Ephemeral films

817–864 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 087 1988 · Film · Subtitles Bush-Dukakis debate, drugs. Fr. Serra beatified. CIA covert ops with Mafia, Hmong. Tribute to Woodie Guthrie, Ledbelly, Taj Mahal, Little Richard, Willie… Internet Archive The Forbidden City 1975 · Educational · 19 min · Subtitles The Forbidden City, Reel 2 Reel 1 available here Explores the history and culture of China as reflected in the art and architectural treasures of the… Internet Archive It's a lovely day tomorrow: Burma, 1942-1944 1973 · Educational · 56 min "Jagged mountain and fetid swamp, a steam bath shutting out the sky, endless green growth spawning every kind of disease...especially in the monsoon. After… Internet Archive LSD: The Spring Grove Experiment 1966 · Educational With guide Illustrates the use of LSD as a major facilitating agent in psychotherapy and underscores the need for continuing research into its therapeutic… Internet Archive Two Centuries of Black American Art 1976 · Educational Producer and director, Carlton Moss A survey of the history of art produced by Blacks in America, from the initial African influences, the importance of… Internet Archive Adventures In Telezonia 1949 · Film ADVENTURE IN TELEZONIA (1949) American Telephone & Telegraph Co. PUPPETRY: Bil and Cora Baird. One of the Bell Telephone System’s many films instructing the… Internet Archive Rhapsody of Steel 1959 · Film Big-budget film about iron and steel that was produced as part of U.S. Steel’s campaign against competing steel imports and alternative materials like… Internet Archive How to Cure Inflation. 1979 · Educational · 28 min · Subtitles Examines the causes of inflation and how it can be cured, using the U.S., Great Britain, West Germany, and Japan as examples of good and bad practices Summary… Internet Archive Langston Hughes. 1971 · Educational · 27 min · Subtitles With study guide Narrator, Dallie Search Educational Film Journals at Media History Project for references to this film Summary Walter Kerr interviews… Internet Archive Teen Workout 1989 · Film "Tamilee Webb is an internationally recognized physical fitness expert...She consulted with sports training experts, Dr. Peter Francis and Dr. Lorna Francis,… Internet Archive Three Approaches to Psychotherapy 3: Dr. Hans Strupp 1986 · Educational Music composed and arranged by Allen Davis Techniques used by three different psychotherapists: Hans Strupp, Donald Meichenbaum, and Aaron T. Beck. Strupp… Internet Archive Filmstrip: "The Growing Trip" 1975 · 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 Herb Mills on the Hiring Hall 1995 · Film Herb Mills, former secretary-treasurer of ILWU Local 10, describes the importance of the Hiring Hall to the culture and politics of longshoring. Internet Archive Hellman's Mayonnaise Commercial 2026 · Commercial Hellman's Mayonnaise television commercial Help us get more films like this online! This film was digitized and uploaded thanks to contributions from this… Internet Archive Ballad of the Irish horse 1985 · Educational · 1 h Focuses on the horses of Ireland and their role in history, tradition, and business of the Irish people who ride, tame, train, and breed these horses, for… Internet Archive How to Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days 1983 · Educational Title from data sheet Wallace Shawn, Hermione Gingold Based on the book of the same title by Stephen Manes Intended audience: Intermediate grades through… Internet Archive Carlo Middione On Enid Sales And Moving Victorians 2015 · Film Former Redevelopment Agency official Carlo Middione describes working with Enid Sales and the effort to save old Victorians by moving them from one place to… Internet Archive Great Railway Journeys of The World: Changing Trains 1981 · Educational · 35 min · Subtitles Great Railway Journeys of The World: Changing Trains Reel 2 Reel 1 available here By train from London to Budapest on the Cisalpin from Paris to Montreux and… Internet Archive The Towers 1957 · Educational · 12 min · Subtitles Director-Photographer, William Hale ; Producer, Antonio M. Vellani ; Music, Thomas Cutkomp Simon Rodilla, an Italian-American tile setter, wanted to leave his… Internet Archive The World at War: Part 7--On Our Way, U.S.A. 1939-1942 1974 · Educational · 21 min · Subtitles The World at War: Part 7--On Our Way, U.S.A. 1939-1942 reel 2 Covers the U.S. entry into the war. Roosevelt's speeches, shortages, rationing, blackouts, the… Internet Archive Controversy Over the Moon 1971 · Educational · 15 min 'Controversy Over the Moon' (1971) 15m, dir. Charles L. Finance. This film describes the efforts of scientists to determine the composition of the moon and… Internet Archive DOPE 259 1996 · Film · Subtitles Willie Brown, Pat Norman, Tim Leary dies, SF Buyers Club, Andrew Weil, Democratic Convention, Prop 215, CIA-cocaine. See scans of liner notes for detailed… Internet Archive Great Railway Journeys of The World: Changing Trains 1981 · Educational · 28 min · Subtitles Great Railway Journeys of The World: Changing Trains Reel 1 Reel 2 available here By train from London to Budapest on the Cisalpin from Paris to Montreux and… Internet Archive The Little Green Video 1994 · Film "For more than six decades, Harvey Penick has been teaching the fundamentals of golf to players of all abilities-from tour pros to weekend golfers. Literally… Internet Archive Great American Chocolate Factory, The Short · 28 min A fascinating look at how milk chocolate is made. This film came to the AV Geeks archive by way of a Pennsylvania public school film library. To license this… Internet Archive Muscle: Dynamics of Contraction 1969 · Educational · 21 min · Subtitles STUDY GUIDE AVAILABLE (CLICK HERE) Collaborator, Wilfred Mommerts Presents views of people engaged in various activities to show the dynamics of muscle… Internet Archive Martin the Cobbler 1976 · Educational · 28 min A poor cobbler has a dream in which he hears the Lord promise to visit him. Instead poor people in need of food, clothing, warmth, and understanding come to… Internet Archive Men of Bronze 1978 · Educational · 59 min Men of Bronze SummaryTells the story of the U S Army's 359th regiment. Uses rare photographs, film from the National Archives of the United States and France… Internet Archive Dinosaur 1980 · Cartoon An animated fantasy depicting the age of dinosaurs as imagined by a fifth grader and his classmates. The film was reissued in modified form in 1986 as… Internet Archive The World at War 23 -- Pacific, February 1942 - July 1945 1942 · Educational · 54 min · Subtitles The World at War 23 -- Pacific, February 1942 - July 1945 Summary Describes an island-hopping strategy that captured islands one at a time across the Pacific,… Internet Archive Ceramic Art. 1968 · Educational · 16 min · Subtitles Looks at a second group of five potters representing different locations and techniques. Demonstrates throwing, glazing, decorating, and firing, and provides… Internet Archive Answering the Child's Why 1951 · Short · 11 min A cautionary film for parents and teachers that dramatizes actual situations in which youngsters meet both positive and negative attitudes toward their… Internet Archive David Jack Live! Makin' Music, Makin' Friends 1991 · Film Children's musical concert. Features the songs "Dance in Your Pants", "Dinosaur Dip", "Gotta Hop", "Miranda the Panda". Internet Archive Churchill: The Private War 1980 · Film "Winston Churchill was a monumental leader of men....Revealed in this startling film is the secret story of a man haunted by his desire to succeed, overcoming… Internet Archive Aeronautical Oddities 1979 · Film Documents with old news reels the successes and failures of early aviation oddities, including: a windmill plane, flying barrel, spindle plane, potato bug,… Internet Archive Joshua, Black Boy Of Harlem 1969 · Educational · 15 min It’s Joshua’s last day in Harlem before leaving for a college in Texas where he has earned a track and field scholarship. He runs joyfully through New York’s… Internet Archive DOPE 002 1986 · Film · Subtitles Dope, Len Bias, Don Rogers, John Walters, Just Say No, David Musto, Coke Crusades, Aids & Needle Users, IVDU, Crack, Regan Crusade, Friend to Friend Program,… Internet Archive Filmstrip: "Microwave Magic" 1977 · 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 Frontline Khun Sa 1997 · Film · Subtitles Frontline broadcast on Khun Sa and opium in the Golden Triangle. See scans of liner notes for detailed content. Internet Archive A Christmas Gift 1981 · Cartoon Producer/director, Will Vinton; music, Paul Stookey; animation, Barry Bruce, Will Vinton, Joan Gratz, Matt Wuerker Title from data sheet Intended audience:… Internet Archive Albert in Blunderland 1950 · Film Animated critique of New Deal–type liberalism. In a dream “Albert,” a worker in a statist economy, is forced to watch a state-sponsored “free movie” on… Internet Archive Drive-in: Feature Presentation- Color Run Film Runs less tha 10 seconds. Suggestion: insert clip directly before first feature when creating drive-in dvd. Internet Archive Birth of the red kangaroo 1968 · Educational · 20 min · Subtitles The female kangaroo produces one young every eight months. This procedure is carefully diagrammed, filmed, and commented upon. Cycle includes year round… Internet Archive The Legend of the magic knives 1971 · Educational · 11 min · Subtitles Journeys to the place where totem poles began and where today that special art endures, passed on from generation to generation. Blends actual Indian music… Internet Archive 17 Days: A Story of Newspaper History in the Making 1945 · Film Promotional film demonstrating the importance of newspapers in everyday life. Sponsored by New York’s largest-circulation newspaper, 17 Days is set during the… Internet Archive Frames Of Reference 1960 · Film Uses experiments to show the changes in the appearance of motion as viewed from frames of reference moving relative to one another. Demonstrates how Newton's… Internet Archive DOPE 088 1988 · Film · Subtitles Dukakis in CA, Marin has coke and weed in bars!, Ella Fitzgerald & Oscar Peterson, Hollywood AIDS, Don Johnson cocaine, shuttle Discovery, Olympic Gold… Internet Archive Digger Meets Panther 2017 · Film Original San Francisco Digger Kent Minault was invited to Berkeley to meet someone to talk about a book on Black America... he was introduced to Huey Newton…