Educational films

1–48 of 4,000 films, free to watch, from the world's open archives.

Where these films come from, and who sees what

Every film here plays from the archive that keeps it: the Internet Archive, Wikimedia Commons, the NASA Image and Video Library, the Library of Congress and Open Images (the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision). Nothing is copied to this site. Each film's page names its archive, links to its page there, and states its licence or status as the archive does.

Archive films carry no age ratings, so each is placed from the collections it sits in and the subjects the archive gives it, cautiously. Sexual content and nudity are left out altogether.

Little OnesFilms for young children by name: nursery rhymes, lullabies, preschool.
KidsCartoons and animation, children's and family films, and educational films, unless they deal with war, propaganda, crime, horror or drugs, or carry racial caricature.
TweensDocumentaries, science, nature and space, classic comedies, newsreels, commercials and lectures.
TeensEverything else, including anything we cannot tell about; war, crime, horror and westerns go no lower.
AdultSexual themes (such as the old "sex hygiene" films), gore, surgery, slaughter, atrocity footage.
Internet Archive Human birth. 1973 · Educational · 17 min · Subtitles Also issued as loop films in super 8 mm. on reel; in super 8 mm. in cartridge; in super 8 mm. on reel with magnetic sound; in super 8 mm. in cartridge with… Internet Archive Introduction to Holography 1972 · Educational · 16 min This film examines the process of holography, types of holograms, and the uses of the hologram for artistic and scientific purposes, as demonstrated by Tung… Internet Archive The Horror of it all 1983 · Educational · 59 min · Subtitles Combines rare film clips, stills, and interviews in a chronicle of the fifty years of horror film production. Covers the early days of Nosferatu to today's… Internet Archive Labor comes of age 1969 · Educational · 18 min · Subtitles Words of F.D.R. spoken by Charlton Heston ; narrator, Arthur Kennedy ; consultant, Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt A Films Incorporated presentation An episode… Internet Archive Sudden Birth 1967 · Educational · 22 min This film was made to instruct police officers on the basics of childbirth and to show them an actual birth - mostly so they wouldn't panic or pass out when… Internet Archive Experiments in motion graphics 1968 · Educational · 11 min · Subtitles John H. Whitney explains the graphic art potential of the computer and the methods and philosophy involved in his computer film making. Search Educational… Internet Archive Niok 1960 · Educational · 29 min · Subtitles Niok Points out the world-wide importance of rice as a principal food and describes methods of growing it. Shows steps being taken to improve the quantity and… Internet Archive Ways of Seeing: Fine Arts and Commerce 1974 · Commercial · 31 min Produced by the BBC Art critic John Berger discusses the nature of advertising in relation to the tradition of oil painting. Points out that advertising… Internet Archive Rikki-Tikki-Tavi 1974 · Cartoon An animated version of Rudyard Kipling's tale of a mongoose who is saved from a storm by a boy and his parents, and then becomes the family's defender against… Internet Archive Six American Families the Georges of New York 1977 · Educational · 54 min · Subtitles Six American Families the Georges of New York Summary Introduces a series of six television documentaries portraying the lives of American families of varied… Internet Archive Detroit's pattern of growth 1965 · Educational · 15 min · Subtitles Traces the various influences which have led to the present street patterns of metropolitan Detroit Internet Archive The Flow of Zen 1969 · Educational · 14 min · Subtitles Discusses the philosophy of Zen Buddhism. Shows how Buddhist chants synchronized with striking psychedelic pictures, turn the mind inward and induce a state… Internet Archive Junior High School 1978 · Educational A musical comedy about a young student who is trying to woo the most popular girl in the school Internet Archive Harry 1980 · Educational · 40 min Search Educational Film Journals at Media History Project for references to this film Host Abba Eban explores the history of the Jews in America from colonial… Internet Archive Nai: The Story of a !Kung Woman 1980 · Educational · 58 min VHS Footage accumulated by John Marshall over a thirty-year period documents the life of a !Kung woman from childhood to middle age and shows how her life… Internet Archive View From Space 1969 · Educational · 49 min · Subtitles View From Space A graphic insight into the world of space photography. Includes footage showing the physical aspects of the earth and explains how man has… Internet Archive Hiroshima-Nagasaki, August 1945 1969 · Educational · 15 min · Subtitles Harvard Film Archive, projection print somewhat scratched, HFA Item no: 9675. From The Amos Vogel Annenberg School of Communications Collection Running time… Internet Archive Mao Tse Tung 1963 · Educational · 25 min Mao Tse Tung Introduces secondary school students to the career of Marco Polo, showing how he, as a lad of 17, set out from Venice for the empire of the… Internet Archive Beginning Responsibility: Lunchroom Manners 1959 · Educational · 9 min The rude, clumsy puppet Mr. Bungle shows kids how to behave in the school cafeteria - the assumption being that kids actually want to behave during lunch.… Internet Archive The Miracle of Life 1983 · Educational · 29 min · Subtitles The Miracle of Life Reel 1 A documentary which shows the actual conception and development of a baby. Looks inside the male and female reproductive organs to… Internet Archive A Man Called "Bee": Studying the Yanomamo 1975 · Educational Follows anthropologists Napoleon Chagnon as he collects anthropological field data among the Yanoama Indians of southern Venezuela Photography, Timothy Asch… Internet Archive Hollywood: The Golden Years 1961 · Educational · 53 min · Subtitles Hollywood: The Golden Years Traces the growth of the motion picture industry from nickelodeon days to the advent of sound. Features such stars as Charles… Internet Archive Colonial Naturalist 1964 · Educational · 56 min From WorldCat: Presents a dramatization of the extended field trip made by Mark Catesby in colonial Virginia and the ultimate publication of his two-volume… Internet Archive Reading, Writing and Reefer (1979) 1979 · Educational · 51 min Reading, Writing and Reefer (1979) A factual report on the widespread, habitual use of marijuana among today's teenagers. Presents a simplified chemical… Internet Archive Madeline 1955 · Educational · 6 min · Subtitles Madeline Surveys the origins, rituals, and symbols of the major religions of the world, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Mohammedanism… Internet Archive The Living Planet a Portrait of the Earth 12 New Worlds 1984 · Educational · 58 min · Subtitles Title from data sheet Intended audience: Ages 16 through adult Issued also as videorecording Host David Attenborough looks at the mixed fortunes of a wide… Internet Archive Ku Klux Klan: The Invisible Empire 1965 · Educational · 46 min · Subtitles Producer and writer, David Lowe; reporter, Charles Kurait A study of the Ku Klux Klan today, describing their aims and the characteristics of the membership… Internet Archive Violent Earth 1973 · Educational · 51 min Also issued as videocassette Shorter version (25 min.) issued under title: Earth--the restless planet French volcanologist Haroun Tazieff conducts a tour of… Internet Archive And So They Live 1940 · Educational · 24 min · Subtitles Stark, realistic documentary showing poorly educated "mountain peoples" living in poverty and stricken with disease. Their solace comes in strong family bonds… Internet Archive Fundamentals of Boundary Layers 1968 · Educational · 24 min Uses demonstration - experiments in water and glycerine to illustrate boundary layer concepts and phenomena. Demonstrates fusion welding from operation and… Internet Archive A Shooting gallery called America [motion picture] 1975 · Educational · 51 min Originally aired on 04/29/1975 on NBC. A sober and frightening examination of the grave effects of the rising explosion of handguns. Criminals, victims, and… Internet Archive Beauty and The Beast 1968 · Educational · 56 min Telecast on ABC-TV on December 13, 1968 Scenery and costumes, Tony Duquette Danced by the San Francisco Ballet: Lynda Meyer (Beauty) and others Storyteller… Internet Archive Denali Wilderness 1982 · Educational · 27 min Title from data sheet Cameramen, Kevin Peer, Bob Landis Intended audience: General Issued also as videorecording Follows the life cycles of the area's… Internet Archive Francesca Baby 1977 · Educational · 47 min Producer, Martin Tahse Presents an adaptation of the novel of the same title by Joan L. Oppenheimer, about a teenage girl and her younger sister who try to… Internet Archive She's Nobody's Baby: A History of American Women in the 20th Century 1982 · Educational · 56 min · Subtitles Title from data sheet Intended audience: Ages 15 through college and adult Issued also as videorecording Hosts Alan Alda and Marlo Thomas trace the… Internet Archive A Baby is Born 1974 · Educational · 24 min A Baby is Born Life of a nine-year-old autistic boy at home and at Loyola University's Child Guidance Center. Internet Archive Zen and now. 1969 · Educational · 13 min · Subtitles Producer, Elda Hartley; script and narration, Alan Watts Discusses the Zen philosophy of living for the present, developing sensory awareness, and… Internet Archive Discovering dark and light. 1965 · Educational · 18 min · Subtitles Executive producers, Paul Burnford, Jack Stoops Variation in dark and light is called value. Value can be a natural part of any object, or it can be created… Internet Archive Madness and Medicine 1977 · Educational · 29 min · Subtitles Madness and Medicine Reel 2 Reel 1 available here A critical look at mental institutions and their diverse treatment programs which help some patients but… Internet Archive Mowgli's Brothers 1976 · Educational Mowgli's Brothers is a 1976 television animated special directed by American animator Chuck Jones. It tells a story about a human baby called Mowgli who is… Internet Archive Girls at 12 1974 · Educational With teacher's guide and resource book Producer, director, and editor, Joyce Chopra; camera, Joan Weidman Uses a cimema-verité look at the lives of three… Internet Archive Dwight David Eisenhower 1963 · Educational · 25 min Dwight David Eisenhower Basic education concerns itself with those matters which, once learned, enable the student to learn all the other matters, whether… Internet Archive Stuart Little 1968 · Educational · 53 min · Subtitles Stuart Little The story of a normal family into which a mouse is born. Narrated by Johnny Carson. Summary Tells the story of a boy, born five inches tall and… Internet Archive Meetings, Bloody Meetings 1976 · Educational Booklet title: How to run a meeting Director, Peter Robinson; writers, John Cleese, Antony Jay Illustrates the basic principles for conducting more… Internet Archive Otto:Zoo Gorilla 1978 · Educational · 50 min Otto:Zoo Gorilla Summary Takes a .ehind - the - scenes look at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. Focuses on the transfer of the great apes to new quarters, a… Internet Archive The Case of the Ancient Astronauts 1979 · Educational · 58 min The Case of the Ancient Astronauts Search Educational Film Journals at Media History Project for references to this film Summary Examines the claims made by… Internet Archive The Cricket in Times Square 1972 · Educational An adaptation of the book by George Selden about a country cricket with unique musical talents which lands in the middle of New York's Times Square where he… Internet Archive Surrealism (and Dada) 1971 · Educational · 17 min · Subtitles 617 feet Director, Guido Guerrasio; photographer, Adriano Bernacchi; music, Erik Satie Illustrates the history of surrealism and dada in twentieth century…