Ephemeral films

2,785–2,832 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 Intro To Amplifiers 1981 · Film Introduction to Amplifiers is a training video for testing and understanding discreet components in the electronics industry. Internet Archive The Mustang 1962 · Film Shows the step-by-step development of the sports car model from the drawing board, showing how the design features are tested in wind tunnels and on driving… Internet Archive Cassette: "Safe & Sound" 1995 · Film SEEKING SOUND FILMSTRIPS FOR PRESERVATION. Sound filmstrip was a 35mm film-based still image educational media format used in schools and industry. I am the… Internet Archive Champollion: Egyptian Hieroglyphics Deciphered 1978 · Educational Title from data sheet Also issued as videorecording Producer, Jean Vidal A biographical portrait of Jean-François Champollion, the French scientist who… Internet Archive Goodbye, Billy : America Goes to War, 1917-18. 1972 · Film Surveys the history of the United States in World War I at home and at the battle fronts. A documentary compiled of authentic war films set to vintage sound,… Internet Archive Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.: A Self-Portrait 1975 · Educational · 29 min Also issued as videocassette Director, Harold Mantell; narrator, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.; music, Arnold Black Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., discusses his development as a… Internet Archive Anti Economy League In Eastern Europe April 1990 2014 · Film In April 1990, some friends toured the East, from East Berlin to Sczcezin, Poland, to Gdansk, Warsaw, and Wroclaw, and finally to Prague, Czechoslovakia. We… Internet Archive Injun Talk 1946 · Talk Interpreted by Col. Tim McCoy. Talks about Indian Sign Language. A chief signs a story and a white soldier interprets. This film can be purchased on DVD and… Internet Archive Something Queer at the Library 1978 · Educational Based on the story of the same title by Elizabeth Levy, about two children whose discovery of some mutilated library books strangely links up with a dog show… Internet Archive The Blue-Collar Trap 1972 · Educational · 53 min Interviews four factory workers, their wives, parents, and co-workers and observes each man at his job. The case studies of these workers concludes in a union… Internet Archive The Physicists: Playing Dice with the Universe 1972 · Educational · 22 min Surveys contemporary directions in physics by presenting outstanding examples of the abstract--even abstruse--investigations of modern physics, giving insight… Internet Archive Liftoff to learning : Space basics. 1991 · Film Shows astronauts aboard Shuttle mission STS-41 using computer graphics and visual demonstration to answer four basic questions about spaceflight: How do… Internet Archive Voyager : A Retrospective 1990 · Film This production was produced to depict the success of the Voyager spacecrafts as demonstrated by the data that was beamed back from the most distant corners… Internet Archive Hands 1934 · Film TRAILER: Presents a series of hands engaged in activities that range from resting to important daily tasks, to dramatize the greater economic value of hands… Internet Archive Men and Depression 1984 · Educational Studies male stress and depression in terms of antisocial behavior, the problems men have in showing grief and sharing their feelings, and the myths of the… Internet Archive New Mood 1965 · Educational · 29 min Reviews highlights of the civil rights struggle from 1954 - 64. Examines the impact of Negro militancy on Negro and white Americans. Shows film coverage… Internet Archive Moonbird 1959 · Cartoon A cartoon which sketches the experience of two youngsters who sneak out at night to catch a bird. Moonbird featured the voices of the Hubley's sons, Mark and… Internet Archive Playland LLSF 2015 1940 · Film From "Lost Landscapes #7, 2012, courtesy Prelinger Archive. Footage of Playland in its heyday. Internet Archive Turbulence (1968) 1969 · Educational · 28 min Made for the National Committee for Fluid Mechanics Films Illustrates aspects of turbulence, including the effect of Reynolds number on inception and on… Internet Archive DOPE 150 Film · Subtitles Alchoolic Gene, Iran hostages, HBO anti-drug film, Bugs Bunny against drugs,James Brown drugs, mexico war on drugs, See scans of liner notes for detailed… Internet Archive Kopjes: Islands in a Sea of Grass 1990 · Educational Cataloged from contributor's data A foreign film (England) Intermediate grades through college students Issued also in shorter version (30 min.) Shows the… Internet Archive The Language of Faces 1961 · Film Pacifist plea sponsored by a Quaker group. To a voice-over commentary describing the arms race, Language of Faces presents a montage of human faces and… Internet Archive Ecology Emerges: Monica Moore 2009 · Film Part of the Ecology Emerges oral history collection project by Shaping San Francisco, this is part one of the interview with Monica Moore, co-founder of the… Internet Archive The Adams Chronicles: 7 -- John Quincy Adams: Diplomat (1809-1815) 1976 · Educational · 59 min Title from data sheet Prepared in conjunction with Jack Shepherd's book entitled The Adams chronicles Also issued as videorecording Shows John Quincy Adams… Internet Archive Don't 1974 · Educational With music by Chopin as a background, shows the life cycle of the monarch butterfly; begins with its birth and goes through the caterpilar stage to the… Internet Archive Filmstrip: "True Blue Through and Through" 1986 · 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 Animal Olympians 1980 · Educational · 1 h 3 min Jeffery Boswall Music, Sky Representatives of the animal world demonstrate their methods of movement and locomotion, and other specialized abilities Internet Archive The Mystery That Heals 1972 · Educational · 32 min Writer and narrator, Laurens van der Post Deals with the life and philosophy of Carl Gustav Jung in his later years; discusses the concept of the "shadow,"… Internet Archive 365 Days With Our Baby 1954 · Educational · 34 min 365 Days With Our Baby Uses a Maidu Indian village located in Sacramento Valley, Calif., to show the range of activity of an archaeologist, from… Internet Archive Body Talking 1985 · Educational CLICK HERE TO SEE THE STUDY GUIDE FOR THIS FILM “Our bodies talk” is the message of this film. Presented entirely in picture and song it is intended to… Internet Archive Talking Car, The 1969 · Film Uses a dramatized incident in which a car comes to life in the dream of a small boy to teach the See And Be Seen rules of traffic safety. Features Brian… Internet Archive 18th Century Life in Williamsburg, Virginia: Home Life 1966 · Educational · 21 min SummaryDepicts a day in 18th century Williamsburg, focusing on the activities of the town s cabinetmaker and his family. Studies the first year in the life of… Internet Archive Fountains Of Columbia 1999 · Film "A microcosm of the California experience, past and present, Fountains of Columbia depicts key events in the lives of the Leary family."-- description from box. Internet Archive Shakespeare's Theater: The Globe Playhouse 1960 · Educational · 17 min In 1600 London, the Globe Playhouse became a hub of entertainment, particularly for plays written by William Shakespeare, who was both an owner and a leading… Internet Archive Fetal Pig Anatomy 1961 · Film Anatomy Series Shows internal anatomy of fetal pigs by systems to illustrate techniques of mammal dissection. Shows pig within uterus, examines internal… Internet Archive Nitric Acid 1962 · Film This is a sterile film in which we view faceless scientists (their hands and lab coats) handling glass test tubes filled with nitric acid. Presents the… Internet Archive Stargazers:100 Years of the Lowell Observatory 1994 · Film "In the 1890s, astronomer Percival Lowell created a public sensation by declaring that strange markings on Mars were created by an advanced civilization.… Internet Archive Japan invades China [motion picture] : crisis in the Far East. 1978 · Educational · 26 min Writer, Anthony Potter; producers, Michael D. Ornstein, Anthony Potter; editor, Michael D. Ornstein; host narrator, Eric Sevareid A documentary presentation… Internet Archive Trust Your Instincts 1994 · Film "...teaches you how to detect potential dangers, how to prevent them, and how to deal with them...an important tool that can keep you...from becoming a victim." Internet Archive Women on the March 1958 · Educational Original title: Women on the march Producer, Douglas Tunstell; writer and narrator, Pierre Berton A documentary in two parts. Describes the suffragette… Internet Archive At The Circus Circa 1936 1936 · Film Horses and tractors pull rolling cages from railroad flat cars as a circus is unloaded in an unidentified town. The cages are pulled to the circus lot.… Internet Archive Let's Talk American English 1990 · Talk "Lets Talk is a specifically designed video course for learning conversational English quickly and easily." Internet Archive Human Remains 2015 · Film This is a movie clip from Jay Rosenblatt's Human Remains . Used by permission and courtesy of Jay Rosenblatt. Internet Archive NORTH KOREAN BRAINWASHING DURING KOREAN WAR with RONALD REAGAN 86774 Film Made just after the Korean War and directed by Robert Cashy, this rarely seen film entitled THE ULTIMATE WEAPON presents Ronald Reagan as narrator and host,… Internet Archive DOPE 228 1993 · Film · Subtitles Sandy Kutick, Jaron Lanier. Prohibition. Needle Exchange, Pot Legalize, 60 mins heroin, DEA series, Tim Leary interview, Billie Holiday, Joe McNamara, Karen… Internet Archive Look to the Land 1954 · Educational · 20 min Presents man's use and misuse of land throughout the country. Includes conservation measures now in operation and suggests further steps. For more on director… Internet Archive The Odessa Steps 1925 · Educational · 7 min Directors, Sergei M. Eisenstein, G.G. Alexandrov; photographer, Edward Tissé Uses an excerpt from Sergei Eisenstein's motion picture entitled Potemkin in… Internet Archive Quality Of The Meat You Buy, The 1971 · Film Kinescope. Presents a U. S. Department of Agriculture's consumer meat specialist who gives valuable tips on buying and preparing meat by using the USDA grades…