Educational films

97–144 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 Antenna fundamentals: propagation. 1963 · Educational · 12 min · Subtitles Examines the characteristics and dynamics of radio waves emanating from a dipole antenna Search Educational Film Journals at Media History Project for… Internet Archive The Conquest of Everest 1953 · Educational VHS Videocassette release of 1953 motion picture Documentary record of Edmund Hillary and company's triumphant Mount Everst expedition. Chronicles the… Internet Archive Still Water 1979 · Educational · 59 min · Subtitles Title from data sheet Also issued as videorecording Shows the animal life that abounds in a fresh water pond, including microscopic organisms, insects,… Internet Archive N/um tchai: the ceremonial dance of the!Kung Bushmen. 1973 · Educational · 19 min · Subtitles Photography and narration, John K. Marshall; filmed on a 1957 expedition sponsored by Peabody Museum, Harvard University and the Smithsonian Institution With… Internet Archive Barn burning. 1980 · Educational · 41 min Based on the story of the same title by William Faulkner, about the son of a tenant farmer who must choose between his aversion to playing his father's… Internet Archive Art--people--feelings 1970 · Educational · 15 min · Subtitles Combines humor, satire, and visual beauty in presenting contemporary and historical art scenes to demonstrate the interdependence of man, his feelings, and… Internet Archive The Navigators: pathfinders of the Pacific 1983 · Educational · 58 min · Subtitles From WorldCat: Follows archaeologists as they seek clues to the origins and achievements of ancient Polynesian seafarers. Shows the excavation of a powerful… Internet Archive Roots: 9 -- Chicken George, Part 2 1977 · Educational · 19 min · Subtitles Roots: 9 -- Chicken George, Part 2, Reel 2 Reel 1 available here Chicken George's reputation as a gamecock trainer continues to rise. When one of his cocks… Internet Archive The World of Tomorrow 1984 · Educational · 45 min The World of Tomorrow Reel 2 Search Educational Film Journals at Media History Project for references to this film Internet Archive Maturing Female - A Stimulus film 1977 · Educational · 13 min Film presents a series of vignettes on the subject of women who are growing older. Internet Archive Omega 1970 · Educational · 12 min · Subtitles An experimental film, composed almost entirely of special effects, which deals with the death and rebirth of mankind. Search Educational Film Journals at… Internet Archive Roots: 9 -- Chicken George, Part 2 1977 · Educational · 30 min · Subtitles Roots: 9 -- Chicken George, Part 2, Reel 1 Reel 2 available here Chicken George's reputation as a gamecock trainer continues to rise. When one of his cocks… Internet Archive Roots: 4--The Slave, Part 2 1977 · Educational · 44 min Roots: 4--The Slave, Part 2 Pride and homesickness continue to drive Kunta Kinte in his efforts to escape his new imprisonment. His brief encounter with… Internet Archive The Image of the city. 1973 · Educational · 15 min · Subtitles Made under the sponsorship of Westinghouse Electric Corp Released in 1969 under the title Photography and the city Internet Archive Psychiatric Interview No.9 Follow-up Treatment 1967 · Interview · 29 min · Subtitles Psychiatric Interview No.9 Follow-up Treatment Shows work of British hospital specializing in treatment of military and civilian war neuroses: preliminary… Internet Archive Tomorrow Always Comes 1941 · Educational · Subtitles Promotes Bur-Mil Rayon Fabrics (at great length). Betty Furness who runs a fashion show Storyline: (1912) Two little girls fantasize about their clothes and… Internet Archive The Running, Jumping and Standing Still Film 1959 · Educational Director, Dick Lester Shows the antics of Peter Sellers and a group of actors who perform a series of outrageous studies in the English countryside Internet Archive Stalin (1963) 1963 · Educational · 26 min Depicts the life of Stalin, under whose strong - arm rule the USSR became a world power. Explains Stalin's part in making Russia a communist state. Presents a… Internet Archive The Feast 1968 · Educational Credits: Producers, Timothy Asch, Napoleon Chagnon ; filmmaker, Timothy Asch Illustrates the feasting practices of the Yanomamo Indians of southern… Internet Archive The Shock of the New: The Mechanical Paradise. 1980 · Educational · 26 min · Subtitles Title from data sheet Also issued as videorecording Writer and narrator, Robert Hughes Explores Western art during the period 1870-1914 and shows how the… Internet Archive Hiroshima Mon Amour. [motion picture] 1959 · Educational · 34 min In French, with English titles Director, Alain Resnais; writer, Marguerite Duras Summary Features use of film techniques interweaving past and pres./i in the… Internet Archive Connections: 4 -- Faith in Numbers 1979 · Educational · 49 min · Subtitles Title from data sheet Also issued as videorecording Directors, Mick Jackson, David Kennard; writer, James Burke Host James Burke shows how such inventions… Internet Archive End of the Trail: American Plains Indian 1967 · Educational · 51 min · Subtitles End of the Trail: American Plains Indian reels 1 and 2 Descibes the American westward movement and its tragic impact upon the American Indian. Discusses the… Internet Archive The Remarkable, Riderless, Runaway Tricycle 1981 · Educational Title from data sheet Based on: The remarkable riderless runaway tricycle / Bruce McMillan Intended audience: Ages 3-7 Issued also as videorecording A… Internet Archive America: 10--The Promise Fulfilled and the Promise Broken 1972 · Educational · 53 min · Subtitles America: 10--The Promise Fulfilled and the Promise Broken reels 1 and 2 Deals with the promise of unlimited prosperity after World War I, the boom of the… Internet Archive William Faulkner 1952 · Educational · 14 min · Subtitles Originally telecast on the television program Omnibus Producer, Robert Saudek William Faulkner, among his lifetime neighbors in his home town of Oxford,… Internet Archive Black Shadows on a Silver Screen 1975 · Educational · 53 min · Subtitles Executive producer, Ray Hubbard; writer, Thomas Cripps; director, Steven York; narrator, Ossie Davis This history of black filmmakers between 1900-1950… Internet Archive How blood clots. 1969 · Educational · 12 min · Subtitles Human circulatory system and functions are illustrated through animation and cinemicroscopy. Time-lapse photography reveals composition of blood and its… Internet Archive Connections 7 -- the Long Chain 1979 · Educational · 40 min · Subtitles Connections 7 -- the Long Chain Search Educational Film Journals at Media History Project for references to this film Summary Traces the connection between… Internet Archive Solo 1971 · Educational Producers, David Adams, Mike Hoover; director and writer, Mike Hoover Portrays the efforts and exhilarations that are experienced by the solo mountain… Internet Archive Roots: 12 -- Freedom, Part 2 1977 · Educational · 30 min · Subtitles Roots: 12 -- Freedom, Part 2, Reel 1 Reel 2 available here The long awaited return of Chicken George after the Civil War, bringing news of a promised land and… Internet Archive Journey to the Outer Limits 1974 · Educational · 7 min · Subtitles Also issued as videocassette Shows students of the Colorado Outward Bound School as they confront themselves and some of nature's greatest challenges.… Internet Archive Tipping the Scales 1981 · Educational · 51 min Discusses the problems that arise when food intake is not coordinated with energy output, examining both obesity and anorexia nervosa. Shows how the body… Internet Archive The Shock of the New: Culture as Nature. 1980 · Educational · 31 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 Permutations 1969 · Educational Computer program by Jack Citron ; music by Balachander A computer-designed graphics film, creates series of mathematical forms that resemble fireworks,… Internet Archive Yankee Doodle Cricket 1975 · Cartoon Uses animation in presenting a story about the experiences of a mouse, a cat, and a cricket during the American Revolution. For elementary grades. The War of… Internet Archive Syntha Vision Sampler 1974 · Commercial Investigates applications of computer-generated films for advertising. Animation is handled in block colors with hidden lines removed Internet Archive Allures 1961 · Cartoon A metaphor of creation. Spirals, circles, and abstract forms move against alternating dark and light backgrounds. An orb changes color, appearing in flash… Internet Archive The Shock of the New: The View from the Edge 1979 · Educational · 31 min · Subtitles Robert Hughes Profiles selected 19th century European and 20th century American and European artists, with emphasis on expressionism Internet Archive Split brain. 1964 · Educational · 12 min · Subtitles Demonstrates and explains experiments performed by the California Institute of Technology utilizing animals and humans in which the two cerebral hemispheres… Internet Archive Last Vikings 1972 · Educational · 46 min · Subtitles Last Uikings Summary Explains that the Scandinavians of ten centuries ago were pirates and plunderers and points out that today their descendents are still… Internet Archive Schizophrenia: The Shattered Mirror 1966 · Educational · 58 min Schizophrenia: The Shattered Mirror Demonstrates secondary flows caused by the imposition of primary-flow pressure gradients on low-momentum fluid in sheer… Internet Archive The Nuer 1970 · Educational Presents the most important relationships and events in the lives of the Nuer, Nilotic people in Sudan and on the Ethiopian border. Demonstrates the vital… Internet Archive The Hydrogen atom 1963 · Educational · 12 min · Subtitles A CHEM Study film Longer version (20 min.) also issued Search Educational Film Journals at Media History Project for references to this film Summary Describes… Internet Archive The Grand Canyon chronicles 1982 · Educational · 49 min · Subtitles Combining science with the creativity of talented filmmakers, this is perhaps the most colorful and fascinating film ever made on the Grand Canyon. Narrated… Internet Archive The Lorax 1972 · Educational · 24 min With study guide Presents the story from the book The Lorax, by Dr. Seuss. A fanciful tale with a serious theme: clean up the environment before it's too… Internet Archive Papua New Guinea: Anthropology on Trial 1983 · Educational Narrated by Ruby Dee Produced by WGBH for the Nova series Travels to Papua New Guinea for a look at anthropology from "the other side," making the point… Internet Archive Natural history of psychotic illness in childhood. 1960 · Educational · 19 min · Subtitles Produced by the University of London's Institute of Psychiatry Traces the gradual unfolding of the psychotic process in childhood reconstructed from three…