Ephemeral films

2,449–2,496 of 19,489 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 Maintenance Of Office Machines 1943 · Film Shows care and maintenance of such office machines as typewriters, transcribing machines, dictaphones, adding machines and calculators. Deals with a number of… Internet Archive DOPE 204 1992 · Film · Subtitles AIDS conf, Prop P Bd Supes, MAgic J, Brownie Mary, Michelle APAN Hurricanes See scans of liner notes for detailed content. Internet Archive The Violent Universe, Part 3 (1969) 1969 · Educational · 29 min The Violent Universe, Part 3 (1969) A comprehensive report of astronomical theories, research, and discoveries. Visits thirty astronomers at their… Internet Archive With These Hands I 1970 · Educational · 52 min With These Hands I Search Educational Film Journals at Media History Project for references to this film Internet Archive Exchanging Greetings and Introductions 1960 · Film First impressions are hard to shake, so this film teaches youngsters the importance of greetings and introductions. Like many films in this genre, the film’s… Internet Archive Herb Mills 1971 Strike 1995 · Film The longest strike on the West Coast was held in 1971 by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. The reasons for the strike were disputed, but as… Internet Archive The Shock of the New: Powers That Be 1981 · Educational · 30 min Robert Hughes, author Describes how the political implications of Dada (Ernst, Schwitters, Hoch, Baader) and of German Expressionism were played out against… Internet Archive Stalin and Russian History: 1879-1927 1974 · Educational · 29 min Edited from the motion picture entitled Joseph Stalin Made in England Narrator, Michael Redgrave Presents a biography of Stalin's early years, from his… Internet Archive Filmstrip: "Cheetah in... "What Do You Do About Rules?" Part 1" 1972 · 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 In My Merry Oldsmobile 1931 · Film Advertising cartoon filled with double entendres and suggestive imagery. Leonard Maltin called it “a delightful short, with a bouncing-ball chorus, that ranks… Internet Archive Whazzat? An Arabic Folktale 1975 · Educational A wordless mystery-adventure using clay animation that explores problem solving, communication, and friendship. The story is loosely based on an ancient East… Internet Archive Syntagma musicologicum; gesammelte Reden und Schriften 1963 · Educational · 16 min · Subtitles Vol.2 edited by A.A. Abert and Martin Ruhnke Includes bibliographical references Search Educational Film Journals at Media History Project for references to… Internet Archive Ranchero and gauchos in Argentine 1969 · Educational · 15 min · Subtitles Edited version of the motion picture made by Institut für Film und Bild, Munich Contrasts city and suburban life in Argentina through scenes of gauchos and… Internet Archive Gulf Stream 1982 · Educational · 28 min Directed by Bruce Mackay and William Hansen for the National Film Board of Canada Traces the 2,000-mile, 15-day voyage of the Freya, a small three-hulled… Internet Archive Filmstrip: "Simulants and Depressants" 1989 · 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 Skin as a Sense Organ 1975 · Educational Originally released in England Introduces the variety, function, and distribution of sensory receptors in the human skin. Shows microscopic photography of… Internet Archive DOPE 470 2005 · Film · Subtitles Ban on gay marriage ruled unconstitutional! See scans of liner notes for detailed content. Internet Archive Bound for Freedom. 1976 · Educational · 22 min · Subtitles Dramatizes American history and the struggle for human dignity through an adventure story of two young English boys who came to the American Colonies in 1750… Internet Archive Lady and the Rocket 1952 · Film An entertaining yet meandering narrative film that introduces the 1952 Oldsmobile models. There’s music, glamor, suspense, comedy, a car chase and of course,… Internet Archive The Biggest Bears! 1993 · Film "WINNER 1994 Best Educational Program....a fun-filled educational story narrated by a five year old Alaskan boy, we discover the mighty Alaska grizzly and… Internet Archive " EFFECTS OF AN ATOMIC BLAST ON ELECTRIC POWER FACILITIES " 1955 OPERATION TEAPOT NUCLEAR TEST 25952 Film Hosted by Ralph V.H. Wood, the Philadelphia Electric Company Project Officer for Edison Electric Institute, this film discusses one of the civil defense… Internet Archive DOPE 301 1999 · Film · Subtitles Peter Tosh, Mayoral Debates, Dawn Passar, Seattle Riots, Eclipse, George W. Bush on drugs, Muni, American Airlines, See scans of liner notes for detailed… Internet Archive Phase Microscopy of Normal Living Blood Cells 1960 · Educational Compares neutrophils, eosinophils, basophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, thrombocytes, and erythrocytes as they appear in a Wright's stained preparation and in… Internet Archive The Endocrine System 1982 · Educational Title from data sheet Intended audience: Junior high school through senior high school Issued also as videorecording Uses animation to describe the major… Internet Archive Occult: X Factor or Fraud? 1972 · Educational · 19 min Surveys growing interest, especially among young people, in th e occult, black and white magic, mysticism, and withchcraft. Interviews writer Colin Wilson,… Internet Archive Drive-in: goodnight-Replace Speaker 3 Film runs only a few seconds. suggestion; insert clip at very end of final feature when creating drive-in dvd. Internet Archive Drive In Intermission 20 Short · 16 min There's time to get a tasty treat at the snack bar before the next show. A full intermission show. Suggestion: insert clip between two movies when making a… Internet Archive A Modern Cinderella 1910 · Film Update of the classic fairy tale, set in a boarding house and featuring Mary Fuller. Preserved in collaboration with the New Zealand Film Archive and the… Internet Archive Filmstrip: "Everybody Sells" 1962 · 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 Hidden San Francisco Stop E 6 Eucalyptus Wood Rush 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 Plutonium Connection 1975 · Educational · 59 min Also issued as videocassette Narrator, Robert Redford Explains that plutonium is the processed waste product of nuclear reactors and that it is becoming… Internet Archive USA Composers: Electronic Music (1966) 1966 · Educational · 29 min USA Composers: Electronic Music (1966) Discusses some of the important American composers of the 20th century, including Ives, Piston, Harris, and Copland.… Internet Archive The Sin Woman Trailer 1922 · Film Australian preview for a now-lost American film from 1917, preserved with the collaboration of the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia and the… Internet Archive The Women of Summer 1985 · Educational · 59 min The Women of Summer Examines the migration of millions of wildebeest in Kenya on their search for grass and water during the dry summer months. Internet Archive A Visit from St. Nicholas 1949 · Educational Kodachrome. Based on the poem The night before Christmas, by Clement Clarke Moore. 'Twas the Night Before Christmas is seen in this film. Animated cartoon For… Internet Archive Clothing and Fashion: A History 1973 · Educational · 25 min Also issued in 8 mm. and in super 8 mm. with magnetic sound Uses animation to survey the evolution of fashions in clothing from Egyptian times until today.… Internet Archive DOPE 225 1993 · Film · Subtitles Needle Exchange, Pot Legalize, 60 mins heroin, DEA series, Tim Leary interview, Billie Holiday, Joe McNamara, Karen Norman, Craig Noble pot film See scans of… Internet Archive DOPE 200 1992 · Film · Subtitles AIDS Conf, Prop P, Magic J, Brownie Mary, Michelle APAN See scans of liner notes for detailed content. Internet Archive From Homo Erectus to Neanderthal 1970 · Educational · 18 min With teacher's guide Discusses the Neanderthal man and Homo erectus and tells how man's development has been gradual, covering many evolutionary stages.… Internet Archive Monkeys, Apes, and Man 1972 · Educational · 50 min Points out that man is learning that the similarity between monkeys and himself is not superficial. Explains that man is a primate, bound in evolution to… Internet Archive Die Postkarte 1969 · Educational · 24 min This German-language teaching film adapted from the story by Heinrich Böll concerns the power of a state over the lives of individuals in time of war. The… Internet Archive This Is Mission Control 1970 · Film Shows how NASA controls manned space flight missions. Includes the worldwide network of communications, the organization and equipment that control the launch… Internet Archive Pressure Fields and Fluid Acceleration 1963 · Educational · 30 min Demonstrates by experiments in a water tunnel the connection between velocity and pressure fields in diffusers, venturis and channel bends. Considers coanda… Internet Archive The Blue Hotel. 1977 · Educational · 29 min An adaptation of the story of the same title by Stephen Crane Executive producer, Robert Geller; director, Jan Kadar Summary Tells the story of a Swede who… Internet Archive DOPE 201 1992 · Film · Subtitles AIDS Conf, Prop P, Magic J, Brownie Mary, Michelle APAN See scans of liner notes for detailed content. Internet Archive Perfect Abs Workout 1996 · Film "Strengthen and tone all four abdominal muscle groups; improve posture and help prevent back pain" -- description from box. Internet Archive Mayor Angelo Rossi on Strike 1934 · Film Mayor Angelo Rossi appeals to San Franciscans to allow business to proceed, while most of the city is on strike in July 1934. Internet Archive The Living Planet a Portrait of the Earth 11 the Open Ocean 1984 · Educational · 56 min Hosted by David Attenborough Editor, David Barrett; photography, Martin Saunders, Hugh Maynard; music, Elizabeth Parker Broadcast on PBS