Korean film to see if you think the country’s cinema began in the 2000s.
Korean Classic Film on YouTube · HD restoration · ads: YouTube ads
1 title
馬路天使
Musical drama · Station 8.6
A singer and her neighbours try to stay decent on a poor street. Two songs do as much work as the plot, which is the point.
Chinese Film Classics on YouTube · SD · ads: YouTube ads
1 title
서울의 지붕밑
Neighbourhood comedy · Station 7.5
Life in a courtyard, told with gossip, money trouble, and affection. The hidden gem if you only know Korean cinema from the 2000s onward.
Korean Classic Film on YouTube · HD restoration · ads: YouTube ads
1 title
Political drama · Station 8.1
A newspaper invents a protest letter and then has to hire a man to be its author. The crowd scenes are the warning.
Internet Archive · SD · ads: None
1 title
오발탄
Postwar realism · Station 8.6
Two brothers in postwar Seoul run out of ways to stay decent. The film was too frank for the government of the day, which is why it still matters.
Korean Classic Film on YouTube · HD restoration · ads: YouTube ads
1 title
Romance · Station 7.6
A legionnaire and a cabaret singer circle each other in a film that cares more about looks and pride than about plot.
Internet Archive · SD · ads: None
1 title
新女性
Social drama · Station 8.4
A woman who wants a public life is treated as a product by the press. The film knew what it was accusing, and then the scandal caught up with it.
Chinese Film Classics on YouTube · SD · ads: YouTube ads
2 titles
War · Station 9.2
The film that made Hollywood look at the First World War from the losing side. It still plays as a warning, not as a costume picture.
Internet Archive · SD · ads: None
피아골
War · Station 7.4
Partisan fighters in the hills are not drawn as posters. It is one of the few 1950s Korean features you can actually press play on, with the archive’s own upload.
Korean Classic Film on YouTube · SD · ads: YouTube ads
小城之春
Chamber drama · Station 9.4
A wife, an ill husband, and an old friend share a ruined house after the war. Almost nothing “happens”, and the film is still the one Chinese directors name.
Chinese Film Classics on YouTube · SD · ads: YouTube ads
장남
Family drama · Station 7.4
The duty of the first son, filmed without gloss. Easy to miss if your Korean shelf starts at Parasite.
Korean Classic Film on YouTube · SD · ads: YouTube ads
神女
Melodrama · Station 8.8
A mother in Shanghai is pushed into street work and then punished for it. The camera takes her side, which was not the habit of the censors.
Chinese Film Classics on YouTube · SD · ads: YouTube ads
戀愛與義務
Melodrama · Station 7.7
A woman is pulled apart by the title’s two words. At two and a half hours it is a full evening, and the unreleased print is the one the project could clear.
Chinese Film Classics on YouTube · SD · ads: YouTube ads
별들의 고향
Melodrama · Station 7.5
A woman is worn down by the men who say they love her. Hosts outside Korea rarely programme it. The archive upload is the way in.
Korean Classic Film on YouTube · HD restoration · ads: YouTube ads
서편제
Music drama · Station 8.5
A father, a daughter, and a dying folk art. It is the Korean film to see if you think the country’s cinema began in the 2000s.
Korean Classic Film on YouTube · HD restoration · ads: YouTube ads
馬路天使
Musical drama · Station 8.6
A singer and her neighbours try to stay decent on a poor street. Two songs do as much work as the plot, which is the point.
Chinese Film Classics on YouTube · SD · ads: YouTube ads
서울의 지붕밑
Neighbourhood comedy · Station 7.5
Life in a courtyard, told with gossip, money trouble, and affection. The hidden gem if you only know Korean cinema from the 2000s onward.
Korean Classic Film on YouTube · HD restoration · ads: YouTube ads
오발탄
Postwar realism · Station 8.6
Two brothers in postwar Seoul run out of ways to stay decent. The film was too frank for the government of the day, which is why it still matters.
Korean Classic Film on YouTube · HD restoration · ads: YouTube ads
新女性
Social drama · Station 8.4
A woman who wants a public life is treated as a product by the press. The film knew what it was accusing, and then the scandal caught up with it.
Chinese Film Classics on YouTube · SD · ads: YouTube ads
피아골
War · Station 7.4
Partisan fighters in the hills are not drawn as posters. It is one of the few 1950s Korean features you can actually press play on, with the archive’s own upload.
Korean Classic Film on YouTube · SD · ads: YouTube ads
Der blaue Engel
Cabaret drama · Station 8.3
A respected teacher walks into a nightclub and does not walk back out as the same man. It is still the model for this kind of downfall story.
Internet Archive (German) · SD · ads: None
小城之春
Chamber drama · Station 9.4
A wife, an ill husband, and an old friend share a ruined house after the war. Almost nothing “happens”, and the film is still the one Chinese directors name.
Chinese Film Classics on YouTube · SD · ads: YouTube ads
장남
Family drama · Station 7.4
The duty of the first son, filmed without gloss. Easy to miss if your Korean shelf starts at Parasite.
Korean Classic Film on YouTube · SD · ads: YouTube ads
神女
Melodrama · Station 8.8
A mother in Shanghai is pushed into street work and then punished for it. The camera takes her side, which was not the habit of the censors.
Chinese Film Classics on YouTube · SD · ads: YouTube ads
戀愛與義務
Melodrama · Station 7.7
A woman is pulled apart by the title’s two words. At two and a half hours it is a full evening, and the unreleased print is the one the project could clear.
Chinese Film Classics on YouTube · SD · ads: YouTube ads
별들의 고향
Melodrama · Station 7.5
A woman is worn down by the men who say they love her. Hosts outside Korea rarely programme it. The archive upload is the way in.
Korean Classic Film on YouTube · HD restoration · ads: YouTube ads
서편제
Music drama · Station 8.5
A father, a daughter, and a dying folk art. It is the Korean film to see if you think the country’s cinema began in the 2000s.
Korean Classic Film on YouTube · HD restoration · ads: YouTube ads
馬路天使
Musical drama · Station 8.6
A singer and her neighbours try to stay decent on a poor street. Two songs do as much work as the plot, which is the point.
Chinese Film Classics on YouTube · SD · ads: YouTube ads
서울의 지붕밑
Neighbourhood comedy · Station 7.5
Life in a courtyard, told with gossip, money trouble, and affection. The hidden gem if you only know Korean cinema from the 2000s onward.
Korean Classic Film on YouTube · HD restoration · ads: YouTube ads
오발탄
Postwar realism · Station 8.6
Two brothers in postwar Seoul run out of ways to stay decent. The film was too frank for the government of the day, which is why it still matters.
Korean Classic Film on YouTube · HD restoration · ads: YouTube ads
新女性
Social drama · Station 8.4
A woman who wants a public life is treated as a product by the press. The film knew what it was accusing, and then the scandal caught up with it.
Chinese Film Classics on YouTube · SD · ads: YouTube ads
피아골
War · Station 7.4
Partisan fighters in the hills are not drawn as posters. It is one of the few 1950s Korean features you can actually press play on, with the archive’s own upload.
Korean Classic Film on YouTube · SD · ads: YouTube ads
Opens the official site. Press play only on titles that site marks as free.
SearchOpens the official site. Press play only on titles that site marks as free.
SearchOpens the official site. Press play only on titles that site marks as free.
SearchOpens the official site. Press play only on titles that site marks as free.
SearchOpens the official site. Press play only on titles that site marks as free.
SearchOpens the official site. Press play only on titles that site marks as free.