Ephemeral films

1,057–1,104 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 African soul, music, past and present. 1971 · Educational · 16 min · Subtitles Produced by WCAU. Hosts, Babatandu Olatunji and Dallie Traces the development of music from its primative origins to the 20th century; for example, pointing… Internet Archive Asbestos: A Lethal Legacy 1983 · Educational · 57 min · Subtitles Asbestos: A Lethal Legacy Looks at the tragic consequences of asbestos use and at the current contoversy over who is responsible, investigating the… Internet Archive Skippy and the 3 R's. 1953 · Educational Shows how a teacher, by helping a first-grade child to discover his need for learning, teachers him to read, write, and do arithmetic. To license this film… Internet Archive Keep America Singing 1978 · Educational · 46 min · Subtitles Also issued as videocassette Documents the activities at the 36th annual convention of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop… Internet Archive White clay and ochre. 1969 · Educational · 15 min · Subtitles The techniques of archaeologists, artists, and photographers from the Australian Museum are applied in a field study of aborigines of western New South Wales,… Internet Archive Liquor By The Drink PSA 1978 · Film This public service announcement urged North Carolina voters to vote against a law giving individual counties the ability to allow "liquor by the drink" (the… Internet Archive Against Wind and Tide: A Cuban Odyssey 1981 · Educational · 1 h 1 min Title from data sheet Documents the dramatic events surrounding the 1980 Cuban boatlift, and follows a year in the life of the refugees Internet Archive Mole and the Green Star 1970 · Educational · 7 min The mole finds a beautiful, glittering stone which he thinks is a star, and he tries to fix it in the sky. Internet Archive The Ascent of Man: 5 -- Music of the Spheres 1974 · Educational Also issued as videotape Producer and director, Adrian Malone; writer and narrator, Jacob Bronowski Presents the evolution of mathematics and its… Internet Archive Abel's Island 1988 · Cartoon 1 reel (28 min.) : 16 mm Castaway on an uninhabited island, Abel, a very civilized mouse finds his resourcefulness and endurance tested to the limit as he… Internet Archive The Technique Of Fresco Painting 1936 1936 · Film Students at Evander Childs High School, New York City, paint a mural depicting the history of western civilization. Reel 1, the materials (slaked lime, marble… Internet Archive Martin Luther King Jr: A Man of Peace 1968 · Educational · 28 min Martin Luther King Jr: A Man of Peace Uses examples of works by Picasso, Klee, Mondrian, Cezanne, and other modern artists to illustrate their refusal to… Internet Archive Hidden San Francisco Stop D 12 SF Diggers 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 Magna Carta, Part 1 1959 · Educational · 16 min · Subtitles Chronicles the history of England from the Norman invasion in 1066 to the crowning of King John in 1199. Looks at the system of feudalism that set the scene… Internet Archive Neighbours 1952 · Educational A parable about two people who, after living side by side in mutual friendliness and respect, come to blows over the possession of a flower that one day grows… Internet Archive Oedipus Rex: 4 - The Recovery of Oedipus 1970 · Educational · 29 min The final lesson on Oedipus the King by Sophocles. Bernard Knox shows the change that comes over the hero after he learns the truth about the prophecy of… Internet Archive Braze Welding 1952 · Educational · 14 min · Subtitles Demonstrates techniques for braze welding of sheet steel, plate, and castings. Shows how to set up welding equipment, adjust oxygen and acetylene pressures,… Internet Archive The Day the Universe Changed: 2 -- Medieval Conflicts: Faith and Reason 1985 · Educational · 54 min Describes how Europe's questioning attitudes gave way to the teaching of St. Augustine who held that only the next world mattered. Documents how the discovery… Internet Archive Composition for Photography 1959 · Educational · 9 min Composition for Photography SummaryIllustrates the rule of thirds established by the Greeks, the psychology of photography, the center of interest and the… Internet Archive DOPE 069 1988 · Film · Subtitles DOPE 69, March 1988. Jamaican drug politics, Young Sherlock Holmes blow-gun, AIDS Drugs & Dollars, Firing Line (3-21-88) Should we legalize drugs? Ira… Internet Archive The Hot-Blooded Dinosaurs 1976 · Educational · 49 min Also issued as videocassette Discusses recent discoveries that have shed light on the mystery of how dinosaurs lived. Argues that dinosaurs did not die out,… Internet Archive Drive-in: Goodnight-Squarecat Film runs about 20 seconds. suggestion; insert clip at very end of final feature when creating drive-in dvd. Internet Archive Survival of a small city [videorecording] : a new documentary on urban renewal 1987 · Educational · 1 h 6 min Studies the ecological history of the American grasslands, describing the destruction of the grasslands by man and the present-day realization that the land… Internet Archive DOPE 076 1988 · Film · Subtitles 50-ton MJ bust Napa, Coast Guard now routinely boards boats, Kitty Dukakis addicted to speed, (Dukakis 53%, Bush 40%), AIDS care costs, Mother Teresa, doctors… Internet Archive Business, government and public policy 1964 · Educational · 15 min · Subtitles Bibliography: p. 439-442 Search Educational Film Journals at Media History Project for references to this film Summary Uses animation to explain the causes of… Internet Archive Charley's March of Time 1948 · Short · 9 min Charley questions the need for the National Insurance Acts of 1948. Welfare State. National Insurance payments. Social insurance. Internet Archive Destination America:5 -- City of the Big Shoulders 1976 · Educational · 55 min · Subtitles The essence of the Polish immigration experience is captured in interviews with stockyard and steel mill workers in Chicago, a city of 800,000 Poles, more… Internet Archive Key Trains on Bay Bridge 1950 · Film brief excerpt from a documentary on the Key System, which once ran trains across the Bay Bridge. Internet Archive Drive-in Intermission 9 Short · 9 min Make tracks to the snack bar for some coffee and candy, A complete intermission show. Suggestion: insert clip between to movies when creating double feature… Internet Archive Anxiety: the Endless Crisis 1976 · Educational · 59 min Anxiety: the Endless Crisis SummaryExamines a wide range of anxiety - producing situations and discusses the difference between state anxiety, which is… Internet Archive François Villon 1964 · Educational · 19 min · Subtitles Describes the life and work of François Villon. Provides practice in aural comprehension Summary A French language film. Describes the double career of… Internet Archive Grids and plates. 1971 · Educational · 16 min · Subtitles Thirty demonstrations illustrate the behavior of structures consisting primarily of grids of beams and flat or folded plates. Shows load-carrying mechanisms… Internet Archive AIDS 88 JUN 1988 · Film · Subtitles AIDS, The Global Expansion, Who Pays for AIDS, A Priest's Testament, Prop. 102 Crossfire, June 1988. See scans of liner notes for detailed content Internet Archive Maytime 1923 · Film Surviving reels of a feature with Clara Bow in an early role. Preserved in collaboration with the New Zealand Film Archive and the Library of Congress. Internet Archive DOPE 074 1988 · Film · Subtitles NBC "Drugs deadly demand," David Musto, Nicotine addictive, Koop on MacNeil-Lehrer, military drugs, Lifeline new AIDS test, "The Addicted Brain," Apollo 11,… Internet Archive Mole as a Painter (Krtek malirem) 1976 · Educational The twelfth episode of the famous children cartoons about little Mole. In this one Mole finds a set of colors, paints the fur and feathers of all animals and… Internet Archive Olympic Elk 1956 · Educational Originally released in 35 mm. by RKO Radio Pictures as part of the True-life adventure series With teacher's guide Producer, Walt Disney; director, James… Internet Archive DOPE 078 1988 · Film · Subtitles Livermore lab drugs, student drug use down, hash bust indictments, money laundry, Stockholm AIDS conf, vaccine reports, Bleachman, baseball cards frenzy, Bush… Internet Archive Scrap-Happy Daffy 1943 · Cartoon Daffy Duck protects his war-time salvage yard from a Nazi goat Internet Archive Karl Marx: The Spectre of Marxism 1983 · Educational · 27 min Karl Marx: The Spectre of Marxism Reel 1 Reel 2 available here Critical reappraisal of Marxist doctrine in theory and practice in the last one hundred years.… Internet Archive Primal Therapy: In Search of the Real You 1973 · Educational · 19 min Presents psychiatrist Arthur Janov's theory concerning primal therapy for use with neurotics. Contains excerpts of actual therapy sessions Internet Archive DOPE 297 1999 · Film · Subtitles HBO Kids shoot up toilets, Drug czar vs. movies, Carla Abbotts! See scans of liner notes for detailed content. Internet Archive AIDS 87 JUN 5 NIGHTLINE ABC A Nat'l Town Meeting 1987 · Film · Subtitles AIDS, ABC Nightline, A National Town Meeting, IVDU, June 1987.See scans of liner notes for detailed content. Internet Archive Off-On 1968 · Educational Abstract experimental animation using electronic images, sound and the latest video tape techniques. Filters color to achieve an exceptionally sophisticated… Internet Archive The Ascent of Man: 7 -- The Majestic Clockwork 1974 · Educational · 52 min In Spanish Also issued as videorecording Producer and director, Adrian Malone; writer and narrator, Jacob Bronowski Focuses on the contributions of Newton… Internet Archive A Warning to Travellers (Five Pounds in Notes) Short · 1 min A stark warning to holiday makers not to take more than £5 in notes abroad. Richard Massingham. only five pounds in notes were to be taken abroad. balance of… Internet Archive The Aztecs 1955 · Educational · 7 min The Aztecs Summary Discusses the factors which influenced the Aztec civilization. Presents views of the lagoons and canals, the market place and the religious… Internet Archive Hidden San Francisco Stop D 1 Underground Railroad 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 video…