Ephemeral films

2,833–2,880 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 Brought to Action 1945 · Educational · 21 min This U.S. Navy documentary depicts the sea battle at Leyte Gulf during the Allied landings at Mindoro in the Phillipines during World War II. During this… Internet Archive Heritage of the Negro (1965) 1965 · Educational · 28 min Examines the civilization of ancient Africa and its significance to the American Negro. Shows that white historians ignore old civilizations of Africa below… Internet Archive Perception 1957 · Educational · 16 min Perception SummaryIllustrates the basic principles of perception by showing the activities of a group of students spending an evening in a college commons.… Internet Archive Charlie's Christmas Secret 1985 · Educational Seth Green Writer, director and producer, Gene McPherson Charlie finds the Christmas spirit by caring and giving of himself to those people he encounters… Internet Archive Steel: Man’s Servant 1938 · Film Highly praised industrial film showing the production of steel. Steel: Man’s Servant was shot in U.S. Steel mines and mills in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio,… Internet Archive Tropical Rain Forest 1961 · Educational With teacher's guide A camera study of the complex of communities which make up the tropical rain forest. Points out that the greatest variety of plant and… Internet Archive “THE DATING SCENE” 1972 DATING DO’S AND DON’TS SOCIAL GUIDANCE EDUCATIONAL FILM XD8254 Educational “The Dating Scene” is the second edition of the film “Dating Do's and Don'ts” which was produced in 1949. This film is an instructional film that was designed… Internet Archive VIETNAM WAR RAW FOOTAGE CAPTURED VIET CONG ARMS CACHE & TUNNEL COMPLEX ENTRANCE (SILENT) 83474 Film This silent, raw footage from the Vietnam War shows U.S. Army and South Vietnamese troops examining a large cache of arms captured from the Viet Cong. At :29,… Internet Archive American Harvest 1951 · Film Film promoting the automobile industry as a pillar of the American economy. By showing the number and range of businesses and industries that produce… Internet Archive USA Artists: The New Abstraction: Morris Louis, Kenneth Noland (1966) 1966 · Educational · 28 min USA Artists: The New Abstraction: Morris Louis, Kenneth Noland (1966) John Canady documents various aspects of the six major medieval cathedrals of France,… Internet Archive Conservation laws in zero gravity 1974 · Film Discusses examples of simultaneous conservation of angular momentum and energy for non-rigid spinning bodies. Includes footage of Skylab and Explorer… Internet Archive Getting Yourself Across 1958 · Educational · 20 min Shows the part the speaker's personality plays in getting ideas across to his audience. The effect speaking practice has on the personality development of the… Internet Archive Pelicans on the Bay 1994 · Film Pelicans soar across the water in front of the San Francisco skyline. Internet Archive DRIVE-IN INTERMISSION 23 Film Yet another snack bar film. Internet Archive Lilias: Breathing and Stretching 1996 · Film "As Americas favorite yoga expert, and star of her own PBS-TV series, Lilias....teaches viewers basic breathing and stretching techniques plus simple… Internet Archive Dragon's Tears 1963 · Educational John Korty's animated adaptation of Hirosuke Hamada's story ( Ryu no Me no Namida ) of a little boy's fearless act of inviting a dragon to his birthday party.… Internet Archive Joey. [Motion picture] 1977 · Educational · 34 min Also issued as videocassette Joey Deacon, Ernie Roberts Dramatizes the life of Joey Deacon, a brain-damaged child whose severe spasms made it impossible for… Internet Archive Act Your Age 1949 · Film Presents various types of infantile reactions--temper, weeping, inability to take a joke, etc. Reveals the basic reasons for continuance of emotional… Internet Archive Les Maneges (The Amusement Park) 1981 · Cartoon Title from data sheet First released in Canada Intended audience: General Uses pixillation, or the art of animating inanimate objects, in a depiction of… Internet Archive Toccata for Toy Trains 1957 · Educational · 14 min Producer-directors, Ray and Charles Eames; score, Elmer Bernstein A trip on a toy train through a collection of authentic old toys Internet Archive Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky 1970 · Educational Based on the book by Elphinstone Dayrell Authentic legend of Eastern Nigeria which tells the story of the old friendship of the sun and the moon, who live on… Internet Archive The Blood 1962 · Educational With teacher's guide Also issued in b&w Collaborator, George E. Wakerlin Uses live action scenes, animation, and photomicrography to tell the story of… Internet Archive Our productive industry 1955 · Film Traces the development of mass production methods from the time of early handicrafts and compares early water-powered mills with modern power sources. Shows… Internet Archive American Music: From Folk to Jazz and Pop, Part 1 1967 · Educational Performances by the Dave Clark Five and the Supremes illustrate commercial pop Traces the history of jazz, with an analysis by Billy Taylor and performances… Internet Archive Pond-Life Food Web 1976 · Educational Also issued as videocassette Examines the microscopic world of a pond, identifying its inhabitants and observing their interrelationships, including the… Internet Archive Secular Music of the Renaissance 1972 · Educational · 29 min Secular Music of the Renaissance Three artists-in-residence in high schools in Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and Colorado discuss their methods of teaching young… Internet Archive Tenn - Tom - A New Waterway For America 2026 · Film Tours the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, a 234-mile waterway which joins two of the busiest navigation systems in the Southeast. This film can be purchased on… Internet Archive Peter Ustinov's Leningrad 1978 · Educational Made in Canada Producer and director, John McGreevy Actor Peter Ustinov takes the viewer on a tour of the Russian city of Leningrad Internet Archive Woody Plays Santa Claus 1960 · Educational Intended audience: Pre-school and kindergarten students through Intermediate Christmas stories Internet Archive Visual Perception In Driving - Part 1: Eye Habits 1977 · Film Demonstrates how experienced and inexperienced drivers use their eyes in scanning and searching the road ahead. Suggestions are presented on how to improve… Internet Archive Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Leonard Cohen 1966 · Educational Documentary Photographer, Paul Leach, Roger Racine, Laval Fortier ; editor, Barrie Howells ; written and designed by Donald Brittain ; music, Don Douglas A… Internet Archive Land of White Alice 1960 · Film Film sponsored by Western Electric (AT&T’s equipment manufacturing division), the builder of the United States Air Force’s White Alice Communications System… Internet Archive The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman 1974 · Educational Converted into 2, 3/4 in. videotape cassettes Starring Cicely Tyson; based on Ernest J. Gaines' novel; directed by John Korty; produced by Robert W.… Internet Archive Oscar Micheaux, Film Pioneer 1981 · Educational Title from data sheet Intended audience: Ages 12 through adult Issued also as videorecording Oscar Micheaux is remembered for his work as a pioneer… Internet Archive 25 Years of Progress, Episode 6: Around The Moon 1983 · Film In 1967, during a preflight test of the Apollo spacecraft, a fire erupts in the command module which kills three astronauts. As a result of the tragedy, the… Internet Archive Poetry:William Carlos Williams 1966 · Educational · 29 min Poetry:William Carlos Williams Demonstrates the annihilation of positron-electron pairs. Emphasizes the conservation of energy and the transformation of… Internet Archive Positron - Electron Annihilation 1967 · Educational · 27 min Positron - Electron Annihilation An analysis of the social, political and economic conditions which led to a split between the North and the South. The… Internet Archive Supervising and the Organization 1981 · Educational Title from data sheet A foreign film (Canada) Intended audience: Adults Issued also as videorecording Instructs supervisors in hiring practices and in the… Internet Archive Imogen Cunningham, Photographer 1972 · Educational Presents a portrait of Imogen Cunningham, the pioneer portrait photographer, using interviews, candid footage of the artist, and a generous look at her work… Internet Archive Muscle: Electrical Activity of Contraction 1970 · Educational CLICK HERE FOR STUDY GUIDE Demonstrates how electrical stimuli can activate muscle contraction, and points out that all muscle contractions are initiated by… Internet Archive Sooper Goop 1975 · Educational Two irreverent characters concoct a television commercial for a sweet cereal. Animated story reveals techniques and commercialism behind the fun Internet Archive The Amazing Cosmic Awareness of Duffy Moon 1975 · Educational Originally broadcast on the television series ABC afterschool specials in 1976. Originally produced in 1975 Based on the book The strange, but wonderful,… Internet Archive Assignment - Shoot The Moon 1967 · Film Explains how the moon was surveyed by machines before man landed there. Reviews segments of the manned expeditions to the moon as well as the scientific… Internet Archive Learning 1971 · Educational Producer, Carole Hart; editor, Kurt Hirschler Shows experiments in learning. B.F. Skinner and Richard Malott deal with operant conditioning. Nathan Azrin… Internet Archive Peiping Family 1948 · Educational · 20 min Peiping Family Search Educational Film Journals at Media History Project for references to this film SummaryProtrays middle - class Chinese family life prior… Internet Archive Patterns of Time Short · 12 min Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling describes how beautiful figures are selected and matched together. Shows how hardwood plywood is made in engineered panels… Internet Archive You Are There: The Final Hours of Joan of Arc (May 30, 1431) 1953 · Educational Season 1 Episode 5 of the CBS series You Are There dramatizes the final hours of the life of Joan of Arc. Internet Archive The Ultimate Speed: An Exploration with High Energy Electrons 1966 · Educational Made for the Science Teaching Center, M.I.T., as a part of a series on relativity With report of experiment Director, Quentin Brown; photographer, Abraham…