Ephemeral films

49–96 of 19,486 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 Darrell Rogers On CORE In SF 1962 64 2016 · Film · Subtitles San Francisco native (b. 1945) and resident Darrell Rogers describes how he worked with the Congress on Racial Equality (CORE) in the early 1960s during the… Internet Archive The Living Planet a Portrait of the Earth 12 New Worlds 1984 · Educational · 58 min · Subtitles Title from data sheet Intended audience: Ages 16 through adult Issued also as videorecording Host David Attenborough looks at the mixed fortunes of a wide… Internet Archive Ku Klux Klan: The Invisible Empire 1965 · Educational · 46 min · Subtitles Producer and writer, David Lowe; reporter, Charles Kurait A study of the Ku Klux Klan today, describing their aims and the characteristics of the membership… Internet Archive Violent Earth 1973 · Educational · 51 min Also issued as videocassette Shorter version (25 min.) issued under title: Earth--the restless planet French volcanologist Haroun Tazieff conducts a tour of… Internet Archive 200 1975 · Short · 3 min This trippy tribute to our country's 200th birthday was funded by a Bicentennial Project Grant and animated by Vincent Collins who made other psychedelic… Internet Archive The Snowman 1989 · Film "Overjoyed when his snowman comes to life, a young boy invites the snowman home, and in return, they fly hand in hand above beautiful cities and strange… Internet Archive Body Human, The - Facts for Girls 1980 · Film Teenage Years Series Presents Marlo Thomas leading preadolescent and adolescent girls in an informal discussion about their changing bodies and emotions. This… Internet Archive TRAFFIK Parts 1 2 3 1990 · Film · Subtitles An international Emmy winner about the narcotics trade. See scans of liner notes for detailed content. Internet Archive And So They Live 1940 · Educational · 24 min · Subtitles Stark, realistic documentary showing poorly educated "mountain peoples" living in poverty and stricken with disease. Their solace comes in strong family bonds… Internet Archive Fundamentals of Boundary Layers 1968 · Educational · 24 min Uses demonstration - experiments in water and glycerine to illustrate boundary layer concepts and phenomena. Demonstrates fusion welding from operation and… Internet Archive Best Of Commercials Of The 50's And 60's 1993 · Commercial "Let's take a nostalgic trip back down memory lane for some of those great Classic Television Commercials that we all grew up with during the Golden Age of… Internet Archive A Shooting gallery called America [motion picture] 1975 · Educational · 51 min Originally aired on 04/29/1975 on NBC. A sober and frightening examination of the grave effects of the rising explosion of handguns. Criminals, victims, and… Internet Archive Darrell Rogers On HP Uprising 2016 · Film · Subtitles San Francisco native (b. 1945) and resident Darrell Rogers remembers the Hunter's Point uprising in the wake of the police shooting of Matthew Johnson. Internet Archive Beauty and The Beast 1968 · Educational · 56 min Telecast on ABC-TV on December 13, 1968 Scenery and costumes, Tony Duquette Danced by the San Francisco Ballet: Lynda Meyer (Beauty) and others Storyteller… Internet Archive Denali Wilderness 1982 · Educational · 27 min Title from data sheet Cameramen, Kevin Peer, Bob Landis Intended audience: General Issued also as videorecording Follows the life cycles of the area's… Internet Archive Francesca Baby 1977 · Educational · 47 min Producer, Martin Tahse Presents an adaptation of the novel of the same title by Joan L. Oppenheimer, about a teenage girl and her younger sister who try to… Internet Archive She's Nobody's Baby: A History of American Women in the 20th Century 1982 · Educational · 56 min · Subtitles Title from data sheet Intended audience: Ages 15 through college and adult Issued also as videorecording Hosts Alan Alda and Marlo Thomas trace the… Internet Archive A Baby is Born 1974 · Educational · 24 min A Baby is Born Life of a nine-year-old autistic boy at home and at Loyola University's Child Guidance Center. Internet Archive Zen and now. 1969 · Educational · 13 min · Subtitles Producer, Elda Hartley; script and narration, Alan Watts Discusses the Zen philosophy of living for the present, developing sensory awareness, and… Internet Archive Gemini XI 1966 · Film Achieves a first revolution rendezvous and docking. Includes extravehicular activity with astronaut Richard Gordon attaching a tether to the Agena for station… Internet Archive Discovering dark and light. 1965 · Educational · 18 min · Subtitles Executive producers, Paul Burnford, Jack Stoops Variation in dark and light is called value. Value can be a natural part of any object, or it can be created… Internet Archive Madness and Medicine 1977 · Educational · 29 min · Subtitles Madness and Medicine Reel 2 Reel 1 available here A critical look at mental institutions and their diverse treatment programs which help some patients but… Internet Archive Mowgli's Brothers 1976 · Educational Mowgli's Brothers is a 1976 television animated special directed by American animator Chuck Jones. It tells a story about a human baby called Mowgli who is… Internet Archive Voices And Visions: Walt Whitman 1988 · Film · Subtitles "Brilliant readings of Whitman's poems demonstrate his American vision and style and vividly convey their poignance and sheer power. Whitman's sources,… Internet Archive Girls at 12 1974 · Educational With teacher's guide and resource book Producer, director, and editor, Joyce Chopra; camera, Joan Weidman Uses a cimema-verité look at the lives of three… Internet Archive MYSTERY CADFAEL 1995 · Film · Subtitles MYSTERY: CADFAEL 1-13-1995 “The Leper of St Giles” Tape 1. Cadfael (Derek Jacobi) is a 12 th -century monk apothecary who solves mysteries. Aconite “Monk’s… Internet Archive Dwight David Eisenhower 1963 · Educational · 25 min Dwight David Eisenhower Basic education concerns itself with those matters which, once learned, enable the student to learn all the other matters, whether… Internet Archive Stuart Little 1968 · Educational · 53 min · Subtitles Stuart Little The story of a normal family into which a mouse is born. Narrated by Johnny Carson. Summary Tells the story of a boy, born five inches tall and… Internet Archive The Story 1969 · Short · 6 min A filmmaker, Homer, records his young son, Matt, telling an imaginative story to his two younger sisters, Lisa and Maggie. Records the spontaneous tale with… Internet Archive Darrell Rogers On The Black Panthers 2016 · Film · Subtitles San Francisco native (b. 1945) and resident Darrell Rogers describes how he met the Panthers of San Francisco, and the Oakland-based Black Panthers, and the… Internet Archive Meetings, Bloody Meetings 1976 · Educational Booklet title: How to run a meeting Director, Peter Robinson; writers, John Cleese, Antony Jay Illustrates the basic principles for conducting more… Internet Archive Otto:Zoo Gorilla 1978 · Educational · 50 min Otto:Zoo Gorilla Summary Takes a .ehind - the - scenes look at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago. Focuses on the transfer of the great apes to new quarters, a… Internet Archive The Case of the Ancient Astronauts 1979 · Educational · 58 min The Case of the Ancient Astronauts Search Educational Film Journals at Media History Project for references to this film Summary Examines the claims made by… Internet Archive The Cricket in Times Square 1972 · Educational An adaptation of the book by George Selden about a country cricket with unique musical talents which lands in the middle of New York's Times Square where he… Internet Archive Star Wars - Music by John Williams 1980 BBC Documentary 1980 · Documentary Rare BBC documentary which has never been repeated or officially released. Witness John Williams composing the legendary score for The Empire Strikes and… Internet Archive AIRCRAFT CARRIER LANDING MISHAPS, ACCIDENTS & CRASHES 1970s U.S. NAVY TRAINING FILM 9002 1968 · Short · 25 min Landing a plane on the deck of aircraft carrier is one of the most dangerous and amazing daily activity facing pilots and deck crew. This amazing training… Internet Archive Four Days of Gemini 4 1965 · Film Astronaut Edward H.White is shown strolling in space, the first space walk by an American. Several on-board cameras capture outstanding photographic records… Internet Archive And Then What Happened, Paul Revere? 1973 · Film · Subtitles "Paul Revere comes to life in this meticulously detailed story of what he did before, between and after his patriotic adventures." Internet Archive Surrealism (and Dada) 1971 · Educational · 17 min · Subtitles 617 feet Director, Guido Guerrasio; photographer, Adriano Bernacchi; music, Erik Satie Illustrates the history of surrealism and dada in twentieth century… Internet Archive Williamsburg: Story of a Patriot 1957 · Educational · 36 min · Subtitles Williamsburg: Story of Apatriot With the aid of his parrot, Polynesia, Doctor Dolittle learns to converse with animals and becomes a vet. Based on the book,… Internet Archive Operation Ivy 1952 · Short · 27 min Detonation of the hydrogen bomb. To license this film and get a higher quality version for broadcast/film purposes, contact A/V Geeks LLC . Internet Archive Above the horizon. 1967 · Educational · 21 min · Subtitles Also issued in super 8 mm A view of the field of meteorology. Describes interrelationships, potentials, and unsolved problems of the atmospheric sciences.… Internet Archive A Jury of Her Peers 1980 · Educational · Subtitles Title from data sheet Issued also as videorecording Dramatizes the short story by Susan Glaspell about the isolation and oppression of a farmwoman in rural… Internet Archive This is Marshall McLuhan: The Medium is the Message 1967 · Educational · 51 min Issued in two parts Investigates the central ideas of Marshall McLuhan using pictorial techniques and including his own comments. Examines the reaction of… Internet Archive Wandering Through Winter 1970 · Educational · 49 min · Subtitles Wandering Through Winter Search Educational Film Journals at Media History Project for references to this film Summary Uses close - ups of animals in their… Internet Archive Alphabet Conspiracy 1959 · Feature · 56 min Part of the Bell Science series. The story of the science of language and linguistics centered around plot to destroy the alphabet and all language. Features… Internet Archive The Hospital 1966 · Educational · 13 min · Subtitles Follows a young girl's hospital experience from admittance to recovery, introducing the various hospital staff members along the way. Internet Archive Gandhi (1962) 1960 · Educational · 26 min Gandhi (1962) An overview of therapy for the mentally ill in Geel, Belgium. Past and present practices are shown. The placement of the patients into family…