Ephemeral films

2,017–2,064 of 19,488 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 On Every Hand Short · 9 min Informs industrial workers, students, and the general public of the importance of the hand in all types of work situations. Stresses hand safety. To license… Internet Archive Evolution Of The Oil Industry, The 1942 · Film Traces the development of the petroleum industry, showing contrasts between modern techniques and early methods of prospecting, drilling and refining oil. As… Internet Archive Hidden San Francisco Stop D 16 Los Siete De La Raza 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 Drive-in: Goodnight-Please Remember Speakers Film runs about 30 seconds. insert clipt at the very end of the second feature when creating drive-in dvd. Internet Archive Living In A Reversed World 1958 · Film Consists of a perception experiment in which university students wear devices which invert their fields of vision. Shows the stages of adaptation to new… Internet Archive The Case of the Elevator Duck 1974 · Educational With teacher's guide Based on the book of the same title by Polly Berrein Berends Robert Lee Grant, Bee Jay, Jackie Torres, Walter Grant, Ruben Sotomayer… Internet Archive The Hidden World: A Study of Insects 1966 · Educational CREDITS: Director, Jack Haley, Jr SUMMARY: Demonstrates how insects can be controlled to insure man's protection from illness. Shows how a bee tells other… Internet Archive The Mime of Marcel Marceau 1972 · Educational · 22 min CLICK HERE TO VIEW STUDY GUIDE The man behind many masks, the great French mime Marcel Marceau, speaks as a philosopher, an artist, and a teacher through… Internet Archive Seven authors in search of a reader 1966 · Educational · 20 min · Subtitles A hilarious spoof on readers and non-readers as seven Dutch authors watch people do everything but read: they throw books, walk on them and sit on them. But… Internet Archive The Man Hunters 1970 · Educational · 51 min The Man Hunters SummaryExplore./iae time and the place where man first walked on the earth. Explains the origin of the feudal system and the benefits which it… Internet Archive Dance Theatre of Harlem 1977 · Educational Title from data sheet Also issued as videorecording Producer, Emile Ardolino; director, Merrill Brockway; writer, Tobi Tobias; photographers, Ed Fussell,… Internet Archive Snack Bar Leprechaun Animation (from Drive-In Movie Ads) Commercial Category: Drive-In Movie Ads Title: Snack Bar Leprechaun Animation (from Drive-In Movie Ads) Length: :44 Sound: Yes Color Description: A color animated gem… Internet Archive Seal Rock Pacific Ocean 1995 · Film Seal Rock off the Cliff House, the ocean roaring around it. Internet Archive Microcomputers: An Introduction 1983 · Educational Narrator: Rick Cimino Camera operator, Gary Sanders ; editors, Bob Johns, Bug Ryerson ; composer, Ed Bogas Film: 950 ft Title from data sheet Issued also… Internet Archive DOPE 306 1999 · Film Peter Tosh, Mayoral Debates, Dawn Passar, Seattle Riots. See scans of liner notes for detailed content. Internet Archive The Invisible Reef 1976 · Educational · 28 min · Subtitles Credits: Executive producer, Nancy Archibald; producer and director, Milan Chovstek; writer and narrator, William Whitehead; film and sound Editing, Michael… Internet Archive Voyage Of Friendship 7 1962 · Film Presented by Project Mercury, this video shows the systems necessary for space travel. It pictures the sunrise and sunset as seen by astronaut John Glen while… Internet Archive DOPE 264 1996 · Film · Subtitles PROP 215 Wins!, Dennis busted, Valerie Corral, Firing Line, Hong Kong, Mars Landing, War on Drugs, Flower Therapy raided, J. Morgan. See scans of liner notes… Internet Archive DOPE 207 1992 · Film · Subtitles AIDS Conf, Prop P, Magic J, Brownie Mary, Michelle APAN See scans of liner notes for detailed content. Internet Archive Hollywood: The Selznick Years 1969 · Educational · 52 min Camera, Alan Stensvold ; film editor, Graham Lee Mahin ; narrator, Henry Fonda Portrait of film producer, David O. Selznick, and of the thirties and forties… Internet Archive The Bronx Is Burning 1974 · Educational · 26 min Director, Harry Weisbloom; reporter, Jeremy James Amidst the danger and decay of the impoverished South Bronx, the firemen of Engine Company 82 fight fires… Internet Archive Video Tutor: Learning X Multiplication 1993 · Educational "A video that introduces and explains the fundamentals of multiplication, with Lorraine Bryant." Grades 2-5. -- description from box. Internet Archive Dope 135 1989 · Film · Subtitles R. Shilts AIDS, Panama Invasion (Dec 89), Hair Tests, Coca in Peru, Colombia War, Ethan Nadelmann re Legalization NBC, Brinkley re Legalization, Friedman et… Internet Archive Poetry Denise Levertov and Charles Olson 1966 · Educational · 29 min Poetry Denise Levertov and Charles Olson Interviews Richard Wilbur and Robert Lowell. Explores their interests in poetic expression and the origins of the… Internet Archive DOPE 269 1997 · Film · Subtitles PROP 215 Wins!, Dennis busted, Valerie Corral, Firing Line, Hong Kong, Mars Landing, War on Drugs, Flower Therapy raided, J. Morgan. See scans of liner notes… Internet Archive Coding To Commons Oct 11 2017 2017 · Film Ellen Ullman writes in her new book Life in Code “The penetration of technology into the interstices of human existence is nearly complete,” and then… Internet Archive America: 11--The Arsenal 1972 · Educational · 25 min · Subtitles America: 11--The Arsenal Reel 2 Reel 1 available here Deals with the American way of war from colonial Williamsburg to the modern sentimental traditions of… Internet Archive Norman Borlaug, revolutionary. 1971 · Educational · 14 min · Subtitles Norman Borlaug, U.S. agronomist and winner of 1970 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to ease world hunger by developing high-yield wheat strains, discusses… Internet Archive Silent Night: Story of a Christmas Carol 1953 · Educational · 13 min Tells of the village priest, Josef Mohr, who wrote the words and of the choirmaster, Franz Xaver Gruber, who composed the music to Silent Night This film… Internet Archive The Clean Look 1951 · Film Good-grooming film for women that was funded by the meatpacking and consumer products giant to showcase the company’s Dial soap. The Clean Look teaches how to… Internet Archive DOPE 121 1989 · Film · Subtitles William Bennett talking drugs...Different Strokes actor on drugs...Maria Shriver "Fatal Addictions"...AIDS hospital costs. See liner note scans for detailed… Internet Archive Printing through the ages. 1950 · Film Traces the history of printing from ancient to the present day. Shows early methods of reproducing picture by means of carved wood blocks; depicts the… Internet Archive The Witches of Salem: The Horror and the Hope 1972 · Educational · 33 min With teachers' guide A portrayal of the witchcraft trials of Salem, Mass., in 1692. Attempts to give an understanding of the political, psychological, and… Internet Archive The Atom Strikes 1945 · Film Gives an account of the first experimental atomic bomb blast in New Mexico. Depicts aerial views of Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, and closeup shots of… Internet Archive Identifying speech disorders: language disorders. 1972 · Educational · 21 min · Subtitles Presents interviews with children and adults to show a large variety of language disorders, describing the nature of each disorder. Designed for courses in… Internet Archive 25 Years of Progress, Episode 1: Birth of Nasa 1983 · Film The beginning of NASA in 1958 and its early programs are highlighted. Because of a launch success rate of less than a third, NASA starts a quality control… Internet Archive Cocaine Blues: The Myth and Reality of Cocaine 1983 · Educational Title from data sheet Intended audience: Ages 12 through adult Issued also as videorecording Focuses on the cocaine culture, discussing who is using it,… Internet Archive Hidden San Francisco Stop L 4 Sailors Union Of The Pacific 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… Internet Archive Scott's Last Journey 1964 · Educational Depicts the unsuccessful 1910 expedition to the South Pole led by Robert Scott. Includes film sequences and photographs taken by Hubert Ponting, the… Internet Archive Space Access Society 1996 1996 · Feature · 2 h A detailed compilation of Delta Clipper Experimental (DC-X) and X-33 Reusable Test Vehicle (RTV) videos by the Space Access Society in 1996. Each video is… Internet Archive Boy Meets Dog 1938 · Film Animated short promoting Bristol-Myers’s Ipana toothpaste. The cartoon uses characters from Gene Byrne’s comic strip, Reg’lar Fellers . Note: Produced in… Internet Archive The Battle U.S. Navy Exercise 193? 1939 · Short · 10 min Made prior to the outbreak of World War II (WWII) as the United States began a build-up of its naval forces, "The Battle" shows a gigantic fleet exercise and… Internet Archive Tropical Nights 1920 · Film Travelogue capturing the romantic landscapes of the tropics. Preserved in collaboration with the New Zealand Film Archive and George Eastman Museum. Internet Archive DOPE 268 1997 · Film · Subtitles PROP 215 Wins!, Dennis busted, Valerie Corral, Firing Line, Hong Kong, Mars Landing, War on Drugs, Flower Therapy raided, J. Morgan. See scans of liner notes… Internet Archive Cell Structure 1980 · Educational · 24 min Investigates acinar cells using an electron microscope. Examines the structure of typical cells using such specialized analysis techniques as autoradiography… Internet Archive The Highly Exalted 1984 · Educational Producer, director, Kim Shelton The activities of contemporary cowboys are examined in this documentary which follows one of the last horse-drawn chuckwagons… Internet Archive Return from Forever 1987 · Educational · 28 min · Subtitles Documents an eight-year project begun in 1979 under the direction of Larry M. Rymon to reintroduce the osprey into Pennsylvania. Due to loss of habitat and… Internet Archive Practical Marine Electrical Knowledge 1992 · Film Part 1- Ships Electrical Systems, Part 2 - Electrical Distribution, Part 3 - Alternators and Main Circuit Breakers, Part 4 - motors and starters. Step by step…