Ephemeral films

1,729–1,776 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 Ways of Seeing: Painting and Possessions 1974 · Commercial · 27 min Title from Educational film locator. -- 1st ed. -- New York : Bowker, 1978 Writer and narrator, John Berger British art critic John Berger demonstrates the… Internet Archive Hidden Grievance 1959 · Film Perhaps that Cajun-sounding employee has a bigger problem than what he keeps griping about and now the union is involved. What a mess! What is a foreman… Internet Archive Visual perception and failure to learn 1966 · Educational · 17 min · Subtitles With guide Demonstrates how disabilities in visual perception cause difficulties in learning and adjustment in children in nursery school, kindergarten, and… Internet Archive American Indians of Today 1957 · Educational · 15 min A study of Indians of today on and off the reservation, includes their homes, work, problems, and prospects for the future SummaryDiscusses the activities,… Internet Archive The Second World War: Allied Victory (1963) 1963 · Educational · 28 min The Second World War: Allied Victory Uses newsreels, captured Axis films, and Armed Services footage. Discusses the failure of the Versailles peace treaty;… Internet Archive 1940 FOOTAGE OF JOHN D. CRAIG'S TRIP TO THE PHILIPPINES GOLD MINING OPERATIONS GG 49955 1940 · Film This raw footage was shot by adventurer, filmmaker and author Col. John D. Craig circa 1940 in the Philippines. (A brief part of the film, at the very end of… Internet Archive Stitchery 1969 · Educational · 14 min · Subtitles With teacher's guide Producer, Stellos Roccos; design, Karen Laurence Summary Surveys Chinese art from prehistoric to modern times, showing the influence of… Internet Archive Sculpture, the forms of life. 1971 · Educational · 18 min · Subtitles A wide range of materials, techniques, and examples of sculpture from around the world are shown in historical perspective. Split-screen technique affords… Internet Archive Electronic Computers And Applied Mathematics Short · 22 min Explains the basic principles and operations of electronic computers and the use of binary arithmetic. Discusses unusual uses of the computers in order to… Internet Archive Hyde Park 1977 · Educational Directed by Ralph Arlyck and sponsored by the Hyde Park Visual Environment Committee Explores the issues involved in the transition of a small, historic… Internet Archive HBO "The Addictions" 1997 · Film Hosted by Linda Ellerbee, "Addicted" features men, women and young people who talk about their addictions to drugs, alcohol and cigarettes. From HBO's "Faces… Internet Archive Heritage: Civilization and the Jews, 1 -- A People Is Born 1984 · Educational · 58 min Title from data sheet Intended audience: Junior high school students through adults Issued also as videorecording Host Abba Eban focuses on Jewish and Near… Internet Archive "THE STRANGEST SECRET IN THE WORLD " EARL NIGHTINGALE MOTIVATIONAL FILM SECRETS OF SUCCESS 50764 Film This color educational/inspirational film, "The Strangest Secret in the World" was produced by Jack Lieb Productions. It features motivational speaker Earl… Internet Archive Public Enemy No. 1 1980 · Educational · 1 h 1 min Directed and produced by David Bradbury A portrait of maverick Australian journalist Wilfred Burchett, who served as a war correspondent in Japan, Korea, and… Internet Archive DOPE 026 1987 · Film · Subtitles AIDS-Africa, Drug war in Berkeley, HAFCI 20 th anniversary, AIDS Commission, alcohol okay during pregnancy, Reagan still lying about contras, Cocoon, White… Internet Archive DOPE 450 2004 · Film · Subtitles Kerry v Bush frenzy missing fuel Halliburton See scans of liner notes for detailed content. Internet Archive Degas. 1967 · Educational · 16 min · Subtitles Discusses Degas' favorite subject, the ballet school. Touches on the effect on Degas of other action areas, but returns to the ballet. Contrasts the color,… Internet Archive Full of Sound and Fury: Living with Schizophrenia 1984 · Educational · 51 min Demonstrates viscous incompressible boundary layers, their origin, growth, response to pressure gradients, transition from laminar to turbulent state and… Internet Archive The Columbia River 1948 · Film 1948, 21:10 minutes Produced by the US Dept. of the Interior Filmed by the Bonneville Power Administration Produced and Written by Stephen B. Kahn Songs by… Internet Archive Notes on a Triangle 1967 · Educational English version of the French film entitled Notes sur un triangle Producer, René Jodoin; music, Maurice Blackburn Uses animation to study the various… Internet Archive DOPE 471 2005 · Film · Subtitles Ireland's booming, Scott Peterson death, Blake acquitted. See scans of liner notes for detailed content. Internet Archive 1967 ”GOLDEN SANDS” RUTILE, ZIRCON, TITANIUM & ILMENITE SAND MINING INDUSTRY IN AUSTRALIA 97564 Film This educational film from 1967 explains how minerals are subtracted from sand, separated, then purified, before being exported from Australia to the rest of… Internet Archive The Hat: Is this war necessary? 1967 · Educational · 19 min · Subtitles Previously issued under the title The hat With guide Explores the ways in which war can be prevented and the peace kept in a nuclear age. Expresses the need… Internet Archive Tokyo Olympiad 1964 · Educational · 31 min Also issued in 35 mm. and in super 8 mm. in cartridge and on reel Shorter version (32 min.) also issued Documents the beauty of the human emotions and… Internet Archive Of Heaven and Home 1960 · Film This film was made to recruit Mormon members to become home teachers – members who make monthly visits the homes of Mormon families to teach scripture and to… Internet Archive Filmstrip: "Rules are Important: A Mixed-Up Mess" 1976 · 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 Life in a weaverbird colony.: the village waeverbird (Ploceus Cucullatus) 1971 · Educational · 19 min · Subtitles Directed by N.E. Collias A study of the village weaverbird's breeding behavior showing the weaving of nests by the male, territorial defense, courtship and… Internet Archive Search for the Great Apes: Part 1 -- Orangutans 1975 · Educational · 24 min Produced by the National Geographic Society Documents Birute Galdikas-Brindamour's research project on the behavior of wild orangutans in Borneo, focusing on… Internet Archive DOPE 455 2004 · Film · Subtitles Arnold for president? Fallujah Powell Resigns See scans of liner notes for detailed content. Internet Archive First Female to swim Golden Gate 1911 · Film Hazel Lagenour, first woman to swim across the Golden Gate, in 1911, provided courtesy Bill Pickelhaupt. Internet Archive In a Dark Time 1964 · Educational · 26 min Theodore Roethke imparts his views on the sources and functions of poetry and his approach to writing poetry. Mr Roethke reads some of his works which… Internet Archive Space Probes: Exploring Our Solar System 1964 · Educational · 10 min With teacher's guide Uses animation, live photography, and models of spacecraft and instruments to tell the story of man's efforts to explore the outer… Internet Archive Life in a Medieval Town 1965 · Educational Depicts life in a medieval town from the point of view of a young serf. Explains the influence of trade and the role of the merchant and craft guilds in the… Internet Archive Sit Down, Shut Up, or Get Out 1971 · Educational Uses an allegorical play about an exceptionally bright junior-high school student in order to show how society and institutions make it difficult to be one's… Internet Archive Goldilocks Returns 2000 · Film "Thirty years after Goldilocks first met the three bears, she returns to fix up their cottage and soothe her guilty conscience." Internet Archive Waterfront Strike 1934 · Film silent footage of strikers marching, parading along waterfront, cops on horseback, scenes of the Embarcadero Internet Archive Animals Of Africa 1987 · Educational "This program features a special segment on elephants and their behavior in their natural habitats. It also features the vast herds of animals in the East… Internet Archive The Egyptologists 1965 · Educational · 24 min Edited version of the 1965 motion picture of the same title Narrator, Charlton Heston Shows the work of historians, archaeologists, and other researchers as… Internet Archive Drugs And Beyond 1971 · Film Social Seminar Series Poses the potential for manipulation and alteration of man's life through the use and abuse of drugs as a part of drug education.… Internet Archive DOPE 463a 2005 · Film · Subtitles Golden Globes - sexy carpet, great ceremony. See scans of liner notes for detailed content. Internet Archive Air Fleet of The Sky 1928 · Newsreel · 3 min Pre World War II (WWII) of U.S. Navy battleships and aircraft carriers on manuevers. Features the USS Lexington, CV-2. Internet Archive Nina Serrano Latino Poetry Scene 1970s 2016 · Film Nina Serrano, longtime activist and poet, talks about her years around Editorial Pocho-Ché, Comunicación Aztlan, Festival Sexto Sol, and a remarkable panoply… Internet Archive The First SALT talks. 1978 · Educational · 25 min · Subtitles A chronicle of events between the end of World War I and Pearl Harbor, the film depicts the world's first major disarmament conference to limit the post-war… Internet Archive Japanese Family 1950 · Educational Story of Kawai family, silk-weavers, of Kyoto, shows everyday family life. Authentic Japanese music performed on native instruments Internet Archive Drive In Intermission 14 Short · 6 min Time before the next show to visit the snack bar. A complete intermission film. Suggestion: insert clip between two movies to make a double feature dvd. Internet Archive Felony Vehicle Stop 1973 · Film Presents the police method for pulling over an automobile. Depicts how to search, handcuff and transport suspects. Internet Archive Heartbeat Of A Volcano 1970 · Educational · 20 min This exceptional film was made during the eruption of Kilauea on Hawaii's Big Island. Shows stages of volcanic activity and a detailed view of a major… Internet Archive Battle of Culloden 1966 · Educational Director, Peter Watkins Recreates the 1746 clash between the forces of Charles Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie of Scotland) and the regular British Army of…