Ephemeral films

1,153–1,200 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 Puerto Rico: A Colony the American Way 1981 · Educational Directed by Diego Echeverria A report on the political, social, and economic problems of Puerto Rico in the early 1980s and on the impact of the island's… Internet Archive OLYMPICSWomensGymnasticsBeachVolleyball 2004 · Film · Subtitles Elvis drugs, Pot Clubs, Gay Marriage, Reefer Madness Bush on pot, Miles Davis, Steroids, Angel Raich. See scans of liner notes for detailed content. Internet Archive Kathy Smith: Secrets of a Great Lower Body Workout 1993 · Film "'If you're serious about sculpting the ultimate physique, the tools are all here in my Secrets of A Great Body, Lower Body Workout. This simple program uses… Internet Archive Disintegration Line 1968 · Educational Chemicals and developing processes are applied directly to film, without use of a camera. A variety of images, increasing in tempo and complexity, create a… Internet Archive Trailside: Make Your Own Adventure: Backcountry Skiing In Colorado 1993 · Film · Subtitles "Forget ski-lifts and long lines. A short drive from Telluride in the San Juan Mountains, you'll find miles of trails, endless acres of untouched powder, and… Internet Archive Hidden Treasures 1951 · Film Presents hidden treasures revealed by the microscope in a drop of water taken from a pond, a snowflake, salt and cough syrup. Shows crystals in one of the… Internet Archive Explosives - Tool for Progress 1970 · Short · 22 min Demonstrates the essentiality of explosives to the nation's life. Illustrates how our daily living is touched by explosives constructively, efficiently,… Internet Archive Static electricity. 1959 · Educational · 21 min Key topics include the generation of static electricity in industry and the home, its hazards, and its control Search Educational Film Journals at Media… Internet Archive Four Families 1960 · Educational · 1 h Four Families Summary Depicts a year - old baby from an average - income farm family in each of four countries - - India, France, Japan and Canada - - in… Internet Archive War On Drugs vs Harm Reduction 1995 · Film · Subtitles ABC News 4-6-95 , “America’s War on Drugs: Searching for Solutions. Catherine Cryer, Judge Jim Gray, Jim Montgomery (paraplegic got 10 years), Kurt Schmoke,… Internet Archive Great Sea Farm 1971 · Educational · 9 min · Subtitles Shows mariculture techniques that are being developed for the cultivation of plant life under the sea Internet Archive Animals of the South American Jungle 1950 · Educational Shows many animals, lush vegetation, and swollen streams that exist in the Amazon jungle Internet Archive A Trip through Japan with the YWCA 1919 · Film Travelogue by Benjamin Brodsky spotlighting the work of Japanese women, , preserved with the collaboration of the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia… Internet Archive Three Approaches to Psychotherapy 2: Dr. Carl Rogers 1977 · Educational Same patient is interviewed by three different therapists. In this film Dr. Rogers describes client-centered therapy. Actual interview filmed Internet Archive Bike Mural 1999 · Film Artist Mona Caron describes the meaning of her mural along the newly christened Duboce Bikeway. Internet Archive The Reason why 1970 · Educational · 13 min · Subtitles Director, Paul Leaf; screenplay, Arthur Miller Eli Wallach, Robert Ryan Search Educational Film Journals at Media History Project for references to this film… Internet Archive Triumph of the Axis 1963 · Educational · 24 min Triumph of the Axis Illustrates aspects of turbulence, including the effect of Reynolds number on inception and on turbulent flows increased pressure drop in… Internet Archive Sixteen in Webster Groves 1965 · Educational VHS Reports on a survey conducted by the National Opinion Research Center of the University of Chicago among sixteen-year-olds in an affluent suburban… Internet Archive Rocks that form on the Earth's surface 1964 · Educational · 16 min · Subtitles With teacher's guide Uses demonstrations and examples in discussing the origin and composition of sedimentary rocks. Explains methods by which students can… Internet Archive Industrial Revolution in England 1959 · Educational With teacher's guide Describes rural England prior to the industrial revolution, explaining that most manufacturing was carried on in the home. Discusses how… Internet Archive The Jewish Wife 1971 · Educational Title from data sheet Viveca Lindfors, Harris Yulin Editor, Bert Rashby A dramatization of Bertolt Brecht's play of the same title, about a Jewish woman… Internet Archive Filmstrip: "Adventuring With Tiddle The Fiddle Lessons 16-20" 1969 · 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 DOPE 004 1986 · Film · Subtitles Reagan War on Drugs (Meet the Press 9-14-86), Hare Krishna drug pushers, Turn in Pushers, Reagan's joint address, poll, Coco perfume, Arnold Trebach See scans… Internet Archive Nigeria and Biafra 1968 · Educational · 30 min Nigeria and Biafra Animated film, set to the music of Moussorgsky, in which the image is created by varying the topology of a large flat field of pins, hence… Internet Archive DOPE 113 1989 · Film · Subtitles See scans of liner notes for detailed content. Internet Archive The End of the Rainbow 1979 · Educational · 58 min Produced by WGBH for the Nova series Describes fusion reaction as the process wherein two very light atoms come together to form a new atom, releasing heat… Internet Archive The Story of Christmas 1974 · Educational Uses medieval settings, music, and animation, in order to present a version of the Christmas story. Without narration Internet Archive Cliff House from Ocean Beach 1900 · Film 3 seconds of the Cliff House from Ocean Beach, people milling about on the beach in the foreground. Internet Archive Across the Silence Barrier 1977 · Educational · 58 min Across the Silence Barrier Search Educational Film Journals at Media History Project for references to this film Summary Explores the world of the deaf and… Internet Archive Filmstrip: "Flight Prep 6C: Obtaining Weather Information" 1983 · 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 Blind Gary Davis 1964 · Film Views blind folk singer Gary Davis and the world in which he lived. Shows the interior of his room and the streets of Harlem as a background for the sound… Internet Archive Recycling in San Francisco 1996 · Film Ed Dunne, longtime member of the Haight Ashbury Recycling Center, describes how he got involved, how the center works, and what some of the problems are of… Internet Archive Scorpion 1979 · Educational Produced by the BBc Bristol Natural History Unit Explains that scorpions, among the oldest creatures on Earth, are natural survivors with the ability to go… Internet Archive The Born Criminal 1957 · Educational · 30 min The Born Criminal SummaryDiscus./ia he relationship between heredity and criminality. Points out common misconceptions concerning physical characteristics as… Internet Archive Franz Boas (1858-1942) 1980 · Educational · 59 min Title from data sheet Presents a documentary on anthropologist Franz Boas, focusing on his fieldwork with the Kwakiutl, his teaching career at Columbia… Internet Archive Mars minus myth. 1972 · Educational · 18 min · Subtitles Revised version of the motion picture issued in 1972 under the same title Explains the major findings and photographs of the Mariner 9 and Viking missions to… Internet Archive The First Signs of Washoe 1974 · Educational Also issued as videocassette Focuses on a baby chimpanzee named Washoe, who was taught to express herself using American sign language. Also looks at another… Internet Archive Automatic Moving Company: Emile Cole 1910 · Cartoon · 4 min Automatic Moving Company: Emile Cole Set in Greektown, one of Baltimore's ethnic neighborhoods, this cinema verite documentary focuses on four young immigrant… Internet Archive The Year of the Wildebeest 1976 · Educational · 55 min The Year of the Wildebeest Search Educational Film Journals at Media History Project for references to this film A biographical sketch of the octogenarian… Internet Archive Filmstrip: "Meet the Berenstains: Jan and Stan" 1982 · 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 The Christmas Party 1982 · Cartoon An animated story about a confrontation between a peace-loving little dog and a greedy alley cat in which the cat almost ruins Christmas for the dog and his… Internet Archive Greatest Heroes of the Bible: Moses 1979 · Educational Presents the Old Testament story of Moses' vision and call to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and the events of the Exodus Internet Archive The Ascent of Man: 12 -- Generation upon Generation 1974 · Educational Producer and director, Adrian Malone; writer and narrator, Jacob Bronowski Examines the complex code of human genetics--from the experiments of Gregor Mendel… Internet Archive Dinosaurs: The Terrible Lizards 1986 · Educational Title from data sheet Grades 1-4 Shows moving models of the familiar plant-eating Brontosaurus, the flesh-eating Coelophysis, and other dinosaurs and… Internet Archive The Japanese Army and Navy 1943 · Short · 34 min Although this film was made by the War Department, the fingerprints of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) are all over it. In thirty minutes, the film… Internet Archive Panama-Pacific International Exposition 1915 · Film panoramic view of the PPIE on San Francisco's northern edge, 1915, as broadcast in a 1930s newsreel. Internet Archive Destruction: Fun or Dumb? Short · 13 min Deals with one of the major problems facing school administrators in every part of the country. Designed to make students realize that vandalism is dumb. To… Internet Archive Paranoid Conditions 1952 · Educational Writer and director, Robert Anderson Presents an acute paranoid patient, admitted to the hospital six months previously, exhibiting delusions in which the…