Educational films
241–288 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 Ones | Films for young children by name: nursery rhymes, lullabies, preschool. |
|---|---|
| Kids | Cartoons and animation, children's and family films, and educational films, unless they deal with war, propaganda, crime, horror or drugs, or carry racial caricature. |
| Tweens | Documentaries, science, nature and space, classic comedies, newsreels, commercials and lectures. |
| Teens | Everything else, including anything we cannot tell about; war, crime, horror and westerns go no lower. |
| Adult | Sexual themes (such as the old "sex hygiene" films), gore, surgery, slaughter, atrocity footage. |
Internet Archive
Karl Marx: The Spectre of Marxism
Karl Marx: The Spectre of Marxism Reel 2 Reel 1 available here Critical reappraisal of Marxist doctrine in theory and practice in the last one hundred years.…
Internet Archive
220 Blues
Questions the value of integration in a system that is run by whites. Tells the story of Sonny, a Black high school athlete who is looking forward to an…
Internet Archive
Solar radiation 2: The earth's atmosphere.
Describes the spectral distribution of incoming solar radiation, the outgoing infrared terrestrial radiation, and the interactions of these two types of…
Internet Archive
Curious George
The Man in the Yellow Hat catches little money George in the jungle and brings him back to Civilization, where his inquisitive nature constantly gets him into…
Internet Archive
Vincent Van Gogh: A Self Portrait
An intensive exploration into the life and works of Vincent van Gogh. Introduces details from his personnel correspondence and shows many of his paintings and…
Internet Archive
The Titan: Story of Michelangelo
Re-creates the life of Michelangelo (1475-1564), viewing the places he lived and worked. Examines his masterpieces-- "David," "Moses," the Medici monument,…
Internet Archive
The Great religions: Buddhism.
French version released under the title Les grandes religions: Le bouddhisme Producer, James Beveridge; writer and editor, David Millar; animation, Pierre…
Internet Archive
Have a healthy baby
A brief survey of human reproduction, particularly the sequence of development of the embryo and possibilities of damage Search Educational Film Journals at…
Internet Archive
"Our Town" and Our Universe
"Our Town" and Our Universe Search Educational Film Journals at Media History Project for references to this film This film introduces one of John Cheever's…
Internet Archive
Black history: Lost, stolen or strayed [Part 1]
This is a dramatic and searching examination of the confrontation between black and white. Narrated by Bill Cosby, the film reviews black American…
Internet Archive
Whole Earth's invisible colors.
Also issued in super 8 mm Videocassette also issued Summary Shows how multi - spectral sensing greatly expands man's ability to survey Earth resources and to…
Internet Archive
Discovering the music of Africa.
Explores the rhythmic music of bells, rattles, and drums and shows how they are used today in Africa both as musical instruments and as a means of…
Internet Archive
The littlest angel.
Based on the book of the same title by Charles Tazewell Tells about a lonely little angel and his humble gift to the Christ child This film isn't in the…
Internet Archive
Understanding Stresses and Strains
With study guide Producer, Ken Peterson; director, Les Clark Discusses the mental side of the health triangle, emphasizing how the pressures and worries of…
Internet Archive
The Spanish Civil War
Host narrator, Eric Sevareid A documentary presentation on the events of and the attitudes towards the Spanish Civil War Search Educational Film Journals at…
Internet Archive
Sentinels of silence
With teacher's guide Producer, Manuel Arango; director and writer, Robert Amram; narrator, Orson Welles; music, Mariano Moreno; photographer, James Freeman;…
Internet Archive
Williamsburg Restored (1951)
Shows the historical research and archaeological and architectural studies necessary for the authentic restoration and reconstruction of Colonial…
Internet Archive
Nothing to Fear: The Legacy of FDR
Nothing to Fear: The Legacy of FDR The legacy of Franklin D. Roosevelt is detailed by combining present day interviews with historical material. It examines…
Internet Archive
Devils, monsters, and dragons.
Videotape on reel and videocassette also issued With teacher's guide by Alice M. Schwartz and learning resources kit Reveals how people in different…
Internet Archive
Bear Country
Technicolor Producer, Walt Disney ; Directed and written by James Algar ; Narrator, Winston Hibler ; Music, Paul Smith ; Photographlers, Alfred G. Milotte,…
Internet Archive
Our Solar System
A brief introduction to the solar system by children for children.
Internet Archive
Hardware Wars
A spoof of the space epic, Star Wars, created with special effects made from household appliances available in any hardware store. Cinematography, John Fante,…
Internet Archive
Guilty by reason of race.
Examines the conditions of fear and prejudice which resulted in the internment of American citizens of Japanese ancestry during World War II. With guide…
Internet Archive
I, Leonardo Da Vinci
I, Leonardo Da Vinci reel 2 Film biography of Leonardo da Vinci, the great Renaissance man, points out the enormous influence of his ideas and innovations as…
Internet Archive
Oceanography the study of oceans
Discusses the scientific disciplines involved in oceanography, including meteorology, physics, chemistry, biology, and geology. Search Educational Film…
Internet Archive
Stalin and Russian History 1928 - 1953
Stalin and Russian History 1928 - 1953 Discusses the problem of the child leaving mother and home to start nursery school, and presents an approach which has…
Internet Archive
Mai Zetterling's Stockholm
Also issued as videocassette Made in Canada Producer and director, John McGreevy Swedish actress Mai Zetterling offers a look at Stockholm
Internet Archive
Nature's Strangest Creatures
Nature's Strangest Creatures Early childhood play reflects environment and home life. Close family relationships also emphasized.
Internet Archive
Women Inside. [Motion picture]
Title from data sheet Also issued as videorecording Producer, Elisabeth Fink Benjamin, Mark Benjamin; editor, Bill Moyers Examines life within a women's…
Internet Archive
The Shock of the New: The Landscape of Pleasure part 2
Narrated and written by Robert Hughes. Produced by the BBC and Time-Life Television Discusses impressionism, the liberation of color, and a new freedom of…
Internet Archive
The Electric Grandmother
Title from data sheet Maureen Stapleton, Edward Herrmann, Tara Kennedy, Robert MacNaughton, Charles Fields, Paul Benedict Based on: I sing the body electric…
Internet Archive
Three Approaches to Psychotherapy 3: Dr. Aaron Beck
Dr. Aaron T. Beck uses his techniques of cognitive therapy with the same client seen in the other segments
Internet Archive
The Day The Universe Changed: 3 -- Scientific Imagination in the Renaissance
Title from data sheet Host, James Burke In two parts Ages 16 through adults Shows the startling changes that grew out of the study of Arab optics. From…
Internet Archive
Death of a Legend
Death of a Legend Examines the nature and plight of the wolf and relates it to the plight of other species of North American wildlife that have fallen afoul…
Internet Archive
The Exiles
A documentary account of the problems that are encountered by American Indians who live in urban areas and are caught between two conflicting cultures
Internet Archive
China: A Class By Itself
China: A Class By Itself An inside look at China working towards the goal of becoming a superpower by the year 2000 via education as the key to modernization.…
Internet Archive
Ascent of Man: 10--The World With in World
Ascent of Man: 10--The World With in World Reel 2 Explores the world within the atom and traces the history of the men and ideas that have made 20th century…
Internet Archive
The Shock of the New: View From the Edge
VHS Narrated and written by art critic Robert Hughes. Produced by the BBC and Time-Life Television Nineteenth-century romanticism gave way to 20th-century…
Internet Archive
The Shock of the New: The Threshold of Liberty part 1
Narrated and written by art critic Robert Hughes. Produced by the BBC and Time-Life Television Discusses surrealism, the last revolutionary art movement of…
Internet Archive
From blossom to fruit
With study guide Explains the function of flowers in the life cycle of the plant. Includes an analysis of the basic parts of the flower, the structure of a…
Internet Archive
Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes
Based on the book by Eleanor Coerr Producer, director, George Levenson; writer, Eleanor Coerr; drawings, Ed Young Liv Ullman This iconographic film is the…
Internet Archive
Marine Flowers
Title from data sheet Also issued as videorecording Mizo Okada, Tohru Uchida Uses underwater photography to study the structure, behavior, and life cycles…
Internet Archive
The Shock of The New: Landscape of Pleasure Part 1
The Shock of The New: Landscape of Pleasure Part 1 Part 3 of an 8-part series which presents a social history of the impact and development of the visual arts…
Internet Archive
The World at War: 9 - Stalingrad, June 1942 - February 1943
The World at War: 9 - Stalingrad, June 1942 - February 1943 Search Educational Film Journals at Media History Project for references to this film Summary…
Internet Archive
The World at War 3 -- France Falls, May - June 1940
The World at War 3 -- France Falls, May - June 1940 Summary Documents the fall of France to Germany in May and June of 1940 as a result of the speed, daring…
Internet Archive
Eisenhower years.
Reviews the events that led to Eisenhower's election in 1952, and notes the significant issues of his administration. From the Presidential Administrations…
Internet Archive
The Lightning war in the Middle East.
With study guide Traces the roots of unrest that led to conflict between Israel and Egypt in the short war of June 1967 Search Educational Film Journals at…
Internet Archive
Ireland: The Making of a Republic
Documents the events, beginning with the uprising of 1916, that led to the formation of the Irish Republic as it is in the 20th century. Discusses…