Ephemeral films

625–672 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 DOPE 051 1987 · Film · Subtitles Tim Leary guest VJ on MTV and neuromancer graphics, John, Yoko & Tim Give Peace a Chance, Adult Children of Alcoholics, AIDS vaccine trials, Traci Lords,Miami… Internet Archive Destination Paraguay 1967 · Film · Subtitles "'Destination:Paraguay' takes viewers to one of two landlocked countries in South America to observe the lives of Gildo and Felix in their rural environment,… Internet Archive The Medieval Mind 1969 · Educational · 25 min Points out the tensions and conflicts of the middle ages, and shows how the architecture of the cathedrals reflects the uneasy balance of opposing forces with… Internet Archive Filmstrip: "Unit II: Phrases and Clauses" 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… Internet Archive Hidden San Francisco Stop T 11 Freeway Revolt 2020 · Film In February 2020, Pluto Press published Hidden San Francisco: The Guide to Lost Landscapes, Unsung Heroes, and Radical Histories by Chris Carlsson. This… Internet Archive The Heritage of Slavery 1968 · Educational · 55 min The Heritage of Slavery Search Educational Film Journals at Media History Project for references to this film Illustrates the nature of slavery and discusses… Internet Archive The doctor 1968 · Educational · 16 min · Subtitles Supplementary note: Prepared in collaboration with I. Blanche Bourne Evaluation information: This material has been reviewed by Specialized Office 3 and… Internet Archive Cc Opening At De Young On Summer Of Love Context 2017 · Short · 1 min First 90 seconds of Chris Carlsson setting up how he's using the FoundSF.org archive to create a narrative arc explaining the context and precursor movements… Internet Archive Filmstrip: "Understanding Human Reproduction Part 2" 1985 · 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 Steam Shovel 1917 · Film Before occupational health and safety, this is how excavation was done. A steam shovel is digging a tunnel for the SF Muni, c. 1917. Internet Archive Unknown Chaplin: 3 -- Hidden Treasure 1983 · Educational · 29 min · Subtitles Unknown Chaplin: 3 -- Hidden Treasure, Reel 1 Reel 2 available here Third in a trilogy documenting the results of film archivists / directors Kevin Brownlow… Internet Archive 1958 MEDICAL TRAINING FILM ROUTINE PELVIC EXAMINATION CYTOLOGIC METHOD PAP TEST 59664 Film This short 1958 educational film from the American Cancer Society shows how to perform a routine pelvic examination and cytologic test for the detection of… Internet Archive Barbary Coast 1914 From Lost Landscapes No 1 1914 · Film from "Lost Landscapes #1, 2007" courtesy Prelinger Archives Russian sailors visit various establishments along Pacific Avenue in the Barbary Coast or… Internet Archive French Revolution-- death of the old regime. 1966 · Educational · 17 min · Subtitles Combines live-action scenes with pictorial and sculptural masterpieces of the period to re-create the chaotic events in the last days of the old regime: the… Internet Archive How to Look at a City (1964) 1964 · Educational · 29 min How to Look at a City Gives a report on research which is making giant strides toward pinpointing the body controls that cause aging. Notes that someday there… Internet Archive The Sensory World 1971 · Film This 33-minute film explains the basic operations of the eyes, the ears, the sense of touch, and the proprioception system. The publisher indicates that this… Internet Archive And everything nice 1965 · Educational · 20 min · Subtitles With study guide Shows how women are developing new images of themselves and of their capabilities in conscious-raising sessions. Helps women understand the… Internet Archive Night Journey 1961 · Educational Martha Graham, Betram Ross, Paul Taylor Photography, Stanley Meredith ; editing, Miriam Arsham ; music, William Schuman Martha Graham's direction of Night… Internet Archive The Day the Earth Stood Still 1951 · Educational Creature film; feature Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe, Sam Jaffe, Billy Gray, Frances Bavier, Lock Martin, Frank Conray, Carleton Young, Fay… Internet Archive DOPE 077 1988 · Film · Subtitles AIDS 7 years math models, Jackson attacks war on drugs, transport industry drug tests, gay bashing, AIDS commission report draft, movie "The White Girl"… Internet Archive DOPE 090 1988 · Film · Subtitles UB40, "Red Red Wine," Dadah is Death, Julie Christie heroin movie, AIDS and Hep B, Linda Kozlovski "Favorite Son," Dukakis on drugs, drug testing goes to… Internet Archive Story of Chinese art. 1952 · Educational · 21 min · Subtitles Surveys the history of Chinese art using animated maps and art objects selected for their beauty and significance. Considers the influence of central Asia,… Internet Archive The Day The Universe Changed: 7 - The Social Impacts of New Medical Knowledge 1985 · Educational · 54 min VHS Written and presented by James Burke; produced by the BBC and RKO Pictures Traces contemporary society's recognition of the value of statistics to… Internet Archive Filmstrip: "Part 1: A Background" 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… Internet Archive Talking Car, The 1969 · Film This remake of a 1953 film attempts to teach youngsters to see and be seen before crossing the street. The kid, played by Brian Forster, starred on Partridge… Internet Archive Behavior Theory in Practice. 1965 · Educational · 20 min · Subtitles Defines respondent and operant behavior and shows laboratory experiments with mice, pigeons etc. illustrating biological and non- biological reinforcers and… Internet Archive DOPE 045 1987 · Film · Subtitles Swingers' AIDS, Bork nominated, black ministers on AIDS, SF study AIDS-IVDU prostitutes, drug tests, Miami vice, Basie at Newport '62, condom lore, Harvey… Internet Archive America: 6 -- a Firebell in the Night 1972 · Educational · 53 min · Subtitles America: 6 -- a Firebell in the Night Summary Describes developments from early slave importation to present South.rn shanty towns. Presents Alistair Cooke… Internet Archive BB King And Friends 1987 · Film "A Night of Red Hot Blues... Recorded live at the Ebony Showcase theater in Los Angeles, B.B. King takes the stage for a once-in-a-lifetime performance with… Internet Archive Mud People 1989 · Film Mud people descend on downtown San Francisco... the only rules? No walking and no talking! Merry mayhem ensues. Internet Archive Star Trek The Motion Picture - Micro Circuitry 1978 · Film The footage contained on the 16mm reel marked “Rick Sternbach - Micro Circuitry” was produced in 1978 during the production of STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE… Internet Archive Other People's Garbage 1980 · Educational · 30 min Ron Wescott Cinematographers, Kevin Benke, Skip Brouen; editor, Ron Blair Historical archaeologists investigate the recent U.S. past in excavations of slave… Internet Archive DOPE 005 1986 · Film · Subtitles CHB on 48 Hours on Crack St. NBC Cocaine Country David Toma in The Drug Knot Nightline 9-18-86 See scans of liner notes for detailed content. Internet Archive Night of The Squid 1970 · Educational · 27 min · Subtitles Night of The Squid Reel 2 Reel 1 available here Traces the life cycle of the giant squid, and shows some of its antics and bizarre night life. Summary Traces… Internet Archive The Larynx and voice: physiology of the larynx under daily stress 1958 · Educational · 23 min · Subtitles Producers, Hans von Leden, Paul Moore ; writers, Paul Moore, Hans von Leden Uses high speed photography to show the human larynx in action and demonstrate its… Internet Archive The Real West 1961 · Educational · 46 min Televised on the NBC program Project 20 on March 29, 1961 A story of the American West, using vintage photographs and new film. Tells about hardship, hunger,… Internet Archive Filmstrip: "Cigarette Smoking: Take It Or Leave It" 1974 · 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 Denise Austin The Wellness Workout 2003 · Film "Denise Austin targets all of the key muscle groups...to give you a total body workout that will help you feel healthy and energetic in no time!" Internet Archive The Human Brain 1983 · Educational Title from data sheet Consultant, William V. Mayer Intended audience: Junior and senior high school students Issued also as videorecording Describes the… Internet Archive Arabic X-ray film. 1962 · Educational · 12 min Examines standard colloquial Damascan, the ordinary conversational speech of educated male Muslims. Material is selected to illustrate the contrast between… Internet Archive Let's make a film. 1971 · Educational · 13 min · Subtitles Shows how children between the ages of five and eighteen, working at the Yellow Ball Workshop, make animated films using hinged cut-outs, clay, toys, painted… Internet Archive The Little Prince 1979 · Educational · 28 min Title from data sheet Based on the book of the same title, by Antoine de Saint Exupéry Director and producer, Will Vinton Shows a child whose… Internet Archive How Life Begins 1968 · Educational · 46 min How Life Begins Search Educational Film Journals at Media History Project for references to this film Summary Presents the many and varied ways in which both… Internet Archive The Vice Presidency 1956 · Educational · 52 min · Subtitles The Vice Presidency Summary Studies the rights and duties of the vice president and the men who have served in that capacity, from John Adams to Richard Nixon. Internet Archive DOPE 063 1988 · Film · Subtitles DOPE 63, Jan 1988. Laurence McKinney on KGO "politics of pot," Nightline on drugs in prison, Airlines ban smoking, AIDS in workplace, marijuana… Internet Archive Alcoholism: Life Under The Influence 1984 · Educational · 28 min · Subtitles Alcoholism: Life Under The Influence Reel 1 Reel 2 available here An interdisciplinary report on alcoholism, focusing on a scientific understanding of the… Internet Archive You Can Change The World 1952 · Film A large assortment of guest stars (Jack Benny, Rochester, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, William Holden, Anne Blythe, Loretta Young) gather in Benny's house to… Internet Archive Do we really need the Rockies? 1980 · Educational · 28 min · Subtitles Produced by WGBH for the Nova series Investigates the pros and cons of shale oil production in the western Rocky Mountains. States that while there is more…