Ephemeral films

529–576 of 19,488 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 A Is For Aids 1990 · Educational · 15 min · Subtitles Produced in collaboration with Manitoba Educational Television Through the use of animation and mime, three youngsters learn what the AIDS virus is, how it… Internet Archive Working at Levi's 2011 · Film Oscar Grande, longtime organizer at PODER, describes how his mother, a Salvadoran immigrant, worked at Levi's on Valencia for decades. Internet Archive ALCOHOL PROHIBITION 1989 · Film · Subtitles Contains "My Name is Bill W." and American Experience production "Demon Rum."See scans for detailed content. Internet Archive Water Insects 1930 · Educational · 8 min Close-ups of a pond's surface reveal striders skimming along the surface, a water bug seizing and eating a minnow, and a scorpion coming up to the water's… Internet Archive Man's Search For Happiness 1964 · Educational · 13 min · Subtitles Discusses birth, life, and death in an eternal perspective. Emphasizes the importance of the family unit in God's eternal plan. Internet Archive Doomed dynasties of Europe 1965 · Educational · 15 min · Subtitles Forum edition Telecast on the CBS-TV documentary show World War I, under the title Doomed dynasties Summary Depicts the dynasties of Russia's Czar, Germany's… Internet Archive Living with the Atom 1957 · Short · 25 min Explains the atom as the basic structure of matter. Depicts the birth of the atomic age from Alamogordo, Hiroshima and Nagasaki through the development of the… Internet Archive The Living Planet: A Portrait of the Earth: 3--The Northern Forest 1984 · Educational · 28 min · Subtitles The Living Planet: A Portrait of the Earth: 3--The Northern Forest reel 2 Visits the largest tract of trees in the world, stretching around the Northern… Internet Archive DOPE 003 1986 · Film · Subtitles Dope, Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff as Dr. Benway, "Scared to Death," August - September 1986. See scans of liner notes for detailed content. Internet Archive Buddhism, man, and nature 1968 · Educational · 13 min · Subtitles Senior high through adult Search Educational Film Journals at Media History Project for references to this film Summary Discusses the Buddhist concept of man… Internet Archive Primal Instinct: The Miracle of Life 1992 · Film · Subtitles "We all know the story about the stork bringing home the baby; a story no more bizarre than what really goes on in the natural world. This program explores… Internet Archive Filmstrip: "Home Safe Home" 1979 · Educational SOUND FILMSTRIP IS AN AT-RISK MEDIA FORMAT. I am the only person on earth preserving American filmstrips. The media format is largely forgotten and very… Internet Archive Pickups at Finocchio's 1995 · Film Harry Hay describes the pickup scene at the North Beach bar Finocchio's in the early 1930s. Internet Archive Brotherhood of Man, The 1946 · Film An animated film, in humorous style, which makes the point that dissimilarities between people are not basic but result from superficial environmental… Internet Archive Education in America: Twentieth Century Developments 1958 · Educational · 15 min · Subtitles Educational collaborator: R. Freeman Butts Portrays the progress of American education from 16th century New England through the mid-20th century. [Pt. I.] In… Internet Archive The Negro and The South 1965 · Educational · 29 min Explores the meaning of 'the Southern way of life.' Includes interviews with black and white citizens and shows scenes of segregated schools. Profiles a… Internet Archive AIDS 91 DEC 1991 · Film · Subtitles AIDS, Magic Johnson, Magic Johnson talks to kids about AIDS, Kim Bergalis, David J. Acer, AIDS in Cuba, AIDS in Army, Act-Up, Robert Gallo, Don Francis,… Internet Archive Diffusion and osmosis 1973 · Educational · 13 min · Subtitles With teacher's guide Producer, Charles Finance Search Educational Film Journals at Media History Project for references to this film Summary Illustrates the… Internet Archive Nanook of the North 1977 · Educational · 1 h 2 min Nanook of the North Search Educational Film Journals at Media History Project for references to this film Summary Studies the communal life of the Eskimos and… Internet Archive Pole Position: The Animated Series 1984 · Cartoon Pole Position is an animated cartoon series produced by DIC Entertainment. The name Pole Position was used under license from Namco, who held the rights to… Internet Archive Ways of Seeing: Women and Art 1974 · Educational · 31 min Produced by the BBC Art critic John Berger discusses the representation of women in art, inquiring whether paintings and visual media celebrate or exploit… Internet Archive Purely Coincidental 1970 · Film This film, aimed at food factory employees, lays on the heavy melodrama to make its point about the food safety. Guilt, assembly lines of food products and a… Internet Archive Darrell Rogers On 1974 People In Need Food Giveaway 2016 · Film · Subtitles San Francisco native (b. 1945) and resident Darrell Rogers describes how he became involved with the food giveaway which was the ransom demanded by the… Internet Archive Plant Growth 1931 · Film Diagrams and time-lapse photography are used to show the life cycle of the pea plant. The seed sprouts, roots grow downward, and the stem upward, tentacles… Internet Archive Anarchy, U.S.A. 1966 · Film Right-wing film arguing that the civil rights movement and urban disturbances of the 1960s were evidence of a worldwide communist revolution and growing… Internet Archive Johnny Lingo (1969) 1969 · Educational · 23 min A story about Johnny Lingo, who bargains for a wife according to the tradition of the island, showing how the self-worth of an individual is augmented by love… Internet Archive Goodbye Mr. Germ 1940 · Educational · 14 min This film courtesy of The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). DIRECTOR: Edgar Ulmer. SPONSOR: The National Tuberculosis Association… Internet Archive The Long Search: 12 -- Alternative Life Styles in California 1978 · Educational · 53 min · Subtitles Also issued as videocassette Producer, Peter Montagnon; narrator, Ronald Eyre Visits the San Francisco Bay area to examine the new religious concerns of… Internet Archive Discovering the music of the Middle East. 1968 · Educational · 20 min · Subtitles The tradition of Mideast music dates back to the 7th-century movement of the conquering Muslims. The program illustrates two forms: classical or court music,… Internet Archive Ascent of Man: 10--The World Within World Part1 1973 · Educational · 27 min · Subtitles Ascent of Man: 10--The World Within World Part 1 Explores the world within the atom and traces the history of the men and ideas that have made 20th century… Internet Archive The Innocent Years 1957 · Educational · 54 min · Subtitles The Innocent Years Search Educational Film Journals at Media History Project for references to this film Summary Discusses the years 1901 to 1908 and such… Internet Archive Education in America. 1958 · Educational · 15 min · Subtitles Looks at the beginnings of Colonial education: dame schools, Latin grammar schools, church schools, and pauper schools Search Educational Film Journals at… Internet Archive Development of the cardio-vascular system of the chick: the heart. 1963 · Educational · 21 min · Subtitles With guide, manual, and filmstrip Educational authors, Clarence Flaten, Theodore Torrey Summary Traces heart development in the early chick embryo./ia… Internet Archive Beaver Valley 1950 · Educational Originally released in 35 mm. in 1950, as part of the True-life adventure series With teacher's guide Producer, Walt Disney; director, James Algar; script,… Internet Archive DOPE 098 1989 · Film · Subtitles Soviet AIDS, cocaine addictive, AK47's, Maharishi, Easy Rider (1969) coke scene Phil Spector, Nicholson's great dope rap. "Less Than Zero" coke scene.… Internet Archive Classic Dope 10 1995 · Film · Subtitles August 1994, June 1995. Scott Halem interview re needle exchange (8-29-94). Needle exchange killed by state legislature. Frontline 6-13-95 Prozac special… Internet Archive BBC Horizon: Painting by Numbers 1981 · Educational · 1 h 3 min Have you ever wondered what it would be like to fly between the skyscrapers of a city centre? ... to take a trip through Saturn's rings? ... or walk around… Internet Archive Why We Fight: Prelude To War Part 1 1942 · Educational · 26 min · Subtitles Why We Fight: Prelude To War Part 1 Reviews events from 1933 to 1939 including the Japanese conquest of Manchuria, the Italian conquest of Ethiopia, the rise… Internet Archive I Have AIDS: A Teenager's Story 1991 · Film · Subtitles "Until his death in 1990, Ryan White tried to educate people--especially kids--about AIDS. In this video, kids learn about AIDS from Ryan in several ways:… Internet Archive Twelve Angry Men 1960 · Educational · 24 min Presents an excerpt from the feature film Twelve Angry Men. Features English writer Arnot Robertson, who discusses the sequence with emphasis on writing and… Internet Archive You and Your Work 1948 · Film Young Frank Taylor loathes working at a shoe store, but discovers that he is doomed to hate any job unless he changes his attitude. After a motivational… Internet Archive African Sanctus 1977 · Educational · 49 min · Subtitles Also issued as videocassette Retraces composer David Fanshawe's African odyssey which inspired his musical composition entitled African sanctus Internet Archive Drive-in Intermission 2 Film More about popcorn, candy, coffee, etc. A whole intermission film. Suggestion: insert clip directly between two movies to create a double featur dvd. Internet Archive Roots: 10 -- The War 1977 · Educational This is the ABC-TV production based on the book of the same title by Alex Haley Written by M. Charles Cohen; directed by Gilbert Moses Chicken George… Internet Archive Here Comes The Circus 1942 · Film Cotton candy, Coke, children, barkers, side shows, women snake charmers & sword swallowers, tent circus, parade, audience, clowns, animals, elephants, Emmett… Internet Archive The World at War: Part 1--A New Germany 1933-1939 1974 · Educational · 55 min The World at War: Part 1--A New Germany 1933-1939 Grievous conditions which allowed the rise of Hitler are reviewed and the nature of the public enthusiasm,… Internet Archive Rock Video Monthly: Alternative Releases 1994 · Film · Subtitles Promotional compilation of music videos by Blind Melon, The Breeders, Catherine Wheel, The Cure, 4 Non Blondes, INXS, The Lemonheads, Radiohead, Matthew… Internet Archive Filmstrip: "Unit I: Parts Of Speech" 1978 · Educational SOUND FILMSTRIP IS AN AT-RISK MEDIA FORMAT. I am the only person on earth preserving American filmstrips. The media format is largely forgotten and very…