Ephemeral films

2,641–2,688 of 19,487 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 Ashpet: An American Cinderella 1989 · Educational Title on container: Ashpet: an American Cinderella Screenplay, Roger Manley ; editor, Randall Horte Set in the rural South in the early years of World War… Internet Archive Scott Joplin: King of Ragtime Composers 1977 · Educational Writer, director, Amelia Anderson; narrator, Eartha Kitt; photography, Lowell Peterson; composer, Scott Joplin; choreography, Xavier Chatman Douglas Sides,… Internet Archive The Weather Machine: Part 1 1975 · Educational · 59 min Introduced by David Prowitt Shows various methods of observing climatic changes including examining ice layers to help predict cycles of cold, heat,… Internet Archive Hiroshima Maiden 1988 · Film Story of courage for a young Japanese girl who homestays with an American family years after Hiroshima Internet Archive Animal Impostors 1982 · Educational · 58 min Title from data sheet Intended audience: Junior high school through adults Issued also as videorecording Shows how many different kinds of animals, both… Internet Archive Cinematographer 1951 · Educational · 9 min Cinematographer SummaryShows the work of directors of photography and explains that the picture director relies upon them to help integrate costumes, make -… Internet Archive Raids On Makin, Mili and Wotje Islands and Kwajalein Harbor 1944 · Film Silent Naval footage of aerial raids and ground combat in the Pacific during World War II. < This film can be purchased on DVD and higher quality versions of… Internet Archive Biology & Space Exploration, Program 1: Origin and Early Evolution of Life 1995 · Film The first program in NASA’s Biology and Space Exploration series explores Earth’s early stages of existence and the theories proposed to explain the evolution… Internet Archive Look Inside Yourself Short · 28 min The Mulligan Stew group tackle the problem of a teenaged brother and sister who are always tired and nervous, showing the importance of maintaining good… Internet Archive Pretty Good Class For A Monday, A 1973 · Film Examines the different ways in which three pupils participate in a high school history class. This film can be purchased on DVD and higher quality versions of… Internet Archive Inside the Golden Gate. Part 2. [Motion picture] 1976 · Educational · 19 min Also issued as videocassette Examines the ecological problems caused by pollution and the dumping of millions of tons of landfill into the San Francisco Bay Internet Archive New Orleans: The Big Easy 1985 · Educational A scenic and historical tour of New Orleans, seen through the eyes of its people; includes famous writers who wrote about the city, a contemporary artist,… Internet Archive Adventures Of A Bunny Rabbit 1934 · Film Follows a baby rabbit who ventures from his woodland home in search of lettuce on a nearby farm. Depicts his narrow escapes from an angry farmer and a hungry… Internet Archive Hypnotic Behavior 1949 · Educational With exhibitor's bulletin A demonstration of the induction of hypnotic trance, eye and arm catalepsy, abnormal sensory illusions, trance awakening,… Internet Archive Frame 1977 · Educational Director, Ken Kobland An experiment in visual perception utilizing image manipulation, laying one image on top of another. A seashore landscape, structured… Internet Archive Fordson Tractors 1917 · Film Promotional film for the all-purpose tractor introduced by Henry Ford & Son in 1917. Preserved in collaboration with the New Zealand Film Archive and the… Internet Archive Steel Rule 1941 · Educational · 12 min How to read steel rules; use flexible hook and rule-type gages; lay out holes with a combination square and scribe them with a divider; and use inside and… Internet Archive The Head-On Film 1981 · Educational Dramatizes the common pitfalls and necessary motivation needed to achieve our goals, especially physical fitness Internet Archive DOPE 445 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 DOPE 451 2004 · Film · Subtitles just before presidential election See scans of liner notes for detailed content. Internet Archive A Walk Down 42nd with David Hartman 1998 · Film "No street evokes New York City's Energy, Variety, History and Inventiveness more vividly than 42nd Street. Every native knows The Street from songs and… Internet Archive Age of Uncertainty: 1 -- The Prophets and Promise of Classical Capitalism 1977 · Educational Based on the book The age of uncertainty, by John Kenneth Galbraith Also issued as videocassette Producer, Adrian Malone; writer and narrator, John Kenneth… Internet Archive DOPE 472 2005 · Film · Subtitles Cannabis club moratorium, Pope dies, Reefer Madness, Needle X criticized. See scans of liner notes for detailed content. Internet Archive DOPE 482 2006 · Film · Subtitles Donald Abrams, Dust Off High, Dog can smell Cancer. See scans of liner notes for detailed content. Internet Archive Experimental Psychology of Vision 1941 · Educational Illustrates the chief phenomena and techniques of research in visual perception. Covers phi phenomenon, optical illusions, color constancy, eye movements in… Internet Archive They Also Build 1941 · Film On a typical day at an NYA girls center at Cherrydale Kansas. Girls arise; do calisthenics; breakfast; clean their rooms; cut patterns, design dresses, and… Internet Archive With These Hands 1950 · Film Documentary about the International Ladies Garment Workers Union. Told in flashbacks, the story recounts the life of a worker about to retire with a union… Internet Archive DOPE 119 1989 · Film · Subtitles Moonwalk...Nancy Reagan...Drug bonds...1989 See liner note scans for detailed content. Internet Archive Ovulation and egg transport in the rat. 1951 · Cartoon · 15 min · Subtitles Follows the reproductive cycle of the female rat. Photomicroscopy and phase-contrast cinematography illustrate bursting the follicle, release of follicular… Internet Archive Artists: Jim Dine 1966 · Educational · 29 min Artists: Jim Dine Presents interviews with the widow and colleagues of artist Morris Louis and discusses his attitudes toward his works. Kenneth Noland… Internet Archive Behavioral Treatment of Autistic Children 1988 · Educational Cataloged from contributor's data Camera, Rick Robertson, Robert Wise ; editor, Robert Aller Sequel to the motion picture: Behavior modification: teaching… Internet Archive We Have an Addict in the House 1961 · Educational · 30 min Uses time - lapse photography to show how water moves into and through unsaturated soil. Points out how strata, such as hard pans or coarse sand layers, slow… Internet Archive Flight to the Future—To the World of Plastics 1952 · Film Promotional film for the pioneering American plastics company that surveys the contribution of plastics to everyday life. Flight to the Future is structured… Internet Archive The Vikings: Life and Conquests 1959 · Educational · 15 min David K. Bjork A vivid, authentic, living history of the Viking Age. Follows the Vikings to "the farthest corners of the known world as they raided,… Internet Archive DOPE 109 Film · Subtitles Freebase Ain’t Free, Oakland anti-drug drama.Will Reagan Court destroy Roe v. Wade? Paris prostitutes. Berkeley War on Drugs. Bob Marley, By the Rivers of… Internet Archive Story Of Lead 1948 · Film Portrays mining operations in the lead belt of southeast Missouri--the crushing of ore, smelting, refining and other steps in the production of pig lead. This… Internet Archive Isle of Joy 1971 · Cartoon An animated fantasy after the style of Henri Matisse. Uses Claude Debussy's exotic piano score entitled L'isle joyeuse to create color-sound imagery. Created… Internet Archive Men And Mail In Transit Film Shows the functions of the railway and the methods of handling, sorting, dispatching and picking up the mail while in transit. This film can be purchased on… Internet Archive Journey Through the Solar System, Episode 6: The Moon and Us 1982 · Film Episode 6 of Journey Through the Solar System focuses on the moon. It includes segments from the compilation of historic NASA films which document many of the… Internet Archive Cave Ecology 1970 · Educational Illustrates basic ecological principals through the study of a cave. Focuses on energy sources, discussing how the limited amount of energy in a cave causes… Internet Archive The Adams Chronicles: 3 -- John Adams: Diplomat (1776-1783) 1976 · Educational · 1 h Title from data sheet Prepared in conjunction with Jack Shepherd's book entitled The Adams chronicles Also issued as videorecording Ben Franklin and John… Internet Archive A Bashful Bigamist 1920 · Film A one-reel farce, starring Billy Bletcher, in which a wife plots to keep her husband at home. Preserved in collaboration with the New Zealand Film Archive and… Internet Archive Library Story, The 1952 · Film Describes the regular and special services of the library, pointing out the reference, children's, art, music, periodical and microfilm sections. Shows the… Internet Archive Memory 1978 · Educational VHS A CRM production Describes short-term, long-term, and sensory memory, focusing on improvement of long-term memories, the one used most by managers.… Internet Archive Portraits of Anorexia 1985 · Educational Title from data sheet Issued also in longer version (51 min.) Age 13 through adult Looks at the lives of six individuals who are either currently suffering… Internet Archive Starting from Nina: The Politics of Learning 1978 · Educational Producers-directors: Rosemary Donegan, Anita Shilton Martin, D'arey Martin ; consultants, Martin Duckworth, Paulo Freire, Margot Trevelyan ; editor, Christine… Internet Archive Before The Nickelodeon: The Early Cinema of Edwin S. Porter 1982 · Educational · 1 h 1 min Before The Nickelodeon: The Early Cinema of Edwin S. Porter Leaders in various fields of education, psychology, and counseling discuss the importance of B.F.… Internet Archive Family of Ghana 1958 · Educational · 29 min Family of Ghana SummaryPortrays life of a young fisherman and hi./ia met in Ghana and the desire of the young man to adopt new ways of fishing. Shows scenes…