Educational films

49–96 of 4,001 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 Williamsburg: Story of a Patriot 1957 · Educational · 36 min · Subtitles Williamsburg: Story of Apatriot With the aid of his parrot, Polynesia, Doctor Dolittle learns to converse with animals and becomes a vet. Based on the book,… Internet Archive Above the horizon. 1967 · Educational · 21 min · Subtitles Also issued in super 8 mm A view of the field of meteorology. Describes interrelationships, potentials, and unsolved problems of the atmospheric sciences.… Internet Archive A Jury of Her Peers 1980 · Educational · Subtitles Title from data sheet Issued also as videorecording Dramatizes the short story by Susan Glaspell about the isolation and oppression of a farmwoman in rural… Internet Archive This is Marshall McLuhan: The Medium is the Message 1967 · Educational · 51 min Issued in two parts Investigates the central ideas of Marshall McLuhan using pictorial techniques and including his own comments. Examines the reaction of… Internet Archive Wandering Through Winter 1970 · Educational · 49 min · Subtitles Wandering Through Winter Search Educational Film Journals at Media History Project for references to this film Summary Uses close - ups of animals in their… Internet Archive The Hospital 1966 · Educational · 13 min · Subtitles Follows a young girl's hospital experience from admittance to recovery, introducing the various hospital staff members along the way. Internet Archive Gandhi (1962) 1960 · Educational · 26 min Gandhi (1962) An overview of therapy for the mentally ill in Geel, Belgium. Past and present practices are shown. The placement of the patients into family… Internet Archive Frank Lloyd Wright 1958 · Educational With teacher's guide Architect Frank Lloyd Wright discusses his theories of functional architecture, and analyzes contemporary styles, tracing them back to… Internet Archive Roots: 8 -- Chicken George, Part 1 1977 · Educational · 31 min · Subtitles Roots: 8 -- Chicken George, Part 1, Reel 1 Reel 2 available here Chicken George earns his name as he becomes a well respected gamecock trainer. Kizzy hears of… Internet Archive The White Seal 1974 · Educational A story about a white seal named Kotick who learns how to get along in his Arctic environment during his herd's first migration. For elementary grades Other… Internet Archive My Mother Was Never a Kid 1980 · Educational · 46 min · Subtitles Teenage Victoria who has a knack for getting into trouble and feels totally misunderstood by her mother, suddenly finds herself back in the forties where she… Internet Archive In Search of Ancient Astronauts 1973 · Educational · 26 min · Subtitles In Search of Ancient Astronauts Reel 1 Reel 2 available here Examines the theory that the Earth once had visitors from outer space as it explores the clues… Internet Archive Nuclear Strategy for Beginners 1984 · Educational · 58 min · Subtitles Nuclear Strategy for Beginners Looks back over the four decades of the atomic age to try to understand how the modern world has acquired an arsenal of over… Internet Archive Film Firsts, Part 1 (1960) 1960 · Educational · 26 min Film Firsts, Part 1 (1960) Includes classic silent films and footage of some of film's firsts, including the first cartoon, the first Tarzan, and excerpts… Internet Archive The Day After Trinity 1980 · Educational Narrator: Paul Frees Featuring: Haakon Chevalier, Hans Bethe, Frank Oppenheimer Edited by David Peoples, Ralph Wikke ; camera, Tom McDonough, David Espar,… Internet Archive Freeway Phobia 1965 · Educational · 29 min Freeway Phobia Summary Demonstrates proper freeway driving techniques. Describes various driving hazards, such as faulty car maintenance, loose objects within… Internet Archive A Time for Burning 1966 · Educational · 56 min A study of racial conflicts and understanding as portrayed in Omaha, Neb., when the pastor of an all-white Augustana Lutheran Church took an initial step… Internet Archive Franco (1963) 1963 · Educational · 25 min Attributes Francisco Franco's rise to power in Spain to his charismatic personality and to the disturbed internal condition of his country. Sketches Franco's… Internet Archive The Jolo Serpent-Handlers 1977 · Educational · 19 min An in-depth portrait of a snake cult in Jolo, W. Va. Depicts a snake hunt in the mountains, two serpent-handling services, and a prayer vigil for a victim of… Internet Archive Water Birds 1957 · Educational · 28 min Water Birds Search Educational Film Journals at Media History Project for references to this film Members of several northern California Indian tribes… Internet Archive Antonia: a Portrait of the Woman 1974 · Educational · 55 min Antonia: a Portrait of the Woman Search Educational Film Journals at Media History Project for references to this film Summary Presents a portrait of Antonia… Internet Archive Un Chien andalou. 1960 · Educational · 16 min · Subtitles First released in France in 1928 Title in English: The Andalusian dog With English and French subtitles Director, Luis Buñuel; screenplay, Salvador Dali,… Internet Archive Love those Trains 1984 · Educational · 58 min · Subtitles Title from data sheet Camera, James Lipscomb, Carl Kriegeskotte ; editor, Victor Kanefsky ; narrator, James Witmore Issued also as videorecording Presents… Internet Archive A Film about film editing. 1974 · Educational · 14 min · Subtitles Illustrates some of the basic terms and techniques used in film editing Search Educational Film Journals at Media History Project for references to this film Internet Archive The Case of the UFOs 1984 · Educational · 30 min · Subtitles The Case of the UFOs Search Educational Film Journals at Media History Project for references to this film Summary Examines the evidence for and against the… Internet Archive In Search of Ancient Astronauts 1973 · Educational · 26 min · Subtitles In Search of Ancient Astronauts Reel 2 Reel 1 available here Examines the theory that the Earth once had visitors from outer space as it explores the clues… Internet Archive Mystery of Time 1957 · Educational · 27 min On the surface, this film may seem like an average science film about time and space, but like most of films from the Moody Institute of Science, there is an… Internet Archive Mother Love 1960 · Educational · 26 min Mother Love SummaryTests the reactions of a large colony of newborn rhesus monkeys to a variety of unusual and inanimate mother substitutes. These experiments… Internet Archive Circus Kids 1984 · Educational Portrays circus life through the eyes of Traci, an eleven-year-old girl whose grandfather owns Carson and Barnes Circus. Shows a typical day during the circus… Internet Archive River of Ice: Life Cycle of a Glacier 1967 · Educational Second edition Eastman color With study guide Shows the source, structure, and movements of a typical Alpine glacier; the relationship of climate to the… Internet Archive Life in the 30's 1965 · Educational · 53 min · Subtitles Life in the 30's Summary Covers the Depression, FDR, Dust Bowl, 1936 election, 'RENDEZVOUS WITH DESTINY,' and the rise of Hitler, Mussolini and Hirohito.… Internet Archive The World at War: 5--Barbarossa, June-December 1941 1974 · Educational · 56 min · Subtitles The World at War: 5--Barbarossa, June-December 1941 Russia's move into Romania brought her perilously close to Germany's only source of oil. Hitler's… Internet Archive Land of the tiger 1985 · Educational · 58 min Shows tigers stalking, capturing, and devouring prey; marking territorial boundaries; mating; caring for young cubs; languidly resting; and loudly voicing… Internet Archive 67000 Dreams 1972 · Educational · 31 min Depicts the travels of psychologist Carl Gustav Jung and explains the development of his major theories and concepts. Discusses the collective unconscious,… Internet Archive The Twisted Cross 1958 · Educational · 50 min The Twisted Cross Search Educational Film Journals at Media History Project for references to this film Summary Uses the story of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi… Internet Archive The Day The Universe Changed: I it Started with Greeks 1986 · Educational · 54 min · Subtitles Title from data sheet Host, James Burke In two parts Ages 16 through adults Explains how the questioning, rational attitude of the ancient Greeks has… Internet Archive This Child Is Rated "X" 1971 · Educational · 52 min Producer, Martin Carr Examines the inequities of juvenile justice and the abuse of children's rights in America. Shows that the child who has committed a… Internet Archive The Shock of the New: Culture as Nature. 1980 · Educational · 29 min · Subtitles Title from data sheet Also issued as videorecording Writer and narrator, Robert Hughes Discusses why the 20th century brought about a major change in the… Internet Archive Limits to Growth 1973 · Educational · 55 min · Subtitles Videotape on reel and videocassette also issued With teacher's guide, by Osborn Segerberg, Jr Executive producer, Peter Hollander Examines the pros and… Internet Archive Kon-Tiki (Motion picture) 1951 · Educational · 35 min 35 mm. version released in 1951 by RKO Radio Pictures. 16 mm. and 35 mm. versions distributed in 1964 by Irving Lesser Enterprises Presents a documentary… Internet Archive The Other way 1974 · Educational · 29 min · Subtitles Dr. E.F. Schumacher, the British fuel economist and founder of the Intermediate Technology Group in London, discusses his work. He questions the wisdom of the… Internet Archive Worlds in Collision 1978 · Educational · 47 min · Subtitles Worlds in Collision Search Educational Film Journals at Media History Project for references to this film Summary Examines the ideas of cosmologist and author… Internet Archive The Day the Universe Changed:5- Science Revises the heavens 1985 · Educational · 54 min VHS Written and presented by James Burke; produced by the BBC and RKO Pictures Notes that investigators such as Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, and Newton… Internet Archive Joey. [Motion picture] 1977 · Educational · 38 min Also issued as videocassette Joey Deacon, Ernie Roberts Dramatizes the life of Joey Deacon, a brain-damaged child whose severe spasms made it impossible for… Internet Archive Connections: 6 -- Thunder in The Skies 1979 · Educational · 39 min · Subtitles Connections: 6 -- Thunder in The Skies Summary Details the changes in building construction and energy usage which occurred when the climate of Europe changed… Internet Archive Connections: 2 -- Death in The Morning 1979 · Educational · 39 min · Subtitles Title from data sheet Also issued as videorecording Directors, Mick Jackson, David Kennard; writer, James Burke Host James Burke traces the connection… Internet Archive Man: The Incredible Machine 1975 · Educational · 28 min Narrator, Lary Lewman; producer and director, Irwin Rosten; writers, Irwin Rosen and Donald Cooper; supervising film editor, Sidney Platt; film editor, Carl… Internet Archive Now Is The Time 1967 · Educational · 34 min 'Now Is the Time' featured actors Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis doing in-studio readings from the passionate writings of American Negroes as cameras caught…