Thanksgiving: Free Movies to Make Thanksgiving Special

Your Thanksgiving free movie list is only two movies long, but what movies! Unlike Halloween (for which I offered you a list of 100 free scary movies here), Thanksgiving requires a different twist. Neither of these is specific to Thanksgiving, but they relate to some themes of the holiday. Frankly, I can enjoy these free movies for Thanksgiving or for any day of the year.

The Louisiana Story

Watch The Louisiana Story - here
Wikipedia - here
IMDB - here (Internet Movie DataBase)

Big oil company propaganda with a heart! Just the free movie we need for Thanksgiving! This 78-minute semi-documentary from 1948 is one of the most lyrical American films ever made. In 1994, The Louisiana Story was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." It is the story of a Cajun boy and his family, living on the bayous in a way of life that we can barely imagine.

The boy's family rents land to the oil company, which comes in, drills, and leaves everything just like it was, clean and unspoiled except that the family has a little more money. (Yes, it was funded by the Standard Oil Company.)

The boy spends most of his time on his narrow boat (pirogue), floating along the bayous, prime snake and alligator habitat, with his pet raccoon. He never wears a life preserver or shoes... doesn't even have a cell phone to call in case he gets in trouble. There is not much story, just a celebration (in such stunning black and white photography that you may well wonder what the big deal is about color) of a way of life that is no longer with us.

All of the actors were amateurs, and for most, this was their only film. As of April 2007, J.C. Boudreaux, who played the boy, was living in a FEMA trailer with his wife of fifty-five years, after Hurricane Rita destroyed their home. (source). He had a chance at fame in the movies, but that he stayed where he was from and apparently grew up with an appreciation of family (a marriage of over half a century) reflects why I consider The Louisiana Story an appropriate free movie for one of our most family-friendly holidays.

The complete film is available for free at Veoh.com. As I have mentioned before, you have to download their free video player in order to watch or download their films. I have downloaded and installed it, and more importantly, uninstalled it, with no problems whenever I want to watch one of their free movies.

The Passion of Joan of Arc (La passion de Jeanne d'Arc)

Watch The Passion of Joan of Arc - here
Wikipedia - here
IMDB - here

A black and white silent film that ends with a woman being burned alive? Oh, yes, just what every family needs at Thanksgiving. But, I have three reasons for including The Passion of Joan of Arc in this pair of free movies for Thanksgiving.

First, I am thankful that The Passion of Joan of Arc was ever made. Second, I am thankful that The Passion of Joan of Arc was preserved. The director Carl Theodor Dreyer (more) died thinking that the last copy had been destroyed. In a bit of weirdness that sounds more like a movie than the truth, an almost complete print was found in 1981 in a janitor's closet of a Norwegian mental institution.

Finally, I am grateful that we can watch this magnificent film, on many lists of the greatest films of all time, for free online at Gloria.tv, a Roman Catholic video site.

Maria Falconetti (more), who plays Joan, suffered an emotional breakdown during the making of this film, and she never made another film. Pauline Kael (more), a notoriously demanding film critic, said that Falconetti's performance "may be the finest performance ever recorded on film."

There is much good writing about The Passion of Joan of Arc, this now free movie on the Internet. My favorite essay is by Matthew Dessem in his blog (here). I will add that a film that deals with a person who had such strong beliefs - and accepted the consequences - is a very appropriate film for Thanksgiving... or any day.

You may enjoy these articles of mine -

"Thanksgiving: Thousands of Pieces of Free Music to Enhance Your Holiday" - read it
"Thanksgiving: Free Old Time Radio for a World War II Thanksgiving" - read it
"Thanksgiving: Free Audiobooks and Free Books to Enhance Thanksgiving" - read it
"How to Make a Free Conference Call at Thanksgiving - or Any Day" - read it
"How to Find Free Online Stuffing for Thanksgiving - No Money, No Calories!" - read it

"Watch for Free the Movies of Harry Houdini" - read it
"100 Horror Movies to Watch for Free" - read it
"My Film Reviews" - read it