Ephemeral films

1,921–1,968 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 Filmstrip: "Teenage Alcoholism: A Social Disease" 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 Crusades: Saints and Sinners 1970 · Educational With teacher's guide Describes the first crusade and the complex motives which led people to join it. Examines the irony implicit in the concept of a holy… Internet Archive 101 Great Goals 1989 · Film "Goals! Goals! Goals! Sixty-five minutes of non-stop action with 101 Great Goals from BBC Sports coverage of English International, FA Cup, Football League… Internet Archive Succession: From Sand Dune to Forest 1960 · Educational · 15 min With teacher's guide Explains that succession is the process by which a given area changes slowly and continuously until it finally becomes a stable… Internet Archive The Twelve Days of Christmas 1976 · Cartoon Title from data sheet An animated illustration of the traditional song of the Christmas season, The twelve days of Christmas. For elementary grades Internet Archive Electrocution of the Word 1968 · Educational Music and words, Bruce Cockburn An experimental film which comments on the role of language in an electronic world by portraying the word as a dying friend… Internet Archive The Business of Hunger 1984 · Educational Title from data sheet Intended audience: Ages 16 through adult Issued also as videorecording Examines a major cause of world hunger which is being created… Internet Archive Food And Drugs 1968 · Film Shows desirable food-purchasing habits and nutritional meal preparation techniques. Discourages the use of patent medicines, the taking of drugs prescribed… Internet Archive We've Done This Before 1980s Social Movements March 22 2017 2017 · Film The fight against the Reagan administration’s war build-up, emergency response against Central American wars, birth of the Peace Navy, stopping the USS… Internet Archive Operation Hardtack-2 - Rushmore 60528 2017 · Film Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYrOZsVjKG4 Uploader: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Upload date: 2017-03-13 Internet Archive Bicycling, Immigration, and Neoliberalism 2011 · Film Bicycling, Immigration and Neoliberalism: Oscar Grande, organizer with PODER in the Mission, talks about the problems of bicycling politics, who speaks for… Internet Archive DOPE 305 1999 · Film · Subtitles Peter Tosh, Mayoral Debates, Dawn Passar, Seattle Riots. See scans of liner notes for detailed content. Internet Archive DOPE 229 1993 · Film · Subtitles Joe McNamara, Needle Exchange, Pot Legalize, 60 mins heroin, DEA series, Tim Leary interview, Billie Holiday, Joe McNamara, Karen Norman, Craig Noble pot film… Internet Archive Choosing Life 1974 · Educational · 11 min A pharmacist talks about high blood pressure. Little scenarios with customers. Mutton chop sideburns and platform shoes. Internet Archive Hot Stuff 1971 · Educational · 9 min History of fire is traced in animation, from the first flame sent down from heaven to warm shivering Adam and Eve, to the hazards of modern electricity.… Internet Archive Goodbye Louisiana 1982 · Educational · 58 min Title from data sheet Intended audience: Junior high school through adults Issued also as videorecording Examines theories that tampering with the… Internet Archive Voyager Science Summary 1990 · Film Developed by Solar System Visualization Program for a press conference on June 6, 1990, presented by Dr. Edward Stone. Includes: VOYAGER – A RETROSPECTIVE,… Internet Archive Freeway Revolt December 13 2017 2017 · Film Today’s San Francisco and our village-like neighborhoods, charming architecture, and quality of life is indebted to the Freeway Revolt that shocked the nation… Internet Archive I'm a Stranger Here Myself: A Portrait of Nicholas Ray 1974 · Educational · 57 min Directed by David Halpern, Jr Hollywood improvisational director-turned-teacher Nicholas Ray offers his views on filmmaking in general and the creative… Internet Archive About Conception And Contraception 1973 · Film Uses animation without narration to show six methods of birth control. Presents the use, advantages, disadvantages, costs, and effectiveness of the condom,… Internet Archive A Swamp Ecosystem 1983 · Educational Title from data sheet Intended audience: Grades 7-12 and adults Issued also as videorecording Takes a look at the largest freshwater swamp in North… Internet Archive The Secret Life of T.K. Dearing 1978 · Educational · 42 min The Secret Life of T.K. Dearing Search Educational Film Journals at Media History Project for references to this film Summary Presents the story of a teenage… Internet Archive Greta Snider Experimental Filmmaker 2015 · Film Greta Snider is an experimental filmmaker whose work ranges from a variety of subjects and aesthetics. From a DIY documentary style with films such as Hard… Internet Archive DOPE 495 2006 · Film · Subtitles Shuttle discovery, 4th of July, Michelle Aldrich. See scans of liner notes for detailed content. Internet Archive Post-Quake scenes 1906 · Film Footage taken about a month after the massive earthquake and fire of 1906. Internet Archive Continuum: The Special Theory of Relativity 1979 · Educational · 46 min 1634 feet Note: Censorship rating: General Executive producer, Derek Lamb; producer, Sidney Goldsmith; director, Ian Ball; photographer, Robert Humble;… Internet Archive The Journals of Lewis and Clark (1966) 1966 · Educational · 26 min Lorne Greene Describes the expeditions of Lewis and Clark as recounted in their journals of their explorations Internet Archive Symmetry 1966 · Educational Animation Running time: 10:00 Music, Alan Holden Illustrates different types of symmetry with animated semi-abstract figures generated from basic geometric… Internet Archive The Living Circle 1956 · Film Short sponsored by the United Fruit Company to blunt “communist propaganda claims” in the American and Latin American press. Using animation and live action,… Internet Archive Drive-In Cartoon (from Drive-In Movie Ads) Cartoon Category: Stock Footage Title: Drive-In Cartoon (from Drive-In Movie Ads) Length- :09 Sound: No Color Description: Short color still-frame animation of a… Internet Archive Life and Death of USS Hornet 1943 · Short · 16 min One of the U.S. Navy's industrial incentive films, the Life and Death of the USS Hornet traces the valiant career of CV-8. Footage includes the launching of… Internet Archive Critical Mass on Lombard St 1995 · Film clip of cyclists rolling down Lombard Street during San Francisco's Critical Mass in 1995. Internet Archive Probability and Uncertainty: The Quantum-Mechanical View of Nature 1964 · Educational · 56 min A spontaneous psychiatric interview of a young lady presenting herself for diagnosis and psychiatric treatment. Camera placement emphasizes the patient and… Internet Archive The Next Generation 2001 · Film "The first kayaking video with a focus on young paddlers... Featuring footage from Chile, Canada, the United States and Austria." -- description from box. Internet Archive Mr Clean 1970 · Film Mr Clean (1970) From the Orgone Film Archive, this wacky film introduces grocery distributors to a new Mr Clean product. Internet Archive Craig Baldwin Experimental Filmmaker 2015 · Film Craig Baldwin is a San Francisco experimental filmmaker. He was born in Oakland, California and created his own found footage style of filmmaking in such… Internet Archive Captive Minds: Hypnosis and Beyond 1983 · Educational · 24 min Credits: Narrator, Kelly Ricard; writer and editor, David Wilson Discusses hypnosis and similarly effective means of mind control used by such diverse groups… Internet Archive The Lion and the Mouse / Le Lion Et La Souris 1976 · Cartoon An animated film about the adventures of a lion and a mouse. Titles & Credits in English and French Internet Archive Is Your Computer Ready For The Year 2000? 1999 · Cartoon Is Your Computer Ready For The Year 2000? A Guide for Preparing Home Computers Featuring Bill Nye, the Science Guy The Microsoft Guide for Preparing Your Home… Internet Archive Our Gay Brothers Clip 2015 · Film A short film clip from Greta Snider's Our Gay Brothers . Used by permission of the artist Greta Snider. Internet Archive B.F. Skinner and Behavior Change: Research,Practice and Promise 1976 · Educational · 47 min B.F. Skinner and Behavior Change: Research,Practice and Promise Search Educational Film Journals at Media History Project for references to this film… Internet Archive Ordeal of Woodrow Wilson 1961 · Educational · 25 min Uses archival films and still photographs in portraying the life of Woodrow Wilson as viewed by Herbert Hoover, with emphasis on the years 1917 to 1921.… Internet Archive The World's Greatest Parks: Hawaii - Paradise Preserved 1997 · Film · Subtitles "Leave your worries and the mainland far behind. Set sail on a Pacific odyssey that carries you to the national and state parks of the Hawaiian Islands and… Internet Archive Fascist Revolution 1959 · Educational · 28 min Fascist Revolution Features some of the historic moments in Roosevelt's career from the period of June 1940 to December 7, 1941. Describes personalities and… Internet Archive DOPE 361 2002 · Film · Subtitles Ed Rosenthal Trial, Marijuana Logs, WAMM Bust See scans of liner notes for detailed content. Internet Archive Viruses: What They Are and How They Work 1988 · Educational · Subtitles James Hogle Shows how viruses can invade, and destroy healthy cells, and examines the structure and diversity of animal and plant virus types through the use… Internet Archive Other Food Systems Are Possible Sept 27 2017 2017 · Film The Diggers served free food in an effort to address a massive influx of young people to the Haight during the Summer of Love and the Black Panthers’ Free… Internet Archive The Sawmill 1922 · Educational · 20 min The Sawmill Search Educational Film Journals at Media History Project for references to this film Associates the journey of Ulysses as told in the Odyssey…